[Image: AgOutlook logo]Connecting Agriculture and Renewable Energy Opportunities
Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Conference Center
Monroe, Louisiana
February 25-27, 2008
Monday, February, 25:
3-5:00 p.m. Exhibit set-up, dome area
3-7:00 p.m. Registration, dome area
5-7:00 p.m. Reception, dome area
Viewing of exhibits
Welcome and Comments
Bill Richardson, Chancellor, LSU AgCenter
Ronnie Anderson, President, Louisiana Farm Bureau
Kevin Norton, State Conservationist, USDA, NRCS
Clyde Holloway, State Director, USDA, Rural Development
Tuesday, February 26:
7-8:30 a.m. Breakfast buffet (complimentary for conference participants)
New Orleans Room
7:30-8:30 a.m. Registration, dome area
Viewing of exhibits
8:30 a.m. Opening Session, Ballroom
Welcome and Announcements
Dr. Kay Lynn Tettleton, Community Rural Development, LSU AgCenter
Welcome
The Honorable Jamie Mayo, Mayor of Monroe
Bill Richardson, Chancellor, LSU AgCenter
8:45 a.m. Alternative Energy Perspectives
Moderator: Dr. David Boethel, Vice Chancellor and Director, LAES, LSU AgCenter
8:50 a.m. Alternative Energy Opportunities and Challenges
Thomas J. King, Jr., Manager, Electric Delivery Technologies Program, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
9:20 a.m. Policy, Outlook and Energy Implications for the Agricultural Sector
Dr. Abner Womack, Senior Economist, Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI), University of Missouri
9:50 a.m. Break
10:00 a.m. Opportunities for Forest Products in Louisiana
Forestry Outlook for 2008
Charles A. (Buck) Vandersteen, Executive Director, Louisiana Forestry Association
10:30 a.m. Technologies for Producing Energy from Woody Biomass
Dr. William D. (Bill) Batchelor, Department Head, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Mississippi State University
11:00 a.m. Solid Biomass Fuels
Harold Arnold, Vice-president, FRAM Renewable Fuels, LLC
11:30 a.m. Q & A with panel
11:45 a.m. Buffet luncheon (complimentary), dome area
Comments by Mike Strain, Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry
Comments by Congressional delegation representatives
1:00 p.m. Opportunities for Biodiesel
Moderator: Dr. Paul Coreil, Vice Chancellor and Director, LCES, LSU AgCenter
1:05 p.m. The Current Status of Biodiesel Production and its Potential for Louisiana
Dr. Kurt Guidry, Gilbert Durbin Professor of Ag Economics, LSU AgCenter
1:30 p.m.Technologies for Producing Biodiesel: Commercial vs. Small Scale Production Dr. Mark Zappi, Dean, College of Engineering and Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
1:50 p.m. Biodiesel: A Company Perspective
Darrell Dubroc or Mike Lamartiniere, Allegro Biodiesel Corporation
2:10 p.m. Feed Stocks for Biodiesel and Ethanol Production in Louisiana
Dr. Don Boquet, Jack and Henrietta Jones Endowed Professor of Agronomy, Macon Ridge Research Station, LSU AgCenter
2:35 p.m. Q & A with panel
2:45 p.m. Break
3:00 p.m. Opportunities for Ethanol
Moderator: Dr. Bob Hutchinson, Regional Director, Northeast Region, LSU AgCenter
3:05 p.m. Technology for Producing Ethanol in Louisiana
Dr. Gary Breitenbeck, Professor of Soil Microbiology, School of Plant, Environmental and Soil Sciences, LSU AgCenter
3:30 p.m. Corporate Plans for Producing Ethanol
Russ Heissner, Director of Technology Development and Analysis, Verenium Corporation
3:50 p.m. Dedicated Energy Crops -- Switchgrass, Miscanthus and Others
Dr. Emily Heaton, Manager of Agronomic Product Development, Ceres, Inc.
4:10 p.m. Developing Sugar Crops as Ethanol Feedstocks
Dr. Ed Richard Jr., Research Leader and Location Coordinator for USDA-ARS Sugarcane Research Laboratory
4:30 p.m. Q & A with panel
5:00 p.m. Viewing of exhibits
6:30 p.m. Dinner, Ike Hamilton Expo Center, West Monroe, La.
Sponsored by the Louisiana Cattlemen’s Association
Moderator: Britt Paul, Assistant State Conservationist WR/RD, USDA, NRCS
Bill Richardson, Chancellor, LSU AgCenter
Bob Felknor, Executive Director, Louisiana Cattlemen’s Association
Rene Simon, Assistant Commissioner, Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry
Robert Joyner, President, Louisiana Cattlemen’s Association
Kevin Norton, State Conservationist, USDA, NRCS
Clyde Holloway, State Director, USDA, Rural Development
Comments and tour of facility, Ramona Martin, Manager, Ike Hamilton Exposition Center
Wednesday, February 27:
7 - 8:30 a.m. Breakfast buffet (complimentary)
New Orleans Room
8 - 8:30 a.m. Registration, dome area
Viewing of exhibits
8:30 a.m. Plenary Session, Ballroom
Welcome and Announcements
Dr. Cynthia Pilcher, Community Rural Development, LSU AgCenter
8:35 a.m. Opportunities for Community Rural Development
Moderator: Britt Paul, Assistant State Conservationist WR/RD, USDA, NRCS
8:40 a.m. Uniting Leaders for a Common Energy Goal
Brent Bailey, Southeast Facilitator, State Alliance Team, 25 x ’25 America’s Energy Future
9:00 a.m. Update on USDA Energy Programs
Chris Cassidy, Energy Policy Group, USDA
9:25 a.m. Grow Your Profits: An Overview of USDA-Rural Development’s Renewable Energy and Value-Added Grant and Loan Programs
Kevin Boone, Renewable Energy Coordinator, USDA Rural Development
9:55 a.m. Alternative Energy and Rural Development/Case Studies
Dr. Alan Barefield, Associate Director, Southern Rural Development Center and Extension Professor, Mississippi State University
10:20 am. Break
10:30 a.m. Community Rural Development Session Continues
Moderator: Dr. James Barnes, Director, Delta Rural Development Center, LSU AgCenter
10:35 a.m. Renewable Energy and Economic Development
Kelsey Short, Director of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Industries, Louisiana Economic Development
10:50 a.m. Lake Providence Port- Ethanol Plant Project
Wyly Gilfoil, Executive Director, Lake Providence Port Commission
11:10 a.m. Louisiana and Federal Incentives and Standards for Renewable Energy
Dave McGee, Engineer and Supervisor, Technology Assessment Division, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Energy Division
11:30 a.m. 1000 Watts Per Meter: Why Farmers Should Consider Solar
William Ball, President, Natural Environments Inc., and Owner, Stellar Sun, Little Rock, Arkansas
11:50 a.m. USDA Section 9006 Program Success Stories from the Mississippi Poultry Industry
John Logan, President and Manager, Brinson Farms, LLC; President, J&L Farm Services, Inc.; Chief Technical Officer and Board President, Eagle Green Energy, LLC; President/CEO, ARBO Bioenergy, LLC, Prentice, Mississippi
12:05 p.m. Q & A with panel
12:15 p.m. Buffet luncheon (complimentary), dome area
Comments by invited guests
1:15 p.m. Continuation of Opportunities for Community Rural Development- Ballroom
Moderator: Dr. James Barnes, Director, Delta Rural Development Center, LSU AgCenter
1:20 p.m. The Power of the Green Markets
Dr. Charles Reith, Director of Industrial Strategies and Sustainable Solutions, Pace Global Energy Services
1:35 p.m. Success Story of USDA Grant Program
Steve Tippin and Bob Palmiere, Bayou Wood Products
1:50 p.m. Q & A with panel
2:00 p.m. Closing remarks, Dr. Bob Hutchinson, Regional Director, Northeast Region, LSU AgCenter
2:10 p.m. Break down exhibits
Prepare for tour departure -- Bayou Wood Products, West Monroe (Assemble in lobby)
2:30 p.m. Depart for tour, Bayou Wood Products, West Monroe