Pub. 9 2020 Issue 2

l e a d i n g a d v o c a t e f o r t h e b a n k i n g i n d u s t r y i n k a n s a s 20 KANSAS AG BANKERS CONFERENCE T he 2020 Kansas Ag Bankers Conference was held once again at the Manhattan Hilton Garden Inn March 6-7 with over 350 bankers in attendance breaking last year’s record of 300. This year’s event also set a record with 17 active exhibit booths. KAB President Elsa Havel, Grant County Bank, Ulysses, opened the conference with comments and introductions. KBA Chairman Kurt Knutson also made a few remarks to conference attendees. Again this year, Dr. David Kohl kicked off the conference with a very insightful presentation. He shared that climate and weather change, along with political uncertainty, consumer demand shifts and demographic changes in agriculture and society, consulting in challenges and opportunities for the strategic leader. Managing expectations and a focus on fiduciary fundamentals or ownership of the numbers will be a key element in the producer’s and lender’s game plan. There were two breakout sessions that contained six presentations. Topics included: Banking Cannabis in Kansas, Terri Thomas, KBA; Resources and Tools to Manage Agricultural Risk, Chip Whalen, CIH; Kansas Land Values and Rental Rates, Dr. Mykel Taylor, Kansas State University; Industrial Hemp Production and Regulation in Kansas, Brandon Hoch, Kansas Department of Agriculture; Financial Analysis Using an Accrual-Adjusted Income Statement, Dr. Freddie Barnard, Purdue University; What Makes a Top Farm — 2020 Update, Dr. Gregg Ibendahl and Dr. Terry Griffin, Kansas State University. All the breakout sessions were extremely well attended. Doug Heady, Chief Meteorologist for KOAM in Joplin, Missouri, provided an energetic presentation on past and future weather patterns in Kansas. It has been so wet now for the past year and a half. He states, “The 2019-2020 Heady Pattern is wet but not as bad as last year. It will be a very wet spring but will really dry out in the summer months.” He also shared how the severe weather patterns will shift further south this year. A prime example of that was the recent outbreak of 33 tornadoes on March 2 in Tennessee. A record 350 attendees at this year’s conference! Ron Johnson (Community National Bank, Seneca), State Bank Commissioner David Herndon and current KBA Board Chairman Kurt Knutson (Freedom Bank, Overland Park). Pioneer Award recipient: TomMcGavran, The Citizens State Bank & Trust, Minneapolis. Pioneer Award recipients: Bill Neier and Frank York, Stockgrowers State Bank, Ashland.