Special thanks to our sponsors of the Trends In Agriculture fall event!

Ag Speakers Network – Keynote Speakers
AgriMarketing Magazine – General Publicity
Associations, Inc. – Program Booklet Ad
Beck Ag, Inc. – Program Booklet Ad
Blasdel Cleaver Schwalbe Communications – Registration List Printing
Boelte-Hall – General Support
Broadhead + Company – Program Booklet Ad & Trends In Agriculture Logo Design
Cattlemen’s Beef Board – Kick-off Session
CHS, Inc. – Wednesday Morning Refreshment Break
Colle + McVoy – Lanyards
Country Living Association – Session sponsor
DF Bryant & Company – Program Booklet Ad
DTN/The Progressive Farmer – Welcome Reception
Elanco Animal Health – Session sponsor
Farm Progress Companies – Professional Development Awards of Excellence Program
Fastline Publications – Registration Brochure Printing
High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal – Regional Best of NAMA Judges’ Breakfast – prior to Trends In Agriculture
Hoard’s Dairyman Magazine – Regional Best of NAMA Judges’ Break – prior to Trends In Agriculture
John Deere – Regional Best of NAMA Judges’ Breakfast – prior to Trends In Agriculture & Trends In Agriculture Welcome Reception
Living the Country Life – Program Booklet Ad & Signage
Martin Williams – Welcome Reception
McCormick Company – Program Booklet Ad
MoKan NAMA – Meet & Greet Speakers Reception
National Cotton Council of America – Tuesday Afternoon Refreshment Break
Osborn & Barr Communications – Session sponsor
Paulsen AgriBranding – Trends In Agriculture Blog
Quarry Integrated Communications – Meet & Greet Speakers Reception
Rhea & Kaiser Marketing Communications – Name Badges
Truffle Media Networks – Luncheon sponsor & Keynote Speaker Podcast

Sponsorship opportunities are still available, visit http://www.nama.org/trends/sponsorship.htm for remaining sponsorships or contact Jenny Pickett at [email protected].

Special thanks to the Trends In Agriculture Committee who have worked so hard to put together a fantastic program for you!

Chair
Kenna Rathai, Kenna B. Rathai Communications

Vice Chair
Steve Mercer, U.S. Wheat Associates, Inc.

Committee Members
Courtney Yuskis, Drake & Company
Patty Jolliffe, Weyforth-Haas Marketing
Rich Tiller, Ag Speakers Network
Jeanne Miller, J.L. Farmakis, Inc.
Scott Kington, Woodruff Sweitzer

Executive Committee Liaison
Beth Burgy, Broadhead + Company

It’s time to update your NAMA membership information for the printing of the 2009 Marketing Services Guide. If you’ve moved or changed phone numbers, etc., make sure we have your correct information so that your listing in the new Marketing Services Guide is current or updated.

Just visit the membership directory on the NAMA Web site and check your record, if changes need to be made, simply click the “submit change” button and make any changes you need. The deadline for updating your record is September 29.

To look up your record visit, http://www.nama.org/directory/index.html.

Note: If you are not receiving e-mail from NAMA, check with your company to ensure that we are not in your spam blocker. Don’t miss out on important NAMA e-mails from NAMA or your local chapter!

Did you move to a new company and know of co-workers who would benefit from NAMA? Just send their contact information to Linda Schaefer at the NAMA office at [email protected] and she’ll send them information on NAMA and how to join!

Chapters are in the process of planning their meetings for the upcoming year. Check out the latest meetings below.

If you have events planned for the 2008-2009 year and they are not listed below, please send the information to Kathi Conrad at [email protected] to get it on the calendar.

Midlands NAMA ~ September 23
Presidential Race from Ag Point of View – The Midlands NAMA Chapter invites you to the Nebraska State Capitol building to hear how the 2008 presidential race could impact the Midwest’s largest industry – agriculture. The event will take place, Tuesday, Sept. 23, from 3:00-5:00 p.m. at the Nebraska State Capitol, 1445 K Street, Lincoln, NE – Warner Legislative Chamber, main floor.

The chapter will host two public policy experts to talk about what changes the ag industry might see as a result of the presidential race. David Bracht and Bradley Lubben, Ph.D., will discuss the differences between the two candidates and how their election to the White House could change agriculture in America.

Please RSVP to Steve Johnson by Thursday, Sept., 18. Admission is $15 for NAMA members and $20 for non members.

Carolinas/Virginia NAMA ~ September 25
Mark your calendar now for Thursday, September 25 — the date for the kick-off meeting of the 2008-09 Carolinas-Virginia NAMA Chapter. The program for the meeting will kick-off season-long focus on “Making the Most of Media Opportunities in Marketing Your Products.” The September 25th program will feature how agency/client teams work to put together and maximize the most cost-effective media mix for their products. A panel of three Carolinas/Virginia Agency/Client teams will address just how they go about doing that.

The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a networking reception, followed by dinner and the program. Cost is $30 for members, $20 for students, and $40 for guests.

For more information and to register, visit http://www.nama.org/chapters/carvir9-25-08.htm.

MoKan NAMA ~ September 25
Join the MoKan NAMA Chapter, Thursday, Sept. 25, to discuss the Farm Bill and the need for farm programs. Tim Kelley, Executive Director of the Missouri Farm Service Agency will address the group at the Hereford House, 2 E. 20th St., Kansas City, MO, following dinner. The event will begin at 5:00 p.m. with cocktails followed by dinner and the speaker at 6:00 p.m. RSVP toTyler Kelley at [email protected] or call (816) 410-5152.

Iowa NAMA ~ September 30
Iowa NAMA invites you to the first meeting of the 2008-09 year! The program, Creating & Extending a Brand Relationship Through Event Marketing, is being hosted by Channel Bio Corp., parent company of Crow’s Hybrids, Midwest Seed Genetics & NC+ Hybrids.

Instead of using advertising & traditional communications tactics, Channel uses BioFuture to reach farmers, prospective employees & influencers. The event shows customers the Channel difference by explaining how new technologies, new markets & world events are reshaping the way corn & soybean products are developed, tested, produced & sold.

The Channel marketing & communications team will lead a discussion on the philosophy & tactics behind this event marketing strategy.

Please join Iowa NAMA on Tues., Sept. 30th beginning at 4:00 p.m. for a Circle of Science tour and discussion followed by dinner and a social at 5:00 p.m. There is no charge for this meeting.

Badger NAMA ~ October 2
Make plans to join fellow agri-marketers and NAMA members from around the country at the NAMA World Dairy Expo Reception, hosted by Badger NAMA. The event will take place Thursday, October 2nd, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the Exhibitors’ Lounge at Alliant Energy Center in Madison, WI. Enjoy complimentary hors d’oeuvres, wine and soda, as well as Kentucky Ale courtesy of Alltech.

Join Badger NAMA on October 2nd at the World Dairy Expo for an evening of networking and fun!

In addition, if you’ve already hosted events, please submit any pictures or write-ups to Debbie as well. No time to do an entire feature article on your meeting or event? No problem, simply download this helpful document and fill out some brief information about your meeting or event, then email it back to Debbie Brummel at [email protected].

Check your mailbox for the Trends In Agriculture brochure and your e-mail inbox for upcoming Rural Lifestyle Quizzes.

For this year’s Trends In Agriculture meeting, we are excited about the outstanding line-up of speakers that will be joining us. Take a minute to meet the Trends in Agriculture kick-off session speaker below.

Frank Schuurmans, Decision Strategies International, kick’s off the Trends meeting with Testing Your Current Strategy.

Most organizations already have strategies and tactics in place. But is your current strategy ‘future-proof’? In this type of engagement, Schuurmans focuses on different external future scenarios that might unfold and then test how your current strategy would fare under these different scenarios. He then helps you identify which areas of your strategy might require adjustment and monitoring as the future unfolds. Most companies pursue fragile strategies that will not easily survive a shift in how the wind is blowing. Many organizations have optimized their strategy for the present, not the future! Inadvertently, they have sacrificed long-term prosperity for short-term gain. He will assess how vulnerable your strategy is to external change, competitive forces and shifts in consumer demand.

Franck Schuurmans is a Senior Consultant and the Director of Non-Profit Practices for Decision Strategies International. He is a highly acclaimed, dynamic speaker and author of numerous influential industry reports. Dr. Schuurmans works both with corporate clients as well as with leading non- profit organizations. His areas of expertise are retail finance, governance and the non-profit sector, with a special interest in executive training workshops, board governance and strategy development.

Schuurmans received his MA from the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. As a Fulbright Fellowship recipient, he was awarded a Ph.D. in Modern European History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1995. He taught there for several years as a full-time faculty member, and conducted research.

Until 2002 he was the senior vice president of Business and Professional Development for the Credit Union Executives Society (CUES) in Madison, Wisconsin. At CUES he was in charge of all research and professional development, playing a critical role in transforming CUES into the industry’s thought leader. Specifically, he helped expand the CUES-CEO Institute by working closely with several leading academic institutions, such as Berkeley, Cornell and Wharton. This Institute has become the industry gold standard in executive education, with over 500 alumni in senior positions. Franck is a Certified Association Executive (CAE).

With Prof. Paul Schoemaker and others he most recently co-wrote 2010 Scenarios for Credit Unions. He is also the co-author of various Industry Scenario reports including: “Scenarios for the Future of Human Resources Management,” commissioned by the Society of Human Resource Management; “2020: The Future of the Legal Industry:” “The Long and Winding Road, Histories of Aging and Aging Services in America, 2006-2016” and “Memories of the Future, Scenarios for the Life Insurance Industry.” Schoemaker and Schuurmans jointly wrote, “Opportunity in Uncertainty: Techniques for turning an Unpredictable Future to your Advantage,” published in Association Management.

Schuurmans is a frequent speaker at conferences and meetings throughout North America and Europe. He is a periodic guest lecturer at the Aresty Institute of Executive Education at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and at The European Centre for Executive Development (CEDEP) at INSEAD in Paris, one of Europe’s leading business schools. Dr. Schuurmans interests are in strategic planning, decision-making, innovation and corporate governance.

Leader Schedule at Trends In Agriculture
The following events will take place for NAMA Leaders at Trends in Agriculture:

Monday, November 10 ~ 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Executive Committee Meeting

Tuesday, November 11 ~ 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 Noon
Board of Directors’ Meeting – Board Members include:

• Chapter Presidents
• Regional Directors
• Executive Committee
• Immediate Past National President

Tuesday, November 11 ~ 12:15 – 1:45 p.m.
Chapter Leader Workshop – this workshop is hosted by the Regional Directors. All chapter presidents are encouraged to go to the workshop, however, if a president is not available to attend, another leader for the chapter may attend in their place.

Sponsorship Opportunities are still available for Trends In Agriculture, to view a list of available sponsorships and to sign up, visit http://www.nama.org/trends/sponsorship.htm or contact Jenny Pickett at [email protected].

For more information on Trends In Agriculture, visit http://www.nama.org/trends/index.htm. Remember, everyone who registers by the early cut off date (October 27) will be entered in a drawing for a complimentary registration to the 2009 Agri-Marketing Conference in Atlanta, April 15-17, 2009!

Have you served up some hot ideas and sizzling solutions in the past year? If so, submit your most choice work for consideration for a Best of NAMA award!

If you’re a NAMA member you’re eligible to serve up your company’s sauciest communications materials, prepared for first use in 2008. (If entered in 2007, the EXACT SAME entry will not be eligible in 2008.) Additions or modifications to an ongoing campaign will not be eligible year after year. Entries are open to agricultural, ornamentals, turf, livestock veterinarians and any other ag-related products or services whose primary audience is farmers, ranchers and growers (except as otherwise noted). Please submit translations where necessary. Each entry should be submitted through one region only.

Remember, your local chapter receives $25 per regional entry. So, enter your work in Best of NAMA and nourish your local chapter at the same time.

The deadline for submitting entries into the Best of NAMA competition is Friday, October 10.

For more information on Best of NAMA or to download an entry form visit http://www.nama.org/amc/bon/index.htm.

Special thanks to High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal for sponsoring the Best of NAMA Call for Entries and thanks to Nicholson Kovac for the logo design.

Thank you to all Sponsors and Participants who made the 2008 Iowa NAMA Golf Outing on June 12, a success! All proceeds from the event go toward Iowa NAMA student chapter activities & scholarships throughout the 2008-2009 academic year. Thank you for investing in the next crop of Agri-Marketers.

$150 Hole Sponsors:
Vermeer
Iowa Farmer Today
Living the Country Life
Successful Farming
Farm Progress Companies
DTN/The Progressive Farmer
Farm Journal
Penton Media
State Farm Radio Networks (JL Farmakis)
Farmakis Ag Newspapers
Hedlin Ag
The Meyocks Group

Schneider Graphics donated signage for the event

Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau $50.00 DSM Gift Certificheck

Company Golf Participants:
Agri-Access
Lessing-Flynn
Ag Leader Technology
Schneider Graphics
High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal
Successful Farming