Good day everyone. I trust everyone is well. Down south, the winter has been very mild. A few days of really cold (to us) weather gave us some trouble. Other days, I’ve sat in my office with doors and windows open letting nice breezes in. We’ve seemed, at times, to have experienced a number of the seasons in one day.
The Board of Directors conducted the February meeting on Tuesday, February 21, and handled routine business, including hearing reports on the progress of the Annual Meeting Committee, the Continuing Education Committee, the Strategic Alliance Committee and the Marketing and Promotion Committee. Our finances are sound, and we are making significant progress on several initiatives.
The great news we’ve experienced this month is from the Membership Committee. We have eight (Count ‘em: EIGHT!) new members joining the ranks of the Society.
Welcome to:
Daisy Fair – Dig In Consulting – Hailey, Idaho
Jacob LaRue – Irrigation Consulting – Owasso, Oklahoma
Heather Weeks – Farm Credit East – Bedford, New Hampshire
Derek Barcellos – Risk Mitigators & Advisors – Clovis, California (works with Paige)
Jake Costanzo – Peoples Company – Clive, Iowa
Kendall Treadwell – Red River Ag Consulting LLC – Mountain Park, Oklahoma
Judith Bullock – Grand Canyon Specialty Crops/Grand Canyon Milkweeds – Williams, Arizona
and
Balaraman Mathavan – Environmental Consulting – Sri Lanka (Our second international member at this time)
This is gratifying to see the interest and growth in the Society membership. The word is getting out and our hard work of recruitment is paying off. It is good to have the geographic dispersion of the new members across our regions.
With these new members coming on board, we have seventy-eight (78) members. This is a significant growth in membership from sixty (60) over the past couple of years. By my aggie arithmetic, that is a 31+% increase over that time period.
Our Certified Agricultural Consultant (CAC) program is attracting renewed attention. Bill Zweigbaum is managing this program. We expect to have CAC educational sessions forthcoming.
Norm Brown and the Strategic Alliance Committee are developing a list of companies, professional organizations, conferences, trade shows and other people and places with which we participate. Send this information to Jean Merry. She will compile the master list and make it available to everyone. The objective is to get ASAC in the spotlight and to be the go-to organization for ag consulting. I liken this effort to be the “NIL” (Name, Image and Likeness) of Agriculture. We have the Certified Agricultural Consultant (CAC) designation with a rigorous certification process and the Society’s Code of Ethics. These two things set us apart from other organizations.
Print a copy of the Society’s Code of Ethics. Hang it on your wall alongside your diplomas and certificates. Include it with your promotional materials. Let your clients and other stakeholders know of your commitment to professionalism and ethical conduct in all your endeavors.
National Ag Day is Tuesday, March 21. I encourage everyone to find a local opportunity to highlight it, promote it and publicize your actions with ASAC in some way. How might we promote it on our website and elsewhere?
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Member Highlights:
As to be expected with any organization, we have retirements of those who have plied the trade for many moons. Congratulations on well-earned retirements to Moe Russell, Harlan Fricke and Mick Lewis.
Paul Neiffer officially retired from CliftonLarsonAllen on December 31, but is not slowing down a bit. He’s continuing to provide professional accounting and tax consulting assistance across the country. Keep it up, Paul. You’ve got a lot to offer.
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Paige Gilligan presented at the World Ag Expo in Tulare, California, last week. Her presentation was part of an irrigation seminar series and was titled “SGMA: How will this affect my property now and in the future?” SGMA is “Sustainable Groundwater Management Act,” a program in California to manage groundwater resources. We anticipate a presentation of some type on groundwater management at our conference in Fresno in November.
Ron Rabou has been active this winter, speaking at a number of producer events. He spoke in January in Nashville at the Top Producer Conference, and most recently in Birmingham, Alabama, at the DIRTT Conference. This is a group with which he participates working on farm succession and transition issues.
Has anyone presented at a conference, whether locally or nationally? Let us know. We want to highlight our members' activities, wherever they may be.
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Repeating from last month’s Communique...............
Learn to navigate the ASAC Website and find Committee Reports, the By-Laws, Finance Reports, Accreditation (CAC) Requirements, the Professional Code of Ethics, the History of the Society, the Blog Posts, Notes from the Field, the Monthly Communique. Much of the information is available to the general public seeking information about ASAC. Certain items, such as the financial reports, are for members only. Get educated on the workings of the Society and actively participate.
Shop Talk program: Contact Jean Merry and Russell Morgan for information to help develop a program. Consider putting something together from your company or industry and host one.
The Blog Posts: Write an article on something pertinent to our ag consulting profession and submit it to Don Tyler, Northern Region Director (don@dontyler.com). He’s taking the lead on getting content to the website. Keep an article to no more than 600 words.
Standing Committees:
· Membership – Ron Rabou
· Nominating – Kyle Walker
· By-Laws – Dave Mielnicki
· Ethics and Grievance – Ethan Robertson
· Continuing Education – Russell Morgan
· Annual Meeting – Keith Dickinson
· Finance – Keith Raynor
Ad Hoc
· Marketing and Promotion – Paige Gilligan
· Strategic Alliance – Norm Brown
Remember...............
The Sky is NOT the Limit!
Pete Weisenberger
President
