The influence of agriculture on Kansans’ health will be the topic of a day-long conference scheduled next month in Topeka.

The event, “Healthy Farms, Healthy People: Agriculture and Health Care Summit,” is being coordinated by the Kansas Rural Center in partnership with the Kansas Health Institute, Kansas Farmers Union and others with funding from the Centers for Disease Control.

Topics will focus on Kansas perspectives on the connections between farms, food systems and health. The summit is set from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Nov. 16 at Washburn University's Bradbury Thompson Alumni Center in Topeka (map).

Scheduled keynote speakers include Elizabeth Ablah, an associate professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the University of Kansas School of Medicine–Wichita, and Bob Martin, a senior policy advisor for John Hopkins School of Public Health in Baltimore, Md.

Morning presentations will focus on healthy eating behaviors and influences, farming and food systems in Kansas, the role of food and farm policy and the challenges in producing healthy food. Speakers will include Barb LaClair of the Kansas Health Institute; Anthony Randles of KDHE; Rhonda Janke of Kansas State University; Paul Johnson, public policy contributor to the Kansas Rural Center, and Donn Teske, president of the Kansas Farmers Union.

The afternoon will include roundtable discussions among summit participants.

Registration costs $35 and includes beverages, snacks and a locally sourced lunch.

For more information or to register, visit www.kansasruralcenter.org.