By RACHEL LANE D.C. Correspondent WASHINGTON, D.C. — Trade, innovation, climate and labor were some of the keywords used by speakers during the annual USDA Outlook Forum last week. The conference attracted an international audience, from Korea to Brazil, but also farmers across the country. The two-day event addressed many of the concerns facing agriculture in the United States and globally. Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney returned from India hours before he was scheduled to speak about trade relations. Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina – president of the African Development Bank Group, a Purdue University graduate and 2017 World Food Prize laureate – spoke about changes in African agriculture, the lack of young farmers and the need to change the perception of farmers. Multiple speakers addressed the increase in the expected population by 2050, the need to increase food production and protein specifically and recent changes in climate that make it difficult to predict weather from year to year. “There are serious challenges ahead, but American farmers and ranchers are strong,” said USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue during his keynote speech. “Farmers will continue to do what they've always done ... create and innovate.” He addressed the audience for about 30 minutes about farming globally, and rural America. He said plans are being made to move forward to improve the infrastructure across the country. Rural America's challenges impact the entire country and will be addressed, from making it easier to install broadband Internet access across the country, to improving roads, dams and bridges. Perdue said money has been requested to assist with infrastructure improvements. Congress needs to approve the funding, but he plans to pass the money along to state agencies to use as the local governments need. The infrastructure improvements are needed to help farmers continue to get products to customers, in the U.S. and around the world. Feeding the world helps American farmers prosper – Perdue said for every $1 of farm income, about 20 cents is the result of exports. Booming middle-class populations in Asian countries mean more imports will be needed, and the U.S. needs to show “we're willing to help feed those people.” USDA Chief Economist Robert Johansson discussed the 2018 economic and foreign trade outlook. After several years in decline, the amount of wheat planted is expected to increase this year. Cotton has had favorable prices in recent years and is expected to increase slightly this year, too. Overall, farm economics is expected to stay flat for most commodities. There will be an increase in demand in foreign markets for many crops, which should increase commodity prices, he said. Regulation and reform will be a focus for the year, he noted. Some regulations are already being reexamined, while tax reform will benefit farmers and other small businesses across the country. Additional programs to improve the rural economy will also be examined. Farm programs tend to support the entire communities around the farms, he said. Crop insurance was regularly discussed during this year's outlook forum. The work on the 2018 farm bill, low commodity prices and a series of natural disasters in 2017 brought the issues to the fore of many conversations. One of the sessions specifically discussed how to protect agricultural producers from hurricanes in the future. Johansson said there is bipartisan support in Congress to try to make sure enough funds are available. More information and videos of some of the speakers can be found online at www.usda.gov/oce/index.htm |
