Make plans to join your colleagues for the Agribusiness Forum, November 13-14, in Kansas City, MO. Learn from leading economists, journalists, consumer food experts and more as they share strategies for how you and your business can prosper in today’s global market. The Forum will explore the challenges and emerging opportunities that today’s business climate presents to us. You’ll leave with the tools you need to succeed – no matter who’s pulling your chain!

Take a look at the speakers we have lined-up for you at the 2007 Agribusiness Forum:

Tuesday, November 13

Keynote Speaker
Who’s Pulling Our Chain?
Don Reynolds
Does globalization mean a “Golden Age” for American agriculture? In this session, international economist Don Reynolds, delivers 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.

The Changing Marketplace
Dr. Claudia Mobley, Sam M. Walton College of Business, Center for Retailing Excellence
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!

Wednesday, November 14

Food Safety & Customer Confidence – What’s Making News
Matt McKinney, Minneapolis Star Tribune
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.

Second Keynote Speaker
The Decision Zone: Six Issues the Food Industry Must Confront in 2008, 2009…
Kevin Coupe, MorningNewsBeat.com
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 these issues 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.

Creating a Supply Chain for A “New to the World” Food Packaging Material
Mary Rosenthal, NatureWorks LLC
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 its 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.

Who Is Pulling Our Chain?
Vidya Jwala – Vice President, Supply Chain, Tractor Supply Company
Vidya Jwala is Vice President, Supply Chain for Tractor Supply Company. He will address some of the factors that been “pulling the chain” of Tractor Supply. He will share this information and the strategies that they’ve employed to lead their company through these events.

In addition to the sessions at the Forum, you won’t want to miss out on the networking opportunities through breakfasts, breaks and the Professional Development Awards of Excellence luncheon. Congratulate the honorees of this year’s NAMA Professional Development Awards of Excellence. Each year, NAMA honors members with hands-on responsibility in marketing communications, public relations, product/species management and sales. Awards will be given in each of these areas and the recipients will share their thoughts on the challenges and opportunities in agri-marketing.

To register now for the 2007 Agribusiness Forum visit http://payment.nama.org/forum.htm.

For more information on the Forum visit http://www.nama.org/forum/index.html.