In the wake of unprecedented worldwide economic disruption driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses across the dairy industry remain highly uncertain over which new trends,practices and market conditions in the global economy are poised to give way to pre-pandemic norms versus which ones are here to stay as part of the “new normal.”
“This will be our first in-person, large-scale conference since March 2020,” says Nate Donnay, director of market insight, StoneX Financial Inc. – FCM Division. “We’re excited to see people inperson again, and we know there are quite a few people eager to get back and do networking in person.”
The annual conference, which used to be focused only on the dairy industry, has in the lastsevera l years broadened its reach to include a number of other industries and factors that impact the dairy market. It is divided into four tracks — Global Agriculture Outlook, Dairy
Outlook, Correspondent Clearing Outlook and SA Stone Wealth Management Outlook — allowing attendees to jump between tracks depending on their interest.
“Five years ago we still were doing a dairy-specific conference, with topics primarily dairy- focused. We covered a little on grains, a little on meat, and the macro scale,” Donnay says. “We found that one, a lot of the factors in agriculture are interconnected. Even if you’re a cheese
company, the outlook for feed is important. The geopolitical outlook is important. Also, ingredients might include items derived from grains or oilseed, or meat-based, or that might be part of the product mix they offer if it’s a resale food company.”
This year, one of the main themes will be the long tail of the pandemic, including pandemic-area policies that will continue moving forward, as well as inflation, how long it is expected to last, and its impact on the economy.
“There has been a lot of government intervention in the dairy markets. USDA made over $2 billion in dairy product purchases in the last two years. There has been the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, Section 32, TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program) and a
number of different government programs,” Donnay says.
“We’ve also seen the government sending direct payments to dairies through CFAP, DairyMargin Coverage and new programs,” he adds. “All these are impacting supply and demand fundamentals, and they will be impacting supply and demand for a while.”
Another topic that will be discussed in the dairy track is new environmental regulations that are being put in place around the world in places like the European Union (EU) and New Zealand.
“We look down the pipe for the U.S. and see increasing government regulation in agriculture on a global level eventually making its way to the United States,” Donnay says.
Additionally, one of the analysts from StoneX’s Shanghai office will be speaking about the impact of Chinese policies, as China currently receives about 26% of global dairy exports.
Among the presenters already slated for Global Markets Outlook 2022 are:
• Marin Bozic, University of Minnesota, speaking about federal milk marketing orders.
• Torsten Hemme and Lukasz Wyrzykowski, International Farm Comparison Network,
speaking about EU government policy and sustainability.
• Ashley Ellixson, United Dairymen of Arizona, speaking about U.S. government policy and
sustainability.
• Darin Friedrichs, StoneX senior Asia commodity analyst, speaking about China.
For a full agenda, including the line-up of speakers, visit the event website: https://stonex.cventevents.com/GlobalMarketsOutlook2022
