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Dr. Lowell Catlett    

Futurist, Economist & Former Dean, Emeritus of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at New Mexico State University

Dr. Lowell Catlett was a Regents Professor in Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Business and Extension Economics and the Dean of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at New Mexico State University until his retirement in 2015. He is an exciting futurist whose knowledge of technologies and their implications on the way we will live and work is addressed in his varied and upbeat presentations. His vast knowledge astounds corporate and association audiences both nationally and internationally. His presentations are thought- provoking and highly-entertaining.

Dr. Catlett received his doctorate in Economics from Iowa State University, and has twice received the Don C. Roush Award for Excellence in Teaching. He is also a recipient of the prestigious Burlington Foundation Faculty Achievement Award for Outstanding University Teaching. In 1994 he was one of two Western Regional recipients of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges “Excellence in College and University Teaching in the Food and Agricultural Sciences Award.”

In February 2007 he received the Carl F. Hertz Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award from the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers for his service to agriculture.

In addition to his selection in 2002 as a member of the original class of six New Mexico State University Regents Professors, Dr. Catlett has received every teaching award the university offers, including the Westhafer Award for Teaching in 1990, New Mexico State University’s top honor. The professor of agricultural economics and agricultural business is internationally known as an expert in commodities futures markets and is in demand as a speaker and consultant on predicting and planning for near- and long-term futures.

Lowell recently received the College of Agriculture and Home Economics Advisor of the Year as well as Teacher of the Year at New Mexico State University.

He is a consultant to the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, the Interior, Defense and Labor. He has also been a consultant to many Fortune 500 companies.

Speech Topics

Healthcare: To your health!

Yes we need acute and trauma care and it is increasingly non-intrusive, remote and outcomes driven. But health, rather than illness, requires a continuum of care that is DIY, mobile, high tech and high touch. It’s a world where your DNA is necessary so a new liver can be 3-D printed for you as well as “Kangaroo” therapy for a premature baby. The very young and the elderly get “play therapy” and the workaholic gets “plant and animal therapy.” Its bricks and mortar as well as virtual and changing at an exponential rate both technically and socially all the while becoming the world’s largest industry.

Agriculture: What the World Needs Now -- More Than Ever

The Mars rover Curiosity has it and so does agriculture—LIBS (Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy). Curiosity is using LIBS to look for life and agriculture is using LIBS to help build better lives by measuring carbon, nutrients and moisture in soils for increased yields and a better environment. Mobile apps with molecular and software camera lens monitor everything from plant and animal health to insect infestations and do so with a precision and accuracy that allows agriculture to feed 7+ billion people better than at any time in history all the while fostering a parallel local food system that can be organic and certified to the source. iDNA chips that instantly profiles plants, animals and people and moves agriculture to the forefront of healthcare and energy that has to increasingly control mother nature with precision application of nutrients and moisture. Agriculture becomes the world’s biggest industry because it is part of energy, healthcare, ecology and food.

New Game, New Rules, New Reality: The Shifting Financial World of the 21st Century

Just as it is difficult for the average American to imagine a world without running water, indoor plumbing, automobiles and food in abundance, the tectonic plates of the financial world are shifting in major ways. Never in modern history have there been so many people making decisions about lifestyles versus life itself and the consequences to the insurance and financial services industries are staggering. Certainly new products are in order, but just as importantly will be the development of the human capital necessary to help the new consumer live life to its fullest. Healthcare, wealth management and risk management become blurred and integrated in ways never dreamed before-new game, new rules, new reality.

The New Middle Class

Open Source Hardware (OSH) and 3-D assemblers are driving the resurgence in manufacturing. It’s small, family-owned, local and often in garages. And the labor force needed for this renaissance is blue collar: people who know how to make things. Untethered Wireless Smart Mobiles (WSM) are connecting everything from healthcare to driverless cars and the labor force needed for this is no-collar- t-shirt- creative types who thrive on cultural clusters. Get ready for a major revolution in education, architecture and lifestyles as the new middle class in America dominates this century.

Imagining the World of 2020

Worldwide GDP reached a record high of 70 trillion dollars in 2012 and will continue to grow and prosper in new and creative ways. Creativity, technology and wealth are driving new industries and business development opportunities unlike any period in history. Healthcare, energy, education, finance and agriculture are changing at the fastest pace ever recorded as the new creative economy dominates both the service and manufacturing sectors. Get ready for a world that is increasingly borderless and un-tethered and driven by the fastest rate of change ever recorded in history.

Understanding The World’s Largest Economy and Tomorrow’s New Future

The U.S. economy emerged from its worst recession since 1938 to become the world’s first 15 trillion dollar economy in 2010. It did so because U.S. businesses increased productivity faster than any period on record all the while having the highest profits and largest cash reserves ever recorded. The U.S. is now poised to set the pace for new business activity globally as it became in 2012 the world’s first 16 trillion dollar economy. Manufacturing and construction industries will boom as new technologies change living and working spaces. These new technologies will also create growth in healthcare and agriculture as the demand for new lifestyles worldwide expands. Get ready for phenomenal growth as technology, demographics and new consumer expectations drive new business starts and the reformulation of current businesses.

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