‘Next Generation Farming’ – the impact of sustainable agriculture for the future
15th May 2019

SAI Platform will be hosting the Annual Event 2019 in Chicago, Illinois on 26-28 June at the Hyatt Lodge Hotel.
Over 150 participants will join us from across the sustainable food and drink industry including agricultural experts, farmers, industry and academia from the US, and around the world are expected at this global gathering and networking event.
The three-day event promises a unique experience as the theme explores “Next Generation Farming”. Speakers and panellists will include members and sustainability leaders from Danone, Mars, PepsiCo and Ingredion as well as multi-stakeholder organisations and academic institutions leading sustainable agriculture such as MIT, Sustainable Food Lab and Colorado University. Key focus areas include resilient farming systems, resilient supply chains and enabling next generation.
“SAI Platform is a place where like-minded organisations across the agricultural value chain can collaborate pre-competitively to support sustainable agriculture on-the-ground with farmers in a way that is both locally relevant and credible in the global context.”
Rob Meyers, Vice President SAI Platform, Sustainability Director at PepsiCo
SAI Platform, Director General, Adrian Greet commented – “This year we are in the US to specifically showcase our value proposition and the many SAI Platform solutions for success. Our theme across the whole event is to examine resilience and consider the innovations and prospective benefits of sustainable agriculture available for the next generation of farmers and their families.”
Six field visits will offer an up-close view of sustainability in action and on-the-ground impact across various commodities in North America. These field visits will include orchards and berries in Wisconsin, row crops in Indiana and Illinois and good soil practices for dairy cow feed, manure management for dairy farm performance and a visit to various beef producers in LaSalle region involved in the three different stages of beef production, namely a cow-calf operation, a backgrounding farm and a covered feedlot.
Nick Betts, Director, Americas said – “This event demonstrates SAI Platform’s commitment as a global organisation to come and engage with our members and partners where they are. Not only does this signal an affirmation of our members’ desire for SAI Platform to become increasingly active in the US as we look ahead, but also our promise of working with regional partners to decrease duplication and align approaches to sustainable agriculture across the supply chain and around the world.”
The SAI Platform Annual Event 2019 is also partnering with US-based Field to Market by dovetailing with their conference – ‘Making Dollars and Sense: Building Shared Value in Agricultural Sustainability’. Both events will take place in the same venue and SAI Platform members will have access to the Field to Market conference as well as a joint SAI Platform/Field to Market dinner offering further learning and networking opportunities.
Registration details and full programme including schedule of events, field visits and speakers can be found at https://2019.saiplatformconference.org