Addressing attendees of the U.S. Grains Council’s 54th Annual Board of Delegates meeting, farmer and philanthropist Howard Buffett emphasized the need for U.S. agricultural producers to proactively address growing public and political pressures on farming methods. He emphasized that U.S. farmers need to place a higher priority on conservation practices in order to remain globally competitive.

“It’s a question of who makes the rules,” Buffett said. “Agriculture can get out ahead and set agricultural sustainability standards, or wait and watch as others make the rules.”

As urban populations continue to grow and rural areas lose relative political clout, the necessity for far-sighted strategic planning rises. Speaking at the meeting, held in Omaha, Nebraska last week, Buffett described his own learning curve as a U.S. farmer and issued a clear challenge to the Council’s delegates to set the example to the world in conservation agriculture.

As chairman and CEO of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, Buffett has traveled to numerous countries to document the challenges of providing adequate resources to support human demands. His Foundation is a leader in agricultural research in the developing world, with an emphasis on improving productivity and sustainability for smallholder farmers. It has sponsored research, outreach and training programs in nearly 80 countries since 1999.

Click here to view photos from the Council’s summer annual meeting.