The ZimmComm team was out and about this week with Chuck covering the International Poultry Expo (photos) and Cindy doing duty at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit (photos). They hit the road again next week for Nashville and the Cattle Industry Convention.

We haven’t mentioned our AgNewsWire service recently but thought we’d bring it back to your attention. We started this service as Talking News Releases almost eight years ago and it’s still going strong. Our idea then was to include sound bites with your releases for the broadcasters or web casters who wanted them but sometimes had difficulty reaching your representatives or were on quick deadline. Our database of agricultural editors has continued to grow and develop with additions from client agencies and our own efforts to keep it current and updated. We keep it real simple. Send us your release and we send it out for a very fair price. If you want to include multimedia files like audio sound bites we can record them for you and include links to them within the release. We’re simple and quick and offer package discounts if you order more than one. Just email Chuck or Cindy with questions or just send your release and send date and consider it done!

Our latest ZimmPoll asked a very timely question since it’s on a topic that is the subject of a cover story on USA Today. We asked, “How will proposed changes to child labor in agriculture regulations affect farms?” Seventy percent said Negatively, seventeen percent said No Effect and only thirteen percent said Positively.

You may know that last fall the Department of Labor proposed changes that many believe could have major impacts on family farms and farm life (proposed rule – pdf). This is just another example of unnecessary government intrusion in private business and lives in my opinion. We don’t need it but . . . as if the government knows better. Riiight. You can find out more from this DOL early news release.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “Do you agree with President Obama’s call for more clean (renewable) energy?” Let us know what you think. He definitely issued a call during his State of the Union speech last night. Here’s an excerpt:

We have subsidized oil companies for a century. That’s long enough. It’s time to end the taxpayer giveaways to an industry that’s rarely been more profitable, and double-down on a clean energy industry that’s never been more promising. Pass clean energy tax credits and create these jobs.

Here are some interviews that you may have missed this week:
• Gene Gregory, President/CEO, United Egg Producers, on HSUS agreement and proposed legislation
• Scott Carter, Novus International, on IPE Week activities
• Brad Albin, REG, President of Iowa RFA, on their 6th Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit
• Joe Jobe, CEO, National Biodiesel Board, on RFS2
• Iowa Governor Terry Branstad addresses Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit

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

Next up on the agriblogging highway for the ZimmComm team is the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit and International Poultry Expo. Follow along on AgWired and Domestic Fuel!

In our latest ZimmPoll we asked the question, “Do you think there is currently an “Ag Bubble?” It looks like most think so since 66% said Yes and 34% said No. That’s kind of a pessimistic outlook don’t you think? If you think we’re in a bubble please feel free to comment on why. We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “How will proposed changes to child labor in agriculture regulations affect farms?” Last fall the Department of Labor proposed changes that many believe could have major impacts on family farms and farm life. At best it seems like there are some good intentions without careful consideration of the consequences and then there’s always that “how does the Dept. of Labor interpret the rules thing.” A public comment period ended on December 1, 2011.

Here are some interviews you might have missed this week:

• Lyn Cacella, Farm Credit, talks Florida NAMA
• Amy Bradford, GROWMARK, talks about International Year of Cooperatives

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

Have you considered sponsoring the ZimmComm team at your 2012 event or sponsoring our coverage of an industry event? It’s a good time to get on our calendar since things are booking fast. Think of it like a local radio remote broadcast where the announcer is broadcasting live from a local business and doing interviews with people there. Only in our case we do it on the web and include photos and even video! You get professional photography done in news style along with interviews that are posted on one of our news websites or yours. Lots of ag media utilize the content we produce which just adds value to your sponsorship too.

Some events we are seeking sponsors for include the National Biodesel Conference, National Ethanol Conference, Agri-Marketing Conference, NAFB Washington Watch, Fuel Ethanol Workshop, Ag Media Summit, NAMA Bootcamp, IFAJ Congress, Husker Harvest Days, Farm Progress Show, World Dairy Expo, Sunbelt Ag Expo, NAFB Convention and Ag Retailers Convention.

To get a quote or learn more about our sponsorships please contact Chuck or Dave.

In our latest ZimmPoll we asked the question, “What do you think of the LightSquared broadband internet proposal?” This controversial issue has pitted GPS services and hardware manufacturers against those who want better broadband internet service in their area and agriculture is only one of the industries that could be impacted. Interestingly, our poll results were mostly against the proposal until one afternoon when almost all of the “positive” results were posted. That suggests that there was a concerted effort to impact the results. So here they are. We had 73% say that the proposal would be Good for ag/rural America and 23% say it would be Bad for ag/rural America. What do you think about that?

Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “Do you think there’s currently an “Ag Bubble”?” Let us know what you think.

Some interviews you might have missed this week:
• Interview with Beth Burgy, Broadhead and President, NAMA
• AFBF President, Bob Stallman, on policy direction
• Preparing for 2012 cotton season with Gerald Simmons, FMC
• Ag Secretary Vilsack at Pearl Harbor on biodiesel

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

The ZimmComm team is back on the agriblogging highway this week. Chuck just returned from the Beltwide Cotton Conferences in Orlando. He’s got quite a few more stories and interviews to post. Cindy will be heading off to the American Farm Bureau Federation convention this weekend.

Wild weather was the winner for the biggest ag story of 2011 according to our latest ZimmPoll. We asked the question, “What do you think is biggest ag story of 2011?” Wild weather got 40% or the response followed by Record farm land value – 17%; New free trade agreements – 16%; High commodity prices – 16%; Super committee “no”- farm bill – 11% and Record U.S. farm exports at a big fat 0%. Weather, it’s always on the top of a farmer’s mind and with good reason.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “What do you think of the LightSquared broadband internet proposal?” This is certainly a hotly debated topic with GPS companies and users very concerned over the implications. If you need more information about it you can find lots of resources online here, here and here.

Here are some interviews from this week that you might have missed:
• Stu Throop, FMC, talks about cotton products
• Berrye Worsham, Cotton Inc., discusses Cotton Life Cycle Inventory & Assessment
• Bob Dinneen, RFA, on top ethanol stories in 2012

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

Cindy was thinking to herself one day, “I wish there was a calendar that had all the ag events for the year on it.” We’ve never seen such a thing, so she decided to make one.

It was not an easy task, taking her about a month to get it the way she wanted it, including photos from events throughout this past year and getting as many dates for the major ag events included. Not sure how it would actually look in person, we ordered a limited quantity to give as Christmas gifts to some of our clients. We think they actually came out pretty sweet and now we are wondering if there is any interest among ZimmComm/AgWired fans to get their very own copy. The cost is $20 each plus $2 shipping/handling.

If you’d like to purchase your copy please visit this link: Purchase 2012 ZimmComm Ag Events Calendar

Gadgets – 28%, are tops on the Christmas gift list according to our latest ZimmPoll, followed closely by Paying Bills – 25%. Those choices were followed by Clothes, 19%; Other, 14%; Farm Equipment, 9% and Tools, 5%. It’s very interesting that no one chose Food! Wow. Food makes a great gift don’t you think? Maybe we’re all so well fed that our focus has turned to other things? What do you think?

Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “Is Ethanol production good for ALL of Agriculture?” There’s a huge amount of on-going rhetoric about this subject and it seems to be a very divisive issue within the ag community. Let’s put it this way, the most heated arguments/debates We’ve heard or participated in this year were on this subject! What do you think?

Here are some interviews from this week that you might have missed:

• First AgChat Foundation Exec. Dir. Emily Zweber and President Darin Grimm
• Patrick Westhoff, FAPRI, on farm markets outlook
• Rick Tolman, CEO, NCGA, on receiving St. Louis Agribusiness Leader of Year Award
• Chuck Spencer, GROWMARK govt. affairs director, on farm bill
• Chris Waram, BASF Service Tech, on working with custom applicators in North Dakota

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

As you may be noticing, the ZimmComm team has been back on the agriblogging highway. We’re getting a break at the end of the year but things will heat up fast after the first. Which prompts us to ask if you’ve got the team scheduled for your event or locked in your sponsorship of our coverage of an industry event. You’ll get professional photographers and farm podcasters who will provide you with significant “content” you can use in a variety of ways – newsletters, websites, posters, brochures, magazines, broadcasts and just about anything you can imagine. And that doesn’t include online exposure on some of the most search engine optimized websites in agriculture starting with our flagship, AgWired.com! How about getting on our calendar. It is already filling up pretty fast. Some industry events we don’t have on our schedule yet include Beltwide Cotton Conference, World Ag Expo and the Agricultural Relations Council annual mtg. Please contact Chuck or Dave Larson for a proposal.

Speaking of the agriblogging highway, Cindy just returned from the National Agricultural Aviation Association Convention in Las Vegas courtesy of BASF and Chuck returned the end of last week from the Boehringer Ingelheim 2011 PRRS ARC&E Seminar in Chicago. You can full coverage from them including photos on AgWired.

In our latest ZimmPoll we asked the question, “With net farm income up this year, how is your income?” The idea for the question came from the recent USDA Economic Research Service Net Farm Income Forecast that showed a 28% increase over 2010. The responses to our question were Higher – 34.4%; Lower – 31.2% and Same – 34.4%.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “What’s tops on your Christmas gift list?” If your income is the same or higher than last year perhaps you have a little more in the disposable category for holiday shopping. What categories are tops for you this year?

Here are some interviews from this week that you might have missed:
• NAAA/BASF Scholarship Winner Jordan Loewen
• NAAA/BASF Scholarship Winner Brad Taylor
• NAAA President Rick Richter
• PRRS North-Central Illinois control project update from Dr. Joel Garbes

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

It’s back to the agriblogging highway for the ZimmComm team this week. Chuck started off by attending the AgChat Foundation planning and board meeting in Milwaukee. It’s hard to believe that over two years have passed since farmers started communicating weekly via an online Twitter chat session. The Foundation is going on two years old itself and has plans to continue to grow and help engage more and more farmers in the online conversation so they can tell their own story. If your company or organization would like to become involved or assist financially please let Chuck know.

From Milwaukee Chuck travelled to Chicago for the Boehringer Ingelheim PRRS ARC&E Seminar. This annual seminar takes place just prior to the International PRRS Symposium. The theme of BIVI’s seminar this year is “Change the Game.” Eliminating or at least controlling this swine disease is the end goal and progress is being made. Chuck took photos and conducted interviews for BIVI with many of them being posted onto AgWired.

Cindy hits the road this weekend for the National Agricultural Aviation Association convention courtesy of sponsor BASF. She’ll be in Las Vegas providing coverage on AgWired so please check it out!

It looks like Facebook is still the big dog with this community. In our latest ZimmPoll we asked the question, “Do you use Facebook or Google+?” 50% of you said Facebook while only 7% said Google+. However, 20% said Both while 23% said Neither. Interesting. Looks like Google+ has a ways to go.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “With net farm income up this year, how is your income?” USDA’s Economic Research Service released it’s Net Farm Income Forecast update yesterday showing a 28% increase over 2010. The report also states, “Net cash income, at $109.8 billion, is forecast up $17.5 billion (18.9 percent) from 2010, and $34.2 billion above its 10-year average (2001-2010) of $75.6 billion.” Wow. How about you? How’s your income doing this year compared to last?

Here are some interviews from this week that you might have missed:
• Iowa Corn Caucus Press Conference
• Mike Hofer, BASF, talks about grower incentives
• GROWMARK’s Tim Piper talks about AgGateway
• Don McLean, FS GreenPlan Solutions, talks about field trial results

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

We wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving Day week in advance. Feel free to add your #FoodThanks thoughts to the online conversation taking place right now.

During the last year we’ve conducted an informal series of interviews with leadership at agricultural marketing agencies. If your agency is looking at how to market its brand in 2012, now is the time to contact Chuck for proposals to utilize the AgWired community to achieve your goals. The same goes for you ag media companies as well as agribusinesses and farm member organizations. Leverage our community to help you promote your brand!

It looks like there are a lot of Ron Paul supporters out there. In our latest ZimmPoll we asked the question, “Which Republican candidate for President is best for ag?” The big leader was Ron Paul at 41% followed by Newt Gingrich, 16%; Herman Cain, 13%; Rick Perry, 8%; Rick Perry, 8%; Mitt Romney, 7%; Jon Huntsman, 6%; Michele Bachmann, 5%; Gary Johnson, 3% and Rick Santorum, 2%. Does this surprise you?

Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “Will higher cost (13%) of Thanksgiving dinner affect your meal?” The increased cost of a traditional Thanksgiving meal comes from an announcement by the American Farm Bureau Federation last week.

AFBF’s 26th annual informal price survey of classic items found on the Thanksgiving Day dinner table indicates the average cost of this year’s feast for 10 is $49.20, a $5.73 price increase from last year’s average of $43.47.
You can find the announcement here.

Here are some interviews you might have missed this week:
• Katie Dierker, John Deere, talks about Project “Can Do”
• Matt Roberts, Ohio State University, talks about trends in energy/alt fuels
• Pat Morrow, BASF, loves NAFB
• Jeff Trinca, Coalition for E85

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

It has been an awesome week for the ZimmComm Team. Chuck and Cindy have been attending the 2011 NAMA Trends in Agriculture conference and NAFB Convention. You can follow coverage on AgWired. NAMA Trends Photos – NAFB Convention Photos

Chuck received some very special recognition from the National Agri-Marketing Association on Wednesday. He was announced as this year’s recipient of the NAMA Professional Development Award of Excellence for Public Relations. Chuck says, “I am very honored and humbled to be selected for this award by my peers in the agrimarketing community. It really means a lot to me.” Chuck was also appointed to the NAMA Executive Committee and will start serving his term at the first of the year.

Our latest ZimmPoll seems to have hit a nerve judging by the number of responses. We asked, “What is the cause of obesity?” Eighty six percent said Bad eating/exercise habits! Only 8% said Over processed food, 4% said Genetics, 2% said Fast food restaurants and no one chose Lack of food regulation. Eating really is a personal choice as well as a necessity. Seems like personal responsibility trumps all else here. What do you think?

Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “Which Republican Candidate for President is best for Ag?” There are a lot of them and we’ve listed the main contenders of the moment. What do you think? Feel free to add a comment here.

Here are some interviews you might have missed this week:

• Abe Hughes, New Holland, talks about new discount program and Lil Tug auction
• Secretary of Ag, Tom Vilsack, speaking at NAFB Convention
• Mark Ramsey, Mark Ramsey Media, talks about trends in media landscape
• NAMA Past President, Vicki Henrickson, BCS Communications, talks about “state of NAMA”

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

The ZimmComm team is getting ready for Kansas City week. There’s a lot going on. First up will be the annual meeting of the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance followed by the NAMA Trends in Agriculture conference. Then it’s on to the NAFB convention. We’ll have full coverage on AgWired. To make it easy get the AgWired smartphone app (iPhone and Android)! If you are attending the NAFB convention and want to know more about using your smartphone for broadcasting purposes, plan to sit in on Chuck’s session on Wednesday at 3:15pm.

Our latest ZimmPoll didn’t excite too many people judging by the response. Thanks to all of you who did take the poll though. We asked the question, “How do you view the new free trade agreements for U.S. ag?” The majority view the agreements as Positive at 54%, while 28% view them as Negative and 18% as Neutral. I guess we’ll see what happens. You know that time will tell!

Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “What is the cause of obesity?” It seems like we read about this “crisis” all the time. Is this something we should look to the government to fix? Or is this something that people need to take personal responsibility for? Do we blame someone else or look in the mirror? Are efforts like the USDA’s Choose My Plate having any affect on obesity? What do you think? Let us know and thank you.

Here are some interviews you might have missed this week:
• Harry Cooney, GROWMARK Energy, talks about fuel markets
• Tom Buis, Growth Energy, talks about American Ethanol & NASCAR

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

This week the agriblogging highway took Chuck to Moultrie, GA and the Sunbelt Ag Expo. You canfind some stories from the show on AgWired. He was there primarily to obtain some video for posting onto the New Holland Boomer 555 Contest blog. This is a social media driven promotion for New Holland’s compact tractor line and the new Boomer Guard 5 Warranty.

Chuck shot the video there with the new iPhone 4S. He’s more convinced than ever that this is the best all around mini computer/phone/camera on the market. It was a test and confirmed that the camera in the new iPhone is a whole level better than the one in the previous model. Feel free to ask him about using the new iPhone for agriblogging and farm podcasting!

Earlier in the week Chuck moderated FoodChat for the first time. FoodChat replaces the weekly AgChat Twitter conversation once a month on the 3rd Tuesday. The sessions take place from 8-10pm, eastern. He has moderated AgChat a number of times over the years (years?, hard to believe). Follow along using the hashtags, #FoodChat or #AgChat.

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Should the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) be changed?” A majority at 53% said, No, it’s working as intended; 32% said Get rid of it entirely and 15% said Yes, change to adapt to corn stocks.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “Are Farm Show Smartphone Apps Useful?” What do you think? The latest one on Chuck’s phone is the Sunbelt Know on the Go App. Take our poll and feel free to comment. Thank you.

Here are some interviews/audio that you might have missed this week:

Chip Blalock, Sunbelt Ag Expo, Executive Director
Southeastern Farmer of the Year, Thomas Porter, award remarks
Brad Scott, California dairy farmer, talks about Twitter at World Dairy Expo

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

So I took over 1,500 photos, conducted 14 interviews and posted them along with a couple of video clips to our websites and the Iowa Corn Promotion Board Facebook page. They got copies for their own use too. That’s a hallmark of our event coverage! It’s kind of like an old fashioned live radio remote on the internet and you get high quality production at the same time!

You can listen to audio from the start of the race here: Iowa Indy Corn 250 Start

Here’s where you can find my photos: Iowa Corn Indy 250 Photo Album

Darren says that a blog allows you to build a community around a niche topic and that if you are successful doing so you’ll find advertisers who want to be a part of it.

You can listen to my interview with Darren here: bwe-09-rowse.mp3

BlogWorld Expo Photo Album

He says the exhibit show has been packed and I can attest to that since I’ve had to wait at times to get an opportunity to speak with an exhibitor. He says next year’s dates are October 14-16 back here in Las Vegas.

Rick says that one of the beautiful things about new media is that it allows a company or an event to have a media outlet since most of us are in niche topical areas and it may not be big enough to even be mentioned on network television. He says new and social media “cuts out the middle man” and let’s you communicate directly which is how we naturally converse. It’s a tremendous benefit for small business.

You can listen to my interview with Rick here: bwe-09-calvert.mp3

BlogWorld Expo Photo Album

It’s relatively easy to measure downloads and subscribers with services like Libsyn or Blubrry. Results might require conducting a survey of your listeners to determine what they’re doing. For influence Leesa suggests looking at your social networking community with attention to things like Twitter follower growth. In our conversation we also discuss what sponsors or advertisers want to see to show their return on the investment they’ve made in your podcast.

You can listen to my interview with Leesa here: bwe-09-barnes.mp3

BlogWorld Expo Photo Album

They surveyed bloggers this past year and he’s showing us some selected statistics. He started out by saying that the blogosphere is very healthy and contrary to media reports otherwise, bloggers are blogging even more than last year. Of the professional bloggers, 40 percent have worked in traditional media. He says, “Blogs are media.” I fully agree with that.

I’ll do my best to get an interview with him and update this post if I do.

Post Update: I caught Richard on his way out after his keynote address and you can listen to my interview with him here: bwe-09-jalichandra.mp3

BlogWorld Expo Photo Album

He says that not only do blogs increase your searchability but also your results because you’re making the searcher happier. He says to remember that social media is about people. It’s about human beings and blogs help articulate the humanity of the organization.

Chris is seen in the photo talking with some BlogWorld participants after his talk.

Listen to my interview with Chris here: bwe-09-baggot.mp3

BlogWorld Expo Photo Album

After the opening session I did get to speak with Laura, Pistachio Consulting. Laura says that the main message she wanted people to walk away with was “Be Awesome.” She also wanted to plant the idea of using social networking mechanisms like Twitter to connect with other people and get your ideas out in the world where they might yield awesome results.

She says Twitter has helped take her from a busy stay at home Mom to giving the keynote here, publishing a book and launching her business. She points out how well Twitter works for business since there are so many Twitter tools.

Listen to my interview with Laura here: bwe-09-fitton.mp3

Next year Tim’s moving the conference to Las Vegas to as he puts it, “move it to the next level.” Over 2,000 people were registered here for this year’s conference and my guess is that there’s still a lot of growth potential. For example, I’ll bet some international expos would work well like in Europe or Asia.

Thanks to Gary Cooper, Southeast AgNet, for taking the picture while I interviewed Tim in front of the trade show entrance.

You can listen to my interview with Tim here: pnme-07-bourquin.mp3

After our initial meeting of the new organization today I interviewed her. She explains how why she and some others have gone to the trouble of creating a new organization. Basically it has to do with creating some new media industry standards that will allow those of us who create content to better monetize our products. I’m all for that.

You can listen to my interview with Susan here: pnme-07-bratton.mp3