ZimmComm – New Media, LLC

Hello ZimmComm Fans:

This week Chuck got on the road with Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica for their 4th PRRS Area Regional Control & Elimination Seminar in Kansas City, MO. While he was in KC, MO he also attended the annual BCS Communications Holiday Party. Next week the ZimmComm team is back on the agriblogging highway with Chuck in Savanna, GA for the National Agricultural Aviation Association convention sponsored by BASF, Cindy in Chicago for the American Seed Trade Association CSS 2012 & Seed Expo while Jamie will be in Lexington, KY for the Alltech Global 500. That’s being out and about!

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, ” What gadget is on your Christmas wish list?”

Our poll results: Twenty-four percent said other; twenty percent said tablet; ten percent said wide screen TV; seven percent said desktop computer; three percent said smartphone; and three percent said notebook computer. Some of the things falling in the Other category include: Powerball Jackpot, camcorder, desktop hard drive, laser pointer, car and gun.

Chuck recently got his latest gadget – an iPad mini. He’s loving it.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “With harvest over what are your winter plans?” During the winter months, you may not see farmers out in the field but that doesn’t mean they’re not busy! So what will you be doing until next year’s planting season? Let us know!

Here are some interviews from this week you might have missed:
• Dr. Laura Batista, Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, PRRS ARC&E Seminar
• Doug Stark, President/CEO, Farm Credit Services of America, on services they offer
• Blake Curtis, Chairman, American Seed Trade Association, on biotechnology traits accord
• Corn grower, Kip Tom, on 2012 and upcoming 2013 seasons
• Ann Kopecky, Alltech, on this year’s Global 500

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

Hello ZimmComm Fans:

We are wishing everyone a very happy Thanksgiving holiday. And also a very hearty thank you to everyone one of you and all of those sponsors we have been blessed to work with over the years. As we get ready for our Thanksgiving meal we give #FoodThanks to all the people who produce the safe and bountiful food in our country.

The ZimmComm Team will be back on the road next week when Chuck heads to Kansas City, MO for the annual BCS Holiday Party and a Boehringer Ingelheim PRRS ARC&E event.

Here are some interviews you might have missed:
• Conley Nelson, NPB, talks about challenges for pork farmers
• Karen Jones, GROWMARK, talks about their cookbook
• Renee Picanso, Director, USDA Census & Survey Division
• Dr. Jennifer Holland, BASF, plant health benefits of F500 fungicides
• Bob Young, AFBF Economist, on impact of drought

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

Hello ZimmComm Fans:

It has been a busy week for the ZimmComm Team. Cindy attended the GROWMARK media tour with stops throughout Iowa. At the same time Chuck attended the USFRA Annual Mtg. and the New York Food Dialogues, hosted by CNN chief business editor, Ali Velshi. In case you missed the event you can still see it via the Food Dialogues website.

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “How do the election results make you feel?”

Our poll results: Thirty-two percent said disgusted; twenty-six percent said happy; fifteen percent said afraid; nine percent said sad; seven percent said mad; five percent said depressed/suicidal and four percent said apathetic. So, it looks like there were a wide range of emotions as the votes were being tallied but an almost 50/50 were disgusted while the others were happy. Pretty even with how the election turned out!

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “What’s your favorite Thanksgiving food?” Turkey will most likely bless the tables of many, but does your family have a special Thanksgiving food that just makes your taste buds dance? Let us know!

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

• Ali Velshi, CNN, moderator of Food Dialogues
• Chris Chinn/Janice Wolfinger, Faces of Farming & Ranching Finalists
• David Butler, Alltech, on Global 500

There are many more interviews on AgWired.com this week so please check it out. Ag media are reminded that they are free to use any audio we publish as well as our photos.

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

Hello ZimmComm Fans:

It is NAFB convention week in Kansas City, MO. The ZimmComm team has been taking photos and doing interviews, lots of interviews. Chuck, Cindy and Jamie did 63 Trade Talk interviews! It has been great as always to spend some quality time with our industry friends.

The AgWired App has been updated for the new iOS 6 and iPhone 5. The Android version is in the middle of being updated too. Got it on your smart phone? No? Then get it.

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Should foods containing GMO crops be labeled?” The Prop 37 ballot initiative in California prompted us to ask the question. Well, the initiative failed while our poll showed that most answered yes to our question by a very narrow margin. Interesting. Your thoughts? Feel free to chime in with a comment.

Our poll results: Just over fifty percent said Yes and just over forty nine percent said No.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “How do the election results make you feel?” Of course there are still votes being counted (what’s with Florida?) but we know the outcome and especially the big one for President. I will say I am not happy about that result. Take our poll and let us know how you feel.

Here are some interviews you might have missed this week:
• Pat Lohman, WineHawk Labs, talks about their special drones for precision ag
• NAFB Scholarship winner Paige Wallace
• NAFB Scholarship winner Spencer Chase
• NAFB Scholarship winner Stephanie Morgan
• Paul Joerger, President of American Society of Farm Managers & Rural Appraisers
• Opening remarks from three former ag secretaries
• Rodney Phelps, Monsanto, talks about their seed chipper

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

Hello ZimmComm Fans:

We moved. Well, actually we moved to a whole new web server. Last weekend all our website properties moved and it was a big job but Robert our webmaster got it done flawlessly. Bet you didn’t even notice did you? We’re now on the latest technology from Joyent and our already speedy websites have been even further optimized for a pleasant visitor experience. It’s not something you want to do often though but we believe in staying on the cutting edge of the technology available to us as we venture through the future of agricultural communications and marketing.

This week Chuck is back on the agriblogging highway for a first time visit to AgroNomics and the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Farm Managers & Rural Appraisers. Then he gets a short break before heading to Kansas City for next week’s National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention. We’re looking forward to seeing many of our friends in KC, MO!

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “How important will rural vote be in election?”

Our poll results: Sixty-five percent say very important and thirty-five percent said not important. It appears as though the majority of folks believe farmers and ranchers need to cast their vote. So remember, Election Day is Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Less than a week away!

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “Should foods containing GMO crops be labeled?” A great example of this is Prop 37 in California. It is estimated that 70 percent of our food contains GMOs. And with already rising food costs, will this added labeling requirement just increase what consumers pay for food? What do you think? Would it make a difference in the food you purchase?

Here are some interviews you might have missed this week:
• Craig Stout, GROWMARK director of lubricant operations, on product control
• Howard Halderman, Halderfam Farm Management, on land values
• Justin Bierschwale, JMP Land Services, on rural appraiser education
• Ross Shafer talks about being relevant to your customers
• Richard Kruse, Kruse Feed & Supply, shares memories
• Cindy Woodward, Prima Tech, talks about yellow boots

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

For several years now ZimmComm has enjoyed the web hosting services of the industry pioneer, Joyent. Why did we choose Joyent (originally TextDrive)? Because they not only provided state of the art hosting services and technology but seemed to embody that same willingness to try something new that we have. We have never been sorry.

This weekend we took another step forward with Joyent as we moved to the new Joyent Cloud.

Why constrain your ideas using yesterday’s cloud architecture and infrastructure? Build reliable and resilient applications on a high-performance cloud infrastructure service that powers many of the best mobile, social, gaming and e-commerce enterprises in the industry.

Joyent Cloud provides the essential features to develop, launch and scale web and mobile applications. Our high-performance cloud is designed to improve the productivity and success of application development teams and administrators. Rely upon the stability and reliability of Joyent to create your next innovation.

These folks have taken another big step forward with their move to the next innovation in cloud hosting. So we’re proud to be on their client list along with LinkedIn and Adobe!

But as good as the Joyent Cloud is we couldn’t do it without the Robert, the ZimmComm webmaster! Robert moved us without any disruptions or problems. He’s the best when it comes to not only what you see on our websites but also what you don’t see. So thanks to Robert and Joyent. Looking forward to many more years together.

Hello ZimmComm Fans:

This week Chuck got to meet a new sponsor, O.H. Kruse Grain & Milling. The company held it’s first ever dealer appreciation day at the International AgriCenter facilities in Tulare, CA and he was on the scene taking photos and conducting interviews. This was a fantastic event for the company and its customers. We hope to visit O.H. Kruse again!

While Chuck was in California, Jamie Johansen was in Minneapolis for the 2012 Export Exchange, courtesy of our long time sponsor, the Renewable Fuels Association. You can find her photos and interviews mostly on Domestic Fuel.com.

Hopefully you’ve booked the ZimmComm team to your event in 2013. Right????

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Have our efforts to educate consumers about agriculture been successful?”

Our poll results: No one said Yes, real improvement; fifty-two percent said Yes, but long way to go; thirty-five percent said No, minimal impact; three percent said No, no impact; and ten percent said Waste of time. It looks like many believe there’s room for improvement and our work is far from being done.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “How important will rural vote be in election?” It is a challenging time in agriculture for thousands of farmers and ranchers across the country. As the rural population goes to the poll booth to cast their vote for the candidate they believe supports farmers and ranchers, how important do you think their votes are? Let us know.

And remember, Election Day is Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Go cast your vote!

Here are some interviews from this week you might have missed:
• Mike Cornman, New Holland, talking TS Series Tractors at World Dairy Expo
• Ashli Cole, O.H. Kruse Grain & Milling, talks about company changes
• Chicago Council on Global Affairs Senior Fellow Robert Thompson talks trade barriers and food production
• Dr. Daniel Hillel, 2012 World Food Prize Laureate

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

Hello ZimmComm Fans:

Food is getting a world of attention this week in Des Moines, IA. It’s World Food Prize activities week and Cindy is there courtesy of our sponsor, Elanco. You can find Cindy’s photos here and follow her coverage here. She’s got lots of interviews and remarks for you to listen to.

Next week Chuck will be hitting the agriblogging highway to attend the O.H. Kruse Grain & Milling Dealer Appreciation event in Tulare, CA. Those activities will take place on Tuesday. While Chuck is on the west coast Jamie Johansen will be covering Export Exchange with our sponsor the Renewable Fuels Association.

As many budgets are being finalized for the new year, do you have ZimmComm in mind? We’d love to cover your event or assist you with your own marketing efforts. Right now we’ve got an opening for sponsorship of our weekly ZimmPoll as well. Our calendar for 2013 is filling up fast. Please contact Chuck or Dave Larson if you’d like more information or a proposal.

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What is most important for feeding growing world population?”

Our poll results: Fifteen percent said Precision ag technology; thirteen percent said Biotech hybrids; nine percent said Crop protection products; seven percent said Information technology; twenty-two percent said Natural resource conservation; six percent said Less government regulation; twenty-three percent said All of the above; and six percent said Other.

There is not a simple answer to this question. We put a number of options up there but through comments others were suggested too. One thing we can all agree on though is that farmers will do all they can to produce the safest, affordable food to feed our growing population that they can!

Other suggestions via comments include: Reduce food waste, Reduce post-harvest losses, Unleash the potential of Africa, Develop infrastructure, Improve farmers’ access to market, Give farmers the means to succeed through financing and extension services and Educate consumers to reduce over-consumption. All great ideas!

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “Have our efforts to educate consumers about agriculture been successful?” Agri-marketers continue to try to help educate the growing population of non-ag consumers. Another great example is USFRA, the largest agricultural communications effort of its kind and the goal is to speak with “one voice.” So how are we doing? Let us know here.

Here are some interviews from this week you might have missed:
• 2008 World Food Prize Laureates George McGovern/Bob Dole Press Conference
• General Mills CEO Kendall Powell hungry to help Africa
• Barry Lee, Slip Plate, on winterizing your equipment
• Claudia Garcia, Elanco Senior Director Global Corporate Affairs

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

Hello ZimmComm Fans:

The ZimmComm Team is on a little break from the agriblogging highway after Chuck covered World Dairy Expo. But there’s lots more coming up. Cindy is attending the CARS 2012 (Congress of Automotive Repair and Service) in New Orleans this weekend before joining Chuck for some family R&R up in Georgia. Then the next big adventure is the World Food Prize activities in Des Moines.

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What cooperatives play a role in your life/business?”

Our poll results: Ten percent said Electric/water/utilities; ten percent said Farm Credit/credit union; five percent said Farm supplies; twenty percent said Energy/biofuels; three percent said Farm commodity; three percent said Other; thirty-five percent said Two or more of the above; and fifteen percent said None.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “What is most important for feeding growing world population?” As of today, it is estimated at a little over 7 billion; by 2050 it is estimated it will be slightly over 9 billion. With a steadily increasing population, how do we feed everyone? What do you think?

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

Hello ZimmComm Fans:

It is World Dairy Expo time as Chuck has been to Madison, WI once again to cover the biggest dairy show in the world. Many thanks to Charleston|Orwig and New Holland for their sponsorship of his coverage on World Dairy Diary.com and AgWired. You can find his photos here.

After a short break the ZimmComm team rolls back into action at events like the Congress of Automotive Repairs & Service (CARS 2012), World Food Prize, Export Exchange and O.H. Kruse Customer/Dealer Mtg. So from New Orleans to Des Moines to Minneapolis to Tulare we’ll be burning up the agriblogging highway! Just wait until we get to November.

A farmer, friend and colleague of the agriculture industry is in critical condition at a Springfield, Missouri hospital and a fund has now been set up to help his family with related expenses. Kansas Corn & Sorghum Growers executive director Jere White was involved in a motorcycle accident on September 28 in northwest Arkansas. You can learn more and find out how you can help with expenses for the family by going to this link.

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What grade would you give the new student lunch program?” The new guidelines from USDA have generated a very heated response from parents and kids across the county.

Our poll results: seventeen percent said A; six percent said B; nine percent said C; nineteen percent said D; and forty-nine percent said F. Looks like there are a lot of frustrated parents (and kids) on this issue.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “What cooperatives play a role in your life/business?” October is National Cooperative Month and lots of rural folks rely on local cooperatives for everyday things like fuel and home mortgages. Which ones impact your life? Let us know.

Here are some interviews you may have missed this week. As always, our audio is free to download and use, especially if you’re a member of the ag media!

• Mike Opperman, talks about how Charleston|Orwig is hoofing it for charity
• The Fabulous Farm Babe talks about Wisconsin agriculture
• Ag Secretary Vilsack World Dairy Expo Town Hall Mtg.
• Janet Keller, World Dairy Expo, previews the show
• Car Clinic Network host Bobbi Likis and RFA’s Robert White talk about upcoming CARS Show
• WI Ag Secretary Ben Brancel talks about Wisconsin agriculture

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