Join us for a celebration of Women's History Month and International Women's Day!

Amy Wu, author and award-winning journalist, will give us an exciting look at how women entrepreneurs are transforming agriculture through high technology. Her book, From Farms to Incubators, presents inspiring stories and practical case studies of how women entrepreneurs from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds are leading the agtech revolution. She'll also do a book signing and answer Q&A!

Amy Wu will visit Inari and conduct a book reading and talk with staff at Inari Agriculture in Cambridge, Mass.

Amy Wu will read excerpts from her book “From Farms to Incubators: Women Innovators Revolutionizing How Our Food is Grown,” and discuss her journey in building the storytelling initiative from documentary to book.

Do you want to know how innovators with different backgrounds come together to create new inventions and businesses? Are you ready to learn about tools and resources that can help you on your own road to success? If so, don't miss the United States Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) free online webinar, "Together in Innovation: Agricultural advances," coming Tuesday, February 28, from 3-4 p.m. ET. Register today for this special event.

Special guests and expert panelists will cover:

• How diverse teams are an essential part of a successful business strategy

• The challenges women innovators face and overcome in agricultural innovation

• Valuable resources innovators can use to protect their intellectual property (IP) and secure funding for their enterprises

Featured speakers include:

• Fatma Kaplan, Ph.D., CEO and Co-founder, Pheronym Inc.

• Pam Marrone, Ph.D., Executive Chair and Co-founder, Invasive Species Corporation and Invasive Species Foundation

• Amy Wu, Founder, From Farms to Incubators; award-winning journalist and filmmaker

The 2023 agenda and speaker biographies with be posted soon. If you want to be alerted as soon as they are available, email TogetherInInnovation@uspto.gov with the subject line “Send TII 2023 agenda.”

Click here to register.

The first annual Montana AgTech Innovation and Investment Summit focuses on “bringing cutting-edge technology and innovation to the forefront of Montana’s agricultural economy.”

From Farms to Incubators’ Amy Wu will be a guest speaker and discuss the next phase of the women in agtech initiative, and the efforts in developing a digital community to connect women in agtech.

https://www.mtagtechinvest.io/

RSVP and ticket required. Click on the link below to purchase:

https://www.yuandmebooks.com/events/from-farms-to-incubators-women-innovators-revolutionizing-how-our-food-is-grown-with-amy-wu

We welcome Amy Wu who has dedicated her time with "From Farms to Incubators" to focus on connecting, elevating and inspiring women in agrifoodtech. Through storytelling, film, and community building, From Farms to Incubators brings women of color working towards changing the food growing industry into the spotlight. With fresh produce and food from our wonderful sponsors below, please join us in celebrating innovative women in food doing groundbreaking work while munching on some delicious bites.

In 2020, Amy Wu was named on Worth magazine’s “Groundbreakers 2020 list of 50 Women Changing the World.” She was also named as one of Food Tank’s “15 Inspiring Women Leading in the AgTech Sector.”

Prior to starting From Farms to Incubators, Amy spent over decades as an investigative reporter at media outlets including the USA Today Network where she reported on agriculture for The Salinas Californian.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in history from New York University, and master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. She is also an avid open water swimmer and completed the 28.6 mile Manhattan Island Marathon swim in 2010.

Sponsors:

Hint Water

Mr. Bing Chili Crisp

Caulipower

Ticket Includes:

Light Bites from our sponsors

A Copy of the Book: From Farms to Incubators

Great Conversation!

From Farms to Incubators will present at Invest NY: Future of Food.

This event is presented by Upstate Capital and NYSTAR on June 29th at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY.

This event highlights the food and agtech industry and innovation across New York. Along with gaining knowledge about what’s happening in these industries, attendees will make connections with innovators, investors and industry experts all in one place.

You will have opportunities to meet:

Startup Entrepreneurs

Active Investors

Dealmakers

Industry Professionals

Experienced Executives

From Farms to Incubators’ Founder Amy Wu shares her insight on challenges and opportunities in the agrifoodtech sector in this virtual talk. The event is part of the Beginner Farmer and Rancher Series sponsored and organized by the United States Department of Agriculture.

Author Amy Wu will speak on how AgTech is creating better agricultural systems, addressing threats from climate change, and bringing about exciting new career opportunities for women.

Artworks and photography inspired by the Salinas
and Central Valley farmscapes, as well as unique seed-engraving art that helps to tell the stories of the women spotlighted in Wu’s book, will be on display during the event. Special thanks to Margo Souza, Dexter Farm, Sergey Jivetin, Daphnee Parachini and Zachary Silva.

Where: Woodward Park Branch of Fresno County Public Library

When: Saturday, April 16, 2-4pm EST

Amy Wu will make a keynote speech on “How Women Leaders Are Transforming Agriculture Through Innovation.”

Please see the details in the following press release.

NEXT WEEK: FDACS To Host Second Annual Florida-International Agriculture Innovation Summit

Mar 25, 2022

Tallahassee, Fla. — Next Wednesday and Thursday, March 30-31, Commissioner Nikki Fried and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) will host the second annual Florida-International Agriculture Innovation Summit in collaboration with the Florida-Israel Business Accelerator (FIBA) and supported by the governments of Florida, Israel, Canada, and the Netherlands.

The 2022 Florida-International Agriculture Innovation Summit seeks to offer insights on important issues facing the agriculture industries in Florida and other countries and to explore technologies and advances in water conservation and sustainable agriculture. Participants will have the opportunity to hear directly from growers, investors, scientists, and innovators from around the globe over the two days of the summit. The inaugural 2020 summit hosted by Florida and Israel focused on agrobotics and artificial intelligence in agriculture as well as hemp and cannabis research and development. FDACS  looked to build on the success of the 2020 summit, which saw more than 600 attendees, by expanding the summit’s scope to include additional partner countries, providing increased opportunities for exchange of ideas and economic development.

“I am grateful for our partners in Israel, Canada, and the Netherlands for joining us in exploring innovative approaches to improved sustainability for our countries and for the planet,” said Commissioner Nikki Fried. “Innovation in agriculture has been a priority for our department since my first days of office in 2019, when I established the FDACS Agriculture Innovation Workgroup (AIW) to increase collaboration among industry leaders, government agencies, academia, investors, and other producers. I am so proud of the hard work and incredible opportunities that have come from this committee and look forward to this year’s summit.”

“This year’s summit is packed with exciting content from top industry leaders, researchers and innovators in agro-tech from four countries,” said Rakefet Bachur-Phillips, Co-Executive Director of the Florida-Israel Business Accelerator. “We are grateful for the opportunity to bring Commissioner Fried’s vision to fruition for the second time and to make this summit bigger and better.”

Registration is free and open now at this link.

Full Summit Schedule and List of Speakers:

Day 1 – March 30, 2022 – PRECISION AGRICULTURE

7:45-8:15AM EST: Virtual Networking

8:15-8:45AM EST: Welcome and Opening Remarks

Moderated by: Alan Brock, Rural Affairs Director, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS)

Speakers: Ms. Shelby Scarpa, Interim Assistant Commissioner, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS)

Ms. Susan Harper, Consul General of Canada in Miami

Ms. Ruth Emmerink, Consul General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Miami

Mr. Maor Elbaz-Starinsky, Consul General of Israel in Miami

8:45-9:00AM EST: Success Stories

Moderated by: Rakefet Bachur-Phillips, Co-Executive Director, Florida-Israel Business Accelerator (FIBA)

Speaker: Lior Barhai, CEO, Envonics

9:00-9:15AM EST: Coffee Chat: One Year Later: Lykes Bros & Brick Street Farms

Moderated by: Pam Miniati, Co-Executive Director, Florida-Israel Business Accelerator (FIBA)

Speakers: 

Shannon O’Malley, Co-Founder and CEO, Brick Street Farms

Carl Bauman, CFO, Lykes Bros. Inc.

9:15-10:05AM EST: Precision Agriculture: Groundbreaking Research

Moderated by: Olivier Demers-Dubé, Project Director, Zone AgTech

Speakers:

Florida: Dr. Arnold Walter Schumann, Associate Professor of Soil and Water Science, Citrus Research & Education Center, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), University of Florida

Canada: Blake Weiseth, Agriculture Research Chair, Applied Research Lead, GFM Discovery Farm Research Chair, Saskatchewan Polytechnic

Israel: Dr. Victor Alchanatis, Agricultural Engineering, Growing, Production and Environmental Engineering, Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), Volcani Institute

Netherlands: Dr. Saskia Visser, Head of Program, Circular and Climate Neutral, University of Wageningen

10:15-11:15AM EST: Precision Agriculture: Industry Challenges and Solutions around the World

Moderated by: Kelly Friend, Director, Agricultural Environmental Services, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS)

Speakers:

Florida: Matthew Donovan, CEO, Agriculture Intelligence and Lead Product Officer, Agroview

Canada: Robert Saik, Founder and CEO, AGvisorPRO

Israel: Guy Sela, Founder, Croapia & YieldApp

Netherlands: Jasper Snijders, Sales Engineer, Aurea Imaging

11:15AM-12:05PM EST: Precision Agriculture: Innovations Disrupting the Status Quo

Moderated by: Scott Livingston, CEO, Livingston Securities

Speakers:

Florida: Harvey Kaye, Founder, Bam-FX

Florida: Terence L. Bolden, CEO, Stud Pac Portable Hydroponic Systems

Canada: Samuel Fournier, Co-Founder & CEO, Chrysalabs

Canada: Yvan Ouellet, Co-founder & CEO, Horoma AI

Israel: Thai Sede, Founder & CEO, BumbleBee

Israel: Ronit Berman, VP Marketing, N-Drip

Netherlands: Arend Koekkoek, Owner, Pixelfarming Robotics

Netherlands: Bas Alderding, Co-founder & Commercial Director, Farm21

12:15-12:55PM EST: Keynote: Sustainability and Disney – Combining Action and Inspiration

Speaker: Dr. Mark Penning, Vice President, Animals, Science and Environment, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products

Introduced by: Guillaume Beland, Project Director, Direct Investments, Zone Agtech

12:55-1:00PM EST: Closing Remarks

Speaker: Ms. Nikki Fried, Agriculture Commissioner, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS)

1:00-2:00PM EST: Virtual Networking

Day 2 – March 31, 2022 – WATER CONSERVATION: Recycle, Reclaim, Reuse

8:00-8:30AM EST: Virtual Networking

8:30-9:00AM EST: Welcome and Success Stories

Moderated by: Alan Brock, Rural Affairs Director, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS)

Speakers:

 Lisa Brand, CTO & Co-Founder, LG Sonic

Dil Vashi, Corporate Development Manager, CO2 GRO

9:00-9:50AM EST: Water Conservation: Groundbreaking Research

Moderated by: Dr. Anandhi Swamy, Assistant Professor, Biological Systems Engineering, Florida A&M University

Speakers:

Florida:  Dr. Vivek Sharma, Assistant Professor, Precision Water Management, Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), University of Florida

Canada: Dr. Chandra Madramootoo, James McGill Professor, Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, McGill University

Israel: Dr. Daniel Kurtzman, Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Environmental Physics and Irrigation, Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), Volcani Institute

 Netherlands: Chris Schott, Researcher, European centre of excellence for sustainable water technology, Wetsus

9:50-10:50AM EST: Water Conservation: Recycle, Reclaim, Reuse: Industry Challenges and Solutions around the World

Moderated by: Chris Petitt, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS)

Speakers:

Florida: Angela TenBroeck, CEO, Worldwide Aquaponics

Canada: Michael Warren, CEO, Limiting Factor Innovation

Israel: Miriam Brusilovsky, Technical Director, IDE Technologies

Netherlands: Toon Boonekamp, Team Leader Water for Industry, Arcadis

11:00-11:50AM EST: Water Conservation: Innovations Disrupting the Status Quo

Moderated by: Scott Livingston, CEO, Livingston Securities

Presenting Companies:

Florida: Dr. Eban Bean, Director & Co-founder, and Piyush Agade, Co-founder, Gator Byte

Florida: Dr. Daniel Yeh, Founder, BioReNEW

 Canada: Thomas Gradek, President, RHST Industries

Canada: Lisa Fast, Marketing and Communications Manager, Livestock Water Recycling

Israel: Tal Maor, Founder & Chief Business Officer, Viridix

Israel: Ronen Barkan, N. America Business Development and Sales Director, Fluence

Netherlands: Rasoul D. Mikkelsen, Director for Strategic Business Development, Eijkelkamp

12:00PM-12:45PM EST: Keynote: From Farms to Incubators-How Women Leaders are Transforming Agriculture Through Innovation

Speaker: Amy Wu, Founder, From Farms to Incubators, Award Winning Writer for Women’s Agriculture and AgTech Movement

12:45-1:00PM EST: Closing Remarks and Next Steps

Moderated by: Alan Brock, Rural Affairs Director, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS)

1:00-2:00PM EST: Virtual Networking