Good morning everybody. If you could please find your seats. I would like to welcome everyone to usdas 96 annual outlook form. The u. S. s oldest annual meeting. Im the deputy secretary of agriculture and is great to see everyone here this morning. This years team is the innovation imperative, shaping the future of agriculture. This is a fitting theme for the secretary to announce something that we have been working on a usda called the agriculture innovation agenda. We are excited to share more with you this morning. I am joined in this room by many of you that are working to shape the future of our agricultural economy. It is important that we take stock, not only of where we are today but also of where we need to go to meet a growing Global Demand with rising standards of living in a time where producers are dealing with uncertainties in the farm economy and the conditions needed to farm, including the climate. Our chief economist, doctor rob johansson, will provide an indepth overv
Innovation imperative, shaping the future of agriculture. This is a fitting theme for the secretary to announce, something that weve been working on at usda, called the agriculture innovation agenda. Were excited to share more with you this morning. Im joined by many of you that are working to shape the future of our agriculture economy. Its important we take stock not only of where we are today, but also of where we need to go to meet a growing Global Demand, with rising standards of living at a time when producers are dealing with uncertainties in the farm economy and the conditions needed to farm, including the climate. Our chief economist, dr. Rob johansson, will provide an indepth overview of the state of the farm economy. Theres a lot to take in in 2019, but certainly not a typical year. There were many factors influencing the economy, including extreme weather, trade, importing and exporting countries, to name just a few. Following dr. Jays talk, the secretary will outline some
The truth and erode our ability to fight, creating a set of it that no narrative or use source can be trusted at all. Some of the ttts in this space wont necessarily come as as a surprise to you but we talked about intrusion and u. S. Government networks and medical organizations, hack and leak operations related to compromise or embarrassing situations, Cyber Attacks against our eroding infrastructure, the targeting of u. S. Persons or elected officials by social media and disinformation, suppression of voter turnout by spreading misinformation regarding polling and voting, manipulation of media through the injection of false stories, and news reporting. And then subsequent application of the disinformation to shape of the discourse. Shape Public Discourse. There are a few overarching similarities regarding the manner in which our two principal adversaries, china and russia, execute these objectives. Both countries use a whole of government approach. And use sophisticated and aggressi
Outlooks. We will also hear from the usda chief economist at this forum. It is about 90 minutes. [inaudible conversations] good morning, everybody. If you could please find your seat. I would like to welcome everyone to usda 96 annual outlook forum. Usda oldest annual meeting. I am stephen, deputy secretary of agriculture. It is great to see everyone here this morning. This years theme is that innovation imperative. Shaping the future of agriculture. This is a fitting theme for the secretary to announce something we have been working on at usda called the agriculture innovation agenda. We are excited to share more with you this morning. I am joined in this room by many of you that are working to shape the future of our agriculture economy. It is important that we take stock, not only where we are today, but also where we need to go to meet a growing Global Demand with rising standards of living at a time when producers are dealing with uncertainties in the farm economy and the conditio
Everyone for joining us for our first Small Business committee during a 2020. I want to especially thank the witnesses for taking the time to travel across the country to take time away from their businesses in some instance you have this important discussion. As is the case with these hearings, there will be members coming and going forward, or overlapping hearings and other committees so you will see some folks come and go through out and ask questions, so we just ask for your patients in bearing with that as well for. Farming and agricultural are at the heart of strong economies around the country. Investing in agriculture is crucial to ensure that our communities will thrive. Coming from colorado, i understand the importance that farming and agriculture have on our states way of life and economic wellbeing. Nearly half of colorado 66 million acres are dedicated to over 30,000 farms and ranches. Many of these are small, locally owned operations. Colorado is a leading producer of cat