Beyond Carbon: Leading the Market for Sustainable Farming

There is already a large market demand for food, clothes and fuel that are sustainably farmed. Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture unites growers, agribusiness, manufacturers, restaurants, retailers, conservation groups, universities, and public sector partners to build opportunities for farmers to respond to this demand. Field to Market President Carrie Vollmer-Sanders is herself an Indiana grain and soybean farmer and will discuss how this united supply chain defines and measures the many dimensions of sustainability, and how getting the science right and getting the market incentives right go together so that everyone wins.

Speakers:

Carrie Vollmer-Sanders

President, Field to Market

Carrie Vollmer-Sanders serves as Field to Market's President. Carrie is a 6th generation farmer, passionate about collaborating with forward-thinking farmers, convening diverse thought-leaders, and addressing environmental challenges while maintaining focus on business objectives. She received the White House Champion of Change Award in 2014 for her leadership in developing the 4R Nutrient Stewardship Certification Program while at The Nature Conservancy. She has an MBA from Purdue University and a master’s degree in Ag Economics from Michigan State University.

Carrie currently serves on the Edon Farmers Co-op board and previously served on the US EPA Science Advisory Board and worked for U.S. Farmers and Ranchers in Action, The Nature Conservancy, and Michigan Farm Bureau. Carrie and her husband have two active sons and own Grains and Greens, Inc., a corn, soybeans, and wheat farm, focused on biodiversity and soil health in northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio.

Dr. Roger Cryan

Chief Economist, American Farm Bureau Federation

Dr. Roger Cryan joined the American Farm Bureau Federation this fall as Chief Economist.

Before joining Farm Bureau, Dr. Cryan served as the Director of the Economics Division for the Dairy Program in USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, where he directed an award-winning team of market reporters, economists, and marketing specialists across the country, and contributed to dairy purchasing and policy across USDA.

He previously served as Vice President for Milk Marketing and Economics at the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and as the Economist for the Federal Milk Market Administrator in Atlanta, GA.

Dr. Cryan was raised in rural upstate New York, earned his Bachelor’s degree in International Studies at the Johns Hopkins University, and his Master’s degree and Ph.D. in Food and Resource Economics at the University of Florida.

LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roger-cryan/