USFRA Unveils Faces of Farming & Ranching Winners

Kelly Marshall

faces-of-farming-ranchingThe next class of Faces of Farming & Ranching represent a broad spectrum of U.S. agriculture. From cotton fields to broilers, from Texas to Virginia, the winners of the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) program were announced this week at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) Convention in Kansas City, Missouri. The winners were honored for their passion for agriculture and drive for sustainability and technology on today’s SMART Farm.

The five winners of this year’s program include: Lauren Arbogast of Virginia, Jeremy Brown of Texas, Emily Buck of Ohio, Katie Roth of Wisconsin and Lauren Schwab of Ohio. Now theses winners will participate in conversation on a national stage to engage with consumers, influencers and end users, helping the agriculture industry earn trust and confidence in U.S. food.

“Agriculture today is driven by technology and an unparalleled commitment to animal care, and this group of exceptional farmers and ranchers are such an accurate portrayal of the entire agricultural community,” said USFRA Chairman, Brad Greenway. “With their sustainable practices ranging from no-till and cover crops to pollinator habitat and state-of-the-art animal facilities, I’m proud to have these five represent USFRA and all of agriculture.”

The public will have the opportunity to get to know this outstanding group through their public appearances, national media interviews, web chats, blog posts and social media activities, but you can hear from them here first. The AgWired team caught up with each of the winners to hear a little about their diverse and remarkable stories.

Lauren Arbogast farms with her husband Brian and two sons on their diverse operation in Rockingham County, Virginia, consisting of five houses of chickens (broilers), a cow/calf herd of 450, a calf backgrounding site of 400, and crop rotations.
Interview with Lauren Arbogast

Jeremy Brown farms with his wife Sarah and three children on their 3,000-acre farm on the South Plains of West Texas, growing cotton, organic cotton, wheat, rye, grain sorghum, peanuts and sesame.
Interview with Jeremy Brown

Emily Buck farms with her husband John and daughter on their 1,000 acres of no-till farmland near Columbus, Ohio in the Lake Erie and the Mississippi River watersheds. They farm corn, soybeans and a flock of 40 Southdown ewes.
Interview with Emily Buck

Katie Roth and her husband TJ farm with their partners John and Luann Shea in the southwest corner of America’s Dairyland in Wisconsin. They milk 260 Holsteins and all of their feedstuffs are grown on the farm including corn, soybeans, alfalfa and wheat.
Interview with Katie Roth

Lauren Schwab works on her 1200-sow breed-to-wean family pig farm in Butler County, Ohio. As the farrowing house manager, she is a week one specialist to ensure all piglets get off to the best start.
Interview with Lauren Schwab

Follow the online conversations at @USFRA #FoodD. Learn more about the Faces of Farming and Ranching program and the winners at www.fooddialogues.com/farmers-ranchers and listen to the winner’s presentation here: USFRA Winners Announcement

View and download photos from the event here: NAFB Convention Photo Album

Coverage of NAFB Convention is sponsored by Coverage of NAFB Convention is sponsored by BASF
Ag Groups, Audio, NAFB, USFRA

What Will Trump Presidency Mean for Ag?

Jamie Johansen

zp-nh1Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Final decision time – who are you voting for?”

The polls have closed and Donald Trump is officially our President Elect. Many across the country are a bit surprised, yet our most recent ZimmPoll had Trump with a clear lead. The agricultural community predicted this win.

Here are the poll results:

  • Donald Trump – 56%
  • Hillary Clinton – 34%
  • Gary Johnson – 3%
  • Jill Stein – 0%
  • None of the above – 7%

Our new ZimmPoll is live and asks the question, What will Trump presidency mean for ag?

The election is over – what now? NAFB hosted a agriculture “Reaction to Election” panel highlighting insights from key agricultural leader opinions. No one has the exact answers, but the big question now is what will a Trump presidency mean for agriculture. What do you think?

ZimmPoll

Meet the NAFB Foundation Scholarship Winners

Jamie Johansen

nafb-16-scholarships

Pictured L to R: Nora Faris, JD Rosman, Greg Akagi, NAFB Foundation President, Cameron Jodlowksi, Mara McGurl, Hanan Southard and Courtney Wingate.

This year the National Association Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) Foundation presented $25,000 in college scholarships to six outstanding students. Recipients were honored during a luncheon with sponsors and each given time to share more about themselves and their future in agriculture.

Glen Kummerow Memorial Scholarship
Courtney Wingate is a fifth generation Floridian and cattle rancher who has a passion for telling the story of agriculture. Currently a senior majoring in Agricultural Communications at Texas Tech University (TTU).
Listen to my complete interview with Courtney here: Interview with Courtney Wingate

George Logan Scholarship
Nora Faris, raised in Concordia, Missouri, is currently a junior at the University of Missouri, majoring in science and agricultural journalism. She plans to obtain a law degree and pursue a career in government affairs or political communications in the agriculture industry.
Listen to my complete interview with Nora here: Interview with Nora Faris

Orion Samuelson Scholarship, Sponsored by the CME Group
Hanan Southard is a second-year graduate student at the University of Arkansas. She is currently in the Agricultural and Extension Education master’s program where she is specializing her coursework and research in agricultural communications.
Listen to my complete interview with Hanan here: Interview with Hanan Southard

The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation Scholarship
JD Rosman, a Washington native, grew up working on his family’s wheat and cattle operation as well as raising and showing his herd of Angus cattle. He is currently a senior at Oklahoma State University studying agricultural communications with minors in animal science and agricultural economics.
Listen to my complete interview with JD here: Interview with JD Rosman

CHS Scholarship
Cameron Jodlowski is a senior at Iowa State University studying Agricultural Communications with a minor in Agronomy. Cameron comes from central Illinois where he grew up on a small acreage raising dairy goats.
Listen to my complete interview with Cameron here: Interview with Cameron Jodlowski

BASF Grow Smart Scholarship, Sponsored by BASF
Mara McGurl is a third-year senior at the University of Georgia. She is majoring in Agricultural Communication with a certificate in Leadership and Service.
Listen to my complete interview with Mara here: Interview with Mara McGurl

View and download photos from the event here: NAFB Convention Photo Album

Coverage of NAFB Convention is sponsored by Coverage of NAFB Convention is sponsored by BASF
Ag Groups, Audio, NAFB

Big Crops Get Bigger

Cindy Zimmerman

USDAUSDA increased the numbers for corn, soybeans, cotton and oranges in the latest crop production forecast out Wednesday.

Corn production is now forecast at 15.2 billion bushels, up one percent from the October forecast and 12 percent higher than last year with yields expected to average 175.3 bushels per acre, which will be the highest yield and production on record.

Soybean production gained two points in the new forecast at a record 4.36 billion bushels, up 2 percent from October and up 11 percent from last year. Yields are expected to average a record 52.5 bushels per acre.

All cotton production is forecast at 16.2 million 480-pound bales, up one percent from October and up 25 percent from last year. And the all orange forecast for the 2016-2017 season is up two percent from last month at 5.32 million tons, but that is 10 percent less than last year.

Discussing the new numbers today for the MGEX Crop Report Conference Call was Brian Basting of Advance Trading, Inc. Take a listen to his analysis here: MGEX November Crop Call

Audio, Corn, Cotton, Soybean, USDA

Agriculture Reacts to #Election2016

Jamie Johansen

nafb-16-panel-1To kick-off the 2016 National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) Convention in Kansas City, Mo., we heard agriculture leaders share insights on “Counting the Returns: Agriculture Reacts to the Election.”

Jay Truitt, Policy Solutions, moderated panel discussion with Dr. Bob Young, Chief Economist, American Farm Bureau Federation, Roger Johnson, President, National Farmers Union and Jon Doggett, Executive Vice President, National Corn Growers Association.

Key topics of discussion included prospects for the new Secretary of Agriculture, the future of trade including Trans Pacific Partnership and NAFTA, when we might see a new farm bill discussed, immigration and it’s impact on agriculture and what we could see during the Trump Administration’s first 100 days.

nafb16-35-jpgListen to the complete panel discussion here: Ag Reacts to Election

As a strong figure in the U.S. livestock and food industry when it comes to policy issues, Jay Truitt, sat down with me following the panel discussion to share his personal views on those same key issues central to the agricultural community.

Listen to my interview with Jay Truitt here: Interview with Jay Truitt

View and download photos from the event here: NAFB Convention Photo Album

Coverage of NAFB Convention is sponsored by Coverage of NAFB Convention is sponsored by BASF
Ag Groups, Audio, NAFB, politics

Barry Nelson’s Final Final Party

Chuck Zimmerman

Barry Nelson Retirement PartyThe creative folks at Sage put together a great election night retirement party for long time John Deere employee Barry Nelson. There are many people in Kansas City this week for the multiple meetings taking place like the National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention. The ZimmComm Team is here too and we were able to bid a fond farewell to Barry, one of our favorite people in the agricultural marketing and communications industry.

Sage with Barry NelsonHere is the Sage team with Barry last night. Their office turned into a No Work Zone and lots of Barry friends showed up. It was a typical, successful Sage party.

For people who don’t know Barry, we call him the Magic Man because he does magic and he is very good at it. So of course he was able to pull out a pack of cards to entertain once again.

On a personal note, I consider Barry a good friend and a person who I’ve been blessed to know and work with on multiple John Deere marketing and promotion projects. I have lots of good memories that I’ll never forget because of Barry and will miss him out and about at industry events. We’ll stay in touch though.

Agencies, Agribusiness, John Deere, Public Relations

Changing of the Guard for @USFRA

Cindy Zimmerman

usfra-annual-16-chairsTuesday was also election day for the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance board of directors – but fortunately without any drama.

Wisconsin farmer Nancy Kavazanjian officially ended her term as chairperson this week and Brad “Pig Farmer of the Year” Greenway, who represents the National Pork Board, is the new chair for the agricultural advocacy organization.

“It’s been an amazing couple of years with USFRA,” said Kavazanjian, who will continue to represent the United Soybean Board on the USFRA board. “This is the best of the best, the brains of agriculture.”

Kavazanjian is proud of the difference that USFRA has made in just six years and how the organization has started to get more assertive recently, such as challenging to Dannon on GMOs. “We believe in dialogue and we won’t go away from that, but we also realized we needed to be more assertive,” she said. “Sometimes we’re just too nice in agriculture!”

For his part, Greenway is looking forward to continuing taking the story of farming to the American public. “I’ve always been proud of what we do on our farm and how we care for our animals,” he said. “This is about transparency and consumers are truly interested in what we do on the farming and that’s an opportunity to get our story out.”

Listen to and share interviews with USFRA past and present chairs:
Interview with Nancy Kavazanjian, USFRA immediate past chair Interview with Brad Greenway, USFRA chair

USFRA 2016 Fall Board Meeting photos

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Audio, USFRA

Zimfo Bytes

Lizzy Schultz

Zimfo Bytes

Zimfo Bytes

Political Drama at NAFB?

Cindy Zimmerman

NAFB LogoThe National Association of Farm Broadcasting annual meeting is carrying on the 2016 trend for political drama.

At the end of September, the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) announced the unprecedented removal of the organization’s president-elect Tony St. James, citing “violations of the NAFB Commitment to Serve agreement.” Two weeks later, NAFB announced that Tom Steever, who has the distinction of being the longest serving president in recent NAFB history, was appointed to take the role of Vice President until the end of the year, even though the website says Steever is president-elect and Tom Cassidy is still vice president.

tony-st-jamesSt. James sent a letter to NAFB members this week to provide his side of the story to members who elected him to the office of NAFB VP two years ago and president-elect last year. (pdf link to letter)

St. James says in this letter that a phone call he received from NAFB President Brian Winnekins on September 8th asking for his resignation due to a non-sexual harassment complaint “was the first indication that there was a problem.”

During the conversation he mentioned a possible conflict of interest violation and prior instances of behavior but with no details and no opportunity for me to respond. Since the charge was vague I did not resign but did ask for a written account of the accusation/allegation(s) being considered. Prior to this call, I had never been addressed personally by any President regarding my behavior and/or conduct.

St. James further maintains that he was “denied repeated requests for written accusation/allegation(s)” and not allowed an opportunity to defend himself or attempt conflict-resolution. As a result, St. James says the board’s actions have put NAFB “in a compromising situation” because NAFB is incorporated in the state of Tennessee and therefore operates under Tennessee State Code which “specifically prohibits the removal of a Board Member by any group other than the group who elected the individual.”

The NAFB board and officer elections will be held on Thursday afternoon. Max Armstrong and Gary Truitt will contend to be elected as 2017 NAFB president – without having served on the board immediately prior, which is again unprecedented. In his election profile on the NAFB website, Truitt says, “The organization is facing a crisis; the normally routine succession of leadership has been disrupted.”

It may not be a crisis, but it is a distraction that has already been the talk of the hallways here at the Westin in Kansas City. The reason why we are laying out this information here is because we are a trade publication for this industry and this is news. We are not trying to take sides or make anyone look bad. We are simply trying to report the facts as we understand them. If this is important to you and you want more than the rumor mill, we encourage you to read Tony’s whole letter, read the NAFB Commitment to Serve agreement, take a look at NAFB policy regarding Non-Performance by board members (article IV, part 7), and ask questions.

NAFB

ARC Develops New Internship Program

Lizzy Schultz

ARC WebinarThe Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) is creating a unique new collaborative internship program with an ARC member organization for the summer of 2017. ARC will coordinate the internship program and selection under this arrangement, and the member organization collaborating with ARC will host the intern.

The internship will be worth $5,000, with $1,000 of the total $5,000 payment to the intern to be used for the expenses related to the intern’s attendance at the annual professional development meeting of ARC held June 20 through 22 in Sacramento, CA.

The 10-12 week internship will begin in May of 2017. The intern spend 80% of their time on host organization projects. The remaining 20% will be spent supporting and attending the ARC annual meeting.

The application deadline is Dec. 12, and the host organization will be chosen by Dec. 31.

Student applications will open Feb. 1, 2017, and the student will be selected in April. The intern will be chosen by a representative of the host organization, along with a representative of Gardner & Gardner Communications and one board representative. These people will be part of a Futures Committee within ARC.

More information is available here. Click on the Contest and Awards Section at the top of the home page.

Agribusiness