By Jenny Mills, NEAFA Vice-President
This past year, the Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance launched the Sustaining Sponsor program. This program was developed to give member organizations opportunities throughout the year to sponsor initiatives of NEAFA with one financial commitment. With the renewal of the program this upcoming year, we wanted to share thoughts of the members that were Diamond Sustaining Sponsors to discuss what they got from the program and why they chose to become a Diamond Sponsor. You can find the details about the sustaining sponsorship program here.
We reached out to John Clark, Feedworks USA and Past President of NEAFA; Jeff Matuszczak, Director of Sales at Mercer Milling; and Dr. Charlie Elrod, President and CEO of Natural Biologics for a brief Q&A on the Sustaining Sponsor Program. All three organizations were Diamond Sustaining Sponsors this past year.
The Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance appreciates your support in our initial Sustaining Sponsorship program. What enticed you to participate?
Clark: “When the Sustaining Sponsorship was initiated, I was serving as President of NEAFA. I feel strongly that ‘You cannot lead from behind.’ With that in mind, I felt it correct for Feedworks and I to support the program at the highest level and see firsthand what the benefits have been.”
Matuszczak: “Mercer has always maintained a culture of supporting the farming enterprise by giving through key organizations in our marketplace committed to the betterment of our farming industry.”
Elrod: “Since joining NEAFA about 4 years ago, I have seen what great work the alliance does. Having a unified and well-informed voice in state capitals to advocate for ag-friendly policies; the great collaboration with PRO-Dairy and the CALS faculty in support of educational programs; and the opportunity to network with professionals from all sectors of agriculture in the Northeast are all reasons why we need to pull together and provide ongoing support for this great organization.”
What are the benefits that your company has received from participating in the sustaining sponsorship program this past year?
Clark: “I was pleased with the visibility and continuity of the Sponsorship. The benefits Feedworks or any company receives are showing support for agribusiness and animal agriculture. We hope our customers, present and future, recognize and appreciate that commitment. It also is respect for all involved in NEAFA and for their efforts. It’s a way to recognize Board Members, Members at large, and staff and to make sure that they are all shown respect, and to let them know that we agree with the premise of the organization and many of the activities it undertakes.”
Matuszczak: “Mercer Milling found that the ease of a single transaction that covers multiple benefits of membership and the program enticing. Mercer received logos and links from the NEAFA homepage and newsletter. In addition, Mercer received sponsor benefits at the NEAFA Annual Meeting and other events throughout the year.”
Elrod: “For Natural Biologics, the main benefit has been to help us build brand awareness. Even though we’re based here, we don’t have a strong market presence in the Northeast yet, so the visibility that comes with the Diamond level sustaining membership has been very helpful.”
How does the Sustaining Sponsorship program align with your company’s mission?
Clark: “The NEAFA sustaining sponsorship aligns with Feedworks values quite well. Our customers are involved either directly in animal agriculture or serving animal agriculture, and the Alliance is a member organization that supports both of those. Thus if we support the Alliance, it supports our customers and or their customers.”
Matuszczak: “The sustaining sponsorship program and NEAFA’s mission aligns with Mercer’s mission well: Providing an ongoing awareness to foster safe, efficient, economical production of food.”
Elrod: “Natural Biologics recently had a company retreat to reconsider our values and vision. The core values we came up with are integrity, partnerships and innovation. For us, being a sustaining member is highly aligned with that value of forming long-term partnerships that are supportive of a healthy and sustainable food system.”
Do you plan to participate again? What advice do you have for companies considering participating?
Clark: “We will take a look at the package for 2022 and commit again to a Sustaining Sponsorship for NEAFA and we HIGHLY encourage others to join us. We all need each other. Standing together happens in many ways. One of them is committing to be a Sustaining Sponsorship. It’s a great way to stand up and be counted as supporting Animal Agriculture.”
Matuszczak: “Mercer Milling is looking forward to our participation again in 2022! It is easy, simple, and flexible.”
Elrod: “Absolutely! If you consider all the great work done by NEAFA, a sustaining membership is simply an investment which helps ensure that agriculture will remain a strong and vibrant part of the economy of the Northeast for generations to come.”
Please reach out to any NEAFA board member with your questions on the Sustaining Sponsorship program for 2022 - we hope your organization considers participating! Additional information can be found here.