RFA Ethanol Podcast

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

Industrial Hemp Making its Case

John Davis

vote-hempIndustrial hemp could be on the verge of becoming a respectable alternative crop in the United States, as it once was back when the country was founded and our first president grew it on his farm.

Ben Droz with Vote Hemp was one of the attendees at National Agriculture Day last week in Washington, and he’s thrilled to talk about how hemp is part of the latest farm bill.

“It allows states to conduct pilot program research projects at the university level and through the state departments of agriculture,” but just in those 10 states where it’s already legal to grow hemp. “Ultimately, I’m sure that we’ll get positive results, and those results will encourage lawmakers to change these laws so farmers can grow this profitable crop.”

Ben said the Farm Bill defined industrial hemp, not to be confused with marijuana despite its similar appearance, as having just 3/10 of a percent or less of THC – the active ingredient in the drug. Even if you smoked a hemp joint the size of a telephone pole, Ben said you still wouldn’t get high. Historically, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp, and Henry Ford was actually doing research on hemp fuels and hemp biocomposites. In the picture, Ben’s carrying a hemp composite briefcase and wearing a tie made of hemp, and he says hemp food products are available in many grocery stores.

“There’s literally thousands of uses for hemp.”

Listen to all of Cindy’s conversation with Ben here: Interview with Ben Droz, Vote Hemp

2014 Ag Day Photo Album

Coverage of National Ag Day is sponsored by BCS Communications

Ag Day, Audio, Farming

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