The 2023 Salinas Biological Summit kicked off its inaugural debut by drawing key growers, startups, investors, representatives and educators for two days of connection, conversation and plans.

Speakers at the event included Dave Puglia, President and CEO of Western Growers; Karen Ross, Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture; Don Cameron, Vice President and General Manager of Terranova Ranch; Albert Keck, President of Hadley Date Gardens, Inc.; Stuart Woolf, President and CEO of Woolf Farming & Processing; Tom Mulholland, Owner of Mulholland Citrus; Helene Dillard, Dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at UC Davis and many more. Secretary Leon Panetta concluded the event.

One word could be heard over and over during the two-day event: optimistic. Attendees of the Summit connected and shared their areas of expertise to take the first step toward a collaborative path to reach a future that contains an array of biological farming solutions.

In his speech to the Summit attendees, Secretary Leon Panetta stated, “The key to our democracy and the key to our ability to succeed in the 21st century, and the key to developing the kind of innovation that agriculture needs that you’re talking about at this summit, the key to feeding the world in the 21st century, which can be a real security threat to peace and prosperity, the key is strong leadership willing to take the risks, willing to fight for that dream of a better life.”

The 2023 Biological Summit was the official beginning of that leadership.