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Top Rated Ag Universities

Cindy Zimmerman

qs-rankingsWe all have our favorite ag schools (Go Gators!) but if you want a non-biased source for the top rated universities in any subject, the definitive source is the QS World University Rankings.

First compiled in 2004, the QS World University Rankings currently considers over 3,000 institutions, and ranks more than 800 under a methodology that includes academic reputation, employer reputation and research impact. In the latest rankings for agriculture and forestry universities, most of the top ten are here in the United States and many are names you would expect to see, such as UC-Davis (#1), Purdue and UW-Madison (tied at #5 and 6), and Iowa State at #8.

Rounding out the top ten this year are Cornell University (2), Wageningen University – the Netherlands (3), UC-Berkeley (4), Australian National University (7), Oregon State University (8), and the Swedish University of Agricultural Science at number 10.

Our Gators came in at #16 – see where your favorite school ranked.

Education, University

#RealPigFarming Finalist in PR Awards

John Davis

realpigfarmingA program that features real pork producers telling their stories has been nominated for a top national public relations award. The National Pork Board’s #RealPigFarming campaign, developed by Des Moines, Iowa-based PR firm Lessing-Flynn, is a finalist in the Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA) Silver Anvil awards competition.

“We’re incredibly proud of the #RealPigFarming campaign and the results we’ve seen,” said Jess Held, vice president of Lessing-Flynn. “This is the first time Lessing-Flynn has submitted an entry in this competition, so it’s very exciting to be named a finalist! It’s an honor to be recognized among some of the world’s top PR agencies.”

This award will recognize the outstanding work Lessing-Flynn and the National Pork Board produced as part of the #RealPigFarming campaign. The campaign is a finalist in the Reputation/Brand Management > Associations category of the awards program, which honors programs that enhance, promote or improve the reputation of an organization with its publics.

This year’s PRSA competition generated 804 entries, and only 136 entries were chosen as finalists by the judges. The winners will be announced at a ceremony in New York City on June 4, 2015.

Advertising, Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Pork, Public Relations

Industry Pleased with White House Pollinator Plan

Cindy Zimmerman

beesLast June, President Obama called for an interagency Task Force to create a Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators. Tuesday, the Task Force released its strategy, under the joint leadership of EPA and USDA.

Industry reaction to the plan, which outlines actions to be taken by more than a dozen other federal agencies and departments, has been very positive.

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) applauded the Task Force for emphasizing the importance of public-private partnerships and collaboration between all stakeholders. “Even though corn does not rely on pollinators, we recognize that they are critical to the overall health and vitality of our agricultural system,” said Don Glenn, chair of NCGA’s Production and Stewardship Action Team. “The National Pollinator Health Strategy underscores that everyone – farmers, beekeepers, conservationists, industry, and government – must work together to solve this challenge.”

Bayer CropScience president and CEO Jim Blome calls the strategy a “balanced and multi-faceted approach” and said they are particularly encouraged by the commitment to invest more into research, noting that many of Bayer’s on-going pollinator initiatives mirror specific recommendations included in the national strategy.

Agricultural Retailers Association Senior Vice President of Public Policy Richard Gupton was also encouraged by the balanced approach of the plan. “ARA and our members understand the importance of pollinators in growing crops and sustaining plant life,” said Gupton. “We applaud President Obama and members of the Pollinator Health Task Force for also recognizing that pesticides play a critical part in agricultural production and the health of our society.”

The strategy focuses on a number of factors impacting pollinator health, including “pests and pathogens, reduced habitat, lack of nutritional resources, and exposure to pesticides” and directs EPA complete a review of the effects of neonicotinoid pesticides on pollinators by the end of 2017. CropLife America CEO Jay Vroom expressed some concern about the accelerated timeline for the review. “We are skeptical of how sound science can be ‘sped up’ for this evaluation and look forward to a reasoned dialogue with EPA on that point,” said Vroom.

ARA, Bayer, Bees, Environment, EPA, NCGA, pesticides, pollinators

The Changing Face of Media

Chuck Zimmerman

Alltech PanelOne of the primary seminar tracks here at the Alltech REBELation is titled, “Marketing for Business Growth.” In this track I was a panelist yesterday to talk about The Changing Face of Media. With me were moderator, Frank Mulrennan, Celtic Media Group; Peter Baniak, Lexington Herald-Leader; Matt Jones, Kentucky Sports Radio; Brian Hughes RFD-TV/Rural Media Group and Trent Loos, Loos Tales. We each had 3 minutes to make some points on this subject from our perspective. That was followed by some panel interaction and Q&A. Here’s my initial comments:

My company is ZimmComm NEW MEDIA. Why? Because we’re not old, traditional or big media. You know, radio, tv, magazines, newspapers. Anachronisms. We’re new media – blogs, podcasts, Flickr photos, YouTube videos, social media – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn.

Let’s face it, these traditional media gents look with longing wonder at how a young new media guy like me is thriving. I don’t broadcast via terrestrial transmitter. I don’t publish anything printed. We’re online and mobile only. I carry more transmitting power in my bag here than when I owned a radio station in Florida once upon a time.

How many of you have a smart phone? Use it every day? Check news or information on it? Got the free AgWired App? Get it.

Here’s are a few statistics:

From Pew 2015

2/3 of Americans own a smartphone – was 1/3 in 2011
19% rely on on them for accessing online services and information
Almost 10% of Americans don’t have broadband service at home
Majority of smartphone owners use their phones to follow breaking news and share it 67%

DMR – digital marketing stats

1.44 billion on Facebook as of 4/22/15
Daily users 936 million
31% of seniors use Facebook

Today, WE ARE ALL MEDIA. How many times is a breaking story told first on Twitter by people on the ground at the right moment?

And for you business owners, the Internet has powered public relations. I hope you have more than a website. I hope you have social media accounts and are actively using them to engage directly with your customer. It’s the disintermediation of the old media and it’s moving at a historically rapid pace.

My Apple Watch is on order. I look forward to getting news updates on my wrist without even having to take my phone out of my pocket.

And let’s not forget: Search engine optimization – You heard today that there are 4 billion searches on Google daily My blogs are highly search engine optimized. We’re the media you need to be working with. Think transparently sponsored story posts, paid tweet campaigns. There is a new media in town.

Guys? Your Turn.

We had a pretty spirited discussion but in the end I think we all agreed on more things than disagreed. During the session Matt mentioned the Twitter Periscope App. I have it and started Periscoping live. I have the recording and will upload to YouTube to add here later.

In the meantime, what are your thoughts on this subject? Do publications, television and radio still have relevance? How about 5 years from now?

2015 Alltech REBELation Photo Album

Agribusiness, Alltech, Media

Kentucky Night of Fun

Chuck Zimmerman

Kentucky NightAfter yesterday afternoon’s Alltech REBELation sessions it was time to relax and have a little fun. That fun included good food, beverage, music and dancing in the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park.

Many delegations from countries represented here got together on what they were wearing and for photos like this one of the Brazil folks.

Jamie and I collected lots of photos yesterday and have them all uploaded for you viewing/sharing pleasure. We’re collecting interviews to share with you here and on our Animal.AgWired.com website.

2015 Alltech REBELation Photo Album

Agribusiness, Alltech

Jeanne Bernick joins K•Coe Isom

Cindy Zimmerman

bernickOur congratulations to former Top Producer Editor Jeanne Bernick who has joined K•Coe Isom as Ag Consultant.

In this newly created position, Bernick matches the needs of large commercial producers with K•Coe Isom’s resources in farm financial management, wealth management, sustainability, and food and ag policy. She also spearheads K•Coe Isom events that bring business tools and resources to commercial ag producers.
Bernick draws on 20+ years of industry insights, having seen producers through economic volatility, land price escalation, and multi-generational business succession. During her distinguished career at Farm Journal Media, Bernick developed long-standing relationships with large commercial ag producers and their families. Traveling throughout the country and the world, she developed authoritative industry content and wrote thousands of stories that covered every aspect of agriculture.

“Privileged over her career to sit around hundreds of kitchen tables with producers’ families, Jeanne’s been able to listen and learn while watching farm families grow, kids take over the operations, and countless businesses fail or succeed,” said Michelle Golden, K•Coe Isom’s Growth Leader. “She knows what they care about, and what matters most to them.”

Growing up on a cattle ranch in southern Missouri, Bernick started her career in Philadelphia, becoming one of the top editors in ag journalism. She grew Top Producer magazine into a multimedia CEO-focused brand, doubled the size of the Top Producer Seminar, and helped develop Top Producer Executive Network™ (TPEN)—the first, national, farmer peer network. Bernick graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in agricultural journalism and has won numerous writing and business media awards, including being named Writer of Merit for the American Ag Editors Association (AAEA).

Congrats, Jeanne!

ACN, Media

Agri-Pulse Open Mic with Heidi Heitkamp

John Davis

Agri-Pulse Open Mic this week features U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp.

open-micThe North Dakota Democrat was instrumental in crafting the 2014 farm bill and now has proposed legislation to address uncertainty over renewable fuels and waters of the US as well as expanding trade with Cuba. In this interview Senator Heitkamp shares her thoughts on food labeling and outlines senate debate over Trade Promotion Authority for President Obama. While trade dominates the legislative agenda this week, Heitkamp hopes for timely action on the highway trust fund, the export-import bank and national security issues.

Click here to listen to Agri-Pulse Open Mic with U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp.

Agri-Pulse, Audio

Colin Powell Addresses REBELation

Chuck Zimmerman

General Colin PowellFormer U.S. Secretary of State and retired General Colin Powell took the stage today to talk about becoming a REBEL. He offered the international audience some insights into what it means to be an American and why people want to come to our country.

Since the conference is mostly educational sessions on food and the business of animal agriculture he offered thoughts on the importance of feeding the growing world population. Powell drew on his military background to talk about managing people. I thought is was interesting that he has never said the words, “That is an order,” in his career. He says soldiers don’t respond to that. It’s much better to explain things to them so they understand what they have to do. I am able to offer a short piece of his presentation from the beginning of his speech.

Listen to an excerpt from Colin Powell’s remarks here: Colin Powell Remarks at Alltech Rebelation

2015 Alltech REBELation Photo Album

Agribusiness, Alltech, Audio

Ronan Wraps Up 1st Opening Plenary

Jamie Johansen

Ronan Tynan graced the stage once again at the opening plenary session at Alltech REBELation. This time surrounded by a choir and singing U2’s, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”


2015 Alltech REBELation Photo Album

Agribusiness, Alltech, Video