Dave Keepper, Colle+McVoy and Jim Myers, Rhea & Kaiser have been added to the Pre-Conference Workshop panel discussion on Ag Advertising: How The Best Was Won. Tim Naylor, Chief Creative Officer, Yamamoto Moss Mackenzie, will moderate this workshop.

Join your fellow agri-marketers for an interactive panel discussion of the current state of ag advertising. These award winning NAMA creative directors will reveal the secrets behind their respective campaigns. You’ll get the inside scoop on concepting, strategic development, media options and client participation.

There will also be lots of great work on display and lots of time to get your specific design and implementation questions answered by the experts.

Note: Participants must be registered for the full Agri-Marketing Conference. Separate registration is required, but there is no additional registration fee. To reserve your spot for the Pre-Conference Workshop visit, www.nama.org/amc/reserveworkshop.html.

The Agri-Business Educational Foundation (ABEF) will again be hosting a Golf Outing, Tuesday, April 15. Gather your foursome and enjoy a relaxing day of golf before the 2008 Agri-Marketing Conference begins.

The ABEF Golf Outing will take place at the Falcon Lakes Golf Club. A chartered bus will leave the hotel at 11:30 a.m. to take everyone to the golf course. A boxed lunch will be provided. Tee time begins at 1:00 p.m. A golf awards ceremony and reception will follow the outing at the golf course. The price is $125 per golfer.

Falcon Lakes is the newest premiere public course in the Kansas City area. Located 5 miles North of I-70 and ¼ mile West of Highway 7, it is conveniently located to downtown Kansas City and Overland Park. This beautiful design is owned and operated by Falcon Golf Management. Designed by Carter Morrish, this championship layout was sculpted out of the subtle rolling terrain that is so familiar in the Kansas plains. Various mogals strategically placed throughout the course, the always manicured zoysia fairways, tees and bentgrass greens challenge golfers of all skill levels and their shot-making ability.

Falcon Golf Management has created a facility with the many aspects of golf and clubhouse activities in mind. Their premiere practice facility provides the dedicated or warm-up player with a zoysia grass hitting area, bentgrass chipping green with green side bunkers and a large multi-teered putting green to hone your skills.

Falcon Lakes is a pleasure to play over and over again. The non-threatening environment of the golf course and friendly service and amenities creates an enjoyable atmosphere for everyone to experience. We look forward to seeing you at Falcon Lakes.

ABEF Golf Outing Sponsorship Information
Show your support and sponsor a hole. Hole sponsorships are now available.

To sign up for a sponsorship on-line visit, http://www.nama.org/amc/golfsponsor.htm or contact Jenny Pickett at 913-491-6500 or via e-mail at [email protected].

Don’t forget to sign up for the Senior Management Workshop. Created specifically for senior management, this session is a detailed, drilled-down extension of the Second General Session. Presented in an interactive, fast-paced workshop format, it’s designed to give seasoned professionals an inside look at the benefits of social networking and community building. You’ll walk away with solid methods for harnessing the power of crowds in developing your business.

Unfortunately, due to the limited seating, only two representatives from a company may register. If more than two representatives want to come, we will put additional company representatives on a waiting list. As folks cancel or if the registration is not full, we will add people from the waiting list. Act today and register for this high-powered workshop by Barry Libert.

To participate in this workshop you will need to register at http://www.nama.org/amc/seniorworkshop.html.

Every year at the Agri-Marketing Conference, professionals gather to explore the latest in techniques, trends and services in the Connection Point trade show. This year, you can also take a moment to relax at the Nicholson Kovac Relaxation Station. Beginning March 28, you can take a trip through the Virtual Trade Show on the Conference Web site at www.nama.org/amc.

Below are the hours of the Connection Point:

Wednesday, April 16
6:00 – 7:30 p.m. – Best of NAMA Celebration/Connection Point Grand Opening
Celebration Reception sponsored by DTN/The Progressive Farmer
Refreshment station sponsored by Farm Business Communications

Thursday, April 17
12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. – Connection Point Luncheon/Student Mentor Luncheon
Connection Point Luncheon sponsored by Truffle Media Networks
Student Mentor Luncheon sponsored by Technekes and MoKan NAMA
Refreshment station sponsored by Farm Business Communications

3:00 – 4:00 p.m. – Break in the Connection Point
Break sponsored by Gibbs & Soell
Ice Cream courtesy of Hoard’s Dairyman magazine
Refreshment station sponsored by Farm Business Communications

5:00 – 7:00 p.m. – ABEF Silent Auction/Connection Point Closing Reception
Connection Point closing reception sponsored by National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB)
Refreshment station sponsored by Farm Business Communications

A 7″ digital picture frame will be awarded at the end of each session of the Connection Point to a trade show attendee. Each booth will have a box to collect business cards, and they will be combined at the end of each session. Plus, a grand prize drawing will be held at the trade show closing. A bingo activity will also occur during the Connection Point luncheon, if you get a bingo, you’ll be entered into drawing. Don’t forget, students will also be selling raffle tickets for the ABEF Raffle, sponsored by Penton Media. All proceeds from the Raffle will benefit the Student NAMA Careers Program.

Booth space in the Connection Point is still available. If you would like to purchase a booth, please visit http://nama.org/amc/ts/signup.htm.

If you have questions regarding the Connection Point, please contact Judy Knoll at [email protected] or at (636) 728-1428 ext. 2002.

Student NAMA chapters have had a busy year preparing for the upcoming marketing competition in Kansas City. The Student Marketing Competition, sponsored by Monsanto, takes place April 16-17 at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center.

If you are attending the Agri-Marketing Conference, stop by and see the presentations that the students worked so hard to put together. You may see some of your future employees among those students!

Teams that will be competing this year are as follows:

American Institute of Business (AIB)
Arizona State University
Cal Poly – San Luis Obispo
Delaware Valley College
Illinois State University
Iowa State University
Kansas State University
Michigan State University
Mississippi State University
New Mexico State University
North Carolina State University
North Dakota State University
Northwest Missouri State University
The Ohio State University
Pennsylvania State University
Purdue University
Sam Houston State University
Texas A&M University
University of Alberta
University of Delaware
University of Florida
University of Guelph
University of Minnesota
University of Nebraska – Lincoln
University of Saskatchewan
University of Tennessee – Knoxville
University of Tennessee – Martin
University of Wisconsin – Madison
University of Wisconsin – Platteville
University of Wisconsin – River Falls
Virginia Tech

Good luck to all the students!

National Agriculture Day takes place on the first day of spring as a way to celebrate American agriculture and the farmers who help provide the food, fiber, shelter, energy and other materials we use on a daily basis. In honor of this special time of the year, the Agriculture Council of America (ACA) hosted events in Washington, D.C. on March 11, 2008, to celebrate the importance of agriculture to America’s economy and society.

Several events kicked off National Agriculture Week on March 11, 2008, in Washington D.C. At this year’s events various associations, corporations, universities and government agencies gathered together in our nation’s capital for a variety of activities that included a Meet-and-Mingle celebration luncheon at the Hart Senate office building. The luncheon was emceed by Orion Samuelson, WGN Radio, followed by Becky Sullivan, National FFA Secretary from Paola, Kansas. Guest speaker at the luncheon was Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss, who addressed several FFA Students including honored luncheon guests, the FFA Star Award Finalists, in addition to other luncheon attendees, including Senate staff members, and corporation and association employees. An FFA Rally was held after the luncheon.

The National Celebration of Agriculture dinner took place at the USDA’s Whitten building patio where Orion Samuelson, WGN Radio, served as host once again. Special guests for the dinner included Dr. Pedro Sanchez, The Earth Institute at Columbia University and the CAST Charles A. Black award winner and Secretary of Agriculture, Ed Schafer. Other guest speakers included: Greg Webb, ADM; Doug Loudenslager, National FFA; Linda Sorkin; and Roger Olsen, 4-H. In addition, the Ag Day Essay contest national winner, Katlin Wiest, of Lykens, Pennsylvania read her winning essay on “Agriculture – Bigger than You Think.” Linda Tank, CHS, Inc., presented Katlin with her $1,000 prize for being the national essay contest winner. Also at the dinner, the ACA unveiled the new “Food/Fiber/Biofuel Chain” poster. The poster shows all of the industries involved in the production, processing, and distribution of feeding, clothing and fueling the American consumer. In total, 21 million people in the U.S. are now employed to support the 301 million consumers in the country. The poster can be found on the Ag Day web site at www.agday.org.

The events in Washington, D.C. are organized by the Agriculture Council of America (ACA), which is a nonprofit organization composed of leaders in the agricultural, food and fiber community, dedicating its efforts to increasing the public’s awareness of agriculture’s role in modern society.

Each year, the National Ag Day program gathers members of the agricultural industry in an effort to promote American agriculture. Focused on sharing how agriculture provides almost everything we eat, use and wear on a daily basis, the National Ag Day program helps educate millions of consumers each year. Join this effort to promote American agriculture to everyone during National Ag Week, March 16-22, 2008. For more information contact the Agriculture Council of America at (913) 491-1895.

Rick Tolman, CEO of the National Corn Growers Association, has been named the 2008 Agribusiness Leader of the Year. This award, which is NAMA’s highest honor, will be presented at the Opening General Session of the 2008 Agri-Marketing Conference, “Leading The Charge,” April 17, 2008 in Kansas City, MO. The award honors outstanding leaders in agribusiness, education, government service or other agribusiness related areas who exemplify excellence in agribusiness by their significant contributions to the industry.

As chief executive officer of the National Corn Growers Association, Tolman has been a driving force in solidifying the demand for corn. The growing ethanol market is a real win for corn farmers and rural America. Today, ethanol has become a symbol of corn grower success. And it is the efforts surrounding the many successes of corn producers in 2007 that distinguish Rick among his peers. Acting Secretary of Agriculture, Chuck Conner, had characterized the results of Congress in 2007 as fairly lackluster – except in agriculture. The energy bill, Water Resources Development Act, free trade agreements and developing the farm bill are examples of legislation Congress passed and paid attention to in 2007. And NCGA helped lead the charge for all of them–benefiting corn growers and all of agriculture.

With foresight and planning, Rick led the NCGA Corn Board in its strategic plan in mid-2006 to call for production of 15 billion bushels of corn, of which 5 billion bushels can be used for the production of 15 billion gallons of ethanol by 2015. This blueprint was instrumental in the historic energy legislation signed by President George W. Bush in December 2007. The bill specifically calls for 15 billion gallons of ethanol from corn. Rick’s planning extends to NCGA action teams and committees, which are charged with implementing and executing the priorities of NCGA member states. Each team and committee creates three-year business plans to help chart the course for the current year and two years ahead. These plans have been instrumental in NCGA’s many accomplishments.

In his role as CEO of NCGA, Rick takes seriously his obligation as a leader to educate and inform about the contribution of farmers to U.S. agriculture. Many examples of this leadership exist, such as NCGA’s participation in key initiatives that promote the benefits of ethanol, including spearheading a study on the positive impact of ethanol development to rural communities; leading the charge in dispelling food versus fuel myths to consumers, agriculture and Capitol Hill; participating in multiple speaking engagements both in and out of agriculture to educate audiences on the environmental, economic and energy benefits of ethanol; pushing for continual studies and development of dried distillers grains; and, most importantly, successfully seeking an increase in the production of starch-based ethanol in the renewable fuels standard.

NCGA’s strength comes from its grassroots and state affiliates. In 2007, NCGA welcomed two additions to its federation. New affiliates, the Alabama Wheat and Feed Grains Commission and the Arkansas Corn and Grain Sorghum Board, help NCGA expand its influence. Today 48 state affiliates make up the federation of states that make up the National Corn Growers Association: 25 state grower associations and 23 state checkoff associations.

Commodity Classic, the combined tradeshow and convention of NCGA and the American Soybean Association brought the National Association of Wheat Growers under its tent in 2007, thanks in large part of Rick’s leadership. The addition of wheat growers serves agribusiness, media and growers who attend Classic to reach diverse audiences, gain useful networking and learn the latest developments in growing, harvesting and marketing their crops. Agribusiness had responded favorably to this addition.

Reaching out to agribusiness and industry is a key priority of Rick’s. He participated on NAMA’s Agribusiness Forum panel in November 2006 and has spoken numerous times to the St. Louis Agribusiness Club. And he encourages industry participation by staff members. Several NCGA staff are active members of the St. Louis Agribusiness Club and NAMA, among others, giving presentations at meetings and volunteering to judge NAMA’s annual awards.