Registration Open for AAW Global Food and Energy Supplies

American Agri-Women (AAW) will host a Global Food and Energy Supply Conversation later this month. AAW planned the July 27 event in response to member and public interest in the group's recent Symposium entitled, "Rebirth, Renew, Refuel: Balancing Our Natural Resources."

AAW leaders recognized that market volatility, increasing food and input prices, food shortages at home and abroad, and civil unrest around the globe impact U.S. farmers and the supply chain's ability to produce and distribute food.

AAW President Heather Hampton+Knodle said members are asking questions daily about national policies and their implications for farming, ranching, and forestry. She said, "Our members want to understand why we are paying around six dollars a gallon for diesel fuel, and the Administration released oil reserves to sell overseas. Or why our country stopped a domestic pipeline project and then met with Saudi Arabia to negotiate for more oil."

One panelist is Dean Foreman, chief economist of the American Petroleum Institute and an expert in the economics and markets for oil, natural gas and power. Hampton+Knodle said, "We don't expect Dean to speak for the Administration's actions, but we have confidence in his knowledge to help people understand the dynamics and constraints of the energy marketplace."

Foreman is joined by Roger Cryan, chief economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation, who has decades of experience analyzing food and agriculture economics. Cryan spoke about the implications of the war in Ukraine for food and agriculture to participants at AAW's June Fly-In to Washington, D.C. "Our members were impressed by Roger's depth of knowledge, and we are thrilled he can participate in the conversation on July 27."

The conversation will open with the global perspective of Rose Barbuto with the Farm Journal Foundation. Barbuto has worked with the United Nations World Food Program in Rome and held several senior international field positions in Zambia, Somalia, and South Sudan, working on complex humanitarian emergencies and managing refugee food aid programs.

Hampton+Knodle said, "Rose is the heart of the conversation. Her firsthand experience of what it takes to distribute food and train smallholder farmers in developing countries is moving and important in the context of what's unfolding across the globe now."

The virtual event starts at 1:30 p.m. Central time. It is accessible through pre-registration at www.americanagriwomen.org. Registration is required to participate in the live conversation and to access the recorded proceedings, presentations, and supporting materials.