USDA announces online Agricultural Outlook Forum theme and program

From U.S. Department of Agriculture

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday the theme and program of the 98th Agricultural Outlook Forum, an online event that will be held Feb. 24-25, 2022.

The 2022 Forum theme is “New Paths to Sustainability and Productivity Growth” and the program will focus on innovations to minimize the environmental footprint of agriculture and ensure sustainability while improving crop yields.

“If we are to produce enough to feed a growing global population while minimizing our environmental impacts, we must develop new ways to do things,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said. “I look forward to discussing with sector leaders how we can work on climate-smart solutions that will improve the profitability and resilience of agricultural producers and open new market opportunities.”

The forum will begin with a presentation by USDA Chief Economist Seth Meyer on the Department’s outlook for U.S. commodity markets and trade for 2022 and the U.S. farm income situation.

Vilsack will deliver the keynote address, followed by a plenary panel of distinguished guest speakers.

The forum program will also include 30 breakout sessions covering six key areas:

• Climate mitigation and adaptation

• Frontiers in agricultural innovation and production

• U.S. agricultural trade and global markets

• Commodity outlooks

• Supply chain resilience

• Equity and inclusion.

The Agricultural Outlook Forum is USDA’s largest and premier annual event. Each year it brings together a wide range of stakeholders from across the agricultural sector including producers, processors, policymakers, government officials, and nongovernmental organizations. In 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, USDA held the 97th Forum as a free, virtual event for the first time, drawing nearly 5,000 attendees from the United States and around the world.

People can visit the agricultural Outlook Forum website at https://www.usda.gov/oce/ag-outlook-forum to register and read the program at a glance.

People can follow the conversation at #AgOutlook on USDA’s Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Registration to the 2022 Outlook Forum is free but required. People who wish to attend should register today.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy, and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, people can visit http://www.usda.gov .