Blogging live from the Missouri Ag Leaders Luncheon. This is for my demonstation.
Actually this post was started during today’s lunch presentation of the Missouri Ag Leaders Luncheon group. I just thought I’d come back and add in this photo. I’ll have more later today too.
The grand opening of Mid-Missouri Energy (MME) last Friday was a major milestone for the renewable fuels industry in Missouri. State and federal officials, as well as farmers, business leaders and curious onlookers, packed a massive tent to talk about the importance of the ethanol and the impact plants such as MME have on communities. In this week’s CornTalk, I’ve got interviews with Missouri Governor Matt Blunt and U. S. Congressman Kenny Hulshof. Both individuals ask the question, “Why are we continuing to look to the Mideast for our energy needs when we can look right here to the Midwest?”
You can listen to CornTalk here 
You can also subscribe to CornTalk using the podcast file found in our sidebar.
Sometimes you just have to take a little time off for a good cause. Yesterday that was the Missouri Farm Bureau Foundation For Agriculture golf tournament at Sycamore Creek.
I played with Nip Neidert and Steve Taylor in the afternoon session. It rained there all morning but they still got the first round in. Here’s what Missouri Farm Bureau Federation president, Charlie Kruse has to say about the Foundation on their website:
Building a Foundation for Agriculture
The Missouri Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture was established in 1996 to provide a dedicated funding source for a variety of agricultural education and leadership programs. The Foundation has grown each year since its inception and today has assets that exceed $350,000.
I want to extend my appreciation to everyone who has supported the MFB Foundation for Agriculture. With help from individuals and many business partners, the Foundation has contributed more than $140,000 to agricultural education and leadership programs.
I thank all those who have been so generous and encourage anyone interested in maintaining a strong and viable agriculture to consider a tax-deductible gift to the Missouri Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture.
By the way, Nip, Steve and I got second place!!
In this week’s program I interview Allan Noe, director of communications for Croplife America. Allan talks about soybean rust and other issues his organization is working on. The interview was conducted at the recent NAFB Washington Watch program.
You can listen to the ZimmCast here
You can also subscribe to the ZimmCast using the link in our sidebar.
I’m kind of serious (Sirius) about my music and my radio. I doubt I’m a normal kind of listener because I dial around on tradtional radio and satellite. I’ve tried the other one (XM) and am glad I chose Sirius. I just like their music line-up better I guess. I wrote to both companies asking if they’d work with me on creating a full time farm news & information channel. I only heard back from Sirius with a politely negative answer. The two satellite radio vendors are developing though and I see what they offer as an attractive alternative to farmers who are always on the go.
Let me know if you’re a satellite radio subscriber or post a comment. Do you like it? Would you like to hear farm news on it?
FORD MOTOR COMPANY AND SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO EXTEND EXCLUSIVE RELATIONSHIP
– All Ford Brands Included
– Expanded Factory Installation Programs Expected
– Factory Installed Volumes Expected To Significantly Increase
NEW YORK and DETROIT, MI – June 6, 2005 – SIRIUS Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:
SIRI), and the Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F), today announced an agreement that extends SIRIUS’ exclusive relationship with Ford through September 2011, on certain terms and conditions. All Ford Motor Company brands in the U.S. — Ford, Lincoln Mercury, Land Rover, Jaguar, Volvo, Aston Martin and Mazda — are covered by the agreement.
“Subscriptions to SIRIUS have increased dramatically over the past several years,” said Phil Martens, Ford’s Group Vice President of Product Creation. “So, it’s only natural that Ford would want to continue to make SIRIUS’
unique mix of programming available to Ford buyers in the future. Our relationship provides customers with the best of both worlds – innovative technology, style and driving experience.”
“We are delighted that Ford has decided to extend its exclusivity with SIRIUS, enabling future Ford buyers to experience the best programming in satellite radio,” said Mel Karmazin, CEO of SIRIUS. “Ford and SIRIUS are both dedicated to providing our customers with the best quality possible. Now, Ford buyers can be assured that our two companies will continue to work together in the future to make their driving experience even more pleasurable.”
For more information contact Jim Collins.
The 2005 call for entries is out for the Oscar In Agriculture awards. This award competition is sponsored by New Holland in conjunction with the National Association of Farm Broadcasters (NAFB). Although the award competition has a long history and used to be given in many different categories, it’s now just one award given to a farm broadcaster who has demonstrated excellence in broadcast reporting.
AgWired’s own Cindy Zimmerman won a prestigious Oscar In Agriculture award in 1991. The award looked very different then.
To find out how to enter please contact Kristina M. Boone, 301 Umberger Hall, Dept. of Communications, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66505-3402, 785-532-5804. Entries must be postmarked by July 31, 2005 and be for work that aired on or after August 1, 2004.
I’ve been asked too many times by people who want to subscribe to our Talking News Release service to ignore it. In fact, I’ve got folks who want to use them as content on their websites! So . . . I’m in the process of adding the following RSS feed of the Talking News Releases we produce and distribute. It’ll show up as a permanent feature soon. I posted it here to alert you and to test it with my favorite news aggregator – NewsGator (I use the Outlook version). Works like a charm. Subscribe to the XML file signified by the button image and you’ll receive any new ones I post to it. I intend to post them all!
Welcome Wendy Mayo to Bader Rutter. Wendy will be interning in the public relations department over the summer. I’m a big fan of internships and have had the pleasure of working with many of them over the years. You’ve got to love a PR department that sends out a release on their intern though!
Here’s what the release says about Wendy: Mayo, a senior at Kansas State University, is majoring in animal science and agricultural communications. A native of Garden City, Kan., she previously held communications internships with Certified Angus Beef LLC and the American Hereford Association. Mayo has served as an editor for Agriculturist Magazine, a publication of Kansas State University. On campus, she’s an ambassador for the College of Agriculture and a member of the livestock judging team.
For more information contact Greg Nickerson, President, (262) 784-7200.
I don’t know if you’ve been on Pioneer’s “Growing Point” website but it’s got a lot of information. According to their latest release sorghum growers now have a new document available. You’ll need to register to enter the site unless you’re already a Pioneer customer. Then all you have to do is contact your local sales rep to obtain a login and password.
Sorghum Management Guide
Now Available at Pioneer GrowingPointSM Website
DES MOINES, Iowa, June 3, 2005 – Sorghum growers with questions on topics ranging from planting rates to pest management can find answers with the click of a mouse. The Sorghum Production Manual from Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., is now available on the Pioneer GrowingPointSM website.
Pioneer customers can access the manual by logging on to www.pioneer.com/growingpoint and entering “sorghum manual” in the site’s search box. This sorghum manual is an online source and reference guide, written by Pioneer sorghum experts, for sorghum growers. Content focuses on grain sorghum research, cultural practices, management systems, insect and weed management, and end-use applications.
“This manual is designed to assist growers in developing management systems that can maximize economic returns from sorghum,” says Clive Holland, sorghum product line manager for Pioneer. “Additionally, experts in the sorghum field offer their insights on drought tolerance and top yield potential for greater productivity.
For more information contact Jerry Harrington.
Podcasting News first alerted me to a new study by Bridge Ratings about the effect of MP3 or digital audio players on traditional radio listening. As Podcasting News points out the portable digital devices have a real impact on the younger demographic but the report concludes overall, “This first look at a three-month composite of radio users suggests an increase in time spent with traditional radio the longer radio listeners own these digital players.”
You can look at the full report here. Bridge Ratings is “dedicated to providing on-going, immediate, reliable and affordable audience measurement services for radio.”
