I recently finished my 28th year of lecturing at The Executive Program for Agricultural Producers (TEPAP) in Austin, Texas. TEPAP, the vision of Dr. Danny Klinefelter, brings attendees from across the world together to provide top-level education for producers who want to grow their operations to the next level. The following are a few of my observations from this year’s class.

This year’s group hailed from over 30 states, a number of Canadian provinces, Mexico, Brazil and Australia. Many attendees were sons and daughters of previous graduates of the executive venue. A number of participants fell between 30 to 40 years old and attended to seek out information concerning business, finance and human resources. The amount of female attendees also continued to trend upward as more female producers enter the industry.

In my view, attendees were very engaged. They were taking notes and minimized interruptions by their mobile devices. The group was interested in global trends such as international trade, consumer megatrends, technology and how each of these topics will influence their strategic decision-making.

The diversity of perspectives from abroad led to valuable conversations regarding trade. For example, the Canadian attendees were concerned about NAFTA negotiations and engaged with U.S. producers who share similar concerns. An Australian producer mentioned that the West Coast port slowdown in the U.S. benefited hay exports from their country. This was due to the breakdown of trust in the U.S. by Asian countries that place a high value on ensuring a reliable supply network. As a result, Australian hay exports to Asia have increased by 50 percent despite higher prices. A participant from South America indicated that China was aggressively pursuing relationships with South American commodity growers as a diversification source of food, fiber and fuel. The two latter examples illustrate trading opportunities that were aided by the U.S. withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Many producers are feeling the financial pressure of the economic cycle. However, those located on the coasts with value-added businesses tied to urban and suburban economics are doing quite well concerning financial performance.

The engagement, interaction, high-energy attitudes and open-mindedness of the group were refreshing in an agriculture industry that is at the crossroads. I suggest committing to be a lifelong learner by investing your time and money to take your business to another level by enrolling in educational opportunities such as TEPAP.