UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The 40th Annual Pennsylvania Agricultural Bankers Conference will be offered by Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, April 18-19 at the Nittany Lion Inn on Penn State's University Park campus.

The conference, with a theme of "Innovative Lending for Pennsylvania Agriculture," is intended for banking personnel and directors who perform functions related to agricultural credit and for others who work with farm clients. The event is designed to inform financial decisionmakers of legislative changes in Harrisburg, update them on crop and dairy price projections for the year and help them to better serve the needs of the state's agricultural and agribusiness sector.

This year's presentations will include "National and Global Economic Outlook: A Close Look at Grains and Livestock," by H. Louis Moore, Penn State professor of agricultural economics; "New Developments in the Banking Industry," by A. William Schenck III, secretary of the

Pennsylvania Department of Banking; "An Agricultural Finance Update from AgChoice Farm Credit," by J. Scott Owen, senior vice president and chief of the sales and strategy office for AgChoice; and "Factors Affecting Agricultural Loan Profitability," by Eddy Ladue, professor emeritus at Cornell University.

This year's conference will offer concurrent sessions for the first time, giving attendees more choices among sessions. The conference is sponsored by Penn State Cooperative Extension, the Pennsylvania Agricultural Lenders, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation ("Farmer Mac").

Registration fees of $150 per person will cover tuition, breaks, a banquet on Tuesday, and breakfast and lunch on Wednesday. Walk-in registrations will be accepted as space allows. For lodging information, contact the Nittany Lion Inn at (800) 233-7505 or (814) 865-8500 and reference the Pennsylvania Ag Bankers Conference.

To register or receive a detailed schedule, visit the Web at http://conferences.cas.psu.edu, or contact Conferences and Short Courses by phone (814-865-8301 or toll-free 877-778-2937) or by e-mail (shortcourse@psu.edu).

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EDITORS: For more information on course content, contact H. Louis Moore by phone at 814-865-0460 or by e-mail at hlm4@psu.edu, or Gregory Hanson by e-mail at gdh3@psu.edu.

Gary Abdullah Writer/editor Phone: 814-863-2708 E-mail: gxa2@psu.edu