Grainnet, IL
01-15-07
Major Sessions on Biofuels, Futures Market Performance Highlight NGFA's
111th Annual Convention Program
Washington, DC–-Major sessions featuring new information on the likely impacts
of biofuels expansion on U.S. agriculture and the performance of U.S. futures
markets highlight the 111th annual convention program of the National Grain and
Feed Association, scheduled for March 18-20 in San Francisco, CA.
During the three-day event, leaders of the nation’s grain, feed and processing
industry also will be focusing on rail and waterway transportation issues,
challenges facing animal agriculture production, changes to the licensing
agreement governing federally licensed grain warehouses, and important safety
and health issues facing grain-handling and feed manufacturing operations. The
NGFA convention, to be conducted at the Westin St. Francis Hotel, will feature
major sessions on:
Biofuels Growth and Impacts
This session will feature new information on the projected growth and impacts of
the biofuels industry, including projections for the number of ethanol and biofuels
plants likely to exist by 2010; their impacts on national and regional agricultural
markets, crop prices and relative competitiveness of the U.S. livestock, poultry
and export sectors; and implications for the Conservation Reserve Program.
The session also will examine potential changes in corn yield trends and
changing quality characteristics of corn and distillers dried grains with solubles,
the co-product of ethanol production.
Confirmed speakers include Dr. Dermot Hayes, agricultural economist, Iowa
State University, Ames, Iowa; and James Tobin, director of biotechnology
business development for Monsanto Co., St. Louis, Mo.
Agricultural Futures Markets and Delivery Issues
A four-person panel will examine current issues confronting U.S. futures markets
and those who utilize futures to hedge risk.
A major focus will be on the extent and impacts of growing fund and investment
capital on futures and cash market performance – one of the hottest topics facing
the industry today – and potential changes being considered by the exchanges to
address those issues.
Confirmed speakers include Michael Dunn, a member of the Commodity Futures
Trading Commission, the regulatory agency that oversees futures markets; and
David Lehman, chief economist and managing director of the Chicago Board of
Trade.
Other panelists will include a grain industry expert and one of the researchers at
the University of Illinois involved in its study of CBOT futures market
performance.
Earlier in the program, NGFA convention-goers also will hear about new
developments at the CBOT from its executive vice president and chief operation
officer, Bryan Durkin.
Rail Transportation
Perspectives on the condition of the rail industry, including rail infrastructure and
capacity challenges affecting agricultural transportation, will be the focus of
Charles W. “Wick” Moorman, chairman, president and chief executive officer of
the Norfolk Southern Railway, Norfolk, Va.
Moorman also is scheduled to discuss his railroad’s strategy for addressing rail
service and fuel-surcharge issues.
In addition, Surface Transportation Board Chairman Charles Nottingham has
been invited to address a separate rail open forum scheduled for March 18.
That session also will feature Lynn Anderson, senior vice president, marketing,
Cedar American Rail Holdings Inc./DM&E and ICE Railroads, Sioux Falls, S.D.
Executive Briefing on Safety and Health Issues
One of the NGFA convention’s open forums will feature a management-level
briefing on important safety and health issues facing grain handlers, feed
manufacturers and grain processors.
Confirmed speakers are Mark Daniels, director of health and safety for CHS, St.
Paul, Minn.; and Melissa Bailey, an attorney with the Washington-based law firm
of Arent Fox, the NGFA’s outside legal counsel.
Global Capital Markets and Economic Outlook
The widely read and highly regarded Dennis Gartman, editor and publisher of
The Gartman Letter, will preview global capital markets and the political and
economic issues that will affect them in the coming year.
NGFA Chairman Ron Olson, vice president, grain operations for General Mills
Inc., Minneapolis, will provide a preview of the NGFA’s policy priorities for 2007.
Other speakers invited to address the NGFA’s convention include Secretary of
Agriculture Mike Johanns, a key member of Congress, and a leader of the U.S.
poultry industry.
The NGFA’s convention also will feature working sessions of most of the
association’s 17 committees addressing the most pressing issues facing grain
elevators, commercial feed mills, integrated livestock and poultry operations, and
grain processors and millers.
Virtually all NGFA committee meetings are open to all convention registrants.
The convention also features a golf tournament to benefit the National Grain and
Feed Foundation, as well as an “Ag Village” trade show.
The convention registration fee is $530 per person for NGFA members, $1,000
for nonmembers and $225 for spouses.
Complete convention program and registration information is available on the
NGFA’s web site (see bleow), or by contacting the NGFA at 202-289-0873.