Conference Program

Thursday, May 18, 2023     |     Friday, May 19, 2023     |     Speaker Bios     |     Moderator Bios

Thursday, May 18 – Day 1

08:00 – 08:30Welcome
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
George Vellidis, Chair, Conference Planning Committee
08:30 – 10:00Critical issues facing field and specialty crop production (1.5 CEUs)
Ashfaq Sial, moderator
08:30 – 09:00Kater Hake, Vice President (retired) and Ed Barnes, Senior Director, Agricultural & Environmental Research, Cotton Incorporated (row crops)
09:00 – 09:20Bill Brim, President and Owner, Lewis Taylor Farms (vegetable crops)
09:20 – 09:40Lawton Pearson, Owner, Pearson Farm (peach and pecan)
09:40 – 10:00Brandon Wade, Plant Manager, Alma Nursery & Berry Farms (blueberry)
10:00 – 10:30Break
10:30 – 12:00Solutions to critical issues facing field and specialty crop production (1.5 CEUs)
Lorena Lacerda, moderator
10:30 – 11:00Jacqueline Heard, Founder and CEO, Enko
11:00 – 11:30Lauren Lazaro, Senior Agronomist, Blue River Technology
11:30 – 12:00Brian Kelley, Founder and CEO, Ag Technologies and Vantage Southeast
12:00 – 13:00Conference Lunch
Welcome from Dean Donald Leo, UGA College of Engineering and Dean Nick Place, UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
13:00 – 15:00Solutions to critical issues facing field and specialty crop production continued (1.5 CEUs)
Guoyu Lu, moderator
13:00 – 13:30Stefan Caspari, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Grain & Protein, AGCO
13:30 – 14:00John Fulton, Professor of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, The Ohio State University
14:00 – 14:30Yafit Cohen, Researcher, The Volcani Center, Israeli Agricultural Research Organization
14:30 – 15:00Yiannis Ampatzidis, Associate Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Florida
15:00 – 15:30Break
15:30 – 16:30Panel 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
Brenda Ortiz, Professor and Extension Precision Agriculture Specialist, Auburn University
16:30 – 17:00Discussion
18:00 – 20:00Poster Session and Dinner Reception (1.0 CEUs)
Lorena Lacerda, moderator

Friday, May 19 – Day 2

08:00 – 10:00Critical issues facing poultry production and potential solutions
Doug Britton, moderator
08:00 – 08:30Karen Christensen, Senior Director, Animal Welfare, Tyson Foods
08:30 – 09:00David Wicker, Vice President of Live Operations, Fieldale Farms Corporation
09:00 – 09:30Daniël Berckmans, Professor Emeritus of Bioscience Engineering, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium
09:30 – 10:00Martin Zuidhof, Professor of Precision Feeding & Poultry Systems Modeling, University of Alberta, Canada
10:00 – 10:30Break
10:30 – 12:00Precision agriculture in the portfolio of federal funding programs (1.5 CEUs)
Leonardo Bastos, moderator
10:30 – 11:00Krysta Harden, Board of Directors, Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research
11:00 – 11:30Steven Thomson, National Program Leader, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture
11:30 – 12:00Program Director (TBD), National Science Foundation
12:00 – 12:15Closing comments
12:30 – 13:30Conference Lunch
Announcement of Poster Competition Winners
14:00 – 17:00Post-conference activities
14:00 – 17:00Student Hackathon
Jin Sun, moderator
14:00 – 16:00Precision turf management and University of Georgia football stadium tour (1.0 CEUs)
Gerald Henry, moderator
14:00 – 17:00Spray-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