Milling & Baking News - April 18, 2023 - 38

TUES | 04 18 202 3
Dramatic, wide-ranging changes
seen coming to agriculture
LA QUINTA, CALIF. - The buying and
selling of farm equipment is often seen
as an indicator of the overall health of the
agricultural economy, and this type of data
may provide insight into industry leanings.
The Futures Council for the Association of
Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) developed
a report using this data and other
research to identify the 13 trends in agriculture
that are expected to greatly impact the
ag sector and how food is produced in the
future. Curt Blades, senior vice president
for industry sectors and product leadership
at AEM, recently shared these trends at
the National Grain and Feed Association
(NGFA) convention in La Quinta.
" We don't have to agree with them, but
we certainly need to be paying attention
to them, " Mr. Blades said, noting some of
the trends will have a dramatic impact on
the grain and feed industry while others
were more adjacent to the industry but
were still important to consider.
1. Produce more with less environmental
impact
" The population is expected to grow
by 2.2 billion people by 2050, but at the
same time, there is an increasing amount
of pressure to lower our environmental
impact, " Mr. Blades said. He pointed to
advancing genetics, intentional stewardship
and improving mechanics through
precision agriculture as key ways to
expand production without increasing
the environmental load.
2. Optimization of water use
" We've got a water problem in the world
and certainly in the United States, " Mr.
Blades said, adding agriculture often
bears the brunt of the blame for water
shortage issues.
" We've got some work to do in terms of
how we monitor and how we irrigate, " he
said.
3. Increased global demand for protein
While discussions about lab-grown
meat and plant-based products have
gained solid market traction, Mr. Blades
said there was no indication demand for
animal protein would decrease. In fact, it
was projected to double by 2050, he said.
" It's going to look a little different, " he
acknowledged, adding that other products
will continue to play an important
role in the demand for protein. " But
despite all the other headlines you're
going to read, there's no bit of research
that points to the fact that animal protein
is not expected to continue on the upward
swing for the foreseeable future. "
4. Shorter food supply chain
" It just makes a whole lot more sense to
raise your lettuce close to where you're
consuming it because, otherwise, you're
just shipping water, " Mr. Blades said, recognizing
how vertical farming initiatives
and greenhouse growing systems have
fundamentally changed the farming
landscape, especially for leafy green vegetables.
He also said many lessons were
learned from the production successes of
the marijuana industry.
" That technology is easily transferable
Curt Blades of AEM said agriculture often
bears the brunt of the blame for water shortage
issues.
38 MILLING & BAKING NEWS
into fruits and vegetables, probably not
so much row crops, but there is a lot of
interesting things we can learn (from
the underground marijuana industry)
that can absolutely translate into the food
supply chain being dramatically different
tomorrow than it is today, " he said.
5. Geographic shifts in production
For different reasons, both genetic
advances and climate changes have
allowed crops to grow in places they
couldn't grow previously, but the changes
are opening possibilities for farmers to
diversify.
" It's a simple reality that the Corn Belt
is moving further and further north, and
the grain industry needs to prepare for
this geographic shift in crop production, "
Mr. Blades said.
6. Advanced food traceability helps
maintain consumer trust
" If you talk to anyone that is close to
consumers, they are demanding traceability
and they're voting with their
wallets, " Mr. Blades said, affirming that
one of traceability's main purposes is to
improve consumer trust, which has been
marred in the past by concerns about food
safety and food security. He encouraged
businesses to be prepared to provide that
traceability if they want to participate in
future markets.
7. Farmers adjust in response to emission
regulation
Mr. Blades confirmed there was plenty
of pressure within the agricultural
industry to reduce its carbon footprint,
which may lead to targeted investments in
equipment and vehicle upgrades to more
sustainable alternatives, which might
pressure bottom lines.
8. Efforts to decarbonize create adjacent
economies
Mr. Blades said the US Department of
Agriculture is pursuing opportunities to
establish multiple income streams at singular
farm operations by supporting the
development of adjacent industries, especially
for carbon markets where farmers
could generate and sell carbon credits to
private sector buyers.
" We don't know how it's going to end,
but we certainly know there are going to
be industries adjacent to the grain industry
that will have dramatic impact on
what's happening in our world today, and
we just have to be prepared for it, " he said.
9. Connectivity gap narrows
" All of the promise that we have within
precision agriculture relies on constant
connectivity of the internet, " Mr. Blades
said.
He asked convention attendees to
think about the fundamental impact
smartphones have had on people's lives,
but many farmers are restricted from
capitalizing on this innovative technology
bakingbusiness.com
©DEWALD - STOCK.ADOBE.COM
http://www.bakingbusiness.com
Milling & Baking News - April 18, 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Milling & Baking News - April 18, 2023
