During the 63rd Annual Fall Convention, recently in Indianapolis, IN, the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association elected Marc McConnell, Art’s Way Manufacturing Co., as the 62nd president of the association. Marc serves as the Vice Chairman of Art’s Way Manufacturing Co., Inc., headquartered in Armstrong, IA, a diversified manufacturer of sugar beet harvesters, grinder-mixers, hay and forage equipment, manure spreaders, graders, …
ASA Names 2014 Officers & Committee Assignments
American Soybean Association (ASA) announced their newest President, Ray Gaesser, from Corning, IA. Out going President, Danny Murphy from Canton, MS will move to the position of Chairman. Board members also elected Wade Cowan from Brownfield, TX to serve as First Vice President, an office that places Cowan in line to be the association’s president in 2015. “There are so …
U.S. Ag Export Development Council Names Chair
The U.S. Agricultural Export Development Council (USAEDC) has named a new Chair at their annual workshop in November. United States Potato Board’s (USPB) John Toaspern, International Marketing Vice President, has been a member of the Executive Committee and an officer of USAEDC for the past six year. He move’s from serving as Vice Chair to taking over the reins from …
Ryan Goodman Receives Inaugural Comm Award
He’s Agriculture Proud. He’s Ryan Goodman, Manager of Communications for the Montana Stockgrowers Association. The photo is from when Ryan was teaching a blogging class at the 2011 Agvocacy 2.0 Conference. The Montana Stockgrowers Association is proud to announce that Ryan Goodman, MSGA Manager of Communications, is the inaugural recipient of the 2013 Communicator of the Year award, presented by …
GROWMARK Becomes NAMA Sustaining Sponsor
We welcome GROWMARK as a fellow Sustaining Partner of the National Agri-Marketing Association! “GROWMARK is one of the cooperatives in agri-marketing,” said Jenny Pickett, NAMA Executive Vice President/CEO, in announcing the partnership. “Their support is not only an endorsement of the industry and the Association today, but also a pledge to help us, and our members, continue to be at …
Happy World Soil Day
Got soil? Go outside and dig your fingers in it. It’s World Soil Day! Here’s a message from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service on how important healthy soil is and how using conservation practices like no-till can help farmers take better care of their land. When soil is heavily tilled, the stalks from the previous crop are chopped, and the …
Research, Promotion & Education at Pork Board
The National Pork Board is the entity that conducts research, provides education and promotes the product. They were at the recent NAFB Convention and I caught up with them during the always busy, yet fun and exciting Trade Talk. Dale Norton, Vice President of the National Pork Board, farms with his brother in Michigan and has been a part of …
Biotech Crops Alliance Names Secretariat
An alliance of organizations supporting biotech crops has named a leader to help “spearhead collaborative efforts to improve the environment for technology innovation and the market for U.S. crops produced through modern biotechnology.” Dr. Michael J. Phillips has been selected as the first secretariat for the U.S. Biotech Crops Alliance (USBCA), which was established by several organizations under a memorandum …
What’s Hot in 2014 Culinary Forecast
This forecast of What’s Hot in 2014 looks way too healthy to me. Or maybe I should say it just looks kind of difficult to believe that when you hanker for some BBQ you’re really going to be worrying about where the meat came from. I don’t know. How about you? Each year the National Restaurant Association (NRA) prepares its …
Bison – The Fastest Growing Meat Industry
The fastest-growing sector of the meat industry may not be what you think. The National Bison Association is the answer and they were present at NAFB’s recent Trade Talk to show that they are dedicated to maintaining their position as a niche in the marketplace. I spoke with Dave Carter, Executive Director of the organization and he talked about their …