Gregg Doud outlines how US can capitalize on its alternatives right through lecture at Kansas State College
10 January 2024
4 minute learn
Editor’s observe: Watch the complete video of Gregg Doud’s presentation on-line.
A former US ambassador who helped to barter an iconic agricultural industry settlement with China mentioned that The usa’s farmers have a brilliant long run if the trade can capitalize on to be had alternatives for exports, generation and value-added merchandise.
However Gregg Doud – lately the president and Leader Govt Officer of the Nationwide Milk Manufacturer’s Federation – mentioned each and every has its personal set of demanding situations as the USA balances international politics and intense pageant within the international meals marketplace.
“You reside in a global these days, other folks, the place general US agricultural exports to the sector are about the similar as China’s general meals imports from the sector,” mentioned Doud, in remarks because the tenth speaker in Kansas State College’s Henry C. Gardiner International Meals Programs lecture collection on Oct. 9.
China, he mentioned, imported $236 billion in agricultural commodities in 2022, whilst america exported $196 million.
“What occurs in China when it comes to meals dictates the whole lot else in the remainder of the sector,” Doud mentioned.
For instance, China produces just about part of all hogs on this planet these days. In 2020, the follow of feeding meals scraps to pigs (referred to as swill feeding) was once banned, which intended China all of sudden was the most important corn importer on this planet.
Doud additionally famous that Chinese language shoppers love meat: “China is cleansing the sector out of red meat,” he mentioned. “In August, they bought an all time document top in red meat imports from the sector.”
The ones details discuss to what the following decade may appear to be for US red meat manufacturers, Doud mentioned.
“Certainly not, form or shape does the provision of animal protein on this planet come any place close to assembly the call for,” he mentioned. “And in case you glance around the globe, what do you notice? Who else on this planet could make extra animal protein? It certain isn’t going to be the Europeans…the Chinese language, Jap or Asians.”
The similar is right, he famous, for the dairy trade in america.
“Other people, the one position on Earth that may come even just about (assembly long run call for) is america. So, I say, let’s cross. Let’s get in in this; that is the longer term. That is the place it’s at.”
Doud mentioned Brazil is dominating corn and soybean manufacturing, however a space by which the USA can be successful is in generating soybeans for renewable diesel gas, versus meals.
“Within the close to long run, we’re going to be making an entire lot extra soybean oil – crushing it for oil, if truth be told, fairly than for the meal. And we’re going to have a mountain of soybeans to the purpose the place I heard a dialog the opposite day that we may well be having a look at soybean meal at $150 (a tonne). For agriculture on this nation, that’s fascinating.”
Doud additionally touched on a lot of generation developments in agriculture, together with biosensing and spraying generation, robotics within the dairy trade, genomics, self sustaining semis that might lower transportation prices by way of 70%, and plenty of extra.
“The generation that we have got coming in agriculture is incredible,” he mentioned, however added that “we will be able to’t get the (executive) to approve a few of our generation, because of this the fellows that invested within the generation can’t get it commercialized. It is a holdup for our nation. We have now were given to get our executive to the purpose the place they approve this generation so we will be able to transfer ahead.”
Born in Mankato, Kansas, Doud earned undergraduate and graduate levels from Kansas State College ahead of embarking on a profession that comes with serving as a marketplace analyst for US Wheat Friends, leader economist for the Nationwide Cattlemen’s Red meat Affiliation and president of the Commodity Markets Council. Between 2020 and August of this yr, Doud was once vice chairman of world situational consciousness and leader economist with Aimpoint Analysis, an international, strategic alliance that focuses on agri-food. He was once additionally a senior workforce member of the USA Senate Agriculture Committee that wrote the 2012 Senate Farm Invoice.
His complete communicate – titled ‘The Long run of Agricultural Business, Geopolitics and Meals’ – is to be had to view on-line.
Kansas State College established the Henry C. Gardiner International Meals Programs lecture collection to offer science-based training about international meals problems. The lecture collection is funded by way of the Gardiner circle of relatives of Ashland, Kansas. Henry C. Gardiner, who gave up the ghost simply days ahead of the primary lecture in 2015, was once referred to as a visionary chief who devoted his profession to bettering the meat trade via science and generation.