In March, AdFarmers and representatives from partner organizations like Farmers Feeding the World traveled to Ghana. Here, AdFarmer Roger works in the Ghana field.

I often find myself asked one question about AdFarm’s farming initiatives: “Why does AdFarm have a farm in Ghana?” To many people it seems slightly odd, considering we are an agricultural marking and communications company in North America.

Here’s the tie: AdFarm’s mission is to be “a catalyst for the advancement of agriculture.” With an increasing globalized marketing place, and continual concerns about the growing demand for food, we can’t ignore developing economies. 40% of the world’s population (roughly 2.6 billion people) are small scale farmers (Greenpeace 2010) That is a lot of people!

AdFarm is digging in and farming alongside Ghanaians. In partnership with a local organization, Praxis Africa, we are farming 100 acres of rich, fertile land. So far 7 acres are clear and we have planted and harvested maize. The clearing process is going slow. The land is heavy with brush, and we are doing it by hand.

We plan to add some cassava (roots that are used to make gluten-free bread) and plantain. Our farm has some chickens, and livestock pens to add some goats and snails. Later this month we will be planting paw paw (a local fruit). AdFarm Ghana is full of opportunity!

There have been many ups and down on this adventure so far, and we are excited about the new friends we have in Ghana, the community we have become a part of, and the lessons we are learning!

If you’re curious about AdFarm Ghana, as well as our farms in North Dakota and Alberta, you can check out our AdFarm farms page here. Stay tuned for more updates from Ghana, and our other farms!

Well, that wait is finally coming to an end on our North Dakota farm. The seeds are in, and Farmer Fred is in the final stages of preparation before the tractor rolls.

You can learn more about Farmer Fred and his wife, Blogger Jane, over at GriggsDakota. There, they share their daily life as farmers on the North Dakota prairie — including some insight into the AdFarm North Dakota Farm! Click the image below to see the full post.

Join in on Fred and Jane's adventures by checking out GriggsDakota!

In addition to our North Dakota farm, we also have one in Vulcan, Alberta and a farm in Mankessim, Ghana. These farms are a great opportunity for our AdFarmers to stay connected to agriculture in a very real way, and also to help us nurture an understanding of global agriculture! It’s already been a great learning experience for me, and I look forward to continuing to learn more with Farmer Fred and the rest of our farm teams!

All over North America, May is Beef Month, and here at AdFarm, we’re delighted to jump on that bandwagon. You see, we love beef, and May gives us a great opportunity to kick off summer and celebrate something we love at the same time.

We are doing some fun and exciting things to celebrate Beef Month. By checking out the AdFarm Facebook page you can join in our Beef Month Recipe of the Day efforts. Submit recipes on our wall, and your suggestion could be our Recipe of the Day. Plus, in the first week of June we’ll be posting a catalogue of all the month’s recipes. We’re also firing up the BBQ’s all over the AdFarm world; here in Calgary, and in Kansas City, Saint Louis, Fargo, Guelph, and Sacramento. Our Kulture Klubs are stocking up the fridges and we’re kicking off the patio season with a bang!

In North America alone, the beef industry accounts for around 41.8 million head of cattle. Ranchers are located in every state in the US, and every province in Canada; this makes it easy to find locally produced products. At AdFarm we believe in supporting the local economy, and one of the ways to do this is by savvy shopping and choosing to support local producers, farmers and businesses.

We’re lucky enough to work with some great beef-centric clients, too. Alberta Beef Producers, BC Cattlemen’s Association, and Canadian Angus Association, are doing amazing things for the local industry. Recently AdFarm has created and translated a brochure into Russian for our client Canadian Angus Beef; this is part of a larger program that promotes Canadian Beef genetics abroad. The BC Cattlemen’s Association has three unique programs aimed at educating consumers: Meet the Rancher, Behind the Beef and Ag in the Classroom. The programs develop a relationship with consumers, as well as teach them about the industry and its dedication to high quality inputs and conditions, like grazing land, nutrient rich feeds, and animal health. Alberta Beef Producers run educational programs as well, and this June will mark the second year of a successful consumer campaign, run by AdFarm.

The Famous Taste Express, celebrating the famous taste of Alberta Beef!

The Famous Taste Campaign is a multi-dimensional campaign that showcases the world famous taste of Alberta Beef. AdFarm along with other campaign partners; ALMA, Save-On-Foods and Freson Brothers/IGA; brings the Alberta Beef brand to television, print, digital/online, social media, and even to taste buds, through the Famous Taste Express Tasting Truck. The importance of tasting Alberta Beef is cornerstone to this campaign, and in the pilot year AdFarm’s efforts saw greatly increased brand awareness for the client as well as boosts in beef sales during and after tasting events.

You know you want some.

So, whether it’s sharing favorite recipes, lighting up the barbecue, educating consumers, or bringing the taste of Alberta Beef to hungry taste buds, AdFarm is crazy for Beef Month. We invite you to join in our excitement, like AdFarm on Facebook, follow @AdFarmTweets on Twitter, or at least by enjoying a nice juicy cut of beef in celebration of summertime!

Some of the better known soybean products include:

• Soymeal for livestock feed
• Soymilk
• Tofu
• meat alternatives
• tempeh
• miso
• soy sauce
• soy cheese, soy cream cheese, soy flour, infant formula, biodiesel fuel and the list goes on and on

Knowing how versatile soy is, we’re very excited that we’ll be growing soybeans on our North Dakota farm this year. This farm is managed by Fred Lukens. “Farmer Fred” and his wife Jane share their adventures in North Dakota agriculture on their wonderful blog, GriggsDakota.

This particular crop of beans is being raised for seed. So, these beans will be harvested and then treated and packaged to be sold for planting next year. Then, the crop from that seed will be used to make the items listed above and more!

Our AdFarm farms are a great opportunity for the company. It’s a strong component in our mission to keep AdFarmers well-versed and involved in agriculture! AdFarmers are given the opportunity to buy shares in the farm, which means each AdFarmer who buys is an agricultural investor! We, as a company, get to spend the growing season getting a close-up, field-level view of what’s happening in the industry we love. We are privy to decisions regarding the crop’s growth, development, and marketing. We get to see many of the products we market in action, too!

Now that North Dakota is thawing out and spring is spreading cross the Midwest, we’re looking forward to a new growing season.

And, as this is my first full growing season as a full-time AdFarmer, I’m excited to have my first experience as a farm share-holder!

Happy planting, friends, and thanks to Farmer Fred for leading us in this adventure!

To learn more about GriggsDakota, you can check out the GriggsDakota Facebook page or follow GriggsDakota on Twitter.

Our very own Kim McConnell occasionally gets to act on that question, thanks to a partnership with our friends at RealAgriculture.com

Kim’s involvement in the North American and Canadian agricultural industry is profound. He focuses on building bridges and creating opportunities, with great results. Last year, we had the opportunity to celebrate with Kim as he was inducted into the Canadian Agriculture Hall of Fame .

One of Kim’s current projects includes RealLeaders, an online video series by RealAgriculture.com where Kim sits down and talks with people who have helped influence North American agriculture.

Kim McConnell speaks with Dr. Robert T. Fraley, a pioneer in biotechnology on RealLeaders, a Real Agriculture program.

Kim’s most recent interview was with Robert T. Fraley, who is one of the leading biotechnology researchers in the world. If the video embedded does not work, you can see it on YouTube, here.

Thanks to RealAgriculture.com for creating opportunities for partnership and dialogue in agriculture, and congratulations to Kim on success in your continued projects.

It was definitely a banner year for NAMA. According to our friends over at AgWired, this year had the largest attendance since 2000. (Click through and you might see some familiar faces in that article, too.)

The calendar day started with the Midnight Pancake Breakfast, which many people found after the Brownfield party at the Dubliner.

You know it's a good party when Marilyn Monroe is singing with a cat.

After a few hours of sleep, attendees buckled down for another round of thought-provoking breakout sessions:

• Damian Mason presented “Agriculture: Trends, Topics and Tomorrow,” in which he blended his agriculture background and comedic career into a charming but profound session.
• “The Evolution of PR” was moderated by Deron Johnson of Zoetis with Ann Camden of Gibbs + Soell and Heidi Nelson of Harvest PR. This panel discussed the dynamic changes PR has seen over the years, and how it’s evolved into what we see today.
• Diana Rehnberg and Kim Garretson of Ovative/Group joined NAMA attendees today to share their expertise in “Using Big Data to Increase Affinity.” This engaging session talked about the partnership between data and multi-channel to build the best relationship with an audience.

AdFarmer Mandy strikes again with outstanding tweet coverage!

After breakout sessions, the hoard of hungry communicators headed to the closing general session, which also included brunch. Damian Mason also presented this keynote, “Humor for the Heart of Agriculture,” which provided laughs as well as some hard-hitting takeaways about the industry we all love.

Our favorite quote from this keynote? “I’m pro agriculture because starvation sucks.” Atta boy, Damian.

To see photos from the events, you can check out the Official NAMA Flickr account as well as the ZimmComm Flickr account. Be sure to look over the #NAMA13 hashtag on Twitter and take a gander at @AdFarmTweets. And if you couldn’t join us for NAMA 2013, try for next year. We think this tweet sums it up well:

See you next year!

The morning kicked off with a riveting general session by Anders Sorman-Nilsson entitled “Digilogue – Where High Tech Meets High Tough.” Anders dug into the dynamic way that digital communications have innovated how we build conversations. Emily Nichols of Lessing-Flynn phrased it well when she told Anders that it was a great message, and not boring.

Users lit up Twitter when he mentioned the AgChat Foundation, which is a non-profit that teaches farmers and ranchers how to dive into social media right from the tractor seat or saddle.

After a short break, Josh Linkner took the stage for the second general session. Josh gave an inspiring session about “Unleashing Creativity” in which he heralded creativity as being “the only thing that can’t be outsourced.” His “big ideas” for enouraging creativity are:

• Encourage courage – fear limits creativity.
• Shed the past – mistakes are a huge part of progress and a bit part of creativity.
• Reject bureaucracy – rules and red tape can limit creativity.
• Run your own race – we can’t be everything to everyone, embracing your unique skills and ideas broadens creativity.

Thursday attendees had plenty of opportunities to visit the Connection Point trade show, as well. This trade show featured some dynamite displays, some of which featured interactive games and activities (like giant-sized Jenga, which our own Lisa McKelvie tried her hand at on Wednesday night – and she didn’t make a mess).

That's a big stack of blocks.

After lunch, breakouts kicked up. Our own Angie Skochdopole led the way on a a new media panel featuring Becki Rhodes of NAFB, Lisa Scheinder of Farm Progress, and Holly Martin of High Plains Journal. The panel was incredibly informative and the panelists were excited to discuss new media. We may be a little biased, but we think this panel was incredibly well-moderated.

AdFarmer Angie rocked her role as moderator for the new media panel.

There were two other breakout sessions to choose from:

• “Measuring Social Media Impact and ROI” featuring dynamic advice about best practices and platforms from Steve Hershberger from Comblu.
• “Content Management: The New Imperative” by Kristina Halvoerson of Brain Traffic. Kristina shared valuable tips about developing and implementing content.

AdFarmer Mandy took great tweet-notes during the content management session.

See? Great tweet-notes, Mandy.

Many young professionals were anxious today, waiting their turn to compete in the collegiate NAMA marketing competition. We listed the finalists in our first recap. We’re pumped to send big congratulations to the University of Minnesota team for their first place. High fives to University of Guelph for a great second place finish, as well!

We were proud to see K-State in the finals for student NAMA. We helped them revise their presentation. We are also very proud of the U of Guelph team, way to represent Ontario and score a second place!

The day wrapped up with the closing reception for the Connection Point trade show, and the closing of the silent auctions. Later on, hoards of excited agricultural communicators will descend on the Dubliner for the Brownfield NAMA party.

While we can’t say that the party won’t end up on social media, we’re not entirely sure it belongs on this here blog. Either way, we’re sure it’ll be a blast!

We hope everyone’s enjoying NAMA, and stay tuned for more updates.

AdFarm art director Shaun Crockett has great follow-through, both on the course and in his work!

The excitement began on Tuesday with the NAMA golf tournament, in which our AdFarm team took a win.

Congratulations to Roger, Shaun, Bill, and Les on the big win at the NAMA golf tournament!

Collegiate NAMA presentations kept many busy throughout Wednesday. AdFarm Kansas City had the pleasure of critiquing the Kansas State University team before competition, and those of us that helped were very excited to hear that they moved on to finals.

Student marketing competition finalists are:

• Michigan State University
• University of Guelph
• University of Wisconsin, Platteville
• University of Minnesota
• Kansas State University
• University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana

Mandy Heth is a wearer of many hats in NAMA. She is an advisor for the Mizzou chapter and is seen here welcoming chapter leaders to a workshop on Wednesday.

Tuesday also featured the Best of NAMA award ceremony, celebrating the best campaigns that the agriculture industry had to offer in 2012. There were definitely some strong leaders in this year’s Best of NAMA, including a Syngenta sweep of all of the Exhibit categories. The Best of Show for this year’s Best of NAMA went to Beck’s Hybrids for their “Suspect of Success” campaign, featuring an interactive website.

The big announcement! Congratulations to the Beck's Hybrids team and all of the other winners at the 2013 Best of NAMA Awards!

Stay tuned throughout the rest of NAMA. We’ll be doing our best to keep updates coming as the excitement continues. If you’re interested in more updates, follow us on Twitter at @AdFarmTweets and watch the #NAMA13 hashtag. We’ll also be sharing our experiences via our AdFarm – The Watering Hole Facebook page.

Congrats to all of the winners at this year’s Best of NAMA and to the student groups moving forward in the student marketing competition!

Mary Ann Peart, one of the organizers for the Canadian Holstein Convention.

by Jeanine Moyer

Last week, I was an AdFarmer seeing spots – black and white that is! That’s because I was attending the Canadian Holstein Convention in Niagara, Ontario. The convention hosted approximately 600 dairy farmers and industry representatives who gathered to keep in touch with the Canadian dairy industry, discuss issues and acknowledge progressive Holstein breeders.

From April 10-13 convention attendees participated in a cattle sale, showmanship competition, farm tours, 130th annual general meeting and master breeder gala. AdFarm has been involved with the convention since organization of the event started more than three years ago when we designed the convention logo.

On Friday, I used my Adfarm Corporate Social Responsibility time – a program that encourages employees to volunteer their time and provides them with a number of work hours they can spend volunteering. It’s a great way to get AdFarmers volunteering and help us give even more to our communities and the agricultural industry. Friday was an “I love my job day.” I was (and still am!) an AdFarmer immersed in an important part of our agricultural industry – and I enjoyed a lot of milk and cheese.

The theme of this year’s conference is: “Food, Water and Energy for a Hungry World”. This theme is of great interest to me personally due to the enormous challenges and opportunities that the agriculture industry will see as we try to deal with the needs of 9 billion people in the decades ahead.

Art (left), speaking with James Wheeler, Deputy Chair of Wakatu Incorporation (Wellington, New Zealand). Wakatu, Inc. is the largest farm in New Zealand. James will be speaking at ABIC this year.

I’ve had the honour of attending virtually all of the ABIC conferences in the last 10 years in New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, Thailand and Germany. The global perspectives I have gained from these events – as well as my business and philanthropic efforts in Peru, Dominican Republic & Africa – have reinforced my belief that agriculture will be the source of many of the solutions needed to feed, fuel and shelter a very crowded planet. It stokes my passion as an AdFarmer to be a catalyst for the advancement of agriculture, and makes me even more proud of my role in the blooming and diverse industry of agriculture.

We are assembling a great list of speakers from around the world, that already includes commitments from:

• Dr. Alex McCalla, Professor Emeritus University of California, Davis
• Jim Borel, Executive Vice President, DuPont
• Professor Idah Sithole-Niang, Professor, Biochemistry, University of Zimbabwe

And that’s just a glimpse at the great speakers and resources that will be at ABIC in Calgary this September. The conference overall will include a trade show, poster session and an opportunity to attend various partnering events.

What I think that is so unique about this conference is the addition of an investment forum on the afternoon of the last day where we will link investors to start-up and early stage Agricultural Biotechnology companies. Thanks to AdFarm for being one of the sponsors of the Global event. Hope to see you all in Calgary this September! You can learn more about the ABIC conference and biotechnology here.