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Great Plains is a vertically integrated company, taking camelina from seed to fuel. The company pioneered camelina production on a commercial scale three years ago, contracting with growers throughout the United States and Canada to grow the crop. In addition, the company has invested over 10 years in the science and agronomic of camelina and continues to develop higher-yielding, higher oil-content camelina varieties.

Hows does the government expect farmers to grow cotton and be able to make money with the price it’s at? Is there a turn around in this trend? Another thing is how do fertilizer companies expect farmers to be able to pay these unreal prices on fertilize? Input costs are getting out of hand! On the bright side fuel price went down....some.

Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) is the world leader in BioEnergy and has a premier position in the agricultural processing value chain. ADM is one of the world’s largest processors of soybeans, corn, wheat and cocoa. ADM is a leading manufacturer of biodiesel, ethanol, soybean oil and meal, corn sweeteners, flour and other value-added food and feed ingredients. Headquartered in Decatur, Illinois, ADM has over 26,000 employees, more than 240 processing plants and net sales for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2006 of $37 billion. Additional information can be found on ADM’s Web site at http://www.admworld.com/.

Josh Sylvester is a Certified Financial Planner and member of the Farm Journal Legacy Project team. Through years of working with high net worth clients, Josh has refined strategies that help clients reach their succession goals. He is a Chartered Financial Consultant with the qualifications, ability, and knowledge to design highly personalized succession strategies for each family agribusiness owner. You can contact him by phone at (87)523-7411.

John Petrie (vice president, managing director and head trader for WCHS.) Oversees the daily operations of the Ag Marketing division of Walsh Trading Inc. John began trading in 1998, specializing in advanced options strategies, inter-market spreads and arbitrage between the open-outcry and the electronic futures and options markets. He has spent the last 6 years working directly with top agricultural and livestock producers and end-users to help to manage their risk associated with today’s volatile markets.

Josh Vrieze has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After being an engineer for 5 years with a milking equipment manufacturer, he switched his focus to Sales and Marketing, for the next 2 years working with dealers, and farms in Asia, Australia and Europe. Josh has also worked in the manure equipment industry and just recently began working in the employee benefits field. E-mail him at jjvrieze@hotmail.com.

I was raised in Marshall, MO although I was gone several years to attend college, manage a rock quarry and farm, and then returned to my home. While in college I earned a bachelors degree in psychology and political science and later a masters degree in clinical psychology. For over twenty years I owned and managed a private system of comprehensive clinical mental health clinics in rural Missouri and I manage our family farm, which currently is approximately 1500 acres. Farming has been a big part of my life since I was a child as I started “helping” when I was a ripe old age of 5. I have been married for over 30 years to the most wonderful lady in the world (I hope she is reading this!) and it amazes me that she has put up with me all these years. Jerri Lou and I have three adult children and one granddaughter and a grandson who is soon to join us.

BHS Energy designs and manufactures biomass briquette fuel presses and is currently taking orders for pre-production Slugger systems for field testing. Normal production is planned to begin in the Summer of 2009. For more information please visit our website at www.bhsenergy.com

The Operating Division Intermediates of the BASF Group develops, produces and markets the world’'s largest range of intermediates. Key representatives of the more than 600 products include amines, diols, polyalcohols, acids and specialties. Among other applications, intermediates are used as starting materials for coatings, plastics, pharmaceuticals, textile fibers, detergents and crop protection agents. Innovative BASF intermediates help to improve the properties of the final product and the efficiency of production processes. The ISO 9001:2000-certified operating division Intermediates has access to plants at production sites in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. In 2006, this BASF operating division with 2,600 employees generated world sales of about 2.3 billion euros. For more information, go to www.basf.com.

Joe Victor earned his Master of Arts Degree in Agriculture Education/Nutrition, with his Bachelor of Science majors in Production Agriculture, Agriculture Business and Ag Education from Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky. Victor grew up on a dairy farm in south-central New York. In 1980 he joined McHenry County College in Crystal Lake, IL. He worked as a full time Agriculture Instructor, teaching a variety of agribusiness and production agriculture classes. In 1984 he was promoted to Department Head of Agriculture/Horticulture. In 1996, Victor was named Vice President of Marketing with Allendale, Inc. His primary responsibility is to oversee the daily output of the Allendale Advisory Report and Allendale Advanced Charts and create new growth for Allendale’s services. His duties include writing articles, research and networking with information sources throughout North America, some of which are on electronic services and the Internet. Victor is also responsible for monitoring cash grain activity and cash grain opportunities, booking and organizing all speaking engagements, seminars and radio/television appearances. Victor is known as the voice of Allendale as a result of his wide array of radio, TV and public speaking engagements. He is active in community organizations. Joe has four children.