The 2011 Agri-Marketing Conference was one of the most well attended since 2000 according to Jenny Pickett. She says the official number is 1,206 registered.

Jenny says she heard numerous comments about how upbeat people have been at the conference. She also wants to remind people to get the NAMA App on their smartphone. One of the key features is the directory of NAMA members.

Get a full review: [wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/nama/amc-11-pickett.mp3″ text=”Interview with Jenny Pickett”]

2011 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

It’s not a bad thing to have some white space on your calendar. In fact, Juliet Funt, thinks you should actually schedule some. She was our closing speaker at the Agri-Marketing Conference with a session titled, “Overcommitted, Overwhelmed and Over It! Success Skills for the Blisteringly Busy.” Juliet is the daughter of Allen Funt, Candid Camera, and is an entertaining speaker.

Juliet helps people slow down and prioritize. One of the main things she wants people to think about is keeping more white space on their calendar. She’s writing a book on this. Listen to some more suggestions she has: [wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/nama/amc-11-funt.mp3″ text=”Interview with Juliet Funt”]

2011 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

The 2011 NAMA Marketer of the Year was awarded to Roger Reierson, AdFarm. Roger was very surprised to receive the award and says it does not mean it’s “the end.” There’s lots more to come from this man.

I spoke with Roger afterward. He says he feels humbled and honored. He’s says the ag industry is a big family and he owes the award to a lot of people. He says NAMA has connected him to a lot of good people.

Listen to our conversation: [wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/nama/amc-11-reierson.mp3″ text=”Roger Reierson Interview”]

2011 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

Elanco President Jeff Simmons wants people in agriculture to speak up and make it personal when it comes to safe, abundant, affordable food.

The NAMA Agribusiness Leader of the Year says it all boils down to those four words. “I do think that we need to get our of our bubbles, get off of our farms and speak up because we are center stage right now,” he said. “It is our time and it’s a hot issue.”

Jeff told the opening general session of the National Agri-Marketing Conference that Elanco has just unveiled a website focusing on food production, world hunger and sustainability called “Plenty To Think About”. The site includes a white paper that focuses on three rights – food, a human right; choice, a consumer right; and sustainability, environmentally right.

Listen to or download an enlightening conversation with Jeff here:
[wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/nama/nama11-simmons.mp3″ text=”Jeff Simmons Interview”]

2011 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

The president of the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) is thrilled with this year’s conference attendance and the current state of the organization.

“It’s always good to be the queen when things are good,” said Vicki Henrickson of BCS Communications. “We have 1700 members this year, we haven’t had that many since the year 2000. We’ve got 1200 registrations for conference this year, we’ve not had that many since 2001. We had 155 plus first timers at the conference this year – amazing. Everything is good!”

Listen to my interview with Vicki here:
[wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/nama/nama11-vicki.mp3″ text=”Vicki Henrickson Interview”]

2011 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

The first educational session at this year’s Agri-Marketing Conference focused on “Becoming and 800-pound Gorilla: How To Dominate Your Market.” Our presenter was Bill Guertin, Chief Enthusiasm Officer, The 800-Pound Gorilla. Well I guess he should know how to do it then!

I talked with Bill before his presentation. He says that the 800-pound gorilla is “the dominate player in any marketplace whose tactics and techniques result in an unfair share of the available business.” So he was here to help us discover how to achieve this. He uses an anecdote from the sports industry to make a point of how you can do this. Listen in: [wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/nama/amc-11-guertin.mp3″ text=”Bill Guertin Interview”]

2011 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

Some NAMA volunteer jobs are more glamorous than others. Take Hall Monitor during the student marketing competition for example. That’s what Nancy Barcus, Agriculture Future of America, Director of Leader Development Programs is doing. She has to keep the hallway clear during presentations to prevent distractions. This is important stuff here!

Nancy is a new member of the NAMA Careers Committee. I spoke with Nancy about her job: [wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/nama/amc-11-barcus.mp3″ text=”Nancy Barcus Interview”]

2011 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album