The second annual National Symposium on the Future of American
Agriculture will bring
together the leading U.S. experts to identify the farm challenges
facing the nation.

The gathering will feature farm policy makers, authorities
from agricultural colleges
and leaders of national commodity, environmental and consumer
groups. It’s scheduled for
Aug. 10-11 at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing
Education in Athens, Ga.

The 1999 program drew 300 people to Georgia to wrangle over
the farm crisis, looking
for a starting point for solutions.

Their discussions and proceedings went to the U.S. Senate
agricultural committee as it
deliberated farm and food legislation.

Agriculture Policy
Revisions

This year’s theme is “Structural Change and Technology:
the Policy
Implications.” The discussions will focus on the ways
agriculture is changing and on
the alternative policy revisions needed to address them.

Among the highlights:

• Michael Boehlje of Purdue University on the drivers and
  consequences of structural
  change in agriculture.
• Marc Johnson, dean of agriculture at Kansas State
  University, on agriculture’s stake in
  emerging technologies.
• Noel Estensen, CEO of Cenex Harvest States Cooperatives, on
  the challenges facing
  cooperatives in a changing farm economy.
• Tom Zinnen of the University of Wisconsin on educating
  consumers on biotechnology.
• Bob Stallman, president of American Farm Bureau, on needed
  policy changes.
• Luther Tweeten of Ohio State University, on maximizing
  agriculture’s ability to benefit
  from new technologies.
• And a field hearing by the U.S. Senate Agricultural
  Committee, chaired by Georgia Sen.
  Paul Coverdell.

The UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and
the Farm Foundation will
sponsor the event.

How to Register

The symposium fee is $130 before July 14. It’s $150 after
that. You may register on the
Web at www.gactr.uga.edu/conferences/index.html.

If you have questions, call 1-800-884-1381 or (706) 542-2134.
For reservations at the
Georgia Center, call 1-800-774-2760 or (706) 542-6364.