A Full Year Of ZimmPolls

After our first full year of our ZimmPoll I thought it would be interesting to take a look back and share some statistics with you. I am frequently asked how many people responded and what their demographics are. The number of respondents is easy but knowing who they are and details about their life is not since there’s no registration process. But here are a few numbers I can share with you.

To start with, the average number of responses is 110. I’m not sure about you but I think that’s a pretty good number. The total varies widely each week and I think that has a lot to do with the question itself and the particular week and activities that might draw attention elsewhere. So the swing in number of responses goes from highest for the question, “What do you think of USDA’s proposed GIPSA rule?” at 446 to lowest for the question, “With net farm income up this year, how is your income?” at 32. I’ve also noticed that the number of responses varies to some extent by how aggressively we promote it via social media channels like Twitter and Facebook.

Some other questions that generated a higher level response include: “Which biofuel feedstock do you think has best future?”; “Do you believe in man made climate change?”; “What’s Your Favorite Meat?”; “What mid-term grade would you give Ag Sec. Tom Vilsack?”; “Will higher cost (13%) of Thanksgiving dinner affect your meal?” and “Which Republican Candidate for President is best for Ag?.”

So with question choice being very important I’d like to ask what questions you’d like to see us ask. Please post your ideas in comments. Is there something you’d like to ask the agricultural marketing community? What would it be? Thank you and I look forward to another year of checking the “pulse” of the community.

ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.

Happy Holidays From ZimmComm New Media

ZimmPoll Now One Year Old

The ZimmPoll is one year old! And you can re-visit all of them since they are all archived right here on AgWired. Thank you Rhea + Kaiser for your sponsorship and support.

In our latest ZimmPoll we asked the question, “Will higher cost (13%) of Thanksgiving dinner affect your meal?” Apparently it won’t for most of our respondents. 64% said, No, same as usual; 22% said Yes, Fewer items on table; 9% said Yes, Planning smaller portions and 5% said No, Bigger dinner this year. A story in yesterday’s USA Today seems to reflect this response. It says that some will be cutting back.

Some are holding potluck dinners instead of springing for the entire feast. Others are staying home rather than flying. And a few are skipping the turkey altogether.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “Do you use Facebook or Google+?” Google+ now allows company pages but so far they don’t seem to have attracted the kind of audience found by companies using Facebook. Which “house” do you live in? Feel free to chime in. We appreciate it.

ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.

ZimmNews

Hello ZimmComm Fans:

It’s pheasant season so you know where Chuck is this weekend. We’re pretty sure he’ll be sharing some photos. Remember you can follow him on Twitter too: @AgriBlogger.

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Are Farm Show Smartphone Apps Helpful?” Although 55% said they had Never used one, 27% said Yes and only 18% said no. These results probably reflect the fact that these apps are new. We’ve used several during the course of the year and some are more helpful than others. One of the useful features is being able to open a show map to find where you’re located and where you want to go to find a particular exhibitor. Have you used any of these apps? What did you like or wish was different about the ones you used?

Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question,”How do you view the new free trade agreements for U.S. ag?” President Obama signed legislation last Friday implementing free trade agreements with Korea, Colombia and Panama. These agreements were supported by most agricultural member organizations. What do you think? Take our poll and feel free to comment. Thank you.

Here are some interviews you might have missed this week:

Juli Paladino, FS Partners, on using QR codes
Scott Myrick, New Holland, about what customers like about Boomer tractors

You can find the full e-Newsletter here and subscribe here.

ZimmNews

Hello ZimmComm Fans:

There seems to be a lot of optimism in the dairy industry based on our conversations with farmers and dairy business companies during the 2011 World Dairy Expo. The ZimmComm team has been on location this week covering the show for the 7th year in a row. We’ve got a lot of photos online and more stories to come on World Dairy Diary.

We have to mention the passing of Steve Jobs which was a big shock to us and a lot of you. Farm podcasting was made possible by the iPod and Agriblogging is just more fun on a Mac. Thank you Steve. You will be missed.

Our latest ZimmPoll question, “Do you think the world population will be 10 billion by 2050?” generated some mixed results. This prediction is being used by all kinds of organizations for all kinds of purposes. But how accurate is it? Here’s what you think. 40% said Exactly or really close; 24% said How can anyone know; 19% said Much more and 17% said Much Less. A lot of people point to a United Nations report for this number. However, they readily admit that no one can know. Here’s an excerpt from the 2004 report that says it pretty clearly. You can find the latest report with revisions here (pdf).

Projections recently issued by the United Nations suggest that world population by 2050 could reach 8.9 billion, but in alternative scenarios could be as high as 10.6 billion or as low as 7.4 billion. What will population trends be like beyond 2050? No one really knows. Any demographic projections, if they go 100, 200, or 300 years into the future, are little more than guesses. Societies change considerably over hundreds of years-as one can readily see if one looks back at where the world was in 1900, or 1800, or 1700. Demographic behaviour over such long time spans, like behaviour in many spheres of life, is largely unpredictable.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question,”How do you feel about the corn supply/demand status?”It has been a tough weather year in some areas of the corn belt. After listening to an NPR show yesterday that featured as a guest Bob Dinneen, Renewable Fuels Association, it was obvious there is a lot of worry and misinformation about our corn supply in the public and on the part of activist environmental groups. What do you think? Take our poll and feel free to comment.

Here are some interviews you might have missed this week:

Opening of new John Deere Olathe Facility
Mark Clarke, General Manager, World Dairy Expo
Steve Larson, Hoard’s Dairyman and National Dairy Shrine Guest of Honor
Charlie Hammer, WI grain farmer, going full precision with Ag Leader Technology

You can find the full e-Newsletter here and subscribe here.

ZimmNews

Hello ZimmComm Fans:

Chuck and Cindy are getting a break from the agriblogging highway. Chuck returned from the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Congress in Canada and Cindy attended the Renewable Energy Group (REG) official grand opening of the REG Albert Lea biodiesel plant in Minnesota.

Well, our latest ZimmPoll about jobs didn’t excite anyone judging by the low response. With jobs all the rage in the political scene maybe you’re burned out on the word? Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What is best for ag to add jobs to the economy?” 46% said All of the above to our choices. We also had 24% choose Support development of next generation biofuels; 18% choose Invest in rural economic development; 8% choose Pass FTAs with Colombia, Panama and Korea and 4% choose None of the above. We’ll see what happens as the budget and farm bill debates continue to unfold.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “Can farmers effectively reach out to consumers with social media?” Seems like a timely questions with Thursday’s Food Dialogues, a USFRA program driven by social media. You probably know where I come down on this. But with all our efforts, are we “reaching” consumers? What do you think? Did you participate? Did we reach the right audience?

We get asked a lot of questions about equipment to do farm podcasting with. Here’s a link to an ongoing series of posts highlighting various products you may be interested in.

Here’s some interviews and audio you might have missed this week:

REG President/COO Dan Oh at biodiesel plant grand opening
Hensall District Co-operative, Canada, CEO Earl Wagner
Richard Doyle, President, Dairy Farmers of Canada, on their supply management system
Rick Stott, Agri Beef Co, discusses USFRA Food Dialogues
Christina Connelly, MN Dept. of Ag, bioenergy programs/REG grand opening
Hans Stiekema, Ag Leader Technology, opening new markets

You can find the full e-Newsletter here and subscribe here.

ZimmNews

Hello ZimmComm Fans:

Chuck and Cindy are almost recovered from their post Farm Progress Show Syndrome and more stories are still being worked up for ZimmComm News Network websites. After a short break Chuck gets back on the Agriblogging Highway this weekend. He’s heading to Canada for the 2011 IFAJ Congress starting with a pre-Congress Master Class program for ag journalists. Chuck will be doing a presentation about integrating new media and traditional media. Then he gets to spend a day at the Canada Outdoor Farm Show before the official Congress program starts mid week. You’ll be able to follow along all week on AgWired! And in case you’d like to follow on Twitter, the official Congress hash tag is #IFAJ.

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “How many years before cellulosic ethanol matches corn ethanol production?” So what did you say? 42% said More than ten years; 23% said Five to ten years; 18% said Five years; 14% said Never and 3% said Next year. We’ve seen huge strides in the efficiency of corn ethanol production and research on the use of new feedstocks but we’re not quite there for mass quantity cellulosic production. Will we be? What do you think?

Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “Which is more important to rural America: GPS Service or Broadband Internet?” We thought it would be interesting you get your thoughts on this in light of the Lightsquared rural broadband service that seems to pose some serious problems for GPS service. Your input and thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Here are some interviews you might have missed this week:

FFA Update With DeLoss Jahnke/Geoffrey Miller
Richard Childress talks American Ethanol
USFRA announced The Food Dialogues
New AgChat Foundation board member Zack Hunnicut
Sheri Seger encourages support for NAMA ABEF
Mark Dehner, GROWMARK, supplying domestic fuel for FPS

You can find the full e-Newsletter here and subscribe here.

New Holland Boomer 555 Contest Goes Social

It’s hard to believe we’re half way through July and we haven’t updated you on all the things we’ve been doing. Could be because we’ve been doing a lot. So I’ve got more updating to do. But let’s just focus on a big announcement we made last week. It’s a project we’re doing for New Holland. Here’s the details.

Announcing the New Holland Boomer™ 555 Contest. Eight lucky winners will receive a 5-year lease (150-hour per year) on a New Boomer 30 with a 240TLA Loader with the 5-year Boomer Guard5 Limited Warranty. All you have to do is fill out the entry form and describe how you would use a New Holland compact tractor.

You can find out all you need to know, including contest rules and regulations, on the Boomer555.com blog. I’m going to be the Boomer™ 555 Contest blogger throughout this campaign, updating you frequently with announcements and sharing selected entries and feedback from the folks I meet. Yes, that does mean I’ll be out and about. Follow along on Twitter and Facebook too.

Here’s a picture of a Boomer 30. Picture that on your place!

So, let’s learn more about the contest from Doran Herritt, New Holland Brand Marketing Manager. We spoke by phone. Doran says New Holland decided to conduct the Boomer™ 555 Contest as part of their introduction of the new 5 year limited warranty on the new Boomer tractors. The 5′s represent 5 months to enter to win a 5 year lease on a Boomer 30 with a five year warranty. Doran encourages you to think creatively about how you would use a Boomer tractor/loader and enter the contest. Whatever you can dream up is okay. It’s time to get Boomer555 Fever!

You can listen to my conversation with Doran here: Doran Says - Get Boomer555 Fever

If you aren’t familiar with the New Holland Boomer Tractors then learn all about them on the New Holland website.

Get The Update To The AgWired App

Hey AgWired and iPhone fans. The AgWired App has a new update. You’ll need to go ahead and get it because now you can share the stories you find on AgWired as well as our other news sites, Domestic Fuel, Precision Pays and World Dairy Diary. And if you don’t have the AgWired App on your iPhone, then now’s the time to get it!

Just go to the iTunes store and search for AgWired if you don’t have it. If you already have it, then open iTunes, click on Apps and then click on search for updates. Download and sync your iPhone and you’re done. You do update your apps frequently don’t you?

Thanks for your support!

Agwired App In Android Market

The AgWired App is now available in the Android Market. You asked for it and you’ve got it. One of the new features we’re offering in this app (and soon to be added to the iPhone version) is the ability to share out stories via multiple mechanism like email, Twitter, etc.

Just like its iPhone predecessor, the app offers one-touch access to all the latest news and information in the agribusiness and agricultural marketing world posted on Agwired.com, including audio, photos and video, and connections to other ZimmComm news sites. The AgWired App features a news tab drop down menu to select ZimmComm News Network feeds as well as individual news on AgWired.com by category.

You can find the AgWired App in the Android Market with this link. The AgWired iPhone App has been downloaded onto almost 3,000 iPhones/iPod touches/iPads since we introduced it and is being opened for viewing between 3 to 5 times per day, showing a high level of use by those who have it.

I’ve been asked who we worked with to develop the AgWired App and will point you to rock solid mobile app developer WillowTree Apps.

App sponsors are being sought. Contact ZimmComm for more information, including rates. First time and early sponsor discounts available.