You have to have a Pioneer Growing Point login to have access but there’s some new video games in town. The first one is “Max The Protector.”
Sure, you’ve planted in all kinds of conditions, but have you planted on your desktop before? Use your mouse to plant in a variety of conditions, trying to avoid items like fencerows, trees and wet spots in the field. You must also navigate around pests like Soybean Cyst Nematode and Phytophthora Root Rot to score high yields. Help is available if you pick up bonus items from your Pioneer Sales rep and you will find a new level of protection by picking up Pioneer® Brand M-series soybeans.
Then there’s “Herculex I The Defender.”
Herculex I the Defender requires you to shoot wave after wave of destructive larvae. Shoot at the larvae to kill them – and stay behind the Herculex shield to protect you and your crops!
I like it when the bugs get splattered but I think my field was under serious attack and I will have to practice to get better.
Cowboy Day In July
I did not know there was a National Day of the American Cowboy until I got an email from Ron Goldy. Actually Ron was letting me know that I could participate in the Cowboy.com (what a great domain name) pay per click program. You can find lots of stuff there.
We’re about to start accepting advertising here on AgWired but I’m not too interested in pay per click. We have an awesome audience here at AgWired and advertising rates are now available if you want them.
Mentoring Tomorrow’s Communicators Today
In case you AAEA members didn’t know it there’s now a student mentoring program underway. It’s really easy to get involved and share your talents with some of our communicators of tomorrow.
If you’re an AAEA member or student member of the Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow then you’re eligible. Sign up is easy. You can find the forms here.
I just sent mine in. I’m hoping to be matched up with a student who has an urge to blog!
Max Out Your Cattle Operation
Who says cowboys don’t use computers? Of course they do and this software from Cattlesoft, Inc. is one of the programs that will help them manage their herds. It’s now out in the 2006 edition.
CattleMax is flexible so that ranches with ten head and those into the thousands will find CattleMax beneficial in their record-keeping needs. With customers in 49 U.S. states and 25 countries, CattleMax is THE leading cattle management software!
R&K In Top 100 Again
Steve Rhea says they’re headed in the right direction. They being Rhea & Kaiser Marketing and Communications. This year Adweek ranked them number 83 in the top 100 agencies.
This marks another milestone for the agency, which broke into the prestigious Adweek list last year at No. 96. The annual Adweek Top 100 includes advertising agencies based in North America and is based on billings and revenue growth. In 2005, Rhea & Kaiser’s revenue grew 13.8 percent, with billings totaling $124 million. Rhea & Kaiser is not a newcomer to Adweek’s ratings. The agency has ranked in The Top 50 Midwestern Agencies list for the past three years.
Nominate Your Favorite Red Meat Exec
Who’s your favorite red meat industry executive? You might want to nominate him/her for the 8th annual Richard L. Knowlton Innovation Award. This award is given by Meatingplace and honors executives of the red meat industry who demonstrate exceptional business leadership, product or process innovation and overall exemplary corporate citizenship.
The award honors the legacy of the former Hormel Foods chairman, whose vision led Hormel into the then-emerging category of value-added foods to satisfy changing consumer needs. Knowlton changed Hormel’s corporate structure, reorganized its marketing and business functions, incorporated new technologies into production and launched the company on a program of product diversification. Eligible nominees include processors in upper management positions who have been affiliated with their company for a minimum of two years. The nomination process is open to anyone in or affiliated with the U.S. red meat processing industry.
The deadline for nominations is June 13, 2006. You can find out more about the award and how to nominates someone here.
BTW. I really like Meatingplace’s tagline, “In Print, Online.”
Bader Rutter Rings The Bell
Bader Rutter cleaned up on some regional Business Marketing Association’s Bell Awards at the presentation in Milwaukee. Not all of them are for ag accounts.
Among the seven awards, Bader Rutter received two Bell Awards, the highest honor in a category, and garnered five Awards of Excellence in a variety of disciplines. The agency received Bell Awards in the Direct Mail Campaign/Flat division for its Dow AgroSciences LLC southern crop postcard series and in the Public Relations Campaign division for its Jefferson Wells “Increase Awareness and Familiarity” campaign.
Show Us Your Tunis
A red headed blogger has to post a story about red headed sheep. In this case it’s Tunis Sheep. The “show us” headline is because:
The Tunis show and sale will also have a photo contest. The “Show Us Your Tunis” photo contest will be open to all Tunis Breeders. Tunis Breeders are asked to bring their favorite photo of their flock. The photo contest is sponsored by Darling Tunis of Zanesfield, Ohio.
They will have their national sale coming up next month. You will be able to find the sales catalog here.
The National Tunis Association announces that the National Sale will be held in Wooster, Ohio over the Memorial Day Weekend. The sale will be held at the Wayne County Fairgrounds. The sale is in conjunction with the Great Lakes show and sale plus a wool show. The show begins on Saturday, May 26 at 1 p.m. and the sale is on Sunday, May 28.
Zimfo Bites
- You figure this one out. An FAO-led group called IMARK, has issued a new learning tool designed to help specialists and interested parties access and exchange agricultural information online.
- A Purdue University ag economist says that, “farmers should not expect their site-specific tools to remain viable any longer than their home computers.” Find out more on their Site Specific Management Center.
- Delta Farm Press says that Cotton Inc. is now sponsoring Nashville Star.
- Students won scholarship funds at World Ag Exo.
- Missouri Agriculture Industries Council summer meeting announced. Register here.
- The FAO is holding its Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean in Caracas, Venezuela, this week.
Humane Society Takes on Factory Farming
I can remember visiting a local humane society as a kid to get a puppy to raise at home. So I used to have this image of the organization as one that took in stray, lost or abandoned animals and found them a home. Of course the Humane Society of the United States has long since moved on.
I just saw an alert to their Factory Farming Homepage. You might be interested to see what they’re doing in this regard. Of course they have the obligatory video of the cruelty imposed on animals so beware your tender sensibilities.