Farm Bureau members will have the opportunity to hear from experts on alternatives to combat increased fertilizer costs, how to build their farm brand and cropping systems for soil health during educational seminars at the Iowa Farm Bureau’s 2022 annual meeting Dec. 6-7.

"Our goal is to bring topics to the annual meeting that our farmers are addressing within their farm business,” said Amanda Van Steenwyk, Iowa Farm Bureau business development manager. “Members will have the opportunity to have dialogue on key issues in the agriculture industry with industry professionals and university experts.”

"Cultivating Opportunity” is the theme of this year’s annual meeting, to be held at the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center in Des Moines.

Each of the three educational seminars on the first day will be repeated so members can attend multiple sessions. The second day will feature an ag market outlook and national policy update.

Headlining day one’s seminars beginning at 10 a.m. and repeated at 2:30 p.m. will be Rachel Cutrer, founder and CEO of Ranch House Designs Inc., the world leader in purebred livestock marketing and advertising. She will provide insight on building a farm brand, focusing on developing the concept and vision for a company.

Mark Licht, assistant professor and Extension cropping systems specialist at Iowa State University, will discuss cropping systems for soil health, spotlighting holistically managing corn, soybean and cover crop systems to achieve productivity, profitability and environmental goals.

The third seminar will feature a trio of exports to discuss alternatives to combat increased fertilizer costs. Speakers will include Dan Frieberg, vice president and co-founder of Premier Crop Systems LLC; Marshal McDaniel, assistant professor, Iowa State University Department of Agronomy; and Patrick Yockey, PivotBio director of commercial agronomy.

Their focus will be on data analysis to better drive agronomic decisions that lead to higher yields and increased profits, how soils and plants are affected by management and the environment, and providing a better nitrogen for improved productivity and sustainability.

Seminars on the second day include an ag market outlook from Joe Kerns, president of Kerns and Associates, who will provide information on financial parameters surrounding agricultural markets, beginning at 10:30 a.m.

Also at 10:30 a.m., Danny Munch, American Farm Bureau Federation economist, will provide an update and perspectives on national policy issues.

To register for the 2022 IFBF annual meeting, contact your county Farm Bureau. More information and a complete meeting agenda is available here.