Tour de Fresh Launches Official Website

Jamie Johansen

CG-Tour-de-Fresh-Logo-CMYK-Transparent (4)Organizers of the inaugural 2014 Tour de Fresh are happy to announce the launch of the official website. Donations can now be made through the website to support the event’s riders and benefit the United Fresh Produce Association’s Let’s Move Salad Bars to Midwest Schools campaign. Each participant aims to raise enough money to fund one salad bar for his or her selected school, for a grand total of close to $120,000 for the campaign.

This collaborative effort will bring together 40 fresh produce industry members to cycle 275 miles between Carmel, CA and Anaheim, CA over the four days leading up to the 2014 PMA Fresh Summit Convention and Expo.

“We are extremely pleased by the enthusiastic response we have received from all corners of the industry,” said Brock Nemecek, event participant and Account Manager at DMA Solutions. “Originally we had planned for 30 riders, but we had to increase this number due to the overwhelmingly positive support.”

In addition to the funds that will be raised for selected schools, the Tour de Fresh has also become a great promotional opportunity for participants and sponsoring companies. With a multi-pronged public relations plan, including outreach to the local media in communities benefitting from the Tour, the fresh produce industry’s passion for this cause has never been more apparent.

“It’s exciting to step out of our day-to-day business roles and not only get outside and have some fun with our industry colleagues, but also give back to a deserving community,” said Chris Ford, Vice President of Sutherland Produce, riding for The Dearborn Academy in Dearborn, Michigan.

“We saw partnering with Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools as a great chance for our industry to increase accessibility to the fresh products we are so passionate about,” said Cindy Jewell, Director of Marketing at California Giant Berry Farms. “By providing funds for salad bars in at least 40 schools, we are encouraging these children to develop healthy eating habits that can last a lifetime.”

While sponsorship opportunities and the rider roster are both full, there are still many avenues for involvement. In addition, The Official Tour de Fresh Training Guide is available for download on the website. This guide will help you prepare for your next race or ride, perhaps even the 2015 Tour de Fresh.

“We’re thrilled that the Tour de Fresh sponsors and riders have chosen to support the United Fresh Foundation and our work to bring more salad bars to schools,” said United President & CEO Tom Stenzel. “With over 3,400 salad bars donated to date, the Lets Move Salad Bars to Schools campaign is making a huge difference in schools across the country.”

Ag Groups, Food

Soybean Growers Applaud Tax Extenders Package

John Davis

ASAlogo1Soybean growers are welcoming news of a couple of important measures moved forward in one bill. The American Soybean Association says a two-year extension of the dollar-per-gallon biodiesel tax incentive and a reinstatement of the pre-2014 expensing amounts for farm infrastructure and equipment under Section 179, both in the Senate Finance Committee Chairman’s Tax Extenders Package, are key issues for group’s members.

ASA First Vice President Wade Cowan, a farmer from Brownfield, Texas, issued the following statement on the committee’s proposal:

“The extension of the biodiesel tax credit is huge. Biodiesel blenders create a renewable and safe domestic energy source for our country and a valuable market for the soybean oil American farmers produce. The credit further encourages the development and sustained success of the biodiesel marketplace, and much credit goes to Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Hatch and specifically Sens. Grassley and Cantwell for recognizing the importance of the biodiesel tax incentive and including it in their proposal…

“The proposal’s Section 179 reinstatement is also important. This enables farmers and other small business owners to expense investments made in new technology, equipment and infrastructure in their operations. Given the land-based and capital-intensive nature of farming, not to mention the ever-advancing technology we need to farm sustainably and competitively, this program helps us to stay on the cutting edge of our industry.”

Cowan also pointed out the biodiesel industry has been operating without the credit since the end of the fiscal year in September and called on the full committee to take up the measures quickly and move them on to the full Senate and House for final approval.

ASA, Biodiesel

Generate Event for Next Generation of Co-op Leaders

Jamie Johansen

Generate PhotoGenerate is a new Wheat Growers program dedicated to “growing the most important crop of all, our next generation of cooperative farm leaders.” Those words from Wheat Growers CEO Dale Locken summed up the first Generate event, held in Aberdeen on Friday, March 14. Wheat Growers hosted the event in cooperation with Mitchell Technical Institute and the South Dakota Center for Farm and Ranch Management.

“We are committed to providing the best products and services for our members and also the best farm business insights, knowledge and advice,” Locken said.

The agenda included farm programs with an overview of programs and options available, a financial session, and sessions on production, risk management, managing producer risk and safety. The programs were developed in coordination with Mitchell Technical Institute and the South Dakota Center for Farm and Ranch Management.

There were 22 Wheat Growers Emerging Farm Leaders at the full-day event, including Scott Anderson from Andover, S.D., and Jamason Larson from Langford, S.D.

Anderson found special value in the risk management session and said the event was a good opportunity to get ready for the planting season. “After the winter, it’s always good to get a refresher of things to think about and to keep at the front of your mind when you’re getting back into full-force farming again.”

Larson thought the sessions were very informative. “They covered a lot of things and got me thinking about some important areas like record keeping, giving me an idea of how to break things down to the field level, which I don’t always do.”

“The theme of this event was Cultivating the Future,” Dale Locken said. “The positive input we received from this event will help Wheat Growers develop more forward-looking programs that we hope will reach even more of our next generation of farmers.”

Ag Groups, Cooperatives, Wheat

McQueen Presented Charles Eastin Award

Jamie Johansen

ag-day-14-eastin-awardThe Agriculture Council of America presented the Charles Eastin Award to Lindsay McQueen, Union/Jackson County, IL Farm Bureaus during this year’s Ag Day festivities. The Eastin Award honors an individual who stands out as an advocate for accurate communications between rural and urban audiences.

Lindsay has been promoting agriculture and actively involved with agriculture industry her entire life. She has worked for the Farm Bureau for seven years and has been the Union and Jackson County, IL Farm Bureau Manager for four years. She was actively involved in 4-H and FFA all throughout her childhood and high school career and still volunteers with both groups.

When she addressed the crowd after accepting the award she quoted the first two words in the well-known FFA Creed. I BELIEVE – is an action she tries to live by each day. “Believe in a higher power, believe in your family, in yourself and your abilities.”

Listen to Lindsay’s remarks after being presented the award: Remarks from Lindsay McQueen, Eastin Award Winner

Ag Day, Ag Groups, Audio

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

    Zimfo Bytes

  • In partnership with the Ministry of Education, the USAID Food and Enterprise Development (FED) Program has developed Liberia’s first market-based, regionally integrated vocational training program in agriculture.
  • The NRCS webpage features the five steps to getting assistance from NRCS, so that farmers, ranchers and forest landowners can know about the process of applying for assistance from the comfort of their own home, barn, tractor or wherever else they hop online.
  • broadhead, a leading marketing communications agency connecting the interests of urban and rural consumers, including agriculture, energy, food, government, and safety and wellness, continues to grow with the addition of four new employees to the team.
  • The University of Illinois has achieved a goal of $2 million to fund the James F. Evans Endowment in Agricultural Communications.
Zimfo Bytes

Get the USPB Mobile App

Jamie Johansen

Screen Shot 2014-04-02 at 11.55.29 AMThe US Potato Board’s industry communications has launched a new mobile app. Stay connected with their latest news and views via your iPhone, Android or iPad. The can be downloaded for free on iTunes or Google Play.

View and be alerted to the latest press releases, industry updates, events calendar, and other news from the United States Potato Board. The icon will indicate when new articles are posted. Mark a calendar event or article as a favorite and the app will store it. You can also share updates with friends via Facebook, Twitter or Email.

Ag Groups, Apps, Potato

Freshman Lawmaker Learns & Teaches on Farm Bill

John Davis

rod-davisOne of the problems of being a new lawmaker is you seem to come in on the middle of things.

“I feel like a person who walked into a coffee shop three years after a debate started, sat down at the table, and they say, ‘Hey, help fix this.’ I had a steep learning curve,” said Illinois freshman Congressman Rodney Davis when asked about his part in the new Farm Bill, which he is happy about, adding that he felt his role was to help educate non-Midwesterners about the impacts of some parts of the bill.

Speaking with Cindy during the recent American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) Biofuels Beltway March in Washington, D.C., Davis said part of that education effort was talking about how the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal to slash the amount of ethanol and biodiesel to be blended into the Nation’s fuel supply could affect the commodity title of the bill. Plus, he said part of the reason pro-ethanol forces, including himself, lost the food-versus-fuel debate was the lack of educating the public.

“We need to make sure we educate those who may not know why they’re against ethanol production, why they’re against renewable fuels, and educate them how ethanol production is making cheaper, better feed for our livestock industry and how we can work together to make sure we put more homegrown fuels in our system and still provide cheap food,” Davis said.

Another big issue for the first-term congressman is the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA), a bill that includes provisions to update locks and dams on the Nation’s transportation waterways critical to agricultural trade and passed the House by a nearly unanimous margin last year but is hung up in the Senate.

“We’re going to work together over the next month to push this bill out, because it’s crucial to our farmers, because 80 percent of the products that go down the Mississippi River, which my district abuts, are coal and grains. If we can’t get our products out into the open ocean, then we can’t continue to feed the world.”

Listen to all of Cindy’s conversation with Davis here: Interview with Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL)
2014 ACE Biofuels Beltway March photo album

Audio, Ethanol, Farm Bill

Corn Growers: Plantings Down, But Plenty of Stocks

John Davis

ncga-logo-newThis year’s corn plantings are expected to be down this year, but growers say there will be plenty of stockpiles for all needs. While soybean plantings are expected to be a record, the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture figures show that American farmers expect to plant 3.7 million fewer acres of corn this year, down four percent from 2013. But the National Corn Growers Association says, don’t worry, there are plenty of stocks going into the year, and it would still be the fifth-largest U.S. corn acreage planted.

“In 2013, U.S. farmers produced a record crop abundant enough to meet all needs and provide an ample carry over into 2014,” National Corn Growers Association President Martin Barbre said. “While it is still early in the season and many factors may change the reality on the ground as planting progresses, the public can rest assured that bountiful stockpiles and adequate plantings will ensure our corn security for the year to come.”

NCGA says the plantings will yield 13.37 billion bushels, and corn stocks stand at more than 7 billion bushels, up 30 percent from the same time last year.

Corn, Ethanol, NCGA, USDA

This Year’s After the After Party with Rhea + Kaiser

Jamie Johansen

pancake-rayThe founders of Rhea + Kaiser have always been true proponents of professional development. That is one reason they are a big sponsor of the National Agri-Marketing Association Conference. Chuck spoke with Diane Martin with Rhea + Kaiser about their coveted After the After Party event.

“In recent years we have been a sustaining partner with NAMA. With that investment we decided to really kick it up a notch to heighten our involvement and presence in an unexpected way, but also provide some level of consistency whether we are sponsoring the National Marketing Conference or regional events.”

Rhea + Kaiser currently sponsors the After the After Party during NAMA. Diane said the inspiration came about five years ago when a R+Ker craved pancakes after a night visiting a few of the parties. This led to their sponsorship of a pancake breakfast.

“We’re taking it outdoors this year since we are going to be in a warmer climate. There’s a new chapter in Pancake Ray’s life. He has been experimenting with the menu so there might not be pancakes this year, but there will still be some good breakfast items. We also have a few new promotional items that will give people something different to take home besides a paper dinner hat.”

Diane believes the success of this event is simply because it’s fun, carefree and no one takes it too seriously. They are also solving a classic need people have after a night of socializing with friends. She also is sending out a warning well in advance to all the single ladies who plan on attending the event. Pancake Ray just might be on the prowl and looking for love.

For every breakfast served Rhea + Kaiser will make a donation to the Agribusiness Educational Foundation (ABEF). ABEF helps young people get started in their professional careers and Rhea + Kaiser believes by supporting the foundation they are supporting future R+Kers.

Diane shared three cornerstones to why NAMA is such a great organization. They are the opportunity for professional development, the chance to create a professional community of friends and the chance to recruit young professionals.

Listen to Chuck’s complete interview with Diane here: Interview with Diane Martin

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Audio, Events, Marketing, NAMA

Cute Baby Blogging

Chuck Zimmerman

Chelsea and CruzI’m taking a time out from our regular programming to do some cute baby blogging. Actually, this ties right in to what we’re all about here on AgWired. The miracle of a baby is one of the most beautiful things in the world. You can scroll through the #felfie hashtag on Twitter and see lots of babies of different kinds.

Our grandson, Cruz, and his parents, Caitlin and Clint, showed up for a visit. As you might guess, Cindy has been eagerly waiting on them. So has our daughter Chelsea who got to see Cruz for the first time this morning. He’s 2 1/2 months old now and just a little bundle of joy.

Cindy and I will be taking a little time to spend with the Cruz Dude this week as we also make final preparations for the Agri-Marketing Conference next week in Jacksonville.

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