GENEVA, N.Y. — Join Cornell AgriTech for a one day conference with policy makers, industry thought leaders, and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University around innovation and entrepreneurship in the farm and food economy and what steps are needed to create an ecosystem of success for our New York state food system. Located at 630 North St. Geneva, New York at the Jordan Hall auditorium, the conference is free to agricultural and food businesses. Pre-registration is required.
Conference Agenda
9:30 – 10:00 Registration
10:00 – 10:30 Dean Kathryn J. Boor, Welcome and Thoughts from New York’s Land Grant College: The past 150 years as New York’s Land Grant have given the College a unique opportunity to partner with the state’s farm and food community over the past decades. But challenges in the future – basic farm profitability, weather instability, rapidly changing consumer preferences and technology will precipitate great changes in the State’s farm and food system in the next 150 years. New York can chose to move forward, creating new opportunities for growth and building a newly energized farm and food tech ecosystem or we can face the risk of being left behind in the rapidly changing world.
10:30 – 11:30 Panel Discussion: Ecosystems of innovation: perspectives on comprehensive strategies to encourage entrepreneurship and investment in NY’s farm and food system. Moderator, Dr. Chris Smart, Director, School of Integrative Plant Science.
Panelists: Tom Schryver Cornell Center for Regional Economic Development; Andrew Rose, Director of Innovation for Mid-Atlantic Farm Credit, Ed Harwood, Aerofarms, Stonehenge Capital
11:30 – 12:00 Guenter Sauter, Director, Weather Solutions, IBM: “IBM and Innovation: how a NY tech company turns to digital agriculture solutions.”
12:00 – 12:45 Lunch and networking
12:45 – 1:10 Kevin Malchoff, Director, Rich Products: “If you are not growing or thinking of innovating, you’re dying: how one upstate NY multinational company maintains its relevance in the new food system.”
1:10 – 2:00 Farm and Food Innovation in New York: “Challenges & Opportunities”. What does it take to succeed in New York in a farm and food business? Perspectives for growth and addressing barriers.
Moderator: Bill Strassburg, Vice President of Strategic Planning, Wegmans
Panelists: Jenny Crist, Crist Orchards, Keven Bucklin, CFO Cayuga Milk Ingredients, Mike Kreher, Partner, Kreher Farms, David Fisher, NYFB President and Maple View Dairy
2:00 – 2:30 John Maggiore, Director of Policy, Executive Chamber: “Building an Upstate Innovation Ecosystem: Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s Agenda.”
2:30 – 3:15 Policy-Maker Panel: “New York State’s role in building an innovation ecosystem for farm and food.”
Moderator: Kathryn Boor, Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Panelists: Commissioner Richard Ball, NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, Senator Pamela Helming, Chair of the Legislative Commission on Rural Resources, Assemblywoman Didi Barrett, Assemblyman Felix Ortiz, Assistant Speaker of the NYS Assembly, Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, Chair of the Assembly Aging Committee and Southern Tier REDC representative.
3:15 – 3:30 Break
3:30 – 3:45 Jan Nyrop, Associate Dean and Director: “Cornell AgriTech: We Grow Things”
3:45 – 4:15 Mike Nozzolio, partner, Harris Beach and Kathryn Boor: Discussion, conclusion and next steps.
For more information about the New York Loves Food Conference, visit the event website
–Cornell University
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