Presentations on the new realities faced by producers and consumers will be the focus of the second annual California Ag Summit on Jan. 27 at the University of California, Davis.

Stimulating speakers will lead three individual sessions on current topics of interest to the agricultural community. The first session covering global food trends will be led by Army Col. Cheryl Smart, National Defense University's Industrial College of the Armed Forces; Dr. Daniel Sumner, UC Agricultural Issues Center, and Dr. Alex McCalla, UC Davis.
During the event luncheon, participants will hear from keynote speaker, John Hofmeister, retired president of Shell Oil Company and founder and chief executive of Citizens for Affordable Energy. Hofmeister is one of the world's leading experts on energy and climate.

Following the keynote address, comedian Jack Gallagher will return as lunchtime entertainment.
The afternoon will continue with a session on energy and agriculture by Grant Lundberg, Lundberg Family Farms and Duane F. Larson, Pacific Gas and Electric Company. The final session focusing on social media and its growing role in agriculture will be presented by Miriam Lueck Avery, Institute for the Future; Rawn Shah, Worldwide Sales Enablement Team at IBM, and Ira Brill, Foster Farms.

"Following the success of the 2011 Ag Summit, we are excited to present a second annual event with stimulating issues and exceptional speakers that will be valuable to all individuals affiliated with food and agriculture in California," said Anthony Van Ruiten, a member of the organizing committee.

The summit will be held on Friday, Jan. 27 in Freeborn Hall at the University of California, Davis from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Registration is $90 per person and is available online by clicking here.
http://www.calagsummit.org/register/