Corn Growers, NASCAR Making Spring Greener

John Davis

nascarracetogreen1Corn growers across the country are either busy planting or getting ready to plant. A little different initiative also shows their environmental concern. This month, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is joining NASCAR for the second year of the NASCAR Race to Green Campaign.

The goal of NASCAR Race to Green is to highlight the accomplishments of NASCAR Green™ programs like the move three years ago to Sunoco Green E15, a fuel blended with 15 percent American Ethanol, and its massive tree planting initiative to help reduce the sport’s carbon footprint.

“American Ethanol is a key part of NASCAR’s efforts to reduce the sport’s carbon footprint,” said Jon Holzfaster, a Paxton, Neb., farmer and chairman of NCGA’s NASCAR Advisory Committee. “These high-performance cars have put more than five million tough competition miles on E15 in the last three years, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent. Combine this with the massive tree planting effort underway, and the results are phenomenal.”

American Ethanol, which is supported by corn checkoff investments and ethanol plant members of Growth Energy, has committed to plant 50 trees for every American Ethanol Green Flag waved during NASCAR’s national series races in the month of April.

The NASCAR Race to Green program runs through April 25. More information is available at http://green.nascar.com/.

Corn, NASCAR, NCGA

Glass Farming at #NAMA14

Chuck Zimmerman

Bruce RasaStop by the ZimmComm New Media booth at this week’s Agri-Marketing Conference and visit with TekWearAg Bruce Rasa. Bruce will have his Google Glass in action and give you some ideas for how it can be used in agribusiness now. The photo is of Bruce presenting at last year’s John Deere Integrators Conference. I will also have ZimmGlass there to share my experience using it as an agricultural journalist tool this year.

Some other reasons to stop by include some cool giveaways and we’ll also have a short ten question quiz for you to take to get a free ZimmComm Ten Year Anniversary t-shirt. We will have our cake and eat it with you too!

The conference hashtag is #NAMA14. Follow along throughout the week to keep up with all the action. We’ll also be sharing right here on AgWired courtesy of sponsors Brownfield Ag News and Rhea + Kaiser.

NAMA

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

Zimfo Bytes

Alliance Stakeholders Summit Asks: “Who is Big Ag?”

Jamie Johansen

AAA 2014 Stakeholders SummitGrowing weary of the buzzword bonanza and juxtaposition of jargon, the Animal Agriculture Alliance announced today an interactive panel at Summit that will tackle the myths surrounding “big agriculture.” At the Alliance’s 13th annual Stakeholders Summit, themed “Cracking the Millennial Code,” panelists from Monsanto, Ray-Lin Dairy, Zweber Farms and the Illinois Farm Bureau (ILFB) will discuss how agriculture can move past negative name-calling and drill down to the heart of agriculture: farming.

“For too long we’ve sat idle and let others—who don’t grow crops or raise animals—sling barbs and try and drive a wedge between farmers and consumers by using catch phrases like ‘factory farm’ or ‘big ag’,” said Alliance President and CEO Kay Johnson Smith of the Summit, to be held May 8-9, 2014 in Crystal City, VA. “We’ve gathered panelists with unique perspectives, who can help us move past school-yard-type bullying—both inside and out of agriculture—and determine how we support each others’ production choices while positively advocating for all of ag.”

Panelists will include two dairy farmers: Emily Zweber (Zweber Farms) and Ray Prock (Ray-Lin Dairy). Zweber and her husband are raising their three young children on their fifth generation organic dairy farm, while Prock is a 2nd generation dairy farmer from Denair, CA where he and his family milk 550 cows. Both Zweber and Prock are actively involved in sharing their families’ stories on social media; Zweber serves as the Executive Director of the AgChat Foundation, while Prock is a member of the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board and the Dairy Management Inc. Board of Directors.

Janice Person (Monsanto) and Tamara Nelson (ILFB) will round out the panel. Nelson, who currently serves as the Senior Director of Commodities for the Illinois Farm Bureau, will provide attendees with insights from the ILFB’s recent media tour of farms in the United Kingdom—and the U.K.’s perspective on farm size, best practices and sustainability. Having grown up a city girl, Person became involved in agriculture through cotton and still carries a passion for it. Person is now a member of Monsanto’s corporate engagement team doing outreach both within agriculture and broadly with society.

All four panelists will help answer the tough questions about “big ag” versus “family farm” and how farm size impacts animal care and public perception.

To learn more about these, and other Stakeholders Summit presenters and panelists, be sure to visit the Alliance website. Early registration for the Alliance’s Stakeholders Summit ends April 8th, 2014—so register today to take advantage of discounted rate.

Ag Groups, Animal Agriculture

Celebrating an Anniversary

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmComm Ten Golden YearsTen Golden Years. That’s what we’ll be celebrating next week at the Agri-Marketing Conference.

Cindy and I started out with Talking News Releases before moving on to blogging, podcasting and social networking. Being the very social kind of people that we are it all made sense. An online conversation in which you can communicate and share all kinds of information with people all over the world was easy to adapt to. We did our first online coverage of an event at the February, 2005 NRECA convention at which we produced and distributed news releases with audio files and also did posts on AgWired. It has just grown from there to where we are today.

We officially launched the company at an Agri-Marketing Conference so next week’s conference is a special one for us. If you’re attending please stop by our booth for some anniversary cake and other goodies as well as ZimmGlass Demos.

Bruce Rasa TekwearActually, Chuck will be doing ZimmGlass demos while Bruce Rasa, TekWearAg, will be demoing his Google Glass. If you don’t know Bruce you need to. He’s THE Glass pioneer for agriculture. If you have not seen Glass in action and are wondering what this new thing is then we’ve got the opportunity for you to get an in-person look at the coolest new wearable technology. How can this apply to agribusiness and ag communications? Stop by and we’ll give you some ideas.

NAMA Agri-Marketing Conference week is going to be a big one with professional development, awards, networking and some Brownfield Honky Tonk and Rhea + Kaiser After the After Pancake Ray breakfast thrown in. We’ll be seeing you there.

ZimmComm Announcement

Deputy Sec. of Ag Stresses Need for Communication

Jamie Johansen

ag-day-14-hardinThe Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Krysta Hardin addresses the crowd during the Ag Day banquet. Her words push us to communicate beyond ourselves and connect the dots for those across the country who have yet to hear the good news about agriculture.

“Most of you who know me, know that I am a farmers daughter. That is my first identity. That’s where I get everything, my motivation, my inspiration. It comes from that farm in Southwest Georgia. We do a good job talking about agriculture I’m afraid to often with each other. We have great dinners and great programs with each other, which is great. But we also need to branch out. This is something I have learned so well from Secretary Vilsack. I think most of you know he does an hour of press everyday and it’s not just agriculture press. He talks to other people. People who don’t know they should be interested in agriculture.”

She shares Secretary Vilsack’s passion for wanting people to understand why it is so important that we all support farmers and ranchers nationwide. Deputy Hardin also issued a challenge to all present for the banquet. That challenge was for everyone to bring someone not involved in agriculture to next year’s Ag Day creating an overflow room for the banquet. A neighbor, an allied industry, a friend, a young person who does not yet have the appreciation for agriculture that has been instilled in so many of us for years.

Listen to the Deputy’s complete speech here: Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Krysta Hardin's Address

Ag Day, Ag Groups, Audio, USDA

Today’s Youth Promoting Agriculture

Jamie Johansen

ag-day-14-essay-winnerYoung agriculturists from across the country entered this year’s National Ag Day Essay Contest in an effort to help promote the importance of agriculture throughout our country.

Clara Knipp is from Tipton, MO and her essay titled, “Agriculture: 365 Sunrises and 7 Billion Mouths To Feed,” was selected as this year’s written winner. Clara presented her essay as part of National Ag Day activities in Washington, D.C. You can listen to it here: Clara's Ag Day Essay

Brackston McKnight of Jacksonville High School in Jacksonville, TX submitted a video essay winning that category. You can view his creative ag promo video below.

Ag Day, Ag Groups, Audio, Video

Extended Tech Support Hours

Melissa Sandfort

Insights Weekly Whether it’s good (hopefully!), bad or “help me before I throw this thing out into the field and run over it”, Ag Leader’s customer support staff wants to hear from you. And during busy seasons such as planting and harvest, customer support specialists are on hand extended hours to be sure that across all time zones, day or night, if you have a question in the field you can get an answer over the phone.

They may be called the silent heroes of the day, but Jordan Dittmer, Ag Leader Machine Guidance Support Supervisor, says, “We’re here to help. If you have something going on and you don’t tell us, we can’t help you. We want to hear from you.”

Listen to Dittmer explain

So think of these silent heroes as your next door neighbor, even though they may be thousands of miles away. In fact, most of the support staff are farmers just like you!

Listen to Dittmer explain

You can find Ag Leader’s 2014 Tech Support Extended Hours schedule here.

On behalf of Ag Leader’s support team, we wish you a safe, successful 2013 planting season!

Become a fan of Ag Leader on Facebook today, and get the latest precision ag videos on the YouTube channel. For more information about Ag Leader products and services, or to visit the blog site, go to www.agleader.com.

Ag Leader, Agribusiness

First ResponsibleAg Board of Directors Selected

Jamie Johansen

responsibleagThe Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) and The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) today announced the selection of individuals to serve on the newly formed ResponsibleAg Board of Directors.

The nine representatives include:
– Alicia Duke, Director, Health and Safety, Simplot
– Justin Gough, Director, Agricultural Products, LSB/El Dorado Chemical Company
– Dave Ito, Manager, Human Resources & Regulatory Affairs, Lyman/Tremont Group
– Pete Mutschler, Environmental and Safety Director, CHS Inc.
– Tim McArdle, Executive Vice President & COO, Brandt Consolidated, Inc.
– Rosemary O’Brien, Vice President, Public Affairs, CF Industries, Inc.
– Billy Pirkle, Sr. Director, Environmental, Health & Safety, Crop Production Services
– Scott Rawlins, Director, Regulatory & Governmental Affairs, Wilbur-Ellis Company
– Rod Wells, Manager, Plant Food Division, GROWMARK, Inc.

ResponsibleAg is an independent, not-for-profit organization designed to support fertilizer retailers’ compliance with federal safety and security regulations. Under ResponsibleAg, retail fertilizer dealerships will have access to comprehensive inspections based on federal regulatory requirements. The inspections will be carried out by trained auditors who will have successfully completed an intensive training course based on the objectives of ResponsibleAg.

“We are pleased to have named the representatives who will lead this groundbreaking safety and security initiative forward,” said TFI President Chris Jahn. “I am confident the Board’s broad spectrum of knowledge and experience will contribute to the success of ResponsibleAg.”

“Engaging these key industry leaders is a critical step as ResponsibleAg continues to develop and evolve,” said ARA President and CEO Daren Coppock. “We are privileged to have volunteers committed to making this initiative a success.”

The Board of Directors will hold its first meeting on May 5 at the offices of Asmark, Inc., in Owensboro, Ky. During its first meeting, the board will adopt ResponsibleAg bylaws, create an annual operating budget, elect officers and begin the selection process for a business manager to oversee day-to-day operations of ResponsibleAg. After the board meeting, the new directors will tour the auditor training facility site, which is also located in Owensboro.

Agribusiness, Fertilizer

Where Does Your Marketing Budget Go?

Jamie Johansen

New Holland ZimmPollOur latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Do you think farm movies can help the public image of agriculture?”

It looks like the majority polled believe these farm movies can play a positive role in improving the agricultural industries image. Getting people to theaters to watch them might be tricky, but the old fashioned word-of-mouth advertising could be the ticket. I, personally, am eager to watch them and share with friends and family.

Our poll results:

  • Definitely – 38%
  • Maybe – 27%
  • No – 11%
  • Not sure – 4%
  • Can’t hurt – 15%
  • Other – 5%

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “What’s the largest percentage of your 2014 marketing budget?”

Next week is the annual Agri-Marketing Conference in Jacksonville, FL. Agribusiness/agency/media and more will be networking and participating in professional development activities. We’re pretty sure this question will be a part of the conversation.

ZimmPoll