Missouri Right to Farm Vote Tomorrow

Cindy Zimmerman

mo-farm-rightIt’s down to the wire in the final push for the Missouri Right to Farm amendment and the opposition, led by the Humane Society of the United States is pulling out all the stops.

“Humane Society of the US has put in nearly a half a million dollars in (opposition to) the issue,” says Missouri Farm Bureau president Blake Hurst. “They’re sponsoring all the ads that are pretty prevalent on Missouri TV as we go into the last few days of the campaign.”

mofb-hurstHurst says opponents to the Amendment 1 have 40 contributors, while the pro-amendment side literally has thousands. “It’s a false charge to say this is being backed by large corporate farms. It isn’t, it’s farmers,” he said. “Our average contribution is $75 – there you go, that’s our large corporate backers.”

The amendment simply reads “Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to ensure that the right of Missouri citizens to engage in agricultural production and ranching practices shall not be infringed?” Hurst says opponents have charged that it will give agriculture a “blank check” and even invalidate federal laws like the Clean Water Act. “We’ll continue to be regulated,” he said. “We can’t possibly change (federal regulations) and the state regulations that are in place will stay in place.”

One other state, North Dakota, passed a similar amendment two years ago and Hurst remains confident that they will be successful in the vote tomorrow. Interview with Missouri Farm Bureau president Blake Hurst

Ag Groups, Audio, Farming

Wireless Portable Charging with QiPack

Chuck Zimmerman

QiPackWhat’s a QiPack? Funny you should ask. I just happen to have one and used it on the road last week. It’s pronounced Chee-Pack btw. Here’s how the company describes it.

What is QiPack
Introducing the best solution to charging on-the-go – QiPack, the wireless charging pad and battery backup all in one

Universal Power
Power your iPhone, Motorola Droid, Nokia Lumia, Samsung Galaxy, Google Nexus, LG Lucid, HTC Droid DNA and more anytime, anywhere
Wireless Power
Forget tangled cables and bulky adapters, QiPack powers up your Qi-enabled device with innovative wireless charging

Mobile Power
Charge up your Qi-enabled phone quickly and wirelessly right in your pocket or purse without having to plug anything in
Portable Power
QiPack is an all-in-one inductive charging pad and 3000mAh backup battery for easy on-the-go charging

QiPackI think by now y’all are quite familiar with power banks, those small mobile chargers that are the latest craze at trade show booths. So far most of them require you to plug your gadget into them with your sync cable. Not the QiPack. Although you can plug into it if you want. One of its best features is the wireless charging capability.

QiPack got its start as a successful Kickstarter campaign and is now in production. I sent them some money early on and got mine before my last trip. So I charged the QiPack and stuck it in my MOJO (mobile journalism bag) and took off.

This photo shows you what I received and after the traditional “unboxing ceremony.” The device is on the left and you can see its charging cable along with an iPhone case.

QiPackWhy an iPhone case? Good question. This is probably the only negative I have found. iPhones require a little inductive charging coil to work with the QiPack. That is hidden in the case. So, in order for me to use the QiPack wirelessly my iPhone has to be in this case. The case has a little plug that goes into the iPhone cable jack. It’s a very minimalist design of clear plastic. I actually like the case but then, what do I do with my other case? It’s very easy to put on and take off though. If you don’t want the case with the coil though, you can order just the coil and it can be used with your existing case. Maybe I should have selected that option.

With the case on I charged my iPhone 5S two different times while traveling. It works quite well and still has a little charge left. The QiPack comes in different colors and is available for pre-order now.

You’ve probably seen power mats that wirelessly charge devices but most of them have to be plugged into a power source to work so they’re most useful in an office or room in your house. I think we’ll see more of these (I already have) coming out and hopefully Apple will keep this in mind for future iPhone launches.

Gadgets, Technology

More Info on SatShot-Iteris Partnership at InfoAg

John Davis

infoag-14-satshotWhile we were at the InfoAg Conference last week, Iteris and SatShot announced a new partnership to help farmers manage their crops even better. Cindy got more details on the news from SatShot president Lanny Faleide.

“Iteris has whole suite of weather products, and we are bringing the weather information along with the digital vegetation signature from the [satellite] imagery, that we can look at growth models, we can look at how different maps are dealing with the weather, and bring in a much more intelligent data set from the imagery-based products we offer,” he said.

Iteris’ ClearPath Ag™ weather content system will be incorporated into Satshot’s mapping and remote sensing imagery system. Satshot customers – from individual growers to crop consultants and agribusiness corporations – will have the ability to utilize the high resolution, field level ClearPath Ag platform to identify field areas with persistent crop issues through detailed geo-referenced imagery. Iteris will also integrate Satshot crop imagery into their own ClearPath Ag technology to benefit compliance reporting, irrigation forecasting and crop yield optimization.

“Real-time and future weather modeling is very important. We want to be able to provide the answer to the customer even before they know what to ask, and you have to have that weather modeling, because the weather is a dynamic piece. By bringing weather into our models, we’re able to do a better job of predicting what the plant will do in the future. We can come up with answers to help the farmer grow a better crop.”

Learn more in this interview: Interview with Lanny Faleide, SatShot


InfoAg 2014 Photo Album

Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by
Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by MapShotsCoverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by John DeereCoverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by Ag Leader Technology
Agribusiness, Audio, Precision Agriculture, Weather

Deere Driving Technology for the Bottom Line

Cindy Zimmerman

infoag-14-deere-jerryJohn Deere was a major sponsor of the InfoAg 2014 Conference last week in St. Louis, as they have been since the beginning, according to Jerry Roell, Director of Business Development for Deere’s Intelligent Solutions Group.

“It’s a great way for the industry to learn about precision ag, it’s grown now and it shows the passion and the interest,” said Roell at the conference. “The understanding of what precision ag can do for producers today is becoming well enough known that our precision ag sales continue to grow.”

InfoAg sessions this year focused on some of the challenges facing the precision ag industry, one of which is the interface between technology and equipment. “We build equipment that many times lasts 20 years, most of this technology will not go through that kind of a life cycle,” said Roell. So, it’s important to look at ways that to ensure that as the next generations of technology are developed, they can apply to older equipment.

Roell says farmers will continue to see John Deere leading in the development of technology “that will drive the most money to our customers’ bottom lines.”

Listen to my interview with Jerry here: Interview with Jerry Roell, John Deere


InfoAg 2014 Photo Album

Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by
Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by MapShotsCoverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by John DeereCoverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by Ag Leader Technology
Audio, John Deere, Precision Agriculture

#RealPigFarming

Chuck Zimmerman

#RealPigFarmingCindy is my model, wearing the #RealPigFarming t-shirt I got from another Cindy at Ag Media Summit. Sara conducted an interview for us which she’ll be sharing soon. I just thought I’d make sure you know about this now.

Welcome to the Real Pig Farming Facebook page. This is a place for pig farmers, academics, youth, veterinarians and allied industry members to discuss key topics in modern pork production.

While we’re excited to hear from you, it’s important to note that Real Pig Farming fans postings to the Real Pig Farming fan page are not representative of the opinions of the National Pork Board, nor do we confirm their accuracy.
 Read More

Ag Groups, Ag Media Summit, Pork

Beef Bacon

Chuck Zimmerman

Gwaltney Beef BaconMaybe you’ve heard of Schmacon? “Smokey, sweet and outrageously good. Crispy, meaty — no, beefy to be precise — and satisfying. Schmacon™’s flavor is bold and unexpected.” Sounds good, eh? I have yet to try some. But it’s on my radar.

This morning in my local Publix Supermarket I found Gwaltney Beef Bacon. Hmmm. Maybe that would go nicely wrapped around some fresh figs and on my grill tonight. That’s what I’m going to do to try this product out. I couldn’t find out much information about the product online but it only has 35 calories per slice.

Have you tried beef bacon? What do you think?

Food

New Holland Welcomes the Media

Chuck Zimmerman

Abe Hughes“We’ve got new balers!” I think that’s what Abe Hughes, Vice President, New Holland North America, is saying in this picture.

Abe welcomed a group of agricultural journalists to New Holland North American Headquarters this morning. The company is launching 25 new products and for those of you going to the farm shows this summer/fall, you’ll get to see some amazing new products. I will be featuring stories on many of the new products over the next few weeks so I’m not going to try to list them all here.

To kick things off this morning Abe gave us an overview of what the company is focused on now that it has achieved a lot of its goals in rejuvenating the brand. The theme for us today was “Dedicated, Uncompromised, Smart.” Abe says New Holland had record profits in 2013 showing that it is in a strong financial position.

Listen to Abe’s remarks this morning to learn more about what is going on with New Holland: Abe Hughes Remarks

Photos from today’s media event are being uploaded to: 2014 New Holland Media Day Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, New Holland

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

Zimfo Bytes

Zimfo Bytes

New Holland Media Day

Chuck Zimmerman

New Holland Media DayIt’s New Holland product launch media day and we’re in the founder’s home city, New Holland. I would love to have met Abe Zimmerman. I’ll bet we would have had a great time!

There is an Abe and a Zimmerman here today though. Welcoming us is Abe Hughes, Vice President for North America. And I’m here!

When we got here this morning there was already a drone in the air shooting video while the New Holland team met us outside. That’s a cool welcome.

So I’ll be collecting interviews and letting you know what’s new after we get out in the field and do some riding and driving today.

Agribusiness, New Holland