The Agriculture Council of America Board of Directors’ met on September 8 to begin the planning for Ag Day 2009, which occurs on March 20.

The board discussed the poster for 2009 and began work on planning activities for events to be held in Washington, DC. In addition, new ACA Board Members were named for the 2008-2009 year. Greg Webb, Archer Daniels Midland, succeeded Gerald Tumbleson, Natl. Corn Growers Association, as the Chair of the ACA Board. Tumbleson becomes the Past Chair. Additional ACA Board members include:

Vice Chair
Linda Tank, CHS, Inc.

Secretary/Treasurer
Dr. John Bonner, Council for Agricultural Science & Technology (CAST)

Members
Lynn Henderson, AgriMarketing Magazine
Terry Gilbert, American Farm Bureau Federation
Melanie Miller, The Sugar Association
Doug Loudenslager, Natl. FFA Organization
Barry Nelson, John Deere Agricultural Marketing Center

National Agriculture Day occurs every year on the first day of Spring. Join us in 2009 on, or around, March 20th, as we honor agriculture for providing safe, abundant and affordable products, a strong economy, a source of renewable energy, and a world of job opportunities.

For more information on National Ag Day/Week, visit www.agday.org.

The deadline for submitting nominations for the Professional Development Awards of Excellence has been extended to Friday, September 5.

Do you know someone in one of the professional development areas that deserves the recognition of his or her peers for their outstanding work? Then nominate them for one of the Professional Development Awards of Excellence!

These awards are open to any active NAMA member, and are awarded in the areas of marketing communications, product/species management, public relations and sales. One NAMA member is honored in each of these four areas. The nominee should have direct program responsibility for the area in which he/she is being nominated.

Nominating someone is easy! Just visit http://www.nama.org/awards/pdaonlineform.htm and fill out the online nomination form. Or visit http://www.nama.org/awards/PDAapplication.pdf and download the nomination form in a .pdf format and fax it to the NAMA office at 913-491-6502.

The awards will be presented at the 2008 Trends In Agriculture meeting, November 11-12 in Kansas City.

For more information on the Professional Development Awards of Excellence visit http://www.nama.org/awards/pdaawards.htm.

It’s that time of year when you are busy planning your chapter meetings for the 2008-2009 program year. This is just a reminder to submit your upcoming meetings to Debbie Brummel at the National Office at [email protected], to get them listed on the NAMA Calendar of Events.

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].

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!

The Best of NAMA awards program honors the most prime work in agricultural communications. You might say it recognizes la crème de la crème, actually, because companies/agencies must first qualify through regional competition in order to advance to the national level. The national awards ceremony will take place April 15, at the Marriott Marquis in Atlanta.

Best of NAMA operates on a regional judging format. Entries are sent directly to the national NAMA office and judged by industry professionals at a regional level for possible advancement to national competition.

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.

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.

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

Get the recognition you deserve by sponsoring a session or event at the 2008 Trends In Agriculture meeting, November 11-12 in Kansas City.

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

• Recognition in the registration brochure (must have sponsorship commitment by September 5)
• 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 Trends In Ag Web site page;
• and, first right of refusal for sponsorship of the same item for the 2009 Trends In Agriculture.

Sponsorships are still available for:

• Welcome Reception – $1,500 (1 available)
• NEW! Wednesday Afternoon Meet & Greet Reception – $1,500 each (2 sponsorships available)
• Professional Development Awards of Excellence Program – $2,000 each (2 available)
• Trends In Agriculture Sessions – $1,500 each (2 available)
• Wednesday Morning Continental Breakfast – $1,500
• Wednesday Luncheon – $1,000 each (1 co-sponsorship available)
• Audio/Visual Equipment – $1,000 (1 available)
• E-News Special “Trends In Agriculture” Edition (3 issues, includes ad) – $750 each (3 sponsorships available)
• Web Page Banner Ad – $650 (1 available)
• Speaker Audio Recording – $500 (1 available)
• General Trends In Agriculture Support – any amount
• Program Booklet Ads – Full Page $1,000; Half Page $500; Quarter Page $250

In addition, sponsorships are also available for the Agri-Business Educational Foundation (ABEF) Sports Night:

• Sports Night Games – $500 each (6 sponsorships available)
• Sports Night Prizes – $500

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

And don’t forget! Everyone who registers for Trends In Agriculture 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!

Register now for Trends In Agriculture at http://payment.nama.org/trends.htm.

For more information on Trends In Agriculture speakers and sessions visit http://www.nama.org/trends/index.htm.

Mark your calendars for the next NAMA Webinar, The Confluence of Social Networking and Mobile Marketing: The Value Proposition for Agribusiness, which will be held Thursday, October 9 at 1:00 p.m. Central Time.

We’ll spend an hour with John Gilbert, Bader Rutter, examining the place where social networking meets mobile marketing, and understand the possibilities for marketers in the agribusiness space.

Coming in 2009 will be the NAMA Webinar for Maximizing your Trade Show R.O.I. which will take place in January or February, 2009.

What do you do at a trade show? Now, more than ever, your trade show marketing program must generate sales and profits. Scott Hanna with Skyline Displays will help you get results by revealing the essential aspects of a successful trade show program.

You will learn key skills, such as:

• Measuring Objectives
• Selecting the right shows and booth spaces
• Budgeting – doing more with less
• Designing an effective exhibit
• Promoting your trade show exhibit
• Selecting and preparing the right staff
• and more!

Register now for the webinar at http://payment.nama.org/webinar.htm. You will receive a confirmation email with the log-in information for the webinar.

The goal of the NAMA Advocate program is to enlist a core group of NAMA members to help recruit new members and advocate for the organization.

The NAMA Advocate program is part of the overall “Cultivating Connections” membership plan. Your efforts are part of the bigger membership picture. The national NAMA membership committee is working with chapters on recruiting while simultaneously the NAMA office is working on targeted prospecting. With recruiting efforts in place at the local and national level, we hope to increase NAMA membership over the course of the year. It is important as an advocate, that you work with local chapters and the NAMA office and, likewise, you have support when you need it.

What will I have to do?
You’ll receive membership materials from the NAMA office. You’ll be expected to seek out potential members and lay the groundwork for recruiting members. After making contact, you’ll coordinate the follow up through the NAMA office. Or you can follow up to “Close the deal.”

What will I get in return?
Along with the satisfaction of helping the organization you’ll be recognized in the NAMA News section of AgriMarketing magazine and the NAMA e-news. You’ll be recognized at Trends In Agriculture and the Agri-Marketing Conference with a ribbon on your name badge. You will also be invited to the “First Timer/Leader” reception at the conference.

Start advocating today! Sign-up at http://www.nama.org/advocate/advocatesignup.htm.

Check out our current NAMA Advocates!

Ken Anderson, Ayres Kahler Brand Navigation
Sally Behringer, Nicholson Kovac, Inc.
Leigh Ann Cleaver, Blasdel Cleaver Schwalbe Communications
Mike Butler, Archer>Malmo
Sandy Creighton, Farm Progress Companies
Jean DeLong Custer, CNH
Ken Dean, High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal
Lee Dueringer
Doug Freeze, University of Memphis
Teresa Hinrichs, CMS
Angela Jamison, Communicopia
Phil Johnson, Colle+McVoy
Amy Jolliff, Rhea & Kaiser Marketing Commications
Kim Lang, Agri-Business Solutions, Inc.
Bev Larson, NK Seeds, Syngenta Seeds
Sue Lee, Farm Journal Media
Tom Mahoney, Lancaster Farming
Kara McDonald, Dairy Management Inc.
Robert Ratliff, ProfitableFarming.com Corp.
Jane L. Schroeder, NC+ Hybrids
Don Schultz, Clear Channel Ag Networks
Tom Smull, Associations, Inc.
Lori Strum-Stravers, Strategic America
Frank Timberlake, R.F. Timberlake & Co., Inc.
Amber Tjernagel, Alltech Inc.
Cyndi Treadway, Exhibit Resources, Inc.
Stephanie Vinton-Pollock, Agri-Access
Catherine Wang, Gibbs & Soell
Jeff Winton, Schering-Plough Corp.
Chuck Zimmerman, ZimmComm New Media