The closing general session of the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) annual meeting is the time for awards and entertainment. The organization’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award, was presented to University of Illinois agriculture professor Robert Thompson. “An economist by trade, Robert Thompson’s heart and soul is agriculture,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman. “There is no doubt …
Secretary of Ag Vilsack Addresses AFBF Annual Meeting
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack addressed the 2011 American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Meeting this afternoon. He made a couple of comments that drew applause from the audience. One of those dealt with concerns over USDA’s pending decision on regulating GM alfalfa. He said, “We’re trying to figure out, as difficult as it might be, is there a way …
AFBF Show Goes On
Neither freezing rain, nor snow, nor sleet has stopped the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting from going on today in Atlanta. The shuttle buses have stopped running, the media reception is canceled, but there are still plenty of people here attending sessions and finishing interviews and presentations for YF&R awards. Conferences this morning included animal welfare and crops outlook, …
Final Day For AG CONNECT Expo
The staff at the Atlanta Convention Center was out shoveling snow early today. That’s something they don’t do very often but it was sure needed. The final day of the 2011 AG CONNECT Expo is here and the show will open for business at 9am. All educational sessions are taking place too. A lot of things got canceled in Atlanta …
AFBF President Meets the Press
American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) president Bob Stallman fielded questions from the press for 40 minutes on Sunday afternoon at the annual meeting in Atlanta, covering a wide variety of topics. Several questions centered on the legal action AFBF intends to take against EPA over the regulation of the Chesapeake Bay total maximum daily load (TMDL), a so-called “pollution diet” …
Going Mobile To Teach Children Where Food Comes From
Out on the AG CONNECT Expo floor in the AFBF trade show pavilion you’ll find the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau’s Mobile Ag Ed Science Lab. This is one of a number of mobile classrooms to teach children where their food comes from. The Lab is a project of the PA Friends of Ag Foundation. I visited with Tonya Wible, Program Director …
Kenny Wallace Supporting Family Farmers
Kenny Wallace, NASCAR driver, says, “Ethanol all the way in NASCAR!” That’s what he told me this afternoon in the American Farm Bureau Federation Pavilion on the floor of the AG CONNECT Expo. Thanks to Tricia Braid, Illinois Corn Growers, for setting up our interview and taking the photo. Kenny was signing autographs in the Nationwide Insurance exhibit. You won’t …
Korean Free Trade Optimism
Korea’s ambassador to the United States is optimistic that Congress will pass the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement when it is submitted by the president. Han Duk-soo spoke at a town hall forum sponsored by American Farm Bureau during the Ag Connect Expo on Saturday and then held a press conference, accompanied by AFBF’s Congressional Relations Director Chris Garza. “The momentum …
Chambliss Welcomes Farm Bureau to Georgia
Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) welcomed the huge American Farm Bureau crowd of farmers and ranchers from around the country to his “sunny, warm” home state. “Y’all from North Dakota and Montana brought your weather with you,” he joked, as a winter weather watch is in effect for the deep south with the potential for ice and snow over night. Chambliss, …
50 Years of Membership Growth for American Farm Bureau
To the tune of the “Rocky” theme song, American Farm Bureau Federation president Bob Stallman showed off a special membership jacket made just for him to celebrate 50 consecutive years of membership growth for the general farm organization at 92nd annual meeting opening general session on Sunday. “American Farm Bureau membership stands at 6,279,813 member families,” Stallman said proudly during …