Stay Informed

Indiana Farm Bureau’s 2019 convention will be a celebration of the organization’s 100^th year, but it also will be an opportunity for members to look toward the future and discover opportunities in agriculture.

 A full slate of speakers and an event called the Innovation Showcase will offer both inspiration and information.

Clinton Griffiths, news anchor of AgDay TV and editorial director for Farm Journal’s broadcast division, will be the keynote speaker during the closing session, which starts at 10:45 a.m. on Dec. 14. Griffiths will discuss a host of topics that could affect agriculture, including macro-growing population, data science, automation, weather trends and livestock and genome changes.

New this year is the Innovation Showcase, which will allow convention goers to get a glimpse of future opportunities and trends fueling agriculture. Topics that attendees can explore during these sessions, which will be presented on Dec. 13 from 1:45-4:15, include “Putting Conservation to Work on Your Farm,” trends in retail sales, biotech innovations, commodity checkoff research, supply chain innovations and “Feeding 9 Billion by 2050: Meeting the Challenge.”

Also on Dec. 13 will be a series of breakout sessions. Planned speakers include Jason Henderson, associate dean in the Purdue College of Agriculture and director of Purdue Extension, who will speak on “Today’s Ag Economy: Challenges and Opportunities.” Jayson Lusk of the Department of Agricultural Economics at Purdue as well as a representative of Tyson Foods will speak on “The Future of Meat,” and Indiana State Climatologist Beth Hall and Melissa Widhalm of Purdue will discuss “Building Resiliency to Changing Weather.”

INFB is hoping attendees leave the showcase full of ideas for improving or expanding their businesses in the future.