Land O’Lakes president, CEO to deliver Heuermann Lecture

Beth Ford, president and CEO of Land O’Lakes, Inc., is the featured speaker at the May 8 Heuermann Lecture, part of the 2023 Water for Food Global Conference.

The free lecture, sponsored by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, will be 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the Nebraska Innovation Campus Conference Center, 2021 Transformation Drive in Lincoln, and streamed live here.

Land O’Lakes, Inc., is a Fortune 200 food production and agribusiness company that is also a century-old farmer-owned cooperative. The company includes Land O’Lakes Dairy Foods, Purina Animal Nutrition, WinField United and Truterra and has operations in more than 60 countries.

Ford joined Land O’Lakes in 2011 and has held a variety of roles across all businesses. She is a passionate advocate of farmers and rural America, with the goal of connecting people, particularly in urban areas, to the farmers and rural communities who grow their food. In addition, she helped launch the American Connection Project to help bridge the digital divide.

Ford’s 35-year career spans six industries at seven companies. She is on the board of directors of Starbucks and previously served on the board of directors of Blackrock, Inc. She also serves on the board of directors for the Business Roundtable and the board of advises for Columbia Business School’s Deming Center.

Ford was recently inducted into the Supply Chain Hall of Fame by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals and received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Iowa State University in 2022.

The Heuermann Lecture is held in conjunction with the Water for Food Global Conference, May 8-11, which will convene leading international experts and organizations to discuss “Cultivating Innovation: Solutions for a Changing World.” The focus will be on the next generation of research, smart technology, policy development and best practices that are achieving breakthroughs in water and food security. The conference is organized by the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska and features three days of sessions, as well as site visits to a local Nebraska farm, feedlot and university research center. Registration and more information are available here.

Heuermann Lectures are funded by a gift from B. Keith and Norma Heuermann of Phillips. The Heuermanns are longtime university supporters with a strong commitment to Nebraska’s production agriculture, natural resources, rural areas and people.

Lectures are streamed lived on the Heuermann Lecture Series website and air live on campus channel 4. Lectures are archived after the event and are later broadcast on NET2.