ASFMRA: Advance Your Career at Summer Education Week

Summer is right around the corner, and Mike Krause, AFM the current president of ASFMRA, encourages you to include ASFMRA’s Summer Education Week (SEW) in your plans. The networking itself will be worth the price of entry, he says, and the education that’s planned for the week will be some of the best that ASFMRA has to offer. This year’s event will take place from July 17 to July 21 in Omaha, Neb., at the Embassy Suites Omaha - La Vista/ Hotel & Conference Center. 

“SEW is a great time for new attendees to develop friendships and take the education classes,” says Skye Root, AFM, AAC and education and accredidation committee chair. “For the seasoned professional, it’s an opportunity to network and learn about the latest trends in our industry.”

SEW is ASFMRA’s premier educational event aimed at providing learning for licensure, accreditation and continuing education. The week is also loaded with education and networking opportunities for farm managers, appraisers, consultants and students.

Core And Continuing Education

Classes are offered for members to work toward their accreditation through ASFMRA’s core education series: Accredited Farm Manager (AFM), Accredited Rural Appraiser (ARA) and Real Property Review Appraisers (RPRA).

Specialized education is also offered. For rural appraisers, courses such as “Market Area and Industry Analysis,” “Report Writing” and “Drones in Agriculture: Roles and Goals” were added this year in response to what is happening in the industry.

“Unmanned aerial vehicles are being used more in agriculture, and we need to make sure that our members are familiar with the technology and can fully appreciate the role that this new technology can play in helping them serve their clients,” says Ken Daw, RPRA, chair of the education and appraisal accreditation and education committee.

Another highlight will be the rollout of a new one-day seminar, “Leveraging Disruption: The Ag Industry of the Future.”

“We have never put together a one-day seminar like this, but given all of the new technology, we felt that our members really need to understand what the future might hold in terms of the services that they provide their clients,” Krause says. “We began by asking, ‘How will new technology impact our professions, can we leverage it, will we lose market share because of it, or will it eliminate the need for our services?’”

The one-day seminar will be held on Wednesday, July 19 and will include presentations by a number of entrepreneurs who have been very successful in looking at underserved markets and determining how to fill needs and disrupt the current business models and service channels. It will also include several known futurists, including Dr. Bruce Sherrick, who will provide their perspective on current as well as future ag technology solutions. This session is for anyone involved in the ag industry, including farm managers, consultants, rural appraisers and vendors serving those channels.

Focus On Young Professionals

The Young Professionals Network (YPN) leadership program at SEW, once again sponsored by DuPont Pioneer, will incorporate education, advocacy and networking. New seminars are worked into the program each year. For example, this year’s program will focus on managing work-life balance.

For the event’s full schedule and registration, go to www.asfmra.org/sew.