Student Marketing Competition Finalists Announced

Joanna Schroeder

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: Successful Farming. They know.

    NAMA

    Buy Your Raffle Tickets Already

    Joanna Schroeder

    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.

    2010 National Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

    AgWired coverage of the 2010 National Agri-Marketing Conference
    is sponsored by: Successful Farming. They know.

    NAMA

    Student Marketing Competition Underway

    Joanna Schroeder

    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: Successful Farming. They know.

    NAMA

    A Moment with the Student Marketing Competition Judges

    Joanna Schroeder

    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.

    You can download (mp3 file) or listen to Kim’s interview here: nama-10-lang.mp3

    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.

    You can download (mp3 file) or listen to Larry’s interview here: nama-10-stoller.mp3

    A special thanks to the student competition committee members, judges and all the student teams! Good Luck!

    2010 National Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

    AgWired coverage of the 2010 National Agri-Marketing Conference
    is sponsored by: Successful Farming. They know.

    Audio, NAMA

    Get Over Your Fear of Social Media

    Chuck Zimmerman

    David Meerman ScottAre 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.

    You can listen to my interview with David below.


    2010 National Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

    AgWired coverage of the 2010 National Agri-Marketing Conference
    is sponsored by: Successful Farming. They know.

    Audio, Media, NAMA, Social Networking

    From America’s Heartland

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Paul and KennaThe 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.


    2010 National Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

    AgWired coverage of the 2010 National Agri-Marketing Conference
    is sponsored by: Successful Farming. They know.

    NAMA

    Farewell To 2010 IFAJ Congress

    Chuck Zimmerman

    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.

    IFAJ

    USDA Deregulates Syngenta Seeds Corn Trait

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Syngenta Seeds is proud to announce it has received deregulation from USDA for the Agrisure Viptera trait.

    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.

    I interviewed Agrisure Marketing Manager Tracy Mader last fall about the trait prior to the regulatory approval. You can also find out more on the Syngenta Seeds Agrisure traits website.

    Corn, Syngenta

    Remember Agriculture on Earth Day

    Cindy Zimmerman

    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.

    Beef, Corn, Environment, Livestock, NCGA

    Zimfo Bytes

    Melissa Sandfort

      Zimfo Bytes

    • John Deere has announced the establishment of John Deere Insurance Company, formed to strengthen its position in crop insurance.
    • In conjunction with World Dairy Expo, the 27th Annual World Forage Analysis Superbowl will award over $20,000 in cash prizes.
    • 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.
      Zimfo Bytes