Alison Van Eenennaam Wins CAST Award

Joanna Schroeder October 16, 2014

Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam, faculty member and Cooperative Extension Specialist at the University of California-Davis was awarded the 2014 Borlaug CAST Communication Award by the Council for Agriculture Science and Technology (CAST). She received the honor during this year’s World Food Prize taking place in Des Moines, Iowa. This year’s award was sponsored by DuPont Pioneer who announced they will also be sponsoring next year’s award.

Recipients of this annual award are science/ag experts who demonstrate an ability to communicate by written material, public presentations and various forms of media. Van Eenennaam is known for her communication skills and praised for her understanding of biotechnology, her enthusiasm for agricultural education, and her abilities to use novel ideas to get important messages to policymakers and the public alike.

Van Eenennaam spoke about “The Livestock Revolution” and other issues of interest to the agriculture community during the award ceremony. She also encourages people to ask the question, “What do the facts say?” She has given more than 250 presentations around the world and made appearances on the Dr. Oz Show, Animal Planet, and NPR. She uses her creative and humor to communicate information about science and agriculture.

With her many talents, Dr. Van Eenennaam represents the true nature of the award inspired by Norman Borlaug. One of her colleagues summed up her impact this way: “Her creativity and personal talent to engage and communicate have enabled her to illustrate the importance of technology to a broad audience including students, non-scientists, livestock producers, government officials, policymakers, regulators, and scientific peers. This is not only rare; it is truly remarkable.”

Following her remarks, Van Eenennaam participated in A Food Dialogues session hosted by U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance that focused on GMOs – a topic of which she is no stranger.

Congrats to Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam!

Agribusiness, World Food Prize

Drive with Caution During Harvest Season

Jamie Johansen October 16, 2014

It’s harvest season in Georgia and more farm equipment will be heading out across the state as farmers transport equipment and produce between fields and processing areas. Because farm equipment is designed to be used primarily in the field and not for typical highway speeds, motorists can be caught off guard when traveling rural roads this time of year.

The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and the Georgia Department of Agriculture are teaming up for the fourth year to remind motorists and farmers to use caution during harvest time.

“We want drivers who are navigating our rural roads to be mindful of tractors and other farm equipment that may be transporting harvest from field to field,” GOHS Director Harris Blackwood said. “In rural regions around farmland, speed limits are higher, and motorists should be aware that this is the season when field equipment is sharing the asphalt with motor vehicles.”

Motorists are urged to slow down when they approach a slow-moving vehicle. If a vehicle is traveling at 55 mph and comes upon a tractor that’s moving at just 15 mph, it only takes 5 seconds to close a gap the length of a football field between the vehicle and tractor.

“These fatalities are 100 percent avoidable,” said Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black. “Farming is a crucial aspect of Georgia commerce and agriculture. We need to ensure that these farm workers can do their jobs safely to get food on our tables and contribute to a safe and prosperous harvest season in Georgia.”

Farmers should mark any equipment that travels on the road with a slow moving vehicle triangle. The triangle is orange with a red border and is reflective. Unfortunately, fewer than 30 percent of drivers know what this symbol means, but it’s a matter of life and death for motorists and farm equipment operators on rural roads. The symbol is meant to notify motorists that the vehicle travels at speeds of 25 mph or less. It’s a reflector, but also a warning for motorists to slow down.

Ag Groups, Harvest

For Whom the School Bell Tolls

Melissa Sandfort October 16, 2014

Families seem to have themes. What I mean by that is some people relish in old barns, and pass that love along to the next generation. Some families are “born into” being a police officer, a fire fighter or a doctor. For my family, I’d say it’s teaching.

As you may or may not know, my Aunt Jeanette taught 3rd grade for 36 years. She could (and should!) write a book about her many experiences in the profession where I’m sure she saw everything under the sun. Another thing you definitely don’t know is that my father, Mr. Farmer himself, got his ag teaching degree from the University of Nebraska Lincoln. I can’t imagine my father teaching and believe he went into the right field (no pun intended) – at least combines and tractors don’t talk back! And my grandmother, often featured in AgWalk, used to substitute teach when my brother and I were in grade school.

I have an old school desk upstairs that came from the one-room school just north of where my grandparents live. The schoolhouse is long gone, but my grandpa restored four desks, complete with pen scratches and ink stains. My grandmother’s parents both taught in that schoolhouse.

And, we have an old bell, its origins unidentified, but as grandpa says, it was used to call farmers from the field and children inside from “recess” if they were home-schooled.

On my way to drop kids off at daycare, I pass this old schoolhouse. Maybe it’s just coincidence or maybe the theme continues. Just don’t expect me to go into teaching anytime soon. I’d rather just write about old schoolhouses.

Until we walk again …

Uncategorized

Has RFS Uncertainty Hurt Your Community?

Jamie Johansen October 16, 2014

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Are you ready for MyFarmRadio on your mobile device?”

Don’t worry if you are part of the majority and have never heard of MyFarmRadio. We won’t accuse you of living under a rock just yet, because it is still very new. On November 3rd the new platform MyFarmRadio will launch. The 24/7 digital mobile radio channel will focus on a mix of best-in-class news, weather and markets along with entertaining and informative conversation for America’s farmers and ranchers. The app will allow listeners to pick and choose what they want to hear – and when they want to hear it.

Here are the poll results:

Yes, plan to get the app – 22%
Yes, want to know more – 17%
No, only listen on my radio – 6%
No, get my farm news other ways – 22%
What’s MyFarmRadio? – 33%

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, Has the uncertainty for the RFS caused by the EPA hurt your community?

The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has been facing more than a year of uncertainty as the biofuels industry waits for the final 2014 rule that will determine the final renewable fuel volumes. Renewable fuel categories include ethanol, biodiesel, cellulosic and advanced biofuels. What impact has this had on your community?

ZimmPoll

Talk About Digital Food Fights

Chuck Zimmerman October 16, 2014

The title for this morning’s AgCatalyst keynote sounds daunting, “Exploring Humanity’s Ag Communications History Spanning from Egyptian Emojis to Today’s Digital Food Fight.” How do you pack all that into one session?

Well, Susan Beebe, Manager of Social Media & Online Communities, Tyson Foods, is doing just that. I visited with her earlier to get some take-aways from her presentation.

To start with, Susan says that just in the last year the velocity of food and ag communications has sped up significantly. “The public distrust of big ag and big food is getting enormous.” She says the lack of information and amount of mis-information makes it all more complex. In her presentation she talks about not only the enormity of the problem but how to deal with it, “Those messages we send need to be tailored for today’s audience.” That means short sound bites that are compelling, captivating, relevant and timely. They also need to answer their questions. And maybe most importantly they need to feature real transparency. Sounds like good advice to me!

You can listen to my interview with Susan here: Interview with Susan Beebe

2014 AgCatalyst Photo Album

Coverage of The 2014 AgCatalyst Conference is sponsored by

Agencies, Audio, Food

Everglades Conservation in Action Tour Photos

Cindy Zimmerman October 15, 2014

Baby barn owls with a hearty appetite for rodents that destroy sugarcane were one of the highlights of the CTIC Conservation in Action tour this week in the Everglades Agricultural Area.

We saw sugarcane being planted and harvested with precision, rich black soil, dozens of varieties of lettuce, a concrete post revealing six feet of soil subsidence in 84 years, and some fantastic farmers implementing unbelievably successful best management programs.

It was a long day in one of the country’s most productive agricultural regions but I did get the photos uploaded so you can see some of the sights. I’ve got video, interviews and lots more to share in the coming days.

2014 CTIC Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album

Conservation, CTIC

The Sales Lion Prowls at AgCatalyst

Chuck Zimmerman October 15, 2014

Marcus Sheridan started out his career as a “pool guy.” But today he has a digital marketing agency, The Sales Lion. This guy has lots of energy which you’ll be able to hear in a snippet of his AgCatalyst presentation below. I also interviewed him to get a few take-aways to share with you.

First, he says “We have to understand that the way people buy has changed dramatically and that we are constantly under-estimating people’s willingness to become comfortable with a buying decision through information.” This means taking the time to learn as much as we can online before engaging with a company. As he puts it, “Marketing has way more influence on the sales process today than sales does on the sales process.” What do you think about that? Agree?

Assuming this is true then content becomes very important. Listen to my interview with Marcus to find out why and how you should be thinking about creating your content.

You can listen to my interview with Marcus here: Interview with Marcus Sheridan

You can listen to a beginning snippet of his remarks here: Marcus Sheridan Presentation

2014 AgCatalyst Photo Album

Coverage of The 2014 AgCatalyst Conference is sponsored by

Agencies, Audio

AgCatalyst Off to the Races

Chuck Zimmerman October 15, 2014

The 2014 AgCatalyst, sponsored by AdFarm, is off to the races. I say that because our opening keynote is from Marcus Sheridan, The Sales Lion. He is a wild animal on the stage talking about how sales and marketing have changed. He’s letting us know what we “must” do about it. I hope to get him to sit down for an interview on a break.

We move into breakout sessions after this keynote and I’ll be sharing what I’m sure is going to be some great content since, “It’s All About the Content.”

If you want to follow these inspired conversations about food and agriculture keep your eye on the hashtag, #AgCatalyst.

Speaking of content, find photos here: 2014 AgCatalyst Photo Album

Coverage of The 2014 AgCatalyst Conference is sponsored by

Agencies

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes October 15, 2014

Julie White is the new Hereford World editor brining a combination of cattle knowledge and journalism experience to her new role.
Farm Journal Media announced it will acquire the remaining outside interests in Commodity Update, the leading mobile media company serving agriculture, in a transaction expected to close by year’s end.
In continuing efforts to remain customer-centric, Verdesian Life Sciences, LLC (Verdesian) is expanding its sales staff.
Nineteen farmer-leaders will be sworn in as directors of the United Soybean Board (USB) in December, after their recent appointments by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Zimfo Bytes

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