FARMLAND On Demand

Cindy Zimmerman

farmlandlogo4If you’re looking for a great movie to watch with the family over Thanksgiving – here is just the ticket. The feature film Farmland is now available for rent and purchase via On Demand platforms – providing more people with the opportunity to view the film from their own homes and digital devices. The film’s move to digital platforms takes place this month, following a successful four-week run on Hulu.com and Hulu Plus.

Farmland is available for digital download via iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Blockbuster On Demand, Sony PlayStation, Vudu.com, Xbox and YouTube. The cost to download and own the film ranges from $14.99 to $19.99 for high definition and $12.99 to $14.99 for standard definition format. Online rental will cost approximately $4.99 to $7.99 for high definition and $3.99 to $6.99 for standard definition format.

Farmland will also be available to traditional satellite and cable television subscribers via their respective Video-on-Demand or Pay-per-View platforms in December 2014. DirecTV and DISH subscribers will have access to Farmland through their Video-on-Demand or Pay-per-View channels beginning on December 2. The film is also being made available to companies that deliver Video-on-Demand (VOD) or Pay-per-View (PPV) content to ATT U-Verse, Verizon Fios, Comcast, Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable. Viewers are encouraged to check their local VOD/PPV channels on their respective cable and satellite television providers for details.

It’s the perfect film to watch at a time when we are giving thanks for our bountiful supply of food in the United States – and the great people who produce it!

Farming, USFRA

Ayrstone Introduces AyrMesh Bridge

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast 456How about an ethernet cable without the wires on your farm network? Yes, it’s possible. That is, with the Ayrstone Productivity AyrMesh Bridge!

Ayrmesh BridgeDuring the NAFB convention I spoke with company president Bill Moffitt about their newest product. The Bridge joins a growing family of products from Ayrstone like their AyrMesh Hub, Receiver and a Hub that mounts in your cab.

You AgNerds will want some specific information, so here it is:

The AyrMesh Bridge is a wireless 5 GHz. point-to-point bridge. It is transparent to the network, behaving just like an Ethernet cable, but without the wires. The Bridge consists of two radios, which are mounted facing each other, with clear line-of-sight between them. Just like an Ethernet cable, one radio is connected to your network, the other end is connected to a device you want connected to the network. They are connected to power supplies (provided) with Ethernet cables, and Ethernet ports on the power supplies serve as the ends of the virtual Ethernet cable. The radios can be up to 5 miles apart, although the throughput (data speed) of the link will be reduced as the distance between the radios increases. Throughput at a few hundred yards may be as high as 30 Mbps; at 5 miles it will be about 6 Mbps (with no interference and clear line-of-sight). NOTE: The AyrMesh Bridge does not use or provide WiFi – it uses a special narrow-band signal in the 5 GHz band which may interfere or be interfered with by 5 GHz WiFi signals (802.11a, dual-band n, or ac).

Have you got all that? If not, listen to this week’s program to hear Bill explain things: New AyrMesh Bridge

You can find a press release here.

2014 NAFB Convention Photos

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The ZimmCast podcast is sponsored by GROWMARK
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Audio, Internet, ZimmCast

AAEA Finest Images Calendar on Sale

Chuck Zimmerman

AAEA CalendarHere’s a holiday gift idea that benefits the American Agricultural Editors Association Professional Improvement Foundation. It’s a desk calendar that features some of the finest photos from the AAEA Photo Awards program.

Through the generosity of the foundation, every renewing AAEA member will get one calendar for 2015. But help AAEA’s foundation raise money for its member and youth programs and provide professional development with each month’s calendar you purchase. These award-winning photos feature the photographer on the back of the month, describing the situation and technique used to capture the image.

Calendars are just $15 each and include shipping. For bulk orders of 100 or more, the cost is just $12 plus shipping. And you can customize the calendar with your company logo.

Click here to order your calendars, or call the AAEA office for details at 952/758-6502.

ACN

Take a Ranch Risk on Your Mobile Device

Chuck Zimmerman

CME Risk RanchHere’s a risky game for your iOS or Android device – Risk Ranch. The game is brought to you by Commodity Carnival 2014, a project of the CME Group and 4-H.

Welcome to the first and most exciting agriculture based learning application for children of all ages! Risk Ranch is a fun and fast-paced, single-player game with engaging, real-life content, challenging you to take on the role of a modern day farmer and bring your steer to market. Avoid risks, allocate your coins wisely and purchase Futures to protect your investment…It’s up to you to safely raise your steer and make a profit in a totally new world! As you progress throughout the game, you’ll have a chance to play through all four seasons while learning about the real-time risks that affect the value of your steer.

Based on CME Group and 4–H’s Commodity Carnival board game, players will experience real life agricultural risks and will need to make strategic decisions in order to win the blue ribbon!

Risk Ranch is available on the web, in the Apple App Store and through the Android Market.

Apps

IFAJ Member Survey Results

Chuck Zimmerman

IFAJ SurveyThe just-released results of an International Federation of Agricultural Journalists member survey should be of interest to members of all ag communications organizations. You can find a pdf of the full results here. I think you might find questions and responses about social media of special interest. The survey, completed by 127 members, was designed to offer guidance to the federation going forward. Professional development was of high interest for members.

Its four sections included questions related to current activities, future activities, current communication tools and an open-ended section asking how IFAJ can become more relevant to executives and their guilds.

The responses show 46 per cent of respondents agreed that current professional development activities are valuable. Twenty-six per cent agreed somewhat. Respondents added that current IFAJ professional development activities are valuable as they bring worldwide colleagues together, including the international congress that provides international learning opportunities.
Related to future activities, 86 per cent said they would value regional press tours and exchange visits to learn and write about agriculture in another country. Respondents provided feedback that some possible future activities might include a membership database, a debate about the role of the journalists and communicators in IFAJ, more exchange meetings, focus on major issues including climate change, education, new technologies, solar power, or scholarship support for young journalists to study in other countries.

ACN, IFAJ, Media

Philip Brasher Joins Agri-Pulse

Cindy Zimmerman

agri-pulse-brasherOne of the most respected names in agricultural journalism is joining the staff of Agri-Pulse.

Agri-Pulse has announed the appointment of Philip Brasher as a senior editor, based in Washington, D.C., effective December 1.

“We are very excited to have a talented veteran journalist like Phil join us full-time in Washington,” said Sara Wyant, Agri-Pulse Editor and Publisher. “Phil is one of the most knowledgeable food and agriculture policy journalists in the nation. He will help us continue to expand our Capitol Hill coverage, drawing upon expertise and relationships built in a career on Capitol Hill spanning two-and-a-half decades.”

Brasher most recently served as editor of “CQ on Agriculture and Food” for CQ Roll Call, a unit of The Economist Group. He has reported on food and agriculture policy for more than 15 years, also working for The Associated Press, The Des Moines Register and Gannett. In 2009, Brasher’s project funded by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting looked into prospects for biotechnology in Africa. He has served as a key reporter on award-winning projects examining the future of biofuels, the impact of climate change on agriculture and the environmental and economic effects of changing land ownership patterns.

Follow Brasher and the Agri-Pulse team on Twitter @PhilipBrasher and @AgriPulse
About Agri-Pulse Communications Inc.

Agri-Pulse, Media

Meet the New USFRA Faces: Carla Wardin

John Davis

usfra-faces-carlaEarlier this month, we told you about the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA®) announcing the winners of its second class of the Faces of Farming and Ranching program. Now, we’d like you to meet each of the five selectees, starting with Carla Wardin of Michigan, who along with her husband Kris, both sixth-generation farmers, are the sole owners of Evergreen Dairy.

“I am so thrilled and so honored to be selected, because I really love the chance to represent the industry,” she told our Taylor Truckey during an interview. “I’m really looking forward to having meaningful conversations with consumers on the national level.”

Carla’s path to this latest position to help shift conversations about food production and set the record straight about how farmers feed the nation came through social media. Beginning with tours of the family dairy farms, she expanded who could hear the story when she launched her own blog, “Truth or Dairy,” also promoting it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

“I really love being able to share, and I really love that people want to read about a dairy farm in the Midwest,” she said.

Carla admitted that while having friends online (and some of those ONLY online) might seem a little different than traditional friendships, she believes they can still make some great connections and relationships.

Moving forward, Carla will be part of USFRA’s Food Dialogues program held in different cities where many stakeholders are invited to the conversation.

You can follow Carla here:

Truth or Dairy Blog
Carla’s Facebook page
Evergreen Dairy Facebook page
Twitter
Carla’s Farm Video

Listen to all of Taylor’s interview with Carla here: New USFRA Faces of Farming and Ranching - Carla Wardin

Ag Groups, Animal Agriculture, Audio, Dairy, USFRA

NCGA President Discusses Issues

Cindy Zimmerman

nafb14-ncga-chipTransportation, trade, biotechnology, regulations, and soil health were just a few of the issues on the mind of National Corn Growers Association president Chip Bowling at the recent National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention.

Talking transportation first, Bowling says they were surprised when the Army Corps of Engineers told them earlier this month that they would be closing the Mississippi River for at least two weeks to make some repairs. “We would love to have known about it a little sooner than we did,” he said. “We need them to get that work done as soon as possible….we’ve got a big crop coming out of the fields and we’ve got to get it down river to the port.”

Bowling says corn growers are very concerned about the growing number of initiatives nationwide called for labeling of GMO products, and passage of a temporary ban on biotech crop production in Maui where many agribusiness companies do research on new traits. “The issue in Hawaii is critical,” he said. “We Hawaii is a place we can grow crops all year long and the companies that test their traits out there needs to have the accessibility to those areas.” Monsanto and Dow AgroSciences have filed suit over the ban, which was passed by a slim margin, and a judge has blocked its implementation.

Bowling talks about a variety of issues in this interview: Interview with Chip Bowling, NCGA president
2014 NAFB Convention Photos

NAFB Convention is sponsored by
NAFB Convention is sponsored by BASF
Audio, Corn, NAFB, NCGA

BASF Talks Engenia at NAFB

Cindy Zimmerman

nafb14-basf-chadChad Brommer is a biologist by training who is more comfortable in a lab coat than a suit and tie. But, BASF recently tapped Chad for a new role as technical market manager for Engenia herbicide, which he has helped to develop over the last several years.

“I’m really in a unique position and happy to be here in a different role,” said Chad during an interview at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention. “The previous five years I’ve spent with a team of scientists in the United States and Germany developing what is now Engenia, the newest form of dicamba that we have at BASF.”

Engenia herbicide has been developed to control 190 different broadleaf weeds and when it hits the market it will be available for both dicamba-tolerant soybeans and cotton. “So with the really difficult glyphosate-resistant broadleaf weed problems we’ve seen in the south and in the Midwest, this is a great new tool that will allow growers to apply a post-emergence herbicide and completely take out weeds like palmer amaranth or waterhemp,” Chad says.

BASF is anticipating Engenia will be available for dicamba-tolerant cotton next year and soybeans in 2016. Learn more in this interview with Chad: Interview with Chad Brommer, BASF
2014 NAFB Convention Photos

NAFB Convention is sponsored by
NAFB Convention is sponsored by BASF
Audio, BASF, Crop Protection, NAFB, weed management

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

Zimfo Bytes

  • Jay Vroom, president and CEO of CropLife America (CLA), announced that Dr. Janet E. Collins will join CLA as senior vice president of science and regulatory affairs, effective January 5, 2015.
  • The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) filed a notice of intent to sue the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for failure to issue the 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).
  • The official opening of Bayer CropScience’s Weed Resistance Competence Center (WRCC) in Frankfurt on 19 November is a major step forward in tackling weed resistance, as it will develop new weed control strategies, and share knowledge within the global community of farmers, agronomists and scientists.
  • AGCO, Your Agriculture Company, a worldwide manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment and infrastructure, is proud to announce a recent highlight in the Harvard Business Review for the company’s work in developing smart farm equipment and solutions.
Zimfo Bytes