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USSEC CEO: COVID-19 highlights opportunities for innovation

US Soybean Export Council CEO Jim Sutter says virtual events during the coronavirus pandemic are highlighting the importance of innovation in agriculture.  

He says innovation, which typically takes time, can move quickly during the pandemic.

“Agriculture is full of innovation and we’re always innovating and trying to make changes, but sometimes making those changes is pretty hard,” he says. “But, at a time like this we have a unique opportunity because people are much more open to change because it’s a requirement.”

USSEC’s second Asia Trade Exchange took place virtually this week and Sutter says that wouldn’t have happened before the pandemic.

“If someone had suggested that we probably would have told them no way, but now we did it and now we learned how,” he says. “So that’s an example of how innovation has a real opportunity to move forward quickly during a time like this.”

Sutter says he hopes people who attended the virtual event took away the fact that the US soy export industry is open for business.  

Audio: Jim Sutter