New Holland Celebrating Major Milestones

Chuck Zimmerman August 7, 2014

The New Holland Guardian Sprayer was on display during media day last week. Here’s Abe Hughes, VP, North America, in front of the monster sprayer. The front-boom sprayers have been introduced with Tier 4B and you can get them with the available 1,600 US/gallon tank and 120-foot boom options to cover more acres faster than ever.

When I visited with Abe he talked about more than just new products. New Holland is hitting several company milestones for one thing. Next year will be the company’s 120th anniversary. Other milestones include the 50th Anniversary of New Holland Speedrower® self-propelled windrowers, 40th Anniversary of New Holland Twin Rotor® combines and 40th Anniversary of New Holland Roll-Belt™ round balers.

Abe also talks about the more than 1,000 New Holland dealers throughout the United States and Canada. Worldwide, there are more than 3,000 New Holland dealers in 160 countries. Abe believes that a smart, comprehensive dealer network helps his customers make smarter decisions on a day-to-day basis.

Listen to my interview with Abe here: Interview with Abe Hughes

2014 New Holland Media Day Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Equipment, New Holland, Video

What’s your favorite way to eat peanut butter?

Jamie Johansen August 7, 2014

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “I prefer to get my farm news from:”

I am sure many of the younger generation feel real magazines and radio are a little out dated, but it is clear that they still serve a purpose when it comes to getting news that is relevant to our industry. Computers seem to easily take the the lead when it comes to a resource for farm news. Do you think we will see the day when computers seem dated? I might still be considered the ‘younger generation’ but I would rather listen to the radio any day.

Here are the poll results:

Magazine – 14%
Mobile Phone – 24%
Radio – 15%
Tablet – 10%
Computer – 34%
Other – 3%

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, What’s your favorite way to eat peanut butter?

Peanut butter is quite diverse making it a staple in many households. I personally prefer a peanut butter cookie over anything else. Chuck and Cindy have covered the Southern Peanut Growers Conference for seven years. The three-day event provides farmers an opportunity to learn more about the industry and important issues. You can check out photos and audio from this years event here.

ZimmPoll

Grower Recommendations from FMC

Chuck Zimmerman August 7, 2014

The Golden ZimmComm Microphone got a good workout during the Ag Media Summit. Thanks to Paul Redhage, FMC, for taking this photo of me interviewing Len Dobbins, eBusiness/CRM Manager at FMC Corporation. I think Len has a little bit of the AgNerd in him. In our interview we talked about responsive website design for example.

I asked him what FMC offers to growers who are getting close to the end of another season. He says that weeds and weed control is really a big issue that has been of more concern than ever with the weed resistance we’ve been seeing. Of course starting out with a clean field in the spring is critical. So he recommends applying a product like one of FMC’s Authority brands in the fall to take care of winter annuals. This will give growers more flexibility with the timing of their pre-emerge treatments in the spring.

You can listen to my interview with Len here: Interview with Len Dobbins

Ag Media Summit Photo Album

Coverage of the Ag Media Summit is sponsored by

Ag Media Summit, Agribusiness, Audio, FMC, weed management

How Ground Beef & Hamburgers are Made Video Released

Jamie Johansen August 7, 2014

Ground beef and hamburgers are two of America’s most beloved meat products, yet also among the most misunderstood when it comes to how they’re made. With that in mind, American Meat Institute (AMI) has developed a new video as part of its “Glass Walls” series featuring a tour of a processing plant that produces ground beef for several major restaurant chains. The tour is led by Birchwood Foods/Kenosha Beef President and CEO Dennis Vignieri, whose family has been in the beef business for nearly 80 years.

The video highlights the entire process of making ground beef and hamburgers and shows how beef trimmings are analyzed and ground into a specific lean to fat ratio that consumers enjoy and finally formed into patties that are packaged and sent to restaurants or grocery stores. More than half of the beef consumed in the U.S. is ground beef.

“There are some misconceptions about how ground beef is made, but the process is actually much like you would do in your own kitchen, just on a larger scale,” AMI Senior Vice President of Public Affairs and Member Services Janet Riley . “We want consumers to see the process and know they can feel confident eating the burgers they love.”

“Ground Beef: How It’s Made” is the sixth video in AMI’s Glass Walls series which also features tours of beef, pork and turkey plants led by animal welfare expert Temple Grandin, Ph.D., professor of animal science at Colorado State University, a thorough look at sanitation in meat plants as well as a look at how hot dogs are made. Those videos have been viewed more than 300,000 times on YouTube.

AMI also has several videos featuring experts addressing ground beef myths on its Meat Mythcrushers website.

Ag Groups, Meat, Video

Keep Manhattan, Just Give Me That Countryside!

Melissa Sandfort August 7, 2014

Today Aunt Jeanette writes:

As I was walking this morning – yep, I lost my walking partner to an injury – I was writing stories in my head. There wasn’t much else I could do because the fog was so dense I could barely see where I was going. It was one of those heavy gray curtain fogs that opened just enough to let me through and then closed quickly behind me. As I walked, I made a list in my head of all the things we have seen, heard, smelled and felt on our daily walks.

Lists…I am one of those OCD people that is constantly making lists and crossing things off. If I do something that is not on my list, I add it and then cross it off. Careful – I know what you are thinking! Anyway, I hope you enjoy my list of all the reasons I love walking in the country! (This is a spin-off of one of Melissa’s “AgWalks” several weeks ago. We make a great team!) *Editor’s Note: Little does Aunt Jeanette know how many lists I make on a daily basis!

• A mother raccoon and her four babies leaving our yard after a night of exploring
• Killdeer scolding us from the roadside ditches
• Frogs serenading us from our neighbor’s pond
• A train rumbling on distant tracks
• A rooster pheasant crowing
• Planes flying overhead spraying crops before it gets too hot or windy
• The hum of tired irrigation motors
• A doe and her spotted fawn ambling across the road to seek daytime shelter in our son’s windbreak
• Wild plums – fruit replacing the fragrant blossoms from earlier this spring
• The first wild roses of summer
• Those same wild rose bushes now full of bright red rose hips
• Sweet clover in full bloom – one of my favorite scents
• The Little Sandy Creek bubbling along happily after an unexpected rain
• Numerous animal tracks – raccoon, deer, coyote, plus some we weren’t able to identify
• The tracks made by our grandchildren’s stroller as it was being pushed by our son and his wife
• The delicate white flowers of Queen Anne’s Lace
• Food and shelter for monarch butterfly larvae – aka milkweed
• Our drenched clothes and glistening skin after being caught in a sudden rain shower
• Leaves on cornstalks waving to us as we passed by
• Two squirrels playing ring-around-the-rosy on a tree trunk
• Our own shoe tracks from the previous day’s walk
• The growing and maturing corn and soybean fields
• Unidentified birds greeting us with their morning songs
• Pockets bulging with nails and other items we pick up that don’t belong on the road
• Goosebumps on our arms from an unusually cool summer morning
• The sun rising over a beautiful field of corn
• The pink, orange, yellow and blue beginning of a brand new day

Is walking in the country boring? Never!

Until we walk again …

Uncategorized

Sarah Wilson is a Farmer On A Mission

Joanna Schroeder August 6, 2014

Sarah Wilson is a Farmer on a Mission. She and her family farm in North Dakota and she has experienced first hand how people perceive agriculture. Fact: most Americans are at least three generations removed from the farm. And these new urban dwellers do not understand where our food comes from.

This is very important as the agriculture industry is desperately short on qualified talent in the industry. How to recruit and retain employees is the key topic being discussed this week in Minneapolis, MN during the annual AgCareers.com HR & Food Roundtable. With the negative perceptions many people hold about ag and the outright bashing of modern agriculture, Wilson first became an AgVitist and today she is an AgVocate.

But why should the human resources industry care about agvocacy? Because as they struggle to engage new talent, all people working in the industry need to share their personal stories and talk about the great things happening to help recruit and retain employees.

Today Wilson said the negative messages are spreading because humans fear what they are not familiar with and the anti-agriculture industry is selling fear and guilt about food choices. She said activits are attacking the moral fiber of the ag industry. So Wilson is asking people to become an AgVocate.

What’s the difference between AgTivist and AgVocate? They both share stories about ag but an AgTivist tends to share stories within the industry; whereas, AgVocates share their messages outside of the industry: in schools, at church, at their kids extracurricular events, on airplanes and more.

So here are a few tools to become an AgVocate.

Share your personal story.
Communicate your message in an easy to understand manner.
Harness your influential power.

Learn more about becoming an AgVocate in my interview with Sarah Wilson: Sarah Wilson, Farmer on a Mission

View the 2014 AgCareers.com HR & Food Roundtable photo album.

AgCareers, Audio, Education, Events

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes August 6, 2014

McDonald’s and the Iowa Food & Family Project (IFFP) are partnering to dish up fresh and fun information about quality food and the farm families who grow it.
The National Corn Growers Association welcomes Jennifer Myers who joins the organization as the Communications Manager based in the Washington office.
Jim Kelm, principal at Kelm Mangement, Red Wing, MN, was elected to a second term as President of the Farm Financial Standards Council at the organization’s annual conference.
The U.S. Canola Association (USCA) is pleased to announce a new strategic publishing partnership with Winnipeg, Manitoba-based agriculture publishing and communications company Issues Ink.

Zimfo Bytes

In-Cab Wifi From Ayrstone

Chuck Zimmerman August 6, 2014

Need wireless productivity on your farm? Ayrstone is here to help. Bill Moffitt, Founder/President, was on hand at the Ag Media Summit to talk about their new products. The one that caught my eye right off the bat is the one he’s holding. It’s the new AyrMesh Cab Hub.

BRING YOUR AYRMESH WIFI NETWORK INTO THE CAB OF YOUR VEHICLES

The AyrMesh Cab Hub mounts in the cab of your tractor, sprayer, combine, or truck to connect the devices in the cab to your network. This allows you to use your smartphone, tablet, or laptop in the fields, as well as collect data from your WiFi-enabled cab computers. The custom-built power cable provides power to the hub, and the magnetic-mount antenna provides a durable outdoor antenna to maximize the Hub’s range. The Cab Hub will connect to a Hub up to 2.5 miles away.

I have used an Ayrstone hub and found it to be easy to set up, reliable and strong wifi. If you’re interested in being part of some farm tests the company is conducting then give them a call.

You can listen to my interview with Bill here: Interview with Bill Moffitt

Ag Media Summit Photo Album

Coverage of the Ag Media Summit is sponsored by

Ag Media Summit, Agribusiness, Internet

Missouri Farmers & Ranchers Say Thank You

Jamie Johansen August 6, 2014

I have always taken pride in my ability to cast a vote, but this year it fell really close to home. As a Missouri farmer, I sat on pins and needles last night as I watched the votes come. I could not be more proud of my state’s ability to rally together and stand strong against those whose goals aim to not only hurt the agricultural community, but actually end it. There are talks of a recount, but I am confident that the majority have spoken and our Right to Farm will continue for many generations to come.

Yesterday Missouri voters approved Amendment #1, the Missouri Farming Rights Amendment with over 50% of voters casting a ‘yes’ ballot. With Amendment #1 now enshrined in the state constitution, all Missouri farmers and ranchers now enjoy constitutional protections to their livelihoods.

“This was a difficult campaign but we made our case to voters and we appreciate the support that Missourians have shown for family farmers and ranchers across the state,” Missouri Farmers Care Chairman Don Nikodim said. “While it is unfortunate that the ‘no’ campaign chose to confuse voters with false attacks on Amendment #1, voters ultimately saw that Amendment #1 was supported by farmers and ranchers across the state. With Amendment #1 approved, we look forward to continue communicating the importance of agriculture to all Missourians.

Missouri Farmers Care will now prepare for the automatic recount, triggered by the margin of victory being less than 1%. We are confident that the will of the people has been shown and believe that a recount will only reaffirm the victory that farmers and ranchers have won.”

Ag Groups, Farming

Inside the New Holland CR Cab

Chuck Zimmerman August 6, 2014

Yesterday I showed you the New Holland CR10.90 Combine. Today we take a look inside via ZimmGlass. During the New Holland Media Day I jumped into the cab of a CR combine driven by Brian Faulk who took me on a ride and described the new cab design. It is comfortable!

The first feeling I had was of being suspended above the machine in a glass bubble. There’s more than 62.3 square feet of glass on this combine which gives the operator a significant amount of visibility including down onto the header that’s in use. You can work with two different displays if you’d like. It comes with an Intelliview IV color display. I like the electric cooler that’s built under the buddy seat! I’m going to stop here and let Brian explain the rest in the video.

Listen to Brian’s presentation here: Inside the New Holland CR Cab

2014 New Holland Media Day Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, New Holland, Video

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