Education: Bachelor’s degree in economics, Thammasat University (Bangkok, Thailand); MBA in economics, Iowa State University; MBA in accounting, Iowa State University; Ph.D., in economics, Iowa State University
Valuable business book: “Freakonomics” by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
What is your connection to farming?
I grew up in a rural part of Thailand — in rice country near the Mekong River. When I grew up, we planted with water buffaloes walking in front of the plow. At harvest we used a tool that looks like a crescent moon to harvest by hand. When I came to the U.S., I couldn’t believe how big the machines were in the fields. In the 10 years I was in the U.S. for college, my home area saw major improvements in mechanization. It fascinated me how productivity increased in my hometown and around the world. It never fails to amaze me what one machine can do.
What are the highlights of your career path?
I went to college in Bangkok and spent a few years working at a bank. I realized I wanted to pursue a graduate degree, which is how I ended up at Iowa State University. After my degrees there, I worked for an investment company for a few years. I joined John Deere in 2011. I’ve moved around a bit at John Deere, working as a forecast analyst, then manager of analytics and then as an economist. In March, I became the director of corporate economics.
What are your key responsibilities at John Deere?
My team’s job is to keep eyes on the global economics environment. We have a team of economists covering North America, South America, Europe and Australia. We look at short-term (one to two years) and long-term (10+ years) trends.
What economic trends do you watch?
In the short-term, we always watch weather, global production, input prices and consumer demand. On the macro side, we are watching inflation because it continues to be persistent, which creates a higher risk for recession. For the long term, we watch policy issues, consumer trends, biofuel demand and sustainability trends.
What is a leadership lesson you’ve learned during your career?
Embrace change. In our industry, change will only continue to come faster. That will be even more applicable in the ag environment going forward.
How do you synthesize data?
A good example is when the trade war broke out between the U.S. and China in 2018. You saw opinions on both sides of the spectrum — from the sky is falling to everything will be OK. Back then and now, I always go back to the fundamentals of supply and demand. Regardless of how volatile prices are, supply and demand will always prevail. Don’t just read the headlines; take a deep dive into the data and stick to fundamentals.
Kanlaya Barr will be speaking at the 2023 Top Producer Summit, which takes place Jan. 23-25 in Nashville. Register now!
