Category Archives: NAMA

NAMA Exec Committee Meets

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The National Agri-Marketing Association Trends in Agriculture conference provides an opportunity for the organization’s board to meet. Prior to the board meeting, the NAMA Executive Committee meets. Hey, it takes a lot of work to run this organization! Here’s the group getting things done today.

The program for Trends in Agriculture kicks off at 2pm tomorrow afternoon. The NAMA board will be meeting prior to that in the morning.

Heading over to the NAMA Exec. Committee meeting I have already run in to members of the U.S Farmers & Ranchers Alliance which is meeting today and tomorrow. I hope to get an update on their activities to share later today.

This is going to be a fun week of agricultural marketing and communications.

Coverage of the NAMA Trends in Agriculture & NAFB Convention is sponsored by BASF

Preview of NAMA Trends in Agriculture

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ZimmCast 325Let’s look ahead to the 2011 National Agri-Marketing Association’s Trends in Agriculture conference. It precedes the NAFB Convention and AgWired will be there covering all the action. Our sponsor for coverage of both meetings this year is BASF!

To get a preview I spoke with Trends committee chair, Gardner Hatch, Bader Rutter. Gardner gives us a review of program highlights and talks about the differences between this fall conference and the spring conference. It’s not too late to register. You can go to the NAMA website or register onsite at the Hyatt Regency at Crown Center in Kansas City, MO. See you from there. And don’t forget to use the official Twitter hashtag for the NAMA conference, #NAMATrends. The one for the NAFB convention is #NAFB.

Listen to my conversation with Gardner in this week’s ZimmCast: Preview of NAMA Trends in Agriculture

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong, for their support.

The program ends this week with music from Music Alley, called “Work in Progress” by the Underdubs. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired. Subscribe so you can listen when and where you want. Just go to our Subscribe page.

Badger NAMA Meets At World Dairy Expo

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Badger NAMA, the local chapter of the Nation Agri-Marketing Association, held its annual reception/meeting during the 2011 World Dairy Expo. Here’s chapter president, Travis Maier, Morgan & Myers. I spoke with him about how the chapter is doing. He says chapter membership steady at over 120 and has actually been growing. This meeting is one of their main ones during the year. I think attendance at the meeting was really good. I don’t know how many were there but it was a large meeting. Students were a big part of the meeting too with a program just for them.

You can listen to my interview with Travis here: Travis Maier Interview

2011 World Dairy Expo Photo Album

World Dairy Expo coverage sponsored by Charleston Orwig Dairy Business Association Alltech Hoard’s Dairyman Accelerated Genetics

2012 Best of NAMA Call For Entries

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It’s time to get your Best of NAMA entries ready. Don’t wait until the day of the deadline! That would be like doing your homework at the last second when you were in school. Of course you probably never did that right?

You’ve done a lot of hard work and now it’s time for it to pay off. Submit your best work in the Best of NAMA competition and see if your the best of the best.

The deadline for submitting your entries is Friday, October 7.

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.

Remember, your local chapter receives $25 per regional entry. So, enter your work in Best of NAMA and support your local chapter at the same time.

To view the Best of NAMA Call for Entries visit, www.nama.org/amc/bon/index.htm.

Download the Entry Form in a Microsoft Word document at www.nama.org/amc/bon/entryform11.doc (Word doc).

Heartland NAMA Fun At Farm Progress Show

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The Heartland Chapter of the National Agri-Marketing Association held a reception at the Farm Progress Show.

Here’s Susie Decker, Lisa Rigoni, Vicki Henrickson & Patty Kisner having fun in the shade.

I couldn’t make it, grrr! But I wanted to. Maybe in 2013?

To see who else had fun with Heartland NAMA you can see photos here.

2011 Farm Progress Show Photo Album


AgWired Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by New Holland GROWMARK Trellis Growing Systems

NAMA ABEF Supporting New Agrimarketers

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There are many reasons to support the National Agri-Marketing Association’s Agribusiness Educational Foundation. In this chapter of my series of interviews with ABEF operational committee members we’ll hear why Sheri Seger, DTN/The Progressive Farmer, is a big supporter. Sheri is national accounts manager for the company. I visited with her at a recent stop on the agriblogging highway.

Sheri says she is happy to be involved with the foundation because when she started her career she didn’t know what the opportunities were. The ABEF provides and supports ways for others getting started in their careers to find the opportunities that exist. Examples include the NAMA student marketing competition as well as scholarships, student training and internships. She encourages contributions to the foundation and there are many ways to do so. You can find out more online.

Interview with Sheri Seger

Early Registration Open For NAMA Trends in Agriculture

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Trends in Agriculture 2011 returns to Kansas City in November just before the National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention and I’ll be there. Looking forward to a great program again this year.

Get the dates on your calendar now and save on registration when you take advantage of the special early bird rate.

Progress through Productivity is this year’s theme, and you’ll have the opportunity to examine it from every angle as it pertains to American agriculture.

Here’s an at-a-glance look at conference topics:

Find out about the new technologies and policies needed to meet the growing demands for increased export and trade.
Discover the latest trends in the development of plant-based fuels.
Get the real story on consumers’ perceptions of the use of technology in food production.
Learn tips you can use right away to increase your productivity.
Reconnect with colleagues and expand your network.

Go to nama.org/trends for more information and full speaker line-up.

Remembering Gary McKenna

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I was very saddened to learn of the passing of Gary McKenna this week. There are a number of people who made a big impression on me when I was just getting into the agrimarketing world many years ago and one of them was Gary. I’ve only seen Gary very infrequently in recent years but he was one of the guys who sort of adopted me in my early NAMA meeting years. Other names in that group include Jim Yancey, Dave Schmid, J. Ben Rowe, Dave Aeschliman and certainly others I will always feel indebted to. Gary had a great sense of humor. My sides hurt just thinking about the sessions we would have at a NAMA meeting or some other industry event and the jokes would start flying. Gary was always open to listening to me and answering a million questions I would have. He was always patient with this impatient young dude (then, not now!) who was ready to take over the world but had no idea what he was doing.

Long time NAMA member and friend, Gary McKenna, 63 of Red Wing, Minnesota, died on August 30, 2011 at his residence.

He was born to Fred and Bonnie (Evans) McKenna on February 13, 1948 in Madison, WI. He graduated from Madison East High School in 1966 and served in the U.S. Air Force for 4 years as a photographer. Gary attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The majority of his career was focused on marketing and business. He married Jane Davis and they later divorced. Gary married Pat Kvols in 1993. After retirement they moved to Red Wing in 2004 where they owned and operated the Golden Lantern Inn Bed and Breakfast. Gary enjoyed gardening, cooking, sports and spending time with family and friends. A lot of people miss you Gary.

Gary is survived by his wife, Pat; 2 daughters, Erin (Cory) Larse of Somerset, WI, and Alison (J.R.) Klennert of Red Wing; 3 grandchildren, Kyron, Megan and Adam; his mother, Bonnie McKenna of Lodi, WI; 4 brothers, Mike, Bill, Jimi and Tim; 2 sisters, Audrey and Shelly; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Gary is preceded in death by his father, Fred; 1 brother, Dan; and 1 brother-in-law, Peter.

Celebration of Life will be 1 p.m. on Monday, September 12, 2011 at Easter Lutheran Church (on the hill), 4200 Pilot Knob Rd., Eagan, MN 55122, with Pastor Jim Borgschatz officiating. Memorials preferred to the American Cancer Society.

Generations On The Farm

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ZimmCast 316The National Agri-Marketing Association held its annual Boot Camp this week in Kansas City. One of the sessions focused on “generations” on the farm. I visited with one of those generational presenting teams, Ken and Brad McCauley, father and son Kansas farmers. The idea of the session was to learn about the challenges and rewards faced by family farmers.

After I spoke with Ken and Brad, Sara Steever, Paulsen Marketing, took her turn (photo). I think you’ll enjoy hearing this father/son team talk about working together and transitioning from one generation to another. Brad has taken an increasingly active part in managing the farm while Ken is enjoying some “down time” and being a consultant to Brad. I hope Brad’s paying a good rate for the advice. We also covered topics like information channels they depend on and social media. Brad says it’s “internet and magazines” with the internet definitely in the lead. Ken is an iPhone/iPad guy who recently bought Brad an iPad!

Listen to my conversation with Ken and Brad in this week’s ZimmCast: Generations On The Farm

The ZimmCast ends this week with some music from Music Alley. It’s “Regenerations” by Ritchie Hernandez. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

NAMA Boot Camp 2011 Photos

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong, for their support.

The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired. Subscribe so you can listen when and where you want. Just go to our Subscribe page.

Farmers Educate NAMA Boot Camp

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National Agri-Marketing Association Boot Camp attendees heard directly from the farmer this morning. The first item on the agenda was a producer panel moderated by Tom Hudson, Successful Farming.

Tom says it was very interesting to hear what types of media influenced these farmers. One thing that came through loud and clear was how important local information is. They want to know how information or news relates to them. He says that one of the farmers on the panel still has dial-up internet access but the others had good service and rely heavily on their smartphones for information. When it comes to that old fashioned media he says that print was a very important to them and radio too. Basically, what he heard backed up research that has been done.

You can listen to my interview with Tom here: Tom Hudson Interview

I also spoke with one of the farmers on the panel, Jimmie Long, Cole Camp, MO. Jimmie is a cattle buyer and has a cow-calf operation. Jimmie explained to the group that radio ads that are “catchy” get his attention as well as nice colorful mailers and print ads. I think the takeaway is that good creative works! He says they will often see an item they want to purchase but then they’ll get home and research it on the internet. When it comes to his smartphone, he uses it a lot and checking weather is at the top of the list. He would like to get a tablet btw.

He was surprised at how many people in the audience did not have an ag background. He was shocked that no one asked him about DTN and it never came up in the discussion since it is still so important as a source for real time markets.

You can listen to my interview with Jimmie here: Jimmie Long Interview

2011 NAMA Boot Camp Photo Album

NAMA Boot Camp Networking

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The kickoff event on the NAMA Boot Camp program was a dinner and program on networking. Our presenter was Becky Johnson, Fleishman-Hillard.

Becky made us get to know each other at our tables. She said that networking can be likened to the idea of six degrees of separation since we all probably have something in common. We also did some “dating.” I was a little worried about that since I was sitting in between Jeff Jackson and Matt Coniglio. But we made it to our third date. ‘Nuff said about that. We also talked about quality vs. quantity.

You can listen to my interview with Becky here: Becky Johnson Interview

2011 NAMA Boot Camp Photo Album

NAMA Boot Camp Preview

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The 2011 NAMA Boot Camp is underway. To get a preview of the program I spoke with Erin Nash, Osborn & Barr, Vice Chairman for the conference.

Erin says we’ve got a lot packed into the program which includes hearing from farmers themselves. She says “We design Boot Camp to offer not only an introduction but introductory information to the junior staffer or someone who is new to the ag industry where we want to show them the producer side of things.” She wants to remind people that when you register for Boot Camp you get a one year membership in NAMA.

In the photo our group attended a dinner this evening where we learned some networking skills. I’ll more on that tomorrow morning.

You can listen to my interview with Erin here: Erin Nash Interview

You can find photos from this year’s Boot Camp in my 2011 NAMA Boot Camp Photo Album.

NAMA Boot Camp Starts

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We’ve got a gorgeous afternoon for National Agri-Marketing Boot Camp. There’s a MoKan Chapter Tour going on right now and I’ll be joining the group for a reception and dinner tonight. You can find our program here.

I’ll be here through tomorrow’s program and I’ll bet I can find some good interviews. If you’re tweeting here or would like to put tweets in the stream or just follow along, please use #NAMABootCamp.

2011 NAMA Boot Camp

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Are you new to agrimarketing? Want to do some industry networking? How about NAMA Boot Camp? The National Agri-Marketing Association has a full program lined up.

Whether you’ve just entered the rough working world or one who’s been through the NAMA Boot Camp drill before, sign up for this program today to learn more about the agri-marketing industry. This year the Boot Camp will take it to a new level expanding on marketing and agriculture basics.

Join the National Agri-Marketing Association for the 8th annual NAMA Boot Camp, August 16-18, 2011 in Kansas City.

All attendees will receive a notebook packed with agricultural terminology, facts, case studies and speaker presentations. This notebook has become one of the most popular aspects of the boot camp experience.

Register here.

NAMA Will Miss Iowa Farm Photographer

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We were shocked to hear this week of the passing of National Agri-Marketing Association friend Denny Eilers, the Iowa Photo Farm photographer. The news came from the NAMA e-Newsletter:

A Cornbelt NAMA member since 1990, Denny has been the photographer for many NAMA Agri-Marketing Conferences and will be greatly missed.

The Iowa Photo Farm was operated by Denny and Gwen Eilers. Denny served as chief photographer and Gwen was the business and production manager. They were located on a working farm in scenic northeast Iowa, raising corn, soybeans and a variety of locally grown vegetable crops.

Denny died Sunday, June 26, 2011, at Central Community Hospital, Elkader.

Services for Denny will be at 10:00 a.m. Friday, July 1, at St. Patrick Catholic Church, Monona, IA. Arrangements are being handled by Leonard Funeral Home of Dubuque.

If you do a search for Denny here on AgWired, you will find lots of his photos from the NAMA conventions. We had a great working relationship with him at those events and Chuck took the photo here of Denny at the 2011 NAMA. We will definitely miss him.

Grant him eternal rest, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.

Ag Communications Groups United for Japan Relief

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Ten North American agricultural communications organizations have joined together in an effort to provide support for the people of Japan as a result of the earthquake and tsunami.

AAEAThrough the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ), the American Agricultural Editors’ Association (AAEA) is coordinating the North American effort that also includes:

Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT)
Agricultural Media Summit LLC
Agricultural Relations Council (ARC)
American Business Media Agri-Council
Canadian Farm Writers Federation
Livestock Publications Council
National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA)
National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB)
North American Agricultural Journalists

So far they have raised more than $9,000 and are now reaching out to the members of all the participating organization to ask for donations. All contributions are being sent to and managed by the Japan Agricultural Journalists Association and be directed to rural areas and predominantly farmers. Chuck recently did a ZimmCast with Japanese ag journalist and IFAJ representative Masaru Yamada about the situation there.

Donations can be made on-line https://www.humanspan.com/secure/aaea/donation.asp by credit card. Check should be made payable to AAEA Foundation and mailed to:

AAEA Foundation
Den Gardner
120 Main St. West
PO Box 156 (if sent by US Postal Service)
New Prague, MN 56071

So spread the word through newsletters, websites, members’ magazines, radio announcements, Twitter, Facebook, whatever and contact Den Gardner for further information.

Supporting The Agri-Business Educational Foundation

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Russ ParkerThe Agri-Business Educational Foundation is made possible by volunteer leaders like Russ Parker (left), J.L. Farmakis, and all the people who support it with their financial contributions. I am going to start a series of posts with these folks over the coming months to find out why they support the ABEF.

Russ is a board member of the ABEF and I visited with him at the recent Agri-Marketing Conference. He says he got involved because he was a student NAMA member and got hired right away into the job he still holds today. He sees the ABEF as a way to give something back for having such a rewarding career. He is a judge for the student NAMA marketing competition and that allows him an opportunity to see prospective new hires for not only his company but perhaps recommendations he can make to other agrimarketing professionals and clients.

Russ also points to the Vision2020 project which was launched earlier this year:

Named ‘Vision2020,’ the new initiative seeks to raise up to $4 million over the next 10 years for college student scholarships, student and young professional development programs, and support of the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) Student Program. Funding may also be made available for outreach to high school juniors and seniors, promoting careers in Ag business, marketing and communications.

Listen to Russ give you some good reasons to support the ABEF: Russ Parker Interview

AgHaven Survey Says Farmers Spending More Time Online

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Farmers may be spending more time online but according to a survey by AgHaven, they are frustrated by the results. This frustration is one of the main reasons why AgHaven was created according to AgHaven President, Srik Soogoor. I spoke with him at the NAMA conference to learn more.

The farmers and ranchers surveyed who spent more than 30 minutes each day on the Internet jumped from 31 percent five years ago to 75 percent today, according to a new survey conducted by AgHaven. And while 12 percent say they did not use the Internet five years ago, that number has decreased to just 3 percent today.

AgHaven surveyed more than 100 farmers and ranchers to find out their online habits. The results uncovered that more than 80 percent of those surveyed use Google for their ag-related searches, but that nearly half of those surveyed were frustrated when search results were not relevant and there were too many options and answers.

Listen in to my chat with Srik during the Agri-Marketing Conference Connection Point: Interview with Srik Soogoor

2011 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the 2011 Agri-Marketing Conference is sponsored by

Paulsen Thought Paper On Rural Lifestyle Buying Decisions

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Paulsen MarketingDuring the Agri-Marketing Conference I spoke with Alicia DeGeest (right) and Sara Steever, Paulsen Marketing about their latest thought paper titled, “Rural Lifestylers are Changing the Way They Research and Buy Products.” This ought to catch some attention out there in the AgWired community since this has been discussed a lot over the last couple years. The goal of this project was to learn how online communities, brand advocates and customer reviews are influencing purchase decisions. The study included in person and emailed surveys.

In an earlier study they found that the adoption rate of new technologies like internet penetration between rural and urban people is nearly the same. In this study they wanted to see if rural lifestylers were making decisions outside the normal research processes. Here are some key findings:

1. The rural lifestyle consumers are adopting social media practices at the same rate as general consumers.
2. Like general consumers, rural lifestyle consumers rely on two different types of influencers to help them form brand perceptions and make purchase decisions: micro influencers and macro influencers.
3. The sales process has been altered to reflect a continuous feedback loop between current customers and prospective customers.

Get the full scoop on what Paulsen learned: Interview with Paulsen Marketing

Thanks to Denny Eilers for taking the photo.

2011 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the 2011 Agri-Marketing Conference is sponsored by

Moore Reasons To Attend Brownfield Party

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Jeff MooreHere’s Jeff Moore, Account Executive, Brownfield Ag News, with some “moore” reasons you should attend a Thursday night Brownfield Party at the NAMA convention. Jeff has been to eight of these events. He says it’s all about taking some time to enjoy fellowship with clients and friends.

I did not see him ride the bull at PBR Big Sky but he says he tried last year and got a time of about 5 seconds. I wonder who got the best time during the party.

Jeff says it’s important to develop personal relationships in business and the party allows that to happen: Interview with Jeff Moore

Follow Jeff on Twitter.

2011 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the 2011 Agri-Marketing Conference is sponsored by