Message from the President
If you’re like me, you begin to think and plan for what the new year will bring as the current year winds down. For AgCredit, we have several exciting, value-add events scheduled over the next several months that I’d like to share with you.
Webinars
One thing the pandemic showed us is that webinars are an efficient and effective way to get expert advice out to a wide audience. I’m delighted to report that AgCredit will host several webinars during the months of January and February. Here’s a snapshot of our event topics and speakers:
- “Budget and Market Outlook,” Jan. 11 – Barry Ward
Barry is a leader for production business management and director of Ohio State University’s Income Tax School for the OSU Extension. He’ll share information on business tools and analysis that can help producers better manage their farms. - “Grain Marketing Outlook,” Jan. 18 – Bailey Elchinger
Bailey is a risk management consultant & regional director for StoneX Financial. She’ll provide a grain marketing outlook to help with planning and marketing of the 2023 crop. - “Weather Outlook,” Feb. 15 – Eric Snodgrass
Nutrien’s principal atmospheric scientist will take a deep dive into weather patterns for 2023. Eric has a reputation of being able to explain weather in a way that makes the information both digestible and actionable.
Registration information for these online events can be found here. If you’re not able to attend our live webinars, we’ll also record them and post them on the AgCredit website.
YBS Conference
Another exciting event on the 2023 calendar is our first conference for Young, Beginning and Small (YBS) farmers. Topics to be covered during the March 17-18 event include understanding balance sheets, branding your farm and grain marketing. This is a great networking opportunity you won’t want to miss!
The conference will feature a great mix of guest speakers, as well as our own AgCredit experts. One highlight will be a half-day bus tour to several local farms and ag businesses. A panel discussion with local farmers is also planned. Our YBS Committee has been hard at work planning this event, and we’re looking forward to sharing more details soon. Be on the lookout for registration information over the next few weeks!
Podcasts
Last year we launched the “AgCredit Said It” podcast and, after producing 20 episodes, our team is back at it working on Season 2.
Our second season kicked off in October with a motivating conversation with Zippy Duvall, president of the America Farm Bureau Federation. Since then, we’ve also covered contract swine barns, the importance of meeting with your tax accountant and grain marketing basics.
New episodes of “AgCredit Said It” are released on the first and third Mondays of each month. If you’re new to podcasting, you can listen to the show using an app like Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Once you have the app, you can subscribe to receive notification when we release new episodes. You can also listen and read the notes from each episode here.
Annual Meeting
Our Annual Meeting is set for March 29 at the Hancock County Fairgrounds in Findlay, Ohio. I hope you’ll join us for a great meal, entertainment, a short business meeting and financial reporting on the Association. The $3 ticket price is hard to beat!
We here at AgCredit are very grateful for all our borrowers and for the relationships that have been built through the years. We hope the opportunities I’ve mentioned will be beneficial for you and your operations in the coming year.
We’re looking forward to sharing details about our Association’s financial results in early 2023 and distributing another patronage return with our members. Until then, we wish everyone a safe and joyous holiday season!
-Brian Ricker, AgCredit President and CEO