Dr. Lowell Catlett, New Mexico State University economist and futurist, has been looking into the agricultural crystal ball for nearly 30 years. I remember seeing him speak back when Timbuk3 had their one-hit wonder “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades” and Lowell used to gallop on stage to that tune wearing sunglasses.

That song was a hit back in 1986 and Lowell is just as funny, interesting and relevant as ever. I saw him at the Pursuit of Maximum Yields event organized by the GROWMARK system’s FS Green Plan Solutions in Bettendorf, Iowa Thursday and haven’t laughed so hard and learned so much in a long time.

One thing that makes him so entertaining is his facial expressions – that’s why I wanted to use several photos here. He makes his points without the aid of power points – he certainly doesn’t need them!

All of the 250 farmers at the event this week will certainly remember without the aid of a power point what Dr. Catlett called “The Crap Factor” – that is higher disposable income to buy more crap. “The quality of our life has gone up dramatically and the price to have (the necessities) relative to our income has gone down,” he says. That allows people to buy more extras, and in the case of developing countries, it means they have more income to buy more protein.

Lowell also talked about how smart phones are helping farmers. “You’ve got the ability to take that mobile technology and do plant diagnostics with it,” he said. In the future, he sees the use of open source hardware (not just software) and 3D assembly that could allow manufacturing to actually be done on site with local materials, like building tractors on farms in developing nations.

Listen to my interview with Lowell Catlett here: Lowell Catlett Interview
Photos from Iowa Pursuit of Maximum Yields Event