The Conventions Committee has been hard at work setting the stage for NEAFA’s 2022 Annual Meeting that I believe will prove to be a great event and one you won’t want to miss. Make sure June 22-24 is on your calendars to attend at the Turning Stone Resort in Verona, NY.

The Annual Meeting kicks off on Wednesday night with the Opening Night Reception starting at 5:30 pm. The reception is a great way to network and connect with friends and colleagues in a relaxing setting. The Resort has several restaurants for you to arrange on your own, and new this year, there will be a signup board at the reception if you want to join an ad hoc group to dine with.

Thursday morning program will start with the traditional opening ceremony with a local FFA chapter leading the way. President Danielle Penny-Stroop and Executive Director John Mitchell will then update you on the state of NEAFA and ask for your votes electing 4 members to the NEAFA Board of Directors.

Following the formal Annual Meeting, the Annual Forum begins with David Kuehnel serving as our MC. Dave is from Rule of Three Solutions LLC, a consulting group that focuses on improving performance of people, animals and organizations. Next up is our good friend Professor Chris Wolf of Cornell’s Dyson School who will give an update on the Northeast Dairy Economy followed by Charles Stark, Kansas State’s Professor in Feed Technology, who will present an informative look at The Feed Mill of the Future. Wrapping up the morning program, AFIA’s President and CEO Constance Cullman will join us and provide an update on AFIA and challenges for the animal feed industry. Cullman is a great speaker and has a positive message that will be welcome with today’s challenges. "Our industry does a tremendous job providing essential goods and services to U.S. and international customers, despite labor and logistical problems, shortages of ingredients, and outdated regulatory processes,” said Cullman. “Despite these ongoing pressures, both state and federal lawmakers and regulators continue to move forward with bills that support unrelated agendas at the expense of our industry. It is critical that NEAFA and AFIA continue to work together to make our members’ voices heard so that we can protect our ability to operate in these rapidly changing times.”

Our awards luncheon will be a special event this year as our past Executive Director Rick Zimmerman has been selected to receive the NEAFA Distinguished Service Award. For 15 years Rick has guided the Alliance to become the effective and valuable organization that it is. Presenting the award to Rick is also recognition of his many contributions for the betterment of all New York agriculture. Following awards, our Keynote Speaker David Kuehnel will present his talk entitled Strength in Numbers starts with the Power of ONE and share his insights that have helped him develop his consulting group.

The afternoon session is devoted to our traditional panel format. This year’s panel will be discussing Managing Limited Milk Production on Farm. Mike Van Amburgh, Ph.D. will serve as Moderator and panelists include Sarah Head, Nutritionist from Holtz-Nelson; Greg Porter of Porterdale Farms; Scott Lakey of Sugarbranch Farms and Mark Mapstone, Agribusiness Financial Consultant from Farm Credit.

After the panel, we will break until 5:00 pm when the President’s Golf for Good Works Reception will provide light hors d’oeuvres, a few comments from NEAFA’s leaders and an opportunity to network. For dinner, you can make arrangements at one of the Resorts restaurants or sign up at the reception to join a group for dinner. If you plan to make a reservation, we encourage you to do that before your get there.

Friday is all about fun with the Golf for Good Works Tournament teeing off bright and early at 7:30 a.m. A continental breakfast starts at 6:00 a.m. If you aren’t signed up with a foursome, it’s no problem. Single golfers are welcome and we will set you up with a group. The event is a scramble so you don’t have to be a good golfer as it’s a team event. This format provides maximum fun and a few laughs. That said, there is an Awards Luncheon for the winners that wraps up the day.

I hope you will join us for an informative and relaxing time at the Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance Annual Meeting and/or Golf for Good Works Tournament.

Best Regards,

John