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ZimmCast

Weekly interviews with agribusiness industry leaders about what's new with a focus on agricultural marketing.
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Now displaying: Category: general
Mar 6, 2024

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. I’m Chuck Zimmerman.

Once again I learned all about what’s new in the world of agribusiness for Syngenta during the Commodity Classic which was just held in Houston, TX. So this episode will feature interviews I did in the Syngenta booth. 

Between Cindy and myself this was our 7th conference of the year. You can find virtual newsrooms from them all on AgNewsWire.com. In there are photos and lots of interviews.

So, these are some interview I picked out to provide a good selection of topics from Syngenta: Eric Boeck, Regional Director North America Seeds at Syngenta; Liz Hunt, Sustainable & Responsible Business Head, Syngenta; Jim Shertzer, Head of Branded Marketing, Syngenta North America Seeds; Matt Dolch and Jared Benson, NK corn and soybean product managers; Kramer Farney, Golden Harvest head of marketing

Next on the AgriBlogging Highway Cindy will be at the ACE DC Fly-in. I will be at the Agri-Pulse Ag & Food Policy Summit and National Ag Day activities. Then we will both be at the Agri-Marketing Conference in Kansas City, MO with a booth in the Connection Point. We launched ZimmComm publicly at the 2004 Agri-Marketing Conference.

We are already celebrating 20 years since we created ZimmComm and “What a long, strange trip it's been.” BTW. I did see Grateful Dead live and in concert many, many years ago.

That’s the ZimmCast for now. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

Feb 28, 2024


A look at the Clean Fuels Conference and the National Ethanol Conference

Sep 21, 2023

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. I’m Chuck Zimmerman.

Last week the Ag Innovation Campus held its grand opening in Crookston, MN. You can see lots of photos and interviews in the virtual newsroom I published on AgNewsWire.com. I’m going to share some of those interviews in the episode.

Before getting to the AIC facility I met a group of farmers and other ag leaders in Fargo, ND to tour the Northern Crops Institute. This is a collaborative effort among Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota to support the promotion and market development of crops grown in this four-state region and it is situated on the campus of North Dakota State University, in Fargo. I’ll share my interview with Mark Jirik, Director, who will describe the unique work they do there.

After that we got on a bus and traveled to the Riverview Waukon Dairy where I met David Yost who will provide an overview of the large and very impressive facility they have built.

Then we moved on to Crookston, MN to the Ag Innovation Campus. We had presentations from a variety of people who have played a part in the success of reaching phase one of the facility and a ribbon cutting. I talked with several leaders about the work that the AIC will do to deliver crops and processing technologies from bench top to commercialization. Think of the term, crush facility, and you’ll hear more about this staring with Tom Slunecka, Acting AIC CEO. Next we’ll hear from Mike Skaug, AIC Board Member. Finally in this episode you can hear from the AIC Plant Manger, Kent Meyers.

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

Sep 7, 2023

Interviews with Kramer Farney, Golden Harvest head of marketing; NASCAR Driver Sammy Smith; Mary Kay Thatcher, senior lead for federal government relations at Syngenta; Eric Boeck, Regional Director North America for Syngenta Seeds; Sustainable Oils President Mike Karst; Matt Dolch, NK Corn Product Manager, and Jared Benson, NK Soybean Product Manager

Dec 14, 2022

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. I’m Chuck Zimmerman.

As you know, our theme here on AgWired has always been, “What’s new in the world of agribusiness.” And in this program we’re going to learn about a relatively new way for farmers, ag processors and cooperatives to have more control over their own risk protection. There is more to the story in my interview with Dennis Daggett, a partner with AgriCap Group, LLC out of Minnesota. We had a great conversation during the recent AgGateway Annual Meeting.

Our team has cultivated relationships with top insurance companies to develop unique and cost-effective insurance solutions. By bringing together top re-insurers, captive insurance managers, and service providers we help farmers, ag processors and cooperatives retain the investment and tax advantages being lost to commercial insurance companies.

We are experienced professionals with a ‘hands-on’ approach to Ag Risk Management and Protection. Our reinsurers have earned an ‘Excellent’ rating from A.M. Best for over 50 years. This rating proves that they have the financial strength to pay your claims and give you peace of mind when you need it most.

So, listen in as Dennis tells us all about AgriCap and how farmers and their ag partners can find out more.

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

Aug 17, 2022

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. I’m Chuck Zimmerman. This is the 697th episode. Almost to 700!

I’m sharing two of the interviews I conducted during the Bayer Crop Science Field Technology Showcase last week. We had multiple in-field demonstration plots and presenters. I was most interested in one about small stature corn which you’ll hear is the core of Bayer’s Smart Corn strategy. Then on the soybean side of things you’ll hear about new technologies coming to help farmers with weed control and also a description of their investment in CoverCress which is planted in the fall and harvested just ahead of spring planting. The product works as a good cover crop and has additional opportunities for farmers to obtain additional income from the harvested crop. Bayer recently purchased a majority stake in CoverCress, Inc.

First up is my interview with Kelly Gillespie, VP Digital Ecosystems Services, Bayer Crop Science. Then there is my interview with Jennifer Ralston, Global Soybean Seed & Traits Portfolio Manager, Bayer Crop Science.

So, that’s the ZimmCast for this week. I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for listening.

Jul 26, 2022

Interview with Oliver Peoples, President and CEO

Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. is an agricultural bioscience company that is using its differentiated trait gene discovery platform, the “Trait Factory”, to develop improved Camelina varieties for the production of biofuel feedstock oils, PHA bioplastics and omega-3 (DHA+EPA) oils and to license our yield traits to major seed companies for commercialization in major row crops, including corn, soybean and canola. Yield10 is headquartered in Woburn, MA and has an Oilseeds Center of Excellence in Saskatoon, Canada.

Jun 17, 2022

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. I’m Chuck Zimmerman.

This week I got on the agriblogging and podcasting highway to Altoona, Iowa for the AgGateway Mid-Year Meeting. This is the organization’s “roll up your sleeves, working meeting.” There are many topic work groups and discussions. All of which will lead to the agenda for the Annual Meeting later this year.

So, for this episode I’m going to share some of the interviews I conducted. You can find all of them and photos in the virtual newsroom on AgNewsWire.com. Let’s get started.

First up is Brent Kemp, President/CEO, AgGateway.

Next, let’s listen in to Doug Farrington, BASF, who is Chair of AgGateway.

Now we’ll learn about what AgGateway means to Andres Ferreyra, Syngenta.

I had a great conversation with Dennis Daggett, Enterprise Ag Strategies.

Finally, I’m sharing my conversation with Jacob Crow, GROWMARK, who serves on the board of AgGateway.

As you have heard during the program, AgGateway has organized itself to be a more global organization and I think we’ll be seeing and hearing a lot more about them in the future. I’ll be on a short break from the road but will be attending the Ag Media Summit next.

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

May 6, 2022

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

Before getting to our featured guest I did a little look into the way back machine of AgWired. I found a ZimmCast I did with an interview with PrecisonEarth, owned by Cogent3D, Inc, and that’s where I met Aaron Hutchison. We were at the InfoAg Conference in 2011 where the company was showcasing a new iPad soil collect and display app called PrecisionEarth. At the time that was still early use of iOS devices for precision ag. The company then moved on to a product called CropTrak.

Now look forward to today and I just interviewed Aaron, President and Co-Founder, about CropTrak, a cloud technology solutions company that helps multinational food, beverage, agriculture, and protein customers increase the efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency of their supply chain management processes and systems. CropTrak just released a platform update that expands its capabilities to provide multi-stakeholders complete visibility of the financial transactions across their ingredient supply chain. For the first time, food and beverage companies managing grower contracts and settlements can do so in one seamless platform optimized for collaboration and insights. Aaron says “Our goal is to continue to lead the food industry with ongoing innovation and process improvements to help assure food is safe, affordable, and sustainable, while making paper contracts a thing of the past.” 

Sounds like a lofty goal and it is as CropTrak is working with companies like Del Monte, Bolthouse Farms, Corteva, Pivot Bio, Benson Hill and more. 

That's the ZimmCast. I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for listening.

Mar 16, 2022

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

In this week's program we'll get a preview of National Ag Day activities in Washington, DC from Amy Bradford, GROWMARK, and Chair of the Agriculture Council of America.

March 22 is the offical Ag Day but there will be activities on the 21st and 22nd. These include on Monday, a Celebration of Ag with company and association exhibits on the National Mall, the annual Agri-Pulse Ag and Food Policy Summit, a joint reception at the National Press Club and then on Tuesday the exhibits are open again, Sec. of Ag Tom Vilsack will sign a declaration for Ag Day and there will be a virtual event with several speakers including the Outstanding Young Farmers and the Ag Day Essay Contest Winners. You can go to AgDay.org to register now.

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

Feb 28, 2022

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. I’m Chuck Zimmerman

Before getting to this week’s interview I thought I’d summarize a little bit of our activities. Last week Cindy and I tagged teamed the National Ethanol Conference where we created a customized virtual newsroom for the Renewable Fuels Association. There is a lot of content in there including 2 different event photo albums and lots of interviews and other audio. That was in New Orleans.

Which is where I will be back to next week for the Commodity Classic and working with several companies and organizations.

Like most people I know, we are deeply concerned about the war taking place in Ukraine. We have friends there from time spent during IFAJ Congresses and we have heard that they are okay right now. We are praying for an end to this conflict. There are lots of parties that can share the blame on it but what is most important are the lives of people, including children, who are dying or have already become homeless.

So, let’s move on to one of the things we always like to talk about and that’s what is new in the world of agribusiness. Last week we distributed a news release for Verdant Robotics that announced its first multi-action autonomous farm robot for specialty crops. I talked with company co-founder and CEO, Gabe Sibley.

Nov 9, 2021

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. I’m Chuck Zimmerman.

This week's episode is sponsored by IDA-ORE ZEOLITE. Zeolite is a miracle mineral that is rapidly taking over the agricultural, turf, and water filtration industries. Visit www.ida-ore.com or call 208-515-6966 to get a quote for bulk orders.

Mention discount code "CHUCK" for savings!

In this week's program I have a conversation with Matt Lott, Sales Manager, Ida-Ore. The topic is Zeolite and we're going to learn all about it. Matt will provide us with background on the company and then focus on their products. Zeolite is used in a variety of industries like turf, soil amendment, animal feed additive, water filtration and waste and more. One that I found interesting was the use of Zeolite in pet products that include bedding and cat litter. It has enormous odor eliminating properties. Home Depot is a large retailer of their products.

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

Apr 15, 2021

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast, I’m Chuck Zimmerman.

In this week’s program we’re going to talk about business success and food fear. How do those things fit together? We’re going to find out.

In fact, we’re going to find out in my conversation with a businessman, agriculturalist, speaker, podcaster, author and consultant who has been on the ZimmCast before - Damian Mason.

Damian has a new book out called Food Fear and he'll talk about what he wanted to accomplish with the book. Additionally, Damian will also discuss a product that's an outshoot of his consultancy work called The Business of Ag Success Group.

If you like what you hear in the ZimmCast please subscribe in any of the major platforms. And you can also search for theZ immComm Golden Mic Podcast too, which includes all the audio we produce.

And, if you would like to advertise in the ZimmCast or become an on-going sponsor please let me know and we’ll work out a plan just for you.

So that’s the ZimmCast for this week. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

Feb 11, 2021

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

In this week's program we're going to learn a lot about AgWiki from CEO, Randy Krotz. AgWiki is a community of farmers, researchers, nutritionists, and consultants seeking to discover solutions to sustainability and world hunger…socially.

Randy will talk about the startup venture and what the mission is as well as how you can get involved and even help with the development of AgWiki through participation on the platform and through investment.

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

Dec 15, 2020

Interviews with Dan Basse, AgResource; John Latham, ASTA Chair; Pam Johnson, Iowa farmer, Andy LaVigne, ASTA CEO

May 7, 2020

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.

Jan 30, 2020

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.

Aug 31, 2019

In this edition of the ZimmCast, you will hear from some of the many voices at #FPS19, including Show Manager Matt Jungmann, BASF External Communications Manager Casey Allen, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, President Donald J. Trump, National Corn Growers Association 1st VP Kevin Ross, and National Hemp Association executive director Erica Stark.

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