Calendar: 39th Annual Agribusiness Management Conference

Andrew Harding, co-founder of the innovative wine brand Nocking Point Wines will headline the 39th annual Agribusiness Management Conference that will be hosted by the campus Institute for Food and Agriculture in seven online sessions from Oct. 28 through Nov. 19. The Conference kicked off today with the session "Agricultural Economy Outlook - 2020 Perspectives and 2021 Possibilities."

Nearly 40 speakers will be featured in the series that will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. every Wednesday or Thursday in the four-week window, except Veterans Day (Nov. 11). Presentations will feature professionals, alumni and Fresno State faculty and students sharing perspectives on agricultural and food industry, consumer and research trends.

Institute for Food and Agriculture director, Dr. Susan Pheasant, explained that "this year’s

conference goals are to bring a breadth of agribusiness topics to the agricultural industry, our community, students and faculty. We are eager for participants to experience these diverse and dynamic speakers who are thought leaders in their chosen fields and who are willing to share life experiences, stories, data, research, and passion to look at current events as well as articulate a vision for our tomorrows.”

Harding’s wine company, which he started with ‘Arrow’ TV series actor Stephen Amell in 2012, is nationally known for its portfolio of premium wines and celebrity wine club members. Harding has infused a flair for innovative marketing into the company from his former career as a cable network program vice president, program manager and graphic designer.

Other notable presenters include Daniel Kowalski, CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange Vice

President; Nishan Majarian, Agrian by Telus (formerly Agrian) CEO and founder; Alison Seibert of The James Collective; Paul Wagner, President Emeritus of Balzac Communications; and Fresno State alumnus Vincent Ricchiuti, ENZO Olive Oil and P-R Farms director of operations.

Campus presenters will spotlight Dr. Julie Olson-Buchanan, Craig School Interim Dean and chair of Fresno State’s United Nations Global Compact committee; Max Tsai, Innovation Architect and Coordinator of Digital Transformation; and seven faculty from the Jordan College: Dr. Serhat Asci (agribusiness), Dr. Jamie Levitt (culinology), Dr. Jiaochen Liang (agribusiness), Dr. Katy Tarrant (poultry science), Dr. Kyle Thompson (dairy science), Dr. Jacob Wenger (entomology), and Dr. Sharon Freeman (agricultural education) who is developing the ARCS21 pathway program. Freeman is working statewide with administrators, ag educators and campus students to help create a national high school and college level ag employability skills proficiency certification. The collaboration is funded through a USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture research grant.

Session specific topics for each day include:

Registration for the conference is $125 for all seven sessions or $25 each session. Students from Fresno State and other universities can sign up in advance for free, as can Fresno State faculty and staff. (registration link: https://cvent.me/gZ4Z9o)

The Agribusiness Management Conference is one of the pillar events of the campus Food, Family, and Farm Month that runs through Friday, Nov. 20 and features more than 25 events hosted by Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technoloy academic departments, campus farm enterprises, research centers and student organizations.

For more information, contact the Jordan College’s Institute for Food and Agriculture director, Dr. Susan Pheasant at spheasant@csufresno.edu.