A live webcast of some of the country's most influential business leaders offering their perspective and vision on key issues facing our economy will be available on September 8-9. Watch live or after the conference; the webcast link will be available for 30 days following the event.The series of presentations are part of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW) Fall Workshop, focused on "Agriculture, Technology and Innovation," which is being hosted and sponsored in part by the Kauffman Foundation at its conference center.Among the many noted speakers at the conference, those participating in the webcast are:

• Duncan Niederauer, CEO, NYSE Euronext who, together with Carl Schramm, president and CEO, Kauffman Foundation, will address entrepreneurship, innovation and the economy;
• Paul Kedrosky, senior fellow, Kauffman Foundation, who will share his perspective of how technology entrepreneurs can succeed in times of stress;
• Bo Fishback, vice president of entrepreneurship, Kauffman Foundation, and Karen Kerrigan, vice president and CEO, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, who will profile American entrepreneurs and what makes them tick;
• T. Boone Pickens, chairman of BP Capital Management, who will discuss his alternative energy plan and forthcoming book, The First Billion is the Hardest;
• Ed Schafer, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, who will speak about the biofuel debate;
• Hugh Grant, CEO of Monsanto, who will speak to the challenges in the food and agricultural industry in a time of rising food prices and rampant seed piracy;
• Joe Hinrichs, vice president of global manufacturing, Ford Motor Company, who will discuss the importance of manufacturing and its relationship to technology development in the U.S.; and
• Sandy Barauh, acting administrator of the Small Business Administration, who will address the SBA's role in boosting small business in an unfriendly economy.

Link to webcast: www.kauffman.org/sabew (live starting Monday)Link to conference agenda: http://www.sabew.org/events/fallWorkshops/2008/2008FallProgram.pdf