The document announces that FIRA 2018 will take place on December 11-12 in Toulouse, France. It discusses the importance of connection between farmers, their fields, and innovation. Field connection can stimulate innovation by connecting farmers' needs and ideas with those of inventors and firms, and feeding feedback from field tests back into the innovation process. It also notes that all kinds of actors, including research institutions, startups, and technical institutes, should participate in this connection to help capture innovative potential, technologies, and practices and transfer knowledge to shape agricultural sectors.