RFA Ethanol Podcast

Sec. of Ag In China & Africa

Chuck Zimmerman

Mike Johannes In ChinaI thought my 3,000 plus miles in the last 9 days was a lot of travel but our Sec. of Ag Mike Johannes is doing much more. He’s travelling in China and Africa July 9-21 for multilateral and bilateral meetings on agricultural trade and development. Although it doesn’t have frequent postings he is writing a travelogue of sorts. I kind of think a blog would be a better way to do it but then what do I know? Here’s an excerpt from his latest post.

Monday, July 11, 2005 Posted 2:00 AM BEIJING, CHINA

I’ve been to China a number of times over the past several years. Each time I return I see significant changes. First of all, China’s economy is expanding rapidly. The pace of development is tremendous; that’s especially true in the larger cities. This is an economy to be reckoned with. It is certainly not an economy to turn away from — China is simply too good a market for our agriculture products.

It is important that I travel internationally to raise important issues with our international counterparts. One reason I am in Beijing is to work through some issues related to our ability to export beef into the Chinese market. We had a significant breakthrough. The Chinese agreed to send a technical team that will be in the U.S. this October. That is a very positive development. Full post

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European Trip Discussed On CornTalk

Chuck Zimmerman

Missouri Corn Growers AssociationMCGA CEO Gary Marshall just returned from his second trip to Switzerland in the last couple months. While there he met with the folks at Syngenta’s headquarters office. He also stopped in France to meet with French corn growers. Learn about his trip in this week’s CornTalk program.

You can listen to CornTalk here Download MP File

CornTalk is also a weekly AgWired podcast which you can subscribe to using the link in our sidebar.

Ag Groups, Audio, Podcasts

Distinguished Young Holstein Breeders

Chuck Zimmerman

Holstein Association USAButtles Named Holstein Association 2004 Distinguished Young Holstein Breeders

BRATTLEBORO, Vt., June 28, 2005- Andrew and Lynette Buttles, Lancaster, Wis., have been selected as the 2004 Distinguished Young Holstein Breeders by Holstein Association USA. They were honored at the National Holstein Convention in Portland, Maine on Tuesday, June 28.

Distinguished Young Holstein BreedersAndy and Lyn have both been involved in the dairy industry for many years. Andy graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison with a bachelor’s degree in Dairy Science. Lyn grew up on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania and earned her bachelor’s degree in Dairy Science from Penn State and has her master’s degree in Dairy Nutrition from University of Wisconsin – Madison.

For more information contact Lisa Perrin.

Ag Groups

1.4 Minutes To Select Your Pork

Chuck Zimmerman

National Pork BoardI know I’m not your average consumer and this information is about those folks. I see a package of pork I want and I just grab it! Not too much thinking goes into my decisions.

DES MOINES, Iowa (July 2005) – In an effort to help retailers merchandise and move more fresh and processed pork, the National Pork Board is determined to find out one thing: What motivates consumers to purchase pork? The Point of Decision 2 (POD2) research conducted by the National Pork Board recently was geared to find out just that, and much more.

A major finding from the POD2 research is that consumers spend 1.4 minutes on average making a pork purchase. Pork purchases were primarily determined by cut of meat and cooking method. Seventy-nine percent of consumers purchasing pork inspected multiple packages and 77 percent spent time reading package information.

For more information contact Cindy Cunningham.

Ag Groups, Pork

Watching A Hurricane Pass By

Chuck Zimmerman

Hurricane DennisAs if moving a daughter to another state wasn’t enough to deal with we had to drive right into this little storm! The photo is courtesy of The Weather Channel. We’re on the ocean side of the sunshine state but still have high winds and a lot of rain.

Stay tuned to AgWired for more information after getting all the belongings unloaded.

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Editing From The Road

Chuck Zimmerman

Cindy Editing AudioI know we haven’t posted much the last couple days but it’s move a daughter to college week and we’ve been on the road. But just to show you that work is getting done here’s Cindy editing audio for one of our clients. We’re in Georgia at the moment and spent some time on the phone today interviewing corn growers about rootworm and corn borer problems and protection.

This is the great thing about blogging. You can blog from wherever you are. Fortunately this place has DSL! We’ll get caught up on things by the first of next week.

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Former CIA Director Woolsey On Ethanol & National Security

Chuck Zimmerman

25 X 25 Ag Energy Work GroupThe 25×25 Ag Energy Work Group held a press conference today with former CIA director James Woolsey. It was a discussion on the idea that reducing our dependence on foreign oil is an issue of national security. Here’s what their news release said:

Why is the former Director of Central Intelligence pushing for ethanol and other biofuels? The answer is simple: National security.

Two decades before the September 11 attacks, James Woolsey, CIA director from 1993-1995, warned that a handful of terrorists could shut down three-quarters of the oil and gas supplies to the Eastern states, cut the power to any major city or kill millions by crashing an airliner into a nuclear power plant. He remains a strong proponent of securing our nation’s vulnerable energy systems and decreasing our reliance on energy controlled by “pathological predators and vulnerable autocrats of the Mideast,” a reality he terms a “tragedy waiting to happen.”

Shortly after Americans celebrated Independence Day, he’ll join the leaders of the 25 x ’25 Ag Energy Work Group to discuss the need to focus on U.S. energy independence. They’ll share efforts to develop more renewable energy sources such as wind, methane, solar, ethanol and biodiesel and how the 25 x ’25 vision is bringing together a broad coalition of interest groups to make this happen.

You can listen to the full press conference here Download MP3 File (16 MB – 45 minutes)

Ag Groups, Audio, Ethanol

Clearing Up Misconceptions About Beef Checkoff – MBIC Report

Chuck Zimmerman

Missouri Beef Industry CouncilHow well do you understand the Beef Checkoff? In the wake of the recent Supreme Court decision to allow the Checkoff to continue it’s a good time to make sure we understand how the Checkoff works. Missouri Beef Industry Council executive director Steve Taylor clears up some common misconceptions he still finds with producers about the Checkoff in this week’s MBIC Report.

You can listen to the MBIC Report here Download MP3 File

The MBIC Report is a weekly podcast on AgWired which you can subscribe to using the link in our sidebar.

Ag Groups, Audio, Beef, Podcasts

New Festival At American Royal Barbeque Contest

Chuck Zimmerman

American Royal BarbequeSince I mentioned the Royal in the last post and since it’s a barbeque kind of day then you should know about a new item at the American Royal Barbeque Contest.

New Festival Added to Barbecue
The 26th Annual American Royal Barbecue Contest has announced the addition of a new public music and food festival to the world’s biggest barbecue contest. “We want the barbecue contest to be a celebration of the city’s heritage that everyone in Kansas City can participate in and be proud of,” says Neal Patterson, American Royal Chairman of the Board. In addition to the concert, the American Royal also announced plans to build a “Barbecue Restaurant Row” where the public can taste great barbecue from some of the biggest names in Kansas City.

For more information contact Suzanne Levy.

Ag Groups