The Ag Issues Forum 2015: Agriculture’s Challenges
March 9, 2015 In last week’s column, I talked about how the annual Commodity Classic show recently celebrated its 20th anniversary with a successful event in Phoenix, AZ.
But this wasn’t the only milestone taking place in the desert back in late February. Another was the Ag Issues Forum (AIF), hosted by Bayer CropScience. Now in its 10th year, AIF) has always sought to provide thought-provoking speakers and honest dialogue related to the critical issues facing agriculture and the global food system.
This year’s event focused on many of the key challenges facing agriculture, in 2015 and beyond.
Loading ...As Thomas Latham, a former U.S. representative from Iowa, pointed out during his speech, the political climate in Washington, DC, and much of the country has turned against agriculture. This has led to a host of regional and state regulations that have impeded agriculture’s ability to expand.
“In many areas related to agriculture, we need some kind of federal regulations to be passed,” said Latham. “That way, we won’t have the hodgepodge of state regulations restricting agriculture that currently exist in many part of the U.S.”
Besides politics, natural resource scarcity is also an important issue facing agriculture. During a panel discussion looking at water concerns, one speaker believed the persistent drought across much of the Western U.S. could negatively impact agriculture in this part of the country in the near future.
“Right now, 76% of the water used in the states of Arizona, California and Nevada goes to agriculture,” said David Modeer, general manager of the Central Arizona Project, which oversees water conservation in the state. “If nothing changes, severe shortages could hit agriculture in this region by the time the 2016-17 growing season rolls around.”
Then of course, there is the view of agriculture with much of the public. According to David Hollinrake, vice president, ACO marketing for Bayer CropScience, agriculture must do a better job of communicating its positive story to the general public if it hopes to move forward.
“We’ve tried to attack our industry’s critics with an intellectual debate, and we haven’t been successful,” said Hollinrake. “Instead, we have to appeal to people’s hearts. We need to invite people into our world, to show them what we do.”
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