It’s a welcome return for the Cereals & Grains Association, whose annual conference will take place Nov. 9-11 at the JW Marriott at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. Conference organizers expect between 250 and 300 members and supporters to attend the three-day event.

This year’s theme — Innovating the Future of Food — features a new interactive format with presentations, case studies and panel discussions, face-to-face networking, and leading research from industry panelists, including in-depth conversations on trending topics in agriculture and food science innovation.

“Our new interactive program format will allow our attendees to dive into trending topics with ample time for discussion, numerous thought-provoking case studies and various opportunities to learn from expert-led panels,” said Deirdre Ortiz, president, Cereals & Grains Association. “With this year’s new interactive format, we’re excited for the opportunities our attendees will have to interact with our range of speakers and panelists during our sessions. We’re also looking forward to the multiple opportunities that attendees will have to network, collaborate and connect with each other face-to-face.”

Also new to this year’s show is an innovation forum, where established companies will provide insight into how they incubated small businesses. Attendees will learn the steps these companies took, the questions that were asked, how issues were addressed and what defined success. Time will be allotted for roundtable discussions and presentations on new technologies and challenges.

“We are excited to offer an all-new innovation forum that will foster interaction between established cereal and grain companies and startups as well as academia,” Ms. Ortiz explained. “This forum will feature case study presentations from participants and bite-sized presentations that will highlight the latest technologies and challenges faced by each.”

Cereals & Grains 22 will feature a plethora of keynote speakers, scientific sessions and technical poster presentations, all of which will address the topics and issues the baking industry faces in 2022.

“We plan to address a variety of baking trends and challenges in our programming,” Ms. Ortiz said. “The session ‘Current Trends: Food Safety & Baking,’ for example, will feature updates on the baking industry and current political impacts from Lee Sanders, government relations and public affairs senior vice president, American Bakers Association. Talks on fiber and other discussion panels are still underway.”

Show details, including a list of sponsors and events, as well as registration and hotel booking, can be found at www.cerealsgrains.org/2022.