Sponsors have come out in full force to support the 2007 NAMA Boot Camp, August 21-23, at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City. More sponsorship dollars have been raised this year than in previous years. Please join us in thanking the 2007 NAMA Boot Camp sponsors:

Associations, Inc.
Bayer CropScience
Broadhead + Company
Covansys
Farm Credit
Farm Industry News
Fastline Publications
High Plains Journal
Hoard’s Dairyman Magazine
John Deere
Martin Williams
Mosaic Company
Osborn & Barr Communications
Pioneer Hi-Bred Intl., Inc.
Rhea & Kaiser Marketing Communications
Successful Farming/Agriculture Online
The Western Producer/Acreage Life
Truffle Media Networks
ZimmComm New Media

If you are interested in sponsoring a session or event at the NAMA Boot Camp, please fill out the sponsorship confirmation form at www.nama.org/programs/bootcamp-spo.htm or contact Jenny Pickett at 913-491-6500 or via e-mail at [email protected].

The Boot Camp will kick-off with an optional Ag Tour, sponsored by the MoKan NAMA Chapter. The tour will leave the Hyatt Regency at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, August 21 and will make its first stop at Schweizer Orchards in St. Joseph, MO followed by a boxed lunch and tour of the Shatto Milk Company in Osborn, MO. The last stop will be Jowler Creek Vineyard & Winery in Platte City, MO. After the tour, the Boot Camp will kick-off at 5:00 p.m. with a welcome reception followed by dinner and the opening session on Networking.

Wednesday, August 22 begins with a continental breakfast followed by a Producer Panel led by moderator Jim Patrico, The Progressive Farmer. Morning breakout sessions include Little Red Writing Hood and the Big, Scary Communications Plan presented by Carol Anderson, Anderson/Fallon and Beth Burgy, Broadhead + Company and Maximizing Your Trade Show R.O.I. with Scott Hanna, Skyline Displays. Our luncheon on Wednesday will feature Successful AgriTourism with Errie Raasch, Liberty Corn Maze/Carolyn’s Country Cousins. After lunch, choose from one of two breakout sessions on BioSecurity or Shifting Demographics in Agriculture with Rhett Hawkins, Osborn & Barr Communications. After the breakouts, join moderator, Cliff Becker, Food 360, for a Client/Agency Panel discussion. Following this session, network with other attendees at a reception at the Cashew in downtown Kansas City.

Thursday, August 23 begins with a continental breakfast and two breakout sessions to choose from, the Farm Bill Update or New Media with Michael Lundgren, VML. Following the breakout sessions will be the Boot Camp Closing Session on Ethanol – Today and Tomorrow with Robert White, Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC).

For session times and registration and hotel information, visit, http://www.nama.org/programs/bootcamp.htm.

To register for the Boot Camp visit, http://payment.nama.org/bootcamp07.htm.

Monsanto has pledged to give the Agri-Business Educational Foundation (ABEF) $30,000 over a 3-year period to support the Student NAMA Marketing Competition that is held in-conjunction with NAMA’s Agri-Marketing Conference in April.

About the Student Marketing Competition
NAMA Student Chapter members are invited to participate in a marketing competition at the Agri-Marketing Conference. Each team develops a comprehensive marketing plan on a specific topic of their choice.

Previous topics have included seed products, marketing commodities such as consumer foods, and financial services for farmers and ranchers. Students are encouraged to seek advice from professionals and university professors when creating the plan and presentation.

The competition is judged and critiqued by professional agri-marketers. As a team member you can learn marketing and communications skills while gaining exposure to the business community. The winning team receives a traveling plaque, money for the chapter, and recognition at the conference.

About the ABEF
The primary goal of the ABEF is to provide today’s agri-business students the tools they will need to succeed tomorrow. These tools include industry knowledge, leadership skills, networking abilities, public speaking experience and critical analysis skills.

The development of these skills clearly will help these students and young professionals as they build successful agri-marketing careers. Any success they experience, will obviously benefit the industry as a whole.

ABEF also recognizes the importance of providing similar opportunities for all agri-business professionals – from recent college graduates to the most seasoned veteran.

As members of the agri-business industry, we are more than just professional peers. We share a fellowship and ABEF extends this fellowship to the young people planning to enter our industry.

If you are interested in contributing to the ABEF, contact Jenny Pickett at 913-491-6500 or via email at [email protected].

The Agribusiness Forum, November 13-14 will focus on Who’s Pulling Our Chain. Don Reynolds, real world economist, futurist and international expert is expected to kick-off the 2007 Forum.

Having served 11 years as Chairman of the Investment Advisory Board of a $22 Billion trust fund, Reynolds success resulted in his being appointed by George W. Bush as Pension Board Chairman with oversight of $120 Billion in Pension & Trust Funds. He understands how important personal accountability and bottom line performance is, and the need for decision makers to have a clear vision of future trends and events in order to make successful long term strategic decisions.

Reynolds has lived 14 years overseas, visited over 50 countries, has lectured on Free Market Systems at the University of Moscow, spoken about the Global Economy for the Saudi Arabian Central Bank, keynoted the Australian IT Summit, advised the Heavy Equipment Industry in Rome, keynoted for international correspondents in Indonesia and spoken on the impact of global warming in Santiago.

Reynolds has a Masters Degree in Public Administration/Planning, a Doctoral background in Economics, and is a graduate of the Securities Industry Institute of the Wharton School. He has an honorary degree from the University of Moscow and was the first American member of the Moscow Center for Consulting Scientists.

Registration for the Agribusiness Forum is now open! Register at http://payment.nama.org/forum.htm.

For more information on the Agribusiness Forum, keep checking the Forum web site at http://www.nama.org/forum/index.html.

As a sponsor of the Agribusiness Forum, your organization will be noted as a front runner in supporting up-to-the-moment industry information. Additional benefits include:

• Recognition in the program booklet, and from the podium during the session;
• Recognition by signage at the sponsored event (if applicable);
• Recognition in post-forum articles in the AgriMarketing magazine;
• Recognition on the NAMA Agribusiness Forum Web site page;
• and, first right of refusal for sponsorship of the same item for the 2008 Agribusiness Forum.

Special thanks to our Forum sponsors to date:

AgriMarketing Magazine
Ag Speakers Network
Associations, Inc.
Beck Ag, Inc.
Cattlemen’s Beef Board
Colle + McVoy
Diamond V
DTN/The Progressive Farmer
High Plains Journal
Hoard’s Dairyman
John Deere
McCormick Company
National Cotton Council of America
Padilla Speer Beardsley
Pioneer Hi-Bred Intl., Inc.
Successful Farming/Agriculture Online

For a list of sponsor opportunities visit http://www.nama.org/forum/sponsorship/sponsorship.htm or download the opportunities in an Adobe .pdf format at http://www.nama.org/forum/sponsorship/SponsorshipOpportunities.pdf.

If you are interested in sponsoring a session or event at this year’s Forum, fill out the on-line form at http://www.nama.org/forum/sponsorship/form.htm or contact Jenny Pickett in the NAMA office at (913) 491-6500 or via e-mail at [email protected].

The 12th annual Field to Food Run took place on Friday, June 15 at 6:00 p.m. There were a total of 79 runners who ranged from three to 56 years old!

The Run started in the testing fields of Pioneer Hi-Bred International, wound through the streets of Johnston, and ended at the Johnston Green Days celebration, where an Iowa-grown meal was served. The runners were in very good spirits, the volunteers did a stellar job, the City of Johnston provided a great amount of help and was fantastic to work with, the meal was well received by all and everything went as planned!

Special thanks goes to the sponsors of the Field-to-Food run:

Gold Level Sponsors
Fitness Sports
Garst
Iowa Pork Producers – Pork Checkoff
Pioneer Hi-Bred Intl., Inc.
Successful Farming
Two Rivers Marketing Group

Silver Level Sponsors
Agri-Access
Anderson Erickson Dairy
Associations, Inc.
Crystal Clear
Greater Des Moines Convention & Visitors Bureau
Iowa Beef Industry Council
Iowa Corn
John Deere Credit
Iowa Living History Farms
Midwest Coaches, Inc.
Solutions, Inc.
Van Wahl Group
Vermeer Manufacturing

Total proceeds this year were $1,552.56. All proceeds benefit the Iowa FFA Foundation, Inc. and Farm Safety 4 Just Kids.

Just a reminder that the deadline for submitting nominations for the Professional Development Awards of Excellence is September 1. These awards will be presented at the 2007 Agribusiness Forum, November 13-14, at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City.

The Professional Development Awards of Excellence were created in 2001 to demonstrate NAMA’s commitment to the four professional development areas. Below is a list of the past Awards of Excellence recipients:

Marketing Communications
2006 – Steve Engle
2005 – Bev Larson
2004 – Neil DeStefano
2003 – Sarah Vacek
2002 – Ken Anderson
2001 – Doug Headley

Product/Species Management
2005 – Dennis Gehler
2004 – Wendy Elliott
2003 – Brian Markwardt
2002 – Tony Klemm
2001 – Tony Solon

Public Relations
2006 – Barry Nelson
2005 – Janice Person
2004 – Kendal Frazier
2003 – Mike Ricciuto
2002 – David Buchholz
2001 – Ken Gordon

Sales
2006 – Anita Vanderwert
2005 – Margaret Wallace Oldham
2004 – Allen Barkve
2003 – Cliff Becker
2002 – Bob Deiss
2001 – Tom Taylor

Nominees for the Awards of Excellence must be NAMA members. Nominators should target individuals with direct planning and execution responsibilities in the respective Professional Development Area from agribusiness and related companies. If you have any questions regarding these awards, please contact Jenny Pickett at [email protected].To download the nomination form in an Adobe .PDF format, visit http://www.nama.org/awards/PDAapplication.pdf.

You can also fill out the form on-line at http://www.nama.org/awards/pdaonlineform.htm.

The MoKan NAMA chapter will host the fourth annual Ag Tour, just prior to the kick-off of the NAMA Boot Camp on August 21 in Kansas City.

The MoKan Ag Tour will depart the Hyatt Regency Crown Center at 7:30 a.m. and breakfast will be available on the bus.

The first stop will be Schweizer Orchards in St. Joseph, MO. Schweizer Orchards is a family owned business producing high quality River Bend Apples for more than four generations. At their St. Joseph retail location you can find freshly picked seasonal fruit, produce and a large selection of jams and jellies.

The tour’s next stop will be the Shatto Milk Company in Osborn, MO for a boxed lunch and tour. Shatto is family owned dairy and processing facility. Shatto Milk Company products can be described by one simple statement that they have adopted as their motto, MILK AT ITS FINEST.

The last stop will be Jowler Creek Vineyard & Winery in Platte City, MO. Jowler Creek Winery is the newest boutique vineyard and wine producer in the Kansas City region. Owners and MoKan NAMA Members, Colleen and Jason Gerke, grow grapes and produce hand-crafted wines that blend genuine quality with creativity and fun.

Register for the MoKan Ag Tour at http://payment.nama.org/bootcamp07.htm.

For more information on the NAMA Boot Camp visit, http://www.nama.org/programs/bootcamp.htm.