2/11/00

Contacts:
Bruce Babcock, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, (515) 294-5764
Judith Pim, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, (515) 294-6257
Brian Meyer, Agriculture Information, (515) 294-0706

VIEWPOINTS ON FUTURE OF E-COMMERCE TO BE SHARED AT ISU FORUM

AMES, Iowa -- "Agricultural enterprises, from the farm to corporate level, have just begun to leverage the Internet for a competitive advantage." So says Michael Erbschloe, vice president of a private research firm, who will be a featured presenter at "E-commerce: The 'Net' Effect on Agribusiness," the Agricultural Forum 2000 at Iowa State University on Feb. 28.

Erbschloe will join other speakers from agribusinesses, academia and dot-com companies to share their opinions on future directions of agricultural e-commerce. Other speakers include:

• Don Dillman, a rural sociologist from Washington State University, a leading authority on the influences of information technologies on rural development.
• Kevin Kimle, vice president of strategy, business development and technology for E-Markets Inc. in Ames, who has written on the agricultural input and processing industries.
• Fulton Breen, a 20-year veteran of international agribusiness and founder of XS, Inc., which provides Internet exchange services to buyers and sellers of agricultural inputs.
• Joseph Saluri, director of business development for Stine Seed Company, who developed and implemented an e-commerce policy and program for the firm.
• Dermot Hayes, the Pioneer Hi-Bred International Chair in Agribusiness at Iowa State and an economist whose research includes commodity markets and agricultural and trade policy.
• Doug Neff, president of Headwaters Business Solutions, Inc., former manager of e-commerce for Monsanto and past president of a nonprofit group that examined how to more efficiently use e-commerce in agriculture.

Registration fee for the forum is $65. More program and registration information is available on the Web at www.agforum.org or by calling (515) 294-5961.

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