With the resignation of US Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns last week, the Cellulosic Ethanol Summit next month has made an agenda change.

Johanns was scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the event but now Acting Secretary Chuck Conner will be the keynoter.

The Summit will be in Washington, D.C., Oct. 15-17. The annual three-day event has established itself as the major place where all communities in the cellulosic ethanol value chain come together to discuss how to build a national cellulosic ethanol industry. Again this year, leaders from the agricultural, industrial biotech, biorefinery developer and financial communities will gather to their communities’ perspectives on what is needed to form an efficient effective value chain to commercialize cellulosic ethanol production.

Among the sponsors for the event are the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC), the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), and the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA).