Agriculture force for connection, not confrontation -- U.S. agricultural experts

DES MOINES, United States, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Agriculture can be a force for connection, not confrontation, a U.S. agricultural expert has said.

"In agriculture, we've always found common ground," said Kenneth Quinn, former president of the World Food Prize Foundation.

He believes agriculture is more than just commerce -- it's diplomacy. He warns that treating trade as a form of political leverage risks unraveling decades of goodwill.

Charles Hurburgh, a professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering at Iowa State University, said that trade restrictions cause more harm than good in a sector that thrives on long-term planning and global cooperation.

"Iowa's economy is largely agricultural, which is good in stable times. But in uncertain times, it leaves us more exposed," he said.

With decades of experience in grain quality, marketing and food supply systems, Hurburgh said that trust matters in international agriculture.

Quinn believes that agriculture remains a unifying force for the United States and China.

"This building," he said of the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates, "has seen hundreds of farmers, scientists and students who believed in the same thing: that food connects people. If we remember that, there's still a path forward." Enditem