Bring Back Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer!

Melissa Sandfort

1559585_768172473202759_1152660037_nToday Aunt Jeanette writes:

We have had another unusual winter here in south central Nebraska – as has most of the country. The snow and ice have not caused many problems for us, however, the cold temps have been another story. When I think of baby calves being born into a cruel negative 25 degrees (or more) wind chill…well, it just makes me shiver.

When I found these pictures, I thought you might like a little breath of summer blown into your winter, too. It gives us all something to look forward to.

1456591_728759803810693_1581077793_nOur grandkids from Chadron, Neb., are quite the cattle showmen. Ranch life in the Nebraska panhandle is anything but lazy, however I know it can get a little crazy! The kids are responsible for their own show calves – for the most part. They do their own chores, feeding, washing, etc., with help and guidance from their parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts. You get the picture – it is a family affair and a wonderful way of life.

These pictures were taken at the Junior National Hereford Expo in Kansas City and the Wyoming Junior Hereford Show, both held during the summer of 2013. Hannah’s heifer, Belle, is the brand new mother of a calf born Feb. 11. Daisy, Wiley’s heifer, had the misfortune of losing her calf at the same time that awful blizzard hit western Nebraska the middle of October 2013.

Now, those of you that are old enough to know the song, forgive me if you have it stuck in your head! And here’s to the early arrival of spring and/or summer!

Until we walk again …

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Zimfo Bytes

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  • Ag Engage and Penton Farm Progress Group announce their new Precision Aerial Ag Show, the first-ever outdoor exposition for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) use in agriculture, to be held July 9 and 10, 2014 at Progress City USA, Decatur, Ill.
  • Beck’s Hybrids is excited to announce a continued collaboration with Kinze Manufacturing, Inc. to conduct on-farm research by providing expertise in hybrid placement, developing spatial management zones, and site-specific seeding.
  • Agribusiness professionals can build their management skill set and expand their professional network at one of the Purdue University Center for Food and Agricultural Business’ 2014 seminars, delivered on Purdue’s campus in West Lafayette, Ind.
  • The Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) unanimously elected Kim Brackett of Buhl, Idaho, to serve as CBB chairman for the coming year; Jimmy Maxey of Fresno, Calif., to serve as vice chairman; and Anne Anderson of Austin, Texas, to fill the position of Beef Board secretary/treasurer for 2014.
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49th Farm Machinery Show Big as Ever

Cindy Zimmerman

The 2014 National Farm Machinery Show marks 49 years of the largest indoor farm show in the United States.

nfms14-fetter“This show is as big or bigger than ever before,” said show manager Corinne Fetter. “We are sold out in space again with 850 exhibitors … it’s the place to be in February.”

There was still snow on the ground for opening day today, but the sun was shining and the weather was really beautiful, especially for some folks coming from states that have been below zero for weeks. “Many of the farmers that come here are from throughout the Midwest, but we do have people here from coast to coast and we do have more and more international visitors,” Corinne said, who noted that last year’s attendance was the second largest on record with over 307,000 attendees.

And then there’s the 46th Championship Tractor Pull. “We now have five sessions with the pull, each night and then again Saturday afternoon,” said Corinne.

There is a cost for tickets to the tractor pull, but the show is free of charge and all are welcome. The NFMS runs through Saturday and show hours are 9:00 am -6:00 pm daily.

Find out more in this interview and on the show website – Interview with NFMS Show Manager Corinne Fetter

National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album


Coverage of the National Farm Machinery Show is sponsored by FMC and New Holland Agriculture
Agribusiness, Audio, Events, National Farm Machinery Show

#NFMS14 Media Room by FMC

Chuck Zimmerman

Paul Redhage FMCThe media room at the National Farm Machinery Show is sponsored again this year by FMC. Thank you FMC!

Only the media know how important this is. For one thing, it provides us a place to get away from the crowds to work and publish information. It’s also a great meeting place for interviews. I remember covering this show with no media room. It is a much more enjoyable experience now.

I talked with Paul Redhage about their support and also what they’re doing this year at the show which includes a first ever effort. You can listen to my interview with Paul here: Interview with Paul Redhage

By the way. This interview was done with my new Zoom iQ5 mic on my iPhone 5S. Sounds pretty good!

National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album


Coverage of the National Farm Machinery Show is sponsored by FMC and New Holland Agriculture
Agribusiness, Audio, FMC, Media, National Farm Machinery Show

On The Floor with New Holland

Chuck Zimmerman

New Holland at NFMSHello from day one of the National Farm Machinery Show. As usual, we get off to a very busy start with lots of interviews scheduled. I’ll be sharing them with you into next week I’m sure.

One of our main sponsors for coverage of the show again this is New Holland. Their exhibit area is getting more and more crowded with people wanting to see some new equipment making its first public display.

I spoke with Mark Hooper to get an overview of what New Holland has on display. You can listen to my interview with Mark here: Interview with Mark Hooper

Here’s where you’ll be able to find lots of photos from the show. We’ll be adding to them each day. National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album


Coverage of the National Farm Machinery Show is sponsored by FMC and New Holland Agriculture
Agribusiness, Audio, Equipment, National Farm Machinery Show, New Holland

Live From National Farm Machinery Show

Chuck Zimmerman

National Farm Machinery ShowIt’s the miracle with no ice. Cindy and I arrived in Louisville, KY this afternoon for the National Farm Machinery Show after traveling through Atlanta. The timing just worked out since it was only raining when we went through.

We took a quick peek inside the show as final preparations are being made at all the exhibits. Our coverage on AgWired this year is sponsored. Here are a couple of clues to who our sponsors are. The action gets started tomorrow morning.

FMCBesides the huge display of farm machinery and more the 46th Annual Championship Tractor Pull will be taking place each evening. The estimate is 70,000 fans who will pack Freedom Hall for the oldest indoor tractor pull in America.

Cindy and I will be in the stands at least one night of the event. Some of our most downloaded video clips are the short 12-13 second ones of a competitor in action.
New HollandOf course there’s a free app for the NFMS. Just search your favorite app store for “NFMS 14.” There’s a map which you have to have at this show because it’s so big. And if you’re a tractor pull fan it has the whole schedule. It also does text alerts about events happening at the show.

Also, don’t forget that the Twitter hashtag for the show is #NFMS14.

Agribusiness, Farm Machinery, FMC, National Farm Machinery Show, New Holland

New Website for ARC

Chuck Zimmerman

ARC LogoThe Agricultural Relations Council has a new website. It is built with WordPress, our platform of choice!

Good day. From all of us at ARC (board and staff) we are pleased to announce that the new and improved ARC web site is now live. http://www.agrelationscouncil.org/

Thanks to ARC members John Blue of Truffle Media and Mike Opperman of Charleston Orwig, plus staffers Barb Ulschmid and Kathy Heyda for all their work in making this happen. Our web master — Dogwood Productions (including John Strope, Steven Weber and Amy Murphy) has done a wonderful job of capturing what ARC members want to see in a web site. We also thank Dennis Lambrecht of Suel Printing for his expertise in assisting Dogwood Productions in the execution of this refreshed web site.

The website rollout includes new features which will show up in March.

Ag Groups, ARC, Public Relations

Ag PR Hall of Fame, Nominations Due March 15

Talia Goes

ARC2013Awards-500w-300x236Nominations are due March 15 for the Agricultural Public Relations Hall of Fame, an award program honoring agricultural public relations professionals who have made lifetime contributions to the industry.

The program, sponsored by the Agricultural Relations Council and AgriMarketing magazine, will recognize its third group of recipients at the June 2014 ARC annual meeting in Madison, Wis.

Nominees must be current or past members of ARC to be considered. Inductees will be selected based on criteria including:

  • Years of membership in ARC;
  • Service to ARC (president, board member, committee chair, etc.);
  • Professional accomplishments/achievements in ag communications; and
  • Awards/Recognition in service to ag communications within ARC and also outside of the organization.

For additional questions, please call the ARC office at: 952/758-5811. Use the 2014 nomination form or E-mail ARC at arc@gandgcomm.com for more information.

Agribusiness, ARC

Zimfo Bytes

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    Zimfo Bytes

  • DuPont and the Story County Sheriff’s Office are working together to establish the first-ever Farm Watch program in Iowa to enhance security and safety of rural residents and farmers.
  • MGEX announced that preliminary trading volume reached 26,404 futures and options contracts, breaking the previous daily Exchange volume record by nearly 12 percent. The previous volume record had been set on April 25, 2005.
  • Farm Journal Media announced the scheduled launch of “Market Rally” with Chip Flory, the first-ever long-format national radio program focused exclusively on agricultural commodity markets.
  • This week the Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) honored nearly three dozen individuals for their outstanding contributions to the field of weed science.
Zimfo Bytes

More Corn for Export

Cindy Zimmerman

corn-bargeTo the surprise of traders, USDA increased the projection for U.S. corn exports this marketing year, lowering ending stocks in the latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimate (WASDE) report.

U.S. feed grain ending stocks for 2013/14 are expected lower with a 150-million-bushel increase projected for corn exports.

Jack Scoville of the Price Futures Group discussed the estimates during the Minneapolis Grain Exchange conference call on the report today. “USDA did throw us some curve balls,” he said. “Even though most of the trade was expecting a pretty neutral report, we did get some surprises,” particularly the magnitude of the increase for corn exports. MGEX crop call with Jack Scoville, Price Futures Group

Jack also talked about wheat exports being increased by 10 million bushels as “railroad backlogs and other logistical problems slow Canadian wheat shipments to Pacific Coast terminals and encourage additional shipments of Hard Red Spring (HRS) wheat into the U.S. market.”

That was discussed on a MGEX call when the Stats Canada field crop report was released on February 4 by Wayne Palmer and Brian Voth of Agri-Trend. “Canada is experiencing a transportation debacle,” said Palmer. “We cannot get grain from the country to the port in a timely fashion. We are so far behind we will likely not catch up until the end of this year.” MGEX Canada crop call with Agri-Trend

Audio, Corn, Exports