if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	return &sarama.ProducerMessage{
		Topic: target.args.Topic,
		Key:   sarama.StringEncoder(key),
		Value: sarama.ByteEncoder(data),
	}, nil
}

// Close - closes underneath kafka connection.
func (target *KafkaTarget) Close() error {
	close(target.quitCh)

	if target.batch != nil {