WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S. — The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) announced on May 24 that Forbes publisher Rich Karlgaard will deliver the keynote address at the Council's 52nd Annual Board of Delegates Meeting in Vancouver, Washington, U.S., July 30-Aug. 1.

Karlgaard contributes a regular column, "Innovation Rules," to Forbes, in which he covers economic and technology trends, business transformations, and conversations with leading CEO's.

"In today's global competitive environment, Rich Karlgaard's focus on innovation and transformation is a perfect fit for U.S. producers and agribusinesses," said USGC Chairman Dr. Wendell Shauman. "The world is changing, fast. The global middle class is exploding in size, global food demand is surging, and new opportunities arise continuously. Thinking about change is something we need to do."

Among the key issues for discussion will be the need for increased U.S. production, transportation, storage, and shipping capacity to serve rapidly growing markets in East Asia. The Pacific Northwest ports are second only to the Mississippi River system as an export channel for U.S. feed grains. With the emergence of China in the last two years as the fastest growing export market in the world for U.S. agricultural products, infrastructure improvements to the Pacific Northwest will become increasingly vital.

More information on the meeting is available at http://www.grains.org/index.php/vancouver-overview.