Secretary Vilsack Addresses #Biobased2016

Cindy Zimmerman

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, USB director Lewis Bainbridge, USB contractor Karen Edwards

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, USB director Lewis Bainbridge, USB contractor Karen Edwards

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was the keynote speaker at the United Soybean Board 2016 Biobased Stakeholders’ Dialogue at USDA headquarters today.

Vilsack was impressed with the wide range of biobased products on display at the event. “You all are helping to transition our entire economy,” he said.

He called the whole biobased products initiative over the past several years a “holistic effort, but we wouldn’t be able to do it without the great farmers in this country and without the promotion and marketing activities that we see here today.”

During his address, Vilsack talked about some of the advancements that USDA has made recently in getting other government agencies to use biobased products. Secretary Vilsack addresses Biobased Stakeholders' Dialogue

See photos from the event here:
USB Biobased Stakeholders’ Dialogue photo album

Audio, Soybean, USB, USDA

Meet the 2016 FFA New Century Farmers

Lizzy Schultz

ffa_logo The National FFA Organization has selected 33 young people as participants in the 2016 New Century Farmer conference, an exclusive, highly competitive program designed to develop the young men and women committed to pursuing a career in production agriculture.

Participants will attend an intensive seminar this month in Johnstown, Iowa, where they will learn from industry experts during a series of workshops and sessions. Session topics will include the global marketplace, farm financing, demographic trends and risk management.

New Century Farmers will hear from a variety of keynote speakers who will educate them on the risk and rewards involved with production agriculture, and students will also get the chance to experience the latest developments in agricultural technology. Participants will also build a network of colleagues that will benefit them throughout their careers.

The conference is sponsored by DuPont Pioneer, Case IH, CSX Corporation, and Farm Credit with media partner Successful Farming as a special project of the National FFA Foundation.

A list of the 2016 New Century Farmers can be found here.

Ag Groups, Events, FFA, University

FB Challenge Moves Into Judging Phase

Lizzy Schultz

farmbureau Entry submissions are now closed for the American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) third annual Rural Entrepreneurship Challenge, and AFBF is pleased to announce that they have received 355 applications from 39 states.

“We are ecstatic and pleased with the great applications and innovations occurring in rural communities across the country!” said Dr. Lisa Benson, AFBF’s director of rural development. “We exceeded our goal for the number of applicants and doubled submissions compared to last year.”

All applications include a business plan, video pitch and photo, and will be reviewed by judges and provided with feedback. The top 10 teams will be announced in October. The bottom six teams from the final ten will each win $10,000 in startup funds, and the final four teams who will advance as finalists.

“Our judges will be looking for solid business and financial plans,” Benson said. “Innovation is one thing but the numbers are important in a competition like this. Those who can provide statistics that back their business plan will do well.”

The competition is an opportunity to showcase ideas and business innovations that strengthen and build strong, prosperous rural communities. It is the first national rural business competition focused exclusively on entrepreneurs working on food and agriculture businesses.

The final four teams will compete in a live competition at AFBF’s 98th Annual Convention in Phoenix on Jan. 8 to win the Farm Bureau Entrepreneur of the Year award of $30,000 (chosen by judges), the People’s Choice award of $25,000 (chosen by public vote), the first and second runner-up prizes of $15,000.

AFBF, Agribusiness

Illinois Ag Communications Releases Promo Video

Lizzy Schultz

Illinois-Logo Rhea + Kaiser (R+K) has produced a new video that promotes the expected and unexpected opportunities awaiting students and graduates of the Agricultural Communications Program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The video features candid interviews with Ag Communications students and alumni, and will be utilized on social and digital channels as well as recruitment meetings at high schools and community colleges.

The video opens with Ag Communications senior Kendall Herren, who states: “Ag is so much bigger than what is on that tiny little farm.”

Other spokespersons take turns describing the program’s curriculum, and how it is sponsored jointly by the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) and the College of Media.

Award-winning videographer and editor Patrick Barkley heads up the video team. His talents with the camera and in editing have earned him three Emmy awards, and his work has been featured in Chicago-based television programs such as “1st Look,” “Open House,” “Living Healthy” and “Your Money.”

Ag Groups, University

Senate Advances #GMO Labeling Bill

Cindy Zimmerman

monsanto-moneyNot intimidated by anti-GMO activists throwing $2000 in “Monsanto Money” on the floor, the U.S. Senate Wednesday voted 65-31 to limit debate on a bipartisan National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard that would preempt individual state laws to require labeling of foods containing genetically engineered ingredients. With cloture invoked, the Senate is expected vote on final passage as early as today.

“This clears the pathway for a final vote on passage, and I remain optimistic sound science and affordable food will prevail,” said Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS). “Both farmers and consumers deserve this certainty.”

roberts-gmoDuring his floor speech on the legislation, Roberts stressed the importance and safety of crops developed through biotechnology. “Over the past 20 years, agriculture biotechnology has become an invaluable tool in ensuring the success of the American farmer in meeting the challenge of increasing yield in a more efficient, safe and responsible manner,” Roberts said.

Listen to the senator’s comments on the floor Wednesday. Sen. Roberts floor speech on labeling bill

Food and agricultural organizations were quick to praise the Senate action and call for passage of the bill.
American Farm Bureau Federation president Zippy Duvall says the Senate did the right thing in moving the bill forward. “The legislation is not perfect, but it does take critical steps to prevent a confusing 50-state patchwork of laws disclosing the presence of entirely harmless ingredients,” said Duvall.

“The legislation is a common sense, practical solution to prevent the consequences of a costly and confusing patchwork of state food-labeling laws, like we’ve already seen set into motion in Vermont,” said American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) president and CEO Andy LaVigne.

“The Roberts-Stabenow agreement brings consistency to the marketplace, ensuring that consumers have the access to product information they deserve without stigmatizing this safe, proven, technology valued by American farmers,” said National Corn Growers Association president Chip Bowling.

The protesters who threw money on the Senate floor were organized by the Organic Consumers Association and accused the lawmakers of taking money from Monsanto instead of “listening to the people.”

AFBF, ASTA, Audio, Biotech, Corn, Food

IFAJ-Alltech Young Leaders Ready for 2016 Boot Camp

Chuck Zimmerman

IFAJ Congress 2016It is almost time for the 2016 IFAJ Congress in Bonn, Germany. I’m making final preparations for the trip thanks to our sponsor, Bayer. In advance of the Congress there are some pre-tours as well as some additional activities that include the journalism Master Class sponsored by Dupont and the Boot Camp. The Boot Camp participants are winner of the IFAj-Alltech Young Leaders Award. Here is some information on the Boot Camp. I will add that some of the things these “students” will learn and experience are the same as any of us attending the Congress itself.

Ten international agricultural journalists are packing their bags for boot camp, a special ag media tactical training in Bonn, Germany, just prior to the annual congress for the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ).

The lucky travelers are winners of the 11th annual IFAJ-Alltech Young Leaders Award, which recognizes 10 exceptional communicators from across the globe. This year’s group will represent North America, Belgium, Ghana, Australia, Austria, Norway, Burkina Faso, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

According to the participants, the international diversity and interaction is a major attraction. They are eager to strengthen their reporting skills, but they also hope to learn about the agriculture industry in the boot camp’s host country of Germany and trade information with other attendees on agricultural issues from their home countries.

“My expectations are to learn a lot from other outstanding agricultural journalists, network with my international peers at the event and enjoy learning more about German and European agriculture on the tours,” said Sarah Hill, a freelance journalist from South Dakota.

Hill is specifically hoping to learn more about what the dairy and beef industries are like in Germany and Europe. She also said she hopes to hone her skills as a writer, photographer and marketer.

IFAJ, Media

About My iPad Pro

Chuck Zimmerman

AgWiredHello from my iPad Pro. I’m using it for this post because I wanted to write about my experience using the new iPad. If I was not able to successfully use it for this purpose it would have been a big fail. The question I wanted to answer is, “Can I replace my MacBook Pro with the iPad Pro, at least for some trips or times when I don’t want to carry my laptop?” The answer is, “I think I can.” That’s because I haven’t gone cold turkey on a trip with the iPad yet. But I will. In the meantime I find myself using the iPad more and more.

I took and edited the image here with the iPad Pro. I used the Pixelmator app to edit. Like with most of my photos I mainly adjust color and brightness levels, crop and resize. With the SD card adapter to the Lightning connector on the iPad I can import photos taken on my larger cameras. This was a big deal for me. It is almost surprisingly easy.

Next up is performance speed and battery life. This iPad is lightning fast. In fact, on some app functions it seems faster than my MacBook. On a full charge I have gone all day without having to re-charge. That might be different in the field depending on the venue and work level. My MacBook Pro has great battery life but not like the iPad Pro. BTW. I have the 9.7 inch version.

The screen on this version iPad is plenty big enough to read and work on. Plus it gives me a smaller form to carry around than the full size iPad Pro. When traveling I have seen people with the larger version and it just looks too big, especially in a cramped airplane seat.

Next up is keyboard. I have the Apple Smart Keyboard. It took very time getting used to it. However, there is no way to comfortably type on it unless it is on a desk or table. Trying to type on it in your lap is an exercise in frustration. Another drawback is that the iPad has only one position which just doesn’t always work well. I am looking to replace it with a Brydge keyboard.

I also got the Apple Pencil. I am not an artist but I use it for things like taking notes when I don’t want to type them and I have used it for doctoring photos. It is the best stylus I’ve used. I bought a GearCase Pencil Pocket to hold it on my iPad cover and it works perfectly. No losing this gadget. It does have a unique way to charge itself. The end cap comes off to plug into your iPad lightning port for charging or there is an included adapter that lets you plug it into a wall charger with a lightning connector. The battery life is very long.

When it comes to apps I still not found many that are optimized for the iPad Pro. I think that’s just a matter of time before this is a non-issue though. Apps I use on the iPad include: Facebok, Twitter, Photos, Dropbox, Mail, Contacts, Evernote, Weather Bug, Maps, Kindle, Pixelmator, Photoshop Express and more. On a side note, I’m done with the Weather Channel. The ridiculous click bait headlines for example, drive me crazy.

So, would I recommend the iPad Pro? Yes. Pros: Battery life, screen, processing speed. Cons: It is still an iOS app driven device and more apps are needed to replicate the capabilities of a full notebook.

If you have any questions please leave them in comments and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Gadgets

Zimfo Bytes

Lizzy Schultz

Zimfo Bytes

Zimfo Bytes

New Executive Director at @CTIC_Tweet

Cindy Zimmerman

The Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) has named Chad Watts as new Executive Director.

ctic-wattsWatts joined CTIC in 2012 as Project Director, leading a range of highly successful conservation programs including the Indian Creek Watershed Project, the Great Lakes Cover Crop Initiative and the influential National Cover Crop Survey, which has been cited in Congressional testimony.

“Chad’s deep commitment to conservation agriculture and his experience with agricultural conservation systems, local capacity building, and bringing a wide range of interests together to develop programs that help farmers and the environment make him an outstanding choice for CTIC’s executive director,” says Lara Moody, senior director of stewardship and sustainability programs at The Fertilizer Institute and chair of CTIC’s board of directors. “Chad’s organizational skills and leadership will help CTIC implement its new strategic plan.”

Watts, an Indiana native, began his career in conservation with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources soon after graduating from Purdue University in 1994. He then moved to The Nature Conservancy, where he launched the 1.2 million acre Tippecanoe River Watershed Project, which he managed for 12 years before joining CTIC. Watts lives with his family near Winamac, Indiana, and is very active in his local community.

CTIC, based in West Lafayette, Indiana, is national public-private partnership that champions, promotes and provides information on farming systems that conserve and enhance soil, water, air and wildlife resources. Since 2008, CTIC has hosted Conservation in Action Tours around the country, and this year’s event will be held in Treasure Valley, Idaho August 23-24. Find out more here.

Conservation, CTIC

Educators Named to FFA Board

Lizzy Schultz

ffa_logoTwo agricultural education teachers were recently named to the National FFA Organization’s Board of Directors. Kurt Dillon, of Kansas, and Matthew Eddy, were both recognized for their skills and reputations within the realm of agricultural education, and will begin to serve in new leadership roles as board members for FFA.

Dillon grew up in a rural area of northeast Kansas, where he was involved in FFA throughout his high school career, and attended Kansas State University, where he earned a bachelors degree in agricultural education, a master’s degree in adult education, and a licensure in biology and building leadership (administration).

Dillon taught at Atwood High School, in Rawlins County, Kan., for 27 years. He also served as the school’s principal for three years, and is currently the adult education program and Kansas FFA advisor for the Kansas State Department of Education.

Eddy grew up on a diversified farm south of Osceola, Iowa, where he graduated from Clarke Community High School. He attended Iowa State University, where he received his bachelor’s degree in 1999, and his master’s degree in 2008. He currently teaches at Southeast Polk Community Schools, in Pleasant Hill, Iowa, where he is a CASE Certified Master Teacher and holds certification in agriculture, food and natural resources, animal science, plant science and biotechnology.

Eddy has authored the governor’s STEM Scale-Up Program grants, which have secured more than $2.5 million dollars for Iowa agriculture programs to participate in adopting the CASE model since 2012, and his FFA chapter, Southeast Polk FFA, is one of Iowa’s largest chapters. Each year at the Iowa State Fair, Southeast Polk hosts the Animal Learning Center, a 132-hour display operation that requires chapter members to care for livestock, interact with the public, and help be a voice for agriculture.

Ag Groups, Education, FFA