Nori is a Seattle-based startup that aims to reverse climate change through their marketplace for carbon removal. Aldyen Donnelly, director of carbon economics with Nori, discusses how the company is helping farmers get paid to fight climate change, how these carbon removal practices can benefit farmers' productivity and what she believes are the keys for encouraging the corporate world to commit to reducing their production emissions.

The following is an edited transcript of the Ag Future podcast episode with Aldyen Donnelly hosted by Tom Martin. Click below to hear the full audio.

Tom:                          Welcome to Ag Future, presented by Alltech. Join us as we explore the challenges and opportunities facing the global food supply chain and speak with experts working to support a Planet of Plenty™.

Tom:                          I'm Tom Martin, and I'm joined by Aldyen Donnelly, a small-business developer and consultant who, in the 1990s, began working on market-driven strategies to reduce the atmospheric carbon concentrations now known to contribute to climate change. She coauthored Nova Scotia’s 2009 greenhouse gas emissions regulations, a first in North America. Nori, the Seattle-based startup Aldyen cofounded, aims to reverse climate change by incentivizing the removal of excess carbon from our atmosphere. It's a significant undertaking in an economic system that makes it easier and more profitable to emit carbon than to avoid doing so. Appropriately, Alden is the company's director of carbon economics, and she's joining us from Vancouver. Greetings, Aldyen.

Aldyen:                      Nice to meet you.

Tom:                          So, tell us first, briefly, about Nori. How did a company form around the goal of reversing climate change?

Aldyen:                      Nori’s original three founders are a couple of individuals who were doing well and in the high-tech space, Silicon Valley kind of world, and one who was part of the Climate Change Advisory Institute at Berkeley. And they met and realized that, personally, they wanted to focus their time and energy on something that would deliver a great social good. So, they came up with this idea, as well as the name, started saving their money and coming up with ideas about what they'd like to do in this regard. And I met them later, when a friend of one of the three original founders’ dad suggested they meet me, and it’s been fine ever since. We are actually a total of seven founding partners, and there are 10 of us in the company in total at the moment.

Tom:                          And what motivates this focus on the connection between carbon emissions and climate change?

Aldyen:                      For me, to be perfectly honest, it's not carbon emissions and climate change, per se. I have spent a lot of my life on sailboats, likely using sailboats, and I'm an old lady now, but about 30 years ago, I started seeing very dramatic changes in the ocean life and the way sea life movement patterns were changing while I was on the water so much of the time, and I started asking what was this all about, if it's good or bad. And that's when I first — and this is in the mid-’80s — started reading about the science that related the increasing concentrations of heat-trapping gases, mostly CO₂, in the atmosphere and the impact it could have on ocean and sea life.

                                    So, what drove me was what was happening in the ocean. It’s more than climate change. I must admit, that’s still my primary driver. I think the disruption to ocean life has such large potential that that's enough reason to take this very, very seriously. So, yes, there's a broader story about climate change and extreme weather events, which even makes the situation more dramatic, but I think the original events that drew me in were dramatic enough. Thank you very much.

Tom:                          And just briefly, Aldyen, just curious, what's the story behind the name of the company, Nori?

Aldyen:                      The original founders picked Nori before I became involved, which is quite a coincidence. Nori is Japanese for seaweed. And in the Japanese history, people have been growing and eating seaweeds since the 700s. Many algae-based seaweed species are potentially an ideal example of a sustainable food source. But also, in the history of seaweed, which is obviously now a long history, there was a point in time where seaweed production almost died out and was rebuilt. And also, it's now an industry that has to be paying attention to the difference between the sustainable and extractive industrial practices. So, that whole history of nori, the seaweed and the future potential role of seaweed as a long-term, sustainable nutrient source is really important. So, it was a great four-letter word through the history, which was exactly what we are thinking about and working on every day.

Tom:                          Our focus is going to be on regenerative agriculture. Can you give us just a brief definition of that term?

Aldyen:                      Regenerative agriculture is the new term that was probably mostly thought of as conservation cropping practices when the idea first started to get legs, 30 and 40 years ago. It's also been called “sustainable” agriculture in the past, but that fell out of fashion, and so, that new word is “regenerative” agriculture. And I hope, as many hope, that we will come up with a better, easier-to-say term option sooner rather than later.

                                    But historically, when all nations, not just North America, shifted to highly productive food and fiber production practices, we introduced a bunch of ways of doing things that have the positive effect of producing way more food per acre but (also have) a number of negative effects. To keep the soil in production, we started adding synthetic chemicals, because we were depleting the capacity of the soil to naturally support the food production. In that process, we've done many things. One of the most important things that we have done (is) it’s estimated that, over the last 300 years, we've permanently removed 50% of the carbon that our soils used to support and retain and sustain (themselves) year to year. And we use synthetic chemicals and other processes to make up for that loss.

                                    Over the last 30 or 40 years, a lot of great research has proved that there are ways of changing how we manage the soil and how we manage cropping practices, too, (while working) at the same time, to maintain very high levels of crop production per acre. We turn the soil to its healthiest state and rebuild that present stock, and that's a very, very large opportunity to do two things at the same time. First, (get) extra CO₂ out of the atmosphere and store the recovered carbon in soils, which has that huge capacity to retain more carbon than they are right now — and also, in so doing, building a much healthier topsoil. The top 30 centimeters of the soil is what most people are talking about, which is exactly what we need to ensure that our growing territories are resilient in the event of global warming. So, it's one of the only investments you can make that, coincidentally, reduces the risk of climate change while preparing the soil to be more resilient and stay productive in the event of climate change. Best investment anybody could ever make.

Tom:                          What does it mean that 1.5 to 2 degrees of global warming by 2100 is almost inevitable? It that's a given, what are the likely consequences?

Aldyen:                      First of all, they say “inevitable” because when we release a ton of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, its life in the atmosphere is at least 100 years. So, the warming impact of adding that heat-trapping gas to the atmosphere lasts for 100 years after we release it. So, even though it's only 2020, we already know how much CO₂ is up there and how much we're likely to release over the next 10 years or so. And that adds up, if you look at the modeling, to that very high risk. By the end of this century, we will have that amount of warming.

                                    Two degrees doesn't sound like much, but it has a lot of potential to make land we think of as productive now (become) unproductive. You know, verification goes with that scenario — massively shifting where food can be produced and how much it can be produced. The model suggests it’s likely due to change weather patterns and result in many more extreme weather events: hurricanes, tornados, rainstorms, thunderstorms, floods and droughts. It's not just drought; it’s floods and droughts. One of the pictures of global warming that is always in my head is just gray, total gray, in that future. Where (there) is snow during the winter now, that’s more likely to be rain and freezing rain (in the future). Freezing after rain is much more destructive than a normal snow event. And it's not a nice picture.

Tom:                          You know, 2100 may seem distant, it may seem like a long way off, but a person born today likely is going to live to experience this.

Aldyen:                      They’re going to live to experience it, and everything they do in their lifetime will determine whether or not it happens.

Tom:                          Your projects have included using emission reduction credits to finance carbon sequestration in agricultural soils. What are emission reduction credits, and how can they be used to finance carbon sequestration in farmland?

Aldyen:                      Now, I'm going to go all Nori promotional on you because I use the term “emission reduction credits” in my general language, and you're right about that. In Nori, we’re calling them Nori carbon removal times (NRTs). And so, I’m gonna pitch NRTs for the rest of the —

Tom:                          That’s quite all right.

Aldyen:                      What we are saying is, (in the) U.S. or anywhere in the world, a farmer can elect to reduce their pillage activity, the amount of plowing of their fields and (subsequently) releasing soil carbon to the atmosphere and exposing it to the atmosphere. That is common practice: to change their crop rotations, to change how they do irrigation, to add cover crops and do other things that essentially accelerate microbial activity in that biogeochemical process that includes photosynthesis, the work that plants do.

                                    So, plants draw CO₂ out of the atmosphere and microbes down by the roots of the plant, and soil breaks down that CO₂, and some of the carbon goes into plant growth. Some of it goes back up to the atmosphere, and some of it stays in the soil. And the more we retain in the soil, the more productive our plants are and the greater the service they provide in pulling CO₂ out of the atmosphere. So, we are saying to farmers, “Find the best combination of changing how you grow food so that you’re maximizing the amount of CO₂ you’re drawing out of the atmosphere and, of that CO₂, you're maximizing the amount of incremental carbon you store in the soil. And when you do that and we can demonstrate that you have drawn an incremental ton of heat-trapping gas out of the atmosphere, we issue an NRT, and then corporations and individuals who want to offset their own carbon footprint can buy those NRTs (with the) confidence that they know they have bought real interest in 1 ton of heat-trapping gas pulled out of the atmosphere.” And even more attractive (is) that they’ve invested in a healthier, more productive food system at the same time.

Tom:                          Am I correct that you have created a marketplace for carbon removal? And this sets up ways for farmers to actually be paid to store carbon in their soil? That's the sequestration. How does that work?

Aldyen:                      Yes. We invite farmers to provide us a bunch of operating data — that’s information we need to know, both historical and going forward, to be confident that they are building up their soil carbon stocks. And when they provide us the data and then an independent third-party verifier provides us assurance that the data is reasonable and replicable — that’s the term we use, “reasonably accurate” — then we issue NRTs to the farmer in our marketplace. And the NRTs are offered for sale. And we only started offering NRTs for sale for our suppliers last September. And to date, when NRTs are listed for sale, they've been selling out within 24 hours.

                                    We often have a backlog of demand for NRTs, and farmers have been earning $15 a ton for those NRTs on average so far. To put that in context, the typical farmer who decides they want to pursue this objective is generating, on average, revenues in the order of $27–40 per acre per year before government subsidies. Now, that represents a wide range of earnings in U.S. farmland, ranging from, say, a loss of $9 per acre to earnings of $80 per acre. The typical farmer can adopt practices that will draw down roughly 1 ton per acre per year. So, adding $15 per acre per year to the earning potential of farmers for whom $27–40 is the normal range is very significant financially. So, again, you're able to deliver new revenues to farmers who really need it. At the same time, you're delivering this very significant environmental service to society.

Tom:                          In your (Alltech ONE Virtual Experience) presentation, you begin by sharing quite a lot of data to allow your audience to form their own opinions about what it says and how they should react to the information. And in your first slide, you note that even if all nations complied with the aims of the Paris Accord, the world would still need to cut or offset about 15 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas discharges annually by 2030. Of course, we know that all nations are not complying —  most conspicuously, the United States, which has pulled out of the agreement. As long as the U.S. refrains from meeting this goal, is it futile for the others to even try?

Aldyen:                      No. It means a couple of things. It means we've got to do our best, and then we have to figure out how to mitigate the impacts of warming given that, as you said earlier in the interview, it's probably inevitable, for the reasons you just outlined. So, the first part is (that) U.S. crop producers, on their own, have the capacity to draw down — while they're becoming more profitable — up to 1.5 billion tons a year. And all crop producers worldwide do have the capacity to draw down by docking regenerative ag practices anywhere. We're not sure, but (that would equal something) between 10 billion and 25 billion tons per year. Now, we’re not going to mobilize 100% of that capacity tomorrow afternoon, but that is the way to take a significant bite in that 15-billion-ton-per-year deficit that we’ve got to address by 2030. I just don’t see any argument why not (to do this) because, again, when we invest in regenerative ag, we are doing two things: We are taking a bite (out of) that 15-billion-ton-per-year deficit, and we're doing it in such a way that we're making the soils more resilient if the warming that we're worried about actually occurs. So, we should be optimistic that we can do a lot and start doing it.

Tom:                          How about the corporate world? How’s the corporate world responding to calls to reduce their contributions to climate change?

Aldyen:                      I perceive — I’m an eternal optimist — that things are changing for the better here. There is a history that’s evidenced in some of the slide that you just referred to, that I present often. There is a history of corporate talking the talk (but) not walking the walk.

                                    Fifty corporations worldwide account for 57% of all of the manmade greenhouse gas emissions, when we account for their production emissions and also the emissions that you and I discharge when we use their product, like the emissions that go out of the tailpipe of our gasoline-powered car. That's only 50 companies. And to be frank, while everybody is saying the right things, none of those companies have yet made a commitment or produced a plan to reorient their core business description to move away from fossil fuels as their revenue source. Again, many are talking the talk. But if you actually look at their financial statements, if you're looking at all of the big oil companies, they are saying the right things, but it's still the case that, year after year, more than 50% of their capital spending plan is dedicated to finding and extracting more fossil fuels.

                                    It really feels like we're on the brink. It really feels like at least some of the big leaders are considering change seriously for the first time. It's really going to be important for the companies we think of as big oil to change their image of themselves and think of themselves as “big energy.” And in that future, they're going to be way, way more focused on supplying electricity and storage capacity, battery storage capacity, than oil and gas. We're not there yet, but it’s starting to feel like we’re on the brink.

Tom:                          So, you just began to sketch out what, I take, an aggressive climate change action plan would look like, correct? And could you expand on that?

Aldyen:                      Well, an aggressive climate change action would, again, involve —  and it’s big, big companies, but we only need to get to 50 of them — it’s not thousands and thousands — to really change their idea of what their core business is and to think of themselves as in the core business of supplying energy broadly, not just oil and gas. And the really exciting thing about that is, you know what? That's not doing something they've never done before. That's very much like returning their business model back toward something much like what it was in the ’40s and ’50s.

                                    You know, when I was growing up in the ’60s, the first credit card my father had was from a company called Home Oil. And the same company that delivers oil to the tank in our house that we used to heat our home also ran the gas station we took our car to. So, going forward, that energy company is going to want to be both delivering electricity and heat to our home as well as electricity that we need for mobile transport. So, it’s just about them returning to a business model that they executed very, very successfully 50 years ago with different energy sources behind that business model. It's hard to make change, but they can. And that’s one of the key parts of what we need to see happen. I think we need to do a better job of inventing shifts in that direction both in terms of how we design policy and regulations as a society and how we communicate their options to consumers.

Tom:                          If “the big 50” got on board and everybody involved engaged in a very aggressive action plan, is it impossible to say how long it would take to draw down emissions to acceptable levels?

Aldyen:                      History tells us — it's not possible to say how long, but history tells us two things. So, we have some amazing pollution reduction success stories in our history — the whole industrialized world, not just North America. We got the lead out of gasoline and paint. We lowered sulfur levels in diesel and in the electricity supply chain. We got the ozone-depleting substances out of refrigerant chemicals and saw that hole in the ozone layer shrink. And in all three of those precedents, once we got rolling, we achieved the environmental goal way faster than we had thought we were going to before we got started.

                                    Whenever we look back, we see two things. If, in policy and regulation, governments decide that it's the role of government to set price or pick the solution and, then, put incentives in place to make the market adopt that solution, we fail. Every time we take that approach, we give up, and it takes a long, long time to achieve our environmental goal — if we even stick to our commitment to achieve it. Alternatively, if you look at all of our historical success stories, whenever a government said, “Okay, you guys, this thing that you’ve embedded in the products and services you sell is creating pollution that's damaging; reduce that input in your supply chain (to) this mandatory rate,” you figure out how to do it. So, you leave it to industry and the private sector to figure out how to price and what solutions to choose. Every time we’ve said to industry, “Take it out over time; you've got this much time; clear it out yourself,” we have actually achieved our pollution-reduction goals ahead of schedule and at way lower cost than anybody imagined when we started.

                                    So, the greenhouse gas version of that would be a simple regulation that says, “If you supply energy in the United States, you report your global supply chain fossil carbon content in that energy supply chain, and you cut it by …” And then we have a big fight over whether that “by,” what comes after “by,” is 3% or 5% per annum — but you don't tell them what to put in, and you don't tell them how to price things and, you know, allocate rights to do things. You just say, you know, “Get the fossil carbon out of your products and services you’re suppling us. Here’s how much time you have, and figure it out.” And I’m sure that if we just moved to that way of thinking, markets like the one we're building in Nori will become commonplace, where participants in the market will, on their own, trade credits to comply with the rule — and we will be surprised. We will be very pleasantly surprised.

Tom:                          You've noted that 100% of corporate investments in new energy solutions rely on continuing revenues from sales of fossil fuels. Isn't that a pretty serious contradiction, and is it possible to break out of that cycle?

Aldyen:                      When I say (that) the big companies have talked the talk and not walked (the walk) so far, it’s because, yes, what you just attributed to me is true. And more than that, when you look at the investments they’ve made in new energy solutions, yes, their commitments have always been conditional. And they maintain some revenues from fossil fuels and have margins that they then dedicate (to) new energy solutions. But in fact, most of the time, too, the private-sector investment is conditional on also getting a government subsidy. And as I said, when we get into that trap where reducing pollution requires government to say, “Oh, gee, yes, I approve the solution, and I'm gonna give it this subsidy,” it’s never worked. It's never worked in the past.

                                    It's not just about climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. It's about every pollutant we've tried to move out of our supply chain. We get into this very, very difficult, slow process where market signals are perverted and the ability of the market to do what it does, which is innovate and compete on price, is impaired. So, yeah, I know (that) when we move off that way of thinking and say, “Okay, like I said, if you deliver energy, report your global fossil carbon content per million BTU of energy delivered, I don't care if the energy, you know, what the makeup of the energy product portfolio is you deliver, and leave it to the marketplace to find solutions,” the market will just bloom, and they’ll come up with ideas that you and I have never thought of to date.

Tom:                          Well, Aldyen, can most of us just go on with business as usual and rely on science and technology to save us from climate change?

Aldyen:                      No. As I think you’ve heard in my comments so far, I think we need to, as citizens, ask our government to seriously consider moving forward with the kind of command regulation that I just mentioned — again, the key being (that) it’s a command to reduce the fossil carbon content in the product supply chain and not to dictate what they sell and how they price it. We do need that regulation. I would argue we all know that, for example — and I know this is a source of debate in the U.S. at this time — but I think most experts, certainly, agree that the energy efficiency accomplishments we’ve seen realized in the traditional car fleet wouldn't have happened unless our government had said to the manufacturers, “You have to increase the efficiency of the fleet of cars you produce every year on this schedule over time.” That's called the cafe standard.

                                    One of the reasons you need regulations is because even when everyone who’s a leader in the industry thinks they know how to achieve a higher efficiency or deliver a better product, they still have to make a very risky up-front in investment. And often, when you’re in a competitive marketplace, you can’t afford to take the risk of doing that on your own and being the only one. So, sometimes, a simple, straightforward regulation levels the playing field, and then you’re motivating all of those very, very capable companies to compete for market share in the new context, where the requirement to lower the pollution — it’s called the pollution precursor — content in the supply chain exists. When you take that approach of basic regulation to level the playing field and leave it for the private sector to go for it in that context, we have lots of history that tells us (that) we surprise ourselves every time.

Tom:                          Aldyen Donnelly is a cofounder and director of carbon economics at Nori, a carbon-removal marketplace based in Seattle. She joins us from Vancouver. Thanks, Aldyen.

Aldyen:                      Thanks for having me.

Tom:                          This has been Ag Future, presented by Alltech. Thank you for joining us. Be sure to subscribe to Ag Future wherever you listen to podcasts.

The equine gut microbiome represents an extremely complex microbial ecosystem that is comprised of quadrillions of microorganisms. These microorganisms include bacteria, yeast, fungi and protozoa. Bacteria are thought to play the most important functional role. This microbial community not only impacts the equine digestive tract but also plays an instrumental role in immune and endocrine response, cognitive function and behavior.

Researchers have been working for many years to identify specific gut microbes and learn more about their functionality in order to further understand the role of the equine digestive system in both disease prevention and treatment.

“Studying the equine intestinal microbiome is important because horses are hindgut fermenters,” said Scott Weese, DVM, M.Sc., Dipl. ACVIM, a professor in the department of pathobiology at the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College. “Changes in the microbiome can result in diseases such as colic, colitis and laminitis, which are leading causes of morbidity and mortality in horses.”  

Influential factors

Each horse’s gut is unique to them, with the microbiota structure beginning to take shape within the first few days of life. The overall gut microbiome is influenced by several factors, including age, genetics, diet, exercise, stress, body condition and the horse’s environment. Interestingly, the microbiomes of wild horses include a more diverse spectrum of microbiota than domesticated horses (Fig. 1). Beyond age, differences in housing and pasture habits, the composition of their feeding diets, contact with humans, veterinary healthcare and medication seem to be among the most influencing factors for equine microbiomes (Kauter, A., Epping, L., Semmler, T. et al., 2019).

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Figure 1. The microbiomes of non-domesticated horses (left) include a more diverse spectrum of microbiota compared to those of domesticated horses (right).

At present, scientists believe that hindgut microbiota are largely responsible for:  

• Fiber digestion and the breakdown of structural carbohydrates, such as those found in grass, hay, beet pulp and other forages. This process results in the production of volatile fatty acids, which are then converted to energy. Hindgut forage fermentation provides up to 70% of a horse’s energy requirements.
• Enhancing immune ­functions by helping to neutralize potential toxins and protect the horse from an overgrowth of pathogenic organisms. For example, an overabundance of Proteobacteria is reported to be associated with inflammatory intestinal diseases and dysbiosis, such as colic (Kauter, A., Epping, L., Semmler, T. et al., 2019). Imbalanced microbiota are also linked to other horse diseases, such as colitis, laminitis, equine gastric ulcer disease and equine metabolic syndrome.
• Promoting gut-brain connectivity, which influences behavior. In addition to protecting horses from pathogens, microbiota produce fatty acids (as noted above), hormones, cytokines and neurotransmitters. Through these various chemical pathways, microbes affect the equine mood.

Keeping the hindgut properly balanced is imperative to horse health. Although some highly influencing factors, such as age, are beyond control, there are a few things you can do to encourage a happy hindgut.

1. Focus on forage. Forage should make up the majority of your horse’s diet. Feed only high-quality hay and/or grasses, and offer free-choice, if possible. The equine digestive system is designed for an almost constant, slow intake of forage, which helps to maintain proper hindgut pH levels. This is critical to influencing the abundance of good gut microbes, such as fiber-fermenting bacteria.

2. Don’t go overboard on grain. Some horses require more calories and nutrients than forage alone can provide, but grain is often high in sugar and starch, which is difficult for the hindgut to digest. This can have an adverse effect on pH and bacteria levels.

3. Provide plenty of exercise. Activity helps to stimulate gut motility and can reduce the risk of impactions and gas buildup. Offer stalled horses the opportunity to be at liberty, ideally through daily turnout, in addition to regular work in your preferred form (e.g., riding or driving).

4. Offer constant access to fresh, clean drinking water. Most horses will naturally drink what they need when given access to clean water. Chewing and digesting dry forage alone requires a lot of water, but keeping enough fluid in their systems to keep ingested food moving is also crucial. If there's not enough water present, these substances can dry up and block the further flow of food, leading to potentially fatal impaction colic.

With proper feeding and management practices, a healthy microbiome contributes to good digestion, as well as improved immune and neurological function. When imbalanced, it can result in serious and potentially fatal disorders. Therefore, we must do our utmost to ensure that we are taking the necessary steps to contribute to a healthy microbial population, which will, in turn, help result in a healthier horse.

I want to learn more about equine health and nutrition.

On the one-year anniversary of committing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations Global Compact and the Science Based Targets initiative, Alltech has released its 2020 Sustainability Report.

In addition to reflecting Alltech’s vision for a Planet of Plenty^TM, the submission reaffirms the company’s alignment with a growing global network of organizations around the world that are united by their mission to build a more sustainable future.

“As a global company spanning the entire food supply chain, we are uniquely positioned to have a positive impact on a diverse range of sectors,” said Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech. “The Global Compact has helped give direction, value, and alignment to existing projects and inspiration for new ones.  The pages of this report reflect our call to customers and partners to join us in a collaborative effort to adopt new technologies, improve business practices and embrace innovation in order to create a world of abundance.”

As part of its pledge to the U.N., signed on July 12, 2019, Alltech announced its focus specifically on nine of the 17 U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on which the company felt it could have the greatest impact due to their alignment with its core business. Selected SDGs include zero hunger, good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, decent work and economic growth, climate action, life below the water, life on land and partnership for the goals.

Alltech’s 2020 Sustainability Report outlines the key efforts that impact these chosen SDGs, including product validation by the Carbon Trust, education initiatives, support for women in agriculture, and applying 40 years of research in animal nutrition to advance human health.

The report also reaffirms Alltech’s commitment to the U.N. Global Compact (UNGC). The UNGC provides organizations with a value system and principle-based approach to conducting business. Alltech strives to operate in a way that meets fundamental responsibilities in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption. The company continues to incorporate the Ten Principles of the U.N. Global Compact into its strategies, policies and procedures.

In conjunction with signing the U.N. Global Compact, Alltech also committed to the Science Based Targets initiative, which is designed to help companies reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and share their progress through transparent documentation and reporting. Alltech has initiated data collection for the first year, then goals will be set to benchmark its work to lower greenhouse gas emissions and reduce energy and water consumption.

In December 2019, Alltech had the extraordinary honor of welcoming the United Nations Security Council to its headquarters in Nicholasville, Kentucky. U.S. Ambassador Kelly Craft, originally from Kentucky, selected Alltech to host their meeting, in part because of the company’s commitment to the U.N. Global Compact and focus on nine Sustainable Development Goals. The 13 members in attendance represented the U.S., China, Poland, Peru, Russia, the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Vietnam, Belgium, Kuwait, Equatorial Guinea, Tunisia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

The U.N. Security Council’s enthusiastic interest in the company’s Planet of Plenty vision and SDG commitments represent a significant opportunity for Alltech to lead positive change within the agri-food industry.

“We are excited to reach this milestone in a journey that began in 1980,” said Deirdre Lyons, co-founder and director of corporate image and design at Alltech. “Our purpose-driven mission to benefit animals, consumers and the environment — and to make a difference in the world around us — has a new framework for success that will help guide us into the future.”

Click here to read the Alltech 2020 Sustainability Report in full.

Rob Saik, CEO of AGvisorPRO, believes that the next thirty years could be the most important in the history of agriculture, and he claims that in order to support the global population in 2050, agriculture will have to become infinitely sustainable. Listen in as he explains his vision of farming technology and how innovation is the key to sustainable agriculture.

The following is an edited transcript of the Ag Future podcast episode with Rob Saik hosted by Tom Martin. Click below to hear the full audio.

Tom:                      Rob Saik is a professional agrologist and a certified agricultural consultant. He is CEO of AGvisorPRO, an agricultural connectivity platform, and CEO of Saik Management Group, which provides advisory services to farmers in the agricultural sector.

                               Rob is the author of two books, “The Agriculture Manifesto” and his latest, “Food 5.0: How We Feed the Future.” And Rob joins us from Olds, Alberta, north of Calgary.

                               Greetings, Rob.

Rob:                        Good to be on your show, Tom. Thanks for having me.

Tom:                      And Rob, so, as we all know — we’re here on the phone as proof of it — we’re in the midst of a pandemic at the moment, and its effects are rolling over (into) just about every aspect of life. But you argue that we may have lost historical perspective where outbreaks of infectious diseases are concerned. Can you elaborate on that?

Rob:                        Well, the opening line of my book, “Food 5.0,” is, “This morning, when you woke up, did you worry about a pandemic?” And that book was released in August of last year, so it’s highly prophetic. But when you put our world into context, Tom, and you just look back a hundred years, the Spanish flu took out over 50 million people off the planet Earth a hundred years ago.

                               Simultaneously, World War I had just ended, and somewhere north of 15 million people had lost their lives in the World War I. And also, at this time a hundred years ago, the Persian famine had taken out 2 million and climbing people, and this was just ahead of the Stalin-imposed famines in Ukraine that took out somewhere between 12 and 16 million people.

                               So, when you put what we’re dealing with today into context of where we were a hundred years ago, or even fifty years ago, even though we’re faced with a great deal of challenge today, we live in a much, much better place than we did even fifty or a hundred years ago. And I think that we should pause and reflect on how good we actually have it.

Tom:                      Okay. Let’s turn to farming. In your book, you proposed that the next thirty years could be the most important in the history of agriculture, which is quite a statement. Why do you believe this?

Rob:                        Well, I was born in 1960, and you know, we experienced, in my lifetime, a dramatic increase in the population of the planet, and we fed everybody. (The ideas of) people like Norman Borlaug and science and agriculture was adopted around the planet, and you know, we don’t have that much more land base in agriculture than we did twenty or thirty years ago, and yet, we’re feeding everybody.

                               But if you stare into the future, as the population grows from 7.6 to 9 or 9.5 billion on the planet by 2050, these are some of the facts: We have to grow 10,000 years worth of food in the next thirty years. We have to increase food production everywhere on the planet by 60–70%. That’s everywhere on the planet, and that puts extreme pressure on exporting nations like the United States and Canada and Australia and so on and so forth. And we have to do so in the face of a public that is extremely disconnected from agriculture, and a public that’s being fed misinformation on a daily basis, leading to panic, leading to policies by politicians that are stripping tools out of agriculture’s hands.

So, the reason that I am so concerned about the next thirty years — and the reason I believe it’s going to be so challenging — is because we’re not connected to agriculture as a society like we used to (be), and so, a lot of people are out advocating the stripping away of tools from agriculture. And if we did that, then I’m fearful for our ability to feed the planet.

On the other hand, with the glass half full, if we’re allowed to adopt the technologies that we’re seeing implemented all around us, then I’m quite optimistic that we can have a world of abundance to 2050 and beyond.

Tom:                      Okay. I want to get back to that disconnect that you mentioned between the public’s understanding of what goes into farming in just a few minutes. But you just made an eye-opening observation: that to support a population close to 10 billion by 2050, agriculture is going to have to become infinitely sustainable. What do you mean by that?

Rob:                        Well, in the book, I talk about, you know, food as a religion — and it has turned into a religion. Veganism, vegetarianism, whether it’s paleo or meat-atarians, or organic and non-GMO — and you can get into an argument with everybody about the truth, the light and the way. But if you put up your hands and say, “Can we all agree (that), so long as there are human beings on the planet, agriculture must be infinitely sustainable?” Well, that stops people from talking, and they start nodding their head, and then they agree.

                               Well, what would make agriculture infinitely sustainable? What are the factors? And then they really scratch their head, because they have to do something they haven’t done for quite a while: they have to think, and eventually, things like soil health come up, because the epidermis of the earth is soil that feeds us all.

                               Water. Yeah, water use efficiency is important. Eventually, (the) greenhouse gas balance comes out. So, being able to mitigate, remove, reduce greenhouse gasses from agriculture. And then they forget one, and the one they forget the most, it is the most important, and that’s farm viability. Because without viable farms, without farms that are making a profit, without farmers that are advancing themselves year after year business-wise, you have zero sustainability.

                               So, the first step in sustainability, infinite sustainability, is farm viability and then we look at soil, water and greenhouse gas balance.

Tom:                      History has shown us that these pandemics tend to come in waves of three, typically, with the second wave (being) the most serious (and) the third decreasingly so, as herd immunity finally begins to catch on. How do we feed a soaring world population with an unchecked virus on the loose?

Rob:                        Well, I think this is going to put tremendous pressure on our food — not necessarily food production, but food distribution channels. People react to seeing dairy farmers dump milk. Well, the reality is that there’s no food bank out there that can take a 6,000-gallon tanker full of raw milk; (a) it’s illegal, and (b) it’s unsafe. So we have to find a way to be able to manage, and we’ve done that. We’ve developed food supply systems that could take large amounts of agricultural produce, turning them into safe, abundant and inexpensive food for the populace.

So, I think one of the things that we’re really going to be challenged with as we consider what might happen with a second round of infection will be how we deal with the supply sector, the logistics, the processing sector. I think this will be a challenge for us. I think that it will open up opportunities for people to become more closely connected to agriculture; maybe people will plant gardens, maybe people will start to connect with local producers. I don’t believe that’s the answer to feeding New York City or Los Angeles, but at the same time, I do think that there’s an opportunity (with) COVID to have a greater conversation about the importance of agriculture and, perhaps, with a greater population, to connect (with it) more closely.

But I do scratch my head a little bit as to the challenge we’re going to face. If the second wave gets worse, how are we going to deal with, you know, meat packing plants and milk processing facilities, distribution and transportation, and grocery stores? All of those things are questions in my mind.

Tom:                      It’s a little bit difficult for us to wrap our minds around now, but eventually, COVID-19 will be in the rearview mirror. We all have faith in that, I think. So I’m wondering: What do you see out there? What do you foresee for agriculture in a post-COVID world?

Rob:                        Well, the first thing is that, you know, you alluded to it in your question, and that is that we anticipate there will be a cure for COVID. Now, that cure for COVID will likely come in the form of a vaccine. I don’t think anybody’s arguing that, that it’s likely to come in a vaccine. So, how will the vaccine have been built? How will it have been invented? Well, that vaccine will have been invented through genetic engineering. GMOs? Oh my God! We’re talking about genetic engineering, manipulation of genome — something that’s “not natural”. Well, if you realized that the likely cure for COVID will be a vaccine, then genetic engineering will be at the heart of that whole process. That genetic engineering science is exactly the same science being implemented in agriculture.

                               So, in a post-COVID world, I’m hoping that the population will begin to wake up and realize that the science involved in human genomics, in medicine, in vaccine invention, is the same science being employed by agriculture. And in the face of climate change, in the face of greater salinity, in the face of rapidly increased food production, in the face of trying to decrease the environmental footprint by farming to feed the planet, then genetic engineering is one of the technologies that we absolutely must embrace.

                               The other thing that I see is a way, a new way, for agriculture to communicate. And so, we’ve started a firm called AGvisorPRO, which is a platform, a connectivity platform. It can be downloaded in iOS and Android and desktop, and that platform, effectively, can put experts on the farm without having to be on the farm. So, we found a way to basically shrink time and space and provide seekers who need answers to questions (with) instantaneous connectivity to experts in the agricultural industry who can provide some solutions to their problems.

                               I think we’re going to see quite a few innovations — everything from increased sensor technology, call it the Internet of Things, on the farm, all the way through the connectivity devices that will be kind of a legacy through this COVID experience.

Tom:                      Would you agree that the farmer of the 21^st century must be a scientist, must be a technologist, to compete and to stay in business? And I wonder if — you mentioned the disconnect between what the general public understands about farming today and what the reality of farming really is. Why should we be concerned about such a disconnect?

Rob:                        Well, we should be concerned about the disconnect because we live in a democracy, and theoretically, everybody has a vote. And if you put the issues of GMO, yes or no, to a vote of the public right now, the public, through ignorance, would vote “down with GMOs.” If you put pesticides, yes or no, to a vote, the public, through ignorance, would vote “down with pesticides.” Same thing with fertilizers. So, the danger is that, when you have a public that’s so disconnected from the realities of agriculture today, you have policies that are generated out of panic and ignorance rather than out of knowledge and wisdom and an understanding of science.

                               Today’s farms — I just completed a yearlong stint as CEO with DOT autonomous robotic company. So, DOT Technology Corporation, out of Regina, Saskatchewan, is a 100% autonomous robotic platform to broad-acre agriculture. It’s utilizing all of this technology that you would find in a Tesla car. We’re using radar, LiDar, we’re using motion sensors, we’re using massive computing power to basically run machines across land without any operator, 100% guided by GIS or satellite guidance, doing things such as variable rate application of fertilizer as they move across the field 100% autonomously.

                               I mean, when you think about that, you think that that’s sci-fi world; it’s not. You can go online right now and see all sorts of developments with robotic technology. That will be another outcome of COVID, is where we can utilize robots to reduce human interaction regarding repetitive work. Robots are very well-suited for dull, dangerous and dirty work. A lot of agriculture (is) dull, dangerous and dirty work, so we’re going to see that rise.

                               And so, when you think about genetic engineering and you think about internet sensor technology, massive computing power, data systems, robotics, satellite integration — most people that are in the city think of farmers as bib overall-wearing, straw hat-wearing, you know, little red barns and round-fendered pickup trucks. Well, those two images don’t match. There’s a disconnect there between what’s going on in the farm today and what people have in their head as their great-grandfather’s or grandfather’s farm. It is not the same thing. That’s, like, History channel-made.

Tom:                      That’s a lot to wrap one’s head around, and it’s fascinating. And I just wonder: What are the cultural implications of that sort of technology, and especially the autonomous aspect of it? How does that change a farmer’s life in terms of what it frees them up to do?

Rob:                        Well, we have a problem in agriculture — and your listeners are, probably, if they’re from the rural landscape, they would understand this; city listeners won’t understand this — but we have an acute labor shortage in agriculture today. It’s estimated that, in the next few years, in Canada, we’ll have 125,000 job vacancies at the farm level that simply can’t be filled. And the problem is finding qualified operators. Every piece of equipment today on the farm is north of $500,000, and many of them are over $1 million. And so, you have to have trained operators.

                               And because farmers live in remote areas, there are a number of sociological things going on. Number one is (that) the average age of farmers is like 60 years old. Sooner or later, Mother Nature takes care of things, and these people have to sell their farming operations to attrition, so whosever is left is getting bigger. So farms, because of economy scale, will continue to get larger. That’s a fact. The equipment costs go up. That’s a fact.

                               Trying to get young people attracted back into agriculture, back onto the farm — the thought of spending sixteen hours a day in a glass cage in a self-guided tractor is cool for the first couple of days, but after about three weeks of that, you’re going insane. So, why can’t we utilize robots and sophisticated sensory technology to allow us to scale our knowledge and wisdom? Why can’t we use aerial imagery or satellite imagery to do field scouting for us? Do we have to really be walking corn and soybean fields, every acre, to find out what’s going on? Or a company like IntelinAir, for example, is doing a wonderful job of using algorithms and analytics to provide alerts to farmers about what’s going on in fields in Illinois right now.

So, this is — this is where we’re headed, and it creates tremendous opportunity for young people to enter agriculture as systems integrators. We need these various systems integrated together so that we can take advantage of the technology and move farmers forward. But, again, everything that I’m talking about is quite a disconnect from what the average person thinks is actually going on in today’s agriculture

Tom:                      We’ve touched on convergence throughout this conversation, and the one that really captures my attention is biodigital technology. How does this example of convergence become an important tool in farming?

Rob:                        Well, as I wrote the book “Food 5.0,” I said (that) I think there’s five iterations of agriculture. There’s the age of muscle, the age of machine, the age of chemistry, the age of biotechnology or genetic engineering, and the age of convergence.

                               And as I think about that, there’s two kinds of things that, really, we’ve been living through in the past two, three, four decades. And one of them is Moore’s Law, which most people are familiar with, which is the doubling of computing power and the decrease of computing cost by half every, you know, six to eighteen months. Moore’s Law.

                               That has been predicated upon something called binary code — 1s and 0s. Again, most people would have an understanding of binary code. What about genetic code? And what happens when we combine binary code with genetic code? What happens when the new language of programming really moves from binary code over to As, Ts, Cs and Gs, which are the four proteins that make up genetic complex? So, what happens when the new programming really becomes one of As, Ts, Cs and Gs? How do we intersect bio with digital? So, bio-digital technology is going to result in the generation of brand-new crops, brand new food types.

For example, a company out of Minnesota right now, called Calyxt, is using a TALEN technology that’s creating soybeans that have high oleic oil content in the soybeans, over 80% high oleic oil. Now, you may be wondering what that means. Well, everybody buys olive oil because they think it’s Mediterranean, it’s healthy, while olive oil is 69% high oleic oil, but soybeans through Calyxt are 80%. So, all of a sudden,  we have a brand-new food coming from a conventional crop that’s been derived through bio-digital technology. 

I can go on with all sorts of examples of new crops. But one of the things that I think your listeners will be fascinated by is the burgeoning or the emerging science of nutrigenomics. And nutrigenomics is where you take your human genome — and I’ve had my genome sequenced — and through the course of time, you start to identify food attributes that are important in my genome. So, you, Tom, would have your genome sequenced, and there’d be foods that would be more and others that would be less beneficial to your specific genome.

                               So, when the cost of genomic mapping starts dropping, where every human being has their genome sequenced, we can start to map out and match food to the human being, and that’s going to open up, I think, some really interesting opportunities for agriculture based on attribute-based tracking.

                               In other words, if we could grow a wheat crop high in selenium, and (if) you were predisposed to prostate cancer, then maybe the bread that you eat should be a high-selenium-derived bread. So, these are things that are going on inside of my head, and I think it paints a pretty exciting future of how we’re going to create this bio-digital technology convergence.

Tom:                      Yes, nutrigenomics is quite a focus of Alltech, as a matter of fact. It was a favorite focus of the late Dr. Pearse Lyons and is being carried on today.

                               Let’s get back to AGvisorPRO for just a second. I want to ask you about that app. And let’s say I’ve got it on my phone. What’s it going to do for me?

Rob:                        I built a company called Agri-Trend and Agri-Data that was acquired by Trimble. That was a twenty-year journey for me, and Agri-Trend was acquired by Trimble, and I began to think about, “If I was going to build the consulting firm all over again, how would I do it?” And the answer is: I wouldn’t. What I would do is build a connectivity platform.

                               And so, AGvisorPRO, (if you) think about it, is as a mash-up of eHarmony together with Uber and FaceTime and Twitter. If you mash all of those things together, I think you have the idea. AGvisorPRO         is the Uberization of knowledge and wisdom. We are creating a connectivity matrix between seekers, people who want answers and experts, people who can provide answers now. And so, this interconnectivity matrix involves farmers and independent advisors and industry and government and the public.

                               And so, you would download AGvisorPRO on iOS or Android or desktop, and you would fill out a profile of your agricultural expertise or your farming operation — and it’s free. So you download (it), and we have several ways that you can connect. The first is we have an industry offer called TechDirect. So, industry partners would list their company, their proprietary products or services and their graphs, and a farmer can type in a company like Taurus Ag and instantaneously be connected to the technical representatives of Taurus. So, no 1-800 number, and it’s all free for the user.

                               Additionally, a farmer might want to talk to a sprayer expert. We have a renowned sprayer expert in Canada. His name is Tom Wolf. He’s an independent advisor. He doesn’t need his brain picked; he needs his brain paid for. So, you would say, “I’ve got a question about spraying,” and you would find Tom, the algorithm would match you up to Tom. And you would say, “Okay, so it’s going to be $60 for the session.” You say yes, just like you do with Uber, and you’re instantaneously connected with Tom. You have your conversation; he answers your questions. The session is archived for your future reference. You’re allowed to rate the session, just like you do with Uber, and then you can connect that session to social media, if you like.

So, we built all of that. All of that has been built. And Tom, this was built starting in 2019. So, we’ve been working on this for over a year. And, lo and behold, COVID hits in March, and we knew the winds of change were blowing, so we had set our sails to capture that changing wind and how we’re going to communicate in agriculture.

But AGvisorPRO is set for this COVID and this post-COVID world. We’re effectively stretching brains and not bodies, and we’re helping people monetize knowledge and wisdom. And so, that’s, in a nutshell, what we’ve been able to do with AGvisorPRO.

Tom:                      Well, that is absolutely fascinating.

Rob:                        It’s cool, yeah.

Tom:                      Rob Saik, author of “Food 5.0: How We Feed the Future.” Rob, maybe we’ll get to meet next year in Lexington at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference.

Rob:                        Well, you know, I was thrilled to be involved in the ONE Virtual Experience by Alltech. Alltech has got a great reputation as a leader in the agriculture sector, and the virtual experience was a blast. And I’m still dealing with questions from the session that was online. However, I think I’m looking forward to getting to Kentucky and being part of the live event, where you rub shoulders with — literally rub shoulders with — some of the greater thinkers in agriculture.

                               So, thank you for having me on your podcast, Tom.

Tom:                      Well, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

                               I’m Tom Martin, and this has been AgFuture, presented by Alltech. And thank you for joining us. Be sure to subscribe to AgFuture wherever you listen to podcasts.

Cady Coleman has spent more than 170 days in outer space on various missions and truly knows what it means to be isolated. Despite our differences, she says we are all on a mission together during these times of change and uncertainty. In this episode, Cady explains the importance of diversity within teams and how seeing other people’s perspectives can help us work better together and get through difficult times.

The following is an edited transcript of the Ag Future podcast episode with Cady Coleman, hosted by Tom Martin. Click below to hear the full audio.

Tom:                          This is Tom Martin. Welcome to Ag Future, presented by Alltech. Join us as we explore the challenges and opportunities facing the global food supply chain and speak with experts working to support a Planet of Plenty.

Mark:                          Hello and welcome to the Alltech ONE Virtual Experience. My name is Dr. Mark Lyons and I’m the president and CEO of Alltech. It's my great pleasure to welcome you to the first session of this event. For 35 years, ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference has been encouraging our attendees to think differently, to innovate in the face of disruption, and that's what we've done with our program this year: creating, for the first time, a virtual offering — something that we've been hoping to do for a number of years. At this time more than any other, these world-changing ideas, big-picture thinking and, more importantly, inspiration are perhaps what we all need a little bit of. So, we hope that these sessions are very useful for you, and we look forward to the interaction that we're going to have in our Q&A sessions. Fitting that this is our launch day, it seems most appropriate that our first keynote (speaker) has been to space and back.

Tom:                          Cady Coleman, chemist, two-time space shuttle astronaut and a pretty good flute player — we'll have more on that later — was aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule as part of a crew of three headed for the orbiting International Space Station on December 15, 2010.

Cady:                          It's an amazing ride. It's 8 and a half minutes to get to space. To me, as a person that just believes there's always more to define and explore in terms of ideas, in terms of horizons, in some ways, you know, even though I loved this ride, it's actually like the taxi to the place that we're really exploring, which was space.

Tom:                          In a virtual conversation with Alltech president and CEO Mark Lyons, Cady Coleman lifts us, in a time of so much turmoil, illness and uncertainty on our planet, to the unique and profound perspective of a perch looking down on Earth from 220 miles above.

Cady:                          To me, I used to think that space was someplace different — like, “I'm on Earth. I'm gonna go to space.” But actually arriving up there, it just made me realize that Earth and the place that we live is just bigger than we thought, and yet, it's home.

Tom:                          This is Cady’s story about experiencing half a year of living in weightlessness with five other people from very different countries and cultures.

Cady:                          People always feel kind of bad for us that it's small and terrible up in space. And I think they have this kind of image in mind. This is what the taxi ride looks like on the way up to space in the Russian Soyuz. So, I launched in and actually came back home to Russia for my stint up on the Space Station. And it is actually quite, quite tight. And even though it's only physically 8 and a half minutes to get there, to get to orbit, we actually spent, you know, hours and hours and hours practicing and getting ready and making sure we understand how to operate all the equipment in the Soyuz. So, it is small, but the Space Station itself is giant and huge.

Tom:                          How huge?

Cady:                          It's like 10 train cars all put together, but not just in a row; some are up, and then some are down, and some are sideways. And so, we have, really, these 10 train cars without the seats in them to be living in in that Space Station. We have really just a lot of room up there — privacy. And actually, we need all that room to keep all the equipment, to keep the experiments. I mean, storage is actually the biggest problem up there.

Tom:                          Okay. Let's back up just a bit. Cady mentioned practice. You don't just one day drop what you're doing and you board a rocket ship and escape Earth's gravity for almost a half-year aboard the Space Station.

Cady:                          So, I had some pretty exciting practice missions, so to speak. I got to live for 11 days underwater off the coast of Florida in the Aquarius Habitat. It's usually used for research, and it's also lent out to NASA for us to practice. Well, the other place that I got to do that is Antarctica, where I had a last-minute opportunity. I was the backup for this mission, and I had a last-minute opportunity to spend two and a half months in Antarctica. Six weeks of that was in a tent. There were four of us, two in each tent. And we were 200 miles from the South Pole. And I am not a camping girl. But where I wasn't camping girl, I sure am now. And that's the nice thing about these kind of jobs is they actually teach you all these things and how to stay safe — although I'm actually reminded of some of my lessons from Antarctica in terms of, you know, equipment and safety and, you know, for us to take your gloves off when you're outside as much as you want to.

                                    I mean, you’re wearing, you know, three layers of everything, and let’s say you have to go to the bathroom during the day, which is going to happen. You know, you’re just so tempted to take those gloves off, because it’d be so much easier — your zipper is Velcro, all those things — and (it was all about) learning that patience of just, “Slow is fast and I have more time than I think.”

Tom:                          Learning to survive in such unusual and uncomfortable conditions may have been the immediate goal, but for Cady, there was another benefit that would serve her well aboard the Space Station.

Cady:                          I’d say most of the lessons I learned were about people, about being a crew.

Tom:                          And that perspective about people learning to get along and cooperate, collaborate.

Cady:                          Forty different nations (are) working all together every day — it's an International Space Station — on work that can't be done anywhere else.

Tom:                          So, what's it like, day to day, living and working in zero gravity, where just the touch of a finger can send you literally flying across the entire Space Station?

Cady:                          It's like living the life of Peter Pan, and everything is different, and everything is a discovery, but we're still human. You know, we bring our own, you know, things that we love to do. We each have our own way of bringing that experience back home. And we each, as humans, look out at the Earth and get to think about what it means that we're in space and people are down on the Earth.

Tom:                          And Cady, displaying a photo of herself with her Space Station crewmates, tells us that this situation — six people from the U.S., Russia and Italy together in this fragile habitat, circling Earth — offers a lesson that can be lost in the demands, the routines and the realities of life.

Cady:                          Every single person in this picture, I guarantee you, feels like there's something about them that is theirs that they bring that other people either don't know, don't understand or aren't open to. And so, I think it's really important to think about that — especially now that we don't get to connect with each other as much as we used to, now that we're isolated to phone calls and Zoom meetings and things like that.

Tom:                          And here's where Cady’s story gets really interesting, bringing together the experience of a long-duration space mission with present-day conditions down below — a pandemic, racial injustice and the challenges of overcoming differences to work in collaboration.

Cady:                          (Here’s) a little bit about getting along as a crew, and I say this because I think all of us are, you know, in unusual circumstances right now in terms of isolation and it being, you know, smart to stay separated from friends and family sometimes, but also at work, at school. I mean, I think that all of us work in groups where we don't get to pick who we are working with.

Tom:                          During her presentation, Cady mentions a recent hit movie.

[Movie clip]

Tom:                          An important eye-opener for many, an affirmation of injustice for many others.

Cady:                          I show you this picture from the movie “Hidden Figures” because I think, first of all, if I was talking to you in person, I would ask who's seen this movie, and then I would implore those of you that didn't raise your hands to go and see it. I mean, first of all, it's a fabulous movie. It's fun; it's interesting. I think it's just really charming. And at the same time, it makes this really big point. I mean, this is Katherine Johnson. She has a doctorate in mathematics, and she did the calculations that figured out how we get people from the Earth to space and safely back home again to their families, and (she) did this for Gemini, for Mercury, for Apollo and for the space shuttle, and yet her work was not celebrated until very late in her life. I mean, look at this picture. Our movie is called “Hidden Figures”. And in every picture that I've seen of her in in real life, Katherine is wearing — she’s a woman of color wearing a dress of color and (is) typically in a work picture in a sea of white guys in skinny black ties. And so, there's — I mean, you can't miss her. Right? But we didn't see her. And it comes back to my point that all of us bring something that needs to come out on the table if we're going to solve the problems that are in front of us today as a nation, as a world, as a planet.

Tom:                          Cady herself has encountered discrimination as an obstacle to realizing her dream of space walking. The women of “Hidden Figures” encountered (this) and persevered despite the dual blows of racism and misogyny. Cady, who is white, never experienced the pain of being underestimated because of the color of her skin. For her, it had to do with stature and gender.

Cady:                          Myself, I was the smallest person to be part of the space-walking team up on the Space Station. And it was kind of a big thing because, for the space shuttle, we had small space suits and mediums and larges and extra larges. But for the Space Station, they couldn't afford to have all those sizes, for various reasons. And what that meant was the smaller people, like me — actually, all of them women — then did not fit into the suits that we had on the Space Station. And I was on that edge. I mean, I looked at the space suit and I knew that I had a job that I could do in that space suit. I knew that I brought things to that team that others didn't. And I cheerfully showed up to meetings that I wasn't invited to, not because people said, “Oh, I don't think we're going to ask Cady, we don’t like her,” or anything else. It was just that they looked at me and they just couldn't imagine that I should be part of that team — but I knew. And when it’s something as important as exploring space, it gives you that extra, like, you know, that extra courage to just say, “I know. I am showing up.”

Tom:                          Cady, now herself a role model for many young women, had one of her own: the first American woman to fly in space, astronaut Sally Ride.

Cady:                          She actually made all the difference in the world in that — my dad was an explorer. He lived under the ocean. He was in charge of the building one of those capsules where men lived under the ocean. He was a deep-sea diver, and exploration was really real to me growing up. I was born in 1960, and yet the fact that I could be one of those explorers never occurred to me until Sally Ride came to my college and gave a talk. And I just thought — you know, you see somebody that you can relate to — and I just thought, “Wow. Maybe I could try to do that.”

Tom:                          And try, she did. More than try. Cady Coleman has logged more than 4,300 hours in space. The mission to the International Space Station, where she supervised more than 100 experiments, was her last before retiring from the Astronaut Corps in 2016. She has since been an advocate of expanding the role of private companies within NASA. And the recent SpaceX Dragon launch, carrying a crew of two to the Space Station, is the most dramatic example yet of the success of those efforts.

[SpaceX launch]

Tom:                          After her own 159 days in Earth orbit, Cady Coleman returned from the Space Station with fresh perspectives on the human condition, gained from weeks on end cooped up with five other human beings. The only thing between them and the deadly vacuum of space? A one-tenth of 1-inch aluminum pressure hull of the orbiting Space Station. Under these conditions, you really gain a more complex understanding of your crewmates.

Cady:                          And so, realizing that everyone has those different perspectives, it’s another way to think about, you know, how we relate to each other. The fact that when we look down at the Earth — I mean, our Space Station is pretty close there. Because we’re upside down and right side up, we learned to think about things and see things differently.

Tom:                          Cady Coleman’s advice has particular resonance in these times of division and increasing difficulty to communicate with people who view life differently.

Cady:                          Try to bring that to the conversations that you have at work, at home. When you're trying to convince someone of something new that is unfamiliar to them, try to look at them from a different direction, and find out something for yourself about them that allows you to work more closely together.

Tom:                          Recently, as the spread of the coronavirus mushroomed into a pandemic, Cady reached back to her experiences as a member of a team on a mission to suggest that we're now all on a mission.

Cady:                          We have this advantage as space explorers that, you know, we're part of a mission. I mean, we have jackets, you know; we’re wearing space suits. And it's really clear to you that, you know, you've got a job to do, and a lot of people are helping you do it. And so, it's easy to think, “It's important for me to be ready, and all these actions, they're important.” But I think with COVID-19, the mission can be less tangible. And just the fact that you can stay in your house with your family and stay safe and not do some of the things you'd like to do, it doesn't feel like this like step forward, mastering the engine systems — and yet it is. It's a step toward the mission. I think what can help people is just identifying. Give it a name. You know, this is the mission: staying safe. And these are the things we're doing today. And by focusing on that mission — I mean, to me, it’s interesting that I think the whole world understands this word “mission” in a different way because of this pandemic.

Tom:                          There was a Q&A portion during Cady’s virtual presentation, and COVID-19 was on the mind of Alltech’s Mark Lyons.

Mark:                          I think, through COVID-19, we're all hoping that there's some positive, there's some kind of silver lining, something that we're going to gain in terms of perspective. But I think there's also a sense that maybe we picked things up, we learned something, but then we maybe lose it. So, I wonder, you know, through your experiences, you know, having that new perspective, how do you make sure that what you learn, you can retain, and what do you think you did learn from that time in space?

Cady:                          Wow. You know, I was going to say that, you know, I see a lot positive happening. You know, there's sort of this, I call it, “activation energy” or some barrier to change, to doing something differently, and yet, you know, something helps you over that barrier, and in this case, the need during COVID-19 for people to solve all sorts of problems together, it's just there — and I see this. I see it on the internet. I see it in the news. Different people coming together, seeing something that they can do together and doing it. You know, asking each other, helping each other. Competitors making things together. I mean, it's so hopeful. You know, in the case of Alltech, I know you think so much about the planet and how your work is, you know, good for sustainability, for the planet, and people realize that's even more imperative now that, suddenly, the food chain is more real to all of us.

Tom:                          Now, about that flute…

[Music playing]

Tom:                          Cady is a member of the astronaut group, Bandella, performing here at the Folk Alliance Conference in 2015. At one event, the band had been invited onstage with Ireland's legendary Chieftains.

Cady:                          When I was at NASA, Paddy Moloney, who's the leader of the Chieftains, his son was an intern at NASA. And he actually stayed with a family that was kind of just a — they were just the people that were so good at gathering. I mean, (they) gathered people like me: all these people that love to play (music) but don't really play together. And it was a group of like 18 of us that would play some form of Celtic music, and then we ended up in small groups. And so, I knew Padraig, Paddy’s son, from my days there playing music. And when it came to going to the Space Station, one of the things I thought about was, you know, how do I bring people with me, and what's important to me, if I get to bring a few things, what's important to bring? And I really loved the spirit of Irish music. And I actually had decided I would learn how to play the Irish flute. Now, this doesn't mean that I knew how to play the Irish flute or that I, even though I carried it around with me on the road, that I learned enough. But I was inspired to go through Padraig to Paddy and to ask if I could bring some flutes with me to space. And by that time, actually, I knew the whole band. When they would come to town, we would go. And our astronaut band would get to be their guests, coming out on stage at the end, or they would kindly play along quite a bit.

                                    Anyway. So, I knew them, and Matt Malloy sent this flute that is like, I think, a treasure of Ireland. It’s an E flat Irish flute and just this beautiful instrument. A little bit smaller, for somebody like me, with small hands. And Paddy sent a tin whistle, and I brought them up to space. I brought a couple flutes. Every flute has its own little T-shirt that it was wrapped in so the pieces wouldn’t float away. And it just gave me really great pleasure to be up in that cupula looking out over the world and playing music. It kind of brings me into a little place that’s just mine. And it’s the same place where I come when I’m down here on the Earth, but then I got to go that place in space and look out at the world and just kind of, I don’t know, just feel a little more settled.

Tom:                          It would not be Cady’s only orbit-to-Earth performance with a legendary artist; there was another duet with the flute of the legendary Jethro Tull.

Cady:                          Tonight, Ian Anderson and I would like to honor Yuri Gagarin for his brave journey 50 years ago, and we would like to celebrate the role that humans play in the exploration of our universe, past, present and future, by sharing some music between Earth and space.

[Music playing]

Tom:                          Again, Mark Lyons.

Mark:                          You know, one of the questions we keep getting, obviously, given your background and our present time of social distancing and isolation is: Given the experience you had, of course, in the tent in Antarctica, under the ocean and in the Space Station, how do people respond? You know, what ways should we think about this isolation? You had, you know, professional, obviously, the best training in the world preparing for that. For a lot of us, we've been shutting doors all of a sudden. So, are there any tips that you might share with the audience?

Cady:                          You know, some of them are, you know, kind of like family tips where, you know, I look at — and you say, “Well, you got professional help.” It's surprisingly not as much as you might think, you know. We kind of have to put those things together for ourselves. But you know, when there's some behavior that is causing strife or some situation, (the best thing to do) is to think, sort of, further than the situation. It's almost like — I think back to when our kid was little and there'd be some, you know, bad behavior after picking up from school in the first few weeks of school. And you know, what I learned about — and I actually had somebody, you know, to help me talk through some of these things, because we commuted, but anyways. But you know, picking him up from school — I mean, this is a kid that’s, like, worked really hard all day long to hold it together, and then there he is with the people that he loves and you just lose it, right? And don't behave as well. And so, do you deal with the behavior, or do you think about what the reason is? And I think it has some applications to our time now.

                                    You know, I found, in our family, we're all kind of a little grumpy when it got to, like, dinner. First of all, we're hungry. And second, you know, we have three adults who are all working full-time from the same house, and suddenly it’s 6 o’clock, and who was in charge of figuring out what to eat? And so, you know, we ended up, you know, coming up with a little bit more of a system and actually acknowledging like, “Hey, everybody, you know, I thought I —” You just feel like you're the only one working, when actually, all of us are working really hard. So, recognizing the behaviors and then realizing that there's probably some, you know, there's some things behind them.

                                    And the hardest thing that we don't actually have to wrestle with much in space, I don't think, is that we know (that), eventually, we're coming home. I mean, it's pretty finite. I mean, I was up there for 6 months, and you know, the mission was extended by 2 weeks, which I was incredibly thrilled about, but I mean, it's still finite. Whereas with COVID-19, there's a lot of uncertainties — and uncertainties about finances, about dreams, about what you're going to be able to do next. And I guess really just owning that uncertainty, I think, is really helpful — realizing that it's hard, and don't expect it to be easy, and just acknowledge you're working through hard things.

[Music playing]

Tom:                          Astronaut Cady Coleman with Alltech president and CEO Mark Lyons, launching the 2020 Alltech ONE Virtual Experience. If you're interested in seeing Cady’s view from space, and to watch more video content from other thought leaders from around the world, register at one.alltech.com. I'm Tom Martin, and this has been Ag Future, presented by Alltech. Thank you for joining us, and be sure to subscribe to Ag Future wherever you listen to podcasts — and leave a review if you’ve enjoyed this episode.

Click here to register for the Alltech ONE Virtual Experience

The summer season is generally a favorite among the equestrian crowd, as it not only equates to more riding and training time but also to weekends spent at shows and clinics or out on the trails. In addition, our horses get to enjoy some long-awaited grass and increased turnout time, often trading in bulky winter blankets for lighter fly gear.

Of course, everything has its downsides. I once read a quote that said, “Nothing is ever only good or bad. Everything is somewhere in the middle.” I think the same could most certainly be said about summer, for it brings both respite and risk. With this in mind, let’s explore four of the most commonly concerning summertime hazards associated with horses:

1. Heat stress:

It is critical to build an understanding of how to keep horses cool in the summer, especially if you are planning to increase your horse’s time spent working under saddle. Since equines can easily overheat, heat stress in horses is something all equestrians should take very seriously. What may first simply appear to be poor performance can rapidly escalate to potentially fatal heat exhaustion or stroke. If you suspect that your horse is succumbing to overheating, you must act quickly by taking the following steps:

• Walk the horse out. This not only encourages circulation — it also helps bring heated blood to the surface of the skin for cooling and can help regulate body temperature.
• Let the horse drink its fill of cool water. Contrary to popular belief, allowing a hot horse to drink cold water will not cause colic and muscle cramping.
• Splash or spray cold water directly onto the horse and then scrape it off to aid with evaporative cooling. Repeat this process until the skin feels cool to the touch and the horse’s breathing appears to have returned to normal.
• If the horse’s behavior and drinking habits have not returned to normal within one hour, or if you witness more significant signs of heat stress before then, contact your veterinarian immediately. Intravenous hydration and other medical measures may be required to prevent potentially irreversible damage or loss of life.

2. Biting flies:

Unfortunately, summer and flies are a package deal. And while stable flies and horse flies sometimes seem like nothing more than an ever-present annoyance, fly bites on horses can carry serious implications, such as disease transmission, weight loss, and hoof issues associated with stomping and restlessness. Even the most all-encompassing fly turnout gear can’t keep them completely at bay, but proper sanitation and stable management can go a long way in controlling the fly population of your barn.

Fly management tips:

• Keep manure picked up, and pile it a good distance from facilities, waterers and paddocks.
• Make sure all garbage cans have tight-fitting lids and are cleaned out regularly.
• Keep waterers in good condition and place them away from areas where horses are fed.
• Consider screening any windows in the feed and tack rooms, as well as in box stalls.
• Use fans that direct airflow down and outward. This will help keep flies from entering barns.
• Fly traps and sticky paper are effective means of capturing flies, and they can also be useful in documenting fly numbers over time. A notable increase in flies caught from one week to the next could serve as an alert that it’s time to check on your sanitation measures and improve upon your fly-control techniques.

Flies generally require a combination of breeding material, ideal moisture and adequate warmth to develop. Therefore, eliminating breeding sites is the key to a successful fly-control program. Barns and paddocks should be thoroughly cleaned once per week to assist in breaking fly life cycles. Insecticides should only be considered as a supplement to fly control.

3. Sweet itch:

Contrary to its somewhat sugary-sounding name, sweet itch in horses is a serious nuisance. Also known as summer itch, this seasonal recurrent dermatitis is typically caused by an allergic reaction to a genus of biting midges known as Culicoides, commonly referred to as “no-see-ums” or gnats. Affected horses often become very itchy in the spring and may rub out their manes and tails in an attempt to relieve itchy skin. You may also notice skin irritation along their toplines, jaws, axillary regions and ventral midlines.

Treatment options include supplementing diets with a source of omega-3 fatty acids, providing antihistamines or applying topical creams and insect repellents, but the best course of action is taking steps to prevent or eliminate the presence of these pests. You should regularly remove manure from both stalls and pastures and use stall fans to discourage gnats from lingering. Keep at-risk horses inside at dawn and dusk, as these are the most active feeding hours for midges.

4. Sunburn:

Humans have grown increasingly concerned with skin health, especially when it comes to sun-related safety. However, it can be somewhat easy to overlook horse sunburn protection, despite a real need for it — particularly for those with white-skinned areas or pale coats. Sunburn most commonly affects the faces and heels of horses because these areas often have non-pigmented, pink skin patches and less hair coverage. Just as with humans, this condition can not only be painful but is recurrently associated with an increased likelihood of developing skin cancer.

Owners must take preventative measures with horses prone to sunburn, such as stabling during daylight hours and providing overnight turnout time instead. Many human sunscreens are viable options for horses, and those containing zinc oxide are thought to be the most effective. However, you must reapply it at regular intervals for this method to be truly impactful. A full-face fly mask with ears and UV protection may also prove helpful.

I want to learn more about equine health and nutrition.

As people around the world adjust their lifestyles to social distancing restrictions, it’s more important than ever to keep our lives in balance and our health in check. As a registered dietician and director of human health initiatives at Alltech, Nikki Putnam-Badding is an expert on supporting immunity and well-being through nutrition. Join us as she shares her tips for eating healthy, shopping efficiently and maintaining a sense of normalcy during the pandemic.

Hosted by Michelle Michael

As lead video producer at Alltech, Michelle travels the globe for the company’s award-winning Planet of Plenty™ documentary series. Michelle spent a decade as a video producer/reporter in Germany, reporting from military hotspots at the height of the war on terrorism. The National Press Photographer's Association (NPPA) has twice recognized Michelle as their solo video journalist of the year.

Co-produced by Brandon Whitworth

As the senior media production specialist at Alltech, Brandon co-produces the company’s award-winning Planet of Plenty™ documentary series. Brandon is a two-time Emmy Award winning television news photojournalist and three-time nominee. He has received several regional awards from the National Press Photographers Association for excellence in visual storytelling.

The following is an edited transcript of Michelle Michael’s interview with Nikki Putnam-Badding. Click below to hear the full audio.

Michelle:       Hello! I'm Michelle Michael. In this special series of AgFuture, we're talking with those working along the food supply chain about the impact of COVID-19. My guest today is Nikki Putnam Badding, a registered dietician and, also, a colleague of mine. Nikki is the director of human initiatives at Alltech. Nikki, thank you so much for being with us today.

Nikki:              Thanks for having me, Michelle.

Michelle:       Let's talk about self-care. This pandemic, it can feel overwhelming. People are dealing with information overload, long work hours, caring for family during those work hours and a whole host of other things. It's important, though, I think, to pause for a moment, collect ourselves and just admit that this is, at times, a taxing situation and it can impact our well-being. Is that right?

Nikki:              Absolutely.

Michelle:       As a dietitian, what concerns you most about people during this experience?

Nikki:              Well, as you mentioned, Michelle, this is a really challenging time for everyone. I think it's really easy to let that self-care slip on occasion. We're trying to focus on our new roles, on working from home, maybe taking care of children and other family members at the same time. Really, what we want to focus on from a nutrition and health perspective is choosing a healthy lifestyle for the short and long term for your overall health and wellness — so following general good health guidelines is really one of the single best steps you can take for yourself and to keep your naturally functioning immune system strong and healthy.

                        Every part of our body, including our immune systems, functions better when bolstered by healthy living strategies — for example, trying to quit smoking, if you're a smoker; eating a diet high in whole foods, like lean meats, seafood, dairy, whole grains, fruits, vegetables and healthy fats; continuing to exercise regularly, which can be really tough during a time like this; maintaining a healthy weight; drinking alcohol in moderation, and that'd be one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men; trying to get adequate sleep as much as we can; and also, trying to minimize our stress levels.

                        During this time, proper nutrition and hydration are absolutely vital. People who stay active, eat a well-balanced diet and take supplements as necessary tend to be healthier and have stronger immune systems, which is very important at a time like this, and (also have) a lower risk of chronic illnesses and infectious disease.

Michelle:       When you talk about strengthening our immune systems to fight off illness, can you talk a little bit more specifically about which nutrients or which foods we should be taking in to boost our immune system and stay well during this pandemic?

Nikki:              Sure thing. As I mentioned, good nutrition is essential to a strong immune system, and it may offer protection from seasonal illness and other health problems. Although no one food or supplement can prevent illness, you can actually help support your immune system by including some key nutrients in your overall eating plan on a regular basis. While, unfortunately, just eating one orange here or there won't do the trick, a truly healthy immune system depends on a balanced diet, normal sleep patterns and regular exercise.

                        A few nutrients that are known to help support a strong immune system are protein, interestingly enough, which plays a role in the body's immune system, especially for healing and recovery, and vitamin A, because it helps regulate the immune system and protect against infections by keeping our skin and the tissues in our mouth, stomach, intestines and respiratory system healthy. Vitamin C, the one we all know, supports the immune system by stimulating the formation of antibodies. Vitamin E works as an antioxidant and may support immune function as well. Vitamin D is in there; it promotes an immune response that helps defend your body against pathogens, and there's zinc, which helps the immune system work properly and can also help wounds heal. Finally, selenium, which has an absolutely crucial role in a wide variety of physiological processes, affecting immune response — and the immune system in general actually relies on adequate dietary selenium intake.

                        Though I usually tell people it's best to get most of your nutrition through food, a specific vitamin or mineral supplement may benefit your health and overall wellness in the instance that you're not reaching the recommended daily intake of a nutrient, or perhaps you're utilizing them as a part of a preventative health regimen.

Michelle:       And not just upping your nutrient intake, Nikki, but many of us are limiting the number of times that we would go to the supermarket to pick up fresh foods. What are some tips for healthy eating when we're minimizing our trips to the store or maybe even the selection is limited, in some cases, temporarily?

Nikki:              Yeah, that's a great point. I think purchasing, storing and cooking fresh food can be really challenging when we're advised to limit trips outside of the home, particularly to the supermarket, so my first recommendation would be to try to keep up as much as possible with that fruit and vegetable intake. Whenever it's possible to get ahold of fresh produce, do so, of course, but depending on where you live, what time of year it is and, now, as you've mentioned, the availability, due to interruptions in the supply chain or perhaps other people who are food hoarding, you can't always get your hands on high-quality, fresh produce, so the next best thing is frozen. Manufacturers most often freeze fruits and veggies at peak ripeness, which means they pack a similar nutritional value as their fresh counterparts. Just make sure you're choosing options without added sugar or sodium. You can also swap in healthy dried or canned alternatives when fresh or frozen are not available. Although canned vegetables and dried fruits do tend to be a bit lower in quantity of vitamins than fresh, they are a great fallback option when fresh produce or frozen are hard to come by.

                        I also like to mention that other canned items that are great to have on hand are canned beans, because they do provide an abundance of nutrients, and they can be stored for months, sometimes even years, and they can be included in meals in many ways. Same goes for canned fish, such as sardines, mackerel, salmon — they all provide great protein sources, omega-3 fatty acids and a range of vitamins and minerals — and then having some dried goods on hand is a good backup, like dried beans and grains. One last note on this front: I know it's really tempting to stock up on processed foods like ready-to-eat meals, packaged snacks and treats. They're often very high in saturated fats, sugars and salt and, at the same time, provide us with less nutrition. So, in that vein, also try to avoid sugary drinks as much as possible and, instead, drink lots of water and other low-calorie beverages.

Michelle:       I hear from you, certainly, that fresh is best, and I've talked to many growers or farmers who feel that perhaps people at this time are shying away from fresh produce because of a fear that COVID-19 can be spread through food. From you, from a dietitian — can you answer that question for us? Can this spread through food?

Nikki:              I'm really happy you asked that question, Michelle. First and foremost, I should note that, of course, I'm not an infectious disease expert, but following the basic guidelines of hygiene and food safety, it's very unlikely that the virus could be spread through food — but not entirely impossible, meaning that it's possible the virus can get onto or into food if someone who is infected coughs or sneezes on the food or has the virus on their hands and touches the food. But unlike bacteria that causes foodborne illnesses, coronavirus doesn't multiply on food. There's currently no evidence to suggest it can be transmitted through food or water systems, but a lot of experts are saying that sharing food and beverages during this time should be limited, and always continue proper home food safety.

Michelle:       Well, would it be safer, then, during this time, to — if you're buying fresh produce — would it be safer to cook it and consume it that way?

Nikki:              Potentially. I don't think consumers need to be fearful of eating fresh produce, raw fruits and vegetables, though it's possible that someone who is infected sneezed directly on a banana and you picked up that banana and touched your face. You could get infected, but you're much more likely to get infected by standing next to that person while shopping for that banana. That's why social distancing, putting at least that six feet of space between you and other people, is so important. Interestingly, about cooking, the World Health Organization has said that the virus is probably susceptible to normal cooking temperatures, so you don't need to cook food any differently than what you typically do for food safety. These experts are saying that cooking your food to the same temperatures required to kill pathogens that cause foodborne illness is also likely to kill COVID-19. That would be, as a reminder, 145°F for fresh pork, beef roast and fish; 160°F for egg dishes and other cuts of beef; and 165°F for poultry, ground beef, or reheating pre-cooked ham or leftovers or casseroles that might contain some of those pieces of fresh produce you mentioned.

Michelle:       If we are going to eat that raw produce, fruits and vegetables, are there certain precautions we need to take at this time — differently washing the fruits and vegetables than we would have before this pandemic?

Nikki:              At this time, many of the expert organizations are saying no, we don't need to take any different measures than we did before. Just make sure to thoroughly wash those fruits and vegetables when you get home.

I know there's a lot of questions out there, too, about (whether or not you can) pick up COVID-19 from food packaging. This is a question that the CDC actually addressed recently, and they're saying COVID-19 is primarily transmitted person to person through respiratory droplets, so currently, there is no evidence to support transmission of the virus through food. In general, because of the poor survivability of these viruses on surfaces, there is likely a very low risk of spread from food products or packaging, but that being said, if you touch something that has the virus on it — like a food package or produce or a package of meat — and then touch your nose, mouth or eyes, you could become infected. So, before preparing or eating food, it's important to always wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Also, just making sure you're wiping down those surfaces when you get home after you've picked up your groceries. Make sure, when you unpack your food, you just wipe everything down. Make sure you're tossing away those disposable bags, if they came in that, or washing your reusable bags immediately when you get home.

Michelle:       Good advice. Nikki, when it comes to plants, processing plants, farmers — a lot of times, those vegetables, they're picked by hand. A lot of that is done by hand. I know that they're practicing social distancing, but should we be concerned about food coming from areas where there is a high risk of COVID-19?

Nikki:              Actually, according to the Department of Agriculture's recent updates on COVID-19, they're saying there's no evidence to support transmission of the virus with any of those foods that had been either imported or transported throughout the country. It's important to remember that, unlike bacteria that causes foodborne illness, the virus, as I mentioned before, doesn't multiply on or in foods, and the current research shows that it can only survive for a very limited time on most surfaces. Most often, even if a product or packaging were carrying the virus or it was handpicked by someone who was infected and maybe had the virus on their hands, it would most likely die during transport. I think that can put a lot of consumers' minds at ease — although, as I previously mentioned, it's always just a good idea to keep following that (guideline to) wash your fresh fruits and veggies when you get them home from the store and wipe down that food packaging, just for that final line of defense.

Michelle:       We keep hearing about the importance of supporting local businesses, especially restaurants, during this time, as the bulk of their business is gone. They're only doing takeout right now or curbside pickup or delivery, but is that safe? Is it actually safe to get takeout and delivery from restaurants during a pandemic like this?

Nikki:              Yes, it is. I'm happy to hear that you mentioned supporting local businesses, particularly restaurants right now, when we can't dine in. The takeout and delivery from restaurants can actually be a very good alternative to obtaining food because, unlike grocery shopping, it really does greatly reduce the need to interact with other people. Most restaurants have instituted contactless delivery or pickup practices that allow people to either pre-pay for food or receive it without coming close to another person, which we know is the biggest risk factor for the disease, interacting closely with other people. If you are worried about bringing those foods into your home, to further reduce your risk, just transfer that food, that takeout, to a plate when you get home, dispose of the containers and then, again, always wash your hands before you eat — but it is a very good and, typically, very safe way to obtain food.

Michelle:       We keep hearing about the 65-and-up population (being) at an increased risk of COVID-19 at this time. I wonder, from a dietary point of view, somebody in that age bracket — does the immune system change with age, and does that age group have to eat differently?

Nikki:              Yes. As we age, our immune response capability becomes reduced, which, in turn, may contribute to more infections. While some people age healthily, the conclusion of many studies is that, compared with younger people, elderly folks are more likely to contract infectious diseases and viruses and are more likely to die from them. Interestingly, there appears to be an even stronger connection between nutrition and immunity in the elderly. A form of malnutrition that's actually surprisingly common, even in affluent countries, is known as micronutrient malnutrition. Micronutrient malnutrition occurs when a person is deficient in some of the essential vitamins and trace minerals that are obtained through diet. Older people often tend to eat less, and they have less variety in their diets. One important question is, perhaps, whether dietary supplements may help older people maintain a healthier immune system — something to be discussed with their doctor or dietitian.

Michelle:       I wonder, Nikki, if you can talk about why, during this time, (when) everybody's schedules are just changed suddenly, everybody's lives are just uprooted and nothing is normal, why is it so easy to get off-track, and what can we do to try to maintain some sort of normalcy from a dietary perspective?

Nikki:              Yeah. As you've mentioned, Michelle, it's so easy to get off-track during this time because our schedules are changed, and many of us have been forced into this change without any prior warning — working from home, taking care of children and family members from home — and everything's just been thrown out of whack. Some really important things, and fairly easy things, that you can do is just try to keep yourself on a regular schedule. Go back to thinking about what was your schedule for eating, grocery shopping, working out, trying to stay active, sleep — what were your tactics for minimizing stress before this? Try to pull in as much of those tactics as you can, because many of those you know already worked for you, and then try to change that around and make it fit your new schedule.

                        Those people who have kiddos at home: I think a really nice way to entertain kids and keep them busy is to involve them in mealtimes. Have more discussions about food. This is a fantastic time to talk about where food comes from, how it nourishes their body, and get them really involved in planning and preparation of food, and then try to do more things either as a family or, if you don't have kiddos, just get outside when possible and where it's safe to spend some time moving around. There are also a lot of really great online resources where you can find at-home workouts. I recommend that to a lot of people, even if you do it for ten minutes a day. It's just a nice way to keep moving.

Try to stay to a normal work and sleep schedule. It can be very difficult while we're working from home to step away from our computers and close everything down like a normal eight-to-five or nine-to-five business, because our office is right there, so try to make sure you're stepping away for breakfast, lunch, dinner, maybe even snacks, if you can, just to get a break from the computer and a break from work, and try to go back to some normalcy.

Michelle:       If you've never had time to prepare your own meals, to fall in love with cooking, it seems like this might be a good opportunity, even.

Nikki:              Certainly. I've seen that there are a lot of YouTube channels that are jumping in popularity. There's one I really enjoy: it's Italian grandmothers making old Italian recipes and pasta. I've seen their viewership just skyrocket recently because people are taking a new interest in preparing things from scratch, or some of those YouTube channels that are showing people how to just start cooking from the very beginning. As you've mentioned, there's no better time than now to start learning.

Michelle:       Nikki, do you have any other recommendations for keeping our food and keeping our kitchens safe?

Nikki:              Yeah. First and foremost, when you're going out for food, just a reminder, wear a mask and gloves when you're going out for food, to get groceries or picking up takeaway meals, and if you do use reusable grocery bags, masks or gloves, make sure you wash them immediately upon returning home. That's really important — or use single-use bags or disposable protective equipment during this time. We can't stop hearing this, but wash your hands regularly, as recommended by countless international organizations, plus before preparing and eating food. Even if you picked up your phone while you're eating lunch, make sure you wash your hands again, because a lot of those viruses and contaminants can stay on phones and surfaces and the like for much longer than they would on food.

                        Try to keep your kitchen a safe zone by removing non-cooking items from countertops. I know many of us, myself included, often end up tossing daily items here without thinking twice, putting mail on the countertop. Don't put grocery bags or takeaway bags on your countertops. Also, try to clean them every time before you prepare a meal, and sanitize kitchen surfaces, including your refrigerator, stove handles, cupboard pulls and the like, on a regular basis.

Michelle:       It adds so much to grocery shopping and preparing food, but some very important advice. Nikki Putnam Badding, a registered dietitian with some really fabulous advice on taking care of ourselves during this time. Nikki, take care of yourself, and thank you so much for joining us today.

Nikki:              Thanks, Michelle.

Michelle:       For additional resources on COVID-19, visit alltech.com.

Click here for additional COVID-19 resources.

On March 24, India’s 1.3 billion people went into lockdown in the most extensive COVID-19 containment effort in the world. The impact of the pandemic extends to livestock producers, crop farmers and the food supply chain in unprecedented ways. Dr. Sayed Aman, managing director of business at Alltech India, shares how life and agriculture look from inside the nationwide lockdown, and how heroes are emerging to help others amid the crisis.

This episode is part of a special AgFuture series on the impact of COVID-19 on the food supply chain. Join us to hear how those on the frontlines of the global pandemic are working to overcome adversity and feed the world.

Hosted by Michelle Michael

As lead video producer at Alltech, Michelle travels the globe for the company’s award-winning Planet of Plenty™ documentary series. Michelle spent a decade as a video producer/reporter in Germany, reporting from military hotspots at the height of the war on terrorism. The National Press Photographer's Association (NPPA) has twice recognized Michelle as their solo video journalist of the year.

Co-produced by Brandon Whitworth

As the senior media production specialist at Alltech, Brandon co-produces the company’s award-winning Planet of Plenty™ documentary series. Brandon is a two-time Emmy Award winning television news photojournalist and three-time nominee. He has received several regional awards from the National Press Photographers Association for excellence in visual storytelling.

Michelle:       Hello! I'm Michelle Michael. In this special series of AgFuture, we're talking with those working along the food supply chain about the impact of COVID-19. My guest today is a colleague of mine here at Alltech, Dr. Sayed Aman. He is the managing director of business in India. Dr. Aman, it's a pleasure to have you with us today.

Dr. Sayed:     Thank you, Michelle. Thanks for having me.

Michelle:       Dr. Aman, India is home to a very large number of people — 1.3 billion, I believe, is the number — and, currently, you're experiencing some of the harshest and most extensive lockdown measures over COVID-19. Those restrictions are aimed at slowing down the transmission of the coronavirus, of course, but what is life like for you, for people in India right now, just day-to-day living?

Dr. Sayed:     Thanks, Michelle, for that question. Let me start by saying a big condolence to all those people who have lost their lives in this pandemic. Our feelings and thoughts and prayers go with all those who are affected and their families, and a big gratitude to all the healthcare workers, the police, all the heroes working in the food chain across the globe.

                        To answer your question, Michelle, the prime minister of India was very proactive in announcing the first lockdown on the 22nd of March. That was a Sunday. One-point-three-four billion people going under lockdown — that was probably the largest lockdown ever that happened in the history of this planet. Following on from that first lockdown, the second lockdown then started on the 25th of March for three weeks. It was not an easy scenario for people, really, because to get to this kind of new way of life, to get used to new terminologies, new vocabularies, it wasn't easy at all — whether it is the PPEs, the ventilators, all these are new terminologies, in a way. Initially, people faced a lot of difficulties to differentiate between the essential and the non-essential elements, but now, things are a bit more clear. Almost every day, we have new notifications come through from different government departments, and things are getting better as time flies.

                        Now, as we are on the fifteenth day of lockdown, we are beginning to see life again. It appears that, now, the government of India and the different states are looking at further extending this lockdown. We are getting to know about this scenario by this weekend, how long this lockdown will continue — but then, overall, Michelle, there is significant medical, economic and psychological stress and pain on everyone. Amidst all of this, we still see a silver lining. The air quality in many of our states is improving. For example, in the capital of India, Delhi, the air quality has improved by more than 70%, which is really a promising scenario. We now know, Michelle, in India (that) the sky's color is really blue, and the moon is pink.

Michelle:       Certainly, that’s something that's different at this time. I want to go back and echo your comments about those who have lost their lives in this pandemic. Of course, our hearts go out to them. Farmers and producers, they're experiencing a loss of a different kind. Let's transition now to the world of agriculture, where nothing is like it was just a few weeks ago. Talk about the world through the eyes of poultry producers at this time. Rumors and speculation associated with the consumption of chicken linked to COVID-19 has really put a dent in sales. Tell us about that speculation. How did that all start, and how much are producers losing at this time?

Dr. Sayed:     I just want to take you a little bit to a pre-pandemic scenario. The end of December was a Q3 financial — it was considered a financial year. Our economy, over the period of the last two years, is a little bit on a downtrend, from a GDP growth of 7.1% to 4.7% in the Q3 that ended December 31, so already, there was very tight pressure to the poultry industry. The producing power had reduced. Then we heard the initial news of the pandemic emerging from China and Wuhan that was linked to the seafood market and the animal market.

Towards the end of January and February, unfortunately, there were rumors and videos being circulated in social media here in India stating that chicken consumption leads to coronavirus. That was really devastating. The entire chicken industry, whether it was broilers or eggs — the prices really nosedived, the consumption nosedived, and the producers were in deeper financial distress.

Michelle:       I'm sure you know some of those producers personally. What is life like for them right now, and what is the impact despite the financial distress?

Dr. Sayed:     When you talk about the financial distress, the whole poultry industry in India was losing and almost is losing about $300 million per day, which is really very significant. The broiler prices crashed from $1.20 to as low as $0.20. There were situations where we came across and I witnessed that the broilers have literally no price at all and they were freely distributed to the consumers. At this financial distress and at this crisis moment, the poultry producers came together, and this togetherness is very, very critical. All of them came together. They made a collective appeal and a plea to the government of India, to the Animal Husbandry Ministry and the finance ministry, and we are hopeful that there will be some stimulus or relief package coming to us in the poultry industry.

                        Now, going back to the rumors, there are — FIR has been registered in different police stations and different states. Some states have done incredibly well in trying to investigate where, why and how these rumors — who was behind them, and I'm sure they will book the culprit eventually, but frankly, I think that there is a lot for the industry to look beyond into the future and say, “Are we really prepared for another scenario like this?” and “What will happen if another scenario happens in a similar way?” So, I think it is time for them to really come together and look into the future.

Michelle:       It sounds like poultry producers — like you said, it's just great distress at this time. What has changed for, say, milk producers?

Dr. Sayed:     Even (for) the milk producers, the milk consumption has really dropped, because all the hotels, the restaurants in India drink a lot of milk, a lot of tea that has milk in it, so many reports suggest that 25% of the milk consumption has reduced. On the other side, if the cooperatives want to convert the liquid milk into SMP or powdered milk, the prices are not encouraging. The exports are not encouraging, so it's quite a challenging scenario for the dairy farmers, the dairy cooperatives, the milk processors, everybody in the supply chain here. It's all of these things. We have cooperatives like Amul that see a silver lining, and they are projecting a growth of 18%, even in this particular scenario. We have situations wherein some of the feed millers, the dairy feed millers, are facing a big issue in terms of getting the raw materials into their feed mill, and that is a situation where Alltech is trying to help them because we deal with feed ingredients as well, and we are trying to support and give our best in whatever way we could.

But we should also remember, Michelle, the corn farmers, the soya farmers. The corn farmers are already suffering because there is a challenge on the harvest. We generally have two crops in India, and while the soya harvest is going to happen late this year, I'm sure there will be a big stress on them as well. The entire supply chain has a big challenge at the moment.

Michelle:       Crop farmers are hurting. I've just heard that wheat farmers in India are being asked to delay their harvest that would normally start in the first part of April. It's been pushed back. What's the impact on crop producers at this time?

Dr. Sayed:     You're right. There is significant migration of laborers that has happened, particularly if you look at the wheat production, where India stands (at) number two in the world. The northern states — Punjab, Haryana, U.P. — they depend on the laborers that particularly come from the eastern part of India. Due to the lockdown, most of these laborers, they went back home, so the mid-size farmers and the large-size farmers are deeply affected because, to get the mechanical harvester into the field and get their harvest, it's just not possible. Late harvest means there is going to be a significant loss to them.

                        It is not just the wheat farmers. As I just said, it's the maize farmers as well. They are able to only harvest 10% of the maize, and 90% of the corn is still out in the field and is very vulnerable to the unseasonal rain that may come, so that, again, is going to affect the animal industry, which really is very much dependent on the agriculture industry. We do have situations wherein the vegetables, the fruits, even flowers — in India, since all the weddings have been called off, there are no events happening. The export is really uncertain. The floral industry is hit very, very badly, to the extent that beautiful flowers like marigold and roses go for ruminant feeding today, so the challenges are quite significant, and I hope we find relief very soon here, Michelle.

Michelle:       Yeah — that sentiment is echoed around the world. Dr. Aman, the world of agriculture has a proven track record of overcoming strife. Those who work to support farmers and producers are no exception. I've heard stories of our colleagues, Alltech colleagues, delivering supplies to producers in their own cars, on their own motorbikes. Tell us exactly what's happening there, and what does that say about courage and bravery and overcoming during this crisis?

Dr. Sayed:     Yeah. You make a really good point, Michelle. I think, after the lockdown, the transport in India was totally shut down. We certainly addressed all the people that are included with the healthcare, the police, everybody as heroes, but I must tell you, all those who are linked with the food chain are also heroes today. Our colleagues really stepped up in these tough moments wherein the layer farmers, in particular, were running short of stock because they did not have too much stock (and on) March 31, March being our financial year-end, they were running low on stock. They called us for Alltech products and supplies because they were not able to produce feed for the layer birds. We have dealers like SLP, Sri Lakshmi Prasanna, and our own people went out there on bikes and cars with one bag and two bags and tried to deliver the products to the farmers so that the farmer can still produce quality feed in these challenging times.

Michelle:       Would you say that, at this time, producers and farmers might rely on your colleagues more now than they did before?

Dr. Sayed:     Absolutely, and they came back saying that no company could (provide) service in this way, how Alltech and the dealers have done. There was a lockdown across the whole day, (and it was) only (in the) morning from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. that it was allowed within a three-kilometer radius to move, for example, in Andhra state.

                        Our people really woke up at three in the morning to go ahead with the deliveries, even up to 50 kilometers on bikes, to make sure that the farmers have at least 10 to 15 days’ stock and they can continue to run the show in this lockdown period, so certainly, they will remember Alltech and the Alltech dealer service for a long time.

Michelle:       It certainly shows courage from our colleagues, as well, through this entire situation. It's hard to talk about opportunity or to focus on opportunity, but is there an opportunity in this pandemic, in these times, where we have been forced to adapt again and again?

Dr. Sayed:     We have seen the challenge of labor, with great respect to all the laborers that continue to serve the industry. However, in this scenario, where we have deep scarcity of laborers, I think there will be more drive towards automation in every industry, whether it's dairy, whether it's poultry or ag-tech as a whole. I think automation is going to take an upper hand and the reliance on people will probably reduce. Also, I feel, with regard to personal hygiene, how we greet people, that's probably going to change. We talk about social distancing. My comment would be, probably, we are socially connected more online than ever before, so it is probably (more) physical distancing than social distancing.

Michelle:       Yeah. This crisis is going to have an impact on us in so many different ways, but in the short term, crisis also sometimes drives innovation. In some cases, farmers are doing things that are outside the normal way that they operate. Can you think of specific examples of farmers driving innovation?

Dr. Sayed:     Yeah. We have an example in North India, Michelle, where one poultry producer and poultry farmer, his son is basically a medical doctor. He attended ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference last year, and he and his team and his father, Mr. Jagdish too, they've come up and developed a ventilator in just three days. One would (guess) it is very expensive, with the increasing need of ventilators — not just in India, but across the globe — which cost a few thousand dollars, but they claimed to have developed this in just $140 or so. (It) is known as volume control ventilator, with a respiration rate of 12 to 30 per minute, which is incredible, really. They've put up their proposal to the government of India, and we are waiting for the approval. Really, they don't want to make money out of this, but what they are looking for is to work with the people, to save lives — as many as they can — and contribute to the society.

                        I also have another example to share with you wherein a couple of my school colleagues in my state, when the healthcare workers were running out of the face shields, the two (of them) came together with a club locally and developed a shield in just two days’ time and delivered those hundred face shields at no cost. Now, they are on the verge of making another hundred face shields, so, really, at this time, everybody is coming together to help others and to help the society and the community.

Michelle:       Yeah. These farmers, these producers doing these things, they're suffering right now. So, in the midst of all the suffering, they're helping others. What does that say about the spirit of the farmer —  the drive, the sacrifice they make to feed us all?

Dr. Sayed:     I think it's a really unbelievable effort from the farmer, whether their aim is to really touch the human life or their aim is to do betterment for the society. Money is not everything, they believe, and there's life beyond money. The farmer is an unsung hero. They have been working very hard in the middle of this crisis — going out and feeding the birds, going out to the farm and collecting eggs, going out there milking the cows. Why? Just to get the food onto the table of the consumers when there is a total lockdown in the country.

                        I think, just like the healthcare workers, farmers need a very, very deep appreciation from everybody across the globe.

Michelle:       Do you think, then, on the consumer level, does this change the way the world perceives agriculture? Oftentimes, producers are blamed for things like pollution, but is agriculture more appreciated now?

Dr. Sayed:     Well, I hope that is the case, Michelle, and I wish that is the case as we move down the line during this pandemic and post-pandemic. Certainly, we consider doctors, nurses, healthcare workers, those involved in PPE manufacturing, those involved in sanitizers and disinfectant manufacturing, we consider them as heroes, but my only question would be: why not consider all the farmers involved in the food chain, getting the food onto the table of the consumers — why don't we consider them as heroes as well? I hope the government recognizes their efforts, and I hope better sense prevails.

Michelle:       I certainly recognize them as heroes during this time and all throughout the year. The second wave of a pandemic, God forbid that'll happen, but will the ag sector be better prepared to react if it does, or is it even possible to prepare for something like this?

Dr. Sayed:     I guess so. We are now better prepared if, at all — as you said, God forbid — the second pandemic comes through, but just to let you know the development in India, for example. This week, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare have announced and exempted the group of farmers — the FPOs, the Farmers Producers Organizations — they have allowed the farmers to go directly to the bulk buyers, processors and big retailers and avoiding those mandis, the APMCs. This is a big change, I believe, happening in India. This links the producers to the right people where, probably, they will get a better remunerative price, in a way. In the wake of this, reducing the number of people coming together, where mandis — it's so difficult, where the farmers would normally go to sell their produce, but now, the farmers can directly go and sell their produce to the big processors and the retailers as well.

                        The other change that we see that has happened (is that) the government of India has started a special eNAM. That is the National Agriculture Market portal, which has helped, and these modules have been released on the 2nd of April for e-trading of the stored agriculture produce of the farmers into the government-designated warehouses, and (this is) enabling the FPOs to upload their produce for their collection centers, for bidding through eNAM, without the necessity to bring these produce to the mandis. I think this really helps the agriculture farmer and the producer to get directly linked, in a way, to the consumers.

I hope a similar sense prevails in the animal industry, where, for example, in the case of chicken, 93% of the chicken in India is sold alive. I hope, post-pandemic and now, that all the stakeholders come together and build that infrastructure so that only processed chicken goes out to the consumers, and they own the brand of that chicken until it is delivered to the consumer so that if the consumer has any query on the quality of the chicken or any rumor they hear on the quality of the chicken, they can always call the producer and get that clarified. It is a big dream, where it might take eight to ten months to build that infrastructure for the poultry industry to convert the whole broilers that are produced in India into the processed chicken and totally stop selling the live chicken. If that happens, I think it is going to be a rebirth for the poultry industry.

Michelle:       Yeah, change not just for poultry, but the entire world of ag.

                        Nobody knows when this is going to end, and certainly, we're all just trying to find our way. Dr. Sayed Aman, from Alltech India, stay safe, stay well, and thank you so much for joining us today.

Dr. Sayed:     Thank you for having me, Michelle, and thanks to you and the president of Alltech, Dr. Mark Lyons.

Michelle:       For additional resources on COVID-19, visit Alltech.com.

Click here for additional COVID-19 resources.

As part of Alltech’s effort to provide valuable resources to colleagues, customers and the global agricultural community confronting COVID-19, the company has created a special discussion series, Forging the Future of the Farm & Food Chain. Available online beginning today, this free, on-demand series features experts from around the world as they share their insights into how the global pandemic is affecting the agriculture industry’s present and future.

“Crises illuminate character, and COVID has highlighted the heroic work undertaken by the global agriculture community to ensure a secure food supply in the midst of such uncertainty,” said Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech. “We created this series as an expression of our support for this community. In addition to offering valuable information and insights in the context of this COVID challenge, we hope to deliver inspiration — we have an opportunity in this moment to, together, shape the future of the farm and food chain.”

The series consists of presentations from Lyons and three panel discussions with experts including David McWilliams, economist and professor at Trinity College Dublin; Jessica Adelman, CEO of ESG Results and former executive at Kroger; Jack Bobo, futurist and CEO of Futurity; and Ryan Quarles, Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture.

Forging the Future of the Farm & Food Chain, a special COVID-19 discussion series, includes:

• Cultivating Optimism & Opportunity: Leadership in Times of Crisis

In times of crisis, leadership becomes even more consequential. How can leaders bring certainty in a time of uncertainty? How can they help their teams think proactively in order to discover opportunity and drive innovation? 

Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech, explores how a leader can shape a culture of resilience that empowers a team, even during times of turmoil.

• From the Frontlines of Food Production

The COVID-19 crisis has brought renewed attention to not only the critical importance of food production, but also to the people on the frontlines who work tirelessly to ensure we have food on the table. This panel discussion takes a first-hand look at the experiences of those working within the food/feed sector in the midst of COVID-19.

The panelists are global Alltech team members Matt Kwok, China operations manager; Sayed Aman, India managing director; Andrea Capitani, Italy business manager; and Alex Galipienso, Spain general manager. The panel is moderated by Michelle Michael, Alltech media producer.

• The Post-COVID Consumer: A Remaking of the Market?

Consumer trends are constantly evolving, but post-COVID, will the market see another seismic shift? This panel discussion features an investigation into the lasting impact COVID-19 could have on consumers and the global economy.

Moderating the panel is Damien McLoughlin, professor of marketing at University College Dublin, with panelists David McWilliams, economist and professor at Trinity College Dublin; Jessica Adelman, CEO at ESG Results and former executive at Kroger; and Jack Bobo, futurist and CEO at Futurity.

• Keep Calm & Carry On: The Essential Business of Agriculture

In this panel discussion, experts investigate how the current crisis is reshaping the agriculture sector. What permanent changes could COVID-19 create in how we source, produce and deliver food to market? Will there be a new appetite for automation and supply chain provenance?

Mary Shelman, former director of Harvard Business School's Agribusiness Program, moderates panelists John Young Simpson, president of Bluegrass Partners in Singapore; Ryan Quarles, Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture; Mike Osborne, former president and CEO of Nutra Blend; and Kayla Price, technical manager of Alltech Canada.

• Planet of Plenty in a Post-COVID World

In the midst of this COVID crisis, the global agriculture community has carried on its essential work — rising with the sun no matter the circumstance. We have provided the security of certainty at a time of great uncertainty and, in doing so, have reshaped the perception of our industry and perhaps even the way we view ourselves. 

Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech, shares his thoughts on how we can create a world of abundance post-COVID. How will we harness this renewed trust? Will the experiences of this time usher in a new approach to the ways in which we produce food, structure our supply chains and connect with consumers?

To access the Forging the Future of the Farm & Food Chain series on-demand, visit alltech.com/futurefarm. As Alltech has been closely monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic, an online COVID-19 resource portal has been created for customers and industry partners. 

This COVID-19 special series reflects the insightful, thought-provoking content that will be available as part of the Alltech ONE Virtual Experience beginning on May 18, 2020. The virtual program will include live-streamed keynote presentations and on-demand video content from some of the world's leading industry experts as they address the challenges and opportunities facing agriculture today. Learn more about the ONE Virtual Experience and register here.    

Producers are faced with new challenges as consumers adapt to eating more meals at home in light of the COVID-19 crisis. Will we return to “normal” when the outbreak subsides, or will new habits create a permanent shift in how we eat? Ken Zuckerberg, lead analyst and senior economist in CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange division, explains how the pandemic has already affected the food sector and what economic and market trends may emerge.

This episode is part of a special AgFuture series on the impact of COVID-19 on the food supply chain. Join us to hear how those on the frontlines of the global pandemic are working to overcome adversity and feed the world.

Hosted by Michelle Michael

As lead video producer at Alltech, Michelle travels the globe for the company’s award-winning Planet of Plenty™ documentary series. Michelle spent a decade as a video producer/reporter in Germany, reporting from military hotspots at the height of the war on terrorism. The National Press Photographer's Association (NPPA) has twice recognized Michelle as their solo video journalist of the year.

Co-produced by Brandon Whitworth

As the senior media production specialist at Alltech, Brandon co-produces the company’s award-winning Planet of Plenty™ documentary series. Brandon is a two-time Emmy Award winning television news photojournalist and three-time nominee. He has received several regional awards from the National Press Photographers Association for excellence in visual storytelling.

The following is an edited transcript of Michelle Michael’s interview with Ken Zuckerberg. Click below to hear the full audio.

Michelle:       Hello! I'm Michelle Michael. In this special series of AgFuture, we're talking with those working along the food supply chain about the impact of COVID-19. My guest today is Ken Zuckerberg. Ken is the lead analyst and senior economist in CoBank's Knowledge Exchange division, where he focuses on grains, oilseeds, farm supply and biofuel. That translates to me that, well, you're a numbers guy — is that right, Ken?

Ken:                Correct, although not simply just a numbers guy. The interesting part of the job is going through the numbers and then triangulating with market information to understand, really, where we are, where we're going and what the marketplace may be missing.

Michelle:       So, in your role, you look at data, you look at patterns, you look at trends and economic activity, and you use those predictions to improve business decisions in agriculture. Also, just some background on CoBank: CoBank is one of the largest private providers of credit to the U.S. rural economy. The company is located in Colorado and delivers loans, leases and other financial services to agribusinesses in all 50 states. Is that right, Ken?

Ken:                Generally, that's spot on. We operate within the Farm Credit System, which, as you know, is the largest lender to agriculture in rural America and the United States.

Michelle:       Ken, COVID-19's global spread may continue to impact supply chains and the availability of certain crops, which is also potentially affecting commodity prices and farmers’ planning decisions. How do you look at the risk of COVID-19 from a very high level?

Ken:                Thank you for asking that, to begin with. Strictly speaking, there are five bullet categories of risk facing every economic sector in every region of the world. These categories can be thought of as economic risk, environmental risk, geopolitical risk, societal risk and technological risk. Coronavirus falls strictly under the societal risk bucket, given that it's an infectious disease. However, the dynamics of treating it and what we've seen in terms of the resulting job losses and the massive contraction in economic activity — that actually puts coronavirus into two buckets: both the economic and the societal. It lies at the intersection of those two, and there are sort of broad ramifications for not delaying this quickly. The longer it goes on, the more uncertainty there is. The more uncertainty, the greater the economic damage. Then, because of those, if that scenario unfolds, the longer and harder it is to sort of get back to what people hope to be, back to normal.

Michelle:       Ken, how does COVID-19 impact the food and agriculture sector?

Ken:                Let me start with the labor and supply chains. We've gotten a lot of questions about both recently, and I think it's worth addressing, to begin with. Specialty crops are labor-intensive, and places like California (are) often dependent on noncitizens working in the U.S. either during the season or on a temporary basis — hence, closing borders and limiting temporary work passes to contain the virus spread obviously would be negative. Partially offsetting this, people are losing their jobs in other sectors, such as the restaurant and hospitality industries, and those (people) could theoretically come to work in agriculture, although that remains to be seen.

                        Another issue, of course, is employees that potentially get sick that work in food processing plants, grocery stores and restaurant takeout or delivery. These are some of the issues, from a labor standpoint, that we're monitoring closely. On supply chains, it's a bit of a mixed bag for now, but we're watching closely to see if things change in the future. In a recent report about the spring 2020 planting season, I argue that ag retailers in the U.S. have adequate supplies of crop inputs to deliver to customers this season. So, from a farm input supply chain perspective, we're not so concerned. We don't think it's a near-term risk. It is clear, though, that, given the amount of imported fertilizers, chemicals and feed ingredients made in China and brought to the U.S., the longer this goes on, the bigger that risk could be down the line, but we view that as a forward risk rather than a current one.

                        A more concerning matter, with respect to supply chains in the U.S., is truck drivers and truckers and transporters dealing with the splintered delivery networks and an upsurge in retail demand as consumers start buying more food at grocery stores and away from restaurants. The surge in that area is sort of causing bottlenecks in other delivery channels. Again, we are monitoring this for agriculture, production ag. We don't see too fat of a risk in the near term, but the situation is very dynamic.

Michelle:       Of course, facing uncertainty in a volatile industry is nothing novel at all for the American agriculture industry. Farmers are very hearty. They're full of perseverance and innovative thinking. Will farmers and producers rise to the occasion, or will this time be different? What are the critical factors at play today versus what you expected as you headed into 2020?

Ken:                I agree with you about your assertion of the American farmer. He and she do not go down easily. I have confidence that, generally speaking, production agriculture will rise to the occasion. However, there are a few critical factors and variables that the industry has to deal with that, quite candidly, they probably haven't dealt with ever before, even during the Great Depression. The continued economic uncertainty and volatility in markets, shipping network supply chains overseas and the shocks to demand — these are going to be negative issues for agriculture exports in the very near term.

                        Another pressure is, given the high levels of global financial market (pressure) on people, the more this goes on, the more that foreign investors tend to drive into U.S. dollar-denominated assets, meaning the dollar. The stronger the dollar, the more expensive our products are for overseas buyers, and, obviously, that would be a negative. The greater strength in the dollar, the more pressure on how competitive ag exports are relative to other major production regions.

Michelle:       One of the challenges crop producers were facing before this pandemic was global trade wars that were occurring, particularly with China. What has changed since COVID-19?

Ken:                In one sense, the entire world has changed with COVID-19. Obviously, the critical questions that we're all asking ourselves are “Can things return to normal — or, alternatively, a new normal?” and “What will domestic and export demand look like for ag products when we get there?” Right now, it's too early to make a broad call on any of that. That being said, U.S. agriculture has a reputation for very high quality. Recently, we've seen an uptick in demand for certain crops, such as wheat. Here in the U.S., we have adequate stocks, high-quality and attractive prices. China has been a buyer there, and they've also been buying soybeans and pork. Last week, in fact, was a record for U.S. pork exports to China.

                        The world has changed. There have been demand shocks, market shocks, economic shocks, since both COVID-19 and the Saudi Arabia-Russia oil price war has broken out. However, we do see agriculture as a go-to sector. As people commonly say, you'll always have to eat. So, it does tend to be resilient, even when the other parts of the economy are in trouble.

Michelle:       Farmers are, of course, used to sacrifice. But when it comes to financial stability, what exactly are farmers facing today in the midst of COVID-19?

Ken:                I think it's important to step back a minute and discuss what was the situation prior to the current crisis. Before that, crop farming had already entered the seventh or eighth year of a difficult pricing cycle. When we combined both crop and livestock farming together, the industry revenues actually had been flat with the 2011 level. However, production expenses continue to rise. The industry, in total, has been operating under profit pressure.

                        Another negative is that work in capital has been declining while debt has been increasing to record levels. Debt-to-net-cash income is also very high for the industry on a consolidated basis. While reported numbers show that net farming income rose in 2019, it did so only because of substantial government payments. Backing that out, income was actually down.

                        The bottom line is that farming, in general, has been under some pressure, and there is a massive divide between profitable and unprofitable farmers. The weaker ones, unfortunately, will have limited flexibility to play through the current crisis, and they ultimately may be forced to sell, exit or consolidate operations. We saw an uptick in financial restructurings for U.S. farms in 2019. Unfortunately, we think this could continue in 2020.

Michelle:       Are farmers even able to prepare for something like that? This is unprecedented, of course.

Ken:                COVID-19 is unique in that, regardless of income level, industry expertise or desire, very few businesspeople in general were adequately prepared for this. I think the characteristics that allow a U.S. farmer to manage through here come down to A) are you a low-cost operator? Do you have command of the variable inputs that are required to produce your crop? And/or B) are you overextended? So, the more financially conservative a farmer is, the greater he or she has the ability to operate beyond the current season.

Michelle:       Let's talk about trends for a moment, since that's definitely your expertise. What short-term trends are we going to see in agriculture as related to COVID-19?

Ken:                At the risk of observing the obvious, how consumers are purchasing food and what they are buying has clearly changed since the onslaught of COVID-19. We obviously first saw bulk purchases of Clorox products, hand sanitizers, toilet paper and canned goods. Now, a shift is happening that's more substantial — away from sit-down restaurants, many of which are closed in areas that have shelter-in-place restrictions, and the shift has gone towards buying food from supermarkets and other food retailers, including mail-order, home delivery and food delivery. Those are some of the short-term trends and observations we've seen that are likely to continue as long as this crisis is underway.

Michelle:       Can we, in any way, predict the longer-term effects from this pandemic?

Ken:                It's very difficult. What I think is fascinating is that, to the extent one observed a few years ago that some of the higher-growth categories in food were purchases of food either through fast-casual or specialty restaurants, that was in some ways cannibalizing sales at the supermarket. Now, the supermarket is the go-to place, with lines out the door and, oftentimes, limits of people going in. I think purchases of food for home consumption will probably continue at a greater level than had been (seen) during previous shocks, and part of the issue there is if people are genuinely concerned about being around other people that may get them sick, I think there's a likelihood that at least this dynamic will continue for a while.

                        Predicting long-term trends is inherently complicated. What I know I fundamentally feel is that this, too, will eventually pass. I think the business in the industrial case of food service out of the home will continue. But getting back to the same level of consumption out of the house? It's hard to determine when that's going to take place.

Michelle:       Of course, many people are under stay-at-home orders. Social distancing has pretty much everybody stuck inside their own home at a time when gasoline prices are way down. What is the impact of the recent drop in gasoline prices on agricultural production?

Ken:                There are two sides to that coin. The first one is that you're correct in that fuel and energy are important inputs — and costly ones — in agricultural production. The drop in gas prices, all else being equal, is very positive operationally. However, the demand shock and the price decline in gasoline prices has carried over to the ethanol industry to the point where the dynamics of operating an ethanol plant with margins under pressure because of the current price and demand dynamics is extraordinary. Unfortunately, the recent drop in gasoline prices is a mixed bag, and the focus now is on what the ethanol industry can and will be able to do to reposition itself to survive this downturn.

Michelle:       It's hard to think about opportunity in the middle of a crisis, but if that's at all possible, what opportunities might you see coming from this?

Ken:                I think there are opportunities. Crisis and chaos always give innovative people an opportunity to capture and deliver value. This time will be no different. Here are a few ideas about potential opportunities. Unexpectedly, wheat is seeing a surge in demand with the hoarding, if you will, of shelf-stable food at the supermarket. While this may only be temporary, it's interesting. Wheat is seeing a little bit of opportunity.

                        Labor shortages could help accelerate the adoption of farm robots to handle spraying and picking fruit crops. We have a number of companies that are already operating in that space, and that could be an interesting place to be going forward. Increased demand for food and grocery deliveries may also be the saving grace for certain meal kit and online food platform delivery companies. Finally, a renaissance in home-prepared meals and gourmet cooking might lead to increased buying of fancy pots, pans and kitchen accessories. In some ways, we see dollars shifting to the Krogers of the world, as well as the Amazons of the world, as well as some of the Blue Aprons and others. But who knows? Maybe the fancy home-houseware companies could also see a pickup here during or post-crisis.

Michelle:       Ken, how do you envision market segments? What I mean is restaurants are shutting down, but grocery stores are staying open. How do you envision market segments dictating supply chain moving forward?

Ken:                Much as we had discussed before, it's very hard to know whether this will be a temporary bull market in grocery stores relative to restaurants — how long that will last, will it be permanent, or there will be a shift. It's very hard to estimate that. That being said, I think there will undoubtedly be either stresses or disruptions related to packaging, shipping and delivery but also the product mix. For example, people that pay $50 for a New York strip steak in a restaurant may or may not be willing to pay a premium at the supermarket. I'm actually not sure; I think the likelihood is that they won't. There are other product categories that also face similar dynamics. With more people eating at home, there's a greater need for a variety of consumer staple foods. To the extent that that will be in demand, that will ultimately shift priorities both in production and distribution.

Michelle:       American farmers provide a commodity that consumers will always need. It's important to remember that the bottleneck in supply and demand is really only a temporary obstacle as health officials everywhere focus on containing the coronavirus outbreak. At the end of the day, Ken, what is your biggest concern at this time?

Ken:                My biggest concern is that we see globally interconnected markets that are, at the end of the day, very sensitive to competence. The good news about food and ag production is that this industry can be, oftentimes, countercyclical. When the broad economy is under pressure, food and agriculture can be a steady staple. As we said before, we have to eat. The risk is that the longer we go through a period where there's uncertainty, the greater the structural changes are in demand, and how to rectify that. The bigger risk for me is time. The longer this COVID-19 crisis goes out, the longer the economic uncertainty.

Michelle:       Ken Zuckerberg, senior economist from CoBank, thank you so much for joining us today.

Ken:                Wonderful to be with you.

Michelle:       For additional resources on COVID-19, visit Alltech.com.

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