Ideas worth spreading

What farmers need to be modern, climate-friendly and profitable

1,350,764 views | Beth Ford • TED@BCG

Farming feeds all of us -- yet in rural communities, farmers are under pressure from mounting climate volatility and limited access to modern tools like the internet. How can agriculture stay resilient and grow with the times? Beth Ford, CEO of the farming co-op Land O'Lakes, shares her plan to establish broadband as a basic right nationwide and talks through an exciting range of climate-friendly innovations aimed at making farmers more sustainable and profitable. (This virtual conversation, hosted by TED business curator Corey Hajim, was recorded March 2, 2020.)

Farming feeds all of us -- yet in rural communities, farmers are under pressure from mounting climate volatility and limited access to modern tools like the internet. How can agriculture stay resilient and grow with the times? Beth Ford, CEO of the farming co-op Land O'Lakes, shares her plan to establish broadband as a basic right nationwide and talks through an exciting range of climate-friendly innovations aimed at making farmers more sustainable and profitable. (This virtual conversation, hosted by TED business curator Corey Hajim, was recorded March 2, 2020.)

This talk was presented at a TED Institute event given in partnership with BCG. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about the TED Institute.

Learn more about Land O'Lakes' efforts to close the digital divide.

About the speakers

Beth Ford

Farming champion

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Beth Ford is president and CEO of Land O'Lakes, a production and agribusiness company and a nearly 100-year-old farmer-owned cooperative.

Corey Hajim

TED business curator

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Corey Hajim curates world-changing ideas from the brightest and boldest minds in business.

About TED Institute

Every year, TED works with a group of select companies and foundations to identify internal ideators, inventors, connectors, and creators. Drawing on the same rigorous regimen that has prepared speakers for the TED main stage, TED Institute works closely with each partner, overseeing curation and providing intensive one-on-one talk development to sharpen and fine tune ideas. The culmination is an event produced, recorded, and hosted by TED, generating a growing library of valuable TED Talks that can spur innovation and transform organizations.

Read more about the TED Institute

This talk was presented at a TED Institute event given in partnership with BCG. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about the TED Institute.

Learn more about Land O'Lakes' efforts to close the digital divide.