CALF_News_June_July_2019

32 CALF News • June | July 2019 • www.calfnews.net Disrupters in the Livestock Industry T he Colorado Livestock Association (CLA) held their Annual Meeting April 3-4 in Loveland, Colo. One of the meeting’s highlights was a panel discussion on “Disruptors in the Live- stock Industry.” Moderated by CLA Past President Marshall Frasier of F Cross Cattle Company, the panel featured lawyer Chris Carrington, environmental consultant/engineer Tom Haren and public policy consultant Floyd Ciruli. All four touched on key disruptors that agriculture has been and will be facing. Their perspectives were insightful at best and troubling at worst. At the onset, Frasier defined disrup- tion as any kind of disturbance that would affect or interrupt an event, an activity or process – essentially anything that goes against the status quo. A dis- ruption can be positive or negative and is usually something we were not expect- ing. Things like a blizzard, a flat tire, a traffic ticket, an unexpected political out- come, winning the lottery, falling into an inheritance or an unexpected phone call from an old friend are all disruptions. Lawsuits, viral social media posts and changes in policy can also be disruptors. Tom Haren, CEO of AGPROfession- als, agreed with Marshall's definition of disruption, but also pointed out that it is used as a buzzword for new technol- ogy and innovation. Innovations that cause companies to operate better in an abnormal way, such as Uber in com- parison to how we used to hail a cab, etc., are not necessarily disruptions, but improvements or innovations. Netflix, on the other hand, was a disruption because it introduced a new product or service (streaming video) that changed an indus- try or process. According to Haren, some standard disruptors to agriculture are people (neighbors), social factors, business By Lisa Bard Contributing Editor environments, regulations, laws, disease, technology and elections. “Voters can inflict disruptors on agriculture simply by imposing their standards and values on ag production systems,” Haren said.“As urban growth and sprawl continue to infringe on ag land and more urban people become our neighbors, count on their influence and wishes becoming disruptors to our business. “While ag seems to feel somewhat protected by ‘Right-to-Farm’ legislation, it is narrowly defined, not statutory, difficult to enforce and sometimes can infringe on the rights of others.” He also pointed to social media as being a huge disruptor.“People can mount a social media campaign via Face- book or other social media means, have a website and even start a GoFundMe campaign and, in a very short amount of time, have enough money to hire a lawyer to champion their cause.” In relevant environmental issues, there are regulatory aspects, civil aspects and criminal aspects – all are disruptors. Water quality has been a big issue, but Haren said that, in Colorado, the next 20 years will be all about air quality and will bring about new air quality regulations. “Global warming, greenhouse gases and climate change – whether you believe in it all or you don't, does not matter – it’s all here and it will affect your business,” Haren said. Regulations are defined and imple- mented by people, which means that interpretations by different people in positions of authority can result in changes in how those regulations are car- ried out. Although regulations or rules as written did not change, the regula- tory interpretations did because staff changed. Therefore, elections matter. Who is in office matters because they will be interpreting regulations on the books, and how they interpret the regu- lations may not be in your favor. “The public is looking at our opera- tions under a microscope and can always find something they don't like, which results in legal action for the public to get what they want,” Haren said. How do we control agriculture when we can’t control the environment? Haren presented several innovations he thinks will be in response to these disruptions, including many ways to control or miti- gate the environment impacts on agricul- ture and the public. These innovations will include putting cattle and dairies in cross-vented barns in order to create a smaller environmental footprint; remov- ing lagoons due to science and technologi- cal innovations; increasing wastewater treatment to reuse and recycle water; increasing use of robotics and automa- tion; utilizing feed trucks that operate without drivers; and developing pesticides that identify every plant and only spraying a specific pesticide on just that plant. A bit further ahead but very viable are the possibilities of farming without soil or with artificial light. This could include farming in a warehouse system that uses the necessary resources in a very controlled manner to grow the plants needed for our survival and to feed livestock. What the public thinks about all this remains to be seen, but it’s on the horizon. The legal aspect of disruptions was addressed by Chris Carrington of Rich- ards Carrington LLC , a Denver-based law firm focusing on civil and com- mercial litigation. He represents feedlot owners and other ag-based businesses in a variety of litigation contexts, includ- ing contract actions, fraud cases, vendor