BLOOMINGTON - Go ahead, branch out.

It's not so important to predict the future as it is to consider the possibilities and figure out your choices, David Zach, a futurist from Milwaukee, told about 300 people Tuesday at the 15th annual Illinois Commodity Conference at Bloomington's Doubletree Hotel & Conference Center.

In the age of technology, the path to the future shows fewer workers and more machines, fewer farms and more offices, Zach said.

"You thought you were going into agriculture. You thought you were farmers," Zach said. "You've become accountants."

Consider the past, present and future and think about "the implications of the implications of the implications," Zach said. Realize change isn't always for the best, he said.

"Not all change is progressive. It's not all forward," Zach said.

Zach also debunked the popular theory of keeping an open mind. He compared minds to parachutes when he said sometimes people need to stand firm on a solid decision.

"It's not about having an open mind," Zach said. "It's the ability to open and then close it."

Society today doesn't know how to make choices, Zach said. People are too preoccupied with their busyness to think about what's bothering them, he said.

To help them out, Zach offered four tips.

No. 1: Start smoking - or behave like a smoker who takes breaks, relaxes and starts up conversations with strangers.

No. 2: Start drinking - meaning you get away from your computer for lunch and go into the community.

No. 3: Hope - knowing people have dealt with bigger problems, and fairy tales teach such lessons as good guys can defeat dragons.

No. 4: Make a time frame - putting a picture of an older family member with a baby next to a photo of you as a child.

Adults forget to play, but when it comes to the unknown future, everyone is a child, Zach said.

"The best way to approach it is to play. Play with it. Don't be so obsessed with the bottom line," Zach said.

Zach's presentation was just part of a day focused on the future of agriculture and the environment. Several commodity groups sponsored the day-long event that also included topics on livestock handling, conservation in the farm bill and global warming.

"It's important because you get all the agriculture groups together to talk about issues, to mingle, to get to know each other," said David Hartke, chair of the Bloomington-based Illinois Soybean Association. "We're all farmers … We're all in this together."