Good News On Many Fronts For the Industry & the Association

While current headlines are full of news that could leave one with a degree of apprehension, as we enter the final month of the year, from my viewpoint, 2013 has provided much for our industry and has given this Association much to be thankful for.

During our annual meeting in Indianapolis last month, I had the pleasure of reporting to our Board of Directors that this Association of farm equipment manufacturers, suppliers and marketing members, not only remains financially strong, but that we are attracting new members at a record rate, in an industry where consolidation continues to be a major factor.

Association Membership: One year ago, we set an ambitious goal of making our Association stronger by significantly increasing the number of member companies we represent. Thanks to the efforts of members who were willing to share the story of our Association and our successes in the last year, over 80 companies have added their names to our membership roster. Today, our total membership stands at 696, just four members shy of our goal of beginning 2014 with 700 member companies. At some point in the next few days or weeks, I fully expect to be able to inform our membership that we have surpassed our 2013 goal.

Financially Strong: While we could not be more proud of our success in new member recruitments, we, like all other associations, are also measured by our financial position. In other words, do we have the financial reserves and income streams required to fully support the efforts we need to take on for our members?

Again, I had the pleasure of reporting to your Board of Directors additional successes — financially. In spite of historic low interest rates, which have over the last few years significantly reduced our investment income, we have been able to control our operation expenses and were once again able to add a significant amount to our financial reserves.

Association Efforts: Outreach to the industry, beyond our membership, has also been a continued focus of effort and success. The addition of our magazine, Ag Innovator, continues to expand our voice in the industry with nearly 10,000 copies of the magazine mailed within the last year. Our flagship newsletter, the Shortliner has also seen a major increase in readership this year. Its eighteen issues are now mailed to over 650 individuals, and over 700 individuals receive their copy of the Shortliner via email, most of which in turn share it with others within the company and industry.

While many factors impact attendance during both of our annual meetings, we know that listening to suggestions from our members has not only improved the content of our meetings, but also the attendance. Members asked us to look at how we could condense the same program into fewer days, and when possible, to avoid stretching the meetings over the entire weekend. We accomplished both of these in 2013 for our Spring Meeting in Omaha and our Fall Convention in Indianapolis. Both meetings were shorter, and both showed significant improvement in attendance with over 400 attendees in Indianapolis last month, which was 6% higher than the prior year. Our numbers in Omaha were even better, up over 52% from the prior year.

As I mentioned at the start of this article, our Association has much to be thankful for, and it all starts and ends with you, our members.

Looking Forward: In the next issue of the Shortliner, I will focus on how you as members can help insure our continued successes and how each of you can become more involved in the leadership of this great Association. –  By Vernon Schmidt, Executive Vice President of the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association.