AgWired

One way to bring attention to your organization is to apply what you do to what people are interested in. For example, the American Phytopathological Society has these tips for picking a healthy pumpkin and also provides some very technical information about what causes, um, unhealthiness.

Visually check for moldy areas or soft spots on the fruit (remember to check the bottom).
Check the stem; healthy stems are green in color. A good stem will support the weight of the fruit.
Most pumpkin varieties are a bright orange when mature. A yellow pumpkin may not be completely mature.
If possible, keep your pumpkin in a dry, shady place and try to prevent it from freezing. This should increase the ‘porch life’ of your pumpkin.
Once pumpkins are carved, the process of decay will become more rapid. To help insure that a Jack-o-Lantern lasts through Halloween, don’t carve it until a few days before the event.

Now for some of the technical stuff.

. . . Another disease that affects pumpkins is Phytophthora blight. This disease is usually found in regions that have experienced heavy rainfall. Pumpkins with Phytophthora blight will have areas of white mold that appears fuzzy. Another disease, bacterial fruit spot, will cause scabby lesions to appear on the fruit.

I for one wouldn’t want white fuzzy spots on my pumpkin if you know what I mean. That’s why we have organizations like this to protect us!!

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association is going to have a new advertising campaign tag line for the first time since 1998 when they started with “Go Baby Go.” They estimate that about $5 million will be spent in “media value,” including national and regional NTRA and member racetrack media buys.

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) will roll out a new advertising campaign featuring the new tag line, “Who Do You Like Today?” in 2006, the organization announced at its annual meeting and marketing summit in Lexington, KY.

The ad campaign, which will feature TV, print and Internet, was created and developed by Conover Tuttle Pace (CTP), an integrated advertising and communications firm headquartered outside of Boston. It was shot at such venerable race tracks as Churchill Downs, Belmont Park, Saratoga and Del Mar, with additional shooting scheduled at other tracks in 2006.

For the 34th time there will be a Cotton USA Orientation Tour. This year there will be 24 participants representing 13 countries in Asia and Latin America. It’s put on by Cotton Council International.

Textile executives from 13 countries throughout Asia and Latin America will travel across the U.S. Cotton Belt, Oct. 17-28 to familiarize themselves with U.S. cotton and how that fiber is produced, processed and marketed.

More than 750 textile executives from 60-plus countries have toured the U.S. Cotton Belt via CCI’s Orientation Tour, which was initiated in 1968. The Tour’s specific objectives are to increase these U.S. cotton customers’ awareness of the types and qualities of U.S. cotton, help them gain a better understanding of U.S. marketing practices and enhance their relationships with U.S. cotton exporters.

Since I saw that Florida Farm Bureau is supporting the creation of a Florida honey marketing cooperative it gave me an excuse to write about one of my former employers. Yes, I worked for FFBF way back when (early 1980’s) as the Broadcast Manager. That was an interesting time . . .

So the buzz is all about marketing honey because not all honey is created equal and it’s a huge business in Florida. There’s a story about this in the Palm Beach Post, “Marketing could add buzz to Florida’s honey trade.” It says that this is a $202 million/year industry! According to Florida Farm Bureau, “Florida honey producers and packers who want information about the formation of the marketing cooperative can contact Jerry Latner, president of the industry steering committee, at (877) 832-3268.”