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The importance of agriculture’s future in America

It doesn’t matter where you’re located, succession planning is a concern for all family farming operations.  As members of the Japanese Trade Team visited with state agriculture officials Thursday they asked how American farmers planned on passing their farms on to the next generation.

Rosiland Leeck, director of grain marketing for the Indiana Corn Marketing Council says the delegation was interested in what the future of farming looked like in America.  “In Japan they have a large problem with a large number of people not coming back to their farms,” she says.  “They are really interested in what our long-term potential is going to be, mainly because we’re suppliers to them.  They want to know that we’re going to be reliable suppliers long into the future.”

Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann tells Brownfield the delegation was also interested in how agriculture remains relevant to the state.  “The Governor and I are 100 percent committed to growing agriculture and making sure it remains viable, that farmland remains farmable, and that we have policies that encourage agriculture and encourage the business of farming,” she says.

The Japanese delegation made a stop in Indiana before heading to Seattle for the 2014 Export Exchange.