DENVER, COLORADO, US – Dr. Alyssa Whitcraft, executive director of NASA Acres, NASA's new US-focused agriculture and food security program, will be the keynote speaker at the 13^th Women in Agribusiness Summit, Sept. 24-26, in Denver, Colorado, US.

Whitcraft also is the founder and executive director for Harvest Sustainable and Regenerative Ag Initiative. This program brings together private and public sectors in a nonprofit pre-competitive forum to strengthen the evidence base for sustainable and regenerative agriculture. In both of her executive roles, Dr. Whitcraft is tasked with uniting top scientists from physical, social and economic sciences with agriculture stakeholders towards a shared mission to bring NASA data, science and tools “down-to-Earth” for the benefit of US agriculture.

At the WIA Summit, organized by HighQuest Partners, Dr. Whitcraft will speak to this endeavor as well as NASA’s use of satellite data for monitoring, mapping and improving agricultural outcomes, and building trusting and mutually beneficial relationships with the producers whose on-farm data is the foundation of this work.

Other featured speakers at the event include:

• Camille Grade, chief market officer at Bushel, who will speak to “The Messy Middle of Agricultural Data” with a focus on collecting, standardizing and organizing data in a way that maximizes productivity and increases efficiency, as well as mitigates risk and drives profitability.
• Mary Kay Thatcher, senior manager, federal government and industry relations, Syngenta, who will examine critical US policy issues shaping the agribusiness landscape. This fifth-generation Iowa farmer was a lobbyist (on issues of farm programs, crop insurance, conservation and credit) for the American Farm Bureau Federation for 31 years before joining Syngenta in 2018.
• Michelle Klieger, founding partner, Helianth Partners. This agricultural economist with experience with domestic and global ag industries will explore the pivotal market forces shaping the agribusiness landscape, from supply chain disruptions to consumer trends, in her presentation, “Navigating Today’s Market Forces”.

Also presenting at the WIA Summit will be industry-expert speakers from American Farmland Trust, CoBank, Farm Progress, Nutrien, Rabobank, Wells Fargo and more.

More than 1,000 attendees, 200 companies and 65 speakers are expected to participate in this year’s Summit. See the full agenda for details, and register for the 2024 Women in Agribusiness Summit at www.womeninag.com.