By Cindy Zimmerman
Sponsor support made the inaugural AGMasters Conference possible this week. Those sponsors included BASF, Bayer Crop Science, DuPont, Dow AgroSciences, FMC, Monsanto and the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association – as well as Syngenta and Burrus Hybrids.
“Obviously the financial benefit of sponsorships from industry was very important to put on a conference like this,” said conference co-chairman Aaron Hager. In addition to the financial support, Hager says the companies and organizations also served on the committee to develop the structure for the new and improved conference.
An extra special thanks is in order for the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association and president Jean Payne for their involvement over the years with the event.
Listen to Aaron’s comments about the sponsors here:
Audio File: Aaron Hager
There are multiple benefits for the companies in sponsoring such an event. “I think it’s important from a basic manufacturer’s standpoint, to get our products used correctly,” says FMC representative Brent Neuberger.
Monsanto’s Chris Kamienski says they are only successful when farmers are successful, “And in order for them to be successful, they really need the expertise and research provided by the universities. So, when the universities educate the farmers, who are our customers, everybody wins.”
Courtney Gallup with Dow AgroSciences agrees with that concept. “We feel strongly about the input of universities and we want to support their efforts in outreach and extension and exchanging ideas.”
Craig Abell with Syngenta, who served on the conference committee, was pleased with the new structure and format for the conference, which builds on a 60 year history of serving the industry. “It’s a very in depth view,” he says. “The new format really provides a deep dive into some topics important to the business today.”
Listen to comments about the conference from a few of our sponsors here:
Audio file: AGMasters Sponsors
