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Save The Date:
August Happy Hour
Amigoni Urban Winery
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The Agricultural Business Council will continue its Happy Hour gatherings with another casual get-together Friday afternoon, August 26, at the Amigoni Urban Winery (1600 Genessee, KCMO) from 4:30 to 6:30. The Amigoni winery specializes in small lots of handcrafted wines from its vineyards in Missouri. Annual production is around 1,200 cases, mostly Bordeaux and Rhone varieties.
Starting out as amateur winemakers 14 years ago in Leawood, Kansas, Michael Amigoni and his wife Kerry harvested their first commercial grapes in 2006 from a 10 acre farm in Centerview, Missouri. They call the operation an urban winery because they've always wanted to make their wines accessible to everyone. With a tasting room in Kansas City's historic West Bottoms, their wines are available to Kansas Citians for sampling and purchasing.
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Coldren Ready to Retire
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Council member JP Coldren, a product specialist for Heritage Trading Company, will be retiring September 1, 2011 after more than 40 years in the agriculture industry. Coldren began his career at Farmland Industries in 1970 in the equipment and supplies division as a parts merchandiser and was responsible for appliance and dairy repair parts at the North Kansas City Warehouse. Five years later Coldren moved "up the hill" where he became a farm and home merchandiser responsible for baler twine, HVAC products and home appliances.
Coldren served in the 35th Infantry Division, Army National Guard for eight years attaining the rank of sergeant and the position of training NCO. His community activity included a 34-year stint as Weston city treasurer. Under his watch, Westin's budget grew from $200,000 per year in 1968, to over a million dollars in 2001.
JP will reside in Platte City, Missouri, and plans to spend more time with his wife, son, daughter and three grandchildren.
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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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Spring Floods Expose Continuing Challenges
 | | Tom Waters |
Describing this year's Missouri River flooding as more like a 500 than a 100 year event, Tom Waters of the Missouri Levee & Drainage District Association, said there was enough water in the reservoirs to cover the entire states of Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and Missouri with six inches of water. He gave several reasons for the rising waters in a presentation to Council members at the July 21 luncheon and meeting. A larger than expected snowpack along with continuous rainfall in the upper basin of the Missouri fed into reservoirs which hadn't fully released all their 2010 accumulations. Complicating matters, forecasts earlier in the year did not anticipate the severity of the weather. The Missouri River reservoir system was just not ready for such a strong 2011 spring runoff. Waters made the distinction that this year's flooding was more of a 'reservoir flood' than a 'rain flood.'
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Pork Producers Critical of HSUS, United Egg Producers Agreement
The U.S. pork industry took issue with proposed legislation that could preempt state laws on egg production systems. The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) says the agreement between the Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) and the United Egg Producers - the impetus behind the legislation - would set a dangerous precedent for allowing the federal government to dictate how livestock and poultry producers raise and care for their animals.
The proposed federal legislation calls for the replacement of conventional battery cages with more spacious colony cages. It would also limit the ammonia levels in factory farms, prohibit the forced molting of hens by starvation and allow birds enough freedom "to engage in natural behaviors like pecking, nesting and perching."
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Council Members Can Get Involved with the 2011 AFA Leaders Conference
The annual Agriculture Future of America (AFA) Leaders Conference - providing personal and professional development opportunities for college men and women pursuing agriculture degrees - will take place November 3-6 at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center Hotel.
Council members can play an active role in grooming these students to become leaders in the agriculture industry. You can sponsor a student delegate to attend the conference; or your company can participate in the AFA Opportunity Fair where you can meet and learn about the students who just might play a role in the future of your company. The AFA Leaders Conference Opportunity Fair allows industry professionals to network, inform and recruit the nation's top student leaders while at the same time providing a link for college students to opportunities for career development in business, production, education, sciences and services.
For more information about the AFA Leaders Conference and how your company can get more involved, visit www.agfuture.org .
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AgriLabs and SmartVet Ink Exclusive Sales And Marketing Agreement
An innovative technology to control flies and lice on cattle - first introduced at the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor's Investment Forum - has found a commercial home with AgriLabs. Adam Yankowsky, Strategic Business Unit Manager at AgriLabs, announced this month the company had signed an exclusive sales and marketing agreement with SmartVet, makers of the VetCap® Delivery System and AIMC (Advanced Insecticide Management) GelCaps. The products allow a single worker to control flies and lice with without physically handling cattle.
Grant Weyer, president of SmartVet, said, "We were enthusiastic about demonstrating our product's proof-of-concept before a high caliber audience of industry leaders and strategic decision makers representing international animal health companies." Weyer noted his company will rely on the Animal Health Corridor and its Investment Forum for access to the animal health marketplace.
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KSU Slates Risk and Profit Conference
Kansas State University's Department of Agricultural Economics will stage its annual Risk and Profit Conference and Trade Show Thursday and Friday, Aug. 18-19 at the KSU Alumni Center in Manhattan.
This year's conference will feature two keynote addresses. Fred Seamon, associate director of commodity research and product development with the CME Group will present Hedging in 2011: What's Changed and What Remains the Same at the Aug. 18 luncheon. Kent and Rebecca Ott, longtime agricultural producers from south central Kansas will provide A Conversation with a Kansas Producer just after the Aug. 19 breakfast.
In his job at CME, Seamon is responsible for the research on the structure and performance of commodity markets used to monitor the performance of and maintain the viability of CME Group commodity futures and options contract markets. He also is responsible for investigating the feasibility of new commodity futures contracts and writing trading rules for new commodity futures. He has been involved in the creation of the CBOT Ethanol futures contract and the accompanying Ethanol Calendar Swap, as well as the creation of cleared-only agricultural swap products.
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Cargill Innovation Center Set To Open In Wichita, Kansas
Last week Cargill, Inc., opened its new Innovation Center which is billed as one of the world's most advanced food innovation centers. Located in Wichita, the 75,000 square foot facility will house operations for Cargill's research and development; culinary and laboratory activities; and pilot plant and distribution capabilities aimed at helping Cargill's retail and foodservice customers meet the needs of its domestic and international meat consumers. Approximately 70 people are employed at the center, including professional chefs.
"This is a discovery zone, a place where the art and science of food intersect to advance food quality, nutrition, meat production, food safety and packaging, while also employing a creative flair in the areas of new product development and finding solutions to meet our customers' needs and expectations," said Scott Eilert, vice president of research and development who manages the facility.
Initially conceptualized in 2009, the Wichita Cargill Innovation Center became a reality through a cooperative effort of a number of state, local and regional groups - including the Kansas Bioscience Authority, a member of the Agriculture Business Council of Kansas City.
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Animal Health Marketing Strategies Will Be Discussed At The Central Veterinary Conference
The 3rd Summit on Animal Health Marketing Strategies will take place on August 29 at Bartle Hall in conjunction with the 23rd Annual Central Veterinary Conference. The program will be put on by CBI Research, a research subsidiary of Advanstar which is a producer of conferences for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and healthcare industries. Speakers at the conference will include representatives and experts from Boehringer-Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI), Pfizer Animal Health, and Novartis Animal Health among others.
The Summit will include an Executive Roundtable: Animal Health Marketing Trends Analysis. Industry professionals will discuss the trends in the industry and offer insight into where the industry is headed in the next 5-10 years.
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KSU Hosts Crop Production Field Day in Ottawa
The KSU Research and Extension will host a crop production field day on Wednesday, August 17, at the University's East-Central Experiment Field in Ottawa. The field day begins at 9 a.m. with registration, coffee and doughnuts; the program starts at 9:30 a.m. A complimentary lunch will be served.
As part of the program, KSU agronomist Keith Janssen will provide a historical perspective of agriculture based on his 32 years of research work supporting farmers and crop production in eastern Kansas.
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AON Addresses Agribusiness Risks
Aon's Food System, Agribusiness and Beverage (FAB) National Practice Group will present a forum Tuesday, September 13, on the emerging risks of a global food supply system. The program will also discuss commodity prices, regulatory changes, contamination and recall risk, and brand damage. Speakers include FAB Practice Leader Rick Shanks and Bernie Steves who is the AON's Crisis Management Practice leader.
Representatives of cooperatives, manufacturers/processors, distributors, supermarkets, restaurants and any other FAB companies are all invited. The forum will take place at the Plaza Library - 4801 Main Street - in Kansas City, running from 10:30 in the morning to 1 p.m. Lunch will be served. The program will also be carried via webex. Questions and registration requests should be sent to joshua.eckrich@aon.com
For more information about AON, visit the Website: www.aon.com .
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