Plan to Attend West Tennessee’s Premier Event on Agricultural Trade
MARTIN, Tenn. – Farmers, agribusinesses and agriculture leaders alike will have a unique opportunity to learn about the role, importance and significance of international trade on local agriculture production, markets and economies at the Mid-South Agricultural Trade Conference. The conference will also equip attendees with an increased awareness of agriculture exporting tools and resources.
Planned for Thursday, March 5, 2020, in Martin, Tennessee, the conference is being hosted by the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, UT Extension, UT Martin and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. The all-day event will take place at the UT Martin Boling University Center.
The conference format will include various speakers, presentations and a panel discussion with commodity representatives.
Seven experts are slated to share their knowledge. Speakers and panel members include Daniel Whitley, the associate administrator of the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS); Andrew Muhammad, a professor in the UTIA Department of Agricultural and Resources Economics who holds the Blasingame Chair of Excellence in Agricultural Policy; and Jody Campiche, vice president of economics and policy analysis for the National Cotton Council in Cordova, Tennessee. Also on the agenda are Whitney Flatt, Tennessee Department of Agriculture international trade consultant who leads the Business Development Division’s trade-focused initiatives, promoting Tennessee value-added food, horticulture, livestock and genetics and forestry and wood products abroad; Jennifer Houston, a Tennessee native and current president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA); Parks Wells, executive director of the Tennessee Soybean Promotion Council located in Jackson, Tennessee; and Rob Dongoski, leader of Ernst and Young’s (EY) Agribusiness sector.
Due to generous conference sponsorships, the conference registration fee will be waived for the first 75 participants who preregister as well as for all current university students. Preregistration for all others is $50 prior to February 26, 2020, and $75 after February 26, including on-site registration. To register, contact Joey Mehlhorn or Carrie Arant at mehlhorn@utm.edu or call 731-881-7211. Registration will begin at 9:30 a.m. Central, March 5, with Conference Kick-off at 10:00 a.m. Sessions will conclude by 3:15 p.m.
Organized by the UT Center for Profitable Agriculture, conference sponsors include the Agricenter International; Farm Credit Mid-America; Tennessee Cattlemen’s Association; Tennessee Corn Production Council; Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association; Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation; Tennessee Farmers’ Cooperative; Tennessee Forestry Association; Tennessee Soybean Promotion Council, Tyson Obion County Complex; and UT Extension.
Through its mission of research, teaching and extension, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. utia.tennessee.edu.
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