Multiple ACN Award Applications Open!
Here’s a list.
Find more information on all of them here.
Great news for international ag journalists. Find all the details here.
The College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has announced a new international education partnership between the college’s Agricultural Leadership, Education & Communications (ALEC) program and the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ). The agreement formalizes plans to launch a Certificate in Global Agricultural Communications, a milestone initiative of the proposed James F. Evans Global Center for Food and Agricultural Communications.
The partnership was unveiled recently at a ceremonial signing between ACES Dean Germán Bollero and IFAJ Vice President Adalberto Rossi. Signing together in the photo.
The certificate — which will be delivered online and available broadly — is being developed by ALEC faculty and is informed by research conducted with IFAJ members. It is designed to be globally accessible, career-relevant, and aligned with the needs of agricultural communicators working across languages, geographies, and media platforms.
Read More
Fortune released its Most Powerful Women of 2025 list Tuesday and named Land O’Lakes, Inc. President and CEO Beth Ford as number 12 on the annual compilation of the 100 most influential women in global business who are recognized for their leadership, impact and the strength of the organizations they oversee.
This year’s recognition highlights Ford’s steadfast commitment to strengthening America’s food system by tackling the complex challenges facing the agriculture industry. From advocating for legal immigration reform and advancing trade efforts, to improving access to healthcare and supporting the vitality of rural communities, Ford’s leadership reflects a deep dedication to working Americans. For example, in her role as chair of the Business Roundtable’s immigration committee, she is a leading voice in discussing policies critical to the future of our workforce in the agriculture industry and beyond.
“This recognition is an honor and showcases the strength of Land O’Lakes’ entire cooperative network,” Ford commented. “My Land O’Lakes team and I are honored to represent our cooperative members and their communities who inspire our mission to strengthen America’s food system together.”
Ford has served as president and CEO of Land O’Lakes, Inc. since 2018, leading the cooperative that operates in all 50 states and more than 60 countries.
The Alltech ONE Conference is heading back to its old Kentucky home next year, welcoming global thought leaders and innovators to the Central Bank Center in Lexington, May 18–20, 2026, for an immersive exploration of the bold ideas shaping the future of agri-food.
“Over the last 40 years, Alltech has created a truly unique event, the only one of its kind, which many hail as the premier international agri-food event,” said Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech, a global leader in animal health and nutrition. “ONE 2026 will again congregate thought and action leaders, scientists, food producers, entrepreneurs and storytellers in a spirit of open collaboration to explore what’s next for our industry — and our planet.”
In 1985, Alltech held its first iteration of the conference in Lexington, welcoming guests from around the world to engage with experts on trending topics in the agriculture industry. Since then, ONE has become a catalyst for inspiration, innovation and collaboration across the agriculture industry and beyond. The conference was held in Lexington until 2023, when Alltech took the ideas and inspiration of ONE on the road to six countries and four continents as the Alltech ONE World Tour.
“After years of connecting virtually and exploring the world together through regional experiences, we’re bringing the Alltech ONE Conference home to Lexington,” said Lyons. “This event has brought tens of thousands of business leaders to the Bluegrass from almost 100 different countries over the years. The connections and conversations they have had here have led to new innovations, business ventures and the creation of a community that spans the globe. So many are making their plans to join us in 2026, and the buzz is already building.”
With the theme “Together, bright becomes brilliant,” ONE 2026 will spotlight the power of connection, collaboration and bold thinking to address agriculture’s most significant challenges and unlock its greatest opportunities. Find out more at one.alltech.com.
Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast.
The ZimmComm Team is enjoying some time in paradise right near the Gulf of America. The weather has been great and we’ve had enough rain so that everything is green and growing.
In this episode Cindy and I discuss the changes we’re making to ZimmComm. We recently announced that we are going to retire from business travel starting Jan. 1, 2026. That has been a very big part of the work we pioneered along with the use of social media in agricultural marketing.
But we’ve got plenty to do as we continue to distribute news releases with our AgNewsWire service. In fact, we started out with the idea of including audio files in news releases for our clients. We called them Talking News Releases and because of our background in farm radio we knew the frustration of not being able to get an interview or sound bite. When you want to have an audio interview included in your news release we will produce it and publish it with no extra cost. We’ll work with you on the interview and can also add your own audio file if you would like, including logos, photos or other images. Here is an example of our latest news release for AgTech PR for their client, PowerPollen, that includes an interview.
To have us distribute your release to our contact list all you have to do is use your credit card on the AgNewsWire form here and then just email your release and any multi-media content to include.
In addition to news releases we will continue to produce podcast like this one, The ZimmCast, as well as The Ethanol Report and the Daugherty Water For Food Podcast. If you would like to start a podcast just give us a call.
We’ve still got several trips planned this year including these in July. Tech Hub Live in Des Moines, IA, Southern Peanut Growers Conference in Panama City, FL and Ag Media Summit in Rogers, AK.
So, keep ZimmComm’s in your plans. And that’s the ZimmCast for now.
Listen to the episode here:
ZimmCast 746 - ZimmComm Plans for Future (24:38)
That’s the ZimmCast for now. Please let us know if you have ideas for a future podcast. Just email Chuck at chuck@zimmcomm.biz.
We hope you enjoyed it and thank you for listening.
Subscribe to the ZimmCast in:
Livestock markets and dealers are in strong support of recent efforts to stop the spread of the New World Screwworm (NWS) into the U.S. NWS has been recently detected in remote farms with minimal cattle movement as far north as Oaxaca and Veracruz, about 700 miles away from the U.S. border.
This week, the Strengthening Tactics to Obstruct the Population of Screwworms (STOP Screwworms) Act was introduced in both the House and Senate to authorize funds for and direct the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to begin construction on a new sterile fly production facility to combat the growing NWS outbreak.
“We are grateful to U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and U.S. Representative Tony Gonzales (R-TX) for introducing this legislation,” said Bryan Forester, Chair of the American Livestock Markets and Dealers Association (ALMDA). Forester noted, “The sterile fly production facility and related appropriations authorized by this legislation is critical to protect the U.S. livestock industry.”
Livestock marketers and dealers also support action taken by Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins on Sunday to temporarily suspend live animal imports at ports of entry along the Mexican border in response to the emerging threat of NWS.
“While we acknowledge the temporary market challenges this decision may create, we stand behind the efforts of USDA and state animal health officials to safeguard domestic livestock production,” said Kenny Mingus, President of the Livestock Marketing Association of Texas (LMAT). Mingus added, “If halting imports is necessary to protect the U.S. livestock industry, we fully support this action.”
ALMDA and LMAT represent the majority of Texas livestock markets and dealers which provide marketing channels for cattle, sheep, goats, horses, and other species which could be impacted by NWS. Both organizations have supported efforts to fund sterile fly production and work within state and national coalitions to educate others on NWS impacts and will continue to work closely with animal health officials for the health and security of the livestock industry.
