Perdue Kicks Off DTN Ag Summit

Ag Secretary to Discuss Key Trade, Economic Issues With Farmers, Industry Leaders

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue will lead off multiple days of high-level farm business presentations. (Photo courtesy of USDA)

MINNEAPOLIS (DTN) -- DTN/The Progressive Farmer confirms U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue will kick off the 2018 Ag Summit, Dec. 3, in Chicago. Perdue will provide the keynote address for the event, which begins at 1 p.m. The Ag Summit takes place Dec. 3-5, at the Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park Hotel.

This is the 11th annual Ag Summit, but the first to feature a sitting secretary of agriculture.

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"We are honored that Secretary Perdue will join us at the 2018 Ag Summit," said Gregg Hillyer, editor in chief of The Progressive Farmer magazine. "His appearance is especially timely as farmers are looking to the Trump administration to address global trade, especially for American agricultural products. Perdue's speech will deliver critical insights into the economic and trade outlook for agriculture."

With Perdue's confirmation, DTN is extending Ag Summit Early Bird registration pricing to Nov. 28.

The 2018 Ag Summit agenda features several additional high-profile speakers who will provide insight into the future of agriculture. Jim Carroll, a futurist and innovation expert, will speak about disruption in the industry and what farming will look like in 2045.

Chenjun Pan, an animal protein analyst with Rabo AgriFinance in the RaboResearch Food & Agribusiness group, will discuss how changing protein demands in Asia and globally will effect United States meat, dairy, oilseeds and grains exports in 2019 and beyond. Her presentation is this year's installment of the Marcia Taylor Memorial Lecture Series. Taylor, who was the DTN/The Progressive Farmer executive editor and a central figure behind the creation of the Ag Summit, passed away unexpectedly in 2017. The speaker series was created to honor Taylor's passion to bring new ideas and new voices to her farm audience, while demanding that Summit information be actionable, that farmers could directly apply it to their business decisions.

Additional sessions feature presentations on blockchain technologies and their effect on agriculture, tax and business structure ideas that fit with new tax laws and new economic horizons, grain marketing strategies for the current commodity climate, and how to lead both family and nonfamily employees within the farm business.

DTN/The Progressive Farmer also will honor its latest class of America's Best Young Farmers and Ranchers, during an awards luncheon Dec. 4.

Online registration, hotel information and a full agenda for the Ag Summit is available through Dec. 3, 2018, at www.dtnagsummit.com.

(GH/AG/BAS)

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