Adventures of Moopheus and Leo

Chuck Zimmerman

Meatrix IIIf you’re in the dairy business and have seen The Matrix then I hope you’ve got a sense of humor. This is funny. Actually it’s really a sad waste of misguided talent. It’s a Matrix film spoof to blast corporate farming called The Meatrix II. I never heard of it before but the group doing this claims the first one’s been downloaded over 10 million times and they’ve won awards for it. They are short animated movies.

They even have a blog about it which you can find here. The whole thing is a project of the Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE).

Now if you want the truth about corporate dairy farming you might want to visit this website.

Dairy, Video

Ag Podcast Two-fer

Chuck Zimmerman

First, Truth About Trade has a podcast series going. I guess we didn’t get the release but they’ve got about 13 episodes done it looks like. I just subscribed and will listen while I’m on the road tomorrow.

Second, the latest installment of Monsanto’s “Conversations About Plant Biotechnology” is out, featuring Klaus Ammann, former director of the Botanical Garden and an Honorary Professor Emeritus at the University of Berne, Switzerland. This is in a video podcast series that I just subscribed to. Works beautifully and looks great on my iPod.

Agribusiness, Podcasts

Search Engine For Agriculture

Chuck Zimmerman

AgWeb SearchI really like the explosion of web apps we’re seeing in agriculture today. Farm Journal Media just announced their AgWeb Search engine and I tried it out right away.

I searched for “agwired” and sure enough we were there. Then I searched for “podcast” and found some I didn’t even know about. Why don’t people tell us these things. I’ll put it in the next post.

I’m not sure I can give up Google though. But I can see how you might want it if all you’re looking for is ag-related search results.

Now, there’ s a Search Engine just for Agriculture…and your farm. AgWeb Search is simple. Just type in a specific word or phrase and AgWeb Search does the rest. We’ve indexed thousands of agricultural websites to deliver the specific information you want and need for your farming operations.

AgWeb Search is different. We only deliver information relevant to agriculture . From crop or livestock production to machinery and technology, we search for the information that best matches your needs. There are millions of pages on the web on just about any topic , we just deliver ag results to you.

Internet, Publication

New Design For Domestic Fuel

Chuck Zimmerman

Domestic FuelThis past weekend we unveiled the new skin for Domestic Fuel, our alternative fuels website. Check it out. We’d love to know what you think. We switched to a 3-column blog format to allow us more opportunities for advertising and promotions and to make navigation easier.

Like AgWired, the site has been upgraded to the newest version of WordPress. We like to keep up don’t you know. The biggest story we’ve ever covered on Domestic Fuel happened this weekend too with the tragedy in Homestead, FL at the Indy car race.

If you or your organization have an interest in biofuels like ethanol or biodiesel I hope you’ll make Domestic Fuel a regular pit stop.

Ethanol

ZimmComm Blog Network Review

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast62 - Interview With Paul DanaYou can get a ZimmComm blog network update on this week’s ZimmCast. I review some of the highlights of the past week on AgWired, Domestic Fuel and World Dairy Diary.

To begin with though I had to include the interview I did with Paul Dana on Saturday before Sunday’s tragic accident at the Toyota Indy 300 since it was apparently the last media interview Paul did. I include it to honor him and show the energy he radiated when talking about racing and ethanol. The ethanol industry and all of us who support it will truly miss the driver of the #17 Ethanol car.

You can listen to this week’s program here: Listent To ZimmCast ZimmCast 62 (13 min 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, Ethanol, Podcasts, ZimmCast

Chicken and the Mass Media

Chuck Zimmerman

Harry SiemensThe Avian Flu crisis is a big wild card in the pricing of all meats says Jim Long, Pork Commentator. Much of the major mediums are giving it lots of attention. Time Magazine, USA Today, etc, are intensely discussing the challenges of Avian Flu.

In marketing theory at least, the perception is repetition of a message creates an impression and retention. The media, the chicken and health sectors keep repeating the chicken and Avian Flu message many times. “People dying and the fear of a pandemic are not a message you want to put out there to create demand,” says Long, Vice President Genesus Genetics. In parts of Europe and Asia, reports suggest chicken consumption has dropped 20 percent. French government officials are resorting to eating chicken on television to promote its safety. Eating chicken in France is a patriotic gesture. Read More

International

Sad Day For Ethanol Industry

Chuck Zimmerman

Rather than update the previous post announcement on this I thought I’d just copy the post from Domestic Fuel:

Rahal-Letterman RacingToday the Rahal-Letterman Racing team suffered a serious blow when the #17 Ethanol car was in a pre-race warmup accident and driver and ethanol champion Paul Dana died from the injuries he suffered. “It is a black day for us, and on behalf of Rahal Letterman Racing, our sponsors and associates, our prayers and sympathy go out to the entire Dana family,” said team co-owner Bobby Rahal, the 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner. “This is a great tragedy. As a result, and in honor of Paul, we will not run the team’s No. 15 (with driver Buddy Rice, the 2004 Indy 500 winner) and No. 16 (with driver Danica Patrick, the 2005 Indy 500 and IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year) cars in today’s event.”

“Paul was a very special guy,” said David Vander Griend, president and CEO of ICM, a primary sponsor on the Team Ethanol car. “He demonstrated his belief in what ethanol can do for all of America through his racing. He helped us with so many things in bringing ethanol to the IndyCar Series. He will be missed tremendously. Our thoughts are with his family today.”

EPICDomestic Fuel sponsor and Ethanol Car sponsor, Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) has released a statement. You can read the full release from EPIC here (Word doc).

I also spoke with EPIC Executive Director, Tom Slunecka a few minutes ago. He is obviously still in shock over the tragedy after spending some time with Paul during the last couple days and being onsite when the accident occurred. On behalf of the EPIC staff, board and members, Tom offers his condolences to the Dana family, his friends and teammates. You can listen to Tom’s statement here: Listen to MP3 EPIC Statement (1 min MP3)

Audio, Ethanol

Race Day Tragedy In Homestead

Chuck Zimmerman

HomesteadHere’s a post I wish I didn’t have to write.  Actually I was on my way home to link you to the posts we did yesterday about the big opening race of the Indy Racing League in Homestead, FL.  That’s because it’s the first race in which all the cars will be running on a blend of ethanol and one of our clients is the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC).  However, tragedy struck today prior to the race. 

I found out just before the race started that Paul Dana, driver of the #17 Ethanol car for Rahal-Letterman Racing has died from injuries he suffered in a pre-race warmup crash.  This is an absolute shock since I had just interviewed Paul yesterday afternoon.  You can read the story on the Indy Racing League website here.

I will be speaking with Tom Slunecka, Executive Director of EPIC shortly and will post his statement.  EPIC is a sponsor of the car that Paul Dana was driving.

Cindy and I offer our prayers for Paul, his family, the Rahal-Letterman team, EPIC and all the people affected by this tragedy.  I had the honor to meet Paul and interview him several times over the last year.  He is a hero in my eyes.  You won’t find a better role model for what you can achieve if you work hard and stay focused.  He was an untiring champion of ethanol and I can’t imagine at the moment what we’ll do without him.

I’ll have more information to post soon.

Ethanol