Explore the Agenda

8:30 am Registration & Coffee

Harmonizing the Value Chain to Maximize Product Adoption & ROI

9:00 am The Grower’s Perspective: Bridging The Gap Between Research & Real-World Applications

Owner, C&C Farms
Owner & Chief Executive Officer, Texas Earth

Join this interactive panel discussion to ask all your questions directly to the end user of your products to make sure that your product development solves a real need.

  • Discussing the disconnect between agricultural research and practical implementation on a farm
  • Learning directly from the grower about the value proposition of a product that drives adoption

10:00 am Designing AgBiotech Solutions That Start with the Grower

Head of Outreach & Engagement, Bayer Crop Science
  • Exploring the fragmented agricultural market and the challenges of communicating product benefits
  • Prioritizing what truly matters to the growers and using this to inform product development
  • Communicating value to growers using on-farm demos

10:30 am Working Closely with Farmers During the R&D Process to Optimize Sales

Portfolio Manager, Specialty Actives, Wilbur-Ellis
  • Learning from successes and failures by using farmer feedback to drive product improvements
  • Focusing on farmer-led solutions that solve real problems like saving money, boosting yields, and improving quality
  • Breaking down silos to ensure solutions benefit the entire value chain, from development to application to yield

11:00 am Morning Break & Speed Networking

Maximizing Distributor & Investor Interest Through Effective Strategy

12:00 pm Fast Capital, Slow Science: Why We’re Starving the Next AgBio Revolution

Executive in Residence/ Venture Partner/ Commercialization Advisory Council, NC Biotechnology Centre/Longleaf Studios/NC Plant Sciences Initiative
  • Exposing the mismatch between fast capital and the slower path of real AgBiotech innovation
  • Showing how current funding models create pressure to scale too soon, distorting incentives and starving strong science
  • Proposing bold alternatives, including more patient capital, reimagined funding stacks, and strategies built on asymmetric insights

12:30 pm Using Comprehensive Testing to Ensure Success When Pitching to a Distributor

Technical Development Representative, Nutrien Ag Solutions
  • Demonstrating product reliability to distributors to increase the appeal for sales
  • Creating guidelines for the required tests to bring a product to market
  • Protecting your pitch against common shortfalls, accelerating acceptance

1:00 pm Lunch

Removing Roadblocks in the Path to Commercial Success

2:00 pm Addressing the Fermentation Bottleneck to Open New Opportunities for Scaling Biological Products

Senior Principal Scientist, Syngenta
  • Learning how innovations in bioprocessing technologies can drive down production costs
  • Eliminating the need for expensive infrastructure using cutting-edge breakthroughs
  • Overcoming the challenges associated with getting a product from the lab to the shelf

2:30 pm Using Targeted Screening Criteria to Save Resources in the Development Process

Global Head, NPP & OpenAg Research Platforms, UPL
Global Research Lead for Crop Physiology, UPL
  • Choosing the right candidate for commercial success with effective screening
  • Optimizing existing assays to improve your ability to predict candidate microbe performance and reduce risk
  • Demonstrating robust selection criteria to build confidence in potential investors

3:00 pm Afternoon Break & Poster Session

Spearheading Biological Product Efficiency Through Novel R&D Frontiers

4:00 pm Modulating Plant Health & Climate Impact with the Leaf Microbiome

Benjamin E. Powell Distinguished Professor, Duke University, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
  • Understanding how the phyllosphere microbiota plays a critical role in protecting plant health and immunity
  • Exploring the impact of climatic warming on leaf microbiota and its consequences for plant health
  • Identifying plant genes that modulate microbiota as potential targets to boost immunity and productivity

4:30 pm Harnessing AI & Molecular Insights to Advance Nitrogen Fixation Technologies

Senior Scientist, Verdesian Life Sciences
  • Enhancing biological productivity using molecular biology, novel biochemical technologies, and AI tools to understand and optimize mode-of-action
  • Improving product performance by identifying genes related to nitrogen metabolism and transport, enabling more efficient nutrient use and stress resilience
  • Supporting stronger, higher-yielding crops by validating field results with molecular data, guiding the next generation of biological formulations

5:00 pm End of Conference Day One