8:55 A.M.:
Welcome and Vendor of the Year award presentation

9:00 A.M.:
David Kruse
CommStock Investments

David Kruse is president of CommStock Investments, and AgriVantage, his commodity brokerage, crop insurance and risk management firm in Northwest Iowa. He is also President of Brazil Iowa Farms, LLC, a group of nearly 320 U.S. and Canadian farmers, who together pooled their money to raise approximately $25 million to invest in the purchase and operation of farmland in Western Bahia, Brazil. In the past several years, David has made more than 15 trips to Brazil, giving him a great deal of personal experience observing the competitive role that Brazil will play in the global market place …both in grains and livestock. In the past 22 years he has produced The CommStock Report, an opinionated ag commentary and market analysis available daily on many radio stations covering the greater Midwest. He lives on and manages a 600 acre corn/soybean farm in Northwest Iowa . You will quickly note by his commentary and market analysis that he has extensive personal experience with grain and livestock marketing. He is a founding member of the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) and is a member of their International Trade Policy Committee. Mr. Kruse is a frequent keynote speaker at major U.S. agricultural conferences.

10:30 A.M.:
Prize Drawing

10:30 A.M.:
Prize Drawing

11:00 A.M.:
Michael Duffy, Ph.D.

Iowa State University

Dr. Duffy received his Ph.D. in Ag. Economics from Penn State in 1981. He received a B.S. in Natural Resources from University of Nebraska in 1975 and an M.S. in Ag. Economics from Nebraska in 1977. He joined the ISU staff as an Extension area farm management specialist in 1984 and moved to his present position on campus in 1985. Prior to joining Iowa State he worked as an economic researcher for the USDA in Washington, D.C.
At Iowa State, Dr. Duffy works as an Extension Economist in farm management. He is also the Director of the Iowa State Beginning Farmer Center.
Dr. Duffy is currently responsible for the annual land value survey, cost of crop production estimates, Iowa farm costs and returns publication and he is state leader for the Extension Farm Financial Planning Program. His research activities include determinants of farm profitability, small farms, soil conservation, integrated pest management, and sustainable agriculture.
Dr. Duffy is a member of the American Agricultural Economics Association and Soil and Water Conservation Society. In 1984 he received the USDA Administrators Special Merit Award for outstanding research. He has received numerous Extension awards including the College of Agriculture Excellence in Extension and Research Award and Outstanding Achievement in Extension. Dr. Duffy received the Sustainable Agriculture Achievement Award from the Practical Farmers of Iowa in 1996.

11:30 A.M.:
Lunch

12:30 P.M.:
FFA Chapter Recognition and Prize Drawing

1:00 P.M.:
Prize Drawing

2:30 P.M.:
Prize Drawing

3:00 P.M.:
Bruce Vincent
President of Communities For A Great Northwest, Executive Director of Provider Pals

Co-owner of Environomics

Bruce Vincent is a third generation logger from Libby, Montana. Bruce helped form and is currently serving as President of Communities For A Great Northwest, Executive Director of Provider Pals and is co-owner of Environomics. Bruce speaks throughout the United States and the world, has testified on resource issues before Congress and has appeared on several news programs such as “60 Minutes”. Bruce has been named Timberman of the Year in Montana, National Forest Activist of the Year, the Agri-Women’s 2007 Veritas Award Winner, and in 2004 received the inaugural Presidential Preserve America Award from President Bush. Bruce has been married to his wife Patti Jo for 35 years and has four children, two sons-in-law, one daughter-in-law, and six grandchildren. His current activities represent a family commitment to responsible environmentalism.

4:00 P.M.:
Grand Prize Drawing