Regenerative agriculture has the potential to draw down billions of tons of carbon dioxide while simultaneously restoring soil health. Yet interest in the approach from producers, food companies and legislators has not translated into widespread adoption of regenerative methods. The good news is that new data and initiatives from entrepreneurs, policy makers and technologists looks set to take regenerative agriculture mainstream over the next few years.
Dr. Cristine Morgan, Chief Scientific Officer at Soil Health Institute, will join Taryn Barclay from Cargill and Jay Watson from General Mills for a panel discussion at VERGE on Tuesday, October 27, 2020, from 11:30am to 12:00pm Pacific. The session will cover the latest soil science results and what the data means for the food industry.
Taryn Barclay, Senior Director, Strategic Partnerships & Stakeholder Engagement, Cargill
Taryn Barclay has 20 years corporate experience and has been with Cargill since 2007, working to advance Cargill’s food security, nutrition and sustainability strategies and partnering with Cargill businesses on stakeholder engagement, NGO partnership development, public private partnerships, issues management, communications and employee engagement.
Prior to Cargill, Taryn was appointed IPC Media’s (formerly part of Time Warner) first Corporate Responsibility Manager to lead and implement the company’s CR strategy and activities. With a background in Human Resources, Taryn has worked in numerous roles in the UK and South Africa, where she commenced her career in the coal mining division of BHP Billiton.
Taryn obtained an MSc degree in Responsibility & Business Practice from University of Bath, United Kingdom in 2006, and has a BA (Honours) Degree Industrial Psychology from the University of South Africa in addition to her undergraduate Bachelor of Arts: Industrial Psychology & English degree obtained from the University of Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Taryn was born in Zimbabwe and grew up in South Africa. After living in the United Kingdom for 13 years, Taryn relocated to Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2015.
Cristine Morgan, Chief Scientific Officer, Soil Health Institute
Dr. Cristine Morgan is responsible for establishing research priorities to advance soil health and developing the scientific direction, strategy and implementation for soil health research programs. Her duties include leading scientific research and coordinating projects carried out at various institutions that advance soil health science and result in useful and reportable results.
Prior to joining the Institute, Dr. Morgan was a tenured professor of Soil Science at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, where she was recognized for outstanding collaboration, teaching, research, and mentoring. Her emphasis was in soil hydrology, pedometrics, and global soil security. Among her many accomplishments, Dr. Morgan conducted ground-breaking research on how management practices influence soil-plant-water relations. She also developed methods that were adopted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for easily measuring soil carbon. She has a history of applying her knowledge to address real-world problems experienced by farmers and ranchers and is passionate about educating others.
Dr. Morgan is a Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America, she served as a member of the Soil Science Society of America board of directors, and currently serves on the board of the North American Plant Phenotyping Network. Dr. Morgan is an editor-in-chief at the global soil science journal, Geoderma, and founding editor-in-chief of the journal Soil Security.
Dr. Morgan earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in Soil Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Soil Science Department (2000 and 2003, respectively). Her B.S. degree is in Plant and Environmental Soil Sciences from Texas A&M University, magna cum laude (1998).
Jay Watson, Sourcing Engagement Manager, Global Sustainability & Grain Operations, General Mills
Mr. Jay Watson leads efforts to advance progress on agricultural sustainability efforts, including General Mills, Inc.’s (GMI) 2025 greenhouse gas reduction and 2030 regenerative agriculture commitments.
In his role, Mr. Watson collaborates with buyers and external partners to develop and deploy engagements to both characterize & reduce social, environmental and economic impacts of key ingredients.
Mr. Watson has been fortunate to travel to where many of GMI’s key ingredients are grown and appreciates the opportunity to connect with farmers and learn more about stewardship as well as family legacy.
Prior to joining the sustainability team in January 2017, Mr. Watson spent 10 years in a variety of buying roles within the company’s global sourcing organization. Mr. Watson holds B.S. in Finance and a B.S. in Economics from Arizona State University and a MBA from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management.
For more information about the session, visit: https://events.greenbiz.com/events/verge-conference/online/2020/program#115707