Next month’s Unconventional Ag conference held at the Hyatt Regency Dallas, December 12-13, promises market intelligence on key topics: environmental, social, and governance initiatives (ESG), organic ag and the latest in ag innovations.
More than 25 industry expert speakers round out an agenda that addresses regenerative ag, sustainability, specialty crops and risk management.
“Among oilseed and grain events, our event is unique for two reasons,” said Janet Fisher, content manager for Unconventional Ag. “For one, we are looking at the sustainability side, particularly in strategic sourcing across the supply chain. Second, we are deep-diving into practical applications of sustainability programs and regenerative ag via five categories: market drivers, supply chain partnerships, advancing sustainability within a company, farm-level perspectives and innovations.”
Taking the stage during the Ag Innovation Panel to discuss the latest technology and methods – for producers and downstream supply chain stakeholders alike – will be four disruptors in the ag sector:
- Shannon Theobald, founder of Foodtech Advising, is practiced at helping companies expand to new markets, channels and categories, having managed $20 billion in foodtech investments and taken businesses from $0 to $1 billion in revenue in under two years.
- For Co-Founder and CEO of WhatIF Foods, Chris Langwallner, it’s all about regenerative agriculture and agrobiodiversity, and he has plenty of implementation solutions to reveal.
- Kristy Flynn, cofounder and CTO of Fieldcraft, has created a digital B2B marketplace connecting agricultural and ingredient supply chains and has much to say on how to build dynamic partnerships to empower businesses that are promoting biodiversity and pioneering new markets.
- Profitable and resilient supply chains are key to success in ag. Ryan Vencill, enterprise account executive for Climate AI, has spent more than a decade helping business leaders build climate adaptable value chains that are equipped to withstand and take advantage of global climate change, and will provide insight on tackling this challenge.
Other standout presentations include “Communicating your ESG Vision and Plan with the Team” with Sarah Beth Aubrey, who is CEO of The Envoy Group, one of the only female-owned and operated agriculture-focused consultancies in the world. Her team works to build coalitions for cross-industry dialog and engagement around critical issues including climate and sustainability. Aubrey has twice been named a 40 Under 40 leader to watch in agriculture, and her syndicated column, Farm CEO Coach, has circulation in 10 countries and an audience of nearly 10 million.
In further addressing the “unconventional” in ag, the conference welcomes VP of economics for Argus Media Ryan Koory who will speak to the new age of organic agriculture. Built on a foundation of data and analytics provided by Mercaris’ network of partners (Argus acquired Mercaris in June 2023), Koory will showcase how recent substantial changes in interest rates, global trade, input costs and oilseed crushing margins have affected the organic commodity markets, and how these changes could shape markets into the future.
