Conference Agenda:

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9am - Opening Remarks

Panel Discussion - Setting the Stage for Agriculture.

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Panelists will share information about brand new programs in Jefferson County that will have a beneficial impact on our agricultural workforce development and public awareness and education. Panelists include:

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1. Tracy Gyoerkoe, Director, Career, Technical and Adult and Continuing Education at Jefferson - Lewis BOCES.  Tracy will share information about the new Environmental and Agriculture Academy at Jefferson - Lewis BOCES beginning in the Fall of 2020.

2. Julia Robbins, Manager of Old McDonald's Farm. Julia will describe the Sackets Harbor Agricultural Education and Awareness Center and the role the Center may play in the future for agriculture.

3. Nicole Ingram, Northeast Marketing Agent for Crop Growers, Inc.   Nicole will share the mission of the Jefferson County Agricultural Issues Guidance Team and how it plans to interact with the farm community to enhance public awareness and education.

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10:30 Dr. Hiren Bhavsar, SUNY Canton. Consumer Trends and How they Impact Agriculture. 

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Dr. Bhavsar will discuss with our audience trends in consumer buying and preferences and how that is impacting our agricultural industry. This will give our farms and agribusinesses insight into how we should focus our efforts to improve outreach to the public. This should be a very informative program that gives us a foundation to work from in many of our educational activities.

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11:30pm - Lunch is free to registered participants.

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12:30pm - The Farm Babe, Michelle Miller, Training And Inspiring Our Farms To Talk With Their Neighbors.

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Join Michelle Miller, also known as The Farm Babe,  for a conversation about agriculture and our food! Michelle discusses what she learned coming from a metropolitan background to live on an Iowa crop and livestock farm. Michelle travels around the nation speaking to the public, farm groups, elected officials and anyone who is interested in what they eat and where it comes from! Her message at the Conference will provide useful information for the agricultural industry on improving our conversations with neighbors and the public.  This is a great message for farmers, agribusinesses, agencies, elected officials and the community at large.  

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The Conference ends at approximately 2pm

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Everyone is invited to attend.  The Conference and lunch are free but registration is required, please.

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If you are coming in from out of town, The Hilton Garden Inn Watertown is hosting our conference. They are located at 1290 Arsenal Street, Watertown NY 13601.