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Presidential Forum on Agriculture Set For Next Week

A forum to discuss agricultural issues as seen by leaders of the two major political parties in the upcoming presidential election will be held in Des Moines, Iowa, next week. Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, currently a U.S. Senator from Nebraska, will represent the Romney campaign. Former Iowa Lt. Governor Patty Judge, who previously has served as Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, will represent the Obama campaign.

The forum will go from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, September 12, 2012, at the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates, 100 Locust Street, in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. The event is being sponsored by the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture and the Farm Foundation. NASDA is holding its annual meeting in Des Moines next week and this forum will be an important part of that gathering as directors of all state departments of agriculture from across the country will be attending.

"It is a challenging time in agriculture and it is exciting to see the presidential campaigns engage directly on these important issues with leaders from across the country," says Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, who is the current NASDA president. "This forum will highlight the impact agriculture has on nearly every aspect of our economy.  I encourage voters to tune in and learn more about where each candidate stands on important issues affecting agriculture."

"As a non-advocacy organization, Farm Foundation has an important role in providing this opportunity for voters to learn more about the platforms of the respective candidates," says Neil Conklin, president of Farm Foundation, NFP. "This forum is an important opportunity to focus on the candidates' attention to the enormous challenges facing the global food system, agricultural and rural communities."

Senator Johanns and former Lt. Gov. Judge to represent presidential campaigns

The forum will include opening comments from Johanns and Judge, questions from the moderator and questions from the audience. Mike Pearson, host of Iowa Public Television's weekly Market to Market show, will moderator the forum. The weekly Market to Market, which airs on PBS stations across the nation, covers the $100+ billion business of food and the issues affecting the 56 million citizens of rural America.

The forum is open to invited guests only. The forum will be streamed live online at www.iptv.org and will be broadcast on IPTV on Sunday, Sept. 16 at 1:00 p.m. following Market to Market. It will also air at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 19 on IPTV WORLD. Questions can be submitted by viewers watching online via twitter using the hashtag #AgForum.

Forum will be streamed live online and will also air on IPTV on Sunday Sept. 16

The forum will immediately precede the opening of the 2012 NASDA Annual Meeting taking place in Des Moines Sept. 12 to 17.

NASDA is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association representing the commissioners, secretaries, and directors of the state departments of agriculture in all 50 states and four U.S. territories. As regulators of significant aspects of our nation's agriculture industry, NASDA members are actively involved in ensuring the safety of an abundant food supply, protection of animal and plant health, stewardship of our environment, and promoting the vitality of our rural communities.

The Farm Foundation, NFP serves as a catalyst for sound public policy by providing objective information to foster deeper understanding of issues shaping the future for agriculture, food systems and rural regions.