The National Institute for Animal Agriculture will host the 2024 Annual Conference – Next Generation of Animal Agriculture April 8–10 in Kansas City, Mo.

With the recent announcements of highly pathogenic avian influenza infections in goats and mature dairy cows, animal agriculture is faced with a new disease affecting animal health. Due to the increased concern of zoonotic disease, NIAA will host a panel and roundtable discussion about the new infections and how they are being researched and explored. The current panel slate:

• Brandon Treichler, DVM – Select Milk Producers.
• Bud Dinges, DVM – Texas Animal Health Commission.

Additional subject-matter experts from within NIAA also will join the panel.

In addition to the HPAI panel and roundtable discussion, the Annual Conference agenda will explore the current and future state of innovation in animal agriculture and will feature capstone presentations from Cohort 2 of NIAA's Advanced Training for Animal Agriculture Leaders. The Annual Conference also dedicates time forCouncils to meet, discuss current issues and vote on Council resolutions. 

In the spirit of the conference theme, The Next Generation of Animal Agriculture, the Annual Conference will feature dynamic keynotes as NIAA explores, discusses, learns and develops knowledge that fosters interdisciplinary cooperation with colleagues from across all aspects of the food system. Keynotes presentations include:

• Leading Next Generation Innovation Ecosystems in Animal Agriculture
  • William Weldon, Ph.D. – WCW Animal Health Consulting LLC.
  • Weldon has more than 30 years of animal health and nutrition experience, and his career has focused on successfully bringing innovation to the global animal health and nutrition market. He has been involved in the approval and/or introduction of over 20 new products over the course of his career. Weldon spent nearly 22 years at Elanco Animal Health, ultimately leading the company’s global research, development, and regulatory organizations as well as the commercial team in Western Europe and Elanco’s global customer knowledge solutions team. After leaving Elanco, Weldon has consulted with numerous companies and served as COO and CSO of small companies focused on the animal microbiome.
• Data’s Value Toward Innovation in Food Animal Agriculture
  • Daniel Foy – co-founder and CEO of AgriGates.
  • Foy grew up in rural Ireland, where he was immersed in livestock farming and food production from an early age. He earned a degree in applied pharmacology within a human dietetics, nutrition, and biological sciences department from Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, Scotland. After graduating, Foy worked exclusively with startups, where he held various roles focused on innovation in the food and agritech industries. He has collaborated with well-known, global food companies working on various projects, and his expertise has been instrumental in driving innovation and growth using novel technologies. In 2017, Foy moved to the U.S. to explore the application of livestock wearables in the North American market. Through this, he became passionate about using the Internet of Things and big data to improve animal welfare and the sustainability of livestock production systems at the farm level, leading to his current endeavor as the co-founder and CEO of AgriGates.

Standard registration rates end April 2. Those who are looking for assistance or a media pass can contact Morgan Young, director of communications and outreach for NIAA, at morgan.young@animalagriculture.org.

Source: NIAA