2020 Ag Relations Council Golden ARC Awards Announced

Chuck Zimmerman

Golden ARC AwardsZoom provided the platform for this year’s virtual presentation of the Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) Golden ARC Awards. Getting us started was John Blue Truffle Media, ARC President and the awards were announced by Kristy Mach, ARC Executive Director.

Congratulations to all the winners including Padilla for receiving the Golden ARC de Excellence with its “A Recipe for Success: Fruits and Vegetables are Key Ingredients for Healthier, Happier Lives” entry. You can see a full list of winners here (pdf).

You can listen to the presentation of awards here: Golden ARC Awards

Padilla Golden ARC AwardThis year’s Golden ARC Awards program drew a record number of campaign and tactics entries from more than 20 contestants. “2019 was a great year for work in ag PR and the number of entries is proof of that. The deadline for entries hit right when people were transitioning to working from home due to the pandemic, but that didn’t stop our members from wanting to show off their hard work,” said ARC Executive Director Kristy Mach. “The important work communicating agriculture’s story continues and we are seeing the pay off during these times as more people are cooking at home and connecting to the important role agriculture plays in their daily lives.” Golden ARC Award judges selected 24 entries as Golden ARC Award winners and gave Merit Awards to 19 entries.

FLM Harvest took home the most “hardware” by winning four Golden ARC Awards and three Merit Awards. Kansas Farm Bureau won four Golden ARC Awards; Padilla received three Golden ARC Awards and two Merit Awards; and Bader Rutter earned four Golden ARC Awards.

ARC, Public Relations

2020 NAFB Convention Will Be Virtual

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) has joined the 2020 virtual meeting club. The 2020 NAFB Convention, scheduled for November 18-20 will now held virtually.

“We know the importance of our annual Convention to both our members as well as exhibitors and participants in Trade Talk – it provides opportunities to conduct business and to network with industry colleagues,” said 2020 NAFB President Rita Frazer, RFD Radio Network, Bloomington, Illinois. “However, with COVID-19 spikes and various unknown health factors throughout our country, the board has decided to transition the 2020 NAFB Convention to a virtual event to ensure the safety and health of all participants. In the spirit of this annual event, the NAFB team will work to provide a valuable virtual experience from their own homes or offices.”

The NAFB board and staff members currently are working to transition this year’s Convention to its virtual representation. Additional information on the virtual set-up and registration for both Convention registrants and Trade Talk exhibitors will be announced no later than Tuesday, September 1, 2020.

“This year’s Convention will offer many of the components our members have come to expect from their annual November trip to Kansas City: professional-development sessions, the all-member meeting, Trade Talk, and other popular components of this showcase event,” said NAFB Executive Director Tom Brand. “We appreciate input from members and the support of sponsors as we adapt to the fast-changing professional landscape during the current global pandemic.”

NAFB

ZimmCast 650 – Preview of Virtual Agri-Marketing Conference

Chuck Zimmerman

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast, featuring weekly interviews with agribusiness industry leaders and all about what’s new, with a focus on agricultural marketing.

This week’s program provides a preview of the National Agri-Marketing Association’s Virtual Agri-Marketing Conference which will be held August 11-13. Conference Chair Rebecca Ivey, Case IH, gives us a preview of the program.

Following that I’m sharing conversations with several of the NAMA Sustaining Partners starting with Susan Rhode, Farm Journal, followed by Doug Reynolds, Corteva Agriscience and then Amy Bradford, GROWMARK. They talk about their companies, how they’ve dealt with the effects of the pandemic and why they support NAMA. I will be featuring more of these in future episodes of the ZimmCast.

Register for the Virtual Agri-Marketing Conference now.

So, that’s the ZimmCast for this week. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

Listen to the ZimmCast here: Virtual Agri-Marketing Conference

Subscribe to the ZimmCast in:

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Audio, GROWMARK, Marketing, Media, ZimmCast

Farm Progress and Husker Harvest Days Go Virtual

Cindy Zimmerman

Two of the country’s largest farm shows are combining for the first ever Farm Progress Virtual Experience, or FPVX. The dual event – Farm Progress Show and Husker Harvest Days – will run Sept. 15 to 17.

“The beauty of a virtual event is that we will open the virtual gates on Sept. 15 with a slate of field demos and rich content, but once live, farmers can engage the content all year long,” says Don Tourte, senior vice president, Farm Progress. “With this event the farmer can virtually stroll through more than 500 exhibits in their own time, and each exhibitor will have valuable new information to share.”

“We’re going to have what may be the most extensive field demonstration program we’ve ever conducted with corn harvest, tillage, hay and cattle equipment,” says Matt Jungmann, events manager, Farm Progress. “And we’ll include a first-look at a range of autonomous tools.”

More information will be available as the show date nears.

Farm Progress Show

Precision Ag News 7/22

Carrie Muehling

  • The National Association of Conservation Districts announced the award of $6.5 million in new technical assistance grants to nearly 400 conservation districts in 36 states and territories.
  • Agriculture may now have another solution to positively impact climate change thanks to a new initiative launched by Bayer. Beginning this month, Bayer will start rewarding farmers in Brazil and the U.S. for generating carbon credits by adopting climate-smart practices – such as no-till farming and the use of cover crops – designed to help agriculture reduce its carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Following action by the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation reauthorizing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards program for three years, which was set to expire on July 23, 2020. Agricultural Retailers Association President and CEO Daren Coppock released a statement celebrating this action.
  • HELM Agro US, Inc., a global manufacturer of high quality crop protection and fertilizer products announces Reviton™ as the name of its new herbicide, which is currently under EPA regulatory review. Reviton is a PPO-inhibitor herbicide with a novel active ingredient called Tergeo™. A non-selective herbicide for the preplant burndown and desiccation segments, Reviton will be one of the first new PPO herbicide to be introduced in the U.S. in more than a decade.
  • The National Institute for Food and Agriculture and the National Science Foundation has awarded Nadia Shakoor, Ph.D., senior research scientist at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, a three-year, $1.4 million grant to develop FieldDock, an integrated smart farm system. The technology will collect and analyze real-time data from the field, allowing for effective tracking of crop performance.
  • Farmers in the U.S and Canada can leverage on-farm data in new ways through the recent addition of Climate FieldView™ to the WinField® United Answer Tech Data Silo®, a cloud-based data-management system.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

Pork Producers Facing $5 Billion in Losses

Cindy Zimmerman

With an estimated two million hogs still backed-up on farms, the nation’s pork producers are facing $5 billion in losses and the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) is urging Congress to act swiftly to preserve their livelihoods.

“Many U.S. hog farmers will not survive this crisis,” said NPPC President Howard “AV” Roth, a hog farmer from Wauzeka, Wisconsin, during a press call on Monday. “As the Senate begins work on the next COVID relief package, we urge lawmakers to provide a critical lifeline to hog farmers across the nation to minimize what has already been significant damage to our producers.”

According to an analysis by Dr. Steve Meyer, an economist with Kerns & Associates, based on lean hog futures prices on March 1 and July 10 and actual hog prices in the interim, potential 2020 revenue from hog sales has been reduced by roughly $4.7 billion. Other losses associated with euthanasia, disposal and donation of pigs with no market outlet and insufficient space to hold them mean U.S. pork producers have lost nearly $5 billion in actual and potential profits for 2020 and those losses are expected to continue into 2021.

Earlier this month, Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) introduced the RELIEF for Producers Act of 2020, providing compensation for farmers who are forced to euthanize or donate animals that can’t be processed into the food supply as a result of COVID-19, among other provisions. NPPC strongly supports this legislation, as well as additional federal assistance championed by Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), and urges Congress to quickly address this unprecedented crisis plaguing pork producers.

Roth and Meyer participated in a press conference on Monday, with additional comments from NPPC CEO Neil Dierks and Nick Giordano, NPPC Vice President and Counsel, Global Government Affairs.

Listen to the call:
NPPC press call 7-20-20

Audio, NPPC, Pork

Animal Ag News 7/20

Carrie Muehling

  • The National Cattlemen’s Foundation announced its partnership with Cargill to provide funding to North American cattle producers to provide practical tools to help manage market shifts, reduce costs, manage finite natural resource availability and withstand extreme weather events. The four-year strategic partnership, which was funded by a $3 million contribution from Cargill’s protein business, establishes a professional development scholarship program, and provides educational resources through the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef and experiential learning in partnership with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA).
  • The NCBA and the Public Lands Council celebrate landmark improvements to environmental policy through finalization of the Trump Administration’s rulemaking on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The NEPA updates make the process more efficient and timely, while also laying the groundwork for healthy and resilient open spaces and pastureland.
  • The International Dairy Foods Association released a statement in response to the federal Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee final scientific report.
  • Kemin Industries, a global ingredient manufacturer that strives to sustainably transform the quality of life every day for 80 percent of the world with its products and services, has acquired a U.S. patent application for a method to control African Swine Fever virus in feed and feed ingredients using Sal CURB® Liquid Antimicrobial – a global pathogen control product manufactured by Kemin.
  • The Animal Agriculture Alliance announced the launch of the Animal Ag Allies program to empower farmers, ranchers and practicing veterinarians to be outspoken advocates for agriculture online and within their communities. The Alliance is currently seeking participants to enroll by August 7.
  • Thanks to dairy checkoff support, Taco Bell recently unveiled the Grilled Cheese Burrito, its cheesiest new offering of the year, and a Pineapple Whip Freeze beverage that contains real dairy.
  • Vytelle and GrowSafe Systems, Ltd. announced the combining of their companies with the aim of accelerating genetic advances in bovine biotechnology.
AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites

Industry Ag News 7/17

Carrie Muehling

  • The Agricultural Retailers Association supports reforms made to the National Environmental Policy Act announced in the final rule. ARA was part of the Unlock American Investment Coalition composed of 50 organizations in total.
  • National Corn Growers Association President Kevin Ross recognized Iowa Senator Joni Ernst with NCGA’s 2020 President’s Award. The President’s Award is given annually at NCGA’s Corn Congress meeting in Washington, D.C., to a leader who has worked to advance issues important to corn growers and agriculture.
  • Delegates attending the National Corn Growers Association’s Corn Congress, which was held virtually, elected five farmers to serve on the organization’s Corn Board. Taking office on Oct. 1, the start of NCGA’s 2021 fiscal year, are new board members Jed Bower of Ohio and Brian Thalmann of Minnesota. Current board members Ken Hartman of Illinois, Brandon Hunnicutt of Nebraska, and Gary Porter of Missouri were re-elected. Four were elected to three-year terms with Thalmann elected to the two-year term left open by FY21 First Vice President-Elect Chris Edgington.
  • The National Association of Farm Broadcasting Board of Directors cordially invites you to join the 2020 Summer Agribusiness Virtual Event, slated for 1 p.m. Central, Tuesday, July 21, to be held via Zoom meeting. Illinois Department of Natural Resources Director Colleen Callahan will offer live remarks, and we will share a recorded message from U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. To register, click here.
  • The American Agri-Women “Champion of Agriculture” award was initiated in 2010 to recognize members of Congress who have displayed exemplary courage in presenting and supporting legislation that promotes American agriculture, rural American lifestyles, and the United States Constitution. This year’s winners include Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa and Congressman Jodey C. Arrington of Texas.
  • On the one-year anniversary of committing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations Global Compact and the Science Based Targets initiative, Alltech has released its 2020 Sustainability Report. In addition to reflecting Alltech’s vision for a Planet of PlentyTM, the submission reaffirms the company’s alignment with a growing global network of organizations around the world that are united by their mission to build a more sustainable future.
  • The coronavirus pandemic continues to overwhelm rural hospitals, upend the agricultural economy, and interrupt daily life as we know it, making it clear that family farmers and rural communities require additional support to withstand these trying times. In a letter sent to Senate leadership, National Farmers Union President Rob Larew highlighted the many difficulties the organization’s members have been enduring over the last several months and recommended policies that would help ensure both their immediate wellbeing as well as their long-term recovery.
Zimfo Bytes

ZimmCast 649 – Looking Ahead to the Ag Media Summit

Chuck Zimmerman

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast, featuring weekly interviews with agribusiness industry leaders and all about what’s new, with a focus on agricultural marketing. In this week’s episode I talk with Chris Clayton, Ag Policy Editor, DTN/The Progressive Farmer, who is the Steering Committee Chair for Ag Media Summit. The event was postponed to November 14-18 in Kansas City. The conference hotel is the Loews Kansas City Hotel which is brand new and looks fabulous.

Chris says the program is coming together and companies that would like to be a sponsor and have a booth in the InfoExpo trade show can find more details on that on the website. He’s encouraging people to register. In fact, here’s an excerpt from a column he just wrote about that.

2020 Ag Media SummitOn Friday, though, I placed a bet for four months out. I registered for the Ag Media Summit, now slated for Nov. 14-18 in Kansas City. I’m making a bet that we’re going to get this thing figured out, much like the businesses that have reopened, the colleges bringing in students, like my son, and the schools that are reopening, like the one my daughter attends and the one where my wife is a librarian.



I am looking forward to having a drink with Chuck or Mike. I am looking forward to recharging my writing neutral network through a tip or insight from a writing coach. I’m going to make it a point to meet and thank everyone who sponsors AMS. And I’m looking forward to congratulating and thanking the professionals who are working with us to make AMS a success regardless of any challenges we face.

You can register now right here.

So, that’s the ZimmCast for this week. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

Listen to the ZimmCast here: Looking Ahead to the Ag Media Summit

Subscribe to the ZimmCast in:

Ag Media Summit, Audio, Media, ZimmCast

Remembering Seed Industry Legend Owen Newlin

Cindy Zimmerman

Dr. Newlin with ASTA CEO Andy LaVigne in 2018

The agriculture industry is mourning the passing of Dr. Owen Newlin, who spent 44 years helping to guide the development and production of new corn hybrids at Pioneer. Newlin, who was actively involved in both the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) and the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) over the years, was 92.

Dr. Newlin contributed to tremendous growth in the Council and ASTA during his more than 50 years of involvement, playing an instrumental role in raising funds to support ballot initiatives to create state corn checkoff programs; initiating Pioneer’s overseas missions to educate future farmer leaders; and sustaining efforts to defend the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Market Development (USDA’s FMD) program through more than two decades’ worth of farm bill negotiations.

“The leadership and forward thinking that was the basis of Owen’s participation in ASTA’s Board and grain industry activities was truly monumental,” said Andy LaVigne, ASTA President & CEO. “The leadership of ASTA cannot put into words the impact Owen had on the association and our position on the U.S. and global levels. Our thoughts and prayers are with D.J. and the Newlin family. Owen will truly be missed.”

Newlin joined Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. (now part of Corteva Agriscience) in 1955 as a research assistant, becoming production manager and then division president before serving as senior vice president with responsibility for the finance, information management, human resources and seed production operations of Pioneer’s North American operations.

Dr. Newlin served as president of ASTA in 1985-86 and was the longest-running past president who remained an active participant on the ASTA Board of Directors as a lifetime honorary member and chair of the Subcommittee for Strategic and Allied Partnerships. In 2016, ASTA honored Newlin with the inaugural Lifetime Industry Achievement Award, now named after him, which recognizes professionals whose career contributions to the seed industry span more than 50 years.

He remained a delegate on the Grains Council right up until his death, serving on various committees throughout his tenure including on the USGC Board of Directors from 1976-1980 and as the Council’s chairman from 1978-1979. In 2005, USGC honored Newlin with a special tribute award for a lifetime of distinguished achievement and service.

Here is an interview with Dr. Newlin from 2016 where he talks about some of the industry changes he saw in his lifetime: Interview with ASTA award winner Dr. Owen Newlin 4:25

ASTA, Audio, Corn, Seed, USGC