Do You Schedule Posts

Chuck Zimmerman

I remember when we used the word, “post,” it meant on your blog.  Today that means anything you publish on your blog or any social networking channel.  I do miss the days when I only had to post on AgWired.com!  Now I have to include Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.  And, no, I do not use all of them regularly, especially Instagram or LinkedIn.

So, if there is indeed a simple user interface to allow me to post on all of them, to schedule posts in advance or to re-post, I’m interested in the name of efficiency.  There are a variety of services now that let you do just that.  At ZimmComm we’re looking into Coschedule, which I’m using to create and schedule this post on AgWired.

So, while I’m testing I thought I’d ask the community if you schedule.  Do you use Coschedule or another service like Sprout Social?  If you do schedule posts, why? Does it help you with time management? Does your service provide relevant analytics to determine performance and value?  I’m interested in all those things.  That’s just the way AgNerds are after all.

Social Media

Foundation Grants $5 million for Irrigation Innovation

Cindy Zimmerman

The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), a nonprofit organization established by the 2014 Farm Bill, has awarded a $5 million grant to launch the Irrigation Innovation Consortium.

The purpose of the consortium is to “accelerate the development and adoption of water and energy efficient irrigation technologies and practices through public-private partnerships.” The $5 million FFAR grant was matched by the ten founding members participants for a total initial investment of $10 million to support research and collaboration costs over five years.

The initial founding members of the Consortium are:

California State University, Fresno
Colorado State University
Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska (DWFI)
Irrigation Association (IA)
Jain Irrigation
Kansas State Research and Extension, Kansas State University
Lindsay Corporation
Northern Water
Rubicon Water
Texas A&M AgriLife Research

Plans for the consortium began in April 2017 at a FFAR-hosted convening event held at the Daugherty Water for Food Institute Global Conference in Lincoln, Nebraska. “We are excited to be a leading partner on this important endeavor,” said Peter McCornick, executive director of DWFI. “Our institute’s experience in water management practices and remote sensing technology, as well as connections to 100 faculty fellows within the University of Nebraska system, will play a vital role in the project.”

Initial research priorities include water and energy efficiency, remote sensing and big data applications for improving water management, irrigation technology acceleration and technology transfer.

AgWired Precision, Irrigation, Water for Food

Animal Ag Bites 4/30

Carrie Muehling

  • Hypor, the swine breeding business of Hendrix Genetics, will join a research alliance to end surgical castrations of male piglets. The alliance, announced on January 3, 2018 by Recombinetics and DNA Genetics, is developing a precision breeding technology that results in male piglets born naturally castrated.
  • The National Milk Producers Federation April Dairy Market Report shows the U.S. average all-milk price lost a total of $2.80/cwt. in three roughly equal drops from November 2017 through this past February. Total U.S. milk production was up by 1.6 percent from a year earlier during the three months of December 2017 through February 2018, while estimated total U.S. production of milk solids rose by 2 percent during the same period. The monthly margin under the dairy Margin Protection Program (MPP) for February 2018 was $6.88/cwt. It was the third month in a row during which the MPP margin was down more than $1.00/cwt. from the previous month.
  • Rural, small-scale farmers in four states in Southern Mexico will soon gain market access to a large-scale consumer base in a new groundbreaking project. This initiative will provide economic stability to communities in need, while meeting growing market demand for high-quality, sustainably sourced food. The two-year project, “Rural Entrepreneurs: Connecting Field to Table” is led by the nonprofit Heifer International and made possible by a grant from Walmart Foundation.
  • The American Hereford Association introduces the Maternal Advantage program – a genetically verified program that will be used to identify premium replacement females. This new female-focused program is designed to take advantage of hybrid vigor by capitalizing on Hereford genetics.
  • Zoetis kicked off the #MyVetIsCore Sweepstakes, a new online sweepstakes that invites horse owners to express their appreciation for their veterinarian. Until May 22, 2018, horse owners can visit MyVetIsCore.com to enter for a chance to win weekly prizes as well as a grand prize of a $1,000 gift card to the equine veterinarian or tack store of their choice. Additionally, the grand-prize winner’s veterinarian will come away with a one-year membership to American Association of Equine Practitioners.
  • An upcoming free CattleFax webinar will provide an outlook for the cow-calf and entire beef industry for the remainder of 2018. The CattleFax Trends+ Cow-Calf Webinar will be held May 23, 2018 at 5:30 p.m. MT. To participate in the webinar and access program details, producers and industry leaders should register online at https://www.cattlefax.com/#!/about.
AgWired Animal, Animal Bites

ZimmCast on Ag Careers and Farm Wifi

Chuck Zimmerman

This week’s program includes two Golden ZimmComm Microphone interviews from #NAMA18 (Agri-Marketing Conference). Featured are Matt Wetterson, Kayla Portwood and Melissa Williams with GROWMARK. Matt talks about his responsibilities with GROWMARK and challenges and opportunities. Kayla and Melissa talk about Ag Careers and how important reaching out to young people who want to work in the industry is to GROWMARK.

You’ll also hear a conversation I had with Bill Moffit, Ayrstone Productivity. The company has announced a new product for rural and farm wifi connectivity that has been designed to meet growing needs for being able to stream higher bandwidth digital content over a wide area – the Ayrmesh Hub2x2. We use an Ayrstone Ayrmesh wifi network system here at ZimmComm World Headquarters and I can testify to how solid and simple this product is.

You might wonder what connects these interviews. In my opinion, rural broadband is a big issue to developing rural America. So when it comes to ag careers for those from the farm especially, you not only have to have broadband available but you also have to have a good system or network to distribute it.

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

Listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast 581 - Ag Careers & Farm Wifi

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

Subscribe to the ZimmCast podcast here. Use this url in iTunes or your favorite news reader program/app.

The ZimmCast

sponsored by
The ZimmCast podcast is sponsored by GROWMARK
Locally owned, globally strong.
Audio, Education, Internet, NAMA, Technology, ZimmCast

Growth Energy Thrilled with Automotive Training Partnership

Cindy Zimmerman

A new partnership between the American Ethanol program and the biggest automotive technical institute in the country is an important step forward in Growth Energy‘s mission to show consumers the many benefits of high octane biofuels.

Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor says the new partnership is with Universal Technical Institute (UTI), the nation’s leading provider of technical training for automotive, diesel, collision repair, motorcycle and marine technicians. “We know that most Americans look to technicians at their local auto shops and dealerships for advice on how to maintain their vehicles, so working with Universal Technical Institute, the nation’s leader in training highly skilled automotive technicians, will ensure the experts advising consumers have all the facts on American ethanol performance,” said Skor.

Learn more in this interview where Skor also comments on the latest news about EPA small refinery exemptions and getting Reid Vapor Pressure relief for E15. Interview with Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor on new partnership

Audio, Ethanol

Zimfo Bytes 4/27

Carrie Muehling

  • The Dairy Calf and Heifer Association (DCHA) announced effective May 1, 2018 the association’s management will transition to Gardner & Gardner Communications of New Prague, Minn. Founded in 1996, DCHA, formerly known as the Professional Dairy Heifer Growers Association, has partnered with Filament, in Madison, Wis., since 2013. Filament and Gardner & Gardner Communications will closely collaborate on the transition details following the annual conference April 10-12 in Milwaukee, Wis., with a unified goal of continuing DCHA’s industry momentum.
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is reminding farmers and ranchers that the window is closing on the opportunity to participate in the 2017 Census of Agriculture. To date, NASS has received more than 1.5 million completed questionnaires. But the national return rate is currently lower than at this point in the 2012 Census. Producers can respond to the 2017 Census of Agriculture online at www.agcounts.usda.gov or by mail.
  • The National Corn Growers Association invites photographers to help tell the story of farming field corn in America through the fourth annual Fields-of-Corn Photo Contest. Through this contest, NCGA captures high-resolution photos of corn growth from seed to harvest and the families that grow it. While the contest just opened last weekend, interested participants will be able to submit multiple entries until November 30, 2018. For more information, click here.
  • The American Soybean Association (ASA) is now accepting applications for the Ag Voices of the Future program, sponsored by Valent USA. This program is for young people interested in improving their understanding of major policy issues that impact soybean farmers, the importance of advocacy, and careers that can impact agricultural policy. The Ag Voices of the Future class will be held in conjunction with the ASA Board Meeting and Soy Issues Briefing, July 9-12, 2018, in Washington, D.C.
Zimfo Bytes

A KEENAN InTouch Testimonial

Jamie Johansen

Moloney Dairy in Borris, County Carlow, Ireland was one stop during the Alltech KEENAN Great Green Getaway. Mark Moloney, KEENAN Southeast Ireland InTouch Feeding Specialist, opened his family farm to our U.S. group to share how the recent adoption of the KEENAN InTouch system has yielded quick results. They not only opened their farmgate but their actually home. Gail-force winds and rain pounded County Carlow and in order to actually hear each other for an intervew, we gathered in the Moloney home for tea and a chat.

Mark has between 80-100 customers in his territory. His goal is to see four farmers every day. There he checks body condition on cows, formulates diets and helps increase overall production of the herd. One fairly new customer is his father, Michiel Moloney.

“November 2016 we bought a KEENAN with the InTouch controller. Since then, we have seen the cows come up 500 liters per cow, 4.2 in butterfat, 3.5 protein. We pretty much had the machine paid for in the first year,” Mark said.

We were in Ireland in mid-March. A time of which you would typically see all the cows back out on grass. But this winter was not typical. Heavy snows created added moisture and fields were just too wet. In fact, the day we flew home, Dublin was getting more snow. However, farmers like the Moloney’s who utilize the InTouch controller truly have more control over their inputs, maximizing their bottom line even during challenging times.

Listen to our complete conversation to learn more about their results with the KEENAN InTouch system and what sets U.S. dairies and Irish dairies apart here: Interview with Mark Moloney, KEENAN InTouch Feeding Specialist

Alltech KEENAN Great Green Getaway Photo Album


Agribusiness, AgWired Animal, Alltech, Animal Agriculture, Audio, Dairy, KEENAN, Nutrition, Video

Deere Plans New Test Lab at Iowa State University

Cindy Zimmerman

Deere & Company has announced plans for a new test lab at Iowa State University focused on agricultural spraying and applications technology.

“As a leader in precision agriculture, John Deere is focused on providing customers with innovative, high quality products and services,” said Aaron Wetzel, Deere’s vice president of the global crop care platform at John Deere. “Our customers will benefit from this investment as the spray lab is expected to enhance product design and improve our development cycle.”

The new test center will allow increased collaboration with ISU faculty and students. In 2017, Deere opened a strategic technology innovation center in the ISU Research Park and some employees from that center will be located in the new building when it is completed, which is expected to be summer 2019.

Deere has recently expanded its leadership in crop care technologies and acquired several companies that offer innovative spraying technologies for agriculture customers around the world.

AgWired Precision, Equipment, John Deere

2018 InfoAg Conference Program Announced

Chuck Zimmerman

This show just keeps getting bigger and better. The 2018 InfoAg Conference has announced the preliminary schedule and early registration goes through July 1, 2018. This year the show dates are July 17-19 at Union Station in St. Louis, MO. Last year the conference had over 1,300 attendees.

Since 1995, the InfoAg Conference has been the premier event for discussion and advancement of precision agriculture. This event draws interest from domestic and international agriculture professionals and features a wide range of educational and networking opportunities for professionals interested in learning more about precision agriculture techniques.

You can register for the conference here.

If your company is participating in the conference and would like the Golden ZimmComm Microphone to be on-location in your booth please contact me asap and let’s chat about how we can enhance your investment in the show.

AgWired Precision, Info Ag, Precision Agriculture

Farmer Share of Food Dollar Dropped Again in 2016

Chuck Zimmerman

According to the USDA-ERS Food Dollar Series, “For every dollar spent in 2016 in the U.S. on domestically produced food (food dollar), U.S. farmers sold 14.8 cents of farm products to non-farm establishments (farm share), down from 15.5 cents in 2015. The farm share is at its lowest recorded level between the years 1993 and 2016.”

Some additional points of interest include:

Farm production costs per food dollar fell to 7.8 cents in 2016 and are at their lowest level since 2002.
Foodservice costs per food dollar rose in 2016 to 36.3 cents, increasing for the 8th consecutive year since 2008; foodservice costs were 29.0 cents in 2008.
U.S. worker salary and benefits increased from the previous year, accounting for 50.6 cents of each food dollar in 2016.

The farmer share of the food dollar measures proceeds of farm commodity sales tied to a food dollar expenditure and sold to non-farm establishments.

You can find a lot more information including an application here that allows you to search and download data.

Farming, Food, USDA