Editors' Notebook

You have, I'm sure, been seeing references to the annual DTN/The Progressive Farmer Ag Summit, which is Dec. 9-11 in Chicago. It's our premier event, created to help farmers get their businesses ready for the coming year and years.

If you've attended in the past, you know the caliber of speakers and the importance of the subjects that our planning team puts together. You also know the benefits of networking with more than 600 top-notch farmers from across the country, Canada, Brazil, Argentina and elsewhere.

If you've been toying with the idea of attending this year, either as a return participant or for your first time, I want to call attention to the deadline for early bird registration, which ends at midnight November 25. Sign up before then and you'll save $100 per person on the 2013 event, which looks to be even more thought provoking and educational than ever.

Farmers who attended last year know one of the key conversations was around the overall U.S. economy and how changes in federal economic policies will play a pivotal role in your cost of capital and overall profitability for the next several years. The Federal Reserve has pumped more than $3 trillion into U.S. money supplies since 2008, and artificially pressed interest rates to 50-year lows. Credit, land and commodity prices will all see changes when that economic support shrinks.

We also now have a new Federal Reserve chairman coming on board, and a lot of controversy over what economic path the Fed, and the nation, should be taking.

On that topic, we have quite a coup. Richard Fisher, president of the Dallas Federal Reserve, will kick off our business-planning discussions with insight into what might lie ahead for U.S. monetary policy. Fisher has been an opponent of too-big-to-fail policies and is known in Fed president circles as a vigilant inflation hawk. He also is the former vice chairman of Kissinger McLarty Associates, a strategic advisory firm chaired by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, as well as a former deputy U.S. Trade Representative with a keen appreciation of global export markets. Ag Summit attendees will have a rare opportunity to ask questions and make ag-relevant points to a key economic decision maker.

You also can discuss financial issues with Bill Johnson, CEO of Farm Credit Mid-America. Johnson says Farm Credit remains upbeat about farming's future, though growers will need to be prepared for shorter economic cycles and more volatility. Listen in and hear what he and others say it will take to make those preparations.

Other speakers will provide up-to-date takes on land and rental prices and directions, discuss business strategies to continue growth and to manage the growing pains that can come along with that, and delve into tax laws that continue to affect land succession planning.

We'll hear from Don Mann, former U.S. Navy SEAL Team Six member and trainer of the group that eliminated Osama bin Laden. Mann will discuss how to get big results from small teams and solve problems with a disciplined mind set. These are just a few of the topics that, in the end, will leave summit attendees with ideas and strategies they can put to use immediately and in years to come.

If you've ever attended one of our summits, you also know that they're not all about work. Fun is part of the mix. The event takes place on Chicago's famous Miracle Mile, and at this time of year the area is done up in its holiday best. There's no better place, this side of Paris, perhaps, to find some extra-special gifts for those special someones.

We'll get a VIP look inside Stanley Field Hall museum, home of Sue, the most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex ever found, and many other one-of-kind historical displays. There will also be a night of music and food at the House of Blues.

You can check out the full agenda at our Ag Summit website. http://www.cvent.com/…

Hope you'll find the time to join us. You won't regret it. Don't forget, register by midnight Monday for that early bird discount.

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