Our member, Duncan Allison, is a regular contributor of insights and news of interest to those in agriculture.  Here are his latest “Farming Notes.”

FARMING NOTES MARCH 2014

Technology Synergism – I remember attending a Technology Forecasting course many years ago and being told that future advances would rely heavily on the synergism between several different technical technologies to achieve advances. Crop protection companies became global as chemicals became critical tools to ensure optimal yields and high sales were necessary to sustain the high level of research needed to discover and develop new products. Recently these same companies – Monsanto, Bayer Crop Science, Syngenta and DuPont have acquired several major global seed companies. After all, farmers have been relying on genetics to control or manage many insects and pathogens. GMOs have also allowed genetics to play an even greater role in achieving enhanced insect and weed control. It made sense for these companies to coordinate their research and development so as to be able to offer more complete product offerings. Most recently these same companies have been investing in biopesticide companies which have been mostly smaller companies. There is global pressure to reduce chemical use and biopesticides are generally extremely safe to humans, wildlife and the environment. There are challenges to find and develop such products but the major seed/chemical companies have the global resources needed to be successful. These companies will be able to offer seeds and crop protection programs that integrate all these technologies to produce the most environmentally favorable products that ensure high productivity and sustainability. Utilization of computer software is another example of synergism, to my mind. The major tractor companies such as John Deere and Case IH have been working closely with software firms to use GPS and sensors to develop software programs that ensure greater accuracy in applying fertilizers and crop protection chemicals. Precision agriculture, as this general area is known, is advancing fast using such sophisticated tools. The input suppliers have also been developing alliances with software developers to integrate weather and other data. More in later Notes! Waste food – In the United States, 31 percent—or 133 billion pounds—of the 430 billion pounds of the available food supply at the retail and consumer levels in 2010 went uneaten. The estimated value of this food loss was $161.6 billion using retail prices. For the first time, ERS estimated the calories associated with food loss: 141 trillion in 2010, or 1,249 calories per capita per day. Amazing! (Economic Information Bulletin No. (EIB-121) 39 pp, February 2014).This is surely unacceptable. All of us, and our precious soil and water resources, are paying for this terrifyingly high level of waste. What needs to be done to remedy the situation? Immigration reform – A recent report is providing more evidence of the need to remedy our broken immigration system. Americans are eating more imported foods than ever according to a new study released by the Partnership for a New American Economy and the Agriculture Coalition for Immigration reform. Agricultural groups held a press conference in Washington to highlight the report’s findings. “American consumers want fresh U.S-grown fruits and vegetables, but our farmers don’t have the labor force available to meet that demand,” John Feinblatt, chairman of the Partnership for a New American Economy, stated in a news release. “This means more produce is imported, and our economy loses millions of dollars and thousands of jobs every year. We need to pass immigration reform now, so our food remains homegrown and our economy strong.” The report explained that “growing demand for fruits and vegetables coupled with the buy-local movement create opportunities for farmers to market more fresh products. Those efforts are hindered when workers aren’t available to pick fruits and vegetables. Going back to 1998, consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables has increased about 10.5%, but the amount of domestically grown fruit has increased just 1.4% over that time. U.S. vegetable production has actually declined about 3.5%. All of these trends collectively translate into lost economic opportunities for rural America. If fruit and vegetable production had kept pace with demand, that would have translated into $4.9 billion more in farm income and nearly 90,000 more jobs in 2012, of which 25,800 would have been directly on the farm. Those job figures assume U.S. farmers would have kept their market share from the 1990s. Other jobs would have been added in transportation and food-processing industries.” Chris Clayton DTN Progressive Farmer 3/18. US Ag Universities  In a recent QS Survey, 23 of the top 50 global agricultural universities were in the United States, including Penn State (rated #15). We have an absolutely unrivalled education, research and extension system which has served the country well and will continue to be vital as we need ever higher productivity with an even greater level of sustainability from our farms and farmers. USDA and Climate Change – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the creation of the first ever Regional Hubs for Risk Adaptation and Mitigation to Climate Change at seven locations around the country. “Climate Hubs” will address increasing risks such as fires, invasive pests, devastating floods, and crippling droughts on a regional basis, aiming to translate science and research into information to farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners on ways to adapt and adjust their resource management. Secretary Vilsack – “For generations, America’s farmers, ranchers and forest landowners have innovated and adapted to challenges. Today, they face a new and more complex threat in the form of a changing and shifting climate, which impacts both our nation’s forests and our farmers’ bottom lines.” A new NOAA analysis has shown that 2013 was the 37^th consecutive year that the annual global temperature has been above the 20th century average. Professor Ken Caldeira from the Carnegie Institution of Washington has stated recently “Each hot year is another piece of accumulating evidence. This accumulating mountain of evidence has confirmed the science of climate change so that now we have as much confidence in the basic climate science as we have in the fundamental science of plate tectonics or biological evolution.” Flavor – I suspect most of us have memories of more flavorful fruit and vegetables. Buying fresh and local can often ensure fruit picked closer to full maturity so with higher levels of flavor, often associated with sweetness. Supermarket produce is largely dependent on producers that can assure consistent supplies of high quality produce with good shelf life that can withstand the days of transport and storage. It has been tough for plant breeders to satisfy producers who want flavor and producers who want productivity, disease resistance, fewer inputs and long shelf life. Recently the major vegetable seed companies have been placing more emphasis on flavor and aroma. Health benefits are also getting more attention. It will be interesting to hear from Tom Stenzel, President and CEO of the United Fresh Produce Association our speaker at the PSPA luncheon on April 3^rd.