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

Our friends at Agri-Pulse have launched a national news show called Agri-Pulse Newsmakers. The inaugural show was published this past Friday and you can find it on the Agri-Pulse website. The program designed for a broader audience and to engage lawmakers and key influencers on the hottest political topics.

I talked with Sara Wyant, Agri-Pulse Founder and Editor about the new program and that’s the topic for this week’s ZimmCast.

To sign up for updates from the new weekly Newsmakers program and daily newsletters just go to the Agri-Pulse website.

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

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

Last week I traveled to Houston for the annual Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show. We produced a customized virtual newsroom for NCBA on AgNewsWire.com. It is loaded with content including photos, interviews and session audio that is all available all media.

In this week’s episode I’m going to feature some of my interviews. Included are now-past president Jerry Bohn and new president Don Schiefelbein. They each bring their perspective to the last year and the year ahead.

Also in this week’s program you’ll hear from NCBA staff members CEO Colin Woodall and VP of Government Affairs, Ethan Lane.

A very well attended each year is the Cattlefax Outlook. Afterward I spoke with Cattlefax VP of Industry Relations and Analysis to get a summary of what the outlook is for the cattle industry.

Finally, I thought you might enjoy hearing Markie Hageman who received the Beef Advocacy Program Advocate of the Year.

It was a great conference. Like in Florida, there were no mask requirements or other ones. Over 6,000 people had a great time and that is the way I’d like to see all conferences from now on. No good reason not to.

This week I’ll be back on the agriblogging highway to the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau annual meeting near Palm Springs, CA. See you from there.

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

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. 

Recently retired farm broadcaster Mike Adams was honored by the biodiesel industry last week at the National Biodiesel Conference and Expo in Las Vegas. Adams was presented with the Biodiesel Impact Award.

“As I look back, I remember those soy diesel days,” said Adams. “It made so much sense to me I couldn’t understand why anyone would ever be against either ethanol or biodiesel.”

During the conference I sat down with Mike to talk about his career and the award.

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

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

This episode will be about wrap-ups and previews.

2022 got off to a fast start with our virtual newsroom production for the National Cotton Council and the Beltwide Cotton Conferences. You can find the interviews and photos on AgNewsWire.com which has a link to the custom page we created for this project. I’m going to share my wrap-up interview of the conferences with Gary Adams, President/CEO, National Cotton Council.

Next week both Cindy and I will be on the agriblogging highway to separate locations. Cindy will be in Glendale, Arizona for the PrecisionAg Vision Conference while I will be in Las Vegas for the National Biodiesel Conference. So, to preview these conferences I have my preview interview with Meister Media’s Eric Davis and Richard Jones. And then Cindy’s interview with Brad Shimmens, National Biodiesel Board. 

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

In this episode I'm going to share stories from Syngenta since they were at all of the events I attended in the last few weeks. We really appreciate Syngenta's support which helps make what we do at ZimmComm possible. So let's get started.

At the NAFB Trade Talk we heard about Syngenta's sustainability efforts from Caydee Savinelli and Steven Wall.

Next, it was on to the Farm Journal MILK Business Conference where Enogen was in the spotlight to help dairy producers. Describing this are Todd Lunde, Ted Koehler, Liz Novotny, Katie Edmunds and from Penn State, Dr. Alexander Hristov.

Last but not least, Syngenta was a major sponsor at the ASTA CSS & Seed Trade Expo where I spoke with Eric Boeck and Mary Kay Thatcher.

Want to sponsor the ZimmCast? Just let me know and we can talk through ideas for your company. I’m AgriBlogger on Twitter or just email me at chuck@zimmcomm.biz.

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

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.

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

After missing it for a few years I was able to attend the Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) Annual Meeting which took place in Richmond, VA. We had a good turnout with some great sessions. I interviewed several of the attendees. More on that in a moment.

The Golden ARC Awards, which were started in 1990 as the pre-eminent ag public relations awards, had many entries and awards were announced during the meeting. The awards themselves did not get to the hotel on time so they will be sent to the winners. You can find a list of all the winners on the ARC website.

So, let’s get started a conversation I had with Lynn Henderson, AgriMarketing, who was inducted into the ARC Public Relations Hall of Fame.

Next up, I spoke with Sara Wyant, Agri-Pulse, who participated in an editor panel which had the job of talking about reaching editors with news and information.

Also participating on the editor panel was Jessica Johnson, NewsWise.

There was an ag panel discussion on the “Beneficial Swamp Dwellers.” I spoke with Bethany Shively, ASTA, who talked about the value of those fighting the good public relations fight for ag and food in Washington, DC. She also gets in a plug for the upcoming ASTA CSS & Seed Expo in Chicago in December.

I also spoke with Erin Nash, NAFB. NAFB was a sponsor at the ARC Annual Meeting. Erin talks about services NAFB offers to ag public relations professionals.

Lastly in the program for this week, I spoke with conference attendee, Hannah Thompson-Weeman, Animal Ag Alliance. This was her first ARC Annual Meeting. Hannah also provides a plug for the organizations annual Stakeholders meeting.

I’m really glad I was able to go to the ARC meeting this year and spend some face to face time with so many friends in the industry. Next on my schedule is the NAFB annual meeting in Kansas City. I’ll be there all day for Trade Talk, so maybe I’ll see you then.

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

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. 

In this program we're going to get a preview of the 2021 Agricultural Relations Council Annual Meeting. Providing the details is Kristy Mach, Corner Window Communications and Executive Director of ARC.

Kristy walks us through the program and speakers as well as the annual business meeting and awards program. The second day will be tour day to the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and Colonial Williamsburg. There will be lots of networking opportunities as well.

The meeting if for agricultural public relations professionals of all kinds and levels of experience.

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

In this program we’re going to learn all about the 2021 NAMA Fall Conference from the head of the conference committee, Michele Tibodeau, CHS, Inc. Michele walks us through a preview of the program which includes the presentation of the annual Professional Development Awards of Excellence, network opportunities like on and off-site receptions and great speakers and sessions.

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

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. Last week I attended the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, working primarily in the Buffalo Chip Campground with the Renewable Fuels Association. This is the 8th out of the last ten years I’ve had this opportunity. I get to work with a group of great people, creating content during the various sponsorship activities. It is both an educational as well as promotional effort.

The focus is on helping motorcycle riders understand the value and safety of using an E10 blend of ethanol and gas in their machines. All motorcycle manufacturers warranty this fuel.

Robert White, VP of Industry Relations for RFA, spearheads this project and has done so for all of the 13 years the organization has been involved with the Sturgis Rally. I talked to him about how things went this year as we were wrapping up the activities.

The Free Fuel Happy Hours on the Buffalo Chip property is the major component of RFA’s activities as bikers line up to fill their bikes with E10, 93 octane, fuel. It provides a great opportunity to talk one on one with bikers about ethanol and answer questions they may have. I spoke with several of the folks who came through and thought I’d share what they had to say.

RFA pumped more than 3,000 gallons of fuel during the four days of Free Fuel Happy Hours for three hours per day. 

So, that’s the ZimmCast for this week. Thank you for listening.

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. 

In this episode I’m sharing a conversation with Matt Crisp, CEO of Benson Hill, a food technology company that is unlocking the natural genetic diversity of plants for the plant-based food revolution. It is some very new technology they are employing and Matt will walk us through it. There are some terms like Cloud Biology, nutrition security and the company’s CropOS platform that I think you’ll find them very interesting. So, let’s learn more about what is new with Benson Hill.

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

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. If you are into numbers this is episode # 674. Downloads of the ZimmCast have increased on a regular basis this year. If you’d like to be a ZimmCast sponsor, just let me know.

Cindy and I have been making travel plans for work. That’s something pretty rare since early last year. So we’ve got flights scheduled, hotel reservations and conference registered. I guess it’s kind of like riding a bike. Pretty simple list of things that are needed so it has been just like we missed a long beat is all.

So, speaking of travel for work this week’s episode will provide previews of two events that take us out on the agriblogging highway. The first is the Meister Media inaugural Tech Hub Live conference in Des Moines. Also included is the Souther Peanut Grower Conference where we create content for the conference blog, something we’ve done since 2008.

We will have virtual ag newsrooms from these events on AgNewsWire.com which provide free content for publications, websites, social media, newsletters and more. And we’ll also be sharing individual stories on AgWired.com.

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

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. This is episode 673 since starting the podcast back in 2005. We’ve come a long way baby!

When I started the podcast and AgWired.com my target audience was the membership of the National Agri-Marketing Association. This program will focus on NAMA and specifically the annual Agri-Marketing Conference coming up in just over a month.

With me in this program is Greg Lammert, Corteva Agriscience who is chair of this year’s conference. Last year we had a virtual conference and this year we’re back to in-person. We start out the preview with the theme of this year’s conference, “Breaking New Ground.” From there we cover the keynote sessions, breakouts, Best of NAMA Awards, Connection Point and other networking opportunities.

If you have not registered the just click on this link to do so.

BTW. I will be attending and ZimmComm has a booth in the Connection Point. So, stop by and say hi. And while you are there please bid high on the NAMA Foundation silent auction. We’ve donated an Apple HomePod mini (grey) for your podcast listening pleasure.

So, that’s the ZimmCast for this week. Look us up on your favorites podcast platform. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening. 

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

Carbon seems to be the big (C) buzzword lately. In the last couple weeks I’ve lost count of how many announcements I’ve received on this subject in my inbox. One of those was from Farmers Edge that announced the company’s new Smart Carbon program. You can find the announcement and more about this program on their website. This week’s program features a discussion with Wade Barnes, founder/CEO, Farmers Edge.

I asked Wade where things stand on the subject of carbon in farming today and how this new program will help customers become more profitable. For starters, the availability of the new program is in Canada and California. But that will change as farmers start generating high-quality carbon credits and buyers become more available to purchase carbon offsets as part of their strategy to become carbon neutral. Other factors come into play too, like carbon taxes. Wade sees a bright future for their Smart Carbon program.

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

ARISE USA The Resurrection Tour is an educational non-profit tour seeking to unite all Americans regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, sex, age or disability. It is a national conversation and civics dialog tour.

Trent Loos describes what it is all about as he is about to embark on this national tour to jump start a local dialogue. It could be the longest running (111 days) civics class in modern history. The ultimate objective is the restoration of integrity to all institutions: local, state, and national.

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

In this week’s episode we’re going to hear about the upcoming Alltech ONE Ideas Conference which will be virtual again in 2021. Dr. Mark Lyons, President/CEO of Alltech, says the company has developed its own platform to run the event and all its activities, including a trade show. We’ll get a preview of the trade show portion on May 19, prior to the start of the event itself, which is scheduled for May 25-27. Mark says they have created the Lexington Convention Center into the virtual experience. That ought to be interesting! He also says there will be new opportunities to interact with other participants.

Alltech was the first major agricultural business to hold a virtual conference in 2020 and set the bar for how to manage a large and diverse array of topics, speakers and sessions. The event continued throughout the year with new virtual content on different topic areas being published monthly.

Registration is open with two levels. Essential: $95 per year and Premium: $195 per year.

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

Happy Earth Day. This episode is being produced on the 2021 Earth Day and I’ve lost count of all the messages in my inbox or social media feeds as ag and food companies use the opportunity to bring focus to their efforts on caring for our environment. Agriculture has a lot to offer in the discussion on climate which has ramped up to a fever pitch under the new administration in Washington, DC.

So, let’s move on to this week’s program in which I have a conversation with Cameron Camfield, founder and CEO of Stratovation Group. Cam has lots of energy as you’ll hear in our discussion and he’s got it focused on working for his clients.

That’s the ZimmCast for this week. In case you didn’t know it you can find more podcast we produce in all your favorite podcast apps. That includes the Golden ZimmComm Mic Podcast, the Ethanol Report and the Daugherty Water for Food Podcast.

I hope you enjoy them and thank you for listening.

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.

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

Since it is Ag Week I want to say thank you to farmers and everyone in the food and agribusiness industries for helping feed the world.

Ag Week emphasizes the importance of agriculture and in this program I’m sharing a conversation about a new impact study of the food industry to the U.S. economy. It’s titled, “2021 Food and Agriculture Industries Economic Impact Study.” To learn more about it I visited with Connor McKoy, Communications Director for the Biotechnology Innovation Organization. The study is impressive and there is a whole website dedicated to it and making the information simple to navigate.

After that discussion I move on to how farms and rural households can enhance and extend their wifi coverage with new products from Ayrstone Productivity. Bill Moffitt, President, talks about their newest Ayrmesh products.

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

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

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.

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

This week I’m going to talk with a fellow farm podcaster. He’s Matt Brechwald, producer of the Off Farm Income Podcast and a lot more. Matt produces a lot of podcasts and when I learned about what he’s doing I wanted to talk with him about it since he really jumped into farm podcasting in a big way. So, listen in to our conversation and at the end we let you know the best way to find either of us.

I’m going to keep in touch with Matt and hope you’ll subscribe to his podcasts. 

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

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.

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

In this week’s program we’ll hear interviews from the Beltwide and Biodiesel conferences that took place virtually this month. 

So, let’s get a taste of the Beltwide Cotton Conferences and the National Biodiesel Conference and Expo and I’ll start with Dr. Gary Adams, National Cotton Council President and CEO, as Cindy talks with him about how the virtual Beltwide event went.

Next up I talk with Chad Stone, Renewable Energy Group VP and Chairman of the National Biodiesel Board.

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast, a podcast started in 2004 to focus on agricultural marketing and what is new in the world of agribusiness. I’m Chuck Zimmerman saying Happy New Year to y’all.

Here at ZimmComm we’ve been living in the virtual world of communications for almost 17 years. We started out distributing news releases with pre-recorded sound bites and interviews before jumping into blogging and podcasting and then starting social media channels in YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, Facebook and so many more. We’ve seen many of these platforms come and go too.

It looks like we’ll continuing using these and other new apps like Zoom, Meetings and Skype as travel bans and the inability for large gathering to happen, continue into the foreseeable future.

But that’s where our virtual newsroom and virtual coverage of various events comes into play and we’ve already got quite a few on our calendar. Please give me a call or send an email if you would like to discuss how we can do this for you to enhance your communications efforts, especially reaching out to the media.

So, let’s move on in this first ZimmCast episode of 2021 with a conversation with AWIS Weather Services and one of the founders, Karl Harker. IDK about you but I definitely open my mobile weather apps more often than any other. But I’ve always been fascinated by the weather and when it comes to farming, getting reliable forecasting is critical in decision making. AWIS specializes in custom forecasting and consultation. Let’s learn about what they’re doing.

I want to thank AWIS for letting us help promote their services to the agribusiness sector. 

That’s the ZimmCast for this week. Thank you for listening.

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