AgWired

My session number one on Social Media: New Marketing Tools has concluded at the National Sunflower Association Summer Seminar. This afternoon I’ll be conducting round two which is a how-to session to get into specifics and help attendees create and start managing their social networking accounts and answer questions.

We had a good crowd this morning. Most are on Facebook, at least personally. However, very few on Twitter or any other social media platform. I showed how that is evident when you do some online searching for NSA. Their website comes up and there’s lots of great information on it. Now I think it’s time to get some social networking going to attract, engage and point people to all that information. I want to thank everyone who sent in a tweet to us during the session. It really helps to see “live” activity in these types of presentations.

2011 National Sunflower Association Summer Seminar Photo Album

The educational part of the National Sunflower Association Summer Seminar is underway. The first session is dealing with “Reversing the Trend of Declining Acres: Will We Have the Tools?” This panel includes scientists from USDA and North Dakota State University as well as representatives of the NSA. They are speaking a language that I don’t have but what I’m getting out of this so far is that research is the key to finding genetic lines that provide more flexibility in planting and production which will make sunflowers a more attractive crop. I’ll try to get an interview with one of them before the day is out.

My session on social media is coming up after our break so I better get ready.

2011 National Sunflower Association Summer Seminar Photo Album

Welcome to Deadwood, SD, “Where Western Legends Were Born.” I’m here for the 2011 National Sunflower Association Summer Seminar. Maybe we’ll create some legends of our own before we’re done!

The very first person I met after checking in to the Lodge at Deadwood was Larry Kleingartner, Executive Director, National Sunflower Association. Larry provided a preview of this year’s Seminar. He says that they do a “little bit of learning, have a little bit of fun and a little bit of networking.” There will be about 200 attendees coming from the support industry. That includes seed and chemical company reps, processor reps and grower leaders. NSA membership is wherever sunflowers are grown so we’ll have people here from many states and Canada. Larry says research is the big topic and key to helping make the crop as competitive as possible. Larry Kleingartner Interview

The first item on our agenda is an evening social, dinner and fundraiser for the Curtis Stern Memorial Scholarship. I’ll be attending and have some photos to share by tomorrow morning.

If you would like to let these sunflower growers and support industry folks know what you think about the value and uses of social media, please use the conference Twitter hashtag, #NSASS11, in tweets tomorrow morning. I’ll be conducting a session on this topic and would love to show them some outside perspective.