The Future of Food and Beverage Forum USA

27th - 28th May 2026

Minneapolis, USA

Pre-event UMN Forever Green Research Field Tour

Workshop
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On Day 0 of the conference, Tuesday, 26th of May, join us to explore the future of climate-resilient, regenerative agriculture on an immersive field tour of the University of Minnesota’s Forever Green Initiative. This tour offers a firsthand look at how new crops, partnerships, and systems-level innovation are reshaping food and agriculture for the 21st century.

Forever Green is developing 15 new perennial and winter annual crops for the Upper Midwest and beyond- crops designed to keep soil covered year-round within diverse, profitable, and resilient crop rotations.

On this tour, you will visit the Forever Green research fields on the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus, where the next generation of climate-resilient crops is being developed and brought toward market.

During this tour you will

  • See new crops destined for the food and beverage market such as perennial grains, winter barley and winter durum, hybrid hazelnuts, perennial flax, and silflower.
  • Learn about winter annual oilseeds that have major opportunities in animal nutrition and renewable fuels, including sustainable aviation fuel
  • Dialogue with food scientists, plant breeders, agronomists, industry partners taking Forever Green crops to market, and farmers bringing these crops onto their farms
  • Learn about Forever Green’s new program for industry partners to learn about these new crop solutions and explore innovation opportunities
  • Surely, taste a bite of the future of agriculture in the Upper Midwest!

*Limited spaces only- open exclusively to registered attendees and speakers*

Workshop

What to expect from this type of session...

Join these interactive workshops to dive into key industry challenges, collaborate with peers, and walk away with practical solutions, actionable insights and new connections.

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Day 0

Tuesday 26th May 2026

Time
Session title
Session theme
Session type
Day 1

Wednesday 27th May 2026

Time
Session title
Session theme
Session type
8:30am - 8:55am
Plenary
10:10am - 10:55am
10:55am - 11:45am
Plenary
12:15pm - 1:15pm
1:15pm - 2:00pm
2:00pm - 2:45pm
2:45pm - 3:30pm
3:30pm - 4:15pm
4:15pm - 5:00pm
Plenary
5:00pm - 6:00pm
Networking
Day 2

Thursday 28th May 2026

Time
Session title
Session theme
Session type
9:00am - 9:45am
The say-do gap: Are young consumers buying more 'sustainable' ? 
Dole Food Company | McCain Foods | The Center for Food Integrity | Fairtrade America
Plenary
9:45am - 10:30am
Plenary
10:30am - 11:00am
11:00am - 11:45am
Investing in resilience: How blended capital, venture funding and partnerships can work together to scale resilience? 
Transformational Investing in Food Systems | SVG Ventures | Danone | Sand County Foundation | The Rockefeller Foundation
Plenary
11:45am - 12:30pm
Plenary
12:30pm - 1:30pm
1:30pm - 3:00pm
3:00pm - 3:15pm
Plenary