This year National Agriculture Day will be celebrated on March 8 in Washington, DC and around the country. Are you ready to “Share Ag’s Amazing Story?”
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Momentum around Ag Day celebrations across the country has really picked up steam in the last couple years. Last year’s attendance at our annual events in Washington, D.C., was the highest ever! We have some exciting new things to share for 2012 and we have updated the Ag Day website in preparation for the upcoming Washington, D.C. events.
I’m hoping to be part of that celebration this year. If your company or organization would like to sponsor my coverage please let me know. Thanks.
Here is Patrick Delaney in action prior to joining the American Soybean Association as Communications Director. Patrick will be based in ASA’s Washington Policy Representative Office of Gordley Associates in Washington, DC.
“ASA is pleased to welcome Patrick to our team,” Censky said. “His experience in ag policy communications will serve him well in his role with ASA, where he will craft timely communications on policy decisions and issues happening in Washington, as well as talking points and analysis to keep ASA’s farmer-leaders and state affiliates informed.”
Delaney comes to ASA from the United Fresh Produce Association, where he managed staff, advised leadership and communicated to key audiences and stakeholders on all publicity matters, including advocacy and crisis communications on nutrition, labor, food safety, immigration, trade, sustainability and farm policy. He has worked in various public relations roles with agencies and the radio broadcast industry.
Bob Callanan, who has served as ASA Communications Director based in St. Louis, moves into a new position as ASA’s Project Development Director, where he’ll develop program concepts and proposals to be presented to state soybean affiliates, qualified state soybean boards, and industry partners.
Communications Coordinator Cassandra Langley will have an expanded role at ASA’s headquarters in St. Louis, assisting Delaney in the implementation of communications developed there.
Congratulations to Patrick, Cassandra and Bob on your new responsibilities!
The Agriculture Council of America (ACA) calls on ninth- to 12th-grade students to submit an original, 450-word essay or a two-minute video essay about the importance of agriculture for this year’s National Ag Day Essay Contest. This year’s theme is “American Agriculture: Feeding the Future, Filling the Gaps” and the deadline is Feb. 1, 2012. The ACA asks teachers and parents to encourage student participation.
The theme “American Agriculture: Feeding the Future, Filling the Gaps” presents an opportunity for students to address how the agriculture industry continues to feed a growing population. Entrants may choose to either write an essay and/or create a video focusing on how today’s growers are overcoming challenges to provide a safe, stable food supply and sustain the significant role agriculture plays in everyday life.
The national written essay winner receives a $1,000 prize and round-trip ticket to Washington, D.C., for recognition during the Celebration of Ag Dinner held March 8 at Whitten Patio at the USDA. During dinner, the winner will have the opportunity to read the winning essay as well as join with industry representatives, members of Congress, federal agency representatives, media and other friends in a festive ag celebration. The video essay winner wins a $1,000 prize, and the winning video will play during the Celebration of Ag Dinner.
Speaking of very impressive young people making an impact at National Ag Day activities let’s hear from Iowa State University student, TJ Masker. Why? Because he told me that his iPod Touch has the AgWired App installed on it! Yes, this is a pure testimonial for why you should have the app on your iPhone, Touch or iPad (Android version coming soon). TJ also did a great job introducing Ag Day speaker Jonathan Coppess too.
The National FFA isn’t the only agricultural youth education organization involved with Ag Day. I visited with several more this week starting with Jessica England, President (left) and Lauren Greaves, First Vice President, Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow. I learned that you pronounce it A-C-T to start off! This college level student organization promotes leadership with agricultural communications majors. They were attending Ag Day activities because they wanted to help make sure elected leaders in the Capitol were aware of how important the industry of agriculture is. We also talked about different activities conducted by ACT like their annual meeting that’s held in conjunction with the Ag Media Summit.
You can listen to my interview with Jessica and Lauren here: ACT Interview
Another organization represented at National Ag Day was 4-H. I spoke with Brad Copenhaver, Virginia Tech, who has been active in 4-H for many years. He says his Grandmother has been a 4-H volunteer for over 50 years! He started with 4-H when he was nine years old. He served on his state 4-H cabinet and is still involved. He was asked to be a 4-H representative at National Ag Day activities to help promote how important agricultural education is.
You can listen to my interview with Brad here: 4-H Interview
And I also spoke with Nancy Barcus, Agriculture Future of America. Nancy is the Director of Leader Development Programs. She says that AFA works with college men and women who are preparing for a career in agriculture with leadership programs that help them become more competitive. There were twenty five student members attending Ag Day activities. She says that their attendance helps them understand how policy affects agriculture.
You can listen to my interview with Nancy here: AFA Interview
One of the sponsors of Ag Day is Fastline, represented at National Ag Day activities by Matt Coniglio, pictured here with some of the attendees at Tuesday’s banquet. You might even be able to guess who they are!
This was the first year for Fastline to sponsor Ag Day. Matt says that they wanted to become more involved on a national level with the agriculture audience. I asked him what he would say to all those companies who are considering becoming sponsors (you are, aren’t you?). He says, “I would encourage anybody to become involved. This is our industry. It’s where we all have our livelihood. And it’s obviously a really important industry for our country.” He hopes that this celebration will help encourage a stronger, unified ag community.
The General Counsel for the Senate Ag Committee is Jonathan Coppess. He was one of the speakers at the National Ag Day lunch. Jonathan was introduced by FFA student, TJ Masker, Iowa State University. In his remarks Jonathan provided some background on the farm safety net and then talked about the current situation with the farm bill. As you would expect, budgets are an issue and another one is farm credit. One of his responsibilities is going to be helping write the new farm bill! He says they’re going to have less funding to work with.
You can listen to TJ introduced by Orion Samuelson, emcee, and then Jonathan’s remarks here: Jonathan Coppess Presentation
During National Ag Day activities I visited with some big time supporters who are urging other companies and organizations to get involved. I’m going to share their thoughts with you here starting with Barry Nelson, John Deere, who is serving as Secretary/Treasurer for the Agriculture Council of America (pictured center). John Deere is one of the partner sponsors of Ag Day. Barry says they’ve been having Ag Day activities in Washington, DC since 1973 and have developed a pretty good brand. He says the job of the board of ACA is to plan what they’re going to do for the next Ag Day. In addition to the events in Washington, DC they also supply materials and support for other Ag Day events around the country via the website. He also makes a point that this is one day out of the year when everyone can get together to support the industry even if their competitors.
Also serving on the board of the Agriculture Council of America is Kent Schescke, National FFA. He says that FFA has been involved for years as a sponsor and by having students participate as student advocates. They spent Monday at the 4H Center getting some preparation for visiting with legislators to talk about agriculture. He says that building good leadership skills goes hand in hand with good advocacy skills.
The newest member of the board of the Agriculture Council of America is Colin Woodall, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (pictured on the right). Colin says there are two things that really prompted NCBA to become involved as a sponsor of Ag Day. One is the ability to use Ag Day as a mechanism to reconnect with the American consumer. The second thing is getting young people involved and Ag Day spends a lot of time getting that done. He says that these things are extremely important. Like Barry and Kent, he encourages more companies and organizations to get involved.
Another board member of the Agriculture Council of America is Tamara Freund Kass, DTN/The Progressive Farmer. The company is also a partner sponsor of Ag Day. Tamara says she got nominated to the board by Barry. She says the board had a great meeting prior to the banquet and discussed how they can continue to get more people involved in Ag Day. She also makes a point of how this celebration of agriculture is an opportunity for varied industry interests to come together in a united way.
The Alliance to Feed the Future was announced during National Ag Day activities by Dave Schmidt, President, International Food Information Council. There are already 48 who have joined the Alliance. Their goal is “building understanding and promoting the benefits of modern food production, processing and technology.” The reason? “As misperceptions about modern food production and technology become increasingly common, a new alliance has formed to better articulate how our food is produced.” He made the announcement during the luncheon and you can hear his announcement here: Alliance to Feed the Future Announcement
I also interviewed Dave and asked him about his organization as well as the newly formed alliance. You can listen to my interview with Dave here: David Schmidt Interview
More about the Alliance:
Members span all sectors of the food value chain and include professional societies, commodity groups, industry and academia to coordinate via the Alliance to help multiply the effects of their individual and joint efforts to tell the true story of modern food production.
“The more consumers understand how their food is produced, the more they can appreciate the role modern agriculture plays in providing safe, affordable, and nutritious food” says Dave Schmidt, President and CEO at the International Food Information Council, who coordinates the Alliance. “The Alliance will be a clearinghouse of resources to increase consumer understanding of this role.”
During the National Ag Day banquet I met one of our sponsors for Ag Day coverage, Andy Lavigne, American Seed Trade Association.
Andy says ASTA is 127 years old and was started by seed companies to promote high quality seed. Member companies produce seed from alfalfa to zucchini and everything in between. If it can be grown from a seed, that’s what their members produce. That makes for a wide variety of companies. They work on legislative matters for their members to try to keep regulations from becoming too burdensome and to make sure there are seed variety options for growers. They do this by working with grower groups and the food industry.
I asked him to describe the current legislative climate and what the key issues ASTA will be working on this year. He says it’s an interesting time and right now agriculture is doing very well. But the challenge will be with Congress and the pressure to reduce spending. He says they are helping make sure agriculture is at the table when the negotiating is going on.
The top priority for ASTA is working with the grower community to make sure there is a viable farm bill. It’s not just because there are a couple of items that have a direct impact on seed production but because it’s so important to their customers.
The winners of the National Ag Day Essay Contest have been announced. There are two of them, one for a written entry and one for a video entry. In the photo is written essay winner Nora Faris, Concordia, Missouri with Dr. John Bonner, Chair of Ag Council of America who presented her with her check during the National Ag Day banquet. Nora also read us her winning entry which you can read on the Ag Day website: Nora Faris Essay
The video winner is Kyle Trevino, Madera, California:
The Chairman of the Agriculture Council of America is Dr. John Bonner, CAST. During National Ag Day activities he was busy and had the pleasure to introduce the Essay Content winners. I’ll more on that in my next post. I spoke with him about ACA and Ag Day.
John says that ACA is having a great year and points out that all week is “ag week and all year is ag year.” He says that the events of National Ag Day bring in a lot of students who have been making visits with elected officials. I interviewed several of them and will be sharing those soon. John says that Ag Day is very important as a method to help educate the public about American agriculture. He also mentioned a new paper that was published this week by the Council for Agriculture Science and Technology that examines the importance of agricultural research. With all the talk about budget cutting in Washington, DC, that seems to be a timely publication. You can find it on the CAST website.
At the National Ag Day dinner in Washington, DC our keynote speaker was USDA Under Secretary Michael Scuse. He welcomed us to this day of celebration.
He starts out describing his support of ariculture today by saying, “Our farmers and ranchers are the best in the world, bar none.” He has a lot of statistics that show how well American farmers have done in recent years. It’s time to remind people you know to thank a farmer.
We’ve got youth in agriculture here at National Ag Day from just about every organization you can think of including the FFA. Introducing our lunch speaker today was Victor Salazar, Connecticut FFA state president. He was introduced by Orion Samuelson and I’m thinking that alone made an impression on him. But then it was his turn to do the introduction and he did an awesome job. I’ve got his intro on the audio file you can listen to below.
U.S. Representative Frank Lucas (R-OK), Chairman of the House Ag Committee, thanked, “Mr. President,” which got a good chuckle since we were in the Capitol Bldg. He says the last time he came in third in a political contest was for FFA Reporter in Oklahoma once upon a time. He then talked farm bill and budget and says it’s going to be a tough year. He asked everyone to help educate members of the House who may not fully understand the business of agriculture.
The man with the voice no one will forget, Orion Samuelson, WGN, emceed the National Ag Day Mix & Mingle Luncheon today. I spoke with Orion before the program got started to get his thoughts on Ag Day and learn what we’ll be doing this celebrate American agriculture day.
Orion says that we’ve had Labor Day to honor labor in the fall forever and now in just the last 30 years we have a day to kick of the spring that celebrates those who work on our farms. Attendance here is at an all time high. It’s very appropriate that we’re having three meal time functions! After all we’re honoring those who put food on our table as well as on our backs and in our cars.
I now have a photo album started with all my luncheon photos. Thanks to the USDA “internet man” for his help! I’ll add to the album after tonight’s dinner too: 2011 National Ag Day Photo Album
AgWired coverage of National Ag Day is sponsored by: and and
I finally made it to Washington, DC but not without missing last night’s Agri-Pulse reception with Michael Peterson. Here’s the Agri-Pulse banner crew in action before the party.
I was able to attend the Mix & Mingle Luncheon and have lots of photos. We’re going to have the big dinner tonight at USDA and I’ll have lots of photos from it as well. I have tried uploading them with both a Verizon Mifi and my iPhone but no luck. Not much in the way of a signal even at the entrance to the building. So, I’m waiting on a USDA IT person to see if I can get on some kind of internal access. Until then, I’m not going to be able to upload anything else.
I have lots of audio and interviews to share and will be featuring them all week as we celebrate American agriculture and the farmers who feed us.
AgWired coverage of National Ag Day is sponsored by: and and
Students are getting a little training today for tomorrow’s National Ag Day activities. I am not there yet. In fact, the snow in Missouri caused my flight to be canceled. However, I’m now scheduled for a late flight out tonight. So I’m going to miss the reception this evening with Michael Peterson.
Someone is taking photos and you can see more of the students in action in this AgDay Photo Album.
AgWired coverage of National Ag Day is sponsored by: and and
Welcome to Ag Week. The National Ag Day activities will be celebrated tomorrow in Washington, DC and all over the country. I will be in the nation’s Capitol to attend Ag Day activities with support from the Agriculture Council of America and the American Seed Trade Association. During the next couple of days I’ll be featuring interviews and photos from the events as well as getting to know my sponsors better.
Things will start off with an Agriculture Appreciation Reception hosted by Agri-Pulse this evening that features my friend and musical artist Michael Peterson. Then tomorrow morning we’ll have the National Ag Day Coffee followed by the National Ag Day Mix-and-Mingle Luncheon. At the luncheon we’ll have approximately 100 student delegates from FFA, 4-H, AFA and The Consortium in attendance, along with Outstanding Farmer of the Year honorees. Finally we’ll have the National Celebration of Agriculture Dinner, hosted by the Agriculture Council of America.
So, I’ll see you from Washington, DC after what I hope will be a pleasant drive to the airport. We got surprised this morning in central Missouri with 3-5 inches of snow!
AgWired coverage of National Ag Day is sponsored by: and and
This year marks the 38th anniversary of National Ag Day on March 15, an event which will be celebrated in classrooms and communities across the country as well as in the nation’s Capitol.
The Agriculture Council of America (ACA) has three major Washington DC events planned this year – Coffee with the Secretary, the Mix-and-Mingle Luncheon, and the National Celebration of Agriculture Dinner. John Deere will once again partner with ACA, as well as Successful Farming and DTN-The Progressive Farmer, to sponsor the DC events.
The events honor National Agriculture Week and mark a nationwide effort to tell the true story of American agriculture and remind citizens that agriculture is a part of all of us. A number of producers, agricultural associations, corporations, students and government organizations involved in agriculture are expected to participate.
In addition to public service announcements and other educational programs, ACA and partners will sponsor students to attend the Washington D.C. events. Representatives from FFA, 4H, AFA, the Consortium, and Student NAMA will visit with legislators, participate in a mix-and-mingle luncheon, and attend special events throughout the day.
The winners of the National Ag Day Essay Contest will also attend the events. High school students around the country have submitted written or video essays about the importance of agriculture with the theme “American Agriculture: Your Food. Your Farmer.” One winner in each category – written and video – will receive $1,000 and round-trip airfare to Washington, D.C., for recognition during the Celebration of Ag Dinner. The Ag Day Essay Contest is sponsored by CHS Inc., the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal, National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB), National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA), Country Living Association and McCormick Company.
In this week's program Chuck talks with Mike Adams, AgriTalk.
Chuck and Mike often wind up at the same events all over the country so it seemed like a good idea to do a little AgriTalking about the changes they've seen in the ag media landscape.
This year National Agriculture Day will be celebrated on March 8 in Washington, DC and around the country. Are you ready to “Share Ag’s Amazing Story?”
Speaking of very impressive young people making an impact at National Ag Day activities let’s hear from Iowa State University student, TJ Masker. Why? Because he told me that his iPod Touch has the 
The National FFA isn’t the only agricultural youth education organization involved with Ag Day. I visited with several more this week starting with Jessica England, President (left) and Lauren Greaves, First Vice President, 
One of the sponsors of Ag Day is 
The General Counsel for the 
During National Ag Day activities I visited with some big time supporters who are urging other companies and organizations to get involved. I’m going to share their thoughts with you here starting with Barry Nelson, 
Also serving on the board of the Agriculture Council of America is Kent Schescke, National FFA. He says that FFA has been involved for years as a sponsor and by having students participate as student advocates. They spent Monday at the 4H Center getting some preparation for visiting with legislators to talk about agriculture. He says that building good leadership skills goes hand in hand with good advocacy skills.
The newest member of the board of the Agriculture Council of America is Colin Woodall, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (pictured on the right). Colin says there are two things that really prompted NCBA to become involved as a sponsor of Ag Day. One is the ability to use Ag Day as a mechanism to reconnect with the American consumer. The second thing is getting young people involved and Ag Day spends a lot of time getting that done. He says that these things are extremely important. Like Barry and Kent, he encourages more companies and organizations to get involved.
The 
During the National Ag Day banquet I met one of our sponsors for Ag Day coverage, Andy Lavigne, 
The winners of the 
The Chairman of the 
At the National Ag Day dinner in Washington, DC our keynote speaker was USDA Under Secretary Michael Scuse. He welcomed us to this day of celebration.
We’ve got youth in agriculture here at National Ag Day from just about every organization you can think of including the FFA. Introducing our lunch speaker today was Victor Salazar, Connecticut FFA state president. He was introduced by Orion Samuelson and I’m thinking that alone made an impression on him. But then it was his turn to do the introduction and he did an awesome job. I’ve got his intro on the audio file you can listen to below.
U.S. Representative Frank Lucas (R-OK), Chairman of the 
The man with the voice no one will forget, Orion Samuelson, WGN, emceed the National Ag Day Mix & Mingle Luncheon today. I spoke with Orion before the program got started to get his thoughts on Ag Day and learn what we’ll be doing this celebrate American agriculture day.
Students are getting a little training today for tomorrow’s National Ag Day activities. I am not there yet. In fact, the snow in Missouri caused my flight to be canceled. However, I’m now scheduled for a late flight out tonight. So I’m going to miss the reception this evening with Michael Peterson.
Welcome to Ag Week. The 
In this week's program Chuck talks with Mike Adams, AgriTalk.
