2017 Outlook for the Food and Agribusiness Industries 

What does 2017 have in store for those who cultivate, manufacture and distribute food?  Professionals from Wells Fargo, Crowe Horwath, Bose McKinney & Evans and Bose Public Affairs Group, along with industry veterans, will share what are anticipated to be the top issues of the year, why they are likely to be prominent, and the potential impact on businesses and the overall economy.

Who Should Attend: Business owners, CEOs, CFOs, board members, accountants, attorneys, compliance officers, and operations and logistics professionals related to the farming, agribusiness, food manufacturing, retail/grocery and food service industries.

Continuing Professional Education: Recommended for three hours of CPE credit.  Additional CPE Information:
    Prerequisites: None
    Delivery method: Group, Live
    Advance preparation: None
    Program level: Basic
    Fields of study: Economics (1 hour), Tax (1 hour); Specialized Knowledge (1 hour)

Continuing Legal Education: The event is approved for 3 hours of continuing legal education by the Indiana Commission for Continuing Legal Education.

Biographies of Speakers:

Michael Swanson, Ph.D., Wells Fargo's chief agricultural economist, forecasts key agricultural commodities such as wheat, soybeans, corn, and cotton, along with livestock sectors such as cattle, dairy, and hogs. Additionally, he helps develop credit and risk strategies for Wells Fargo's customers, and performs macroeconomic and international analysis on agricultural production and agribusiness. Swanson joined Wells Fargo in 2000 as a senior economist. Prior, he worked for Land O' Lakes and supervised a portion of the supply chain for dairy products, including scheduling the production, warehousing, and distribution, and also supervised sales forecasting. Before Land O'Lakes, Swanson worked for Cargill's Colombian subsidiary, Cargill Cafetera de Manizales S.A., with responsibility for grain imports and value-added sales to feed producers and flour millers. Swanson started his career as a transportation analyst with Burlington Northern Railway. He received undergraduate degrees in economics and business administration from the University of St. Thomas and both his master's and doctorate degrees in agricultural and applied economics from the University of Minnesota.

Gary Chapman is the chair of the Real Estate Group and the Agricultural Law Group, and a member of the Estate and Wealth Transfer Planning Group. Champan’s focus on the needs of agri-business includes assistance with choice of entity, contract reviews, acquisitions, estate and business succession planning, taxes, leases and property transfers. His real estate practice includes representing an agricultural real estate investment fund, which acquires agricultural real estate on a national basis, representing landowners who lease real estate to windmill companies and significant experience with real estate 1031 tax deferred exchanges. Chapman’s practice also includes estate planning for individuals and corporate succession planning for closely held businesses. He frequently speaks on estate and succession planning and other issues that affect privately owned businesses, including family farms. Chapman worked as an agricultural chemical sales representative and as owner/manager of his family’s holstein dairy operation before attending law school. He has been a practicing attorney since 1989 and a partner in the firm since 1996. He is a graduate of the Indiana Agriculture Leadership Program and is past chairman of the Indiana Agriculture Leadership Institute. Chapman has served as an advisor on a forum for ag families to build strategic business and succession plans, eLegacyConnect.

Amy Cornell is of counsel in Bose McKinney & Evans’ Agribusiness and Real Estate Groups.  She also is a second vice president in government relations with Bose Public Affairs Group. Cornell leverages her strong agriculture and regulatory background to represent clients, particularly those in the agribusiness and life sciences industries, in their corporate and compliance needs, as well as in state and local government relations, grassroots lobbying and stakeholder engagement. Her subject matter experience ranges from natural resource regulation to homeland security, and from invasive species to livestock. Prior to joining Bose McKinney & Evans, Cornell worked for Indiana Farm Bureau as policy advisor and counsel for the agricultural advocacy organization.  She also previously handled policy and regulatory affairs for the Indiana State Department of Agriculture.  In this capacity, Cornell participated in administrative rule making related to confined feeding operations (CFO/CAFO), fertilizer use, antidegradation, NPDES CAFO reporting and sales tax exemptions.  She also served as executive director of the Indiana Land Resource Council, a group appointed by the governor to assist state and local decision makers with land use tools and policies. Cornell holds a law degree from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law and an LL.M. in agricultural law from the University of Arkansas School of Law.  She is an adjunct faculty member at the Robert H. McKinney School of Law, teaching a two-hour course “Agricultural Law and Environment,” which examines the intersection of agricultural policies and environmental law.

Eric Halvorson is the manager of public affairs for the Central Division of The Kroger Company. A former Indianapolis television anchor and reporter, Halvorson left WISH-TV in 2015 after 33 years. At Kroger, Halvorson is in charge of media and government relations, as well as charitable activities. In addition to local news, Halvorson has served as an adjunct professor at University of Indianapolis. He also produced a documentary for WFYI-TV in Indianapolis related to the state's bicentennial. Halvorson holds a master’s in history and political science, a bachelor of arts in political science and a bachelor of science in radio and television from Butler University.  The Kroger Central Division includes 136 food stores, 115 pharmacies and 96 fuel centers in Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Michigan and Ohio.

Jeremy Speckman is a senior vice president in the Food & Agribusiness Practice Group of Wells Fargo Insurance. He has more than 15 years of experience in the insurance and financial planning industry. Since joining Wells Fargo Insurance, Speckman has been involved in developing enterprise risk management techniques. He specializes in assisting clients with unique risk transfer solutions that are developed from a distinctive approach to risk management. During his time at Wells Fargo, Speckman has developed strong relationships with the worldwide insurance marketplace. Currently, he is the head of the Midwest Food and Agricultural Practice Group for Wells Fargo Insurance Services. For the past 10 years, Speckman has worked closely to understand food and agricultural based companies to deliver tailored insurance and risk management solutions to fit their unique exposures. Over his tenure he has worked closely with product contamination markets and has gained strong knowledge of coverage and the importance of pre-incident planning and crisis management. Speckman is HACCP and Food certified.
 
Howard Wagner is a managing director in the Crowe Horwath LLP National Tax Office, where he provides federal tax consulting on a variety of corporate tax matters. Wagner has more than 25 years of corporate tax experience. He has focused on providing services related to mergers and acquisitions, consolidated returns, and taxation of hedging and derivatives.  Wagner has spoken on a federal tax issues to national, regional and local tax groups and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Kentucky Society of Certified Public Accountants and Greater Louisville, Inc.  He holds a bachelor's of business administration from the University of Wisconsin and is a Certified Public Accountant.