Agribusiness Association of Iowa’s Community College Career Day: Two Trends Enable Opportunity for Ag Innovation and Rural America
On February 9, I joined the Agribusiness Association of Iowa’s Community College Career Day to talk to students about opportunities in agriculture. Together with a panel of agribusiness leaders, we shared our excitement about the future of our industry with hundreds of Iowa students.
I believe there are two key converging trends that will drive agricultural innovation and will result in opportunities for students to have a positive impact in Iowa and around the world.
The first is societal shifts relating to agriculture and food. Millennials and Gen Z now represent almost half of the U.S. population, and their interests differ considerably from previous generations. Food choices have moved beyond the plate and align with personal beliefs – including animal welfare, fair trade and sustainably sourced. Consumers want food with attributes, like increased protein, healthy oils and medicinal benefits – all with easy to understand “clean labels.” Compounding this is the existential threat of climate change to rural and urban ways of life. Today diverse coalitions are being formed at the local, national and global level to mitigate the impact. Farm groups and corporations are not only aligning in their public statements and sustainability goals but are also working together to accelerate specific actions. From Cargill to General Mills, companies are committing to implement regenerative farming across millions of acres. Ag associations are also taking stronger steps to engage on climate solutions, including the creation of the Food and Ag Climate Alliance to work with the new Biden Administration. And finally, as one of the fastest growing investment sectors, “ESGs” (environment, social and governance) illustrate how AgTech investors not only want to get a positive return but have a positive impact on the world.
Converging with these societal shifts is the economic pressure farmers and ranchers have faced for nearly a decade. Prices for agricultural products have remained relatively stable as input costs have steadily increased. Government support filled the difference. Today, more than half of farmer income is subsidized (the Farm Bill plus trade and pandemic relief). Not only is this not sustainable, it’s not how farming families want to grow their operations.
As societal interests converge with farm economics, AgTech innovation offers a solution. Now more than ever, we must embrace the opportunity to increase value of farming and food production by enabling new technology that meets consumer demand and climate change.
Farmers are the foremost entrepreneurs and will adopt innovation that brings value to their production and protects the natural resources we all need. When done right, adoption can be quite fast. Consider how fast biotech adoption was overall – specifically biotech insect protection that brought production, environmental, and consumer value. Now we can bring increased value to crop production through functionality and nutrition, as well as through the adoption of sustainable practices. In addition, today the “digitization of ag” – such as data, AI, machine learning and other technology – is accelerating prescription farming, precision planting, variable rate input management and equipment automation. In the future, digitization will enable more dynamic uses of data, including certification of production practices and standards, and the traceability of food and feed. As part of that, we must continue to engage today’s students who will be the biologists, data scientists, inventors and entrepreneurs of tomorrow.
For the past twenty years, I’ve had the chance to talk with students around the world. What draws them consistently to agriculture is the chance to have a challenging job that also helps improve our society by delivering on a higher good. Not only are these exciting careers in all disciplines – each plays a critical role to lift rural communities and connect with our urban neighbors. My hope is that the students in Iowa and around the world continue to choose agriculture.
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