The city of Chicago is the stage for the 2012 BASF Agricultural Solutions Media Summit again. The summit was held here in 2010 at the amazing Trump Towers.

The theme of the event is the concept that innovation and sustainability are very closely linked, according to Paul Rea, BASF Vice President, U.S. Crop Protection. “You’ll hear from a range speakers and panelists from across the industry talking about the role that innovation plays in solving sustainability issues in agriculture,” Paul told me in a brief preview interview this morning.

A wide range of journalists are represented at the event, from mainstream media to targeted specialty crop publications. “We’ve brought together a lot of our different business units here in North America, including our plant science group, Canadian business, U.S. ag business, specialty business,” Paul said. “So, it’s really a good collection of the entire breadth of the ag solutions BASF has to offer the North American market.”

Paul is pictured here (left) with Markus Heldt, President, BASF Crop Protection and the Chicago skyline in the background during last night’s opening reception for the media event.

Listen to my interview with Paul here. Paul Rea Interview

Follow the media event on Twitter with the hashtag #AgMsBASF