October 20, 2016
 

Oilseed & Grain Trade Summit eyes the ag supply chain

With an eye on the ag supply chain, this year's Oilseed & Grain Trade Summit, to be held November 15-16 at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis, will cover topics including millennial food choices, weather, and supply and demand.

Speaker Eve Turow Paul will address the impact on ag from a rising generation of consumers in her presentation "Millennial Food Behavior and What It Means for the Ag Supply Chain".

Turow Paul, a consultant with ETP Insights, LLC, and author of "A Taste of Generation Yum: How the Millennial Generation's Love for Organic Fare, Celebrity Chefs and Microbrews Will Make or Break the Future of Food," will use her years of research with this age group to outline how their choices will impact the ag supply chain.

"Millennials are calling for transparency to build trust [in the food system], looking to know every single part of the process from how the crops are cultivated, what food safety measures were taken and more," said Turow Paul. "This constant drive and need to uncover the behind-the-scenes story will mean that the status quo of agriculture is not going to be acceptable anymore. This presents immense opportunity for the food industry and farming community."

Joining Turow Paul in discussing disruptors in ag will be speaker John Corbett, president and CEO of aWhere, Inc., who will address the consequences of weather on the ag supply chain.

Through examination of proprietary analytics, Corbett will provide unprecedented insights on: "What can be learned from the 2016 weather and production patterns in China, Europe and the U.S.?"; "What is the current status of soybean and corn crops in Brazil and Argentina, and what are the expectations for 2017 based on recent data?"; "How can the sector leverage better forecasting of long-term climate and weather trends in preparation of increasing extreme weather conditions?"

Complementing the predictions for the weather's impact on agriculture, Bill Lapp, president and founder of Advanced Economic Solutions (AES), will address the ag outlook for the oilseed and grain markets for 2017. He will highlight the key areas of supply and demand as well as the implications for trade and prices following the 2016 US harvest. Lapp has been a featured speaker at numerous national forums, including the restaurant industry's semi-annual Supply Chain Management conference and the USDA Annual Outlook conference. 



Representatives from more than 70 industry-leading businesses are expected to attend the Oilseed & Grain Trade Summit. Participants include those from across the oilseed, grain and feed value chain - from buyers, traders and merchandisers to processors and providers of transportation/logistics services.

The Organic & Non-GMO Forum (www.ongforum.com) will also be co-located with the Summit from November 14 to 15.