The annual Agribusiness Economic Outlook Conference will be held Tuesday, Dec. 15, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Cornell University.

Sponsored by Cornell's Department of Agricultural, Resource, and Managerial Economics, in cooperation with the Department of Policy Analysis and Management, the conference will feature forecasts for agricultural and consumer economics.

The plenary session begins at 10 a.m. at the David L. Call Alumni Auditorium in Kennedy Hall, with William Tomek, Cornell professor of agricultural economics, providing the national perspective on the economy and agriculture. At 11 a.m., Gregory Poe, Cornell professor of agricultural economics, will present "Agricultural Environmental Policy: Picking Up the Pace?," a discussion on emerging agricultural environmental policies that will affect New York farmers.

In the afternoon, three concurrent sessions will examine specific commodities and topics in more depth. These sessions, beginning at 1:15 p.m., are:

• Session A, the David L. Call Alumni Auditorium -- Tomek will describe the outlook for grains, feed and other farm outputs; Mark Stephenson, Cornell senior extension associate in agricultural economics, will discuss the dairy situation and outlook.
• Session B, Room 145 Warren Hall -- Gerald White, Cornell professor of agricultural economics, will discuss the fruit, grape and wine situation and outlook. Jayson Harper, Pennsylvania State University associate professor in agricultural economics and rural sociology, will join White in discussing risk management for horticultural producers. Also, research updates will be presented.
• Session C, the Stone I Microcomputing Center, Mann Library -- Lois Wright Morton, Cornell senior extension associate in policy analysis and management, will discuss "Local Policy Making: Internet Data as an Information Source." Philip Davis, Cornell instructional librarian, will then discuss "Practical Tips for Using the Internet: Search Engines, Organizing and Downloading," which will include hands-on computer time. This session is limited to 35 participants, admitted on a first-come, first-served basis.

The public is invited to attend the conference. The fee for pre-registration, postmarked by Dec. 1, is $30, and $45 thereafter. Phone registrations will not be accepted. Box lunches will be available for $6; parking permits will cost $2. For further information or to request a pre-registration form, contact Carol Peters at (607) 255-1602.