Case IH is committed to helping farmers “Be Ready” and embrace the challenges and opportunities of agriculture. We also recognize that there are new generations of farmers entering the industry every day, and we want to encourage their involvement and leadership within the industry.
One way Case IH is demonstrating our commitment to preparing young people for careers in production agriculture is by sponsoring the National FFA’s New Century Farmer Conference. This conference is an intensive, five-day event held in Des Moines, Iowa, where youths’ entrepreneurial spirit and professional growth is nurtured. Participants have the opportunity to network with industry experts, including some of our Case IH team, while increasing their practical knowledge, global perspective, and personal growth.
According to the National FFA website, New Century Farmer Conference participants will:
- Discover how farmers can profit from value-added products and using technology
- Explore new farm business opportunities and develop new business alliances with other farmers
- Study behavioral changes that enable young farmers to overcome challenges
- Grow personally and professionally
- Establish a network with production agriculture business professionals
- Gain an understanding of how banks view their operations
- Create a vision statement for their operation
As a sponsor, Case IH hosts a dinner and offers a session on new and emerging farm machinery as part of the conference schedule. Other conference sponsors include: Pioneer, Rabo AgriFinance, and CSX Corporation, with media partner Successful Farming as a special project of the National FFA Foundation.
Conference applicants must be currently attending or a recent graduate of an agriculture college or university, have a production agriculture background, and plan to return to production agriculture as a career. There is no cost to participants to attend. Applications are due March 15, 2011.
For more information, visit www.ffa.org.