It's been a busy week at the Home Office as association members have been coming together to do the grassroots work that makes AAI strong.
Environment Committee
FieldWatch, Resistance Management, and an update from the Iowa Nutrient Research and Education Council were some of the topics on the agenda at the Environment Committee meeting this past Monday.
Paul Ovrom from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship provided an overview of the FieldWatch sensitive crop registry and bee registry and an update on the sign-up progress. A number of agribusiness companies provided startup funding via the AAI Foundation to implement the FieldWatch system in Iowa.
Also discussed at the meeting were the Agribusiness Showcase and Conference, the Iowa Pest Resistance Management Plan, Palmer amaranth legislation, and an overview of the Environmental Protection Commission (EPC) from EPC vice chair Chad Ingels.
The Environment Committee was formed to provide AAI leadership to continue to position agribusiness in a lead role to accelerate environmental advancement by agriculture.
AAI Board of Directors Meeting
The board had a full agenda as they met for their March meeting on Tuesday. In addition to the regular updates from the committees, the board heard about changes within Iowa State University Extension and Outreach as well as updates from AAI Services chair Kevin Drury.
Associate Dean John Lawrence, who has led Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension at Iowa State University, will become the interim Vice President of Extension and Outreach once current VP Cathann Kress moves to her new position at the Ohio State University in April. Lawrence outlined the reassignment of responsibilities that will take place once he moves into the interim VP position.
Drury provided a report on the Agribusiness Showcase and Conference and other activities that AAI Services has been involved with on behalf of the Association.
The board also heard an update on the activities of the Iowa Nutrient Research and Education Council and a legislative update from our lobbying team at the statehouse.
Showcase Committee
After a successful Agribusiness Showcase and Conference this past February, the Showcase Committee met to recap the successes and challenges of the event, as well as look forward to 2018.
Most of the reports from the 2017 ASC showed the successes of the past few years are continuing. The results of surveys and other analyses of the event show very positive feedback from exhibitors and attendees. A number of suggestions were discussed to continue to make the event better in 2018 and incorporate some of the useful feedback provided by the surveys.
Mark your calendar ASC 2018
February 13-14, 2018 - Des Moines