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Join IFB, COUNTRY Financial and guest host Mike Pearson,
long-time farm broadcaster and host of RFD-TV’s “This Week in
Agribusiness,” to hear best practices to navigate crises.
“Every year, farms across the U.S. encounter disasters,
including severe weather, life-threatening farm accidents and
even social media challenges threatening businesses’
reputations,” said Kim Knapp, IFB membership operations manager.
“While such crises are heartbreaking, they don’t spell the end
of an operation.
“These seminars are intended to prepare farm families and
businesses for potential crisis situations through hearing about
real-life situations and learning common best practices to bring
back to their operation.”
Each seminar will last approximately 2.5 hours with doors
opening 30 minutes before the event. Dinner is provided.
Meetings are planned at the following locations and times:
Thursday, Feb. 8 at 5 p.m. at Bally’s Quad Cities Casino and
Hotel, Rock Island
Friday, Feb. 9 at 11 a.m. at G C Cuisine and Crystal Garden
Banquet and Event Center, Edwardsville
Monday, Feb. 12 at 10 a.m. at Epiphany Farms Estate, Downs, and
virtually
Monday, Feb. 12 at 5 p.m. at Effingham Event Center, Effingham
“Over the last couple of years, we’ve had a good run in
agriculture, particularly our row crop producers, and we’ve got
some cushion in our balance sheets as an industry and a lot of
things to be optimistic about, but it seems like when things are
going well, that is the perfect time to prepare for disasters,”
said Pearson. “Agriculture is a cyclical industry, it is a
dangerous industry – we’ve got a lot of moving parts and pieces
that can do damage to us – and it’s a multi-generational family
industry. All those factors, when they come together in an
emergency, can cause tempers to get hot very quickly, can cause
family members turn to on one another if the farm isn’t
prepared, and can just cause more trouble for that farm as it
attempts to push forward and out of whatever crisis it is
dealing with.”
Seminars will provide attendees with information
and questions that are essential to being prepared if a farm
emergency occurs. Peason will identify key risks farms could
face, including the three ‘D’s’: death, divorce and disability,
while sharing lessons learned from past farm emergencies and
best practices for farm families and businesses to implement.
Lindsey Rinkenberger, COUNTRY director of commercial
agribusiness underwriting operations, will also provide a brief
overview of how COUNTRY farm-certified reps can help farmers
protect their farm and crops with proper insurance coverages and
plan for their farm’s financial future. COUNTRY Financial is the
largest farm insurer in Illinois, with more than 300 farm
certified representatives serving clients.
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Registration is open through Jan. 27. Those
interested in attending a seminar can register at
https://on.ilfb.org/farm
plan21. For more
information, contact your local county Farm Bureau or Kim Knapp at
309-557-2601, or by email at
kknapp@ilfb.org.
About Mike Pearson
Mike Pearson was born and raised in South Central Iowa, where he
grew to love agriculture on his family’s hog and cattle farm. After
graduating from Simpson College, Mike moved to Grinnell, Iowa where
he had the chance to build his own cow herd in addition to working
as an agricultural lender.
Over the next 10 years, Mike left the world of finance and entered
the world of media. He’s previously hosted “Market to Market” on
Public Television, the Ag News Daily podcast, and currently, viewers
can find him behind the anchor desk on “This Week in Agribusiness”
on RFD-TV and listeners can hear him every day as the host of
Agriculture of America, a daily ag-focused radio show carried by
affiliate stations across the country.
About Lindsey Rinkenberger
Lindsey Rinkenberger serves as director of commercial agribusiness
underwriting operations for COUNTRY Financial. She joined COUNTRY
Financial in 2001 and has served in several positions in Commercial
Agribusiness Operations.
She is a graduate of Illinois State University, with a degree in
mass communications/print journalism. She currently serves as vice
chair on the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau’s Board of
Directors and is a graduate of COUNTRY’s Leadership Development
Program, Illinois Ag Leadership Program, Crop Insurance and
Reinsurance Bureau’s Emerging Leader Program and Leadership
Illinois. She serves on the McLean County Ag Education Committee,
Illinois Farm Bureau Promotions and Education Committee and the
Illinois FFA Foundation Board.
Lindsey and her husband, Reed, live on a farm in Eastern McLean
County and have two daughters, Peyton and Kamryn.
About Illinois Farm Bureau
The Illinois Farm Bureau is a member of the American Farm Bureau
Federation, a national organization of farmers and ranchers. Founded
in 1916, IFB is a non-profit, membership organization directed by
farmers who join through their county Farm Bureau. IFB has a total
membership of more than 364,452 and a farmer membership of 75,959.
IFB represents three out of four Illinois farmers.
Learn more about Illinois agriculture at www.ilfb.org.
[Sierra Henry
Media Relations Specialist
Illinois Farm Bureau®] |
