General Session Speakers:
Gary Zimmer - Midwestern Bio-Ag, Madison, Wis.,
Gary Zimmer of Madison, WI is a farmer, author, agri-businessman and educator dedicated to biological agriculture. He is recognized around the world for his dedication to improving farming through restoring soils and has spoken to farmers and agribusiness professionals all across the U.S. and in Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Past Present and Future of Value-Added Producer Grants by Mary Holz-Clause - Iowa State University
Mary Holz-Clause is Interim Assistant Vice President for Extension and Outreach at Iowa State University. Previously, Holz-Clause has served as the program director for the Value Added Agriculture program at Iowa State University, in Ames, IA. She also serves as the co-director of the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center (AgMRC). In that role, she assisted value-added ag businesses with market research, feasibility studies, business plans and other key components of business start-up and expansion. She worked on numerous feasibility studies in the area of meat and fish processing, grain processing, wine, cheese processing, and with a number of specialty food products.
Sara Wyant - AgriPulse, From Inside the Beltway
Sara Wyant is President of Agri-Pulse Communications, Inc., a strategic communications firm with offices in Washington, D.C. and St. Charles, Illinois. The firm specializes in covering Capitol Hill and providing in-depth coverage of farm and rural policy issues. Her weekly newsletter, Agri-Pulse, provides perspective on a wide range of legislative and regulatory issues that impact farmers and agribusinesses. In addition, she publishes a syndicated column in several newspapers around the country.
Dave Dahlquist - The Art of Rural Development
David B. Dahlquist is a nationally recognized public artist and design consultant. Since 1988, he has completed more than 30 large-scale public commissions across the country. In 1994, Dahlquist established Dahlquist Clayworks Inc., which in 2004 became a pRDG Planning & Design. Dahlquist now leads the RDG DahlquisStudio, which is a comprehensive design and fabrication studio with a staff of eight professional artists. Commissions for private, institutional and public clients range from tilework and sculpture to major architectural installations.
Michael Perry, Famed Humorist & Author
Michael Perry is a humorist and author of the bestselling memoirs Population 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time and Truck: A Love Story, the essay collection Off Main Street, and the upcoming memoir Coop: A Year of Poultry, Pigs and Parenting. Perry has written for Esquire, The New York Times Magazine, Outside, Backpacker, Orion and Salon.com, and is a contributing editor to Men’s Health. His essays have been heard on NPR’s All Things Considered and he has performed and produced two live audience recordings (I Got It From the Cows and Never Stand Behind a Sneezing Cow). Perry lives in rural Wisconsin , where he remains active with the local volunteer rescue service. He can be found online at www.sneezingcow.com
