Put Your News Release In Front of the Farmer

Chuck Zimmerman December 1, 2005

Just a couple weeks ago we announced AgNewsWire.AgWired.com, your national ag news distribution service. We’ve definitely opened some eyes and created the very excitement that we hoped we would.

Starting next Monday, December 5, the newest, most unique element of AgNewsWire.AgWired.com will be officially available and we’ve already got releases scheduled and ready to send. I’m talking about the Quickfarm Network. This is a network of websites that Quickfarm has built and maintains for farmer cooperatives across the United States. There are about 2,000 cooperative locations involved. Our exclusive agreement with Quickfarm allows your news release to be posted in the home page content that Quickfarm supplies to those cooperative websites. That means your message goes directly to the farmer. Show me a news release distribution service that can guarantee you that! You can see a map that shows the locations of the cooperatives involved in the Quickfarm Network here.

Additionally, your release is posted to the AgNewsWire.AgWired.com website. We’re going to be working to encourage ag journalists from around the world to subscribe to AgNewsWire.AgWired.com and receive all releases posted their via the RSS feed. Gotta love RSS don’t you? You can find out more about the AgNewsWire.AgWired.com distribution points here.

We’ve got a lot of plans for the development of AgNewsWire.AgWired.com. It will grow out of your support whether you’re a journalist, communications director or public relations professional. Our rates are very reasonable and include the distribution of both traditional text only releases, Talking News Releases and even video and other images. You can see our rate structure here.

I will be on the road presenting AgNewsWire.AgWired.com around the country starting today in St. Louis. If you’d like to have a personal presentation about our new service or other ZimmComm services (blogging and podcasting), please give me a call or send me an email. Chances are I’ll be in your area or at a meeting with you over the next several months.

Public Relations

Trucking The Bio Highway

Chuck Zimmerman November 30, 2005

Hey all you 18 wheeler drivers. Now there’s a earth friendly website for you. It’s the United Soybean Board funded BioTrucker.com which I guess is produced by the National Biodiesel Board.

This holiday season, thousands of gifts ship over the road in big rigs running on biodiesel. Recently, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) announced endorsement of a 5 percent blend of biodiesel known commonly as B5 as part of the trucking industry’s move toward cleaner, renewable fuel. The soybean checkoff-funded National Biodiesel Board (NBB) launched www.biotrucker.com to provide access to encourage further biodiesel use in the trucking industry. Additional support for the increased use of B5 biodiesel is evident because most major diesel engine manufacturers including Detroit Diesel, Caterpillar and Cummins, have stated that B5 can be used in their diesel engines as long as the B5 blend meets the American Society for Testing and Materials D-6751 biodiesel standard. NBB estimates biodiesel production for 2005 to reach 75 million gallons, 50 million gallons more than last year.

There’s a video that automatically plays on the homepage if you leave it up that I thought was well done and amusing. Amusing because it has National Biodiesel Board Exec. Dir., Joe Jobe in it and the announcer formally calls him Joseph Jobe. It doesn’t take much to make me smile I guess.

Anyway, this is an interesting site. There’s links to other sites that truckers should be interested in and “user forums.” I think the user forum idea is a good one and kind of wish they were on more websites. Sometimes they’re the only place I can find stuff I want on a website where the company doesn’t readily provide the information I’m looking for.

Ag Groups

Yonder In The Pawpaw Patch

Chuck Zimmerman November 30, 2005

How many of you know about the Pawpaw? It’s a native American fruit. I can’t say I’ve had any experience with it. Apparently there are efforts to bring it “back.” I don’t know from where but after reading about it I’d sure like to try some.

There’s a story in USA Today titled “There’s one flaw in the pawpaw.” I guess it’s a fruit that doesn’t transport well.

You can learn a lot about the Pawpaw at Kentucky State University’s Pawpaw Information website. It claims to have the only full time pawpaw research program. It’s also the home to the Pawpaw Foundation. And in case you never sang the Pawpaw patch song you can see and hear it online.

Audio, Farming, University

Rural Internet Loan Situation

Chuck Zimmerman November 30, 2005

Speaking of New York. There’s an interesting story in the New York Times (requires free registration) about rural wireless internet access titled “Money Is There to Aid Rural Internet, but Loans Are Hard to Get.” I’ve reported before on the USDA Rural Development program that provides loans to companies that want to install and bring more broadband access to rural Americans (farmers). This article quotes some folks who aren’t happy with the pace at which USDA is granting the loans, the requirements for getting a loan and with the amount of money they’ve given away so far.

However, it does quote representatives of USDA and companies that have benefited from the program. It appears to me that USDA is doing the best it can and is just trying to be careful with the money they have. Let’s face it. Whenever you depend on the government to do it for you you’re probably going to be disappointed and frustrated anyway.

The complainers aren’t happy at the loan applications that have been denied and that some traditional large companies have received the loans. I think this statement makes it pretty clear why USDA is being so careful and deliberate. “None of its telephone company borrowers have ever defaulted on a loan, though $30.4 million in loans for high-speed Internet access, or broadband, are in default now.”

We certainly need broadband out in the countryside but it’s getting there quickly. A couple that moved into rural Iowa and now can’t get broadband is the subject of the article. They claim to be in a dead space for the wireless access that’s closest to them. However, the article quotes a QWest representative as saying (the company is) “expected to have broadband in all Iowa telephone exchanges by the end of 2006.” I guess that they’ll just have to be patient for a little while longer.

This whole government loan program is part of President Bush’s initiative to have broadband access to all homes in America by the end of 2007. Keep that in mind as you plan your communications programs over the next 2 years!

Thanks to my good buddy Steve Mays for the heads up on this one.

Internet

Fine Wine And Food In New York

Chuck Zimmerman November 30, 2005

Here’s a good reason to go to New York, althought you’ll have to wait until next summer. It’s the New York Wine & Culinary Center. Actually it would be a long way for a Missouri boy to go to get a good bottle of wine and learn how to fix a meal that will complement it. If I need to do that, it’s only about 2 blocks to Summit Lake Winery.

The board of directors of the highly anticipated, $7.5 million New York Wine & Culinary Center (NYWCC) has named Alexa Gifford as its Executive Director. Gifford joins the not-for- profit organization after more than five years with the Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance, most recently as the organization’s president. Under the direction of the NYWCC’s board of directors, Gifford will manage the Center’s operations and lead a staff of full- and part-time personnel.

The New York Wine & Culinary Center, a gateway to New York State food, wine, and agriculture, will open in Summer 2006 at 800 South Main Street in Canandaigua, N.Y. Constellation Brands, Inc., Wegmans, Rochester Institute of Technology, and the New York Wine & Grape Foundation partnered to establish the not-for-profit organization, which will be housed in the new 19,475 square-foot facility.

Agribusiness

Serving Beef To Miss Missouri USA

Chuck Zimmerman November 30, 2005

The Missouri Beef Industry Council is involved with two different organizations this week in trying to communicate with consumers. Alane Lidolph, Director of Consumer Information, explains what she’s doing with the Miss Missouri USA Contest and the Missouri Coordinated School Health Coalition Conference. She’s also got a beef-related holiday gift idea.

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

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

Osborn & Barr’s New Crop of Talent

Chuck Zimmerman November 29, 2005

A new crop has grown into Osborn & Barr Communications. The talent just keeps piling on. Read all about it:

Michael Berry has joined Osborn & Barr as an account coordinator. He will be putting his agricultural background to work for the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC). Previously, he had been an account service intern for Osborn & Barr. Michael holds a bachelor of journalism with emphasis in advertising from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Osborn & Barr Communications has hired Julia Robbins as assistant account executive for public relations on the Gov-Link business, a team devoted to the outreach and education needs of government agencies. Previously, she was a public affairs specialist with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development, where her responsibilities included communications plan development, media relations and press conferences.

Sarah Rebholz has been hired as account coordinator in contact relations working on the United Soybean Board account on strategic promotions and state outreach activities. She has a diverse base of communications experience, ranging from work with the National MS Society to Fox Sports Midwest and British American Business in London. Sarah received a bachelor of journalism in advertising from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Jessica Muehling has joined as computer graphics specialist for the agency’s Monsanto, Michelin and United Soybean Board accounts. Prior to joining Osborn & Barr, Jessica was a senior production artist at JWT Communications. A 2004 graduate of Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg with a bachelor of science in graphic design, Jessica received the Regents Scholarship and was on the Dean’s List throughout her academic career.

Agencies

Sitescore Gives AgWired A 7.5

Chuck Zimmerman November 29, 2005

I just found out about this website ranking tool from Silktide called Sitescore. You enter your website’s URL and it runs over 100 tests in just a few moments and then gives you a report.

AgWired scored a 7.5 overall which is very good. In some categories we ranked very high such as Design (how well built the website is) and Experience (how satisfying the website is likely to be). One thing that I found very good to know is that it found that we’re well linked to: “About 2,840 other websites were found linking to this website. (484 quality links, out of 2840). The website is extremely well linked to.”

It also found that AgWired is a very fast website (I’m feeling better about HostGator all the time) and of course that when you Google for AgWired we’re number 1!

Internet

Biotech Issues On The Ballot

Keith Good November 29, 2005

Biotechnology continues to be an issue that generates a high level of passion among farm policy observers as well as citizen voters both internationally and domestically.

The biotech issue has tremendous implications for agricultural trade and development.

This month, two separate votes on biotech ballot initiatives provide an interesting snap shot into the current nature of the debate.

On the international front, Sunday’s International Herald Tribune reported that, “Swiss voters today supported a five year-ban on the farming of genetically modified crops, offering a further sign of widespread distrust in Europe of scientifically enhanced foods.”

In addition to noting that the vote is an issue for “biotech companies like Syngenta, Bayer and Monsanto as they try to overcome consumer doubts about safety,” the article also pointed out that, “many nations say further tests are needed before allowing widespread farming of genetically modified crops.”

Meanwhile, a similar political action regarding biotechnology was the subject of recent debate here in the U.S.

Voters cast ballots on an initiative known as “Measure M” earlier this month in Sonoma County, California.

According to a Sacramento Bee article, “Measure M supporters said banning biotech crops for 10 years in Sonoma County represented a reasonable response to the spread of genetically modified foods. The moratorium was based on Europe’s so-called ‘Precautionary Principle,’ which says a new technology must be proved safe before it can be deployed.”

On the other hand, “[T]traditional farmers said Measure M would elevate fear above science and deprive them of tools necessary to improve the county’s two big agricultural industries – the $309 million wine-grape business and the $100 million dairy industry.”

In the end, voters rejected the proposed ban on genetically modified crops in Sonoma County.

These two votes demonstrate that the high octane debate regarding biotechnology is far from settled and will continue to have overarching implications for agricultural trade.

Keith Good writes The FarmPolicy.com News Summary, an Email newsletter containing a summary of news relating to U.S. farm policy which is published most weekdays. To learn more about this publication, go to www.farmpolicy.com.

Farm Policy

The Growing Popularity of Ethanol

Chuck Zimmerman November 29, 2005

CornTalk is the week’y interview program of the Missouri Corn Growers Association. This week MCGA President, Terry Hilgedick, talks about how the ethanol industry has already surpassed next year’s Renewable Fuels Standard production quota. He describes how grower-owned ethanol plant production is increasing in Missouri and looks forward to next spring’s legislative session and Missouri Governor Matt Blunt’s pledge to support a statewide 10% ethanol/gas blend requirement.

You can listen to this week’s CornTalk here:

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

Ag Groups, Corn, Ethanol, Podcasts

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