Water quality and quantity issues, land use changes and economic impacts are among the byproducts of the evolving bioeconomy to be examined at an October conference in St. Louis, MO, held by Farm Foundation and the USDA.

The conference, scheduled for Oct. 15-16, will include U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer, who will discuss public policy challenges for the bioeconomy, and Under Secretary for Rural Development Thomas Dorr, whose comments will focus on rural development issues. The program also features representatives from industry, special interest groups and academia discussing global land use issues, jobs in the bioeconomy, green technologies and local community challenges and opportunities.

Click here for conference program details and registration information. The Transition to a Bioeconomy conference series is a collaboration of Farm Foundation, and four USDA agencies: Office of Energy Policy and New Uses, Rural Development, Economic Research Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service. The U.S. Forest Service is also a collaborator for this event.

This conference series is designed to inventory current knowledge of key issues of the bioeconomy, identify options for the future and determine information and research needs. The conferences provide government, industry, academic and community leaders with objective information and analysis on key issues of the evolving bioeconomy.