Mom and I

Kelcy August 30, 2006

Today, my mother was able to attend the Farm Progress Show and she got to see a little bit of the blogging process I do everyday.

I know this whole Farm Progress Show thing isn’t my mom’s style but I know she enjoyed going around with me, looking for blogging opportunities. We walked around the whole grounds, went through the Varied Industries Tent and other various locations.

It was nice to get to spend the day with my mother… and it also gave me somebody to talk to as I walked around all day. My mom didn’t want to do an interview at all but finally Chuck and I convinced her to talk to us. The following clip is of me talking with my mom and what she thinks about me here at the Farm Progress Show

Listen to Deena Schroder here: Deena Schroder (1 min. MP3)

Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Monsanto:

Audio, Farm Progress Show

Corn Combustion

Kelcy August 30, 2006

Corn has many uses, as well all know but a new up and growing industry is the corn burning stoves. My grandparents have one, and I know of a few others and they are very economical, energy sufficient, and effective.

There are a few corn burning stove companies at the Farm Progress Show but the one I had a chance to glance at was Bixby Corn Stoves. I had the opportunity to talk to Dave Pudenz, the store owner about the stoves. Bixby offers many advantages to their stoves: they are automatic starting so no wood pellets are necessary, push button adjustment of heat levels, bins hold up to 106 pounds of corn, and it has a self-cleaner fire pot.

As the rising costs of heat keep going up, buying a corn stove is very economical. It pays itself off in just a matter of a few years. The Bixby Corn Stoves have a combustion efficiency of 99.7% so the consumers are getting more heat for their money!

When I first heard of corn stoves coming out, I though about the smell they would put off and the appearance of them in a house… (maybe that’s just a girl thing) The corn stoves do not put off an odor, near as I can tell and they have become quit decorative pieces for houses. They do take up some space but they are beautiful and are available in many different colors.

Listen to Dave Pudenz here: Dave Pudenz (1 min. MP3)

Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Monsanto:

Audio, Corn, Farm Progress Show

John Deere Walk Through

Chuck Zimmerman August 30, 2006

I finally had a chance to walk around a little today. One of the first exhibits I wandered through was John Deere.

I pulled out my little Wal Mart special video recorder and took this pic and the video coming up.

This is right at lunch time and the video starts at their STS Bullet Rotor display.

Here’s the video: John Deere Walk Through (2 min WMV)

Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Monsanto:

Farm Progress Show, Tractor, Video

Photo Contest and Rural Development

Chuck Zimmerman August 30, 2006

Our USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development, Thomas Dorr was on hand here at the Farm Progress Show.

While I was interviewing him I could see cameramen taking pictures of us. So, I obtained their photos so you can compare them and vote on which one you like best. This first one is taken by Mike Wilson, Farm Futures.

The other photographer on the scene was John Herath, AgriTalk. He took this next one. Use the comment feature to post your vote!

Both of them were shooting with Nikons, my personal favorite. I have my new Nikon D200 with me and I’m still learning how to use it.

Enough about pictures. In my interview with Sec. Dorr we talked about renewable energy. I asked him to talk about the upcoming “Advancing Renewable Energy: An American Rural Renaissance” conference that USDA is conducing with the Dept. of Energy in St. Louis, Oct. 10-12. He lists the speakers that are confirmed and then talks about the latest USDA announcement on grants and loan guarantees from the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency program.

You can listen to my interview with Sec. Dorr here: Secretary Dorr Interview (5 min MP3)

Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Monsanto:

Audio, Farm Progress Show, USDA

Ag Secretary Visits Farm Progress Show

Chuck Zimmerman August 30, 2006

Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Johanns toured the Farm Progress Show today.

Afterward he met with the press. He basically summarized the action the administration is taking to help drought-stricken farmers and then talked about renewable energy and energy efficiency funding.

You can listen to Sec. Johanns here: Secretary Johanns Remarks (4 min MP3)

Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Monsanto:

Audio, Farm Progress Show, USDA

Student Blogger Mom

Chuck Zimmerman August 30, 2006

Kelcy’s Mom (left) showed up today to see her daughter blogger in action.

In this picture they’re sitting in on the press conference with U. S. Secretary of Ag, Mike Johanns.

Deena Schroder brought us brownies with creme de menthe frosting. I don’t think I need anything else today. They are good. You’re going to get to hear from Kelcy’s Mom later when she posts the interview she did with her before they headed out to the corn combine demonstrations.

Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Monsanto:

Farm Progress Show

Vistive News

Kelcy August 30, 2006

Second Press Conference was held today at 9:30a, talking about Vistive with Monsanto!

Vistive is a low-linolenic soybean the is used for oils in food. Vistive soybeans contain three percent low-linolenic iol compared to eight percent for conventional soybeans. Many cooking oils are using low-linolenic oil because of the trans fat issue. In January 2006, all food products have to be labeled on how much trans fat there is in the product. Vistive is gaining a larger portion of the markets everyday. The speakers for the press conference were Kurt Wickstrom and John Hoffman, First Vice President of the American Soybean Association.

Monsanto have held the rights of Vistive to be only available exclusively to North American farmers for as long as they can support global demand- which farmers have this year and it is looking like they will next year too. New news effecting the Farm Progress Show directly is that all the oil used for cooking at all the vendor stands, are using Vistive Soybean Oil! If any of you are coming to the Farm Progress Show, you can look forward to eating some Vistive oil yourself!

I have two sound clips for the press conference: the first one is of John Hoffman talking about the amount of farmers using Vistive right now and the outlook for the future and the second one is of Kurt Wickstrom talking about the importance of Vistive soybeans.

Listen to John Hoffman here: John Hoffman (1 min. MP3)

Listen to Kurt Wickstom here: Kurt Wickstrom (1 min. MP3)

Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Monsanto:

Audio, Farm Progress Show

Celebrating 70 Years

Kelcy August 30, 2006

During the Farm Progress Show, Monsanto’s seed partner, DeKalb is celebrating their 70th year anniversary.

DeKalb had been around since 1936! The picture is of the one of the advertisements DeKalb has done a long time ago. The picture has been very prominent for many of years and is well-known. As you can see in the ad, the logo is of an ear of corn flying out of the field. The winged ear represents a farmer lifting his mortgage.

What a great way to celebrate 70 years of accomplishment and achievement with DeKalb, than here at the Farm Progress Show.

Listen to my interview with Jason Hoag here: Interview with Jason Hoag (2 min. MP3)

Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Monsanto:

Audio, Farm Progress Show

Dairy Looking Good

Kelcy August 30, 2006

Monsanto is not only working with corn and soybeans, but also working with dairy farmers.

Dairy farms keep growing in size and instead of always hearing about farmers trying to get the largest yield out of fields, the same happens for dairy farmers. Sometimes, trying to make cows produce large amounts of milk can be challenging and Monsanto is taking great efforts to accommodate those conditions. They have produced RoundUp Ready Alfalfa, which makes the alfalfa pure and weed free.

There have been substantial increases in milk production due to the types of alfalfa fed to the cows causing a high demand in RoundUp Ready Alfalfa. The outlook for next year is looking good; RoundUp Ready Alfalfa may be hard to get to if it is not purchased early!

Listen to my interview with Chris Peterson here: Interview with Chris Peterson (2 min. MP3)

Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Monsanto:

Dairy, Farm Progress Show

Announcing Treus

Chuck Zimmerman August 30, 2006

One of the big announcements here at the show on opening day was from Bunge and Dupont who have a biotech alliance. Basically they’ve created a new brand, “Treus.” This is being done to “reflect their expansion of the companies’ soy collaboration beyond food and nutrition products to include industrial applications, biofuels and other opportunities.”

Low linolenic soybean oil produced from Pioneer® brand soybean varieties, and previously marketed as NUTRIUM Low Linolenic Soybean Oil, will now be marketed as TREUS™ Low Linolenic Soybean Oil.

I interviewed Troy Hobbs, Business Manager, Bunge/Dupont Biotech Alliance. He describes the changes in more detail and what this means for producers. Troy is pictured on the left of the Treus sign. On the right is Jason Klootwyk, Bunge, Asst. Commercial Manager, Grain Division.

You can listen to my interview with Troy here: Troy Hobbs Interview (3 min MP3) Note: I wasn’t using my regular recorder but the audio is acceptable.

Full Release

Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Monsanto:

Audio, Biotech, Farm Progress Show

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