Workers Are Blogging Their Lives Away

Chuck Zimmerman

Last post for the day folks and I’ll give my keyboard a rest (not). I’ve seen this story all over the place and was not sure how to handle it until I read about in on Steve Mays blog. Steve usually has a way of putting things in perspective. The story is on Adage.com (requires registration).

About 35 million workers — one in four people in the labor force — visit blogs and on average spend 3.5 hours, or 9%, of the work week engaged with them, according to Advertising Age’s analysis. Time spent in the office on non-work blogs this year will take up the equivalent of 2.3 million jobs. Forget lunch breaks — blog readers essentially take a daily 40-minute blog break.

I wonder how many of them are farmers or people involved in agricultural marketing and communications? I also just saw that Technorati is tracking over 20 million blogs now. As Steve says “And a week doesn’t go by that someone asks me to explain “this blogging thing.” Right on Stevie Wonder. And we’ll be very happy to explain it to them!

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Bonanza Bill Invites You To NAFB Convention

Chuck Zimmerman

Bill O'NeillLet’s hear from Bonanza Bill who’s the new sheriff in town at NAFB. He has a personal invitation for you to their convention.

You can listen to Bill’s invite here: Download MP3 File

The NAFB Convention
November 9-11, 2005
Kansas City, Missouri
Westin Crown Center

Audio, NAFB

Discover Your Inner Chicken

Chuck Zimmerman

Mid-Atlantic Agricultural Awareness AllianceHow does one know if one has an inner chicken? I guess you have to visit the Mid-Atlantic Agricultural Awareness Alliance website, thankachicken.com, to find out.

This is actually a creative use of Soybean Checkoff funds since the Delaware, Maryland and Virginia soybean boards used money from the checkoff’s Animal Ag Initiative to promote the benefits of the poultry industry to the Delmarva region, including the launch of the website. The project was done to thank the local poultry indutry in the Delmarva peninsula for the tax revenue it generates that’s used for schools, roads and libraries.

Ag Groups

NAWG WILOT Group Announced

Chuck Zimmerman

National Association of Wheat GrowersWhy not have a WILOT? The National Association of Wheat Growers does. It’s the Wheat Industry Leaders of Tomorrow program and they’ve got 10 folks participating. Keep these names in mind since some of them may become state and national leaders in the future!

The 10 participants are: James White from Colfax, Washington; Kevin Porter from Pendleton, Oregon; Ian Anderson from Birds Landing, California; Tim Bartram from Enid, Oklahoma; Shawn Sullivan from Wallace, Nebraska; Jay Elkin from Taylor, North Dakota; Aron Torgerson from Ethridge, Montana; Dan Engler from Downs, Kansas; Michael Martin from Forbes, North Dakota; and John Thaemert representing the NAWG Officers. The next WILOT program will be held November 1-6, 2005 in St. Louis and March 4-7, 2006 in Washington, DC.

WILOT is designed for wheat growers who are interested in becoming involved at the state level on committees and boards, but who have not yet been elected to statewide office or served on the NAWG Board of Directors. The program is a project of the NAWG Foundation and sponsored by Monsanto.

Ag Groups

Inductees Into Angus Heritage Foundation

Chuck Zimmerman

American AngusThe American Angus Association will be inducting a number of people into the Angus Heritage Foundation in just a few weeks. I will not be able to attend but I can just guess what they’ll be serving for dinner!!

The American Angus Association Board of Directors has selected three couples and one individual for induction to the Angus Heritage Foundation. Each year, a select group of individuals who have made significant contributions by dedicating their time, knowledge and efforts to the improvement and advancement of the Angus breed are inducted into the Heritage Foundation.

The 2005 inductees include Harvey & Nina Lemmon, Woodbury, Ga.; Bill & Barbara Rishel, North Platte, Neb.; and Vance & Connie Uden, Franklin, Neb. Morris Pipkin, formerly of Republic, Mo., will be inducted posthumously.

A special recognition of the inductees will be held during the American Angus Association’s Angus Awards Banquet, November 14 in Louisville, Ky. Each inductee or their family will receive a framed Angus Heritage Foundation certificate, and their names will be engraved on a permanent Heritage Foundation plaque in the Association headquarters in Saint Joseph, Mo.

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Today’s Missouri Farmer Reads Today’s Farmer

Chuck Zimmerman

Today's Farmer MagazineThe people at Today’s Farmer magazine have just completed a new readership study which provides some comparative data to other publications targeting Missouri farmers. The publication is owned by MFA Incorporated. The sample for the survey was compiled by Farm Market ID and the survey was conducted by Ag Media Research.

Over 70 percent of Missouri’s farmers recall receiving Today’s Farmer, published by MFA Incorporated, according to the 2005 Ag Media Research Readership Study. That’s more than Successful Farming, Farm Journal or Missouri Ruralist, according to the study. Ron Claussen, Ag Media Research, says, “The high response number of producers indicates a very high actual readership level for Today’s Farmer magazine.”

Today’s Farmer is an award-winning magazine with over 37,000 subscribers – the largest circulation of any farm magazine in Missouri. What makes Today’s Farmer so attractive to farmers is that it’s written in Missouri about farming in this region. According to magazine editor, Chuck Lay, “It’s very important that our advertisers know that Today’s Farmer magazine subscribers are hand picked by our cooperative managers and they represent the largest and most active producers in our region.”

“76% of those surveyed rate Today’s Farmer parent company, MFA Incorporated, as a progressive company working to meet the needs of our state’s farmers,” according to Nip Neidert, Neidert Associates. “The partnership between MFA and Today’s Farmer takes our sponsors’ products direct from the pages of the magazine to the counter tops of co-ops throughout the region.”

Nip Neidert says to contact him if you want the “rest of the story.”

Agribusiness, Publication

MFA Health Track Has QSA Status

Chuck Zimmerman

MFA HealthTrackMFA Incorporated just got some very important news for cattlemen who want to be able to take quick advantage of the pending opening of new foreign trade markets. To announce it they sent out a Talking News Release. The state of Missouri is ahead of the game in obtaining USDA Quality Systems Assessment and MFA’s Health Track program is now able to offer that status to its customers!

Now that Missouri’s Quality Systems Assessment (QSA) program has been accepted by the USDA, MFA Health Track calves can comply with the new federal designation, which means they will have the go-ahead for the toughest export markets. Specifically, post-BSE negotiations with trading partners like Japan have made QSA a necessary bargaining tool.

MFA Health Track manager Mike John says the pending opening of the Japanese market has already created a demand for QSA certified cattle because it takes about 180 days to finish those animals. “The feed yards are willing to start filling the pipeline so they’ll have product when the market does open. So it will bring more buyers to Missouri because of the large number of feeder cattle that we have.” Full Release

Agribusiness, Audio, Beef

Farm Bill & World Trade On CornTalk

Chuck Zimmerman

CornTalk podcastCornTalk, a weekly program for the Missouri Corn Growers Association, features an interview with CEO, Gary Marshall. Gary talks about two big issues that have a direct impact on Missouri corn growers, the new farm bill and pending world trade talks. Gary discusses the status of both of these topics and explains how MCGA is working to protect its members as these issues move forward.

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 in our sidebar.

Ag Groups, Audio, Corn, Podcasts

The Beef Checkoff Promotes Healthy Beef Cookbook

Chuck Zimmerman

MBIC Report PodcastSt. Louis was the location for the unveiling of the new “Healthy Beef Cookbook” at the annual meeting of the American Dietetics Association. This week’s MBIC report from the Missouri Beef Industy Council is with consumer information director Alane Lidolf, who talks about the new cookbook, how it was developed and how it benefits the beef industry.

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 in our sidebar or on the newly designed MBIC website.

Ag Groups, Audio, Beef, Podcasts

Over 1,000 Articles Now On AgWired

Chuck Zimmerman

I knew another milestone was fast approaching for AgWired but I didn’t catch it until I went past it. This post is number 1,002! When I got started I thought that I’d be lucky to post something every once in a while. Little did I know. I guess it’s called being bitten by the blog bug. Whatever it is, there is no shortage of information or topics.

That’s why I’m looking for writers, like Keith Good who started today. I hope you like his article on farm policy. He’ll be a regular. If you’ve got a blog and think you want to give it a try I’m willing to discuss it. I know there’s a lot of good writers out there but I need someone who’s committed (or maybe should be).

Over time I hope you’ll find that AgWired will become a valuable resource for keeping up on “what’s new in the world of agribusiness.”

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