Senator Stabenow to Keynote United Fresh Washington Conference

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) will keynote Wednesday morning’s General Session Breakfast, Sept. 22, at 8 a.m. ET, during next week’s United Fresh 2021 Washington Conference at the Grand Hyatt Washington.

Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Stabenow will share her insights and vision on how best to address current policies, opportunities and obstacles the produce industry will need to meet.

Stabenow made history in 2000 when she became the first woman from Michigan elected to the United States Senate. As chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Stabenow authored the 2014 Farm Bill, which aimed to strengthen agriculture and made investments in land and water conservation, clean energy, local food systems, specialty crops, cutting-edge research and biobased manufacturing. She built on that by coauthoring the 2018 Farm Bill, which passed on a strong bipartisan vote of 87-13 — the most Senate votes ever. Stabenow has also led successful efforts to protect and expand access to fresh fruits and vegetables for children and families.

“We are thrilled to welcome our attendees back to the nation’s capital with a keynote from chairwoman Stabenow, a national leader and forceful advocate for specialty crops,” said Robert Guenther, United Fresh’s senior vice president of public policy. “Senator Stabenow plays a powerful and unique role in shaping our nation’s agriculture and nutrition policies.”

Next week’s Washington Conference, Sept. 20-22, in Washington, D.C., will once again include face-to-face congressional meetings as the produce industry advocates for the most critical issues impacting the fresh produce supply chain, including labor, food safety, nutrition policy, infrastructure and more. The event also features a Produce Advocacy Bootcamp for attendees new to communicating with congress, workshops detailing the public policy issues facing the industry, general sessions with top national leaders, and networking events throughout as the industry’s leaders come together in common purpose to build a stronger business climate.