This ‘n’ That from the Council

Your Council has been busy. Council members hit the new year running with presentation to groups in Wisconsin and Iowa all in the past few weeks.

On January 9 Brad Guse, Senor VP with BMO Harris in Arpin, WI was joined by BMO Managing Director Sam Miller, Appleton WI at a special program, Supporting Farmers During Challenging Times held in Kiel, WI.

The program was sponsored by the University of Wisconsin Extension. An audience of well over 100 came from a four-county region to hear the presentations. The two discussed the critical need for helping farmers realize the importance of organizing their financial records and being completely open and honest in their relationship with their lender. Council Administrator Carroll Merry attended and managed the FFSC trade show display. He also gave the audience an overview of the Council and the resources it has to offer.

On January 23 Past Council President Paul Neiffer, a principle with CliftonLarsonAllen, Yakima, WA, in photo at right was joined by past Council Director Curt Covington, Executive Vice President at FarmerMac, Washington, DC, in photo below, at the Farm Futures Ag Financial Boot Camp program in Coralville, IA. Over 170 farmers defied winter storms to attend the one-day event. Neiffer and Covington did the

heavy lifting in terms of presentations at the gathering. Again, the need for good financial record keeping was stressed along with the need to maintain completely open lines of communications with lenders. Administrator Carroll Merry also talked about the evolution of the Council and the resources it offers.

2019 Annual Meeting

Council Vice President Keith Raynor, principle at TRP CPAs, Dunn, NC is wrapping up details on the program for the Annual Conference which will be held July 24 – 26 at the DoubleTree by Hilton, Raleigh Durham Airport at Research Triangle Park near Durham, NC.

Keith’s program will include an up close look at NC agriculture, how anti-animal agriculture groups are working to get rid of the pork industry, as well as a ‘deep dive’ into some accounting issues that are important to the Council….AND MORE! Details on the entire program will be coming out very soon, but in the meantime please mark your calendars and plan on attending.

Yes, many of us are snow-covered now and somehow getting along with very frigid temperatures, but Keith promises there will be no snow in sight when we are there in July and it should be too early for hurricane season.

New Membership Directory

The most current listing of Council Members is in the membership directory that accompanied the email version of this newsletter.. We dropped a few members last summer at renewal time and that was expected….but we have added many new names, so look through the Directory and see if any of our new colleagues are near you. If you don’t have a copy, let us know and we’ll send you one.

Send us a Photo of Yourself

We would very much like to have more member photos in the directory….if you have a recent color head and shoulders photo of yourself that you would like to share with other Council Members, please send it my way and we’ll add it to the next directory

Some Changes in the Directory

We have included the roster of our Corporate Partners in a listing at the back of the Directory as well as the names of our new Imeritus Lifetime members.

New Guidelines Out January 1

An updated version of the Financial Guidelines for Agriculture was sent to you on January 1. If you did not receive your pdf copy, please let me know and we’ll try to find out why.

Share your thoughts about the Council

One of the keys to attracting new, and even retaining current members, is the sharing of your thoughts regarding your experience/relationship with the Council…we are always looking for comments from members that can be used to promote membership. Have you met colleagues from across the country? Found participation in one of the committees to be rewarding personally and/or professionally? And if you have a complaint or other concern that should be shared with the leadership, we want those as well!!

Think Spring !!

Carroll Merry
Administrator, FFSC
cmerry@countryside-marketing.com
262-253-6902

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More than 100 producers from across the United States (and one from Canada) joined us for our Farm Futures Boot Camp event in Coralville, Iowa.

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This is the first Board Notes we’ve sent since March, so you have not been missing issues, we’ve just not been preparing and sending any. With all the activity going on with the summer meeting, membership renewals, etc., it’s been hectic.

New Council Leadership

Todd Doehring, second from left, heads up the new FFSC leadership team elected at the Council’s annual meeting held July 27 in Champaign, IL. Doehring is a director with Centrec Consulting Group, Savoy, IL. Other members of the leadership group are, from left: Jan Bitter, Immediate Past president, vice president at Farm Credit East, Homer, NY; Keith Raynor, Vice President, principal with TRP CPAs, Dunn, NC; and, Brenda Duckworth, Secretary/Treasurer, farm staff accountant with AgriVision Farm Management, Hartley, TX. Board members elected at the meeting are: Jonathan Shepherd, University of Kentucky; Bill Rutter, MidAtlantic Farm Credit, Westminster, MD; Deena Brown, CGB Agri Finance Services, Louisville, KY; Angela Chesley, Van Bruggen/Vande Vegle, PC, Rock Valley, IA; Kathy Reinhardt, Reinhardt Farms, Seaton, IL; and, Lyle Anderson, Rabo AgriFinance, Billings, MT.

Thank You, Jan

New FFSC President Todd Doehring presents a special commemorative president’s gavel to Outgoing President Jan Bitter. Prior to being elected Council President in 2017, Bitter served as Vice President and Secretary/Treasurer of the Council as well as on numerous committees. As Vice President she chaired the 2017 Annual Conference which was held in Syracuse, NY.

New Directory Coming Very Soon

The new Council Membership Directory will be coming to you very shortly. This will be updated with the current membership roster and complete contact information on the new leadership group. We are awaiting photos of some of the officers, committee members and directors and will then get it out to all.

We’d Like to See Your Face

It’s always great to know who you are communicating with and an easy way to make that happen with your Council Colleagues is to send us a head-and-shoulders photo of yourself and we’ll add it to the directory. Color jpgs work best, of course. Just send along something you have — does not have to be formal or in a business suit or dress. Will need by Friday, Sept. 7 to make this edition. 250-ppi jpgs are just fine. Please…no low-rez…you will NOT like the way you look.

Share your thoughts about the Council

One of the keys to attracting new, and even retaining current members, is the sharing of your thoughts regarding your experience/relationship with the Council…we are always looking for comments from members that can be used to promote membership. Have you met colleagues from across the country? Found participation in one of the committees to be rewarding personally and/or professionally? And if you have a complaint or other concern that should be shared with the leadership we want those as well!!

Are you Actively Involved with the Council?

When we discussed changing the dues at the Council last year there was concern about membership retention….would the dues get to be too high? What benefits of membership could we offer that would make people really want to stay members of the Council? Our experience has been that those who are actively involved with the happenings of the Council take on an ownership role with the organization. They are not just sitting back and waiting for something to happen….they are MAKING things happen and they develop an enthusiasm that becomes contagious.

Are you missing this spark? Contact any one of our committee chairs and ask them how you can become more involved. And COME TO THE ANNUAL MEETING! Everyone who attends this event has a great time and meets colleagues from across the nation, literally. If you have other possible benefits to membership, let us know. We don’t pretend to know all the ways to make belonging to an organization

2019 Annual Meeting

Mark your calendars now for the 2019 FFSC Annual Meeting. It will be held July 24 – 26 at the DoubleTree by Hilton, Raleigh Durham Airport at Research Triangle Park near Durham, NC.

Going to the ABA Ag Bankers Conference?

This will be in Omaha November 11 – 14 and the Council will be there. If you are attending, stop by our booth in the Exhibit Hall and say ‘hi.’ More information on the conference and registration is on the Council Web site.

That’s probably enough for now.

Watch for your new directory (Send us your photo today!!), and don’t be a stranger… stay in touch and let us know how the Council is a part, however small, of your professional life…….

Carroll Merry
Administrator, FFSC
cmerry@countryside-marketing.com
262-253-6902

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Check out our latest tidbits and news for the officers, committee chairs, members of the board of directors, and the general membership of the Farm Financial Standards Council. (Download in PDF form.)

New Membership Directory

A new FFSC Membership Directory has now been produced and distributed to all active FFSC Members. If you did not get one in your e-mail box, let me know and I’ll happily send you a replacement. Total membership has climbed to 182.

We’d Like to See Your Face

Past FFSC President Paul Neiffer and past FFSC Director Curt Covington discuss their presen- tatoins before addressing the crowd of 150 at the event. This is the 5th Boot Camp the Council has co-sponsored with Farm Futures magazine. Other Council board members attending this year included David Olson, co-chair of the Marketing Committee, and Mark Compton, co-chair of the Finance Committee. If we missed noting other Council members please accept our apology.

It’s always great to know who you are communicating with and an easy way to make that happen with your Council Colleagues is to send us a head-and-shoulders photo of yourself and we’ll add it to the directory. Color jpgs work best, of course. Just send along something you have — does not have to be formal or in a business suit or dress.

Kent Meister is doing well

A past FFSC President and our current CFO, Kent suffered a stroke in mid-January andafter many weeks in a hospital in hometown Bloomington, IL is now recovering and receiving therapy at home. Fortunately, his wife, Karen, retired recently so she is available to assist him in getting around the house. He has regained dexterity in both hands and is now doing ‘some tax work’ to stay busy. He is up and functioning completely in his CFO capacity. As soon as he is able to get in and out of their personal vehicle he will go to continued therapy sessions. The two are looking forward to seeing all their friends at the July meeting in nearby Champaign.

Of the get-well gift sent by the Council, Karen writes: Thank you for the rubber tree plant. It is a very nice plant and looks great in our home now that we have been able to come home.

Upcoming Trade Shows

The Council will be present with a display at the annual NFRBMEA Conference which will be held June 10 – 14 in Harrisburg, PA; the AICPA Conference which will be in Las Vegas in July, and the ABA’s National Agricultural Bankers Association conference in Omaha November 11-14. If you are going to be attending any of these events and can spend some time assisting in managing the FFSC display, please let me know.

Annual Conference Coming July 25 – 27

Past FFSC President Ron Swanson and current Director Kathy Reinhardt were part of a panel discussion at the Farm Futures Financial Boot Camp held January 17 in Coralville, IA.

This year’s FFSC Annual Conference will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Cham- paign, IL July 25 – 27 and ALL ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND. The final agenda along with registration information will be coming out right around April 1 (no joke!!). The agenda will follow that from previous years….

• Wednesday afternoon (July 25) Committee Meetings — These are open to anyone wishing to participate with NO OBLIGATIONS. What we really want are your ideas. That evening we will have a welcoming reception and barbecue. This is open to all who attend including spouses, significant others and family members who just happen to be traveling with you.

• Thursday (July 26) — Speakers throughout the day with enough programming to qualify for 6 hours of professional CE. (The Council is a registered CPA education provider and certificates of attendance will provided to all who request them. An evening activity is in the works.

• Friday (July 27) — Committee reports and the annual business meeting and election of officers and directors. We will be electing two directors for three-year terms and a secretary/treasurer who will then serve in the chairs to advance to vice president and president of the Council. IF YOU WANT TO BE NOMINATED let us know. The Nominating Committee will be meeting soon to develop the slate for election. Optional afternoon activities are being developed but will likely include a visit to a local grain farm and elevator.

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Tidbits and news for the officers, committee chairs, members of the board of directors, and the general membership of the Farm Financial Standards Council.

New Membership Directory

A new FFSC Membership Directory has now been produced and distributed to all ac-
tive FFSC Members. If you did not get one in your e-mail box, let me know and I’ll
happily send you a replacement.

Wanna See Your Face?

It’s always great to know who you are communicating with
and an easy way to make that happen with your Council Colleagues is to send us a
head-and-shoulders photo of yourself and we’ll add it to the directory. Color jpgs work
best, of course. Just send along something you have — does not have to be formal or
in a business suit or dress, any ol’ pic will do — and we’ll add it to the next issue of the
directory. If you sent us one and it’s not in this issue, my apologies….send it again and
we’ll get it added.

Been in the News Lately?

Share it with us. If you’ve been in your local news lately,
share the information with us so we can spread the word to your fellow Council mem-
bers. Did you make presentation to a local service club? Even a grand opening at your
business or being named a C of C Amabassador. Or did you serve on a panel talking
ag finance?…..We want to put a very human face on the Council and the best way to do
that is to show our industry that we are just normal folks who are business people who
just happen to have a penchant for working with ag financial programs. It would really
be great if we could get some pix of our folks and post them on our web site…..at which
we do NOT share contact information on members (nor do we share our membership
roster with anyone!!)

A Torch has been Passed.

Owen Thompson served as president of the Council some years ago and was the real
driver behind getting a membership program going with the Council. After he was
finished serving his ‘terms’ in the leadership chairs he was ‘convinced’ (read coerced)
into being the Chair of the Membership Committee, a role he eventually shared with
Keith Raynor. When Keith left his spot on the committee to become Council Secetary/
Treasurer we were fortunate enough to have two ‘new’ members come forward and
volunteer to take on the shared roles of Membership Committee Co-Chairs,….Grace
Richardson and Tom Groppel….. finally giving Owen a break as well. So after his many
years of leadership, Owen has relinquished his duties as the head of the committee….he
did stick around for a couple of conference calls the help get Grace and Tom launched
with their new duties….

This is just a long way of saying “Thank You, Owen” for the vision you had of devel-
oping a membership program and for being a constant driver in making it successful.
And good luck with the deer hunting!!

2018 Committee Co-Chairs

(Contact information is in the directory)

Technical Committee
Jeff Bushey, Nietzke & Faupel, PC
Alan Miller, Purdue University (retired)
Marketing Committee
Brenda Duckworth, AgriVision Farm Management
David Olsen, Agrifamily Consulting, Inc.
Finance Committee
Scotty Elston, AgTexas Farm Credit Services
D. Mark Compton, Compton Accounting
Membership Committee
Grace Richardson, Freed Maxick CPAs
Thomas Groppel, Cedar Ridge Farm

Gonna Be Near Milwaukee or Cedar Rapids?

Stop by the ABA National Ag Bankers Conference in Milwaukee November 12 – 15 or
at the Farm Futures Boot Camp in Cedar Rapids, IA on January 17. The Council will
be well represented at both in the trade show areas and at the podiums where members
will be making presentaitons. So if you are in the area….stop by and say “Hi.”

No New Guidelines for 2018

There will be NO updates to the Financial Guidelines for Agriculture at the end of this
year so the current document will remain in use for 2018.

2018 Dates and Location

Hilton Garden Inn, Champaign, IL, July 25 – 27, 2018.
Todd Doehring is in charge and has been working on the program for some time.

Contact
Carroll Merry
Administrator, FFSC
cmerry@countryside-marketing.com 262-253-6902

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