Conference Program
Thursday, May 18 – Day 1
Masters Hall | University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education and Hotel | View .pdf map of the Georgia Center
| 08:00 – 08:30 | Welcome |
| Jaime Camelio and Harald Scherm, Interim Co-Directors, Institute of Integrative Precision Agriculture, University of Georgia | |
| S. Jack Hu, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, University of Georgia | |
| Brian Kemp, Governor of Georgia Pre-recorded video presentation |
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| George Vellidis, Chair, Conference Planning Committee | |
| 08:30 – 10:15 | Critical issues facing field and specialty crop production (1.5 CEUs) Ashfaq Sial, moderator |
| 08:30 – 09:00 | Kater Hake, Vice President (retired), Agricultural & Environmental Research, Cotton Incorporated (row crops) |
| 09:00 – 09:20 | Jessica Brim, Director of Food Safety, Lewis Taylor Farms (vegetable crops) |
| 09:20 – 09:40 | Lawton Pearson, Owner, Pearson Farm (peach and pecan) |
| 09:40 – 10:00 | Brandon Wade, Plant Manager, Alma Nursery & Berry Farms (blueberry) |
| 10:00 - 10:15 | Discussion |
| 10:15 – 10:45 | Break Pecan Tree Galleria |
| 10:45 – 12:15 | Solutions to critical issues facing field and specialty crop production (1.5 CEUs) Lorena Lacerda, moderator |
| 10:45 – 11:15 | Jacqueline Heard, Founder and CEO, Enko |
| 11:15 – 11:45 | Lauren Lazaro, Senior Agronomist, Blue River Technology |
| 11:45 – 12:15 | Brian Kelley, Founder and CEO, Ag Technologies and Vantage Southeast |
| 12:30 – 13:30 | Conference Lunch Magnolia Ballroom Welcome from UGA Vice President for Research Karen Burg, Dean Donald Leo, UGA College of Engineering, and Dean Nick Place, UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences |
| 13:30 – 15:30 | Solutions to critical issues facing field and specialty crop production continued (1.5 CEUs) Guoyu Lu, moderator |
| 13:30 – 14:00 | Stefan Caspari, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Grain & Protein, AGCO |
| 14:00 – 14:30 | John Fulton, Professor of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, The Ohio State University |
| 14:30 – 15:00 | Yafit Cohen, Researcher, The Volcani Center, Israeli Agricultural Research Organization |
| 15:00 – 15:30 | Yiannis Ampatzidis, Associate Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Florida |
| 15:30 – 16:00 | Break Pecan Tree Galleria |
| 16:00 – 16:45 | Panel discussion on industry workforce needs and how academia can create curricula and attract students to meet needs (1.5 CEUs) Barry Croom, moderator |
| Stefan Caspari, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Grain & Protein, AGCO | |
| Yafit Cohen, Researcher, The Volcani Center, Israeli Agricultural Research Organization | |
| John Fulton, Professor of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, The Ohio State University | |
| Athanasios (Sakis) Gertsis, Professor, Perrotis College, Greece | |
| Kater Hake, Vice President (retired), Agricultural & Environmental Research, Cotton Incorporated | |
| Brian Kelley, Founder and CEO, Ag Technologies and Vantage Southeast | |
| Lauren Lazaro, Senior Agronomist, Blue River Technology | |
| Brenda Ortiz, Professor and Extension Precision Agriculture Specialist, Auburn University | |
| 16:45 - 17:00 | Discussion |
| 18:00 – 20:00 | Poster Session and Dinner Reception (1.0 CEUs) Pecan Tree Galleria Lorena Lacerda, moderator Welcome from University of Georgia President Jere Morehead and University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue |
Friday, May 19 – Day 2
Masters Hall | University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education and Hotel | View .pdf map of the Georgia Center
| 08:00 – 10:00 | Critical issues facing poultry production and potential solutions Doug Britton, moderator |
| 08:00 – 08:30 | Karen Christensen, Senior Director, Animal Welfare, Tyson Foods |
| 08:30 – 09:00 | David Wicker, Vice President of Live Operations, Fieldale Farms Corporation |
| 09:00 – 09:30 | Daniël Berckmans, Professor Emeritus of Bioscience Engineering, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium |
| 09:30 – 10:00 | Martin Zuidhof, Professor of Precision Feeding & Poultry Systems Modeling, University of Alberta, Canada |
| 10:00 – 10:30 | Break Pecan Tree Galleria |
| 10:30 – 12:00 | Precision agriculture in the portfolio of federal and state funding programs (1.5 CEUs) Leonardo Bastos, moderator |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Krysta Harden, Board of Directors, Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research |
| 11:00 – 11:30 | Steven Thomson, National Program Leader, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture |
| 11:30 – 12:00 | Jen Erdmann, Director of Grants, Georgia Department of Agriculture |
| 12:00 – 12:15 | Discussion and Closing Comments |
| 12:30 – 13:30 | Conference Lunch Magnolia Ballroom Announcement of Poster Competition Winners |
| 14:00 – 17:00 | Post-conference activities |
| 14:00 – 17:00 | Student Hackathon, Masters Hall Jin Sun, moderator |
| 14:00 – 17:00 | Precision turf management and University of Georgia football stadium walking tour (1.0 CEUs) Gerald Henry, moderator |
| 14:00 – 17:00 | Spray-Drone Workshop at UGA’s J.P. Campbell Research and Education Center (presentations and demonstrations) (3.0 CEUs) Simer Virk, moderator |
| Athanasios (Sakis) Gertsis, Professor, Perrotis College, Greece | |
| Mark Ledebuhr, Principal, Application Insight LLC | |
| Steve Li, Associate Professor and Weed Science Extension Specialist, Auburn University |