57th Annual Farm City Banquet set for November 6

The 57th annual Farm-City Banquet, hosted by the Greater Maryville Chamber of Commerce, will be held at 6 pm, Monday, November 6 at the JW Jones Student Union Ballroom on the Northwest Missouri State University campus.

The evening will begin with an invocation and dinner, followed by speaker Chris Chinn, Missouri director of agriculture. Chinn, a fifth generation Missouri farmer from Clarence, was named to the state post in January 2017 by Missouri Governor Eric R. Greitens. Chinn has held leadership positions in agriculture on the local, state and national level for more than 12 years, working to move the state’s agriculture industry forward.

As a trailblazer in ag advocacy, Chinn has established her brand through social media and public speaking. Her blog and Twitter audiences have attracted more than 10,000 followers who have tuned in to hear her farm story. Through her outreach, she stands up for both rural and urban Missouri by bridging the gap between farmers and consumers and contributes to the advancement of the state’s No. 1 industry.

Chinn is a member of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), which represents the departments of agriculture in all 50 states. She is a member of the Missouri State Fair Commission, Missouri Wine & Grape Board, Missouri Development Finance Board and Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority Board of Directors.

Chinn is a member of the Missouri Farm Bureau where she has served as chairperson of the young farmers and ranchers committee and has served on the Missouri Farm Bureau board of directors since 2010.

Chinn is currently chair of the Shelby County Farm Bureau young farmers and ranchers and serves as secretary of the Shelby County Farm Bureau board of directors. Chinn resides on her family’s farm in Shelby County with her husband, Kevin, and her two children, Rachelle and Conner, where she helps manage their farrow-to-finish hog operation, as well as their family feed mill. Chinn and her husband also have a small cow-calf herd, as well as raise corn, soybean and alfalfa.

The evening will also include an awards presentation to recognize the 2017 outstanding farm family, farm woman, farm youth, farm conservationist and farm advocate. Recognition will be made for Missouri Century Farms, Extension Leader Honor Roll and the prestigious Nodaway County Agriculture Hall of Fame.

Tickets for the banquet are $20 and are available at the Chamber of Commerce office, 408 North Market. Shuttle service will be available from lots 62 and 63 on the Northwest campus beginning at 5:15 pm. Tickets must be purchased by Tuesday, October 31.

Individuals are encouraged to bring food donations to contribute to the Celebrate Agriculture food drive coordinated by Sigma Alpha and Alpha Gamma Rho at Northwest Missouri State University.

Sponsors for this event include the following: Bank Midwest, Farmers Mutual Insurance Company of Nodaway County, FCS Financial, Milne-Dinsdale Seed, Nodaway County Cattlemen’s Association, Nodaway County Farm Bureau Insurance Services, Nodaway County Soil & Water District, Summa Implement and United Electric Cooperative.

Ticket sponsors are Consumers Oil, MFA Agri-Services, Nodaway Valley Bank, Northwest Missouri State University and Wells Bank.