ZimmCast

A Bayer Grower Panel during the Farm Progress Show focused on “Preparing for the next generation of ag – on and off the farm.”

I interviewed the panelists which included Bob Arndt, Wisconsin farmer, Jill Bramble, Senior Vp & Chief Resource Development Officer, National 4-H Council, Greg Nickrent, Senior Relationship Manager with BMO Harris, Serena Woodard, 4-H and Jeff Waller, Wisconsin farmer.

This week the ZimmCast, sponsored by GROWMARK, will feature interviews from the GROWMARK Annual Meeting. 

Carrie Muehling interviewed GROWMARK CEO Jim Spradlin about the company’s new strategy, based on the acronym ‘GROW’ which is not just focused on getting bigger. It’s focused on getting better.

She also interviewed Illinois farmer Rick Nelson who has served on the GROWMARK board for 28 years and is retiring from it.

Ann Kafer, vice president of human resources and strategy officer talked with Carrie about the GROW acronym which stands for Good Relationships, Resources of Unmatched Value, Optimized Supply Chain, and Winning Innovations.

Finally, you'll hear from Chuck Spencer, GROWMARK director of corporate and government relations on watching farm policy and regulations.

Dr. Shefali Mehta has been tapped as the new executive director of the Soil Health Partnership, a long-term data project that measures and quantifies the impact of farm management practices known to promote healthy soils. Let's meet her in this episode.

Can-Am is introducing a new Defender Series Mossy Oak Hunting Edition HD10 model with improved features that includes an optional roof rack.

The 20th annual Ag Media Summit was held Aug 5-8, 2018 in Scottsdale, AZ. This year the Association for Communication Excellence (ACE) in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Life and Human Sciences joined the American Agricultural Editors’ Association, Livestock Publications Council and the Connectiv Agri-Media Committee. 

In this ZimmCast, we hear from outgoing AAEA president Julie Deering, FMC product development manager Brent Jacobson, Cyndee Smiley with John Deere, AMVAC director of portfolio management and marketing communications Neil DeStefano, and Tracy Mack, GROWMARK Director of Supply Chain Optimization and Logistics

This week's program previews two events coming up starting this weekend. Cindy will be attending the Ag Media Summit while I am working at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in the Buffalo Chip Campground.

To start things off I visit with Robert White, Renewable Fuels Association, who talks about what to expect at what has become an annual educational program of activities in Sturgis, South Dakota.

Then I talk with Suzanne Steele, Assistant Director, Communications, The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. Suzanne is currently the president of the Association of Communication Excellence. She will talk about ACE and their first time participation in the Ag Media Summit.

Blue Collar meets Green Acres. That's how Comedian, Tim the Dairy Farmer, describes the release of his first album through a production company owned by famed comics Larry "The Cable Guy” and Jeff Foxworthy.

The 50-minute album is called 'Farm Raised' and will be released by Git-R-Done Records on July 20th.  'Farm Raised' will be available throughiTunes, Google Play, Amazon, Spotify, and Pandora.  To purchase an actual hard copy CD of the album 'Farm Raised' visit www.timthedairyfarmer.com.
 
 I talked with Tim who says the album naturally focuses a lot on farm life and his experiences as a dairy farmer. “There’s a lot of humor on the farm,” Tim said.  “If you’ve ever been on a farm or even just driven by a farm, you’re gonna get it.”
 
Tim, who is a third-generation farmer and maintains an ownership stake in a Florida dairy, has been performing standup comedy for over 16 years, including for numerous agriculture organizations and companies.

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening. And thank you to GROWMARK our long time sponsor.

I'm pretty sure that most of you have been involved with an activity centered around a tailgate. That's part of why a new tv show is named, From the Tailgate.

In this week's program you're going to learn all about it. The show is hosted by Jamie Johansen, Honey Creek Media. You know her. Our Jamie. Well, Jamie started her own company during the time she was doing work for us and with her sister, Joanna, they have acquired a growing number of projects, including this one. Cindy and I can't tell you how proud we are of them and the work they do. We're still keeping the door open to collaborate on projects when we can.

So, let's learn about Jamie's show. The program starting airing a week ago on KOLZ, Ch. 27 Springfield, MO, Nexstar Media Group.

In this week's program we talk about how the show came about, what kinds of topics Jamie is covering and some of her philosophy about the need for this kind of programming. Jamie is putting her farming background to good use in her agricultural communications career! She is still raising cattle with her husband Kevin and is now having more time to spend with her daughter Harper who this week is showing cattle and pigs which are a first for Jamie.

You can watch the show each Sunday at 5:30pm and it is repeated Saturday at 5:30am and 9:30pm. The show will also be available online very soon.

Happy Independence Day week. This episode of the ZimmCast will introduce you to some other farm podcasters you may not be familiar with. If you are not subscribing to podcasts then get started. There are many really good programs and quite a few that have started recently.

In the program you'll hear The Raven Precision Podcast, the latest information on Raven precision technology; Pork Pod,  look at the hot topics in the pork industry; The Business of Agriculture Podcast, listen to Damian Mason's take on topics surrounding the business of food, fuel, and fiber, interviews with industry professionals, and other great original content.

In this week's program you'll hear mostly from Cindy and the people she interviewed recently. So, let's get started by thanking our sponsor, GROWMARK, Locally Owned, Globally Strong.

First up will be an interview Cindy did with American Egg Board Marketing Communications Manager Marc Dresner. They discuss the AEB's eggciting promotional sponsorship of Disney-Pixar’s “Incredibles 2” that has audiences scrambling for new “How Do You Like Your Eggs?” recipes reflecting each of the film’s character’s unique personality or super power. The film has made the Incredible Egg into a nutrition super hero!

Then you'll get to meet Erin Fitzgerald, the new CEO of the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance. Fitzgerald previously served as Senior Vice President, Global Sustainability for the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy®, a part of Dairy Management Inc. (DMI).

In this week's program I'm going to cover a couple of different topics, although there are some common elements from an educational perspective.

First up is Joanna Guza, Digital Communications Manager, Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative and also volunteer with GMO Answers. We talk about social networking as a tool to reach people about topics like GMOs, especially during Dairy Month. Joanna has some great insight and advice for using the tools we have.

Next I talk with Paul Teutul, Jr., Paul JR Designs and Discovery's American Chopper. Paul built two motorcycles that run on E-85. One bike is for the Sturgis Buffalo Chip and the other for the Renewable Fuels Association. During the project Paul learned a lot about ethanol and shares some of what he learned. The whole project is part of an on-going educational effort by RFA and uses a lot of social networking.

This is why I love my podcast. I get to talk with some awesome people in all kinds of places and about all kinds of topics!