Thirty members from the Heartland and Chicago NAMA chapters attended the October 17 tour of Kasbergen Dairy Farm, a 3,100 cow operation near Bellflower, Illinois. The dairy is the largest in central Illinois and has been in operation since 2002. George Kasbergen, owner, migrated from southern California to open the dairy in addition to family dairies in California and Wisconsin.

There are 35 people working on the farm in 8-hour shifts and Kasbergen also employs a veterinarian and nutritionist. There are 10 tankers of milk delivered daily to Stone Ridge Dairy in Wisconsin. All milk is made into cheese. The dairy is a 5-star dairy, a rating awarded by a private firm based on environmental and humane practices.

Seven members of the Illinois State University Student NAMA chapter also attended the tour. It was a great educational fall event.

The early registration deadline and hotel cut-off date for the 2007 Agribusiness Forum is one week away on Monday, October 29. After October 29, registration rates will increase and any hotel reservations made after October 29 are subject to higher rates and potential unavailability.

To register for the Agribusiness Forum before the early deadline visit, http://payment.nama.org/forum.htm.

To make your hotel reservations before the cut-off date, contact the Hyatt Regency Crown Center at 816-421-1234. Make sure you mention the “NAMA Agribusiness Forum” when making your reservations.

For more information on the sessions at the upcoming Forum visit, http://www.nama.org/forum.

International economist Don Reynolds will deliver a fast paced overview of major trends in the global economy and how they will impact agriculture. From new economic developments to currencies, energy, interest rates and more, Reynolds will address recent market volatility in the financial markets and how you can prepare for – and profit from – today’s changing marketplace.

Don Reynolds served for eleven years as Chairman of the Investment Advisory Board of a $22 billion trust fund that resulted in his appointment by President Bush as Pension Board Chairman with oversight of $120 billion in pension and trust funds. He understands how critical it is for decision makers to have a clear vision of future trends when making long term, strategic decisions.

Reynolds has a masters degree in Public Administration/Planning, a doctoral background in economics, and is a graduate of the Securities Industry Institute of the Wharton School. He has an honorary degree from the University of Moscow and was the first American member of the Moscow Center for Consulting Scientists.

Special thanks to Cattlemen’s Beef Board for sponsoring this session.

As the American population ages and changes, so do their habits as customers. How do we adapt to these changes and anticipate – and capitalize on – the trends that are shaping their buying habits? Dr. Claudia Mobley will discuss developing markets, the rise of health and wellness concerns and more. Learn how changing lifestyles and cultural shifts impact your bottom line…and how you can come out ahead!

Dr. Claudia Mobley is the director of the Center for Retailing Excellence at the Sam M. Walton College of Business. Mobley and her team are responsible for developing and maintaining alliances with the retail industry, the development and coordination of outreach initiatives for industry and academia, and educational programs for students and industry.

She has extensive experience in the retail merchandising, buying, management, and wholesale production. Dr. Mobley held faculty positions at the University of Arkansas, University of North Texas, Texas Woman’s University, and the Fashion and Art Institute of Dallas prior to accepting her appointment as Director of the Center for Retailing Excellence.

American consumers have been jolted by food safety scares in the past year ranging from dirty spinach to sickening peanut butter. Yet it was the case of contaminated pet food from China that seemed to galvanize public opinion that something in the system has gone awry. That’s just the way it is: consumers and newspaper readers can be fickle, walking away from serious stories about their own health in favor of less weighty pieces about dogs and cats. So how does a newspaper choose which food safety stories to cover? Take a look at how a major metro newspaper covers the food industry.

Matt McKinney covers food and agriculture for the Star Tribune in Minneapolis. He has followed the Chinese food scare, the rise of the organic industry, food innovations from Cargill and others, and the supermarket industry’s chase for consumer dollars in the Wal-Mart age. He has profiled successful CEO’s and chronicled the handing down of prison sentences for not-so-successful ones.

Matt has reported from Kosovo, Cambodia, Vietnam and Hong Kong. He graduated from St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minn.

Special thanks to Osborn & Barr Communications for sponsoring this session.

What are the compelling issues confronting the food industry in 2008 and beyond? What kinds of companies can be successful in a tough competitive environment that continually challenges them with issues like globalization and food safety? How will you differentiate your products, services and values in an era of cutthroat competition, when customer needs and priorities seem to shift almost daily?

Kevin Coupe, MorningNewsBeat’s “Content Guy,” addresses each day on his web site…and they are the focus of this presentation. His premise: the stakes are too high, the time is too short, and the customer is too demanding for retailers and manufacturers to put off critical decisions that will define their future and their hopes for survival. You’ll walk away with tactics to help your company evolve and stay ahead of the game.

Kevin Coupe is a writer specializing in creating unique portraits of “Main Street”-type businesses in the U.S. and around the world, focusing on the unique dynamic that exists between retailers, manufacturers and consumers. Working in print, video and online, Coupe captures the special relationship between shopkeeper and shopper, especially in a technological society in which the rules and roles are constantly changing. And, as a speaker on these same subjects, Coupe has enlightened and entertained audiences around the globe.

Special thanks to Padilla Speer Beardsley for sponsoring this session.

NatureWorks LLC is the first commercially viable producer of a truly sustainable resource based plastic – NatureWorks® polymer. Made from 100% plant resources, not oil, NatureWorks polymer is being adopted quickly around the globe for use in food packaging, food serviceware, films and fibers under both the NatureWorks and Ingeo™ brand names. But commercialization has not been without it’s challenges. Mary Rosenthal will present what has been required regarding supply chain education – including “Smart Care,” stakeholder engagement and issues management in order to bring this new material to market both here in North America and globally.

Mary Rosenthal is Global Communications Leader for NatureWorks LLC, a renewable resource based polymer company that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cargill, Inc. In her role, Rosenthal leads marketing and corporate communications for the packaging, fibers and emerging application business segments.

With more than 20 years of experience in the food industry, Rosenthal has held various positions in sales, marketing, public relations and business development. In 1999, Rosenthal took the role of President of Morgan&Myers, Minneapolis. Following this, she was lead public relations counsel with Fleishman-Hillard, primarily with Hormel Foods. Rosenthal was a founding member of the Women’s Foodservice Forum, a member of the Corporation for the Culinary Institute of America, on the public relations committee for the Chocolate Manufacturers Association and is currently on the public relations committee for International BIO. Rosenthal received a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University.

Special thanks to Elanco Animal Health for sponsoring this session.