With mid-term elections less than a week away, there is plenty of speculation about the key factors driving voters’ decisions and whether or not control of the House and Senate will flip. To break down those results, Agri-Pulse is hosting a complimentary webinar on Nov. 9 titled: “What will the mid-term elections mean for you and the future of farm policy?” 

You’ll have a chance to hear insights and analysis from former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., Michael Torrey of the Torrey Advisory Group, Agri-Pulse Editor Sara Wyant and Agri-Pulse Executive Editor Philip Brasher. The hour-long event starts at 3 pm EST and registration is free. Register for the webinar here.

“Our team has been talking to lawmakers and political analysts for several months about potential scenarios and farm bill implications from the midterm elections,” says Agri-Pulse Editor Sara Wyant. “We are pleased to be joined by two experts who understand Rural America and how Washington works. Although we might not know all of the final results on the day after the election, this will be our first chance to discuss what we’ve learned from key races.” 

Speakers include:

Senator Heidi Heitkamp represented North Dakota from 2013 to 2019 and was the first woman ever elected to represent the state as a U.S. Senator. Heitkamp served on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, as well as the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. After leaving the Senate, Heitkamp helped found the One Country Project, an organization focused on addressing the needs and concerns of rural communities. She currently serves as Director of Agriculture at tax consultancy alliantgroup and is on the boards of the McCain Institute, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, the Renew Democracy Initiative and the German Marshall Fund. She is also an on-air contributor on politics and public affairs for ABC News and CNBC. She was recently named director of the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics, starting January 3, 2023. 

Michael Torrey is founder and principal of the Torrey Advisory Group, a bipartisan consulting firm that specializes in advocacy, association management, coalition building, government relations and thought leadership around food and agriculture issues. A Kansas native who was raised on a diversified farming operation, Torrey has more than 30 years of experience in legislative and regulatory policy development. He has served as a top adviser to Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole and Senators Nancy Landon Kassebaum and Sheila Frahm. Torrey has also held numerous roles in the executive branch, including Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations and Deputy Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and special assistant at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. He has been an adviser to numerous presidential campaigns and presidential transition teams. Torrey attended Kansas State University.

Sara Wyant is an award-winning agricultural journalist, entrepreneur and founder of Agri-Pulse Communications Inc., a unique digital media firm she launched in 2004 to focus on farm, food and rural policy issues. As Editor-in-Chief, she oversees the nation’s largest team of agricultural journalists covering Capitol Hill and Sacramento, California. An investigative reporter who has written many groundbreaking stories, Wyant has covered almost every farm and food policy debate since the 1980s. She is well-recognized on Capitol Hill, as well as by farm, ranch and commodity associations across the country, as a veteran journalist and sought-after speaker.

Philip Brasher is executive editor of Agri-Pulse Communications. He has reported on food and agriculture policy full-time in Washington since 1999, leading coverage for The Associated Press, the Des Moines Register and Congressional Quarterly before joining Agri-Pulse in 2014. He leverages his deep knowledge of the issues and his experience with top news organizations to ensure Agri-Pulse has the best daily and in-depth coverage of ag and food policy. His creative vision led to the launch of Agri-Pulse’s Daybreak in 2016. The native of west Texas found his interest in ag policy piqued in the early 1990s when he successfully won an appeal to USDA in Washington on a negative crop insurance determination for his mom’s farmland.

Agri-Pulse Editor Sara Wyant will serve as moderator for the event on Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. CT. Registration for the webinar is free. Register for the webinar here.