The Agri-Pulse Ag & Food Policy Summit will be postponed to Sept. 21 at the National Press Club, for what will hopefully be a live, in-person event that follows appropriate federal guidelines.
“We realize that a lot can change between now and September due to COVID-19,” explained Sara Wyant, Agri-Pulse Editor. “We are keeping all of our options for hosting the meeting – both in person and via video conferencing – under consideration so there will not be the need to delay this event again.
“We know that our topic – the critical connections between food security and national security – is more important than ever before. At no time since the Great Depression has food production, processing and distribution been watched so closely and considered more critical,” Wyant added.
The decision to postpone the event, which was originally planned for March 23 and first postponed to June 22, was based on discussions with speakers, sponsors, and registered guests.
“Given the uncertainty about reopening in the Washington, D.C. metro area, we decided that June 22 was still too soon,” Wyant said. “Some parts of the U.S. are starting to reopen, however, Washington, D.C. may not reopen until later in May, Virginia is not scheduled to reopen until June 10 and currently, there is no scheduled reopening date for Maryland.”
In preparation for the new date, Agri-Pulse is working with the National Press Club to provide additional sanitization, more physical separation and in some cases, videos of speakers rather than all-live presentations.
Some of the confirmed and invited speakers include:
- Ambassador Kip Tom, U.S. Representative to the U.N. Agencies for Food and Agriculture
- House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson
- House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Rep. Mike Conaway
- Everett Hoekstra, President, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health
- Liz Wagstrom, Chief Veterinarian, National Pork Producers Council
- Jeff Simmons, President and CEO, Elanco
- Indigo Agriculture CEO David Perry
- Land O’ Lakes Chief Technology Officer, Teddy Bekele
- American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall
- Retired U.S. Army General William “Kip” Ward, Inaugural Commander, U.S. Africa Command
- Senate Ag Committee Chairman Pat Roberts
- Senate Ag Committee Ranking Member Sen. Debbie Stabenow
- Alan Rudolph, V.P. for Research, Colorado State University
To register, click here. For information on group tickets and sponsorships, contact Jason@Agri-Pulse.com
Source: Agri-Pulse