It’s Super Bowl Half Time. Mick Jagger is in better shape than I am at the moment. How old is that guy?
Have you ever wondered what it looks like in a ballroom before the conference? You know. A setup to hold a couple thousand people, stage, screens, projectors, sound system, etc. Here’s a short video to give you an idea.
Watch here: 
NBB Conference Room Setup (50 sec. WMV File)
It sure looks different in San Diego than the midwest this time of year. We’ve got flowers everywhere.
After a very dry Denver it’s actually nice to feel some humidity here in the harbor area.
There’s a lot of activities taking place here at the National Biodiesel Conference and you’re going to get to experience a lot of it here on AgWired.
I don’t know why we don’t see this used more often. Here at the National Biodiesel Conference they’re making good use of promotional tactics like this projector. There’s actually a number of them situated around that are projecting sponsors logos onto the walls here where attendees have to walk.
Pretty good idea I think.
I think this will be my last post from the Cattle Industry Convention. To sort of bring it full circle I interviewed the new Chairman of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, Jay O’Brien, from Amarillo, TX. The gavel was passed to him this morning.
I interviewed Jay after the meeting to find out his priorities.
You can listen to my interview with Jay here:
O’Brien Interview (5:55 min. MP3 File)
I have so much news and information to bring you but these meetings are keeping me busy. I’ll try to post some “other” news over the next 2 days before things heat up at the Biodiesel Conference. I just visited the new Broadhead+Co website. The long-anticipated website.
Dean Broadhead launched the agency in 2001. I love the new slogan, “An Agency Focused on the Business and Life of Rural America.” That’s an acknowledgement of the changes taking place in the countryside. Here’s an agency that’s being up front about it. As their website says, “No agency can do justice to all segments of business. And we don’t try to. At Broadhead + Co, we focus on an audience we know very well: Rural America. Deeply rooted in agriculture, our business continues to evolve from traditional production agriculture to lifestyle issues related to the issues shared by all of Rural America, from education and healthcare to recreation and hobby farming.”
Today is a transition day for AgWired. I’ll be finishing up here at the Cattle Industry Convention before heading on to San Diego to the National Biodiesel Conference. I’ll be bringing you all the action from there starting tomorrow.
In addition to AgWired coverage I’ll be blogging on the National Biodiesel Board Conference Blog. Like other organizations they’re seeing the value in using the latest forms of communication (blogging and podcasting) to distribute news and information. The Biodiesel Conference Blog has already had a significant level of traffic and commenting. In fact, far higher than any we’ve created yet. It should be interesting.
I’d love to know your thoughts on all the blogging activities taking place in the agribusiness world. I think we’re going to see a lot more.
Here’s what happens to the staff of NCBA and CBB by the end of the convention. This is in memory of Christian Hawley, just one of the convention casualties.
I think she needs a Red Bull.
One of the final meetings here at the Cattle Industry Convention is the NCBA Board of Directors and CBB Meeting. Both organizations sit at the head table and report on their activities. It fosters a very open dialogue with everyone who’s attending.
It’s also where the gavel is passed from outgoing CBB Chairman Al Svajgr to incoming Chairman Jay O’Brien. Hopefully I’ll have a picture of that to share later, along with one of the new NCBA President Mike John. That ceremony takes place after I leave later today.
I attended the Cattlemen’s Beef Board banquet last night at which they honor the people who are going off the board and the outgoing chairman. I am seriously glad I decided to go because I got to sit next to two of the people that I’ve missed since leaving Florida about 15 years ago. Pictured with me are Grace and Woody Larson. Woody is a dairy and beef producer from Okeechobee, FL. They, like all these people here, are just the salt of the earth and I couldn’t have been more fortunate than to have been able to sit with them at the dinner and get caught up.
I hope the opportunity comes up again much sooner. Oh, and, How ’bout them Gators?
He’s being double-teamed here by Randy Koenen and Greg Akagi. He’s also the incoming President of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. He’s Mike John and all of us in Missouri are proud of him. I won’t be able to attend his acceptance speech tomorrow afternoon so I interviewed him myself.
Mike talks about what his priorities will be and the new long range plan for the beef industry. You can listen to my interview with Mike here: Mike John Interview (5:56 min. MP3 File)
