While China is taking extraordinary measures to reform and create efficiencies in its agricultural sector, it will remain a major importer of Iowa-grown soybeans, corn and pork for decades to come, predicted speakers at last week’s Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) Economic Summit in Ames.

"China is going to have a very positive impact on Iowa agriculture for a long, long time," said Dave Miller, IFBF director of research and commodity services who recently led a group of Iowa Farm Bureau members on a study trip to China earlier this month. "It’s just the fact that they want a lot of what we grow."

That...