Ag News Online

More Online Agri-tunities

2012-02-15T08:33:00.000-08:00

Most of the population is embracing social media because of curiosity, interest or necessity. The ag industry is one of society’s latent groups to this communications medium but has rapidly developed a presence at Facebook, YouTube and Twitter and is now utilizing one of the newest social-media developments — Pinterest.

Pinterest is a virtual pinboard online — a social photo/video sharing website allowing users to create and manage theme-based image collections.

Each item of media is known as a "pin.” Pins are then assigned to a user’s "board," which is a collection of pins about a topic. Popular topics include wedding ideas, recipes and home design. Pinterest also allows users to view the activity of other Pinterest users and re-pin other users’ pins at their own boards.

View examples of ag-related Pinterest boards:

So why should agriculture invest at Pinterest?

“If you’re not at the table, you can’t be a part of constructing the face of agriculture — nor can you counter misinformation,” states Cause Matters Corp., a cause-marketing business specializing in agricultural advocacy in reference to today’s social-media platforms.

North Dakota State University’s Ag Communication Web Services received so many questions about the online tool, that it hosted a Webinar about Pinterest February 3 to help ag-industry members become affiliated with it and begin to use it as an extension of their outreach efforts. The University of Wyoming Extension, among others, also features a Pinterest learning guide online.

A recent Twitter user posed the question, “What’s the next ‘big’ thing in ag communications/social media?” One response: “I think Pinterest is catching a lot of momentum…Maybe this is a good place to share your farm message!”

An ag-industry-focused communications consulting firm wrote a blog about the delay between the farm community and Pinterest and begged the question, “Is ag keeping pace with Pinterest?” Her observations:

Few pins exist directly related to production agriculture: Few pins related to the process of raising and harvesting today’s food, fuel and fiber were at the site. I was able to find a few ranchers and their pins of the animals and their day-to-day work. However, the vast majority of pins focused on urban farming, organic food production and the new-age food revolution.
Food is the common ground between Pinterest and the ag industry: The amount of information about food — selecting the right foods, preparing meals and enjoying the feast — has expanded exponentially at Pinterest. Just logging in, 11 of the first 20 pins are related to eating. Therein lies the gap and the opportunity — connecting the process to the bountiful food on the table.
There’s an opportunity to close the gap: Pinterest is a great place to showcase what farming is about. Even one photo a week highlighting how farmers care for animals and provide a safe food supply can promote agriculture to Pinterest users.

Importantly, the author concluded, “It’s another way to tell our story where consumers are congregating.”

Though it may not be the most optimum channel for the average farmer managing day-to-day responsibilities, it certainly has its advantages for ag-related advocacy and education organizations.

Have you heard of Pinterest? Do you have a Pinterest account? Do you know of any farmers or ag-industry members using it? If interested in learning more, visit this beginner’s guide online.

Goat: The Other White Meat

2012-02-09T08:41:00.000-08:00

When you think of goats, you probably don’t think of them in the same respect that you do cows, pigs or chickens. You may even believe that goat meat isn’t that popular in the United States. However, you would be mistaken.

The preference for goat meat in the United States is rapidly increasing, as reflected by record prices the past two years.

The USDA reports that the goat industry in the United States is expanding, both regarding inventory and markets for goat products. The changing demographics of the United States’ population are credited with increasing demand for goat products at the same time that increased hobby farming has resulted in more goat farms.

 “This increase in consumption is primarily related to a rapidly growing population from traditional goat-consuming residents,” said Jodie Pennington, small ruminant educator with Lincoln University Extension.

According to an article in Farm Talk, the Hispanic population provides a significant consumer base for goat-meat products, particularly fresh goat meat served during festivals or significant occasions. In addition, the United States is also experiencing an increase in religious groups that prefer goat meat, particularly those of the Muslim and Islam faiths.

Easter has the strongest goat-meat demand in the United States. Jodie Pennington states that market kid and goat meat prices tend to reach their peak just before Easter in March and April, decrease significantly in June, October and November, but begin increasing again during the Christmas season.

In addition to changing demographics causing an increase in goat consumption, urban goat farming has become part of a nationwide movement to eat food produced locally.

Jennie Grant, an urban goat farmer in Seattle, discussed urban goat farming in a recent USA Today article.

“I wasn’t a stranger to urban farming. I already had chickens, bees and a large vegetable garden before I added my goats. After doing some research, I cleared a 20-by-20-foot patch of my yard, fenced it in and added a shed, feeding stations and the goat equivalent of a jungle gym.”

Grant states that besides gathering a gallon a day of fresh milk per goat, she also uses their manure to fertilize her vegetable garden.

As the United States’ population continues to increase and urban farming continues to gain in popularity it will be interesting to see what it will mean for the goat industry.

Do you or do you know a farmer who raises goats? Would you ever consider raising goats for meat or dairy purposes? What are your thoughts about urban farmers raising goats?

Photo obtained from: blogs.menupages.com

Generation Ag

2012-02-02T05:26:00.001-08:00

The face of the American farmer is changing. Though the industry is still dominated by the older-than-50 set, the U.S. is experiencing a small but growing trend of young ag-minded professionals choosing country living over city life.

According to the USDA, the average age of the American farmer is 57 and more than 25 percent of farmers are 65 or older. However, the most recent USDA agriculture census also showed that the number of American farms increased 4 percent between 2002 and 2007 and that these new farmers are younger — 48 years old on average.

“I’m seeing an enthusiastic group of young people all across the country who want to get into farming,” said Fred Kirschenmann, a longtime farmer and fellow at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University in Ames, in USA Today.

A recent CNBC report about young farming entrepreneurs credits an increasing interest in organic farming, farmer’s markets and restaurants purchasing directly from local farmers for making farming a more appealing and financially viable opportunity for a new generation.

“Young people are seeing this as a very rewarding lifestyle and career,” said Lindsey Lusher Shute, a New York-based vegetable farmer and a board member for the National Young Farmers Coalition. “For the first time in a long time, young people are interested, after decades of farming not being a very desirable career.”

But launching a farming venture is a risky proposition these days thanks to high start-up costs and the lack of affordable, available land. The answer for many newbie farmers is to start small. The USDA reports that most young farmers are opting for smaller, more manageable farms of about 200 acres or less compared to the average 418-acre American farm.

To encourage more young people to pick up pitchforks, in 2011 the USDA launched a loan program to help rookie farmers get started. The Beginning Farmers and Rancher Development Program provides approximately $18 million a year to support training, education, outreach and technical assistance.

Interested in farming as a career? Here are a few “Farming 101” tips from the Ohio Farm Bureau:

Use available resources — The Ohio State University Extension offers a wealth of information about land management, raising livestock and growing and preserving your own food, including educational workshops.

Be prepared for the expense — Livestock require pens, fences, feed and other items that can quickly add up.

Try before you buy — Talk with farmers or even offer to work on a farm to understand the amount of work involved.

Be practical — Planting something is the easy part, it’s the weeding, fertilizing, watering and pruning throughout the year that can become overwhelming.

Photo obtained from: Boston.com

Far-Out Farmland Prices

2012-01-26T09:51:00.001-08:00

It’s good to be an American farmland owner in the current $136 billion farm real-estate market. For example, two Iowa properties sold for a whopping $16,000/acre this past fall.

Farm value has tripled during the past decade — increasing the third quarter of 2011 by 25 percent in the Midwest — incited by food-price speculation, grain exports, ethanol production and borrowing costs at near-record lows.

“We have set all kinds of records,” said Bruce Brock of Brock Auction Company, Le Mars, Iowa, in author David Hest’s Farm Industry News story.

Between 2008 and 2009, Midwest farmland prices stabilized but then prices quickly increased — culminating in a two-year increase with reports of as much as 50 percent in some areas. Since 2010, Ohio has experienced a per-acre-value increase of $4,300 or 7.5 percent according to the USDA. Illinois has fared best of the Corn Belt states — experiencing a 16.3 percent increase, equating to a per-acre-value increase of $5,700.

However, notable land values bring headaches, such as competing with the emergence of offshore buyers and ensuring the sound transfer of farm estates to the next generation; succession planning becomes significantly more important. Other issues are increased property taxes for owners and land shortage for potential purchasers.

Additionally, many fear that these values won’t last and people with farm investments may endure economic loss.

“But lessons learned in the ’80s, combined with the strong balance sheets of most farmers, weigh against a similar calamity in the near term, observers say,” stated Hest.

Interest rates and commodity prices are the primary factors affecting the price of land and interest in purchasing it. Current commodities are strong and if food prices remain the same, their prices will stay steady. Interest rates are minimal.

The Farm Credit System (RDETCDET), created by Congress in 1916, increased its share of lending in the $136 billion farm real-estate market to 45 percent from 41.5 percent in 2007 and 35 percent in 2000, according to the USDA.

“We continue to see ag lending as a good opportunity for us,” said Robert Merck, senior managing director of real estate and agricultural investments at MetLife in Hest’s article. “It has performed well.”

Farmers would be wise to invest in property after a thorough assessment of current capital, debt and future projections with credible financial advisers.

Photo obtained from: Farm Industry News

Farmers should expect increased property taxes

2012-01-19T12:35:00.000-08:00

Some farmers in Ohio may be in for a surprise when they receive their property tax bills and discover an increase from previous years.

Farmers in more than 40 Ohio counties are experiencing increased property values this year because of land reappraisal or triennial adjustments.

According to Ohio tax laws, each county must have a reappraisal of their property taxes every six years with an update every three years.

The agriculture land values changed from the Current Agricultural Use Valuation (CAUV) formula, which enables farmers with land devoted exclusively to commercial agriculture to pay taxes for the value of the land’s current use rather than for its larger fair market value. While the fair market value is based on home value, one acre of land for the home, outbuildings and the land area, the CUAV is based on income and productivity.

The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF) states that CAUV values are calculated for each soil type in Ohio (approximately 3,500 soils) by a formula that relies on three crops: corn, soybeans and wheat. Even if a farmer in the CAUV program does not produce any of these crops, the formula used to calculate the values. The formula is then based on five factors:

Cropping patterns
Crop prices
Non-land production cost
Yield information
Capitalization rate

The calculations are made based on Farm Service Agency yields per acre for each of the crops per soil type.

According to a Wilmington News Journal article, two changes occurred in this year’s reappraisal that significantly affected the CUAV: The capitalization rate decreased as a result of decreased interest rates and crop prices increased. Prices have been increasing steadily, but the average now includes the latest three years of increased prices and dropped the oldest three years of minimal prices, causing the average to increase.

“Any of these changes would have caused the values to increase,” said former OFBF director of local affairs Larry Gearhardt. “Because they all occurred at the same time, the result is increased productivity divided by a smaller capitalization effectively doubling the impact on individual farmers.”

Each county auditor’s office has a property-record card that contains an itemization of soil types, buildings and other value factors. If farmers want to know their property’s information, these cards are available. Auditors advise that any complaints regarding discrepancies should be submitted before March 31, so that the farmer will pay only the appropriate amount of taxes.

Are you affected or do you know a farmer who is affected by increased property values? What are your thoughts about the reappraisal?

Photo obtained from: valleyset.com.

Local Foods Becoming Big Business

2012-01-12T05:12:00.000-08:00

Once thought of as the domain of health nuts and hippies, the buy-local movement has gone mainstream and farmers in the U.S. are starting to see some green.

According to a recent USDA report, in 2008 American farmers made nearly $5 billion selling fruits and vegetables at farmer’s markets and to local supermarkets and restaurants. While they remain just 2 percent of the nation’s agricultural sales, locally grown foods are continuing to grow in popularity among the public and farmers as awareness grows about the benefits of buying local.

Agriculture is the top industry in Ohio — contributing more than $107 billion annually to the state’s economy. The Ohio Department of Agriculture showcases locally made and grown products — everything from fruit to eggs to wine — with the “Ohio Proud” program. The program, which launched in 1993, has grown from 180 participants in 2008 to more than 470 today.

“The growth is attributed to the fact that consumers are very much interested in buying local products because they want to know who is growing their food and where it comes from,” said Lori Panda, senior manager for the Ohio Proud program in a recent Columbus Dispatch article. “Not only do Ohio consumers want to support Ohio businesses, they’re also concerned about food safety.”

According to Food Routes, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting local foods, the benefits of buying and eating locally grown or produced foods are many and include:

A stronger local economy — Buying local keeps dollars circulating in your community
Fresh products — Local food is fresher than food shipped long distances from other states and countries and many believe the taste is better, too
Supports family farms — With each local food purchase, you ensure that more of the money you spend for food goes to the farmer
It’s good for the environment — Local food doesn’t have to travel far, so there’s less carbon dioxide emissions and packing materials
Knowledge of how your food is grown — Knowing where your food comes from and how it’s grown, i.e., organic, pesticide-free, etc., enables you to make personal food choices for your family

Photo obtained from: portlandmonthlymag.com

More fuel from the cob

2012-01-05T06:17:00.000-08:00

Everyone understands the benefits of getting more from less — especially regarding energy production. America is seeking a reliable, domestic fuel base and numerous sources have been tested and employed, including corn ethanol.

Corn ethanol is a clean-burning fuel additive made from corn-kernel starches and is regularly blended with petroleum to diversify the fuel supply and decrease America’s dependence on foreign oil to offset the cost of standard gasoline.

The ethanol sector is one of the corn industry’s chief markets, and the future of the U.S. ethanol industry depends on its ability to increase yields, be competitive with fossil fuels and fill a growing need for energy independence.

Ethanol production is accomplished either after a wet or dry milling process, though dry milling is most common and is explained as follows: (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

“Corn grain is milled then slurried with water to create ‘mash.’ Enzymes are added to the mash and this mixture is then cooked to hydrolyze the starch into glucose sugars. Yeast ferment these sugars into ethanol and carbon dioxide and the ethanol is purified using a combination of distillation and molecular-sieve dehydration to create fuel ethanol. The byproduct of this process is known as distiller’s dried grains and solubles (DDGS) and is used wet or dry as animal feed.

An emerging technology called hydrodynamic controlled-flow cavitation is advancing the capabilities of ethanol production.

According to an Ethanol Producer Magazine story, hydrodynamic cavitation is the process of “passing a liquid through a constricted channel at a specific velocity. The formation and implosion of bubbles in the liquid releases tremendous localized energy in the form of shockwaves. Controlled-flow cavitation technology controls the location, size, density and intensity of the implosion of bubbles in the zone to create optimum process conditions”.

The following diagram from a Ohio State University Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) story illustrates how cavitation "liberates" more starch from milled corn before it's fermented and distilled to ethanol (courtesy of Arisdyne Systems Inc.).

"Corn grain containing between 70 and 73 percent starch is distilled to ethanol," said Fred Michel, an OARDC biosystems engineer. "While the recovery of starch in commercial ethanol plants is high, as much as 4 percent of the starch remains in the byproducts after fermentation. We are targeting that 4 percent from the use of cavitation."

With support from a $1 million Third Frontier grant awarded in 2008, OARDC has partnered with Arisdyne Systems Inc., a Cleveland-based company, to test cavitation technology:

The project generates 13 Ohio jobs
Cavitation helps increase ethanol yield by 2 to 3 percent
A 3 percent yield boost can increase the revenue of a 100-million gallon ethanol plant by approximately $3.75 million annually
If the entire U.S. ethanol industry (13.2 billion gallons in 2010) were to use cavitation, the revenue increase could reach at least $500 million annually

“We need to be looking at yield enhancement as a top priority,” said Fred Clark, executive vice president for Arisdyne.

Yield enhancement has always been and will continue to be a major industry goal for the profitability of U.S. corn. Cavitation has the promise to improve corn farmers’ financial success and the energy security of the country simultaneously.

'Tis the season for poinsettias

2011-12-15T05:11:00.000-08:00

What roses are to Valentine’s Day and lilies are to Easter — poinsettias are to Christmas.

Since its introduction to the U.S. in 1825 by Joel Poinsett, the first American ambassador to the plant’s native Mexico and its namesake, the poinsettia has become a holiday-season tradition and is sometimes referred to as the “Christmas flower.”

Today, the tropical poinsettia is commonly grown in greenhouses throughout the U.S., including in Ohio, which ranks 5th among poinsettia-producing states. According to the University of Illinois Extension, poinsettias account for 85 percent of potted plant sales during the holiday and 90 percent of those sold are grown in the United States.

Though poinsettias are most known for their vibrant red color, the plant comes in an array of colors — pink, white and even blue (thanks to a tinting process). But what many people consider to be the “flower” on a poinsettia is actually colorful leaves. The real flowers are the small yellowish buds at the plant’s center.

But misconceptions about the poinsettia don’t end there. According to ourohio.org, a common myth about the poinsettia is that it’s poisonous — a falsehood that was debunked when The Society of American Florists (SAF) asked The Ohio State University to conduct a series of scientific tests on the plant in the 1970s.

If you’re planning to purchase a poinsettia for the holidays, here are a few tips to help you select and keep your poinsettia beautiful and healthy during the season and beyond:

Selecting a poinsettia:

Choose a plant with dark green foliage down to the soil line
Avoid plants with fallen or yellowed leaves
Choose plants that are full and attractive from all sides; avoid droopy or wilted plants
Avoid plants in paper or plastic sleeves or plants that have been displayed or crowded close together — all of which can induce leaf loss
Look for a plant that is 2.5 times taller than the diameter of the container

Caring for a poinsettia:

Place the plant in a sunny window, but don’t allow any part of the plant to touch cold window panes or sit in cold drafts
Keep the room temperature between 60 to 70 degrees during the day and 55 to 60 degrees at night to extend blooming time
Water only when soil is dry
Do not fertilize while in bloom

Photo obtained from: yorkshiregardencenter.com

Focus on Farm Females

2011-12-08T09:21:00.000-08:00

A special two-day event December 1 and 2 recognized the increasing role of women business leaders within the agricultural industry and the importance of safeguarding their permanence.

“Executive Women in Agriculture (EWA)” at the Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza in Downtown Chicago, was sponsored by Top Producer – a national, leading farm industry publication.

Engaging more than 100 females of all ages, EWA, was designed to share industry business strategies and insights to help attendants hone skills.
EWA sessions included information about:

Marketing Basics

Crop Insurance

Succession Planning

Human-Resource Management

Negotiating Techniques

Financial Management

Ag Advocacy

Networking

“As we transition to the next generation of women farm managers and owners, the need to educate women about farm business practices has never been greater,” stated EWA’s website.

Also according to the website, “In recent years, more women have returned to the farm in management roles and are keeping the farm. Of the 3.3 million U.S. farm operators, more than 30 percent (or more than 1 million) are women.”

Other related stats from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln:

Total number of women operators has increased 19 percent from 2002 (Outpacing the percent increase of farmers overall)

Women who were the principal operators in 2002 increased by almost 30 percent to 306,209 in 2010

States with the most female farm operators are:
1. Arizona – 38.5 percent
2. New Hampshire – 29.7 percent
3. Massachusetts – 28.9 percent
4. Maine – 25.1 percent
5. Alaska – 24.5 percent

Understanding the influence of social media, the conference used the Twitter hashtag #ewa11 to generate online discussions, created a YouTube promotional video and also created a Facebook page to highlight its efforts.

One visitor to the EWA Facebook page posted, “Inspiring, empowering and top-notch women from 25 states!!!!!”

Women’s role in agriculture will only continue to increase. It’s important to continue to foster their outlets for growth to sustain and strengthen American farms. Examples of this include encouraging female teens to join their high-school FFA chapters, and making older women aware of support offerings such as federal grant funding and state agricultural extension services.

 

Smartphones For Your Stocking

2011-12-01T05:28:00.000-08:00

If you aren’t using a smartphone for your farming operation, it may be time to add it to your holiday wish list.

Research conducted this year by Successful Farming magazine indicates that farmers are quickly adopting smartphone technology and making greater use of the device than the general public. In fact, more than 70 percent of survey respondents said that they access agriculture-related information and services via their phones, including sending and receiving email, checking the weather, news and markets and text messaging family and employees.

But how exactly can smartphones benefit farmers?

According to the Successful Farming article, farmers say that it's important to first identify the specific parts of your operation for which you want to use your smartphone. Instead of downloading every application (app) that you think you might use, consider how you can best use the app.

For example, Michael Lewis, a farmer near Bayard, Iowa, uses his smartphone to keep track of historical yield data in his fields, which allows him to compile and track long-term data and make informed decisions.

"When I'm combining corn, I want to be able to bring up historical yield data as I’m going through the field and compare it to previous years,” says Lewis. “There could be certain variables that produced better yields and if it is something that I can control, I want to be able to know those things so that I can make each field more profitable. The biggest advantage for me is to have all my financial data and notes with me at all times."

Lewis also uses his smartphone's camera to document things like equipment performance while in the field. With this tool, he's seen a direct correlation between its use and payback to the farm.

"I use the camera quite a bit to record items that are and aren’t working, like locations where I need tile, for future reference."

When considering agriculture applications for your smartphone, farmers who own smartphones advise other farmers not to overlook some of the basic functions of the device. This Week in Ag identifies some of the most-used farming apps:

Agriculture Crowdsourcing: Uses the smartphone and crowdsourcing (sourcing tasks performed by individuals to a group of people or community through an open call) to bring data from the field into a lab database
Agriculture Management Information: Includes mobile extensions of a farm or operation-management system
Agriculture Calculator: Includes samples of smartphone tools to help make in-field calculations without having to return to your home office
Agriculture Information Resource: Primarily used as a lookup tool to help identify species, review a piece of regulation or learn the specifics about an agriculture issue
Agriculture News: Includes samples of agriculture-media focused news aggregators
Weather: Includes samples of smartphone weather applications

What’s the future look like for smartphones? A growing trend will be the adoption of more location-based services or apps that can track data based on specific geographic location. In addition, more "streaming data" services will appear in the future. As mobile-data infrastructure improves and farmers can get a more solid signal in rural areas, new apps will use real-time streaming services to collect more field data, making every in-field decision an informed one.

Do you use a smartphone for your farm or do you know of a farmer who does? If so, how have you used it to help your farming operation? Are there any particular applications that you find you can’t live without?

Photo obtained from: www.agriculture.com

The All-American Cranberry

2011-11-23T05:47:00.000-08:00

The 2011 cranberry crop is expected to be one of the most plentiful on record, which means that whether you like them sauced, in a mold or straight from a can, there will be plenty of cranberries to enjoy at your Thanksgiving feast.

According to the Cranberry Marketing Committee, cranberries are one of three fruits native to North America — the others being blueberries and Concord grapes. Before they were staples on “Turkey-Day” tables, cranberries were popular with Native Americans, who ate the tart berries fresh, ground or mashed with cornmeal and baked into bread. They also mixed cranberries into pemmican, a winter-survival ration consisting of wild game and melted fat.

Not commonly grown in Ohio, cranberries favor the sandy soil of Wisconsin, which is the top cranberry-producing state in the U.S., followed by Massachusetts, Oregon, New Jersey and Washington.

Cranberries grow on low-lying vines in beds layered with sand, peat, gravel and clay between May and October. The beds, which are called bogs or marshes, are commonly harvested by flooding the bog or marsh under a foot or two of water. Specialized machines are then used to loosen the buoyant berries, which float to the surface to be gathered and sent for processing. The flooded bogs are then left to freeze to protect the vines during the winter. In the spring, the bogs are drained to allow the plants to be pollinated by bees.

In recent years, cranberries have become more than a holiday side dish. According to The Cranberry Institute, cranberries are a super food loaded with antioxidants and other phytonutrients that may help protect against heart disease, cancer and other diseases.

Here are a few facts about cranberries to share around the holiday table:

There are more than 100 varieties of cranberries
20 percent of cranberry consumption in the U.S. happens during Thanksgiving week
U.S. cranberries are a major export to Europe, Japan, Korea, Mexico and Australia
American whalers and mariners carried cranberries onboard ships to prevent scurvy
The pilgrims, who were introduced to the cranberry by Native Americans, began making cranberry juice in 1683

Photo obtained from: thecapelifestyle.com

New Year Brings New Costs

2011-11-17T11:37:00.000-08:00

Though farmers have a lot to be thankful for when celebrating next Thursday, they’ll be bracing for more business expenditures with the onset of the new year.

2012 promises to deliver what many have dubbed as “surging” agricultural input costs.

Agricultural inputs include:

Machinery and equipment
Labor
Pesticides/Chemicals
Fertilizers
Fuel
Interest expense/Debt

"Preliminary budgets show variable costs for rotation corn increasing by 16 percent, soybeans by 15 percent and wheat by 12 percent as compared with our January 2011 budgets," said Alan Miller, Purdue agricultural economist.

According to Miller and Ohio State Extension agricultural economist Barry Ward, seed prices will increase 5 percent to 10 percent, while pesticide prices will vary by product. There will also be ammonia price variability.

Because natural gas is a main component of anhydrous ammonia, when its production-cost fluctuates, so too, does the cost of producing anhydrous ammonia.

Illinois agricultural economist Gary Schnitkey explained the direct correlation between corn production and farm inputs, "As the price of [commodity market] corn goes up, production of corn and wheat also go up. There is more demand for nitrogen fertilizers, and fertilizer companies also have to take profits. If you’re watching the price of anhydrous and want to predict increases, look at what’s happening with corn prices. Keeping a close eye on that relationship could help corn growers hedge their prices.

The two main culprits of farmers’ tightened purse strings are farmland rental costs and fertilizer prices, according to the experts.

What can farmers do?

Request flexible lease agreements
Price 2012 fertilizer now, not during the spring
Lock in profit margins
Work toward being low-cost producers on a cost-per-bushel-produced basis

An AgWeb survey invites farmers to share their previous and projected input costs for further researcher analysis. Ohio State's Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics has a series of free farm management enterprise budgets that can be downloaded.

Photo obtained from: agricorner.com

 

Agriculture Industry Can Be Thankful

2011-11-10T07:24:00.000-08:00

For many, November is the month to celebrate those things for which you are most thankful for throughout the past year. Now, farmers have a bit more to be thankful for because President Obama signed three long-awaited free trade agreements (FTA) among the United States and South Korea, Colombia and Panama October 21.

“For America’s farmers, the trade agreements are an opportunity to strengthen U.S. agriculture,” says Tom Vilsack, agriculture secretary. “Farm exports help support more than 1 million American jobs. At this time next year, U.S. agricultural exports will be on track to reach new highs, leading to a trade surplus of more than $42 billion, eight times greater than five years ago.”

When implemented, it is estimated that the South Korea FTA will increase $1.9 billion in U.S. agriculture exports and eliminate two-thirds of its tariffs against U.S. agriculture products; the Colombia FTA will raise $370 million in agriculture exports and eliminate 80 percent of its tariffs; the Panama FTA will raise $46 million in agriculture exports and eliminate 50 percent of it tariffs.

How will these trade agreements specifically benefit crop farmers? An Ohio’s Country Journal article reports the following:

Colombia

Corn: U.S. corn producers gain immediate access to the Colombian market for 2.1 million metric tons of corn at 0 percent duty-free

Wheat: Primary market for U.S. wheat in South America

Soybeans: Elimination of variable tariffs on soybean imports, which has imposed tariffs as much as 150 percent; Phases out the 24 percent tariff for refined soybean oil throughout the next five years

South Korea

Corn: Third main U.S. corn market and a potentially important market for distillers grains; Imports of U.S. corn for feed enter duty-free

Soybeans: Soybeans for use in cooking oil and livestock feed enter duty-free; The current tariff on soybeans imported for food uses like tofu and soymilk will be eliminated

Panama

Corn: Decreases America’s duty charge to level the playing field

Soybeans: 0 percent tariff treatment for soybeans, soybean meal and crude soybean oil will be locked immediately upon implementation; The 20 percent tariff on refined soybean oil will be phased out in 15 years

This legislation provides Ohio grain, in turn, Ohio farmers, with significant market export opportunities. Crop farmers will be able to more effectively compete on the international trade market and that is definitely something that we can be thankful for.

Photo obtained from: cipcol.org

 

Plight of the Honeybee

2011-11-03T07:47:00.000-07:00

Ohioans have a love/hate relationship with bees. We love the delicious honey that they produce, but we’re also quick to grab a can of pesticide when they come buzzing around our backyard barbecues. However, to Ohio’s farmers, bees are an essential component to successfully growing many of the state’s crops that require or benefit from bee pollination; including apples, grapes and pumpkins.

Unfortunately, bees aren’t what they used to be. According to the article "Where are all the bees?" posted at ourohio’s website, nearly half of North America’s honeybee colonies have vanished in the past 25 years, a phenomenon referred to as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), when all the adult bees in a hive suddenly die.

There are several theories as to why CCD happens — stress on the hive resulting from beekeepers transporting bees long distances for pollination purposes, inbreeding and external parasites — but there is no conclusive evidence.

“Today’s bees are not as vibrant and resilient as they once were,” said James Tew, an associate professor of apiculture at The Ohio State University and the coordinator of the university’s Wooster Bee laboratory, in a recent Edible Columbus article. “Bees could have a hive behind your barn and the hive lived for years, and you never had to do anything with them. Today, bees need us. They have become more like tomato plants, having to be replaced every year.”

In addition to CCD, there’s speculation that Ohio’s erratic weather could be playing a role in the state’s declining bee population and with meteorologists predicting a particularly cold winter ahead, the outlook for bees could be bleak.

During the winter, bees cluster together around their queen to stay warm within their hive. They also consume up to 30 pounds of honey during the winter months to help produce body heat, which is why Tew says a productive nectar and pollen season in the fall is crucial to bee longevity.

“They can recover their strength and regain their stamina before we go through another winter,” said Tew.

Want to help bees and crops thrive in Ohio? Here are a few recommendations from bee expert James Tew:

Be tolerant of bees and try to live with them.
Don’t spray more pesticides than necessary.
Plant flowering plants and trees so bees have something to eat. Clover and dandelions are popular with bees in the summertime.
Provide a home for leafcutter bees, which pollinate but rarely sting. You can make a nest box by drilling about 50 2-to-3-inch deep holes in a hardwood block and hang it in a tree or from a garden shed.
Consider keeping bees. There are numerous beekeeping organizations throughout the state that offer classes about beekeeping, including the Ohio State Beekeepers Association. Take a class this winter to have your hive up and buzzing for springtime pollination!

Photo obtained from: en.wikipedia.org

On Halloween, Thank a Farmer

2011-10-27T06:39:00.000-07:00

October 31 is not only Halloween, but it’s also the date that the United Nations (UN) has attributed as the day that 7 billion people will inhabit the planet.

For perspective, on average, four births and two deaths occur every second. By 2050, we’ll require 70 percent more food availability.

The UN population fund executive director said the phenomenon is “both a challenge and an opportunity.”

Perhaps no one is as affected by this event as much as the our food producers — the farmers and ranchers responsible for ensuring safe, affordable, plentiful fruits, vegetables, grains, meat and dairy products to feed the world. Producers are also responsible for other human essentials such as fiber and biofuels.

Because of technology, seed advancements and conservation tactics, our producers are doing more using less land and resources. Agricultural methods that maximize yields while mitigating agricultural impacts include reduced-till or no-till, manure management, nitrogen and fertilizer efficiency technologies. For example:

Farmers use less fertilizer because advanced equipment provides pinpoint application and seed technologies are constantly improving efficiency
Reduced tillage and other farm-management practices have reduced soil erosion 43 percent in 20 years
Improvements in crop-protection products in the past 20 years have made them less toxic and more degradable
Biotechnology allows farmers to use less synthetic pesticides

In 2008, the UN established the High-Level Task Force (HLTF) for the Global Food Security Crisis, comprising the leaders of its specialized agencies, funds and programs, as well as relevant parts of the UN Secretariat, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the World Trade Organization. Its primary aim is to promote a comprehensive and unified response to the challenge of achieving global food security.

According to its website, HLTF “outlines activities related to meeting the immediate [food] needs, like investing in food assistance and social safety nets, as well as activities related to the longer-term structural needs, like scaling up investment in agriculture within developing countries, increasing opportunities for producers, pastoralists and fisher folk to access land, water, inputs and post-harvest technologies, focusing on the needs of smallholders, and enabling them to realize their right to food, sustain an increase in income and ensure adequate nutrition.”

The population announcement comes on the heels of significant ag policy changes to the pending 2012 Farm Bill. Several modifications to the existing crop insurance and direct payment structure are being considered that affect the strength of producers’ operations.

“But farmers in the U.S. might have been surprised that the very policy that is in place to help ensure that America’s food production system is efficient and effective – crop insurance – is again under the microscope and was recently targeted by the White House for an additional $8 billion in cuts in the next decade,” stated a recent CropLife story.

Given the milestone, it will be even more interesting to witness the outcome of America’s next Farm Bill. Whatever the result, I’m confident that our farmers and ranchers will continue to be dependable, eco-conscious food providers for years to come.

Photo obtained from: emergencyfoodsecurity.myefoods.com

Fall’s Favorite Fruit

2011-10-20T07:50:00.000-07:00

As we prepare for the upcoming holidays, I thought it would be appropriate to pay tribute to the one fruit that receives much attention this time of year – the great pumpkin.

While the U.S. pumpkin market is regarded as limited and seasonal, it is by no means unprofitable. In 2011, pumpkins harvested from 48,500 acres nationwide were valued at $116.5 million.

In 2010, Illinois produced an estimated 427 million pounds of pumpkin. Other top pumpkin-production states include California, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan. According to Census.gov, some of these states each had an estimate of producing more than 100 million pounds of pumpkin.

The Agriculture Marketing Resource Center states that 90 percent of the pumpkins grown in the United States are raised within a 90-mile radius of Peoria, Illinois. The town of Morton, near Peoria, is the self-proclaimed “Pumpkin Capital of the World” and is the location of Libby’s® pumpkin processing plant owned by Nestlé Food Company, which cans more than 85 percent of the world’s pumpkin each year.

Ohio also has its claim to pumpkin fame with the annual Circleville Pumpkin Show that originated in October 1903. This event, which is held to celebrate local agriculture, is considered to be the biggest festival dedicated to pumpkins in the United States. Incidentally, it is taking place now through October 22.

Pumpkin Facts (University of Illinois Extension)

Pumpkins originated in Central America
Pumpkins are used for feed for animals
Most pumpkins are processed into canned pumpkin and canned pie mix
The largest pumpkin ever grown weighed 1,140 pounds
Pumpkins are 90 percent water and are considered a fruit
80 percent of the pumpkin supply in the United States is available in October
The largest pumpkin pie ever made was more than 5 feet in diameter and weighed more than 350 pounds. It consisted of 80 pounds of cooked pumpkin, 36 pounds of sugar, 12 dozen eggs and took six hours to bake.
Colonists used to slice off pumpkin tops, remove the seeds and fill the insides with milk, spices and honey and bake in hot ashes. This is the origin of pumpkin pie.
Pumpkins were once recommended for removing freckles and curing snakebites

Pumpkins can range in size from less than one pound to more than 1,000 pounds and depending on their size can be used for a variety of things.

Miniature-sized pumpkins: Weigh less than 1 pound and are typically used for decorative purposes
Pie pumpkins: Range in size, but most varieties are in the 5- to 10-pound category
Carving pumpkins: Range between 10- to 25-pounds and are used primarily for jack-o-lanterns, but can also be used for processing
Giant pumpkins: Typically range between 25- to 75-pounds in size

Pumpkins are grown primarily for processing with a small percentage grown for ornamental sales at you-pick farms, farmers’ markets and retail stores. For a list of “you-pick” pumpkin farm locations throughout Ohio, visit www.pickyourown.org.

Do you own or have you ever visited a pumpkin farm? Do you have a favorite farm that you and/or your family visits each year?

Photo obtained from: greensandgills.wordpress.com

 

Know the Drill Before Signing an Oil and Gas Exploration Lease

2011-10-13T05:40:00.000-07:00

The great Ohio land grab has begun! As oil and gas companies flood into the eastern half of Ohio seeking prime real estate over the Utica shale formation — a dense layer of oil-and gas-rich rock thousands of feet below the topsoil — more and more landowners, especially farmers, are being approached by oil and gas company representatives, known as landmen, about leasing their land for exploration.

What should landowners do when the landman comes knocking? Before signing on the dotted line, they should do their homework and educate themselves about the leasing process.

“Knowledge is power and the more you know, the better you can negotiate and the better benefits you can achieve,” said Dale Arnold, director of Energy Policy for the Ohio Farm Bureau in a recent Buckeye Farm News article.

Landowners can find general information about oil and gas leases at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ website, which includes a glossary of common lease terminology, FAQs, and issues and questions landowners should discuss with the company before signing a lease, such as “free-gas” provisions and what type of drilling will take place.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine also issued a list of tips for landowners contemplating lease agreements at his blog earlier this year. His recommendations included:

Get to know the company — Ask for credentials, references and contact information from the representative of the company who contacts you and make sure that you know which company will do the actual oil and gas exploration.

Check with your neighbors — Find out if your neighbors have been contacted and presented with similar proposals.

Understand what your leasing — Make sure that you’re clear about what rights the company wishes to lease — oil rights, gas rights, coal rights or something else? Landowners do not have to lease all of their mineral rights.

Get everything in writing and review everything before signing — Read the proposed lease and think about it before signing.

Consult with an attorney knowledgeable about oil and gas law — Contact the local bar association for attorneys in your area and consider pooling resources with your neighbors to reduce legal fees.

Dale Arnold seconds the attorney general’s advice about seeking professional guidance before signing an oil and gas lease.

“The key is to take your time and get a local attorney who is working on your behalf,” said Arnold. “Many of these companies have a profit motive to get a specific number of people signed in a certain amount of time. They’re on a time commitment, but you as a landowner are not.”

Have you or someone you know been offered or signed an oil and gas lease? Do you have any tips or advice to share?

Photo obtained from: oilandgascommunity.com

 

Perspective: A Declaration of Interdependence

2011-10-06T07:51:00.000-07:00

This week, I’m featuring a guest author, John Phipps, a farmer from Chrisman, Ill., TV host of "U.S. Farm Report" and Farm Journal columnist.

*Originally published July 27, 2011 in Top Producer

With our economy struggling to provide employment for all who want to work, references to "jobs" carry powerful overtones. Defenders of agriculture recognize this. They have manufactured a statistic that begs for verification: the number of jobs that "depend on" agriculture. This is usually asserted to be in the vicinity of 20 million.

Nailing down this factoid is tricky. While the Bureau of Labor Statistics is often cited as a source, it does not count "dependent jobs." According to econometricians at the Bureau of Economic Analysis who actually tabulate such numbers, employment in agriculture is about 740,000. So where do the rest come from?

Answer: Anywhere you want. Since farms link to food, for example, you can add any occupation that links to food in any way. It’s the ag equivalent of the "Six Degrees of Separation" game. But what exactly does "depend on" mean? Apparently, you can count occupations on both sides of the value chain.

Do you sell to farmers? You’re dependent. Do you buy from farmers? Ditto. I wonder why they stopped at 20 million.

Conveniently left unexplored is any comparison with other industries. Using the same methodology, how many jobs depend on the petroleum industry? On mining? Until both the definition and context of this number are made plain, it can fairly be seen as arbitrary.

But, setting aside the quality of this claim, there is, I believe, a larger and more hazardous aspect to flogging dependence on agriculture: It is exactly the wrong way to garner support.

Farmers have never been adept at empathizing with other ways of life. The many unique aspects of our work tend to make us think others don’t think and feel the way we do. But our feeling of dependence is a universal human sentiment.

Take our relationship to landowners. Most farmers share my unease with our dependence on the goodwill of someone else just to be able to farm land. Farmer "jobs" clearly depend on landowners. It is one reason we consistently pay "too much" for land—we are buying a chance to escape from that feeling of dependence.

So why do we imagine the rest of America enjoys being reminded that they are dependent on us? Gen. George Marshall said it best: "If you want a man to be for you, never let him feel he is dependent on you. Make him feel you are in some way dependent on him."

Wrong Approach. If I can spot this communication blunder, I am sure the media experts who include it in every "agvocacy" message are aware of it as well. This raises my suspicion that it is not meant as a message to others; it is meant to persuade farmers themselves.

We love to be the ones others are dependent on, and we love even more to hear it. So my rule of thumb is to assume the agvocates are looking to get into my mind/heart/pocket.

Like the misguided self-esteem-parenting scheme of a few years ago, this "bragvocacy" nugget is unhelpful to both our industry and those we serve. It hinders collaborative progress and better understanding of customer needs.

Economic transactions are basically exchanges of dependency. It is why they occur in the first place. My customers depend on me for corn; I depend on them for money. In a willing transaction, those accounts cancel each other out, not accrue in one direction.

Acknowledging our dependence on others does not diminish us. Those who refuse to recognize their reliance cannot prepare themselves for link failures and risk a rude economic shock.

Egocentric "job dependence" sloganeering taints our industry’s business connections with an insinuation of subservience. I prefer to see the interdependence of my farm within the global economy as a network of hard-won, high-value trust.
 

“Ups and Downs” Expected for Grain Markets

2011-09-29T05:26:00.000-07:00

Farmers hoping for some consistency in the grain markets for the remainder of the year may be disappointed.

During a presentation at this year’s Farm Science Review, ag economist Dr. Matt Roberts told attendees to expect a tremendous amount of volatility during the upcoming months. He also emphasized that anyone involved in the commodity market should keep his or her attention on just about everything.

Many factors can affect whether the markets go up or down, including the state of the harvest, late planting, conditions at pollination, weather and one that you may not expect — world events.

Roberts said that it is estimated that there is a one in three or one in two chance that the U.S. could slip into another recession because of world events. He also stated that the Greek debt crisis is a contributing factor to the inconsistency of the grain markets and that if the global economy slips back into a recession, then the demand for grain and prices could decrease.

According to a Farm and Dairy article, German and European banks are some of the largest holders of the Greek debt and if they are not able to balance their books, then the residents in these countries could be affected. This would mean cutbacks in their budgets and more specifically, there could be less livestock to feed and therefore less grain needed.

This notion also holds true for China. If the European Union and the United States slip into a recession, it could mean that China may need less grain because its economy may not grow as quickly as it does today. This may mean fewer Chinese consumers would be able to afford the quality of food that they have now, which would mean less grain for livestock and possibly less soybeans for the rest of their diet.

There is some positive news that farmers can take from this — When there are economic doubts worldwide, people still lean toward America.

“When things go sideways in the world, people still put their trust in the U.S.,” said Roberts.

It will be interesting to see what the future holds for the grain markets. What do you think about the outlook for the remainder of the year? Will it affect you directly or do you know a farmer(s) who may be impacted by it?

Photo obtained from: oklahomafarmreport.com

Farmers: Forget machinery tax breaks

2011-09-23T06:17:00.000-07:00

Farmers were lent a financial hand when Congress passed tax incentives, from $250,000 to $500,000, for new and used farm machinery as part of the Small Business Jobs Act in 2010.

Another ancillary bill, The 2010 Tax Relief/Job Creation Act, created a 100 percent bonus-depreciation allowance for new farm assets purchased after Sept. 8, 2010 and before Jan. 1, 2012.

The catch?

“Just because checks have been written for the item that you’re buying, it isn’t good enough; it has to be present on your farm by that date,” said Rob Holcomb, a University of Minnesota agricultural business management extension educator in a Farm Industry News story.

Farmers must ensure that their new assets are either on-site or are in service before the tax expiration date.

Besides assisting farmers with substantial business costs, the bills were also responsible for inciting a surge of the agricultural equipment industry.

These tax breaks terminate at the start of the new year, making farmers’ year-end tax planning more difficult.

According to an Agriculture.com story by Gary Maydew, these tax breaks have three important implications for farmers’ year-end tax planning:

Faster equipment write-offs: Before passage of the bill, the maximum amount that could be expensed in 2010 (the Sec. 179 expense allowance) was $250,000. The Act increased the limit to $500,000 for both 2010 and 2011.
Health insurance complications: For 2010 only, farmers could deduct health insurance from their self-employment income to determine their self-employment tax.
Reporting requirement for farm landlords: Farm landlords, like operating farmers, issue Form 1099 Misc. to vendors for whom they have paid more than $600.

Proponents of the bills believe in their ability to help America’s dire financial situation.

“They are tools that really do stimulate the economy and that’s what lawmakers want right now,” said Paul Gervais, a farmer quoted in a Farm Industry News story.

Farmers are hoping that Congress will reinstitute the tax incentives, but given the circumstances of the economy, it’s no guarantee.

Holcomb notes that farmers should always check with their tax professional to learn how any tax-law changes might impact their bottom line and should also exercise caution when purchasing machinery that won’t be delivered by the end of the business year.

Have farm-machinery write-offs helped you or a farmer who you know? Should Congress work to extend both pieces of legislation?

Photo obtained from: elease.com

Where Farmers Go to Dream

2011-09-15T10:01:00.000-07:00

Agricultural shows have been happening for years. These public events showcase everything from equipment and animals, to sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry.

The Farm Progress Show, held a few weeks ago in Decatur, Illinois, is the nations leading outdoor agricultural show and features the most extensive state-of-the art information and technology available for today’s agricultural producers.

Additional agricultural shows throughout the country include:

• National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Kentucky
• American Royal in Kansas City, Missouri
• Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
• National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado

In Ohio, we have the Farm Science Review (FSR), which is sure to exceed attendees’ expectations this year.

Taking place September 20-22, this year's review theme, "Where Farmers Go to Dream," will emphasize agricultural innovation to spark new ideas and long-term visions for the agricultural industry.

Farmers can expect to view 4,000 product lines from 600 commercial exhibitors and learn the latest in agricultural research, conservation and technology. Field demonstrations will also take place despite the heaviest rains in the state in more than a century.

“We were able to have all of the corn and soybeans planted by June 8, so it’s possible that, depending on the weather, the crops may be ready for harvest during the Review,” said Chuck Gamble, Farm Science Review manager. “Regardless of whether we’re harvesting at that time, attendees will see field demonstrations like tillage and GPS.”

Additional highlights include:

The latest in agricultural technology
Livestock-handling equipment
Grain and machine storage and other outbuilding structures
Natural-resource practices and programs
Demonstrations of drainage systems (if the harvest takes place)

Experiencing its 49th year, FSR is sponsored by the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Ohio State University Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. It attracts nearly 140,000 visitors from the U.S. and Canada who come to learn about the latest in agricultural research, products and services, and experience educational exhibits, presentations and demonstrations relating to natural-resource management and the crop and livestock industries.

For more information and a show schedule, visit http://fsr.osu.edu.

Have you attended or exhibited at Farm Science Review in the past? If you plan to attend this year, what are you most interested to see and/or learn about?

Photo obtained from: http://fsr.osu.edu/

Farms — trendy tourism?

2011-09-08T05:21:00.000-07:00

Family vacation spots run the gamut from resorts, amusement parks, national landmarks and now … farms? Agritourism, as defined by Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, is "the practice of touring agricultural areas to see farms and often to participate in farm activities." It’s a unique intermix of culinary, ecotourism and educational experiences. “It’s a sensational option for families with children of all ages, as it offers a true hands-on opportunity to explore working farms and ranches,” said Julie Bielenberg in her SheKnows article. Agritourism Examples

Seasonal attractions: pumpkin farms, tree farms
Food-processing facilities: honey, jam making
Ranch operations: milk a cow, lasso a bull
Vineyards

Agritourism is a beneficial concept for the agriculture industry, as noted in a BusinessWorld online story: “Farming today isn’t just about growing and harvesting crops. For an increasing number of farm entrepreneurs, it is also about cultivating and harvesting urban visitors, schools and other groups and tourists (local and foreign) all wanting unique rural and agricultural lifestyle experiences for which they will gladly pay.” Agritourism Benefits

Generates additional revenue for local businesses and services
Upgrades/revitalizes community facilities for residents and visitors
Increases protection of rural landscapes and natural environments
Preserves/revitalizes local traditions; promoting inter-regional, inter-cultural communication and understanding
Promotes the ongoing use of local agricultural products and services
Diversifies and strengthens the rural economy via job and income creation Provides a more energetic business environment for attracting other businesses and small industries to a community

The overarching benefit? Increasing awareness of agricultural issues and values among the public. Have you experienced an ag-related getaway? If you own a farm or a ranch, have people asked to experience your property? Photo obtained from: sheknows.com

Farmers prevail against suggested transportation regulations

2011-08-31T13:12:00.000-07:00

Farmers can breathe easier now that the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has declared it will not change any federal rules that require farmers to receive a commercial driver’s license (CDL).

Earlier this year, the DOT began asking questions about CDLs in the agriculture community that led many farmers to worry that some states were about to interpret crop sharing as a commercial arrangement that would trigger a CDL.

For those reasons, the FMCSA sought comments in the Federal Register about three issues:

What distinguishes intra- and interstate commerce for operation of a commercial motor vehicle in a state
Whether a farmer transporting supplies or crops as part of a crop-sharing agreement needs a CDL
Whether farm equipment should be considered commercial vehicles

According to the DOT, the agency received approximately 1,700 comments expressing concern about these issues.

U.S. Transportation Deputy Secretary John Porcari stated that the DOT’s goal is to make sure that states don’t make any changes that go against common sense in those three areas.

“We want to make it absolutely clear that farmers will not be subjected to new and impractical safety regulations," Porcari said. "The farm community can be confident that states will continue to follow the regulatory exemptions for farmers that have always worked so well."

The DOT issued an official guidance that explains its ruling for these three issues.

DOT official guidance summary (agriculture.com)

Interstate vs. Intrastate Commerce: The difference between the two has been determined by the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal courts; therefore FMCSA has limited flexibility to provide additional guidelines. If specific questions arise, FMCSA will work with the states and the industry to provide a clarification for the specific scenario.

Commercial Driver's License: Federal regulations allow states to make exceptions for certain farm-vehicle drivers such as farm employees and family members, as long as their vehicles are not used by “for-hire” motor carriers. After considering the public comments, the FMCSA has determined that farmers who rent their land for a share of the crops and haul their own and the landlord’s crops to market should have access to the agricultural CDL exemptions given by the states.

Implements of Husbandry: After considering the public comments, FMCSA has determined that most states have already adopted common-sense enforcement practices that allow farmers to safely move equipment to and from their fields. In areas where farm implements are common, the enforcement community and the agricultural community have achieved a mutual understanding about which safety regulations should apply to farm equipment on their public roads.

What are your thoughts about these issues? Was it a victory for the agriculture industry? Do you think these issues will arise again in the future?

Photo obtained from: www.larsen.coop

 

What type of farmer are you?

2011-08-18T05:24:00.000-07:00

It’s no surprise that America’s farmers represent a diverse group, especially when it comes to their adoption of sustainable farming practices.

We are living in a world where increasing incomes and populations are going to require farmers to be even more productive, growing more food on less land and using fewer resources while conserving soil, water and air quality.

New research from Farm Futures reveals that farmers can combine both profits and conservation. Its recent survey of more than 1,000 farmers found that those on the cutting edge of conservation were more profitable than other producers.

According to the survey, farmers fall into five groups depending on their practices and profits.

Green & Gold (4 percent): These farmers represent a small minority of farmers and are the most conservation-minded growers. They use the most sustainable practices.

Big & Brown (17 percent): Farmers who farm an average of more than 3,600 acres are in this group. While they earn good incomes, their return on equity is below average. They are large enough to adopt site-specific technology, but haven’t utilized applications and their conservation efforts fall short of average.

Black & Red (16 percent): These farmers are no more advanced in conservation issues than the “Green and Gold” group, but they have found the “sweet spot” of profitability. They are larger than average, but smaller than the “Big & Brown” group because they haven’t bought as much land, which helps to keep their debt levels under control.

Green & Gray (7 percent): The adoption of this group’s sustainable practices is more than the “Green and Gold” group, but their demographics contradict the difficulty of being an innovator. While they farm larger than average acres, their size falls short of the most profitable group.

Average Joes (56 percent): These farmers’ conservation efforts are typical and their ability to progress is limited. They are smaller, less profitable and older than the average grower surveyed, which appears to limit their willingness to adopt newer and greener technology and practices.

Results from the survey reveal that high-profit farms generally are more engaged in planning, which helps translate conservation efforts into profitability.

The “Green & Gold” farmers are far more likely to have written plans for conservation, pesticide use, nutrient management and wildlife management, as well as standard operating procedures for all farm operations. These practices can help midsize and smaller farmers stay competitive and green.

To view how you compare to other farmers and to determine what type of farmer you are, visit FarmFutures.com.

What do you think of these survey results? For those of you who are farmers, what type do you think you are?

Photo obtained from: johnpaulus.com

Agricultural Thievery

2011-08-11T06:09:00.000-07:00

Jewelry, cash, cars…these are traditional items of choice for burglars, but what about cows, tractors and fertilizer?

“The increasing incidence of rural theft—and theft in general—is more proof of the negative impacts of our country's troublesome economic state, rampant unemployment and other burdens,” stated an International Business Times story.

Just two weeks ago, a 25-year-old woman from Albany, Ohio, was arrested for stealing $5,000 of machinery and steel from an area farm.

In March, two men were arrested in Dover-New Philadelphia, Ohio, for stealing a bale hauler to sell for scrap metal.

Farm security is difficult to implement, given decreased law enforcement professionals and the difficulty of allocating officers to patrol remote areas. Law enforcement is experiencing rural theft throughout the country, as reported in a recent SFGate.com story:

“While other states have their own agricultural intrigue — cattle rustlers in Texas, tomato takers in Florida — few areas can claim a wider variety of farm felons than California, where ambushes on everything from almonds to beehives have been reported in recent years. Then there is the hardware: Diesel fuel, tools and truck batteries regularly disappear in the Central Valley, the state's agricultural powerhouse, where high unemployment, foreclosures and methamphetamine abuse have made criminals more desperate, officials say.”

The Ohio State University Cooperative Extension Service has authored a paper specifically to help farmers prevent the theft of Anhydrous Ammonia.

Many insurance groups provide farm-related policies, such as Ohio Mutual Insurance Group, which insures the following:

Replacement cost on contents, dwelling and outbuildings
Borrowed, rented or leased farm equipment
Coverage on outbuildings
Identity-theft expense

Farm theft prevention tips:

Display association member signs
Keep records of serial numbers or other ID numbers of equipment and tools
Use locks to limit access to storage areas and control possession of keys; Ensure locks are tamper-resistant
Detach hoses from unattended tanks and store tanks in high-traffic areas illuminated by motion-sensor lights
Conduct inventory regularly
Secure rail, truck and barge containers
Brand livestock
Don't establish a routine when feeding
Participate in neighborhood Crime Watch programs
Park trailers and equipment out of view from the road
Know who the people are who have access to your property
Never leave keys in equipment

Have you or anyone who you know, been a victim of an ag-related theft? Do you participate in community watch programs?

Photo from: thisisnottingham.co.uk

Livestock: Beating the heat

2011-08-04T08:02:00.000-07:00

With temperatures in the 90s and the heat index even higher, it’s clear that we are in the dog days of summer.

While it’s important for people to practice safe measures when higher temperatures prevail, it’s also important for livestock producers to alter their daily management practices to ensure the safety of their livestock.

“Coordinating animal movement and handling in the morning or evening hours is essential to minimizing heat stress for livestock,” says John Grimes, Ohio State University Extension beef coordinator. “Working animals in the middle of the day is a recipe for heat-related health issues.”

Agriculture.com recently published an article with tips to help livestock producers.

Plan ahead: Alter the schedule to take advantage of times before or after the real heat of the day kicks in
Increase water access: Make sure animals have plenty of water and that the water flow is sufficient to keep tanks full and ensure that there’s enough space at water tanks
Provide other cooling help: Remove objects that are obstructing natural air movement and incorporate ventilation, shade and sprinklers
Keep an eye out: Review the weather outlook, specifically as it pertains to potential heat stress by getting the seven-day heat stress forecast by location from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service

In addition to the above tips, shade is also important to animal comfort, however it’s important to note that not all shade is created equal, as stated in a recent article in Ohio’s Country Journal.

“Sometimes shade in buildings or under man made shelters is hotter than just being outside where livestock can get in the breeze,” says Roger High, Ohio State University Extension sheep coordinator. “When the animals concentrate in those areas, there may be a buildup of ammonia from their feces and urine, and it may actually be less healthy than being out in the open air.”

The bottom line for all livestock farmers – keep animals well fed and watered and handle moving practices to the coolest times of the day.

Do you or do you know a livestock producer who is practicing safe measures to help his/her livestock beat the heat this summer? Are there any additional tips that you can share?

Photo obtained from: agriculture.com

Ag Media Jamboree

2011-07-28T05:34:00.000-07:00

The 13th annual Ag Media Summit, “Jazz It Up!” occurred July 23-27 in New Orleans. It’s the principal congregation of crop and livestock media professionals in the U.S., comprising writers, editors, photographers, publishers and ag-communicator specialists.

These professionals convene to improve their gathering, reporting and dissemination methods for a more efficient, engaging news process on behalf of America’s farm and food industries.

The agriculture media industry is inadequately represented at news outlets throughout America, given that farmers and ranchers are depended upon to provide safe, affordable, abundant food for the country and assist with food initiatives on a global scale.

Attendants Included:

Red Barn Media Group
Two Rivers Marketing
Brandwidth Solutions LLC
Cultivate Agency
Farm Journal Media
Ketchum
ZimmComm New Media

Educational sessions occur throughout the five-day event to provide networking opportunities and best-practices sharing.

Sessions Included:

“From shoot to finish: Understanding Lightroom,” (Adobe Lightroom is a tool for digital photographers)
“Strategic Tweeting”
“Think like a reader”
“Growing big ears with social media”
“Ethics in the trenches: Case studies and solutions”
Newsmakers Panel: Ag transportation

To view images of the summit, visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimmcomm/sets/72157627141641949/.

The agriculture media sector is increasingly important though it continues to decrease in size. Social-media channels are undoubtedly influencing and safekeeping the dissemination of information about an industry so vital to our country.

To promote itself, the summit used the hashtag #AgMS at Twitter, created a Facebook page, a blog and a LinkedIn account.

One great example of recent ag-media Twitter engagement results from Bayer CropScience. Historic flooding throughout much of the Midwest, South and Southeast prompted the company to raise money for American Red Cross relief efforts. For each tweet including the hashtag #BCSFloodRelief the company made a $5 donation.

As years evolve, the landscape of ag-media will continue to transition and the Ag Media Summit will exist as a necessary tool to sustain and develop the industry.

How do you receive your ag-industry news? Does your local news source have an ag reporter/ag section?

 

Ferris Wheels, Funnel Cakes and Agriculture

2011-07-21T12:04:00.000-07:00

There is something so idyllic about state and county agricultural fairs.

According to the Iowa State University Center for Agricultural History and Rural Studies, the first agricultural fairs gave rural families an opportunity to see firsthand the latest agricultural techniques, equipment, crops and livestock. Throughout the course of the 19th century, fairs also incorporated a wide range of educational, recreational, competitive and social activities into their programs and within a few short generations, county and state fairs became a quintessential American tradition.

Today, there are more than 90 county fairs throughout Ohio that take place from June to October every year.

One of the most popular fairs in the state is the Ohio State Fair, which takes place this year July 27 until August 7. Our state fair is one of the largest state fairs in the U.S. From the very first three-day fair in 1850 in Cincinnati to the 11-day exposition of today, the Ohio State Fair has celebrated Ohio's products, its people and their accomplishments for more than 150 years.

Like most events, the fair has changed with the times, but the one constant is that the fair is an agricultural showplace for Ohio's leading agricultural products and livestock.

Ohio State Fair Milestones (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_State_Fair)

1903: The first butter cow and calf were featured (Each year a different theme is presented, but the cow and calf always return, weighing in at about 1,500 pounds)
1929: The Junior Fair Board was formed consisting of outstanding individuals from various youth organizations including 4-H, Future Farmers of America, Girl Scouts of the USA, Boy Scouts of America and the Farm Bureau Youth
1968: The first sale of champions livestock auction was held with sales amounting to $22,674
2000: The fair celebrated its 150th anniversary

For more information about the 2011 Ohio State Fair, visit http://www.ohiostatefair.com/.

I encourage you to visit your own local county fair or our state fair if you get the chance. There is always something for everyone to enjoy — from livestock shows and local produce judging, to tractor pulls and numerous food-stand selections — What’s not to love?

For a full listing of county fairs throughout Ohio, visit http://www.ohiofairs.org/listoffairs.html.

What are your favorite county or state fair memories? Does your family or does anyone who you know participate in any agriculture-related activities at your local fair? If so, what is your/their involvement?

Photo obtained from: planetozkids.com

Managing Pesticide Drift

2011-07-14T05:47:00.000-07:00

While applying pesticides to crops is inevitable to keep insects, weeds and disease at bay, pesticide drift is not so predictable. Factors like weather conditions, topography, the crop or area being sprayed and pesticide droplet size can all contribute to particles drifting from their target.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that spray drift occurs when pesticide solutions are sprayed and the nozzles of the carrier equipment produce pesticide droplets. Many of these droplets can be so small that they stay suspended in air and are carried by air currents until they contact a surface or drop to the ground.

According to Michelle Wiesbrook, University of Illinois pesticide safety educator, it is important for farmers to form good relationships with their neighbors as both parties can be at risk for a variety of negative effects of pesticide drift.

For farmers, the obvious side effect of pesticide drift is a potential decrease in yield due to crops not getting the full amount of pesticide they require. According to an Agriculture.com article, it’s important to implement pesticide drift-reducing practices.

Pesticide Drift-Reducing Practices (Agriculture.com)

Choose equipment and nozzles with the correct droplet spectrum and pressure range.
When pesticide labels give a droplet size spectrum, choose the larger droplet size and higher application rate to better stay in target.
Keep the spray boom height set only high enough to provide adequate nozzle pattern overlap.
Think about updating equipment to include air assist sprayers, electrostatics and automatic rate controllers.
Avoid spraying during the heat of the day when evaporation is more likely. Using pesticides that aren’t as volatile will help.
Choose low-volatility formulas that have less impact on neighboring crops and the environment. Amine formulations are best.
Use additives that reduce droplet size sparingly.

For neighbors of crop farmers who may be concerned about the health of their lawns, gardens and families in regard to pesticide drift, Wiesbrook suggests sharing those concerns with the neighboring farmer.

“If you know ‘what’ will be sprayed ‘when,’ you can plan according by covering your garden with old blankets, making sure the windows are shut or keeping kids out of the yard during that time,” she states.

If you believe that you have been exposed to pesticide spray or dust drift and have health-related questions, you should contact your physician. You can also contact the National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC).

What are your thoughts about pesticide drift? Do you or do you know a farmer who sprays their fields with pesticide? Have you ever been a victim of pesticide drift?

Photo obtained from: ens-newswire.com

GPS in Jeopardy?

2011-07-07T06:28:00.001-07:00

One of the most advantageous technological advancements, if not THE most advantageous technological advancement of modern farming, is global positioning systems (GPS).

As stewards of the land, farmers practice sustainable agriculture daily, and GPS technology has dramatically improved agriculture’s ability to provide food, feed, fuel and fiber with less environmental impact.

GPS technology also improves agriculture’s cost and time effectiveness.

A third, unassuming benefit of GPS to the industry is the accessibility it provides to inexperienced farmers who rely on the technology to compensate for lack of instinctive know-how.

GPS Farm Uses (Virginia Tech webpage):

Mapping yields (GPS + combine yield monitor)
Variable rate planting (GPS + variable-rate planter drive)
Variable rate lime and fertilizer application (GPS + variable-rate spreader drive)
Variable rate pesticide application (GPS + variable-rate applicator)
Field mapping for records and insurance purposes (GPS + mapping software)
Parallel swathing (GPS + navigation tool)

GPS Farm Operations Benefits (GPS.gov)

Precision soil sampling, data collection and data analysis enable localized variation of chemical applications and planting density to suit specific areas of the field
Accurate field navigation minimizes redundant applications and skipped areas; enables maximum ground coverage in the least possible time
Ability to work with low-visibility field conditions such as rain, dust, fog and darkness
Accurately monitors yield data to enable future site-specific field preparation
Eliminates need for human "flaggers" and increases spray efficiency to minimize “over-spray”

Because of its impressive assistance to the ag industry, several groups are worried about a recent Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval that may disrupt GPS signals, according to a recent study.

LightSquared, America’s first wholesale-only wireless broadband network, plans to invest $15 billion to build a wireless service using 40,000 base radio stations — merging satellite and terrestrial technology, to create a new nationwide, 4G-LTE wireless broadband network. An FCC waiver allows them to repurpose the nation’s existing satellite spectrum to complete its venture, according to a Bloomberg story.

LightSquared contends that it has developed and submitted a three-part plan to the FCC that addresses the expressed interference concerns its work will cause to the country’s GPS signals.

“This issue will be resolved by good data, smart engineers and good faith problem solving dialog. The end-result will be continuity for the reliable and safe GPS system we have come to depend on along with a new high speed wireless network that will provide huge benefits to consumers,’’ said Sanjiv Ahuja, LightSquared Chairman and CEO.

John Deere is spearheading the “Coalition to Save Our GPS,” a movement to advocate for the demise of LightSquared’s plans.

According to a coalition news release:

“More than 3.3 million U.S. jobs in agriculture and industries rely heavily on Global Positioning System (GPS) technology and the disruption of interference with GPS posed by LightSquared’s planned deployment of 40,000 ground stations threatens direct economic costs of up to $96 billion to U.S. commercial GPS users and manufacturers, according to an economic study.”

The coalition includes package shippers FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc., GPS-unit makers Trimble and Garmin Ltd. and the Air Transport Association with members Delta Air Lines Inc. and AMR Corp.’s American Airlines.

Ken Golden, director of global public relations at John Deere:

“The use of GPS technology is vital to thousands of people who make their living with agricultural and construction equipment. It is simply not acceptable to allow this new network to interfere with these important industries when all indications are that there is no practical solution to mitigate this interference. In agriculture, the loss of a stable GPS system could have an impact of anywhere from $14 to $30 billion each year. That could significantly erode the strong competitive global position of U.S. farmers in the world agricultural economy. Serious impacts to the productivity of those in the construction business also will be apparent.”

LightSquared asserts that its effort will “bring world-class Internet service to the United States, including rural areas and other underserved communities and injects new competition in an increasingly consolidating wireless market.”

To listen to an audio clip of one of the coalition members expressing his concern for the agriculture industry, visit http://agwired.com/2011/07/05/save-our-gps-coalition-expands/

How often do you use/rely on GPS? If you farm, has your operation improved as a result of GPS? Do you think that LightSquared can develop a non-obtrusive system?

Photo obtained from: titanoutletstore.com

Program Offers Assistance to Beginning Farmers

2011-06-30T06:29:00.000-07:00

As a new generation of farmers begin their agribusiness careers, a new program from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers them the opportunity to receive some assistance.

The USDA’s Transition Incentive Program (TIP) is designed for retired or retiring farmers to transition their expiring Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land to a beginning or socially disadvantaged farmer who will return the land to production for sustainable grazing or crop production.

The USDA’s Farm Services Agency (FSA) defines a beginning farmer as an individual or entity who has not operated a farm or ranch for more than 10 years. They define a socially disadvantaged farmer as an individual that has been subjected to racial, ethnic or gender prejudice including, women, African Americans, American Indians, Alaskan Natives, Hispanics, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

An Ohio Ag Manager article states that TIP provides annual rental payments to the landowner for a maximum of two additional years after the date of the expiration of the CRP contract, provided that the transition is not to a family member.

In most instances, the most difficult thing for a beginning farmer to get his/her hands on is land.

“Being able to rent CRP acreage nearly doubled the size of my operation in one year,” said Taylor Grabanksi, a beginning farmer in North Dakota. “I started farming about 50 acres in 2002 and by 2010 was farming 550 acres.”

To be eligible for TIP, a landowner must be a retired or retiring farmer on land enrolled in an expiring CRP contract. The owner must agree to sell, have a contract to sell or agree to lease long-term (at least five years) the land enrolled in an expiring CRP contract to a beginning or socially disadvantaged farmer.

The USDA FSA sponsors a website, TIP Net, to assist those farmers who are interested in TIP and serves as a matchmaker to link farmers with expiring CRP contracts to beginning farmers.

Beginning farmers and CRP participants may enroll in TIP one year before the expiration date of a CRP contract. For more information, farmers can contact their local FSA office.

What do you think of the TIP? Do you know a farmer who has participated in the program and benefited? What was his/her experience?

Photo obtained from: blogs.usda.gov

Flood of Farmers Markets

2011-06-23T05:29:00.000-07:00

June is “Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Month,” which is perfect timing given that it’s garden season and there’s an influx of farmers markets in Ohio and nationally.

Consumer’s interest in the local-food movement is rapidly increasing.

“Local food continues to expand with consumer demand,” said Julie Fox, direct marketing specialist for The Ohio State University in a story reported at The Packer — the self-proclaimed ‘fresh fruit and vegetable industry's leading source for news, information and analysis.’

“That interest is reflected in an increased number of farmers markets, an increased number of vendors in farmers markets, more restaurants carrying local food, more grocery stores buying and promoting local food and an expansion of community-supported agriculture and produce auctions,” Fox said.

Farmers markets are opportunities for small-scale and/or urban growers to expand their customer base. In addition, many restaurateurs scour farmers markets for menu ideas and create contracts with farmers for food orders.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is recognizing the value of farmers markets. Its supplying $10 million in funding to help develop farmers markets throughout the nation.

“Farmers markets are an integral part of the urban/farm linkage and have continued to rise in popularity, mostly due to the growing consumer interest in obtaining fresh products directly from the farm. Farmers markets allow consumers to have access to locally grown, farm fresh produce, enables farmers the opportunity to develop a personal relationship with their customers and cultivate consumer loyalty with the farmers who grow the produce,” states the USDA website.

“Direct marketing of farm products through farmers markets continues to be an important sales outlet for agricultural producers nationwide. As of mid-2010, there were 6,132 farmers markets operating throughout the U.S. This is a 16 percent increase from 2009,” according to the USDA website.

Many online resources direct consumers to farmers markets throughout the country. The 2011 National Farmers Market Directory is accessible at the USDA website: http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/farmersmarkets.

Another such resource promoting the farmers-market industry is American Farmland Trust — the nation's leading conservation organization dedicated to saving America’s farm and ranch land, promoting environmentally sound farming practices and supporting a sustainable future for farms.

To promote the connection between fresh, local food and the farms that supply it, online voting is now available for participants in the “America’s Favorite Farmers Markets” contest organized by American Farmland Trust.

Countrywide media outlets and ordinary citizens are reporting about the farmers-market trend.

The Huffington Post released an interesting slideshow of the “Top 10 Farmers Markets” in 2009 and a consumer blog post has a list of the “Top 10 U.S. Farmers Markets Worth a Trip.”

There’s no doubt that farmers markets will continue in popularity in the coming years. Only time will tell just how they will shape the landscape of agriculture.

Do you sell/know of someone who sells food at your local farmers market? Do you shop at farmers markets? What is your opinion about farmers markets?

Farmers share farm machinery to save costs

2011-06-16T05:50:00.000-07:00

During these tough economic times, small- to mid-sized farmers are reducing their machinery costs by owning equipment jointly to save money.

“Teaming up can make a big difference — especially for small-to mid-sized farmers whho have 400 to 600 acres,” said William Edwards, professor of agricultural economics at Iowa State University. “Large farmers are so big that they can get all the economies of scale out of the way, while smaller farmers hire out much of these things since they can’t afford to purchase their own equipment.”

According to Ohio Ag Manager, joint ownership of farm machinery offers medium and small farmers a chance to reduce costs per acre and increase labor efficiency. Potential savings exist in several areas, including:

Greater annual use of large-ticket machines
More efficient use of labor during peak fieldwork times
Fewer weather delays because fields are more spread out
Opportunities to do custom work for other operators or landowners
Greater use of individual operator skills and specialized labor
More efficient use of repair and maintenance tools and facilities
Volume discounts on purchases of inputs and supplies

A recent study estimated that three medium-sized grain farms (1,500 acres each) could combine their equipment and reduce their total machinery costs per acre from $44.66 to $28.75 using conventional seeding technology, as well as reducing costs from $37.93 per acre to $25.36 per acre using direct seeding technology. (Harris and Fulton)

The key to successful joint ownership is for the partners to be able to agree about when and how to use each piece of equipment. Depending on weather and crop conditions, decisions may have to be made on a day-to-day basis. The objective is to complete fieldwork for all farmers in a timely manner while minimizing the time spent transporting machinery.

Farmers who are interested in learning more about joint farm machinery ownership can read the Farm Machinery & Labor Sharing manual written by the North Central Farm Management Extension Committee. It details both operational and organizational issues and provides sample sharing agreements and worksheets for allocating costs fairly among farmers.

What are your thoughts about sharing farm machinery? Do you or do you know a farmer who shares his/her farm equipment with another farmer? Has the experience been beneficial or has there been pitfalls?

Photo obtained from: www.kellyharrows.com

What experts, advisers need to know about farmers

2011-06-09T05:30:00.000-07:00

This week, I’m featuring a guest author. Dr. Val Farmer, a clinical psychologist specializing in family business consultation and mediation with farm families authored the following piece, which is a great reflection of the mindset of the American farmer.

*As originally printed in Farm & Ranch Guide, May 4, 2011
Author: Dr. Val Farmer

Which occupational group rivals physicians in receiving unsolicited mail? Which occupational group consumes a substantial portion of our nation’s industrial output and is the focus of persuasion from scientists, economists, financiers, legal and tax advisors, policymakers, extension agents and representatives of agribusiness?

If you are a regular reader of this column, you probably guessed it. Farmers and ranchers are the targets of intensive efforts of persuasion and education. But how well do people trying to influence them understand their motivations and needs? What do they need to know about farmers to be successful?

Long-term view. Farmers love their profession. Curiosity about life and growth, internal standards of excellence and a continued commitment to improvement offer a creative challenge. Farmers are applied biologists trying to manage the forces of nature and fashion a livelihood for their families.

Experience on the land gives them an understanding and appreciation of its productive capacity. Farming is never done. Tomorrow and the children’s tomorrows depend on wise stewardship of natural resources.

Farmers are committed to the continuity of their operations and take a long-range perspective on innovations. They can’t afford serious mistakes. Farmers gather information from many sources and are conservative in risk-taking. The vagaries of weather, cost of production and market conditions add to their reluctance to expose themselves to high-risk situations.

No cushion. Agriculture as a whole is an industry under stress. The farmer operates in one of the freest segments of a global market economy. There is no fixed or guaranteed income. There is no employer to take the risks or smooth over the shortfalls. Living with uncertainty and stress is the price they pay for freedom.

The freedom and control farmers experience is greatest when it comes to decisions about the use of the human, financial and natural resources at their disposal. Farmers resist control from outside but are usually amenable to influence. Within their span of control, the fabled independence of farmers is real.

Making a profit is crucial. Why should a farmer adopt a new idea or product? Experts often lose sight of the fact that their primary objective ought to be the economic success of the farmer. Convince a farmer that he or she can materially benefit from an innovation and that the costs of implementation are affordable, and it is likely they will do it.

Technical experts such as scientists and economists have to bridge the gap from theory to practical application. The expert with the security of a fixed income may forget about the bottom line.

There is no shortage of creative ideas or potential improvements, but there is a shortage of resources. If resources were abundant, action-oriented farmers would look hard at changes they would like to make.

Communication and relationships. As much energy needs to be put into presentation and communication as is put into basic research. Technical experts often neglect communication and persuasion and then are mystified why their work isn’t appreciated or adopted. Purists enamored with the technicalities and the ideal quickly lose their audience. They can’t see the prairie because of the grass.

Many excellent ideas are developed in another context. They have to be adapted to specific conditions. A good idea for one particular operator may not be a good idea for everybody.
Part of being an expert is to know a lot about a small part of the total system. A technical expert would do well to read and study broadly in related fields so that the information fits a context. The race they are running may be in their own bathtub.

Some of the experts are also inclined to be parochial to their institution or their school of thought instead of championing an idea because of its merit. What makes people persuasive is the honesty they bring to the entire discussion rather than selling a particular product.
The expert who comes on too strong forgets that his job is to influence, not control. The farmer doesn’t forget who actually makes the decisions and who has to live with the consequences.

Farmers respect results. They respect their peers. If four or five esteemed operators from a given community try an innovation and make it work, then it won’t be long before the rest will want to try it. Educational efforts can be directed at those farmers who are progressive and in an economic position to experiment.

Helping someone else succeed is a tremendously satisfying experience. The people supporting the farmer will succeed in their effort when they, along with the farmer, are able to look at the prairie instead of the grass.

Some people have too much pride to accept an idea if they don’t have it first. They prefer to hang back and criticize the others. They are not secure enough in themselves to entertain an outside idea on the basis of its value instead of judging its source.

Timing is everything. The timing of a new idea may be poor. A person under intense pressure may not be objective about new ideas. Similarly, a person who has already decided on a course of action or just mastered a skill will not want to change horses in midstream, no matter how good the other horses might be.

Photo obtained from: projectwordpress.org

What does the Colombia Free Trade Agreement mean for U.S. farmers?

2011-06-02T05:37:00.000-07:00

U.S. farmers and ranchers have been losing market share in Colombia to competitors who have trade agreements with the country. Colombia has duty-free access to the U.S. market, while U.S. products face excessive tariffs to sell to Colombia’s market.

When implemented, the Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will level the playing field for U.S. farmers and ranchers by eliminating these tariffs.

After months of negotiations, congressional talks about a free-trade deal with Colombia are now moving forward, setting the stage for lawmakers to move ahead with similar agreements with South Korea and Panama.

Yahoo News reports that in a letter to lawmakers, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said that while Colombia has more work to do, the country was effectively putting in place the initial phases of the labor agreements, therefore, the administration felt confident in starting talks with lawmakers.

While agreements have been settled with Korea and Panama for awhile, lawmakers threatened to block them unless the White House also finalized agreements with Colombia.

“The Colombia, South Korea and Panama agreements will create expanded markets for American farm and ranch products and boost the overall economy, said Bob Stallman, American Farm Bureau president. Together, the three agreements represent nearly $3 billion of additional agricultural exports from the United States and could generate as many as 27,000 new U.S. jobs.”

But what specifically does the Colombia FTA mean for U.S. farmers?

According to an article in Ohio’s Country Journal, the Colombia FTA will benefit soybean farmers immediately by eliminating soybean, soybean meal and soybean-flour tariffs ranging from 5 to 20 percent, as well as phase-out the 24 percent tariffs for crude soybean oil throughout 10 years and refined soybean oil throughout five years. The agreement will provide immediate duty-free access for crude soybean oil with a 31,200-ton quota with 4 percent annual growth.

The National Corn Growers Association states that the Colombia FTA would provide immediate access for U.S. corn growers to Colombia’s roughly 2.1 million metric-ton market for corn at 0 percent duty.

During the 2007-2008 marketing year, the U.S. exported 114 million bushels of corn to Colombia, with an estimated value of nearly $627 million. U.S. corn exports declined dramatically during the 2009-2010 marketing year, with only 36 million bushels exported, valued at $152 million. The decline in exports reflected a loss of $475 million to the U.S. economy.

As for wheat farmers, they face a potential loss of sales currently valued at about $100 million per year without the Colombia FTA.

These free-trade agreements have an obvious importance to the agriculture industry; it will be a great day for celebration when they are effective. What are your thoughts about these trade agreements? Will you or any farmers who you know benefit from the agreements?

Photo obtained from: csmonitor.com

 

Moving On Up

2011-05-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

Happy Memorial Day! While others are spending this week looking forward to their holiday weekend plans, the FrazierHeiby team is buried under packing boxes and moving crates.

I am excited to share with you that the FrazierHeiby office is moving! As of May 31, 2011 FrazierHeiby will move into our new offices at 1500 Lake Shore Drive, Suite 300, Columbus, Ohio 43204.

My desk is covered with stacks of files and papers to be sorted to determine “Is this important enough to be moved?” While I don’t enjoy the tedious process of organizing years of accumulated files and client work, I am really going to enjoy the outcome – a move into a new office.

We’re thrilled with our inspiring new space, which will help us to continue our history of providing strategic creative and business communications for our clients. Because of the move there will be no “official” blog this week, but it will resume next week.

Our new website will be launched at the beginning of June and will feature pictures of our new space. Please visit frazierheiby.com.

And, if you’re interested in checking out the dynamics of our energetic agency, please stop by — We’d love to have you.

Here’s to a new and inspiring era!

Photo obtained from: massaker.me

Farm Bill Feuds

2011-05-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

Passed every five to seven years, the Farm Bill is a historic, far-reaching piece of legislation that impacts every American.

The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 is considered to be the earliest incarnation of the Farm Bill, passed during the Great Depression to assist farmers during extreme weather-induced losses.

Since its inception, its vast array of policies/programs has supported food security, nutrition/food programs, the environment, energy initiatives, food aid and the development of rural America.

A huge misconception exists in the minds of countless of Americans — The Farm Bill is simply legislation that permits direct payments to farmers—fixed per-acre payments based on a farm’s historic production of eligible crops regardless of yield amount.

In reality, 75 percent of the bill is devoted to funding for social and nutrition programs (such as food stamps), not farmer-insurance supports for times of market volatility and other operational challenges.

And, Farm Bill supports aren’t automatic. Farmers must opt-in for eligibility in Farm Bill programs.

The Farm Bill is controversial for multiple reasons. Many Americans don’t feel that farmers and producers should receive monetary assistance when other industries don’t receive the same types of protection, though farm programs are only 1 percent of the federal budget.

"(The farm industry) shouldn't be expecting help from the federal government when prices are good and when they have a good harvest," said U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio in a Lancaster Gazette story.

Some believe that the bill is a hodgepodge of too many items, so its complexity clouds the vital issues with too many auxiliary items. The Farm Bill contains 15 titles including commodity-price and income supports, farm credit, trade, agricultural conservation, research, rural development, energy and foreign and domestic food and other nutrition programs.

“The farm bill is just one big earmark,” said Sallie James, a trade policy analyst with the Cato Institute.

Add the dire federal budget deficit and the Farm Bill is compacted further.

“It won’t be a matter of creating grandiose new programs,” said House Agriculture Committee chairman Rep. Frank Lucas. “The question will be what programs do we save…How do we reconfigure things so as to try and achieve more with fewer dollars?”

There are several suggestions from commentators in the public discourse.

Popular Farm Bill Proposals

Completely eliminate direct payments (reinvests $5 billion in the federal budget)
Terminate biofuels subsidies
Strengthen the safety net
Strengthen crop insurance programs
Transition to a revenue-based market system

Given the current weather conditions, the need for a safety net for our nation’s food producers is more apparent than ever.

There are 32 states with some type of federal disaster declaration, as reported in a KFGO (Fargo-Moorhead, North Dakota, radio station) story. "If there was ever evidence that we need an effective farm safety net, this is it," said Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Debbie Stabenow.

Conversations within the coming months will shape the policies and programs of the 2012 Farm Bill. Let’s hope that legislators remain cognizant of the necessity of a domestically produced, safe, affordable, sustainable, abundant food supply.

"Europe has a strategy and they want to dominate world agriculture," he said. "We have to spend money wisely and we have to fight for our agriculture base," said U.S. Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D. in a Prairie Star story.

What concerns you most about the future of the Farm Bill? What should it keep? Eliminate?

Photo obtained from: americanforests.org

Fuel Storage Requirements Affect Farmers

2011-05-11T13:06:00.000-07:00

Effective Nov. 10, 2011, farms with above-ground fuel storage capacity greater than 1,320 gallons will be required to implement and maintain a Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) plan to prevent the discharge of oil or face financial penalties by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Although the original Oil Pollution Prevention Rule, published in the Clean Water Act, has been implemented since the 1970s, several amendments to the rule have been made during the last decade.

“The basic intent of the SPCC plan is to make sure farmers who store large amounts of fuel or other petroleum products are putting measures in place that will protect the area surrounding their properties, specifically groundwater and surface water,” said Fred Whitford, coordinator of Purdue Pesticide Programs. “With this regulation the EPA is saying that we need to be thinking about fuel storage as much as pesticide and fertilizer storage.”

An article in Ohio’s Country Journal states that the new amendments regarding regulated totals pertain only to petroleum products stored in stationary tanks and containers of at least 55 gallons. Gasoline, diesel fuel and oil in tractors, trucks and other vehicular machinery are exempt.

Farmers who store between 1,321 gallons and 10,000 gallons of fuel or other petroleum products can self-certify a written plan, while those farms with more than 10,000 gallons must have a certified professional engineer write a plan that includes:

How products are stored
The location of the storage
The farm’s topography
Steps that will be taken in the event of a spill

After the SPCC plan is written, it should be kept on the farm and be available to EPA inspectors in case they are called to the farm to respond to a spill.

Farmers can learn more about the fuel storage regulation by visiting the EPA’s SPCC website.

What do you think of this new requirement? Do you think it’s necessary? Do you know a farmer who may be affected by the requirement?

Photo obtained from: growmark.com

Rain may affect grain forecast

2011-05-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

Waterlogged fields are causing Midwest grain farmers much angst. Excessive moisture in fields is either jeopardizing the germination of planted seeds or is preventing planting.

“Farms from the Ohio Valley north throughout much of Ohio…have had flooding and above-normal rainfall in the past month but the Ohio Valley has been hardest hit,” said Cincinnati Weather Examiner Rich Apuzzo.

One farmer’s field has literally turned into a pond in Zanesville — It has carp swimming in it, as reported in a The Republic story.

According to a Coshocton Tribune story, “One cubic foot of water weighs more than 62 pounds and there are hundreds of tons of water laying on the fields.” This results in compacted roots to limit yield potential.

However, an Evansville Press & Courier story noted that flooding, in one way, is beneficial, “Nutrient-rich silt deposited by the flood water can often help reduce the amount of fertilizer.”

The optimum planting dates for corn in Ohio are from April 20 to May 10. To date, 1 percent of Ohio’s corn crop is planted, which is 38 percent less than the past year and 13 percent less than the five-year average. Typically, 15 percent of the corn crop is in the ground about this time of the year.

Corn consumption is projected to be near 13.25 billion bushels during the 2011-2012 marketing year. The USDA and others are predicting a national yield of 162 bushels per acre on a projected 92.2 million acres with 87 million acres being harvested for grain.

Farmers are considering alternative planting strategies to circumvent potential weather-induced losses.

 Delayed Planting Strategies:

Considering a shorter-season hybrid seed
Foregoing tilling or practice decrease tillage
Using an increased seed rate
Using nitrogen later or considering nitrogen alternatives

Though the exact timing of planting is still unknown, one thing is for certain. With commodity prices significantly increased compared to the past spring, U.S. farmers plan to plant 3.99 million, or 4.5 percent, more corn acres than last year, according to the Prospective Plantings report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Soybeans have a later plant date than corn — early May — and soybean farmers are also monitoring their fields and using the same assessors to gauge planting decisions. Depending on the ability to still plant a decent corn crop, corn farmers may opt to plant more soybeans this year. State farmers will be finalizing planting plans in the coming days.

Soybean 2011-2012 consumption is projected near 3.33 billion bushels, with a yield near the trend value of 43 bushels per acre on about 76.4 million acres.

Well-drained fields are expected to cope nicely, especially if June is dry. This is good news for Ohio wheat farmers. Ohio’s already-planted winter wheat crop reportedly survived the season in better shape than other states. USDA rates more than 70 percent of Ohio’s wheat in fair to good condition for harvest in July.

The Prospective Plantings report projects a 10-cent reduced average price received by wheat producers for this market year, ranging from $5.50 to $5.70 per bushel.

“Farm prices continue to be reported well below prevailing cash market bids, indicating that farmers priced a substantial portion of this year’s crop well ahead of delivery,” stated the report.

Of course, the ag industry will experience a lion’s share of the blame of potential food-cost increases because of yield loss causing food shortages. Farmers and other agribusiness members should be ready to provide fact-based responses to the multiple factors of food costs such as increases in oil prices and commodity market speculation.

It’s important to note that the 2010 planting season was also delayed, though not to this extent, and still turned out a record corn crop. Most of our farmers are seasoned pros with years of experience and knowledge working on their behalf.

For now, farmers are forced to acknowledge the adage, “Patience is a virtue.”

When are you or people who you know entering the fields? What are you doing differently this year?

Photo obtained from: www.ipm.iastate.edu

Time to Invest in Agriculture

2011-04-27T13:35:00.000-07:00

While the housing and financial stock markets have seen their fair share of ups and downs throughout the years, agriculture stock has remained steady and is currently increasing.

"The crop farming sector has been relatively profitable in the past several years while the general economy has gone through a great deal of turmoil. As financial difficulties became apparent in 2008, most publicly traded companies saw their stock prices decline," said Gary Schnitkey, ag economist, University of Illinois.

Investing in the agriculture industry can help capitalize farms and fertilizer producers, increase food supplies and generate profits in the process. We’ve already seen that the prices of soybeans, wheat and corn are increasing and major fertilizers like phosphate, sulfur and ammonia have been increasing in price since mid-2010.

Currently, the world is seeing a demand for quality food from rapidly developing countries such as Brazil, India and China. In addition, the global population in emerging markets continues to increase with a demand for more and better-quality food.

According to Investopedia, the rationale for increased agricultural stock prices is that farmers will need the best seeds, fertilizers, animal feed and other agricultural inputs to produce the largest yields possible. Therefore, the companies that are selling products to the farmers should see an increase in their stocks.

An agriculture.com article reports that since 2008, market-value changes have been greater for AgIndex, an index that represents the market value of agriculture companies, than for the S&P 500, an index that tracks the market values of 500 large companies in the United States. Like crop farms, many agricultural firms have performed well in the period of increased commodity prices.

The AgIndex comprises a group of 21 publicly traded companies that fit into one of five sectors (agriculture.com):

Fertilizer: Companies involved in the manufacturing and distribution of fertilizers (Agrium Inc., CF Industries, Intrepid Potash, Mosaic Company, and Potash Corporation)
Equipment: Companies involved in the manufacturing of agricultural equipment (AGCO Corporation, Art’s Way Manufacturing Company, Caterpillar Inc., CNH Global, Deere & Company, Kubota Corporation and Lindsay Corporation)
Seed and genetics: Companies that produce seeds (Monsanto and Syngenta)
Crop protection: Companies that produce products aiding plant growth (Dow Chemical, DuPont and FMC Corporation)
First processor: Companies that are the first processors of corn and soybeans (Andersons, Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge and Corn Products International)

An article at www.dailyfinance.com reports that investors note that expanding populations that tend to shift to more resource-intensive food products are fueling agricultural demand. In a presentation this past year, hedge fund Passport Capital stated that the world population "is predicted to increase by more than one-third, to a staggering nine billion people by 2054."

  "We believe the circumstances of the current global recession—including tight credit and reduced asset values—have created a particularly attractive entry point for investors in the agriculture industry," said a representative from Passport Capital.

As the need for feeding more and more people throughout the world continues to increase, the outlook for agriculture investments moving forward will be favorable.

Have you invested in any agriculture stocks? What has been your experience? Do you have any recommendations to share?

Photo obtained from: getmyhomesvalue.com

Disappearing farmland?

2011-04-21T05:27:00.000-07:00

There’s no doubt that, because of technological advancements, agricultural production requires less land than ever to produce historically more food, feed, fiber and fuel.

However, some people believe that urban sprawl—the spreading outward of a city and its suburbs to its outskirts to low-density and auto-dependent development on rural land—is removing necessary farmland.

According to the Heartland Institute, a national nonprofit research and education organization, since 1950, an area the size of Texas plus Oklahoma (or almost as large as France plus Great Britain), has been removed from agricultural production in the United States.

What constitutes high-quality farmland?

The American Farmland Trust (AFT) defines it as land most suitable for producing food, feed, forage, fiber and oilseed crops, as well as land used to grow vegetables, grapes and horticultural crops, including fruits, nuts and berries that have unique soil and climatic requirements. Less than one-fifth of U.S. land is high-quality.

AFT is the nation’s largest private, nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to saving farm and ranchland throughout America and is one such critic of urban sprawl. ATF cites that America loses an acre of farmland every minute. The U.S. has lost more than six million acres of farmland since 1997—amounting to the size of Maryland. ATF’s taglines are, “No farms, no food,” and “Saving the land that sustains us.”

There are several government-regulated programs designed to safeguard farmland.

Programs Protecting Farmland (ATF)

Agricultural District Programs: special farmer-organized areas where commercial agriculture is encouraged and protected
Agricultural Conservation Easements: preserve landowners’ right to use their land for farming, ranching and other purposes that do not interfere with or reduce agricultural viability
Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement (PACE) Programs: pay property owners to protect their land from development, known also as purchase of development rights (PDR)
Executive Orders: document the importance of agriculture and farmland to their states’ economies, environment and culture
Growth Management Laws: control the timing and phasing of urban growth and the types of land use that will be permitted
Right-to-Farm Laws: protect farmers and ranchers from nuisance lawsuits
Agricultural Protection Zoning: designates land use; a tool of local government

Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program in Ohio (National Resources Conservation Service)

Of Ohio’s 26,206,720 acres, there are 11,597,600 acres classified as prime farmland
Ohio ranks 39th in the nation in total state land area and fifth in the nation in percent of state land area that is classified as prime farmland
Ohio lost more acres of prime farmland during the period 1987 to 1997 than any other state with the exception of Texas
Since 1987, Ohio has lost 627,100 acres of farmland, of which 352,600 acres were prime farmland. The average size of an Ohio county is 300,500 acres, during that 10-year span, Ohio lost more than one county’s area of prime farmland
In Fiscal Year 2010, $3,949,414 was awarded to five different entities including state or local governments, as well as non-governmental organizations, for purchasing easements using their farmland protection programs
$25,986,358 has been provided to such entities in Ohio using protection programs

Some people don’t consider urban sprawl a threat to our national farm and ranchland.

Wendell Cox, a visiting professor at Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers, Paris, is one of them. He says that urbanization is exaggerated:

“According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, rural, large-lot residential development (nonagricultural) covered 40 percent more land than all of the nation's urbanization in 2000. These parcels represent "scattered single houses on large parcels, often 10 or more acres in size." Since 1980 the increase in this rural residential development has been one-third greater than the land area occupied by all of the urban areas in the nation greater than 1,000,000 in population. If there is a serious threat to agriculture, it is from overzealous regulation that puts farmers at risk.”

A CNN story stated, “The National Center for Policy Analysis report cites figures which show that farmland loss has been moderating since the 1960s, falling from a 6.2 percent decline in farmland per decade in the 1960s to a 2.7 percent decline in the 1990s.”

Whether one considers urban sprawl a threat to agriculture or not, it cannot be denied that our reliance on continued technology improvements will lessen our need for as much land to produce the agricultural products on which we rely, though technology is not a cure-all.

Do you believe that urbanization is affecting agriculture? Have you experienced urban sprawl near your home?

Photo obtained from: cartoonstock.com

Tricks of the trade: Buying and selling farm equipment online

2011-04-14T05:11:00.000-07:00

While it’s common for farmers to buy and/or sell their farm equipment at a local auction, a local dealer or in the classified ads of their local newspapers, the Internet is now becoming one of the best places to look for agricultural equipment.

As with all things, there are some important factors to consider before purchasing or selling agricultural equipment online. Below, farmers share tips about how to use the Internet to sell and buy equipment.

Selling farm equipment online (Farm Industry News)

Good photos: Bad photos make for poor sales. It is important to make sure that the lightening is good and to show a variety of photos, such as tires, chains, wear points, paint and general appearance.

Clean equipment: A good wash job on equipment can generally produce a 10 percent greater return. Once the equipment is clean, place it in a nice location like a clean shed on a well-kept farm (This is great place to take a good photo).

Price: Price equipment reasonably well (check current auction information to help price equipment). In most instances, a farmer is never going to pay the asking price.

Equipment details: The history of the machine is important. Make sure to provide all of the information that you would provide in a classified ad. Also, don’t forget to provide a way for farmers to contact you with questions.

Buying farm equipment online (Farm Management Software)

Research: Compare websites for farm equipment — look at the quality of the products, the services they provide and their prices. These are some of the most important aspects to consider when purchasing quality agricultural equipment.

Price: Don’t look for the least expensive prices because they could be the wrong choices. Instead, look for well-known brands, as they usually produce high quality products.

Websites: Various websites specialize in agricultural equipment: www.tractorhouse.com; www.farmcountrytrader.com; www.machinerypete.com; www.auctions.farmindustrynews.com

As more farmers go online to buy and sell their farm equipment, it will be interesting to see what new online trends will surface. Could it be that more traditional methods to selling and buying farm equipment, like auctions and classified ads, will fade away?

Do you know a farmer who has bought or sold farm machinery online? Did they have a positive or negative experience?

Photo obtained from: farmmanagementsoftware.org/tips-to-buying-used-agricultural-equipment

Energy Farming

2011-04-06T13:53:00.000-07:00

Though the traditional forms of agriculture, crop and animal farming aren’t the only farm sectors anymore.

Feedstock farming – growing varying cellulosic, non-food material such as miscanthus and switchgrass, which is then fermented for conversion to biomass pellets and fuel – is emerging as a new industry market.

Biomass comprises several types of herbaceous grasses that are converted into fuel using special processing equipment. Pellets are a byproduct of the conversion and can be used as livestock feed and to generate electricity.

Farmers receive a price based upon each feedstock’s net-energy value and moisture content. According to FarmEnergy.org, 1 ton of pellets contains as much energy as 190 gallons of propane.

The Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), instituted in the 2008 Farm Bill, was designed to stimulate new crops for renewable energy feedstocks. It demonstrates the importance of this emerging ag market.

“Farmers are the foundation to drive [the new biomass energy] technology — not technology driving farmers,” said Steve Flick, president of Show Me Energy’s (the first U.S. producer-owned biomass cooperative) board of directors.

The Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), administered by the Farm Service Agency, provides financial assistance to owners and operators of agricultural and non-industrial private forest land who wish to establish, produce, and deliver biomass feedstocks. BCAP provides two categories of assistance:

Matching payments may be available for the delivery of eligible material to qualified biomass conversion facilities by eligible material owners. Qualified biomass conversion facilities produce heat, power, biobased products, or advanced biofuels from biomass feedstocks.

Establishment and annual payments may be available to certain producers who enter into contracts with the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) to produce eligible biomass crops on contract acres within BCAP project areas.

BCAP-qualified producers are eligible to receive up to 75 percent of the cost of establishing and planting biomass crops within a BCAP project area. The USDA provides annual payments to compensate for lost opportunity costs until these crops are established and provides financial assistance for the collection, harvest, storage and transportation of biomass crops by matching the amounts paid to producers by the biomass conversion facility, up to $45/dry ton.

Not only does feedstock farming impact the farmer, it significantly impacts the entire economics of the business supply chain. Biomass conversions creates hundreds of direct and ancillary jobs in rural economies.

 “Hauling massive amounts of feedstock long distances has a tremendous effect on the economy,” said Steve Carter, director of Iowa State University’s Research Park in Ames.

Some farmers are participating in feedstock farming to power their own equipment. This may become an increasing trend as oil prices continue to escalate.

A farmer interviewed for a recent Herald-Review story, said that he’s found using 1 ton of biomass pellets to cost $165, compared to 149 gallons of propane for $387.40 and 101 gallons of fuel oil for $383.80.

In Ohio, Aloterra Energy develops biomass conversion facilities by handling both feedstock development and its conversion to fuel using advanced biofuel production. One biomass conversion facility is currently in operation in Conneaut, Ohio, and the company is in the process of expanding its network of farmers for energy-crop production.

As fuel and other energy costs continue to increase, so too will the interest in feedstock farming. It will be interesting to witness how farmers react to this emerging new-income opportunity.

Photo obtained from: farmenergy.org

New technologies advance the agriculture industry

2011-03-31T05:56:00.000-07:00

Today’s technology advancements are changing corn, wheat and soybean production.

As more food is needed for the growing world population and there is less land on which to grow it, new advancements in technology are especially important.

A recent article in Farm Industry News describes new agriculture technologies for farmers and how technologies can benefit the agriculture industry.

Technologies Changing Agriculture

Telematics: This technology allows navigation, prescription application, location and other data to be transferred easily to and from farm machinery to help farmers improve efficiencies on expensive equipment.

Drought-resistance traits: The next round of drought hybrids will include genetically modified traits. Scientists are currently using biotechnology to alter one of the many different factors involved in a plant’s growth during water-restricted and high-heat conditions.

Soil and crop sensors: More farm equipment is being outfitted with smart sensors that can read everything from plant health and water needs in the crop to nitrogen levels in the soil. The sensors then enable on-the-go application of inputs based on real-time field conditions.

Pervasive automation: A product feature that reduces operator workload, this new automation allows operators to do more jobs with less strain and more accuracy because human error is eliminated. Features include: GPS steering, conventional headlands programmable automation, automatic balers, automation of operator control of combines and forage harvesters and automation of tractor operator functions like intelligent power management.

Hyper precision: With real-time kinematic (RTK) navigation available, precise seeding and fertilizer applications have become a reality. Manufacturers are introducing controllers, drives and shutoff systems with ever-finer resolution and the ability to apply multiple products at variable rates.

Biologicals: More biological pest control and growth enhancements are expected as farmers look for more environmentally friendly and cost-efficient crop inputs. Advanced technologies like high-throughput screening are helping companies to quickly multiply beneficial organisms, thus driving development of new biologicals.

These advances are key components to a farmer's ability to continue to produce a sustainable supply of food, feed, fuel and fiber for domestic and international customers.

According to the Center for Food Integrity, in the next 40 years the world will need 100 percent more food than is produced today and 80 percent of future production growth must come from increased yields using the advancement of new innovation and technology.

For more technologies changing the agriculture industry or for more detailed information about the technologies mentioned above, visit www.farmindustrynews.com.

What do you think about the new technologies that are changing the agriculture industry? Do you know any farmers who are utilizing these technologies? What types of technologies do you think are needed for the future?

Photo obtained from: farmindustrynews.com

Vino, Vino Ohio

2011-03-23T13:42:00.000-07:00

Ohio grape production is fast becoming a lucrative industry in Ohio, adding to the state’s robust agriculture roots.

As a result, wineries throughout the state have blossomed in recent years to supplement the emerging ag sector.

Approximately 65 percent of Ohio’s wineries have been established in the past 10 years. The number of Ohio wineries increased from 75 in 1999 to 124 wineries in 2008, according to the Ohio Grape Industries Committee (OGIC).

OGIC “creates viable, income-producing grape enterprises in the state of Ohio by providing marketing and promotion efforts to generate and expand new markets for grapes and grape products and research to improve the quality of grapes and profitability of grape growing as an agri-business.”

While not claiming to be at the same rank as Napa Valley, Ohio is home to national and international award-winning wines.

Ohio Grape Industry Facts (2008 study)

The impact of wine and grapes on the Ohio economy is $582.8 million
There are 124 wineries in Ohio
There are 1,900 grape-bearing acres in Ohio
1,134,000 gallons of wine were produced
Provided 4,108 full-time jobs
The retail value of Ohio wine was $51.9 million
Wine-related tourism expenditures was $73.4 million

Of course, OGIC is leveraging the Internet to raise awareness about Ohio’s grape and wine industries.

The association features “Ohio Wine TV” at its website – a free service that offers monthly subscribers access to expert-led tours of several of the state’s more than 150 wineries. Each month, subscribers receive an e-mail directing him or her to the newest program highlighting a different winery or wine region. The subscriber also receives a recommended shopping list and educational materials about the winery and/or region and Ohio’s grape and wine industry.

The Ohio Grape Web, a website managed by The Ohio State University Extension is another industry resource. The Extension is a service of OSU that interprets knowledge and research developed by university and other OSU-affiliated faculty and staff to share with the public. Ohio Grape Web assists producers interested in cultivating grapes and becoming involved in the wine business. It also produces the Ohio Grape-Wine Electronic Newsletter.

OGIC’s tagline is, “Ohio Wines – Love at first sip.” Have you tried an Ohio wine? Were you aware of the extent of the state’s grape industry?

Photo obtained from: tasteohiowines.com

A Week Dedicated to Agriculture

2011-03-16T07:51:00.000-07:00

Agriculture provides almost everything we eat, use and wear on a daily basis, and is increasingly contributing to fuel and other bioproducts.

Taking the time to celebrate this industry helps educate millions of consumers each year, which is why, this week, we celebrate everyone who has a role in the agriculture industry as part of National Agriculture Week. Each year, the Agriculture Council of America hosts National Agriculture Week and National Agriculture Day (March 15) as a way to recognize and celebrate the contribution of agriculture to America. It encourages people to:

Understand how food and fiber products are produced
Value the essential role of agriculture in maintaining a strong economy
Appreciate the role agriculture plays in providing safe, abundant and affordable products

Agriculture Industry Facts (Corn & Soybean Digest):

There are 2.13 million farms in the U.S. today. This compares to 6.8 million farms in 1930, 4 million farms in 1960 and 2.4 million farms in 1980.
The top five agriculture products in the U.S. are corn, soybeans, cattle and calves, dairy products and broilers.
The U.S. produces 46 percent of the world’s soybeans, 41 percent of the world’s corn, 20 percent of the world’s cotton and 13 percent of the world’s wheat.
99 percent of all U.S. farms are family farm businesses owned by individuals, partnerships and family corporations. These family based farm enterprises account for about 94 percent of all the U.S. agricultural products that are sold each year.
From 1997 to 2002, the number of farms operated by women increased 12.6 percent.
The U.S. agriculture industry employs more than 22 million Americans to produce, process, sell and trade the nation’s food and fiber. This represents approximately 16 to 17 percent of the total U.S. workforce.
The average U.S. farmer produces enough food and fiber for about 150 people. This number was 19 people in 1940, 46 people in 1960 and 115 people in 1980.

The need for people to understand the value of agriculture in their daily lives is great. People who are informed about the industry will be able to participate in establishing the policies that will support a competitive agricultural industry in Ohio, the U.S. and abroad.

To learn more about activities that can be planned this week, visit www.agday.org.

Are you doing anything special this week to celebrate National Agriculture Week? How has agriculture touched you today? Are you attending any events to celebrate National Agriculture Week?

Photo obtained from: commerce.idaho.gov

Tuh-MAY-toh, Tuh-MAH-to

2011-03-10T05:54:00.000-08:00

The most popular edible plant grown in the home garden is the tomato.

It’s a staple of many food products and is an ingredient in many meals. Because of this, National Garden Bureau (NGB) has designated 2011 as the “Year of the Tomato.”

Tomato breeding is hot right now, as per-capita consumption of fresh tomatoes has been increasing and troublesome weather has decreased the tomato supply significantly, causing tomato prices to increase – from $16 to $27 per case. This scenario duplicates 2010’s problematic tomato supply.

Tomatoes are also increasingly being marketed as a premier nutritional food, which promotes additional consumption.

WCF Courier of Cedar Valley, Iowa, recently reported a flourish of tomato-variety introductions, including fun names such as, "Fourth of July;" with a flavor described as a ‘delicious, sweet-acid balance,’ "Fried Green F1;” has a ‘tart, acid flavor’ and "Tye-Dye;" said to be ‘mildly sweet.’

Unknown to most Buckeyes, Ohio is a hub for tomatoes. Ohio is the second leading commercial producer of tomatoes in the United States, after California. Tomatoes are the official state fruit and tomato juice is the official state beverage of Ohio.

Tomato Industry Facts (Agricultural Issues Center, University of California)

In 2010, more than 28.9 million centum weight of commercial fresh-market tomatoes were produced in the U.S.
Imported tomatoes account for about one-third (nearly 1.5 million metric tons) of U.S. tomato consumption
U.S. fresh-tomato exports were less than 120,000 metric tons in 2010
The fresh tomato market is oligopolistic – few firms compete in the market, making it extremely shortage/surplus sensitive; In 1997, fewer than 1,000 farms were in production and fewer than 50 shippers controlled the movement of fresh tomatoes to wholesale, retail and food-service sectors
The U.S. is the largest market in North America for greenhouse tomatoes
More than 60 million tons produced every year

Tomato Plant Facts

Thousands of kinds
Produce 10 to 15 pounds of fruit
Classified by fruit shape, ripening times, color and size
Most popular fruit shapes are cherry, plum, standard and beefsteak

As the same tomato shortage plays out this year as in the past year, it will be interesting to note how Ohio tomato production changes. Farmers could deem the situation as an opportunity to start a new farming venture, or increase production if they’re already growing tomatoes.

Do you know any tomato farmers? Do you think tomato farming is lucrative?

Photo obtained from: withamymac.com

Farmers faced with important crop insurance decisions

2011-03-03T10:29:00.000-08:00

Farmers need to make some important decisions in these last few weeks leading up to the March 15 crop insurance deadline.

The crops impacted by this deadline include corn, soybeans, grain sorghum, green peas, barley, dry beans, forage seeding, oats, popcorn, cabbage, mint, sweet corn, sugar beets, tomatoes, potatoes, processing beans and processing pumpkins.

For most farmers, crop insurance affects those who want to:

Purchase crop insurance for their spring-planted crops
Make a change to the crops that they have insured or to the level of their crops’ protection
Change insurance providers
Cancel a policy

According to an article in Ohio’s Country Journal, volatility is expected in the prices for corn, soybeans and their inputs and the weather is always an unknown. These risks, at the current high price levels, are tremendous.

“Prices are higher this year, the volatility in the markets is greater than ever and input prices are high, so it is really important to keep crop insurance at high levels, said Keith Summers, agent and broker at Leist Mercantile in Circleville. “With that, the cost of crop insurance is going to be higher as well. We’re seeing rates anywhere from 25 percent to 30 percent over last year.”

Along with the higher prices, the Risk Management Agency for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is offering farmers a new crop insurance option for the 2011 crop year.

This new option for crop insurance is “WeatherBill,” which offers customized protection from the uncertainties of the weather, including:

Drought throughout the growing season
Excessive rainfall during key planning dates
Cold weather throughout the season
Heat stress during pollination
Killing freeze before the harvest
Rains that can delay harvest

WeatherBill coverage does not depend on insurance adjusters, but on the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) weather data for a nationwide grid of 12-mile by 12-mile squares throughout the country. The insurance can be purchased by the acre within these grids.

This new crop insurance option, along with the higher prices, increases the need for farmers to meet with their crop insurance agent.

“There are a lot of dollars on the table this year and it is important for farmers to make sure they have the right coverage for their farm. Using crop insurance is a really good way to lock in some revenue,” said Summers.

For more information and a list of local crop insurance agents, farmers can visit www.rma.usda.gov/tools/agent.html.

Do you use crop insurance? Do you know a farmer who doesn’t use it? What do you think about the new insurance option, WeatherBill, which is available to farmers?

Photo obtained from: newinsured.com

From Eda-what-me to Edamame

2011-02-24T06:21:00.000-08:00

It seems that everyone’s eating it now. It went from being a relatively unknown food item to a popular appetizer and snack option at the dinner table.

Edamame (pronounced ed-ah-mommy), literally meaning, “twig bean,” is a food dish made from immature soybeans. The soybeans are boiled or steamed, prepared with salt and eaten as finger food after splitting the pod and eating the beans inside. It’s a favorite in Asian cuisine.

Edamame Facts (Farm World)

Introduced nationally in the 1930s as a value-added crop to address food scarcity
It has been estimated that the U.S. could produce 32,000 acres of the crop to meet demand domestically
National production is limited to fewer than 5,000 acres nationwide, mostly in Ohio, Kentucky, California, Illinois and Indiana
Net returns can average $400 to $1,300 per acre in the U.S.
90 to 120-day growing season
Rotational crop

Though in “infant stages” in the U.S., as quoted in a recent Ohio’s Country Journal story, a new herbicide designed specifically for edamame gives the crop significant yield potential.

Dual Magnum has recently been approved as the registered herbicide for edamame.

“Although soybean dominates the Midwest agricultural landscape, nearly all of the edamame we consume is imported from Asia,” said Marty Williams, a weed scientist with USDA-ARS and the University of Illinois. “One of the reasons why this occurs is because there have been few pesticides registered for use on edamame, limiting domestic, commercial production.”

As consumers are becoming increasingly health conscious, edamame production is foreseen as very profitable for American soybean farmers.

There are multiple nutritional advantages to eating edamame – carbohydrates, protein, dietary fiber, omega-3 fatty acids and micronutrients, particularly folic acid, manganese and vitamin K – are just a few.

Because of edamame’s increasing popularity, and because 90 percent of domestic edamame consumption is from Asian-imported edamame, New Jersey’s Rutgers University is home to a research project working to advance the yield rates of U.S. edamame.

The “IR-4 Project” is a cooperative program of the USDA and the SAES, with the principle goal of developing data to support and expedite regulatory clearances of newer, reduced risk pest-control products for specialty crop growers.

Pest management tools are needed to maintain a safe and dependable supply of fruits and vegetables, while allowing U.S. crop producers to compete in global markets.

“I have received a large number of calls requesting pest control products for this commodity throughout the past year, probably more than I have received for any other commodity in the past 20 years,” said IR-4 Project’s associate director Dan Kunkel. “Fortunately, data from other legume crops can be used to support registrations on edamame and therefore, a number of new uses have been added to product labels recently, or should be available soon to address grower needs.”

As edamame becomes more recognized and requested by the public, it will be interesting to note the change of production rates in Ohio and nationally.

Have you eaten edamame? Do you know an edamame farmer? If you farm, have you ever thought about growing edamame?

Photo obtained from: coloraddict.com

Estate tax threatens rural farms

2011-02-17T06:45:00.000-08:00

The estate tax continues to be a major factor to the disappearance of rural farms nationwide.

For farmers, a greater percentage of their assets are associated with land and equipment, increasing their estate tax burden significantly more than other business owners.

Farm owners are typically referred to as “cash poor, land rich.” On average, 84 percent of farm assets are land, machinery and equipment, but little or no cash.
The estate tax can cause the loss or break up of family farms when heirs are forced to sell assets to pay the tax and/or administrative costs.

For many farmers, selling even a fraction of their business or farm makes it less competitive and unprofitable, forcing the ultimate sale of the entire operation.

According to American Farm Bureau Federation President, Bob Stallman, estate taxes hit farm families worse than other small business owners because the majority of their assets are real-estate based.

"When Uncle Sam comes to pay his respects, surviving family members without enough cash on hand may be forced to sell land, buildings or equipment that they need to keep their operations going,” Stallman stated in an article in Ohio Farmer.

Congress recently passed new legislation in December that affects estate taxes, but only for 2011 and 2012, reducing federal taxation of large estates. The legislation affects families with an individual who dies in 2011 or 2012 and has assets of more than $1 million or an individual that gifts more than $1 million during this period.

According to The Ohio State University Extension, with this law change, an individual can leave a total of $5 million worth of assets with no federal estate or gift tax due. In addition, if the net worth of an individual’s estate, combined with the total counted amount given, exceeds $5 million, the federal estate and/or gift tax rate has been reduced from 45 percent to 35 percent.

These estate tax and gift tax changes will give a reprieve to those with estates valued at more than $1million, but only for the next two years. Those families with large estates who live into 2013 will have to distribute assets to lock in these provisions.

As new rules come into place, it will be interesting to learn what happens to the estate tax. What do you think about the estate tax and the new rules enacted by Congress? Do you know a farmer who has been affected by the tax? Do you think there are alternatives to the estate tax?

Photo obtained from: http://www.estateplanninglawblawg.com/tax%20dollars.jpg

The Other Red Meat

2011-02-10T07:00:00.000-08:00

It’s been described as leaner, sweeter and richer than beef. Bison, or buffalo meat, is becoming more popular as a meat option in the United States and consequently, so is the niche market of bison farming.

The National Bison Association (NBA) reported 2010 as the strongest year on record for the industry. Bison meat is averaging $7 per pound, which is an increase of $2 compared to 2009. It is the fifth straight year of double-digit growth for bison meat in the marketplace.

The Detroit Free Press reported about this growing trend and talked to Krista Pohl of Pohl's Bison in Clare, Michigan. Pohl attributes sales increases to "word-of-mouth" marketing and the popular movement to eat healthier, local foods.

Other bison proponents note that bison is a versatile ingredient, cooks quicker at decreased temperatures and isn’t subject to the recall rates of other meats (mlive.com).

Bison Meat Facts (NBA and mlive.com)

Nearly 75 percent leaner than beef
92,000 head were processed in North America (less than one day's beef production in the U.S.)
Male bison are typically between 950 and 1250 pounds when they are ready for butchering and can stand six feet tall
The average bison produces about 450 pounds of meat
450,000 is the estimated herd size in North America
4,500 private ranches and farms nationwide
Bison are ranched in every U.S. state
Bison price is driven by scarcity
There are three subspecies of bison: the Plains bison, Wood bison, and the European Wisent

Laudably, every part of the animal is used after its butchered.

“Leather is made into pillows and gloves; offal and bones go to the pet industry. Even the winter coats they shed when the weather warms can be sold,” stated a Calgary Herald story.

An impressive list of bison byproducts is located at the NBA website and includes items such as paint and medicine bags.

As bison-meat demand increases, more bison ranchers are needed. The NBA launched a recruitment effort to draw in bison farmers throughout the country. Its website houses material for current and potential bison ranchers to assist with the success of their operations.

“Our main task today is to work with producers, and prospective producers, to build the herds of buffalo around the country to keep pace with our growing markets,” said Dave Carter, executive director of the NBA.

Besides the market incentive, there are other advantages to raising bison.

According to a Calgary Herald story, “Ranching bison also requires less upkeep: no bedding is necessary, and the animals' metabolism slows down in the winter so ranchers don't have to augment their diet.”

Have you ever considered cooking with bison? Try this recipe for an interesting bison-take on traditional meatloaf.

Have you had bison? Do you know a bison farmer?

Photo obtained from: www.calgaryherald.com

Survey reveals U.S. farming data

2011-02-04T05:15:00.000-08:00

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) recently announced that they are contacting farmers and ranchers across the U.S. to conduct their annual Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS).

According to the USDA, ARMS data provides a direct linkage between commodity-production practices (including conservation) and the financial status of the farm and its operator's household. The data collected also provides insights about several aspects of the agricultural sector, including its contribution to the national economy, the organization and performance of farms, the income and well-being of farm households and the economics of production practices used among commodity enterprises.

"ARMS asks a small, but representative, sample of farmers about their operations to understand the current financial state of U.S. agriculture," said King Whetstone, director of the NASS New York field office. "Participation in ARMS is important because government and agricultural leaders use the information to make sound decisions that impact the future of farmers, their families, their businesses and their communities."

The survey provides farmers and ranchers with an opportunity to provide accurate, real-world data that will help shape the policies, programs and issues that affect them. Their responses are used to examine the effects of economic or policy events on farms and farm households.

The 2009-2010 ARMS results, released Aug. 3, 2010, revealed that U.S. farm production expenditures decreased by nearly $20 billion in 2009 – the first major decline in nearly a quarter century. It indicated that falling petroleum prices were a major factor behind the decline, leading to decreases in the costs of fuels, fertilizer and agricultural chemicals. It also indicated that overall farm production expenditures decreased in all major categories, including:

Feed costs (decreased 4 percent, to $20,533 per farm)
Farm services (decreased 4.2 percent to $16,609 per farm)

To obtain the most accurate data, 35,000 farmers and ranchers throughout the country are being asked to provide data for this year’s survey about their operating expenditures, production costs and household characteristics. NASS began contacting farmers in January and will continue its outreach until the end of April.

"Farm organizations, the USDA, other government agencies, members of Congress and state and local officials use the collective information from ARMS to answer questions and make important decisions concerning the economic viability of American agriculture, the rural economy and other emerging issues," stated Whetstone.

The data collected in ARMS will be published in the annual Farm Production Expenditures report Aug. 2, 2011, and will be available at www.nass.usda.gov.

For more information about the Agricultural Resource Management Survey, visit www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/ARMS/.

What do you think of the Agricultural Resource Management Survey? Do you think it is gathering the right type of information? What type of information would you like to see it collect? What do you think it would report about your farming region?

Photo obtained from: quickpaidsurveys.com

Securing food crop traits essential

2011-01-27T05:09:00.000-08:00

As the world population increases each day, securing the international food supply becomes fundamentally important.

Agriculture depends on relatively few crops – only about 150 are cultivated on any significant scale worldwide. However, each comes in a vast range of different forms that pose challenges for the global agriculture industry.

The Global Crop Diversity Trust (The Trust) announced a major global project in December to systematically find, gather, catalog, use and save the wild relatives of essential food crops, to help protect global food supplies against the imminent threat of climate change and to strengthen future food security.

The Trust is a unique public-private partnership raising funds from individual, corporate and government donors to establish an endowment fund that will provide complete and continuous funding for key crop collections.

“Wild relatives” is terminology for non-domesticated crops that are genetically related to or are ancestors of a domesticated plant.

If actions aren’t taken to protect wild-crop seedlings, “These shortages can lead to loss of diversity, the very building blocks on which adaptive and productive agriculture depends,” states The Trust.

“All of our crops were originally developed from wild species—that’s how farming began,” said Cary Fowler, executive director of The Trust.

“Wild relatives typically contain characteristics such as heat or drought tolerance, disease resistance or the ability to thrive in saline soils, which can permit the adaptation of crops to a far wider range of environments and stresses. As they have traits allowing them to be successful at the current extremes of a crop’s range and beyond, wild relatives can be extremely important contributors to our ability to adapt crops to climate change.”

They also contribute to the development of strengthening future commercial crops against attacks from pests and diseases.

The contribution of crop wild relatives has been estimated by one study to be worth more than $115 billion worldwide. Many wild crops are inadequately uncollected, and therefore unevaluated and unavailable to plant breeders and farmers.

Many are also at risk of extinction, because of destruction and degradation of their natural environments, such as deforestation, desertification and climate change.

For example, an outbreak of grassy stunt virus in the 1970s, which prevents the rice plant from flowering and producing grain, decimated rice harvests in Asia. Scientists from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) screened more than 10,000 samples of wild and locally cultivated rice plants for resistance to the disease and found it in a wild relative, Oryza nivara, growing in India. The gene has since been incorporated into most new varieties since the discovery to help safeguard this crop.

Alfalfa, bambara groundnut, banana, barley, bean, chickpea, cowpea, faba bean, finger millet, grasspea, lentil, oat, pea, pearl millet, pigeon pea, potato, rice, rye, sorghum, sunflower, sweet potato, vetch and wheat samples will be collected.

After collection has occurred, samples will be stored in national facilities, CGIAR centres, Millennium Seed Bank and in Svalbard Global Seed Vault for breeding of improved crop varities.

Farmers and researchers throughout the world are optimistic about what the project can do for the future of agriculture.

“Adapting agriculture to climate change is one of the most urgent challenges of our time. Climate change will cause agricultural production to drop substantially within just 20 years,” states The Trust.

Do you believe this is an important project? Should more or less be done in regards to crop security?

Photo obtained from: http://www.eurekalert.org/croptrust/

Multi-generational farms offer various management styles

2011-01-21T06:11:00.001-08:00

Multi-generational farming. For most farmers managing the family farm alongside grandparents, parents or children is a welcome opportunity – keeping that family history alive for future generations.

According to the U.S. EPA, there are about 2 million family farms in the U.S and while statistics indicate that the farm population is aging, there is an emergence of young people interested in farming again.

This swell of younger generational farming is great, but it can also cause a few challenges when working together with an older generation of farmers. For instance, what happens when one generation believes the other generation “just doesn’t get it” or that, “they have it so much easier than we did?”

An article in Farm and Dairy discusses this topic by breaking down the characteristics of the four generations currently in the workplace and notes that probably no other business realizes the challenge of generations working together more than farming.

Veterans (1922-1945) are hard workers, view work as an obligation and are usually more interested in working individually.
Baby boomers (1946-1964) view work as an adventure, are typically workaholics and would rather work together.
Generation X (1965-1980) is self-reliant, looks for structure and direction, tends to be entrepreneurial and views work as a challenge.
Millennials (1981-2000) value entrepreneurial opportunities, are very goal oriented, and want to participate in decisions and feel like they are a part of the farm.

The good thing to note is that there is a need for each of these generations on the farm. In fact, there’s quite a bit that they can learn from each other. Each generation of farmers has had significant events, individual influences and technological developments that have helped to shape who they are and what they value.

While understanding these generational differences may seem pretty trivial, they are often easily forgotten. It takes just a little understanding and patience to learn from one another. In the long-run it will be well-worth it to accept these differences for the benefit of maintaining a successful working farm.

Do you operate or work on a multi-generational farm? What do you think of multiple generations of farmers working together? Do you think they can learn from each other?

Photo obtained from: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/FamilyFarm.jpg

Seed deserves royal treatment

2011-01-13T05:17:00.000-08:00

Seed royalty – an entirely different business aspect to the agriculture industry that many aren’t aware of, despite the fact that the business of genetically engineered seed is of extreme importance.

The International Seed Federation (ISF) states it best – Seed is the basis of agriculture.

“Apart from its traditional role of being one of the major contributors to sustainable food production, the seed industry is now also at the forefront of developing technological innovations and alternative uses for plants as renewable sources of bio-energy, bio-materials and plants that will provide food and feed of increased nutritional and even medicinal value to humans and animals.”

Engineered seed is responsible for producing crop varieties that are disease, drought, pest and chemical resistant to make farming less of a financial risk for the producer and more dependable for the consumer.

Seed royalties protect the intellectual property of plant breeders and vary among countries.

As stated by the British Society of Plant Breeders:

“Developing varieties is an expensive business, requiring major upfront investment in people, technology and facilities. Research and development takes place throughout many years.

“The ongoing process of crop improvement is funded through a system of intellectual property similar to the protection offered via copyright on books, CDs and DVDs.

Plant breeders are awarded a form of intellectual property, known as Plant Breeders’ Rights, on each new variety. Licensing the use of this intellectual property allows royalties to be collected when a protected variety is produced and sold as certified seed, or when it is used as farm-saved seed.”

With most royalty mechanisms, the collection on most crops are collected at the point of the seed sale, while the end-point royalty is applied on the grain produced from the purchased seed.

To determine the effectiveness of the global seed-royalty process by country, ISF is studying the processes used by multiple countries.

Collection systems used around the globe

Patents for transgenics (a subset of GMOs)
Plant Variety Protection to protect the use of the variety, however does not protect the genes of the variety
Contract law
Biological properties—for example, in a hybrid—will only provide a collection benefit in the first generation of the hybrid
Trade secrets—keeping it secret from everyone; if you apply for a patent you have to publish your research. The breeder can then license the technology to others with a contract to use the technology, but not disclose the patent information

Seed protection varies according to the technical, legal and socio-economic status of a country.

“Some legislation in Europe allows the breeder to directly contact the farmer who is saving seed and those farmers are required to pay for doing that and it works in Europe,” said Frank Curtis, chairman of the ISF Royalties Working Group and vice president of Limagrain Cereal Seeds in a Seed World story.

“However, that is not possible in countries such as Canada, where plant breeders’ rights are based on older legislation.”

Poland is another example of how countries royalty collection mechanisms vary.

“In Poland, if you farm less than a certain size, for example, 10 hectares, you are therefore exempt from paying royalties,” said Curtis.

ISF organized countries in rank from best to worst seed-royalty collection systems:

Sweden
Denmark
United Kingdom
Ireland
Finland

A complete report summary of ISF’s research will be available near the end of 2011. It will be interesting if America’s seed-royalty collection system alters based from this research.

Do you agree with established seed-royalty systems? Are better collection systems available? Is it fair for the farmer?

Photo obtained from: seedworld.com

Preparing the farm for winter weather

2011-01-06T05:29:00.000-08:00

Some people believe that once crops have been harvested in the fall, farmers can sit back and relax until the spring. However, there are a few things that farmers need to do after the harvest to prepare their farm for the winter months.

Making sure the farm is “winter ready” can be extremely beneficial. For instance, winterizing farm equipment can reduce start-up time in the spring, extend the life of the equipment and allow for a higher re-sale value.

Likewise, farmers also need to prepare their farm animals for the harsh winter months. Keeping animals safe, warm and well fed during the winter is essential to their health and well being.

Ehow.com provides tips about how to winterize farm equipment and prepare farm animals for the winter.

Farm Equipment

Give all equipment an oil change to prevent corrosion. Change air filters and fuel filters. Completely fill gas tanks to prevent water from accumulating in the tank.
Lubricate the bearings and joints on equipment to maximize their lifespan.
Check the equipment’s antifreeze for the correct freezing temperatures. (The composition of fluid in the radiator should be 50 percent water and 50 percent antifreeze).
Enhance the life of the belts by reducing tension.
Minimize sidewall damage to tires by inflating them to the recommended pressure in the owner's manual.
Clean planters, combines, air seeders and drills.
Remove soil from tillage equipment. Follow with an application of rust-proof compound.
Store equipment in a protected building or shelter.

Farm Animals

Make sure pens are located in an area where animals will be protected from harsh winds.
Clean pen floors daily or design it in a way that it drains properly.
Add one solid wall to the pen if there isn't one already. This provides a windbreak.
Lay down extra bedding for animals. Straw, tree bark or wood shavings provide a soft surface to sleep on as well as additional insulation.
Feed your animals more than usual in the winter. Animals exposed to harsh winter weather need extra calories.
Check the water trough every day. The water supply should be designed in a way that prevents freezing in the liner.
Remove any icy buildup in or near the pen that could cause injury to the animals if they should fall on it.
Shovel or plow snow away from the pens. Never allow it to build up so much that the animals are trapped inside.

While some farmers may have harsher winter weather than others, it’s always best to be prepared for what Mother Nature dishes out sooner rather than later. It can save farmers time and money once the first signs of spring arrive.

Do you prepare your farm or home for the winter? What tasks do you make sure you have done before that first winter storm takes place?

Photo obtained from: photo.net

A New Kid in Town: American Goat Federation Debut

2010-12-17T06:34:00.001-08:00

When one thinks of a traditional farm, images of cows, pigs and chickens typically come to mind, but not images of goats.

Maybe they should?

Goats are becoming more and more integrated into the modern farming industry, as evidenced by the recent inauguration of the The American Goat Federation (AGF).

On November 10, AGF became the national trade association for goat producers.

Goats were first domesticated by neolithic farmers because they’re a great source of milk and meat. Their dung was used as fuel and their bones, hair and sinew for clothing, building and tools.

Since then, goats have been raised primarily to process their milk for cheese, butter, yogurt, ice cream and body products. Their hair is used in the textile industry and their meat is becoming more popular in cuisines.

According to its website, “The American Goat Federation promotes and facilitates the development of all segments of the goat industry including dairy, meat and fiber, by encouraging sound public policy, enhancing production and marketing of goat products, and promoting research beneficial to our member organizations and all producers.”

Goat Facts
• More than 300 breeds
• Produce approximately 2 percent of the world's total annual milk supply
• Cheaper to manage than cattle

Ohio has the potential for a blossoming goat industry.

“Traditonally, Ohio is not a goat state, and goats raised in Ohio are mostly for the local 4-H markets. However, with the tremendous influx of immigration and increasing health consciousness of the population, there seems to be a large market for goat meat in Ohio,” states an Ohio State University Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center paper. “This, along with the fact that many previous tobacco farmers have spare land and goats are easy to raise, trigger an increasing interest on the farmers’ side for production and processing.”

The Ohio Valley Dairy Goat Association and the Mid-Ohio Goat Dairy Goat Association are examples of state groups that promote the potential and the success of Ohio goat farming.

Ohio Goat Facts (2007 Census of Agriculture)

Ranked 13 in the nation
Ranked 50 globally
Generates $14,186,000 annually

As years progress, it will be interesting to note how the goat industry expands to become a contender in the traditional livestock market, especially in Ohio. However, market infrastructure (ex: no goat processing plants) requires a major overhaul for the Ohio goat industry to really flourish.

Have you prepared or eaten anything made with goat? Do you know anyone who raises goats?

Photo obtained from: newfarm.rodaleinstitute.org
 

Vertical tillage a benefit to farmers

2010-12-09T06:08:00.000-08:00

In the world of agriculture, it is important to be up-to-date and knowledgeable about the current trends and hot topics in the industry.

Today, one of the most talked about topics is vertical tillage.

Agri-View explains that vertical tillage is used to lightly till the soil and cut up residue, mixing and anchoring a portion of the residue in the upper few inches of soil while still leaving large quantities of residue on the soil surface to speed up residue decomposition.

“The best description for vertical tillage is to call it a form of mulch-till, as it generally leaves more than 30 percent residue on the soil surface, yet creates nearly full-width disturbance on the soil surface,” says DeAnn Presley, soil management specialist at Kansas State University.

But, how does vertical tillage work?

According to Farm Equipment, a set of wavy discs and/or rotating spikes on a frame enter soil vertically to a shallow depth to help level the soil surface, enhance planter/drill opener performance and improve seed placement. It works well in these applications because it doesn’t work deep in the ground; therefore, wide-working widths can be pulled across the field quickly to achieve increased work rates.

Farmers have started to use vertical tillage equipment for many reasons, namely for its advantages with crop rotations, soil conditions and field compaction.

Vertical Tillage Benefits (Ohio Farmer)

Manages residue In corn-after-corn rotation situations, farmers use vertical tillage to cut and size residue in the fall. A pass typically provides cutting and “fluffing” action on corn residue. This provides more soil-to-residue contact, which results in better breakdown during the winter months.

Prepares the seedbed When vertical tillage is applied in the spring (when planting soybeans), it can warm the soil much easier. In some instances, it can make a soybean crop advance as if it were planted seven to 10 days earlier.

Loosens compaction Conventional tillage equipment can create multiple compaction layers that limit root growth, especially if they are run too early in the season. Vertical tillage can accomplish the same tillage goals without causing a compaction layer.

As with any farm applications, there can be a few challenges associated with vertical tillage. For instance, if a farmer is moving from a no-tilling situation to vertical tillage, there is an extra expense because it’s a step they wouldn’t normally take. In addition, some vertical tillage equipment requires more power to operate.

When you compare these downsides to the benefits of vertical tillage, some farmers say that the benefits easily outweigh the challenges. Ultimately, it is up to farmers to determine what works best on their fields.

As more farmers begin using vertical tillage equipment in their fields, it will be interesting to hear about their experiences and how it may benefit their crops.

Photo obtained from: yetterco.com

 

2010-12-02T09:24:00.000-08:00

Because corn, soybeans and wheat are the agriculture industry’s major players, these crops most often come to mind when one thinks about farming.

Major products are corn (28 percent of industry revenue); soybeans (14 percent); fruits and nuts (12 percent) and wheat (7 percent). Other major crops include vegetables and melons, cotton, and potatoes. Of all farms, 48 percent are grain, oilseed, or dry beans/peas, accounting for 53 percent of all cropland revenue (Research and Markets).

But, specialty crops are an avenue of farming that can get overlooked. Our nation has a $50 billion specialty-crop industry with 247,772 specialty crop farms.

Specialty crops are defined as fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, nursery crops and maple syrup, which are of exceptional value now.

As the USDA states, “Specialty crops are a big part of what makes our seasonal holidays memorable. It’s difficult to find anything on the table that isn’t the result of the work of specialty crop growers—from potatoes, cranberry sauce, wine and pumpkin, or sweet potato pie to the nutmeg, cinnamon and herbs that season the dishes. And don’t forget the decorations—from Christmas trees and wreaths to mistletoe and poinsettias, all grown by U.S. specialty crop growers.”

Specialty crops are more labor-intensive and require more start-up costs compared to field crops, they come with more financial risk, though annual specialty crops, like pumpkins and sugarbeets, show an increased per-acre profit compared to field crops.

Because of this crop sector’s associated risks, USDA grants are providing funding to individuals and groups for projects to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops. In total, 28 grants will be awarded. According to a news release distributed by UC Davis:

“In all, USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded more than $46 million through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative, established by the 2008 Farm Bill to develop and disseminate science-based tools to address the needs of specific specialty crops.”

The grants invest in the research, promotion, marketing, food safety, education and product development of specialty crops.

Such grants have been awarded to improve lettuce varieties, water irrigation systems, and to develop a commercial brand pumpkin seed, among others.

The Buckeye State touts its fair share of the specialty crop industry.

Ohio Specialty Crops Facts (2007 Census of Agriculture)

6,472 total specialty crop farms
82,335 specialty crop acres
600 maple syrup farms
996 cut Christmas trees and short rotation woody crop farms

To view a list of 2009 grants awarded to bolster Ohio’s specialty crops, visit:

http://www.agri.ohio.gov/divs/SustainableAg/SpecialtyCrops/SpecialtyCrops.aspx.

As we continue to celebrate the holidays, what specialty crops are you using in your dishes? What specialty crops do you routinely eat? What specialty-crop projects would be a good investment for Ohio?

Photo obtained from: today.colostate.edu
 

The business of raising turkeys

2010-11-23T05:45:00.000-08:00

As we prepare for our Thanksgiving Day feasts, a roasted turkey is most likely somewhere in the picture. Whether it’s your job to prepare it, carve it or simply enjoy it, the turkey usually takes center stage at holiday gatherings.

In fact, the National Turkey Federation estimates that approximately 45 million turkeys are eaten at Thanksgiving and 22 million at Christmas.

While most of us only appreciate this bird during the holiday season, for some farmers, turkeys are a year-round business. In 2009, more than 247 million turkeys were raised in the United States; 5.2 million were raised in Ohio.

Dan Eifert, owner of 4EEE Turkey Farm near Celina, OH has been raising turkeys for 40 years and knows what it takes to keep the birds healthy for the 20-plus weeks it takes to get them to market size.

“We hand-feed them for the first week, but turkeys are pretty smart. By the first day, they can find their own feed and their own water,” Eifert said. “The biggest challenge is to get them off to a good start. From day one, the temperature has to be just right, and you have to make sure the airflow is good. They need good air and controlled temperature.”

While turkey farmers like Eifert work hard to raise healthy, nutritious birds for consumers, there are some misconceptions about how the meat is produced in the United States.

The Minnesota Turkey Growers Association debunks some of those misconceptions:

The majority of turkeys in the U.S. are raised in barns that are environmentally controlled and scientifically designed to keep the birds comfortable and to protect them from predators, disease and inclement weather.
Turkeys are fed a balanced diet of corn, soybeans and essential vitamins and minerals at every stage of their life. Fresh water and feed are available at all times.
Turkey farmers do not feed their turkeys hormones or steroids. In fact, all poultry in the U.S. is raised with no added hormones or steroids.
Most turkeys are treated with antibiotics, as needed, when they aren’t feeling well (Turkeys labeled “antibiotic-free” at the supermarket are not treated with antibiotics).

Turkey farmers, like the majority of farmers, are good stewards of the land. According to the National Turkey Federation, the protection and proper use of natural resources is an important objective for the turkey industry.

Turkey Production and Land Use (National Turkey Federation):

Because of the intensive nature of modern turkey husbandry, very little land is actually devoted to production. The biggest potential impact is from the use of the bedding material used in turkey production houses, known as litter.
Litter is rich in nutrients, such as nitrogen, and is recycled as an organic fertilizer on farm fields.
Careful management ensures that litter is used in accordance with the nutritional needs of crops so that nutrient enrichment of groundwater and surface water is eliminated or minimized.

The turkey industry has grown during the past two decades from a single-product, holiday- oriented business into a fully integrated industry with a robust product line that competes with other protein products on a year-round basis.

So, when you sit down at your table this year and pile your plate high with all of those Thanksgiving Day favorites, like that carved turkey, take a moment and give thanks to the farmer who raised it.

I wish you and your families a Happy Thanksgiving!

Photo obtained from: inews6.americanobserver.net

 

Farm industry feeds communities

2010-11-19T10:51:00.000-08:00

With Thanksgiving a mere week away, most of us are anxiously waiting for a day of feasting, though many Americans aren’t fortunate enough to look forward to such food gluttony.

According to the USDA, more than 49 million Americans, one in six people, are food insecure. To help support our country’s food needs, Halex GT, a corn herbicide from agribusiness company Syngenta, partnered with Feeding America, the leading domestic hunger-relief charity, earlier this year.

“Syngenta is helping to weed out hunger one row at a time,” states the company, with the clever campaign tagline of, “Good for communities, good for corn.”
A portion of each sale of Halex GT benefited some of the organization’s 200 food banks dispersed throughout each of the fifty states.

For being a significantly developed country, our country’s hunger prevalence is alarming.

American Hunger Facts (FarmAssist.com)
• More than 2 million rural households are food insecure
• One in eight Americans doesn’t have access to enough food
• There are 16.7 million children who live in food insecure households
• In 2009, 46 percent more people visited a hunger-relief charity than in 2005

Hunger facts are even more distressing when they hit close to home.

The Columbus Dispatch reported recently that Ohio has broken into the top 10 states for hunger, as about one in every seven households struggled or did not have enough money to buy food in 2009. Nearly 680,000 Ohio families – 14.8 percent – were found to be "food insecure" at some point in 2009. More than 1.9 million Ohioans visited a food pantry during the last quarter. Since 2007, demand at Buckeye State pantries has increased by nearly 69 percent.

The agriculture industry is vital to addressing food scarcity. U.S. farmers take on the huge responsibility of feeding not only the American population, but also contribute to feeding people on a global scale. The average American farmer feeds 144 people and uses one acre of land to support 11 people.

An example of the agriculture industry extending its humanitarian scope is the charitable work of The World Soy Foundation (WSF). WSF is a organization dedicated to helping relieve hunger and malnutrition in the world by funding, supporting and helping to coordinate programs that recognize the importance of the use of soybeans in developing sustainable food solutions.

The WSF was awarded funds from The Monsanto Fund, the philanthropic arm of the Monsanto Company – a U.S.-based multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation – to pilot the use of SoyCow Soybean Processing Technology to improve nutrition for a community in South Africa.

SoyCow makes soymilk and yogurt, as well as tofu, soya nuts and soya chips to create sustainable solutions for the protein needs of the people in this South African region.

The corporate giving initiatives of Syngenta and Monsanto are just two examples of the abundant contributions of our nation’s agricultural community to the food supply. Each year, our farmers continue to grow more food using fewer resources. Our farmer’s sustainability and philanthropy is a pillar of our agriculture industry that we all can be proud of.

As we near the holidays, we should each think about how we can mirror this example of giving.

Photo obtained from: examiner.com
 

Biomass: Fueling Tomorrow

2010-11-05T05:26:00.000-07:00

We all need it. Now, more than ever, we need more of it.

Fuel – It’s a double-edged sword. It operates society, yet its creation can be considered by some to be problematic to society.

To meet the demand for renewable fuels, a fuel source that is heralded for its eco-friendly bases and sustainability, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) new Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) subsidizes farmers who produce non-food crops that can be used to create fuel.

BCAP is designed to advocate for the establishment of a sufficiently large base of new, non-food, non-feed biomass crops in anticipation of future demand for renewable energy consumption.

“Domestic production of renewable energy, including biofuels, is a national imperative,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “That’s why USDA is working to assist in developing a biofuels industry in every corner of the nation.”

The Renewable Fuels Association states that the U.S. will use about 138 billion gallons of gasoline this year. The Renewable Fuels Standard mandates that the U.S. use 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel annually by 2022. To help achieve this standard, the use of biofuels, including corn-based ethanol and soybean-derived biodiesel, is imperative.

As part of the 2008 Farm Bill Program, BCAP has a two-pronged approach to support renewable fuel production that will reduce reliance on imported oil and boost rural economies:

1. Provides matching payments for the transportation of certain eligible materials that are sold to qualified biomass conversion facilities to assist both agricultural and forest landowners and operators

2. Provides assistance for the establishment and production of eligible renewable biomass crops within specified project areas

BCAP Quick Facts

Payments up to 75 percent of the cost of establishing eligible perennial crops
Payments up to 15 years for woody perennial crops
Annual payments up to five years for growing annual or perennial herbaceous or non-woody crops
Increased costs for refiners related to use of the new biomass crops will be paid up to $281.5 million that remains from the 2008 Farm Act
Biomass or biofuel production plants must be certified with the Farm Service Agency for the farmers to claim the payments

Increased use of ethanol and biodiesel in the fuel supply is a step toward the progressive use of renewable fuels.

Recently, The Environmental Protection Agency approved increasing concentrations of ethanol blended with gasoline for U.S. vehicles made in 2007 and later to 15 percent from 10 percent. A decision about whether to extend that ruling to cars built from 2001 to 2006 will come next month after more testing, reports a Bloomberg story.

Additionally, Vilsack noted that Congress should help build the biofuel industry by “reinstating the Biodiesel Production Tax Credit and providing a fiscally responsible short-term extension of the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC),” as reported by the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS).

A federal tax credit that provided blenders of biodiesel $1 for every gallon produced is expired, while a federal tax credit that provided blenders of ethanol 45 cents for every gallon produced (VEETC) expires Dec. 31, 2010.

BCAP facilitates biofuel’s potential to help America assert its energy security. I hope it continues to foster more positive strides regarding renewable-fuel use.

Photo obtained from: allfreelogo.com

Social-media use among farmers

2010-10-27T07:13:00.000-07:00

A decade ago, it was unheard of for farmers to use social media to obtain industry news and generate communication among other farmers and the public.

What a difference time and technology make. Today, it’s more and more common to see farmers joining the social-media world to connect with other farmers and to reach out to the public to educate them about agriculture.

According to the American Farm Bureau’s 2010 Young Farmers and Ranchers Survey, nearly 99 percent of farmers and ranchers between the ages of 18 to 35 have access to and use the Internet, and nearly three quarters of those surveyed have a Facebook page, while 10 percent use Twitter. 

"Social media is a great way to connect and learn from others about ideas and practices that can improve farm operations," said Anne Mims-Adrian, Alabama Cooperative Extension System associate director of information. "Often, farmers connect with people they would have never been able to before. They’re able to educate people outside of agriculture and support the agriculture industry using these new online tools."

The Alabama Farmers Co-Op Cooperative Farming News states that there are many ways farmers benefit from using social media, including:

Sharing information and ideas with other farmers and learning from other farmers, ranchers and associates of agriculture
Providing quick, responsive networks and communities for farm use and important emerging issues
Marketing farm and ranch products
Connecting and interacting with consumers – creating conversations and relationships with them
Allowing agriculturalists to share positive information
Educating people who are not associated with agriculture
Widening the scope of local farmers

So, what are some farmers and people in the agriculture industry using social-media to communicate about?

Michele Payn-Knoper, a community catalyst, agriculture advocate and food connector, is the creator of #AgChat, a thought-provoking weekly Twitter chat for people in the business of raising food, feed, fuel and fiber. During the chat, participants share their viewpoints about issues impacting agriculture, such as sustainability, antibiotics, agronomy, animal welfare, bio-energy and more. You can join the conversation every Tuesday from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. EST.

To help farmers stay up-to-date on the latest industry news and current trends Janice Person from Monsanto Company, put together a list of the “Top 10 Twitter Lists to Follow about Agriculture.”

Row Crop Farmers – a list of individuals who have been listed as growing row crops
Two lists of AgChat Foundation: Board of Directors and the Advisory Board – A group of people building an effort to empower more farmers to tell their individual stories
Folks from ACFC10 – a list of people who are attending the first AgChat Foundation training conference
Ag Media list – a list of working media and other communicators who tell agriculture stories for associations, companies or other organizations
T-lists on Agriculture – an aggregator that uses data on all the lists about agriculture and then pulls a list of some of the folks they think are the most influential by virtue of having been listed multiple times and tweeting about the following: #AgChat, #Farm, Food, Farm, Farmers, #Ag, Corn, Farmer, Agriculture, #Food, Dairy, USDA, Beef, #ThankaFarmer or Meat
Agvocate list – a list of agriculture advocates
Ag Women – a list of women in agriculture
Ag Bloggers – a list of people who are telling their stories through blogs
Ag Media Summit – a list that was used to build familiarity around the attendees of the Ag Media Summit. (You can find many Twitter lists that have been created for specific events.)

Facebook has also become a popular social-media outlet for farmers and agriculture organizations. Many are using it as a marketing tool to help sell their produce or share industry news.

Ohio Farmers Feed US – shares industry news about how farmers are caring for animals and the land, and giving back to the community
Three Sisters Garden – shares information about their specialty vegetable farm for sale directly to restaurants in the Chicago area

As social media continues to become more and more popular, I will be curious to see if more farmers will use it and to what extent. In the meantime, what do you think about the use of social media in the agriculture industry? Do you find it to be a helpful medium or not?

Photo obtained from: www.penn-olson.com

2010 Food System Summit

2010-10-22T09:07:00.000-07:00

Can we trust our food?

There’s no doubt that America’s food system is complex and progressive. The process of getting food from farm to fork is extensive. Because of its vital importance, an annual summit is dedicated to learning from and bettering the methods by which we obtain our food.

The Food System Summit addresses food animal well-being, food safety, food industry technology and innovation and nutrition and health. The highlight of the event is the Center for Food Integrity (CFI) Consumer Trust Research Survey – a nationwide benchmark of current U.S. consumer opinion regarding trust in the contemporary U.S. food system.

According to its website, CFI was established in 2007 to increase consumer trust and confidence in the American food system, with the primary mission to promote dialogue, model best practices, address issues important to consumers and serve as a resource for accurate, balanced information.

This year, the summit was October 5 and 6 in Chicago.

Summit Feature Presentations Included:

What Women Want: New Research about Beef Shopping and Implications for the Food Industry
Religion’s Role in Framing the Discussion of Animal Well Being
The Benefits of Modern Food Production in Today’s Economic Environment
Technology and Today’s Food System – Cautions and Counsel

Listen to audio clips of news interviews with summit presenters.

The seminars are thought provoking and offer participants, comprising farmers, ranchers, processors, government and company associates, an opportunity for dialogue, though what most people are interested in is the annual survey that measures consumer opinion regarding food-production, transportation/handling and other issues.

Participants rated some questions using a 0-to-10 scale; “0” meant they had no concern about an issue and “10” meant they were very concerned about an issue.

The survey was conducted in August and polled 2002 people, 60 percent female and 40 percent male, using Survey Sampling International’s consumer Web panel (sampling error at 95 percent confidence level +/-2.2 percent).

Research Highlights:

Early adopting consumers prefer online sources for information about the food system, followed by friends and family and their local television station.
Traditional media sources, including newspapers and radio, were least preferred by early adopting consumers.
Consumers view non-governmental organizations as the most credible sources about the humane treatment of farm animals.
Following non-governmental organizations, consumers view farm-animal veterinarians and university experts as the most credible sources of information about the humane treatment of farm animals.
An average rating of 6.94 was given to the question, “I trust food produced in the U.S. more than I trust food produced outside the U.S.”
An average rating of 5.31 was given to the question, “I don’t care where my food was produced as long as it is affordable, safe and wholesome.”
An average rating of 6.05 was given to the question, “The FDA strictly regulates the use of antibiotics given to animals raised for food.”
An average rating of 7.22 was given to the question, “I would support a law in my state to ensure the humane treatment of farm animals.”
An average rating of 6.25 was given to the question, “The use of herbicides and pesticides increases crop yields and crop quality, which means lower prices at the grocery store.”

There is less concern about food prices this year than the past two years, more confidence in the safety of food and more consumers feel that they have access to information about food origin, production and safety.   The ultimate goal is to learn from the research findings and improve upon areas of concern.

“We are all stakeholders in our nation’s food supply – one of the safest, most abundant and most affordable in the world,” states CFI.

As the CFI continues its yearly survey and seminar, it will be interesting to witness how American consumers adjust or maintain their food-system perceptions.

*Photo obtained from www.michiganestateplanninglawblog.com