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Save The Date:
July Luncheon
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The Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City asks you to save the date for its July Luncheon and meeting, with featured speaker:
Congresswoman
Lynn Jenkins (R - KS)
July 21, 2011
The monthly meeting will be held at the American Royal, with a
BBQ lunch catered by The Golden Ox.
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AgBizKC: Bylaw Revision Approved
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Last month, the Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City Board of Directors voted on changes to the current Bylaws regarding the number of representatives on the Board, as well as a more detailed definition of who serves on the Board's Executive Committee. A vote was taken via email to the membership last month and the Bylaw revision passed and was approved with no votes in opposition.
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People On The Move...
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Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City's own Board Member, J.J. Jones has joined the Kansas Department of Agriculture as their new Marketing and Trade Coordinator.
Formerly of Seaboard Foods, Jones was asked to return to the Agriculture Marketing team after Governor Brownback issued an Executive Reorganization Order that has moved Marketing from the Kansas Department of Commerce to the Kansas Department of Agriculture.
In his new role, Jones will join Assistant Secretary Jackie McClaskey in developing the overall marketing plan for Agriculture. Agriculture's seven-person marketing team will strive to assist Kansas farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses as they market their commodities, livestock and value-added agriculture products. The team also will support Governor Brownback's and Secretary Rodman's goal of building the Kansas economy. One key objective of this goal is through growth in the animal agriculture sector.
Specifically, Jones will lead efforts for the Kansas Dairy Initiative and international marketing activities for Kansas agriculture. On the international front, Kansas will continue to support their strong commodity and check-off organizations while they strive to build new markets for Kansas. For example, over the past 12 months Kansas has been developing relationships with Russian and Chinese producers, businesses and government with the intent of growing one more market for Kansas agriculture.
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Missouri Pork Classic
Golf Scramble
June 28, 2011
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The Missouri Pork Association is hosting a day of good food, and great fun with local producers and allied industry representatives while raising funds for their own association and Missouri Pork PAC at their annual golf scramble, The Missouri Pork Classic, to be held June 28th, 2011.
The scramble is to be held at L.A. Nickell Golf Course in Columbia, MO.
For more information, or to register, CLICK HERE or contact Courtney Johnson at MPA,
(573) 445-8375
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| 2011 Officers & Directors | |
Elvin Hollon
Chairman
Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.
Russ Weathers
Vice Chair
Agriculture Future of America
Bill Brooks
Secretary/Treasurer
Downes-O'Neill/ FCStone, LLC
2011 Board of Directors
Cliff Becker
The Center for Food Integrity
Bruce Brinkmeyer
Bayer Animal Health
Wyatt Brummer
The Scoular Company
Frank Bryant
SES, Inc.
Tim Daugherty
Land O'Lakes
Jim Gray
Heartland Plant Innovation Center
Mike Johanning
John Deere
J.J. Jones
Seaboard Foods
Damon New
First State Bank & Trust
Don Nikodim
Missouri Pork Association
Diane Olson
Missouri Farm Bureau Federation
Nancy Robinson
Livestock Marketing Association
John Shostak
Kansas Farm Bureau
Amber Spafford
Osborn Barr Communications
Steve Taylor
Missouri Agribusiness Assoc.
Tracy Thomas
U.S. Premium Beef
Bob Thompson
Bryan Cave LLP
Jere White
Kansas Corn Growers Association
Shrene White
Cargill/Horizon Milling
Loyd Wilson
Missouri Dept. of Agriculture
Ex Officio Members
Mike Beam
Kansas Livestock Association
Gina Bowman
CVR Energy
________________________
 www.agbizkc.com
816-628-1231 phone
P.O. Box 26426
Kansas City, MO 64196
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EPA Region Chief Touts Area's Role In U.S. Agriculture
 | | Karl Brooks |
EPA Region 7 Administrator Karl Brooks calls the vast four-state, nine Tribal Nations area he oversees the "wheelhouse" of the country's food production effort. The value of its output represents a fifth of the total worth of America's food, fuel, fiber and forest industries - and Iowa (3), Nebraska (4), and Kansas (5) rank among the top five states by that measurement. Missouri leads the nation in cow-calf pairs. He further described the Kansas City metro area as the hub of Region 7 with its agribusiness brokers, distributors, insurers and bankers as well as its transportation infrastructure and its links to the burgeoning science, health and food research activities taking place here.
In his remarks to Council members at the May luncheon, Brooks said the mission of his EPA operation and its staff members is to "work for the people at the heart of American agriculture."
Job one for the EPA, he said, is being able to understand the farm community and "getting the relationship right." He noted that was at the top of the agenda, too, for his boss, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson.
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From Left: Bob Petersen, Elvin Hollon, Karl Brooks, Mike Beam, and Gina Bowman.
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CONTINUED HERE...
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Center For Animal Health Innovation Opens In Olathe
The Center for Animal Health Innovation is open for business at Kansas State University's Olathe campus. Launched with a $1 million grant from the Kansas Bioscience Authority, the Center will try to match animal health companies looking for new technology to develop into products with KSU researchers or entrepreneurs who are researching such science and technology. The Olathe operation is the fifth and final initiative financed under the KBA's Centers of Innovation program. 
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SFP Chosen as Small Business of the Year
The Leawood-based company, whose name stands for Specialty Fertilizer Products, stood out among a crop of more than 1,000 nominees, according to the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. The company received the "Mr. K" Award at a Wednesday the May 25th evening event.
The company was founded in 1998 by Larry Sanders, who grew up on a farm and earned a doctorate degree, then put his mind to developing pr oducts that would help farmers bring in better yields while preserving the environment. SFP has about 100 patents.
The company spent several years doing research before launching AVAIL and Nutrisphere-N. It gave samples to universities and farmers because SFP lacked money for marketing. The products increase crop yields by as much as 15 percent, and sales began to take off after people tried the product.
CONTINUED HERE...
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Ceva Starts Poultry Vaccine Production In Kansas
Earlier this month Ceva Animal Health initiated operations at its new poultry vaccine production facility in Lenexa. Ceva Santé Animale purchased Lenexa-based Biomune Company in 2005, creating Ceva Animal Health as its U.S. subsidiary. With the opening of its $18M facility, Ceva is positioned to fill a global market need with high-quality vaccines.
Current production is targeted almost entirely at the domestic market, but the new facility will double Ceva's domestic output and allow global expansion. The renovation of existing facilities and construction of the new plant are part of Ceva's long-term investment stragegy.
CONTINUED HERE...
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Kansas Beef Council Honors Agriculture Educators
The Kansas Beef Council (KBC) and the Kansas FFA Foundation have recognized six agriculture educators and FFA advisors and awarded them with Masters of Beef Advocacy (MBA) grants. The teachers are Angelle Higbie, West Franklin; Les McNally, Hugoton; Drew Obermeyer, Rural Vista-Hope; Ashley Vann, Solomon; John Bergin, Goessel; and Kendra Linnebur, Fredonia. Their selections were based on their desire to complete the MBA program and their vision to create a school/community presentation for inclusion in an online environment, or participation in a media interview within their respective Kansas FFA districts.
The grant recipients will complete the MBA online learning modules focusing on Modern Beef Production, Animal Care, Beef Safety, Beef Nutrition, Environmental Stewardship, and the Beef Checkoff. The educators are also expected to incorporate information learned into their classroom teaching during the 2011-12 academic year.
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Kansas Celebrated Beef in May
Governor Sam Brownback proclaimed May as
Beef Month, as have Kansas governors for the last 27 years. The state's beef industry generated more than $6.53 billion dollars in cash receipts in 2010. Over 30,000 farmers and ranchers manage and care for a grand total of 6.3 million head of cattle, more than twice the size of the state's population.
During the month the Kansas Beef Council spread the word about the economic  importance of the beef industry and the importance of beef in a well-balanced diet through news releases, radio interviews and social media outreach. Several KBC-sponsored retail promotions also got underway in May and will run through the summer. Checkoff dollars are used to maximize awareness of beef with retail partners in densely populated areas of Kansas, including Kansas City and Wichita. Checkoff dollars also are leveraged with promotion dollars from associated products, such as marinades and wine, to further extend the buying power of radio advertising, couponing and point-of-sale materials.
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Abaxis Settles in the Animal Health Corridor
Abaxis, a manufacturer of blood analysis systems for both the human and animal markets, is building a veterinary reference laboratory in Olathe, using a $650,000 grant structured by the Kansas Bioscience Authority to establish a centralized national lab service for veterinarians and pet owners.
 The Bay Area company is also bringing a solid financial foundation to the region after reporting its fiscal year 2011 performance was the strongest in company history. "Driving those results," said Clint Severson, Abaxis Chairman and CEO, "were solid double-digit growth, and record sales, in North America and the veterinary market and in total reagent disc sales." Abaxis reported revenues of $143.7 million, as compared with revenues of $124.6 million for the prior year, an increase of 15 percent.
CONTINUED HERE...
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AFA Launches Summer Program for Agriculture Interns in Kansas City
The AFA will kick off its InterNetworKC program for summer interns on June 9 with a gathering in the Governor's Suite at the American Royal at 6 pm. All agriculture and food industry interns in the Kansas City area are invited to meet other interns and enjoy a free meal from the Golden Ox Restaurant.
 InterNetworKC will provide interns with a variety of professional development, social and volunteer experiences throughout the summer of 2011. Possible events could include professional development meetings (attending a NAMA meeting, participating in an intern exchange/open house, touring the Animal Health Corridor businesses) as well as social events (Royals baseball game, National Ag Hall of Fame tour, farm tours, Worlds of Fun). Interning students could also take part in agriculture advocacy or service events. Participation in the program is free and voluntary; interns can participate as little or as much as they want, and it costs nothing to be a part of the network other than potential individual costs for social events attended.
Those interested in attending their first event at the American Royal are asked to RSVP as soon as possible by emailing Ashlee Hespen or by calling AFA at 816-472-4232. You can also RSVP on the Facebook event InterNetworKC Dinner and Networking Event. Intern suggestions at the first event will influence the other events offered throughout the summer. If an intern is unable to attend the first event, please contact AFA to express interest in future involvement, or join the Facebook group InterNetworKC.
Companies and organizations interested in getting involved on a deeper level with InterNetworKC, perhaps by hosting a one-day intern exchange or open house to introduce area interns to your company or organization, please let us know. We also welcome suggestions for programming ideas. For more information about InterNetworKC, please contact Ashlee Hespen at ashlee.hespen@agfuture.org, or call AFA at 816-472-4232.
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