Globalization drives changes throughout every sector of the economy.
This has led to increasing consolidation at every level as businesses attempt to gain the size, scale, and efficiencies needed to remain viable and competitive long term. In my view, the best way to help achieve this is to maintain and strengthen the ability of farmers to join together in cooperative self-help efforts. To be successful, however, we have to make sure farmers and our cooperative businesses are strategically positioned to compete in what clearly is a rapidly changing global marketplace. Kelley said he is concerned over various proposals to address the issues of agriculture concentration that would make it more costly and difficult for farmers and their cooperatives to strategically position themselves to compete in a changing global economy. The practical effect would be simply to lock farmers and their cooperatives into a permanent disadvantage relative to their competitors.