Agricultural communications is an important and broad industry and there are several organizations that focus on professional development for ag communicators. One such organization is the American Ag Editors’ Association (AAEA), but don’t let the name fool you. This organization is made up of people involved in ag communications from editors to public relations professionals to designers to publishers and once a year, they get together for the Ag Media Summit. (You can follow Cindy Zimmerman each year who attends the event.)

I caught up with Den Gardner, the Executive Director for the organization, during the 2010 National Agricultural Marketing Associations annual conference in Kansas City. He told me that their 12th Annual Ag Media Summit will be in St. Paul, Minn. July 24-28, 2010. AAEA collaborates with the livestock publications as well as the Agri Council of Business Media to put on the conference that is growing each year. Gardner expects that more than 600 people will attend this summer and just in case you can’t tell, Den is a HUGE Minnesota Twins fan and the attendees have the opportunity to “go to the ballgame.”

However, you don’t have to be a professional to learn a lot during the summit. The AAEA student organization is the Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT) and they hold their conference in the same location just prior to the summit. Many of the students stay for the Ag Media Summit as well.

All told, Gardner said that they are becoming one of the largest ag communicators events in the country. So if you don’t want to miss out, registration opens on May 1, 2010 and you can learn more about the conference and register online at www.agmediasummit.com.

You can also listen to my interview with Den below.

2010 National Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the 2010 National Agri-Marketing Conference
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