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Animal Health Corridor Board Names Ceva's Craig Wallace As Its New Chairman
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The Kansas City Animal Health Corridor Advisory Board has appointed Ceva Animal Health executive Craig Wallace as its new chairman. Wallace is Ceva's North America Zone director based at the Ceva North American headquarters in Lenexa, Kansas.
The advisory board, which oversees efforts to attract animal science companies to the region and increase opportunities for companies already here, also voted to make Kostas Kontopanos, U.S. president for Hill's Pet Nutrition, the board's vice chairman. Both men will serve for one year, then Kontopanos will become chairman. Wallace replaces George Heidgerken, the head of Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica's corporate division animal health, who was recently transferred to Germany.
The Animal Health Corridor, stretching from Manhattan, Kansas, to Columbia, Missouri, includes one of the largest concentrations of animal health science-based businesses and research institutions in the world. |
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American Royal and Kemper Family Announce Plan to Replace Kemper Arena
| The American Royal Association and the Kemper family announced Tuesday, Oct. 25, a plan to replace Kemper Arena with a new Agricultural Events center. Under the plan, Kemper Arena would be razed and a new state-of-the-art livestock, equine, rodeo, and agricultual events center would be built in its place. The new center would include an approximately 5,000 seat coliseum primarily dedicated to "dirt" events, along with new space for the BBQ contest, animal stalls, and a covered, open sided show ring. The new center would complement the existing adjacent facilities at the American Royal Complex, which would remain in place and be upgraded.
American Royal Chairman-Elect Brant Laue gave Council members a preview of the announcement at the Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City's annual Awards Luncheon earlier that day. Laue also invited council members to attend the press conference with other dignitaries and local media.
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Save The Date: Governor's Agriculture Conference Set for January
| The Missouri Department of Agriculture will convene its 2012 Missouri Governor's Conference on Agriculture at Kansas City's Westin Crown Plaza on January 19-21. Details will be forthcoming, but in the meantime you can contact the Missouri Department of Agriculture, 573-751-4762 or email Karen.Wilde@mda.mo.gov
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Stankiewicz to
Regents Job
| Mary Jane Stankiewicz, who has lobbied around the Statehouse for years on ag issues, will become the new spokesman for the Kansas Board of Regents.
She will be taking the job that Kip Peterson had for several years before he resigned.
Stankiewicz currently is senior vice president and chief operating officer for Kansas Grain & Feed, Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association and Kansas Association of Ethanol Processors.
She will start work in early November. Her successor with the ag industry groups has not yet been named.
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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
INTL 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
Kansas Dept of Agriculture
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
816-569-4020 phone
P.O. Box 26426
Kansas City, MO 64196
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Sara Wyant To Speak At Agribusiness Council Breakfast
Agri-Pulse Communications President Sara Wyant will be the featured speaker at the Agriculture Business Council's November meeting at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center Hotel. The annual breakfast gathering continues the Council's tradition of taking advantage of the opportunity to participate in the Agriculture Future of America's (AFA) Leadership Conference, November 3-6, 2011. AFA announced earlier this month that Sara Wyant and Paul Engler, Cactus Feeders, Inc. have been selected as the 2011 Leader in Agriculture Award winners.
Agri-Pulse Communications is a diversified communications firm with offices in Washington, D.C., Little Rock, Arkansas, and Camdenton, Missouri. As a veteran farm policy reporter, Wyant is well recognized on Capitol Hill as well as with farm and commodity associations across the country.
Her newsletter and web site, Agri-Pulse, include the latest updates on farm policy, commodity and conservation programs, trade, food safety, rural development, and environmental and regulatory programs. Wyant gained first-hand knowledge of crop and livestock production while growing up on a farm near Marengo, Iowa, and is still involved with her family's farming operation.
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Sen. Roberts Honored at Council's Annual Awards Luncheon
A full-house packed the historic Kansas City Club on October 25, to honor long time agriculture advocate and U.S. Senator from Kansas, Pat Roberts with the "Jay B. Dillingham Award for Agricultural Leadership and Excellence."
In honoring Senator Roberts, Agricultural Business Council Chairman Elvin Hollon said, "Senator Roberts has a reputation as a national leader in agriculture. As the ranking member on the Senate Agriculture Committee, and a representative from one of the nation's top producing states, Senator Roberts' continued commitment to the food and agriculture sectors, helps shape the current and future outlook of agriculture in Kansas and in the Midwest. The region is lucky to have such a dedicated public servant to its largest industry."
The Award presented to Roberts was named in honor of the late Jay B. Dillingham, the long-time leader of the Kansas City Stockyards. Hollon said the legacy of the stockyards is still seen in Kansas City and that Mr. Dillingham epitomized the spirit, accomplishment and acumen that it wishes to recognize in current leaders.
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Governor Brownback, Kansas Ranchers Travel to Russia, Kazakhstan
Kansas Governor Sam Brownback, Secretary of Agriculture Dale Rodman and beef producers from across the state traveled to Russia and Kazakhstan Oct. 6 to 17 to promote agriculture trade with those countries.
"Agriculture is our state's largest industry and a cornerstone of the Kansas economy," Gov. Brownback said prior to the trip. "I'm looking forward to this opportunity to further expand what the Kansas cattle industry has to offer beyond our state and national borders."
Steve Irsik of Irsik Equities in Garden City, Mark Brunner of Cow Camp Ranch in Ramona and Thad Geiger of Geiger Farms in Troy were the beef producers traveling to Russia and Kazakhstan to market Kansas purebred beef cattle on behalf of Kansas ranchers. Irsik, Brunner and Geiger, along with counterparts from Colorado and Montana, were selected to travel on a 12-day mission led jointly by the Kansas, Colorado and Montana Departments of Agriculture.
For more information, CLICK HERE.
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NAFB Selects Marketing and Communications Director
The National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) has named Becki Rhoades to serve as its Director of Marketing an d Communications. She joined the broadcasting association in Platte City, Missouri, earlier this month after nearly ten years of service with the Kansas Department of Commerce Rural Development Division and, most recently, the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism.
NAFB Executive Director Tom Brand says Rhoades' extensive marketing experience with clients nationwide along with her background in farm broadcasting will benefit the association's efforts to promote broadcast communications.
For more information, CLICK HERE.
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Sen. Moran Introduces Limits to EPA Regulations
This month Senators Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts introduced legislation in the Senate (S. 1702) that would exempt existing stationary engines from two final rules in the EPA's National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines (RICE).
In explaining the reason behind his legislation, Sen. Moran said municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives use stationary diesel and natural gas engines to generate electricity during periods of high demand or during emergency situations. This equipment typically operates no more than 100 hours a year. In Kansas, there are 56 cities with 306 engines generating 603 megawatts of electricity that are affected by the RICE rules.
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Abaxis Veterinary Reference Laboratories Now Fully Operational in Olathe
Abaxis, a medical products company manufacturing point-of-care blood analysis systems, announced today that Abaxis Veterinary Reference Labor atories (AVRL), based in Olathe and partnering with Kansas State University, is fully operational and is processing samples from around the country. With the addition of AVRL, Abaxis now offers veterinarians nationwide a highly competitive full-service commercial laboratory with a focus on specialty and esoteric testing and analysis which generally cannot be conducted at the point-of-care.
This service complements Abaxis' full suite of on-site laboratory instrumentation and rapid diagnostics for in hospital routine, critical care and emergency medicine laboratory needs. AVRL offers comprehensive specialty testing and routine laboratory services, along with consultation and case management services from experts across many disciplines, both through its partnership at Kansas State University and a national network of veterinary professionals and consultants.
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Meat and Poultry Research Conference Targets Antibiotic Resistance and Product Quality
At the inaugural Meat and Poultry Research Conference (MPRC), November 1-2 in Kansas City, Missouri, antibiotic resistance and product quality will top the agenda of the gathering co-sponsored by the American Meat Institute Foundation, US Poultry Foundation, Beef Checkoff, Pork Checkoff, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Poultry Science Association and American Meat Science Association. The conference will be held at the Kansas City Marriott Country Club Plaza.
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KSU Program Develops Agribusiness Management Skills
Agricultural producers and agribusiness professionals looking to become better managers can enroll in the upcoming Kansas State University Management, Analysis and Strategic Thinking (MAST) program.  The program, hosted by KSU's Department of Agricultural Economics, kicks off with a two-day, on-campus session next month, November 15-16.
MAST combines new information and decision-making tools with online learning to help agricultural producers develop and improve management skills. By learning farm management tools and their applications, participants are equipped to create a vision for their businesses and handle the challenges of the changing agricultural landscape.
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USDA Deputy Secretary Talks With Kansas Agriculture
During a trip to Kansas in mid October, Kathleen Merrigan, USDA Deputy Secretary, held a producer roundtable to get feedback on USDA programs, and visited a food cooperative to learn more about activities in the local and regional food movement. She also talked with Kansas State University students about American agriculture, encouraging young people to consider careers in agriculture.
Producers participating in the roundtable discussed the challenges of USDA programs, and shared concerns about how the department will fare in the current budget environment as it writes the 2012 farm bill. Merrigan found a commonality of interest around the producer roundtable. "People are asking for a fair shake," she said. "They want to find ways to prosper whether they are exporting or doing local or regional."
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