Good feelings at national NAMA.

Anyone involved in agricultural marketing in general can tell you the last few years have been tough. From consolidation to just plain lay offs it has been a rocky road. From a personal perspective I was amazed, since I launched my business in 9002, how many people in the NAMA directory are "no longer with the company" when I attempt to reach them for new business opportunities. But recent events in the marketplace seem to be bringing things back to better times.

At the national NAMA meeting, this past April in Kansas City, there was a different "feeling" from attendees. Commodity prices were on their way up (others following the cattle trend) and people were smiling again. The NAFB Booth at the tradeshow was a buzz of activity.

"This was one of the better attended conferences we have had in recent years. All indicators from USDA reports to the morale of agriculture companies seem to indicate a positive trend in the marketplace. Farmers have had a year of good prices now and they also have a year of the Farm Bill behind them. Farm markets historically are skeptical of new Farm Bill legislation until they see the effects. It looks like some things are falling back into place for the agriculture industry," says Eldon White, Executive Vice President of the National AgriMarketing Association.

Another trend at this year's convention was that the major players of the advertising business seemed Better represented. There were agency sponsored receptions at various locations and the Brownfield party was packed like it used to be in the late 1990's.

"The companies we talked to felt stronger than a year ago. We had great attendance and we actually exceeded our sponsorship goal by almost 15 percent. Usually associations are the first to be cut from sponsorship budgets so this is a very positive indicator of things to come," Eldon says.

The obvious trickle down effect of all this success means that more money will be spent in radio. Some NAFB members that you will read about in this issue of Behind the Mic are already seeing this trend.

The positive feeling was also evident at Commodity Classic this year. With corn and soybean prices rising, smiles seemed to replace frowns or expressionless producers of recent years.

It may not be time to start playing "Happy Days are Here Again" yet, but the feeling is starting to resurface. Will we ever see the unprecedented success of the 1990's in this business? That is hard to say, but the feeling and indicators are in place. Let's all hope this keeps building steam.

Jeremy Povenmire is president of Povenmire AgriMarketing, which is a full service advertising, public relations and promotion firm located in Independence, Missouri. They are also on the web at www.povenmireag.com.

Jeremy Povenmire, Povenmire AgriMarketing