2011 March/April Issue - Land O'Lakes Inc.

GLOBAL FOCUSINTERNATIONAL BUSINESSInside the Mindof a Global GrowerQ&A with Carol Kitchen, Vice President of International for Land O’Lakes, Inc.By 2050, food production aroundthe world must increase by 80percent in order to meet thedemands of expanding populations.Much of this growth willtake place in countries like China andBrazil that already produce significantamounts of food. But without the technologyused in the U.S., the world willhave a difficult time meeting this increaseddemand for food.Carol Kitchen leads international business growthfor Land O'Lakes.Land O’Lakes is an expert in agriculturalproductivity and can bring significantadvancements to these markets. Asvice president of International, CarolKitchen helps guide the cooperative’sinternational growth strategy. Here,Kitchen provides growingtogether withsome insights on the importance of thiswork and the ins-and-outs of doing businessaround the globe.Business is conducted differently acrossgeographic boundaries and cultures.How do you make things happen?Generally, there are three things that arefoundational to business success abroad:thorough outside research on particulartopics; networking with contacts in our industries;and spending time in the marketto grasp the nuances within our sectors.The information-gathering ranges acrossmany topics, including cultural practices;financial and regulatory requirements;producer and industry economies; andmarket and customer segments.Many of our international opportunitiesare joint ventures. Why are partnershipsabroad so important?Our feed businesses outside the U.S.are very similar to our U.S. business.The feed industry is local with manycompetitors in a dynamic market; itwould be difficult to understand andrespond to the market needs if we managedthe business from the U.S. Culturaldifferences, including language, makeGenerally, there are threethings that are foundationalto business success abroad:thorough outside research onparticular topics; networkingwith contacts in our industries;and spending time in themarket to grasp the nuanceswithin our sectors.it important to have a local partner tomanage the day-to-day operations ofthe business. And in a joint venture, weshare the risk and capital investment requiredto start up a new business.Has there been a particularly challengingexperience? What was the outcome?The area around one of our plants inChina experienced a significant outbreakin 2010 – a highly contagious diseaserequiring animals to be culled. The24 growingtogether www.landolakesinc.com