Chapter leaders attending the NAMA convention get some special motivation and training. This year one of people doing the training was Luann Pisarik, J. L. Farmakis (left). I’m just guessing by all the road signs in the room that they were navigating road blocks to get to their destination.
Luann says they had a varied group and their goal was to provide a networking opportunity to discuss common challenges. The theme was to “look at the road signs.” She says “everyone drives” and they hope to help these leaders reach their goal. She says chapter membership and getting people to meetings is a common concern.
With all the focus on new media and new ways of marketing, the winner of this year’s NAMA Marketer of the Year is one who uses the oldest method of marketing known to man, and the one that still works the best – word of mouth.
Stephanie Liska, co-founder of Beck Ag, grew up on a farm in Iowa and is married to an agronomist, so she knows agriculture. “Word of mouth is not knew to agriculture or to business,” she says. “Purdue University has validated that the most influential person that a grower or a veterinarian or someone in our industry looks to to make a decision on what they are going to use or recommend is their peers.”
Stephanie has been involved in NAMA since she was a student at Iowa State University and was chairman of the NAMA conference last year. She also credits her faith and her husband for supporting her with the business.
Listen to an interview with Stephanie in the player below.
At this year’s NAMA Connection Point we gave away a Barnes & Noble Nook eReader and a Zoom H2 digital audio recorder.
Here’s Cindy with Sara Sims, Valmont Irrigation, who won the Nook. She said it’s another gadget her daughter can teach her how to use.
We also drew Kathryn Tokarz, Penn State University, for the digital audio recorder and will get it to her this morning.
We saw a lot of good friends and clients once again during the Connection Point and would still recommend companies consider participating next year. It has always been well worth it in our opinion.
We all know that John Walter is a social media superstar. Now he has his very own Twitter Bird. Cindy presented John with Ollie the Twitterbird at the end of the NAMA Connection Point trade show.
Cindy found the birds online several weeks ago and we brought some along to decorate our booth. After drawing for our main prizes we also drew names for the birds. So now we can say we’ve given John “the bird.”
John is editor of Successful Farming’s Agriculture.com and our sponsor for AgWired coverage of the NAMA Convention.
Now that the NAMA Connection Point is over maybe I can find some time to get caught up on my posts. The attendance here is tremendous and the activity level has been at an all time high.
We honored an outstanding leader in agribusiness, David Seehusen, Land ‘O Lakes, with NAMA’s highest honor, the Agribusiness Leader of the Year Award. David has made significant contributions to the industry and made a really fantastic Earth Day speech which I will be adding to this post as soon as I get a copy of it. Dave included a lot of statistics about food production comparing today to years past. He made a great point of saying how new technology can continue to increase food production to feed a growing world population but only if farmers are allowed to use it.
The Tulare Kiwanis Club will honor local dairy farmers and Tulare County Farm Bureau members Joey Airoso and father Joe with their annual “Farmer of the Year” Award on April 28.
AG CONNECT Expo 2011 has been named to the U.S. Commercial Service’s International Buyer Program (IBP).
The Florida FFA state officer team was treated to a taste of agricultural media, venison, pheasant and more with a visit to Southeast AgNet, one of the last legs of a four-day educational/leadership tour designed to expose them to all areas of Florida agriculture.
Wyffels Hybrids has selected Woodruff Sweitzer to be a partner in brand management and creative development. True Media has been chosen to handle media planning and buying.
Some students in Missouri are getting a look at the real world of agriculture during Novus International‘s 2nd annual “Science: A Foundation for Dynamic Careers” days at the company’s St. Louis-suburb headquarters.
During tonight’s welcoming mixer, Mike Backer, President of the Missouri Colleges Fund … a group that helps get money and resources for students at the state’s 16 private colleges … told those gathered that they would get to see how a real agri-business operates.
“This gives a good opportunity to our students. They’ve been in the classroom, and they’re getting good book knowledge and working in labs, but that’s in a controlled environment. Here, they get to actually come out into the real world and see a live company, that has a lab, is doing research. So they get to see what the possibilities are for them after they get that diploma in their hand and they get out and look for a job.”
Backer says the financial support of a company like Novus is vital to keeping science students funded.
“Education doesn’t come cheap,” he says. Backer points out that 85 percent of the students attending Missouri’s 16 private schools covered under the Missouri Colleges Fund get some type of financial aid. “It’s a big help when companies like Novus and Monsanto help students pay for their education.”
Backer says that assistance is more important than ever as tightening budgets cause cuts to higher education.
Listen to more of my conversation with Mike below.
Hello, and welcome from St. Louis! I’m here to follow Novus International‘s 2nd annual “Science: A Foundation for Dynmamic Careers” days.
This two-day event for Missouri Colleges Fund Scholars (more on that in a bit) who have received funding from Novus for their schooling will give the students a chance to see Novus’ operations in the St. Louis suburb of St. Charles, as well as touring the animal health company’s Global Research farm.
About half of the students (more to join us in the morning) were welcomed in and given a brief overview of the day to come by Novus’ team. Leading that welcome was Marco Quiroz, Novus International poultry veterinarian (or chicken doctor, as he explained to the students!). He told the group how important they are. “We need you guys in agriculture.”
Just before he addressed the group, I pulled Marco aside, and he explained they’re trying to help the students.
“We’re trying to educate them and give them some guidance on what is agriculture and where food comes from.”
Marco says he hopes the students are able to learn a bit more about companies where they might be working once these students graduate.
“My goal here is to give them an example of a scientist and [his or her] role in the industry. At Novus, we have more than 50 PhD’s and veterinarians. I just wanted to tell them the story of where I came from and why I chose agriculture.”
He says, ever since growing up as a small boy in Mexico, animal agriculture has been his passion, and he’s always wanted to help people put food on their tables. Now, he’s able to feed these students with the wisdom a career in animal agriculture with Novus has brought.
Sullivan Higdon & Sink hates sheep. Why? Because they are followers – not leaders. Well, you may love them or hate them but during NAMA you can abuse them as part of the interactive We Hate Sheep game. The game was created by t2, an interactive company based right here in Kansas City, the host town for this year’s NAMA.
I was joking with a fellow colleague, Steve Knudsen, who works for the International Agri-Center (they host the World Expo Show each February in Tulare, CA) and he asked the designers, “So is this the Web1.0 version? When will Web 2.0 be launched with the foxes trying to eat the sheep?” I personally think that’s a super idea and maybe next year, SH&S will be back with even more ways to eliminate sheep. And if you haven’t already, be sure to stop by.
NAMA toasted the Best of the Best last night at the annual Best of NAMA Awards Ceremony. You can find a complete list of all the winners in AgriMarketing Magazine.
The Best of Show – Advertising went to:
Client: Midwest Dairy Association, St. Paul, MN – Gregg Fogleman
Agency: Sullivan Higdon & Sink, Kansas City, MO – Parc Masterson accepting for agency
Message: To remind consumers that everything is better with cheese on it.
Audience: Mothers 25-54 with children 18-years-old and younger in the Ozark region.
Our other Best of Show winner is for Public Relations.
Client: Dairy Management, Inc., Rosemont, IL – Jolene Griffin
Agency: Weber Shandwick, Minneapolis, MN – Polly O’Grady
Message: To use social media to tell the dairy industry’s story, reinforce and build its positive image and respectfully counter inaccurate or uninformed online commentary about modern farm practices.
Audience: Consumers, age 17-29 and dairy consumers.
As the 2010 National Agricultural Marketing Association’s (NAMA) trade show kicked off yesterday, there was a sea of students anxiously waiting to get through the doors. Why? Because they were waiting for the announcement of which teams would make it through the finals for the Student Marketing Competition. On Tuesday, 31 teams from around the country arrived for their chance to win. The team that traveled the farthest for the chance to call themselves marketing geniuses, came from Hawaii. On Wednesday, 31 new products were announced and students presented in 20 minutes or less, why their product was the next “big thing” and how they were going to market it to success.
On Wednesday evening, Curt Blades, with Successful Farming, who has been a champion of the student’s marketing competition for many years, was awarded the Chairman’s award for his role as the Student Committee Chairman. His colleague, Janelle Buxton, was awarded a Horizon Award for her role as Chairwoman of the Membership Committee. Shortly thereafter, Curt took the stage in the trade show hall and began the announcement every student was waiting for. And the finalists are…
Iowa State
Illinois State
University of Minnesota
New Mexico State University
CalPoly
Michigan State
Here is a photo of few of the team members from New Mexico State as they took a brief moment to celebrate before heading back to put the winning touches on their presentation. Congrats to all the finalists and good luck this afternoon. You can see photos from the Student Marketing Competition along with photos from all of NAMA in the 2010 National Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album.
AgWired coverage of the 2010 National Agri-Marketing Conference
is sponsored by: . They know.
The students here at NAMA are not just busy trying to win the NAMA Student Marketing Competition. They are also busy selling raffle tickets. For $10, you can get one chance to win a Vizio Flat Screen TV, retailed at more than $2,000. The proceeds from the raffle will benefit the AgriBusiness Educational Foundation (ABEF) which support the NAMA Students Careers Program.
I am proud to say that I bought a raffle ticket from fellow Iowa Stater, Joe (he asked me first) who also secured a sale to one of the Student Marketing Competition Judges.
ABEF and the students thank everyone for their support.
Last night while the judges were relaxing in preparation for today’s Student Marketing Competition, the students were doing a little prepping themselves. All around the Hyatt, you could see members of the 31 competing teams practicing their presentations, Q&A’s and making final tweaks.
Here is a photo of several of the Iowa State students who were making some final changes while the rest of their team made changes on other elements of the presentation. I should confess that I harassed them for a bit, but only because they are from my alma mater. I must have brought them a bit of good luck because they made it, along with 15 other teams into the semi finals this afternoon.
Now, I could be speaking out of turn here, but I believe that the team that traveled the farthest is from Hawaii and I caught them in a happy moment after their presentation today. NAMA couldn’t have a better group of students and advisers representing the state of Hawaii.
I have also been going around and taking photos of all the teams so if you haven’t had your photo taken yet, please find me and visit our 2010 National Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album where you’ll see photos of all our student competitors.
Good luck to all of the teams! Your hard work and professionalism has not gone unnoticed!
AgWired coverage of the 2010 National Agri-Marketing Conference
is sponsored by: . They know.
Last night, I attended the NAMA reception for the dozens of professionals who will be judging the Student Marketing Competition that is sponsored by Monsanto. The volunteer judges, along with the student competition committee, are integral to the success of the program. But the program doesn’t just give students experience in developing products and marketing campaigns it is also an amazing venue for them to demonstrate their talents and secure their first job.
Take for example, Kim Lang who oversees the marketing department for Water Street Solutions. Their most recent hire was a former student competition competitor two years ago. This will be her second year as a judge and she became involved after other judges raved about what a great experience they had. I asked her what piece of advice she had for the competitors and she told me they should be networking with professionals through the entire event. By getting to know some of the companies, their products and their people, they can begin to lay the groundwork for their first job.
I also spoke with Larry Stoller who oversees national sales for InCountry TV. In his role, he helps to secure programming and advertising for the channel.(Students, did you put them in your media plans?) Larry has been a judge for a few years and he has so much fun that he keeps coming back. He is passionate about the student marketing competition because it gives students a tangible experience. He also has some advice to share: get some good rest and rely on your instincts.
Are you afraid of social media? Is the leadership in your company afraid of it? Then you need to visit with David Meerman Scott. He’s a recovering VP of Marketing and author of the book World Wide Rave. He is conducting the NAMA Pre-Conference Workshop, “Conquering the Fear of Social Media.” David will also be the keynote speaker at tomorrow’s opening general session. You’ve got to like seeing that he’s a Mac guy too! You can find him on Twitter: @dmscott
I spoke with David before his session and he says that he wants attendees to leave the session realizing that “the companies that aren’t engaged are losing out.” He says this is because people are going on line to search engines and social networks to look for products and recommendations. He also recommends that companies create a social media policy which will help management, legal and employees know what they can and can’t do and that helps create more of a comfort zone.
The NAMA convention is all about networking, as in meeting with friends. Oh, and there are some awards, workshops and a trade show. Gotta have all that too. But seeing friends is definitely a big part of this annual gathering.
Today the students are all sweating out preliminaries and semi finals in their marketing competition. They look good in their suits even if some are kind of uncomfortable. The pros are getting chapter leadership training followed by the board meeting and then receptions, awards and the Connection Point. Joanna and I already have our booth set up and we’ll be waiting to see you there at 6pm.
I hope all our IFAJ friends, American and others, have a safe trip home. The 2010 Congress concluded last night and I’m sure there will be some more updates on the Congress Blog. It has been great getting to follow along with photos and video clips.
I’ve been seeing a lot of good friends and do miss them. Like other annual events you develop good relationships with people who share a common passion and IFAJ is no different. In fact, since there are often many long bus rides and tours you really get to know people very closely.
So, hopefully the 2010 IFAJ Congress team will be able to look back at their event in a joyful way. It looked like it was really well done and fun.
The Agrisure Viptera trait will be combined with the Agrisure 3000GT trait stack to form the new Agrisure Viptera 3111 trait stack. The introduction of the Agrisure Viptera 3111 trait stack continues the tradition of the Agrisure Corn Traits system — providing high-performance traits to growers looking for an alternative that delivers maximum productivity.
“U.S. agriculture benefits when growers have access to a broad array of trait choices,” said David Morgan, president at Syngenta Seeds. “With the Agrisure Viptera trait, Syngenta is offering growers a totally new choice for insect control in a breakthrough product. Vip3A, a new mode of action for corn insect control discovered by Syngenta, makes this unprecedented level of control possible and it is a platform on which we will continue to build.”
The Agrisure Viptera 3111 trait stack has demonstrated unsurpassed multi-pest control of 14 yield- and quality-robbing insects. The Agrisure Viptera 3111 trait stack is able to provide the broadest spectrum of above-ground insect control because of Vip3A, the industry‘s first non-Cry (non-crystalline) insect control protein. Vip3A has demonstrated highly effective control of the multi-pest complex, including corn earworm, fall armyworm, Western bean cutworm, black cutworm, dingy cutworm, stalk borer and sugarcane borer, among others.
Tomorrow is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day in the United States. I still remember the very first Earth Day when I was in middle school and it was a very “hippy-ish” sort of deal. Today, everyone is in on the environmental act.
That includes farmers and ranchers – the original environmentalists. As National Corn Growers Association president Darrin Ihnen, a family farmer from South Dakota says, “It only makes sense that growers would work to preserve land, water and air. We need to conserve these resources for the survival of our farms, which most of us have passed from generation to generation.”
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, today’s farmers produce 70 percent more corn per pound of nutrients than they did in the 1970s. Farmers are able to use less fertilizer because new high-tech equipment puts fertilizer directly over the plants’ roots instead of spreading it on the whole field, and in-seed technologies are constantly improving corn’s fertilizer-use efficiency.
In celebration of Earth Day, the cattle industry has outlined more than 40 different ways raising cattle can contribute to environmental sustainability. Among the practices cattle producers use to help the environment are maintaining habitats for endangered species, planting trees for windbreaks, planting grasses on highly erodible land, composting cattle manure into fertilizer products, and incorporating ethanol by-products into cattle feed to recycle this resource.
Instead of “abstaining from meat for at least one day to curb carbon emissions from the livestock industry,” as suggested on the “official” Earth Day 2010 website, I hope to enjoy a nice big steak to thank our farmers and ranchers for all they do to help our planet.
Dow AgroSciences LLC, and Grupo Papalotla announced that Dow AgroSciences has secured an exclusive license from Papalotla for Brachiaria grass seed hybrids and cultivars sourced from Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT) between 2001 and 2010 to serve the range and pasture marketplace in multiple Latin American countries.
Agrow has opened nominations for the 2010 Agrow Awards. This year’s event will be held on Nov. 2 at London’s Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel.
In this week's program Chuck talks with David Armano, Global Innovation and Integration.
David conducted a presentation on delivering expert opinion via social media to an audience at the start of International Poultry Expo week. He's got some great information about who consumers trust and how you can use today's consumer behavior to help communicate your message.
Chapter leaders attending the NAMA convention get some special motivation and training. This year one of people doing the training was Luann Pisarik, J. L. Farmakis (left). I’m just guessing by all the road signs in the room that they were navigating road blocks to get to their destination.
. They know.
With all the focus on new media and new ways of marketing, the winner of this year’s NAMA Marketer of the Year is one who uses the oldest method of marketing known to man, and the one that still works the best – word of mouth. 
At this year’s NAMA Connection Point we gave away a Barnes & Noble Nook eReader and a Zoom H2 digital audio recorder.
We all know that John Walter is a 
Now that the NAMA Connection Point is over maybe I can find some time to get caught up on my posts. The attendance here is tremendous and the activity level has been at an all time high.
NAMA toasted the Best of the Best last night at the annual Best of NAMA Awards Ceremony. You can find a complete list of all the winners in AgriMarketing Magazine.
Our other Best of Show winner is for Public Relations.
Are you afraid of social media? Is the leadership in your company afraid of it? Then you need to visit with David Meerman Scott. He’s a recovering VP of Marketing and author of the book 
The NAMA convention is all about networking, as in meeting with friends. Oh, and there are some awards, workshops and a trade show. Gotta have all that too. But seeing friends is definitely a big part of this annual gathering.
The Agrisure Viptera trait will be combined with the Agrisure 3000GT trait stack to form the new Agrisure Viptera 3111 trait stack. The introduction of the Agrisure Viptera 3111 trait stack continues the tradition of the Agrisure Corn Traits system — providing high-performance traits to growers looking for an alternative that delivers maximum productivity. 
Tomorrow is the 40th anniversary of 
In this week's program Chuck talks with David Armano, Global Innovation and Integration.
