How China Is Changing Global Ag Trade With Ian Lahiffe

Feb 27, 2025

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This quarter of the Future of Agriculture podcast is made possible by Case IH: https://www.caseih.com/en-us/unitedstates

Subscribe to Janette Barnard's Prime Future Newsletter: https://primefuture.substack.com/

Connect with Ian Lahiffe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-lahiffe-25165b1a/

If you had to make a shortlist of the key drivers of the global agricultural commodity trade over the past 30 years, one of the top drivers would most certainly be China.

" The Chinese livestock industry and how Chinese consumers choose their protein has a direct impact on global agriculture. China's obviously the world's largest importer of dairy, largest importer of beef, largest importer of soy, largest importer of corn." - Ian Lahiffe

Ian Lahiffe has been living and working in China for nearly 14 years. He joins Janette Barnard on today’s episode to help us better understand the Chinese market, and even more importantly, unpack some important changes that impact global agriculture.

"There's two trends that I think US producers should be concerned about. One is Brazil becoming increasingly close to China, and that . Brazilian product can get more easily to the port. And the second is that, Chinese producers are actively looking at nutritional solutions where they can reduce the amount of imported soy that they need. The trend looks like US producers need to look for those next markets. I think the boat is sailing on being very reliant on China." - Ian Lahiffe

Janette Barnard and Ian Lahiffe talk about some big changes happening in China on today’s Future of Agriculture podcast.

Brought to you by Case IH:

Case IH designs, engineers and produces cutting-edge farm equipment based on a comprehensive understanding of farmers’ needs, wants and challenges, integrating these insights into their development and manufacturing.

For example, take their Model Year 25 Magnum tractor. The new Magnum is purposefully designed to answer farmers’ needs in every design and engineering choice. Improved horsepower for pulling heavier loads, faster.

Bundled, integrated and ready-to-go precision tech for greater accuracy in the field. And a transmission farmers can tweak for improved control and performance in different tasks.

That kind of design thinking is exactly where the future of ag is headed, and that’s why you’ll be hearing me talk to the folks at Case IH at different points throughout this quarter about what they do and how they’re working to push the ag forward.