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by Susie Taylor

Agricultural producers have many opportunities for future growth. The key is to identify just what consumers will pay for and then sell it to them, according to Lowell Catlett, an agricultural economist from New Mexico State University who spoke during a seminar at this year’s Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF) annual meeting in late November.

"The message (for OFBF members) is that there are some wonderful opportunities for us in agriculture. They’re going to be a little weirder than what we’re used to. But, we have to think in terms of entertainment, medicine and ecology," Catlett said.

Consumers are buying farm land, not to become producers, but to provide space for recreational activities like horseback riding. "Or they’re using agricultural resources so they can get an experience on the land like hunting or gardening," Catlett said. "That kind of snuck up on us."

As far as medicine goes, "Food and medicine and agriculture are intricately linked. As our society ages, consumers want benefits from their food."

The economist praised Ohio Farm Bureau for developing its Agricultural Ecology Department. "We’re never going to go back to the time when ecology and agriculture were separated. Our chore is to make sure we get paid or recognized for our contribution to ecology," he said.

In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, consumers are demanding even more of an assurance about the safety of their food and water systems. A new term that producers will be hearing more about is "Certified to the Source." Technology exists, Catlett said, that would allow producers to prove to consumers that a specific animal was treated well before it moved through the meat processing chain. That same technology would allow a grain producer to show that a crop was produced in a specific way.

"We’re moving rapidly from commodity based agriculture to a value-added way of marketing. … As producers, we need to start building alliances with the people who can help us with some of the things we may not be so good at."