Registration for the TGFA's 111th Annual Meeting is now open!
Make plans now to join friends and colleagues.
Registration: Click here to access the registration form. The form and payment may be automatically submitted online. If you have trouble with the hyperlink, please visit www.tgfa.com and click on the link seen next to the Hyatt Hotel photo.
Hotel Reservations: Click to viewhotel specifics or call the Hyatt directly at 512-477-1234. Be sure to mention TGFA for the special rate of $149. Rooms must be booked before midnight, March 13.
This year’s program asks - What industry trends are going to impact your business? What is going to define and drive your business relationships in the coming year? Establish priceless connections at TGFA’s111th Annual Meeting and Exposition.
Great People! Great Ideas! Great Results!
From the latest industry trends to networking and knowledge, great ideas are waiting to become solutions.
Markets, Financing and Contracts – Are You ready for the year ahead? –enjoy breakfast and a round table discussion on markets, financing and contracts featuring some of the industry’s top thinkers.Leave the session with some great ideas to help you prepare for the upcoming season.
Featured Event Speakers:
Dave Barrett, Barrett, Easterday, Cunningham & Eselgroth LLP - Ohio David C. Barrett, Jr., one of the founding partners of BARRETT, EASTERDAY, CUNNINGHAM & ESELGROTH LLP, has more than 27 years of legal experience including having served for over 10 ½ years as in-house legal counsel and national secretary for the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA®) in Washington, DC. In addition to advising the NGFA on a broad range of legal, legislative and regulatory issues, Mr. Barrett administered the industry’s arbitration system.
Mr. Barrett also is a member of the active arbitration panel roster for the National Futures Association. He serves on the Executive Committee and as vice president of the Ohio Agricultural Council and on the Grain Committee of the Ohio AgriBusiness Association. He devotes the majority of his practice to serving the needs of agricultural producer and agribusiness clients, including commercial transactions, commercial civil litigation, mediation and arbitration.
Bruce Scherr, Informa Economics – Tennessee
Bruce A. Scherr, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer has been with the company since 1987 and has worked extensively with companies to develop improved price risk management procedures, to organize and manage purchasing and merchandising programs, and to assist agribusinesses and public sector institutions in strategic and tactical planning. Prior to forming Agri-Commodities, Dr. Scherr was a divisional vice president at Data Resources, Inc., where he developed and utilized for the public and private sectors the first commercially available econometric model for US agriculture. Dr. Scherr received his bachelor's degree from Rutgers University and his master's and doctorate degrees from Purdue University, all in agricultural economics. Currently, he is a member of the Board of Trustees of North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC). He is a member of several honorary research and agricultural societies and was a former advisor to the President's Council of Economic Advisers and National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Exhibitors and Awards Lunch and Annual Business Meeting –Everyone is invited to attend as TGFA Chairman Will Dalton will present his Chairman’s address; TGFA President Ben Boerner will present the Association’s annual report; and members will elect officers and directors. TGFA will also recognize the Advocate and legislator of the year award, which is awarded each Legislative Session.
From Austin to DC Breakfast –TGFA’s DC Insider, Steve Kopperud, Policy Directions, Inc., and noted Austin Lobbyist Ed Small, Jackson Walker, LLP will discus the impact of the past election on the state and nation’s agribusiness industry and how it will affect you.
Featured Event Speakers:
Steve Kopperud, Policy Directions, Inc. – Washington, DC
Steve Kopperud is senior vice president of Policy Directions Inc., a Washington, DC government affairs company specializing in feed, animal production agriculture, agribusiness, animal health, food, farm policy, trade and ag research/health-related issues.
Mr. Kopperud was senior vice president of the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA), for nearly 18 years prior to joining Policy Directions. In that position he was responsible for all federal and state government affairs programs for the 700-company association, and was treasurer of AFIA’s Feed Industry Political Action Committee (FIPAC).
As an authority on activist assaults on animal agriculture, Mr. Kopperud has spoken to audiences in the U.S., Canada, Australia and Latin America on threats to food production. He coordinates the Washington, DC-based Farm Animal Welfare Coalition (FAWC), a national coalition of organizations involved in livestock/poultry production.
Mr. Kopperud is founder and former president of the Animal Agriculture Alliance, a national charitable education foundation dedicated to telling the American public the reality of modern livestock and poultry production and its contribution to the quality of life of the average consumer.
Ed Small, Jackson Walker, LLP – Austin
Ed Small has more than 30 years experience representing clients before the Texas Legislature and Texas regulatory agencies, in addition to his litigation practice. Mr. Small has served as counsel to entities and associations with legislative and regulatory issues. He has appeared for clients before the Texas Legislature and State and Federal agencies. His clients include associations and entities seeking solutions to issues affected by State Government. Mr. Small's litigation experience includes water rights, boundary issues, condemnation, oil and gas, and other land related issues.
Lone Star Luncheon with John Sharp – Chairman of the Texas Tax Reform Commission and Former State Comptroller of Public Accounts John Sharp will address Leadership – It is not a partisan issue. His presentation will precede the surprise announcement of this year’s Lone Star award, the highest honor bestowed by Texas Grain & Feed Association.
Featured Event Speaker:
John Sharp, Former Senator and Texas State Comptroller
John Sharp grew up in Placedo in Victoria County. He attended Bloomington High School, and upon graduation, enrolled at Texas A&M University where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree, and was commissioned to Second Lieutenant in the United States Army Reserves. He served in the United States Army Reserves as an officer. He later received a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Southwest Texas State University while working full time at the Legislative Budget Board in Austin.
Sharp was elected to the Texas House of Representatives representing Victoria and Calhoun counties, and was later elected as a Senator from the Fifth District in South Central Texas. As a member of the Senate, he served on the powerful Senate Finance Committee, and as a member of the House of Representatives, served as the Vice Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. Four years later, he was elected Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts where he served eight years.
In 1995, he wrote the original welfare reform plan that formed the heart of the most sweeping changes to public assistance in Texas history. The Texas Performance Review became the model for the National Performance Review carried out at a national level. His family Pathfinders program linked welfare families with local civic clubs, congregations and businesses to help them get jobs.
His Texas School Performance Review is credited with saving school districts more than $350 million. His Texas Tomorrow Fund is making it possible for over 110,000 families to secure the future cost of their children's college education at current rates. Sharp is the only government official ever to receive the Texas Quality Award for Efficiency awarded by Texas business leaders.
Why you should attend:
·You will be surrounded by like-minded people. Whether marketing, sales, etc. you are an entrepreneur and you are adapting to industry/societal demands
·Making connections is what it’s all about
·Personal development, well-being, creativity. You have much to contribute
Meeting industry and business challenges head on:
Network with your colleagues
Find answers and solutions from business men and women like you
Reap insight from industry leaders and speakers who will challenge you to think differently
