February 3, 2012
INFORMA ANNOUNCES STAFF ADDITIONS, PROMOTIONS

Informa Economics, Inc. Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer Bruce Scherr and Informa Economics President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Scott recently announced several additions to the company's staff as well as promotions within the company.

Laura Schuchard recently joined Informa Economics as a commodity analyst with her responsibilities including work on acreage, yield and production forecasts for the U.S. and world crops. Prior to joining, Informa she worked as a research assistant within the Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University where she developed a stochastic model of net returns per acre associated with enrollment in the Conservation Reserve Program and dryland crop production in the Texas Panhandle. Schuchard also has interned with the House Agriculture Committee where she assisted committee staff members with a wide range of current agricultural research projects. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas A&M University in agricultural economics.

Kayla Doerr joined Informa’s Crops Group with primary emphasis on feed grain analysis. Prior to joining Informa, she worked as a teaching and research assistant at Texas A&M University where she used cluster analysis to create peer advisory groups for farm managers. She also has written a peer advisory group resource guide for farmers, published by Texas AgriLife Extension. Doerr received her bachelor’s degree from Northwest Missouri State University in agricultural business and master’s degree from Texas A&M University in agricultural economics.

H. W. "Kip" Butts was named Director of Energy Services. As a member of the Informa Economics' Transportation, Industrials and Energy Services Group, Butts directs the energy group’s analyses and develops customized trading strategies for all of the energy products as well as leads the energy group’s sales efforts. Concurrent with his energy analyses, Butts is responsible for the Informa Economics’ fundamental research of cotton cash and futures markets with emphasis on hedging and trading strategies. Prior to joining Informa, Butts was a corporate economist for Cargill subsidiary Hohenberg Bros. Co., now Cargill Cotton, in Memphis, Tennessee, where he provided economic analyses, interpreted and analyzed farm program legislation, conducted fundamental analyses of domestic and world cotton markets, and was a critical member of the company's risk management team.

Bill McCary was promoted to Director of Acreage and Production within Informa's Crops Group. McCary has nearly 30 years of experience working in Informa’s acreage and production division. His responsibilities include analyzing acreage and yield prospects for the US as well as the world. McCary primarily is responsible for maintaining and analyzing the company’s monthly acreage and crop surveys and issuing Informa’s acreage and its monthly crop production updates. He also is Informa’s crop evaluator and has surveyed crops in the Americas as well as Europe.

Joe Somers was promoted to Director of Washington Consulting. Somers is responsible for economic analyses and agricultural policy consultancy work in Informa’s Washington, D.C., office. He brought to Informa more than 27 years’ experience with USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) as a foreign service officer and has been a member of Informa’s staff since 2002. While at FAS, he served in Brazil and Argentina and traveled on official USDA fact-finding trips. In Washington, he supervised and conducted world supply/demand and trade policy analyses for a wide range of commodities and managed publication of several analytic circulars. He also was director of research and marketing for the GIC Group, Alexandria, Virginia, with responsibilities being business development and economic and market analyses.

Sean Tanksley was named Informa’s Lead Application Developer with his primary responsibility being application developer of MarginQuest™, a risk management service and web-based demand forecast application designed for the retail food industry. He also plays an integral part of Informa Economics’ web application development team for many web applications and solutions such as the Informa Economics Issue Monitor. His was previously with Harrah's Entertainment, Inc., Memphis, Tenn., where he spent four years as a lead support specialist and application developer. At Harrah's, he directed the development of an all-inclusive metrics tool, supervised a team of service desk employees, contractors and web developers, managed diverse web design projects, and created effective training programs for personnel. Prior to this work, Tanksley spent two years as a domain architect at Black Hawk Gaming in Colorado where he updated and maintained wide-ranging IT infrastructure activities for corporate offices and three highvolume casinos. He also spent two years as a support specialist for Harrah's in North Kansas City, Mo., and Vicksburg, Miss., where he designed, developed and implemented innovative restaurant and meeting room reservation web application, which provided seamless organizational business processes.

Ben Warolin was promoted to Senior Analyst, Tropical Products. Warolin joined Informa Economics in 2008 with his principal responsibilities being market research, analyses and price forecasting for the domestic sugar, world sugar, cocoa and corn sweetener markets. Prior to joining Informa, Warolin served for two years as an agribusiness volunteer with the Peace Corps in Moldova.

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Informa Economics, Inc. joins up with the Waterways Council, Inc., and The Waterways Journal to present this year’s eighth annual Waterways Symposium, Oct. 19-21 at the Omni William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Themed “The Fourth ‘R’: Why Rivers Matter to America,” speakers from industry, government and associations will address the array of obstacles and opportunities facing the inland waterways, ports and inland waterways transportation systems, with this year’s focus on why rivers are critically important when examining a national transportation system and infrastructure investment.

A variety of distinguished speakers and panelists will address the symposium. Speakers include the Governor of Pennsylvania Tom Corbett, PNC Financial Services Group Chairman and CEO James Rohr, Congressman Mike Doyle (D., Penn.), and former chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee James Oberstar In addition, Informa Economics President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Scott will provide perspectives on navigating through the global economic environment. Informa Economics Senior Vice President Ken Eriksen will join a panel of transportation and commodity specialists to discuss whether commodity movements are clicking on all cylinders. In addition, Informa Economics Senior Vice President Jim Wiesemeyer will provide his viewpoints on how to navigate through the political landscape. A number of panelists from industry, the US Army Corps of Engineers, other government agencies and academia also will participate, as well as economists and the news media.

A brochure and online registration are available at www.waterwayscouncil.org or call 703-373-2261.

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Informa Economics, Inc. announces several additions to the company's staff. Revitalizing Informa Economics’ Winnipeg, Canada, office is the addition of Sergio Novelli as a vice president and Kris Grant as an associate/analyst of the Canadian markets.  Novelli’s primary responsibilities include providing Canadian services within Informa Economics’ Crops Group. This includes business development and project consulting for Canadian agriculture and agribusiness clients. Prior to joining the company, he had more than 20 years of experience in the industry and has worked as a market analyst with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and at the Canadian Wheat Board within the market analysis department. In those roles, Novelli was involved in several global agricultural studies to gauge the impact of proposed policies on Canadian agriculture. This work has fostered expertise with provincial crop insurance and cash advance programs in addition to a deep understanding of the Canadian Wheat Board and its policies. Novelli received his bachelor’s degree in applied economics from the University of Manitoba.

Grant also joins Informa in May as an associate/analyst of the Canadian markets. His primary responsibilities include research and analysis for the company’s Canadian market publications. Before joining Informa, Grant worked as a performance analyst in the financial services industry where he combined his knowledge of the financial markets with strong computational skills to streamline internal processes. He received his bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of Manitoba where his studies were concentrated in finance.

Informa Economics’ Project Consulting Group has several additions to enrich Informa’s international and domestic project consulting work. James Kielkopf joins Informa’s Project Consulting Group as a vice president with responsibilities for research, client services, and consulting. With a background in banking, policy studies, and tropical agriculture, he also provides expert support for projects involving agribusiness finance, policy analysis, land values, and tropical agriculture. He came to Informa from the US Farm Credit System (FCS) where he served as the principal economist for AgriBank FCB, the largest of the FCS’s five wholesale banks, encompassing the 15-state region of the American Midwest and about 55 percent of America’s cropland. Before joining AgriBank, Kielkopf had 15 years of experience in finance and banking, including credit risk management and credit score modeling. He is fluent in Spanish and has lived and worked extensively in Latin America, establishing rural credit cooperatives and other international aid and development work. He also plants cocoa, rice, and soybeans on his farm in Ecuador, South America. He graduated from The Johns Hopkins University with a bachelor’s degree in economics and earned his master’s degree in applied and agricultural economics from the University of Minnesota. He is currently finishing his doctorate degree in New York City at the New School’s Milano School of Management and Public Policy where he also teaches a course on the US farm bill process. He is a member of the Agricultural Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and the National Agricultural Credit Committee of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

Ashley Jones also joins Informa Economics’ Project Consulting Group. Her primary responsibilities include market and industry research. Prior to joining Informa Economics, she was a graduate research assistant at Kansas State University, analyzing stochastic production functions for Kenyan maize production. Her background is in international development, having participated in a month-long service learning project in Belize, as well as conducting her undergraduate and master’s thesis in this area. Jones designed and implemented a series of interactive crop enterprise budgets to be used in calculating cash flows and identifying marketing opportunities for St. Matthew’s School in Pomona, Belize. She also completed an analysis of Kenyan maize production, identifying whether variability exists in production and what inputs, specifically hybrid varieties, contribute to variability. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas and her master’s degree from Kansas State University, both in agricultural economics.

Callie McAdams also joins Informa Economics’ Project Consulting Group with her responsibilities including assessment of agricultural policy as it relates to US producers, consumers, policymakers, and the food industry. Working at Informa’s Washington, D.C., office, she also performs research and analysis of diverse domestic and international agricultural matters. McAdams has a background in a wide range of agricultural areas, including livestock, crops, and diversified agricultural production. Prior to joining Informa, McAdams was a research assistant at Texas A & M University where she modeled the influence of health information on consumers’ willingness to pay for horticultural products. McAdams also interned with the North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service, working on marketing and crop production. McAdams received her bachelor’s degree in agricultural business management and animal science from North Carolina State University and she received her master’s degree from Texas A & M University in agricultural economics.

Kirsten Rasmussen also is a consultant within Informa Economics’ Project Consulting Group. Working at Informa’s Washington, D.C., office, her responsibilities include performing research and analysis of diverse domestic and international agricultural matters, focusing on assessing agricultural policy as it relates to US producers, consumers, policymakers, and the food industry. Prior to joining Informa, Rasmussen was a research and teaching assistant at the University of Illinois in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics where she studied commodity markets and agricultural trade policy, and analyzed pork price integration among China’s regional markets. Rasmussen also was an intern at the US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) in Beijing, China, where she contributed to FAS’ Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) publications on China’s agricultural sector. Rasmussen received her bachelor’s degree in French and philosophy with a minor in international studies from Illinois State University, Normal, Ill., and her master’s degree in agricultural and applied economics from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Ill.

Two economists also join Informa Economics’ Transportation, Industrials and Energy Services Group. Scott Sigman joins Informa Economics as a senior consultant and Sijesh Aravindhakshan joins the company as an energy analyst.  Sigman has over 25 years of experience in global trade and transportation planning, assessment of economic impacts, preparation of reports, business plans, assessments and studies focused on container intermodal as well as multimodal freight operations. He has intertwined public and private enterprise business development experiences with a range of operational experiences in transportation including hazardous materials management, as well as port homeland security cargo planning. Sigman has worked with a global container shipping company in sales, trade management and marketing; worked with the largest global special container fleet in managing utilization and logistics for assets held by the company; and worked for the state port authority in Indiana in public planning and business development. He also has experience in budgeting, marketing, proposal writing as well as overseeing responses to requests for proposals (RFPs) through application of professional project management methodologies. Freight handling, including agricultural commodities and economic development experiences with infrastructure finance, consulting and environmental planning exercises have included engaging community stakeholders for major projects. Deep water maritime and inland waterways and Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway market development have involved transport economics, costing and routing assessments. Working within the contexts of inspection procedures and applied regulatory compliance initiatives in which he has been involved have included foreign trade zone documentation procedures, while aligning transport asset and infrastructure financing experiences at federal, state and local levels. Sigman has applied analysis in consultative evaluations of transport modal shift, supply chain logistics, collaborations with engineering and construction management for transport facility development, and has been integral to staffing logistics operations. He received his bachelor’s degree, with a double major in economics and international relations, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He earned his master’s in economics, focused through the Sea Use Law, Economics and Policy Programme from the University of London-London School of Economics and Political Science in London, England.

Aravindhakshan’s responsibilities include fundamental analysis of the energy markets, price forecasting, and supporting consulting projects in the areas of petroleum and renewable energy. Before joining Informa, he was a research assistant professor at North Dakota State University (NDSU) at the Center for Agricultural Policy and Trade Studies. At NDSU, he conducted research in the area of renewable energy production and taught macroeconomics for undergraduate students. He was a research assistant at Oklahoma State University and has extensive research experience in renewable energy production and quantitative finance. He has been published in international peer reviewed journals and made presentations at academic conferences in the area of renewable energy. He also worked as an agricultural officer for the government of Kerala, India. He received his master’s degree in agribusiness and applied economics from NDSU and a doctorate in agricultural economics, with a minor in quantitative finance, from Oklahoma State University.

Galen Williams joins Informa Economics’ Livestock, Meat, Poultry and Dairy Group. His primary responsibilities include fundamental analysis of the hog and pork markets, price forecasting, client communication, and support for projects that include a livestock component. Williams has a strong background in animal agriculture, having managed a cow-calf operation and worked with show cattle. He was instrumental in developing a data management and reporting program for the Oklahoma Quality Beef Network. Williams received his bachelor’s degree in animal science and his master’s degree in agricultural economics, both from Oklahoma State University.

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The challenges facing the ethanol industry are multifaceted. US ethanol production is approaching ever closer to an E10 (10 percent ethanol) "blend wall," and the adoption of higher E15 blends is likely to occur slowly. The main federal incentive for ethanol expires at the end of the year, along with the tariff on foreign ethanol, and extensions of both are likely to be at far lower rates than the government provided in the past. California has implemented a statewide Low Carbon Fuel Standard, which will be progressively harder for US corn-based ethanol to meet. Additionally, supplies of advanced biofuels are likely to remain constrained, calling into question whether this component of the US Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) can be met. Added to these overarching issues is the fact that crude oil and agricultural feedstock prices remain high and are volatile.

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INFORMA ECONOMICS ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF NEW POLICY NEWS, ANALYSIS SERVICE: THE INFORMA ECONOMICS ISSUE MONITOR

Informa Economics is proud to announce the launch of its new web-based policy news and analysis service, the Informa Economics Issue Monitor (http://www.iemonitor.com).

This product will provide customers with a solid mix of agricultural policy information and key topics related to agriculture, trade, energy, economic and commodity analysis as it is co-written and edited by noted Washington, D.C., insider and Informa Senior Vice President Jim Wiesemeyer, former Pro Farmer news editor and Farm Journal magazine policy and Washington editor and Informa Policy Analyst Roger Bernard, and experienced Washington, D.C.-based Informa Senior Writer and Editor Barry Jenkins.

According to Informa Economics Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer Bruce Scherr, "The new Issue Monitor is a first-class combination of current 'real time' policy and market input with an extraordinary historical record indexed by topics and content in a full web-based environment to enhance client interface." Moreover, Scherr added, "The Wiesemeyer, Bernard and Jenkins team is unparalleled in terms of experience, contacts and insight."

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Informa Economics is excited to make several announcements relative to its Washington, D.C., office, including new staff and two new product offerings.

"These efforts underscore Informa's commitment to its Washington office and to the area of farm, trade, energy, economic and commodity policy and perspective," said Informa Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer Bruce Scherr. "It's virtually putting our Washington office in an active position during these dynamic times in the development of the next round of US farm policy and beyond. I am confident that Informa customers will be well served by this combination of efforts and I expect that our customers will reap the benefits of these efforts for years to come."

Informa announces the addition of Roger Bernard as policy analyst. "Roger brings nearly 25 years of experience to Informa in the area of agriculture and trade policy and the impact those policies have on markets for several important commodities," announced Informa President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Scott. Bernard joins Informa on April 25, coming from Farm Journal Media, where he spent much of his career working with Pro Farmer Newsletter and Farm Journal Magazine, both of which are respected farm publications. Bernard, who will work from his office in rural Iowa, will be paired with Informa Senior Vice President Jim Wiesemeyer, "with the team considered one of the best journalistic and analytic duos in farm and trade policy," added Scott.

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The US inland barge fleet expanded 2% during 2010. The fleet expanded mainly for the covered hopper fleet that increased in count for the first time since 1998. There were 873 new barges added to the overall fleet as of the end of last year while 451 barges were retired, according to Informa Economics' just-released Barge Fleet Profile. Among the different barge types, the number of covered barges increased for the first time in 12 years, open barges fell for a second year, while the number of tank barges increased for the fourth consecutive year.

"This information is more vital today than ever given the enormous demands being placed on the industry and the inland waterway infrastructure," said Informa Economics President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Scott. He added that "Informa appreciates the value of the industry's contribution to the report's development," which is compiled through an annual survey of operators and information from the Army Corp of Engineers.

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Informa Economics announced today that Former Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman will provide the keynote speech at this year’s 19th conference that gets under way April 13th at the Hamilton Crowne Plaza Hotel, Washington D.C.. “Informa is proud to be able to provide a keynoter with Secretary Glickman’s vision and perspective,” said Informa Economics Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bruce Scherr. “Our purpose this year is to help public and private officials prepare for a very different type of farm policy debate in 2012. We have asked Secretary Glickman to dig back into his experience during earlier budget-cutting efforts and provide some guidance about what to expect for the 2012 debate—the similarities and differences between the two periods—and to distill realistic guidance for current conditions.” His talk will be entitled, "Lessons From History For the 2012 Budget Debate."

Glickman served as President Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Agriculture from 1995 to 2001 and has continued to be extremely active in agricultural affairs since that time. He currently co-chairs a bipartisan initiative on global agriculture and hunger for the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, serves on the board of directors of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Hain Celestial Group, and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Glickman also is chairman of the education arm of the US Global Leadership Coalition. Prior to that, Glickman served as President of Refugees International and as Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, and was Director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. From 1976 to 1994, he represented Kansas’ fourth congressional district.

Secretary Glickman’s keynote address will be followed by talks from USDA Chief Economist Joe Glauber; Informa’s Scherr; and a number of other well known experts. Following the keynote address will be sessions on the macroeconomy; the farm economy; the farm policy outlook; trade policy; the energy policy outlook; and the outlook for the Middle East. A detailed agenda is at www.informaecon.com. More information and online registration are available at www.informaecon.com or call Informa Economics Senior Vice President Mark Jekanowski at 703-891-6305.

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Informa Economics announced today that the prominent agribusiness firm, Monsanto, will join it as a sponsor of its 19th Annual Food and Agriculture Policy Conference, to be held April 13-14. “We believe we have an outstanding conference planned for the agricultural community this year, and we certainly are grateful for Monsanto’s help in making this year’s effort possible,” said Informa Economics Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bruce Scherr. The Conference will be at the Hamilton Crowne Plaza Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Informa’s two day April conference will focus on the theme “Preparing for 2012--The Farm Bill Debate Amid New Policy Concerns.” Monsanto’s support makes it possible to bring to conference participants Jonathan Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies to discuss Food, Oil and Politics—Outlook for the Middle East. “Dr. Alterman is an internationally prominent analyst of Middle Eastern Affairs, and we are extremely fortunate to be able to bring this timely discussion to our clients,” said Informa Economics President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Scott.

Informa Economics, Inc. Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer Bruce Scherr and Informa Economics President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Scott recently announced several additions to the company's staff, promotions and reorganizations within the company.

Rita Carreira joined Informa Economics as a statistician within Informa’s Livestock, Meat, Poultry and Dairy Group. Her work focuses on modeling efforts associated with the MarginQuest™ program. Prior to joining Informa, she worked at the University of Arkansas as a researcher in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness and as a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Economics...

Riley Higby joined Informa as a member of the company's Project Consulting Group, with responsibilities for financial analysis and market research. Prior to joining Informa, Higby was a management consultant with Lookout Ridge Consulting (formerly Salisbury Management Services) in its Pacific Northwest office...

Clay Lee joined Informa's Memphis office as a feed grains analyst in the company's Crops Group. Lee interned as an economist for the USDA’s Economic Research Service in Washington, D.C. where he conducted international policy analysis of the Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) legislative practices...

Chen Liu is a consultant within Informa's Project Consulting Group where his primary responsibilities are industry and market research. His recent focus is on the US vegetable oil market and pet food industry...

Crystal Carpenter was promoted to a Senior Consultant within Informa's Project Consulting Group where her primary responsibilities are research and analyses in support of projects for a range of consulting clients, including those involving the development of second generation biofuel feedstocks such as jatropha, camelina, algae, miscanthus, and sweet sorghum...

Jon Hall was promoted to Vice President and Director of Information Technology. Hall directs Informa Economics' Information Technology Services by developing and executing strategies for all technical services. Hall is instrumental in the development of new technology solutions for clients in areas such as information delivery, decision-making analysis tools, and various programs associated with Informa's MarginQuest™ business practice...

Informa's Scherr and Scott also announced some reorganization within the company.

Senior Vice President James Allwood was named Director of Sales and Marketing in charge of the company's sales activities, providing leadership in sales efforts while maintaining focus on Informa's strategic goals. He assesses potential opportunity areas for business growth; coordinates sales operations within the company; develops, maintains and works to improve business relations with Informa's clients; seeks and targets new customers and sales opportunities; and initiates action plans to approach and secure new business for the company...

Senior Vice President Ken Eriksen was named the leader of Informa Economics' Transportation, Industrials and Energy Services Group. In this capacity, he directs the group's efforts in client service, research, risk management, consulting and events...

Senior Vice President Juan Sacoto was named leader of Informa's Project Consulting Group, for which he directs research and analyses for international and domestic consulting projects. His work involves market assessment, financial and competitive analyses, economic modeling, business strategy, international economic development, economic impact, risk management, and acquisition/investment duediligence studies...