Welcoming us to the start of the MFA, Inc. annual meeting is Don Mills, Chairman of the Board. He’s pictured here with Shelby Ringdahl, current Miss Missouri. Shelby will be signing the National Anthem for us. I spoke to both of them prior to the start of today’s activities. Shelby says she’s seen a lot of local companies come and …
Small Numbers But Growing Market
Herd numbers are down this year in the beef community, but enthusiasm is high. Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) Chairman, Weldon Wynn was on hand at this year’s Trade Talk during the NAFB Convention. There is no doubt that the checkoff dollar is slim, but Weldon said they are making that dollar stretch. Weldon went on to discuss our international market, …
Raven’s Commitment to Innovative Tech
Raven Industries is always working on something. During the recent NAFB Convention’s Trade Talk, I met up with Raven’s Marketing and Business Development Manager, Ryan Molitor. He expressed Raven’s desire to continue to add new technologies to the precision marketplace as well as improve on their existing products. “One of the things we really invest a lot in is training …
State Ag Directors Visit NAFB 2013
Five State Ag Directors took part in a panel discussion with farm broadcasters Friday in Kansas City at the 70th Annual National Association of Farm Broadcasting Convention. California Secretary Karen Ross, Kansas Secretary Dale Rodman, Louisiana Commissioner Michael Strain, Nebraska Director Greg Ibach and North Dakota Commissioner Doug Goehring spent about an hour and a half discussing the differing issues that …
NAFB Night of Honors
The National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) bestowed honors on many deserving individuals last week – the best of the best. We’ll start with the new members of the NAFB Hall of Fame. Johnnie Hood was one of our very first friends in NAFB, back in the day when he served as president in 1985 at the midpoint of his …
NCBA’s Government Affairs Advocating for Beef
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) attended this year’s NAFB Trade Talk event and I spoke with Colin Woodall, Vice President of Government Affairs, while stopping by their booth. Colin voiced that it is an exciting time to be part of the beef community. He admits herd numbers are down, but that it means people are making money. Beyond cattle …
ASFMRA Speaker Interviews
Last week I posted podium remarks from Monsanto’s Dr. Robert Fraley and from California Secretary of Agriculture, Karen Ross at the Agronomics Vision 2014 conference in Reno, NV. After their presentations I sat down with them for a short interview which focused not only on their presentations but in more personal detail about what they see for the future. Feel …
USDA’s Drive in Support of Rural Communities
USDA Rural Development was on hand during last week’s NAFB Trade Talk to share their work with rural communities across the United States and promote the use of #MyFarmBill. I spoke with Colleen Callahan, Illinois State Director for Rural Development, during the event and she was eager to express their commitment to rural communities and their passion for brining value …
NAFB President Passes the Gavel
As tradition has it, the gavel was passed during NAFB’s Friday night banquet. Mark Oppold with RFD-TV has greatly served the organization as the 2013 NAFB President. Emcee for the entertaining evening was Ken Root of Root Communications, a former colleague of Mark’s at AgriTalk. Friends and family of Mark took turns toasting his accomplishments and sometimes even roasting a …
Ag Secretary Visits NAFB
Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack made a trip to Kansas City to visit with farm broadcasters during the 70th National Association of Farm Broadcasting Annual Convention. The Secretary centered his comments around the RFS announcement, record levels of exports, drought issues and of course, the farm bill. Vilsack started off by thanking all the farm broadcaster for the work that they do …