The Minnesota Agri-Growth Council announces that its Annual Meeting speaker program will feature U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer; U.S. Congressman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., U.S. House Agriculture Committee chair; and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty.

This year's meeting is Oct. 30, at the RiverCentre in downtown St. Paul. The Council is a nonpartisan advocacy organization for Minnesota's vast agriculture and food industry.

The day will begin at 9:30 a.m. with the annual members meeting and elections (for members and prospective members only). A special presentation on the agriculture economy by Michael Swanson, Ph.D., chief agriculture economist, Wells Fargo, will follow.

The luncheon banquet program begins at noon and features Joe Swedberg, Hormel Foods and Minnesota Agri-Growth Council board chair, AgNite highlights video, keynote speaker Congressman Peterson.

The afternoon program will feature Gov. Pawlenty delivering his annual State of the State on Agriculture address, as well as a Feeding the World panel discussion session, moderated by USDA Foreign Agriculture Service Administrator Michael Yost and featuring high ranking panelists from the food and agriculture industry. Afterwards, the Secretary Schafer will speak and a reception will wrap up the program.

To register for the annual meeting, visit www.agrigrowth.org and click on "Events," call 651-905-8900 or email [email protected]. Registration costs are: $100 for an individual member/affiliate, $120 for an individual nonmember, $40 for a student and $750 for a table of eight.

Sponsorship opportunities are also available. For more information contact Daryn McBeth, Agri-Growth Council president, at 651-905-8900 or [email protected]  

The Minnesota Agri-Growth Council (www.agrigrowth.org) is an advocate for the state's food and agriculture industry. Founded in 1968, the Council is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that represents the shared interests of its 200-plus members, which include food and agriculture businesses, organizations and producers, as well as the service industries that support them.