ZimmCast

This week's program includes several interviews I did at the inaugural Heart of American Agricultural Hemp Classic in Independence, MO. The event was organized by the Missouri Hemp Association.

Farmers have a lot of questions about hemp and in the interviews you will hear from presenters and farmers who have some answers. You can find a lot more in our virtual ag newsroom on AgNewsWire too.

So, in this episode you'll hear from: Joe Zahner, Counsel, Missouri Hemp Association; James Bennett, Yeoman; Luke Poindexter, MoCan Extracts and Bill Cook, Executive Director, Missouri Hemp Association.

At the end of the program I take a look ahead at the National Biodiesel Conference taking place this week in Tampa, FL. Cindy and will be there for the 15th year producing content for the Biodiesel Conference Blog!

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. In this week's program my poor laryngitis recovering voice takes a look back at 2019 with a list of the top posts on AgWired and some statistics about photos, audio and video.

I also share an excerpt of an interview that was produced in October of 2019 and had the highest number of downloads. It was an interview I did with Geoff Cooper, Renewable Fuels Association. Next I shared an end of the year interview Cindy did at the last event we attended, the 2019 ASTA CSS and Seed Trade Expo. Cindy interviewed ASTA President/CEO, Andy Lavigne, about the event.

If you’re interested in becoming a sponsor of the ZimmCast, want to suggest a topic, need help producing a podcast, then please let me know. I’m AgriBlogger on Twitter or just email [email protected].

That’s the ZimmCast for this week. I hope you’ve enjoyed it and thank you for listening.

In this week's program I spoke with the leadership of the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA). 

In the program you'll hear from past Chair, Troy Johnson, Wilbur-Ellis, as he talks about his term leading the board. Then next up will be Rod Wells, GROWMARK, new Chair for ARA, as he talks about his outlook and plans for the coming two years. Then finally, I talked with Daren Coppock, ARA CEO, about how this year's conference went.

You can find  a lot more interviews, audio and photos from the conference in our AgNewsWire virtual ag newsroom.

In this week's program you can hear Cindy talk with Wayne Gale, Stokes Seeds and Chairman of the American Seed Trade Association. I then talk with Bill Cook, Executive Director of the Missouri Hemp Association about their inaugural Heart of America Agricultural Hemp Classic.

Wayne talks about hemp because it is a topic many members of ASTA have been asking about. Cindy and I will be attending the annual ASTA CSS & Seed Expo in Chicago this month.

Then I will be attending the Heart of America Agricultural Hemp Classic in January. 

There is a lot of information being published suggesting that growing hemp will provide new revenue streams for farmers but at the same time I've seen stories saying we have a glut of hemp on the market and farmers need to be very careful of their decisions. So what is right? I don't know yet. This new crop, which is an old crop, has a lot of potential and the rules, regulations and infrastructure to support it is in the start up phase.

Learn some more about it in this week's program and feel free to contact me if you have questions. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

In this week's program I talk with Rita Frazer, RFD Radio Network, now President of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting and Lorrie Boyer, KSIR, now past-President of NAFB.

Both farm broadcasters talk about the convention that just took place in KC, MO but also talk about their year as president, past and future.

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

This week I attended the inaugural Florida Industrial Hemp Conference & Expo in Orlando. Hemp has become a hot topic in agriculture today since so many states have created legislation allowing it to be grown and more are in the process. That includes my home state of Florida.

I asked all the people I spoke with or interviewed during the Conference how USDA’s announced interim final rule on the Domestic Hemp Production Program would affect the budding industry and their company or organization. It appears that Florida and USDA are taking big steps to create some certainty frameworks for farmers to grow a product that can be made into thousands and thousands of products.

Includes in the program are: Florida Department of Agricultural and Consumer Services, Director of Cannabis, Holly Bell; Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Jerry Frankhauser; Geoff Whaling, Chairman of the National Hemp Association and Coordinator of the Florida Industrial Hemp Conference, Gene Jones.

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

In this week's program I have a conversation with Sharlet Teigen, CEO, Demeter Communications. Sharlet talks about the start of the company and the challenges she and the team had to overcome. For her it began with a major move from Chicago to rural Montana.

Cindy and I have known Sharlet for many years so we also do some reminiscing about how we did agricultural marketing and communications work "way back when."

Sharlet asks me questions during the conversation, one of which includes the origin of the name Demeter. I won't spoil it if you don't know it but it's toward the end of the program.

I hope you enjoy this episode of the ZimmCast and thank you for listening.

BTW. Feel free to contact me if you have ideas or suggestions for a future program. I'm always open to what would be of interest.

In this week's program you will hear Jeremiah Karpowicz, Executive Editor of Commercial UAV News, talk about this year's Commercial UAV Expo Americas. This trade show and conference focuses on commercial drone integration and operation in a variety of industries, including agriculture.

Here's some more information about the conference.

In the Conference Program, UAV industry experts share key insights into the issues asset owners face when implementing unmanned aerial systems, including systems selection and integration; developing enterprise workflows, guidelines and policies; data management and integration; and legal, safety and regulatory considerations. Plenary sessions and panels cover topics of interest to all end-users regardless of industry, while breakout sessions focus on UAV technology, applications and opportunities in the vertical markets listed above.

The international Exhibition includes drone airframe manufacturers, component and sensor manufacturers, software developers and service companies. Commercial UAV Expo Americas has more exhibitors than any other commercial drone show.

AgWired is a supporter of the conference again this year and I hope we'll be able to bring you some news from the event even though I can't attend.

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

In this week's program let's meet Lindsay Graber Runft, Executive Director, Livestock Publications Council, pictured on the right with the LPC Board at the 2019 Ag Media Summit. Lindsay started with LPC in July this year and I met her at the AMS.

Lindsay has a solid background in livestock production and association management. As an example, she served as director of marketing and communications of the Livestock Marketing Association (LMA) from 2013 to 2018. She has been principal of Prairie Public Relations since 2018.

“I am incredibly excited, and honored, to accept the role of Executive Director for Livestock Publications Council,” Runft said. “It will be a privilege to further LPC’s purpose of serving the livestock communications industry through collaborative work with Board leadership and membership service.”

You can learn more about Lindsay in the program. I'm looking forward to working with her in the future as she takes over the helm from retired long time friend and director of the LPC, Diane Johnson.

In this week's program we'll get a preview of the 2019 National Agri-Marketing Association Fall Conference. Conference committee chair, Brittany Phillips, Brighton Agency, talks us through the program and activities.

Registration is available on the NAMA website with the early registration deadline of September 16. The hotel is the Ritz Carlton in St. Louis. 

The program starts on Monday with a tour organized by the Gateway NAMA Chapter, which I am a past-president of. I'm sure they'll do an awesome job. After a welcome reception that night the sessions get underway on Tuesday and the program ends mid day Wednesday.

I hope to see you there. Thank you for listening.