Russell Graves Photo Essays

Chuck Zimmerman

Russell Graves - Puddle JumperRussell Graves has given me permission to use some of his photos here on AgWired and I’d sure like to do it more often. In fact, I hope to meet Russell in person some time. I just know we’d get along great. He’s going to continue to document wildlife in a variety of ways and I’m going to continue to document agribusiness not only here on AgWired but with some other plans I have for the future.

I thought I’d point you to Russell’s website again since he updates it with new online photo essays. The one this picture is from is called Puddle Jumpers. Take some time to visit Russell and enjoy some great photography.

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American Farmer & Blogger

Chuck Zimmerman

Farm blogging is growing folks. In fact, I think I know of more farmers blogging than the companies that are trying to sell them products and services! Let’s take Greg Knott for example. He’s one of several farmers who have written to me lately after finding AgWired.

I ran across AgWired this past weekend while googling different things. Just wanted to let you know how impressed I was with the site. Easy to read and interesting.

I had been thinking over the last few months of starting a blog related to farming and agriculture. When I was surfing to see what was out there, I didn’t really find that many that were just “independent” in nature like yours. Most had a very specific focus. There should be more, so I decided to start one myself http://americanfarmer.blogspot.com. I am going to work on it for few weeks to get it honed down and see if I can attract some readers.

I work in the ag industry and run a small farm, so I thought I might offer a unique perspective.

Thanks for your work,

Greg Knott
St. Joseph IL

Let’s help Greg obtain some readers!

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White Backyard Bambi

Chuck Zimmerman

White DeerMy backyard bambi last week prompted one AgWired reader to send in her own. This is a picture from Columbia, MO of what’s probably an albino deer. This one’s living behind Marylin Cummins house.

Here’s the special doe I watch for each day out my office window and off the deck — she likes to bed down on the wooded hillside that is our backyard (in the middle of suburban Columbia, Mo.) We think she’s an albino — she’s definitely different. Always travels alone and is quite tame — going right up to people’s backyards, where she ate the leaves off the top of my baby redbud trees this fall. She doesn’t spook when I call to her, either — I’ve nicknamed her “Crystal.”

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Ames at Ivy

Chuck Zimmerman

Rob AmesHere’s a company with an interesting name. Although it’s now Ivy, the founder was I.V. Sollins who started the company back in 1972. I’ll bet you didn’t know that.

Tom Nicholson, Vice President, Ivy Natural Solutions (INS) announced the appointment of Rob Ames as Brand Manager, Ivy Natural Solutions’ products. Ames will work closely with branded and integrated beef systems to provide products and services that will enhance cattle performance and health while maintaining the integrity of their brand specifications. Prior to joining Ivy, Ames was the Executive Director for Certified Hereford Beef LLC.

Agribusiness, Livestock

A Natural Place For Beef

Chuck Zimmerman

US Natural BeefThere’s nothing like an announcement of an upcoming announcement or I guess I should say launch. US Natural Beef will be unveiled at the upcoming Cattle Industry Convention according to a story on meatingplace.com.

The Natural Cattle Connection listing service collects information from cattle producers and provides it to feedlot managers and natural beef programs via the Web. Cattle purchasers can browse through the information until they find cattle that meet their exact needs.

Beef

Intelligent Weather From Planalytics

Chuck Zimmerman

PlanalyticsWe all know how important weather is to the business we’re in right? Here’s a company that’s moving into the ag area with their weather products/services.

Planalytics is expanding its business weather intelligence offerings to the Life Sciences field, announced Fred Fox, President and CEO of the company. “We have a proven track record helping clients in the consumer products, financial and energy industries understand – and manage – the impact of weather on their businesses,” said Fox. “We are building on that expertise and, at the same time, significantly enhancing our capabilities to better serve companies involved in agriculture, food and pharmaceuticals,” he continued. As part of the Life Sciences initiative, Planalytics is now offering unique causal modeling capabilities that can help clients identify and measure potential threats from pests and diseases, as well as weather events that affect food production and, ultimately, the health and well-being of humans and animals around the globe.
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Agribusiness

Paul McKellips is Back in Iraq

Chuck Zimmerman

Iraq Fish FarmHopefully you remember Paul McKellips, Global Outreach Officer, US Embassy Baghdad, The Green Room – Public Affairs GO Team. He’s now back in Iraq and finding the good news behind the scenes that you’re not going to hear or see on the evening news, although you should. So here’s his latest report.

There was once a time when Iraqis consumed an enormous amount of fish in their diets. But after the 1991 Gulf War, when Saddam Hussein drained the Arab Marshlands, fish production has been on a steady decline. The U.S. military, USAID and American agricultural advisors are using taxpayer dollars, hard work and some lessons learned from the Jordanians to revitalize Iraqi fish farms.

Listen to his report:

iraq-fish-farms.mp3
Audio, International

iPhone Now Available

Chuck Zimmerman

Apple iPhoneDon’t think I didn’t hear the announcement today of the iPhone. MacWorld Expo is going on and Steve Jobs made the announcement. If you think this is just a neat looking new cell phone then think again. It’s a widescreen iPod, phone and internet communications device. It’s almost enough to make me want to switch from Sprint to Cingular since you’ll only be able to use one with just the one carrier (bummer). Watch the keynote address and iphone introduction.

Now why is this important to you and me? Jobs describes the iPhone as a revolutionary device. After seeing the introduction and demonstration I agree. This thing is a lot more than just a cool gadget. It’s also a great functional tool that we’re going to literally see “out in the field.” It’s an example of where things are going in the mobile delivered content arena. In fact you might want to check out this story on eMarketer.com, “The Hottest New Media Platform of 2007 Is Right in Your Hand.”

I guess the question would be, Are you preparing to communicate with your members and customers wherever they are?

I spent an hour in an Apple store today getting a very detailed demonstration of a MacBook Pro. If you think I should make the conversion please email me.

Internet, Podcasts

How ‘Bout Them Gators?

Chuck Zimmerman

With travel and meetings in St. Louis today I haven’t had time to celebrate a Gator victory last night in the BCS Championship game. How sweet is it to be a graduate of the only school to ever have both the basketball and football national championships at the same time? I promise not to bring this up again (soon).

You’ve gotta love YouTube. This was made before the game but for Gator fans, it’s well worth about 7 minutes to enjoy.

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New Utility Tractors From John Deere

Chuck Zimmerman

John Deere 5603John Deere’s got a couple of new utility tractors coming out. They’re the 5603 (pictured) and 5625 Tractors, both rated at 99 engine horsepower.

“We’ve done extensive customer research and these two economical tractors meet the needs of operators who want a higher horsepower utility tractor to do heavy-duty chores around the farm, ranch, or worksite,” says Mike Alvin, division manager, John Deere Commercial Products. “These tractors can be ordered with different packages in tailored configurations to match a customer’s operational needs.”

These tractors will be available starting in March. I’m betting these will be on display at upcoming shows like the National Farm Machinery Show.

Agribusiness, Tractor