Charlie Elrod, Ph.D.
VP NEAFA
President & CEO Natural Biologics, Inc.
We hope you’ll join us for an action-packed annual meeting, February 6th and 7th at the Albany Marriot in Albany NY. The conventions committee has been working diligently to put together an agenda that is relevant, informative and fun. The agenda fully supports our pillars of advocacy, collaboration and education.
The meeting will kick off on Tuesday morning with an in-person lobby day. If our experience over the last year is any indicator, Hinman-Straub will do a fantastic job setting up meetings and providing talking points for both our upstate, ag-supporting legislators, and downstate legislators who need a more comprehensive ag perspective. This year we are working hard to focus on being more proactive on policy and funding which we support, rather than waiting until specific legislation or the budget comes out and then reacting to it. We hope you’ll join us for this very important part of our advocacy efforts.
Following the morning’s lobbying, we’ll head over to the Marriot for a follow-up on last year’s transportation summit, with updates from some of the same speakers, and a few new perspectives. The lineup should provide great insight into issues in our transportation sectors as well as opportunities to improve. The panel will be moderated by Tonya Van Slyke from NEDPA and include:
Joe Painting – Vermont Rail System
Keith Kimball – La Casa De Leche Company & Red Maples Dairy Farm
Kendra Hems – NYS Trucking Association
Deputy Commissioner Jennifer Trodden – NYS Ag & Markets
The afternoon’s program will wrap up with a presentation by Dr. Nichole Price from the Bigelow Institute in Maine, on some of their research into various marine sources of feed additives which may be useful in mitigating enteric methane from ruminants. Following on that, Dr. Price will moderate an interactive discussion with participants on their perceptions and outlook for adoption of these types of solutions. They held a similar session after the Cornell Nutrition Conference and it was a lively and interesting conversation.
Our reception will be held along with the current class of LEAD NY, providing a great opportunity to meet and get to know some of the future leaders within the ag sector of the Northeast.
Wednesday morning will kick off with the business meeting where we’ll get an update on the state of the Alliance from President Jenny Mills and vote on a new slate of directors for the Board. NYS Department of Ag & Markets Commissioner Richard Ball will be on hand to provide some insight into priorities for the department and Mike North from Ever.Ag will join us to provide the perennially popular updates and outlook on national and global dairy markets. The NEAFA-supported faculty members from Cornell, Drs. Kristin Reed and Joe McFadden will share their significant research progress on making the Northeast and national dairy industries more sustainable.
Switching over to our Advocacy part of the program, NEAFA Director and newly appointed Director of the VT Dairy Producers Association, Kevin Kouri will provide an update on legislative initiatives which are being prioritized in VT, while Julie Marlette from Hinman-Straub will provide insight into NY legislative priorities. Broadening our view, Constance Cullman from AFIA will get us up to speed on national issues they are working on.
The annual awards luncheon will be MC’d by radio host and ag advocate Trent Loos. Loos will guide us through the Distinguished Service Award, recognition of new and retiring board members, and then regale us with stories of his efforts to help bridge the gap between rural and urban America. We hope that you’ll come out to learn, network and share in the fellowship of members and guests who share NEAFA’s vision to support and grow a sustainable agribusiness industry in the Northeast. Register now to attend or sponsor the NEAFA Annual Meeting!