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.

We sincerely hope you are enjoying your holiday time as much as we are. The ZimmComm team is taking it easy on the Gulf coast right now but gets back into action next week when Chuck goes to the Beltwide Cotton Conferences and Cindy heads to the American Farm Bureau Federation Convention.

If you would like a great 2012 calendar of major agricultural events featuring a lot of our photos from many of those events during 2011 please get your order in for one of our ZimmComm 2012 Agricultural Events Calendars. The cost is $22 which included shipping.

Happy New Year!

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’ve got a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. For starters, we can’t say enough how much we appreciate our clients and sponsors. Your support means more than we can say. We also thank everyone in the ZimmComm community. We’ll continue to strive to bring you our best. We’re also thankful to America’s farmers and everyone involved in the production/processing/distribution of food. For that we give #FoodThanks!

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.

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.

Here are some interviews from this week you might have missed:
• Heather Covrig/Sara Steever talk about new Paulsen Marketing though paper
• Garry Niemeyer, NCGA President, talks farm bill
• Bob Young, AFBF Economist, talks farm bill
• Robert White, Renewable Fuels Association, on status of E-15 waiver

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.

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.

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.

There has been a lot of buzz this week about the new Apple mobile operating system, iOS 5 and the new iPhone 4S. Chuck has already shared some thoughts about iOS 5 and by the time you read this he’ll probably be setting up his new iPhone 4S. So, if you’ve got questions you know who to ask.

He’s also getting an increasing number of questions about Google+ and will be participating in a social media training webinar on this subject next week for the National Corn Growers Association. You can look at the numbers and see that there over 800 million on Facebook and just over 40 million on G+. But what does that mean? Our suggestion is to get your G+ account and see for yourself. If you have questions feel free to ask Chuck. As you might know, he’s not shy about sharing!

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question,”How do you feel about the corn supply/demand status?”Sounds like there’s a little worry out there according to the results. 42% answered, Worried – there’s not enough; 34% said No worries – there’s plenty; 13% said, Don’t care and 11% said It will be better next year. If you’re worried, why?

Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “Should the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) be changed?” What do you think? Take our poll and feel free to comment. Thank you.

Here are some interviews or other audio that you might have missed:

Thad Simons, Novus International, interview at St. Louis Ag Club Mtg.
Travis Maier, Morgan & Myers, Badger NAMA President
Katie Wirkus, 64th Alice in Dairyland
John Schouten, CEO, World Wide Sires
Joel Groskreutz, President/CEO, Accelerated Genetics
Howard Brown, GROWMARK Agronomy Services Manager, fall nitrogen management

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

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.

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.

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.

In case you didn’t get it or just want to look at it online then you can find it here: December ZimmNews

Some highlights include:

• New Media Tip
• Welcome Amanda Nolz
• Where Have We Been
• AgWired Mobile
• Best of the ZimmCast

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for reading.

In case you didn’t get it or just want to look at it online then you can find it here: November ZimmNews

Some highlights include:

• New Media Tip
• Drive Green With John Deere
• JackPlotVegas.com
• Where Have We Been
• NAMA/NAFB Meetings
• Best of the ZimmCast

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for reading.

In case you didn’t get it or just want to look at it online then you can find it here: October ZimmNews

Some highlights include:

• New Media Tip
• Where Have We Been
• Where Are We Going
• New Media Training for COSDA
• Power of YouTube for John Deere
• Best of the ZimmCast

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for reading.

In case you didn’t get it or just want to look at it online then you can find it here: September ZimmNews

Some highlights include:

• New Media Tip
• Where Have We Been
• Where Are We Going
• Southern Peanut Farmers Blog
• Precision Pays Has New Look
• Best of the ZimmCast

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for reading.

In case you didn’t get it or just want to look at it online then you can find it here: August ZimmNews

Some highlights include:

• New Media Tip
• Where Have We Been
• Where Are We Going
• NCGA Blog Wins Award
• Best of the ZimmCast

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for reading.

Here’s some of what you’ll find in this month’s ZimmNews:

• New Media Tip
• Where Have We Been
• Where Are We Going
• An AgWired MoJo

I hope you like it and thank you for reading!

If for any reason you didn’t receive it and would like to then you’ve got choices. You can subscribe to our ZimmNews using this link or you can view an archived version of the newsletter with this one.

This edition of the ZimmNews contains the following sections:

New Media Tip
Where Have We Been
Where Are We Going
What Others Are Saying
Best of the ZimmCast
The AgWired We
Submit Your Questions

Feedback is already rolling in. For example, I’ve already had a new “What Others Are Saying” emailed in as follows:

“Gee, I can even keep up-to-date on my family vacation during Spring Break…if I can avoid my wife and kids killing me for using my Blackberry.”

Signed,
Loving it in Paradise

Also in this month’s ZimmNews is a coupon for first time users of our AgNewsWire service. I hope you like it and thanks for reading!

You can read the December ZimmNews by downloading it here (Word doc).

New Media tip:

Joining the online conversation is becoming easier and easier. Starting a blog or a podcast can be done with tools you may already have. But you don’t actually even have to start one of these to get your message online and in a search engine friendly environment. Think YouTube and Flickr. There are other sites out there but these are the ones we recommend you focus on. If you’ve got a point and shoot digital camera, chances are it shoots pretty good video/audio. Even today’s smart phones will let you get in on the action. Take the new Helio Ocean as an example. With a YouTube account you can easily upload video clips, which can include interviews with key company personnel, product demos, event activities, the list is endless. With Flickr you can upload your still images of many of the same content ideas. In both cases, make sure you add all the key word tags you can think of which will help your members or customers find you. Both services provide you with ready made hyperlinks and code to place your content on your website or in electronic documents like emails or newsletters. There’s a subscription mechanism using RSS built into both services so people can subscribe to your content too!

Keep an eye on AgWired this coming week to see and hear all about what’s going on in Louisville at the annual gathering of the AAEA, LPC, ABM, NACT, IFAJ and ARC. It’s an alphabet soup of a gathering. Chuck will be enlightening people on the subjects of Blogging for Business and Podcasting for Publishers.

New Media Tip: One of the things we get asked about most is the comment feature on blogs. It can be very scary to some and disappointing to others. What if someone writes something negative? What if I don’t get many comments? The list goes on and on. If you’re not writing in a confrontational style or about a controversial subject then you may not receive many comments. Most people don’t take the time to write. It’s kind of like people calling a talk show on the radio. The percentage of those listening who do is miniscule. Keep in mind that one of the benefits of business blogging is that you’re putting a more personal face on your business and your customers or members will appreciate that. You also need to know that with a blog you have complete control over commenting. You can set your blog up so that the only comments that are made public are approved by you. You can even edit them before approving them! And of course you can delete them. By allowing people to post comments you’re inviting them into “the conversation.” That’s part of what this is all about. If you’d like to know more about this aspect of blogging just give Chuck a call. Here’s a real helpful link to Lifehacker with suggestions for posting blog comments.