TGIF All You Agrimarketing Professionals

Chuck Zimmerman

On the road again. Heading back from Des Moines so you won’t see much until this evening or this weekend.

It’s been a great 2 weeks of presentations on AgNewsWire.AgWired.com, agriblogging services and farm podcasting services. I want to thank all the people who have had me in. We’ve had some great discussions.

AgNewsWire.AgWired.com is off to a great start as evidenced by the releases we’ve sent/posted this week and have on the schedule for the future. Some creative ideas are surfacing with our Quickfarm Network component that I’ll be discussing with them. This unique new industry service has received a lot of interest and we’ll be working to develop and perfect it as time goes on.

I’m really psyched (maybe psycho) about the interest in agriblogging and farm podcasting. We’ve got numerous projects in the works or being considered. Keep your creative juices flowing folks. We haven’t even scratched the surface yet.

And besides the interest in having us design and create blogs, 2006 will be a big year for our own blogs as we develop sponsorships for them. We promise that the revenue we generate will be re-invested in developing and promoting them even further!

Talk to you again soon.

Uncategorized

Cows Getting Their DNA Genotyped

Chuck Zimmerman

GeneseekI really think that what the folks at Merial are doing with DNA through their Igenity division is fascinating. But, it’s so complex and “technical” I don’t even know how to write about it. So this announcement about their deal with GeneSeek is going to have to speak for itself.

MerialGeneSeek, Inc. and Merial Limited announced today an agreement to conduct large-scale DNA genotyping in cattle. The two companies are collaborating to develop seamless and high-throughput platforms to support research and for commercial diagnostic purposes, including sample collection, sample preparation, SNP genotyping, data processing and data management. Cattle producers will be able to use this information for advanced management and breeding of cattle to optimize efficiencies.

Initially, the collaboration will focus on a demonstration trial called “Project Lariat” to illustrate the value of these new platforms. Over 50,000 cattle will be sampled and genotyped, and their performance data recorded, to demonstrate the benefits of cost-effective DNA analysis in support of Marker Assisted Selection and Marker Assisted Management throughout the beef production chain.

Agribusiness

NCGA Announces Yield Contest Winners

Chuck Zimmerman

National Corn Growers AssociationThe National Corn Yield Contest Winners have been announced by the National Corn Growers Association. The winning yields range from 351 to 232 bushels per acre.

Back when I was in farm broadcasting full time I had the chance to announce the winners of this contest at the Commodity Classic. That was an experience. It was an early breakfast and there are a lot of names to announce. You just have to assume you know how to pronounce them all.

I’d be happy to do it again if NCGA would like to have a farm podcaster on stage!

The 27 winners were among the 2,997 total entries from 47 states. Twelve states were represented among the 27 winners. Though the NCYC does not recognize an overall winner, the winning yields ranged from 351.6881 bushels per acre by Steve Albracht of Hart, Texas, to 232.4453 by Brenda Tanner of Union City, Tenn. This year, 11 contestants, including all three winners in the AA Non-irrigated and Irrigated classes, recorded yields of more than 300 bushels. The average bushels per acre among the 27 winners was 288. This year’s contest had a first: Kip Cullers of Purdy, Mo., became the first twin-row entrant to place in a category. Seventeen growers entered twin-row fields this year.

You can see a list of the winners on the NCBA website.

Ag Groups, Corn

Watch & Listen To WTO Talks Via Webcasts

Chuck Zimmerman

WTO Hong Kong MinisterialIn case you’re really interested in what’s going on at the WTO talks in Hong Kong they are recording and webcasting many of the public sessions like news conferences and statements. They’re offering them live and archived in video and audio format and even in different languages.

Just go to the WTO Webcasting Page and you’ll find listings of the available audio/video files that they stream from their web server so they play very quickly.

The quality is very good of what I looked at. I didn’t see anything earth-shattering to report on although I can guarantee you that I didn’t spend a lot of time on it today. It was a busy day of presentations in Des Moines for ZimmComm. We also distributed multiple news releases today and worked on the production of two more which will be sent out tomorrow. You can of course see them on AgNewsWire.AgWired.com.

Uncategorized

O & B Kansas City Says “Boo”

Chuck Zimmerman

Boo LarsonIt’s Osborn & Barr announcement time. The agency now has Annabel “Boo” Larsen in the Kansas City office as Managing Director. In her new role, Boo will be responsible for the account service, media, public relations, accounting and creative staff.

Boo joined O&B after 20 years with Geoff Howe Marketing Communications. Beginning her career in Geoff Howe’s London, England, office, Boo gained experience in account management working on brands such as Hellmann’s, PepsiCo, Budweiser and the New Zealand Dairy Board. She transferred to Geoff Howe’s Kansas City office to develop the Hill’s Pet Nutrition account. In addition, Boo spent two years as the group account director for Pfizer Animal Health.

The agency also announced that:

. . . Adam Elwell has joined as art director. Adam will focus primarily on John Deere Credit, RFD-TV and new business efforts. Previously, Adam was an art director at Geoff Howe Marketing Communications in Kansas City where he worked on Hill’s Pet Nutrition which includes Science Diet and Prescription Diet.

Agencies

Johanns Appoints Cotton Board Members

Chuck Zimmerman

Cotton BoardU. S. Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Johanns, announced some new Cotton Board members:

The newly appointed board members are: Steve Cantu, Tranquillity, Calif.; Barry Evans, Kress, Tex.; Maureen Gray, Lyndhurst, N.J.; Linda Tipton, Bentonville, Ark.; and William Sheely, Burlington, N.C.

The newly appointed alternate members are: Catherine Fanucchi, Bakersfield, Calif.; David Grant, Garysburg, N.C.; Michael Hubbard, Gastonia, N.C.; David Levey, Menomonee Falls, Wisc.; Debi Gregg, Hunting Beach, Calif.; and Joseph Harris, Anaheim, Calif..

To see the full list, including those who were re-appointed, visit the Cotton Board website.

Uncategorized

FAO Releases State of Food & Agriculture 2005

Chuck Zimmerman

FAORight before the WTO talks got started in Hong Kong the FAO released its “State of Food & Agriculture 2005” report.

The State of Food and Agriculture 2005 (SOFA 2005) examines agricultural trade and poverty, seeking to answer the question: Can trade work for the poor?

According to SOFA 2005, the answer is yes, but trade liberalization alone is not enough. Policies and investments must be put in place to allow the poor to benefit from trade opportunities and to protect the vulnerable against trade-related shocks. “Agricultural trade and further trade liberalization can unlock the potential of the agriculture sector to promote pro-poor growth, but these benefits are not guaranteed.”

You can read the executive summary here. (pdf file)

An excerpt example would be this one where they recommend how trade can work for the poor with a “twin-track approach”. This involves (i) investing in human capital, institutions and infrastructure and (ii) establishing safety nets to protect vulnerable people during the transition to freer trade.”

International

Learn About European Union FarmSubsidy(.org) Payments

Chuck Zimmerman

FarmSubsidy.orglI was saving this for the right time. I think with the WTO talks going on in Hong Kong it’s a good time to point you to FarmSubsidy.org. From their news release earlier this month:

Today, an international network of journalists and activists has launched a new website that will enable European citizens to find out who gets what from the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Coordinated from Denmark and the UK, the website is the product of intensive collaborative working across more than ten countries. The website facilitates access data on farm subsidy payments obtained through requests under legislation on public access to information.

In 2004, the CAP paid out €43.5 billion in farm subsidies but unlike most other areas of EU expenditure, the payments have been kept top secret. This began to change in 2004, when DICAR, an organisation of Danish investigative journalists, succeeded in their application for data on farm subsidy payments in Denmark. DICAR has since joined with UK-based non-profit EU Transparency to bring together a network of campaigners in other member states and to build the farmsubsidy.org website.

Farm Policy, International

Missouri Beef Council Is Blogging

Chuck Zimmerman

MBIC Report PodcastThe Missouri Beef Industry Council’s weekly MBIC Report this week is with executive director, Steve Taylor.

MoBeef UpdateMBIC is blogging with MOBeef Update! In our interview Steve describes why he’s chosen to use this tool as a new way to communicate with cattle producers who want to keep up to date on the activities of the organization.

You can listen to this week’s MBIC Report here: Download MP3 File

The MBIC Report is an AgWired podcast which you can subscribe to using the link you’ll find on our “Blogs & Podcasts” page or on the MBIC website.

Ag Groups, Audio, Beef, Podcasts

Enhancing Value For Missouri Corn Growers

Chuck Zimmerman

CornTalk podcastCornTalk is the week’y interview program of the Missouri Corn Growers Association. This week the program features an update on the MCGA Value Enhancement Program. MCGA Director of Market Development, Gary Wheeler, talks about how the organization works to capture value for its members. Additionally, Wheeler discusses the importance to Missouri corn growers of the reopening of the Japanese market to U. S. beef and he offers some advice to growers as they look forward to next year’s crop.

You can listen to this week’s CornTalk here: Download MP3 File

CornTalk is a weekly AgWired podcast which you can subscribe to using the link you’ll find on our “Blogs & Podcasts” page.

Ag Groups, Audio, Corn, Podcasts