The National Corn Growers Association announced that Dr. Gale Buchanan, dean and director emeritus of the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, will give the keynote address at the Corn Utilization and Technology Conference grand opening, June 7 in Atlanta.

“Dr. Buchanan is a passionate advocate of agricultural research. Having a speaker with his experience addressing CUTC attendees is very exciting,” said NCGA Vice President of Research and Business Development Richard Glass, Ph.D. “We are facing a future that requires agricultural output to double between 2000 and 2050. The research work and investment that will be discussed during this conference are central to meeting this need.”

Before assuming his current role at the University of Georgia, Dr. Buchanan served as chief scientist and under secretary for Research, Education and Economics at the U.S. Department of Agriculture during the Bush Administration. He is active in agriculture’s scientific community, and recently chaired a panel of notable scientists and government leaders who released an update to Dr. Norman Borlaug’s 1973 CAST Paper No. 1, addressing future challenges in agricultural productivity.

This year’s CUTC agenda and theme of “Corn: America’s Renewable Resource,” showcase how corn research and commercial pipelines are already addressing the world’s sustainability challenges. CUTC will feature a distinguished list of speakers covering topics such as life cycle analysis of new technologies, land use issues, aquifers, water quality and usage, and greenhouse gas emissions. Participants can also attend sessions on health and nutrition, wet and dry milling processes, biocatalysts, gene transformation technology, unique specialty corns, new products and revenue streams.

The CUTC poster session and other scheduled activities will provide opportunities for attendees to interact with peers and business contacts. CUTC will be held at the Atlanta Hilton Hotel in downtown Atlanta, Ga., June 7-9. Visit www.corntechconf.org for more information and to register online.