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The future of trade, farm programs and biotechnology were among the topics discussed during OFBF's first-ever Trends and Issues Conference held last month.

David White, OFBF director of commodity relations, explained that the purpose of the conference was to educate members of commodity advisory committees. The committees will meet in the coming months to make policy recommendations as part of OFBF's policy development process.

During the meeting, farmers were told they will need to become even more efficient in order to compete globally.

"We don't really have a choice but to become best at low-cost production," said David Parker, vice president of the consulting firm Agri Business Group.

He said Brazil has a trade advantage of 69 cents per bushel of soybeans over the United States, which includes production and transportation costs. He asked producers to think about how that advantage will increase as Brazil makes improvements to its infrastructure.

"We're going to have to do everything we can do to extract dollars here," he said, noting that farmers leave money on the table every year by not marketing their crop as profitably as they could.

Potential changes in the next farm bill may also make it more important for producers to reduce production costs. Carl Zulauf, an agricultural economist with Ohio State University, said he expects significant cuts to farm program payments in the next decade. He said the agriculture industry must address the difference in support payment levels for midwestern crops and southern crops such as rice, sugar and cotton.

"You are competitive internationally. They are not. And you can't get around that," he said.

Zulauf explained that while grain farmers may be able to survive a 10 percent cut in farm payments, growers of southern crops are more dependent on government support.

"If we cut the support to the southern crops their survival is literally on the board," he said.

Zulauf said livestock farmers are the biggest beneficiaries of the current farm bill, because it provides them with an available feed source.

Livestock is also a profitable way to export that feed, according to John Hinners of the U.S. Meat Export Federation, noting that a 1 percent increase in U.S. beef and pork exports sends more than 2 million bushels of corn and soybeans overseas.

"Global consumption (of red meat) is outpacing our U.S. production," Hinners said. Rising income around the world is leading to a higher demand for animal protein, he added.

Hinners said the United States will be able to compete with countries that can produce meat at a lower cost.

"The United States may not be number one in numbers, but we can be number one in quality," he said.

Biotechnology may provide the answer to improving meat quality, according to Barb Glenn, a veterinarian with the Biotechnology Industry Organization.

She said animal biotechnology will improve animal health, develop more nutritious food, conserve the environment and advance human health. She said research aimed at improving muscling in beef may some day provide a cure for muscular dystrophy in humans.

Several farmers expressed concern that cloning will narrow the gene pool in breeding stock, but Glenn said farmers will still need to follow breeding practices that ensure vitality in their herds. She anticipates cloning will be used specifically for breeding stock, so there will never be "herds of clones."

Parker said U.S. farmers will need to produce products that are good and unique enough to outshine competitors.

"We're the best. But guess what. We've got to get even better," he said.

Caption: OFBF President Bob Peterson holds a copy of the Ohio Agricultural Roadmap, which outlines what the state's agriculture industry will be like in 2030.