On Tuesday, March 8, Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture, Bill Northey, spoke to the Iowa NAMA Chapter at their monthly meeting at the Monsanto Facility near Huxley, Iowa.

Mr. Northey gave an update about the state of Iowa’s agriculture, and the opportunities and challenges our producers face today. He provided some great insight into the audience we, as marketers, try to reach every day.

Florida NAMA Professional members and Student members attended the Florida Ag Hall of Fame Dinner at the Florida State Fair in Tampa on February 9^th.  Producers and industry members honored included:

1)   Thomas H. Braddock from Duval County, Florida. He currently manages his cattle and timber operation while remaining active in the Florida agricultural community.

2)    Dr. Joseph C. Joyce, Gainesville, Florida served as the Senior Associate Vice President of University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences for 20 plus years and will serve as Director of the IFAS Center for Leadership until his retirement later this year.

3)    Billy Kempfer is partner with his brother and family on Deer Park Ranch-Kempfer Cattle Company located in Brevard and Osceola Counties. The ranch is a diversified operation with commercial beef cattle along with Purebred Brahman and Angus.

4)    Dr. Charles F. “Chip” Hinton, Brandon, Florida grew up in Pensacola. He was a leader on numerous committees and councils for all segments of agriculture, including research, labor, environment and outreach.  Dr. Hinton’s guidance led to many advances across Florida agriculture.

Students and professional members mingled with many Florida agricultural leaders and producers.

MoKan NAMA joined the “Kickoff” breakfast the first morning of The Western Farm Show on Friday, February 26^th. The breakfast featured Missouri’s Director of Agriculture, Richard Fordyce. He shared his insights on how ag technology is changing so fast, consumers are four generations removed from the farm, and new conservation/stewardship practices farmers are challenged with today. The event was sponsored by Missouri Farmers Care and our chapter made a donation to their organization. Members attending the breakfast had the opportunity to check out the farm show as well.

The Cornhusker Chapter held an event February 16, at Green Plains, Inc. that was hosted by Jim Stark, VP of Investor & Media Relations.  In this role, he oversees all corporate communications.

Jim gave the group an overview of the renewable fuels energy industry and the role it plays within the agricultural industry.

Green Plains is a vertically integrated ethanol producer based in Omaha and the third largest ethanol producer. They currently have an ethanol production capacity of approximately 1.2 billion gallons per year with 14 plants strategically located across the U.S.

They are on track to be the biggest ethanol producer, creating 2-3 billion gallons of ethanol a year. They also operate an independent third-party ethanol marketing business, Green Plains Trade.  In addition, Green Plains provides grain storage through their subsidiary, Green Plains Grain.  3.4 Million ton of feed is produced as distiller grains.

Several notable facts that he shared with the group are that GP Inc. is a Fortune 1000 company, 1800-1900 trucks a day go through their 14 plants, they export their ethanol to BP and Exxon, they own a 70,000 Head Cattle Feed Lot in Kismet, KS and will have a new Nascar car on the track soon, that will be a big supporter of E-15.

You are invited to a joint cocktail reception hosted by AAEA and the National Agri-Marketing Association at Commodity Classic.

When: Friday, March 4, 2016

Where: New Orleans Convention Center, Room: 342

Time: 4:30 – 6:00 p.m.

Stop by after the trade show closes!

No cost or registration necessary.

Click for more information on Commodity Classic.

Thanks to BASF, Chesapeake NAMA and Great Plains NAMA. 

As marketers, we create content and target specific audiences using print, radio, television and digital media. This all works fine, but what if we thought bigger? Andrew Davis will teach you five secrets to creating content that inspires demand in his general session. He’ll encourage you to own the entire consumer journey and show you how to short-circuit the “search.”

Click the video below to watch Andrew Davis’ sneak peek on the presentation he will give in April! #NAMA16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Paecj-fjzs8

Only 17 days left to save!

The early bird registration cutoff is March 17! Make sure to register before then for the 2016 Agri-Marketing Conference on April 13-15, in Kansas City, MO.

If you haven’t booked your room at the Sheraton Crown Center yet, make sure you do so before March 17 as well! That is also the cutoff date for the hotel – if you don’t reserve a room by that date, you will not be able to save money on the NAMA room rate! The hotel is filling up so make your reservations today!

NAMA is proud to announce W. Dwight Armstrong, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of the National FFA Organization, as this year’s Agribusiness Leader of the Year.

This award, which is NAMA’s highest honor, recognizes outstanding leadership in private, public or academic service and is conferred each year to a senior agribusiness executive who not only exemplifies excellence in agribusiness but has also made significant contributions to the industry.  Now in its 16^th year, the award will be presented at the Opening General Session of the 2016 Agri-Marketing Conference, “From the Ground Up,” April 14, 2016, in Kansas City.

Dwight Armstrong has a passion for agriculture and its role in food security.  This passion has infiltrated all aspects of his life. Like other industry leaders, he appreciates the serious and urgent challenge of feeding a global population that will top 9 billion by 2050.  That is why he is focused on delivering the human capital to get that job done.  He works daily to ensure youth are being educated on issues of hunger and food security, as well as playing active roles in their communities.  Through his career, he has mentored, developed and honed many leaders around the globe.

Under Armstrong’s leadership at FFA, there has been dramatic growth in FFA student membership, National FFA Foundation contributions and attendance at the National FFA Convention & Expo.  The organization achieved an all-time record membership this year with 629,327 student members in grades 7-12 in 7,757 local FFA chapters throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Attendance at the National FFA Convention & Expo grew from 53,473 in 2009 to 65,173 in 2015, making it the nation’s largest student gathering.  During his tenure, financial stability was strengthened for both the National FFA Foundation and the National FFA Organization.  Under the banner of “We Are FFA,” Armstrong created close collaboration and complementary strategic direction for both organizations.

His leadership and service to agriculture have been lifelong, from his early years as an FFA member and his first degree in agriculture from Murray State University.  He continues to serve the industry on numerous business and not-for-profit boards including: Agri-Corps board; Shoulder to Shoulder board; Mathile Institute board and the Professional Services board.  He has received numerous awards and recognitions including an Honorary Doctorate from Purdue University and the Distinguished Service Award from the American Feed Industry Association.