By TIM ALEXANDER
Illinois Correspondent

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — The 16th annual Illinois Commodity Conference will take place Nov. 25 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Bloomington (10 Brickyard Drive), with events beginning at 10 a.m.
The conference is sponsored by the Illinois Corn Growers Assoc. (ICGA), the Illinois Soybean Assoc., the Illinois Beef Assoc., the Illinois Milk Producers Assoc., the Illinois Pork Producers Assoc. and the Illinois Wheat Assoc.

“The conference is right after harvest, generally, so there is a lot of socializing going on in addition to some great speakers,” said ICGA Communications Director Mark Lambert. “The event presents a great opportunity to visit with fellow producers and discuss the challenges they face.”

Key speakers attending the conference include Jim Wiesemeyer, vice president of Informa Economics, who will provide a post-election Washington D.C. update; veteran farm radio and television broadcaster Orion Samuelson; Steve Meyer of Paragon Economics, giving an overview of the current state of the livestock industry; and author/scientist Robert Zubrin, who will discuss his latest book, Energy Victory.

“The Illinois Commodity Conference is primarily a leadership conference,” Lambert said. “Most who attend are board members, ag leaders and industry stakeholders. In my opinion, it is a highly undervalued conference; the program is really strong.”

Organizers are expecting up to 375 people. Promotional booths will be set up by corporate sponsors, such as seed and ethanol production companies. In addition, organizations such as the ICGA will be handing out their “Friends of Agriculture” awards during a special luncheon.

Registration materials will be sent to members of sponsoring organizations and posted on their respective websites in coming days. Those who register before Nov. 11 will pay a discounted rate of $65; the fee will increase to $90 thereafter.

Zubrin is a former NASA scientist who owns his own aerospace company and is founder and president of the Mars Foundation. His latest book calls for 100 percent elimination of U.S. dependence on foreign oil and details how the country could accomplish that goal.
“(He) is a very interesting individual,” Lambert said. “He’s not only an outspoken source of support for alternative fuels, he’s one that comes from a corner that was totally unanticipated. Because of his work with NASA, he is very familiar with methanol fuel. He advocates an approach that would basically convert all of our vehicles in a very short time period to flex-fuel.”

A review of Zubrin’s Energy Victory posted by Instapundit.com reads, in part: “Zubrin certainly makes a good case that all new vehicles should be built with flex-fuel capability. More importantly, he wants to make sure that vehicles can run on any alcohol, including methanol or butanol.

“The problem lies in the fuel. While Zubrin argues that the U.S. could become completely independent of foreign oil by using alcohol, the reality is far from that simple.”

For more information on the Illinois Commodity Classic, call 309-557-3257.