By KEVIN WALKER

Michigan Correspondent

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — The American Bankers Assoc. (ABA) hosted its 65th annual National Agricultural Bankers Conference this month, with the goal of helping bankers prepare for what is ahead in agricultural lending by highlighting trends in land values, credit and risk management and the economy.

The four-day event, Nov. 12-15 at the Hilton Milwaukee City Center and Milwaukee Center, featured leaders in ag and banking, including Dr. David Kohl, a professor emeritus at Virginia Tech in agricultural and applied economics. He was honored with the Blanchfield Award for his significant contributions to the advancement of ag lending.

Kohl is “a champion of bankers education and travels all across the country providing expert information that helps bankers do their jobs better,” said Sarah Grano, a spokeswoman for the ABA. “He also works directly with agribusiness and has helped educate countless students from his years as a college professor.”

Earlier in the year he was recognized for his life’s work by being inducted into the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Hall of Fame. Kohl joined the Virginia Tech faculty in 1978. He is also a business coach and part owner of Homestead Creamery, a value-added dairy business in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

This year’s event featured more than 30 sessions, including “The Next Cycle – Trends in Land Value;” “How Data is Transforming Farming;” “Our Brains and Stress: Psychology of a Distressed Borrower;” “Executive Leadership in Ag Banking; Recruiting the Next Ag Banker;” and “Economic Outlook – Let’s Talk Economy, Ag and Trade.”

The conference also had a “New Ag Banker” track that included sessions on analyzing collateral, advanced credit analysis, loan documentation and surviving problem loans. David Cisar, of Von Briesen & Roper of Milwaukee, presented on loan documentation, namely on “how to avoid pitfalls.”

This track targeted bankers relatively new to ag lending, with between 1-7 years of lending experience or professionals transitioning to ag banking from other careers.

New to the conference this year was the Women in Ag Banking Networking Breakfast, featuring consultant Sarah Gibson from Accent Learning and Consultants LLC, based out of Stoughton, Wis. The session provided a way for participants to discuss ways to celebrate successes and failures as professional women in the field.

According to Grano, the ABA is the voice of the nation’s $17 trillion banking industry, which is composed of small, regional and large banks that together employ more than 2 million people, holding $13 trillion in deposits and making more than $9 trillion in loans.