It looks like there’s new life being breathed into the Agricultural Relations Council. I’m wondering if anyone would like to sponsor AgWired coverage of the annual conference? If so, please let me know.
The Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) announces its 2009 board of directors and its annual conference, set for March 12-14 in New Orleans.
The 2009 ARC Board includes: Deron Johnson, Rhea+Kaiser Marketing Communications, board president; Mace Thornton, American Farm Bureau Federation, first vice president; Katana Ewbank, Alpha Scouts, second vice president; and Bob Giblin, consultant, immediate past president. Directors include Mark Ingbritson, Rhea+Kaiser Marketing Communications; Amy Keith McDonald, McDonald Marketing Communications; Carroll E. Merry, Countryside Marketing; Janice Person, Monsanto; and Mike Opperman, Charleston/Orwig.
After maintaining a low-profile over the past few years, ARC is moving forward with a renewed direction to meet the needs of public relations/public affairs practitioners across the country. “We are excited about this new team and eager to rejuvenate and invigorate ARC in 2009 and beyond,” says Johnson. “We now have retained Gardner & Gardner Communications, an association management firm, to manage the organization and are dedicated to growing the organization in members as well as in professional development.” Read More
Childress, TX is home to one great photographer and that would be Russell Graves, 
I know that a lot of AgWired fans are pro photographers themselves or at least have a real interest in taking pictures so I hope you’ll really enjoy getting to know Russell and listening to our conversation about his work. Russell also teaches high school ag technology classes. He has a passion for his home state and looks at his work as a way to chronicle the rural lifestyle he grew up in so that current and future generations will still be able to enjoy it captured in pictures. If you take time to look through his pictures I’m sure you’ll see many that will make you think, “I’ve seen that same picture before (in your own life).” He could probably live anywhere he wants but he chooses to raise his children in a country environment and I applaud him for that decision.
When you think of Texas, you think cowboys and cattle but . . . 
Meet Russell Graves, 
The CBB Update Session was pretty interesting yesterday. The Beef Board voted to pass recommendations to change the Beef Checkoff and the discussion was fairly emotional and heated at times.
A new line of products going to bat from Novus International for the poultry industry is CIBENZA feed additives and other Novus enzyme and probiotic products. The coach for this special team is product manager Dr. Nasser Odetallah.
Nasser comes from Amman, Jordan, where he earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from University of Jordan specializing in enzymes. He also owned and operated a broiler production farm and held positions in academia, research and product development. Novus put him in charge of the CIBENZA line of products just this past November. 
Speaking of