SDCGA Annual Meeting to feature 8 national ag specialists

Seven nationally known agricultural specialists will give presentations during the 27th annual meeting of the South Dakota Corn Growers Association (SDCGA). Another will be the evening’s keynote speaker.

The meeting, which is one of the largest single-day agricultural events in the state each year, will be held Saturday, Jan. 19 at the Sioux Falls Convention Center.

“This year’s offerings are a smorgasbord of highly respected agricultural experts and officials,” SDCGA President Mark Gross of Bridgewater said. “It’s rare to bring together so many top experts at one time in any one place. South Dakotans are fortunate to have an opportunity to not only hear the freshest information, opinions and advice from these individuals, but also to ask them questions.”

The lineup includes John Phipps, host of U.S. Farm Report; Charlie Arnot, CEO of the Center for Food Integrity; Fred Below, a University of Illinois crop specialist; Mike Walsten, editor of ProFarmer newsletter; Mark Gold, managing partner of Top Third Marketing; Bill Davis,senior vice president of Farm Credit Services of America; and Ross Korves, an economic policy analyst with ProExporter Network.

Nearly 1,000 farmers, industry partners and legislators are expected to attend South Dakota Corn’s annual meeting. The educational seminars will begin at 9:30 a.m. and continue until 5 p.m. All of those presentations are free. Lunch is $10, with all proceeds donated to Feeding South Dakota.

Carl Casale, president and CEO of CHS Inc., will be the keynote speaker during the evening banquet, which will include dinner, a program and music by the Rumbles. The theme of this year’s event is “Backyard Barbecue.” During the evening banquet, the Corn Growers will present four awards: Legislative Appreciation; Excellence in Public Outreach; Excellence in Agriculture; and MVP in Agriculture.

For information, visit: http://www.sdcorn.org/

South Dakota Corn Growers Association annual meeting
Saturday, Jan. 19, Sioux Falls Convention Center

Schedule:

8:00 a.m. – Registration opens
8:30 a.m. – SDCGA resolutions meeting
9:30 a.m. – Welcome by John Phipps
10:00 a.m. – “Consumers are from Venus. Farmers are from Mars,” Charlie Arnot, CEO of the Center for Food Integrity.
11:30 a.m. – “300 Bushels of Corn,” Fred Below, University of Illinois professor
12:30 p.m. – Lunch
2:00 p.m. – Panel discussion featuring Bill Davis of Farm Credit Services of America, Mark Gold of Top Third Marketing, Ross Korves of ProExporter Network, and Mike Walsten of Pro Farmer newsletter
4:00 p.m. – “Agriculture: Prepare for Swan Flew Season,” John Phipps, U.S. Farm Report host
5:30 p.m. – Evening social, silent auction, John Deere Gator raffle
6:30 p.m. – Evening banquet and program. Speakers include U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem and keynote address by Carl Casale, president of CHS Inc., a leading global agribusiness cooperative.
8:30 p.m. – Music by The Rumbles