The Agri Council of American Business Media held an audio webcast today to announce the results of their study on agricultural media usage by farmers and ranchers. I haven’t had time to listen to it yet but will post more information when I do.
You can listen to the recording of the webcast here: Agri Council Webcast
It looks like there’s a lot of pressure being put on congress as it relates to crop insurance this year. Crop 1 Insurance sent out a talking news release today with sound bites from their president’s testimony on capitol hill on Tuesday.
CROP1 INSURANCE SAVES FARMERS ESTIMATED $2.4 MILLION THIS YEAR
Premium Reduction Plan Benefits Small Farmers
Des Moines, Iowa — The Crop1 Insurance Premium Reduction Plan (PRP), targeted for elimination in the agriculture appropriations bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last month, will save farmers an estimated $2.4 million in premiums this year and benefits many small farmers, according to new figures released by Crop1 Insurance in testimony before the Senate Agriculture Committee on Tuesday. Crop 1 Insurance president and CEO Billy Rose testified that the company has already saved farmers millions of dollars through the PRP.
“To kill PRP sends a simple message – insurance company profits and agents’ commission checks are more important than helping farmers save money. Since the inception and approval of our program, we have saved the American farmer, out of our pocket, over four million dollars – no cost to the American taxpayer.” (full release)
For more information contact Greg Ehm.
This dude from Toronto was wandering around the 2005 Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo today. He didn’t say much. Just waved a lot and was hangin with the ethanol home boys.
Corn Cob was escorted by Melissa Armstrong, public relations manager for the Canadia Renewable Fuels Association, CRFA. They were promoting the Canadian Renewable Fuels Summit which is scheduled for December 13-15.
While browsing the CRFA website I found a couple of radio commercials you might want to check out:
The ABC’s of Ethanol 
Leaving Home
I only got to spend a little time at the 2005 Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo today but there were photo opportunities. Since a lot of ethanol is made out of corn I had to take a picture of the Burns & McDonnell booth where they were making fresh popcorn! That’s the idea. Be creative. Top it off with some iced down bottled root beer and free coffee travel mugs made out of corn and I think someone was thinking ahead. They knew they’d be in Kansas City so the booth even had a cowtown motif.
I’ve been involved in more discussions about how to “track” news releases in the last few weeks than I can remember. That reminded me that it’s time for chapter 2 in this series, “Tracking News Releases.” In this chapter we’ll discuss how reporters use news releases, especially radio reporters since that’s our specialty.
Chapter 2
Why didn’t anyone use my release right away? How do reporters decide to use my release? When will they use my release? Did they use the audio I sent?
In the first chapter I wrote about the news value of a release, which is the most important aspect of a release. I’m finding that a lot of public relations people don’t understand how a release is used by the reporter though. Many assume that the release is used immediately or not at all. They don’t realize that unless the story is time sensitive it can often be archived for future use. I’ve seen releases used months after they were received. I’ve done it myself!
Even a well written release that has a news angle to it (we don’t want written commercials!) won’t get used immediately unless the reporter has room in their publication or program and needs to fill space or time. These releases may often be placed in a folder or file for use when the reporter needs some “news.”
Many reporters I know won’t just cut and paste the release either. They will often re-write it to fit their style and medium. The end result may not even resemble the original release. Then it’s even harder to know if the release was used.
Most releases contain quotes from company representatives like the CEO or a technician and reporters often like to call a local contact for a quote, especially radio reporters. When this happens it also makes it hard to tell if they used the release you sent out. They may get a local customer or representative to say the very same thing but then they make the story more interesting to their listeners while feeling more in control of the news. . . (full article)
At the end of last week the big news was the BSE announcement by USDA. As big as that news was it’s not something for the public to be alarmed about and that’s the word you can hear in this week’s Missouri Beef Industry Council Report from executive director Steve Taylor. Steve also talks about the upcoming July 4th opportunity to grill beef with your family and friends!
You can listen to the MBIC Report here
You can always subscribe to the podcast version of this report by using the file located in our sidebar.
Now that’s what I’m talking about. Go to the opening event for a little ag-itude adjustment! I can’t be there though, bummer. Maybe they’ll send along some pictures to share.
Heritage Complex debuts world class AgVentures! discovery center
Opens to general public August 28
TULARE, CA: The Learning Center at Heritage Complex is in the midst of undergoing a major transformation which will result in a world-class ag museum to be unveiled to the general public, Sunday, Aug. 28. Located on the showgrounds of the International Agri-Center in Tulare, Calif., the new and vastly improved ag discovery center, AgVentures! at Heritage Complex, will be the caliber of contemporary discovery centers found in large cities.
The top to bottom makeover sets the stage for 25 brand new, custom designed, professionally built interactive exhibits. AgVenture! staff and volunteers have been working with a design firm in Oakland, Calif. Exhibits are under construction in Seattle, Wash.
“AgVentures! is designed for an unforgettable adventure in agriculture,” says Erin Machado, coordinator of the project at Heritage Complex. Exhibits will portray important messages about ag, natural resources and the future of the Central Valley.
AgVentures! will host an opening night fund-raiser, “Safari AgVenture,” Saturday, Aug. 27. Tickets are $50 each. The new ag discovery center opens to the general public on Sunday, Aug. 28.
Safari AgVenture! will start with an assortment of “Ag-ittude Adjustment” cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. After the unveiling of the custom constructed exhibits, guests will be treated to a feast of safari proportions.
For more information contact Erin Machado.
Want to know how the “largest retail farm & ranch store chain” is doing? Just log onto their webcast.
Tractor Supply Company to Webcast Second Quarter Results
BRENTWOOD, Tenn., June 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:TSCO) , the largest retail farm and ranch store chain in the United States, intends to release its second quarter results Wednesday, July 20, 2005. In conjunction with this release, the management of Tractor Supply Company will host a conference call on the afternoon of Wednesday, July 20, 2005, which will be simultaneously broadcast live over the Internet.
4:30 P.M. (EASTERN TIME), Wednesday, July 20, 2005, http://www.mytscstore.com/
Please allow extra time prior to the call to visit the site and download the streaming media software required to listen to the Internet broadcast. The online archive of the broadcast will be available on the http://www.mytscstore.com/ website through August 3, 2005.
I knew this wasn’t going to sit well with everyone and I’m sure we’re going to hear a lot more about it. We reported recently on the introduction of a new voluntary beef labeling program. It was officially kicked off today. The first response we’ve seen has been from the American Meat Institute.
NEW LABELING PROGRAM GETS ‘VOLUNTARY’ RIGHT,
BUT ANTI-IMPORTED BEEF MOTIVATIONS ARE STILL WRONG
By AMI President J. Patrick Boyle
“A new effort announced by the Cattlemen’s Competitive Market Project (CCMP) aimed at voluntary country-of-origin labeling for beef got two things right: it’s voluntary and the costs of the program are paid for by those who champion it.
This stands in stark contrast to the expensive, mandatory program slated to go into effect in September 2006. That program’s first year implementation costs are estimated $3.9 billion, two-thirds of which will be borne by the red meat industry alone.
However, a close read of the materials released today by CCMP, a project of the Organization for Competitive Markets and the Ranchers-Cattlemen’s Action Legal Fund, should make clear that despite the fact that it is voluntary, the “Not just any beef. USA Raised Beef” campaign is an anti-trade initiative that reflects R-CALF’s ongoing beef with imports.
Under major free trade agreements, beef imported into the U.S. must be produced and inspected according to the same standards as beef produced in U.S. packing plants Only certain plants in other countries are certified as having this equivalence and only those plants may export to the U.S. To suggest that USDA is permitting “cheap” and “unsafe” beef into the U.S. is patently false and misleading to consumers.
For more information contact JANET RILEY, 202/587-4245.
As you may now know, ZimmComm is working in cooperation with the World Dairy Expo on the Expo Blog. The level of activity on the new website will increase as we get closer to the event. I knew it was a big show but didn’t know how big until now.
World Dairy Expo Among Top 100 Tradeshows in U.S.
MADISON, WISCONSIN – World Dairy Expo, an international trade and cattle show for dairy producers, ranked 85 th on the country’s list of largest tradeshows, according to Tradeshow Week, North America’s leading publisher of tradeshow information and exposition news. Compiled annually and published in April, the Tradeshow Week 200 ranks the 200 largest tradeshows in the United States and the 50 largest in Canada. Rank is determined by net square feet of paid exhibit space.
Up nine spots from last year’s rank of 94, World Dairy Expo is the largest production agriculture show among the top 100 which includes a variety of industries, from apparel to consumer electronics and health care to sporting goods, and it’s the only show among the top 200 that resides in Wisconsin.
“A jump of nine rankings is remarkable,” says John Rozum, World Dairy Expo Sales Manager. “This is not a shrinking business.” In fact, according to Tradeshow Week, tradeshows across the country saw increases across the board with exhibiting companies up three percent for 2004, while net square footage and show attendance figures grew over two percent.
For more information contact Lisa Behnke.
