2012 Beginning Farmer and Rancher Conference

Grand Rapids, Michigan

February 18-20, 2012

Location:         Amway Grand Plaza Hotel & DeVos Place Convention Center

187 Monroe Avenue NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Registration:   Select your registration based on the tour you would like to go on. 

You can pay via credit card or select the “other payment options” and send your money by January 24, 2011 to

American Farm Bureau Federation

Attn: Julie Roop

600 Maryland Ave SW Suite 1000W

Washington, DC 20024

Early Bird fee - $200 – August 15- December 15, 2011

Regular - $250 – December 16, 2011-January 17, 2012

Cancellation - There is a $50 cancellation fee if cancelled prior to January 17. No refund will be made if registration is cancelled after January 17.

Registration fee includes conference materials and fees and meals for Saturday Lunch, Sunday Lunch and Dinner and Monday Lunch and Dinner. 

Hotel Reservation:

• Reservations must be made by: January 17, 2012
• The rate is $109/per night (Single/Double occupancy) plus tax
• To make reservations: Call (800) 253-3590 or reserve rooms online . Access code: AFBF YF&R Leadership Conference.

Tours:              Choose your ticket based on the tour that you would like to go on. 

Dress code:     Business Casual for the entire conference is acceptable

                        Casual Dress (respectable) for the tours is acceptable – no open-toed shoes

Hotel Parking Discounted rate of $8/night in hotel parking garage.

*This meeting is held in conjunction with the annual American Farm Bureau Young Farmers & Ranchers (YF&R) Conference.  Attendees at both conferences will have the opportunity to attend the sessions at each other’s conferences.  This will provide great networking opportunities and more variety in the sessions you are able to attend!

For questions, contact Julie Roop at 202-406-3682 or julier@fb.org  

Tentative Schedule of Events

Cyber Café                                                                                         All Day

Registration                                                                                         7:00am – 3:00pm

Beginning Farmer and Rancher Session                                               8:00am

• You Can Farm, You Can Ranch

Silent Auction                                                                                       9:00am – 6:00pm

Beginning Farmer and Rancher Session                                               9:30am

• Start2Farm.gov : Online Resources for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers

Break                                                                                                   10:30am

Opening General Session                                                                    11:00am

• Keynote Speaker- Jane Eckert

·         “If You’re So Doggone Smart, Why Are You a Farmer?”

Luncheon                                                                                              12:15pm – 2:15pm

• Sponsored by Monsanto
• Welcome from Michigan Farm Bureau President Wayne Wood
• Monsanto Address
• American Farm Bureau President Stallman Address

 Breakout Sessions                                                                                 2:30pm – 3:45pm

• BFR Session: Legal and Tax Issues for Beginning Farmers                    USDA Staff
• Internet Marketing: Just About as Important as a Tractor                     Jane Eckert
• Annie’s Project Overview                                                                     Ruth Hambleton
• State YF&R Chair Session                                                                                AFBF Trainers
• Can One Voice Truly Make a Difference?                                           Linda Johnson
• Effective Risk Management Strategies- Crops                                     John Anderson and Todd Davis

Break                                                                                                   3:45pm – 4:00pm

Beginning Farmer and Rancher Session                                               4:15pm – 5:30pm

• Marketing Goals and Development as Part of a Whole Farm Plan    Donna Westfall-Rudd

BFR Networking                                                                                   5:30pm – 6:30pm

• Networking for Beginning Farmer and Rancher attendees to meet and greet and get in groups for the networking dinner

Entertainment                                                                                       8:30 – Midnight

·         Scott Thompson Band- A Michigan Country Band

Cyber Café                                                                                           All-day

Registration                                                                                           7:00am – Noon

Silent Auction                                                                                       9:00am – 3:45pm

Beginning Farmer and Rancher Session                                                 9:00am

·         Being a Successful Beginning Farmer: Panel of Beginning Farmers from Across the Country

Morning Devotions                                                                                10:00am

General Session                                                                                    10:45am

·         Speaker: Matt Lohr

·         “The Strongest Link”

Luncheon                                                                                                12:00 – 1:45pm

• Sponsored by Case IH
• CASE IH Address
• United Soybean Board Address
• Beginning Farmer and Rancher Project Director Introductions

Breakout Sessions                                                                                  2:15 pm – 3:30 pm

• BFR Session: Knowing Your Farm Insurance                                          Nationwide Insurance
• Making an Impact                                                                               Matt Lohr
• Accurate Ag Books                                                                               Curtis Miller
• Leadership Development: Switch                                                         AFBF Trainers
• Social Media: Blogging Basics                                                                        Josh Lysne
• Effective Management Strategies- Livestock                                        John Anderson and Todd Davis

Break                                                                                                    3:30pm

Silent Auction Ends                                                                                3:45pm

Breakout Sessions                                                                                  4:00 – 5:15pm

• BFR Session:                                                                                         Marie Barni

Getting the Lay of the Land: Accessing and Assessing Land for Agriculture

• Accurate Ag Books                                                                               Curtis Miller
• Leadership Development: Switch                                                         AFBF Trainers
• Social Media: Blogging Basics                                                                        Josh Lysne
• Collegiate Farm Bureau Break Out                                                     AFBF Trainers
• Farmer and Rancher- Message Training Program                               USFRA

Beginning Farmer and Rancher Poster Discussion                                  5:30pm

Dinner Banquet                                                                                     7:00pm         

• Sponsored by General Motors
• General Motors Address

Cyber Café                                                                                           All Day

Closing Session                                                                                      8:30 am        

• Speaker: Bryan Townsend
• Stand On It! Succeeding in Challenging Times

*Tours will be dismissed directly after this session

Tours                                                                                                      10:00am – 6:00pm

Tour #1

 Fenn Valley Vineyards & Wine Cellar * Tiara Yachts & Energetx * Zeeland Farm Services

Tour #2

General Motors * Carbon Green Bioenergy Ethanol Plant * Heffron Farms Market

Tour #3

 den Dulk Dairy Farm * Countryside Greenhouse * RiverRidge Packing

Tour #4

Victory Farms * Robinette’s Apple Haus & Winery * Gordon Food Service

Grand Finale Event                                                                              6:00pm – 9:00 pm

Grand Rapids Public Museum

*Tours will drop off at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. There will be transportation from the finale event to the hotel for the entire length of the event. The museum is located a few blocks from the hotel.

Tour Descriptions

Tour #1

Fenn Valley Vineyards & Wine Cellar - Fenn Valley Vineyards is a family-owned and operated vineyard and winery complex established in 1973. The vineyard site, located near the shores of Lake Michigan, has the great lakes climate ideal for growing grapes. Fenn Valley combines a unique climate, age-old winemaking techniques and the best of modern technology to create award-winning wines of distinction.

Tiara Yachts & Energetx – Tiara Yachts, focused on the design and manufacture of pleasure boats, has a rich boat-building heritage that extends over four decades. Energetx, housed in the same building, is an innovative provider of manufacturing solutions for composite fabrication and recently began building wind turbine components including 150-foot wind blades. *No children under 5 permitted on this tour stop*

Zeeland Farm Services - Zeeland Farm Services, Inc. located in Holland, Michigan, is a family-owned and operated business with 60 years of service to the agricultural and transportation industries. Zeeland Farm Services consists of several agricultural product divisions including a soybean processing plant, a soy biodiesel plant and a soybean oil refinery plant. *No children permitted on this tour stop*

Tour #2

General Motors- General Motors Lansing Delta Township Assembly is GM’s newest plant in North America, blending the best practices and newest technology into one facility. LDT is proud to be the first and only manufacturing facility to be a Gold Certified Leader in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).Tour attendees will see how LDT harvests the rainwater from the roof, based on a cutting-edge roof drain system. It is then stored in cisterns above rest rooms and is used to flush toilets. Tour attendees will also see a modern day assembly line, which will encompass various aspects to assembling the Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, and Buick Enclave. *No children under 12 permitted on this tour stop*

Carbon Green Bioenergy Ethanol Plant - Carbon Green BioEnergy, LLC, is dedicated to optimizing biofuel production through management, energy efficiency and operational improvements. The plant buys corn from local farmers to produce 50 million gallons of ethanol and 120 thousand tons of distiller dried grains per year.

Heffron Farms Market - Heffron Farms in 1983 decided to venture into the retail meat business, making natural meats available locally. Originally, their product was marketed at the City of Grand Rapids farmers' market. Due to that success, the family opened a market on the farm and two years later opened their first store in the City of Grand Rapids. Three additional stores have been opened in the surrounding area.  

Tour #3

den Dulk Dairy Farm - denDulk Dairy is a family-owned farm located in Ravenna (west Michigan). den Dulk Dairy milks 3,000 jersey cows and grows all of the feed which includes 3,500 acres of alfalfa and corn. The farm also includes a state-of-the-art calf raising facility, modern milking parlor and an innovative methane digester. The methane digester currently utilizes 30% of the manure produced on the farm and generates electricity to operate the methane digester operations.

Countryside Greenhouse - Since 1982, the Buist family has incrementally expanded their Countryside Greenhouse operation. The business was originally built as a small wholesale operation and was just a single hoop style greenhouse. Countryside Greenhouse steadily grew over time and is now a regional destination for plants of all shapes, sizes and colors.Countryside Greenhouse is one of the largest garden centers in West Michigan and provides a wide variety of home and garden decorations and accessories.

RiverRidge Packing - Riveridge is an apple sorting, grading and packing facility in Sparta, Michigan. Riveridge represents growers throughout Michigan and markets approximately one-third of Michigan’s fresh apple crop every year. Riveridge also represents growers in the top apple producing regions of the United States, as well as those in South America. *No children permitted on this tour stop*

Tour #4

Victory Farms – Victory Farms grows 1,000 acres of produce for primarily fresh market and processed products. Produce grown includes turnips, parsnips, celery root, rutabaga, red beets and 500 acres of winter squash. All of the products are packed on-site for distribution to chain stores and terminal markets in the Eastern portion of the United States. The majority of produce packing takes place from October through February and Victory Farms also processes and packs produce from other growers. Owner Roger Victory started Victory Farms in 1990 by farming 50 acres of produce.

Robinette’s Apple Haus & Winery – Celebrating its Centennial in 2011, this family owned and operated fruit farm, cider mill, bakery, winery and lunchroom features (in season) apples, peaches, nectarines and cherries. In the fall, they have a corn maze, horse-drawn hayrides, and you-pick apples. An 1881 barn holds their wine tasting room, original West Michigan artwork and distinctive gifts.

Gordon Food Service started out as a butter-and-egg delivery business more than a century ago in 1897. Today, they are the largest family-owned broadline foodservice distributor in North America—and one of the largest privately held companies in the United States. Gordon Food Service distributes to foodservice operators from Northern Michigan to Key West, Florida, to National and Regional Chains along the entire East Coast of the United States and coast to coast in Canada. They also operate over 140 GFS Marketplace retail stores located in Florida, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. *No children permitted on this tour stop*

Conference Speakers