A big congratulations to Dustin Focht, Stillwater, OK, who is the 2013 World Livestock Auctioneer Champion! Here’s a photo of Dustin. The Runner up Champion is Blaine Lotz from Edna, Kansas and the Reserve Champion is Brian Little from Wann, Oklahoma. We had a fantastic group of 31 contestants for this honor. It’s the Super Bowl of livestock auctioneering and …
Time For LMA Socializing
We have had a business meeting going on here at the 2013 Livestock Marketing Association Annual Convention for the past two days. Tonight it was time to relax and socialize. Big thanks to Montgomery Stockyards for sponsoring an excellent Fat Boy’s Bar-B-Que Ranch dinner at Union Station. During our supper we heard from several folks and then all the past …
LMA Provides Animal Handling Expertise
Animal handling is THE big priority issue for the Livestock Marketing Association. Members have Laura Marks, LMA Director of Animal Handling, as a great resource when it comes to this issue. Here at the 2013 LMA Annual Convention Laura conducted a workshop on this issue. I visited with her in between sessions to learn what she wanted members to know. …
Former WLAC Bailey Ballou Works for LMA PAC
The 2012 World Livestock Auctioneer Champion is Bailey Ballou. He got to perform for us here at the LMA Annual Convention at the LMA PAC dinner/auction. Bailey auctioned off a number of items to raise money for the effort. Before we got started with that I chatted with Bailey about his year as the WLAC. He says he’s been on …
Priorities for the Livestock Marketing Association
The President of the Livestock Marketing Association is Tim Starks from Cherokee, Oklahoma. He got things started at last night’s LMA PAC dinner and auction. I visited with him to learn about priorities facing LMA and its members right now. Animal handling tops the list and he says, “We want to be very proactive in our approach to get the …
LMA Convention/WLAC Kicks Off
The 2013 Annual Convention of the Livestock Marketing Association and 50th World Livestock Auctioneer Championship has kicked off here in Montgomery, AL. Alabama Governor Robert J. Bentley, welcomed attendees and talked about the importance of farmers. The Governor is pictured center with Mark Mackey, CEO, LMA on the left and Tim Starks, President, LMA on the right. I’ll be providing …
Livestock Marketing Time
It’s time for my first Livestock Marketing Association annual meeting and World Livestock Auctioneer Championship. I’ll begin my coverage tomorrow with the opening general session and continuing through Saturday when the auctioneer championship competition ramps into high gear. I’ll be sharing lots of photos, interviews and other media content throughout the event. Taking a look ahead at the schedule, we’ll …
USFRA Wins National PR Award
The U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance recently earned a place next to big names like Kimberly Clark, GE, Proctor & Gamble, and General Motors by capturing one of the public relations industry’s most prestigious awards – the Gold Sabre. USFRA won the award for its digital campaign “From East to West and Everywhere In Between, America’s Farmers and Ranchers are …
AGree Likes Senate Immigration Bill for Ag
Food and agricultural policy organization AGree sent a letter to Senators Monday urging them to pass the immigration reform bill approved by the Judiciary Committee in order to provide a stable workforce for American agriculture. The bill “presents a huge opportunity for foreign-born agricultural workers who want to build a better future for themselves and their families and for American …
World Pork Expo Turns 25
This week we celebrate the silver anniversary of World Pork Expo, the world’s largest pork-specific trade show, presented by the National Pork Producers Council. Nearly 20,000 pork producers and industry representatives from 39 countries will be in Des Moines this week for the 2013 World Pork Expo. “If you’re looking for products, technology or information, World Pork Expo is the …