2020 The 4th International Conference on Agricultural and Food Science (4th ICAFS2020)

ICAFS2020, October 28-30, 2020 Istanbul Turkey
https://icafs.apaset.org/

Dear Friends and Colleagues,
On behalf of the Organizing Committee, it is our great pleasure to welcome you to participate the 2020 The 4th International Conference on Agricultural and Food Science (4th ICAFS 2020) to be held in Istanbul, Turkey during October 28-30, 2020.

For more details, please visit https://icafs.apaset.org/

Organizers
The conference is organized by Asia-Pacific Association of Science Engineering and Technology; Bahri Dağdaş International Agricultural Research Institute, in cooperation with multiple academic affiliations.

Topics & Themes
It has been designed to provide an innovative and comprehensive overview of agricultural and food science. A focus will be given on: 1. Agriculture & Plant Biotechnology, Medicinal Plants; 2. Animal Biotechnology, Veterinary and Livestock Science; 3. Aquiculture, Fishery and Marine Biotechnology; 4. Soil & Environmental Science and Microbiology; 5. Food Science and Nutrition; 6. Agriculture Sustainable, Resources & Environment; 7. Related Agricultural Engineering, Economic & Management, etc.

Program & Event
The full conference days will last for two days. After the conference, there will be an academic visit to local institutions.

Previous
Previous ICAFS were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2019), Istanbul, Turkey (2018) and Lahore, Pakistan (2017).

Venue
Istanbul, historically known as Constantinople and Byzantium, is the most populous city in Turkey and the country's economic, cultural, and historic center.

We look forward to an exciting meeting that promises great scientific debate and enjoyable interaction in Istanbul, Turkey. Please kindly help to bring this notice to the attention of any of your colleagues who may be interested in participating in the conference (Download Flyer, Registration Form).

With best regards,
ICAFS2020 Secretariat, on behalf of the
Organizing Committee of ICAFS
Istanbul, Turkey
Email: icafs@apaset.org
Website: https://icafs.apaset.org/

16th Conference International Section

October 9-10, 2020, Athens, GR
Sustainable Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change: Challenges and Opportunities in Bio-economy
www.etagro.gr/2020 

The Αim of the Conference
The Hellenic Association of Agricultural Economics (ETAGRO) is pleased to invite contributors across the globe to attend the International Section in Agricultural Economics which is going to be part of the 16th Conference of the Hellenic Agricultural Economics Association, held in the historic and lively city of Athens during October 2020. The main theme of the International Section of the Conference is Sustainable Agriculture, Food Security, and Climate Change: Challenges and Opportunities in Bio-economy.

Modern agriculture is both causing and being affected by radical transformations in agri-food systems as well as acute climate change-related risks. Various health issues caused by globalized diets, as well as the persisting problems of hunger and malnutrition, bring food and nutrition security to the forefront of scientific and political discourse. On the other hand, extreme and unpredictable adverse climatic events already affect agriculture, exacerbating the long-standing problems of resource depletion and environmental degradation. Therefore, profound economic, social, and environmental impacts are expected, thus rendering the quest for sustainability even more complicated and demanding.

In this context, Bio-economy can make a decisive contribution in tackling often contradicting issues such as climate change or terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem degradation on one hand and the growing demand for increased production of agricultural products and foodstuffs on the other. Bio-economy is a vast and important sector in the European Union and includes agriculture, silviculture, fishery, foodstuffs, bioenergy, and bio-based products. It has an annual turnover of about EUR 2 trillion and employs nearly 18 million. Moreover, it is a key factor for boosting the development in rural and coastal areas, and it can create 1 million new green jobs by 2030.

The International Section in Agricultural Economics of the 16th Conference of the Hellenic Agricultural Economics Association expects leaders, policymakers, academics, scientists, producers and political bodies to attend and share their work experiences and thoughts in various subjects related to the bio-economy such as sustainable agri-food systems, sustainable food security, climate change mitigation, and new technologies, and others.

Target Audience
All interested scholars or representatives among governmental entities, institutions, industries, NGOs, etc. are invited to contribute with up-to-date approaches on the meeting. The specific objective of this meeting is to become the bridge in terms of communication and collaboration between science and research as well as the bodies and the stakeholders in agriculture, thereby facilitating the transfer of research data and expertise.

The participation in the Conference of young scholars and students with the presentation of relevant research papers is considered significant and strongly recommended and encouraged. A series of parallel sessions will be organized in the International Section of the conference and a well-recognized international scholar will address the participants on a topic related to the theme of the International Section of the Conference.

Scientific Committee:
Alessandro Banterle, Vera Bitsch, Herve Dakpo, Robert Finger, Jarkko Niemi, Fabio Santeramo, Ioannis Skevas, Justus Wesseler, Anthony Rezitis, and Alfons Oude Lansink (chair)

Keynote Speakers: Alfons Oude Lansink and Fabio Santeramo 3

Conference Venue: Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 74, Athens 118 55

Information: Anthony Rezitis (on behalf of the Scientific Committee): arezitis@aua.gr Pavlos Karanikolas (on behalf of the Organizing Committee): pkaranik@aua.gr Ioannis Vardopoulos (Scientific Secretariat): ivardopoulos@hua.gr

Important Dates:

• April 15, 2020: Submission of extended abstracts 
• July 15, 2020: Abstract evaluation 
• October 9-10, 2020: Conference 
• November 15, 2020: Full paper submission for possible publication in collaborating journals 

Submit extended abstracts or posters by email: submission.etagro@gmail.com

Members in the News: Schnitkey, Zulauf, Kumar, Malone, Griffin, Vandeveer, Glauber, Zhang, and Pendell

Gary Schnitkey, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Lessons learned in 2019: Late, prevent planting options By: AgriNews - January 3, 2020 Gary Schnitkey, University of Illinois agricultural economist and farm management specialist, said at the Illinois Farm Economics Summit that prevent plant would have yielded higher returns than planting corn in many situations in Illinois. (Continued...) Read more on: AgriNews Carl Zulauf, The Ohio State University Farm subsidies favor South, irking other regions By: AgriNews - January 3, 2020 "I think that's a really important policy question that we as policy analysts and policymakers need to grapple with," Zulauf said. "When you sum the programs together, were farmers overcompensated for losses due to natural disasters?" (Continued...) Read more on: AgriNews Anjani Kumar, IFPRI Biofortification: A plausible antidote to hidden hunger By: Financial Express - December 21, 2019 A dip in India’s ranking in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) has rightly created a stir in the country. The continued focus on calories, and the ignorance of nutritional aspects of food are responsible for the distressed state of the food and nutrition system in our country. The present ranking is an outcome, and a true reflection, of the same. A few in the government appear to be shocked and have even questioned the methodology. Why is India, even after 72 years of independence, struggling at the bottom of the GHI rankings? It is high time that we look deeper into the issue and find a plausible solution to the dire straits we are in.. (Continued...) Read more on: Financial Express Trey Malone, Michigan State University Meet the Innovators Who Want to Kill the Chicken Nugget By: One Zero - January 8, 2020 2020 economic growth expected for Michigan By: WKAR - January 8, 2020 Terry Griffin, Kansas State University What motivates farmers to upgrade their tech? By: The Western Producer - January 9, 2020 Unravelling that mystery revealed much to Kansas State University agricultural economist Terry Griffin about the complexities of technology adoption on today’s farms. “What’s the value for technology that reduces stress for the rural household?” said Griffin, highlighting the prime benefit of auto steering for many farmers. (Continued...) Read more on: The Western Producer Monte Vandeveer, Kansas State University Alfalfa U Speakers By: High Plains Journal - January 6, 2020 Monte Vandeveer joined the Kansas State University Extension Farm Management team in February 2016 as the Southwest Area Extension Agricultural Economist, based in Garden City, Kansas. He grew up on a farm in south-central Kansas with wheat, hay, and cow-calf enterprises. Vandeveer received B.S. and M.S. degrees in Agricultural Economics from Kansas State University and a Ph.D. in Ag Economics from Purdue University. (Continued...) Read more on: High Plains Journal Joseph Glauber, IFPRI Farmers Got Billions From Taxpayers In 2019, And Hardly Anyone Objected By: WOUB - January 2, 2020 The announcement aroused little controversy. “I was surprised that it didn’t attract more attention,” says Joe Glauber, the USDA’s former chief economist, who’s now a senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute. (Continued...) Read more on: WOUB Wendong Zhang, Iowa State University Iowa farmland value grows 2.3 percent in 2019, but barely exceeds inflation By: The Mapleton Press - January 9, 2020 “This recent modest increase in land values reflects a lower interest rate environment and slowly improving U.S. farm income. However, we are still faced with significant uncertainty, especially the ongoing U.S.-China trade war, which has significantly affected U.S. agricultural exports, especially soybean exports, and lead to lower commodity prices and weaker farm income,” Zhang said. (Continued...) Read more on: The Mapleton Press Dustin Pendell, Kansas State University UNL Beef Roundup Webinars January 21 and 28 By: KTIC - January 6, 2020 On Tuesday, January 28, experts from Kansas State University and UNL’s Great Plains Veterinary Education Center (GPVEC) will speak. Dustin Pendell, agricultural economics professor at Kansas State University, will discuss drivers of cow-calf profitability. Pendell’s interdisciplinary research interests include livestock and animal health issues that span from the producer through the meat supply chain to the final consumer. (Continued...) Read more on: KTIC

See other Member in the News items Know another AAEA Member who has made statewide, national, or international news? Send a link of the article to Jessica Weister at jweister@aaea.org. What research and topics are you working on? Want to be an expert source for journalists working on a story? Contact Allison Scheetz at ascheetz@aaea.org.

Call for papers 175 EAAE Seminar

Gargnano (Garda lake) | Italy | 13 – 15 May 2020

Submissions are now open!
Event website: https://eaae175.sustainabilitystandards.it/
Event contact: eaae175@sustainabilitystandards.it

The objective of the seminar is to improve the understanding of sustainability standards and their effects on agricultural, food, and bio-based value chains. The seminar focuses on public and private sustainability standards. Both drivers and implications of their emergence are of interest, with emphasis on the economic, governance and policy perspectives. Emphasis is both on theoretical and empirical applications.

We are pleased to partner with Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy (AEPP), a journal of the Agricultural and Applied Economic Association (AAEA), for the work coming out of this seminar. Out of the papers accepted for the seminar, we anticipate publishing between 8 and 12 papers. This will compose a Special Issue that will be extensively promoted by the conference organizers, EAAE, AAEA, AEPP, and Wiley (the publisher of AEPP).

Confirmed keynotes speakers are:

• Prof. Miet Maertens - KU Leuven
• Prof. Ian Sheldon - The Ohio State University
• Prof. Sofia Villas-Boas – UC Berkeley

The main topics of the Seminar are listed here. Participants will have the opportunity to present a paper, a poster or organize thematic sessions on the topics of the seminar.

The Seminar is jointly organized by the Università degli Studi di Milano (Department of Environmental Science and Policy) and the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Department of Agri-food Economics).

Members in the News: Glauber, Katchova, Belasco, Smith, Dinterman, Litkowski, Irwin, Masters, Popkin, Mark, Mitchell, Thilmany, Hubbs, Goldsmith, Zulauf, Laborde, Michelson, Woods, Malone, Coble, Rister, Dorfman, Rabinowitz, Schmidt, Dobis, DeLay, Hewlett, Kuethe, Langemeier, Mintert, Parsons, and Thompson

Joseph Glauber, IFPRI American and China reach a "phase one" trade deal The Economist - December 14, 2019 Trump’s smoke-and-mirrors trade deal with China The Washington Post - December 16, 2019 Doubts Surface on $50 Billion in China Farm Buys Touted by Trump Bloomberg - December 13, 2019 Doubts raised over US claim of $40bn China farm purchases Financial Times - December 2019 Ani Katchova, The Ohio State University Eric Belasco, Montana State University Vincent Smith, Montana State University Robert Dinterman, The Ohio State University Carrie Litkowski, Economic Research Service, USDA Scott Irwin, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign With Trump’s farm bailout came surprising profits, but little help for the neediest By: The Washington Post & West Central Tribune - December 30, 2019 In 2019, the farm belt felt about as hospitable as the asteroid belt. Record rainfall turned fields to sludge and made it nigh on impossible to plant corn and soybeans until long after the typical window had passed. President Trump’s long-running trade war cut off farmers’ access to China’s enormous market. Across the farm sector, commodity prices remained in the doldrums. (Continued...) Read more on: The Washington Post & Central Tribune William Masters, Tufts University Barry Popkin, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Malnutrition Hits The Obese As Well As The Underfed By: NPR - December 23, 2019 To address obesity and poor nutrition, we can't rely on people to use willpower to make healthier choices, says Will Masters, professor in the Friedman School of Nutrition and Science Policy at Tufts University. Instead, he argues that government regulations and taxes can play a key role in shifting what we eat and drink. "The poorest low- and middle-income countries are seeing a rapid transformation in the way people eat, drink and move at work, home, in transport and in leisure," says report author Barry Popkin, a professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. "The new nutrition reality is driven by changes to the food system, which have increased availability of ultra-processed foods that are linked to increased weight gain." (Continued...) Read more on: NPR Tyler Mark, University of Kentucky Paul Mitchell, University of Wisconsin Dawn Thilmany McFadden, Colorado State University Hemp's growing pains continue By: Agri-View - December 26, 2019 Tyler Mark, an assistant professor at the University of Kentucky, said there were various reasons why the total acres harvested fell well short of the acres licensed. Growers may not have had contracts, their contracts failed before completion, or they were unable to secure seed or clones. The threshold is an arbitrary level, said Paul Mitchell, an agricultural economist and director of the Renk Agribusiness Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Longer term there may be a way of breeding hemp varieties to reduce tetrahydrocannabinol levels. Dawn Thilmany is a professor and Colorado State University-Extension economist in labor and agribusiness management. She also will be speaking at the Wisconsin Agricultural Outlook Forum. Because Colorado was the first state to legalize recreational marijuana it has more infrastructure in place. Colorado growers planted in 2018 about 90,000 acres of hemp. (Continued...) Read more on: Agri-View Todd Hubbs, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Trade, production uncertainty weighs on soybean market By: AgriNews - December 27, 2019 “Thankfully, we had a 12 million harvested soybean acres drop because we didn’t need it,” Todd Hubbs, University of Illinois agricultural economist, said at the Dec. 18 Illinois Farm Economics Summit. (Continued...) Read more on: AgriNews Joseph Glauber, IFPRI Scott Irwin, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Sino-U.S. Trade Deal: Big Numbers, Few Details, Many Questions For Ag By: Successful Farming & FERN - December 16, 2019 “[I]t will be very hard to get to the $40 bil (let alone $50 bil) promised,” said Glauber in a series of tweets. “Getting back to 2017 levels is not trivial after the past 2 years of poor exports. Hopefully there are improvements in GMO approvals and other non-tariff issues which will improve future trade prospects.” Economist Scott Irwin of the University of Illinois said on social media that “wait and see is the proper response at this point. Until there is something in writing from the Chinese, I am not willing to assume much. But still, at least the trend lines on Chinese ag imports should begin to at least trend upward.” (Continued...) Read more on: Successful Farming & FERN Peter Goldsmith, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Agriculture’s role in the ‘African century’ By: World Grain - December 31, 2019 A paper by Peter Goldsmith, Ph.D. in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics at the University of Illinois, notes soybean producers in sub-Saharan Africa yield about one-third of those in leading soybean producing countries in the world. (Continued...) Read more on: World Grain Carl Zulauf, The Ohio State University Farm Subsidies Favor South, Irking Other Regions By: PEW & Reading Eagle - December 31, 2019 It’s unclear to what extent the programs interacted and whether the USDA considered the potential for overlapping payments, said Carl Zulauf, professor emeritus in the department of agricultural, environmental and development economics at the Ohio State University in Columbus. (Continued...) Read more on: PEW & Reading Eagle David Laborde, IFPRI Addressing the nexus of food security, trade tensions and developing economies, where are we now? By: Enhanced Integrated Framework - December 17, 2019 In order to understand the dilemma around food security, we have to think on the one hand that it’s about people’s income and on the other hand it’s how international markets and food prices evolve. The trade tensions are going to have an impact on both aspects, including for people in developing economies. (Continued...) Read more on: Enhanced Integrated Framework Hope Michelson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign As the planet warms, unusual crops could become climate saviors — but only if we’re willing to eat them By: Ensia - December 20, 2019 Surveys show the potential for drought tops people’s climate concerns worldwide, but when it comes to growing crops, says Hope Michelson, an assistant professor of agriculture and consumer economics at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, “it’s not just the amount of rain” that matters. (Continued...) Read more on: Ensia Timothy Woods, University of Kentucky Kentucky Agricultural Receipts Hold Steady, Equine Ranks Second By: The Horse - December 28, 2019 "Kentucky is a unique state for marketing specialty crops, in that we have a larger portion of total sales coming from direct-to-consumer purchases rather than from the wholesale markets like larger producing states,” said Tim Woods, PhD, UK agricultural economist. “So when the national economy is relatively strong and people have more disposable income and consumer spending is higher, direct-to-consumer markets tend to do better.” (Continued...) Read more on: The Horse Eric Belasco, Montana State University Vincent Smith, Montana State University Robert Dinterman, The Ohio State University Scott Irwin, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Ani Katchova, The Ohio State University Washington farmers, hurt by tariffs, are helped by federal bailout By: The Seattle Times - December 30, 2019 Federal funding has helped lift the fortunes of many farmers in Washington state and across the nation who have been hit hard by President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade wars. About 8,200 Washington state agricultural producers have received $114 million in aid so far this year under a special federal program, a 54 percent increase from the amount disbursed in all of last year, said Dwaine Schettler, a program specialist at the state’s U.S. Farm Service Agency in Spokane. (Continued...) Read more on: The Seattle Times Trey Malone, Michigan State University Michigan farmers hope 2020 will be a better year By: Michigan Radio - December 26, 2019 Trey Malone is an assistant professor and extension economist at Michigan State University. He says 2020 should see progress on key trade deals for Michigan farmers. But Malone is still cautious. (Continued...) Read more on: Michigan Radio Keith Coble, Mississippi State University State's largest industry, agriculture, reaches $7.4B By: Daily Journal - December 21, 2019 “Government payments such as Market Facilitation Program payments are meant to mitigate farmer income losses due to the trade war with China,” Coble said. “The 2019 program is based on national commodity price changes estimated to reflect market losses and the county aggregate crop mix in 2019. Cotton and soybeans had the largest relative losses for 2019. (Continued...) Read more on: Daily Journal Edward Rister, Texas A&M University Our Neighbors: Aggie program sets food donation record By: The Eagle - December 29, 2019 For the past five years, Ed Rister, a professor and associate department head in the department of agricultural economics, has encouraged students in his classes to donate food, paper goods and toiletries. He challenges his students each year to exceed the prior year’s donations. This year, the donated goods weighed 2,137 pounds. (Continued...) Read more on: The Eagle Jeffrey Dorfman, University of Georgia Adam Rabinowitz, University of Georgia Georgia ag forecast set for five locations By: Albany Herald - December 31, 2019 Jeffrey Dorfman, the state fiscal economist for Georgia and a professor at the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, will serve as the keynote speaker for four of the five locations during the 2020 Georgia Ag Forecast seminar series set for Jan. 21-31. Adam Rabinowitz, an agricultural economist in the CAES Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, also will be a guest speaker. While predicting markets and providing an accurate account of the future is not an exact science, Rabinowitz said he and other economists will provide information that will position stakeholders statewide to make the best possible decisions. (Continued...) Read more on: Albany Herald Claudia Schmidt, Pennsylvania State University UT professor argues craft beer industry is re-surging local hop production By: The Blade - December 26, 2019 Claudia Schmidt, assistant professor of agricultural economics in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, also authored the paper. She said in a news release that the paper was “the first to systematically show that the number of hop farms in a state is related to the number of craft breweries.” (Continued...) Read more on: The Blade Claudia Schmidt, Pennsylvania State University Elizabeth Dobis, Pennsylvania State University More states grow hops as craft beer popularity booms By: Futurity - January 2, 2020 Now, 29 states are involved with hop production, Schmidt says, citing a report from the Hop Growers of America. “Our study is the first to systematically show that the number of hop farms in a state is related to the number of craft breweries,” she says. “It suggests that in areas where hop production is possible and not cost-prohibitive, breweries are expanding markets for farmers and providing an opportunity to diversify farm income.” “This growth has not only led to interesting changes in the locations of hop farms across the US, but it has positioned the US as the largest producer of hops globally, both in terms of acreage and production,” says lead author Elizabeth Dobis, a postdoctoral scholar at the Penn State-based Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development. (Continued...) Read more on: Futurity Paul D. Mitchell, University of Wisconsin Extension State Specialist in Cropping Systems and Environmental Management By: Waushara Argus - December 24, 2019 Many of you may have seen the notices that signup has begun for Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC). This time around, farmers and landowners need to make their ARC/PLC choice only for the 2019 and 2020 crop years. (Continued...) Read more on: Waushara Argus Nathan DeLay, Purdue University John Hewlett, University of Wyoming Todd Kuethe, Purdue University Michael Langemeier, Purdue University James Mintert, Purdue University Jay Parsons, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Nathanael Thompson, Purdue University Top Farmer Conference addresses risk, farm planning By: Kenosha News - December 21, 2019 The 2020 Purdue Top Farmer Conference will feature several of the nation's leading experts in the areas of marketing, risk management, climate and crop production. The speakers will make presentations to help farmers overcome obstacles, mitigate risk and plan for the future. (Continued...) Read more on: Kenosha News

See other Member in the News items Know another AAEA Member who has made statewide, national, or international news? Send a link of the article to Jessica Weister at jweister@aaea.org. What research and topics are you working on? Want to be an expert source for journalists working on a story? Contact Allison Scheetz at ascheetz@aaea.org.