105 / 132
Lastly, he mentioned three ways to build
margins in growing markets at current
prices:
Digital economy:
Get your farm inside
your phone. His advice was that pro-
ducers should do square metre man-
agement. He was quite confident that
producers would be able to match the
growing demand through increases in
yields. New technology and smart farm-
ing practices will pass this test.
Circular economy:
He used the exam-
ple of a sugar farm using the bagasse to
manufacture electricity for themselves,
the distiller's dried grains with solubles
(DDGS) from the biofuel plant to feed
the cattle in the feedlot and the manure
to reduce fertiliser cost in grain produc-
tion.
Shared economy:
This concept refers
to the sharing of resources like tractors,
planters and other equipment. Uber
made it almost unnecessary for an indi-
vidual to own a car. He also talked about
a buying group in Brazil. To many grain
producers this is not a foreign concept.
Conclusion
Initially the thought of grain prices remain-
ing the same for ten years scared me a bit,
but when the scientists took the floor and
talked about gene editing and its potential, it
seemed possible that yield increases could
see us through to maintain sustainability.
One factor that we do not have to concern
ourselves with is the growth in demand.
Thus, if the demand grows and producers
can’t keep pace with it, we shall end up
with higher prices – and that will not be
too bad.
Graph 4: Expected growth in imports of red meat.
* Selected importers, not world total
** Japan, Korea and Taiwan
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