Rural High Speed Internet Rising Quickly

Chuck Zimmerman

The availability of high speed internet access in rural America is the subject of the latest study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

Around 24 percent of rural Americans were using high-speed connections to the Internet in their homes by the end of 2005, the Pew Internet & American Life Project reported Sunday. This is an improvement over the 16 percent of rural Americans with broadband connections in 2004, but below the 39 percent of urban and suburban Americans using high-speed connections at home in 2005, said John Horrigan, associate director for research at the Pew Internet Project.

Overall rural internet penetration has risen quickly in recent years, with 62% of adult rural Americans at the end of 2005 with internet access, compared with 70% of adults in urban and suburban locales. This 8 percentage point gap is about half the rural-non-rural gap at the end of 2003. Coupled with fast growth in broadband adoption, the internet profile of rural America is slowly becoming more like the rest of the nation.

Internet

Podcasting With A Vatican Official

Chuck Zimmerman

Cardinal Arinze PodcastThis has absolutely nothing to do with agriculture but I thought it was very cool. I use it as an illustration of how podcasting is not some sort of goofball strategy. I subscribe to the Cardinal Arinze Podcast. It’s “podcasting with a Vatican official” and he’s really good at it and so are the people doing the production. In fact, they’re even doing video podcasts. I just like the new logo they emailed me. In case you wonder who he is, Wikipedia has this:

Cardinal ArinzeFrancis Cardinal Arinze (born November 1, 1932) is the Cardinal Bishop of Velletri-Segni in the Roman Catholic Church and has been the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in the Roman Curia under popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Arinze was one of the principal advisors to John Paul, and was considered papabile (a possible pope) before the election of Benedict and still could be, depending on the length of Benedict’s Pontificate.

Podcasts

Pass PAS Along

Chuck Zimmerman

PAS ConferenceHere’s something to pass along to your friends and neighbors. It’s the National PostSecondary Agricultural Student Organization conference. It’s going to be taking place in St. Louis. You can find out more about the conference here.

If you’re a NAMA member you might want to stop by for the Gateway Chapter lunch meeting on Friday, March 17. You can get more information from this handout. The location is the Millenium Hotel in downtown St. Louis at: 200 South Fourth St., 314-241-9500. We’ll be in the Illinois/Missouri Rooms.

I think they’re looking for help with judging if you’re interested. Give them a call.

The National Postsecondary Agricultural Student Organization is an organization associated with agriculture/agribusiness and natural resources offerings in approved postsecondary institutions offering baccalaureate degrees, associate degrees, diplomas and/or certificates. PAS is one of the ten career and technical student organizations that has been approved by the U. S. Department of Education as an integral part of career and technical education.

NAMA

Your Silence Is Golden

Chuck Zimmerman

ABEFFind a home for that special edition wildlife print or even those sports tickets and surplus company logo jackets. Or give a media package or services, and support the Agri-Business Educational Foundation (ABEF) at the same time.

Donations are needed for the 2006 Silent Auction, held during the Agri-Marketing Conference & Trade Show, April 19-21 in Kansas City.

Please join your agri-marketing peers in supporting this worthwhile effort by donating to the auction. Fill out the on-line Pledge Form at http://www.nama.org/abef/silentauction/pledgeform.htm to indicate your donation and/or interest in the project by March 24, 2006 to be included in the auction catalog. Any worthwhile product or service will be gratefully accepted.

Please show your support of the ABEF and donate what you can (minimum of $50 value suggested). All proceeds from the Silent Auction support the NAMA Student Careers Program.

Please note that all media and service packages will be auctioned on-line. The on-line auction will take place at the end of March. For more information on the ABEF and the Silent and On-Line Auctions visit, http://www.nama.org/abef/abef-index.html.

NAMA

Quick Link Stories

Chuck Zimmerman

I’ve got quite a backlog of stories that I’ve been meaning to mention. So in the interests of time and my sanity here’s some quick links:

New NC+ website by Swanson Russell Associates.

BAYER ANIMAL HEALTH NAMES FIRKINS TO LEAD FOOD ANIMAL BUSINESS

SRA Announces Promotions and Personnel Change to Public Relations and Interactive Services

New Century Farmer applications now available

New Inactivated Vaccine is First with Lepto hardjo-bovis Combo

Several Leadership Role Changes Announced at Dow AgroSciences

FB Launches ‘Production Decision’ Web Site

Agribusiness

Mid South Show This Week

Chuck Zimmerman

Southern Cotton GinnersWhile a lot of us will be in Anaheim this week a bunch of folks will be in Memphis for the Mid-South Farm & Gin Show. In fact, I know some of you will be flying from one to the other. Lots going on this week.

Farmers, agribusiness representatives and others interested in Mid-South agriculture will converge on the Memphis Cook Convention Center March 3 and 4, 2006 for the Mid-South Farm & Gin Show, the south’s largest indoor farm show.

The show will feature approximately 400 exhibitors from more than 40 states and three foreign countries and will occupy over 200,000 square feet of exhibit space in the Convention Center. Show attendees will see an expanded number of farm equipment manufacturers, specialized services, the latest in seed varieties, and new technologies in precision farming software and services. Visitors who go through the exhibit areas are eligible for prizes, which will be awarded each afternoon, including $2,000 in attendance prizes awarded daily. Drawings will be at Noon ($500); 2 PM ($500); and 4 PM ($1000).

Farm Shows

Get Some Elvis PR In Graceland

Chuck Zimmerman

Kevin KernHave you registered for the Agricultural Relations Council meeting in Memphis yet? Time’s a wasting. You’ve got until March 3 to get the convention rate at the hotel. They’ve got a full program on public relations lined up including one with Kevin Kern, Media Coordinator for Elvis Presley Enterprises.

You can download the program and registration form here. (pdf file)

ARC, Public Relations

Spring Weather Will Determine Soybean Acres

Chuck Zimmerman

Harry SiemensMany of the readers of Agwired may not know that Manitoba, that northern Canadian province, just north of North Dakota, and on the way to Churchill and polar bears, is soybean country. Yep, not millions of acres, but ½ a million if weather conditions are right.

At a recent Bean Symposium, many farmers showed great interest in growing soybeans, but according to pulse crop specialist Bruce Brolley of Manitoba Agriculture, most are still undecided. “We had a lot of growers, but I still get the feeling many growers are kicking tires trying to decide which crops they want to grow,” said Brolley.

The soybean RoundUp Ready seed, most in short supply, growers bought last fall or at least spoke for it.
“Since the bad season in 2004, we haven’t really built up our seed stock for the new varieties and that seed stock is more limited,” said Brolley. “I think for most of the RoundUp Ready, the seed has been spoken for already.”

It’s hard to get a handle on how many soybeans growers will plant this year because of the high intentions in the last two year, but Mother Nature cut those acres both years. “You tell me what type of spring we’re going to have, and I can give you a good handle on acres,” said the pulse specialist. “We have had good intentions to seed a lot more acres than we had. Even last year, we were probably in that range of 220,000 intended; but because of Mother Nature, we only got 100,000 acres in.” He believes there’s interest for around 350,000 acres; others are saying maybe 450,000 and even more.

Siemens Says

International

Farm Journal Editor Finalist For Neal Award

Chuck Zimmerman

Pam HendersonI hope the food is good at the Waldorf Pam. At least I’ve heard it’s okay. I guess you’ll get to find out when they announce the winner. Good luck!

Pam Henderson, Crops and Issues Editor of FARM JOURNAL, has been named a finalist in the 52nd Annual Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Awards for editorial achievement, the most prestigious awards in business-to-business journalism.

For a nine-article series entitled “Asian Soybean Rust Takes Root in the U.S.,” Henderson was cited in the category of “Best subject-related series of articles” for magazines with more than $7 million in revenues. The articles were published between January and May 2005, after discovery of the devastating disease of soybeans for the first time on U.S. soil in November 2004. Andrew Burchett, former Chemicals and Seeds Editor of FARM JOURNAL, also contributed to the series.

Henderson is one of 101 finalists chosen from 1,250 entries by a distinguished board of judges. The 32 Neal Award winners, including the top award, the Grand Neal, will be announced on March 23 at the annual Neal Awards Show at The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. Often hailed as the “Pulitzer Prize of the business press,” the Neal Awards were created by American Business Media (ABM) to recognize and reward excellence in independent business publications.

Speaking of ABM, in their latest e-newsletter they had this interesting bit of information:

Leading business-to-business trade information providers will generate 35 – 50% of their revenue online within two to three years, predicts Outsell Inc.’s recently completed “Annual Ad Spending Study: Where and Why Advertisers Are Moving Online.”

Based on a survey Outsell fielded to 1,200 advertisers controlling an estimated $2.4 billion in November 2004, the Ad Spending Study found that online platforms are currently used by 80% of advertisers, a number expected to reach more than 90% by 2008. Total online advertising spending is expected to grow 19% in 2006, with the still relatively small blog and wireless marketing area poised to increase by 43% and 19%, respectively. But fear not, classic media: trade magazines and events still rated within the top 3 most effective tactics for both branding and lead generation.

Publication

Welcome Buckeye Ag Blogger

Chuck Zimmerman

Andy VanceI already introduced Andy Vance on World Dairy Diary and I’d like you to know about him too. That’s because he’s going to be a regular contributor to our dairy news blog.

He might even have stuff we’ll need to bring you here on AgWired too. Andy and his wife and partner, Lindsay, have their own farm media company, Buckeye Ag Radio Network. They’re just getting into blogging and podcasting too. They “get it.” So I got them, or at least, him.

Andy sent me his photo and was hoping I could use PhotoShop to make him look “hot.” I couldn’t find the “hot tool” though, sorry Andy but welcome to the ZimmComm family of farm news blogs!

Dairy, Media