Our friends at Farm Foundation have teamed up with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) to put together a workshop on contract design in commodity markets.
The workshop, scheduled to run June 9-10, will bring together leading professionals and academic researchers, looking at the effects of futures contracts and how they affect futures prices and markets:
Topics to be covered in presentations and panel discussions include electronic versus open outcry trading in agricultural commodities futures markets, and the success of the U.S. ethanol futures contract. Review the workshop agenda on the Farm Foundation’s Web site.
Open to the public, the workshop will take place 1 to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 9, 2009, and 8 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, June 10, 2009, at the Waugh Auditorium, ERS, 1800 M St. NW, in Washington, D.C. There is no charge for the workshop but preregistration by Monday, June 8, is encouraged as seating is limited. Interested individuals may preregister via e-mail, providing name and affiliation to akirilenko@cftc.gov.
The Director of the ERS Market and Trade Economics Division, Sarahelen (Sally) Thompson, Jeffrey Harris, the Cheif Economist at the CFTC and Farm Foundation President Neil Conklin will address the workshop.
I am packing my bags and getting ready to head off to Des Moines for 
This year is the 21st annual World Pork Expo, which is the largest pork-industry trade show and exhibition in the world, drawing tens of thousands of pork producers, exhibitors and visitors from across the country and around the globe. New this year are the dates for the event, moving from a late-week event to mid-week event, as requested by many of the producers and exhibitors that attend the show each year.
Also new this year at World Pork Expo will be our middle daughter, Carly, who will be attending with me as my assistant. She just graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in general studies and as she spends the next year figuring out if she really wants to be a physical therapist, we will be introducing her to the exciting world of agricultural new media! Dad is going over the new programs he installed on her Mac and introducing her to the sweet new Canon Power Shot G10 we got for her to start as a semi-pro photographer. Carly is very artistically inclined and very people-oriented, so we hope this will be a great experience for her. Just look for this beautiful face at WPX and say hi!
Have you heard of The Hand That Feeds U.S. program? This is an educational resource for urban media on the importance of U.S. agriculture to the security and future of our country. The project provides information relevant to our nation’s farming industry, while also seeking to combat the current misinformation campaigns about food prices and renewable fuels.
Here’s a reminder about the 2009 CCA Institute. It’s not too late to register according to Terri Breon.
The latest news from 
I don’t know if Larry Quinn is ready to rename the Broadcasters Letter, the New Media Letter, but new media is slowly but surely making its way into the 
The mission of the Office of Communications is to provide leadership, expertise, counsel and coordination for the development of communications strategies which are vital to the overall formulation, awareness and acceptance of U.S. Department of Agriculture programs and policies, and serves as the principal USDA contact point for the dissemination of consistent, timely information. 
ZimmComm client, 