The American Agricultural Editors Association held a first time reception for members at this year’s Commodity Classic. We had very good attendance and it was a great way to unwind with friends at the end of a busy day.
If you haven’t joined AAEA then consider doing so. The organization has really been developing more and more benefits for members like educational webinars as well as the Ag Media Summit and awards programs.
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Ben Bellar, a high school senior from Howard, Kansas, was named the 2010-2011 ASA Scholarship recipient during the 2010 Commodity Classic in Anaheim, California. An active member of the ASA and FFA, Bellar has been raising soybeans since he was a child and plans to study agriculture technology management at Kansas State University next year. He is pictured here at the BASF exhibit on the trade show floor with ASA First Vice president Alan Kemper of Indiana and Nevin McDougall, Group Vice President, North America Crop Protection Division at BASF. Ben is the one in the middle, in case you were wondering!
Bellar’s scholarship package includes a one-time $5,000 education award, a trip to the Commodity Classic and special recognition during the ASA Awards Banquet. The scholarship is offered and managed by the ASA and is made possible through a grant by BASF.
I talked to Ben about his background and goals in life and you can listen to that interview below.
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Can you define sustainability? Neither can I. But that was the first task of the panel discussion of commodity group leaders this morning at Commodity Classic. Moderated by Mark Mayfield, the panel discussed what sustainability means to them. Panelists included: Darrin Ihnen, President, NCGA, Rob Joslin, President, ASA, Karl Scronce, President, NAWG and Gerald Simonsen, Chairman, NSP.
You’ll hear the panel says what sustainability isn’t and provide some good reasons why farmers are very much involved with this issue.
You can listen to the commodity group leaders with Mark below.
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Representing the National Sorghum Producers on the Commodity Classic stage this morning was Chairman of the Board, Gerald Simonsen.
We learned some interesting things about sorghum such as how 30 percent of the crop goes into ethanol and when it comes to export and food aid it’s big too. And last year sorghum was the number one requested food commodity through the USAID. Half as much of our sorghum is going to food aid as animal feed.
You can listen to Gerald and Mark below.
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National Association of Wheat Growers President, Karl Scronce had his turn with Mark Mayfield on stage here at Commodity Classic.
Exports and trade was the first subject to come up in the interview. Karl says exports are vitally important and the U.S. is the biggest exporter in the world. He says trade has been very sporadic depending on the time and country you’re talking about. There are a number of trade agreements in the works that could be very important in the future.
You can listen to Karl and Mark below.
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In the general session at Commodity Classic we heard from the President of the American Soybean Association, Rob Joslin. Rob was interviewed by session moderator Mark Mayfield.
Rob says one of his goals has been to visit as many of the ASA state affiliates as he can and he’s over half way there. He thinks it’s important to know what the states are thinking. He says they really need the biodiesel tax credit back in place immediately. He says that’s in a jobs bill in the Senate right now.
You can listen to Rob and Mark below.
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South Dakota Corn Grower, Darrin Ihnen, President of the National Corn Growers Association, took the general session stage this morning with session moderator Mark Mayfield.
Mark had a list of questions for each of the commodity group leaders. With Darrin he started out talking about ethanol. Darrin talked about what the corn growers are doing in this area including pushing for higher blends in the fuel supply. All indications are that this is progressing in a positive way with the science looking good. He says they’re hoping for action by the end of this summer.
You can listen to Darrin and Mark below.
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Just got in to Omaha just a few minutes ago to cover the Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI) Swine Health Seminar. Should be a pretty interesting event with a host of veterinarians here to present and answer questions from the audience. I’ll have more details after things kick off a little later.
In the meantime, I’ll let you see my MOJO (even if you don’t know me that well :)).
In my mobile journalism kit, I’ve got my trusty computer, along with the Zoom Handy Recorder H2 audio recorder and my backup emergency camera, the Canon Powershot SD630 (not sure how I can take a picture of the primary camera I’m using for this picture -the Nikon D200). Oh, and I forgot … I have a Flip camera I left in the bag but might use later.
Also, I just started tweeting, so look for me on Twitter @jdavisreporter.
Any way, I’m not quite as tech savvy as Chuck – who REALLY has his MOJO going. But we’ll be able to show you and let you hear from some of the good folks from BIVI who are sponsoring this seminar.
More later!
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack spoke to the crowd at Commodity Classic just moments ago. You can listen to his full speech below. Joanna is attending his press conference right now and I’ll post audio from it later. Some of the standout phrases I heard included, “Different strategies for different markets” when he was talking about expanding world trade. He also said, “Rural America is the heart and the soul and the guts of America” when talking about revitalizing rural America.
Here are some of the points he made in his remarks taken from the USDA release:
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today discussed USDA’s work to strengthen the American agriculture economy and revitalize rural communities in the keynote speech at the 2010 Commodity Classic in Anaheim, Calif. Vilsack focused on the USDA’s efforts to increase exports of agricultural products to help American farmers, ranchers, and workers.
“USDA’s continued work to expand trade opportunities for America’s hard-working farmers and ranchers will play an important role in our effort to rebuild rural communities across the country,” said Vilsack. “Increased trade will not only create important income opportunities for producers, but also the off-farm jobs that are so critical for revitalizing rural America.”
While USDA has traditionally looked at agricultural trading partners by geographic region, under the new trade strategy outlined by Vilsack, USDA looks at countries based on their position on an agricultural market continuum, which enables tailored strategies to increase exports to each individual market. The continuum goes from fragile markets/food security states, to potential growth markets, to restricted access markets, to rapid growth markets, to developed consumer markets. The new strategy will improve collaboration among USDA agencies and guide priorities for international staffing, foreign assistance, and agricultural research.
For example, in potential growth markets, USDA programs will now emphasize building the institutional and human capacity needed to support increased trade, while in restricted access markets, USDA efforts are designed to remove trade barriers. In rapid growth markets, USDA will now emphasize using a full range of programs to build trade capacity, remove trade barriers and develop new markets for U.S. products.
Commodity Classic Photo Album
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Get a friend to join NAMA and be entered in a contest to win a Flip camera. That’s cool. Your friend will be entered too. Just get it done by April 12.
Tell your friends, peers, and business associates how you benefit from being a member of NAMA – the learning and networking opportunities, skill development, access to agribusiness solutions, etc. They can access our social media sites directly from our website at www.nama.org to learn more about NAMA activities.
Every NAMA member who recruits a new member between now and April 12 will be included in a drawing for a new flip video camcorder. The more new members you recruit – the better your chances. New members will have their names entered, too.
Simply tell your recruit to join on-line at http://www.nama.org/register.aspx. Tell them to add your name and company in the box titled “Referred By.” They can also call the NAMA office at 913-491-6500 to join; remind them to say they were referred by you! Be sure to tell them they’ll be included in the drawing.
When will the drawing take place? During the annual Agri-Marketing Conference, April 21 – 23, at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City. We’d love to have you there, but you don’t have to be present to win!
