LANSING, Mich. — Distinguished guests from corporate America and government highlighted themes of technology, sustainability and feeding a hungry world at this month’s Michigan Agri-Business Assoc. (MABA) winter conference.

“This year’s conference is the largest yet, attracting nearly 1,000 participants, and we’re encouraged by the outstanding response from people within the agriculture industry and policymakers,” said Jim Byrum, president of MABA.

The guest speakers included executives from John Deere, BASF and Pioneer Hi-Bred International. David Smith, global director of John Deere’s nutrient product line, spoke to more than 700 people during a luncheon at MABA’s 79th annual winter conference.

“Farming complexity is increasing and technology is enabling new solutions,” Smith said. “Moving the data around is key. Our hope is that we gain alignment with all our industry partners ... Globally, the food diet is going to change, with no additional arable acreage, no additional water resources. The question is how to use new technology and deploy it to get better results.”

He said his company has different solutions to these problems, including increased machine “uptime” and productivity.

“There really is a significant challenge for agriculture to grow twice as much food over the next 30 years,” said Paul Rea of BASF, in a separate speech. “We’re not going to have more land, so producing more is the key. I’m confident that we can continue to provide a safe, affordable, abundant and nutritious food supply into the future.”

Rea told a breakfast session audience that Michigan farmers have an opportunity to help feed a growing middle class in populous China. BASF spends more than $2 million every day in the push for new sustainable agricultural technologies; these efforts produced dicamba-tolerant soybeans, drought-tolerant traits that can increase crop yields, and an increased focus on plant health treatment.

He added that these investments are essential to the future of agriculture. “There is no better example of a family farm that’s been passed down from generation to generation, often in better shape, because of sustainable agricultural practices,” he said.

“Everything we do has to be sustainable. I see sustainability as adding to our bottom line.”

Alejandro Munoz of Pioneer Hi-Bred International said grain handlers and other agricultural businesses are demanding more information from Pioneer and similar firms about their products.

“Agriculture must be responsive to consumers’ demands the more the world grows, and that means being responsive to different markets, different ethnic groups, different needs,” he said. “As we move forward, we must be more sensitive to the products we are bringing to the tables. Grain handlers are the key to this issue.

“When I wake up every morning, I think, ‘What are we doing to put more food on the table for people?’ I take that responsibility very seriously.”

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) changed the theme somewhat when she opened her speech by discussing the financial crisis last year at MF Global and how it affected agriculture. She said the company went bankrupt Oct. 31 after it “somehow” lost $1.2 billion of its customers’ money. She held two hearings to try to find out what happened.

“I very much appreciate that Roger Hupfer from Freeland Bean and Grain, who lost his money in the bankruptcy, came in to testify about what happened to his company,” she said. “He gave very important testimony that made it clear why this investigation is important.

“Roger and other MF Global customers were not investors. They did not lend the company money. This was their money, which was supposed to be segregated and protected – kept separate from the firm’s own trading.”

She went on to say 70 percent of that money has been recovered and that she is working on getting the remainder of it back to its owners. She also talked about the farm bill (see related article in this issue).

“In February (2011), we got a taste of how difficult it was going to be to pass a farm bill when the House Republicans proposed their budget, calling for a devastating $30 billion in cuts to commodities and crop insurance, $18 billion in cuts to conservation and $127 billion in cuts to nutrition,” she said. “These cuts passed the House and almost every Republican in the Senate supported them.”

She went on to say that House Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor called for $33 billion in cuts to production agriculture and that President Obama’s budget plan also called for $33 billion in cuts to agriculture, including crop insurance.

Stabenow told the audience her plans don’t include any cuts to crop insurance. She has recommended $23 billion in cuts to agriculture.