DTB Associates and AgRisk Management Join Forces

April 17, 2006:  We are pleased to inform you that Ag Risk Management and DTB Associates have joined forces to carry out policy and economic analyses on issues related to international trade agreements, trade disputes and domestic agricultural policies.  Together, the two firms possess the necessary economic, policy and legal expertise to evaluate developments in each of these areas and to provide clients with authoritative advice and counsel on issues vital to their organizations and their members.

Over the next year and a half, Congress will write legislation that will modify or replace the current farm bill.  At the same time, the Administration is negotiating a WTO trade agreement which could affect both the size and scope of current U.S. farm programs and prompt Congress to consider alternative policies.  In addition, future farm supports will have to conform to international trade rules with respect to their impact on the global market if they are to avoid WTO dispute settlement challenges.

The collaboration between DTB Associates and AgRisk Management underscores the importance of these issues to U.S. agriculture.  It is the desire of the two firms to provide U.S. agricultural interests with an in-depth understanding of the issues they are facing and the various policy options available to them.

Ag Risk Management is an agricultural consultancy firm, founded in 1996 by Bruce Babcock and Dermot Hayes.  AgRisk Management has been instrumental in the development of several agricultural insurance products currently being utilized by U.S. agricultural producers. Revenue Assurance, Group Risk Income Protection , and Livestock Gross Margin were all constructed by AgRisk Management staff.  The firm has also consulted with various agricultural producer groups, providing both historical and forward-looking analyses of the impacts of possible changes in domestic support and trade policy settings. For more information, contact Bruce Babcock at 515-294-5764 or babcock@iastate.edu.

DTB Associates, LLP was founded in 2000 by internationally recognized experts in agriculture, trade policy and trade law to provide advice and counsel on legal and policy issues to producers and exporters competing in the global food and fiber market.  The firm has advised over 60 associations, companies and other organizations on issues related to trade agreements, farm policy and bilateral trade problems.  For more information, contact Paul Drazek at (202) 661-7095 or pdrazek@dtbassociates.com, or visit the firm’s website:  www.dtbassociates.com.