ASA Chairman Steve Wellman met with fellow farm leaders during today’s inaugural meeting of the CME Group’s newly-formed Agricultural Markets Advisory Council (AMAC). The AMAC consists of representatives of CME Group’s participants, including grain merchandisers, millers and food producers; leaders from agricultural organizations like ASA; and members of the academic space. The AMAC is co-chaired by CME Group Executive Chairman and President Terry Duffy, and former Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman.

According to its charter, the purposes of the AMAC are to “facilitate an open dialogue among agricultural organizations, commodity groups and academics; gain insights from its members, and address the macro issues that impact their respective constituents as well as agricultural markets in general; drive deeper collaboration among the farmer and rancher and agriculture community and CME Group; provide a forum where participants involved in traditional production agriculture, newer participants in the food sector and CME Group can discuss relevant market issues and research; and identify areas of mutual success that advance the objectives of CME Group and its agricultural participants, and in so doing also advance the U.S. agricultural economy.

During the meeting, the AMAC heard from Jack Sinclair, Walmart’s executive vice president for food, and discussed the challenges facing the world’s largest food distributor. The group also spoke with Randy Russell, principal at the Washington-based Russell Group, and CME Group Senior Managing Director of Government Relations and Legislative Affairs Linda Rich on policy issues facing agricultural markets.