Current hot topics, from bird flu strategies to nutrient recycling, ag policy to ag law, and the ag economy to leadership and ethics training, the ASAC Conference in Indianapolis this November will cover the gamut. Top notch professionals will be on hand November 2 through 4 to address the latest issues facing consultants.
Leading off on Sunday afternoon will be Paige Gilligan, CAC, Risk Mitigators, with an ethics course, “Beyond the Bottom Line: Ethical Foundations,” which meets one of the requirements for the Certified Ag Consultant designation. Up next is the opening reception with a welcome presentation by Kendell Culp, vice president of the Indiana Farm Bureau.
Following the ag tours to Beck’s Hybrids seed company and the corporate facilities at Corteva Agriscience on Monday morning, Brian Furrer, president of Bio Town Ag, will kick off the afternoon sessions with a presentation on his company’s groundbreaking nutrient recycling model that converts commercial organic waste into livestock feed, renewable energy and natural fertilizer. Bio Town Ag has become the world’s largest on-farm producer of methane gas from waste.
Vet medicine and highly infectious disease is next on the docket, with Rebecca Joniskan president of the Indiana State Poultry Association, addressing the state’s approach to avian influenza, and Virgil Bremer, Ph.D., AgStrat LLC, covering livestock issues. A panel of ASAC members will then provide insights on the business aspects of ag consulting.
The Annual Banquet that evening includes a presentation on Indiana agriculture by Director Don Lamb, Indiana State Department of Agriculture.
The Tuesday morning speaking line-up starts off with Rusty Rumley, JD, LL.M, National Ag Law Center, who is back by popular request and will cover “Hot Topics in Ag Law and Policy.” Then, James Mintert, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University, will address the “U.S. Economy Outlook: What Farmers are Telling Us”; and Attorney Todd Janzen, Janzen Schroeder Agricultural Law, LLC., will delve into “Ag Technology and the Law.”
Ted McKinney, CEO of the National Association of State Departments of Ag (NASDA) will close out the morning program, addressing “Federal and International Policy: What’s Going On?” Prior to NASDA, McKinney was the first Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), where he led the development and implementation of U.S. agricultural trade policy, opened and expanded foreign market access, and represented the U.S. in high-level international negotiations.
The President’s Lunch will feature “The Evolving Journey of Inspiring Leaders to LEAD,” by Beth Archer, Executive Director of the AgrIInstitute, which provides training and public policy education through the Indiana Ag Leadership Program.
Following lunch, Former Ambassador Kip Tom, a lifelong advocate for American agriculture with deep roots in production ag, will address “Opportunities and Risk for U.S. Agriculture.” As a pioneering agribusiness leader, and a champion for policies that strengthen U.S. farmers, he served as ambassador to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Agencies in Rome (2019–2021). There, he advanced an “America First” agenda, exposing fraud, promoting self-reliance in developing nations, and expanding global trade opportunities for U.S. farmers.
The afternoon session will close with the ASAC Annual Business Meeting.
More details can be found on the conference website page at: https://www.agconsultants.org/2025_annual_conference.php
The venue for the conference is the Embassy Suites by Hilton Indianapolis North, 3912 Vincennes Road, Indianapolis, Indiana 46268.
Early Registration and the Hotel Room Block both close on October 10.
Details will be posted on the Education & Events tab of the website as they become available.
