policy

---

Information To Help Your Operations

1. Video: Agriculture Is Talking But What Are They Hearing? - What are some of the ways to get out and share stories from agriculture? Jim Fraley, Illinois Farm Bureau, provides some guidance [video].
2. Video: Managing for Optimum Forage Quality - David Fischer, University of Illinois Extension Dairy Director (retired), shares the importance of properly managing critical periods in forage development and harvest to gain maximum value from those acres. [video].
3. Audio: Farm Bill Action In Washington - That's Good! - No, That's Bad - House Ag Committee Chair Congressman Frank Lucas recently spent some time with farmers walking through the current climate in Washington, D.C.

China's growth means that many of its raw materials to sustain the growth must come from other parts of the world. To help gauge Chinese demand for materials, many companies and governments rely on estimates from the China National Bureau of Statistics and other sources, like U.S. Government agencies. If, however, the estimates are wrong one way or the other by a larger than expected margin, the commodity markets start to react, and cause some companies to loose business and revenue.

China's National Bureau of Statistics said that farms produced a record corn crop in 2011 of 191.8 million tonnes. But enthusiastic local officials often overstate the size of crops in China to impress central authorities and win bigger subsidies.

There are a series of campaigns aimed at securing larger government support for smaller farms. Smaller operators believe US agriculture policies do not favor small, independent farmers.

"I think funding is one of the biggest struggles I have encountered," said [Alex] Bryan. "To get funding to play in the game, to purchase equipment or to build infrastructure that follows guidelines that may be more appropriate for a large-scale producer, may be prohibitive to the small producer. We're following a lot of the same regulations."

Rules through the Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) are seen as a way to help smaller farms be on a level playing field with larger operations.

The National Milk Producers Federation is fully supporting H.R. 3062, titled The Dairy Security Act of 2011.  NMPF CEO Jerry Kozak explained the legislation and background on this important initiative to reporters.

Dr. Lisa Becton, Director of Swine Health Information & Research, National Pork Board, provides an update on the sustainability and environmental improvements the pork industry is focused on. From the 2011 Annual Conference of the National Institute for Animal Agriculture, April 11 - 14, San Antonio, TX USA.

This comprehensive report from the National Academy of Sciences aims to provide an in-depth analysis, a report of its findings, and offer recommendations on the issues and opportunities.

In general, the committee finds that genetic-engineering technology has produced substantial net environmental and economic benefits to U.S. farmers compared with non-GE crops in conventional agriculture. However, the benefits have not been universal; some may decline over time; and the potential benefits and risks associated with the future development of the technology are likely to become more numerous as it is applied to a greater variety of crops. The social effects of agricultural biotechnology have largely been unexplored, in part because of an absence of support for research on them.

From the report (p. 213), there are five key challenges facing genetically engineered crops:

• The success of genetic-engineering technology in the United States has altered the seed industry by spurring consolidation of firms and integration with the chemical industry.
• How the intensive use of current and prospective GE organisms will directly affect the natural environment differently from other agricultural production systems is incompletely understood.
• Progress in developing GE varieties for most “minor” crops (e.g., fruits and vegetables) and for other “public goods” purposes not served well by private markets has been slow.
• The presence of transgenic material in non-GE products should be addressed.
• U.S. farmers who grow GE crops may face market restrictions from some countries or retail firms on the importation or sale of the crops or products made from the crops.

Photo AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File

The Diane Rehm Show brought together four experts on world economies and agriculture to address the current commodity prices and their impact on food, fuel, and fiber.

Many organizations are stating that by 2050 there will be 9 billion people on Earth and that agriculture must change to be able to produce enough food for this growing population.

 

Despite a significant growth in food production over the past half-century, one of the most important challenges facing society today is how to feed an expected population of some nine billion by the middle of the 20th century.

The top 100 questions of importance to the future of global agriculture is the result of research and focused conversations about the global issues, agriculture, and being able to meet the food needs of the world.

 

The aim is to use sound scientific evidence to inform decision making and guide policy makers in the future direction of agricultural research priorities and policy support. If addressed, we anticipate that these questions will have a significant impact on global agricultural practices worldwide, while improving the synergy between agricultural policy, practice and research. This research forms part of the UK Government's Foresight Global Food and Farming Futures project.