Former NAFB President Passes Away

Leah Guffey

462NAFB Past President, Jack Crowner, passed away this week. Jack was a veteran of over 45 years in Farm Broadcasting, owning and operating the FARM SERVICE RADIO NETWORK, serving radio stations in Kentucky, Indiana, and other states, providing farm news and information daily over local rural radio stations that provide necessary farm and market information to their listeners. Jack served as Farm Director for WAVE stations in Louisville, WMT stations in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and television stations in Evansville, Indiana and Lexington, Kentucky for over 30 years. He also served as the Executive Secretary of the Kentucky Beef Cattle Association from 1977 to 1981. Jack was also Senior Farm Director for WHAS-Radio and for the Kentucky News Network.

Jack served as announcer for the National Farm Machinery Show, Kentucky State Fair, North American International Livestock Expo and was the only auctioneer of the Grand Champion country ham at the Kentucky State Fair since the auction’s beginning in 1964. Jack served for 20 years as a Director for Stock Yards Bank & Trust Company and also served as the Public Director of Farm Credit Services of Mid-America, including the states of Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. Jack is survived by his wife, Sue, three children and five grandchildren.

janetcc14Current NAFB President, Janet Adkison, paid tribute to Jack during her remarks at the general session of Commodity Classic.

Listen to more of Janet’s remarks here: NAFB President, Janet Adkison


2014 Commodity Classic Photos

Audio, Commodity Classic, NAFB

Meet the BASF SOY Scholarship Winner

Cindy Zimmerman

classic14-basf-soyAn idea that started back when he was just an elementary school student has led a Tennessee high schooler to picking up a substantial scholarship that he says will help him further his own energy business. Caleb Brannon of Puryear, Tenn. was selected as the recipient of the 2014-2015 ASA Secure Optimal Yield (SOY) Scholarship, a $5,000 award presented to an outstanding high school senior who has achieved high academic and leadership requirements, and is planning to pursue a degree in an agriculture-related field at an accredited college or university.

“I’m really thankful to the American Soybean Association and BASF who were so generous in this scholarship,” he says. Brannon, a senior at Calloway County High School, will pursue a degree in agricultural business at Murray State University, Murray, Ky. beginning this fall. He already has his very own business, Brannon Agri-Energy, a company focusing on cellulosic ethanol that he actually thought up way back in the fifth grade!

“Our family farm was in a partnership with the University of Tennessee to grow switchgrass in a pilot program to be bailed and put in a coal-fired plant [in Alabama].” While other area farmers gave up after a few years, it led Brannon to researching other crops for what is now his cellulosic ethanol business, finding his own markets.

He adds that the scholarship money will free up what he would have spent on college to invest back into his business. But he says this is more than just his future; it’s the Nation’s future.

“I want to help our country become just a little bit more energy independent. That’s really important to me.”

Listen to an interview with Brannon here: Interview with BASF SOY Scholarship Winner


BASF at the 2014 Commodity Classic Photos

Audio, BASF, Commodity Classic

Corn Growers Talk Priorities at Commodity Classic

John Davis

ncga1Members of the National Corn Growers Association are at Commodity Classic in full force this year, as part the more than 7,000+ corn, wheat, soybean and sorghum growers who have come to San Antonio. President of NCGA, Martin Barbre, a farmer from Illinois, outlined some of his group’s priorities in this coming year, including their work with a couple of partnerships, the Coalition for Safe Affordable Food and the Soil Health Partnership.

“The goal of the [Coalition for Safe Affordable Food] is to seek a federal solution that would establish standards for the safety and labeling of food and beverage and products made with biotech ingredients,” pointing out that GMO issues have been hot in the last few years, and a hodge podge of state regulations would only cloud the issue for producers and consumers. “If we get a myriad, a patchwork of state laws, how would I as a corn grower in Illinois if I’m shipping corn out to Indiana or down the Mississippi certify [my crop].”

The Soil Health Partnership has the support of Monsanto and the Walton Family Foundation and relies on a science advisory council made up of government and university experts as well as environmental groups. “These are just examples of many of the coalitions we’ve been able to work on.”

Another big topic for the corn growers is the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), particularly what the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to reduce the amount of corn-based ethanol to be mixed into the Nation’s fuel supply. Barbre said he’s proud of the outpouring of support his NCGA members have given in the form of thousands of calls and letters to the EPA and White House to reverse what they see as bad proposal.

“We’ve done our part so far. It’s an uphill battle, but we’ll keep our pressure on the Administration,” he said.

The new Farm Bill was welcomed by the NCGA, with Barbre calling it a law that makes sense, focusing help for growers when they need it, helping conservation efforts, saving taxpayers’ dollars and feeding the hungry.

Listen to more of Barbre’s remarks here: NCGA Press Conference with Martin Barbre


2014 Commodity Classic Photos

Agribusiness, Audio, Biotech, Commodity Classic, Corn, Ethanol, Food, NCGA, Soil

Meet the Jerry Minore Scholarship Winners

Cindy Zimmerman

classic14-basf-wheatIn its second year, the Jerry Minore Memorial Scholarship fund honors students pursuing careers in the agriculture industry. A total of four students will be awarded a $1,000 or $1,500 scholarship.

As a BASF Senior Market Manager, Minore was a liaison to the wheat industry, including the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) and the Foundation, and an advocate for wheat growers, who passed away unexpectedly in February 2012. To honor his advocacy for the wheat industry, BASF partnered with NAWG to fund the scholarships.

“We are pleased to partner with BASF on something that was important to Jerry,” said NWF Chairman Jimmie Musick. “This scholarship is a great way to support youth who express interest in the wheat industry and also continue to honor Jerry’s legacy.”

Lee Moore of Red Springs, North Carolina – a freshman at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, studying agricultural business management.
Trey Heitschmidt of Bushton, Kansas – will be attending Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, in the fall of 2014 and plans on studying agronomy.
Heidi Jamison of Garfield, Washington – a sophomore at the University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, studying agribusiness.
Max Mielke of Davenport, Washington – will be attending Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, in the fall of 2014 and plans on studying agricultural economics.

Meet the 2014 winners in this interview: Interview with BASF Wheat Scholarship Winners


BASF at the 2014 Commodity Classic Photos

Audio, BASF, Education, Wheat

Water Management Software from Ag Leader

Melissa Sandfort

Insights Weekly

Kaleb Lindquist, Ag Leader software specialist, recently joined ZimmComm’s Cindy Zimmerman at the National Farm Machinery Show to talk about water management.

“SMS Advanced from Ag Leader allows for directional flow arrows, elevation, slope, water shed mapping and printing,” says Lindquist. “There’s also a water management module that can create a tile plan so growers know if it will be enough tile to drain their fields.

nfms14-agleader1“A lot of growers don’t know this kind of software is available, but it’s extremely user-friendly and once they see it, they realize how much it can help them in their operation.”

Listen to Lindquist explain

Lindquist says you can only do tile once, and it needs to be right the first time. Growers can make their initial investment back in less than a couple hundred feet of tile run.

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

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

    Zimfo Bytes

  • University of Missouri Extension researchers and USDA scientists on the MU campus are collaborating with DuPont Pioneer to pool soil data, expertise and other resources to help grain farmers improve yields and reduce costs.
  • Extended deadline for the 2014 Golden ARC Awards Contest is now Tuesday, March 11, 2014.
  • American Farm Bureau Federation Executive Vice President and Treasurer Julie Anna Potts and Pennsylvania Farm Bureau President Carl Shaffer presented Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson with AFBF’s “Golden Plow” award on Wednesday during Pennsylvania Farm Bureau’s National Legislative Conference.
  • broadhead, a Minneapolis-based advertising and marketing agency, hires Cindy Hackmann as senior content writer and Taylor Carlson as account coordinator.
Zimfo Bytes

Meet the BASF NCGA Scholarship Winners

Cindy Zimmerman

classic14-basf-ncgaFor the seventh year in a row, BASF Crop Protection teamed up with the National Corn Growers Association to provide the William C. Berg Academic Excellence in Agriculture scholarships to undergraduate or graduate students pursuing an agricultural degree.

Mark Scott, a Missouri farmer on the NCGA Grower Services Action Team, helped to present the scholarships. “We’d like to thank BASF for their commitment to the future of our industry,” said Mark. “We feel it’s vital to encourage and support our young people in an ag-related field.”

The program awarded scholarships of $1,000 each to the following students:
Clayton Carley of Milford, Illinois – a junior at Parkland College, Champaign, Illinois, studying crop science and agricultural education.
Emma Likens of Swanton, Nebraska – a junior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, studying agricultural journalism.
Nicole Schubert of Rockford, Iowa – a junior at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, studying animal science and animal ecology.
Hillary Kletscher of Lamberton, Minnesota – a junior at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, studying biological systems engineering.
Lauren Zitelman of Alma, Missouri – a sophomore at University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, studying agribusiness management.

Pictured from left to right are Mark, Clayton, Emma, and Nicole – Hillary and Lauren were not able to make it. You can hear from those who were in attendance in the interview here: Interview with NCGA Scholarship Winners


BASF at the 2014 Commodity Classic Photos

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Audio, BASF, Commodity Classic, Corn

BASF Growing Today for Tomorrow

Cindy Zimmerman

basf-cc14-scholarsBASF Crop Protection is committed to growing the future of agriculture by investing in the next generation of professionals for the industry.

BASF this year has continued its partnership with the American Soybean Association (ASA), the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and the National Wheat Foundation (NWF) to present 10 students with scholarships today during the 2014 Commodity Classic in San Antonio, Texas. The scholarships were awarded to students across the country who are pursuing degrees in agriculture.

Dr. Gary Fellows, BASF Manager for Plant Health and Seed Treatment, presented the awards to the students at the BASF exhibit in the Classic trade show. “We’re talking about the farm of the future and these kids are the ones that are going to run that farm,” said Gary. “If you saw their applications for these scholarships, there’s an excellent bunch of students here in all aspects of agriculture from communications, to science, to research, to practical agriculture. But what they all have in common is they are advocates for agriculture to the non-agriculture world.”

We will hear from all the different winners in posts to come, but you can find a list of them all here and see photos in the album linked below.

Listen to my interview with Gary here: Interview with Gary Fellows, BASF
BASF at the 2014 Commodity Classic Photos

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Audio, BASF, Commodity Classic, Corn, Soybean, Wheat

2014 Commodity Classic Ribbon Cutting

Chuck Zimmerman

Commodity ClassicThe 2014 Commodity Classic ribbon has been cut and the trade show is open for business. The media had some quiet time with exhibitors prior to the general opening which is always nice for us to get some interviews completed.

So the ZimmComm team will be on the floor in sessions and the trade show over the next couple days. I have to move on to the Mid-South Farm & Gin Show in Memphis this afternoon. So I’ll be seeing you from there.


2014 Commodity Classic Photos

Commodity Classic, Video

The Intern is Here!

Kristin Liska

Group PicWe made it to the 2014 Commodity Classic! I am Kristin Liska, the intern for this semester, and the one wearing purple on the right hand side. We all arrived safely in San Antonio, TX and are awaiting the rest of the team to join us. It has been an exciting week so far with attending pre-sessions with the Commodity Classic. This is my first year at the Commodity Classic, and my first time in media! So far I have learned a lot about what is all incorporated with interviewing, taking photos and getting to know other agriculture journalists and broadcasting. We are all looking forward to the rest of the week and what it all has in store.


2014 Commodity Classic Photos

Agribusiness, Commodity Classic