Greg Lamp, editor of Corn & Soybean Digest, often travels the world for the additional perspective he puts into his stories. Lamp was at the January University of Minnesota Conservation Tillage Conference at Jackpot Junction and agreed to the following Q&A session.
Q: Is technology now the ‘key driver’ of today’s agriculture?
Lamp: Yes, and its accelerating. Precision farming has provided farmers with lots of data. Now they know what to do with it and we’re seeing more technology adopted at an even faster pace.
Q: Is innovation being picked up by farmers of all ages, or is it basically a younger man’s field?
Lamp: I’d like to think its picked up by all ages, and it is. But younger farmers just get into it quicker, and perhaps easier. Many of these younger tigers have a pretty good working knowledge of electronics. Older farmers aren’t avoiding it, but perhaps many are relying on their younger sons and/or daughters to assist with the learning process.
Q: As more farmers get into continuous corn they also hitch up the moldboard plow again. Inevitable?
Lamp: Coming to this great tillage conference, I get even more pro conservation tillage. But I am regularly surprised driving around the country how much moldboard plowing I see. It seems like two dichotomies: the group that just doesn’t want to give up on the moldboard plow, and those that do, much preferring the benefits of reduced tillage. Lots of convincing data and machinery at this conference that certainly backs up the logic of conservation tillage systems.
Q: Seems like agriculture is always in someone’s bull’s eye. Usually the claim is that high-powered farming destroys the environment. Do farmers need to speak up?
Lamp: Very definitely. American agriculture is the envy of the world, because we’re darn good at it. But I think farmers definitely need to become more proactive, more outspoken. Some type of stewardship program where farmers, farm organizations and commodity groups collectively decide on their mission will have far more clout, both politically and within the consumer world. Thinking someone else is going to pick up the ball will likely come back to bite us.
Q: Being an independent farmer was once the bedrock of agriculture. Still so?
Lamp: No, coalitions are the answer. If you want to continue an independent farmer, we’ll likely see problems down the road. Like it or not, you have to be involved. And anymore that’s not just paying your dues and idly sitting on the sidelines. You’ve got to be involved to get things done.
Q: Are checkoffs the most convenient tool for telling the agricultural story?
Lamp: Most have been around for some time now. And generally they have data that shows something like $4 to $6 return value for each dollar spent. I used to write for the beef industry, big on checkoffs. And they, too, believe it’s money well spent. I think it’s safe to say that if checkoffs weren’t working, producers would have voted them out of existence.
Q: What do you see as agriculture’s key issues today?
Lamp: Conservation will always be an important issue. We even heard President Obama mention conservation in his State of the Union address. Renewable fuels obviously will continue a major player in politics, commerce and marketing. Cap and trade is barely stumbling along. Most of agriculture is against this issue partly because you can’t nail down scientific data verifying that we are indeed experiencing global warming. There are so many unknowns that its hard for me to believe there will be any legislation moving forward on cap and trade.
Q: Renewable fuels became a major league home run for agriculture the past decade. Equally bright for the next decade?
Lamp: Biofuels, without the biodiesel credit, is suffering horribly right now. I’m told three-fourths of the U.S. biodiesel plants are now idle. That’s huge, for an industry that was really beginning to crank up some muscle power. The National Biodiesel Conference had 3,500 people at its 2008 event; last year 2,300 attended; this year only 1,000 were pre-registered. It’s obvious the credit has to be there for this industry to work economically.
Q: Is the agricultural disconnect a growing issue?
Lamp: Absolutely. Every year it gets worse. Think back on renewable fuels. The idea was that it was environmentally sound. It got us away from thinking that we were forever depending on foreign oil. And it really took off. Now it’s all dollar and cents. If it needs government support to survive, too many members of Congress, and consumers, aren’t buying into that logic. It’s sad when you compare us with European countries. They virtually embrace renewable fuels. Why? Because they think it’s good for their environment and for their farmers. U.S. consumers have gotten just a bit too fickle.
