“Smart Agriculture in the 21st Century” is the theme for the 2015 Agricultural Outlook Forum to be held from Feb. 19-20, 2015, at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel, Arlington, Va.
USDA has announced that the forum’s plenary speakers and sessions will take a global, modern look at different aspects of today’s agriculture industry. Among the highlights, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and European Commissioner of Agriculture & Rural Development Phil Hogan will engage in a roundtable discussion on agriculture; Dr. Richard N. Haass, President of the Council on Foreign Relations, will address “Food, Foreign Policy and International Order; and USDA’s Chief Economist Joseph Glauber will deliver the 2015 Agricultural & Foreign Trade Outlooks.
The plenary panel focuses on “A Discussion on Innovation, Biotechnology, and Big Data” with wide latitude for panelists to talk about the intersection of these issues. Moderated by Secretary Tom Vilsack, the panel includes: Cory J. Reed, Senior Vice President, Intelligent Solutions Group, John Deere and Company; Dr. Robert T. Fraley, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Monsanto; Mary Kay Thatcher, Senior Director, Congressional Relations, American Farm Bureau Federation; and Dr. Robert Sutor, Vice President, Mobile, Solutions, and Mathematical Sciences, IBM Corporation.
Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden will welcome the plenary audience and also moderate an afternoon session titled “Tomorrow’s Opportunities,” focused on the potential of agriculture as a career, and the importance of new and beginning farmers and ranchers.
The Forum’s dinner speaker will be Ambassador Darci Vetter, Chief Agricultural Negotiator, Office of the United States Trade Representative.
Registration for the event is $400 until January 21, and $450 after that date. Plenary speeches will be webcast the evening of February 19, and breakout session speeches and presentations will be posted online at the end of the day on February 20.