May 13, 2008

The California Agricultural Technology Institute (CATI) will host a conference, "Row-crop Farming and Climate Change: What the Future Holds," from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Dec. 13 at the California State University, Fresno Satellite Student Union.

The free public event is hosted in collaboration with the California Farm Bureau Federation, California Cotton Ginners and Growers associations, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Resources Conservation Service and Sustainable Conservation, a nonprofit environmental organization that works to promote environmentally and economically sound business practices.

Conference participants will examine how new climate-change legislation and air-quality requirements will affect businesses, said Joe Bezerra, director of CATI, an independent nonprofit, educational institution at Fresno State dedicated to improving California agriculture.

He said the public is invited to join leading policymakers, regulators and scientists in discussing the influence of California's historic climate-change legislation on agriculture and what opportunities and barriers exist for an individual’s business.

“Air quality, emission reductions and climate change are among the San Joaquin Valley’s most onerous challenges, which must be affirmatively addressed if the Valley economy is to continue to grow and prosper,” Bezerra said.

Luncheon keynote speaker Greg Johnson will discuss scientific coordination on the national and regional stages for climate change in agriculture. He is the leader of USDA’s Air Quality and Atmospheric Change Team headquartered in Portland, Ore.

To register for the conference, contact Ariana Fernandez of the California Farm Bureau Federation at 916.446.4647 or afernandez@cfbf.com. The deadline is Nov. 29.