Two leading authorities on food, agriculture and sustainable economic development will deliver keynote addresses at the upcoming New Uses Forum March 23-24, 2022. The Fourth Annual event will be held at the Earle Brown Heritage Center in Brooklyn Park, Minn., and is presented by the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI), Compeer Financial and Georgetown University’s Rural Opportunity Initiative.
Jocelyn Brown Hall, director for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Liaison Office for North America, will present “U.N. Sustainable Development Goals & Impact on the Future of Ag Innovation” March 23.
Dr. Karama Neal, administrator for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Business-Cooperative Service, will present “USDA Resources to Accelerate Food and Agriculture Opportunities” March 24.
In addition to Brown Hall and Neal’s keynote addresses, the New Uses Forum will feature a diverse range of speakers and multifaceted programming and perspectives. The theme for this year’s event is exploring the intersection of sustainability, innovation and investment in food and agriculture. Discussion will spotlight critical and emerging issues like innovations in new uses, agricultural processing, digital strategies, finance and investment capital trends, automation, new or expanded market possibilities, novel crops, entrepreneurship, sustainable protein and more.
The New Uses Forum brings together some of the most knowledgeable voices in business, agriculture, nonprofits, commodity groups and academia for in-depth discussions and informal knowledge sharing. Organizers are offering an in-person and virtual option for speakers and participants this year. To register, learn more information and see a detailed schedule of events, visit the event website.
The engaging forum will feature expert speakers, panel discussions and break-out sessions that will explore practical approaches for advancing innovative ideas to commercial markets in an effort to help create new sustainable, economic benefits for the region’s agricultural industry.
In addition to the schedule of sessions, participants will have time to interact and share experiences with fellow attendees via networking breaks to advance innovative food and agricultural ideas throughout the two-day conference.
Registration is open to join this can’t miss event to explore trends and needs in innovation and investment, as well as to connect with industry leaders in the ag, food, and investment sectors.
The FAO is a is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. The group’s goal is to achieve food security for all and make sure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives.
The USDA’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service offers programs to provide the capital, training, education and entrepreneurial skills that can help those living in rural areas start and grow businesses or find jobs in agricultural markets and in the bio-based economy.
The program partners extend their gratitude to 2022 New Uses Forum sponsors: Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council, Bremer Bank, CoBank, Faegre Drinker, Great River Energy, Lathrop GPM, Minneapolis Saint Paul Regional Economic Development Partnership, Northern Crops Institute, RAHR, Ag Country Farm Credit Services, Avisen, MinnWest Technology Campus, Bargen Incorporated, EPAC flexible packaging, GREENSEAM, Minnesota Farmers Union, Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company, Great Plains Institute, Hill Capital Corporation and Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation.
About AURI
The Agricultural Utilization Research Institute’s mission is to foster long-term economic benefit through value-added agricultural products. It accomplishes this by using science and technology to help develop new uses for agricultural products. It partners with businesses and entrepreneurs to generate economic impact in Minnesota communities by helping businesses take advantage of innovative opportunities in four focus areas: biobased products, renewable energy, coproducts and food. AURI provides a broad range of services, including applied research and development, scientific assistance and a targeted network of resources to develop value-added uses for crops and coproducts.
About Compeer Financial
Compeer Financial is a member-owned Farm Credit cooperative serving and supporting agriculture and rural communities. The $27 billion organization provides loans, leases, risk management and other financial services throughout 144 counties in Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Based in the Upper Midwest, Compeer Financial exists to champion the hopes and dreams of rural America, while providing personalized service and expertise to clients and the agricultural industry.
Compeer Financial is one of the largest cooperative of the Farm Credit System, a nationwide network of lending institutions supporting agriculture and rural communities with reliable, consistent credit and financial services.
About the Rural Opportunity Initiative Center
The Rural Opportunity Initiative (ROI) aims to serve rural American communities by driving financially and socially-sustainable rural development. It has been well-established that rural businesses lag behind their urban counterparts in terms of venture and early growth capital investment and accessing debt and operating capital. At the same time, private investors are eager to identify and support rural growth opportunities. However, most are not aware of what’s available, and often the deals are misaligned with traditional investment models. The investor experience in U.S. rural communities in some ways mirrors that of impact investors in search of deals overseas in developing regions, where the amount of capital is more robust than the pipeline of deals, and a mismatch exists between the levels and kinds of returns investors seek, and what small and growing businesses can offer.
