James R. Wiesemeyer, Vice President. From his office in Washington, DC, Mr. Wiesemeyer contributes daily to Informa Economics' Morning Comments report, providing clients with the latest information on agricultural policy and trade developments. Since 1978, Mr. Wiesemeyer has frequently reported on and interviewed senior government officials, including Presidents Reagan and Carter, as well as several USDA Secretaries; he has traveled extensively in his assignments and is a frequent speaker on farm policy and trade issues. Prior to joining Informa Economics, Mr. Wiesemeyer most recently was the Washington editor and bureau chief for ProFarmer, Inc. where he still contributes a daily analysis and commentary on policy and trade developments in his column Inside Washington Today. Also while at ProFarmer, he was the Washington editor for Oster Communication's ProFarmer newletter and Futures magazine. Mr. Wiesemeyer also was the Washington bureau chief for Futures World News (FWN), formerly owned by Oster. Prior to ProFarmer, he was a Washington editor with Doane's Agricultural Report and Washington editor and managing editor of the Washington Farmletter. Mr. Wiesemeyer received his bachelor of arts degree in history from Southern Illinois University.
Contact Information:  wiesemeyer@earthlink.net; Telephone 703.734.8787

Scott A. Richman, Senior Vice President.  With Informa Economics since 1991, Mr. Richman is the leader of Informa's Commercial Consulting. Among Mr. Richman's responsibilities for services to commercial clients, he directly manages the ethanol and biotechnology consulting practice areas. Mr. Richman has extensive experience conducting financial feasibility studies, preparing business plans, directing economic impact studies, constructing market forecasts and advising companies on the positioning of products within specialized markets. In addition to work throughout the United States and Canada, he has participated in consulting projects in Western Europe and Poland. Mr. Richman was selected to serve on the panel developing the North America and Europe assessment for the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), an intergovernmental effort cosponsored by the World Bank and other international institutions. He received his bachelor's degree in economics from Vanderbilt University and his master's degree in international affairs at Columbia University, where he specialized in international business and was an Honorary International Fellow.
Contact Information:  scott.richman@informaecon.com; Telephone 901.766.4594

Rob D. Murphy, Senior Vice President.  Dr. Murphy's duties include livestock and red meat research, price analyses, and the design and implementation of margin risk management systems. Much of his work focuses on methods of measuring and mitigating price risk exposures across a variety of commodities. Prior to joining Informa Economics, he was an economist in the research department at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange where he was responsible for maintenance of the CME's Live Cattle futures contract. He was involved in futures contract design issues, particularly the use of cash settlements in agricultural futures markets. He received his bachelor's degree in animal science and his master's degree in agricultural economics, both from Louisiana State University, and his doctorate in agricultural and applied economics from Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia.
Contact Information:  rob.murphy@informaecon.com;  Telephone 901.766.4668

Ken A. Eriksen, Senior Vice President, Transportation. Mr. Eriksen is responsible for transportation research, service and consulting with the barge, rail and bulk commodity industries. Prior to joining Informa Economics, Mr. Eriksen worked for the US Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service as an agricultural statistician. In that capacity, he conducted national surveys and set national estimates on chemical use in agriculture, oversaw the genetically modified organism and biotechnology NASS data, and released the annual Pest Management Practices report for the Integrated Pest Management program. Also while at USDA, he worked for the Agricultural Marketing Service on its transportation and marketing program, conducting research and analysis on domestic and international transportation issues. Specifically, he did grain transportation modal share analysis and analyzed the ocean freight market. Mr. Eriksen also worked as an international longshoreman for the Pacific Maritime Association in Tacoma, Washington. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agribusiness and agricultural economics from Washington State University. While working on his master’s degree there, Mr. Eriksen was a transportation economist for the Department of Agricultural Economics, performing economic transportation data analysis and modeling.
Contact Information:  ken.eriksen@informaecon.com; Telephone 901.766.4463.

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