ZimmCast

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

This week’s program is part two of a series featuring conversations with the leadership of agricultural media and marketing associations. This week I’m sharing conversations with Samantha Kilgore, AAEA, The Agricultural Communicators Network, Lindsay Graber Runft, Livestock Publications Council and Kristy Mach/John Blue, Agricultural Relations Council.

Each of these organizations has had to cancel or postpone important annual events and the staff has had to deal with that as well as looking at alternative communications methods and what plans look like going forward. Learn how they've handles things and hear some good ideas and suggestions as well.

How has your company or organization has been affected and what are you learning during this trying time? Let me know.

This week's program is part one of at least two that feature conversations with the leadership of agricultural media and marketing associations. This week I'm sharing conversations with the National Agri-Marketing Association and Jenny Pickett, the National Association of Farm Broadcasting and Tom Brand and the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists/Canadian Farm Writers with Hugh Maynard.

Each of these organizations has had to cancel or postpone important annual events and the staff has had to deal with that as well as looking at alternative communications methods and what plans look like going forward.

Feel free to let me know how your company or organization has been affected and what you're learning during this trying time.

That's the ZimmCast for this week. I hope you enjoy it and thanks for listening.

In this week's program we're going to learn about Calyxt, a plant science company, doing some very interesting work with new technology. I spoke with Calyxt CEO, Jim Blome, about the work they are doing. He focuses on the future of food and how the types of technology being developed at the company is creating new products to give farmers more options to meet today's consumer demands.

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

In this week's program I'm featuring a conversation with John Demerly, CEO, CommoditAg, about the new app they launched during Commodity Classic. That was the last on location meeting either of us attended and it seems like a lot longer ago than it really is!

John says the app provides the opportunity for agricultural producers and farmers to research and order products anytime, anywhere with their mobile devices. He says they have a growing line-up of products available and just announced a "free shipping" program for the first time for customers.

To download the app, go to the Apple App Store for iOS devices and the Google Play Store for Android devices. To learn more about CommoditAg, visit commoditag.com.

In this week's program I'm sharing a conversation with Aidan Connelly, CEO, Cainthus. It has been quite some time since we've had this opportunity. We set a convenient time for each of us since he was in Ireland and I am here in the U.S.

During my conversation with Aidan we talk about the work Cainthus does and he provides his thoughts on the current COVID-19 problem. We also talk about the value of podcasts, especially in light of the difficulty for travel right now.

I'm also going to share the first episode of a new podcast series we're producing - Field Notes from Koch Agronomic Services. It debuted Wednesday and will be produced monthly moving ahead. The topic of the first show is Understanding Nitrogen and includes experts, Tim Laatsch, technical agronomy manager, and Michael Berry, director of brand expansion.

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

In this crazy pandemic panicked world I think we need a dose of normalcy. Don't you? Well, listening to a good podcast fits the bill IMO.

First though, I just want to say that ZimmComm is committed to be ready, willing and able to find creative solutions for your agricultural marketing and communications needs. 

It’s a challenging time to make marketing decisions due to the uncertainties with the global virus situation. Cindy and I are working with clients on "virtual" content projects like podcasts, releases and more. These are channels that don’t require travel! And these are services and skills we’ve honed since starting this company 16 years ago and an additional over 20 years of experience working in agricultural communications, mostly farm radio.

We know how tight budgets are, so these services are priced to work within yours. I’m available at your convenience to discuss how we can help you maximize your marketing dollars. Feel free to call or email.

So, back to this week's program feature. I'm sharing a conversation I just had with Mark Stock, co-founder of BigIron Realty. He's a farmer, auctioneer and investor and has a keen awareness as to the farmer’s perspective. Mark discusses the best strategies for buying, selling or using farmland to raise capital.

Some of the topic we cover include, strategies and what buyers need to know when purchasing farmland and property tax rules to explore and other ways farmers can use their land to generate revenue. These can included selling hunting rights, leasing land to other farmers and strategies for retiring farmers who want to profit from their land.

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

This week's program features a roundtable discussion I had during Commodity Classic in San Antonio, TX. I sat down with the CEO's of several Farm Credit associations: Aaron Johnson, Farm Credit Illinois, Bill Johnson, Farm Credit Mid America and Mark Jensen, Farm Credit Services of America (FCSAmerica) and Frontier Farm Credit.

Our topic was Volatility and how it is reshaping risk and financial management. We talked about how farmers are doing now in light of the volatility of the last year which includes weather extremes, disease and political uncertainty.

You'll hear these leaders talk about the short-term outlook and then looking ahead long-term with ideas about critical strategies for the future and what services Farm Credit can offer.

That's the ZimmCast for this week. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

In this week's program I'm sharing an interview Cindy did with RFA Senior Advisor, Bob Dinneen, who reflects on the 25 years of the National Ethanol Conference. I'm also sharing an interview I did at the conference with Kenny Hauk, Hauk Designs. Kenny built a custom Jeep Wrangler that runs on E85. It is a monster machine and will be touring the country with RFA. You can watch Kenny's show, Hauk Machines, on Amazon Prime to see the project in 2019 episodes.

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

In this week's program I talk about the whole concept of being an industry influencer on social media before sharing an interview with Trent Johnson, Owner, Greeley Hat Works. I met Trent in the NCBA Trade Show and learned a lot about hats.

There is a difference between western and cowboy hats and Trent explains why. He talks about the value of custom fitting a hat and how to take care of them. He also shares some stories of his experiences over the years making hats for movies and even for the military. He even took my measurements for a hat that might just work for this agriblogging photographer that has a big old flash on top of his camera!

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

In this week's program you'll hear Cindy share news and information from the National Biodiesel Conference and some of the interviews and audio we produced which was used on the Biodiesel Conference Blog.

Then I provide some examples of how well content we produce for virtual newsrooms performs on our AgNewsWire website. This would include audio downloads, ad impressions, social media engagement and impressions and of course, our photos.

Please contact me if you would like to learn more or receive a custom quote for how we can work with your company or organization to create meaningful content to amplify your communications & marketing efforts.