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FACILITATOR: Kevin Murphy
SPEAKER: Sven-Erik Jacobsen

Few people can match the depth and breadth of research experience in quinoa across globally diverse agroecosystems as Dr. Sven-Erik Jacobsen. Here he will draw upon these experiences to share his global vision of quinoa. Dr. Jacobsen will also discuss his unique perspectives on pressing problems and potential solutions in quinoa, as well as how to bridge existing research gaps. We will also learn about breeding challenges, marketing opportunities, target consumers, product development, and economic challenges. Finally, Dr. Jacobsen will share his current activities with his Quinoa Quality enterprise.

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FACILITATOR: Julianne Kellogg
SPEAKERS: Babot, Pilar; Berner, J. M. and C. Malan; Burrieza, Hernán Pablo; Calvo Magro, Patricia; Craine, Evan; Davis, Thomas; Eisner, Olivia; Fernandez Olivares, Karla Paola; Fiene, Gabriele; Fondevilla, Sara; González, Juan Antonio; Grupo Semilleros de Investigación "Akaru Anchita Jicchha"; Lezama Parada, Luz Mariana; Lint, Renée; Maldonado Taipe, Nathaly Fernanda; Manjarres Hernández, Elsa Helena ; Matías Prieto, Javier; Nolen, Haley; Olguín, Pablo; Ordano, Mariano; Pandya, Archis; Pimentel-Cortés, Vanessa; Quispe Jacobo, Fredy E.; Quispe Macedo, Roberto Carlos; Reguera, Maria; Rey, Elodie; Rivera Moreno, Marco Antonio; Rodríguez Gómez, M. José; Rodriguez, Juan Pablo; Rojas-Bertini, Claudia Andrea; Rojas-Bertini, Claudia Andrea; Stanschewski, Clara; Vazquez-Luna, Alma; Weeks, William J.; Wellman, Gordon; Ximena Little, Carla; Zelada, Alicia

Researchers from around the world have submitted posters on their unique quinoa projects. Projects range from the reimagination of classic rice pudding using quinoa to characterizing quinoa stems for feed and biofuel uses. Topics include genetics, agronomy, plant physiology, food science, nutritional science, nutritient composition, microbiology, plant pathology, and entomology. Join these researchers during this poster session to listen to 3-minute Lightning Talks by 15 of the researchers and to ask questions of all the participating poster session researchers. Similar to an in-person poster session, all posters are available for viewing by symposium participants for the duration of the event. All recorded presentations will be available indefinitely on the Sustainable Seed Systems Lab YouTube channel.

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FACILITATOR: Aba Kiser
SPEAKER: Evan Craine, Clara Stanschewski

Standardized methods for characterizing and describing quinoa phenotypes are crucial for global collaboration. This workshop will provide practical examples of how to approach, and successfully accomplish, various phenotyping tasks. Clara Stanschewski, PhD candidate in Dr. Mark Tester’s Salt Lab at the King Abdullah Institute of Science and Technology, will present field phenotyping strategies and techniques from her experience in Saudi Arabia, China and Australia. She is currently investigating the genetic architecture of agronomically important traits in Chenopodium quinoa using comprehensive phenotyping and Genome-Wide Association Studies. Evan Craine, PhD candidate in Dr. Kevin Murphy’s Sustainable Seed Systems Lab at Washington State University, will provide examples of post-harvest phenotyping methods. His presentation will demonstrate one approach to developing a nutritional phenotyping pipeline, with target traits including protein quantity and quality and seed size, shape and color. Both presentations will reference supplemental materials that will be available for use after the presentation.

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FACILITATOR: Rachel Breslauer
SPEAKER: Don Trouba: Ardent, Bryce Lundberg/Tim Schultz

Bringing novel crops to consumers requires innovation in harvesting, processing, and marketing. This session will feature voices from business that are leading the way to bring quinoa from commercial producers to U.S. consumers. Don Trouba leads the “Go-to Market” team for The Annex, the specialty ingredient division of Ardent Mills. Don will focus on recent insights on consumer demographics and new tools Ardent is using to innovate quinoa marketing. Bryce Lundberg and Tim Schultz of Lundberg Family Farms will discuss how they are revolutionizing the way they bring quinoa to consumers. Their talk will span the production pipeline from agronomy, to disposal of processing byproducts, to novel value-added products.

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FACILITATOR: Cristina Ocana Gallegos
SPEAKER: Ingrid von Baer, Susana Vilariño Rodriguez

Susana and Ingrid, both agronomists, share with us the details of quinoa adaptation and production in two distinct parts of the world. From seed selection to harvesting methods, Susana explains the process of diversifying crop production in the Southern region of Spain, through her work in the company Algosur S.A. On the other hand, Ingrid, breeder of the popular quinoa variety ‘Regalona’, shares with us promising results from breeding trials that started in 2007 as part of her mission to adapt quinoa to the Southern region of Chile.

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FACILITATOR: Aba Kiser
SPEAKERS: Girish Ganjyal, Sergio Nuñez de Arco

Tune into this session where long-term experts in their fields Sergio Núñez de Arco of Andean Naturals/Ardent Mills (named the King of Quinoa by time magazine) and Girish Ganjyal, Interim Director, Associate Professor & Extension Food Processing Specialist at WSU School of Food Science talk about the nuances of processing and value-added options for quinoa in a diversifying market. Sergio co-founded the largest quinoa processing plant in the United States (Andean Naturals) and is working to keep a seat at the table for indigenous farmers in a changing marketplace. We'll take a virtual tour of the processing plant and talk about cleaning, de-saponifying and polishing. Girish has done extensive research into the end-uses of quinoa varieties and will share specific data related to puffing, crispability and more. He has worked with many farmers and scientists throughout the world and brings a wealth of knowledge to share.

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FACILITATOR: Cristina Ocana Gallegos
SPEAKER: Roberto Carlos Quispe Macedo, Nicolas Pichazaca

Roberto and Nicolás have been involved in quinoa production in Bolivia and Ecuador respectively, and have stepped up the traditional mechanisms to improve yield in the field while still located in rural settings. Roberto explains about quinoa cultivation near the salt-flats of Bolivia, which are considered delicate ecosystems, and walks us through the changes and negative impacts that quinoa cultivation has brought over time. As a way to produce quinoa in a more sustainable way, he shares promising results from a study where organic fertilizer was used and hopes to use this to change the negative local opinion on organics. Nicolás talks about quinoa production in Cañar, Ecuador and his journey from small-scale production to the creation of the brand 'Alli mikuna'.

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FACILITATOR: Dan Packer
SPEAKER: David Brenner, Rick Jellen

Genetic diversity is fundamental to crop improvement. Gene bank accessions of quinoa, other domesticated Chenopodiums, and naturally occurring populations of quinoa wild relatives serve as reservoirs of genetic diversity with the potential to improve quinoa adaptation to new or stressful environments or as sources of novel traits. Efforts are ongoing to collect and describe quinoa wild relatives, particularly in North America. The USDA National Plant Germplasm System houses many of these accessions and makes them publicly available. In addition to collecting these resources, efforts are underway to develop protocols for their reproduction and introgression into quinoa breeding populations. Understanding the breadth of available genetic resources can assist researchers on their mission to improve quinoa.

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FACILITATORS: Fransisco Fuentes and Cedric Habiyaremye

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FACILITATOR: Kevin Murphy
SPEAKERS: Sergio Núñez de Arco

Sergio Nuñez de Arco has been boldly adventuring and creatively working in the quinoa arena for the past sixteen years and is widely recognized as one of the foremost worldwide experts in quinoa processing and market analysis. In this keynote address, Sergio will discuss his thoughts on how quinoa can help alleviate poverty, improve nutrition, and increase global food security as quinoa continues to grow in importance. Sergio will share historical and current quinoa production practices in Bolivia, and how the expanded global quinoa market has socially impacted traditional quinoa farmers. Sergio describes the history of quinoa imports & exports, market price volatility and stability, and his projections of quinoa markets up to 2025. Finally, are you interested in how quinoa impacts North American farmers? Tune in and find out!

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FACILITATOR: Kevin Murphy
SPEAKER: Mark Tester

Dr. Mark Tester has spent his distinguished career dedicated to the science of sustainable agriculture and global food production, with particular interest in climate change, plant physiology, and drought and salinity tolerance. This work led Mark to quinoa, and in the several years he has been working with this promising crop, he and his team of researchers have had a profound impact on advancing and accelerating critical quinoa research. His research has brought together a diverse group of new and established quinoa researchers from around the world, several of whom are presenting their research in this symposium. In this Future Directions Keynote presentation, Mark will discuss his current and exciting quinoa research, ranging from in-depth, high-throughput phenotyping of key agronomic traits to the sequencing of a core collection elucidating the structure and evolution of the quinoa genome.

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FACILITATOR: Cedric Habiyaremye
SPEAKER: Leonardo Hinojosa, Malia Gehan

Quinoa is a genetically diverse crop and has earned special attention worldwide due to its nutritional value, health benefits and its ability to adapt to contrasting environments, including nutrient-poor and saline soils and drought-stressed marginal agroecosystems. In this session, we will be covering abiotic research on quinoa. Drs. Leonardo Hinojosa and Malia Gehan will discuss their respective research on quinoa resilience to heat and drought stress and the impact associated with those abiotic stressors in quinoa.

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FACILITATOR: Rachel Breslauer
SPEAKER: Andres Torres Salvador, Anna Testen

Increasing global acreage of quinoa is contingent upon advancing quinoa breeding and plant pathology in novel regions. Speakers in this session will outline their visions for how their disciplines can pave the way to expanding quinoa production. Dr. Andrés Torres Salvador is the managing director for Radicle Crops, a partner of Wageningen University and Research that develops and commercializes saponin-free quinoa varieties suited for diverse climates, latitudes, and end-uses. Dr. Torres Salvador will outline Radicle Crop’s approach to R&D that relies on public-private partnerships to supply quinoa germplasm suitable for local conditions. Dr. Anna Testen is a USDA Plant Pathologist based in Ohio, USA but has experience in disease detection and management in specialty crops in Ecuador, Bolivia, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. Dr. Testen will discuss current and emerging diseases in quinoa production. She will also outline key knowledge gaps in quinoa plant pathology and entry points for growers and researchers to contribute to the field.

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FACILITATOR: Lane and Fransisco
SPEAKER: Arran Stark, Sebastian Tobar

Two chefs share their local knowledge of cuisine, one from Chile and the other based in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Follow along and learn different methods for bringing this incredible grain to the table.

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FACILITATOR: Laura Lewis
SPEAKER: Julianne Kellogg, Jared Zystro, Junda Jiang, Blake Richard

Participatory plant breeding results in regionally adapted cultivars well-received by participating farmers and their communities. Learn about the unique methods researchers and farmers have used to develop new quinoa varieties in the Northwestern United States using participatory plant breeding methods. Jared Zystro of Organic Seed Alliance describes his participatory quinoa breeding project in Northern California, USA. Junda Jiang of Lundberg Family Farms tells the story of developing red and black seeded quinoa varieties suited to the Northern California climate and global market. Blake Richards of Wild Rose Farm developed tri-color quinoa populations specifically adapted to his Northern California region. Julianne Kellogg of Washington State University describes a participatory quinoa breeding project that involved multiple farmers and farms in Western Washington, USA.

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FACILITATOR: Rachel Breslauer
SPEAKER: Rachel Wieme, Jude Maul

As quinoa production expands to novel regions, it is critical to characterize the impact that quinoa has on nutrient cycling to adjust fertility management for subsequent crops. This session focuses on research investigating the rotational impact of quinoa on nitrogen and phosphorus cycling. Dr. Rachel Wieme will discuss nitrogen cycling in dryland irrigated cropping systems of Eastern Washington, USA. Dr. Wieme will also examine broader rotational impacts of quinoa in this region including microbial associations and agronomic impacts of cropping sequence in a quinoa, barley, chickpea rotation. Ecologist Dr. Jude Maul, will then discuss associations between quinoa and phosphatase producing microbes in the rhizosphere in field and greenhouse experiments in Maryland, USA. More broadly, both Drs. Maul and Wieme will review lessons learned in quinoa field experimentation in their respective regions.

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FACILITATOR: Laura Lewis
SPEAKER: Daniel Bertero, Maria Bruno

Join us for a session on the domestication of quinoa and the development of efficiencies in the crop using germplasm from both ancient populations as well as cultivated types. Dr. Maria Bruno will be speaking about the Archeobotany and evolution of quinoa throughout the Andean region in South America. She will discuss current knowledge around progenitors as well as suspected progenitors to domesticated quinoa located throughout the Andean range. She will be discussing various methodologies used to date to understand archaeological evidence related to the cultivation, use, and dissemination of quinoa throughout the region. Daniel Bertero will be speaking about nitrogen use and water efficiency in quinoa using both ancient varieties and domesticated populations to improve the crop for various types of sustainable production systems located throughout South America.

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FACILITATORS: Julianne Kellog, Cristina Ocana Gallegos
SPEAKER: Dora Tambo