INTERNATIONAL SUGAR BEET INSTITUTE MARCH 16-17 SCHEDULE: SPEAKERS:

Luther Markwart has been the executive vice president of the American Sugarbeet Growers Association since 1982, serving all sugarbeet growers in the U.S. Markwart was raised on a dairy farm in eastern Michigan where his family had grown sugarbeets since 1933. He grew beets himself as a 4-H project. After graduating from Michigan State University, Markwart began serving the sugarbeet industry. In addition to his current role, he has served as the executive vice president of the Farmers and Manufacturers Beet Sugar Association in Michigan, as an advisor to federal agencies that have impacts on the domestic sugar industry and trade, chairman of the American Sugar Alliance for seven terms, co-chairman of the Sugar Industry Biotechnology Council for 18 years, a member of the Agriculture CEO Council since 2018, president of the Commodity Club of Washington, D.C., in 1996-97, president of the New York “Sugar Club” in 2005-06 and as a contributor to sugarbeet trade magazines. Markwart lives in McLean, Virginia, with his wife, Terri, and three children, Christian, Lauren and Megan.

Dr. Rob Johansson serves as the director of economics and policy analysis for the American Sugar Alliance, the national coalition of sugarbeet and sugarcane growers, processors, and refiners. He received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Northwestern University. He served in the U.S. Peace Corps before returning to Minnesota in 1995, where he received his doctorate in agricultural and applied economics from the University of Minnesota in 2000.

Johansson has held positions at the Office of Management and Budget, the Congressional Budget Office and the White House Council of Economic Advisers. He served as chief economist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where he was responsible for agricultural forecasts and advised the secretary of agriculture on programs, regulations and legislative proposals. At USDA, he also was chairman of the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Board of Directors and was responsible for setting up the Farm Production and Conservation mission area. At the American Sugar Alliance, Johansson analyzes sugar supply and demand fundamentals, domestic and foreign sugar and agricultural policies, including Farm Bill topics and international trade negotiations.