I've been invited by the Illinois Farm Bureau to talk about the Innovation Kitchens model and regional food systems at their upcoming Local Food Connections and Technical Summit later this month.
This one is invitation-only. Attendees will include state and federal agencies, colleges and universities, nonprofits, councils, taskforces, farmer producer groups, government liaisons, economic development officers, and others.
I plan to talk about food safety, our wonderfully diverse workforce at the Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen, optimizing facilities and equipment, food business challenges, and how local farmers can utilize our Innovation Kitchens business model to create jobs and new economic development opportunities for farm families.
My focus will be on how to create and integrate this kind of community based food processing capacity across multiple states.
This can improve the economic well-being of Illinois agriculture and enrich the quality of farm family life in Illinois and the region.
I'm honored to join this group of presenters:
Director Bob Flider, Director of Illinois Department of Agriculture
Director David Vaught, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
Director Colleen Callahan, USDA Rural Development
Cynthia Haskins, Manager of Business Development and Compliance, Illinois Farm Bureau
Tiffany Carrington, Senior Program Specialist, USDA, Food and Nutrition Services
Carol Pinkerton, Buyer, Bureau of Strategic Sourcing, Illinois Central Management Services
Pat Stieren, Executive Director, Illinois Farmers’ Market Association
William Weissinger, Deputy Director, United States Food and Drug Administration
Industry Experts discussing post harvesting, distribution and marketing
Rick Terrien, Executive Director, Iowa County Area Economic Development Corporation
Richard Weinzierl, Professor and Extension Entomologist, University of Illinois Extension
Deborah Cavanaugh-Grant, Extension Educator, Local Food System and Small Farms, University of Illinois Extension
What seems important to me about this opportunity is that our last business was an Illinois / Wisconsin collaboration. Our business model not only flourished, we won the United States Small Business New Product of the Year Award for 2005, presented by the National Society of Professional Engineers.
The Illinois Farm Bureau presentation is in Bloomington, IL. We ran globally relevant green manufacturing and data management operations just 60 miles away in Streator, IL. At the same time we ran business development from Wisconsin. Together our enterprise served wonderful customers on 6 continents.
The Innovation Kitchens model is another great opportunity to do an effective, important Illinois / Wisconsin collaboration.
Thank you for the invitation, Illinois Farm Bureau. What a great opportunity to discuss new economic development opportunities for agriculture and our farm families.
Illinois Farm Bureau.
Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen
Iowa County Area Economic Development
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