I have the 2002 proceedings (Distilled Spirits Tradition and Innovation), and can speak about those. (Can't comment on the 2005 proceedings until I receive them.) The papers presented in them cover many different levels of topics. Some are definitely beyond the scope of a micro-distiller, but others are well suited. Flavor development, technical production aspects of specific spirits, marketing/market direction, new wood usage, etc. I guess you have to decide if reading these types of technical articles have interest for you or you feel you can work the ideas into your production. You can go to the conference site to get more information on the presenters and topics:
2005 Distilling Conferences
I am interested to read an article by a presenter from Angostura, entitled: FROM SUGARCANE TO RUM – THE TECHNOLOGY OF RUM MAKING. I assume they will have some interesting insights into the whole process.
Hope this helps,
Glenn