Education & Events

Hybrid | Crowne Plaza, Springfield OR Live Streamed

Ag lending requires highly specialized lending skills and an understanding of the unique markets available to farmers in Illinois. As in all other industries, ag banking is constantly changing. Ag lenders need to stay current on the latest issues in agricultural markets, economics, and risk management. The Ag Banking Conference addresses these and other important issues to increase your knowledge and improve your ability to serve ag customers. Brochure

Agenda

Wednesday, August 24

8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Registration and Refreshments

9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.        
Sharks Don’t Swim Backwards
Rob Sharkey “The Shark Farmer”
Rob Sharkey, known in digital circles as The Shark Farmer, is not your average Illinois grain farmer. He’s a disruptor who is unwavering in his ability to directly address controversial topics. From his early days of avoiding bankruptcy to becoming an agricultural media giant, Rob tells all. 

11:15 a.m. – Noon
Soil Wealth: Investing in Regenerative Agriculture across Asset Classes
Joshua Zuckerman, Lead, Resilient Agriculture, Delta Institute
As the investment community in the United States, particularly within the fields of sustainable, responsible, and impact (SRI) investing, shows an increasing appetite for investing in sustainable agriculture and food systems across asset classes, a subset of investors is demonstrating growing interest in financing not simply “sustainable” agriculture but agriculture that is deemed explicitly “regenerative.” We will explore opportunities for investments in regenerative agriculture.

Noon – 12:45 p.m.  Networking Lunch 

12:45 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.      
A Crisis of Supply
Ben Buckner, Chief Grain Analyst, AgResource
The session will cover fundamental crop supply and demand at a time with the world is on the precipice of a major food crisis. The world needs enlarged production of nearly everything, but will Mother Nature cooperate?

2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.         
Selling in a Rising Rate Environment
Tony Cole, Founder & CLO, Anthony Cole Training Group
Typically, rate is always an issue but skilled lenders and relationship managers know how to navigate a discussion with a client or prospect so that rate is less of an issue. With fed rates rising and our continued challenging business environment, your people need to be skilled at asking the right questions and uncovering potential issues and problems so that rate is not a surprise or a negotiating struggle. They must be excellent at consultative selling and positioning their value, which will minimize their need to negotiate rates.

3:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.     
Weather Risk in Agribusiness: 2022 Growing Season
Eric Snodgrass, Science Fellow and Principal Atmospheric Scientist, Nutrien Ag Solutions
Weather risk is ubiquitous in the ag economy. High-impact weather events like flash floods, drought, hurricanes, derechos, tornadoes, and wildfires can quickly change the trajectory of our business decisions and plans. The largest source of risk in successfully growing a crop each year is the weather, which makes accurate and timely forecasts a critical part of decision support. In this presentation, we will examine the 2022 growing season by discussing the weather events that have shaped the size and quality of US crops. We will discuss how modern weather analysis and forecast can be used to maximize efficiency in decision-making while learning about the limits, accuracy, and skill of these predictions. We will forecast the remainder of the growing season and have a discussion about harvest and the upcoming winter. We will also cover the potential weather patterns for the 2022-23 growing season in South America. Come prepared to discover the best resources for weather forecasting and learn how high-impact weather forms and how modern science predicts its outcome.

4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.    Networking Reception 

Thursday, August 25

7:30 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.    Breakfast Buffet

8:00 a.m. – 8:25 a.m.
Michael W. Frerichs - Illinois State Treasurer: Ag Invest
For 39 years, the Treasurer's Office has provided loan opportunities for Illinois farmers through Ag Invest. Through a commitment to Ag Invest, the Treasurer's Office partners with approved financial institutions to provide qualified farmers, agri-business, and agriculture professionals below-market rate loans to start, expand or add value to their farm operations. The loans provided by the financial institution can be used for the purchase of farm equipment, purchase of land, construction-related expenses, provide operating lines of credit, or other costs related to conventional or sustainable farming.

8:30 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.         
Plow Forward with Competitive Loan Strategies
Travis Schroll, Institutional Sales Director, Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago
Inflation, Supply Chains, and Rising Rates – Oh My! Learn about solutions to help your Ag customers during this volatile market and maintain win/win relationships.

9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.     
Federal Policy and Redistricting Update
Ed Elfmann, ABA’s Senior Vice President of Agriculture and Rural Banking Policy
In this session, Elfmann will explain how the current agricultural economy and political leadership is shaping current agricultural policy and the 2023 Farm Bill. He will give you an overview of USDA, Congressional leadership, and other important players in the agricultural policy world. Additionally, Elfmann will give you an update on congressional redistricting in Illinois and how that will affect elections in November. Lastly, this session will provide you with available resources in the agricultural banking space that can help you as a banker.

10:45 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.    
Effective Balance Sheets Lead to Uniformity and Consistency
Tim Ohlde, CEO, Country Banker Systems
There is an old saying, “Bad loans are made in good times.” The pandemic was not a good time. However, an abundance of government payments, good crop production, and solid prices over the last few years “cleaned up” many ag portfolios in the Midwest. Despite major weather challenges, including the derecho event, ag borrowers had opportunities to secure solid profits. But then comes 2022 with inflation, increasing interest rates, high energy prices, and a war. This year and beyond will challenge your analytic skills with your ag portfolios. Loans that seemed strong two years ago may now appear weak. Hard data has never been more important, and it all starts with the Balance Sheet! Achieving uniform and consistent analysis is the number one goal of portfolio managers. Balance sheet data is foundational to reaching this goal. This session will include the do’s and don’ts for balance sheet completion and challenge your thinking about your current process. Tim will highlight easy-to-use definitions, identify common slotting errors, share a fresh approach to trend analysis, and offer insight on how analysis can be used to add value to the customer relationship. You’ll take away key steps to reach the goal of uniformity and consistency! 
 

Book A Room: Crowne Plaza Springfield
● 3000 South Dirksen Parkway
● Room Rate $116 plus tax
● Good thru Tuesday, August 9
● 217-529-7777
● Online Reservations
● Mention: Illinois Bankers Association

Fee Per Person
(In-Person or Live Streamed)
Member $345
Non-Member $495 

Presentation Material Options
Presentation files will be available free of charge on the IBA mobile app/website. 
Purchase a binder for $25