KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City hosts its annual Ag Innovation Forum February 14, 2019 at the American Royal, 1 to 5:30 pm. The forum will spotlight innovation in biology (seeds/genetics), digital information and AI, and advances in mechanics and engineering (drones/GPS). It will also focus on how technology is a driving force in economic development across the region.
Keynote speakers Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy and Dr. Marshall Stewart will expand on their perspectives of agricultural innovation and technology. In “The Vision Thing,” Dr. Ramaswamy, president, Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities and recent director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, will offer a big picture look at the scope and nature of agricultural innovation. Dr. Stewart, vice chancellor for Extension and Engagement at the University of Missouri will talk about how “Technology Can Fuel a Dynamic Future.”
The Forum also features two panel discussions with prominent innovators and thought leaders in agriculture academia and industry participants. One panel will focus on academic research; the other on technology trends in the marketplace.
Promising Research in the Academic Pipeline
- Brian McCornack, associate professor of Entomology, Kansas State University: “Understanding the impact of increased productivity on beneficial communities and sustainability of current practices.” Prof. McCornack, an expert in emerging pest issues in field crops, has developed a web-based decision support system designed to facilitate the delivery of information to various stakeholders.
- Melissa Goellner Mitchum, Missouri Soybean Endowed Professor of Plant Science, Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri: “Plant nematode interactions, with a focus on soybean cyst nematode.” Dr. Mitchum specializes in the molecular basis of the plant-nematode interactions to reduce damage from plant-parasitic nematodes.
- Bob Rowland, professor of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology, Kansas State University and Randall Prather, Curator’s/Distinguished Professor of Reproductive Biotechnology, University of Missouri: “Collaborative efforts to detect and control swine disease.” Both have focused on the swine disease porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus. Prof. Rowland studies the role of host genetics in disease response. Prof. Prather’s lab has created pigs that are not susceptible to PRRSV.
New Technologies Solutions in the Marketplace
- Todd Firkins, executive director of Commercial Operations, GrowSafe Systems: “New technology to measure and monitor animal health and performance.” The systems automatically measure multiple biometric and environmental inputs in livestock production environments, enabling producers to make data-driven decisions.
- Donald DeJong, co-founder, Sedron Agriculture: “Innovative technology to treat animal wastewater.” Sedron Ag’s process captures nutrients using a cost effective, environmentally-friendly, and robust self-contained processing facility configured to convert manure slurries into a pathogen-free fertilizer product.
- Arsalan Lodhi, founder and CEO, WISRAN: “Measuring time/cost of farming activities.” Farm worker pain is an invisible operating loss. Work Intelligence System Running ANalytics (WISRAN) improves worker comfort and equipment utilization to boost profits.
J.J. Jones, co-founder of Roots & Legacies, will emcee the event. For more information and to register click here.
Sponsors for the event include: John Deere, Kansas Department of Agriculture, MFA Incorporated, TechAccel Communications, Farm Credit Services of America/Frontier Farm Credit, and Lathrop Gage.
— Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City
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