DES MOINES, Iowa (DTN) -- As extreme weather intensifies and farm margins remain tight, agribusiness leaders and policymakers are betting on new seed technology, alternative crops and fewer regulatory hurdles to help farmers stay profitable.

The media group Axios held a forum in downtown Des Moines with interviews including the CEO of the World Food Prize, the president of Bayer Crop Science for North America and the CEO of the Iowa Cattlemen's Association.

BAYER ON EXTREME WEATHER AND INNOVATION

Brian Naber, president of Bayer Crop Science for North America, highlighted how Bayer is responding to extreme weather by increasing its research focus on short-stature corn varieties. This year, Bayer will continue broadening its tests on short-stature corn to 200,000 acres in the Midwest. He pointed to the increased frequency of destructive derechos such as two last year in Minnesota and one in Iowa in 2020 that caused roughly $4 billion in damage.

"These wind events come through and it flattens the corn crop," Naber said. "So, we look at innovation as part of the solution."

Instead of corn being nine feet tall or higher, Bayer's new variety would be closer to six or seven feet tall. "You lower the center of gravity, which makes it more stable and stands up to these extreme weather events," he said.

Beyond the ability to cope with high wind events, Naber said short-stature corn also offers other benefits. For instance, the crop can develop longer root systems, he said. "That's the life blood of the corn plant. That's where it gets its moisture and all of its nutrients. So, we're incredibly excited, but we think innovation has to be part of solving for extreme weather."

With a shorter stature and deeper roots, Naber said farmers also should be able to increase planting density. Along with that, a shorter corn variety will allow farmers to add fertilizer with sprayers later into the season, creating more flexibility for in-season agronomic adjustments.

"Unfortunately, those sprayers don't work because the corn is too tall. With short corn, they can now get across those fields," he said.

At the moment, Bayer has been slowly rolling out its shorter corn variety with native traits in the seeds. Naber said "the real enabler" will be biotech varieties introduced over the next few years.

"Because, then you can essentially get the same plant characteristics through a biotech trait and that opens your germplasm library wide open," he said. "So, then you go north to south, east to west and that's when it really starts to scale up."

Regulations also need to be science-based, Naber said. He stressed the importance of EPA, "that does gold-standard science" in maintaining a reliable regulatory framework for farm chemicals.

"You tie up much of your family's net worth into putting a crop into the ground each and every year," Naber said. "So, you're all in as a farmer; but you're depending on tools and the goodwill of Mother Nature to make this work in the end. You can imagine the scenario if these tools aren't there, or worse yet, if it's unpredictable then the innovators say, 'Is this really a good place to invest in innovation?'"

Naber didn't specifically address the upcoming legal arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court, which will hear a case later this month over whether EPA and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) preempts state law when EPA has not required warning labels about cancer risk. Read more about that here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

RETHINKING COVER/WINTER CROPS

Touching on water quality, Naber said Bayer was pressing to expand crops that could generate new revenue streams for farmers as well. He pointed to camelina, winter canola, and Bayer's "CoverCress" as potential options. Farmers could follow corn with one of these winter oilseeds that they could ideally harvest in May then follow up with a late-season soybean crop.

"So now you can bring in additional crop revenue that is a low-carbon intensity crop, so it qualifies for sustainable aviation fuel," Naber said.

He pointed to Iowa's biofuel industry that could incentivize growing these crops, then farmers would be growing a third cash crop over a two-year growing cycle.

VILSACK: DIAL BACK REGULATORY RHETORIC

Former Agriculture Secretary and Gov. Tom Vilsack, now CEO of the World Food Prize, also pushed back on the idea that farmers should face more regulation to reduce nitrates and other pollutants in the state's waterways. Vilsack said nearly 90% of farmers already have a difficult time making a living.

Vilsack said, "So, when folks say, 'we're going to regulate,' the question is, what's the cost of that? And how is the 90% that have to work a second or third job going to keep the farm? How are they going to be able to afford that? Are they actually going to be able to do what you're asking them to do?"

Along with that, any regulation would face multiple court challenges that would end up with conflicted rulings and more policy battles. Vilsack pointed to the nearly two-decade federal battle over "waters of the U.S."

Rather than regulate, Vilsack said a better strategy would be for states such as Iowa to invest in ways to convert manure into methane for renewable natural gas, "and it becomes its own commodity." The former secretary also cited Iowa State University research that nearly 30% of Iowa's corn acres may not require additional fertilizer in a given year to grow a crop.

"So, there may be circumstances in which we are overapplying without recognizing that fact," Vilsack said. "Equipping farmers with the ability to do precision agriculture is another strategy that potentially could be utilized."

The former ag secretary also said the current farm crisis goes back much longer than the past three or four years. Farm policy since the early 1970s has emphasized "fencerow to fencerow" production. "They were told you have got two options: You can get bigger, or you can get out."

Since then, there have been nearly 1 million farms lost along with 220 million acres as well. While larger farmers have become more productive, there are few policy incentives to help develop smaller farm operations. That has a larger ripple effect on smaller communities, Vilsack said, and means new farmers require significantly more capital to get into the business.

"This issue of nitrates, this issue of fertilizer, this issue of initial costs right now is tied, ultimately, to that farm policy that has basically rewarded large-scale operations, but we've sacrificed small-scale operations," he said.

The Trump administration's sweeping cancellations of grant programs also has meant less help for smaller farmers to get access to land and capital, along with growing and selling local foods, Vilsack said. He said state policies could make up for those losses.

"The state's got to get very serious about creating a model to show the world that you can continue to not be a very large producer and still be able to farm and still be able to have a life," he said. "But when 88% of farm families are working off the farm to keep the farm, that is not a system that is working as well as it should," he said.

IOWA CATTLE PRODUCERS AND CRP CHALLENGES

Also speaking at the Axios event was Bryan Whaley, CEO of the Iowa Cattlemen's Association. Talking about the prospects of increasing cattle production in the state, Whaley said Iowa producers would like to see changes to the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). He noted that Iowa landowners over the next two years have 570,000 acres of CRP ground that could have contracts expire. That land could go back into the CRP, or come out for pasture, or possibly be put into cropping ground. Whaley said he and others would like to see a "working lands" program that would incentivize using CRP ground for livestock grazing.

"In Iowa, specifically, we just don't have the grass available to graze more cows," he said. Whaley added, "Obviously, we know that when you graze cattle, the soil health becomes much better. ... it's even better for wildlife habitat as well. And so we're working with Congress right now and other states in the Midwest to try to develop a working lands program that would be kind of tied toward CRP, but it would be some new acres that might come in that would hopefully incentivize some individuals to grow the cow herd and to continue to grow, grow beef cattle here in Iowa."

Also see, "Short Corn Could Be Coming to Every Farm Shortly," https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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