Peyton and Archie Manning will be the keynote speakers
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
Attendees of the upcoming AFBF Annual Convention & IDEAg Trade Show, taking place in Phoenix in early January 2017, will be joined by some football royalty.
Peyton Manning along with his father, Archie, will be the keynote speakers at the closing general session on Jan. 9.
Show organizers say there’s comparisons to be drawn between athletes and farmers.
Peyton and Archie Manning
Photo: Getty
"Peyton Manning is a model of success, with a strong work ethic and proven track record of helping others,” Zippy Duvall, AFBF president, said in a release. “We look forward to hearing from him about the importance of teamwork and a good game plan. We think the sports star will feel right at home with the superstars of American agriculture."
And he should feel right at home with farmers.
According to the book The Mannings: The Fall and Rise of a Football Family, Peyton was named after his father’s uncle, who owned a farm and ran a farm equipment business. As a boy, Archie would chop cotton at his uncle’s farm for $3 per day.
It’s that family connection to agriculture that makes the Mannings’ attendance even more special.
"Our annual convention is like a reunion for agriculture and the Farm Bureau Family," Duvall said in a release. "So we're excited that father and son Archie and Peyton will join us and share some of their family's stories with us."