The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) announces that the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) will again hold its annual Agricultural Equipment Technology Conference (AETC) in conjunction with AG CONNECT Expo. ASABE will also present its annual AE50 “innovation” awards and will spotlight the AE50 winning products at AG CONNECT Expo 2011.
AG CONNECT Expo is slated for January 8-10, 2011 (Preview Day January 7 by special admission) at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The event is a world-class trade show that offers not only the latest innovations, products, services, and technology plus access to industry experts but also quality learning and networking opportunities.
ASABE is a leading scientific and educational organization dedicated to the advancement of engineering applicable to agricultural, food, and biological systems. Members are engineers as well as other industry professionals with training and experience to understand the interrelationships between technology and living systems.
The AETC 2011 conference will feature former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture John R. Block as the keynote speaker. Block has dedicated his professional career to the areas of agriculture, food, and health. He served as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture from 1981-1985 under President Ronald Reagan. Prior to that, he was Secretary of Agriculture in his home state of Illinois for four years. Block will provide remarks at the AETC luncheon on Wednesday, January 5. The AETC conference will be held January 5-7 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta Georgia.
“AG CONNECT Expo is the place to hold our AETC conference. AG CONNECT Expo is the gathering place for those committed to cutting-edge agriculture and co-locating AETC with the show heightens the public awareness of standards activities conducted by our members and others whose expertise contributes significantly to the integrity of the standards-development process,” said Darrin Drollinger, ASABE’s executive director.
ASABE is a leader in the development of consensus standards for agricultural equipment design, testing, and safe operation. It works to advance efficient and environmentally sensitive methods of producing food, fiber, timber, and renewable energy sources for an ever-increasing world population.
“Producers are always interested in learning more about cutting-edge technology and innovation, and having ASABE technical experts onsite, with the AE50 innovation awards, is a big plus,” said Charlie O’Brien, vice president agricultural sector for AEM.
With the AE50 innovation awards, ASABE recognizes outstanding innovations in product or systems technology in products engineered for agricultural, food, biological, and related systems, and that are being made available commercially for the first time.
ASABE and AEM, which owns and manages AG CONNECT Expo, have a long history of cooperation. This includes AEM’s sponsorship, for more than 70 years, of the AEM Student Trophy Competition, honoring excellence in student agricultural engineering.
For more information and to register for the AETC 2011 conference, click here. For more information on AG CONNECT Expo, click here.