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)

The Gateway NAMA Happy Hour is about to start at Corwin’s on Olive.

I’m the first to arrive which has been nice. I get to catch up on email, sip a Peroni and update the chapter website. I’m sure you can count on more pictures from here which I’ll post a link to later, as in tomorrow since I’ve got 2 hours to drive still.

We really need to update this site more often since our members are doing a lot of different things. We’ve just got to develop some blogging talent within our group. I know it’s there, just waiting for an outlet. Well, here it is. Interested? It’s easy. I’ll train you. Trust me. . .

When: Tuesday, May 13

11:30 a.m. – Networking
Noon - 1:30 p.m. - Meal and Program**

Where: Sheraton Plaza Hotel; 191 West Port Plaza Drive; St. Louis, MO 63146

Program: International Business and Trade with China

Speaker: Dr. James Little, Professor of Business, Washington University in St. Louis. Professor Little did his undergraduate work at the University of British Columbia and received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Professor Little joined the Washington University faculty in 1971 and served on the faculty of the Department of Economics until 1982, when he joined the faculty of the Olin School. From 1983-89, he served as associate dean for academic affairs. He is Academic Director of the Olin School’s EMBA Program and directs the School’s European Programs. Professor Little’s extensive experience as a lecturer in executive programs includes two extended tours of China as a member of a U.S. team. His current research interests include the study of the implications of globalization for corporate strategies, the economics of the European Union, and regulation of insurance companies.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR – Bunge North America, Inc.

RSVP: By May 9, email your reservation to: gatewaynama@yahoo.com or call (314) 746-1907 to reserve your meal. No-shows will be invoiced.

Luncheon and Professional Development Registration - $25 which can be paid at the door(cash or checks payable to the St. Louis AgriBusiness Club) or by credit card online at http://www.stlouisagclub.org/meetingform.html

If you do RSVP and you find out by Monday afternoon or early Tuesday morning that you cannot attend, please contact Dean Dittmar on his cell phone - (618) 604-1622, so that you will not be invoiced.

Thursday, May 29
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Corwin’s Bar and Grill
St. Louis, Mo.
(Olive Blvd. and Price Rd.)
www.corwins.net

Free food and free drinks for the first hour.

Members may bring a guest.

Connect with members of the Gateway Chapter for networking and drinks Thursday, May 29. Board members will talk a briefly about the new direction the Gateway Chapter is taking to add value to your membership.

The Gateway NAMA board met on Thursday, April 10, to discuss future activities, strategy and the objective of the Gateway Chapter.

Based on our meeting, a couple of new things are going to happen in the near term.

• Our joint meeting relationship with St. Louis Agribusiness Club is going to be put on hold. We want to build Gateway NAMA’s “brand identity” separately for a while. Gateway NAMA has valued the relationship and we hope opportunities to continue to collaborate will still be available, but for now we want to try to re-establish our group.
• Member survey. Look for a Gateway NAMA e-mail survey in late April following the NAMA Conference. We want to get a better idea of what members want out of their Gateway Chapter experience. The board is striving to provide a better value to members.
• Networking Happy Hour - Thursday, May 29, from 5:3-7:30 p.m. Location is TBD, but it will probably be somewhere in the central corridor. Members are free and can bring a non-member guest for $5. Drinks on the house for the first hour. We will talk briefly about the member survey result, but mostly this is just for fun.
• Cardinals Game - We’re also looking into a party box for a July Cardinals game. A limited number of Gateway Chapter-subsidized tickets will be available. We hope to get a representative from the Cardinal’s marketing department to talk to the group before the game.

So we’re doing some new things to get members involved and rev up the opportunities for learning, networking and fun. I hope you will join us.

Next meeting is April 15th.

When: Tuesday, April 15th - Luncheon Meeting and Presentation 11:30 a.m. – Networking and Product Sampling, 12-1:30 p.m. - Meal/Program. Also, a private and complimentary tour(limited to 25 individuals) will be offered from 1:45 – 2:45 p.m. See details below.

Where: Location change for this month only…Anheuser-Busch Headquarters, Corporate Theatre (2nd Floor), 1 Busch Place, St. Louis, MO. Arriving to the main entrance, turn into
the visitor lot in front of the building south of Lynch, west of Broadway. Security will direct visitors to proper parking areas. Everyone must enter through the main lobby of the Corporate Headquarters to sign-in and to acquire a name badge. PLEASE ARRIVE EARLY.

What: Quality Products Start with Quality Ingredients…Anheuser-Busch has been the leader of the U.S. brewing industry for more than 50 years and brews the world’s largest-selling beers, Budweiser and Bud Light. Busch Agricultural Resources is the agricultural unit of Anheuser-Busch Companies, and supplies the malted barley, hops and rice used in the brewing of Anheuser-Busch beers. Major areas of operation include: malting barley; hops contracting and production; rice contracting, milling, and
marketing; agricultural research in barley, rice, and hops; and a grain/seed operation network for the production, purchasing, processing, and storage of malting barley and seed. The company also supports research in an effort to control diseases affecting barley, rice, and hops.

Speaker: Steve Malin, Vice President, Anheuser Busch Raw Materials

Sponsor: Anheuser-Busch, where making friends is our business. Anheuser-Busch operates 12 breweries in the United States, 14 in China and one in the United Kingdom.
Anheuser-Busch’s operations and resources are focused on adding to life’s enjoyment not only through the responsible consumption of beer by adults, but through theme park entertainment and packaging. In the United States, the company holds a 48.5 percent share of U.S. beer sales. Worldwide, Anheuser Busch’s beer sales volume was 128.4 million barrels in 2007. The St. Louis-based company’s subsidiaries include one of the largest U.S. manufacturers of aluminum beverage containers and one of the world’s
largest recyclers of aluminum beverage cans. Anheuser-Busch also has interests in malt production, rice milling, real estate development, turf farming, metalized and paper label printing, bottle production and transportation services. View more details at their website - http://www.anheuser-busch.com/index.html

RSVP: Prior to April 4th, Email your meal and tour reservation to: gatewaynama@yahoo.com or call (314)746-1907. No-shows will be invoiced. Please direct any questions to: Dean Dittmar at ddittmar@stlouisagclub.org or 618/257-8272.

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)

The St. Louis AgriBusiness Club and Gateway NAMA presents February’s Professional Development:

When: Tuesday, February 12th Luncheon Meeting and Presentation 11:30 a.m. – Networking, 12 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. - Meal and Program

Program: “The World Agricultural Forum: Empowering Agriculture to Drive Economic Growth”

Speaker: Mr. Raymond Cesca, President of the World Agricultural Forum … Mr. Cesca was elected President of the World Agricultural Forum in August 2006 after a serving on its Board of Advisors since 1996. The Forum is a St. Louis, Missouri based global organization made up of leaders in industry, government, academia, and non-government organizations whose purpose is to empower agriculture, through its Congresses, to help solve the chronic problems of global poverty and hunger through investments in agriculture.

Mr. Cesca is also the Founder, President and CEO of GAEÁ International, a market development, trade, and strategic planning organization that promotes the development of small to medium size enterprises in support of economic development in emerging economies. GAEÁ locates markets for cross border trade and helps develop strategies to leverage the market potential for the companies and countries involved.

Mr. Cesca is the former Managing Director of McDonald’s World Trade. He was responsible for reducing or eliminating barriers to trade among the 118 countries in which McDonald’s operates, and for leveraging the corporation’s assets to optimize its global supply resources. He helped craft world trade strategies that were used in emerging regional trading blocks and negotiated with governments to make a borderless environment within the McDonald’s system. Mr. Cesca was also responsible for Purchasing and Quality Assurance for New Country Development. He held that position from 1995 to 1999.

Where: Sheraton Hotel - Westport, 191 West Port Plaza Drive, St. Louis, MO 63146

RSVP: By February 8th, email your reservation to: gatewaynama@yahoo.com or call (314)746-1907 to reserve your meal. No-shows will be invoiced.

Luncheon and Professional Development Registration - $25 which can be paid at the door(cash or checks payable to the St. Louis AgriBusiness Club) or by credit card online at http://www.stlouisagclub.org/meetingform.html If you do RSVP and you find out by Monday afternoon or early Tuesday morning that you cannot attend, please contact Dean Dittmar on his cell phone - 618.604.1622, so that you will not be invoiced.

Meeting Schedule for 07-08

Tuesday, March 18th, 2008 - Illinois and Missouri Department of Agriculture Update from Directors’ Katie Smith and Chuck Hartke, Casino Queen Hotel, East St. Louis, IL

Tuesday, April 8th, 2008 - Location: Anheuser-Busch Headquarters Corporate Theatre (2nd Floor), 1 Busch Place, St. Louis, Missouri (S. Seventh & Lynch Streets)
Speaker: Steve Malin, Vice President, Anheuser-Busch Raw Materials
Topic: Quality Products Start with Quality Ingredients

Tuesday, May 13th, 2008 – James Little, Agricultural Trade with China

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.

Hello Gateway NAMA-ites. Even if you weren’t planning on attending the Missouri Governor’s Conference on Agriculture you can still get a “taste” of it by attending our January meeting:

The St. Louis AgriBusiness Club and Gateway NAMA presents January’s SPECIAL Professional Development…350 individuals have already registered.

WHEN: Monday, January 7, 2008, 12 noon – 1:30 p.m. Luncheon Menu-Mixed green salad with AgriMissouri dressings, grilled loin of pork (with pineapple black bean Pico de Gallo and Balsamic honey drizzle), rice, fresh vegetables, rolls & butter, raspberry swirl cheesecake, coffee, iced tea, water.

WHERE: Millennium Hotel – Missouri/Illinois Room - 200 South 4th Street in Downtown St. Louis Phone: (314) 241-9500

SPEAKER: The Honorable Matt Blunt, Governor, State of Missouri - Matt Blunt, Missouri’s 54th governor was elected on November 2, 2004, carrying 101 of Missouri’s 114 counties.

TO REGISTER: Complete the form that you’ll find on the conference website. Luncheon only - $25, Registration packets may be picked up at the conference registration area. Although registration is available on-site, pre-registration is encouraged. The 2-day conference registration is $170. (We will be having a display showcasing club membership and activities. If you would like to take an hour to man the display, please email ddittmar@stlouisagclub.org)