Governor Chris Christie to Participate in Iowa Agriculture Summit on March 7, 2015

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to Participate in Iowa Agriculture Summit on March 7
 
West Des Moines, IA – Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey has added his name to the field of potential 2016 presidential candidates who will speak at the Iowa Agriculture Summit to be hosted March 7 by Iowa entrepreneur and philanthropist Bruce Rastetter.
 
Christie's acceptance raises the current total of prospective and likely candidates attending the summit to 10 following earlier commitments from former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Gov. George Pataki of New York, former Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, New York businessman Donald Trump and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. The summit, which will also feature Governor Terry Branstad, Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds and U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, will be held at the Elwell Family Food Center on the Iowa State Fairgrounds, Des Moines.
 
Christie, a former U.S. attorney, was elected governor in 2009 and reelected in 2013. He also served as chairman of the Republican Governors Association from November 2013 through last year's mid-term elections in which the GOP gained two seats to hold the most governorships by one party since 1999.

"Governor Christie's recent appearances in Iowa, including his visit to West Des Moines tonight, have drawn tremendous interest in Iowa and around the country. I appreciate his decision to appear at the Iowa Agriculture Summit," Rastetter said. "Not only will it benefit Iowans to learn where prospective candidates stand on the issues that shape the agricultural economy but it will also benefit the candidates as they delve into those issues."

Each speaker at the summit will appear on stage alone with Rastetter for 20 minutes to answer questions about the broad range of issues facing American farmers and agribusinesses, including modern  agriculture practices, renewable fuels, biosciences, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), grain and livestock markets, land conservation, federal subsidies and other related topics.