b'The Collapse of the MiddleJust as the economy has witnessed a shrinking Middle Class,one research firm believes the same trend will carry-over to farmers throughout the next 20 years. What will this mean for seedcompanies and the retailers who seek to serve them?Julie Deering jdeering@issuesink.comIF YOU HAD Acrystal ball to look 20-plus years into the future, would you? Sometimes knowing the future can be scary because it might not look anything like you want or expect. Maybe theres little, or even no, resemblance to today.Who are your customers? What do they value? How do they operate? Thats the vision Brett Sciotto, president and CEO of Aimpoint Research, tried to paint for attendees of the American Seed Trade Associations Policy and Leadership Development Conference in Denver, Colo.Who is the Farmer of 2040, and what will they require of us? Those are the two questions Sciotto and his team set out to answer when they believed clients werent looking far enough over the horizon. Through qualitative and quantitative research, Aimpoint Research revealed the psychology of the farmers who are most likely to lead the industry in 2040 and both internal and external factors impacting their success.In short, Sciotto said the Farmer of 2040 will require many things of seed companies and those who seek to serve them.They have a completely different view than what we are used to serving, and they certainly have a different view than a lot of institutions in agriculture are prepared to serve, Sciotto said. These farmers are going to be educated. They are going to have a high business IQ.48/ SEEDWORLD.COMSEPTEMBER 2019'