So writes Thomas Friedman in provocative article that consigns today’s Detroit to the dustbin of history.

Friedman’s observation that successful new ventures tend to be built out of old components glued together with new ideas is relevant everywhere in a world changing at an uncomfortable pace.

Agriculture is no exception. Like every other business, it is grappling with changes wrought by the financial meltdown, and with climate change—which is really two issues: the reality that climate is changing, and the scientific and political responses to various interpretations of climate change as an idea.

Nor is it likely that a billion hungry people are going to sit down and quietly disappear from the planet. Productive and sustainable agriculture, as Julian Cribb has eloquently explained, is an investment in frontline defence.

Agriculture is an innately conservative occupation. There are too many inbuilt uncertainties, like weather and markets, to make farmers gladly welcome more uncertainties into their business. Change tends to come at a considered rate, often paced in generations.

Friedman’s commentary on Detroit poses some questions for Australia’s farm sector, particularly those who aspire to lead it.

Are the forces reshaping the world going to reshape agriculture? And if the answer is yes, is agriculture going to do the changing, or will change be done to it?