We learned last week that the South Dakota Wheat Growers selected Paulsen Marketing as their agency of record after a formal review that included three viable Midwestern ag agencies. We are absolutely thrilled with this new assignment and the entire agency is eagerly looking forward to beginning the branding, public relations and media work with them.

The Wheat Growers have a long, respected history that goes back to 1926. For the past 84 years they have served farmers in northern, central and eastern South Dakota, and south central North Dakota, as a leading agronomy and grain marketing cooperative. In fact, they have grown very rapidly in recent years to become one of the top five revenue-producing businesses in the state of South Dakota and one of the largest local member-owned cooperative systems in the U.S. today.

In preparation for our Wheat Growers presentation, agency CEO Thane Paulsen and I spent an entire June day touring much of their service area. We were impressed with the size and scope of Wheat Growers operations including grain storage and transportation facilities, fertilizer storage and equipment, and general agronomy facilities.

In addition, the Wheat Growers have an ambitious facilities expansion program currently underway that will enable them to serve their members even more effectively and efficiently in the near future. The capital investment they are making in their facilities and operations is impressive.

During our day of “agri-fact finding,” Thane and I discovered the size of most farming operations in the Wheat Growers service area has grown dramatically in recent years. We saw lots of “big iron” in the fields as farmers were putting the finishing touches on getting the soybeans in the ground. We estimated the average size of most of these farms to be between 3,000 and 4,000 acres, with many greatly exceeding that figure.

We also came to the realization that these producers have a huge investment and sizable risk in their operations. It became clear that a strong full-service agronomy and grain marketing cooperative is essential in helping these producers succeed in today’s big business of farming.

Our 500+ mile tour was extremely helpful in better understanding the Wheat Growers’ operations and the members they serve. I know it really energized us and inspired us to create one of our best-ever new business presentations.
It was truly a team effort with all aspects of Paulsen Marketing involved in the pitch.

The news of our win was so gratifying. And now, we’re ready to get to work on behalf of our new client!

Just returned from a whirlwind trip to Des Moines, Iowa; Marshall, Mo. and Omaha, Nebr. It was a very interesting and productive week. Some random observations:

Too much moisture is definitely a problem in central/southern Iowa and northern Missouri. And this observation comes before the torrential rains of June 10-12! The crops in this area need a good stretch of hot, dry weather to get back on track.

The World Pork Expo is alive and well! I recall last year's Expo was a pretty somber affair in the midst of the H1N1 flu virus which decimated exports and market prices. One year later, exports have resumed with major buyers, and...

Special thanks to Bryan Bjerke, our public relations director here at Paulsen Marketing, for helping me update this blog with a must read essay for everyone associated with agriculture. It is written by Mike Rowe, star of the popular cable TV network program, Dirty Jobs.

Rowe was a keynote speaker at last fall’s national Future Farmers of America (FFA) convention in Indianapolis. I also had the opportunity to hear Mike Rowe address important issues facing our livestock industry at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) annual convention in San Antonio earlier this year.

I think anyone who is involved with agriculture will find...

Just back this week from the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) conference in Kansas City. I must say it was one of the best annual NAMA meetings I’ve attended in my 34 years in this industry. My compliments to Marjorie Walker, Conference Chair; Les Kahl, Best of NAMA Chair; Micheal DeLuca, Chair of the Connections Point Trade Show and Curt Blades, Careers Committee Chair for an outstanding job with the planning and programming that went into this event. NAMA Executive Director Jenny Pickett and her very capable NAMA staff deserve credit for a job well done, as well.

Paulsen Marketing was well represented with six of us in attendance. We were especially...

We always try to make the most effective ag media recommendations possible for our clients. That’s what they hire us to do— reach the greatest number of qualified producers within a specified target audience, as frequently as possible, for the least cost. That’s called maximum media efficiency.

Our media director here at Paulsen is pretty darn good at that. For over 15 years Kristi Moss has been planning, negotiating and placing media buys that deliver results for our ag clients. Over the past year or so, Kristi has mentioned her concern that more traditional media strategies—print, radio, TV, direct mail—are not reaching the ENTIRE ag...