Program | The 2023 Salinas Biological Summit

Day One — Tuesday 20 June
7.30am – 8.45am	Delegate Registration with coffee, juice, bagels
8.45am – 9.00am	Formal Welcome; Dave Puglia President & CEO, Western Growers
9.00am – 9.15am	Formal Welcome; Secretary Karen Ross Secretary, California Department of Food and Agriculture
9.15am – 9.45am	Plenary: The Current Landscape for Biologicals Speaker: Pam Marrone PhD CEO and Founder, Chestnut Bio Advisors Co-founder & Executive Chair, Invasive Species Foundation and Invasive Species Corporation
Introducing the 'Accelerating Sustainable Pest Management: A Roadmap for California'. The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR), the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA), and California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) launched the Sustainable Pest Management (SPM) Work Group, as part of the State of California’s commitment to accelerating the transition away from high-risk pesticides toward adoption of safer, sustainable pest control practices. On 26 January, 'the 2050 Roadmap' was published. What does this mean for growers and every other key stakeholder group involved in improving sustainable pest management practices?
9.45am – 10.15am	Plenary Speaker: Julie Henderson Director, California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation
10.15am – 11.00am	Morning Coffee Break
Understanding the Consumer & Social Landscape Whilst regulation often drives evolutionary change in today's agricultural practices and processes, it is frequently the 'Voice of the Consumer' that has the greatest impact. That landscape is one well-known to Scott Komar from Driscolls. Scott will share some of the key insights he has learnt that will impact the wider grower community. In this next session, we will also hear directly from Sherry Frey, Vice President, Total Wellness at NielsenIQ about the current consumer and social landscape.
11.00pm – 11.30pm	Fireside Chat - The Voice of a Producer Speaker: Scott Komar Senior VP, Global R&D, Driscolls Moderated by Candace Wilson Regional Director, Western US at Farmers Business Network (FBN)
11.30am – 12.00pm	Plenary - The Consumer & Social Landscape Speaker: Sherry Frey Vice President, Total Wellness at NielsenIQ
12.00pm – 1.15pm	Lunch Join us in the Salinas Central Plaza as we provide a relaxing networking environment. Optional breakout sessions will also be hosted at this time. EXCLUSIVE: Global Biological Ecosystem Map Release During the lunchbreak, the team at Mixing Bowl will release their Global Biological Ecosystem map. Delegates can join them in the CSUMB Center for what will be a world's first view of 'Who's Who' in the biologicals space.
Understanding the Dealer Perspective Paul
1.15pm – 2.00pm	The Dealer Panel Discussion Paul Crout Senior Product Manager & Agronomist, Helena Agri-Enterprises Francisco Manzano Director of Business Development, Nutrien Ag Solutions Mike Wilbur CEO & President, Cavallo Ventures, Wilbur-Ellis Board Moderated by Rachelle Antinetti Founder, Antinetti Consulting
Meet New Zealand New Zealand growers are facing many of the same challenges impacting on growers in the US. With a tradition of industry, research & government working in partnership, what can we learn from New Zealand's current horticultural landscape and how researchers and growers are adapting to increasing environmental pressures?
2.00pm – 2.15pm	Miriam Hall Business Manager, Plant & Food Research Simon Yarrow Agritech ITP Lead, Callaghan Innovation
Understanding the Global Biological Regulatory Environment The global trend towards increased biological research and application is well underway. What can California growers and others around the world learn from these developments and the regulation that is managing their growth?
2.15pm – 3.00pm	Global Regulatory Environment Panel Discussion Speakers with include representatives from: Dr. Susanne Sutterlin (Netherlands) Mike Mendelsohn (Chief Emerging Technologies, EPA) Dr. Ran Shauli (Israel) Keith Pitts (USA) Moderated by Amy Roberts Director, Regulatory Affairs, Lallemand Plant Care
3.00pm – 3.30pm	Afternoon Break
Understanding the Grower Landscape Against the ongoing backdrop of accelerating climate events, labor shortages and increasing regulation, growers across the State continue to face multiple challenges. Some of these challenges are challenges shared across the world. The Grower Panel discussion will hear insights into the current landscape across different countries and across different crops.
3.30pm – 4.30pm	The Grower Panel Discussion Mark Borman COO, Foodservice, President Taylor Farms California Hillary Thomas Research and Technical Director, Naturipe Berry Growers Zach Bagley Managing Director, California Tomato Research Institute Tom Mulholland Owner, Mulholland Citrus Don Cameron Vice President and General Manager, Terranova Ranch Moderated by Dennis Donohue Director, Western Growers Innovation & Technology Center
4.30pm – 4.55pm	Setting the Scene for Day 2 Secretary Karen Ross California Board of Food & Agriculture Audre Kapacinskas Principal, S2G Ventures Moderated by Stuart Woolf President & CEO, Woolf Farming & Processing
4.55pm – 5.00pm	Day 1 Close - MC (Esmeralda Montenegro Owen)
5.00pm – 6.30pm	Networking and The Summit Reception Summit delegates are invited to join the exclusive Networking event and Summit Reception in the Salinas main Plaza. Light refreshments and beverages will be served, as live entertainment brings music and song to end what is a very full day of conversation and 1-2-1 networking. Delegates will be invited to experience a Western Grower state fruit and vegetable “offering”. Yes to that!

Day Two — Wednesday 21 June
7.30am – 8.25am	Delegate Registration with coffee, juice, bagels
Meet the Australians Australia is home to a wide variety of crops and growers operate in multiple different climatic and geographic environments. AgriFutures Australia has a mandate to support growers through its Rural Research & Development Corporation (RDC) status. What can growers everywhere learn from this model and how could it accelerate innovation in the biological space?
8.25am - 8.40am	John Smith General Manager Levied and Emerging Industries, AgriFutures Australia
Understanding the Opportunity with DunhamTrimmer In this highly anticipated session, we'll learn more from the team at DunhamTrimmer, the premier market research company that focuses exclusively on the global biological agricultural market, including the biopesticide, biocontrol, and biostimulant industries. Just where do the biggest opportunities & challenges in the biological landscape lie?
8.40am - 9.30am	Understanding the Opportunity with DunhamTrimmer Mark Trimmer, Ph.D, Founding Partner Rick Melnick Partner and VP Global Business Vatren Jurin Partner and VP of Product Development Ashish Malik Senior Industry Associate
Understanding the Investment Landscape With an increase in start-up activity in the biological sector, how are investors looking at opportunities in this space? At a time when venture funding into the broader agritech sector is being negatively impacted by macro-economic conditions, what do entrepreneurs need to consider as they seek to scale-up their business? Whilst startup activity is increasing, the market already has some established industry players. In the following two panel sessions, how are they viewing the regulatory environment move towards 'more biology and less chemistry'?
9.30am - 10.15am	The Investment Landscape Panel Discussion Kirk Haney Co-founder & Managing Partner, Radicle Growth Phil Erlanger Co-founder & Managing Partner, Aliment Capital Audre Kapacinskas Principal, S2G Ventures Moderated by Larry Taylor Co-founder & Managing Partner, The Yield Lab, Asia Pacific
10.15am – 10.45am	Morning Coffee with 30-minute optional specialty breakout sessions
Looking to the Future. The Role of Innovation The tools available to innovate are evolving at an increasing rate. The implications for entrepreneurs and those looking to develop solutions that meet the needs of growers are massive. This session is designed to remove some of the hype that is sometimes used to 'over-sell' the opportunity. Just what should growers, entrepreneurs and investors be looking for in the years ahead?
10.45am - 11.30am	Looking to the Future Panel Discussion Amy O'Shea President & CEO, Certis Biologicals Juli Jesson CEO, Gowan Group Elizabeth Fastiggi Head of Worldwide Business Development for Agriculture, AWS Moderated by Ethy Levy Managing Partner, Kinneret Impact Partners
Meet the Innovators Accelerating the pace of innovation in the biological industries is critical if growers are to meet the increasing demand of regulators and consumers. There are a growing number of very smart companies leading the charge to make the necessary changes to meet this need. In this session you will have the opportunity to meet some great examples of emerging companies that are making the difference.
11.30am – 12.15pm	Panel 1 AgBiome Jason Kuhlemeier, VP of Marketing Impello Michael Key, Co-founder and CEO Probelte Hector Rodriguez, US CEO Vestaron Ben Cicora, SVP Sales & Marketing BioStart Jerome Demmer, CEO Moderated by Taryn Goodman Gallery Partner at Cultivian Sandbox and Sandbox Sustainability Ventures Panel 2 Greenlight Mark Singleton, Chief Commercial Officer, Plant Health Krill Tech Zest Biotech Nathan Balasingham, Co-founder & CTO Boost Biomes Jamie Bacher, Co-founder & CEO Groundwork BioAg Dan Grotsky, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer Moderated by Joshua Mackie Technical Services Director, Gilmac Pty Ltd, Australia
12.15pm – 1.15pm	Lunch Join us in the Salinas Central Plaza as we provide a relaxing networking environment. Optional breakout sessions will also be hosted at this time.
Where to from here? The View from the Research Community Scientific research plays a significant role in bringing new products to market. There can be few areas in agricultural inputs more important than this. Growers are fortunate to have some of the sharpest brains around looking at how to improve soil and plant health. The view from the research community is one of the most important elements of the Summit.
1.15pm – 2.00pm	The Research Community Panel Discussion Helen R Dillard PhD Professor and Dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of California Davis Eugenia Saini Executive Director, FONTAGRO Alex Cochran PhD Chief Technology Officer, DPH Biologicals Moderated by Gabriel 'Gabe' Youtsey CIO, University of California, Agriculture & Natural Resources
Where to from here? The View from the Major Agribusinesses Over the past few years, the world's major agribusinesses have been establishing significant biological divisions. As the trend towards 'more biology, less chemistry' accelerates, how are they preparing to support growers meet the demands of regulators and consumers alike?
2.00pm - 2.45pm	The Major Agribusiness Fireside Chat Bayer CropScience Peter R. Muller - SVP, Global Strategy Lead, Fruit & Vegetables Syngenta Prem Warrior - Senior Technical Advisor, Valagro S.p.A/Syngenta Biologicals Moderated by Keith Jones Executive Director, the Biological Products Industry Association
2.45pm – 3.15pm	Afternoon Break
Where to from here? The View from industry Leaders It's no surprise that biologicals are becoming a key focus for industry organizations. As local and international regulators begin to implement new rules and regulations, how are some of our key industry bodies responding?
3.15pm – 4.00pm	The Industry Leaders Panel Discussion David Gill, Co-founder, Rio Farms & Gills Onions Josette Lewis Chief Scientist Officer, Almond Board of California John Murphy Chair, Vegetables New Zealand Steve McIntyre Co-founder, the Monterey Wine Company Moderated by Albert Keck Chair, Western Growers
4.00pm - 4.30pm	Keynote Speaker Secretary Leon E Panetta Chairman, Panetta Institute for Public Policy and Former Secretary of Defense
4.30pm - 4.45pm	Wrap up & Close Peter Wren-Hilton Founder & CEO, Wharf42 Dennis Donohue Director, the Western Growers Innovation & Technology Center
4.45pm - 5.45pm	Closing Summit Networking Session Summit delegates are invited to join the final closing networking session in the Salinas main Plaza. Light refreshments and beverages will be served, as we close out on two comprehensive days of learnings and conversations.

The Summit Program

Day One — Tuesday 20 June

Day Two — Wednesday 21 June