US: Seedstock conference expands panel of innovators

Committed to bringing the best of all aspects of sustainable agriculture to the Southland, organizers of the 2nd Annual Seedstock Sustainable Agriculture Innovation Conference – Farming: Fundamentals and the Future – have expanded the docket of speakers to include some of the industry’s most notable experts in new farming operations, sustainable agriculture start-ups, and funding opportunities. To directly benefit from the insight of the addition of these innovators, plan to attend the event on Wednesday, Nov. 6, at UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Drawing on his experiences as a new farmer and founder of pasture-raised livestock farm Primal Pastures, Paul Greive will moderate the “Growing New Farmers” panel that will explore how to effectively create new farmers as well as expand the economic opportunities of existing sustainable farming operations. Brent Taylor, co-founder and vice-president of corporate development of Beyond Meat, an innovative sustainable ag company creating products that replace animal protein with plant protein, will weigh in on innovative sustainable ag startups and operations that have the potential to impact food consumption and production in the future. Wrapping up the day, Adam Chapnick, principal/evangelist of crowdfunding juggernaut, Indiegogo, and Zack Porter, managing partner and director of Proteus Environmental Technologies, a firm that works with companies to commercialize transformative environmental technologies, will join in an examination of the various investment routes that startups can take to get their businesses off the ground.

The Seedstock annual conference is a comprehensive, expert-filled program filled with up-to-the-minute information about how to be successful in starting or expanding a sustainable and/or urban farming operation. As featured on CNBC, the Seedstock annual conference is one of the few events in the country that bring together farmers, entrepreneurs, financers and investors, suppliers, distributors, restaurant owners and others in the sustainable agriculture industry.

On Tuesday, Nov. 5, the day before the UCLA event, Seedstock has organized a Sustainable Farm Field Trip to Houweling’s 125-acre tomato sustainable hydroponic greenhouse and McGrath Family Farm, a 5th generation organic farm. Each visit will include extensive tours and conversations with the growers about sustainability and business model innovations. The field trip’s farm-to-table lunch will be sponsored and prepared by chef/farmer Adam Navidi of Future Farm Foods and Green2Go Restaurant and Market. Day 1 of the conference will conclude with a farm-to-fork dinner at Josie’s Restaurant in Santa Monica. Space is limited for both the field trip and the opening night dinner.

For updates to the program, speaker bios and other information pertaining to the event, please visit: http://conference.seedstock.com.

To register, please visit: http://seedstockannual.eventbrite.com.