A FREE, interactive monthly webinar series called AgTech NEXT Now! will feature conversations about Risks and Rewards in a Post COVID-19 World and the impact on the ag and food industry.

ST. LOUIS, MO, April 23, 2020 - The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center today announced that AgTech NEXT is launching a series of FREE, interactive monthly webinars called AgTech NEXT Now! that will feature conversations about Risks and Rewards in a Post COVID-19 World and the impact on the ag and food industry.

TUESDAY MAY 12 FROM 12:00-12:30CT: "PANDEMIC ECONOMICS"
A discussion with St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank VP David Wheelock about the 1918 Influenza and its modern-day implications: What happened? What did we learn and how did the US economy fare after it ended? Moderated by Sam Fiorello, CEO Cortex Innovation Community and Chair, AgTech NEXT External Advisory Board.

TUESDAY JUNE 9 FROM 12:00-12:30CT: "COVID-19 IMPACTS ON THE FOOD SYSTEM"
A conversation with AON Managing Director and SVP Chip Lerwick analyzing food supply chain weaknesses and implications for consumers, producers, workers, and livestock. What are the most promising business continuity management strategies? Moderated by Tom Laurita, Director of Entrepreneurship, Danforth Center.

TUESDAY JULY 14 FROM 12-12:30 CDT: "AGTECH INNOVATIONS IN THE POST COVID-19 WORLD"
Insights from agri-food thought leader and author Mary Shelman about the "new normal". How will our collective COVID-19 experience affect and interact with existing disrupters like changing customer values, climate change, new Ag technologies? Moderated by Claire Kinlaw, Director Innovation Commercialization, Danforth Center.

Visit https://www.agtechnext.org/webinar-series to register

"When we announced in 2019 that our new AgTech NEXT conference would focus on Risk and Rewards in the ag and food sector, we could not have anticipated the COVID-19 world. Our first three webinars will offer insights into this dynamic situation and what the future may hold for our sector," said Sam Fiorello, CEO Cortex Innovation Community and chair of the AgTech NEXT External Advisory Board.

We are grateful to our Partners for their support of the AgTech NEXT Now! webinar series, 2020 Partners include Aon, Bayer Crop Science, Bryan Cave Layton Paisner, Thompson Coburn, Tech Accel, KWS, Alliance STL, Ameren Missouri, Benson Hill, Clayco, Lewis and Clark Ventures, Missouri Technology Corporation, Open Prairie, St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, Posinelli, BioSTL, CoBank, Missouri Department of Agriculture, Wells Fargo and Ventas Wexford Science + Technology.

About the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
Founded in 1998, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a not-for-profit research institute with a mission to improve the human condition through plant science. Research, education and outreach aim to have impact at the nexus of food security and the environment, and position the St. Louis region as a world center for plant science. The Center's work is funded through competitive grants from many sources, including the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Follow us on Twitter at @DanforthCenter.

For additional information, contact:
Karla Roeber, 314.406.4287
kroeber@danforthcenter.org


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