High Yield Hunters Contest is Back

Kelly Marshall

deltapineDeltapine is excited to be bringing back the High Yield Hunter’s contest.  Post a picture of your cotton harvest– fields, picker, bales of cotton, etc., now through December 6th and you’ll be entered to win a YETI Tundra cooler each week.  A grand prize winner will also receive an all-expenses-paid quail hunting trip to Southern Woods Plantation.

To be eligible for the contest you must post your photo to the Deltapine Facebook page using the hashtag #HYHcontest, as well as your product variety and the state in which you farm.  Submit as many photos as you like; more pics increase your chances of winning.

Follow Deltapine on Facebook to get all the relevant information and don’t forget to check back each Monday to see if you are a weekly winner.  The grand prize winner will be randomly selected in December.

Agribusiness, Cotton

PERC Unveils Website on Propane Safety on the Farm

John Davis

PERCouramazingfarmA new website is giving kids more information about how to be safe around propane on the farm. The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) unveiled the interactive site – propanekids.com/agsafety – that includes fun and educational videos, science experiments, and activities aimed at children ages 12 and under.

“Our Amazing Farm,” the latest addition to the PropaneKids.com site, features a series of entertaining 5-minute science experiment videos to support PERC’s national agricultural safety initiative. The video series, titled “Science Rocks,” is designed to engage young minds while providing a resource grounded in science to be used by both parents and educators.

The videos explain fundamental principles relating to propane, a ubiquitous energy source in rural America. Other features of “Our Amazing Farm” include hands-on, age-appropriate, interactive activities that teach kids about grain bin safety, fire extinguishers, static electricity management, and other important topics. The videos use common household items – and the site offers printable instructions – to enable teachers and parents to share the lessons at school or home.

Developed by PERC with funding from CHS Inc., the national agricultural safety program promotes the videos and e-learning elements with the aim to improve safety on America’s farms. All components are available free of charge and are directly accessible by educators, the public, and any organization wishing to offer the tools through their own websites.

“We expect these videos to become valuable tools for kids, families, businesses, and schools to help prevent accidents and improve safety around the farm,” said Stuart Flatow, PERC’s vice president of safety and training.

PERC, Propane

Farmers Union Shows Farmers’ Share of Thanksgiving Dollar

John Davis

nfu_logo2The share of your Thanksgiving meal dollar that goes toward farmers is less than 20 cents. This news release from the National Farmers Union (NFU) says that’s just a little more than the usual farmers share of nearly 16 cents of of every dollar spent on retail food items throughout the rest of the year.

“Farmers and ranchers today are receiving only 15.8 cents for every dollar spent on retail food items,” said NFU President Roger Johnson. “Thanksgiving is the perfect time to raise awareness of this fact and give thanks to farmers for what they do every day to put food on your dinner table.”

Johnson noted that the 15 food items of the Thanksgiving Farmers Share averaged just 19.4 cents out of every food dollar for the American farmer. “It’s easy to forget the true value of our farmers and ranchers, who in some cases are only making pennies to the dollar on the goods we buy at our local supermarket,” he said.

Among some of the more startling statistics in the Thanksgiving Farmers Share:

Wheat farmers receive just 7 cents from the $3.39 consumers spend on a 15-ounce box of stuffing.
Turkey farmers net just over half (93 cents) of the retail value for a pound of turkey ($1.78).
Pumpkin farmers receive 25 cents, a mere 6.4 percent, of the $3.89 spent for canned pumpkin pie mix.

The numbers are based on U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics.

Ag Groups

Thanksgiving Dinner Just $5 Per Person

Cindy Zimmerman

turkeyWhere in the world can a person get a sumptuous meal of turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a relish tray of carrots and celery, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and beverages of coffee and milk all for about five dollars? Only in the good ol’ US of A, thanks to the great productivity of our farmers and ranchers.

According to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) 30th annual informal price survey of classic items found on the Thanksgiving Day dinner table, the average cost of this year’s feast for 10 topped $50 for the first time, but at $50.11 it is still a bargain.

The big ticket item – a 16-pound turkey – came in at a total of $23.04 this year. That’s roughly $1.44 per pound, an increase of less than 9 cents per pound, or a total of $1.39 per whole turkey, compared to 2014.

“Retail prices seem to have stabilized quite a bit for turkey, which is the centerpiece of the meal in our marketbasket,” AFBF Deputy Chief Economist John Anderson said. “There were some production disruptions earlier this year due to the highly pathogenic Avian influenza outbreak in the Midwest. Turkey production is down this year but not dramatically. Our survey shows a modest increase in turkey prices compared to last year. But we’re now starting to see retailers feature turkeys aggressively for the holiday. According to USDA retail price reports, featured prices fell sharply just last week and were actually lower than last year,” he added.

Learn more about this year’s Thanksgiving price survey from AFBF.

AFBF, Food

New NAFB Officers

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast 492Congratulations to the new slate of National Association of Farm Broadcasting officers and board members elected during the convention last week.

President: Brian Winnekins, WRDN Radio, Wisconsin
President Elect: Tony St. James, KDDD and KFLP Radio, Texas
Vice President: Tom Cassidy, Ag Radio Network, New York
South Region VP: Lorrie Boyer, KSIR Radio, Colorado
West Region VP: Sabrina Hill, AgNet West, California
East Region VP: Bryan McGarvey, WASK/WKOA, Indiana
Allied Industry Rep: Laura Henke, Charleston|Orwig
Allied Industry Rep: Mark Lambert, National Corn Growers Association
Management Sales Council: Neal Gladner, Louisiana Farm Bureau
Management Sales Council: Breck Von Bank, Brownfield Ag News
M & P Chair: Lance Knudson, American Ag Network

nafb-cassidyI sat down with Tom Cassidy after the election to talk about what he thinks of the state of the farm broadcasting industry, new technology and issues to work on in the future. Tom is a former dairy farmer who got into farm broadcasting by meeting the legendary Ed Slusarczyk, who passed away in 2006. Tom married Ed’s daughter Holly and took over the network, which he now owns.

Learn more about Tom in this week’s ZimmCast: Tom Cassidy, NAFB Vice President

Subscribe to the ZimmCast podcast here.

NAFB Convention Photo Album

Coverage of NAFB Convention is sponsored by
Coverage of NAFB Convention is sponsored by BASF
Audio, Media, NAFB, ZimmCast

Old Things Connect the New Things

Melissa Sandfort

20151117_140332_resizedOver and over I have said life is a funny set of odd circumstances. People are brought together by unforeseen forces, odd coincidences tie us together, and those connections are oftentimes closer than we may realize.

For years now, I’ve written AgWalk stories about “old” antique items. A couple of years ago, my Aunt Jeanette joined forces and started sharing her stories and experiences with us. She and I were brought together by obvious reasons – she’s my aunt, she enjoys storytelling, and she’s a great writer. But we are also connected because of our love of antiques.

I’m not sure I’ve ever mentioned where she lives, but it’s Edgar, Neb. So what’s the other connection, you ask? In a box of old things out in our shop, “my Jeff” (she also has a son named Jeff!) came across this old bank bag from Edgar, Neb.

Maybe it’s just happenstance, but I can’t help but wonder if there’s a greater force at work in our lives. Maybe I just had a vivid imagination. Maybe I just read too much into things. All of these are possible.

But I thought it was entertaining and unique how so many old things in my life have a connection with new things.

Until we walk again …

Uncategorized

GROWMARK Becomes Partner for STEM Event

John Davis

IALP-Photo-3Some ag students could be better prepared to compete in the job market in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers thanks to a partnership between the Illinois Agriculture Leadership (IALP) Class of 2016 and GROWMARK. The two paired up to host a Job Interview Career Development Event for high school students from around the state on November 17, at GROWMARK Headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois.

The STEM Learning Event was designed to help participants develop, practice, and demonstrate skills needed in seeking employment in the agriculture industry. Each part of the event simulated real world activities that will be used by real world employers. Student teams each consisted of three participants who each choose a position to interview for in the areas of marketing, agronomy, and precision technology. These positions highlight STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) careers in agriculture. Contestants submitted a cover letter, resume, and letters of recommendation prior to the event. On event day, contestants filled out an application, were interviewed by GROWMARK employees, and wrote a follow-up letter. They also heard from Gary Swango, GROWMARK Vice President of Human Resources and attended a career fair to learn about the many career paths GROWMARK offers.

Kimberly Meier, member of the IALP team said, “I had the pleasure of having conversations with a number of students though out the day. The enthusiasm, knowledge, and passion they have for careers in the agricultural field was encouraging for the future of agriculture. They mentioned being interested in careers as CPA’s, engineers, communications specialists and more. We need bright, enthusiastic young people like the participants in the GROWMARK STEM Event in agriculture.”Read More

GROWMARK

#NAFB15 Last Trade Talk for AFBF President

Cindy Zimmerman

nafb15-stallmanIt’s been 16 years that Bob Stallman has represented the American Farm Bureau Federation as president and he’s been at NAFB Trade Talk for most, if not all, of those years. But this year was his last as president since he announced in July that he will be retiring from the post – to do whatever he wants.

“I told our leadership that this decision gives me the opportunity to pursue that which I choose, and I haven’t chosen yet,” said Stallman during an interview at NAFB. He says that his time as AFBF president has been a fantastic experience. “Thirty years ago when I was a young farmer, wading around in the rice fields in my rubber boots and fighting mosquitoes, I never would have thought I could have had an opportunity like this,” he said. “It’s been a phenomenal experience but it’s time now for someone else to take up the reins for American Farm Bureau Federation.”

In this interview, Stallman comments on some of the big issues for agriculture this year, including WOTUS and TPP. Interview with AFBF president Bob Stallman

NAFB Convention Photo Album

Coverage of NAFB Convention is sponsored by
Coverage of NAFB Convention is sponsored by BASF
AFBF, Audio, NAFB

First Female President for National Grange

Kelly Marshall

National GrangeDelegates of National Grange recently elected their national officers.  Of note among them is Betsy Huber, the first woman to be elected president of the organization.

Begun in 1867, Grange is noted as America’s number one rural family advocates.  Huber has been serving as a member of the Board of Directors as chairperson since 2007.  Her new position will require working with the staff to promote Grange policies in D.C. and overseeing the daily running of the program.

Ms. Huber is currently employed by the Pennsylvania State Grange as the Government Relations Director where she works to advance the policies of the Grange within the PA State Legislature. She is a member of Chester-Delaware County Pomona Grange #3 and Goshen Grange #121. Betsy started her Grange involvement at a very young age as a member of the Juvenile (now known as Junior) Grange. She has held numerous positions with her local Grange and with the Pennsylvania State Grange, including serving eight years as President, the first woman to hold that position.

She is also the executive secretary for the Pennsylvania Young Farmers Association. She has also held various positions in the agricultural community that include serving on the boards of the PA State Council of Farm Organizations (President 2011-12), the Governor’s Census 2010 Advisory Panel, the PA Department of Agriculture Fertilizer Advisory Committee, the PA Department of Environmental Protection Ag Advisory Board (Chair 2007), and PA Farm Link. She was employed as district aide to State Representative Arthur D. Hershey from 1992-2002.

Huber represents nearly 880,000 Grange members in 41 states.

Ag Groups

Prayers for Joey+Rory

Cindy Zimmerman

We’ve been keeping the country music couple Joey+Rory in our prayers since hearing that beautiful Joey made the decision last month to stop cancer treatments.

We had the pleasure of meeting this lovely and talented couple three years ago at the 2012 Cattle Industry Summer Convention and were so impressed by their devotion to each other. If you have not been following this story, Joey was diagnosed with cervical cancer last year not long after the birth of the couple’s daughter, Indiana. After undergoing treatment, Joey announced in June of this year that the cancer had returned and spread to her colon and made the decision to stop treatment and enjoy whatever time she has in this world with her family, which also includes two daughters from Rory’s previous marriage.

Our prayers are with this courageous couple as they continue to share their story with their fans. They say they are still hoping for a miracle, but they consider the outpouring of love and support they have received from around the world to be a miracle in itself. God bless them!

Uncategorized