Opening speech by Commissioner Summer K. Mersinger before the meeting of the Agricultural Advisory Committee

Good morning and thank you to Chairman Behnam for organizing this important meeting of the Agricultural Advisory Committee (AAC).

With so many important topics for discussion, I am sure that today’s meeting will be extremely interesting and I look forward to hearing from those who will address the Advisory Committee today.

As many of you know, I am very passionate about the agricultural derivatives markets that we regulate at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). These markets are the backbone of this agency, just as the agricultural sector is the backbone of our economy. Well-functioning agricultural derivatives markets directly impact the prices consumers pay for everything from a hamburger at a fast-food restaurant to a cup of coffee, which many of us need to start the day. Problems related to these markets are really paperback problems.

The agenda for today’s UK meeting includes a range of issues of paramount importance to those in the productive farming sector. From the economic impact agriculture faces from extreme weather conditions to the risk of market destabilization from unpredictable geopolitical events, the issues discussed today will paint a picture of the hardships and hurdles this sector faces day in and day out.

Growing up, when I asked my dad about his day after he returned from his fields, I think the phrase I used my dad most often was, “Hopefully tomorrow will be better.” I always thought, that this was such a pessimistic view, and I often lectured my father about a more positive view. But in hindsight it was a positive prospect. He knew that storm clouds always gave way to clear skies, that poor yields would eventually improve and prices would eventually rise. In fact, I now know that everyone in productive farming needs to be positive about the future or they would have given up after the first year on the farm.

But with so many factors beyond their control, this optimism may seem naïve and misguided. However, it is not only the courage and strength of the people in agriculture that keep them going even in difficult times. It is also the ingenuity in this area of ​​the economy that produces new technological advances that improve everything from the seeds planted to the equipment used for harvesting. This ingenuity is also at work when it comes to finding new ways of farming and new income opportunities on the farm and I believe we will reflect this in the presentation on sustainability in farming.

Finally, our role at the CFTC is to ensure that our agricultural futures markets continue to serve as price discovery and risk mitigation tools for those involved in the sector. When we hear directly from an exchange how price limits in agricultural markets have been evolving, we can fully understand how well these markets are achieving their intended goals, especially during the volatile times we’ve witnessed over the past few years. I appreciate the focus on those boundaries in today’s agenda.

Each of the CFTC’s five advisory committees offers numerous benefits to the public and the agency, and as I said before, government regulation is doomed to fail without the participation of public stakeholders. The AAC provides a meaningful forum for the Commission to learn from those closely and instrumentally involved in the production of food and fiber here in the United States and around the world.

Thank you Chair Behnam for convening today’s UK meeting, thank you to the staff here at the CFTC who make these meetings possible, and a special thank you to Brigitte Weyls, the new federal commissioner-designate for AAC. Bridget—I’d love to say you have big shoes to fill… but I suppose that sounds a bit self-serving.

Last but not least, I thank all AAC members for their knowledgeable input and support of our mission here at the CFTC. We are grateful for your public service.