The NAMA Board of Directors’ Meeting is underway and members are tackling the important issues and topics on today’s agenda. I stuck my head into the Chicago meeting room at the Hyatt Regency at Crown Center in Kansas City to pop a few photos of NAMA Chapter Leaders getting down to business. NAMA’s Leading the Charge Agrimarketing Conference will be hosting events here through Friday.
NAMA Chapter Leaders Learn and Lunch
This morning NAMA Chapter Leaders like these got together to talk about the challenges they face today in running a local chapter.
One of the presenters was Greg Ehm, Two Rivers Marketing, pictured in the blue shirt. I spoke to him at the lunch that followed their workshop.
Greg says that one of the biggest issues that came up was “time.” It seems like there are so many things competing for our time today that sometimes chapters are suffering from not enough member involvement. Greg says that the NAMA office has hired someone to help chapters with their challenges. I’m going to find her for an interview and introduce you to her soon.
You can listen to my interview with Greg here: nama-08-ehm.mp3
Pioneer Forage Forum Podcast
Pioneer Hi-Bred International is now on its third year of podcasting the Forage Forum on World Dairy Diary and the Pioneer Growing Point website. We just posted podcast number 30 on the websites today.
Forage Forum features “news and information important to dairy professionals working for successful animal nutrition.” It’s kind of interesting that a seed company provides this kind of service for dairy producers – and that is the topic of this week’s podcast as Dr. Bill Mahanna, coordinator of global nutritional sciences for Pioneer discusses to company’s integrated forage approach and the expertise available to producers.
pioneer-podcast-30-wdd.mp3
Bill Mahanna on Integrated Forage Program (4:30 min MP3)
To see all archived Pioneer Forage Forum podcasts, click here.
Previous Forage Forum podcasts are also archived at the Pioneer GrowingPoint website. To access them, go to www.pioneer.com/growingpoint and click Livestock Nutrition and Forage Blog.
Planning IFAJ/AMS 2009
The dedicated IFAJ/AMS planning committee is meeting early this morning to continue planning for the 2009 combined IFAJ Congress and Ag Media Summit. We’ve been reviewing the program and fine tuning things.
Sponsorship packets are almost ready and will be published soon. For those of you who have been AMS sponsors, keep in mind that in 2009 we’re going to be having hundreds of international agricultural journalists coming to the event.
My little part is the IFAJ 2009 Congress website which is up and running. If anyone would like to help, please let me know. Right now I’m seeking input and feedback on the site.
Missing Southeast AgNet
One of our NAMA Connection Point exhibitors will not be able to make the convention this year. That’s Southeast AgNet, a ZimmComm client. Gary and Robin are spending time with Robin’s Mom who is gravely ill. They sure wish they could be here but they know what’s most important.
So, thanks to their rep firm, Farmakis, you’ll still find information in the trade show. Gary sent along this message:
We appreciate our Farmakis national sales team for setting up and manning our exhibit this year! And we appreciate everyone’s thoughts, prayers and support during this critical time.
ZimmComm NAMA iPod touch Drawing
Here at the NAMA Convention you can get registered to win an iPod touch at the ZimmComm booth in the trade show which opens this evening. But since we’re a “community” here at AgWired I want you to have the opportunity to participate too.
So all you have to do is click on this image which you’ll also find in the top right side of the AgWired homepage. You’ll be asked to enter your contact info and that’s it.
So get yourself in the drawing for the coolest iPod on the market. We’ll announce the winner here, after the convention.
Post Update: Willie Vogt, Farm Progress Companies was our winner.
Guess Whose Boots
These boots were seen walking in the Hyatt last night although I took this picture last week in Iowa.
So the first person to post the correct answer to the question in comments will receive a hot-off-the-press “I’ve been Blogged” t-shirt from AgWired.
If you have trouble I’ll add clues later but I’ve got a feeling this one will go quick.
Good Luck. The winner is Mike Howie!
CQ Journalist Wins Ag Journalist of the Year Award
The North American Agricultural Journalists have named their standout reporter for 2007. Congressional Quarterly‘s Catharine Richert is the recipient of this year’s Glenn Cunningham Agricultural Journalist of the Year Award.
Richert became eligible for the prize when she won the organization’s award for best news story of 2007 for her CQ Weekly cover story “Reshaping the Farm Agenda.” She has been Congressional Quarterly’s agriculture reporter since 2006 and has written about everything from the stalled Doha trade talks to farmers who trade carbon credits to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
“The reporter ‘surrounded’ the topic, covering a variety of viewpoints and enriching the story,” judge Tim Anderson, news-editorial lecturer at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said in evaluating Richert’s magazine story. “The writing, too, was first-rate.”
Food Trees Feed Support For “Men in Trees,” Feed Poor
Just another example of how food affects life here and abroad: from saving television shows to feeding the world’s poor…
“Men in Trees” fans from around the world have been fighting to save their favorite show with contributions of more than 7,000 food trees planted in impoverished countries. They call the campaign “Plant It Forward.” The trees were collected by a group on the ABC message board, and planted through the non-profit organization Trees For Life International, which has sent each fan a certificate of donation. The collected certificates were delivered to Stephen McPherson, president of ABC Entertainment.
Their campaign aims to address the issues of world hunger and the environment while, at the same time, convincing ABC to renew “Men in Trees” for a third season. “Seven-thousand food trees can produce up to 1.75 million pounds of food each year,” reported Sally Johnston, a campaign coordinator. “That’s 70 million pounds of food over the lifetime of the trees and a lot of fresh air.”
NAMA Convention Underway
The NAMA Convention has begun, golfers are probably at the 19th hole and registration is open.
As this sign shows there are a number of us member companies providing support in various ways.
The convention photo album has been started and will be added to periodically over the coming days so make sure you check it often: 2008 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album
See you around.