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Preliminary Agenda


WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27

10:00 am - Noon Speed Consulting
New Sweden
11:00 am – 1:00 pm Lunch & Registration
Fjords 2-4

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1:00 pm – 3:00 pm Keynote Panel: “What Is Our ‘Biofuelture’?”
Fjords 2-4
The concept of “Futurism” encompasses speed, technology, advancement, and progress. Biofuels continues to develop at a rapid pace, with many changes occurring quickly. However, other technologies – the proliferation electric vehicles and the development of other fuels types –as well numerous legislative, social, and environmental changes, are occurring just rapidly. What are the implications of these developments for biofuels’ future in the economic, technological, and regulatory long-term? This panel will pull together industry experts for a thought-provoking and honest look at the “BioFuelture.”
  • Economy
    Dr. Warren Preston
    , Deputy Chief Economist, United States Department of Agriculture
  • Regulatory
    Geoff Cooper
    , Senior Vice President, Renewable Fuels Association
  • Technology
    Dustin Kotrba
    , Manager, Christianson PLLP
3:00 pm - 3:15 pm Refreshment Break
Fjords Lobby

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3:15 pm – 4:15 pm Industry Best Practices
Fjords 2-4
Is your plant lacking efficiencies that could be improved upon by making changes to the culture of the environment in which your employees operate? Many issues can hinder the continuous improvement that every company strives for while negatively impacting employee hiring and retention. Join us for a Best Practices session where the panel will review ideas that your company may consider to ensure its back-office processes is efficient, effective and compliant given the changing regulatory landscape. We’ll talk specifically about benefits of implementing a paperless solution, tools and opportunities to provide better management of accounting processes, as well as ways to reduce the handling and entry of paperwork.

Experts Available
  • Paper Vs. Paperless
    Tina McCulloch
    , Financial Controller, Big River Resources, LLC
  • Accounting Process Efficiencies
    Christine Erickson
    , Manager, Customer Success, Enterprise, BlackLine
  • Electronic Document Exchange
    Angela Furney
    , Project Account Lead & Business Consultant, Christianson PLLP
  • Document Retention
    Steve Squibb
    , Business Development & Solutions Analyst, Christianson PLLP
4:15 pm – 5:15 pm Workforce Management
Fjords 2-4
Today’s biofuels workforce boasts more experienced professionals than ever before. Biofuels organizations large and small are faced with the challenges of recruiting, training, and retaining high-quality employees from the executive suite to the production team. In this session, we’ll review recent wage and compensation trends, as well as other trends in labor and workforce management, including tactics for successfully navigating and resolving turnover and succession issues. Finally, we’ll examine how you can “brand” your firm as an employer of excellence in your community, and discuss why “employer branding” is an invaluable component of your recruiting and retention toolkit.

Experts Available
  • Wage, Turnover and Compensation Trends
    Connie Lindstrom
    , Senior Biofuels Analyst, Christianson PLLP
  • Employer Branding and Incentives
    Ryan Drook
    , CEO, Central Indiana Ethanol, LLC
  • Next-Generation Training for Ethanol Plants
    Shana McAlexander
    , Training Specialist, Novozymes North America, Inc.
  • Turnover and Succession Solutions
    James Seurer
    , CEO, Glacial Lakes Energy, LLC
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm Social Hour
Fjords Lobby
6:30 pm – 10:00 pm Seated VIP Dinner with Entertainment
Fjords 2-4

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28

7:30 am - 8:30 am Breakfast
Fjords Lobby

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8:30 am – 10:15 am Concurrent Breakout Sessions
Fjords 2-4
Ethanol Track: Expansion Versus Diversification
As the ethanol industry continues to mature plants must find a way to diversify or expand its capacity within the constraints of regulatory guidelines and consideration of environmental incentive programs. This session will discuss evaluating your potential options for expansion and diversification including foreign markets, processing corn kernel fiber, and lowering carbon intensity and how each of these areas will affect the company from a regulatory standpoint and potential environmental incentives that can be gained or should be considered.
  • Foreign versus Domestic
    Jeremy Mall
    , Director of Business Development, Murex, LLC
  • Lowering Carbon Intensities
    Ron Alverson
    , Farmer and Chairman of the Board for Dakota Ethanol, LLC and the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE)
  • Corn Kernel Fiber
    Paul Sykora
    , Enogen Controller, Syngenta Seeds
  • Carbon Capture, Sequestration and Enhanced Oil Recovery
    Eric Mork
    , Business Development, ICM presenting with Daniel Keiser, Manager Commercial Development, Occidental Petroleum Corporation
Biodiesel Track: Maintaining Biodiesel’s Success
New Sweden
Twenty-sixteen (2016) signified another successful year for biodiesel. While the outlook seems strong, there are many changes and some uncertainties expected in the future. Attendees won’t want to miss this in-depth session covering some of the challenges and questions for biodiesel in the coming years. This session will provide a comprehensive look at RINs (specifically RIN pricing and outlook) as well as issues surrounding RIN fraud and liability. We will also explore the economic impact of evolving legislative and policy trends such as tax credits and tariffs, and will provide updates on tax issues and updates pertaining specifically to biodiesel.
  • RIN Pricing and Outlook
    Larry Schafer
    , CEO, Playmaker Strategies, LLC
  • RIN Fraud and Liability
    Jim Ramm
    , PE, EcoEngineers
  • Biodiesel Tax Info and Updates
    Sarah Snyder
    , Tax Supervisor, Christianson PLLP
  • Legislatures, Politics, and Policy
    Eva Rigamonti
    , Associate, Steptoe & Johnson
10:15 am - 10:30 am Refreshment Break
Fjords Lobby

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10:30 am – 12:00 pm Immediate Future Mini-Sessions Panel
Fjords 2-4
Join experts for panel comprised to two “mini-sessions” designed to keep you –up-to-date on a variety of changes. The first mini session will discuss the Healthcare Reform bill and its implications, and tax reform and related tax planning considerations. The second min-session will highlight the various tax, compliance, accounting, legislative, and other updates and opportunities affecting the biofuels industry, providing insight on what these changes mean for the immediate future – and how they might affect business in the long-term.

Reforms Highlights
  • Tax Reform
    John Christianson
    , Managing Partner, Christianson PLLP
  • Healthcare Reform
    Sarah Snyder
    , Tax Supervisor, Christianson PLLP
Technical Updates
  • Legislative
    John Fuher
    , Senior Director of Government Affairs, Growth Energy
  • Compliance
    Zach Hauser
    , Staff Accountant, Christianson PLLP
  • Accounting & Auditing/Tax
    Jordan Rettmann
    , Senior Accountant, Christianson PLLP
  • Grant Opportunities
    Jamey Cline
    , Business Development Director, Christianson PLLP
  • Drawback Simplification
    Kelley McCormack
    , Project Analyst, Christianson PLLP
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