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Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Michelle Hummel
               (202) 457-0825
            michelle@aradc.org

ARA MOURNS DEATH OF JACK EBERSPACHER

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 6, 2009) – Jack Eberspacher, president and chief executive officer of the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA), died peacefully in his sleep on July 5, 2009 at the Inova Cameron Glen Care Center in Reston, Virginia. Eberspacher was out on indefinite medical leave from ARA after a diagnosis of cancer in late April of this year.

“ARA and the industry lost a dynamic leader and true visionary,” said ARA Chairman Ken Manning of Wilbur-Ellis Company. “Jack worked tirelessly to build this organization into the strong voice for agricultural retailers and distributors we have today in the nation’s Capitol. He always stressed the importance of ARA listening to its members and providing value to those members. Due to his efforts, we have an experienced and very capable team at ARA who are committed to seeing Jack’s and the Board of Director’s vision for the organization fulfilled. ARA has a solid foundation in place that will only get stronger through the active involvement of its members and the industry.”

Eberspacher was appointed president of ARA, in July 2001, by the association’s board of directors. He grew the association by over 100 percent, increasing the annual association dues revenue from $567,000 to over $1.3 million. Prior to joining ARA, Eberspacher served as chief executive officer of the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG). His leadership was the catalyst behind NAWG’s financial turnaround, guiding the organization out from negative $200,000 in net earnings to a positive $80,000 in two-and-a-half years. Before NAWG, Eberspacher served as the chief executive officer of the National Grain Sorghum Producers Association, located in Lubbock, Texas. He grew that association by 300 percent and is credited with developing balanced association programs on policy, plant science and utilization; placing the association on the national legislative and regulatory scene.

In February 2002, Eberspacher was the only commodity leader invited to address the National Governors Conference, where he discussed the state of the agriculture economy and the importance of the 2002 farm bill. He was also appointed to the Bush/Cheney Agricultural Transition Team.

Eberspacher was born in Nebraska and received a bachelor's degree in animal science from the University of Nebraska. He also completed coursework toward a master's degree in business administration at Texas Tech University. He is survived by his wife, Jinger, and two children, Sam and Maggie.

A funeral will be held at the Vienna Presbyterian Church on 124 Park Street, NE, in Vienna, Virginia. ARA will provide additional details regarding these arrangments as soon as they are available.

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The Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) is a nonprofit trade association representing the interests of retailers across the United States on legislative and regulatory issues on Capitol Hill. As the political voice of agricultural retailers, ARA not only represents its membership but also educates members on the political process and important issues affecting the industry.

Agricultural Retailers Association | 1156 15th Street, NW, Suite 302, Washington, DC 20005
Phone: 202.457.0825 | Fax: 202.457.0864 | www.aradc.org

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RENSSELAER, Ind. – After a tumultuous 2008, Ceres Solutions customers got a glimpse of where their fuel prices might be headed in 2009 at a recent Petroleum Tech Conference in Rensselaer

“Since July, we’ve had an unprecedented drop of over $100 per barrel in the price of crude,” said Blaine Duxbury, CountryMark Price Risk Manager. “However at this point, there are no indications of a big rebound in 2009.”

Duxbury was a featured presenter at the Rensselaer meeting, one of four co-hosted by CountryMark and Ceres Solutions, a CountryMark branded co-op dealer. According to Ceres Energy Division Vice President Howard Jones, the purpose of the conferences was to give tips and new information to Ceres and CountryMark customers on how to “better manage your energy resources and be more profitable, whether you’re a farmer, school transportation manager, or any one of our customers.”

Duxbury stated that the record-high prices for both crude and retail petroleum products last July were the result of a combination of factors, including tight supplies, strong demand, double-digit economic growth in China and the Middle East, a weak U.S. dollar, and commodities being attractive investment opportunities. So what happened?

“It’s like the old saying, ‘high prices cure high prices,’” explained Duxbury.

With the worsening of the world economy, demand for petroleum deteriorated to the point where today, crude supplies in storage are now building rapidly and refineries are only running about 80 percent of capacity. Given current conditions, Duxbury’s best guess was that U.S. crude could be expected to average about $43 in 2009, and work its way up to $55 in 2010. This would translate to average ’09 pump prices of about $1.95 for gasoline and $2.28 for diesel, with those prices expected to climb to $2.19 gasoline and $2.55 diesel for 2010.

A member of the audience then asked why diesel prices continued to exceed gasoline prices.

“The U.S. is not swimming in diesel fuel like it is in crude,” responded Duxbury. “There’s a high world demand, and it goes to the highest bidder. Europe is just now getting into the ultra-low sulfur diesel business, and consequently some U.S. diesel fuel has been going straight overseas. I don’t look for that [gasoline-diesel price differential] to change anytime soon.”

Duxbury closed by encouraging farm and commercial fuel buyers to contract at least a portion of their fuel needs for 2009, saying now was typically a good time to do so. He said that contracting could reduce fuel costs, reduce volatility, and help with budgeting.

Following Duxbury, CountryMark Business Development Manager Larry Kinser briefed listeners about how using premium diesel fuel could benefit operators in their farm, transportation, or construction applications.

“I’m sure you’ve heard that ‘diesel fuel is diesel fuel,’” said Kinser. “If you’re talking about number 2 common pipeline diesel fuel, that’s absolutely right. A fuel company’s not going to put any better fuel into the pipeline than what they can expect to get out. But for today’s new diesel engines, a premium fuel can keep them running better, longer, more efficiently, and with less maintenance.”

To make his case, Kinser listed CountryMark premium diesel fuel’s benefits compared to number 2 common diesel fuel:

Kinser also said that “the backbone of CountryMark’s success” was its private pipeline, which carries the company’s All-American fuels from the CountryMark refinery in Mt. Vernon, Indiana to its four terminals in the state, “allowing us to control the quality of our fuel every step of the way.”

In the meeting’s last presentation, Mike Felkner from Cummins Crosspoint in Fort Wayne told of the new Cummins engine technology coming in 2010.

“We’re going to open up our engines and let them run,” said Felkner. “Which for you means better throttle response, larger operating sweet spot, significantly improved fuel efficiency, stronger performance, and better drivability and reliability.”

Felkner said the enhanced engine performance would be achieved by moving from today’s internal combustion technology which handles emissions by retarding the engine’s timing, to treating emissions coming out the back end, largely through the use of a urea-based dosing system. Tailpipe emissions will be dosed with diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), dramatically reducing emissions to almost zero.