Ag Week Grassroots Support By D&PL

Chuck Zimmerman

D&PL Ag Week CardWith National Ag Week coming up D&PL decided to create a grassroots initiative to show off the valuable contribution agriculture makes to our society. This is an idea that I’d like to see more of. I hope we get a follow-up report on the project. The company’s employees are creating word of mouth advertising in support of a good cause. Who would be better evangelists than the people who work for a company that make their living from the success of our farmers?

“With our leadership role in Southern agriculture, we wanted to also take a leadership role in bringing attention to National Agriculture Week,” said Randy Dismuke, D&PL senior vice president for the US business. “We started with a simple idea to get a few facts in the hands of the general public. Our employees volunteered to hand out small cards while they go about their daily lives. The cards provide a few facts about the cotton industry in particular. Once we started contacting our business partners and vendors, we found that there are numerous organizations and businesses in the Cotton Belt who want to help sing the praises of the farmers in their communities. We even have a bank willing to distribute at all of its branches.”

The cards were drafted with the assistance of the National Cotton Council. The message “Great Fashion and So Much More” highlights some of the contributions the industry makes and invites people to thank a farmer.

Agribusiness

Micro Flo-ing To Arysta LifeScience

Chuck Zimmerman

Micro Flo CompanyAlthough the financial details are a secret it’s still a big deal. Micro Flo will be part of Arysta LifeScience now.

Arysta LifescienceArysta LifeScience North America Corporation and BASF Corporation today announced that they have reached final agreement on the acquisition of major assets of Micro Flo Company LLC, Memphis, Tenn., a wholly owned subsidiary of BASF Corporation, Florham Park, NJ. The acquisition will significantly broaden the scope of Arysta LifeScience’s North American sales operations and create a strategic position in the U.S. crop protection segment. Closing of the transaction is expected by the end of the first quarter 2006 pending customary regulatory approvals. Both companies agreed not to disclose financial details of the transaction.

BASFUnder the agreement, Arysta LifeScience North America Corporation will acquire the commercial business of Micro Flo, including a portfolio of active ingredients and registrations, the Micro Flo trademark, patents and the development laboratory located in Sparks. BASF will continue to own and operate the formulation production facility in Sparks. Arysta LifeScience will be an important customer for BASF, and long-term agreements will ensure continuity for the supply of the Micro Flo products sourced from BASF. With the exception of the employees at the Sparks manufacturing site who will remain with BASF, all Micro Flo personnel will be offered equivalent positions with Arysta LifeScience, including the development laboratory staff at the Sparks facility.

Agribusiness

NFU Blogging

Chuck Zimmerman

NFU BlogI know we’re going to see more of this. It’s happening. There is no better-suited-to blogging organizations than farmer member organizations. Of course that’s if you have a blogger! Apparently NFU does.

I just came across the NFU Blog. They describe it this way: So, you may be asking yourself, what will I find on the NFU blog? Well, a little of everything. It’s a conversation between farmers, ranchers, producers, consumers, rural Americans, politicians, students, and everyday folk. A place to offer ideas, voice concerns and share a kernel of knowledge with others.

This is from the inaugural post on March 3. Today’s the 16th and it hasn’t been updated yet! I know they’re just getting started so it’s probably taking the blogger, whoever they are, a while to get in the rhythym. But, a blog needs content posted regularly. What a good idea though. Their description above is just what this can be. I’m looking forward to seeing more.

Ag Groups

Hope You Like Canned Tuna

Chuck Zimmerman

U. S. Tuna FoundationI’d be interested to know your thoughts on the whole bird flu pandemic scare. Apparently the U. S. Dept. of Health & Human Services thinks it’s for real. They just issued new recommendations for people to get ready. According to a release by the U. S. Tuna Foundation that recommendation includes stocking up on canned tuna.

Stating that no one in the world is prepared for an influenza pandemic, HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt said, “When you go to the store and buy three cans of tuna fish, buy a fourth and put it under the bed. When you go to the store to buy some milk, pick up a box of powdered milk. Put it under the bed. When you do that for a period of four to six months, you are going to have a couple of weeks of food, and that’s what we’re talking about.”

I don’t have much room under my bed. I’m hoping it will be okay to just put it on a shelf in the pantry somewhere. You can see the report here.

Ag Groups

Davis Named Group Publisher at Meredith

Chuck Zimmerman

Meredith CorporationLot of news from Meredith today. To start with Tom Davis is moving up to group publisher and will oversee all operations of men’s brands like WOOD, Successful Farming and Living the Country Life. In addition Scott Mortimer has been named Successful Farming Publisher.

Another story that just came out courtesy of Marketing Vox is about Meredith’s new video unit to create content surrounding its magazine brands. Although it says there’s no specific plans yet we can speculate on what that would be if applied to the ag brands like Successful Farming couldn’t we? It looks like the interactive income generated by the company is skyrocketing according to a quote from the story on MediaPost, “There is certainly a demand for more advertising inventory as well as more content, and this will give us some more things to sell against,” said Meredith spokesman Art Slusark. As with most media companies, transforming Web sites from promotional platforms to dollar-generating operations is now a priority at Meredith, and the company’s interactive division experienced an 80 percent increase in year-over-year revenues for the first six months of the current fiscal year, Slusark said.”

Things are going well financially for the company too according to a Reuters story that says, “The publisher of Better Homes and Gardens and Ladies Home Journal magazines said in a presentation that it expects earnings for its fiscal third quarter to rise to 80 cents a share from 69 cents a year ago, while its fiscal year 2006 earnings are seen rising to $2.86 a share from $2.50 a year ago.”

Publication

Wonder Who Will Win

Chuck Zimmerman

Our New Holland “Down on the Farm” Classic iPod Keepsake Contest officially ends this evening. We’ll be announcing the winner on National Agriculture Day, March 20 so keep on the lookout and keep your fingers crossed. Thanks to all of you who have entered.

In case you haven’t, you’ve still got 2 hours and 58 minutes according to my clock at the time of this post.

Uncategorized

Zimfo Bites

Chuck Zimmerman

Former Executive Director of the Florida Dept. of Citrus, Dan Gunter, named President & COO of Alico, Inc.

See an Australian farmer talk about biotech.

New District Agronomist for Mycogen Seeds – Art Graves, Northeast District of the United States.

The Pork Board says Americans need help picking the perfect Easter ham.

China is going to scrap it’s National Agriculture Tax on farmers this year.

The American Livestock Connection is offering free classified ads.

Zimfo Bytes

Tasty Biotech at BIO 2006

Chuck Zimmerman

BIOThe big bad BIO is coming up soon in Chicago and we’re seeing lots of notices in advance of the conference. I think I’ve seen at least 10 news releases just in the last couple weeks. BIO is the Biotechnology Industry Organization and they’re expecting about 18,000 to attend this year’s conference in Chicago, April 9 – 12.

They’re really gearing up for the media too. For example, there’s the media brunch, “From Food to Fuel to Fashion: Industrial Biotech Does It All,” which will provide reporters with an opportunity to taste, use, and see products made from microbes and enzymes produced through industrial and environmental biotechnology, as well as learn how industrial biotechnology can enable energy security. Sounds tasty!

I’m planning on attending the conference and seeking sponsors for my coverage which would appear here and on our other blogs like Domestic Fuel and World Dairy Diary. If you are interested please contact me as soon as possible.

Farm Shows

BSE What BSE Cow

Chuck Zimmerman

Harry SiemensMany are wondering where the outcry is about the discovery of the latest BSE cow in the United States. In my opinion, it never was about health, but about markets or the lack there of. When Canada discovered its first BSE-infected cow in May of 2003, the outcry reverberated around the world.
In Canada, many said it would be the death knell for the beef industry. How wrong they were. Do any of you remember when the latest BSE discovery occurred in Canada? I didn’t either. I had to look it up on the World Wide Web. It was back in January 2006, not 2005, or 2004. We have short memories. That goes to prove my point it’s all about the markets, and has very little to do with health.

When I spoke to a Grade 10 Social Studies Class in downtown Winnipeg high school at the height of the BSE hype, those Grade 10’ers figured it out real quick when I told them Canada’s regulatory system, the Canadian beef industry, and North American protocol would take care of the problem. In fact, the preverbal quiet little Johnny in the front seat raised his hand and posed this rhetorical question: “Isn’t this just about the Americans imposing an artificial trade barrier?”

Bingo! I said you’re absolutely right. Once the Americans figured this out, and finally got their rules right for starting the road back to recovery, we jumped back on the path to a North American market, albeit somewhat controlled. This headline on the Dow Jones Wire services sums it up quite nicely: “Restaurant, Food Company Stocks Shrug Off US Mad Cow Find.” The only people that haven’t figured this out yet are the Japanese. They will sooner than later.

Siemens Says

International