FARM Food Futures Forum: From Rural Health to Food Security Day 1

The health of rural communities is closely connected to the food systems we all depend on. On October 13 and 14, 2026, the convening explored how agriculture, markets, and public health can work together to strengthen communities and build a healthier food future. Session 1: Rural Health and Food Security: Challenges and Opportunities Rural communities face interconnected challenges related to healthcare access, workforce shortages, economic opportunity, food insecurity, and chronic disease. This session will explore how these conditions affect community well-being and the agricultural systems rural communities support, while highlighting promising approaches to strengthening rural health and food security. Speaker: Carrie Henning-Smith, PhD, MPH, MSW - President, National Rural Health Association; Professor, Division of Health Policy and Management at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health; Co-director of the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center. Moderator: Morven McLean, MSc, PhD Associate Dean for Innovation, Professor of Practice, WashU Bursky School of Public Health Panelists: Heidi Lucas - Executive Director, Missouri Rural Health Association Don Carpenter - CEO, Cedar County Memorial Hospital Lindsey Filiatreau, PhD - Assistant Professor, Bursky School of Public Health Launch: Across the Fenceline Podcast Through student interviews with farmers, rural health professionals, and community leaders across Missouri and the Midwest, Across the Fenceline explores connections between agriculture, rural health, and community resilience. During this session students will introduce the podcast and share selected stories from the series. Participants will be given access to the full podcast series for future listening. Session 2: Stewarding the Land, Nourishing Communities: Perspectives from Producers Farmers make decisions every day that influence agricultural livelihoods, environmental stewardship, food production, and community health. Producers representing different scales, commodities, and production systems will share perspectives on the opportunities and tradeoffs they navigate—and what is needed to sustain healthy farms, communities, and landscapes. Moderator: Dan Charles - Contributing Correspondent, Science Magazine; Former NPR Agriculture Correspondent Panelists: Mark Scott -Grain/Cattle Farmer; Board member, Missouri Farmers Association P.J. Haynie III - CEO, Haynie Family Foods Angie Eckert - Vice President Retail Operations, Eckert Farms Gibron Jones - Executive Director, HOSCO SHIFT and Confluence Farms 12:20 p.m. — 12:30 p.m. Breakout Session 2: National Treasure, National Opportunity: Reimagining the U.S. Germplasm System Plant collections, like the United States National Plant Germplasm System, provide the essential building blocks needed to develop new plant varieties that can withstand pests, disease, drought, and a changing climate, as well as enhance nutrition and environmental health. This session will examine the critical role of preserving and safeguarding this foundational resource and how investment in plant genetic resources and agrobiodiversity can support agricultural resilience, food security, and human health. Speaker: Neha Kothari, PhD - National Program Leader for the National Plant Germplasm System, USDA Agricultural Research Service Moderator: Robbie Hart, PhD Vice President, Plants and People, Missouri Botanical Garden Panelists: Sam Crowell, PhD - Vice President, Science, Trade, and Global Affairs, American Seed Trade Association Cary Fowler, PhD - President, Food Security Leadership Council Lora Iannotti, PhD - Lauren and Lee Fixel Distinguished Professor; Founding director of the E3 Nutrition Lab; WashU Bursky School of Public Health Breakout Session 1: Nutrition and Diet-Related Chronic Disease Diet-related chronic disease is shaped not only by individual choices, but by the food environments and systems that influence what people can access and afford. This session will examine connections among agriculture, food availability, dietary quality, and chronic disease, with particular attention to opportunities for prevention in rural and underserved communities. Speaker: Christina D. Economos, PhD - Dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, New Balance Chair in Childhood Nutrition; Professor at the Friedman School, and Professor of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine Moderator: Debra Haire-Joshu, PhD - Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Joyce and Chauncy Buchheit Professor in Public Health, WashU Bursky School of Public Health Panelists: Andrew Bremer, MD, MAS, PhD - Director, NIH Office of Nutrition Research Lisa Washburn, DrPH - Associate Vice Chancellor for Extension and Engagement, University of Missouri Uriyoán Colón-Ramos, ScD - Associate Professor and Director of the Diet Disparities Lab, WashU Bursky School of Public Health