Give Me Summer Weather To Grill In

Chuck Zimmerman

Beef CheckoffCindy wanted me to barbeque something today but I’m not into “extreme barbeque.” At least not when it’s only in the teens outside. But the Cattlemen’s Beef Board wants us to think about grilling. They’re going to be firing up the Summer Grilling Campaign again.

Conducted on behalf of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, the 19-week program spans from May to Labor Day and is an integrated retail marketing effort that features all grilling cuts of beef, including the chuck and round, and incorporates the well-recognized tagline, “Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner.”

According to FreshLook data, last year’s promotion helped drive total beef sales up nearly 4 percent on a dollar basis versus the same period in 2004, despite a slightly reduced supply. Dollar increases in light of a reduced supply is further indication of the strong demand for beef.

Through Labor Day, the beef industry will run national radio advertising with retailer tags in the top 40 markets, which will reach more than 94 percent of beef’s target audience. In addition to the radio advertising and summer promotion, two national print campaigns focusing on beef’s enjoyment and nutrition messages will run in publications such as Food & Wine, Southern Living and Sports Illustrated.

Ag Groups, Beef

Hemp Seed Products Make You Happy

Chuck Zimmerman

Planet Hemp ProductsI will just bet I know why Planet Hemp Products is part of the Happy Planet Group. They claim their seed products don’t contain the THC drug though. I’ve got to wonder what quality control is like in their facility! I’m betting that one of their products, Skoobie Snax, makes for some very happy dogs.

Locally (Brisbane, Australia) established hemp distributor, Planet Hemp Products, exported Australian grown and processed human-grade hemp food to China this week. Planet Hemp Products is the first company in Australia to export hemp food to China. For many years, China has been one of the largest producers and exporters of hemp seed and hemp fibre products in the world. “It is a credit to the Beattie Government practices, persistence and AusTrade that we are in a position to begin competing in such a sustainable agricultural industry”, said Thomas, general manager of Planet Hemp Products.

The first commercial industrial hemp crops were sown in Queensland in 2002. In that same year, the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) recommended that the Australian Health Council approve hemp seed foods for human consumption. For the first time in Australian history, the Health Council of Australia has ignored a FSANZ recommendation leaving Australia as the last western democracy in which hemp seed foods for humans remain controlled by State Criminal legislation.

The only hemp foods currently available in Australia are for our pets. Ironically, the Australian made pet food contains the same Australian hemp seeds contained in human grade food that Planet Hemp Products now exports.

“We are now in discussions with the largest and best hemp seed processor in north America to gain the use of their processing experience. We have also discussed supplying Canada and the USA with Australian grown hemp seed by-products in their cold season,” said Thomas.

Who is the largest and best hemp seed processor in north America?

Agribusiness, hemp, International

LongHorn, Not The Long Tail

Chuck Zimmerman

Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of AmericaI will bet this is a very friendly group of people and would be a lot of fun to attend. It’s the Legacy II sale of the Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America. They say that Texas longhorns are dressed up and ready for a night on the town and I believe it. The president of TLBAA sounds like a real promoter to me.

“When people think about a livestock auction, usually a sawdust-covered arena comes to mind, not a five-star resort with a golf course and a spa,” said Don L. King, president of the Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America. “But when you consider how revered the Texas Longhorn is, it’s a lot easier to understand why we wanted to give this event a bit of star treatment this year.” The Texas Longhorn Legacy Sale II is scheduled for March 18, 2006 at 7:00 p.m. at the Doral Tesoro Hotel & Golf Club in Fort Worth, Texas near the Texas Motor Speedway. Last year, the top dollar spent on a single Longhorn was $81,000, and TLBAA members invited to the event include celebrities, such as Jeanine Turner, Barry Corbin, Red McCombs and Don Imus.

Ag Groups

Promotion Board Appointments

Chuck Zimmerman

National Honey BoardSecretary Johanns was busy doing the appointing thing again last week. He must have to do a lot of interviews to fill these positions don’t you think?

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns appointed four members and four alternate members to serve on the National Honey Board.

Newly appointed members are: David M. Shenefield, Producer Region 7, LaFontaine, Ind.; Dale D. Bauer, Importer 2, Fertile, Minn.; and Mark Mammen, Cooperative, Sioux City, Iowa. Clint Walker III, Producer Region 5, Temple, Texas, is a reappointed member of the board.

Newly appointed alternates are: John M. Williams, Producer Region 5, Jonesboro, Ark.; Ann W. Harman, Producer Region 7, Flint Hill, Va.; Bartlomiej R. Jelonek, Importer 2, Jersey City, N.J.; and Bob Brandi, Cooperative, Los Banos, Calif.

National Watermelon Promotion BoardAgriculture Secretary Mike Johanns today announced the appointment of 11 members to the National Watermelon Promotion Board.

Thomas A. Smith, a producer from LaBelle, Fla., District One, and two handlers, District One’s William Robert Ward, Jr., Lakeland, Fla., and Michael A. Caruthers, Immokalee, Fla., have been reappointed. Chandler Mack, a producer from Babson Park, Fla., District One, is a new appointee.

Three importers, Francisco Ramon Murillo, Jr., Nogalez, Ariz.; Matthew J. Bradley III, McAllen, Texas; and Alan Guzi, Delray Beach, Fla., have been reappointed. Three other importers, Jesus Enrique Lopez, Rio Rico, Ariz.; Michael Warren, Coral Springs, Fla.; and Mario W. Cardenas, Boca Raton Fla., are new appointees.

Maureen Ellis, Sterling, Va., is a new appointee to the board as a public member.

Hass Avocado BoardAgriculture Secretary Mike Johanns today announced the appointment of three alternate importer members to serve on the Hass Avocado Board.

Pilar Oyarzun, from Los Angeles, Calif., and Elena H. Garcia, Chandler, Ariz., are appointed to serve three-year terms beginning immediately and ending on Oct. 31, 2008. Alan M. Parr, Miami, Fla., is appointed to serve a two-year term beginning immediately and ending on Oct. 31, 2007.

Ag Groups, USDA

Get ICARRD’d In Brazil

Chuck Zimmerman

FAO Agrarian Reform ConferenceIf you’re wondering what to do in March, here’s one idea. It’s the International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development or ICARRD, taking place in Porto Alegre, Brazil March 7 – 10.

I’ve been to an FAO-coordinated event before so I can tell you that there will be a lot of talks, some discussion and an effort to write a paper to announce some sort of consensus idea at the end. I just don’t see this as a very productive use of time and money. Basically, it’s all talk and no action. This kind of thing needs to happen with people there who can actually get something done. There’s no question that a lot of work can be done on this topic though.

Approximately 900 million people – three quarters of the world’s poor – live in rural areas and depend on access to land and other natural resources for their livelihoods. For most of them, insecure access to land is closely linked to poverty.

Since the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development in 1979, calls have repeatedly been made to help the poor gain secure access to land and to resources such as technology, credit, inputs and markets. Processes of agrarian reform have been implemented in many countries: some have succeeded, some have failed. But for millions of poor farmers, secure land access is still far from becoming a reality.

The time has come for a renewed commitment to agrarian reform and rural development, through the identification of new challenges and options for revitalizing rural communities. This is fundamental if we are to achieve the goal of reducing by half the number of poor and hungry people by 2015, as set out by the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is taking the lead in increasing this renewed international commitment by organizing in Porto Alegre, Brazil, from 7 to 10 March 2006, the International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development.

I guess we’ll see what they come up with and if there’s any action steps that can be implemented.

Uncategorized

DuPont Got U.S. Patent #7,000,000

Chuck Zimmerman

DupontHow would you like to hold a U. S. patent? How about U. S. Patent # 7,000,000? This was last week on Valentine’s Day. DuPont senior researcher Dr. John O’Brien got it for inventing “Polysaccharide Fibers.”

Polysaccharide fibers are “cotton-like” fibers derived from biologically based renewable resources. They are biodegradable and suitable for use in textiles. The patent issued for “Polysaccharide Fibers” is the 33,801st U.S. patent awarded to DuPont since company founder E.I. du Pont was granted U.S. Patent #590 in 1804 for a “machine for granulating gunpowder.” DuPont and its
affiliates ranked 2nd worldwide with the most biotechnology patents approved by the USPTO in 2004, according to the publication Nature Biotechnology. O’Brien, 54, has been a polymer chemist with DuPont since 1978. He holds 15 patents, including the one issued today, for his research in the areas of advanced composites; high-performance fibers, including developmental work on DuPont Kevlar; and bio-based materials.

Agribusiness

Snow Boarding With Your iPod

Chuck Zimmerman

I have not watched any of the winter Olympics yet but now I might after seeing a post on the CNET Apple Blog about a story in the Baltimore Sun. It’s about the snow boarders and their iPods. They wear jackets outfitted to hold and control iPods that even include built in speakers. As the story says,

“One of the lasting images of these games is going to be these snowboarders with their iPods,” said Abraham Madkour, executive editor of SportsBusiness Journal, a trade magazine that covers the sports industry. “It’s the perfect form of subconscious marketing.”

I guess I’m just interested in all the ways these little gadgets are being used today. We’re giving away 2 of them. If you become a member of NAMA prior to April 20 you will be entered in a contest for a video iPod. We’re sponsoring that. And as of my last post, we’re teamed up with New Holland to provide a video iPod to a lucky winner.

Uncategorized

Enter To Win Classic iPod Keepsake Contest

Chuck Zimmerman

New Holland If you’ve wanted to own an Apple video iPod then here’s your chance. It’s the New Holland “Down on the Farm” Classic iPod Keepsake Contest. One lucky winner will be drawn to win a new 30GB video iPod. The contest starts now and will run through March 15 with the winner being announced here and on all ZimmComm blogs on March 20, National Agriculture Day.

I’ll be blogging the 2006 Commodity Classic and all the pictures I take and video and audio I record will be pre-loaded onto the iPod. One of those things will be country music star Michael Peterson’s performance that’s being sponsored by New Holland. Once we know who the winner is Michael will record a personal message which we’ll also load onto the iPod. And, there’s more. We’ll also load Michael’s newest CD, “Down on the Farm,” which you can currently only purchase from your local New Holland dealer. It won’t be out in stores until later this spring.

So, here’s how you enter. We’ve got an online form that you’ll need to fill out and just click on the submit button when done. There’s only a few questions. It’s fast and then you’re entered. You’ll get a confirmation email so that you know you’ve been entered. Or, if you’re at Classic, you can stop by the New Holland booth and enter there.

Agribusiness, Commodity Classic

New Kubota Facility In Georgia

Chuck Zimmerman

KubotaKubota cut the ribbon in Jefferson, GA on big new facility. Looks like business is good.

Kubota Corporation expands its business operations with the opening of the Kubota Industrial Equipment (KIE) Corporation manufacturing facility in Jefferson, Ga. Initially this new facility will employ about 500 people, with approximately 70,000 tractor implements to be produced annually by KIE once it is fully operational. Daisuke Hatakake, president of Kubota Corporation, and Hank Kawasaki, president of KIE Corporation, welcomed local, county and state officials, as well as international guests to an open house Feb. 10 to celebrate the opening of the new 400,000-square-foot facility. “With U.S. sales having surpassed a total of 1 million units, we anticipate continued growth in Kubota tractor and product sales,” announced Hatakake. “Kubota Industrial Equipment, our newest manufacturing plant, is a world-class operation that will help us meet increasing dealer and customer demands for high-quality Kubota products.”

Agribusiness

Michael Will Be At Classic

Chuck Zimmerman

Michael PetersonThe 2006 Commodity Classic is getting closer. That’s one of the reasons I’ve been a little behind on posting today. Preparations. That and having our internet access upgraded somewhat which caused us to be “without” for a while this afternoon. But no time like the present time to post some news.

I’ll be attending the Classic and New Holland will be sponsoring an appearance by Michael Peterson. He’s the “Drink, Swear, Steal and Lie” guy. But he’s got a new CD out and you can only buy it from your local New Holland dealer. It’ll be out in stores later this spring.

We’ll feature some coverage with Michael at Classic right here on AgWired. You bet it will include audio and video.

Agribusiness, Commodity Classic, Farm Shows