Category: Food

Profitability of Organic Farms

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From a University of Georgia press release:

Research at the Agroecology Laboratory at the UGA Odum School of Ecology has led to the creation of organic farming enterprise budgets. Prior to this development, the economic decision-making tool used to estimate profitability was not widely available for organic production.

“Centuries of extensive tillage to produce crops like tobacco and cotton have caused much of our native topsoil to be washed into rivers,” said Krista Jacobsen, a recent Odum School Ph.D. graduate. “Many farmers in the Southeast inherit these degraded soils and it is important to develop and study farming practices that can restore soil and allow it to be farmed profitably at the same time. That’s where enterprise budgets come in.”

Until Jacobsen’s innovation, only one set of budgets for a limited number of organic crops had been developed for the Southeastern U.S. Now, budgets for okra, hot peppers and a corn/winter squash mix are available – providing organic farmers with one of the only organic conservation tillage budgets in the country.

“Conservation tillage is the practice of reducing tillage on farming systems and leaving at least 30 percent of crop residues on the soil surface,” explained Jacobsen. “My research demonstrates that using this practice outperforms a conventional system that uses regular tillage and chemical fertilizers in degraded soils like those of the Georgia Piedmont.”

According to Jacobsen’s advisor Carl Jordan, there is overwhelming evidence that organic agriculture is more sustainable than industrial agriculture. Organic agriculture improves the soil, reduces pollution from fertilizers and helps agriculture-friendly insects. The big question, therefore, is determining if organic agriculture can be economically competitive.

“Krista’s research at Spring Valley EcoFarms in Athens has shown that while yield from organically managed fields often is slightly less than from industrial cropland, energy-intensive inputs such as nitrogen fertilizer, pesticides and tractor fuel is much less,” said Jordan, senior research associate at the Odum School of Ecology. “As a result, input costs are less and profit margins can be higher. Low energy costs are especially important in these days of surging petroleum prices.”

For more information on Spring Valley EcoFarms, see http://www.springvalleyecofarms.org.

Yum….the chocmobile

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Petra Barran has been traveling around Britain in the Chocmobile selling her desserts and bartering desserts for dinner and a place to stay.

As she said “People were misty-eyed at the idea of me travelling around in a chocmobile and were welcoming…Perhaps I see the world through rose-tinted glasses, but I discovered a nation of smiling dreamers”.

I wonder if she’d like to run Fannie and Freddie.

Square Watermelons to Eco-Rigs

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I recently posted about the Japanese growing square watermelons….well here is another initiative….and this one looks to solve energy and food problems.

Battered by soaring energy costs and aghast at dwindling fish stocks, Japanese scientists think they have found the answer: filling the seas with giant “eco-rigs” as powerful as nuclear power stations.

The project, which could result in village-sized platforms peppering the Japanese coastline within a decade, reflects a growing panic in the country over how it will meet its future resource needs.

The floating eco-rig generators which measure 1.2 miles by 0.5 miles (2km by 800m) are intended to harness the energy of the Sun and wind. They are each expected to produce about 300 megawatt hours of power.

The Story:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article4648732.ece

The Shape of Things….

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The EU is working on changes to regulation on the shape, color, etc. of fruits and vegetables. Currently, there are measured standards…. leading to significant food waste. France, Spain and Italy are expected to oppose the changes, citing the positive impact standards have in market operations while protecting consumers.

Maryellen and I ate some pretty ugly zucchini (not to mentioned an orphaned cucumber) from our garden last night…we’ll report if we have any negative reactions.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4364217.ece

Agricultural Ecosystems: Facts and Trends

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The World Business Council for Sustainable Development and IUCN have recently released this valuable overview of global agricultural practices and the potential of sustainable practices.

From one section:

As wealth increases so does per capita calorie intake. The demand for a more diverse diet that includes animal protein such as meat and milk products requires more land to produce. What role do consumers play when choosing their diet? Do consumers need to be encouraged to have a vegetarian diet?

Meat consumption in China has more than doubled in the last 20 years and it is projected to double again by 2030.

Consumer concerns about food safety, the origin of produce and environmental impacts are also driving improvements in food quality throughout the global agri-food value chain.

Diet changes in richer countries towards increasing consumption of fruit and vegetables contribute to generating less calories per hectare. For instance China is gradually abandoning field crops – such as cereals – to produce vegetables and fruit; it has now become the world’s largest producer of vegetables and apples.

Producing meat, milk, sugar, oils and vegetables typically requires more water than producing cereals. Average water use also differs greatly between feed-based meat production and grazing systems.

Food production to satisfy a person’s daily dietary needs takes about 3,000 liters of water – a little more than one liter per calorie.

The Report:

Agricultural Ecosystems

Owning Structure

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Jim Hightower, who calls himself America’s Number 1 Populist, has recently written an editorial called ‘Speculators and our food’. From Mr. Hightower:

Speculators have long messed with farmers by artificially manipulating prices on everything from corn to soybeans. But now they’re pooling up billions of dollars from global investors to go after the farms themselves, as well as the fertilizer plants, grain elevators, ships and barges and other basic tools for producing, shipping, and storing our food supply. As one hedge fund operator says: “It’s going on big time. There is considerable interest in what we call ‘owning structure.'”

My Illinois farming friend John Phipps several years ago started getting calls from Wall Street folks wanting advice on buying farmland.

I also know that many of the financial products that Mr. Hightower sees as speculative also allow farmers to manage risk… but, like oil options, those markets have speculators. Unfortunately, his concern for stability in food -both production and prices – is completely valid.

We need to make certain our market structures for food (and other ecoproducts) are sincere. If it looks and walks like a duck, it should be a duck.