The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Outlook Forum is one of the industry’s preeminent annual conferences. The 89th annual Agricultural Outlook Forum, entitled, “Managing Risk in the 21st Century,” kicks off Thursday, Feb. 21. USDA has hosted the conference since 1923 to provide farmers and ranchers, government, and agribusinesses with sound information for decision-making.
Conference agenda follows:
8:00 a.m.: Welcome: Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan
8:05 a.m.: Chief Economist Joseph Glauber: “Agricultural Economic & Foreign Trade Outlooks.”
8:30 a.m.: Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack: Keynote Address
9:00 a.m.: Former Senator Thomas A. Daschle, senior policy advisor, DLA Piper: “Plowing Ahead: Farming, Food Security, and the Future”
10:00 a.m.: Press availability with Secretary Vilsack.
10:30 a.m.: Plenary Panel: “Managing Risk in Today’s Markets,”with Bryan T. Durkin, chief operating officer, CME Group; David Baudler, president, Cargill AgHorizons; and Scott H. Irwin, Agricultural Marketing, University of Illinois.
USDA commodity outlook speeches will be posted online on Friday, Feb. 22 at 7 a.m.: www.usda.gov/oce/forum.