Managing Agriculture’s Future
The 2014 Florida Agriculture Financial Management Conference will highlight:
- The Fed Normalization Process: The Impact on the U.S. Economy!
- Financial Strategy, Metrics and Benchmarking
- Florida Roads and Ports…Growing Florida’s Agriculture
- Mid-Term Election Recap
- Seasonal Climate Forecasts for Crop Planning
- 2014 Farm Bill Update – Crop Insurance
- Managing Food Safety Risk
- Estate and Succession Planning
Wednesday, November 12
Presidential Suite – 1658
Thursday, November 13
Dr. Ed Seifried — Seifried & Brew
Dr. Ed will guide us through just how the Fed plans to bring about a return to normal financial environment, and discuss how this process will impact economic and financial conditions. How will the Fed take the economy back to the time when interest rates were “normal” and the Fed’s balance sheet was not bloated? While recent developments have led some to question the wisdom of the removal of the monetary stimulus any time soon, it is now obvious the Fed Normalization process will begin soon? The Fed began to taper their bond buying volumes in December 2013, and the move was well received by the markets. At the current rate of tapering, the Fed will most likely end the quantitative easing program very soon. Does stopping the Fed’s bond buying equate to the economy receiving a clean bill of health from the Fed?
Jim Boxold — Chief of Staff to FLDOT Secretary Prasad
Robert Porter — Executive Academic Director of the UCF Executive Development Center
In the course of his presentation, Bob will share practical tips on assessing and addressing strategic leadership and planning issues for your business. Bob is known as the Strategy Doctor, and he will share his prescription for creating and maintaining a competitive advantage in your industry. He will specifically address how to take advantage of the improving economy with scare resources. Bob will draw upon his 25 years of industry experience working with GE, NCR, AT&T, and a collection of start‐ups, including starting, running(as COO) and selling a very successful community bank. In addition to teaching leadership, strategy, and business planning, Bob is an active consultant for a wide variety of industries.
Erin Enhle — Photographer, Designer and Creative Communicator
In this session, we will be discussing the differences in social media platforms to discover which ones are best suited for your business. You will learn what makes effective content for each platform and how to create it with easy-to-use apps downloaded to your phone or computer
In today’s visually driven society, dynamic imagery is crucial to social media success. We will also cover the basics of photography in this session, teaching you how to capture your work in an interesting way, whether you’re using your DSLR or smart phone.
Amanda Gufford — Manager, Consulting Services for McGladrey LLP
Have you challenged your team to consider the types of risks facing your business that could bring you down? If so, food safety is undoubtedly near the top of that list. Understanding your company’s risks associated with increased customer expectations, multi-jurisdictional laws and regulations, potential impacts to your reputation, a greater sense of social responsibility, and an increasingly global economy are critical to the long-term success of your business.
Clay Worden — Managing Partner of the Orlando Office of McGladrey LLP
There is a widening gap of profitability as the peak performing managers are garnishing more of the profit pie and wealth accumulation as others fall behind. What are the financial and best management practices and metrics necessary to evolve your business ahead of the curve and in the boundaries of sustainability and success in global competitiveness, regardless of the economic climate? Managing your financial risks becomes increasingly important given the uncertainly of mother nature and the competitive nature of Florida agriculture.
Drawing on his years of experience as a top financial advisor to some of the largest agriculture businesses in the state, Clay will share some of his observation on what top businesses are doing to reduce the risk of financial failure and fraud.
Sponsored by Wells Fargo
David Zierden — Florida State Climatologist
An outlook of anticipated climate patterns will be given for the upcoming winter and spring seasons. The climate of the Southeast is characterized by significant year to year variability in both rainfall and temperature. Much of this variability is tied to the El Nino/La Nina cycle in the Pacific Ocean, especially in the cold weather months. El Nino is shown to increase winter precipitation over peninsular Florida by 40% to 60%, while La Nina has much the opposite affect. This cycle also affects average temperatures, the Atlantic hurricane season, and the risk of extreme freezes. The current and predicted state of the Pacific Ocean will also be explored.
Dykes Everett — President of Dykes Everett & Company
This discussion will focus on agribusiness land values and investing trends in Florida both now and with predictions for the future.
Click here for more information.
Presidential Suite – 1658
Friday, November 14
Clif Parks — President of AgriLogic Consulting, LLC
Clif with cover the nuts and bolts on the much anticipated Whole Farm Revenue Program (WFRP). This is the replacement for the AGR-Lite policy that was revamped in the 2014 Farm Bill. With higher limits and other enhancements the policy is based off of prior year’s average adjusted revenue. This is a good risk management option to mitigate losses from citrus greening, market prices, and production losses. Other topics that will be covered include Beginning Farmer and Rancher incentives; AD1026 Wetlands Determination requirements; and other crop insurance changes in the 2014 Farm Bill.
Rick Dantzler — USDA FSA Florida Executive Director
Citrus greening has caused an immediate need for six million citrus trees to be planted to stabilize the citrus industry. Rick will discuss a new program recently announced by USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack aimed at getting new trees in the ground.
Moderator: Michael Minton, Shareholder and Chair of Agribusiness Industry Team, Dean Mead
- Rich Budell, Director, Office of Agricultural Water Policy, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
- Hans Tanzler, Executive Director, St. Johns River Water Management District
- Ernie Barnett, Executive Director, The Florida Land Council
Central Florida is running short on water to meet the ever-increasing demands of a burgeoning population—an estimated 6.6 million people within 40 years. Significant water shortfall will cause harm to the environment and hamper the economy of the entire region. State leaders know we need to act soon to avoid a pending crisis. Join us for a timely discussion featuring a panel of experts who are dedicated to creating alternative strategies for regional water sustainability that directly impacts the future of Florida’s agriculture industry.
Joe Gekoski — President and CEO of Advantexe Learning Solutions
This module provides several frameworks for strategic thinking and helps participants to understand what it means to create and execute a strategy. Once an organization has a clearly defined strategy, financial results can be used as the scoreboard to show how well the company is executing. Frameworks included in this module are the Advantexe core strategy model, Michael Porter’s Five Forces model, and Treacy & Wiersema’s Value Discipline model.
Lunch/Steve Bosquet — Tampa Bay Times’ Tallahassee Bureau Chief
Joe Gekoski — President and CEO of Advantexe Learning Solutions
Financial Metrics: The Scoreboard for Success
Financial statements and metrics are the scoreboards reflecting the success of an organization’s strategic execution. In addition to introducing several methods for analyzing financial statements, this module will focus on how different strategic activities or actions can impact financial performance. We will cover relevant topics such as benchmarking and steps for growth coming out of the economic downturn, and we’ll focus on specific metrics of performance and what drives success from a financial perspective.
Lauren Detzel, Shareholder at Dean Mead law firm
This presentation will give an overview of asset protection opportunities available in Florida and focus on recent legal developments that significantly impact planning for protection of your assets, including developments regarding homestead, life insurance, asset protection trusts and LLCs.
* Check back often for the latest updates and announcements about this year’s program!