The symposium, to be conducted at the InterContinental Hotel at Alameda Plaza, is designed for shippers, receivers, carriers and others involved in the transport of grain, feed, feed ingredients, and other grain products by rail, barge or vessel. More than 125 industry members already have confirmed their attendance.
NGFA President Kendell W. Keith noted that this will be the first transportation-specific conference conducted by the NGFA since 2000.
"Despite the current economic downturn that has reduced near-term volumes for transportation, we know that there will be continued pressures on our transportation infrastructure to meet the demand from the U.S. agricultural sector," Keith said. "An efficient and well-functioning transportation system involving multiple modes - rail, truck, barge and vessel - is absolutely critical to the profitability and competitiveness of the U.S. grain, feed and grain processing industry, as well as our farmer-customers. This symposium will provide an ideal opportunity for carriers, shippers and others involved in agricultural transportation to sit down with one another to discuss the future and how best to meet the challenges ahead."
The NGFA, established in 1896, consists of more than 950 grain, feed and feed ingredient, grain milling and processing, exporting, biofuels and other grain-related companies that operate 6,000 facilities and handle more than 70 percent of all U.S. grains and oilseeds.
The program will be keynoted by Michael Haverty, chairman and chief executive officer of the Kansas City Southern Railway, Kansas City, Mo., who will provide his perspectives on the state of the rail industry. Federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) Chairman Frank Mulvey has been invited to discuss the agency's priorities in addressing rail and transportation infrastructure policy issues.
Domestic and world market trends that will influence the volume and types of agricultural commodities and products that will compete for transportation availability in coming years, including an updated review of prospects for the biofuels industry, will be the focus of William Hudson, principal/founder of The ProExporter Network, Olathe, Kan. Meanwhile, how capital markets view investing in the transportation industry will be discussed by one of Wall Street's foremost analysts, William Green, executive director of Morgan Stanley, New York, N.Y.
Other major topics and speakers featured on the program, developed by the NGFA's Rail Shipper/Receiver Committee chaired by Dan Mack, vice president, transportation, CHS Inc., Inver Grove Heights, Minn., include the following:
- Outlook and Issues Confronting Private Rail Cars: Offering the perspectives of lessors, manufacturers and owners will be panelists Jeff Lytle, senior vice president, CIT Rail, Chicago, Ill.; Roger Wynkoop, chief commercial officer, Trinity Railcar, Dallas, Texas; and Darrell Wallace, president of the North American Freight Car Association and vice president, Transportation Commodities Group for Bunge North America Inc., St. Louis, Mo.
- Forecast for Ocean Freight: Featuring Peter Sandler, director of ocean freight strategy and business development, Louis Dreyfus, Corp., Wilton, Conn.
- Rail Policy Issues: The biggest challenges and opportunities facing the rail sector, the appropriate role for government regulation and oversight, capital investment requirements, and public/private solutions will be the focus of Paul Hammes, vice president and general manager for agricultural products, Union Pacific Railroad Co., Omaha, Neb.
- Resolving Rail Disputes: Dispute-resolution forums to be discussed include the NGFA's Rail Arbitration and Mediation System; formal and informal dispute-resolution options available through the STB and other forums; and the alternative dispute resolution program with producers unveiled by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway. Confirmed speakers are: NGFA Transportation Counsel Andrew Goldstein of the Washington, D.C.-based law firm of McCarthy, Sweeney and Harkaway; Kevin Kaufman, group vice president, BNSF Railway, Fort Worth, Texas; and NGFA Counsel for Public Affairs Charles Delacruz.
- Outlook for the Barge Industry and Inland Waterways System: Featuring Rick Calhoun, president of Cargo Carriers Inc., Minneapolis, Minn., and John LaRandeau, manager of the Inland Navigation Program at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Northwestern Division, Omaha, Neb.
- Agricultural Producer Perspectives on Transportation: Featuring Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition, Urbandale, Iowa.
- Public Policy and Transportation Infrastructure - What the Future Holds: USDA's new study on transportation, trends in agricultural transportation and related topics will be discussed by Bruce Blanton, associate deputy administrator of the Transportation Services Division at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service, Washington, D.C.
The $350-per-person registration fee for NGFA members ($490 for nonmembers) covers all symposium materials, as well as a luncheon and reception on May 12, and a continental breakfast on May 13. Hotel reservations may be made by calling the InterContinental Kansas City at the Plaza at 1-866-856-9717. Identify with the "National Grain and Feed Association" to secure the special $179 per night room rate. The deadline for making hotel reservations is May 3; thereafter, rates will be significantly higher.
Complete program and registration information is available on the NGFA's website at www.ngfa.org.
The NGFA's membership encompasses all sectors of the industry, including country, terminal and export elevators; feed mills; feed ingredient manufacturers; cash grain and feed merchants; end users of grain and grain products, including processors, flour millers, and livestock and poultry integrators; biofuel plants; commodity futures brokers and commission merchants; and allied industries, such as railroads, barge lines, banks, grain exchanges, insurance companies, computer software firms, and engineering and design/construct companies. The NGFA also consists of 35 affiliated state and regional U.S. grain and feed associations, and has strategic alliances with the Grain Elevator and Processing Society and Pet Food Institute.
