AFBF President Surprises Vilsack with Branding Iron

Cindy Zimmerman

afbf15-vilsack-brandAmerican Farm Bureau Federation president Bob Stallman presented Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack with a special gift Monday to recognize his support of farmers and ranchers.

Noting that a Texas cowboy phrase denoting loyalty to the ranch is “ride for the brand,” Stallman gave Vilsack a specially-made “US AG” branding iron. “Mr. Secretary, thank you for riding for the brand for US AG,” he said.

Visibly moved by the gift, Visack said the branding iron would have a special place in his office. “I had, until today, one acknowledgement that I always valued … a Patriot’s Award given to me by the National Guard when I left the governorship of Iowa,” he said. “This brand will go right next to that Patriot Award and be in my office for as long as I live.”

Listen to the secretary’s comments at the AFBF general session here: Vilsack at AFBF on stage

Vilsack held a wide-ranging press conference after his appearance at the general session, talking first about the sign-up progress for the Dairy Margin Protection Program announced today. He was asked about trade issues, COOL, farm bill implementation, food stamps, and much more. Vilsack press conference at AFBF


2015 AFBF Convention photo album

AFBF, Audio, USDA

USTR Ag Negotiator Visits AFBF Convention

Cindy Zimmerman

afbf15-vetterChief Agricultural Negotiator for the US Trade Representative Darci Vetter made an informal appearance at the American Farm Bureau annual meeting in San Diego Sunday and stopped to answer a few trade related questions from the media.

First, Ambassador Vetter was asked about the Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations and Japan’s desire to exempt a variety of agricultural products from the agreement. “We continue to work very hard with both with our Japanese partners and others to find a way forward that will bring real value to U.S. ag,” she said.

Vetter says she is hopeful that Congress will get trade promotion authority approved this year. “We’re very encouraged by statements made by both the new House and Senate leadership about moving TPA forward,” said Vetter.

She talked about what the next steps have to be for more normalized trade with Cuba. “Certain restrictions on the financing of products from Cuba have been lifted to make it easier for us to do business with them, but Congress of course has to fully lift the embargo to move forward.”

She also commented on moving U.S. beef into China and dealing with approval of biotech traits.

Listen to it here: Media gaggle with USTR Darci Vetter


2015 AFBF Convention photo album

AFBF, Audio, Trade

Farm Bureau Town Hall with Secretary Vilsack

Cindy Zimmerman

afbf15-town-hallAgriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack held an informal town hall-style meeting with members of the American Farm Bureau on the floor of the IDEAg trade show Sunday in San Diego.

On a circular stage with AFBF president Bob Stallman, Vilsack took questions from members on a variety of topics, including the proposed Waters of the US rule, transportation, trade, and biofuels.

afbf15-vilsack-stallmanThe biggest laugh of the event came when a South Dakota farmer, referring to WOTUS, asked the secretary “What can USDA do to instill some commonsense in the regulatory process?”

“This is a really important question, one that I grapple with all the time,” said Vilsack. “There’s an expectation that USDA can impose commonsense on other agencies, and that’s just not the way it works.” The best they can do is educate “sister agencies” about the impact of regulations on agriculture.

Listen to the town hall here: Secretary Vilsack at AFBF Town Hall meeting
2015 AFBF Convention photo album

AFBF, Audio, USDA

Rea Named Senior VP of BASF Crop Protection

Jamie Johansen

basf-reaBASF announces that Paul Rea has been appointed Senior Vice President, Crop Protection, North America.

Rea joined BASF Australia in 2001, moving to the U.S. in 2004. Rea has held a number of positions with BASF in the U.S., including Director of the professional and specialty solutions division, and Vice President, U.S. Crop Operations. Most recently, Rea was Senior Vice President, Crop Protection, Asia-Pacific.

Born and raised in New Zealand, Rea received a post-graduate business degree from the University of Sydney in Australia.

Agribusiness, BASF, Crop Protection

Farm Bureau Distinguished Service Awards

Cindy Zimmerman

The American Farm Bureau Federation recognized Don Borgman and Dr. Temple Grandin for their distinguished service to agriculture during the organization’s 96th annual convention Sunday in San Diego.

afbf15-borgmanBoth farmer and industry executive, Don Borgman has been a strong advocate for agriculture for over 40 years. A third-generation corn and soybean farmer from Missouri, Borgman continued to manage his farm while working full-time for John Deere. He retired last year as director of ag industry relations, where he played an integral role in the company’s efforts to support and promote renewable energy sources. Borgman was recognized early last year for his work by the National Biodiesel Board with a lifetime achievement award. AFBF distinguished service award winner Don Borgman comments

afbf15-templeDr. Temple Grandin has dedicated her life to improving animal welfare and handling. One of the most successful people in the world with autism, Grandin is the leading authority on farm animal behavior. Her unique ability to visualize from the animal’s perspective led her to design livestock processing systems which are more humane and efficient. Her systems for reducing animal stress in processing plants are being used throughout the country—and around the world. Grandin also developed an objective scoring system for assessing and handling cattle and pigs at meat plants. A number of major corporations now use this scorecard to help improve animal welfare. AFBF distinguished service award winner Temple Grandin comments
2015 AFBF Convention photo album

AFBF, Audio

Farm Bureau Proud and Optimistic

Cindy Zimmerman

afbf15-stallmanThe 96th annual convention of the American Farm Bureau Federation is underway in San Diego, kicked off by president Bob Stallman Sunday morning telling the membership that agriculture must push harder for important policy reforms in 2015.

“We cannot ignore the extremes of the left and right, but we must speak to the center: the legislators in both parties who go to Washington because they want to make policy and get things done,” Stallman said. “It’s time for Congress to get back to work – to do their job so you can do yours.”

Acknowledging that preparing for the 2016 elections will shorten time for Congress this year, Stallman detailed a number of important issues the need to be tackled, including immigration reform, food labeling, taxes and energy policy.

Listen to Stallman’s speech here: AFBF president Bob Stallman, 2015 convention

Stallman opening press conference: AFBF president Bob Stallman, press conference
2015 AFBF Convention photo album

AFBF, Audio

Contamination Prevention at Beltwide Cotton

Chuck Zimmerman

Beltwide Cotton Consultants ConferenceEarlier this week the 2015 Beltwide Cotton Consultants Conference took place in San Antonio, TX. One of the hot topics discussed during the event was contamination prevention. Dale W. Thompson, National Cotton Council, spoke to the group in attendance about the potentially growing problem.

Dale said this is no new problem for cotton growers and has a huge impact on the bottom line for growers. The problem is seen when the product has moved down the line to the textile mills and then ultimately the consumer in the marketplace. Dale shared images of what the mills see when harvesting is done improperly. “Once contamination is hit, it is really difficult recapture those markets.”

Dale goes on to share technology used to filter contamination and the publications out there to education growers on ways to implement prevention on their own operations.

“We are trending in the right direction. Contamination on the 2013 survey was less then in pervious years for U.S. cotton. The bad news is we still have a lot of plastics getting into our cotton found in textile mills around the world. That is why we have made an effort to get the word out to growers, ginners, warehouses and the transportation industry that contamination is a serious issue and we look for help from consultants that have good relationships throughout the industry.”

Listen to more about this critical subject here: Dale Thompson Presentation

You can find photos from the opening day of the conferences here: 2015 Beltwide Cotton Conferences

Coverage of the Beltwide Cotton Conference is sponsored by Coverage of the Beltwide Cotton Conference is sponsored by NuFarm
Ag Groups, Audio, Beltwide Cotton, Cotton

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

Zimfo Bytes

  • Dr. Jodi Scheffler, a geneticist with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service who has compiled an impressive record of outstanding service in basic genetic research, is the recipient of the 2014 Cotton Genetics Research Award.
  • Early bird registration for the 20th Commodity Classic is approaching ends Thursday, Jan. 15, for the event, which will be held in Phoenix, Ariz., Feb. 26-28.
  • The Georgia Peanut Commission seeks eligible peanut producers who are interested in serving on the National Peanut Board.
  • John Deere Insurance Company released a new private crop insurance policy called Added Value Protection insurance policy that protects against yield shortage.
Zimfo Bytes

‘My American Farm’ Reaches 1.5 million Youth

Jamie Johansen

myamericanfarmThe American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture has announced that it has reached more than 1.5 million school-age youths through its educational “My American Farm” program. In 2015, the web-based resource will have a new look to improve the user experience thanks to continued support from DuPont Pioneer.

“Over the past four years, we have reached more than a million school-aged youth through the My American Farm platform – from kiosks at agriculture conferences to desktops in the classroom,” said American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman. “With support from DuPont Pioneer, we are increasing youth engagement in agriculture in classrooms coast-to-coast to improve overall literacy of production agriculture and inspire future food leaders.”

My American Farm is an educational game platform launched in 2011 to engage pre-K through fifth grade learners in agriculture. Today the free site offers 19 agriculturally themed games and more than 100 free educator resources such as lesson plans, activity sheets and comics.

“The My American Farm website is an amazing resource for elementary teachers,” said Lauren Hartzler Arbogast, an elementary school teacher in Harrisonburg, Virginia. “Since most of my students are generations away from actual production agriculture, I’m thankful for a resource like My American Farm that makes agriculture exciting and relevant for the students.”

The My American Farm educational resource is a special project of the Foundation and made possible through the support of title sponsor, DuPont Pioneer. Pioneer has contributed more than $1.4 million to advancing the programs in U.S. classrooms in the last five years.

This year, My American Farm will launch two new STEM-related games, pilot food science day camps and increase outreach to elementary school teachers. Users also can now search educational resources and sort games by grade level and subject area. In addition to being more mobile friendly, the site will provide new resources, like downloadable recipe cards, free marketing resources and ideas for setting up a learning experience at a fair or event.

AFBF, Ag Groups

Farm Podcaster Tool

Chuck Zimmerman

Samson MeteoriteI don’t have one but think I’ll get one. I like Samson USB mics and travel with a Go Mic. This looks like a nice desktop/travel mic to add to the bag though. Might even replace my Blue Microphones Yeti. I’ll test it out and let you know what I think.

Samson’s Meteorite is the universal solution for capturing high-quality recordings on your computer. Meteorite is ideal for podcasting, creating audio for YouTube videos and recording music on your favorite software or apps. This sleek microphone will also vastly improve your ability to communicate with friends, family and business associates on programs like Skype, FaceTime and other VoIP software.

Media, Podcasts