The European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Phil Hogan, will provide the opening address at the 2017 Agricultural Science Association (ASA) conference.

A wide range of international agri-food experts will also give their insights on what the indsutry needs to do to compete in an ever-changing global environment.

The conference will take place in the Killashee House Hotel, Naas, Co Kildare, on 7 and 8 September 2017.

The conference, entitled The Future of Agri-food, is once again sponsored by FBD and will celebrate 75 years of the ASA.

The day-long forum will explore the outlook for the industry in the wake of recent global events, which are impacting the international trading environment.

Insights

Insights on the international dairy industry will be offered by leaders of two of the world’s largest dairy companies – Frans Keurentjes, chairman of Friesland Campina, and Jim Bergin, CEO of Glanbia Ireland.

Other confirmed speakers include Niall Browne, CEO of Dawn Meats, and Tara McCarthy, CEO of Bord Bia, who will address some of the opportunities and challenges facing the Irish food industry on both the domestic and the world market.

The day-long event will feature a number of engaging panel discussions and presentations, touching on topics including the future for global trade, the new Europe in the wake of Brexit and Ireland’s ambitious targets as set out under Food Wise 2025, alongside a number of sector specific debates.

Knowledge transfer

Announcing the details for the 2017 conference, ASA president Mary Delaney said: “We are really excited about the lineup for this year’s event.

“The annual ASA conference aims to offer a platform for information exchange, networking and knowledge transfer among those working in the Irish agricultural and food sector, and we are proud to say that it has become a highly-anticipated annual event among our peers.

“We look forward to hearing from some of the leading figures in agri-food about how we can prepare to lead our industry into the future.”

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