Here’s the kind of story you don’t see often in a news release. Valent announced yesterday that it has “exited the spray oil business and will no longer market Volck Supreme Spray Oil, Volck Clear or Premium Ag 100.” Usually you get an announcement that a company is now doing something, not withdrawing. Interesting. I applaud them for making an important announcement and using a news release to do so. This is a story and worthy of a release!
This withdrawal will allow Valent to focus on its rapidly expanding new product pipeline and recent new product introductions for the tree fruit and nut markets, including Chateau® Herbicide, Venom™ Insecticide, Zeal™ Miticide, and MaxCel™, Prestige™ and ReTain® plant growth regulators.
Colorado Steaks Are Blazin’
The National Beef Cookoff is over and there’s lots of winners and prizes. The big winner is: Linda Morten, TX with the “BEST OF BEEF” GRAND PRIZE in the GRILLED BEEF CATEGORY with her recipe called “Blazin’ Colorado Steak.” It’s what’s going to be supper in the Zimmerman household this weekend! Instead of going into anymore about the contest and all the winners, etc. I think you just need to add this to your cookbook:
Total preparation and cooking time: 35 minutes
Marinating time: 15 minutes to 2 hours
4 beef shoulder top blade steaks (flat iron) or boneless beef chuck
eye steaks, cut 1 inch thick (about 8 ounces each)
Salt (optional)
Chopped seeded tomato
Cilantro sprigs, lime wedges (optional)
Marinade:
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
Sauce:
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup dairy sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1. Place marinade ingredients in blender container. Cover; purée until smooth. Place beef steaks and
marinade in food-safe plastic bag; turn steaks to coat. Close bag securely and marinate in refrigerator
15 minutes to 2 hours.
2. Remove steaks from marinade; discard marinade. Place steaks on grid over medium, ash-covered
coals. Grill shoulder top blade steaks, covered, 10 to 14 minutes (chuck eye steaks, uncovered, 16 to
20 minutes) for medium rare to medium doneness, turning once. Season with salt, if desired; keep
warm.
3. Meanwhile prepare sauce. Place green chilies in blender container. Cover; purée until smooth.
Combine chilies and cream in heavy small saucepan with heatproof handle. Place on grid over
medium, ash-covered coals; cook until hot, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in sour cream and
cilantro. Cook and stir 1 to 2 minutes or until just heated through. Do not boil.
4. Serve steaks with sauce. Garnish with tomatoes, cilantro sprigs and lime wedges, if desired. Makes 4 servings.
Courtesy Cattlemen’s Beef Board and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
If you want to see who all the winners are then visit the National Beef Cookoff website.
Make Your Website Un-Ugly
This week I’ve been involved in some interesting discussions on website design so I thought I’d pass along a couple links to some interesting information if you’re involved in a web project. Thanks to a link I found on Paul Conley’s blog you can read some very interesting research on a Poynter Institute study called Eyetrack III. This was research about news sites which was done with 46 people. Lots of good stuff in here. This is from Paul’s post called “The Ugly Truth About Ugly Sites.”
Of course you can check out Jakob Nielsen and his Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design.
And I like Steve Krug and his book “Don’t Make Me Think,” which is now in its second edition. This little book won’t take long to read and it all just makes sense.
It’s never easy to put yourself in your visitor’s shoes and see your site from their eyes but resources like these help. Of course you should also consider getting the opinion of other people and not be afraid to hear what they have to say!
Get Your Ticket To Tulare
The World Ag Expo is looking for sponsors and they have a lot of things you can sponsor. Some examples include:
VIP Tent: where exhibitors showcase products or host hospitality events.
Park and Ride: Reach a captive audience through signs and video loops.
Receptions: Host a reception for international visitors or our 1600 exhibiting companies.
Pavilions: Grab your customer’s attention with banners.
International Business Center: Where international visitors conduct new business deals.
The show is in February so I guess now’s the time to make a decision. I’ve never been to the Tulare show. It claims to be the biggest and maybe I’ll have a chance to blog it in ’06? Hint, hint.
Anyway, for more information on sponsoring opportunities, email Stacey or call 559-688-1030.
SEJ Meeting Still Scheduled For Austin
Here’s some folks watching what happens with Hurricane Rita. The Society of Environmental Journalists says they’re still planning on their annual meeting in Austin, TX starting September 28.
In case you’re not familiar with this group their mission is “to advance public understanding of environmental issues by improving the quality, accuracy, and visibility of environmental reporting.”
Checkoff Funded Food Safety Research
This week’s MBIC report from the Missouri Beef Industy Council focuses on some of the food safety research being funded by Missouri beef producer checkoff dollars. Cindy interviews Azlin Mustapha, a food science professor at the University of Missouri.
You can listen to this week’s MBIC Report here: 
The MBIC Report is an AgWired podcast which you can subscribe to using the link in our sidebar or on the newly designed MBIC website.
Win A Holstein Association Jacket
Just last week I told you about this contest being run by the Holstein Association and this week we helped them promote it by sending out a Talking News Release! Here’s your chance to hear Lisa Perrin. She did a good job don’t you think?
BRATTLEBORO, Vt., September 21, 2005— World Dairy Expo 2005 is just around the corner and Holstein Association USA, Inc. is inviting everyone who attends the expo to stop by their booth and meet the “Holstein Association Member of the Day” and get a free copy of the 2006 Holstein Association calendar.
Holstein Association Communications Manager, Lisa Perrin says they are excited to be featuring their own members as part of the exhibit this year to tell their own stories. Full Release
New Sponsor For World Dairy Diary
In just over a week I’ll be living out of a little room at the Coliseum in the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, WI blogging World Dairy Expo. I’ll bring you some of it here but I’ll mainly be blogging it on World Dairy Diary, a ZimmComm blog and the “Official blog of the World Dairy Expo!”
In case you haven’t looked at it lately, World Dairy Diary got a facelift a couple weeks ago and I’d love to know what you think.
I also want to welcome the newest sponsor of World Dairy Diary, Qualisoy. Qualisoy joins Holstein Association USA, Inc. and The Callicrate Bander as blog sponsors. They have entered this brave new world and are making this first ever farmshow blog possible. Thank you sponsors!!
CEO Selected For USSEC
Dan Duran has been hired as the CEO of the U. S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC), the joint venture of the United Soybean Board and American Soybean Association. I don’t guess they have a logo or website yet, at least not that I can find.
According to today’s release, Dan comes to the USSEC from “Galahad International, an sales and marketing company based in Baton Rouge, La., that specializes in building global dairy markets. Prior to Galahad, Duran spent 16 years with Wells Dairy, the largest family owned and operated dairy processor in the United States. During his tenure with Wells, he initiated the first sales to Mexico, eventually growing the dairy’s international customer base to more than 30 countries, the majority in developing markets.”
Welcome to St. Louis Dan.
Audio Invites From NAFB
The National Association of Farm Broadcasters is gettin’ jiggy with their 2005 Annual Meeting invites! I just got my second one via email and like the other one, it contains audio. Imagine a mostly radio group using audio. Maybe that new E-D has got some new ideas?
If you’ve ever been to the Westin Crown Plaza in KC, MO then you might have had this guy open your door and welcome you. Thanks to the NAFB office you can “hear” him invite you to their annual meeting. Listen to Tall Paul here:
Baxter Black doesn’t own a cell phone or television. He gets his information like all REAL cowboys do – from his local Farm Broadcaster! Come see the man described by the New York Times as “…probably the nation’s most successful living poet.” He thinks it’s an exaggeration, you be the judge. You can listen to Baxter here:
The NAFB Convention will be November 9-11, 2005 at the Kansas City, Missouri, Westin Crown Center.
Logon to www.nafb.com to register and reserve your room. Or you may call 816-431-4032 to request a registration form. Be sure to register before October 7th when rates increase!