ZimmComm – New Media, LLC

Hello ZimmComm Fans:

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.

Hello ZimmComm Fans:

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.

Hello ZimmComm Fans:

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.

Hello ZimmComm Fans:

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.

Hello ZimmComm Fans:

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.

Hello ZimmComm Fans:

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.

Hello ZimmComm Fans:

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.

Hello ZimmComm Fans:

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.

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.

Hello ZimmComm Fans:

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.