Cultivating Relationships Ambassador’s visit stresses opportunity in expanding trade BY BETHANY BARATTA
T
en years after hosting then-Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, the Kimberley family hosted Qin Gang, Chinese Ambassador to the U.S., on their farm near Maxwell. It was part of the ambassador’s visit to the U.S. with his wife and others, exploring cooperation opportunities and learning about the advanced technology used on the farm. “We want to tell you how pleased and happy we are to have you here today in our home,” says Rick Kimberley, greeting his guests. The visit to the Kimberley farm followed the U.S.-China High-Level Agricultural Dialogue, which took place the night before at the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates in Des Moines. A focus of the event was the relationship between Iowa farmers and Chinese consumers. The visit to the Kimberley farm was an
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extension of that discussion between the largest global purchaser of soy (China) and a top supplier of U.S.-grown soy (Iowa farmers).
Finding efficencies The Kimberleys roots in America date back to the 1860s when they emigrated from England. Rick and Martha farm with their son, Grant, senior director of market development for the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) and executive director of the Iowa Biodiesel Board. Efficiencies have improved since the 1800s. Several generations later, the Kimberley family has traded in the horses typically seen on an Iowa farm for 600-horsepower tractors. All the while, they’ve managed the risks: weather, financial, environmental and technology. “It’s not easy,” says Rick Kimberley,
an ISA farmer member. “You have to be able to adjust and adapt.” They’ve grown soybean production from 25 bushels per acre in the 1970s to 75 bushels per acre in 2021. During the same period, corn yields have improved from 125 bushels to 250 bushels per acre. “China is an important partner with us in agriculture – a very large buyer of soybeans and corn, and it’s really important for us that we can continue to grow significant crops,” Kimberley says. “But we have to do it in a safe, secure and sustainable manner.” The Kimberleys are frequent travelers to China, traveling more than 20 times to visit the country’s farmers. They also work in the Hebei province on a demonstration farm to showcase modern farming techniques modeled after their family farm. Iowa and Hebei, China, have had a sister-state relationship since 1983.
