TOPSFIELD, MASS. — Ruth Kimmelshue, a Cargill executive and the first woman to lead one of the company’s five global enterprises, will give the keynote address at the 2022 Women in Agribusiness Summit, Sept. 26-28 at the Hyatt Regency Dallas in Texas.

Kimmelshue, who is corporate senior vice president of Cargill Animal Nutrition and Health, will discuss sustainability, highlighting some of the ways Cargill has addressed this topic.

During her 20 years with the company, Kimmelshue has had numerous leadership roles and positions in animal protein, salt, turkey and cooked meats and agriculture supply chain.

A member of Cargill’s Executive Team since 2015, Kimmelshue most recently built and led Cargill’s global operations and supply chain organization and served as the company’s first-ever chief sustainability officer. In addition to sustainability and corporate responsibility, she had accountability for Cargill’s research and development organization and the communications function.

Other speakers joining Kimmelshue at this fall’s Women in Agribusiness (WIA) Summit include:

  • Marco Orioli, vice president of Global Grain & Processing for EMEA at CHS, who will present the “Human, Market and Business Impact of the War in Ukraine.”
  • Cynthia Stanton, head of supply chain operations with BASF, to discuss “Managing Supply Chain Disruptions in Turbulent Times.”
  • The annual Female Producer Panel will feature a group of young producers who will discuss the unique challenges and opportunities experienced by the younger generations. They are Sara Preston of Preston Farms; Kimberly Ratcliff of Farm to Freezer Meat Co.; Sadie Schweers of Schweers Farms; and Ellie Ann Vander Dussen of Standard Cattle LLC. This panel will be moderated by Megan Schilling, editor with Successful Farming.
  • Brooke Appleton, vice president of public policy for the National Corn Growers Association, will speak to the 2023 farm bill, highlighting the opportunities and challenges facing agriculture that could potentially affect the outcome of the legislation.
  • Mary Robinson, president, Canadian Federation of Agriculture, and Rachel Pick, director of programs and operations, USFRA, along with moderator Mary Shelman, founder of The Mary Shelman Group, will have a panel discussion about opportunities in the US vs. Canadian agriculture.  

The full agenda and registration are available at www.womeninag.com.