Shaking the Tree - Forestry Management
Speakers: Jeff Arnold, Deputy Director, National Association of Counties; Gloria Manning, Associate Deputy Chief, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service; Brad Williams, Manager, Timber Management and Supply, American Forest and Paper Association
Handouts: "The Sustainable Forestry Initiative Program: Progressive, Revolutionary, Evolving." By W. Henson Moore, President &CEO, American Forest and Paper Association

Free Trade, Fair Trade: International Commerce and Product Dumping
Speakers: Eric Biel, Counselor to the Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce; Bill Klinefelter, Assistant to the President for Legislative and Political Affairs, United Steelworkers of America
Handouts: "U.S. Producers Clear Final Hurdle in Getting Duties on Japanese Steel." By Rossella Brevetti, BNA; "Senate Turns Aside Bid to Limit Steel Imports, Cheering the Administration." By Gary Yerkey, BNA.

Legislative Update: Interstate Dairy Compacts
Speaker: Jim Hahn, Acting Market Administrator, USDA Federal Milk Market Administration
Over the next several months, Congress will consider the most significant legislation affecting the dairy industry since it authorized the Northeast Dairy Compact. The reauthorization debate will not only affect producers and consumers in the Northeast but will also impact the nascent Southeast Dairy Compact and the structure of the entire dairy industry. Because state legislatures must authorize state participation in any dairy compact, this debate is likely to reflect action in a number of state legislatures.

Site Visit: Dow AgroSciences Headquarters
Joint Program with AFI Environment Committee and NCSL Genetic Technologies Project
Public-Private Cooperation to Promote Environmentally Responsible Agriculture
Dow AgroSciences is one of the largest research-based agricultural companies in North America, researching, developing, manufacturing, and marketing agricultural and specialty products. The legislators had the opportunity to tour Dow AgroSciences Headquarters, a 275-acre facility that includes a world-class, global research and development center. Research conducted in this center includes traditional chemical techniques, biotechnology and molecular modeling to find newer and safer crop protectants. The committees discussed how the public and private sector can best work together to foster efficient and environmentally responsible agricultural practices.
Tour: Dow AgroSciences Headquarters, Discussion of Sustainable Agricultural Practices
The tour of Dow AgroSciences' state-of-the-art R&D facility was a great success. Legislators were able to visit the laboratories and greenhouses. Also included on the tour were the biotechnology greenhouses, and a visit to the insectary (Cockroaches and weevils aplenty!) to see how insects used for tests and evaluations are raised. In addition to the tour, participants engaged Dow AgroSciences' staff in a discussion on public-private cooperation to promote sustainable agriculture.

International Fiscal Federalism and Devolution
Joint Session with AFI Federal Budget and Taxation Committee; ASI Fiscal, Oversight and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee; NCSL International Program Delegates
Moderator: Assemblyman Robert Straniere, New York
Speakers: Klaus Leroff, Germany; Jusy Gordon, Canada; Greg Cornwell, Speaker, Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly; Peter Leon, Member, Gauteng Provincial Legislature, South Africa
Handouts: "Federalism Times Four" by Christopher Zimmerman, State Legislatures Magazine

Devolution has dramatically altered federalism and the state-federal partnership in the United States. Globally, similar changes are creating new challenges for legislative bodies. International delegates and U.S. State legislators shared their perspectives on the role of devolution in altering federalism.

U.S.-European Trade Relations: We Have No Bananas Today
Joint Session with NCSL International Program Delegates
Speaker: John Skorburg, Senior Economist and Trade Specialist, American Farm Bureau Federation
Handouts: "The European Union and World Trade: Comparison with the United States, Japan, and Regional Trading Areas" Compiled by Mirja Sipila, Delegation of the European Commission; "EU Environment Ministers Strengthen De Facto Ban on GMOs; WTO Fight Looms" by Joe Kirwin, BNA

The U.S. and European Union have been at loggerheads over recent World Trade Organization dispute resolution panel decisions on bananas and beef. With the next battle looming on genetically modified organisms, can a middle ground be found?

Foreign Trade, Federal Preemption
Moderator: Representative Jim Poolman, North Dakota, Vice-Chair, AFI Agriculture & International Trade Committee
Speakers: Tim Galvin, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service; Matt Porterfield, Senior Fellow and Adjunct Professor, Georgetown Law Center; Graham Toft, President, Indiana Economic Development Council, Inc.
The next round of World Trade Organization negotiations will begin in Seattle this November and address tariff reductions, subsidies, domestic trade-distorting policies and agricultural trade. State legislatures have a significant stake in these negotiations in seeking to balance liberalized international trade with the potential threat of federal preemption in international agreements. This session explored the states' position and how the Seattle round might impact state legislative policy, particularly in agriculture.

Agricultural Trade and the World Trade Organization
Breakfast Sponsored by Monsanto
Speakers: Robert Tse, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service; Jessica Wasserman, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service
This session offered legislators an opportunity to discuss agricultural trade policy with the Foreign Agricultural Service of the Department of Agriculture (USDA). USDA will be present during the WTO negotiations in Seattle this fall and is seeking input from state legislators in advance of the talks.