Bunge Leaders

Chuck Zimmerman

BungeHere’s the latest announcements on the new Bunge leadership team.

Bunge North America, the North America operating arm of Bunge Limited , announced it has promoted five people as part of a company reorganization. Todd Bastean becomes general manager of the newly created Bunge Biofuels unit; Greg Bechtel is named general manager of Bunge Oilseed Processing; Rodney Perry becomes general manager of Bunge Milling; Bailey Ragan is named general manager of Bunge Grain; and Mike Snow is promoted to manager of the newly created industrial management department.

These promotions follow the announcement last month that Bunge North America created three executive vice president positions that were filled by Tim Gallagher, Larry Clarke and Fred Luckey.

“The goal of the reorganization is to ensure that our structure will support our growth plans,” said Carl Hausmann, president and CEO, Bunge North America. “While the executive vice presidents will work closely together to identify and pursue growth opportunities across the value chain, Todd, Greg, Rodney, Bailey and Mike will concentrate their efforts on maximizing the potential in each of their areas of responsibility.”

Agribusiness

Zimfo Turkey Bites

Chuck Zimmerman

In the spirit of Thanksgiving which is almost upon us I thought you might want some news on the big day. There’s no shortage of it and I’ve been saving up some for you. American Farm Bureau says that a turkey meal is still affordable.

  • Whether it be surfing the Web or dialing a toll-free phone number, California consumers will have plenty of help this holiday season in preparing the perfect Thanksgiving meal. The California Poultry Federation offers a convenient one-stop location on its website www.cpif.org for those consumers looking for timely tips on preparing the perfect holiday meal. The USDA Meat and Poultry hotline 1-800-535-4555 is available Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. “Our website offers us the ability to provide turkey preparation information to consumers 24-hours-a-day,” noted CPF President Bill Mattos. “With time such a short commodity these days, we hope this site helps consumers access the information they need quickly and efficiently.”
  • Scribner’s newest addition to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists is none other than the 75th anniversary edition of JOY OF COOKING. America’s favorite cookbook is completely updated and revised to restore the book’s traditional tone, content and clarity, and it is the perfect cookbook to dirty up on your countertop this Thanksgiving. Where to begin? How about a traditional Thanksgiving with recipes like Stuffed Fresh Vegetables (peppers, squash, onion, etc.), Pumpkin Soup (use canned or fresh pumpkin), Roast Turkey with Bread Stuffing with Giblets, Candied Sweet Potatoes (with ginger and lemon), Molded Cranberry Salad, Green Beans with Slivered Almonds, Parker House Rolls, and Sweet Potato (or Pumpkin) Pie? Watch the turkey carving video.
  • Godiva Chocolatier launches their new, limited edition American Pies G Collection taking the flavors of America’s most loved pies and transforming them into artistic, culinary couture, just in time for the Thanksgiving holidays. A twist on classic American desserts, the new collection of eight popular pie flavors was created by world-renowned pastry chef, Norman Love. Each chocolate pie piece is air-brushed by hand and embodies the fusion of art and chocolate. The collection is presented in a pie-shaped, apple-green box with a rich brown trim. Listen to Chef Love Soundbite.
  • America’s Test Kitchen knows that you are always pressed for time. Is there a way to cut down on the last-minute mad dash to the supermarket? Is it possible to prepare holiday meals well in advance? Yes! Check out http://www.turkeyhelp.com/, which includes the helpful, timesaving feature “A Cook’s Illustrated Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Menu.”

Read More

Zimfo Bytes

Get Maryland’s Best

Chuck Zimmerman

Maryland's BestMaryland’s Best program has a new website. It’s got sections for the consumer and the wholesale buyer.

In the consumer section it says:

The BEST is no longer yet to come in Maryland. With MARYLAND’S BEST, its here.

Like most people, you want to eat food products that are the freshest, tastiest, and most nutritious for you and your family. You want to purchase plants, flowers, and trees that are as healthy as they are attractive. Above all, you want to know that every agricultural product you buy was grown or processed using methods that preserve and protect the environment—not only for today, but also for generations tomorrow.

LOOK FOR MARYLAND’S BEST HERE…THERE…AND EVERYWHERE!

I don’t think I’ve seen the site before. I did a little looking around on it and like a lot of websites it really needs some updating. However, it looks nice and the search functions are what really make it valuable.

Uncategorized

New American Angus Leaders

Chuck Zimmerman

American Angus New LeadersHere’s a picture of the new leadership of the American Angus Association. I don’t know who’s who though. A fine looking bunch don’t you think?

Jot Hartley, Vinita, Okla., was elected president of the American Angus Association at the group’s 123rd annual convention of delegates, November 13 in Louisville, Ky. He follows Ben Eggers, Mexico, Mo. More than 350 delegates who were elected to represent American Angus Association members from more than 40 states conducted the business of the Association during the annual meeting and election. The meeting was at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center in conjunction with the North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE) Super Point Roll of Victory (ROV) Angus Show.

Paul Hill, Bidwell, Ohio, was chosen by the delegates to serve as vice president of the Association, and five individuals were elected to the Association’s board of directors. Jay King, Rock Falls, Ill., will serve as treasurer for the year.

Ag Groups

Mid Missouri Ag Club Website

Chuck Zimmerman

Mid Missouri Ag ClubCindy and I finished our turn voluntarily running the Mid Missouri Ag Club this past summer and it’s in new hands.

These folks have put some more effort into it and now it has a website!

So if you’re in the area and want a good lunch and presentation on mid Missouri agriculture check out the meeting schedule and stop on by.

Ag Groups

That’s a lot of Soybeans

Chuck Zimmerman

Kip and DaleHere’s Kip and Dale (Kip Cullers and Dale Ludwig – l-r). I have to post this since Haley Wansing sent a picture and I’ve received about a half a dozen news releases on it. You see, Kip has a world soybean production record. He farms in Purdy, MO. If you read this segment from MSA’s news release you can figure out where the other news releases came from.

Averaging 139.39 bushels per acre, Cullers is the winner of the conventional category of the 2006 Missouri Soybean Association (MSA) yield contest. He accomplished this by planting Pioneer soybean variety 94M80 on an irrigated and conventionally-tilled field. “The exciting thing about this world record is that it points out how the yield capacity for soybeans is dramatically higher than most people believe,” said Dale R. Ludwig, MSA executive director/CEO. “Therefore, this causes us to pay greater attention to capturing higher yields by focusing on every aspect of production management.”

Cullers utilized BASF Headline fungicide and Syngenta Warrior insecticide on his soybeans during the growing season as instructed on the product labels. The record-setting yield was harvested Oct. 7, 2006. Cullers’ weigh check was witnessed and verified by a third-party, MSA-approved official. The award-winning crop was grown in a sandy loam soil in Newton County near Stark City, Mo. The seed populations used on the field were close to 300,000 with about 245,000 plants in the final stand. The soybean plants averaged approximately 120 pods per plant.

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Soybean

Starting Display Advertising

Chuck Zimmerman

You may have noticed today that we started display advertising on AgWired. I’d like to thank and welcome the Evan Slack Network and Commodity Update for being the first two advertisers. You’ll find them rotating in the left sidebar. There’s also a posting column ad for AgNewsWire.AgWired.com and a right sidebar ad for NAMA.

Positions are open and I’m getting a lot of interest and have more sold starting in 2007. So give me a call if you’d like to create a little brand awareness in the agricultural marketing community.

Advertising

Live News On RFD-TV

Chuck Zimmerman

Mike MillerMy goodness, this is like deja vu. Mike Miller will be anchoring agricultural news on RFD-TV starting in January. I haven’t seen Mike in many years but was thrilled to run into him in Kansas City last week. Mike’s always been a good friend.

In fact, Mike talked me into working with him on an agricultural tv venture in Houston, Texas many moons ago. (Remember that Mike?) I stayed at his house and we commuted in to the studios each day. Oh my gosh does that bring back memories. That was before I joined Learfield Communications and the Brownfield Network and moved to Jefferson City, MO.

I’ve been following the development of RFD-TV with a lot of personal interest and am very happy to see it progressing. Adding a regular schedule of live daily news is a big step and I wish them all the luck in the world.

Daily broadcasts and hourly updates will begin on January 6, and will be produced in RFD-TV’s Nashville studios. Veteran rural newscaster Mike Miller will anchor the broadcasts, and will also assume the role of news director for this major programming expansion on the nation’s popular rural television network. Rural News Updates, Ag Weather Updates, and Market Minutes will be produced separately and rotated at :28 & :58 past each hour. Featured will be news from Washington D.C. and the USDA, current weather radar along with short-term and long-range forecasts, plus cash and future market coverage and analysis from Chicago and other commodity exchanges from around the major producing areas of the world.

“With independent research now confirming that at least 60% of all farmers and over 80% of all ranchers actually watching RFD-TV, we believe that this high-profile programming will attract strong sponsorship support from the agricultural community,” added Mike Hansen, Director of National Sales and Marketing.

Media

Finding The Good News In Iraq

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast94 - Ag News From IraqHopefully you’re familiar with Paul McKellips and his reports on the good news of what’s happening in Iraq, especially as it relates to agriculture. If not, then I suggest you listen to this week’s ZimmCast to hear from the man himself.

I was very happy to get to meet Paul in Kansas City last week and we sat down for a conversation that I thought you might like to listen in on. Paul is on a leave until after the first of the year and then he’s going back to Iraq. If all you see and hear is what’s on the main news outlets you might think what we’re doing there is all doom and gloom and failure. That’s just not the case but what can you do with the kind of biased traditional media we have today?

Paul McKellipsWhat you do if you’re the Department of Agriculture or Department of State, is send in Paul and his equipment to go behind the scenes and try to show the positive side of what our men and women are doing in this country. Paul wears a flack jacket when he’s on assignment but as he says in this interview, when he’s with our military in Iraq he feels safer than being alone on the streets of our nation’s capitol.

Paul talks about what he does on assignment and what he thinks are the biggest success stories in Iraq agriculture that our military has had a hand in. He says that many of our service men and women are working on ag projects but don’t have ag backgrounds. But they’re still getting the job done.

When Paul starts cranking out the reports again in 2007 you can count on finding them posted here on AgWired. Paul says that my posts have gotten noticed by the top military leaders too and even the White House. paul-mckellips.mp3

Wouldn’t it be cool if “W” was subscribed to the ZimmCast on his iPod?

Download this week’s program: Listen To ZimmCastZimmCast 94 (15 min MP3)

Or listen to this week’s ZimmCast right now:

zimmcast94-11-20-06.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, International, USDA, ZimmCast

Farm Blog & Podcast Listing

Chuck Zimmerman

I’m slowly but surely working on my listing pages here on AgWired and thought I’d solicit your help. Let’s start with the Blogs & Podcasts page.

If you have an ag-related blog or podcast or know of one that’s not listed can you email me a link/description to it? I’d appreciate it. I’d like this to be a constantly updated listing. I’m off to a good start but I know there’s a lot more out there.

The same holds true with my pages for Agencies, Media and Companies & Ag Groups. I’d like them to be lists of website links and haven’t finished them yet. This way you’ll have a quick resource page to find a web link when you need one.

Thanks for your assistance. If you’ll get me your links I promise to have these pages updated by the end of the week.

Uncategorized