The deadline for the 2012 Best of NAMA competition is October 12.  Regional judging is set for November 6-7, 2012.

The Best of NAMA awards program honors the best work in agricultural communications. Actually, the best of the best, since companies/agencies must first qualify through regional competition in order to advance to the national level. The national awards ceremony will take place April 17, 2013, at the Sheraton Crown Center in Kansas City.

Thanks to a new microsite created by Paulsen Marketing, you can upload digital entries for Best of NAMA this year. So your best work from radio, TV, broadcast news, blogs, websites and banners can be viewed—or heard—and judged in the medium for which they were created. Submissions for the print ads and collateral will still require physical samples for judging.

Click here for  Call for Entries details.  Thanks to Broadhead for the design of the Call For Entries.

The drought of 2012 has been brutal. The Midlands NAMA Chapter hosted a panel discussion in Lincoln to talk about its impact on agriculture. Panelists included: Jesse Dotterer, Market Advisor; Ryan Huffstutler, Ag Finance Specialist; Matt Hoxmeier, Ag Risk Advisor, all of Water Street Solutions; and Kent Thompson of Kruger Seed. Approximately 20 members attended this informative panel discussion.

The discussion started by talking about the emotional impact of the 2012 drought. During planting season and in the early growth stages, farmers had a lot of hope for a great year. Fear began to set in and quickly turned to despair after weeks of no rain. According to Dotterer, “Farmers who quickly put emotions aside and got down to facts were able to turn their stress around.”

The entire panel agreed that having a well understood plan was crucial to their farmers’ success this past year. “Informed producers were prepared to make better decisions,” said Huffstutler.  A good representation of this is when a farmer fully understood how lower premiums in crop insurance led to lower coverage levels. “An example is a farmer we work with who had the right coverage and right insurance products in place.” Hoxmeier continued, “for this farmer, the difference meant this producer could farm another year versus taking a $500,000 loss.”

Kent reminded the group that, good, solid farmers make wise decisions consistently year after year. They have a diversified plan, specifically able to deal with the many unknowns that can arise in farming.” These farmers capitalize on profits in good years and are able to build a financial cushion to help them in tough years.

How does this past year impact farmers going forward? It’s important for farmers to build a relationship with suppliers and service providers to receive the education on the various products available. When it comes to purchasing for 2013 – farmers should be looking at their breakevens to understand their need for crop insurance, fertilizer, seed and other inputs.  And the final piece that the panelists felt would be important for farmers in 2013 – be consistent with a plan, look at the facts and make informed decisions. Don’t let emotions take over and drive poor decisions.

Mo-Kan NAMA members gathered for drinks, appetizers and networking Thursday, September 20, 2012, at the new Kill Devil Jazz Club in the Power & Light District of Kansas City. Professional members mingled with NAMA student members from Kansas State University, the University of Missouri and Northwest Missouri State University. It was a great night with almost 40 professional and student members in attendance. Be on the lookout for details on the next Mo-Kan gathering in October.