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.
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.
In this week's program you will hear from the new president of the AAEA The AgComm Network, Gil Gullickson; the new president of the Livestock Publications Council, Jennifer Carrico; the new conference manger for the Ag Media Summit, Tina Bowling and the presenters of the session, "So You Have a Podcast, Now What," Sara Steever, president of Paulsen Marketing and Kelsey Litchfield, digital media consultant.
In this week's program I speak with Quentin Rund, PAQ Interactive and Lara Moody, The Fertilizer Institute (TFI).
Quentin has been involved with organizing and running the InfoAg Conference since it started in 1995. He talks about this year's conference which is doing very well on attendance in spite of the challenging planting season the midwest has had.
Lara talks about how TFI has acquired the InfoAg Conference and what the organization is doing to expand and grow it. During this conference she says they've been conducting some focus groups to learn what they would like to see happen. A lot of the work that TFI does, like their 4R Nutrient program, fits right in with the technology represented at the InfoAg Conference.
You can learn more in the program. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.
This program will be a preview of the 2019 Ag Media Summit and International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Congress. The two programs are being held together like they were in 2009. The IFAJ Congress moves to a different country each year.
To help me preview the events I spoke with Carey Brown, Kentucky Cattlemen's Association and co-chair of the coordinating committee for the events.
For this week's program I visited Timber Creek Distillery near Crestview, FL. The owners are Camden Ford and Aaron Barnes, two exceptional entrepreneurs who are building a new distillery on some beautiful property. I had the opportunity to meet them when they did some taste testing in Pensacola and found their story to be fascinating.
The new distillery building, which is near completion, is a massive 13,000 square feet with 40 foot high ceilings and includes outdoor seating areas. They have built their own power supply using solar panels, propane, batteries and backup generators. All of this has been done by just these two guys. To see it you would assume a construction crew had been busy for months. It's really amazing how much they have done with their own skills and ingenuity.
They have been producing products like Florida whiskies, rum, vodka and gin for over three years and source as much of their ingredients like corn, rye, wheat and more from local sources including farmers. In the program you'll hear more about this and their hopes and plans for the future. Timber Creek Distillery products are being sold commercially in 200 plus stores and have already won over 40 spirit competitions.
Listen in to our conversation. I hope you enjoy it. And thank you for listening.
In this week's program you will hear from industry attendees to President Trump's visit to Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy (SIRE) in Council Bluffs, IA.
Included in the program are:
Mike Jerke, CEO, SIRE
Craig Floss, President/CEO, Iowa Corn Growers
Mike Naig, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture
Kevin Ross, farmer and 1st VP, NCGA
Monte Shaw, Executive Director, IRFA
Geoff Cooper, President/CEO, RFA
Geoff provides a wrap-up of the program since I was able to talk with him after the President had toured the facility and given his speech.
I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.
This week we're going to learn all about a new book from Damian Mason titled "Do Business Better." Here's an excerpt from the book description to get us started.
After speaking to companies such as Merck, Land O'Lakes, and Cargill, and 2,000 audiences across the world, Damian Mason, successful businessman, agriculturalist, podcaster, and writer, wants to help you achieve your entrepreneurial goals and live a better life. While other business books claim to tell you how to reach success, they fall short because they don't address the fact that success is different for each of us. Do Business Better helps you define success on your terms, then shows you how to achieve it.
Damian and I not only talk about his new book but some other subjects like how farmers are doing on social media his thoughts on the current farm economy.
I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.
This week we're going to learn about the Farmer Veteran Coalition with founder/director, Michael O'Gorman.
We cultivate a new generation of farmers and food leaders, and develop viable employment and meaningful careers through the collaboration of the farming and military communities. We believe that veterans possess the unique skills and character needed to strengthen rural communities and create sustainable food systems. We believe that agriculture offers purpose, opportunity, and physical and psychological benefits.
Michael talks about what motivated him to start the organization and how it has developed. He has examples of individuals who have developed successful farming operations with support from the Coalition. Many farm organizations and agribusinesses are providing assistance and there is room for more.
I think you'll find Michael very well-spoken and you might want to consider him for your next conference as a speaker.
I'm going to share a few interviews from the conference that I hope you'll enjoy. First up will be Amanda Radke, BEEF daily blogger, BEEF Magazine. Amanda was an early intern for us who wrote for AgWired when she was in her final year at South Dakota State University. I'm proud of the career she is having and to have been a part of it in our little way.
Next up you'll hear Dr. Frank Mitloehner, Professor and Air Quality Extension Specialist, Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis. He spoke about "Beef's Carbon Footprint: Setting the Record Straight." And he certainly does that. I hope you'll follow him on Twitter. We need more like him.
Then you can hear my Farm Babe 2.0 interview. I spoke with Michele Miller last year at the conference and we did it again this year at the end of the conference. If you're not following The Farm Babe then get started.
I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.
This week's program features interviews from the 2019 Water for Food Global Conference. Here is the list of who you will hear:
Overview interview of the conference with Peter McCornick, Executive Director, Water for Food Institute
Interview with Mark Edge, Director of Collaborations for Developing Countries, Bayer
Interview with the Irrigation Association: Deborah Hamlin, CEO, Irrigation Association; Brent Mecham, Industry Development Director, Irrigation Association; Aric Olson, President, Jain Irrigation
Interview with Conference attendee Grace Mukarusagara, Rwanda
Interview with Conference attendee Elisa Zancanaro Zanella, Brazil
This week's program features interviews that Cindy and I did during the 2019 Agri-Marketing Conference in Kansas City. The Golden ZimmComm Microphone got a workout!
At the beginning of this episode you can hear from Sheri Seger, DTN/The Progressive Farmer, outgoing NAMA President and Scott McClure, Brighton, incoming NAMA President. After that I'm sharing the other interviews we did in our Connection Point booth.
We offered free Golden Mic Interviews to whoever stopped by and had quite a few take us up on the offer. You may know some of them and if not, you'll get to meet them now.
I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.
In this week's program I visit with Susan Hunyor, DTN/The Progressive Farmer, who is the Chair of the Agri-Marketing Conference Committee. This is the annual conference of the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA). Susan walks us through a preview of the program for this year's conference.
ZimmComm is celebrating 15 years and will be having fun in the Connection Point, Booth 312. The Golden ZimmComm Microphones will be set up to conduct interviews with attendees. It's an opportunity to tell us about your company or organization and we'll publish them into the virtual ag newsroom for the conference on AgNewsWire.com.
When you visit us you can enter to win a flex Portable, Universal Keyboard & Detachable Stand. We have donated a special Beats Pill+ to the NAMA Foundation Silent Auction too. The winning bidder will be able to select colors for the bluetooth speaker and we'll order it to be delivered direct to them.
It's going to be a great conference and we hope to see you there.
Thank you for listening.
This week's program focuses on National Ag Day activities in our nation's Capitol.
In the program you'll hear from Senator Pat Roberts who made remarks during the Celebration of American Agriculture reception. I also interviewed Isabella Chism, American Farm Bureau Federation, who is the Chair for National Ag Day.
Next up is USDA Deputy Secretary, Steve Censky, who spoke prior to moderating a panel discussion, "Observations from the Next Generation of America's Agriculturists." After his remarks you can listen to National Ag Day Essay Contest winner Grace Brose, South Dakota.
I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.
This week's program includes where in the world the ZimmComm Team has been as well as a couple of interviews.
We've been to Destin, FL for BASF Legacy Club events, then on to Orlando for the Commodity Classic and associated activities. At the same time Cindy was in Memphis for the Mid-South Farm & Gin Show.
In this week's program I'm sharing interview with Darren Wallis, Vice President, North America Communications at Bayer CropScience and Willie Vogt, Executive Director, Content and User Engagement, Penton Farm Progress Group. They talk about the Bayer AgVocacy Forum that took place prior to Commodity Classic.
I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.
In this week's program I talk about the crazy agriblogging highway schedule and the value of media rooms at conferences and conventions.
In addition to the above I am sharing some audio from the 2019 National Farm Machinery Show which includes Kentucky's Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles. Next up is FMC's Rick Ekins, Application and Innovations Platform Lead. He talks about "Investing in the Furrow." After that you can hear the presentation audio from the Case IH AFS Connect Magnum Series Tractor launch.
This week's program contains some audio from last week's Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show.
After looking at what's coming up on our calendar I share a couple of excerpts from the press conference with Secretary of Ag Sonny Perdue and then from Terry Bradshaw's speech. Sonny talks trade and Terry talks cows. I had no idea he had cattle and horses.
After that you can listen to my wrap up interview with Kendall Frazier, CEO, NCBA. Kendall reviews the process NCBA goes through during the year for the business of the organization and talks about priorities for the coming year as well as how this year's convention wound up.
I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.
In this week's program things get started with more analytics from ZimmComm media content. This time it's photos and videos. Think Flickr and YouTube.
But then we go back to last week and I share some interviews from the Develop with Deere Conference. First up is Kayla Reynolds, Digital Business Development Manager, John Deere Intelligent Solutions Group.
Following Kayla is Brandon West, Evangelism Leader, Americas, AWS, who gave a keynote speech during the conference.
The last interview is with Ryan Heiniger, Pheasants Forever, who talks about working with John Deere.
Besides some of the reach numbers from the AgWired channels and downloads of ZimmComm audio this week's program features Dr. Fred Moore, BASF, from their 2019 APT Summit and then Kevin Skunes, NCBA, talking about the 2019 Soil Health Summit.