TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas soybean farmers and their industry partners will gather Jan. 10, 2018, in Topeka for the Kansas Soybean Expo. The Kansas Soybean Association (KSA) organizes the annual event, with checkoff funding from the Kansas Soybean Commission (KSC), to coincide with the Topeka Farm Show.
The free event returns to the Capitol Plaza Hotel’s Maner Conference Center at the Kansas Expocentre. Registration and exhibits open at 8:30 a.m., with the program scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. A reception with KSA and KSC leaders will follow.
The welcome will come from KSA President Lucas Heinen, Everest, and KSC Chairman Kurt Maurath, Oakley. The opening session will offer checkoff-partner updates from Jennifer Geck Ott, director of allied industry relations for the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council, and Kevin Roepke, regional director for the Americas at the U.S. Soybean Export Council.
Promising a keynote address that will be entertaining, inspirational and relatable, Roger Radley is a farm-boy-turned-comedian. He was born and raised in Wisconsin and put law school on the back burner to return to the farm during a critical family-health crisis. During that time, he realized he was not suited to be a lawyer.
Radley later quit a regular job as a vocational counselor to pursue comedy full-time, and he beat out 400 other U.S. comedians at a competition in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He has appeared with Johnny Cash, Tammy Wynette, Willie Nelson, Marty Stuart, Pam Tillis, Barbara Mandrell, Loretta Lynn and others. He stays close to his rural roots by canoeing, camping, fishing and gardening.
John Jenkinson, a farm broadcaster with KSN News and markets editor-anchor for RFD-TV and Rural Radio on Sirius XM, will be master of ceremonies at the luncheon. Donnell Rehagen, CEO of the National Biodiesel Board, will be the featured speaker there. KSA and KSC then will present awards and recognitions, including the DuPont Young Leaders. Next, Heinen will preside over the association’s annual meeting, which will include the approval of policy resolutions and director elections.
Following lunch, KSA will announce the Kansas Soybean Yield and Value Contests winners. The next three presenters will come from K-State Research and Extension. Ignacio Ciampitti, Ph.D., crop-production specialist, will lead “Increasing Yields Through Improved Management.” Dallas Peterson, Ph.D., weed-science specialist, will offer “The Dicamba Conundrum.” The Department of Entomology has been invited to send a speaker who will address stem borer in soybean.
A complete, detailed agenda and the preregistration form are available at http://KansasSoybeans.org/expo on the web or by calling 877-KS-SOYBEAN (877-577-6923). Those who preregister by Jan. 3, 2018, will have guaranteed seats at the luncheon and be eligible for the early-bird prize drawing.
— Kansas Soybean
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