When it was time to get the word out this week about a Missouri Beef Industry Council-sponsored Chili Cookoff to benefit a regional food bank the obvious thing to do was send out a Talking News Release!
(Columbia, MO) Callling all chili chefs! The Central Missouri Food Bank will benefit from a Chef’s Chili Challenge to be held October 6, 2005 from 5:00-8:00 pm at the Holiday Inn Select in Columbia, Missouri. Enter your favorite chili recipe to win while helping this great charity. Full Release
Checkoff Dollars Targeting Consumers This Week
This week’s MBIC report from the Missouri Beef Industy Council is all about how the organization is involved in a number of events this week, including “Shape Up Missouri,” the “Working Women’s Holiday Show” and the “Regional Cardiovascular Health Conference.” MBIC’s director of consumer information, Alane Lidolph tells us all about them in this week’s report.
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.
Johanns Web Portal Announcement
I know I just posted an announcement about this new USDA Market News Portal but I thought you might want to hear the announcement from Sec. Johanns himself, courtesy of Southeast AgNet.
You can hear the announcement here: (1MB MP3 File)
Another NAFB Audio Invite
I certainly think the NAFB emailed audio invites are a great idea and one of the most creative things the organization has done recently. So . . . here’s the latest one. I wonder if there’s any more planned? One from Sec. Johanns? Michelle Rook (WNAX) is currently the NAFB president-elect and she says he’s confirmed to be the keynote speaker.
You can listen to Michelle’s invite here:
The NAFB Convention
November 9-11, 2005
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!
Fungicides In Good Hands At Dow
I’ll say it again. Send me pictures (and audio and video) and it certainly increases the likelihood of being used on AgWired!!
That’s what Dow AgroSciences did to announce their new marketing specialist, Janice Smith. Welcome Janice!
Janice Smith has been named marketing specialist for fungicides in the U.S. Agriculture business of Dow AgroSciences. Smith will manage the company’s broad portfolio of disease control products, including Dithane®, Enable®, Gavel®, Indar®, Laredo®, Nova®, PropiMax®, Quintec® and Rally® fungicides.
Visitors To North Dakota
There’s a whole lotta international hosting going on in North Dakota right now. If you want to increase your exports, bring your customers in and sell ’em. That’s what the North Dakota Wheat Commission is doing. Here’s the list of what’s going on as we speak (or rather as I write).
North Dakota’s significant role in producing hard red spring wheat is attracting many international customers this fall who want to see the harvested crop for themselves.
JAPANESE VISITORS IN BISMARCK ON SEPT. 27-28
CHINESE TRADE TEAM VISITING WESTERN N.D. ON SEPT. 29
SOUTHEAST ASIAN TECHNICAL TEAM IN RED RIVER VALLEY ON OCT. 3-4
JAPANESE TRADERS AND FLOUR MILL REPS IN BISMARCK, FARGO IN OCTOBER
Stray Balls and a Steak
Get your limited edition Angus cattle pencil drawing by renowned artist Jack J. Wells from Certified Angus Beef. The drawing helped raise Colvin Scholarship funds at the brand’s annual conference. Numbered, limited edition prints of “The Source of Success” are available for $100 each while supplies last. Contact Tammy Noble at tnoble@certifiedangusbeef.com or 330/345-2333, Ext. 297, to order a print.
How about having a steak while you’re at the tennis match? At this year’s U.S. Open tennis tournament, fans were afforded several new experiences. They were able to keep stray balls at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. A ballpark-style scoreboard and new court colors provided improved visibility. The wheelchair competition expanded the thrill for players, fans and family at this historic competition. They also could enjoy a CAB steak or burger at Champions Bar & Grill and food village hamburger stands.
From Aug. 29-Sept. 11, CAB brand sirloin steaks, tenderloin steaks and burgers graced the menus at the National Tennis Center in Corona, N.Y.
Will MyPyramid For Kids Create Buzz
I’m learning a lot this morning. Like that there’s a U. S. Tuna Foundation. I’m a major supporter I guess since tuna is a weekly staple of my diet. These folks beat even USDA today with an announcement about their new MyPyramid for Kids launch. Of course that’s because they claim the new kids thing “will help teachers and children learn about the many health benefits of eating seafood, such as canned tuna.”
In fact, USDA is supposed to be making a press announcement as this post is being written. Maybe this will generate more buzz for the whole MyPyramid thing since we reported on a study that says it hasn’t had much. Everybody’s into online games these days and USDA is no exception since the new MyPyramid for Kids section of their website has one called “Blast Off.” An interactive computer game where kids can reach Planet Power by fueling their rocket with food and physical activity. “Fuel” tanks for each food group help students keep track of how their choices fit into MyPyramid.
I didn’t download and play, just not my thing. If you do could you write a comment or email me to let me know what you think?
Eat Local On September 29
I’ve got to find out is there’s anyone in central Missouri participating in this. I like this idea! It’s the Bon Appetit, “Eat Local Challenge.” I will warn you that the website opens with this very pretty flash animated segment and music. Aaargh! They are the bane of a web surfer’s life. At least you can skip it. I guess web designers feel compelled to use all the tools.
Anyway, the day is September 29 and the idea is that, “On Eat Local Challenge day 150,000 diners at corporate, university, and museum restaurants from Seattle to Washington D.C. can choose to eat a 100 percent locally grown meal, made entirely of ingredients from within 150 miles of the kitchen where they are served.”
This was sent out through PR Newswire as a MultiVu VNR. You can watch the video package at this link. It’s for Windows Media Player at slow speed. They give you other options but that’s all you’re getting from me.
The release starts out talking about Yahoo’s corporate chef and how he had to ferment his own local apple cider to make a starter for his sourdough bread . Did you know Yahoo had a corporate chef? Here at ZimmComm we do and his name is Chuck Zimmerman. BTW. I try to cook “local” as much as possible. But here in Missouri you’ve got to fly in seafood so it’s not always possible. And then there’s the fact that I like Italian wine. But I also like a few good Missouri reds too.
One of the reasons this company started this is, “The average item on an American dinner plate travels 1,500-2,000 miles, leading to loss of flavor in our food, and affecting our farmers’ ability to grow a diversity of crops,” said Fedele Bauccio, CEO of Bon Appétit.” I didn’t know that.
These chefs are taking it seriously. For example one chef in Portland, OR couldn’t find locally made salt so he and his kids went to the beach and got some sea water which they boiled down to make their own.
My Market News From USDA
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns today announced that USDA’s new market news web portal is on line and providing instant, real-time access to daily and historical reports on agricultural commodities. The new portal is at: http://marketnews.usda.gov.
Yes it is but it took me a minute after clicking on that link to realize that it’s just fruit and vegetable market news for now. If I had read through the whole release I would have seen that “livestock and grain market news will be available Oct. 3 and other commodities will soon follow.” I see a link, I click.
Anyway, right now you can find reports on strawberries, dry onions and iceberg lettuce!
Hey, you can even create what amounts to a “My USDA Market News” account, “Customers who register and create an account on the Web site can log into the portal and create their own market summary charts to provide snapshots of commodity prices based on location and dates.”
I wonder when we’ll be able to subscribe to the RSS feed of these reports and get them on our mobile phones?