On Wednesday, April 19, you can enjoy a cool beverage while visiting the Connection Point area courtesy of the National Association of Farm Broadcasters (NAFB). NAFB will be hosting the Connection Point Welcome Lounge from 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. Attendees will be able to walk through the Trade Show see the “Jazzy” booth displays and drop their business card in at the booths for a chance to win an iPod.

The Best of NAMA awards program on Wednesday, April 19 from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. kicks off this year’s conference. The Best of NAMA awards program acknowledges creativity and excellence in agricultural communications. Three Best of Show awards will also be presented in the areas of Advertising, Public Relations and Specialty. This competition truly honors the best of the best in our industry. Join DTN for their reception in the foyer immediately following the ceremony. Attendees will feast on Louisiana style food while listening to a jazz trio.

For more information on the 2006 Agri-Marketing Conference & Trade Show visit, http://www.nama.org/amc.

To register for the conference visit, https://nama.org/amc/register.html.

The biggest night for the country’s agricultural marketers and communicators just got bigger. For the first time, the Best of NAMA (National Agri-Marketing Association) Awards ceremony will be nationally televised to more than 29 million viewers on RFD-TV.

“Best of NAMA is the industry’s premier event, recognizing the most outstanding work in agricultural advertising, marketing and public relations,” explains Eldon White, executive vice president and CEO of NAMA. “RFD-TV’s televised broadcast of the ceremony provides rural America with a front-row seat to see the entries that are awarded the highest honors within our industry.”

RFD-TV reaches 29 million households in all 50 states and is the nation’s first 24-hour television network dedicated to serving the needs and interests of rural America.

“This is the night when agri-marketers across the country salute the best of the best, and where rural and ag customers can see if their favorite advertising and marketing campaigns are among the winning entries,” says Mike Hansen, executive vice-president, RFD-TV. “RFD-TV applauds everyone in agricultural marketing communications who worked so hard to inform, educate and sometimes entertain the agricultural industry about products and issues that matter the most, and we are excited to share the winning work with viewers across the country.”

RFD-TV and AgriMarketing, the official publication of NAMA, will collaborate to provide official media coverage of the Best of NAMA awards ceremony.

“This joint effort between RFD-TV and AgriMarketing enables NAMA news to be shared not only with agricultural communicators, but with the agriculture and rural America audiences,” says Lynn Henderson, publisher, AgriMarketing. “We are excited to work with RFD-TV to elevate the prestige of the Best of NAMA awards by bringing it to the national networks.”

The Best of NAMA Awards ceremony takes place April 19 in Kansas City, Mo., and will be aired on RFD-TV at a soon-to-be-announced date. Programming from the Best of NAMA awards will include footage from the awards ceremony, interviews with winners and highlights of the winning entries. RFD-TV is featured on DIRECTV® (channel 379), DISH Network™ (channel 9409) and Mediacom® (channel 78).

RFD Communications Inc. was launched in December 2000. RFD-TV is the nation’s first 24-hour television network dedicated to serving the needs and interests of rural America and agriculture. The network is produced and uplinked via satellite to all 50 states from Northstar Studios in Nashville, Tenn. RFD-TV is proudly distributed nationwide and carried by DISH Network, DIRECTV, Mediacom and NCTC cable systems, with cable systems regularly adding the network. The corporate and national sales office is based in Omaha, Neb. Due to popular demand, the company started publishing its bimonthly RFD-TV The Magazine in July 2003 to support its program schedule. RFD Communications can be contacted via phone at 402-614-1436 or at www.RFDTV.com.

Begin Thursday, April 21 with a hearty continental-plus breakfast courtesy of High Plains Journal. After breakfast, you’ll be ready to hear a selection of dynamic achievers who have jazzed their way throught their respective fields. The Opening General Session will begin with the presentation of the Agribusiness Leader of the Year award. This award, NAMA’s highest honor, will be presented to George Thornton, President & CEO of Agriliance, LLC. This award honors an outstanding leader in agribusiness, education, government service or other agribusiness related area.

Following the presentation of the Agribusiness Leader of the Year award, will be our Opening Session speaker, Dr. James Canton. Canton opens the general session with The Extreme Future: Top Trends that will Reshape Business and Society. Dr. Canton will provide a strategic overview of the top changes that will shape tomorrow’s leaders, businesses and the economy.

The Second General Session will kick-off with the presentation of the NAMA Marketer of the Year Award, sponsored by AgriMarketing Magazine. This award will be presented to Tom Davis, Group Publisher of Meredith Corporation’s Men’s Brands. This award is NAMA’s most prestigious honor awarded to active members of the association and honors outstanding accomplishments in the field of agri-marketing. Following the award presentation, Second General Session speaker, Laura Ries, President of Ries & Ries, will discuss The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR. “Advertising doesn’t build brands, publicity does,” says marketing expert and bestselling author, Ries. She fervently believes it’s only the credibility of public relations that truly builds a brand in the minds of consumers.

Ries will also lead the Senior Management Workshop after the Trade Show Luncheon, courtesy of Farm World Newspaper, with The Immutable Laws of Branding in the 21st Century. This power-packed session will explore the most important issues facing marketing managers today: brand names, positions, line extensions, second brands and divergence. Entry into the Workshop is limited and requires a ticket from those who pre-registered. (Listen to an interview with Laura Ries by Chuck and Cindy Zimmerman, ZimmComm New Media, LLC)

In addition to the Workshop, attendees will be Jazzed about the four breakout sessions. The breakout sessions have been extended this year to give the speaker and attendees more time for comments and questions. Don Ranly, Missouri School of Journalism, will present Ethics in Advertising-When is an Ad an Ad? He will draw on more than 30 years of experience in journalism and media to help clarify the boundaries, give examples and help us put all this in perspective. Karen McMahon, Farm Industry News, and representative of the American Agricultural Editors Association, will also be on hand to discuss AAEA’s latest standards of integrity. Dr. Barry Flinchbaugh, Kansas State University, will lead a panel discussion on Market Oriented, Cost Conscious, Technology Savvy-Understanding the Next Generation of Producers. Find out the key features of this younger set and hear firsthand from a panel of progressive young farmers as they discuss key factors that go into their business and purchasing decisions. Kevin Clancy, Copernicus Marketing Consulting, will present Your Gut is Still Not Smarter Than Your Head: Three Things You Can Do Today to Improve Your Marketing Performance Tomorrow. Dr. Clancy will describe three best practices for developing financially-optimal marketing strategies that marketers can use to dramatically improve marketing ROI. Finally, Abe Goldstien, Trilex Marketing Group, will encourage you toTake Your Mind Out for a Jog-Exercise Your Creative Thinking. Creativity is really no more than stretching our minds-viewing situations from different perspectives, having a healthy attitude about your ability to generate ideas, and having a problem solving philosophy that “anything is possible, anything can be!” This interactive session is the Richard Simmons workout program of mental aerobics.

You won’t want to miss the Connection Point Closing Reception, courtesy of PaperChain and the MoKan NAMA Chapter, on Thursday evening from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Enjoy the sounds of jazz bands as you walk through the trade show and network with your peers. Don’t forget to dance your way through the ABEF Silent Auction and bid on your favorite items. Several drawings will be held in the Connection Point area as well. Another iPod drawing will take place, as well as a drawing for a video iPod, courtesy of ZimmComm New Media, LLC. The ABEF raffle winner will also be selected at this time, so make sure you buy your raffle tickets from one of the many students selling them, the raffle prize is a Dell™ 37″ HD LCD TV, courtesy of Prism Business Media!

For more information on the 2006 Agri-Marketing Conference & Trade Show visit, http://www.nama.org/amc.

To register for the conference visit, https://nama.org/amc/register.html.

Get your morning started on Friday, April 21 with a continental breakfast courtesy of KFRM Radio – The Voice of the Plains. After breakfast, take in one of three breakout sessions including Consumer Trends Affecting Agri-Food with Randy Westgren, University of Illinois. Dr. Westgren will discuss current lifestyle and demographic trends and how they affect consumers’ food choices-and the challenges facing marketers as they address these trends. Don Treadway with the American Quarter Horse Association leads the next breakout with Niche Marketing To Rural Lifestylers-The Quarter Horse Industry Success Story. Gain an insightful look at the success of the pleasure horse industry in capturing lifestyler attention and influencing their purchase decisions. The last breakout session is a panel discussion on Colliding Generations-Understanding, Resolving, Collaborating. Rob Hannam, AdFarm, leads this panel discussion. Join this panel of seasoned and emerging agri-marketing professionals as they explore their differences in life and work styles. Other panel members include: Duane Ross, High Plains Journal; Jean Custer, CNH America; Doug Stouffer, Bernstein Rein; and Jamie Moran, Colle+McVoy.

A hearty brunch, courtesy of Elanco Animal Health, the Cattleman’s Beef Board, along with session speaker, Dr. Barrie Richardson, will close the 2006 Agri-Marketing Conference & Trade Show. Dr. Richardson presents simple but powerful concepts that can help anyone boost the performance of their organization. Enjoy this entertaining presentation filled with parables, anecdotes and mind-baffling magical demonstrations.

For more information on the 2006 Agri-Marketing Conference & Trade Show visit, http://www.nama.org/amc.

To register for the conference visit, https://nama.org/amc/register.html.

To an 8th grader from an urban school district, a chance to visit a farm and learn about tractors, combines, ag careers and more can be pretty exciting. Especially when it is a school field trip! On March 15th, forty-five 8th grade students from Johnston Middle School got to do just that as they attended the Iowa NAMA Ag Day event. The event was held at John Deere’s AMS test farm north of Dallas Center.

Students were able to see the newest John Deere equipment and learn about the innovative technologies the equipment utilizes, such as GPS. In addition, students heard about various agriculture topics from the following presenters:

Mike Gaul – Career Services Director, Iowa State College of Agriculture
Jana Rieker – Sales Executive, Successful Farming and Agriculture Online
Chuck McDaniel – Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Ankeny, IA

Each speaker talked to the students about their area of expertise and helped them to understand the wide array of career options available in agriculture. In addition, it gave the students a chance to learn more about farming and agri-business in celebration of National Agriculture Week, March 19-25, 2006.

This event was another successful example of how Iowa NAMA is striving to spread the positive message about agriculture!

This year’s Iowa NAMA Ag Day Committee was comprised of the following individuals:

Mindy Williamson – Iowa Corn Growers
Jennifer Haxton – John Deere Credit
Lori Strum – Strategic America
Stephanie Vinton – Agri-Access
Katie Stanhope – John Deere Credit
Doug Reynolds – Solutions Inc.

A big thank you to the Iowa Pork Producers for donating the pork patties and grill for the luncheon.