He’s The Wisconsin Cow Czar

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast37 - Steve KozarIn this week’s ZimmCast I’ve got something a little different. You’re probably familiar with the Cow Parade, you know that public art exhibition that got started in Chicago some years ago. Maybe you collect the minatures that are now sold as fine collectibles everywhere. If you have wanted to know more about how a public art display that is all about a farm animal works then listen to my interview with cow parade, cow artist, Steve Kozar. Steve was painting his cow in his booth at World Dairy Expo, so we could even see him work! Steve said people were having fun with his last name but he really got a kick out of it when I dubbed him the “Wisconsin Cow Czar.”

You can listen to this week’s ZimmCast with Steve here: Download MP3 File

The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired which you can subscribe to using the link in our sidebar. You can also now find the ZimmCast on CoolCast Radio. I’ll post more about this in coming days!

Audio, Farm Shows, Podcasts, World Dairy Expo, ZimmCast

That’s a Spicy Red Fez

Chuck Zimmerman

Beef, It's What's For DinnerI’ve been meaning to let you know about the Build A Better Burger contest winner because just the name of the recipe is unusual. This contest is sponsored by the Beef Checkoff Program and Sutter Home Family Vineyards as part of the checkoff’s annual Summer Grilling Promotion.

Barry Rosenstein of Elmhurst, Ill., used an extremely creative recipe to capture the $50,000 grand prize in the 15th annual Build a Better Burger® contest. Rosenstein’s Sweet and Spicy Red Fez Burger features ground chuck seasoned with Moroccan spices, combined with dried apricots, dates and lamb sausage. The burger also features unusual presentation, as it is served on a bun colored with red food coloring, to simulate a red fez. It topped the list of 4,400 recipes entered in this year’s contest.

You can find the recipe here.

Ag Groups, Beef

Boehringer Ingelheim Makes Deal With Novartis

Chuck Zimmerman

Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc.I can’t remember seeing so many company announcements so fast and furious as the last few weeks. Must be something in the air this fall. This announcement just came out today.

Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. has decided to sell its antimicrobial brand Denagard® (tiamulin) to Novartis Animal Health effective on Oct. 7, 2005. Under the terms of the agreement, Boehringer Ingelheim will continue to manufacture Denagard for Novartis.

That sounds like a good deal. Sell the brand and then get paid to produce the product. Sweet!

Agribusiness

More Kansas City Happenings

Chuck Zimmerman

A Royal GalaThere is sure a lot going on in Kansas City in coming weeks. For example, besides the Boots, Barbeque & Business luncheon I just posted, there’s also the Livestock Publications Council, “A Royal Gala Awards Banquet.” Make sure your fall plans include the Royal Gala in Kansas City coming up on October 21. This is the continuation of fundraising efforts to create the new Livestock Publications Heritage Center.

Agriculture Future of AmericaThen in November it’s time for the Agriculture Future of America conference which features their annual Leader in Agriculture Award dinner. That’s held on November 4th this year. It’s purpose is to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to the food and agriculture industry through their leadership and support of youth and education.

Ag Groups, LPC

How About Some Boots, Barbeque & Business

Chuck Zimmerman

Boots, Barbeque & BusinessThe Kansas City Agricultural Business Council won’t be having a meeting in October but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a great place to get together with other people in the business. Instead, October 20 is the 3rd annual Boots, Barbecue & Business luncheon hosted by the American Royal Association, Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and Shook, Hardy & Bacon. The event will be held at the American Royal. Members of the Agricultural Business Council (and the general public too) are encouraged to participate. More information may be found on the American Royal website and tickets may be ordered here.

According to the American Royal:
In the midst of all this fun, we do get down to business. The proceeds of this event help Kansas City’s kids learn about the importance of agriculture and support the Royal’s educational programs, which reach over 55,000 students annually in the metropolitan community and 1,000’s of students around the country who join our events. In addition to education, the American Royal provides jobs for Kansas City and has a multimillion dollar local economic impact. We invite you to help us celebrate 106 Years of Success in youth and education, but more importantly be a part of it once again.

Ag Groups

Blogging Is A Public Relations Function

Chuck Zimmerman

Business WireAs a Business Wire subscriber I just received my quarterly regional e-newsletter. Interestingly, it’s all about blogging and a conference they held in Denver on this subject. On the panel were people from a newspaper, an independent writer, a public relations agency and a news aggregator software company.

It looks like the newspaper people have some concerns about blogging, especially having one of their reporters doing it. As this lady put it “readers will see where a journalist got their opinions in the story.” Yep, that’s a hazard with reporting on a blog and one I think people want to see. We all know journalists have opinions and I think they show in the way a reporter writes anyway.

The public relations guy said that the rules are different now. That’s so true. He also made a point that blogs are a separate function of public relations as opposed to replacing public relations. The news aggregator guy says that PR people should be watching the blogs. I think they should not only watch them but make sure they send their materials to them! The independent writer says that “now all of us are media.” She gets it!

Uncategorized

D&PL Partners With Syngenta On AVICTA Complete Pak

Chuck Zimmerman

AVICTA Complete PakWe just alerted you to the news about AVICTA Complete Pak from Syngenta last week and already there’s more news as D&PL just announced an agreement to partner with Syngenta to market the new cotton seed treatment.

For those who don’t know what the product is: AVICTA Complete Pak is a combination of three separately registered
products: AVICTA(tm) seed treatment nematicide, Cruiser® seed treatment insecticide and Dynasty CST® seed-delivered fungicide. The immediate pest protection of AVICTA Complete Pak aids in better root development, and in turn, a healthier crop with improved return on investment.

AVICTA Complete Pak will be available in 2006 on all U.S. Delta and Pine Land Company varieties of cotton planting seed.

Agribusiness

What Happens To Agri Marketing Magazine?

Chuck Zimmerman

Vance Publishing - Food360 DivisionThis had been rumored but we are not into the rumor mill here at AgWired. On Friday it was officially announced that those busy folks at Vance have added to their Food360 Division. What did they add, you ask?

Vance Publishing Corporation, a diversified information and communications company, announced today the acquisition of Doane Agricultural Services of St. Louis, MO. The newly acquired product lines include an array of economic advisory products, a magazine, and a daily live radio program.

“Like Vance Publishing, Doane has long been a strong and well-respected leader in agriculture information,” said Vance Chairman William C. Vance. “This significant purchase complements Vance’s existing portfolio of communication products serving the agricultural industry. Additionally, the impressive research and forecasting capabilities included in the acquisition now allows us to provide in-depth commodity analysis, research and advice to the audiences and key influencers throughout the entire food value chain.”

According to the announcement there won’t be any changes in the AgriTalk program but some will be made to the following:

We will be redesigning the magazine, Ag Professional, and blending it with an existing Vance product, Dealer & Applicator,” Newham stated. “The magazines currently serve slightly different but compatible markets: Dealer & Applicator focuses on the retail trade, and Ag Professional targets professional farm managers and crop consultants as well as retailers. We will combine the two publications, retaining the Ag Professional name. Production will be increased to twelve times a year.”

What is not mentioned is Agri Marketing magazine.

Publication

Are You Old Enough To Listen To A Podcast?

Chuck Zimmerman

Current conventional wisdom (what people “think”) seems to be that the internet and things like blogging and podcasting are just for young people. Why do we always assume things without checking out the research.

I just found this release on VNUNET.com about a survey done by CLX, a mobile phone polling firm, that says that it’s older people who are driving the growth of podcasting.

“A survey of over 8,000 American consumers by pollsters CLX has revealed that podcasting is most popular with those over 45, with 21 per cent of those questioned listening to podcasts. This compares to just 13 per cent of 15 to 24-year olds.”

I find this totally believable since I talk with many people my age and older who are regular visitors to AgWired and who have listened to our weekly podcast, the ZimmCast. But for some reason they think they aren’t the “norm” and that the bulk of the other people visiting must be young. I don’t think so and I’m going to look for some more research on this.

Podcasts