Food Dialogues® comes to Ohio

Following a series of successful events in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago, the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) is bringing Food Dialogues® to Columbus, Ohio.

Tomorrow, August 15, Ohioans can tune in to the free online event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to hear from a panel of experts as they address the social, economic, environmental and emotional aspects of biotechnology and sustainability as it relates to food and farming.

COSI is hosting the event which will be moderated by Joel Riley, morning host for Columbus radio station 610 WTVN. A limited number of in-person guests will contribute to the debate and those listening online are encouraged to ask questions and offer comments. 

This event comes at an appropriate time for Ohioans as we’ve followed a number of heated GMO (genetically modified organisms) debates occurring in states across the country.

The Ohio Soybean Council and Ohio Farm Bureau Federation are co-sponsors of the event and hope it will give Ohioan’s the chance to have their food questions answered.

For more information about the event visit – The Food Dialogues®: Ohio

Photo obtained from: 
http://www.fooddialogues.com/events/the-food-dialogues%C2%AE-ohio

Core Farming Values

CORE VALUES: THE HEART OF EVERY SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS
How to create the vision and strategic plan that can guide the future of your farm — In three simple steps

How are Fortune 500 companies and small-farming operations the same? The success of each is based on strategic business planning.

This week, I’m sharing an article about the purpose and significance of defining core values and using them as a guiding strategy for the farm, written by Farm Futures Executive Editor Mike Wilson and originally published for Farm Futures’ May/June 2012 issue.

I hope that you consider its advice or share it with a fellow farmer to ensure the longevity of your farm.

Visit the link below to view Wilson’s story.
http://magissues.farmprogress.com/FFU/FF05May12/FF01%20to17.htmlhttp://magissues.farmprogress.com/FFU/FF05May12/FF01%20to17.html

Photo obtained from: wedgewoodbaptist.com

What type of farmer are you?

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

Cultivating Afghanistan’s ag potential

To help rebuild Afghanistan’s agriculture industry after decades of war, troops of US military are being trained and sent overseas.

These farm-belt-state men and women are part of Agri-business Development Teams, which work to stimulate agriculture production and efficiency in the country as part of a counterinsurgency strategy.

More than 80 percent of Afghanistan's population has a connection to agriculture and 50 percent of its economy is based on agriculture, according to the USDA, which has a website devoted to the development of rural Afghanistan.

"Agriculture has been called 'the oil of Afghanistan,'" said Col. Roger Beekman in a War on Terror News story. "It's what they have now to create money with and sustain themselves with. At some point, there may be minerals in the mountains and stuff, but right now it's agriculture. And historically, this has been a good agricultural area, dating back thousands of years. The last 30 years have set that back, so we're trying to build that back up again."

Afghan agriculture products include saffron (used for spices and fragrance), honey, sheep, wheat, cotton, fruit and nuts.

Teams include soldiers with backgrounds in engineering, food processing, wheat farming, honey production, veterinary medicine and cattle and poultry production. Team members use an education and mentoring approach with Afghan farmers.

Members may also assist farmers in applying for ag grants to bolster farm operations.

One such team, the 734th Agri-Business Development Team of the Iowa National Guard, is personally dubbed the “Dirt Warriors” and maintains an active presence on Facebook. Its mission: to conduct agricultural activities in Kunar province that expand legal agribusiness, services, markets and ag education to reduce poverty, create jobs and build the capacity of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

One of its members, Pete Shinn, wrote about his experience in the province for Agriculture.com:

“There is also tremendous ag productive capacity here, along with some immediate opportunities to help local farmers boost yields. For example, a very nice looking corn crop is coming in on a half-acre or so right outside the base. The corn is tasseling and looks to be about six to seven feet tall. The farmer who seeded the field used a broadcast approach, so there’s not a cornrow to be seen. One of our efforts will likely involve demonstrating the production benefits that come from planting corn in rows.”

Team Projects

• Building grain mills
• Introducing new wheat seed
• Developing canning and juicing factories for harvested vegetables and fruits
• Building cool storage facilities to store harvested crops operated by solar panels
• Overseeing micro-slaughter facilities to increase sanitization of livestock meat
• Launching vet clinics focused on de-worming livestock
• Advising reforestation projects
• Increasing the crop yield for commercial use
• Operating cold- and warm-water fish hatcheries

But before teams can begin work, they meet with village elders or leaders to demonstrate respect and to discuss the community's agricultural needs, reports a Tulsa World story, which often involves participation in culutral customs such as tea time.

American military will continue to use their civilian knowledge of agriculture to harness and bolster the capability of Afghanistan’s rural areas.

*Photo obtained from: http://www.ng.mil

Government funds biorefinery developments

To increase the production and use of renewable-energy sources, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is soliciting federal grants for biorefinery projects.

One such project, the Biorefinery Assistance Program, provides guaranteed loans for the development and construction of commercial-scale biorefineries or for the retrofitting of existing facilities (including, but not limited to, wood-products facilities and sugar mills) for the development of advanced biofuels.

“Renewable-energy production is a key to sustainable economic development in rural America,” said U.S. Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack. “We must rapidly escalate production of biofuels to meet the 2022 Federal Renewable Fuels standard goal, and much of this biofuel will come from feedstocks produced by America’s farmers and ranchers. This will be an increasing source of income for rural America and it represents an opportunity to increase the number of green jobs available not only to farm families, but also to residents of rural communities.”

Vilsack specifically mentioned feedstocks – crops or products that can be used as or converted into biofuels and bioenergy. Common feedstocks include soybeans and rapeseed while alga and ethanol byproducts are emerging feedstocks.

Farmers of these and other sources of feedstock can benefit from biorefinery developments because of increased market opportunity. However, the advancement of this renewable energy comes with a price tag.

According to a blog at Biofuels Digest, “Because biofuels projects cost in the hundred of millions, the “family member” guarantor of choice in the U.S. is Uncle Sam – the one with the balance sheet and the policy interest to make commercial biofuels happen.”

But programs such as the Biorefinery Assistance Program expand the promise for biofuels in America.

Program Information:

• Eligible applicants: Individuals, tribal entities, state-government entities, local-government entities, corporations, farm cooperatives, farmer cooperative organizations, associations of agricultural producers, national laboratories, institutions of higher education, rural-electric cooperatives, public-power entities and other groupings of any of the previous entities

• Loan limits: Maximum of $250 million; no minimum requirement; maximum loan will be reduced by the amount of other direct federal funding the eligible borrower receives for the same project

Eligible projects:

• Projects must be located in a rural area (50,000 or less population)
• Projects must use “eligible technology,” which is defined as either:

1. A technology that is being adopted in available commercial-scale operation of a biorefinery that produces an advanced biofuel; or
2. A technology not described in the previous paragraph that has been demonstrated to have technical and economic potential for commercial application in a biorefinery that produces an advanced biofuel

In 2009, this initiative, and other provisions within the overarching program to stimulate energy development, funded 1,557 projects in 50 states, the territory of Puerto Rico and the Western Pacific Islands, expecting to reduce greenhouse gases by 1.5 million metric tons of carbon. These investments will generate a projected equivalent of 1.5 million kilowatts of electricity.

As America works to develop a clean-energy economy, the use of programs like the Biorefinery Assistance Program, is vital. This program, and others modeled like it, provide rural, green jobs and propel us toward energy independence. They also provide more economic incentive for American farmers to continue the production of feedstock crops.

*Photo obtained from www.clear.certh.gr/img/bio-refinery%201.jpg

Survey reveals consumer thoughts about U.S. food system

Sustainability is a hot topic in agriculture lately, as consumers are bombarded with messaging about the price, safety and availability of food.

As food and agriculture coincide, sustainable agriculture is a movement interlocking the success of three concepts: farm profits, farm communities and eco-friendly farming practices.

The Center for Food Integrity (CFI) recently released results from its 2009 Consumer Trust Survey about sustainability. CFI is a nonprofit organization that promotes dialogue, advocates best practices, addresses consumer issues and serves as a resource for accurate, balanced information about the U.S. food system.

CFI member organizations represent each segment of the food chain, including farmers, ranchers, processors, government and companies that deliver food products under local, regional and global brand names.

The purpose of the survey was to better understand consumers’ decision-making processes in regard to food purchasing, since most consumers are largely uninformed, and to help build confidence in the American food system.

Survey respondents were asked a series of questions regarding their beliefs about the following stakeholders of the food system: farmers, restaurants, grocery stores and food companies.

Survey Highlights

• Consumers hold farmers most accountable for sustainability in the food system.
• Consumers hold restaurants least accountable for sustainability in the food system.
• Men are more trusting of the information that was presented than women.
• Consumers are willing to be educated about the food system.
• Consumers trust food more if it is made in the U.S.
• Food prices are not as great a concern for consumers as they were one year ago.
• Consumers do not consider organic food as healthy as they did two years ago.
• Consumers perceive farmers as most competent among industry groups and therefore, place the most trust and responsibility in them.

A Webinar presented by CFI about the survey, including survey questions, can be accessed at:

http://www.4shared.com/file/153522650/43682205/CFI_Consumer_Trust_Research_Webinar_--_Sustainability.html

As the results indicate, consumers’ trust in and expectations of farmers are great responsibilities to bear. Farmers are charged with creating and supplying an affordable, dependable food supply that meets sustainability standards.

Interestingly, respondents also believe that having shared values and ethics among industry members is more important than the groups truly demonstrating sustainability competence.

What conclusions do you draw from the survey results? What kinds of questions should the next survey include? How can farmers and other members of the food industry demonstrate their commitment to sustainability? Do farmers deserve more recognition for their role in the industry?