Bridging the Gap Between Farmers and Consumers

Chuck Zimmerman

USFRADelegates of the 2014 American Farm Bureau Federation Convention are a few of the lucky ones who get a sneak peak of the Farmland film. Directed by James Moll, USFRA is a huge sponsor of the documentary that takes you into the lives of farmers and ranchers across the county.

Randy Krotz, U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) talks about their support of the movie, Farmland.

“Farmland is the generational story of agriculture. The movement of a farm through a generation like we are all used to in agriculture. It’s a great look at beginning to understand the issues around agriculture and the separation between consumers and farmers that has happened over the last five or six generations.”

Randy is honest and knows an 80-minute film won’t change the minds of all viewers, but he hopes it will open their hearts and minds to new ideas and give a better understanding about the food they eat that is different then what they have been exposed to in the past.

USFRA continues to advocates for the entire agriculture community through their Food Dialogues that are held across the country. These events bring together differing opinions and provide a place for questions to be asked and experts to answer them. Their next Food Dialogue event is scheduled for next month at the USDA Ag Outlook Conference in Washington, D.C.

You can listen to Chucks interview with Randy here or watch it below: Interview with Randy Krotz

2014 AFBF Convention Photos

AFBF, Ag Groups, Audio, USFRA, Video

Ag Secretary Vilsack Speaks to AFBF

Chuck Zimmerman

Secretary of Agriculture Tom VilsackThis morning’s general session at the American Farm Bureau Federation Convention featured a speech by our U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.

Yes, he spoke about the farm bill and the need for Congress to pass a new one. Interestingly, he also told us a personal story about being an orphan. Through his adopted father’s side of the family he’s three generations removed from the farm. It was an inspiring story which started with him trying to come up with a one word description of agriculture. He says that it was that great grandfather farmer who was successful enough to raise a family that included children who either farmed or became successful in other businesses. In his grandfather’s case it was the brewing business, then in his father’s case it was real estate and then he became an attorney and ultimately U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. The word he came up with is Freedom. He drew applause during the telling of the story which obviously means a lot to him on a personal level.

You can listen to Secretary Vilsack’s speech here: Sec. Vilsack Speech

Immediately after his speech Sec. Vilsack spoke with the media and you can listen to it here: Sec. Vilsack Press Conference 2014 AFBF Convention Photos

AFBF, Ag Groups, Audio, USDA

Zimfo Bytes

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    Zimfo Bytes

  • AgStock collection has been acquired by Design Pics, Inc., located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
  • The Missouri CattleWomen’s Association last week crowned Julie Crouch of Lincoln, Mo., as the 2014 Missouri Beef Queen during the 46th Missouri Cattle Industry Convention & Trade Show at Tan-Tar-A Resort, Osage Beach.
  • The most recent report on household food security by the United States Department of Agriculture found 20% of American children to be food insecure.
  • Join NAMA & AAEA at Commodity Classic Friday, February 28, 2014 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, Room: 006A from 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
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Ensuring Accessibility to Biotechnology

Jamie Johansen

afbf-14-5Ensuring access to biotechnology was the topic Biotechnology Industry Organization’s (BIO), Dr. Cathleen Enright, presented on during the 2014 American Farm Bureau Federation convention this week in San Antonio.

Cathleen is the Executive VP for Food and Agriculture at BIO. Her presentation focused on the need to advocate on behalf of biotech in light of challenges from activists and others. She also drove home the point that farmers and ranchers need to have access to this technology.

“The current climate is challenging as I’m sure you are aware. There is a lot of opposition that has come on the last couple of years. Folks are making very good use of social media with an online presence. Our industry hasn’t done a very good job of that. These folks had an agenda and they did a really good job of making their case. We just weren’t there. Now we are with GMO Answers. It is one piece of a multi-pronged strategy that we have to pay full attention to and invest in.”

Cathleen stated that GMO’s are the only technology that allows us to make multi-year gains in a single season. She added that this means profitability for famers and the ability to meet the world’s food demand and feed 9 billion people by 2050.

Remember there has not been any scientific study proving there is any negative impact from GMO’s. She reminds us that it’s simply a gene of known sequence and function that produces a trait in a crop that is of known function and structure. There is no mystery.

The first step to opening that dialogue is acknowledging people’s skepticism about food made with GM ingredients.

“We have great stories that are not being heard because we are not believed,” she said. “Only when our audiences understand we are listening to them will they listen to us.”

Last year BIO launched the GMO Answers website, through which they invite anyone to ask any question about biotechnology. And ask people did. From July through December, 626 questions were posed and 404 were answered. Another 100-plus are in the process of being answered. Also during this time, there were more than 120,000 visits to the site and more than 526,000 page views, with visitors spending more than 5 minutes on the site on average. These questions are answered by independent, third-party experts.

BIO is hitting the road with GMO Answers and collaborating with many other organizations to help educate the public about biotech. Cathleen explains that this technology isn’t going away, but we do need to speak out and explain it.

Listen to the complete audio from ag media’s interview with Dr. Enright here: Interview with Cathleen Enright

2014 AFBF Convention Photos

AFBF, Ag Groups, Audio, GMO

AFBF Awards

Cindy Zimmerman

afbf-lugarThe opening general session at the American Farm Bureau annual meeting is always awards time and there were plenty presented on Sunday, starting with the Distinguished Service Awards which were presented this year to to Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and Dr. Abner Womack.

Sen. Lugar served in the U.S. Senate for 36 years and was a member of the Agriculture Committee throughout his tenure. “Throughout his Senate career, Sen. Lugar championed agricultural progress. He was a leader in support of the biofuels movement and a solid promoter of free and open trade,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman.

afbf-womackDr. Abner Womack, professor emeritus and research professor of agriculture economics at the University of Missouri-Columbia, has made agriculture his life’s work. “Dr. Womack embodies a unique and giving spirit,” said Stallman. “He has experienced agriculture from many sides, including as a farmer, USDA employee, consultant to agribusiness and farming organizations and an advisor to college students.”

Most state Farm Bureaus received at least one award recognizing their excellence in membership achievement and implementation of outstanding programs. Several state Farm Bureaus were also recognized for outstanding financial support of the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture, which also presented its seventh annual “Book of the Year” award to Laurie Krebs for “The Beeman.”

2014 AFBF Convention Photos

AFBF, Ag Groups

Drones to Increase Profitability

Jamie Johansen

afbf-14-4Kansas State University’s Dr. Kevin Price was one of the presenters at the 2014 American Farm Bureau Federation Convention. His presentation was titled Drones: Turning Technological Controversy into Profit.

The use of using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s) to fly over crops and livestock to maximize profits is one of the hottest topics entering the agriculture sector. He shared how this is all possible using examples of his work at the university.

“About 80% of the money that will be spent on the unmanned aircraft systems will be spent in the area of agriculture. There are ten times more applications in agriculture then there is in any of the other application areas.” He continued by saying, “They are predicting this will be a $100 billion industry by the year 2025.”

He said agriculture applications for drones in development include data collection on crop health, vigor and yields, tracking the spread of invasive plant species and monitoring cattle feedlots. Data collection of field images by cameras mounted on drones within an inch of accuracy.

When asked where he saw drone use in agriculture going in the next five years he said it was hard to say because interest was growing so rapidly, but “it will blow your socks off.” The economic potential of drones is tremendous in terms of precision agriculture but will not be realized without approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Wondering what it could cost you? Dr. Price said a fixed-winged aircraft could run a couple thousand dollars to $12,000. Other models might be under a thousand up to $7,000-$8,000. Will you start saving to increase profits in the long run?

Listen to the complete audio from ag media’s interview with Dr. Price here: Kevin Price Press Conference

2014 AFBF Convention Photos

AFBF, Ag Groups, Audio, Farming, Technology

What’s New Sessions at Commodity Classic

Jamie Johansen

Commodity Classic LogoAgriculture’s newest, most innovative products and services will be showcased at the What’s New sessions at the 2014 Commodity Classic. The 19th Annual Commodity Classic is Feb. 27-March 1, along the banks of the famous River Walk in San Antonio, TX.

“If you’re coming to Commodity Classic hoping to learn and gain some new ideas to take back to your farm, you’ll want to mark your calendar for the What’s New sessions,” said Commodity Classic Co-Chairman Wyatt Whitford. “These sessions offer a sneak peek at the new technology and products out on the trade show floor and an opportunity to ask the experts questions.”

Topics of the sessions include: tractor and combine header technologies, soil fertility trends, new developments in seeds to help manage pests, technology tools for the farm and tools to optimize seed selection for each field.

These sessions are scheduled for Friday, Feb. 28 and Saturday, March 1. Each session is 40 minutes long and allows attendees to learn about the topic in an in-depth manner.

Companies selected to present include Case IH, DuPont Pioneer, John Deere, Monsanto, The Mosaic Company, Syngenta, The Climate Corporation, Trimble and United Soybean Board. The products and services are chosen by the grower community to ensure they are truly something new to the industry.

More information on the What’s New sessions and other events at Commodity Classic can be found here.

Ag Groups, Commodity Classic, Corn, Cotton, Grains, sorghum, Soybean

Farm Bureau Priorities

Chuck Zimmerman

Jeff Nalley and Bob YoungWelcome to another day at the American Farm Bureau Federation Convention live from San Antonio. I want to give a shout out thank you to Case IH for being the sponsor of the media work room this year and to Monsanto for sponsoring our wonderful media reception last night. I’m in our general session room getting caught up on some things that include interviews I conducted yesterday. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack will address the convention later this morning and I’ll have his speech and press conference for you afterward.

In the photo Jeff Nalley, Cromwell Ag Network, interviews Bob Young, AFBF Chief Economist. After Jeff completed his interview I took my turn and used ZimmGlass to conduct the interview. This is my first interview using Google Glass and I learned a few things. Bob speaks very softly and we had more background noise than I thought but it works.

I asked Bob about AFBF priorities in 2014 and of course the farm bill is right there at the top. Bob says that Farm Bureau members and staff continue to work with legislators to foster better understanding of farming today and to help them reach an agreement that is good for all. Listen in to learn more about what’s going on with AFBF right now.

2014 AFBF Convention Photos

AFBF, Ag Groups, Video

Bob Stallman Addresses AFBF Convention

Chuck Zimmerman

AFBF Bob StallmanThis morning American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman gave his annual address to members during the 2014 Convention. Stallman is a rice and cattle producer from Texas. As you might guess, the farm bill was a key topic of his remarks. He called on Congress to get a farm bill passed. He used Farm Bureau members themselves as an example of how differing opinions can come to agreement.

“This very gathering is about people from different regions and backgrounds coming together to develop policy that benefits all of American agriculture,” he noted.

Another issue he addressed was immigration saying that farmers and ranchers can’t wait any longer for effective, long-term solutions to the agricultural labor crisis, which has forced growers to leave millions of dollars worth of crops unharvested and threatens the country’s food security.

Next was government regulation with EPA in the cross hairs.

With the Environmental Protection Agency late last year putting the wheels in motion to propose extending federal regulatory authority to nearly every body of water in the country—and ultimately regulating so-called “waters” that aren’t even wet most of the time—farmers and ranchers are bracing for a fight. Farm Bureau has also been working through the courts to stop EPA’s attempts to broaden its regulatory reach.

“Once again, we are saddled-up for the long ride in our fight for rational regulations that allow farmers to continue feeding America,” Stallman said.

You can listen to Bob Stallmans’s speech here: Bob Stallman Speech

Following the opening general session Bob spoke with the media and you can listen to it here: Bob Stallman Press Conference

2014 AFBF Convention Photos

AFBF, Ag Groups, Audio

2014 AFBF Convention Underway

Chuck Zimmerman

AFBF ConventionThe 2014 American Farm Bureau Federation Convention is underway in San Antonio. It’s my first stop on the agriblogging highway of the new year. Over the next several days we’ll find out what the largest general farm organization is working on and I’m sure a farm bill is at the top of the list.

There are a lot of activities that have already been going on here with the Young Farmer & Ranchers Committee and more. FB members have had time to relax a little before getting down to business. I shot a little ZimmGlass video of them enjoying the Riverwalk last night and heading out to the convention center this morning from my hotel.

You can find photos from the convention here: 2014 AFBF Convention Photos

AFBF, Ag Groups, Video