« Older Entries

Looking Back on a Successful 2012

By Kelly Rivard, December 28, 2012

The end of 2012 is quickly approaching, and AdFarmers all across North America are happily looking back on a very big year. We have celebrated some huge milestones in 2012, ranging from some groundbreaking campaigns to massive growth of staff in multiple offices. I feel incredibly blessed to be able to watch all of this unfold as a new AdFarmer and passionate member of the agriculture community!

I asked AdFarmers what their favorite highlights of 2012 were. Here are just a few of the highlights that my fellow AdFarmers sent me:

  • We worked to create a cookbook entitled “The Cook and the Cowboy” with Heritage Angus Beef.
  • We worked with Dow AgroSciences on some AMAZING projects:
    - The “Keys to the Combine” giveaway, which featured a live online drawing for a $350,000 brand new New Holland combine;
    - The “Win a Tandem Truck” giveaway, where one lucky winner got a brand new International tandem truck;
    - The “Nexera Thank You Train” as part of the Grey Cup 100 Tour, where Nexera Canola thanked its loyal growers;
    - The Grey Cup took its first ever ride in a combine!
A very creative Saskatchewan Roughriders fan thanks Nexera Canola Growers at a stop along the Grey Cup 100 and Nexera Thank You Train.

A very creative Saskatchewan Roughriders fan thanks Nexera Canola Growers at a stop along the Grey Cup 100 and Nexera Thank You Train.

  • For the second year, a team of AdFarmers presented a delegate training session on agriculture advocacy at the FFA National Convention.
  • AdFarmers got hands-on time with agriculture through farm visits, training, conferences, trade shows, and even chicken necropsies!
hAdFarmer Sheridyn performs a chicken necropsy.

AdFarmer Sheridyn performs a chicken necropsy.

  • AdFarm celebrated a good year in both the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) and the Canadian Agri-Marketing Association (CAMA). A big congratulations to AdFarmer Amanda Howard for receiving the Alberta Chapter Honour Roll Award for her hard work with driving CAMA forward.
  • We’ve pitched in to help support worthy causes, such as helping students and young professionals get a promising start to their career through speaking, teaching, internships, and outreach.
  • This holiday season, AdFarmers worked with food banks, homeless shelters, agricultural organizations, and family support organizations to try and keep the holidays merry and bright for everyone.
  • AdFarm’s Kim McConnell was inducted into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame.
Kim McConnell poses with his recently-unveiled Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame portrait.

Kim McConnell poses with his Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame portrait. Photo courtesy of Tracy Lamb.

While it’s hard to list all of the fantastic successes and milestones AdFarm has celebrated in 2012, it’s clear that it’s been one outstanding year. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to fantastic campaigns, learning experiences, and successes! We’re incredibly proud of all of the AdFarmers and wonderful clients that made this year so fantastic. This year’s milestones have all been the product of the right combination of hard work, smart work, creativity, flexibility, passion, and dedication. I know I, for one, feel incredibly fortunate to be in such an innovative and enthusiastic setting!

As we look forward to an exciting 2013, we would like to extend our well wishes to you and yours in the New Year. We hope it is full of excitement, fulfillment, and great adventures!

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Tags: , , ,

Who makes the call on animal welfare?

By Tyler Kelley, June 28, 2012

Consequences abound in coming changes to animal housing regulations.

Once upon a time producers, veterinarians and other experts shaped production practices for animal agriculture. Today, sadly, activist groups like the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) force their way into executive board rooms of food companies, the halls of Congress and offices of state capitols to drive agendas that have consequences far beyond the farm.

For proof we need look no further than Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, the latest chain to require their pork supplies to come from farmers who don’t use gestation stalls to house pregnant sows. It is worthwhile to note that Domino’s Pizza stands alone in rejecting the HSUS resolution to study eliminating gestation stalls. Domino’s chooses to trust that the experts and their proven, science-based practices to know best how to raise their animals.

Is Group Housing Better?

The HSUS demand for the elimination of gestation stalls has come despite the lack of scientific proof that group housing of sows improves animal welfare.

Thanks to the National Pork Board for this photo.

Thanks to the National Pork Board for this photo.

In fact, evaluations by scientists at Texas Tech University,  researchers at the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and in Australia show the welfare of sows in gestation stalls — which are still the majority of sows — is equal to that of those raised in group pens. Pork producers use gestation stalls to keep aggressive “bully” sows from fighting or stealing food from more docile animals, as this Missouri pork producer explains.

Change At What Cost?

While it seems the sows’ welfare isn’t affected, the elimination of stalls will have a big impact on pork producers. Dr. Paul Sundberg, the National Pork Board’s vice president of science and technology, has said that these changes could cost the average pork producer millions of dollars.

And that’s the real issue: when biased or misinformed groups force a scientifically questionable agenda it can add millions of dollars in costs and drive some producers out of business. The result could be a decrease in pork supplies and an increase in the price of pork products to consumers.

When the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization shows that demand for food and fiber will nearly double by 2050, ill-informed regulations make little sense. Shouldn’t we encourage hard-working farmers and ranchers of the world to use every technology and production practice possible to meet the food and fiber needs of the growing world?

Tyler Kelley comes from a Northwest Missouri hog and cattle farm and now works as an AdFarm PR specialist in Kansas City.

Posted in Food Production, Uncategorized, politics | No Comments »

Tags: , , ,

Brave New World of Marketing Grain

By admin, May 30, 2012

ND crops marketing specialist advises growers to understand markets and contracts.

With new market opportunities opening up across the Canada/US border, producers face new challenges.

In a recent interview broadcast on CTV Saskatchewan’s Farmgate, Dr. Frayne Olson, Crops Economist/ Marketing Specialist, North Dakota State University Extension Service says that price volatility is causing the most frustration for growers globally.

Dr. Olson advises that farmers both in Canada and the United States “have to pay attention to what’s happening…to spend more time studying and understanding what the influences are that are impacting the markets and commodity prices. Pay attention to those on a regular basis.”

1352740_wheat_fieldKnowing the cost of production is something marketers have been emphasizing for years. However, it is even more critical when growers are trying to determine a good price and achieve the kinds of profits they expect.

Growers looking to forward contract their cereals need to be aware of exactly what the contract is for.

“I tell farmers to be very careful, to read and understand what the contract provisions are,” Olson says. That means asking a lot of questions to completely understand the expectations and terms of the contract. More information is available here.

Does the average grower understand the implications of marketing grain? Let us know what you think.

Ron Wall was born in Saskatchewan, lives in Missouri and writes from both sides of the border.

Posted in Marketing, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Tags: , , , ,

Chasing Monsters

By Shaun Crockett, May 23, 2012

Quite a while back, I was lucky enough to stumble on a ticket to one of Kansas City’s Art and Copy Club events. The experience stuck with me, because the speaker was advertising icon Stefan Mumaw, and he was there to talk about making Monster Ideas.

Scary good, not scary bad.

Scary good, not scary bad.

Not monster as in horror-scary, but monster as in transcendent advertising ideas. Ideas that make consumers connect to brands and clients and agencies say, “Damn, I wish I’d thought of that.”

First, it’s clear that Stefan is a story teller – a presenter extraordinaire and someone who’s passionate about the state of advertising. I agree with his thought that now is the best time to be in advertising. Why? Because our ideas are not limited by methods of distribution or other traditional marketing communication constraints. Things have changed a bit from the days of Mad Men, and I’m not just talking about three-martini lunches.

Monster Changes

There was a time when advertising was as simple as presenting a product to an audience, and advertisers limited the information they released. Stranger still, if consumers wanted to know about a new laundry detergent they had to wait to see it in the usual places: newspapers, magazines billboards, TV.

Today, nothing is simple. Consumers have the ability to put more information at their fingertips and to pass judgment on it immediately. The new consumer responds more favorably to an emotional bond with their products – and those bonds are best made by Monster Ideas.

Monster Rules

What makes an idea Monster? Stefan lists these seven great check points.

1. Emotion – does it make an emotional connection?

2. Experiential – can you make the “rules” conform to you?

3. Entertaining – does the communication make me want to watch or share it?

4. Novel – has this been done before?

5. Authentic -don’t pretend to be something you’re not.

6. Story – humans love stories, why do you think movies do so well? Does your idea allow people to immerse themselves in the story?

7. Scary – there is always a leap of faith with truly Monster ideas. There won’t be examples to show, or data to cross reference, to comfort your queasy stomach.

Stefan had plenty of examples of his thinking, including Toyota’s Swagger Wagon, Domino’s delivery and the iconic Halo 3 Believe campaign. From them and many others, I encourage you as he encouraged the Art and Copy Club crowd, “Don’t go chasing dogs, chase monsters.”

What examples of Monster Ideas have you seen?

Shaun Crockett is an art director and builder, in AdFarm’s Kansas City office. He is compared (kindly) to Stephen Holder, from AMC’s The Killing.

Posted in Culture, Events, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Tags: ,

Missouri farmer enhances bottom line by embracing latest technology

By admin, May 11, 2012

Expect to be cleaning the gumbo off your boots after walking some of the bottom land on Mark Lehenbauer’s farm near Hannibal, Missouri. His land is located just west of the Mississippi River in northeast Missouri and to say that it holds water is an understatement.

Missouri farmer Mark Lehenbauer (l) and AdFarmer Ken Ohlemeyer (r) in conversation

Missouri farmer Mark Lehenbauer (l) and AdFarmer Ken Ohlemeyer (r) in conversation

However, gumbo isn’t the only thing that sticks with you when you spend some time with Mark. So too does his enthusiasm for farming with his family and building a profitable and sustainable business using technology and good old-fashioned business acumen.

A first for AdFarm St. Louis

St. Louis AdFarmers were introduced to Mark on our first-ever Farm Day Tour earlier this spring. A fourth-generation farmer, Mark manages the row crop production and marketing of corn, soybeans and wheat for the family business. He also oversees the reproduction and health aspects of their purebred Angus and commercial herds.

His dad Ron manages the cow and haying operations and makes sure the crop side runs smoothly in the spring and fall, filling in where needed.  In addition to her career as a registered nurse, Mark’s mom Michelle is responsible for the accounting and record keeping. Mark’s wife Amy manages the cattle records and assists with the cattle operation, while also pursing an off-farm career.

The Lehenbauers were early adopters of precision agriculture in the 1990s, employing technology such as crop sensing, variable rate applications and auto steer to make multiple passes more efficiently. They have also built cattle feeding facilities that provide animals with better comfort and shelter from Missouri’s heat and humidity during the summer months.

“We use the latest tools to minimize our environmental footprint while maintaining maximum profitability per acre,” explains Mark. “Every step from planting to marketing in our row crop operation is scrutinized, to make sure that it makes sense logically and profitably.”

We’re in the people business

He sees farming in terms of the relationships with his family, neighbors and suppliers. Most of his time is spent either on the phone sharing advice with neighbors, checking market prices or chatting with local extension guys or his agronomist. Mark’s main information sources are found online, rather than in traditional print or broadcast media.

To that end, the Lehenbauer farm maintains a website and Mark uses Twitter to deliver updates on planting progress.

“Traditions tend to die hard but we feel that those who look forward to the future and adapt new practices will be here for many years to come,” he says.

Do you know farmers in your area who are embracing technology like Mark? We’d like to hear about them.

Ron Wall was born in Saskatchewan, lives in Missouri and writes from both sides of the border.

Posted in Ag Events, Marketing, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Tags: , , , ,

« Older Entries