Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 8464 / SEEDWORLD.COM JANUARY 2017 ReCalibrating Exectations THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE impacts the seed industry in nearly all facets of how it operates from business to policy and from attracting new talent to consumer demand. Those in the business must understand the changing dynamics and work to position their companies for the future. That’s why more than 2,500 seed industry representatives from the United States and around the world gath- ered in Chicago, Ill., for the American Seed Trade Association’s (ASTA) annual Corn, Sorghum and Soybean Seed Research Conference and Seed Expo Dec. 6-9. It was here that speakers and sessions honed in on some of the biggest issues the industry must tackle: the global econ- omy and its impact on agriculture, plant breeding innovation, leadership develop- ment and communications. In the paragraphs below, you’ll read about the economy and Dan Basse’s outlook, as well as ASTA’s view on plant breeding innovation. To set the stage, Basse, an agricultural economist and founder of AgResource Company, kicked things off providing insight as to what’s happening in the economy and what could be expected in the future. Bearish, But Less Than in the Past He told attendees that 2016 was another great year. “We had record soybean yields and record corn yields,” he said. “It was really farmers only profit if they were able to squeeze any out this year.” Basse attributes this to what he calls globalization of the world. World agricul- ture this year looking at the three principle crops (corn, soybeans and wheat) was a record large crop for the third consecutive year, he said. Total world grain supplies were up 95 million metric tons, which At the American Seed Trade Associations’ meeting in Chicago, attendees stepped back to evaluate business and technology in today’s environment. Julie Deering PHOTOS: ZIMMCOMM NEW MEDIA. Dan Basse, agricultural economist and founder of AgResource Company, shared his outlook with attendees of ASTA’s CSS 2016 & Seed Expo in Chicago. increased global grains stocks 24 million metric tons. “The world today is awash in grain,” he noted. The landscape for farmers here is grim; however, Basse said when he travels to Turkey and visits farmers in Russia or to South America, the smiles on farm faces are everywhere. “They are making lots of money,” he said. “So as you think about the food table … I want you to understand there’s another side of the table. “It’s due to currency that people are looking more favorably upon their lot in life. Russian farmers are expanding wheat acreage. South American farmers are on their way to producing a record soybean crop this year. And they are all looking at returns ranging between 10 and 30 per- cent — a much different landscape than we in America are facing today.” During his hour-long talk, Basse hit upon several factors that influence where agriculture is today, including demand, energy, de-carbonization, inflation, cur- rency, political landscape and more. In short, he said that regarding demand, the world biofuel market is mature. Additionally, livestock produc- ers have expanded herds, but now face reduced profitability, principally in the United States. “We’ll see hog prices, chicken prices and as you think about your Thanksgiving table, lower prices than we’ve seen going back 12 years,” Basse said. Looking at global production versus global need, Basse pointed out that har- vested acres increased by 179 million acres