Thank you for joining us at the 2024 ADMC Annual meeting, as I am pleased to present the President’s report. 2024 has been a year that ADMC has been focusing on what the next stage of the coalition will look like. In the first 20 years of ADMC, the focus has largely been on developing conservation drainage practices that will work with a farmers drainage system while improving environmental outcomes. ADMC not only worked to develop these practices and financial assistance programs, but also focused on educating stakeholders on their use.
There is a need for ADMC to grow and extend its reach beyond its current members to have an even larger voice for the industry. This means expanding our geographic reach, listening to the educational needs of drainage contractors, becoming active in the policy arena, and being able to clearly articulate our vision to expand industry membership. The strategic planning exercise yesterday was a great start to being able to do this. The engagement of members in committee work will be crucial to seeing this through.
Membership in ADMC continues to be stable and grow slowly. We are pleased to have a new pipe manufacturer join the ranks as River Valley Pipe and Blaine Adams is serving on the board. After establishing the strategic vision, 2025 needs to be a big year for membership growth.
2024 was a successful year for educational events. The 2024 Conservation Network Meeting in Columbus, OH was the largest CDN meeting to date. The much-respected contractor Paul Pullins even joined ADMC at the Silver level after the event. ADMC assisted LICA in the inaugural National Water Management Forum that was held in Indiana over the summer. ADMC is also helping to coordinate the speakers for the 2nd North America Conservation and Drainage Expo.
We continue to see the use of conservation drainage practices expand and there is even more interest in utilizing alternative practice delivery models to accelerate adoption. Iowa continues to have success with the batch and build model, including one led by the private Ag retailer, Heartland Coop, who are also ADMC members. ADMC member ESE is a leader utilizing the turn-key approach in MN. The Minnesota Board of Soil and Water Resources just received a NRCS grant that will focus on conservation drainage due to this success. The Nature Conservancy in Indiana also received an NRCS RCPP grant to implement a batch and build that ADMC will serve in an advisory role. Finally, the Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership, which ADMC is a member of, will likely launch a batch and build in 2025.
Finally, we are nearing an MOU with the NRCS to continue to make conservation friendlier for farmers and contractors.
The work is nowhere near complete, but ADMC’s efforts are accelerating. I would like to thank everyone for their contribution to make this happen.
