Arkansas Agriculture Looks to Tomorrow (Freddie Black Commentary)

Agriculture is this state’s lifeblood. It is Arkansas’ No. 1 industry, adding about $16 billion to our economy each year. More than 6 million Arkansas acres are planted in corn, rice and soybeans, among other crops. Millions of dollars are invested in that acreage, in the equipment used to manage that land and in the technology that will maximize the land’s production and profitability for the future.

In about 30 years, our world will be home to nearly 10 billion people. Farmers will have to feed more people than they have in the previous 100 years. Farmers and ranchers will have to produce more food and fiber on the same or fewer acres than they do today.

This population growth weighs heavily on our farmers’ shoulders. They are thinking about the future of agriculture and exploring new technologies now to evolve for tomorrow’s needs. In our ever-diversifying world economy, farmers around the state share many of the same concerns.

First is trade. U.S. ag exports are vital to the world. China needs our protein; Mexico is a valuable partner. These countries need what we have, and the U.S. needs to keep them as customers. Our farmers can’t afford to lose customers. We must invest in and protect the infrastructure that will put food from Arkansas farms on tables around the world into the future.

Next is commodity prices. Arkansas farms produce a long list of edibles — catfish, beef, dairy, grapes, tomatoes, rice, pork, poultry, sweet potatoes, wheat — and other agricultural commodities. For Arkansas farms to continue to produce our food, we need higher commodity prices. We need policies in place that will stimulate higher prices on soybeans and cotton, and we don’t need any cuts in the ethanol mandate. Corn has become too important a crop in Arkansas.

Third is technology. It is technology that will enable our farmers to produce more. Precision agriculture is the future; the data farmers are collecting is the key to future success. Seed and input modifications, GPS/GNSS technology, remote and IoT irrigation management, on-board computer systems and autonomous equipment, and variable-rate application seeding are among the latest technologies that Arkansas farmers are mastering today.

Last but not least is succession and legacy. Arkansas is home to nearly 50,000 farms, 97 percent of which are family-owned. Many are managed by men and women with retirement in their sights; the average Arkansas farmer’s age is 57. Our tax policies, credit markets and business environment need to equip them with tools to transfer ownership of the family land to the next generation, as well as empower young, up-and-coming farmers to thrive. Arkansas acreage owned by Arkansans should be our shared goal.

Agriculture has been the most common source of economic activity for most of recorded human history, and I believe it will remain so, with Arkansas agriculture maintaining its place at the top of our state’s economy into the future. Our farmers are inventive and entrepreneurial. They’re visionary and nimble, ready to take risks and develop innovations to improve productivity. Because of our farmers, agriculture has the horsepower to remain vital to Arkansas’ economy and sustain our state’s place in the world economy.

Freddie Black of Lake Village is the Arkansas regional chairman for Simmons Bank, which has scheduled its annual Simmons Agri Summit for Feb. 1, 2018, at the White Hall Community Center in Jefferson County. Email him at Freddie.Black@SimmonsBank.com.