On March 18, the Agriculture Council of America (ACA) will host two major events in the nation’s Capitol: the Mix-and-Mingle Luncheon and the National Celebration of Agriculture Dinner.

The events honor National Agriculture Week and mark a nationwide effort to tell the true story of American agriculture and remind citizens that agriculture is a part of all of us. A number of producers, agricultural associations, corporations, students and government organizations involved in agriculture are expected to participate.

The annual Mix-and-Mingle Luncheon will be held at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. There is no cost to attend, but advance reservations are required. Approximately 50 student delegates from FFA, 4-H and AFA will be in attendance, along with Outstanding Farmer of the Year honorees. To register for the luncheon, visit http://www.agday.org/media/pr5.php.

The National Celebration of Agriculture Dinner will follow at the USDA Whitten Building Patio at 5:30 p.m. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has been invited to speak. Tickets are $100 and can be purchased at http://www.agday.org/media/pr5.php.

This is the 37th anniversary of National Ag Day (March 20, 2010), which is celebrated in classrooms and communities across the country and is part of National Ag Week (March 14-20, 2010).

National Ag Day is organized by the Agriculture Council of America. ACA 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.

The National Ag Day program encourages every American to:

• Understand how food and fiber products are produced.
• Appreciate the role agriculture plays in providing safe, abundant and affordable products.
• Value the essential role of agriculture in maintaining a strong economy.
• Acknowledge and consider career opportunities in the agriculture, food and fiber industry.

The ABEF Century Club raised $2,100 at the 2009 Agri-Marketing Conference. Investing in the club provides the opportunity to step forward and help advance the future of agribusiness. Today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders and the Century Club support is totally dedicated for investing in scholarships for tomorrow’s leaders.

The Century Club’s goal is to have today’s agribusiness leaders contribute $100 for today’s youth.

Membership in the Century Club is on an annual basis.

Club members who renew prior to the Agri-Marketing Conference will have an “ABEF Century Club” sticker on their name badge and be recognized on the Century Club sign in the Silent Auction area and in other conference materials.  You will also receive an invitation to attend the Agribusiness Leader of the Year Recognition Luncheon hosted by the ABEF and sponsored by Adayana Agri Business Group, Inc.  The annual membership contribution is $100.

You can be a part of this select group of individuals committed to enhancing the opportunity for tomorrow’s leaders. Don’t be left out, sign yourself up now! Visit http://www.nama.org/abef/centuryclub/signup.htm.

Conference details are finalized and we can’t keep them a secret any longer! Our breakout sessions at the 2010 Agri-Marketing Conference, April 21-23, in Kansas City, will be interactive panel sessions. Take a look at the topics and the breakout speakers below.

Emerging Media: The Latest Trends
Hear illuminating case studies and interact with pros paving the way in relationship and community building.

Social Media: The Case for Business Results

April 22 ~ 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
April 22 ~ 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. (Encore Presentation)
How did Monsanto go from reacting to criticism in social media to using the tools to build networks with producers, consumers and other stakeholders? How did the American Farm Bureau Federation involve and engage grassroots members in public policy advocacy? And, how do these innovative marketers measure the effectiveness of those efforts? Look at these firsthand applications of social media to consider how you might be able to gain similar results.

Mica Veihman, Social Media Team Lead, Monsanto
Mica leads efforts to engage customers, industry partners and stakeholders in online discussions regarding the company’s efforts and agriculture in general. She leads a threeperson team responsible for managing and monitoring Monsanto’s Facebook page, Twitter account and YouTube channels as well as the company’s internal social media council.

Mace Thornton, Deputy Director of Public Relations, American Farm Bureau Federation
As Deputy Director of Public Relations for the AFBF in Washington, D.C., Mace is a key contributor to the organization’s overall public relations, media relations, social media strategy and issues management initiatives. He became a member of the nation’s largest agricultural organization in 1990 and currently serves as vice president of the Agricultural Relations Council.

Email Marketing: Strategies, Tactics, Results

April 23 ~ 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
Joel Book, Director of eMarketing Education, ExactTarget
Engagement pathways. Dynamic content. Triggered messaging. Organizations are taking email marketing to the next level with more sophisticated techniques. Find out how leading marketers are cultivating relationships and standing out in the inbox. Joel Book, ExactTarget Director of eMarketing Education, shares some of the more innovative ways email is being used to attract new customers, help customers through a complex decision-making process and drive repeat purchases.

With more than 30 years of experience in database marketing, Joel brings a well-honed perspective on customer development and retention combined with the cutting-edge capabilities of the world’s leading provider of on-demand software for permission-based email and mobile marketing.

Don’t miss this chance to see how you can put these tools to work for you!

Leveraging Brand Power
Expand your perception of brand and discover how to make the most of every opportunity to strengthen it—for yourself, your company and your clients.

A Toast to Strategy & Brand Communication

April 22 ~ 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Keith Levy, Vice President of Marketing, Anheuser-Busch, Inc.
Anheuser-Busch (AB), InBev’s largest and most profitable subsidiary, encompasses more than 100 beer brands representing 103MM barrels of business that generate $13 billion in annual sales.

How does an organization of this size maintain a consumer-centric approach?

According to Keith Levy, it requires a consistent and well-disciplined brand positioning and portfolio management. As Vice President of Marketing, Keith leads the company’s total marketing efforts: consumer insights, creative development, innovation pipeline development, media, as well as entertainment and sports marketing.

Connecting with consumers through powerful and engaging brand communication is one of the things AB does best. Keith will share some of AB’s strategies for advertising and overall marketing success.

Whether you attend as a fellow marketer—or current or prospective customer—you’re sure to find this fast-paced perspective on strategic marketing direction both enlightening and enjoyable.

Innovations in Trade Show Marketing

April 22 ~ 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Sally Behringer, Public Relations Account Supervisor, Nicholson Kovac
Trade shows are a stellar opportunity to showcase your brand. In this candid session, you’ll learn how successful companies prepare for a winning trade show experience, tips for standing out on the trade show floor and how to close the loop after the trade show ends.

Trade show marketing has been a special focus and passion for Sally Behringer for most of her 20-plus working years. She has provided strategic trade show planning for clients, including major international companies such as Rhone-Poulenc, Aventis, Elanco Animal Health, Schneider Electric and FMC Corporation.

In this jam-packed session, Sally provides tips and tools to help you assess and prioritize the potential ROI of a show, train your staff, measure your visibility and more.

Branding the Hallmark Way

April 23 ~ 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
John Courtney, Consumer Understanding & Insight Manager, Hallmark Cards, Inc.
How does a third generation, family-owned, privately held company become one of the country’s best known and most well-regarded brands? And, how does it extend that brand from the original base of greeting cards to a diverse line of products that ranges from party supplies and gift wrap, to made-for-TV movies and a cable TV channel, to E-Cards and mobile greetings?

Over the past 100 years, Hallmark Cards has grown from two shoeboxes of postcards into a $4.3 billion company. Its products can be found in 100 countries around the world and in more than 41,500 stores in the United States alone.

It’s a fascinating marketing success story, particularly when considered from the consumer perspective. John Courtney, Consumer Understanding & Insight Manager, shares a unique insider’s perspective of this well-known brand’s history, the types of brand research the company conducts and the issues and challenges the brand faces today.

Managing Challenges for Success
Whether it’s managing time, crisis situations, staff or your own career, management is always happening. Examine management on both micro and macro levels and learn new methods you can use immediately.

Getting Down to the Business of Ideas

April 22 ~ 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.

photo by Glen Stu

Glenn Karwoski, Founder/Managing Director, The Business of Ideas
Ideas are the lifeblood of every successful business. To be competitive, organizations need all employees to think creatively and productively…about new ways to improve products and services, about new offerings, about how to work as efficiently as possible.

Now, Glenn Karwoski is sharing his classroom-tested approach to teaching creativity and generating more and better ideas. By taking part in these highly focused, creative exercises, you’ll learn proven ways to tap your own creativity and help colleagues tap theirs.

Glenn is the Founder and Managing Director of The Business of Ideas, an innovation and creativity consultancy based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and part of the Omnicom network of agencies. He has worked with a variety of organizations to help generate actionable ideas and to develop employee training focusing on innovation in the workplace. Some of his clients include Pfizer Animal Health, Syngenta, Marvin Windows and Doors and Target Corporation.

Managing the Generation Gap

April 22 ~ 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Eric Spell, President, AgCareers.com
Is the generation gap growing? A recent study by the Pew Research Center indicates it may be and cites a range of issues as evidence, from managing technology to lifestyles and manners.

So, how does this play out in the workplace?

Eric Spell, President of AgCareers.com, draws on his extensive background in training, recruiting and consulting to help illustrate the challenges these differences may cause…and shares the approaches—both good and bad—your colleagues across the country are using to navigate the divide.

From his boyhood on a North Carolina row crop farm to his nearly 20 years spent building the industry’s top online career and recruiting site, Eric has always had a lifelong passion for agriculture.

H1N1 & the Pork Industry: A Case Study in Managing Crisis Communications

April 22 ~ 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Cindy Cunningham, Assistant Vice President of Communications, National Pork Board
Whether accurate or erroneous, a reported crisis can have immediate and far-reaching effects on your business.

Is your team ready to respond?

Cindy Cunningham, Assistant Vice President of Communications for the National Pork Board, shares how the Pork Industry’s H1N1 Response Team developed and implemented their emergency response plan.

With her farm background, ag journalism education and more than 20 years of professional communications experience, Cindy was well-prepared to lead this successful effort. By sharing her insights and experience, you’ll be better prepared to develop a strategic response and implement the appropriate tactics should an unexpected crisis hit you.

Put the “High Touch” Back in Your “High Tech” World

April 23 ~ 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
Paul Adams, President, Paul Adams & Associates
It’s happened to all of us. You’re in an important meeting, across from a client, customer or your co-worker, but you just can’t seem to make a connection. You’re not making progress and you both feel frustrated. Now what?

Paul Adams would have you conduct a quick and simple inventory of social styles that can help you improve your understanding of others’ work and communication styles and to read those tricky nonverbal cues.

Paul began his career in his family’s general store in Southwest City, Missouri, and now, after a 20-year career at Fleming Foods, provides sales and management education and consulting to national and international companies both in and outside the food industry.

Stop hiding behind e-mail. Learn a few easy tips that can help you become a pro at face-to-face communications with anyone…

Sponsorships Still Available!
Please review the benefits and opportunities of sponsorship at the 2010 Agri-Marketing Conference and confirm your interest by filling out the online sponsorship form at http://nama.org/amc/sponsor/form.htm or contact Jenny Pickett at (913) 491-6500 or e-mail to [email protected].

Registration/Hotel Information
To register for the 2010 Agri-Marketing Conference, please visit http://www.nama.org/ConferenceRegistration/Default.aspx?confid=8.

To make your hotel reservations, please visit:
Professionals – http://crowncenter.hyatt.com/groupbooking/mkcrknagr2010

Students – http://crowncenter.hyatt.com/groupbooking/mkcrknags2010

For more information on the conference visit www.nama.org/amc.

Watch your email for the upcoming NAMA Membership Survey! NAMA will be surveying our entire membership to assist us in better understanding your needs. We look forward to your input!

Building a successful ag-based grassroots program served as the meeting topic for the Iowa Chapter’s monthly meeting on January 29, in Johnston, Iowa. Michelle Elliot, the Grassroots Program Manager from the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, served as the keynote speaker.

In addition to providing an overview of the Iowa Farm Bureau’s program and their member-driven policy development programs, Michelle provided some key take-home points that apply in all areas of agri-marketing:

• Create a culture of activism. Actively motivate stakeholders to act, believe or understand. Provide follow up or reward when action is taken.
• Make sure everyone is on the same page with your message. Speaking with one voice is critical.
• Be sure to understand your audience, their needs, interests and concerns.

For example, Elliot noted that farmers really have two jobs, employee and owner, and their daytime hours are often filled with the day-to-day responsibilities of the operation. Schedule activities around their schedule, not yours.

The program closed with a recap of the Iowa Farm Bureau’s current legislative and policy development priorities and an interactive question/answer session.

On Wednesday, December 16, the Cornbelt chapter took advantage of the new Iowa Centers for Enterprise, BioVenture Center, located in Coralville, Iowa, for their meeting.

The program, “Social Networking:  Virtual & Word-of-Mouth Marketing Case Studies,” was attended by 30 individuals.  Afterwards, all attendees went to lunch together to continue the discussion.  The meeting was a great success, with individuals traveling from across IA, NE, and SD to attend.