Agriculture News
Commentary: What will drive the future of animal agriculture
Feedstuffs | Posted on March 2, 2017It is the "popularity of the kinds of items that alternative channels go after: organic, natural, grass-fed, antibiotic-free," that will drive the future of animal agriculture. Anne-Marie Roerink, principal of 210 Analytics LLC, said this at the North American Meat Association’s Annual Meat Conference:“I think the tipping point is actually the popularity of the kinds of items that these alternative channels go after: organic, natural, grass-fed, antibiotic-free. What is happening is that traditional supermarkets don’t have the assortment. That’s where the alternative channels survive. They’ve definitely moved from picking at a meat purchase here and there to truly becoming a red flag for traditional retailers.” It’s that damn tipping point that gets them every time. It’s usually a generational thing, of course. What us older folk consider sacred, what we see as comfort foods and the things necessary for making a good meal is not what our children and grandchildren see. They have an annoying habit of making up their minds as to what’s healthy, good to eat and what they want on their dinner plates. So you want to do things the way they’ve always been done? Good luck with that. Your market is disappearing, on its way to meet the grim reaper. The new market looks at food and how it’s presented with a far different eye.
Corn, Soybean, Wheat Crops Projected to Come Down, But Supplies Still High in 2017
DTN | Posted on February 27, 2017In its early forecast for crop production, USDA's Outlook for crops lowers corn, soybean and wheat production for the 2017-18 crop year. USDA pegs corn production at 14.065 billion bushels, 7% below a year ago with an average yield of 170.7 bushels per acre, down from last year's record yield of 174.6 bpa. USDA projects corn acreage at 90 million planted acres, down 4 million from 2016. Despite USDA boosting soybean planted acres for this spring by 4.6 million acres to a record 88 million acres, USDA still lowers projected soybean production to 4.18 billion bushels, 3% lower than 2016 with an average yield of 48 bpa, down 4.1 bushels from 2016. Wheat production is projected at 1.837 billion bushels, down 20% from last year with a yield expected at 47.1 bpa, down 10% from last year. Planted wheat acres are projected at 46 million, down 4.6 million from last year. The USDA Outlook is the department's first major forecast of the 2017-18 marketing year, which will be updated in the March 31 prospective plantings report.
After Trump’s immigration order, anxiety grows in Florida’s farm fields
The Washington Post | Posted on February 27, 2017Rumors about deportation raids started to circulate around the fields again, so Catalina Sanchez and her husband began to calculate the consequences of everything they did. Cirilo Perez, 36, had to go to work because the tomato crop was getting low, and he needed to pick as much as he could as fast as he could. Sanchez’s medical checkup would have to wait — going to a clinic was too risky. What they fretted most about was what to do with their daughter Miriam — a natural-born citizen in the third grade — who they worried would come home one day to an empty trailer. “When she leaves, I wonder if it will be the last time I see her,” Sanchez, 26, said on a recent evening. As President Trump moves to turn the full force of the federal government toward deporting undocumented immigrants, a newfound fear of the future has already cast a pall over the tomato farms and strawberry fields in the largely undocumented migrant communities east of Tampa.
Farm income trend looks to continue in 2017
Agri-Pulse | Posted on February 24, 2017Speaking at the 93rd Annual USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum in Arlington, Va., a trio of farm economists offered a somewhat gloomy picture of the farm economy for the year ahead, although one not unlike the trends observed in recent years. Net farm income is projected to drop almost $6 billion in 2017, tumbling primarily on decreases in the crop sector to a $62.3 billion total. The drop is a decrease of about 8.7 percent, the fourth consecutive year of declines after record highs were observed in 2013. If realized, the projected figure would be the lowest since 2002. The potential saving grace for farm families could be a projected bump in farm household income, which also includes income into off-farm enterprises. Median farm household income is projected to rise about 3.4 percent to $79,733.
Enhanced maple sap preheater program
ensave.com | Posted on February 24, 2017EnSave, Inc. and Green Mountain Power are teaming up to offer an exciting new opportunity for Vermont maple sugaring operations in select parts of Vermont. We are offering a $9,000 incentive for the installation of enhanced maple sap preheaters to help maple syrup producers save on heating costs, upgrade their operations, and increase production. By installing an enhanced maple sap preheater you can: Reduce fuel usage by approximately 40%, Reduce evaporator runtime, Reduce boiling time, Reduce operational cost
Gene editing can complement traditional food-animal improvements
Phys.org | Posted on February 24, 2017Gene editing—one of the newest and most promising tools of biotechnology—enables animal breeders to make beneficial genetic changes, without bringing along unwanted genetic changes. And, following in the footsteps of traditional breeding, gene editing has tremendous potential to boost the sustainability of livestock production, while also enhancing food-animal health and welfare, argues UC Davis animal scientist Alison Van Eenennaam.
Five Ways GMOs Benefit The Environment
Medium.com | Posted on February 24, 2017Humans have been modifying crops for over ten thousand years. Conventional methods (such as crossbreeding or treating plants with mutagens or radiation) involve large-scale and imprecise changes that are unknown. Using biotech solutions like genetic modification, researchers can make small, precise and extremely well-known changes to crops for the benefit of humans and the environment. GM crops are also much more well-tested than conventional crops to make sure they at least as safe. 1) GMOs decrease dangerous pesticide usage. 2) GMOs increases yield and decrease land use 3) GMOs boost no-tilling farming 4) GMOs save beneficial insects 5) GMOs reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Montana considers seed regulation bill
Ag Week | Posted on February 24, 2017A bill that would prohibit cities and counties in Montana from regulating seeds has passed through a Senate committee.Senate Bill 155 would prohibit local governments from regulating "cultivation, harvesting, production, processing, registration, labeling, marketing, sale, storage, transportation, distribution, possession, notification of use, use and planting of agricultural seeds or vegetable seeds." The bill would not affect the zoning rights of local governments. The Senate Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation committee passed the bill on Feb. 14 by a 7-4 vote. While bill supporters did not discuss genetically modified crops, the lone opponent to speak, Adam Haight with the Northern Plains Resource Council, said wheat growers who are members of his organization worry about future GMO contamination of their crops, and local governments should be able to protect their economy.
Do You Know Your State Veterinary Board Regulations?
Veterinary Practice News | Posted on February 24, 2017The Practice Act is the law that state legislators put in place. The board then serves to ensure that licensees are working within the scope of that act. There are many rules and regulations the board uses to make such determinations. The board is always under the advisement of a council. Realizing not all licensees serve the public directly, they are not immune from complying with the regulations that govern their license. For example, one may work in a research facility or other industry position. Requirements for continuing education and the care of any animals they handle are still relevant.
Widely accepted vision for agriculture may be inaccurate, misleading
Phys.org | Posted on February 24, 2017"In the coming decades, agriculture will be called upon to both feed people and ensure a healthy environment," said Hunter. "Right now, the narrative in agriculture is really out of balance, with compelling goals for food production but no clear sense of the progress we need to make on the environment. To get the agriculture we want in 2050, we need quantitative targets for both food production and environmental impacts." A review of recent trends in agriculture's environmental impacts shows that they are increasing and must drop dramatically to maintain clean water and stabilize the climate, according to the researchers.Specifying quantitative targets, the researchers contend, will clarify the scope of the challenges that agriculture must face in the coming decades, focusing research and policy on achieving specific outcomes.