Farmers likely will capture value from the next generation of "agrobiotechnologies" equal to what the commodity markets will capture, but beyond that, added value for the farmer will depend on what assets are brought to the negotiating table within the supply chain.
"The relative negotiating position of individual farmers in each supply chain will likely determine their share of value" from the next generation of biotechnologies, according to University of Missouri-Columbia Professor Nicholas Kalaitzandonakes.
The first generation, which was adopted faster than anyone anticipated, also brought "tremendous variation in the yields and economics...across time and space," he told USDA’s ag forum. On average, he added, emphasizing the words, "there is significant value delivered at the farm level." But it can be argued, that on-farm economic benefits "are transitory."