Menu

Agriculture is well poised to take advantage of changing business practices, according to speakers at this year’s OFBF Commodity Conference.

Comments from the morning speaker William Jorgenson, managing principal with SJH & Company, and from lunch presenter John Schnittker, manager of market analysis with the U.S. Grains Council, echoed each other and focused on the opportunities agriculture could net if farmers would learn to "play well with others" and see the global picture.

Jorgenson said the consumer drives the farm economy by demanding taste and variety, ease of preparation, good value and healthy and safe food products.

"You’re right in the path of progress," Jorgenson told the more than 100 farmers. "But you have to learn to share, to consolidate your data and to share the benefits. I call that ‘playing well with others,’ but that’s not something farmers are well-known for. You’re mostly known for your independence."

He added that every farmer is a member of the food supply chain. "As a matter of fact, the food supply chain starts with you," he said. But that supply needs to be able to be tracked, not only for safety purposes, but for marketing strategy and branding.

Opportunity is ripe for partnerships between agriculture and the pharmaceutical industry, between agriculture and the energy industry, between agriculture and retail food marketers, and traceability is key to forming those partnerships.

"We have the ability to collect the kind of data that retailers want; we just have to figure out a way to come together and share that information so we can take advantage of it," Jorgenson said.

The luncheon speaker added that opportunities for trade put agriculture in a positive position.

"Ninety-five percent of the world’s population lives outside the U.S.," according to Schnittker of the U.S. Grains Council. "The U.S. is looked upon as the ‘Big Guy.’ We make up the difference from the rest of the world. The world clears out its bins before it comes to us for grain."

Major world trends, he said, focus on uncertainties – the global economy, U.S. farm policy, the new World Trade Organization round, biotechnology and e-commerce. But world agriculture looks to the United States to be a steady force. "Overall, the outlook for agriculture is positive," he said.

In addition to commodity committee meetings, those attending were able to choose from break-out sessions ranging from dairy and livestock policy, to water quality and agrisecurity.

"We’re pleased with the turn-out and have heard quite a few positive comments from those attending the conference," according to David White, OFBF director of commodity relations. "This conference is an important part of Farm Bureau’s policy development process."

Caption: William Jorgenson, managing principal of SJH & Company, was the morning speaker during the mid-March Commodity Conference held in Columbus.