Ag secretary to speak at fall SABEW conference

Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer will speak Monday afternoon, Sept. 8 on the debate over “green” fuels at the Society of American Business Editors and Writers annual fall workshop in Kansas City, the organization announced Wednesday.

Schafer joins the previously announced lineup of speakers, including NYSE Euronext CEO Duncan Niederauer, Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant talking about future plans for the ag giant, and Texas energy pioneer T. Boone Pickens.Also at the SABEW Fall Workshop, Sept. 8-9, in Kansas City, attendees will have two chances for a close look at business.

On Monday, at 8:30 a.m., business editors, writers and photographers are invited to tour Ford Motor Company’s Kansas City assembly plant, home of the world’s first hybrid SUV and the first U.S.-built hybrid vehicle.

The Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid models are built on the same assembly line as are gas models of the SUVs, optimizing the plant’s overall efficiency.  The plant opened in 1953 and builds the Ford Escape, Mercury Mariner, Mazda Tribute, and Ford F-150. It employs 4,200 hourly and 240 salaried personnel. The tour is limited to the first 40 people who sign up.Â

Please note that plant-appropriate attire is required: flat, closed-toed shoes; long pants (no shorts or skirts); long- or short-sleeved shirts (no halter tops or sleeveless shirts).To attend the Ford tour, meet in the lobby of the Kauffman Conference Center by 8:30 a.m. Busses leave at 8:45 a.m. Attendees will return to the conference by about 11 a.m., in time to hear Ford VP of manufacturing Joe Hinrichs.

On Tuesday, at 9 a.m., you can tour the Kansas City Board of Trade, where wheat futures are traded. The host is longtime commodities reporter Brad Ziger, managing editor of Hard Assets Investor. Meet in the Kansas City room of the conference center at 9 a.m. for a brief talk, then ride to the nearby Kansas City Board of Trade office.

For more information about the fall workshop, and to register, go here.