The 8th annual Arkansas State University Agriculture-Business Conference on industry issues and commodity market outlook will be held Wednesday, Feb. 20, at the ASU Fowler Center and Convocation Center.

During the luncheon address, farm writer and broadcaster Ken Root will discuss trends in agribusiness and rural America, including the cultural aspects of agriculture.

The General Session will cover three topics. David Schweikhardt and Sandra Batie of Michigan State University will discuss the economic and political forces which are shaping agricultural and trade policy in the new farm bill.

Nick Hether of the Gerber Products Co. will give examples of how changing consumer perceptions of food safety in regard to chemical pesticides and genetically modified crops affect brand name food manufacturers.

Neil Harl of Iowa State University will describe how consumer demand and new food production and processing technology are driving a structural transformation of agriculture.

The Rice Session features three speakers. Bobby Coats, of the Cooperative Extension Service and Richard Bell of Riceland Foods will discuss the rice market outlook and the impact of federal farm legislation on the rice industry. Nick Hether of the Gerber Products Co. will discuss the use of rice as an ingredient in manufactured food products.

In the Cotton Session, Woods Eastland of Staplcotn will discuss the cotton market outlook and the impact of federal farm legislation on the cotton industry. Three northeast Arkansas cotton producers, Allen Helms, Kevin Hoke, and David Wildy, will discuss production strategies which can improve the profitability of cotton production.

The Livestock Industry Session will feature a previous Agriculture-Business Conference speaker. Northeast Arkansas native Leland Southard, an economist with the USDA Economics Research Service, will describe the market outlook for beef, swine, and poultry.

On-site registration begins at the Fowler Center at 8 a.m. Lunch will be served in the Convocation Center at noon. Afternoon sessions end at 3 p.m.

A complete conference program and on-line registration is available on the Internet at http://agri.astate.edu. There is no registration fee. However, pre-registration for lunch is limited to 600. More than 700 farmers and agri-business people attended last year’s conference.

The ASU Agriculture-Business Conference is sponsored by the ASU College of Agriculture, MidSouth Bank, AgHeritage Farm Credit Services, Farm Credit Midsouth, Arkansas Farm Bureau, Riceland Foods, Inc., the USA Rice Federation, and the Judd Hill Foundation.

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