Inaugural PACE Executive Forum Offers a Unique Opportunity for Ag Retail Leadership

CropLife Staff By CropLife Staff|November 2, 2022
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Executive-level delegates from across the ag retail industry gathered October 26-28 in Kansas City, MO, for the inaugural PACESM Executive Forum. Leaders shared their knowledge and insights on how the ag retail industry can respond to volatile market dynamics and set a path forward for sustainable success.

The PACE Executive Forum grew out of CropLife Media’s PACESM Initiative, which has been advancing the ag retail industry for more than 25 years. Since 1994, CropLife  has built collaborative projects and programs under the PACE banner with unique input from ag retailers and leading industry experts from every segment of the agriculture value chain. The 2022 PACESM Advisory Council continued this tradition prior to the conference with its annual meeting on October 26.

The conference brought together a diverse group of nearly 100 business leaders representing all segments of the industry from around the country and several international markets to participate in timely presentations, interactive panels, and small group discussions. Their focus was new intelligence and insights on the industry’s most pressing challenges such as new supply-demand dynamics, the changing agribusiness environments, and the new generation of agriculture.

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In-depth conversations throughout the two-day event centered on issues around labor and employee retention, continued concerns with the supply chain, pushing sustainability forward, and defining what data is of most value for growers, retailers, and ag as a whole.

Common themes over the two-day conference were ESG and strategies to reach not only the farmer of the future, but also the consumer of the future, the importance of scalability and integration of ag data being critical to success, and how retailers need to find ways to monetize ag tech offerings.

“What are the one or two things you need to do that everyone can benefit from?” asked CoBank’s Kenneth Zuckerberg. “Let’s start there.”

“Why not plant more soybeans if there will be more demand for the next 25 years?” he continued. “We have farmed for fun. Why not farm for dollars?”

Furthermore, “Consumers vote with their dollars,” said Jeremy Pafford, ICIS. “Consumers will spend more money for a product they perceive as being environmentally-friendly.”

PACE delegates got together in groups to discuss significant challenges, new strategies, and improvements in the supply chain, as well as the hot topic of employee retention, finding labor, new training initiatives, and future planning.

Sustainability was another key topic.

“We all feel like we can have a part in sustainability,” said AGCO’s Craig Jorgensen. “We will have to develop technology to help.”

AgGateway’s Ben Craker agreed. “It goes back to really being that trusted advisor to the farmer, not just the guy who wants to sell you stuff.”

One thing is for certain, the industry must embrace transparency and collaboration to achieve success in the future.

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The PACE Executive Forum brings together a national cross-section of leading ag retailers charged with mobilizing their organizations to adapt to the new market dynamics and to shape the future of the industry. Learn more here >

In today’s complex and fast-paced crop production sector, the team at CROPLIFE keeps 21,000 agricultural retailers, distributors and their suppliers up to date on such decidedly 21st century issues as seed technology, biotechnology, precision agriculture, customer service and retention, and business management. See all author stories here.

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