by Cyndi on March 11, 2010
What is it about daylight savings time that causes so much stress? Brownfield’s Jerry Passer has some thoughts on the subject:
This is the weekend that for some reason causes many of us a great deal of stress. You wouldn’t think something as simple as turning your clock ahead one hour before you go to bed on Saturday night to be such a traumatic event.
The other day a young lady friend called me to ask if she sets her clock back or set it ahead this weekend. To further complicate the issue was the fact she would be leaving town on Friday and wouldn’t return until late Sunday, would she be able to set her clocks at home when she returned. I explained you set them ahead one hour and yes she could do it before she left or when she got back home on Sunday.
It reminded me of the lady who called the radio station I was working at back in the early 70s, as I remember this was when day light savings time was brought back into being. An elderly woman called the station in a panic, she stated she had set her alarm for two-o-clock on Saturday morning; this is the hour the time officially changes. But, she had slept through it and didn’t set her clocks ahead. She didn’t know what to do because now her clocks would be wrong until the time changes again. Trying to suppress the laughter I explained it was perfectly alright to change them now, it took some convincing that she didn’t have to get up at two in the morning to set her clocks. I was not convinced she believed me until a week later a box of candy and a thank you note arrived. She was so happy she didn’t have to be late for the next six months.
So don’t get stressed out this weekend, it is simple, spring ahead in the spring, fall back in the fall. Oh, and you don’t have to get up at two in the morning to do it.
-Jerry Passer
by Cyndi on March 11, 2010
The demand for chair massages at the Syngenta-sponsored relaxation area during the recent Commodity Classic in Anaheim, California was strong. On Friday, appointments were set up into Saturday.
Free massages from Syngenta
by Cyndi on March 11, 2010
Budget cuts = change. That’s a formula many of us know all too well. Ken Anderson has an example:
Ag Comm building 3-10
Another sign of the times. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is shutting down the ag communications unit on ag campus. It’s part of a $3.6 million dollar cut to UNL’s overall budget.
Eight of the 18 employees in ag communications will be laid off, the others will apparently be reassigned within the university. The UNL communications office will be responsible for ag communications, although I would hope that Extension and Research will be able to have their own communications person.
Ag Communications at UNL has a long and rich history of providing news releases, radio and TV programs, newsletters and many other services to the ag media in the state. I’m sure this is a sad day for the many past and present employees of Ag Communications. We wish them well.
-Ken Anderson
by Cyndi on March 11, 2010
snow pile
This is a photo of one of the final remnants of the winter of 2009-2010. It was once a 3-foot high snow bank in my front yard in Lincoln, Nebraska. We’re hoping that’s the last of our snow for this winter, which will no doubt be considered one of the roughest ever experienced in the western Corn Belt.
For instance, when Grand Island, Nebraska reached the 50 degree mark on March 4th, it was the first 50 degree day since December 1st. That’s 92 days, the longest stretch between 50 degree days in 31 years at Grand Island, and the third longest such stretch on record. (FYI—the longest stretch was 112 days in 1978-79.)
And what about snow? In Iowa, state climatologist Harry Hillaker says it was the snowiest winter in the 138 years of weather records in Iowa. Average snowfall across Iowa for December, January and February was 45.1 inches—more than 23 inches higher than normal. The previous record was 44.7 inches in the winter 1961-62. Iowa’s average temperature from December through February was 17 degrees, 4.5 degrees below normal. It ranks as the 19th coldest winter in the record books.
Bring on spring!!
Ken Anderson
by Cyndi on March 9, 2010
Cindy Cunningham and Teresa Roof
It’s always nice to walk into a media room at 7am on a Saturday morning and find warm, welcoming, smiling, helpful people! Thanks to
Cindy Cunningham and
Teresa Roof with the National Pork Board for
always assisting the Brownfield Ag news team. Whether it is setting up an interview, helping us find resources, or simply explaining an issue, we can always count on you.
Thanks for your assistance at the recent National Pork Industry Forum!
by Cyndi on March 8, 2010
Josh St. Peters and Mark Lambert
We saw a lot of good industry friends while attending and covering the 2010 Commodity Classic in Anaheim, California last week.
Josh St. Peters with Pioneer is a former Brownfield Ag News Team member and
Mark Lambert with National Corn Growers Association has been a friend for many, many years.
You will have a hard time finding anyone more passionate about and committed to agriculture than Josh and Mark.
by Cyndi on March 5, 2010
Commodity Classic is a very busy event for the Brownfield Ag News team. Tom Steever, Julie Harker and I were all there and all very busy. I hope you caught some of our coverage on your local Brownfield radio station or on the Brownfield Ag News website.
Tom and Julie at Commodity Classic (photo courtesy of ZimmComm)
by Cyndi on March 3, 2010
Along with hundreds of farmers and ag industry folks, three members of the Brownfield team are in Anaheim, California for the 2010 Commodity Classic. Much of my trip was spent looking down from approximately 30,000 feet above the earth.
Santa Ana, California from the air
by Cyndi on March 2, 2010
Brownfield intern Beverley Kruel brought some good news to us today:
Although it is only March, the school year is flying by. Students already have to find apartment, summer jobs, and sign up for next semester’s classes. I have been working on my class schedule this past week. Besides your basic biochemistry and communication law classes, I felt like my semester would be fairly routine. That was until I received some good news from my academic advisor.
I was selected to be the managing editor for the University of Missouri agricultural journalism majors. All incoming students are required to take a semester of writing for the online publication CAFNR Corner Post. This fall, I will be in charge of organizing, editing, publishing, and managing it.
The website includes articles ranging from the College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources (CAFNR) events to national headlines in agriculture. This is also the place where students experiment for the first time with podcasts, slideshows, and video.
-Beverley Kruel
by Cyndi on February 24, 2010
While attending the recent Nebraska Dairy Conference in Grand Island, I stopped by the new home of the Nebraska State Fair at Fonner Park in Grand Island. Construction of the new buildings seems to be making good progress, despite the nasty winter weather we’ve experienced.
Like many Nebraskans, I was disappointed with the decision to move the State Fair out of Lincoln. But I have to admit, seeing those brand new buildings going up in Grand Island has stirred some excitement as to what the “new” Nebraska State Fair is going to be like. We’ll find out in late August.
-Ken Anderson
entrance to new ag arena
new beef barn and swine barn taking shape
