I’m not sure how I got in touch with Daryn McBeth, Minnesota Agri-Growth Council today but I’m glad I did. I think he and his staff have earned some time off this week after putting on one incredible event Tuesday evening – AgNite.

I got some wrap-up comments from him starting with attendance. Daryn says that they counted over 5,000 people who attended the event! That exceeded all expectations. He walked around a lot and met with all types of people (agriculture stakeholders, convention delegates, elected leaders and even foreign dignitaries). He says that’s exactly what they wanted.

One of the things that impressed Cindy and me most about the event is how well it showed a unified agriculture. There were people there from all aspects of agribusiness who don’t always see eye to eye. Daryn says that he’s seen this mentioned in a number of stories that have been published about the event already. He says they purposefully showcased the diversity of agriculture and even celebrated it.

One of the things that stood out for him was, “A journalist who was at the event pointed out to me that as she walked through the room, she thought that folks from the food and ag sector who were there . . . seemed to be (have) a sense of pride.” He says, “That hits the nail right on the head.”

Daryn says they’re going to chalk it up as a success and that time will tell if they made a positive impact. He says that it has been hard for his staff to let it go now and that it’s fun monitoring the coverage by Googling around. I also found it hard to believe that they got the whole event torn down in 6 hours since their contract with the Depot required them to be out by 8am!

Listen to my interview with Daryn here: agnite-08-mcbeth-wrap.mp3

Be sure to check out the AgNite Photo Album for 200 pictures from the event.

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