Al Tank, ag and food entrepreneur, investor and consultant based in Bethesda, Maryland, will present the 2023 William K. Deal Leadership Lecture Sept. 27, at Iowa State University.
His presentation, “Innovating Ag Innovation,” will begin at 5:30 p.m. in Dolezal Auditorium, 0127 Curtiss Hall, on Iowa State’s campus. The event is free and open to the public.
According to Tank, innovation in agriculture is omnipresent. Yet the agricultural sector in the United States and the rest of the world faces unprecedented challenges and risks to meet the global demand for food, fiber and energy. Tank will address how we can:
- innovate the innovation required to address these challenges in our supply chain infrastructure;
- meaningfully mitigate climate change;
- enhance productivity;
- improve water quality, water use and water availability;
- increase biodiversity; and
- mitigate labor shortages while ensuring food security.
Tank earned his bachelor’s degree in animal science from Iowa State in 1981. He has held several positions within the agricultural field over the years, serving in Iowa and Washington, D.C. He also founded and was chief executive officer of two companies – AgCert International Plc and Revolution Energy Solutions LLC. AgCert has become a leader in producing and selling agriculturally derived greenhouse gas emission reductions used to meet Kyoto Protocol and European Union Emission Trading Scheme requirements. Revolution Energy Solutions LLC developed, owned and operated renewable energy projects on agricultural platforms in the United States.
Tank serves on several boards and advisory panels, including Blue Sea Capital LLC, Victory Hemp Foods, LLC, Harvard Kennedy School Private and Public, Scientific, Academic and Consumer. Previously, he was the CEO of the National Pork Producers Council. He also co-owns and manages his family’s farm in eastern Iowa, Tank Brothers Farm / Tank Customs, LLC.
The William K. Deal Leadership Lecture is made possible by its namesake, the late William K. Deal, who earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education from Iowa State in 1958. The lecture is organized by the Department of Agricultural Education and Studies in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and co-sponsored by the Committee on Lectures funded by the Government of the Student Body.
Source : iastate.edu