News from ZimmComm New Media

January 25, 2013

Hello ZimmComm Fans:

It has been an interesting week as we've watched animal rights activists in action and showing their complete lack of civility and professionalism. We experienced it firsthand via comments on story posts and observed it during this week's AgChat Twitter conversation on animal welfare. They probably think they can discourage farmers and those who support the people who are helping feed a hungry world but they would be wrong. We find continued inspiration from the stories and activities of today's farmers like those recently selected as the Faces of Farming by the USFRA.

The coming week will be a busy one for the ZimmComm team. Chuck will be covering the AG CONNECT Expo while Cindy is in Iowa for the Iowa Power Farming Show courtesy of

Ag Leader Technology and the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit. At the same time Jamie Johansen will be covering the International Poultry Expo in Atlanta courtesy of Novus International.

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, "Should we sit down with HSUS in 'common cause'?"

The results of this poll are skewed due to the hacking by HSUS. In the end, the poll read that eighty one percent voted Definitely, fifteen percent said Never, and four percent thought we Should in some cases. The attempt to affect our poll reflects the HSUS/PETA goal of an end to animal agriculture. They are working to get the livestock industry to make concessions that drastically change production methods. When that happens it becomes a very slippery slope very quickly. It will only be a short matter of time before allowing chickens more room in cages becomes allowing all animals the right to life. Treating animals humanely is not the same as treating them like they are humans - but many activists see no difference.

The hacking we are referring to was having almost 400 poll responses to the Definitely answer come in during a few hours one night last week and none since. If you take them out, the answer Never would have been the highest result by far.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, "How many machines (tractors, etc.) does your farm own?" Some of the urban folk believe that if you own more than 1-2 pieces of machinery, that would classify you as a large farmer. We disagree with that. So let's see how many pieces of equipment most farmers/ranchers own. Let us know!

Here are some interviews from this week you might have missed:

Now for some news from the ZimmComm News Network:

AgWired

AgFanatics Market Talk

Cory Winstead and Nick Klump with AgriVisor have a new AgFanatics podcast discussing export and domestic demand along with other market related topics. MORE

Managing Your Equipment Maintenance

There are lots of companies that have developed products or services without realizing how valuable they may be to the agricultural industry. In this week's program we'll meet one of them, eMaint Enterprises. I had an enjoyable conversation yesterday with Rona Palmer. MORE

Listen to the ZimmCast here

USFRA Announces Four Fresh Faces of Farming

The U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) has announced four Faces of Farming & Ranching chosen from on-line voting and a panel of judges. MORE

Domestic Fuel

First E85 Station Opens in Richmond, Virginia

The first E85 station has opened in Richmond, Virginia. In addition, MAPCO Express, has "re-branded" their retail stores under the "East Coast" brand and the three new E85 stations, two near Richmond and one near Washington, D.C. will be sold under this brand. MORE

Iowa Renewable Fuels Marketing Awards

John Gilroy from Harney Oil Company in Coralville, Iowa and Jim Becthold from Linn Coop Oil Co. in Marion, Iowa have been awarded the 2013 Secretary's Biodiesel and Ethanol Marketing Awards. MORE

Book Review - Demystifying Food From Farm to Fork

This week I read, "Demystifying Food from Farm to Fork," by Maurice J. Hladik. Many of you may be familiar with Hladik, an agricultural expert who has spoken at events all around the world including Commodity Classic. The goal of the book is to take a look at food production from "farm to fork". MORE

Precision Pays

eMaint CMMS For Your Farm

Have you wondered how to measure the return on decisions you make like the choice in tractor tires? How to keep track of how, when, where you did maintenance on your equipment? eMaint Enterprises has a solution. I learned about it in a conversation with Rona Palmer. MORE

Podcast

AGCO Launches Auto-Guide 3000

AGCO announced the release of Auto-Guide 3000 - AGCO's latest integrated assisted-steering solution designed to provide professional farmers around the world with best-in-market functionality. MORE

Leica Geosystems Launches Virtual Vista

Leica Geosystems launched Virtual Vista, a web-based platform which allows farmers to monitor their fleet and field activities in a simple and effective way. Virtual Vista connects directly through the built-in modem of the Leica mojo3D and customers can access the service within a few steps. MORE

World Dairy Diary

All-American Dairy Foundation Launches Website

The All-American Dairy Foundation announced the launch of www.allamericandairyfoundation.org, a website dedicated to educating and promoting the efforts of the non-profit foundation that supports the All-American Dairy Show. MORE

DFA Reaches Settlement

Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) have reached a settlement agreement in the class action lawsuit against DFA in the southeastern United States. MORE

Officers Elected at FarmFirst

FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative has announced the organization's 2013 board of directors' officers. MORE

Contact Information
ZimmComm New Media
1507 Templemore Dr.
Cantonment, FL 32533
850-780-6617 office
850-308-1221 fax
email: news@agwired.com (inquiries/news releases/announcements)
Chuck on Twitter
Cindy on Twitter

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