The MoKan NAMA chapter would like to invite you to join them at the Boot Camp Road Trip. It’s one day only, August 22, and they’ll be touring some very progressive agricultural and ag retail operations in the Kansas City area. Consider it your opportunity to get immersed in local agriculture without having to break a sweat.

The bus will depart the Hyatt Regency Crown Center at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, August 22. Cost for the trip is $45.00 (member and non member).

Scheduled stops include:

Kansas City Board of Trade (Kansas City, MO): Learn about the BOT and the role it plays in agriculture. Then watch as the trading floor comes to life.

Tailgate Ranch Company (Tonganoxie, KS): Commercial cow-calf operation with 1,700 acres and 300 cows, focusing on developing and breeding high-quality replacement females and a strict culling regime to build a superior maternal cow herd.

Pendleton Farms (Lawrence, KS): Run by the Pendleton family, Pendleton Farms is a large scale, diversified specialty crop operation including flower and vegetable sales. Visitors can see all types of production, including greenhouse, hot house and field crops. This stop also will include information on how a family farm recovers from a natural disaster.

Heritage Tractor (Baldwin City, KS): One of the largest John Deere dealerships in the region, Heritage Tractor supplies top of the line and high-quality crop production equipment to both traditional farmers/ranchers and the rural lifestyle audiences.

Lunch and plenty of cold drinks will be provided on the tour. Expect to return to the hotel by 4 p.m. Please RSVP for the tour at https://nama.org/programs/bootcamp-register.htm.

The NAMA Boot Camp is just a couple of weeks away. Enlist in this all-new program today to learn more about the agri-marketing industry. In addition, there will be ample time to network with your peers.

All attendees will receive a notebook packed with ag terminology and facts as well as case studies and speaker presentations.

Boot Camp sessions this year include a Producer Panel moderated by Dallas Ford, Alpha Scouts and Ag Policy and How it Relates to Your Job with a representative from USDA Rural Development. Dr. Gene Brown, The Henry Bloch School of Business at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, will present Business-to-Business Marketing and Hugh Whaley, Osborn & Barr Communications will close the Boot Camp with The Future of Agri-Marketing.

Several breakout sessions will also occur during the Boot Camp, breakouts include A Year in the Life of a Crop Producer and A Year in the Life of a Livestock Producer. Mike Gustafson, John Deere and Allison Bass, AGCO Corporation will discuss Internal Marketing Tools while Monte Reese, Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board will present Working with Checkoff Boards. In addition, Ted Haller, AdFarm will present Evaluating Media and Measuring ROI and Judy Rupnow, Morgan&Myers, will present Dealing With Activists. The last two breakout sessions will be a Client Panel Discussion moderated by Cliff Becker, Food 360/Vance Publishing and an Agency Panel Discussion moderated by Jim Gresham, Adculture Group. Client panel members include: Jane Allman, Cargill Animal Nutrition – PROMOTE; Bill Pool, Adculture Group; and Stephanie Gable, Ft. Dodge Animal Health. Agency panel members include: Mike Butler, Archer>Malmo; Leigh Thiel, Martin Williams; and Roger Reierson, AdFarm.

To register for the Boot Camp call the NAMA office at (913) 491-6500 or register on-line at https://nama.org/programs/bootcamp-register.htm.

For a complete Boot Camp schedule and session descriptions visit, http://www.nama.org/programs/bootcamp.htm:

Make your hotel reservations at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center by calling 816-421-1234. Make sure you mention “NAMA” when making your reservations. The Hotel cut-off date is August 8th.

Join the Northern Prairie NAMA chapter for their annual Golferoo on Wednesday, August 30 at Edgewood Golf Course in Fargo. Tee times begin at 11:00 a.m. (4-Person Scramble). Cost for the golf outing is $60.00 for members and $75.00 for non-members. An additional $10.00 fee will apply if you register after August 20. Entry fee includes green fees, cart and a steak dinner following tournament… and prizes!

Hole sponsorships are still available for $100.00 and include 1 player registration fee. Your company/organization will be recognized with signage on a tee box and in tournament handouts.

Golferoo Special
First-time members can get one year NAMA dues and Golferoo entry for $159.00 (this is a savings of over
$60.00 if purchased separately).

To register, contact Dave McSparron, Red River Farm Network at 218-230-3010 or e-mail to dave@rrfn.com by August 20.

Golf skills are neither required nor recommended and prize contributions are graciously accepted!

Your Best of NAMA entry that is…It’s time to start putting your entries together for the Best of NAMA regional judging competition. Watch your mail for the Best of NAMA Call for Entries which will be in your mailbox this month! The deadline for submitting entries is October 13.

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 11, 2007, at the Hyatt Regency Dallas.

Best of NAMA operates on a regional judging format. Entries are sent directly to the NAMA office and judged by industry professionals at a regional level for possible advancement to national competition. A minimum point standard will be used at the regional level. If you place first or merit at regional competition and score above the minimum point standard, you are eligible to advance to the national competition.

Get your entries in early!

Watch your mailbox at the end of this month for the 2006 Agribusiness Forum brochure. This year’s Forum will take place November 14-15. Once again, the Forum will dovetail the Regional Best of NAMA judging and the NAFB convention. The Forum will take place at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center which is near the NAFB hotel.

You won’t want to miss viewing the 1st and merit regional winners of the Best of NAMA regional judging, the Professional Development Awards of Excellence presentation or the special ABEF Casino event. All Forum sessions will be finalized soon, keep watching your mailbox and the Forum web site (www.nama.org/forum) for the latest Forum schedule, speakers and registration information.

If you are interested in sponsoring a session or event at this year’s Forum, contact Eldon White in the NAMA office at (913) 491-6500 or via e-mail at eldonw@nama.org.

The deadline for submitting nominations for the 2006 Professional Development Awards of Excellence is one month away! Do you know a fellow NAMA member who has had outstanding acheivements in the areas of marketing communications, product/species management, public relations or sales? If so, nominate them for the Awards of Excellence. These awards will be presented at the 2006 Agribusiness Forum, November 14-15, at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City.

The deadline for submitting nominations is September 1. If you have any questions regarding these awards, please contact Eldon White at eldonw@nama.org.

To download the nomination form in an Adobe .PDF format, visit http://www.nama.org/awards/PDAapplication.pdf.

You can also fill out the form on-line at http://www.nama.org/awards/pdaonlineform.htm.