Spring Valley Farms (SVF) Ag Tour
A true gate to plate operation.

Friday, September 25th

• 8:00 a.m. – Depart from Showplace Arena next to AgriCenter on chartered bus
• 10:30 a.m. – Arrive John & Debra’s house, enjoy refreshments on the front porch
• 11:00 a.m. – Enjoy a truly homemade lunch complete with ½ pound burgers made from SVF beef and Debra’s homemade potato salad and dessert
• 12:30 p.m. – Load the bus for a tour of the farms where John & Debra will share the history of their farms and discuss their current operations. Highlights include:
  —Cattle herds – How are they bred, raised, and sold direct to consumers
  —Debra’s bee operation – How are they cared for and  how the honey is produced
  —General farm sites including old log barns
• 2:30 p.m. – Depart for Memphis
• 5:00 p.m. – Arrive back at Showplace Arena

When: Friday, September 25th

Where: Meet up at Showplace Arena

Cost: $60

Register to Attend

Don’t worry…there will be wi-fi on the bus for all you workaholics. Additional details regarding parking and other logistics will be sent closer to the event.

Registration/Payment Policy: Registration will remain open until the Tuesday before the event (September 22). Due to the nature of this event, no refunds will be available for cancellation within two weeks of the event (Friday, September 11).

Connect with NAMA at Husker Harvest Days

Are you attending Husker Harvest Days in Grand Island, NE?  If so, plan to join other NAMA members at a reception hosted by Cornhusker NAMA.

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

In the Reinke Irrigation building, booth #57, located on the corner of West Avenue and Main Street

Light appetizers and drinks will be provided. It’s a great opportunity to meet and visit with other NAMA members from across the country. If you have any questions, please contact Jane Schroeder, Beck Ag, at (402) 613-8007.

Badger NAMA World Dairy Expo Reception

Join your marketing peers for the annual World Dairy Expo NAMA Reception hosted by the Badger Chapter on Thursday, October 1 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Exhibition Hall Balcony.

Drinks and light hors d’oeuvres will be served.  All NAMA members and friends are welcome; no need to RSVP.  Catch up with your NAMA peers (and relax after the tradeshow) at this casual and social reception.

Contact Andrea Bloom (abloom@vitaplus.com or 608.250.4257) with any questions you may have.

See you at World Dairy Expo!  Best wishes for a great show!

On September 11, the Iowa NAMA Chapter kicked off their program year with hearing straight from the farmer – a panel of two local row crop and livestock producers!  The two Iowa producers gave an overview of their operations and discussed some of the issues that keep them up at night. They also gave some great insight as to what marketing tactics are the most effective. Doug Cooper of WHO Radio moderated the discussion hosted by the Iowa Farm Bureau. The chapter’s next outing is a Speed Networking event on October 9th at Americana in Des Moines, Iowa from 4-6pm. 

NAMA is pleased to announce the winners of the 2015 Professional Development Awards. Each year, NAMA recognizes industry leaders at the very top of their respective fields. These prestigious awards acknowledge excellence in the areas of marketing communications, sales and public relations.

The 2015 Marketing Communications award recipient is Christine Hart-Nieland, Senior Account Manager at Brighton Agency. An agri-marketing veteran of nearly 25 years, today Chris is on the Brighton Ag Leadership team and directs several key brands for Monsanto. She’s also a devoted parent and spends much of her time mentoring young people. Christine is active in NAMA and recently served as chairman of NAMA’s annual conference. She currently serves as vice chair on the Best of NAMA Committee.

The Professional Development Award for Public Relations goes to Mary Gordon, Managing Supervisor, G&S Business Communications. She has successfully led the public relations campaigns for several strategic brands on behalf of her client, Syngenta, throughout her 13-year career at G&S Business Communications, but, most notably, within the past 18 months. Mary’s hard work and strategic recommendations for a three-pronged registration program to launch a new Syngenta corn herbicide were a great success. A longtime member of the Carolinas/Virginia NAMA chapter, Mary has served on her local Best of NAMA committee and serves as an exemplary agri-marketing role model to fellow NAMA members.

Eloise Seaman is awarded the Professional Development Award for Sales. As Senior National Account Manager for Vance Publishing — Protein Group, she leverages her vast knowledge of livestock markets to benefit her accounts. Eloise also champions industry audience research that leads to new business and new product offerings for Vance. She’s served as president of Mo-Kan NAMA and currently serves as president of Florida NAMA.

The professional development awards of excellence will be presented at the 2015 NAMA Fall Conference in Denver. The honorees will receive their awards during a morning session on Wednesday, September 24^th at The Curtis Hotel. For more information on the NAMA Fall Conference, visit http://www.nama.org/fall-conference/home.

NAMA Still Has Rooms for Fall Conference!

Do you still need a room in Denver? NAMA has a small group of rooms available at The Curtis Hotel at the discounted NAMA rate! If you still need to reserve a room, please send us an email or call the office at (913) 491-6500.

The early bird registration date has been extended to September 8. If you haven’t registered for Fall Conference yet, there is still time to do so at the lower rate. Register today and save yourself some money!

Check out the Fall Conference Website for all the information you will need in Denver!

Get to Fall Conference early for the Rocky Mountain NAMA Ag Tour! We will be starting early on Tuesday, September 22 to get a unique perspective on some of the most enterprising ag operations in the Centennial State. We’ll visit three unique spots and enjoy tours led by their owners. Get ready to hear the inside scoop on agri-tainment, listen to an international spin on the milling and bakery business and see the latest in vertical farming. Check out the full schedule here!

The first stop will be to Rock Creek Farm. Rock Creek Farm’s U-Pick-Em pumpkins and corn mazes are part of the Miller family’s business plan. The tour begins here where agri-tainment meets traditional ag just outside Denver.

After that it’s on to Ardent Mills. Supported by 40 flour mills, three bakery-mix facilities and specialty bakeries located across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, the company has deep roots in communities throughout North America. Ardent Mills is headquartered in Denver and employs more than 100 certified millers, supporting thousands of local jobs and contributing billions of dollars to local economies. Look forward to a full tour of the flour mill just outside Denver in Commerce City.

Then we move to Dirtless Farms. Owner Evan Premer grew up surrounded by fields. His family had small gardens and ranches, so farming has always been a part of his life. As an adult, Evan went to another field—the Army—where he completed tours of duty in Germany and Iraq. After he completed his service, he gained valuable agricultural training at Circle Fresh Farms, with the help of Farmer Veteran Coalition’s partner in Colorado, Veterans to Farmers. Evan now operates Dirtless Farms – a vertical farm that grows a variety of leaf greens for restaurants across the Denver-metro area.

After a tour of Dirtless Farms, get a taste of the delicious greens grown there as the tour stops for lunch at Linger, a farm to table restaurant that Evan supplies with fresh produce.

Cost:  $75/person and includes breakfast and lunch (same cost for members & non-members)

Dress: Casual, wear closed-toed shoes (no flipflops or heels) and long pants. Ardent Mills requires long pants and closed-toed shoes to go on the tour.

Time:  7:30 AM depart from hotel, return to hotel at 3:00 PM

Please note: The Rocky Mountain Ag Tour is prior to the NAMA Fall Conference. While we hope that you’ll attend both, you do not need to be registered for Fall Conference to attend the Ag Tour. Check out the Fall Conference website for more information on both! Register today!