Brownfield

Fastest Rookie

Dave Russell was drinking milk and having lunch with Indy 500 rookies Tuesday at the Brickyard!

For the 35th year, the American Dairy Association of Indiana honored the Fastest Rookie in the Indianapolis 500 during at lunch at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This year’s fastest rookie is a 27-year old Brazilian, Raphael Matos. Raphael’s 4-lap average speed was 223.429 mph. As the fastest rookie, Raphael received a check for $5000 and his name on a trophy that will be displayed at the Speedway’s Hall of Fame Museum.

In addition to the Fastest Rookie award, the American Dairy Association of Indiana, represented by dairy farmers and Milk Promotions Services of Indiana Board members Sam Schwoeppe and Franklin Weaver, will again this year be in Victory Lane to hand the winner of the Indianapolis 500 a cold bottle of milk, at tradition that goes back over 50 years.

Farmers on YouTube

Kansas Farm Bureau has done an excellent job of telling the story of how farmers care and respect their livestock with a series of videos.  You can view the videos on YouTube. 

Here's the "introduction" to the videos:

Farmers and ranchers care deeply about the health, well-being and safety of our animals, and we ensure our animals' well-being through proper management and shelter.

Healthy animals mean healthy food for you and your family. Without healthy and content animals, farmers and ranchers would not be in business.

Standards for animal care should be based on the expertise of veterinarians, farmers, ranchers and animal scientists -- the people who work with farm animals daily.

As the people who work with livestock 24/7, farmers and ranchers, as well as veterinarians and animal care scientists, provide the voices of experience and reason in addressing animal welfare issues.

Dr. Kelly Deewall is a veterinarian in Ashland, Kansas and president of the Clark County Farm Bureau.

Visit the Kansas Farm Bureau website to learn more.

Ag marketers rock out with Brownfield

Wow.  What a fun evening the Brownfield advertising sales team along with President and COO Roger Gardner; Chairman of the Board and Founder Clyde Lear; President of Learfield News Stan Koenigsfeld; and I, Cyndi Young, Brownfield Farm Director; had hosting our agrimarketing partners at the annual NAMA Brownfield party!  We had a full house at the Atlanta Hard Rock Cafe.  The band, Party Nation, entertained us and we enjoyed the company.

NAMA Conference begins Wednesday in Atlanta

The National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) Conference is this week in Atlanta, Georgia.  Solutions with Sizzle is the the meeting theme.  The conference is designed with the agrimarketer's needs in mind.  Breakout sessions will cover topics such as Creating brands people love, The larger grower's perspective, Performing under pressure, Social media, Powering up your career, What's hot in media research, and Thriving during times of uncertainty.

The conference kicks off Wednesday evening with the Best of NAMA Awards program.  Awards are presented in 61 categories with three Best of Show awards given for advertising, public relations and companion animal/turf & ornamental work. 

Thursday morning during the opening general session, NAMA will recognize an Agribusiness Leader of the Year and NAMA Marketer of the Year.  

NAMA Student Chapter members from colleges across the country participate in a marketing competition.  Each team has developed a comprehensive marketing plan on a specific topic of their choice.  This is a great exercise in marketing and networking.  The student competition finals are held on Thursday afternoon.

For I don't know how many years, Brownfield has hosted a big party at NAMA Conference.  This year's theme is ROCK at NAMA.

Paul Roberts, Roger Gardner, Jeff Moore, Anita Vanderwert, Lauri Bonnot, Stan Koenigsfeld, and me, Cyndi Young, look forward to seeing all of our advertising partners attending NAMA at our annual party Thursday, April 16 at 9pm!

Senate bean soup

During National Farmers Union (NFU) lobby day, Brownfield's Julie Harker enjoyed some "historical vittles."

According to the Senate, this bean soup has been on the menu in the U.S. Senate’s restaurant every day for over 100 years. 

The Famous Senate Restaurant Bean Soup Recipe

2 pounds dried navy beans

four quarts hot water

1 1/2 pounds smoked ham hocks

1 onion, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

salt and pepper to taste

Wash the navy beans and run hot water through them until they are slightly whitened. Place beans into pot with hot water. Add ham hocks and simmer approximately three hours in a covered pot, stirring occasionally. Remove ham hocks and set aside to cool. Dice meat and return to soup. Lightly brown the onion in butter. Add to soup. Before serving, bring to a boil and season with salt and pepper. Serves 8.

Talking to lawmakers

Brownfield reporters have been busy covering lobbying efforts by ag organizations.  One of our Jefferson City, Missouri-based ag journalists covered those efforts by Missouri Farmers Union members in the statehouse and in Washington, D.C.

It’s lobbying season on Capitol Hill and in state legislatures and farmers are making their voices heard.

-Julie Harker

Another great website

Dairy Farming Today is without a doubt one of the most informative, educational, comprehensive websites out there.   The home page sets the stage for what you'll find:

 Dairy farmers work hard every day to bring you fresh, great tasting, wholesome milk products. Almost all dairies are family-owned, and as active members of their communities, farm families take pride in maintaining natural resources. That means preserving the land where they live and work, protecting the air and water they share with neighbors, and providing the best care for their cows—the lifeblood of their business.

There is a Farmer Spotlight section, a Myth vs. Fact section, a section onDairy Technology, and a Dairy Dictionary that features a definition of everything from ear tag to somatic cell count.

If I taught Kindergarten or College-level Dairy Science, I'd find something valuable on this site to use in my teaching plan.  From life on the farm to caring for the environment to quality and safety - it is all right there at your fingertips.

I give this site an A+.

Check it out!

-Cyndi Young

Animal agriculture in the spotlight in Louisville

The 2009 annual meeting of the National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA) wrapped up on Wednesday in Louisville, Kentucky. During the two days, those attending talked about food safety, animal welfare, animal health, animal ID and the direction animal agriculture needs to be taking in all those areas. I’ll be producing stories from the meeting over the next few days, be listening to your local Brownfield affiliate and visit the Brownfield web site for more.

I’ll end with this, and I wish I could remember who ended his presentation with a slide that said, “Thank you, from a proud consumer of U.S. produced meat protein.” Put your hands on the radio and say, “Amen!”

-Dave Russell

Brownfield Ag News is proud to partner with NIAA.  This is our second year as Diamond Sponsor for the annual meeting.  Dave Russell and Teres Lambert, NIAA Director of Communications posed for a picture in front of one of the sponsorship signs.

Uerige

Our meal this evening was at the "Uerige" in Duesseldorf.  Beer is brewed there and German fare served. The agronomists, weed scientists, media and representatives of Bayer CropScience enjoyed a nice evening together before heading back to the hotel to catch some shut-eye before heading out to Bayer CropScience Monheim facilities bright and early tomorrow morning.

It's nearing midnight and time for this globetrotting blogger to head off to bed.  For some, falling to sleep is a challenge because in the Midwest, it is not quite 6pm.  I hope I can sleep, because we have a big day tomorrow!

-Cyndi

Wurst meats and blood sausage

One of the biggest treats of traveling is the opportunity to taste the "culinary diversity."  Much of what we will taste in Germany, many of us on this Bayer CropScience Innovations Tour have had before.  As we sat down to brunch after a brisk tour of Duesseldorf today, the discussion centered on the meats and the familiarity of them for those of us whose heritage is German. 

-Cyndi