Learning More About MO DNR

Chuck Zimmerman December 5, 2006

For the first time in a couple of years I got to attend a Mid Missouri Agribusiness Club meeting today while someone else ran it. It’s much more relaxing this way.

Today we had our Missouri Department of Natural Resources Director, Doyle Childers, speak. I have to confess that it was more interesting than I thought it would be. For one thing the DNR here in Missouri implements EPA regs unlike states where EPA does it themselves. So as you can imagine DNR then has a hand in a lot of things important to anyone trying to farm. Childers says they hope to automate a lot of the permitting that has to go through their department in order to speed things up and decrease the man hours involved.

Water was a big topic of discussion. Bioenergy came up and Childers said that his department needed to become more involved in it as well.

He said that in his two years as the state DNR Director he was most proud of the closer working relationship DNR has with the ag community and the updating of their website to make it easier to find stuff.

Ag Groups

It’s Now a New Media Expo

Chuck Zimmerman December 5, 2006

I haven’t been able to attend either of the first two Expos but maybe the third time will be a charm next year. It used to be called the Podcast & Portable Media Expo. I’m pretty psyched that they’ve changed the name to Podcast & New Media Expo.

If you really want to learn about this whole new media thing we’ve been trying to help you understand you can either: 1. Set up a personal ZimmComm New Media consultation or 2. Attend the Podcast & New Media Expo.

The next one is scheduled for September 28-30 at the Ontario Convention Center in Ontaria, CA. The Expo covers these topics:
Audio & Video Creation
Business Podcasting
User-Generated Content
Sponsorship & Advertising Models
Audio/Video Podcasting 101
New Media in Education
New Media in Music Promotion
Virtual World Business & Marketing
Social Networking
Delivery, Syndication and Licensing
New Monetization Models
Mobile Content

Podcasts

Reach For a Green Star

Chuck Zimmerman December 5, 2006

At the NAFB convention recently I spent some time in the John Deere booth. Pictured here are Seth Crawford (l), Leigh Ann Cleaver (BCS Communications) and Barry Nelson (r).

I interviewed Seth about John Deere’s new “Reach For The Stars” program they announced in conjunction with the American Soybean Association. This program is designed to provide U.S. soybean growers with opportunities to learn more about precision ag systems. It also has a contest portion in which selected growers will be able to choose from among “15 premium level precision ag systems, each with a suggested retail price of more than $20,000, for the entire 2007 U.S. growing season. After the program ends, qualified participants will be offered an opportunity to purchase the entire system, or just the components they want to own, at a greatly reduced price.”

You can learn more about it in my interview with Seth.

Interview with Seth Crawford: nafb-johndeere-crawford.mp3

Agribusiness, Audio, Equipment, Tractor

I Might Change My Route

Chuck Zimmerman December 5, 2006

I’m a little confused after getting the latest W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Routes of Change newsletter. I thought they were a food company that supported agriculture but now I’m wondering. The Foundation receives most of it’s income from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation Trust which still owns a substantial equity in Kellogg Company.

I guess that whenever you see the word “sustainability” you need to immediately realize that it’s code for whacko food activist stuff. One of the things they say they support in this issue is the Media That Matters Film Festival which so far has such lovely little comedy films as “The Meatrix” and “Profit Cola.” I wouldn’t call them “Good” or supportive of agriculture or livestock production.

Screenings of “Media That Matters: Good Food” and distributions of the DVD of the collection are being organized by Arts Engine with help from partners, says Golding. They are The Food Project, Slow Food U.S.A., Community Food Security Coalition, Food and Society Policy Fellows, Chefs Collaborative, and the Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Food and Society initiative is a supporter of “Media That Matters: Good Food.”

Food

Talk to my iPod

Chuck Zimmerman December 4, 2006

You don’t have to be a farm podcaster to appreciate what the Griffin iTalk Pro lets you do with your Nano or iPod. Finally there’s a tool that lets you easily record onto the iPod.

It has built in microphones or you can plug in an external microphone. This allows you to also plug into a mult-box at a press conference too.

Since it uses the voice memo function of the iPod you can choose two different recording quality levels. It saves the audio as high quality WAV files which can be edited in just about any audio editing software out there.

With a 30GB video iPod you can do a lot of recording! I’m betting we’ll see some of these popping up at farm meetings this winter.

Thanks to Podcasting News for the alert.

Podcasts

Proud of that Poultry

Chuck Zimmerman December 4, 2006

Here’s some big news for all you chicken lovers out there. Pilgrim’s Pride and Gold Kist have agreed to a merger. Now that’s a lot of poultry.

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation and Gold Kist Inc. today announced that the two companies have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Pilgrim’s Pride will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Gold Kist common stock for $21.00 per share in cash. The transaction, which was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both Pilgrim’s Pride and Gold Kist, has a total equity value of approximately $1.1 billion, plus the assumption of approximately $144 million of Gold Kist’s debt.

Together, Pilgrim’s Pride and Gold Kist will create the world’s leading chicken company in terms of production and the third-largest U.S. meat protein company by revenues. The combined company will have a broad geographic reach and customer base, while maintaining a balanced portfolio of fresh chicken and value-added products. In particular, the enhanced geographic diversification will enable the new Pilgrim’s Pride to compete more efficiently both in the U.S. and internationally.

It’s interesting that the top story on the Gold Kist website is one in which the company recommends to stockholders not to accept Pilgrim’s Pride’s offer. I think they need to update that don’t you think? Over on the Pilgrim’s Pride website they already have the release posted.

Agribusiness, Livestock, Poultry

The AgSpeakerers

Chuck Zimmerman December 4, 2006

As I promised last week I’ve got an interview with Steve Hawkins, President of AgSpeak. This new company has been formed as the “first online agricultural market research cooperative.” They plan to attract farmer members who will agree to participate in online surveys and receive a portion of the profits at the end of the year.

Steve says that having farmers fill out surveys online saves them a lot of time and makes the survey process much quicker. They’re seeking farmer members and companies that want to have market research done. The company is based in Des Moines because that’s where other partners in the business are located. They all are involved with The Context Network.

Steve also says that their system will make it very easy for companies to test media messages like advertising using audio, video and images. It sounds like a pretty comprehensive and common sense approach to the difficult task of getting qualified research on people who sometimes seem to be the most researched people in the country.

Download this week’s program: ZimmCast 96 (17 min MP3)

Or listen to this week’s ZimmCast right now:

zimmcast96-12-4-06.mp3

The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired which you can subscribe to using the link in our sidebar. You can also subscribe in iTunes.

Audio, Research, ZimmCast

More Monsanto News

Chuck Zimmerman December 4, 2006

There’s even more news from Monsanto this morning and Landec as well. Actually two stories in one.

Monsanto Company and Landec Corporation announced two separate agreements today, both of which are expected to broaden their reach and product offerings to U.S. farmers. The two agreements are potentially valued at more than $70 million.

In the first transaction, Monsanto’s American Seeds, Inc. (ASI) subsidiary announced that it has acquired Landec’s direct marketing and seed sales company, Fielder’s Choice Direct (FCD), based in Monticello, Ind. The sales price for FCD was $50 million in cash paid at the close on December 1, 2006 with a potential additional earn-out amount of up to $5 million based on FCD results for the twelve months ended May 31, 2007.

In the second transaction, the parties announced that they have entered into a five-year global technology license agreement for Landec’s Intellicoat(R) polymer seed coating technology. Under the five-year agreement, Monsanto will become the exclusive sales and marketing agent for Landec’s Intellicoat seed coating technology in corn, oilseeds and cotton. Monsanto also receives an option to buyout the Intellicoat seed coating technology.

Agribusiness, Seed

Podcast Audience Grows

Chuck Zimmerman December 3, 2006

According to a new report from the PEW Internet and American Life Project the number of people who have downloaded a podcast is growing. Quite quickly it seems to me. This graphic is from eMarketer.com where I saw the report first.

Some 12% of internet users say they have downloaded a podcast so they can listen to it or view it at a later time. This finding compares to the 7% of internet users who reported podcast downloading in our February-April 2006 survey.

According to their February-April survey 20% of American adults own an iPod or other MP3 player and 26% of all internet users.

The report also says that people aren’t downloading podcasts on a regular basis. I’m not sure about the significance of that. I’m a pretty prolific podcast downloader and I don’t do it regularly. I crank up iTunes whenever I think of it and let it download all the latest to my iPod. I just don’t do it on any kind of regular schedule. However, I still get all the episodes I want of the programs I subscribe to.

I just thought you might want to know.

Podcasts

Monsanto News

Chuck Zimmerman December 3, 2006

This picture is of Monsanto Yieldgard Plus corn at a stress plot in Iowa. It helps you visualize the following from their latest release. I like it when companies include images with their releases. A little audio never hurts either!

A moisture utilization study conducted by Monsanto this season has provided a unique look at how YieldGard® Plus Corn roots are able to effectively absorb subsoil moisture under dry conditions. The study involved placement of 60 moisture probes at five different locations across the Corn Belt to compare the root performance of YieldGard Plus plants with YieldGard Corn Borer hybrids protected by soil-applied insecticides. The probes, extending five feet underground, were in place from mid-June through September, providing data every 15 minutes on relative water density at different soil depths. Based on these readings during the growing season, root depth and water absorption could be monitored.

According to Clint Pilcher, Monsanto Corn Technology Development Manager, test results demonstrated that YieldGard Plus hybrids, with in-plant rootworm control, developed longer, healthier roots than soil insecticide-protected corn, which in turn resulted in significantly better moisture uptake. The Monsanto probes were part of a “stress mitigation” study during the 2006 season, demonstrating how YieldGard Plus is able to help reduce the stress of dry weather on corn plants. Most of the moisture probes were placed in Monsanto stress mitigation plots, which were grown under 40-foot by 50-foot tents with a clear vinyl top that allowed the corn plants to receive sunlight but not rain. Under these simulated dry conditions, YieldGard Plus corn hybrids achieved a 31.2 bushel-per-acre yield advantage over soil-insecticide protected corn.
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Agribusiness

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