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.
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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

IDEAg Fests Coming up in August

Cindy Zimmerman

farmfest The IDEAg Minnesota Farmfest and IDEAg Dakotafest are both coming up in the month of August and both offer new and improved media facilities.

Farmfest is scheduled for Aug. 5-7, at the Gilfillan Estate in Redwood Falls, Minnesota, and Dakotafest is Aug. 19-21, at Schlaffman Farm in Mitchell, South Dakota. They are two of the IDEAg branded farm shows that were part of the American Farm Bureau Federation acquisition of Cygnus Business Media’s agricultural events and publications about this time last year.

New at the shows this year is the Farm Bureau Financial Services Media Center to serve as the central meeting place for local and national press attending the trade shows. Hospitality, Internet access and a designated area for on-camera interviews will be available.

“Having Farm Bureau Financial Services as the presenting sponsor of our media center, with its essential outreach to the ag community, is an honor for us,” said Raymond Bianchi, senior director, expositions and events, for the American Farm Bureau Federation and IDEAg Group.

IDEAg Minnesota Farmfest is its 33rd year, featuring more than 500 companies and three days of networking, educational sessions and political forums. IDEAg Dakotafest is the premier agriculture event in the Northern Plains with more than 500 exhibitors, educational opportunities supported by South Dakota State University, livestock demonstrations and farming technology demonstrations over three full days.

AFBF, Farm Shows, Media

GROWMARK Names New Vice President for Agronomy

Cindy Zimmerman

growmark-orrGROWMARK has announced the appointment of Mark Orr as Vice President of Agronomy, succeeding Jim Spradlin who was recently named GROWMARK CEO-elect.

“Mark brings proven leadership experience and an excellent understanding of retail agronomy marketing and operations to this role,” Spradlin said. Orr began his career in the GROWMARK System career in 1990 at Schuyler-Brown FS. He served as controller for Western FS and then Ag-Land FS. Mark served as general manager of both Piatt County Service Company and Ag View FS. He was named Central Region vice president in October 2013.

GROWMARK just announced last month that Spradlin was chosen by the board of directors to replace CEO Jeff Solberg who is retiring in September.

GROWMARK

New Holland Ag Journalist Contest

Chuck Zimmerman

Time2ShineThis is for you ag journalists out there. It’s a reminder that New Holland, one of our AMS coverage sponsors, is going to give a way a trip to Italy in 2015 to one lucky winner. All you have to do is take a creative picture using your little New Holland tractor or a creative selfie using your New Holland cap and tweet it with the hashtag, #Time2Shine and include @NHAgriculture. That gets you entered. The winner will be drawn on or near August 2nd.

Chris Ballantine attended the Ag Media Summit and I hope you got to meet this member of the marketing/communications team. Listen to him explain what you’ve got to do to win a trip to the Expo Milano 2015.

You can listen to my interview with Chris here: Interview with Chris Ballantine

Here’s some information about Expo Milano 2015:

Expo Milano 2015 is a non-commercial Universal Exposition with some very unique and innovative features. Not only is it an exhibition but also a process, one of active participation among a large number of players around the theme of Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life. It is sustainable, technological, thematic and focused on its visitors. Open from May 1 to October 31, 2015, the Expo will host over 130 participants. Running for 184 days, this giant exhibition site, covering one million square meters, is expected to welcome over 20 million visitors.

Ag Media Summit Photo Album

Coverage of the Ag Media Summit is sponsored by
Ag Media Summit coverage is sponsored by FMCAg Media Summit coverage is sponsored by New Holland
Ag Media Summit, Agribusiness, New Holland

FMC Anthem Singing Contest Nears Finalists

Chuck Zimmerman

Paul RedhageOn August 4th FMC will announce the four finalists for their Stand & Be Heard Anthem Singing Contest. At the Ag Media Summit, our sponsor, FMC, was in the InfoExpo. I stopped and visited Paul Redhage for an update.

Paul loves interacting with all the students that have entered this contest which is in its third year. He says they had 225 entries this year. As we speak the group, which had been narrowed down to 20, is now being judged to create a final four. Those four will get to go to Nashville for a studio recording session and then new voting will determine the final winner. Listen in to my interview with Paul to get a complete update.

You can listen to my interview with Paul here: Interview with Paul Redhage

Ag Media Summit Photo Album

Coverage of the Ag Media Summit is sponsored by
Ag Media Summit coverage is sponsored by FMCAg Media Summit coverage is sponsored by New Holland
Ag Media Summit, Agribusiness, Audio, FMC