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« September 2007 | Main | November 2007 »
Sally Behringer with Nicholson Kovac along with Toby Workman carved the first place pumpkin in the NK pumpkin carving contest. They call it "The Great (white) Pumpkin".
Sally is a farm girl from east central Missouri. We at Brownfield have worked with Sally on many projects. FMC is one of the companies associated with Nicholson Kovac.
NK makes good use of Sally's creativity.
If someone tells you there are no qualified candidates to fill ag public relations positions, I will tell you that they have not looked very hard.
We have an opening on staff for a promotions coordinator. I have been conducting interviews for this position and would like to hire nearly every one of candidate with whom I have met. Even those people who have applied for this position that are not from a traditional ag background have a well-rounded skill set with a deep understanding of the importance of agriculture in this country.
Dave Russell has been B-U-S-Y this week covering numerous agricultural activities going on in Indianapolis, Indiana. The town is painted blue and gold for National FFA Convention. Tune in to a Brownfield affiliate radio stations to listen to Dave's coverage or check it out online on our website.
Georgia Street in downtown Indy becomes "FFA WAY" during National FFA Convention. Dave took this picture of FFA members strolling down Georgia Street/FFA Way on their way to the convention center.
National FFA Convention is underway in Indianapolis this week. Brownfield's Dave Russell has been busy covering various aspects of the convention for Brownfield Ag News. This morning he put the microphone away and judged the national ag sales competition.
Pictured interviwing an FFA member are (left to right) Craig Spray, Beck's Hybrids and Dave Russell, Brownfield.
About halfway through the process of finding sponsors for Nebraska Master Showmanship Contest, I wonder if it is all worth it. Of course all of the sponsorship monies go to the youth participating in the contest. Along with Nebraska Department of Agriculture, Brownfield and Waitt Agribusiness cover the costs of promotions, signage, postage, and everything else. Our sponsors are wonderful, generous companies and associations who believe in our youth, but finding sponsors that do want to invest and be a part of this event, typically means you have to make contact with several that do not. Yesterday I was reminded exactly why we invest our time and backing into the contest, when I received a nice letter from a young man from McCool Junction, Nebraska:
Thank you so much for your support of the 4-H program during the Nebraska State Fair. This was my last of 11 years in 4-H and what an honor it has been to be a part of a great organization. Doing something that I truly enjoy; working with my 4-H animals. Having a couple of calves and pigs each year has really allowed me to be up to date on the latest in animal structure, feed and nutriton in my animals.
It was truly an honor to be selected to participate in the Nebraska Master Showmanship Contest druing the Nebraska State Fair. I had a great experience, met new friends and learned a lot more about sheep, pigs and calves that day.
I am currently attending the University of Nebraska Lincoln on East Campus in Animal Science and Agricultural Economics. I am very involved in school and activities and really enjoy college.
Thanks again for your support.
Spencer Bolte
The rural landscape is changing and we at Brownfield are working hard to keep up with those changes that have an impact on the more "traditional" farmers as well as those who are relative newcomers to rural life.
An organization designed to bring those who have a passion for living the country life together with those who provide goods and services to them, held an outlook conference during the American Royal in Kansas City, Missouri. Living the Country Life Editor Betsy Freese was the first presenter at The Country Living Association conference. Betsy talked about the rural lifestyle from a personal perspective as well as through her contact with readers, viewers, and listeners to the Living the Country Life products. Chuck Zimmerman interviewed Betsy on AgWired.
Thanks to Chuck for sharing this photo of me as I sat down to interview Scott Downey with the Department of Ag Economics at Purdue University. Scott was a panelist in a session focusing on research that gives marketers and others serving the rural lifestyle a better idea of who is living this life.
I host a daily radio program on rural issues that you can listen to on a local Brownfield affiliate, or on the Brownfield website.
Volunteers make the American Royal Livestock Show the huge success that it is today. There is a special page on the American Royal website that praises volunteers and encourages volunteerism. The first paragraph on that page says it all:
Volunteers are vitally important to the success of the American Royal. Each year hundreds of individuals donate their time and talents to further the Royal's purpose of providing scholarship, education, awards and competitive learning experiences that reward hard work, leadership skills and agrarian values.
When I went to the office to pick up my media credentials and packet, I met Jim Thomsen from Kansas City (pictured here.) His vest was covered with American Royal pins - 29 of them to be exact. Jim began volunteer work at the American Royal while working for Farmland Industries. Retirement from Farmland did not bring an end to his volunteer career at the American Royal.
When I requested an interview with Jim McNair, President and CEO of the American Royal, he told me that he would be happy to be oblige, but would really prefer I talk to some of the volunteers.
The 108th Annual American Royal Livestock Show wrapped up Monday in Kansas City, Missouri.
Pete Shinn is in Des Moines, Iowa today at National Pork Board (NPB) offices. NPB Assistant Vice President of Communications, Cindy Cunningham is keeping our Omaha-based ag journalist busy conducting interviews with producer-officers and staffers. Topics covered range from fall applying manure to the 2008 Pork Checkoff budget and everything in between.
Pete interviewed Lynn Harrison from Elk Mound, Wisconsin, who currently serves as president of the National Pork Board.
The Kirksville, Missouri-based Brownfield affiliate radio station will celebrate 60 years on the air this week. KIRX went on the air at noon October 17, 1947. Alvina Britz and David Nelson purchased KIRX from original owner Sam Burke in 1984. Current owners include David Nelson, Keith Jones, and current General Manager Steve Lloyd. Sister stations include KRXL-FM and KTUF-FM.
The top shelf staff features Program/Operations Manager Duncan Miller, Sports Director John McConnell and announcers Steve Eklof, Dan Comstock and Charlie Porter. Charlie Porter has been with the station since the beginning.
Duncan Miller shared some great pictures of the station's original structure and the first day of broadcasting in 1947. You can see from the current picture how much things have changed in 60 years.
KIRX carries 14 Brownfield programs daily, Monday through Friday at 1450 on the AM dial. The farm and rural audience is obviously very important to our Kirksville, Missouri affiliate radio station!
Here's to the next 60 years!
The number of ag-related blogs is on the rise. A couple of "relative newcomers" to the blogosphere include:
Rhapsody in Green - the blog of POET, a biofuels company located in Sioux Falls, S.D. Wednesday's post to the blog was about an interview Pete Shinn with Brownfield had done with POET's VP of Research and Development and links back to our website and blog.
Corn Commentary, a blog about corn farming and agriculture, recently featured a review of the movie King Corn.
Brownfield ag journalists check out Keith Good's Farm Policy Blog daily. It has been around for a while.
Do you have an ag blog we should know about? If so, please let us know.
