In just a few minutes I’m going to be on a conference call with the panelists for Wednesday evening’s NAMA Boot Camp producer panel. They’ll give attendees an opportunity to “Hear first hand how to effectively communicate with the end user.” Featured guests will include lifestyle and large operators.
Panel Guests: Brian Bogue, Bogue Farms; Michael Amigoni, Amigoni Family Vineyards; Larry Oltjen
I’ll be blogging to and from the event so stay tuned.
If you want to know the results of the Livestock Publications Council critique contest then you can download the results here: LPC Critique Contest Results (pdf file). The awards from the contest were presented at the Ag Media Summit in Milwaukee earlier this month.
How much do you know about the World Dairy Expo? Now you can learn more by listening to this week’s ZimmCast. I interviewed World Dairy Expo, general manager, Tom McKittrick in his office recently. Tom describes the history, mission, purpose, theme and structure of the Expo. Many of you probably already know this but we’re also operating a weblog called “World Dairy Diary” in cooperation with World Dairy Expo. Look for more on the Expo in coming months. AgWired will be there blogging the show!
You can listen to my interview with Tom here 
The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired which you can subscribe to using the link in our sidebar.
Valent was serving up “Hot Topics” at the recent Ag Media Summit. Like many exhibitors they weren’t there to make a major announcement but to build relationships with agricultural editors. Now I like hot sauce so they got my attention with the materials in their booth. For example, we received a CD that was labelled like a bottle of Tabasco sauce that contained recent news releases and personnell bios. I wish it had included images (logos, etc.) and some audio. Additionally they had questions and answers on little cards attached by a piece of ribbon to tiny bottles of Tabasco sauce.
All in all it was a job well done by the folks at Archer-Malmo (agency) and the company. Building relationships with ag journalists will go a long way toward having your materials get looked at when the real news is available.
I keep seeing good news about business magazine revenues. The data now includes an agriculture category. So it’s no surprise to see that Farm Journal Media is adding sales staff on the publications side as well as the electronic side.
Farm Journal Media Adds Four New Sales Positions
Philadelphia, PA – August 12, 2005 – Farm Journal Media announced today the hiring of four salespeople, all filling newly created sales positions.
Alan Eley joins Farm Journal Media’s Database Strategies group as a Database Sales Executive and will work out of the Company’s sales headquarters in Park Ridge, IL. Bob Ford is named Director of Distribution at Farm Journal Electronic Media and will work at the Company’s Electronic Media division in Lafayette, IN. Denise Hollinger also joins Farm Journal Electronic Media in Lafayette as a National Account Manager – a newly created position. Leah Rippe joins the Company in the new position of Farm Journal Sales Representative for middle-market accounts, representing FARM JOURNAL and TOP PRODUCER magazines.
For more information contact Will Murphy.
It’s really official that 51 percent of U S farms have internet access now! That’s up 3 percent from 2003. The percentage of increase is smaller than in past surveys showing some levelling off in farms obtaining internet access. This makes some sense when you consider that the average age of a farmer continues to move upward. I can’t see the number declining though and at 51 percent that means that almost 1.1 million farms are online! That’s a significant number.
The National Agricultural Statistics Service had to re-release this. Now we have the “final” version of the Farmer Computer Usage & Ownership survey. Not any real big changes. Just to make sure though I interviewed Sarah Hoffman, section head, environmental & demographics section of the National Agricultural Statistics Service to make sure.
You can listen to my interview with Sarah here
The percentage of farms with internet access goes even higher when you look at the breakouts of farms at higher income levels. The percentage goes up to 72 percent at the highest level ($250,000+ income).
For the first time NASS asked what type of internet access farmers have. Of those with access, 69 percent get it by dialup and 23 percent through broadband (cable, dsl, satellite) with a tiny percentage of “unknown.” There aren’t comparison number on this but common sense tells you that the broadband percentage has grown and will continue to do so as USDA continues its program to assist companies financially who are installing rural broadband access.
What do you do when you expect some negative customer feedback? Send out a news release explaining your actions! That’s what BASF did to explain their pursuit of farmers using saved seed from their Clearfield agreements. In this case with a group of Arkansas rice growers. Although I only have the facts stated in the release I think most people would agree that if you enter into an agreement you ought to abide by it. At least that’s what I was always taught.
BASF committed to protecting the CLEARFIELD technology
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. (August 9,2005) – BASF is committed to protecting the effectiveness of its CLEARFIELD*
Production System, including wheat, as shown by its pursuit of a stewardship case involving rice in Arkansas. Last spring, the company entered into a consent judgment with a number of northeastern Arkansas rice growers and others, some of whom violated CLEARFIELD rice stewardship agreements by planting saved seed. The company’s action in pursuing the case reflects its interest in safeguarding the CLEARFIELD portfolio, which includes wheat and sunflowers, other crops involving the registered technology, said Jason Ward, CLEARFIELD market manager. “This legal action was necessary to preserve the integrity of the CLEARFIELD Production System for rice for the overwhelming majority of farmers who have appropriately – and legally – used the technology,” he said. “Our position has been explained to growers and is clearly spelled out in the stewardship agreement.
For more information contact Joy Watson.
Just yesterday we told you to experience the power of figs, now it’s potatoes. The United States Potato Board is changing Mr. Potato Head. In fact, according to this article, the new dude will fly in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Notice that this sleek potato guy has his digital audio player on. Hopefully he subscribes to the ZimmCast! Mr. Potato Head is a Hasbro toy.
Besides his roller blade image there’s also a Mr. Potato Head walker, complete with pedometer. I guess all the news about nutrition and obesity is starting to have an impact on the way food is being marketed in this country. I don’t know that it means we’ll become less obese. But we’ll know a lot more about what we’re eating. By the way they claim that Mr. Potato Head has 100% recall!
Power to the potato, right on! For more information contact Meredith Myers.
The dates are set now for the second public relations online event. It’s Global PR Blog Week 2.0 which will be held September 19-23. You can see the full program here. I saw the alert to this on PR Opinions.
This is an interesting idea. “The Global PR Blog Week 2.0 is an online conference on how new media technologies are changing the practice of Public Relations and corporate communications. We’re talking weblogs and participatory journalism, wikis, podcasting, and RSS.” You can still see all the resources from Global PR Blog Week 1.0.
Now even W is podcasting by gosh! If the President of the United States is podcasting then this just ain’t a strange sounding word and if you’re in public relations and communications you’d better be paying attention. We keep telling you that it’s time to “think outside the box” (I’m sick of that phrase) but at least in this case I’m talking about a box that lets you tune into a regular radio station. Times they are a changing.
It’s White House Radio and you can subscribe and listen, wherever and whenever you want! Thank you Steve Rubel at Micro Persuasion for the tip.
