Dave Rhylander, Marketing Lead, Delta & Pine Land has been honored with the NAMA Marketer of the Year award. The award will be presented during the Second General Session of the 2008 Agri-Marketing Conference, “Leading The Charge” on Thursday, April 17 at 11:00 a.m. in Kansas City and is sponsored by AgriMarketing magazine.

NAMA recognizes its active members with senior management of marketing and/or sales responsibilities with the NAMA Marketer of the Year award. 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.

A 32-year veteran of Monsanto, Dave Rhylander is recognized as a visionary leader and highly innovative marketer not only within the ranks of his own company but also throughout the agribusiness industry. As U.S. Director of Traits Marketing for Monsanto, his creativity, sales and marketing skills have played a major role in driving the adoption of new trait technologies that have had a significant, positive impact on American farmers. Through aggressive marketing communication campaigns, grower on-farm trials and strategic pricing programs, Monsanto continues to be the trait leader within the industry. Dave has moved on to the Marketing Lead for Delta and Pine Land which is a new business unit of Monsanto.

In annual grower surveys, YieldGard and Roundup Ready Corn 2 technology has consistently received satisfaction ratings by more than 90 percent of those surveyed. “This shows we are not only getting broad farmer trial, but we are also meeting their established expectation at a much higher level than alternative trait providers,” explains Jim Zimmer, Vice President of U.S. Branded Business for Monsanto. “This is due to Dave’s leadership in always educating farmers on the real benefits Monsanto traits deliver.” Zimmer adds, “Dave Rhylander leads by example. He has a tremendous sense of urgency to put new products in the marketplace to help farmers.”

Under Rhylander’s direction, Monsanto’s technology leadership was put on display for thousands of farmers to see at the 2006 Farm Progress Show in Amana, Iowa. More than 6,500 farmers toured the Showcase to see 25 demonstration plots including crops like drought-tolerant corn, new YieldGard VT technology corn and Vistive™ low-linolenic soybeans. For the first time, several of Monsanto’s pipeline technologies that had been previously confined to labs and research plots were put on public display to give farmers a glimpse of new and future technologies that represent their “Roadmap to Success.”

Dave Rhylander’s expertise and leadership are also recognized throughout the industry. In order to implement many of the Word of Mouth strategies, he successfully employed the cooperation of industry leaders such as Dr. Mike Owen of Iowa State University, Dr. Bryan Young of Southern IL University, the American Soybean Association and other university and industry leaders. He also obtained high-level, third party consultant cooperation to assist in educating growers across the Corn Belt.

Under Rhylander’s leadership, past WOMM strategies have yielded a high return on investment (ROI) for Monsanto. In 2007, Monsanto’s marketing initiatives, led by Rhylander, netted a high ROI and increased its share in the corn traits market significantly.

In 2008 Dave Rhylander will be leading many WOMM strategies in the Delta Pine Land business to increase their market footprint. Because of Dave Rhylander’s strong support and vision, Monsanto is a pioneer and leader in the use of Word of Mouth Marketing strategies throughout the agricultural marketplace. He deserves to be recognized as NAMA’s Marketer of the Year because of the credible, grower-friendly, high-impact and measurable return on investment these WOMM strategies have generated for producer participants as well as Monsanto’s business.

It’s hard to believe that March is already here! That means that the 2008 Agri-Marketing Conference is just a little over a month away!

The early registration deadline and hotel cut-off date for the conference is March 25. After March 25, registration rates increase and hotel reservations made after this date are subject to higher rates and potential unavailability.

Don’t miss out on the early rate! To make your hotel reservations, please call the Hyatt Regency Crown Center at (816) 421-1234 and make sure you mention “NAMA” to receive the group rate. To register for the conference visit, http://nama.org/amc/register.html.

ABEF Online Media Auction
The ABEF Online Media Auction is just a few weeks away! The online auction will begin on Wednesday, March 26 and ends at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 2. To donate a media package to the online auction please download the auction pledge form at http://www.nama.org/abef/silentauction/MediaAuctionPledgeForm.pdf and fax it back to the NAMA office to be included in the online Media Auction.

ABEF Silent Auction
The ABEF Silent Auction will take place during the Connection Point hours at the 2008 Agri-Marketing Conference. Please join your agri-marketing peers in supporting this worthwhile effort by donating to the auction.

Visit http://www.nama.org/abef/silentauction/pledgeform.htm to indicate your donation and/or interest in the project by March 21, 2008, to be included in the auction catalog.

ABEF Golf Outing
The ABEF Golf Outing will take place at the Falcon Lakes Golf Club in Basehor, Kansas. A chartered bus will leave the Hyatt Regency Crown Center 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.

To register for the ABEF Golf Outing please visit, www.nama.org/amc/golfregister.htm.

Show your support and sponsor the ABEF Golf Outing! 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].

All proceeds from the ABEF Auction, Golf Outing and Student Raffle will support the NAMA Student Careers Program which involves 37 collegiate chapters across the US. This program provides scholarships and the Student Marketing Competition in conjunction with the Agri-Marketing Conference, and the Outstanding Student Chapter and Advisor awards. Show your support by donating today!

Don’t miss your chance to meet with the Opening and Second General Session speakers at the 2008 Agri-Marketing Conference. You will have a chance to purchase their books, get them signed and visit with the speakers after their sessions on Thursday, April 17.

Dan Heath’s Made to Stick:Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die will be available for purchase. The book signing will begin at 10:30 a.m.

Barry Libert’s We Are Smarter Than Me: How To Unleash the Power of Crowds in Your Business will be available for purchase. The book signing for Barry Libert will take place in the Connection Point during the luncheon from 12:30 – 2:00 and again during the break in the Connection Point from 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Remember to start recruiting members today and you could take home a new iPod NANO after the conference!

New members who join NAMA between January 1 and April 7, 2008, will be entered into a drawing for a 8GB iPod NANO.

In addition, existing NAMA members who recruit these new members will also be entered into the drawing. Just make sure when you recruit a member that they put your name in the “referred by” space on the membership application.

The drawing for the iPod will take place at the Connection Point Closing Reception on Thursday, April 17 at the 2008 Agri-Marketing Conference, but you need not be present to win.

Two days of breakout sessions at the 2008 Agri-Marketing Conference will delve into the issues that matter most to you! Take a look at what we’ve got planned for you.

Thursday, April 17 ~ 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Senior Management Workshop: We Are Smarter Than Me: A More In-Depth Look at How to Unleash the Power of Crowds in Your Business

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.

Barry Libert is the CEO of Shared Insights, LLC. Shared Insights owns and operates business communities that enable enterprises and their professionals to communicate and collaborate in order to make better decisions based on the experience of peers, experts and leading industry vendors.

NOTE: Participants must be registered for the full Agri-Marketing Conference. Separate registration is required, but there is no additional registration fee. Registration is limited to the first 100 attendees who sign-up. To sign up for the Senior Management Workshop, please visit http://www.nama.org/amc/seniorworkshop.html.

The New Economic Paradigm
It’s a whole new ball game for agribusiness – an economic environment like never before – strong global growth boosting food demand, biofuels competing for commodities, record commodity prices, rising incomes for many agricultural producers as well as record input and equipment sales. Is this just another periodic bubble or is it sustainable this time?

Join Dr. J.B. Penn, Chief Economist for Deere & Co., for a fascinating session of what may lie ahead. Learn what’s affecting the business environment – the global economic outlook, new economic trends, trade, energy, agriculture, climate change, renewable fuels and food supply issues. Then discover what his predictions mean for your business.

Public Perceptions of Agriculture
Find out how the public perceives agriculture and consider how those perceptions affect what you do. Ali Webb, Ph.D., Program Director, Food Systems and Rural Development, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, will present findings from a recent landmark study on public perceptions of agriculture, including a review and analysis of relevant, publicly available opinion research conducted in the United States within the past five years.

Leveraging Interactive Marketing for Business Success
While overall U.S. advertising spending slipped 0.3% in the first quarter of 2007, Internet ad spending rose 16.7%. At the same time, an ever more complicated picture of tools and technologies has developed. The typical website, email and banner ad have been supplemented with search, blogs, RSS feeds, webcasts and social media. Leveraging these new media will be critical to your success in the years to come.

In this timely session, you’ll explore new technologies (and websites, email and other more familiar topics) in business terms. Find out the emerging trends in search, content, applications and community and discover how farmers use online media. Finally, learn what challenges impact your organization’s ability to successfully leverage the power of interactive marketing.

Panel members for this session include: Scott McClure (panel moderator), Brighton Agency; Jim Brophy, Morgan&Myers; Brian Himstedt, Brighton Agency; and Scott Mortimer, Successful Farming and Agriculture Online.

What’s In It For Me? Making Sponsorships Work For Your Organization
There’s certainly no shortage of sponsorship opportunities: events, broadcasts, venues, causes, the list goes on. But how do you make sponsorships more than a “feel good” expenditure? More than simply writing a check and hoping for the best?

Fact is, sponsorships can be a very effective tool if used correctly. The key is in choosing the right opportunities and leveraging them for your organization. Kevin Lentz, Founder and President, Performance Marketing Inc., will provide real-world examples of how you can use sponsorships to achieve your business goals. (Check out the 2008 Conference sponsors at http://nama.org/amc/sponsor/sponsors.htm.)

Thursday, April 17 ~ 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.

How To Network Effectively
Despite what you may think, networking is a learned skill – and one that reaps great rewards, personally and professionally. Good networkers make more contacts, learn about trends and competition, forge meaningful partnerships and become a powerful resource to others.

In this entertaining session led by networking expert Matt Anderson, you’ll learn the keys to networking for success, including the seven biggest mistakes made when working a room. Find out how to identify people to connect with, how to start and exit conversations and how to overcome your natural shyness.

BioFuels: Next Up Cellulosics
Find out what’s happening next in ethanol production so you can stay ahead of the bioenergy boom. Tom Slunecka, Vice President of Business Development for KL Process Design Group, will outline the trend toward ethanol production with cellulosics. Tom will discuss possible feedstocks and address how growers and agribusinesses are likely to take advantage.

Inside the Rural Lifestyle: Understand and Succeed
The rural lifestyle segment is considered one of the fastest growing populations in the U.S. They are a force to be reckoned with – complete with a host of unique needs and buying habits. How can you survive as a lifestyle marketer in the world of ag production?

In this revealing hour, you’ll learn the drilled down reality of the rural lifestyle – size, characters, niches and more – from Brad Schu, Director, Lifestyle Marketing, Land O’Lakes Purina Feeds. Find out the three key experiences they are seeking – and how you can deliver on them. Plus, you’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at rural lifestyle marketing from the Purina perspective, followed by a no-holds-barred Q&A session.

What Marketers Want from the Ag Media
Stop guessing and start selling. Interested in learning what’s on the minds of veteran agrimarketers? Join a group of seasoned professionals to learn how your organization can meet and exceed expectations. The curtain will come down as they describe the do’s and don’ts of a successful sales call, what they want to see in your presentation and how they plan and execute their media schedules.

Our panel of professionals include: Lynn Henderson (moderator), AgriMarketing magazine; Dave Patterson, John Deere Credit; Kim Dawson, Syngenta Crop Protection; Laurie Christen, Colle+McVoy; and Pat Reese, McCormick Company.

Friday, April 18 ~ 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.

Understanding the Income Statement: Thinking Inside the Box
Communicators and journalists are notoriously math averse. But to move ahead in your organization and to enhance client trust, you need to understand financial statements and the numbers of business. James K. Gentry, Ph.D., Professor and Former Dean, William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications, University of Kansas, will give you five key insights that can smooth your path. And it will be relatively painless.

Going Green: How You Can Be A More Environmentally-Conscious Organization
Becoming an environmentally friendly organization is not only a hot trend, but is also a socially responsible goal for any business. While ‘going green’ and ‘reducing your environmental footprint’ may seem like lofty goals, they really can be part of a manageable process you can incorporate into your sales and marketing activities on a gradual basis. This session will explore ideas, strategies and current practices to make your organization a more efficient consumer of environmental resources.

Join Samantha Lucy, Marketing Manager, and Aissa Irvin, Program Manager, for the Center for Food and Agricultural Business at Purdue University, for a discussion of ideas – from big to small – that you can incorporate into your sales and marketing efforts today.

The Millennial Generation-Attracting, Hiring and Retaining the Talent Needed for Tomorrow’s Success!
Talent is the one critical success factor differentiating an organization from the competition. Fact is, attracting, hiring and retaining good people is the most competitive activity we do. This panel will discuss how to attract and fulfill expectations for the youngest talent in the industry – the Millennial generation. Then learn how to keep them once they’ve said “yes!”

Our panel will include: Stephanie Liska (moderator), Beck Ag Inc.; Mike Gaul, Iowa State University; Dr. John Sullivan, Dr. John Sullivan & Associates; Eric Spell, AgCareers.com; and Tom Hoogheem, Monsanto Company.

Pitching a Story: Do’s and Don’ts
If you’re looking to get your organization or product covered by the press, then this session is for you. Join three key editors of major agriculture publications for a revealing look at how to get your story noticed and featured. Find out the “right way” and the “wrong way” to pitch a story. This practical session will give you solid ideas to help you ensure better media coverage in the year to come.

Our panel for this session includes: David Mehlhaff (moderator), American Hereford Association; Greg Vincent, Top Producer; Gerry Whitty, FEED & GRAIN; and Greg Henderson, Drovers magazine.

Please join us for the 2008 Agri-Marketing Conference, April 16-18. Register now at http://nama.org/amc/register.html.

The MoKan NAMA Chapter held its monthly meeting Feb. 19 at the Webster House in Kansas City. After having lunch, attendees listened to speaker Jeff Flora, of the SouthWestern Association, talk about the Western Farm Show.

Flora said the SouthWestern Association is an equipment dealer advocacy group, and their main source of revenue was the Western Farm Show, which was held, Feb.22-24, at the American Royal Complex in Kansas City, Mo.

This year was the 47th annual Western Farm Show, and it has been in the American Royal Complex since 1963. Flora said the show is still driven by agricultural equipment, but the audience is changing slightly.

“We’re still very much a farm show, but to attract more exhibitors we are looking at ways to attract people with smaller lots of land, and hobby farmers.”

Flora said there were about 500 exhibitors planned for this year’s Farm Show, and he expected it to draw about 30,000 attendees over the course of the three days.