9:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Room A How to Use the Latest Technology to Cut Costs and Manage your Agriculture Business Henry L. Giclas, Moderator Western Growers, Senior Vice President Science & Technology, Strategic Planning Henry L. (Hank) Giclas has worked for Western Growers since 1990 concentrating on the science and technology issues facing agriculture. Science and Technology addresses food safety programs, pesticide and chemical registration, policy issues and environmental programs including water and air quality issues. Giclas is actively developing association leadership in the areas of sustainability, food safety, food security, crop production and protection as well as assisting in the implementation of the association’s strategic plan.
Sri Artham Co-Founder, Ganaz Sri Artham is a co-founder of Ganaz, a new technology company that makes it easier for growers to find workers, communicate with them, and keep them coming back year after year. He has worked with farms and workers for most of the past decade, including having expanded Fair Trade Certification into large consumer packaged goods companies like Hershey’s, PepsiCo, and General Mills.
Sebastien Boyer Co-Founder/CEO, FarmWise Before co-founding FarmWise, Sebastien worked as a mathematician for IBM Research and a data scientist for Facebook. He holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering and computer sciences from MIT, where he studied machine learning and recent advances in computer vision. While at MIT, he won the Machine Learning for the Digital Economy competition. Boyer is passionate about developing technologies that address long-term environmental sustainability problems. With FarmWise, he raised more than $6 million in private capital and is working on delivering their first machines this summer.
Organizer: Riverside County EDA – Office of Foreign Trade
Organizer of Riverside County Agriculture Expo 2018
The Office of Foreign Trade (OFT) is part of the County Economic Development Agency and is the official agency and representative body for international trade, development, and foreign investment within the County of Riverside. The OFT was established by the Agency and with the consent of the County Executive Officer in 2009 in an effort to consolidate foreign trade and investment in one centralized office.
Mission:
The Office of Foreign Trade (OFT) assists business owners, corporate officers, investors, and entrepreneurs with export and import assistance with the objective of creating new jobs and investment within the county. The OFT serves as your link to developing and existing markets overseas, including our United States Export Assistance Centers, Foreign Agricultural Services, United States Chambers of Commerce operating abroad, Unites States Commercial Service, Foreign Trade Offices, and investors from other nations interested in establishing a business location in the County of Riverside.
The OFT is also directly responsible for government-to-government relations, as it pertains to economic development, trade, tourism, and good will building with the Organization of American States, United Nations, and all nations and governments formally recognized by the government of the United States of America. This office also exists to promote the use of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Central American Free Trade Agreement, and existing trade agreements or treaties. These treaties open markets for goods and products produced within the County of Riverside that are manufactured, or grown in Riverside County. OFT is strategically placed within the Economic Development Agency to have direct access to the vast resources, support, and assistance from its team of highly dedicated professionals within the agency.
