The Future State of Agriculture was the theme for our 4th Annual Farm Seminar this past Thursday. This year we held our seminar at Wilmington College. The event began at 6:30 with Wilmington’s Collegiate Farm Bureau providing tours of the newly renovated Science and Agriculture Center prior to our start. We had over 200 guests join us!. Paul called the meeting to order with a warm welcome to all in attendance. We were lucky enough to have worked closely with Wilmington College’s Monte Anderson and the Collegiate Farm Bureau while planning this event and they were present to help kick off the night along with us.

We then transitioned into hearing from our esteemed line-up of speakers that brought unique perspectives on what the future of agriculture will look like. Adam Sharp, executive director of the Ohio Farm Bureau took the stage first. He addressed changes in agriculture happening here in Ohio, specifically how we connect with consumers. He used his experiences from Ohio Farm Bureau and working in Washington to engage the audience on how Ohio’s agriculture is evolving. He was also able to address specific issues facing Ohio farmers, like challenges on how property taxes are done.

We then welcomed Ken Davis, a member of Nationwide’s board. This was a special opportunity for all of us at Paul Hall & Associates. We were able to hear from him but also honor him for his many years of service to Nationwide and the agriculture industry. Davis addressed his 4 F’s: Faith, Family, Farm and Farm Bureau. “You know our future is always uncertain here are earth,” said Davis. “But for us what I go back to is the four F’s: faith, family, farming and Farm Bureau.” Ken connected us to our local communities and encouraged all of us in the industry to stay rooted in our communities. We rounded out his speech by surprising him on stage to present him with a special gift from us as a small token of our appreciation for all that he has done.

Following Ken, we took a break in order to enjoy those around us, entered drawings, win prizes and mostly importantly enjoy a delicious meal! Before coming back together we were also able to highlight the customer focus series that we are doing to show our clients and their operations.

We came back together and heard from a friend of ours who is working hard to try and provide Ohio farmers a better option when it comes to health insurance. Over the last few months we have had the pleasure to work closely with James Smith who has been leading the Health Benefits Plan for Ohio Farm Bureau. He joined us to talk about this new plan for all of those in attendance and the new option Ohio Farm Bureau has for its members when it comes to health insurance.

Another important area of the night that was addressed was the current financial state of agriculture. We had expert Tara Durbin with us from Farm Credit Mid-America. She addressed fluctuations in the market, interest rates and provided those in attendance with the outlook for coming year along with trend predictions. Ag lending has always been a very important aspect to those in our industry. Tara was able to shine some light on where they foresee lending heading in the future.

Fred Yoder, a highly anticipated speaker for the evening, took the stage next. He spoke to us about his experiences in policy but also about his most recent position as a member of President Trump’s agriculture committee. He walked us through his experiences working on this committee thus far, also speaking about how Sonny Perdue was chosen. He even tackled a controversial topic with the recent budget cuts to the agriculture sector upon the release of the President’s budget. Most importantly, he was able to inform those in attendance about what was to be expected from the agriculture committee. He engaged the audience by asking them about their concerns and desires for this administration when it came to agriculture. “He [President Trump] wants us to reevaluate what’s working and what’s not working,” said Yoder. “Then make suggestions on new ways to look at things.”

David T. Daniels, Ohio’s secretary of agriculture joined us and addressed Ohio’s agriculture during Ohio Agriculture Week. During the week he had been traveling around Ohio and visiting farming operations and companies involved in agriculture. He spoke directly on the diversity that Ohio agriculture presents. “During ag week we try to get out and tell Ohio’s agriculture story,” said Daniels. “Agriculture touches each and every one of our lives.”

The evening concluded with a question and answer round table session. Individuals in attendance were able to ask specific questions that they had concerning areas the individuals addressed. Some of the topics our audience asked our speakers about included cover crops, cuts to the EPA, cuts to the total ag budget, trade regulations in Mexico, taxes on farms and land as well as consolidation of the ag industry.

This event is near and dear to all of us here at Paul Hall & Associates. We are incredibly thankful to have the support of our staff, family members and most importantly our clients. This event could not have been possible without all of you!  From the bottom of our hearts, thank you!