The Elegant Pork

Chuck Zimmerman

Taste of Elegance WinnerI am seriously amazed that I’ve been blogging on this business for more than a year now. I get reminders, like when I go to save an image and see last year’s in the folder. Like this story. And now we have a new winner this year:

Klaus Happel, executive chef at the Renaissance Scottsdale Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz., won top honors in the 17th annual national Taste of Elegance contest May 1 in Orlando, Fla. The competition, sponsored by the Pork Checkoff, featured 22 chefs, all winners of state and regional Taste of Elegance contests. Chef Happel earned Chef Par Excellence honors with his winning entrée of Braised Pork Shank Medallion Wrapped in Savoy Cabbage and a check for $5,000. Klaus is pictured with President Donita Rodibaugh and President Elect Wayne Peugh.

Other chefs that received honors at the contest include Ron Bohnert of the Stoneridge Golf Club in Stillwater, Minn. who earned the Superior Chef Award and $2,000 with his Trilogy of Pork and Dominic Rivera of ARAMARK in Moline, Ill., who earned the Premium Chef Award and $1,000 with his Sassa Frass Braised Pork Shoulder with Peaches, Goat Cheese & Watercress.

The other five finalists in the 2006 National Taste of Elegance contest were:
Paul M. Evans, Jr. of the Renaissance Golf Club in Sun City Center, Fla.; Steven J. Oakley of Oakley’s Bistro in Indianapolis, Ind.; Matt Wolff of Innovative Gourmet in Owings Mills, Md.; Jake Robinson of St. Joseph Hospital in Ann Arbor, Mich. and Kevin Storm of Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, Mo.

Hey, Pork Checkoff people. I’m still interested in judging

Ag Groups, Food, Pork

Mosaic Re-structuring Phosphate Business

Chuck Zimmerman

MosaicThe Mosaic Company is doing some re-structuring which includes closing several Florida phosphate fertilizer production plants and mines. It looks like that will mean less jobs but they’ll still have about 3,000 employees just in Florida. The company expects this to help the bottom line of course and keep them competitive in their pricing.

Mosaic expects the indefinite closures will result in the elimination of over 700 jobs. “These decisions were not easy because they impact many of our colleagues who have put forward their best effort, and whose skills will undoubtedly continue to benefit employers and communities in central Florida. We are very grateful for the contributions each has made to our phosphate organization,” Corrigan said. “At the same time, however, we are establishing a stronger foundation for Mosaic’s future and improved long-term opportunities for the approximately 3,000 remaining Florida employees who will be working to see Mosaic realize its full potential in the years ahead.”

Mosaic will continue to own the affected facilities and will work with appropriate regulatory agencies to comply with the requirements of any applicable laws and regulations which relate to its phosphate restructuring activities. Employees affected by Mosaic’s restructuring will be eligible for benefits under applicable Mosaic policies, contractual commitments and federal law.

You can read more about the whole deal here, including lots of information about their production capabilities.

Agribusiness

The AdFarm Red Truck Team

Chuck Zimmerman

AdFarm Red Truck TeamIn case you missed it at the NAMA Conference, AdFarm had their red pickup truck on display. Here’s why:

The shiny, red 1949 Ford pickup that visited the 2006 Agri-Marketing Conference from AdFarm symbolizes the agency’s effort to “drive deeper” into the heart and soul of agriculture on behalf of its clients. AdFarmers (pictured) and the folks who attended the Agri-Marketing Conference experienced the agency’s commitment to “Agness” and “Adness” by posing for photos in, on and around the AdFarm truck.

AdFarmers in the truck, left to right: Cathy Fuhrman, Roger Reierson, Sarah Gronberg, Bob Wilhelm, Amy Bugg, Scott Kurfman. AdFarmers in front of the truck, left to right: Sheridyn Lukasik, Sherri Cooper, Kelly Cannon, Dileep Sharma.

Agencies, NAMA

Support The AAEA PIF

Chuck Zimmerman

American Agricultural Editors Association The American Agricultural Editors Association has a Professional Improvement Foundation that provides guidelines and training activities for AAEA members.

One example of how they support members is by picking a couple of members to receive a stipend to assist with expenses in attending the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Congress each year. I received one of those last year.

They’ve got a fundraising push on to collect funds to assist with their activities. If you would like to support the AAEA PIF, you can download this reply card now (Word doc).

ACN

Greg Vincent Joins R&K

Chuck Zimmerman

Greg VincentIf you’re going to hire someone to do public relations work it’s nice if they’ve got some experience in the shoes of the people they’ll be working with on the editorial side of things. That’s what Rhea & Kaiser Marketing Communications has done in hiring Gregory Vincent as senior account supervisor, leading the Bayer CropScience corn and soybean team.

Vincent brings more than 10 years of agency and publishing experience to the position, including marketing and public relations responsibilities in both agriculture and business management. Prior to joining Rhea & Kaiser, he was associate publisher and editor of Lenexa, Kan.-based Vance Publishing Corp., where he most recently managed all editorial aspects for AgProfessional and Dealer & Applicator magazines targeted at crop protection and fertilizer retailers.

He is based in the Kansas City, Mo., area.

Agencies

Webby Award Nominees Are Aggy

Chuck Zimmerman

BPFAAPerhaps you’ve heard of the Boneless Pig Farmers Association. Perhaps not. However, their website has been nominated for a Webby Award in the Weird category. I can’t imagine why. You’ll have to visit their site to understand. Hint: It’s all about McDonalds.

Some other ag-related websites have been nominated. In the Association category nominations include:

Cotton, Inc’s – Team Cotton and EPIC’s driving ethanol

If you want to help them out feel free to vote in the People’s Choice awards by May 5.

Internet

Hall of Fame Cows

Chuck Zimmerman

Eat Mor ChikinNo doubt you’ve seen these cows on a billboard somewhere. They are now hall of famers.

After more than a decade of using renegade antics to push their pro-chicken messages, Chick-fil-A’s “Eat Mor Chikin®” Cows have been inducted into outdoor advertising’s hall of fame. The Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) recognized Chick-fil-A and its renegade Cows with the organization’s OBIE Hall of Fame Award during a gala held earlier this week in Palm Springs, Calif.

Created by Dallas-based ad agency The Richards Group, the “Eat Mor Chikin” campaign was first introduced in 1995 as a three-dimensional billboard concept depicting a black-and-white cow sitting atop the back of another cow painting the words “Eat Mor Chikin” on the billboard. To everyone’s surprise, the Cows’ clever self-preservation message would be the beginning of a campaign still running strong more than 10 years later.

Food

Students Helping Blog Clean Cities

Chuck Zimmerman

Clean Cities Congress & ExpoThe Clean Cities Congress & Expo is coming up starting this weekend in Phoenix, AZ. I’ll be blogging it on Domestic Fuel but not alone. I’ll have help! Once again – student bloggers. They will bring a fresh and interesting perspective to our coverage of the event. This is similar to my coverage of Commodity Classic with Margy & Mary. You see how a good idea catches on? I’m sure we’ll have some good content for AgWired too. So, let me introduce them to you.

Peter WestFirst of all let’s meet Peter West. According to Peter’s bio he sent me: Peter West grew up in a log cabin at the top of a cliff in Colorado. Though the mountains were an amazing place to be, he left them for city life on the East Coast. Currently he is a marketing major at Emerson College in downtown Boston. Welcome to the blogosphere Peter. I’m really looking forward to meeting you and working with you.

Lauren CiemnakAnd our next student blogger is Lauren Ciemniak. I am a straight A student with a 4.0 GPA. I received the outstanding citizen of the year award. I plan to major in journalism in college. I have been dancing for 13 years and I love to travel! Welcome to you too Lauren.

They’ll be writing on Domestic Fuel by the end of the week and start out providing their expectations for this experience. After we get together in Phoenix we’ll work out who will cover what. So stay tuned.

Alternative Fuel Vehicle InstituteDomestic Fuel coverageSouthern California Gas Company
of the Clean Cities Congress is made possible by these sponsors.

Biodiesel, Ethanol

Them Hogs, Them Hogs, Them Lean Hogs

Chuck Zimmerman

CME40 years of lean hog futures. That’s the CME celebration this month. They’ve been hedging a lot of hogs for producers over the years.

An important indicator of grocery store prices for items such as pork chops, ribs and pork loin, annual contract volume has grown from just over 8,000 contracts since its launch in 1966 to more than two million contracts in 2005. The CME lean hog contract has evolved since its inception from a contract of physically delivered live hogs into a cash settlement-only contract of lean hog carcasses, which makes this a more viable hedging tool for international producers and pork importers and/or exporters.

Agribusiness