"The TFP Growth Frontier: Plateaus to Progress in Agricultural Productivity Growth" with The Global Agricultural Productivity (GAP) Initiative at Virginia Tech
Wednesday, October 1, 2025 | 8:30 AM CDT - 5:00 PM CDT | Morning session free live-streamed | Chicago, Illinois | REGISTER HERE
After decades of steady gains, global agricultural productivity growth is falling short of the pace needed to sustainably meet future demand. This slowdown threatens farmer livelihoods, economies, and natural resources. At this event, the GAP Initiative will unveil its Total Factor Productivity (TFP) Growth Frontier model, offering fresh insights into productivity growth ceilings across four technological paradigms: input expansion, input intensification, efficiency optimization, and system integration, with a special focus on U.S. trends.
The free live-streamed morning session will feature a farmer keynote, a presentation of the report findings, and a panel discussion with leaders from across the agriculture and technology sectors.
Register (see link above) to attend in-person or virtually and help shape future frontiers of agricultural productivity growth.
Learn more about the GAP Initiative.
Speakers include:
- Dr. Tom Thompson, Associate Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences | Director, CALS Global | Executive Editor, GAP Report, Virginia Tech
- Ben Riensche, Owner and Manager, Blue Diamond Farming Company
- Shari Rogge-Fidler, CEO, Farm Foundation
In-person participants will take part in interactive Policy Labs featuring Google’s Agentspace platform to co-create advocacy messages and explore innovation focused on trade, biofuels, biotechnology, soil health, and crop protection. Attendees will then the opportunity to visit the Farm Foundation’s Innovation & Education Campus for a networking lunch and a guided tour. The visit will showcase how policy and research insights are translated into practical, on-the-ground applications.
