ZimmCast

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

It’s almost time for the 2024 Agri-Marketing Conference that is put on by the National Agri-Marketing Association. ZimmComm will be there to celebrate our 20th anniversary in our Connection Point booth. We’ve got more to come on this when we get to the conference later this month.

In this episode I’m talking with Lori Kruger, Signal Theory, and Chair for the Agri-Marketing Conference committee. We’ll do a preview of what you’ll find. In case you haven’t registered it’s easy to go to the NAMA website and get it done.

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.

I started in a career of agricultural communications back in 1983 and in all these years it is amazing how much has changed. Technology has played a major role and that includes the ability today to easily communicate about agriculture everywhere in the world. Having said this I’m going to have a conversation with Dr. Owen Roberts. He is a good friend and we first met being involved at events of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists.

Owen Roberts, Ed.D.

Lecturer and Director, Dr. Jim Evans Agricultural Communications Initiative; Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications program; College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

He is also involved with a new initiative at the University of Illinois’s College of Agriculture. And that’s the subject of this podcast episode.

Plans have been made for a global center for food and agricultural communications and it is named after another good friend, Dr. James Evans.

The James F. Evans Global Center for Food and Agricultural Communications

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

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.

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

The last two weeks have been hectic for the ZimmComm Team. I was in Orlando for CattleCon and I’m going to share some interviews from there in this episode. Then I was off to Ft. Worth for the Clean Fuels Conference while Cindy went to Scottsdale for the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau Annual Meeting. You can find virtual newsrooms for all of them on AgNewsWire.com. They contain links to the photo albums, interviews and selected session audio. We’ve got a break this week but a lot more on the schedule in the next couple months.

So, let’s get on with CattleCon. I’m going to share interviews with Todd Wilkinson, Past NCBA President; Mark Eisele, NCBA President; Buck Wehrbein, NCBA President-Elect and Colin Woodall, CEO, NCBA.

Besides these CattleCon interviews there are many more that are separated as officers, staff, trade show and other interviews. Besides looking them up online you can also easily get them by subscribing to the ZimmComm Golden Mic Audio Podcast with your favorite platform.

That is the ZimmCast for now. I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for listening.

Welcome to the ZimmCast, I’m Chuck Zimmerman.

This week we’re going to get a preview of the new CattleCon. I love that name. It is new and perfect for the Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show. In fact, CattleCon is the official new name.

To learn all about what’s new and different with CattleCon I talked with Kristin Torres, Executive Director of Meetings and Events, NCBA.

CattleCon is where the beef industry meets! We’re Onward to Orlando from January 31 to February 2, 2024. At CattleCon, you'll discover a unique and comprehensive experience that brings together education, networking, business opportunities, advocacy, and fun for the whole family, all under one roof. Join us at CattleCon, the ultimate destination where the beef industry meets to learn, connect, grow, and enjoy. Registration for CattleCon24 is now open. Click here to register for the largest event in the cattle industry.

Thanks Kristin for walking us through the newly named event and some of the changes that attendees will find.

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

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

As we come to the end of 2023, we already have dates on the calendar going into the new year for about the same events we did this year, most of which we have been doing for about 15 years. From Beltwide Cotton Conferences right after new years to the American Seed Trade association Field Crops seed convention, we stayed busy all year. Here is a compilation of interviews from 2023.

And that will wrap it up for 2023 – see you somewhere on the agriblogging highway in 2024.

And that’s the ZimmCast. I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for listening.

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

During this year’s NAFB Trade Talk I interviewed a lot of company representatives and am taking this opportunity to share some of them. These folks had a lot more than just the Golden ZimmComm Microphone in their face! But they are now members of the Golden Mic Club. Here’s who you can listen to in this order: Mike DiPaola,Taranis and Ethan Noll, Ag Partners Co-op; Mark Foster, AMVAC; Aaron Robinson, Benson Hill; Aaron Eddy, Azotic and Brian Neineke, Phospholutions.

I know that was a lot of information on different products and companies but I hope you enjoyed it.

Cindy and I will be on the agriblogging and podcasting trail for the American Seed Trade Association’s newly named Field Crop Seed Conference. It is being held in Orlando, FL for the first time. The Golden ZimmComm Microphone will get a workout once again before we start the new year in Ft. Worth at the Beltwide Cotton Conference.

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

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

In this episode I’m going to share a timely interview. You’ll hear my conversation with Karl Harker with the Agricultural Weather Information Service. AWIS is advertising on AgNewsWire to reach new prospects for their services. That’s what we’ll be talking about as we approach winter which is a very important one for all types of farmers and those who provide them with weather information.

The ZimmComm Team has been very busy this fall so far but we’ve still got a lot on the calendar still before the end of the year. If you enjoy the ZimmCast let me know if you would like to sponsor the program or have ideas of topics or interviews you’d like to hear.

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

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

In this episode we’re going to learn about special sale of agriculture focused website domains being sold by Dave Larson of Larson Ent. LLC. There are a number of categories and I’ll let him tell you about what is available.

After that I’m going to share my wrap-up interview of the 2023 NAMA Fall Conference with John Rozum, AEM and current President of NAMA. It was a well attended and successful conference.

I’ll be in the woods starting this weekend for a few days for my annual deer hunt and I’m looking forward to getting some more venison in the freezer. Can’t wait.

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

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

It is time to get a preview of what to expect at this year's NAMA Fall Conference. I spoke with Trista Thompson, Wyffels, Chair for the conference and Laura Rustmann, J.L. Farmakis, Vice Chair. In our discussion we'll talk about the ag tour the day before the official start of the conference; keynote speakers; breakout sessions, professional development awards and lots of opportunity for networking. You can still register and we hope to see you there.

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 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.

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

I’m going to start with an excerpt of the brand new podcast, The Heart of Rural America, hosted by Amanda Radke. She’s a South Dakota cattle rancher, wife, mama, author, and motivational speaker. Amanda also wrote for AgWired back in 2010! I highly recommend you subscribe to and listen to her new podcast. We are very proud of Amanda and have enjoyed watching her family and career grow over the years.

Next in the program are interviews with the new presidents of the Agricultural Communicators Network and the Livestock Publications Council. The gavel was passed for both organizations during the Ag Media Summit. First up is Martha Mintz, Corral Creek Communications.

Next, you can listen to my interview with Katrina Huffstutler, Grant Company LLC.

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

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

After getting a break from the agriblogging highway the ZimmComm Team has used the time for some needed work on headquarters. Fortunately it has been indoors as the temperatures are high and a lot of rain has fallen until the last couple days. So now it’s time to look ahead to some events we will be attending.

The first one is the 2023 Tech Hub Live with a preview from Scott Cogdill , Proagrica . This is the third annual event and will have over 88 speakers, 19 tech talks, 19 fireside chats, 17 roundtable discussion groups and 10 breakout sessions. You can see who is exhibiting here .

Following Tech Hub Live I will be at the Southern Peanut Growers Conference in Destin, FL. I’ll be creating content for the conference blog and there will be lots of photos and interviews.

Then it’s on to the 2023 Ag Media Summit in Palm Springs, CA, and the Renaissance Palm Springs Hotel. I haven’t been able to attend them all but most of them. The AMS started in 1999.

To get a preview of this year’s event I spoke with Shelia Grobosky, Public Relations Coordinator at BioZyme Inc. who is the AMS Steering Committee Chair and a member of the Livestock Publications Council. She says there are a number of things that have been changed in the schedule but the basics all all there. It’s not too late to register. You can do that here .

Hope you are staying cool if you are in an area with significant heat but, hey, it is summer. So that’s the ZimmCast for this week. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

Hello to the ZimmCast. I’m Chuck Zimmerman.

In this episode I will be sharing a couple of interviews from the AgGateway Mid-Year Meeting.

One of those is with Andres Ferrerya, Data Asset Manager for Syngenta Digital. The kind of work that he does and the work of AgGateway can get pretty technical but he describes it in a clear way to understand, in my opinion. Then you can hear Jeremy Wilson, AgGateway’s Executive VP/COO, as he talks about the various working groups in AgGateway and what they are doing.

The work that AgGateway is doing is really vital for farmers, retailers and other companies that are seeking standards of various kinds to make the process of digital information quicker, simpler and more useful.

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

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

It is going to be a very active June into July for ZimmComm, with a variety of on-location events. One of those is the annual IFAJ World Congress which is being held this year in Alberta, Canada. I will be there and I believe this will be my 10th IFAJ Congress. These events are very well planned and packed with business, professional development and farm tours.

To get a preview of the activities I spoke with Jessika Guse, co-chair of the planning committee.

I’ll be taking a lot of photos throughout the Congress and hope to have time and internet to get them up asap. I’ll be doing the same immediately after the Congress when I stay in Calgary for the Alltech ONE World Tour stop.

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

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. I'm Cindy Zimmerman

This episode comes to you from the 2023 Water for Food Global Conference, which was held May 8-11 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This was the 10th Water for Food Conference but the first time it’s been held since 2019, thanks to COVID.

The Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute (DWFI) at the University of Nebraska works to address the global challenge of achieving food security with less stress on water resources through water management in agricultural and food systems and the conference brings together experts and thought leaders from around the world to help find solutions to water and food security challenges.

In this episode, you will hear from DWFI executive director Peter McCornick, DWFI board member Felicia Marcus, Colorado farmer and LRE Water consultant Dick Wolfe, Nebraska farmer Debbie Borg, and Louise Mabulo, founder of The Cacao Project.

We hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

The 2023 Agri-Marketing Conference is approaching fast. You can still register right here. And in this episode you can hear a comprehensive preview of the conference from Vice Chair, Lori Kruger, Signal Theory.

In 2004 Cindy and I announced the start of ZimmComm at the conference which means we’re starting our 20th year!! It was one of the best decisions we have made and we will be exhibiting once again in the Connection Point. I’ll be easy to find and hope you will stop by. I’ll have the Golden ZimmComm Microphone ready to conduct interviews. I’d like you to tell me a little about your what you do, your company and your products/services. Simple. No wrong answers.

You can also enter our booth drawing which is a Supernote A6 X bundle that includes pen and folio. It is a dedicated digital note taking device!

I want to thank Lori and all the committee members and staff for putting together a fantastic looking conference agenda. I hope to see you there.

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

In this episode we’re going to continue learning about newer options for insurance programs for farmers. And in the 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. In particular, the subject will be Captive Insurance Programs.

I had a conversation with John Capasso, founder and current President & Chief Executive Officer of Captive Planning Associates, LLC. John has over 20 years of insurance experience. He walks us through the definition of captive programs and answers questions farmers have about creating them and making the best use of this risk tool.

So, listen in as John provides us with the “Captivating Possibilities” of Captive Insurance Programs.

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

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. ZimmComm is celebrating 19 years in business this month!

In this episode you'll hear about some new products, because that's what Classic is all about. I want to say a special thank you to Syngenta and Phospholutions for making my attendance possible.

First you’ll hear my conversation with Hunter Swisher, CEO/Founder, Phospholutions. This was the companies public announcement of their product RhizoSorb, an entirely new phosphate fertilizer technology. Hunter will explain.

Moving over to Syngenta, a key announcement was a new way to buy seed. They call it Seed Simplified and it is starting with their GHX by Golden Harvest brand to farmers in Iowa and Illinois. Golden Harvest’s Morgan Dugan explains it.

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

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

I’m going to focus on a couple of different conferences in this episode. First I’m going to share an interview Cindy did with Erik Huschitt, Badger State Ethanol, who is the Chair for the Renewable Fuels Association. This was during the National Ethanol Conference last week. We’ve been working on the annual conference since 2007. Besides Erik’s interview we have lots of content on our AgNewsWire.com virtual ag newsroom. It might be the most we’ve ever produced at this conference. In Cindy’s interview you’ll hear Erik talk about what a great conference it was this year.

Next I’m going to let you hear what Sara Wyant, Agri-Pulse, says about the upcoming Agri-Pulse Ag and Food Policy Summit, which is will place in The National Press Club in Washington, DC.

With spring almost here it is time for National Ag Day with activities in Washington, DC the day following the Agri-Pulse event. National Agriculture Day is celebrating 50 years. Amy Bradford, GROWMARK, is chair of the event this year with is hosted by the Agriculture Council of America. Amy talks us through the planned activities.

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

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

This week’s program will start with cattle and end with CIRB. By that I mean a couple of my interviews from the Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show and then from the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau Annual Meeting.

First up is Colin Woodall, CEO, NCBA, who provides an overview of the organization and how the 2023 convention and trade show has performed. Following Colin is Kent Bacus, Executive Director, Government Affairs, for NCBA who talks about export markets.

Moving on to the CIRB Annual Meeting you will hear from Jim Wiesemeyer, Farm Journal policy analyst, who provided his annual political update. And then Michael Torrey, Executive Director, CIRB, provides a wrap-up on this year’s event.

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

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

In the middle of the winter meetings I’m going to take a break share a conversation with JJ Rivet, Can-Am. Can-Am provided the members of the Crystal Pig Hunt Club to try out an HD-10 Unlimited model during the early part of the deer hunting season in Georgia, which was very successful. I just talk with JJ a few weeks ago and asked him to talk about the product we worked with. It was a closed cab with heat and air and we filled up feeders, dropped people off at their stands and brought our harvest back to the camp.

In our conversation you'll hear about the specifications of this model and a little bit about its history. The cab is a game changer and you'll hear about various add-ons and options to fit your woods, farm and work needs

We hope to work with Can-Am again in the future because it sure helped us be more productinve in the field.

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

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

I’m a little behind on this latest episode. The holidays and early conferences have kept Cindy and I very busy. This includes traveling to see family and that includes a beautiful wedding for one of our nieces. We are very blessed to be able to see so many of our family members. We’re scattered all over the place so it’s not easy. But worth it.

So, I’m going to include a few of the interviews I conducted in the last two weeks.

Let’s start with the Beltwide Cotton Conferences in New Orleans. These interviews are from the Cotton Sustainability Conference. First up will be Dr. Gary Adams, President and CEO, National Cotton Council, talking about the U. S. Cotton Trust Protocol. Following Gary will be Dr. Jesse Daystar, Chief Sustainability Officer, Cotton Incorporated, talking about Climate Smart Cotton.

There are a quite a few more interviews and other audio in the Beltwide Cotton Conferences virtual ag newsroom on AgNewsWire.com. That includes regulatory updates, cotton policy updates and a world cotton outlook.

Now let’s move to this week’s VISION Conference conducted by Meister Media and held in Glendale, AZ. It is the 6th year for this conference.

First up is Joe Monahan, President and COO of Meister Media. He talks about the conference theme of Harnessing the Power of Agriculture 4.0. Then you’ll hear Rob Dongoski, Global Food & Agribusiness Leader, Ernst & Young. He has some great information about how technology will enable the future food system from producers to consumers.

Coming up next on the ZimmComm schedule is the Clean Fuels Conference followed by the annual meeting of the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau. I’m looking forward to them!

I’d also like to remind you that you can subscribe, not only to the ZimmCast, but the ZimmComm Golden Mic Audio Podcast. That podcast contains all interviews or other audio files that we publish. You can find it in all the major podcast directories. Just search for ZimmComm Golden Mic Audio Podcast.

So, 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.

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.

During the 2022 ASTA CSS & Seed Expo I met one of the international attendees yesterday who lives in Kenya and is Head of Seed Research & Systems Development for the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). She has a great story and I think you’ll enjoy learning about farming challenges in the eleven country area that the organization works in.

I think it is always fascinating to learn more about agriculture in other countries. That’s why I’ve supported the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists. They have an annual meeting in a different member country each year. By attending many of them I have been able to travel in Japan, New Zealand, Argentina, Canada, Switzerland and many others. You can learn more about IFAJ at IFAJ.org.

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

In this episode I’m going to share some interview with Syngenta leadership from the company’s crop protection media summit. So, let’s learn what’s new with Syngenta Crop Protection. First I’ll share my conversation with Vern Hawkins, President, Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC, followed by Jeff Cecil, Head of North America Crop Protection Marketing. Vern will discuss a “View from the Top.”

Next we have Jeff who will discuss “Syngenta CP Innovation and Economics of Agronomics.”

For more interviews from the Syngenta Media Summit go to AgNewsWire.com and click on the virtual newsroom where you will also find lots of photos from the event in Louisiana.

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.

We’re reached another milestone. This is episode 700 of the podcast that started back at the beginning of 2005. You can find them all on AgWired.com by searching the category link for the ZimmCast.

This week I’m going to share a few interviews from my week last week in Minneapolis. First was the NAMA Fall Conference followed by the Export Exchange. First we’ll hear from Matt Coniglio, Farm Progress, and chair of the NAMA Foundation. Next up is Brian Torrey, John Deere, who is the chair for the 2023 Agri-Marketing Conference which will take place in St. Louis next April. He provides a little look ahead for that.

After the NAMA Fall Conference I changed hotels for the Export Exchange which is an opportunity for foreign grain buyers to come visit with farmers, agribusiness companies and the U.S. Grains Council, Renewable Fuels Association and Growth Energy, who partner to put the even on. First up is Ryan LeGrand, U.S. Grains Council President/CEO. Next Ann Lewis of the RFA provides current numbers for the exports of U.S. ethanol and dried distillers grains.

It was a busy week in Minneapolis but later this week I’ll be in the Georgia woods hunting deer. Looking forward to a little R&R.

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

This week’s program will be a preview interview on the NAMA Fall Conference coming up very soon in Minneapolis. To get the details I talked with GROWMARK’s Chris Grogan who is the vice chair of the NAMA committee that has worked with staff to plan this year’s event. We’ll talk about the program and speakers, registration, the hotel and more.

The conference will be held at the Loews in Minneapolis on October 10-12. You can find the link to register on the NAMA website if you haven’t already done so.

In this episode I’m going to share interviews with Syngenta/Golden Harvest representatives who were on location at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, IA. Thank you Syngenta for making my attendance possible this year. There is a lot of content in the virtual newsroom on AgNewWire that includes lots of photos and interviews. Just go to AgNewsWire.com to check it out and feel free to download and use.

So, in this program you will hear what’s new from the company from:

Rex Gray, Golden Harvest corn product manager

David Schlake, Golden Harvest agronomy manager - west

Andy Ackley, Ph.D., Golden Harvest corn portfolio manager

Ron Beyer, Golden Harvest agronomist

Logan Romines, Syngenta fungicide product lead

And that's the ZimmCast for this week. I hope you enjoyed it.

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.

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.

This will be episode 695 of the ZimmCast. I’d love any feedback you want to give. Do you like the format? What would change? What topics or speakers would you like to hear? Message me and I really appreciate it.

In just over a week the annual Ag Media Summit will take place in Raleigh, NC. If you have not registered, you can do so on site if you need to. But you can also follow on social media with the hashtag #AgMediaSummit2022 and I’ll be posting lots of photos and interviews when I can.

In this week’s program you can hear a preview of the event from Kenna Rathai, Broadhead, who is Chair of the Steering Committee for the Ag Media Summit this year.

It is easy to find more information about the Ag Media Summit and to register. Just go to AgMediaSummit.com.

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

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.

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

In this week’s podcast I’m going to share a couple of speakers who have just been added to the AgNewsWire virtual newsroom for the Alltech ONE Conference. I thought you might be interested in their topics.

Let’s start out with Amy Bell-Elmohammed, Quality Manager for Alltech. Amy managed the Stay Curious Track for the conference. She will explain what that means.

Next we'll turn to a topic area many of you are involved in which is crop science. Learn what Alltech is doing in this area from Steve Borst, Vice President of Alltech Crop Science.

So, if you liked these topics you can find more if you register for the Alltech ONE Conference and look through all the virtual content.

And, that’s the ZimmComm 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 I was in Lexington, KY for the Alltech ONE Conference. It has been 3 years since Alltech created one of the very first virtual conferences in 2020. So you can imagine the excitement and joy of being with customers and friends from all over the world. That includes agricultural media who had a great press room to work out of as usual.

So, for this week’s ZimmCast I’m going to share two interviews. First will be the 2021 Alltech Canada Planet of Plenty Award Winner, Andrea Stroeve-Sawa, Shipwheel Cattle Feeders, Alberta. Next will be the 2022 Alltech Canada Planet of Plenty Award winner, Jillian Byers, Blue Ridge Farms, Alberta.

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.

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

The topic of this episode is the 2022 Agri-Marketing Conference which took place last week. Besides exhibiting in the Connection Point I was also taking photos for NAMA, over 500 of them which you can find in our online album. Just click on the Flickr icon on AgWired.com or AgNewsWire.com to find them.

During the conference I recorded remarks from our industry award winners as well as interviewing the new president of NAMA, Deron Johnson, Curious Plot. The Golden ZimmComm Microphone was active in our Connection Point booth and I conducted interviews with a number of attendees and other exhibitors. You can find them all on the virtual newsroom on AgNewsWire.com.

I’m going to share a number of these remarks and interviews with you in this week’s program.

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.

Trips on the agriblogging highway continue with the Agri-Marketing Conference coming up next week. After that conference it will be on to Lexington, KY for the Alltech ONE Conference in May.

ZimmComm will be exhibiting in the Connection Point at the Agri-Marketing Conference once again, in booth 201. The ZimmComm Golden Mic will be there to conduct interviews with attendees. All you have to do is stop by and we can chat about what is new in the world of agribusiness with you. You can also stop by to enter a drawing for a blue Apple HomePod mini while you’re at it.

To get a preview of this year’s NAMA conference I’m sharing a conversation with Tom Posta, Bader Rutter, who is Chair of this year’s event.

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.

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.

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.

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

The Agricultural Retailers Association annual 2020 ARA Conference & Expo went virtual this year Dec. 1-2. Ag professionals from across the country went “All In For Ag Retail” with interactive workshops, engaging networking opportunities, and a 3D Expo Hall. During the event the ZimmComm Team collected relevant screenshots, conducted interviews with speakers, award winners and staff.

Providing us with a wrap-up of the conference is ARA Chairman, Rod Well, GROWMARK. He summarizes the activities and talks about future priorities for the organization.

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

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

In this week's program Cindy and I share excerpts from interviews we recorded for the NAFB Trade Talk session. Some of these were before the convention or during the session. Included are now past-President, Rita Frazer, RFD Radio; Liz Hunt, Syngenta; Andy Lavigne, ASTA; Geoff Cooper, RFA and Norm Davy, Heliae.

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

Cindy talked with Frances Hayes, Communications Specialist for the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska, about how they have adapted their communications strategy this year to reach a diverse group of stakeholders around the world in the middle of a pandemic.

We also have an interview about a company called C-Lock, which developed technology to help improve animal management, profits, and sustainability in their livestock systems and awarded Research Equipment Grants to find new ways to use their tools.

The founder of C-Lock is Dr. Patrick Zimmerman – so since we shared a surname I thought I would give him a call and find out

So, what’s this week’s episode about? It’s about agriculture’s economic impact on a very urban region, specifically St. Louis. The St. Louis Agribusiness Club just announced the results of their Agricultural Economic Impact Study on the St. Louis Region. This study has been conducted every five years since the first one was conducted in 2004. And guess what. ZimmComm produced that first study and you can still see those results on the organization’s website.

To talk about the study I’m going to share conversations with Matt Amick, Missouri Soybean Association and President of the St. Louis Agribusiness Club. Then you’ll hear Alan Spell, University of Missouri Extension, who actually researched and prepared this year’s study.

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

This is an exciting time for deer hunters. The season is about to get started for those of us who hunt in Georgia. So, preparations are being made for a great opening day at the Crystal Pig Hunt Club.

My preparation includes getting to test drive a new John Deere Gator XUV855M S4. This crossover utility vehicle will take us out into the woods over some tough terrain and hopefully to include transporting some of our harvest. I'll be documenting our experience but thought I'd kick start things with an interview with Mark Davey, John Deere Marketing Manager.

There are many features on these new Gators that make them ideal for hunting. Some of those include easier shifting and instant engagement of 4-wheel drive, better power steering and a digital display panel to see important indicators. In this week's program Mark and I talk about the new Gator models and what the key updates are.

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

This week I had the opportunity to fly for the first time in over 5 1/2 months to put the Golden ZimmComm Microphone to work at a farm event. Thank you Farm Journal for having me help with your Farm Journal Field Days event which included on-farm activities as well as a significant virtual experience.

In this program I’m going to share an interview with the Iowa farm owner and field day host, Ben Riensche, Blue Diamond Farming Company.

After my conversation with Ben I’m going to include the newest podcast we’re producing with the first episode that just published. It is the Daugherty Water for Food Podcast.

In the first session, you’ll hear from award-winning chef, entrepreneur, and agriculture advocate, Louise Mabulo, as she discusses youth and sustainable solutions to food security.

Looking ahead I don’t know when I’ll need to get back on the agriblogging highway. That doesn’t mean the ZimmComm Team isn’t still working on various projects which include assisting companies and organizations with virtual events and content. Let us know if we can help you out too.

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

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast, featuring weekly interviews with agribusiness industry leaders and all about what’s new, with a focus on agricultural marketing.

The #NAMA20 is a wrap and it was a great show. If you are registered you can still go back and watch presentations. You can also still visit the Connection Point and say hi to those of us with a booth. You can also visit our virtual newsroom on AgNewsWire to see some images from the conference and hear from NAMA Sustaining Sponsors.

In this week’s program we’re feature some more of the sustaining partners of the National Agri-Marketing Association. You’ll hear from David Lazarenko, Think Shift ; Dustin Johansen, OBP and Marty Wolske, Meredith Agrimedia . They will talk about their organizations and why they support the work of NAMA.

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

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast, featuring weekly interviews with agribusiness industry leaders and all about what’s new, with a focus on agricultural marketing.

It is 2020 Virtual Agri-Marketing Conference week and this week's program will feature some more of the sustaining partners of the National Agri-Marketing Association. You'll hear from Scott McClure, Brighton; Matt Herman, DTN/The Progress Farmer and Tom Brand, NAFB. They will talk about their organizations and why they support the work of NAMA. I'll have a virtual newsroom available on AgNewsWire.com with all the interviews and more starting tomorrow morning.

Stop and see ZimmComm in the Connection Point in the virtual conference. We'd love to see you.

This week also includes some virtual work we're doing for the Renewable Fuels Association for their annual educational/promotional sponsorship at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and the Buffalo Chip Campground. Bikers will have Free Fuel Happy Hours once again. Keep an eye on AgWired and AgNewsWire for more from there.

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

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

In this week's program you'll hear from Marvin Kokes, Senior VP of Corporate Relations, NCBA. We talk about this week's Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting and the virtual ag newsroom we created on AgNewsWire.

From there I share a few more of my conversations with sustaining partners of the National Agri-Marketing Association. You'll hear from Curt Blades, Senior VP, Agricultural Services, Association of Equipment Manufacturers; Laurie Fleck, President/CEO, FLM/Harvest and Laurel Caes, Public Relations Manager, North America, John Deere. I'll have more to come in future episodes.

BTW. If you haven't registered for the Virtual Agri-Marketing Conference you can still do so at NAMA.org.

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

This week's program provides a preview of the Virtual Agri-Marketing Conference which will be held August 11-13. Conference Chair Rebecca Ivey, Case IH, gives us a preview of the program.

Following that I'm sharing conversations with several of the NAMA Sustaining Partners starting with Susan Rhode, Farm Journal, followed by Doug Reynolds, Corteva Agriscience and then Amy Bradford, GROWMARK. They talk about their companies, how they've dealt with the effects of the pandemic and why they support NAMA. I will be featuring more of these in future episodes of the ZimmCast.

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

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

In this week's episode I talk with Chris Clayton, Ag Policy Editor, DTN/The Progressive Farmer, who is the Steering Committee Chair for Ag Media Summit. The event was postponed to November 14-18 in Kansas City. The conference hotel is the Loews Kansas City Hotel which is brand new and looks fabulous.

Chris says the program is coming together and companies that would like to be a sponsor and have a booth in the InfoExpo trade show can find more details on that on the website. He's encouraging people to register. In fact, here's an excerpt from a column he just wrote about that.

"On Friday, though, I placed a bet for four months out. I registered for the Ag Media Summit, now slated for Nov. 14-18 in Kansas City. I'm making a bet that we're going to get this thing figured out, much like the businesses that have reopened, the colleges bringing in students, like my son, and the schools that are reopening, like the one my daughter attends and the one where my wife is a librarian.

I am looking forward to having a drink with Chuck or Mike. I am looking forward to recharging my writing neutral network through a tip or insight from a writing coach. I'm going to make it a point to meet and thank everyone who sponsors AMS. And I'm looking forward to congratulating and thanking the professionals who are working with us to make AMS a success regardless of any challenges we face."

You can register now right here.

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

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast, featuring weekly interviews with agribusiness industry leaders and all about what's new, with a focus on agricultural marketing.

This week we’re going to hear from someone whose goal is to bridge rural and urban America. You probably have heard of him. Maybe you haven’t. But in this week's program I'm sharing a conversation with Trent Loos, Loos Tales, Rural Route and more.

We also ramble around on some other topics like Impossible Foods and virtual events. So, that's the ZimmCast for this week. I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for listening.

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

In this week's program I'm sharing a conversation with Gil Gullickson, Crops Technology Editor for Successful Farming magazine/Agriculture.com. We talk about the 100 year celebration of the AAEA, The Agricultural Communicators Network. We also talk about this year's Ag Media Summit which has been moved to November.

Let's all hope that we're closer to "normal" by that time. If not, I hope to help create virtual content for AAEA to help with our milestone celebration.

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

This week's program provides a wrap-up of the Alltech ONE Virtual Experience. This virtual experience took place throughout the week with daily keynote speakers and focus sessions and more. All of this was available on-demand and still is. In fact, you can still register and new content will be made available each month until the 2021 event.

In the program I talk with Dr. Mark Lyons, Alltech President/CEO, who provides a summary of how the event unfolded and some key takeaways. I also share my interview with event keynoter, Dr. Frank Mitloehner, UC-Davis, who spoke on Clearing the Air: Debunking the Myths of Agriculture.

The Alltech ONE Virtual Experience provides a template for how engaging and entertaining a virtual conference can be. Please feel free to check it out.

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

This week I’m sharing a conversation with Erika Osmundson, Director of Marketing and Communications, AgCareers.com. Erika and I talk about how the pandemic situation has affected job seekers and ag companies looking for employees. I really appreciate her time and outlook for people who would like to work in the ag industry and the companies looking for people right now.

Here’s to a near term future when things do get back to normal!

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

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.

This week's program is part one of at least two that feature conversations with the leadership of agricultural media and marketing associations. This week I'm sharing conversations with the National Agri-Marketing Association and Jenny Pickett, the National Association of Farm Broadcasting and Tom Brand and the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists/Canadian Farm Writers with Hugh Maynard.

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.

Feel free to let me know how your company or organization has been affected and what you're learning during this trying time.

That's the ZimmCast for this week. I hope you enjoy it and thanks for listening.

In this week's program we're going to learn about Calyxt, a plant science company, doing some very interesting work with new technology. I spoke with Calyxt CEO, Jim Blome, about the work they are doing. He focuses on the future of food and how the types of technology being developed at the company is creating new products to give farmers more options to meet today's consumer demands.

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

In this week's program I'm featuring a conversation with John Demerly, CEO, CommoditAg, about the new app they launched during Commodity Classic. That was the last on location meeting either of us attended and it seems like a lot longer ago than it really is!

John says the app provides the opportunity for agricultural producers and farmers to research and order products anytime, anywhere with their mobile devices. He says they have a growing line-up of products available and just announced a "free shipping" program for the first time for customers.

To download the app, go to the Apple App Store for iOS devices and the Google Play Store for Android devices. To learn more about CommoditAg, visit commoditag.com.

In this week's program I'm sharing a conversation with Aidan Connelly, CEO, Cainthus. It has been quite some time since we've had this opportunity. We set a convenient time for each of us since he was in Ireland and I am here in the U.S.

During my conversation with Aidan we talk about the work Cainthus does and he provides his thoughts on the current COVID-19 problem. We also talk about the value of podcasts, especially in light of the difficulty for travel right now.

I'm also going to share the first episode of a new podcast series we're producing - Field Notes from Koch Agronomic Services. It debuted Wednesday and will be produced monthly moving ahead. The topic of the first show is Understanding Nitrogen and includes experts, Tim Laatsch, technical agronomy manager, and Michael Berry, director of brand expansion.

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

In this crazy pandemic panicked world I think we need a dose of normalcy. Don't you? Well, listening to a good podcast fits the bill IMO.

First though, I just want to say that ZimmComm is committed to be ready, willing and able to find creative solutions for your agricultural marketing and communications needs.

It’s a challenging time to make marketing decisions due to the uncertainties with the global virus situation. Cindy and I are working with clients on "virtual" content projects like podcasts, releases and more. These are channels that don’t require travel! And these are services and skills we’ve honed since starting this company 16 years ago and an additional over 20 years of experience working in agricultural communications, mostly farm radio.

We know how tight budgets are, so these services are priced to work within yours. I’m available at your convenience to discuss how we can help you maximize your marketing dollars. Feel free to call or email.

So, back to this week's program feature. I'm sharing a conversation I just had with Mark Stock, co-founder of BigIron Realty. He's a farmer, auctioneer and investor and has a keen awareness as to the farmer’s perspective. Mark discusses the best strategies for buying, selling or using farmland to raise capital.

Some of the topic we cover include, strategies and what buyers need to know when purchasing farmland and property tax rules to explore and other ways farmers can use their land to generate revenue. These can included selling hunting rights, leasing land to other farmers and strategies for retiring farmers who want to profit from their land.

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

This week's program features a roundtable discussion I had during Commodity Classic in San Antonio, TX. I sat down with the CEO's of several Farm Credit associations: Aaron Johnson, Farm Credit Illinois, Bill Johnson, Farm Credit Mid America and Mark Jensen, Farm Credit Services of America (FCSAmerica) and Frontier Farm Credit.

Our topic was Volatility and how it is reshaping risk and financial management . We talked about how farmers are doing now in light of the volatility of the last year which includes weather extremes, disease and political uncertainty.

You'll hear these leaders talk about the short-term outlook and then looking ahead long-term with ideas about critical strategies for the future and what services Farm Credit can offer.

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

In this week's program I'm sharing an interview Cindy did with RFA Senior Advisor, Bob Dinneen, who reflects on the 25 years of the National Ethanol Conference. I'm also sharing an interview I did at the conference with Kenny Hauk, Hauk Designs. Kenny built a custom Jeep Wrangler that runs on E85. It is a monster machine and will be touring the country with RFA. You can watch Kenny's show, Hauk Machines, on Amazon Prime to see the project in 2019 episodes.

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

In this week's program I talk about the whole concept of being an industry influencer on social media before sharing an interview with Trent Johnson, Owner, Greeley Hat Works. I met Trent in the NCBA Trade Show and learned a lot about hats.

There is a difference between western and cowboy hats and Trent explains why. He talks about the value of custom fitting a hat and how to take care of them. He also shares some stories of his experiences over the years making hats for movies and even for the military. He even took my measurements for a hat that might just work for this agriblogging photographer that has a big old flash on top of his camera!

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

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.

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 chuck@zimmcomm.biz .

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.