A Note from the ACA Executive Director:
On behalf of myself and the ACA, we would like to formally invite you to register for the 2026 Ag Claims Conference taking place Tuesday March 10 - Wednesday, March 11, 2026 at the Prairie Meadows Casino and Hotel in Altoona, Iowa.
We made it a priority this year to open registration a month earlier than we did for 2025's conference. This provides extra time at each price point to register when it best fits into your personal or work planning cycles. This is also the second of a three-year partnership with the venue, which allows for predictability of logistics and pricing while building on the lessons learned from past events. Going forward, we will continue making decisions with cost, travel, logistics, and growth in mind for you and the ACA. In response to those concerns, we moved the date of this year's event so that travel will not be required on a weekend and to increase meal options for dinners (more options are open later in the week).
Prairie Meadow's venue really impressed us with their recent renovations. The conference center, hotel, and casino are in separate buildings with multiple restaurants and bars throughout and around the complex. For those concerned, the air filtration system is excellent. There was no smell of smoke at this year's conference, even in the casino. NOTE: Please make your reservations ASAP, you can always cancel later. There are other big NCAA events in the area at the same time, and rooms may become harder to find the longer you wait. Rooms are not covered under the registration fee, and you are responsible for canceling your own reservation.
We are happy to announce that the ACA continues to grow in partnership, sponsorship, membership, Farm/Ranch Certified Specialist, and website registration. We had two of our Advisory Team members retire, and we thank them for their years of support. We are excited that Vallery Eisenmann, Sr. Field Training Consultant with American National, and Monica Clobes, Farm Bureau Financial Service, both agreed to fill the vacancies and are excellent additions to the ACA team. Thank you both, and we look forward to working together to grow and make the ACA better.
Our topic list is below and is a collaborative effort between leadership, the advisory team, sponsors, companies, and members. There are a few open spots, so if you have an idea, need, or a topic you or your organization would like to present, feel free to reach out to us. As the topic list develops into an agenda, changes will be updated below.
We are both a Texas and Florida continuing education (CE) provider. We recently expanded our list to include Indiana, and our application for Kentucky is pending. We may expand our list of states we provide CE for, but it will depend on the state, cost, and number of attendees from that Designated Home State. Doug, the ACA's technology director, will reach out once you register to determine your CE needs, so we can consider expanding as required. Please understand, some states are far easier and cheaper to work with. For example, the first time we offer CE for Michigan will cost $500. As a result, we would need a few people needing the same CE to justify the expenditure.
We thank our all our sponsors for their continued support of the ACA. The sponsors help so much with our events and other initiatives while providing valuable expertise, speakers, and support to the industry. We would not be where we are without our sponsors. We welcome Cornerstone Claims to the list and look forward to working with you on your initiative in Texas.
We know you have a choice of several events hosted annually by different organizations around the industry, the ACA strives to provide world class education, training, and support that differentiates us from the others. We look forward to the conference, your support, and growing together; we hope to see you in Iowa.
Julie Overdeer
ACA Executive Director