Central Europe's agriculture producers will play a major role in addressing climate and food supply challenges around the world. The region's agri-food leaders discussed collaborative solutions and strategies for success in Budapest, Hungary, at the first stop of the Alltech ONE World Tour (ONE), launching a series of international events that bring the ideas and inspiration of the annual Alltech ONE Conference to the world. Discussions explored collaborative solutions to the greatest challenges facing the agri-food industry as it confronts the “4 Cs” — the major forces of climate, conflict, consumer trends and rising costs.
The ONE Budapest keynote presentation from Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech, welcomed delegates to Budapest and challenged them to think about what comes next for the agri-food industry.
“In times of uncertainty, it is crucial for businesses like ours to adapt and innovate,” Lyons said. “The Alltech ONE Conference is no exception. While our annual symposium has had its roots in Kentucky, USA, for four decades, we felt it was important to adapt and engage with our customers on their home ground. Thus, it is only fitting that we launch the Alltech ONE World Tour in Budapest, Hungary, which is at the center of both change and opportunity.”
ONE Budapest attendees heard from industry experts on various topics, including insights from the dairy industry, data for profitable and sustainable agriculture, and mycotoxin management, and they were also able to attend focus track sessions on dairy, pigs and poultry. Robert Walker, European growth officer at Alltech, moderated a panel discussion featuring the species focus track speakers, who discussed how to remain profitable amid uncertainty and how the learnings from the day’s sessions can be applied to individual operations.
“By sharing data and insights, we empower advisors to solve agri-food-system challenges and drive the transfer of value, from the consumer to the processor to the farmer,” said Walker.
The final session of the day featured a discussion between Tara McCarthy, global vice president for ESG at Alltech, and Lyons on the path forward toward a sustainable future.
“As an industry, we have the responsibility to frame the role of agri-food in the context of the four Cs of climate, conflict, cost and consumer,” McCarthy said. “We will need to use our insights (from data), our skills and our scale to achieve impact, but most importantly, we will need to adapt and partner across the value chain.”
“The theme of our ONE Budapest stop — ‘Thriving Through Turbulence: Rising to the Challenges of Climate, Conflict, Consumers and Costs in Agriculture’ — perfectly encapsulates the unique hurdles we encounter in this region,” Lyons said. “With increasing geopolitical tensions and rising input costs, producers will need to make well-informed decisions to enhance their efficiency and adapt to the modern challenges faced by many in this area.”
The Alltech ONE World Tour will continue with stops in Dublin, Ireland, on June 19-20 and Calgary, Canada, on July 3-4, then on to the U.S., Asia, South America and the Middle East. For more information and to register for an Alltech ONE World Tour stop, visit one.alltech.com.
