The Mushroom Council has hired a blogger and his company which now has a new blogger, to be their new agency. Kudos for them.
At a meeting in Atlanta January 12, the Mushroom Council reviewed several outstanding agency presentations then selected Edelman to be their agency of record. Comments from Council members about why Edelman included things like “state of the art, innovative, fresh, forward thinking, passionate, experienced and credible”. Edelman is the largest independent consumer public relations firm in the world, recently named agency of the year by Advertising Age magazine (which suggests Edelman is recognized for more than their PR capabilities) and in combination with sales promotion agency Seismicom has helped such clients as Dole increase bagged salad sales, Dairy Marketing Inc. create the 3 a day campaign and the California almond industry to get consumers to eat a handful of almonds a day contributing to record shipments and returns. As newly elected Council Chair Curtis Jurgensmeyer put it, “I just finished going through Edelman’s presentation again. We made the right choice!”
New Directors For National Cotton Council
A new group of leaders is at the helm of the National Cotton Council. The announcement was made today at their annual meeting.
Elected to the NCC Board during interest caucuses were:
Producers – Sam R. Spruell, Mount Hope, AL; Bowen Flowers, Tunica, MS; Rickey L. Bearden, Plains, TX; Don Cameron, Helm, CA; and Jon W. “Jay” Hardwick, Newellton, LA.
Ginners – Richard A. Holder, Kinston, NC; Richard Kelley, Burlison, TN; Sid Brough, Edroy, TX; Barbara L. Haralson, Safford, AZ; and Russell L. Kuhnhenn, Glendale, AZ.
Warehousemen – Donald A. Robinson, Garner, NC; Thomas W. Stallings, Funston, GA; Wendell L. Tucker, Quanah, TX; Robert Weatherford, Corpus Christi, TX; and Rick Willis, Brownfield, TX.
Merchants – W. B. Dunavant III, Memphis, TN; John D. Mitchell, Cordova, TN; Manfred Schiefer, Lubbock, TX; Gary W. Taylor, Cordova, TN; and G.W. Winburne, Phoenix, AZ.
Cottonseed – Gary Conkling, Oklahoma City, OK; Bobby Crum, Harlingen, TX; Larry A. Johnson, La Crosse, WI; Robert L. Lacy, Jr., Lubbock, TX; and Sammy Wright, Tifton, GA.
Cooperatives – Meredith Allen, Greenwood, MS; Wallace Darneille, Lubbock, TX; Tommy R. Funk Jr., Harlingen, TX; Jarral Neeper, Bakersfield, CA; and Michael Quinn, Garner, NC.
Manufacturers – Robert H. Chapman III, Inman, SC; W. Duke Kimbrell, Gastonia, NC; Van A. May, Lubbock, TX; Jerry D. Rowland, Winston-Salem, NC; and Malloy Evans, Cheraw, SC.
Arnold Tours World Ag Expo
One of the place I couldn’t be this week is World Ag Expo, Tulare, CA. However, the Governator was. The show newsletter says he toured yesterday and made comments, focusing on water issues for one thing.
I like the comment about him growing up, farming in Austria. I didn’t know that.
Commenting that, “Water is at the front and center of our future in agriculture, “ the governor labeled World Ag Expo an
“amazing show.” At the core of the governor’s concern was the state’s century-old levee system. “Our levees were built over 100 years ago by farmers,” he said. “Now we are at risk.”
Deere At Machinery Show
Thanks to Andy Vance at Buckeye Ag Radio Network for this post. He’s at the 2006 National Farm Machinery Show.
Andy talked with Barry Nelson, John Deere, about their massive display. You can listen to Andy’s interview here: 
Andy’s Interview (3:17 MP3 File)
Thanks a lot Andy for the audio. Wish I could be there but there’s only so many places you can be.
Beltwide Presentations Available Via Confex
This is pretty interesting. Now that the 2006 Beltwide Cotton Conference is over, speakers and attendees can still have access to the presentations. The only way you can gain access to the recorded ones is with your registration number though. However, there’s lots of other information available. This is done using The Conference Exchange. The 2006 Confex Podium sponsors are Monsanto and Stoneville.
The 2006 Beltwide Cotton Production Conference continued the tradition of putting leading edge information and innovations into producers’ hands. The 2006 Conferences’ Proceedings are scheduled to be mailed by mid-May. However, reports from the Conferences, gleaned from the Confex Podium presentation management and recording service, are now available online. You can access those presentations by going to http://ncc.confex.com/ncc/2006/techprogram/MEETING.HTM.
Clean Your Corn At New Dow Site
Dow AgroSciences has a new website. The creative element is a series of road signs that guide you through the information and pages. There’s even video. I guess this is just another sign that the agribusiness companies are investing in the online content tools that require broadband access to function properly. They must believe their customers have it or soon will.
At www.CleanCorn.com, visitors can choose to take a trip down Roundup Ready® Corn Ave. or Conventional Corn Drive to learn about issues that affect weed control in those systems. Each path contains university data from across the Corn Belt; video testimonials from growers, retailers and crop consultants; and examples of available weed control programs.
In addition, an interactive profit calculator is available on Roundup Ready Corn Ave. Growers can plug in their typical corn yields, the price of a bushel of corn and varying rates of soil-applied herbicides to see the potential profit they can protect by making a soil-applied herbicide application in Roundup Ready corn.
Denim Is Made Out of Cotton & Protects It
You’ve gotta love an insecticide for cotton called Denim. Syngenta received registration for use of the product on cotton in California today. I like my blue jeans and I don’t need any pesky critters chewing them up, or the cotton plants they get made out of.
“Denim provides excellent control of all worm pests, especially armyworms, and also suppresses mites with minimal impact on beneficial insects, making it an ideal fit for integrated pest management programs,” said John Foresman, Syngenta crop manager. “Denim is a low use-rate product that offers long-lasting residual control. It is a unique chemistry with no known cross-resistance, and it works through three modes of action – contact, ingestion and ovicidal-like in which larvae are controlled as they chew through egg casings.”
RFA Blogging The Ethanol Conference
I think what we’re doing is starting to catch on. The Renewable Fuels Association announced that they’ll be blogging the National Ethanol Conference. Great idea. The conference comes right after last week’s National Biodiesel Conference in San Diego which was blogged by yours truly for NBB.
The RFA blogger will be staff member Matt Hartwig. Since neither Cindy or myself can attend next week’s conference we’re looking forward to it as a great source of news and information for our renewable fuels news site, DomesticFuel. Way to go RFA! You’re “getting it.”
One of the best things about what I hope Matt will be doing is providing the multimedia content. For example, Matt has a pre-conference sound bite from RFA President, Bob Dineen. You can hear it here.
If your company or organization would like to make use of this most powerful new communications tool please let me know how I can help.
Maybe Elizabeth Hurley Has Milk
I’ve always liked the Got Milk campaign. They seem to keep finding the stars to encourage people to drink milk. I’m wondering if this the next “Got Milk” ad? I would call this a rumor for now. I saw a story on Adrants that Elizabeth Hurley will be the new poster child for the campaign. Supposedly it will run in the upcoming Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue and the copy will read, “(Gulp!) Shocked I’m a mom? You should know by now that milk’s nine essential nutrients make for one irresistible body.”
The post mistakenly attributes the campaign to the American Dairy Association, which isn’t the case. The Got Milk campaign is run by “The Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP).” It is funded by the nation’s milk processors, who are committed to increasing fluid milk consumption.
The Fall of Advertising & The Rise of PR
At the upcoming NAMA convention in Kansas City, Laura Ries will be conducting a general session called “The Fall of Advertising & The Rise of PR.” That’s very important subject material to me and I’m sure you too. Laura works with her Dad, Al Ries, at their Atlanta-based marketing strategy firm.
Cindy did the interview and we’ll feature it on the NAMA blog soon too. I’ll be posting content on their blog for the conference just like I did at last fall’s Agribusiness Forum.
You can listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: 
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