The National Ag Day Poster Art Contest deadline is in two weeks! All entries need to be received by midnight on Friday, October 31.

This contest is designed to showcase the talents of young artists who share a passion for modern agriculture.  A winning original piece of art will be chosen as the official National Ag Day poster.  The contest is open to all amateur artists enrolled in high school or college.

Entries will be screened by a nine-member jury.  Finalists will then be judged through online voting to determine one winner.

The 2015 contest theme is “Agriculture: Sustaining Future Generations.” The winning entry will be published as the official National Ag Day Poster and the winning artist will receive a $1,000 scholarship sponsored by Meredith Agrimedia. Artwork and profile of the artist will be prominently featured in Successful Farming magazine and Ag Day correspondence.  Media releases will also be sent to all Ag Day sponsors and supporters. The original artwork will be on display in a public location.

For more information on the contest, rules and to submit a poster, go to http://www.agday.org/media/pr4.php.

The Agri-Business Educational Foundation will conduct an online auction of media packages from September 16 to October 15. Proceeds from this auction support the NAMA Student Careers Program.

If a bid is received on an item within the last 30 minutes of the auction, the auction will remain open on that item through the next business day until 5:00 p.m. (central time). This process will continue until no bids are received within 30 minutes of the bid closing.

The purchaser of the item is obligated to pay the purchase price to the ABEF even if the item is not used. Any resolution of conflict between the buyer and donating company will not remove the obligation of the buyer to pay the purchase price to ABEF.

To place your bids now visit, http://www.nama.org/abef/silentauction/bidco.htm.

For more information please contact Jenny Pickett in the NAMA office at (913) 491-6500 or e-mail to [email protected]

The 2015 date for National Ag Day is set for March 18^th. This is the 42^nd anniversary of National Ag Day and the theme for this year is “Agriculture: Sustaining Future Generations.” The purpose of National Ag Day is to help Americans understand the role agriculture plays in their daily lives.

The Agriculture Council of America (ACA) will host events in the nation’s capital including the Mix-and-Mingle Luncheon and the National Celebration of Agriculture Dinner. Also, the ACA will arrange for approximately 100 college students to travel to Washington D.C. and deliver the message of Ag Day to the Hill. In addition to the events in Washington D.C., the ACA will hold an Ag Day Essay Contest and an Ag Day Poster Art Contest for students to get more involved in the efforts behind National Ag Day.

These events and activities mark a nationwide effort to express the importance of agriculture in America today. A number of producers, agricultural associations, corporations, students and government organizations involved in agriculture are expected to participate.

National Ag Day is organized by the Agriculture Council of America. The ACA is a non-profit organization composed of leaders in the agricultural, food and fiber communities. The ACA dedicates its efforts to increasing the public’s awareness of the role of agriculture in today’s society.

Be sure to check the Ag Day website for updates on the upcoming events.

The Careers Committee held its annual summer meeting in the NAMA office on Friday, August 1.  Committee members took this opportunity to review student chapter accreditation requirements and make a few minor changes.

They also discussed feedback received from student advisors and student chapter presidents on the post-conference survey.  This survey, which has been conducted several years now, provides invaluable information to the committee as they work to continuously fine-tune the entire Careers component of NAMA.

Committee members are excited to kick off another year of Careers benefits and opportunities, adding a new opportunity for students to share their résumés with some NAMA professionals.  More information on this added benefit will be shared soon with student chapters.

ST. LOUIS (April 30, 2014) – In 2013, Deltapine wanted to celebrate the dedication and hard work of the American cotton farmer in a big way. As a result, the song “Where Heroes Are Made” was written and produced as a special tribute to America’s cotton producers and Deltapine New Product Evaluators, a large group of growers who evaluate the performance potential and geographic fit of precommercial Deltapine cotton seed. The song was made available for purchase on iTunes last summer, and to further applaud cotton farmers for their hard work, Deltapine decided to contribute the funds raised by sales of the song to the future generation of agriculture.

All proceeds from the sales of “Where Heroes Are Made” were recently donated in the form of a $2,500 scholarship to the Agri-Business Educational Foundation (ABEF). The backbone of Student NAMA, ABEF serves to ensure a strong future for the agri-marketing industry by providing students with the tools, education, and experiences they need to succeed.

“On behalf of ABEF, I am extremely grateful for the contribution from Deltapine cotton to our student scholarship program,” said Russ Parker, ABEF volunteer chair. “ABEF relies on the generosity of ag leaders to invest in the future of agri-marketing, and this gift enables us to continue helping students build leadership skills and networks that will help them advance their careers in agrimarketing.”

The $2,500 scholarship from Deltapine cotton was awarded to Sarah McKay, a junior at Virginia Tech, on April 9, 2014 at a luncheon hosted for student NAMA members at the 2014 Agri-Marketing Conference in Jacksonville, FL. Sarah is majoring in Agricultural and Applied Economics, International Trade and Development Option and Animal Science, and Livestock Management Option. She is minoring in Civic Agriculture and Marketing.

For more information about Deltapine cotton or to view the “Where Heroes Are Made” music video, please visit www.Deltapine.com/Heroes.

About Monsanto Company
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality. Monsanto remains focused on enabling both small-holder and large-scale farmers to produce more from their land while conserving more of our world’s natural resources such as water and energy. To learn more about our business and our commitments, please visit: www.monsanto.com. Follow our business on Twitter® at www.twitter.com/MonsantoCo, on Facebook® at www.facebook.com/MonsantoCo, or subscribe to our News Release RSS Feed.

Deltapine® is a registered trademark of Monsanto Company. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2014 Monsanto Company.

Plan ahead! Mark your calendars today for upcoming NAMA Agri-Marketing Conferences!

2015 – April 15 – 17 – Kansas city

2016 – April 13 – 15 – Kansas city

2017 – April 26 – 28 – Dallas

2018 – April 11 – 13 – Kansas city

2019 – April 10 – 12 – Kansas city

We look forward to seeing you!!

The Tom Tomlinson Memorial Scholarship honors the legacy of Tomlinson, an agricultural sales, consulting and marketing professional, and passionate supporter of Agriculture. Tom was active in the industry until his passing in July 2013.

This $1000 scholarship will be awarded by Beck Ag at the NAMA Agri-Marketing Conference in 2014 to a qualified college junior who is a member of a National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) student chapter and is majoring in animal science, agricultural communications, agricultural economics/agricultural business (depending on university definition of field of study)*. The scholarship will be administered by the Agri-Business Educational Foundation (ABEF).

The remaining criteria will follow scholarship rules established by NAMA. They are:

1. Judging will be conducted by representatives from ABEF.

2. Nominees must be members of an accredited student NAMA chapter.

3. To be considered, applicants must be from the junior class and have a B average or higher.

4. The monetary award must be used during the 2014-15 school year.

5. Entries must be submitted following rules established by ABEF and NAMA. Rules may change periodically.

*Some universities classify all agricultural business disciplines in ag economics. Others use agribusiness. Applicants from both disciplines may apply.