Ag Media Summit on the Summit

Chuck Zimmerman

The Summit is on the ZimmComm Schedule. Is it on yours? It will be the 19th annual Agricultural Media Summit—the largest gathering of crop and livestock media professionals in the U.S. at Snowbird Resort outside of Salt Lake City, Utah.

If you’re looking for the best place to promote your company or organization’s products and services, then you’ll want to be at the 19th Annual Ag Media Summit at Snowbird Resort, July 22-26, 2017. This annual get-together, the largest meeting in the United States of the ag industry’s top writers, editors, photographers, publishers and ag communicator specialists, begins with pre-meeting events on Saturday, July 22, followed by the AMS program July 22-26. We invite you to participate as a sponsor or an exhibitor at our InfoExpo or both, and be a part of this important agricultural media event.

The Ag Media Summit is a joint meeting of the American Agricultural Editors’ Association, the Livestock Publications Council and the Connectiv Agri-Media Committee. This industry-wide gathering of agricultural communicators offers one of the best opportunities for professional improvement and industry networking. More than 600 attend this event each year, and the InfoExpo annually exceeds 75 booths.

Ag Media Summit, Media

Fluency Agent Advanced Helps Farmers CARE

Cindy Zimmerman

The Bayer CARE initiative has been encouraging growers to be good stewards of the land for five years and now Bayer is making that goal more attainable with Fluency Agent Advanced, which was introduced by the company at Commodity Classic.

The CARE acronym stands for:

  • Communicate planting activities to neighboring beekeepers
  • Be Aware of wind speed and direction during your planting
  • Reduce the amount of dust potentially released during planting
  • Ensure seed is planted correctly

Bayer’s Ron Reichert and Melissa Chu at AgVocate Forum

Fluency Agent Advanced is the newly reformulated seed lubrication for corn and soybeans that can be used at the time of planting, like other lubricants, but goes a step further with “Reducing” dust. “Fluency Agent Advanced really does more than other seed lubricants, says Bayer Seed Growth product manager, Melissa Chu. “To start off from a stewardship aspect, Fluency Agent Advanced further reduces the amount of dust and active ingredients potentially released during planting, thereby reducing the potential exposure to pollinators. So it really is an excellent tool from a stewardship aspect.”

What kind of stewardship benefits are growers really looking at? The lubricant can reduce dust by 88 percent, says Ron Reichert, application technology manager for Bayer Seed Growth. If you look at the insecticide portion, that can be reduced by 69 percent. “With the Fluency Agent Advanced we’re just driving that lower level even lower,” Reichert explains.

Learn more in this interview: Interview with Melissa Chu and Ron Reichert, Bayer

Audio, Bayer, Bees, Seed

Positive Innovation in a World of Sustainability

Jamie Johansen

Elanco Animal Health’s seminar at the Central Plains Dairy Expo highlighted the role of innovation in the dairy industry. Dr. Roger Cady, Global Sustainability Lead, Scientific Affairs & Policy for Elanco talked about the positive impact of innovation on the I-29 Dairy Corridor which includes Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota.

“Producers along the I-29 Corridor are recognized as leaders in making milk production and dairy products among the most sustainable in existence – not only in the United States, but also in the entire world – by embracing the concept of continued progress and innovation,” said Cady.

He said communicating sustainability progress to retailers and consumers is key as they are the “second gatekeeper” regarding what they will and will not accept for sale in their outlets based on what they believe is sustainable food production.

“While sustainability has become a complex issue, at its core, it really is about being a farm operator in 20 years from now and passing a successful farm to the next generation,” said Cady. “What it is not about is regulation and retail mandates. When something is sustainable, all benefit: people, animals and the planet.”

As we meet the demand for a growing world, Cady said we cannot afford to do away with innovation that helps farmers produce food in a safe, healthy manner and protects our planet along with the animal’s welfare.

Listen to my complete conversation with Dr. Cady here: Interview with Dr. Roger Cady, Elanco

Agribusiness, Animal Agriculture, Audio, Dairy, Elanco, Environment, Sustainability

Agri-Pulse Announces Promotion and Intern

Cindy Zimmerman

Agri-Pulse is promoting Jason Lutz to Marketing Manager and gaining Allison Luety as an editorial intern this summer.

Since joining the Agri-Pulse team in 2012, Lutz has become involved in virtually all areas of the business, including subscription sales, technical support, product development, management, marketing and advertising sales responsibilities.

Lutz is also actively involved in helping other small businesses succeed through tourism and promotion, serving as the President-elect for the Camdenton, Missouri Chamber of Commerce.

Luety will join the Agri-Pulse editorial team in Washington, D.C. in May, where she will cover hearings and events, writing for the company’s subscription-only newsletter and web site.

Luety grew up in South-Central Wisconsin on her family’s farm where she was immersed in production agriculture. Currently, Luety is a student at Iowa State University majoring in Public Relations, Ag & Society. She previously held internships with FarmHer.com, the American Royal, AgSolver, American Farm Bureau Federation, National Pork Board and the Iowa State Daily.

Agri-Pulse

The Rebrand of AgNewsWire as Ag’s Virtual Newsroom

Jamie Johansen

We would like to introduce AgNewsWire as Agriculture’s Virtual Newsroom for organizations and companies to efficiently distribute materials such as photos and audio to media and other interested parties.

“Content is king in today’s world and getting it out quickly to as many places as possible is the best way for a company or organization to amplify their message, whether it be a major announcement or a week long convention,” said ZimmComm President Chuck Zimmerman. “We have actually been doing this since 2005, starting with the introduction of the Talking News Release distributed through AgNewsWire, but wanted to re-brand the concept and re-introduce it to the agricultural marketing community for 2017.”

The virtual newsroom is a place where photos, audio, press releases and even video are hosted on a direct page with an individual url that can be updated as an event unfolds, continued after it concludes, and archived for future use. The content is promoted to 2,100 agricultural news media contacts via AgNewsWire email distribution, as well as amplification through social media networks including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. In addition, AgNewsWire reaches non-traditional media sources such as bloggers and podcasters who are also always seeking fresh content.

AgNewsWire provides high quality photos and audio from over 50 agricultural industry events each year and serves as a source for multi-media content relating to current issues. All content on AgNewsWire is open source under Creative Commons license CC0 and available free of charge with no attribution necessary. As a virtual newsroom for agriculture, AgNewsWire includes a searchable archive of content dating back to 2005.

Read More

Advertising, Agribusiness, Marketing, ZimmComm Announcement

Woodruff is just Woodruff

Chuck Zimmerman

The company formerly known as Woodruff Sweitzer is now Woodruff. The agency is celebrating its 25th anniversary and has announced a new name and ownership structure. The company is changing its name to Woodruff effective immediately and will soon become employee owned. Read from the release below about changes in Canada too.

“Twenty-five years ago with the support of my friends and family, I was fortunate to establish a company that did things differently in marketing and communications,” says Terry Woodruff, founder, president and chief executive officer, Woodruff. “This entrepreneurial mindset has always been the lifeblood of our company, pushing us to take risks, be bold and challenge the status quo to drive extraordinary outcomes for our clients. Today is exciting, because we’re ensuring that spirit continues for decades to come.”

Employee Ownership
Woodruff’s success has always stemmed from its employees, including their passion for what they do; knowledge of their craft and the industries they serve; and their commitment to delivering above and beyond for clients. By becoming employee owners, Woodruff team members are encouraged and free to take the same risks that established the company in 1992.

“It’s not just giving our employees a sense of ownership,” says Woodruff. “It’s literally giving them ownership. Everyone will have the opportunity to participate in our new employee stock ownership program and be able to share in the success they helped generate.”
 Read More

Agencies

MO Soy Partners with Schillinger for Non-GMO High Oleic

Cindy Zimmerman

Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council chairman John Kelley and Schillinger Genetics Inc. president John Schillinger sign agreement

The Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council last week announced a new partnership to bring non-GMO high oleic soybean technology to growers.

The agreement grants John Schillinger and Schillinger Genetics, Inc. (SGI) a license to commercialize the emerging high oleic soybean technology traits, and breed soybean varieties combining high oleic with low linolenic soybean oil traits.

“Partnerships are key to bringing growers the best return on their investments in the soy checkoff, and we’re proud to be taking this step forward in helping farmers improve their bottom line by adding value to commodity soybeans,” said John Kelley, chairman of the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council.

“We believe strongly in the potential of high oleic soybean oil,” said John Schillinger, president and founder of SGI. “SGI is investing in development of high oleic soybean varieties for US soybean producers, and our pipeline includes highly promising varieties of maturity groups 0 to V, and this partnership stands to expand that work.”

The partnership agreement includes licenses for breeding soybean varieties with the high oleic technology, as well as to facilitate a seed increase program and sell the varieties scaled up through that increase program within the United States and Canada. The seed beans will be marked with patent numbers 9,035,129 or 9,198,365, and the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council’s logo.

Read more from MO Soy.

GMO, Soybean

Have an Egg-citing Easter!

Cindy Zimmerman

Easter is the holiest of days on the Christian calendar and the egg representing new life has traditionally been symbolic of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

According to Wikipedia, the custom of Christians decorating eggs for Easter can be traced to at least the 13th century in Mesopotamia, spreading from there into Russia and Siberia through the Orthodox Churches, and later into Europe through the Catholic and Protestant Churches. The Easter egg tradition may also have merged into the celebration of the end of the privations of Lent in the West, since eggs were originally forbidden during Lent as well as on other traditional fast days in Western Christianity. The cracking open of Easter eggs is also linked with the empty tomb of Jesus.

Check out the American Egg Board website fun Easter egg activities, recipes, and ideas – and have a glorious Easter!

ZimmComm Announcement

Celebrating 25 Years of Vidalia Onions

Lizzy Schultz

Vidalia onion growers launched the 2017 season this week, marking the 25th anniversary of the Vidalia onion trademark.

Vidalia onions, grown in unique soil and climate conditions found only in 20 South Georgia counties, are revered by some of the world’s best chefs and home cooks for its sweet, distinctive flavor. The Visalia is Georgia’s official state vegetable, grown on 12,000 acres annually, and represents about 40 percent of the sweet onion market. Sold in every U.S. state, the annual value of the crop is about $150 million. 100 registered growers produce the annual crop, available in the spring and summer months, and the first date they can be shipped is determined by the Georgia Department of Agriculture.

“We are excited every year when we are able to start shipping our hand-planted and hand-harvested Vidalias,” said Troy Bland, chairman of the Vidalia Onion Committee (VOC). “However, this year is special because we are celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Vidalia onion trademark that has assured people across the country that they are enjoying the one and only original sweet onion.”

The VOC also announced a new marketing campaign to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the trademark. The “Only Vidalia” campaign highlights the provenance of the Vidalia onion that has been hand crafted by grower artisans for more than 80 years in Georgia. It reminds people that only Vidalia onions have the sweet, mild flavor profile that has made it an essential ingredient for wide range of dishes including salads, dressings and even desserts.

specialty crops, Vegetables

Expanding Africa’s Access to Ag Technology

Lizzy Schultz

Another session at the 2017 Water for Food Global Conference was “Upscaling Solutions: Expanding access to irrigation for smallholders in sub­-Saharan Africa.” This session explored how public and private sector investors can support smallholder-irrigated agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa to achieve greater yield gains and improve livelihoods.

The presentation included a whitepaper synthesis of case studies relevant to this topic. One case study was from International Development Enterprise (iDE), a global effort that spans offices in 14 countries, encompassing 4 social enterprises, employing nearly 1,000 people directly, and indirectly enabling many more through our market-based approaches in agriculture, water, sanitation and hygiene, and finance.

“We did this study, in part, because of on what I read in a pre-study about six years ago, that said, for a farmer to buy irrigation equipment, the most expensive part is research and learning about the product because it takes so much time for the farmer to get out there and learn about it because it’s not in their backyard, because in many cases they don’t have multiple examples of irrigation available to them.”

Listen to Prewitt’s case study presentation here:
Tim Prewitt Case Study

In an interview following his presentation, Prewitt reinforced the mission behind iDE and how he believes the company has the ability to directly drive global solutions for producers all over the world.

“The planet today is faced with tremendous growth and tremendous stress on its food resource, and we’re only able to feed this people in America right now because technology has allowed yields to increase every year in this country,” he said. “There are huge areas of the globe where farmers are only getting a quarter of the yields we are, and it’s all a matter of getting modern technology to them.”

Listen to Jamie’s full interview with Tim here:
Interview with Tim Prewitt, iDE

2017 Water for Food Global Conference Photos

Audio, International, Technology, Water, Water for Food