Early Registration Deadline is October 27!

With a goal of exploring the changing nature of the agri-marketing industry, NAMA’s 2009 Trends in Agriculture conference will focus on how sociological, technological, and political forces are changing the traditional ag community and on practical ideas agri-marketers can apply to stay engaged in the new marketplace.

Sponsorships for Trends In Agriculture are still available, please contact Jenny Pickett at [email protected] for more information!

Tuesday, November 10

2:00 – 3:30 p.m. – Defining the Ag Community

Dr. David M. Kohl, Professor Emeritus, Agricultural Finance and Small Business Management, Virginia Tech University, and President, AgriVisions, LLC

Changes that are forcing and enabling U.S. farmers and livestock producers to reach out beyond their traditional communities to ensure the success of their enterprises are taking place. Ownership is passing to a new generation. Growth requires diversification or expansion to new communities. Powerful detractors are drawing producers and agri-businesses into public debate about agriculture. New technology including smart phones and social media are opening new doors to collaboration and business opportunities. Drawing from years of academic and personal experience, Dr. David M. Kohl will discuss how these forces are changing the way producers choose their suppliers and define how marketers must adjust to the new ag community to keep and win business.

4:00 – 5:00 p.m. – Living & Working in the New Ag Community Panel

Success and growth today require more than good agronomic practices. Hear from a diverse panel of farmers and livestock producers who will share specific examples of how they have built trust and connected with the new ag community.

Moderator: John Walter is Executive Editor for Successful Farming and Agriculture.com
John Walter is Executive Editor for Successful Farming and Agriculture.com. Under his guidance, Agriculture Online was awarded a Jesse H. Neal Business Journalism Award as Best Web Site, and was named to the B to B Magazine Media Power 50 list as one of country’s most powerful and targeted business-to-business advertising venues. Walter has been awarded a number of other honors in communications, including from the Environmental Law Institute; the National Association of Conservation Districts, and the American Agricultural Editors Association. He is past-president and a former member of the Board of Directors of the American Agricultural Editors Association. He earned a BA in English from Wartburg College and a MA in Communications Media from the University of Northern Iowa, with post-graduate studies at Drake University.

Panelists:

David Cleavinger
David Cleavinger is a fifth-generation Texas farmer/rancher operating his 3,500-acre irrigated family farm and ranch in Wildorado, near Amarillo, Texas.  His crop production has included wheat, corn, grain sorghum, seed milo, sorghum silage, cotton and sugar beets along with stocker cattle.

Karen Ross, president, California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG)
Karen Ross has been president of the California Association of Winegrape Growers since 1996.  She is also executive director for Winegrape Growers of America, a coalition of state winegrower organizations, and executive director of the California Wine Grape Growers Foundation which sponsors scholarships for the children of vineyard employees.

Daphne Holterman
Daphne Holterman was raised on a beef and hog farm near Broadhead, Wisconsin. She received an Agricultural Journalism degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1981. She was also Senior Associate at Morgan&Myers Public Relations Counselors, Jefferson, Wis. from 1983-1994.  Her clients included state and national companies and organizations, focusing on agriculture and food industries. Currently Holterman operates a dairy farm and milk trucking company consisting of 850 milk cows and nearly 1,200 acres with her husband, Lloyd, and Tim Strobel. She was nominated World Dairy Expo Woman of the Year in 2009.

5:30 – 7:30 p.m. – Welcome/Best of NAMA Entry Viewing Reception
Relax and peruse the Best of NAMA entries with friends, colleagues and prospects. Buy a raffle ticket to benefit the ABEF.

Wednesday, November 11

8:30 – 10:00 a.m. – How Marketers are Building New Community Ties

3G-enabled smart phones, the “Tweeting Farmer,” and unusual partnerships are all part of the new ag community. This general session will feature practical case studies from marketers inside and outside of agriculture that have forged new links with their customers using new media and non-traditional collaboration.

Mike Wehrs, President & Chief Executive Officer, Mobile Marketing Association
Mike Wehrs is President and CEO of the Mobile Marketing Association.  In this role, he is responsible for leading the global association in its charter to build a sustainable ecosystem for the mobile marketing industry, clearing obstacles to market development, establishing standards and best practices for sustainable growth, and evangelizing the mobile channel. Previously, Wehrs served as VP, Industry Affairs and Evangelism for Nuance Communications, where he led the mobile business strategy, and was a key member of the mergers and acquisitions team. Wehrs graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Computer and Information Science from Syracuse University.

Leslie Bradshaw, Director of Engagement, Public Affairs, Principal, Bradshaw Vineyards
Leslie is known by many on the east coast as a digital strategist and entrepreneur; out west, she is known as a pioneer and farmhand. Having left her 95-acre family farm in Junction City, Oregon in 2000 to pursue a world-class education at the University of Chicago, Leslie continues to contribute to and innovate on behalf of her family’s ranch and pinot noir vineyard, as well as the industry as a whole from her post in Washington DC.  More recently, this has included plans to launch a community and industry-friendly blog www.SocialMediaforAgriculture.com in the fall, plenary and sponsorship support of www.TechAdventureDC.com and ongoing discussions and trainings with the DC Ag Communicators.

Joel Jaeger, Commodity Update
Mr. Joel Jaeger, president of Mobile technology provider, COMMODITY UPDATE, and partner in his family’s Colorado and Belize farming operations, provides the story of his company’s inception (from the basement of his Colorado farmhouse), shares current insights and experiences with Mobile messaging (from farmer and marketer P.O.V.), and foreshadows the future of Mobile in agriculture.

Jaeger formed Commodity Update in 2003, after returning to the family farm following a successful stint in the wealth management industry. Bootstrapping together a mobile business from the basement of a Colorado farmhouse, COMMODITY UPDATE was borne out of a practical need for market information. Short texts are sent to farmers’ cell phones up to nine times per day. As it turned out, farmers really liked those text messages, and now top agricultural companies embrace the technology.

Having to quit driving the tractor to run the business, Joel now operates COMMODITY UPDATE from an office in Stillwater, Minnesota, and remains active as a partner in the family owned farming operations in Colorado and the Central American country of Belize. He spends the rest of his time dreaming up new ways to serve farmers’ needs in the field, using mobile technology.

10:30 – 11:30 a.m. – Distribution Chain Reaction

Growers and producers have always had a strong loyalty to the businesses in their local community. Yet as farming enterprises have consolidated and changed, the competitive environment for retailers – and in turn the entire distribution chain – has grown more intense. Some retailers have responded successfully by grafting innovative sales and service offerings onto their community roots. Representatives from farm supply chain companies will share how their organizations have embraced the opportunity to meet the changing needs of their customer base.

Ed Martin, President and CEO of Influence Media Network (IMN), the national distributor for Thomson Grass Valley’s MEDIAEDGE Digital Media Management System (DMMS).
Ed’s goal is to share how digital signage technology can be…and is being used.  He also hopes to share specific case studies from other industries to demonstrate some of the results seen to date with companies like WalMart, Best Buy, etc., if possible.

Larry Schermerhorn, Vice President, Farm Supply, Country Operations, CHS Inc.
Larry Schermerhorn has over 35 years of experience in agriculture and is the Vice President, Farm Supply, Country Operations with CHS, Inc.  He is responsible for sales, business development, acquisitions and relationships with approximately 265 agronomy facilities in Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, and Washington.

11:30 – 1:00 p.m. – Professional Development Awards of Excellence Luncheon

Each year, NAMA honors members with hands –on responsibility in marketing communications, public relations, product/species management and sales. Awards will be given in each of these areas and the recipients will share their thoughts on the challenges and opportunities in agri-marketing. (See the article above for Awards of Excellence winners.)

1:30 – 3:00 p.m. – Panel Discussion: Speaking for Agriculture

At last year’s Trends in Agriculture conference, NAMA examined the remarkable impact of “Rural Lifestylers” on agri-marketing. Part of that meeting examined the potential conflict in our rural communities created by the divergent views of established producers and the newcomers. Complicating the picture is the distance between most Americans and the farms that produce their food. It is a gap being filled more and more by media-savvy, sophisticated detractors that “have demonized farmers and ranchers for being ‘giant agribusinesses.’” As a result, producers, their suppliers, and the greater agricultural industry are trying to raise awareness of the truth about American agriculture.

NAMA and NAFB will bring together C-Suite executives and agricultural stakeholders in this joint session to update agri-marketers and broadcasters about these efforts and to stimulate innovative approaches to this growing challenge to the new ag community.

The panel includes:
Lindsay Hill, Moderator, Owner, ABN Radio & Natl. VP of NAFB;
Tami Craig Schilling, Director of Strategic Communications, Monsanto;
William Boehm, recently retired Sr. Vice President & Officer of The Kroger Co.;
Charlie Arnot, CEO, Center for Food Integrity;
Gary Baise, Principal Attorney at the noted Washington, D.C., firm of Olsson; Frank Weeda

Lindsay Hill (moderator)
Lindsay Hill has led the field of agricultural communication with an extensive background in farm radio, print and television.

Lindsay began her career studying at the hand of the Dean of Ohio farm broadcasting, Ed Johnson. Lindsay’s next venture was into print working as a marketing executive for the statewide farm publication, Ohio’s Country Journal. Lindsay’s heart has always been in radio, and in 2007 took over operations of ABN Radio bringing her back to the place she got her start.

Recently elected as National Vice President of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB), Lindsay was also awarded the NAFB Horizon Award in Farm Broadcasting.

Tami Craig Schilling, Director of Strategic Communications, Monsanto; Director, Public Affairs Strategic Communications & Operations
Tami Craig Schilling is a fifth generation agriculturalist who started her career at the age of three showing livestock and continues it today as Director of Strategic Communications and Operations.  Tami leads a team focused on communications strategy, operations and organizational development as well as directs Monsanto’s tour program.

William Boehm
William (Bill) Boehm is a recently retired Senior Vice President and Officer of The Kroger Co.  Kroger is one of the world’s largest retail companies with annual sales of approximately $70 billion.  Boehm retired in 2008 as President of Kroger Manufacturing; a Division which includes 36 food processing plants operated by 8,000 associates and sales of $4.2 billion. He is also a former Farm Foundation Trustee.

Charlie Arnot, CEO, Center for Food Integrity
Charlie Arnot is CEO of the Center for Food Integrity and President of CMA, a consulting company with offices in Missouri, Iowa and Indiana. The Center for Food Integrity is a national non-profit organization dedicated to building consumer trust and confidence in the contemporary US food system.

In his role as president of CMA, Charlie and the CMA team work with companies and associations across the food system to develop and implement sustainable solutions in issues management, public relations, strategic facilitation and marketing communications. The CMA team also writes a regular column in Feedstuffs, the nations’ leading agribusiness newspaper and contributes frequently to other food system publications.

Gary Baise, Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Bode Matz
Gary Baise is a Principal at the noted Washington, D.C., firm of Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Bode Matz PC, a firm specializing in the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act and Solid Waste Disposal Act litigation as well as agricultural corporate governance issues. He has defended clients, including farm producers, in several of the leading wetlands enforcement cases under the Clean Water Act in federal courts.  He serves as general counsel of the Agricultural Retailers Association, National Association of Wheat Growers and National Sorghum Producers.

To register for the 2009 Trends In Agriculture conference visit http://www.nama.org/ConferenceRegistration/Default.aspx?confid=5.

Download the Trends In Agriculture brochure in an Adobe .PDF format at http://www.nama.org/trends/TrendsinAg-FINAL.pdf.