If you didn’t attend our Happy Hour last night then you missed a fun party.

It was an opportunity to network with your fellow chapter members and for those who did attend, we got to catch up on things and learn more about what each is doing. It’s a great way to learn and exchange ideas with others in our profession.

Here’s a couple of our happy hour attendees who were part of an interview I did before we got too happy. You can listen to that interview here: Gateway Happy Hour Interview (3 minutes)

Today the combined meeting of the Gateway NAMA and St. Louis Agribusiness Club featured Mr. Raymond Cesca, President of the World Agricultural Forum. His presentation was “The World Agricultural Forum: Empowering Agriculture to Drive Economic Growth”

Ray focused his comments on this idea of how agricultural production can be the mechanism that developing nation countries can use to grow their economies. He believes that for-profit companies can get involved and not only help overcome the problems of poverty and starvation but still make a profit doing so.

He issued an invitation to anyone who would like to learn more to attend this year’s World Ag Forum Regional Congress which will be held in Kampala, Uganda, September 3-5. You can find the agenda for the Congress here.

You can find a pdf file version of Ray’s slides here: Ray Cesca Presentation

Prior to the meeting I did a short interview with Ray on the topic which you can listen to here: Ray Cesca Interview (4 min MP3)

Missouri Governor Matt Blunt addressed a big crowd in St. Louis at his annual ag conference. It was also our January meeting in conjunction with the St. Louis Ag Club.

Governor Blunt spoke at lunch and we’ve his speech recorded.

You can listen to the Governor’s speech if you’d like: Governor Blunt Speech (15 min MP3)

During the Governor’s speech he talked about several initiatives he’s proposed to assist farmers in the state. They include:

Expanding Missouri Dairy Farms

Gov. Blunt announced his plan to establish Dairy Parlor Renovation Grants to help expand Missouri dairy farms. The grants will help producers at older dairies with the costs of parlor renovations for more efficient milking, allowing them to grow their herds.

New technology and a “parabone” design allow producers to cut their milking time in half. The governor is calling for $200,000 to help producers make needed renovations in the first year. The grant will require producers to share 50 percent of costs and will be awarded up to $10,000 per grant.

Enhancing Infrastructure to Support Agriculture

The governor will also recommend $4 million in new funding for Port Authority capital improvement projects. The projects support infrastructure critical to growing Missouri agriculture needs. cale needed to weigh inbound and outbound trucks transporting fertilizer and similar bulk products.

Supporting the Future of Agriculture

Gov. Blunt announced his plan to establish the Farm Legacy Exchange Program, which will help keep Missouri’s farming industry strong for future generations by facilitating succession planning. The Farm Legacy Exchange Program will match beginning farmers with farmers nearing retirement to help form a working relationship and strategy to transition farming responsibilities and designated assets from existing farmers to beginning farmers.

The Farm Legacy Exchange Program addresses a growing need as the average age of working farmers has risen to 60. In addition, the program will help young farmers address the rising cost of production land through collaboration with experienced farmers considering phasing out their operations. The governor’s new program will match veteran producers ready to retire with younger producers based on a survey of each farmer. The program will provide estate planning, legal contacts and access to all the financial incentive programs administered through the Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority.

The Farm Legacy Exchange Program is a collaborative effort among the Missouri Department of Agriculture, the Missouri Farm Bureau, University of Missouri-Extension, Farm Credit Services, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the International Farm Transition Network.

We held our December meeting today although some of us couldn’t make it due to the ice storm in the central part of the state. Thanks to Dean Dittmar for the pictures.

Our speaker was Gwenne Hayes-Stewart, Executive Director, Gateway Greening – Gwenne graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1969 and received a Masters in Art in 1971; and in Fine Art in 1972 from the University of Iowa. She has developed strong relationships with community development groups as well as many funding sources. Gwenne became a Master Gardener in Iowa City in 1984 where she served from 1979-1994 on the Project Green Steering Committee, an Iowa City group promoting greening in public spaces and schools, a prototype organization for U-City in Bloom. Gwenne currently is on the board of the American Community Gardening Association, where she serves as an officer on the Executive Committee.

The topic for today’s meeting was learning more about the Horticulture Co-op of Metro St. Louis, providing contemporary educational opportunities for green industry professionals and the general community.

We also held a HOLIDAY CANNED FOOD DRIVE with all proceeds to a local food bank.

Our next meeting will be a little different; we’ll be participating in the Missouri Governor’s Conference on Agriculture on Monday, January 7th, 2008 at the Millennium Hotel in downtown St. Louis.

Our October meeting was held today and the speaker was John Becherer, Chief Executive Officer, United Soybean Board.

He provided an update on the activities of the organization and I want to thank Mandy Heth for getting a picture sent in to post since yours truly couldn’t be there. The picture was actually taken by Brian M. Reuwee. Thanks to both of you!

I’m looking for some assistance on the management of our new chapter website by the way. If you’re interested please send me an email and I’ll create a login for you so you can help keep the membership list up to date as well as posting meeting announcements in a timely fashion.

Thank you.