Dr. Ron Prestage, owner and president of Prestage Farms will be the keynote speaker at the SC AgriBiz & Farm Expo on Wednesday, Jan. 15.

Prestage will deliver his address at 9 a.m. on the opening day of the expo at the Florence Center in Florence, S.C. Prestage is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and a nationally known expert on livestock and animal agriculture. He is a past president of the National Pork Producers Council.

The SC. AgriBiz & Farm Expo is set for Jan. 15–16 at the Florence Center in Florence, S.C. Admission is free and no registration is required.

Prestage Farms, based in Clinton, N.C., and its affiliates produce more than  1 billion pounds of turkey and pork annually. The company employs nearly 2,000 associates and contracts with over 450 farm families. Prestage Farms has locations in North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Iowa, Oklahoma and Texas.

Prestage and his family live in Camden, S.C. He graduated from North Carolina State University in 1977 with a B.S. degree and earned his DVM from Auburn University in 1982. He completed his equine stewardship internship at UC Davis in 1983.

In his keynote address, Prestage will address the challenges and opportunities facing agriculture, including insufficient labor, access to international markets, environmental issues, animal welfare and commodity value.

“Dr. Prestage will share his wisdom on these topics and how they are impacting our industry, both now and in the future. His knowledge will benefit everyone in the industry, from livestock to grain producers to agribusiness, ag agency leaders to new alternative farmers,” said Expo Partner Jody Martin.

Martin said Prestage Farms continues to add great value to the agribusiness industry across the Carolinas and the nation with several new processing facilities and grain buying stations recently added to their operation.

“Prestage Farms is well known for producing pork and turkey in a responsible, ethical and humane manner. They are respected for meeting high animal welfare standards,” Martin said.

AgFirst Farm Credit Bank is the sponsor of the 2020 keynote speaker.

In addition to the keynote address by Prestage, the SC AgriBiz & Farm Expo will include the Carolina Hemp Conference slated for both days of the expo. The expo also will include continuing educational opportunities for farmers of all commodities across the Carolinas. The expo also features a farm show with a wide variety of equipment, farm products and educational components.

To learn more about the expo, click here.