I recently spoke with Sara Truesdale-Mooney, the Show Director for the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). This past January, AEM held its first agricultural trade show, the Ag Connect Expo. Sara told me that it was a great first show. “We are very pleased with the results and it really exceeded all of our expectations for a first-time event.” The …
Ag Media Summit is Just Around the Corner
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 …
A Portrait of the American Farmer
“I feel like I’ve made 300 of the best friends I’ve ever had,” said Paul Mobley, author of the new photographic book, “American Farmer” when describing how photographing farmers around America has changed his life. Paul never set out to put together a collection of photos taken of farmers around the world – he happened upon the opportunity when he …
President Obama Visits POET Ethanol Plant
Today President Obama made his first visit to an ethanol plant since taking office. His message focused on achieving the American dream and rebuilding the economy with renewable fuels playing a key role. The photo below is me with the podium behind me. I got too busy when he was here to get it done again. Here are some excerpts …
Student’s Love of Learning Matches Love of Horses
One of the big highlights of Novus International’s 2nd annual “Science: A Foundation for Dynamic Careers” days was the time the students were able to spend with the horses at Novus’ research farm … AKA Green Acres. And let’s face it, meeting the Missouri Colleges Fund scholars sure seemed to be a treat for the horses. One person who dived …
President’s Speech from Ethanol Plant in Missouri
We are going to try and bring you live audio of President Obama’s speech at the POET ethanol plant in Macon, Missouri via cell phone and Ustream since there is no good internet access at the site and aircards don’t work well for live broadcasts. Speech is scheduled to begin at 12:55 central time. Post update: Way better audio available …
Tour of Novus Research Farm Educates in More Ways than One
Students taking part in Novus International’s 2nd annual “Science: A Foundation for Dynamic Careers” days have had the chance to tour the animal health company’s research farm, better known as “Green Acres,” in Montgomery County, Missouri … a rare treat for visitors to Novus. Meeting the group at the farm was Novus’ manager of product research, Skip Hampton, who was …
We Hate Sheep-Like Marketing
The We Hate Sheep people are Sullivan Higdon & Sink. I visited with their Executive Creative Director, John January, during the National Agri-Marketing Conference. He started right out making sure that I knew that the “We Hate Sheep” theme is metaphorical. As he puts it, “We hate sheep-like marketing.” John says the company has been growing their ag business. They …
Circuitous Path Leads to Career at Novus
While most of the time you want to encourage students to follow the straight and narrow path, sometimes the best advice is to take a curvy path toward your goals. Case in point: Vanessa Stewart, national account manager for Novus’ pet nutrition lines. During the 2nd annual “Science: A Foundation for Dynamic Careers” days, Stewart told the Missouri Colleges Fund …
Hallmark Branding
I would dare say that Hallmark Cards has the whole branding thing down to a science. To share some insight into their history and issues they face today John Courtney, Consumer Understanding & Insight Manager, Hallmark Cards, Inc. spoke at the National Agri-Marketing Conference. John is pictured left of Matt Coniglio, Fastline, who introduced him. John says Hallmark is celebrating …