U.S. Agriculture Outlook 2016 Edition

2016 EDITION

CIRCLE IN THE SQUARE 50 + YEARS OF CENTER-PIVOT IRRIGATION

SOYBEANS

WORLDWIDE CONSUMPTION ON THE RISE

PLUS:

New Old Cattle for the American Southwest

HISTORY

HEART

© 2014 AMVAC Chemical Corporation. AMVAC, the BEAKER and YES Logos are U.S. registered trademarks of AMVAC Chemical Corporation. Always read and follow label directions. www.amvac-chemical.com AV-2014-AMVACCORP300WS

PURPOSE

VISION At AMVAC, four simple words sum up our company: history, heart, purpose and vision.

Our knowledge comes from people with a long history in this business and a passion to not only come up with new solutions, but also make old ones better. It’s these solutions that make a difference in our yields, in our industry and ultimately, on our tables.

WATER MANAGEMENT

MAKE EVERY DROP COUNT FEED THE WORLD USING LESS WATER WATER WARS What we know for sure: Competition and demand for water will continue to be fierce

WHOA NELLY, THAT’S A LOT

52 MIL

Acres of irrigated cropland in the U.S.*

Water supply is decreasing You can be pro-active about water

Gallons of water used every day for irrigation*

79 BIL

That’s like covering the state of Texas with nearly 6 inches of water each year!

BOTTOM LINE: Growers need to improve crop yields while using less water and energy

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

ANNUAL AUDITS CAN

UTILIZE IRRIGATION CHEMISTRY INFILTRATION SURFACTANTS

HYDRATION

& SURFACTANTS

SAVE 10–15%

ON IRRIGATION COSTS Audit your irrigation system

• Breaks down surface tension

• Holds water in the root zone

Follow good agronomic practices

• Reduces evaporation and run-off

• Maintains water content

• Moves water uniformly throughout the root zone

• Reduces plant stress

Use innovative irrigation chemistries

Precision Laboratories Can Help We believe improved water management can change the world and are committed to doing our part through education and innovation.

Visit PrecisionLab.com today to learn more about our new irrigation chemistries.

*2013 data from the USDA Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey

© 2015, Precision Laboratories, LLC

USDA photo by Lance Cheung

Soybeans growing in a field. Soybeans are the United States’ second-largest crop.

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©Great Plains Manufacturing, Inc. 1520-GPI

Foreword For many decades, American agriculture has grown, evolved, and improved, and while it continues to do so today, outside pressures are greater than ever and challenges are multiplying as the 21st century progresses. The effects of climate change, a growing global population with increasing food demands, and a dwindling number of farmers are just a handful of the issues facing U.S. agriculture today.

Though the challenges are many, the nation’s agriculture sector is working to address them. In this edition, we look at the continuing growth of soybean harvests – second only to corn in the United States – and how the crop is being used increasingly within the food chain rather than as a fuel source. We describe the efforts of the USDA and state and local programs to find and nurture a new generation of farmers who will be instrumental in growing food to meet domestic and global demand. We examine California’s continuing drought and water crisis, and how farmers are coping.

Technological breakthroughs will no doubt be imperative to dealing with some of the problems facing agriculture today, and growing numbers of agriculture professionals with advanced degrees will likely be at the forefront of such discoveries. Still, it’s worth keeping in mind that sometimes tradition trumps tech: case in point, a “rediscovered” Old World breed of cattle that is more adaptable to semi-arid conditions and scrubby rangeland than more popular breeds and can thrive on much less water in a drier American Southwest.

American agriculture will continue to progress and prosper through a mixture of tradition and technology that has served it well throughout the nation’s history, and will continue to ensure its success in a challenging future.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS USDA and Agriculture Update..................................10

By J.R. Wilson

Circle in the Square................................................... 20 More than a half-century ago, center-pivot irrigation systems changed the way the world farms.

By Eric Seeger

Higher Learning........................................................ 24 Advanced degrees and the future of agriculture

By J.R. Wilson

Weathering the Drought..............................................30 How California’s farmers have adapted to dwindling water supplies – for now

By Craig Collins

New Farmers Needed................................................ 38

By Craig Collins

Olney Texas USA airtractor.com U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

5

Introducing...

The first of its kind – is a community-based website designed and created for producers with large commercial farming operations.

Down on the Farm, Up on the Hill........................... 46 Who are the agricultural experts in Congress today?

By Jan Tegler

features articles relevant to your operation's need, a verified forum for you to discuss and interact with other growers, plus a social community to facilitate engagement among the community.

Agricultural Pollution Control................................ 52

By David A. Brown

New Old Cattle for the American Southwest....... 58 The Raramuri Criollo

By Craig Collins

American Dairy Producers: Going Organic......... 66

By Craig Collins

Soybeans..................................................................... 72 Worldwide consumption on the rise

By J.R. Wilson

The Role of Animal Health Care Products and Pharmaceuticals in Agriculture....................... 76

By Gail Gourley

Farm Safety................................................................. 82

By David A. Brown

Product Showcase..................................................... 88

U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

7

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Š Kubota Tractor Corporation, 2016

2016 EDITION

Published by Faircount Media Group 701 N. West Shore Blvd.

Tampa, FL 33609 Tel: 813.639.1900 www.faircount.com EDITORIAL Editor in Chief: Chuck Oldham Managing Editor: Ana E. Lopez Editor: Rhonda Carpenter Contributing Writers: David A. Brown, Craig Collins Gail Gourley, Eric Seeger Jan Tegler, J.R. Wilson DESIGN AND PRODUCTION Art Director: Robin K. McDowall Designers: Daniel Mrgan, Kenia Y. Perez-Ayala Ad Traffic Manager: Rebecca Laborde ADVERTISING Ad Sales Manager: Patrick Pruitt Account Executives: John Caianello Steve Chidel, Art Debuc, Jim Huston Lowell Reed, Lon Robbins OPERATIONS AND ADMINISTRATION Chief Operating Officer: Lawrence Roberts VP, Business Development: Robin Jobson Business Development: Damion Harte Financial Controller: Robert John Thorne Chief Information Officer: John Madden Business Analytics Manager: Colin Davidson FAIRCOUNT MEDIA GROUP Publisher: Ross Jobson

ŠCopyright Faircount LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction of editorial content in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.

Faircount LLC does not assume responsibility for the advertisements, nor any representation made therein, nor the quality or deliverability of the products themselves. Reproduction of articles and photos, in whole or in part contained herein, is prohibited without express written consent of the publisher, with the exception of reprinting for news media use. Printed in the United States of America. None of the advertising contained herein implies U.S. Department of Agriculture endorsement of any private entity. This is not a publication of the U.S. government.

USDA AND AGRICULTURE UPDATE

USDA and Agriculture Update

By J.R. Wilson

10

U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

USDA photo by Lance Cheung

T

he size of global agriculture has grown dramatically in recent years, in terms of both production and market value, the result of a combination of technology and growing demand for both feed and food grains, meat, and vegetables. Those results have not been evenly distributed, however.

“The U.S. has had more growth in agricultural production since 2000 than Europe, but China, on the other hand, has seen more rapid growth than the U.S. in that same time, as has Brazil, especially in grains, oilseeds, and livestock,” said Pat Westhoff, Ph.D., director of the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) at the University of Missouri.

“A crude indicator is the value of agriculture sales, which was $192 billion in 2000 and $378 billion in 2015 for the U.S., which is a sizeable increase, even when adjusted for inflation.

Part of that is due to higher prices, but also greater production.

For example, we have tripled the volume of corn produced in that time, while prices have roughly doubled.”

The types of crops grown have changed little in recent decades, but the share of production has, with a greater percentage of corn and soybeans than in 2000, but less wheat, cotton, rice, and other commodities. Those changes were driven by increased demand, both domestic and international, although the reason for that demand also has changed.

Until 2010, a lot of the growth in corn and soybeans was due to ethanol, but since then, it has been an increase in livestock feed production, both domestic and export. For soybeans, China has been importing ever larger volumes in recent years.

The number of acres planted in four major crops and yields have mirrored that: In 2000, U.S. corn plantings totaled about 80 million acres; in 2015, it was 88 million, having peaked at 97 million in 2012. Soybeans rose from 74 million acres in 2000 to 83 million in 2015. Wheat acreage dropped from 63 million to 55 million, and cotton from 15 million to 8 million.

For the 14 crops charted by FAPRI, the total U.S. acreage planted rose from 253 million in 2000 to 260 million in 2015.

“The cotton industry has very severe challenges going forward,” he added. “Yields vary a lot from year to year – 2015, as of December estimates, showed 768 pounds per acre

USDA AND AGRICULTURE UPDATE

A 12-row corn harvester transfers feed corn to a 450-bushel grain cart during the feed corn harvest at the John N. Mills & Sons farm, a family-owned business located in the Hanover and King William counties of Virginia, on Sept. 20, 2013. Corn plantings were up to 88 million acres in 2015.

U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

11

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USDA AND AGRICULTURE UPDATE

USDA photo

USDA/FAS photo by Mark Rasmussen

Left, top: People’s Republic of China General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) officials take samples of U.S. soybeans at the Port of Dalian. Left, bottom: Agriculture Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden examines ripe cocoa pods and tours the WCF African Cocoa Initiative farm in Ghana on Nov. 16, 2015. The ability of Africa to feed itself will be critical to its future.

harvested, which is abnormally low. In 2014, it was 838 pounds per acre and about 630 pounds in 2000. We just hit a plateau the past few years, with cotton at 880 pounds or so in 2012.

“Weather and other factors have a very significant impact for almost all major commodities, with year-to-year variability. In the case of corn, the long-term trend has been an increase of a bit more than 1 percent per year, as has been the case with both wheat and soybeans.”

That variability also appears for exports. In 2014, the last year for which full data are available, the United States exported 1.864 billion bushels and production was 14.216 billion bushels.

Exports were about 13 percent of production, but about 14 percent in terms of total use, adjusting for what went into storage. The share has declined in both measurements since 2000, when both use and production were at 20 percent.

For soybeans, exports in 2000 accounted for 36 percent of total use and production, compared to 47 percent of production and 48 percent of use in 2014 – largely due to China, which allowed both the United States and Brazil to increase exports. Those numbers only account for raw soybeans; when oil and meal are included, more than half of U.S. production was exported. For wheat, 2014 exports were 42 percent of use and production, down sharply from 48 percent of production and 44 percent of use in 2000.

Significant changes also were seen in meat, milk, and milk-product production and exports.

U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

13

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USDA AND AGRICULTURE UPDATE

USDA photo by Bob Nichols

Dry land cotton grows on a farm in Navasota, Texas, on Aug. 23, 2013. Over the past 15 years, cotton acreage planted has dropped by almost half.

Beef production was 27 billion pounds in 2000 and 24 billion pounds in 2015, the decline in part due to droughtrelated herd reductions. Pork was 19 billion pounds in 2000 and 25 billion pounds in 2015, and chickens 30 billion pounds in 2000, shooting up to 40 billion pounds in 2015, reaching record levels as the nation largely moved past the effects of the drought by 2015.

Milk production also has increased sharply since 2000, from 167 billion pounds to 208 billion pounds in 2015, despite a drop in per capita U.S. consumption from 212 pounds in 2000 to 180 pounds in 2015, most of that in the last five years. Part of that was due to competition from other products, such as soy and almond milk, fewer children as a share of the population, and adults drinking less milk. Cheese consumption, on the other hand, has risen from 30 pounds per capita in 2000 to 35 pounds today. U.S. dairy exports also have changed significantly, with the nation moving from a net overall importer, especially of cheese, to a net exporter by 2014.

Recent and soon-to-be-implemented U.S. government policy changes are not having a significant impact on production, although they are important to farmers’ incomes, according to Westhoff.

“We are now under the 2014 Farm Bill for the second year, which significantly changed government support for the farm sector, but still has not had a big impact on what we’re growing,” he said. “Government payments are a relatively small share of farmers’ income these days.

“In 2015, farmers earned $192 billion selling crops, $187 billion selling livestock, and received $11 billion in government

payments. In 2000, government payments were more than 10 percent of total farm income. Over time, it’s more common for crop receipts to exceed livestock receipts; there was an anomaly for a few years, but we’re getting back to more traditional comparisons today.”

The rapid and extensive growth of technology, crops, and markets is expected to continue, at least through the next 20 years, as will foreign competition in export markets and domestic production in some nations and further reductions in the number of U.S. farms involved in significant crop plantings and yield and livestock production. At the 2015 Agricultural Outlook Forum Plenary Panel on Innovation, Biotechnology and Big Data, Robert Fraley, Ph.D., Monsanto’s executive vice president and chief technology officer, outlined just how dramatic that growth will be.

“There’s never been a more interesting or more important time for agriculture. I’m sure you all know the challenges: World population growing, world wealth increasing, and demand for food continuing to skyrocket,” he said. “Between now and 2050, we need to double the world’s food supply.

A big part of that is going to be increased production, some will be reduced waste – which will be really important – some could be improved diets. But putting it into perspective, we have to produce more food in the next 35 years than we have in the entire history of the world.

“I believe that by 2050 we’ll see doubling the yields of the major crops we produce in North and South America, but even that will not provide adequate food security unless we see dramatic yield gains across Asia and Africa, as well. It will be really critical that Africa has the capacity to feed itself in the future. … I see Africa today much of how I would have viewed Brazil 30 years ago in terms of its potential, and I think innovation will make that difference happen.”

U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

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USDA AND AGRICULTURE UPDATE

USDA photo by Bob Nichols

Cheese rounds that have been inoculated with mold and are curing in the aging room to produce Chapel’s Country Creamery “Bay Blue” cheese. The dairy produces hand-crafted artisanal cheeses with fresh raw milk produced on the dairy’s Grade A dairy farm in Easton, Maryland. In the United States, per capita cheese consumption has risen significantly.

Fraley predicts those innovations – phenomenal advances in biology that enable gene-by-gene recombinations of corn and tomato seeds and the ongoing infusion of data science and information technology – will create the next green revolution while improving productivity and yields.

“A lot will be a continuation of ongoing trends, with everincreasing farm productivity,” Westhoff agreed. “New technologies will be developed and adopted. But there also are some countervailing trends in organic and local [yields] to reach markets that are skeptical of traditional agriculture. There may be cases, especially fruits and vegetables, where greenhouses and vertical marketing may grow with respect to local consumer outlets for high-value products, but I don’t think it will be a significant part of the whole.

“It’s always easier to think in evolutionary terms, although that means you may be overlooking a revolution that will then take you by surprise. I think we will learn how to use big data information and precision farming will become more and more prominent. But I’m not sure that will be a revolution. We have been part of global agriculture since the beginning of the United States, so it’s not really a new thing; what happens on the other side of the world can have significant impacts on U.S. agriculture production and sales.”

In October 2015, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced grants of nearly $3 million under the agency’s Critical Agricultural Research and Extension (CARE) program to develop the science to address critical issues affecting plants and animals.

“It is essential to promote partnerships between researchers, extension experts and producers to ensure the success of American agriculture,” NIFA Director Sonny Ramaswamy, Ph.D., said. “The CARE program is centered on the swift identification of problems, creation of solutions, and prevention of interruptions or issues that impact farmers’ ability to provide a safe and abundant food supply for our nation.”

Ruth MacDonald, Ph.D., chair of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Iowa State University’s School of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, said that kind of partnership – with the inclusion of consumers – is critical, not only for the development of future technologies and techniques, but also as part of an effort to better explain the nature of modern agriculture and food production to the general public.

“It’s an interesting dynamic right now. Nationwide we are seeing a perception that what we call ‘Big Ag’ has ruined our food system and created environmental disaster, so there is a sort of idealistic perception we should go back

to the way it was in the 1950s and before, when people had little farms and raised what they needed and could sell to their neighbors,” she said. “I’m finding it challenging to understand what people think about agriculture. There is a real disconnect between what they think they want and what we can do.

“People began thinking what was labeled as organic was better. I talk to lay groups about this all the time because it is a real misconception about what food is and how we grow it and what is feasible. Everyone in agriculture today realizes we still have problems to resolve, but there is no simple fix.

We’re not going to throw out high-tech agriculture and solve these problems by going back to some ancient way of doing things. We need to come together and stop trying to paint this or that technology as evil. We need to use the tools we can adopt, but also realize technology has advantages that can solve problems in a much more efficient manner. And I don’t know if that conversation is being had.”

That disconnect, if it grew to levels now seen in Europe, could significantly affect U.S. agriculture’s domestic as well as international markets.

U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

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DAVE STAHELI Staheli West His first designs were with pencil and paper, and with the help of Southern Utah University professors Dave Staheli created the DewPoint, a revolutionar y machine steaming up the world of farming. Staheli has experienced 1500% growth since 2010.

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USDA AND AGRICULTURE UPDATE

USDA photo by Bill Tarpenning

An export ship loads rice dockside at the Bunge Grain Facility in Destrehan, Louisiana, on Sept. 1, 1996. U.S. rice exports were up 18 percent over 2014.

“For the past 50 years, our society has evolved to take away the question of our food – you no longer have to think about the safety of your food or how to prepare it, you can be pretty sure you will get the nutrients you need and won’t get sick from the food you buy at a grocery store,” MacDonald said. “But now people are blaming food processing for obesity and other problems. If we all went back to not eating processed foods and making our own food, would that really solve the problem?

“It’s typical to look for the most obvious answer to any problem – in this case, Big Ag. And it certainly has had a role, but hardly the only role. A number of food processing technologies have significantly improved food quality and availability.

Not that it’s perfect, but this whole idea of throwing everything out because we think it is bad is not going to be a solution we really want.”

Because of its success, she noted, U.S. agriculture has been taken for granted, which has had a negative impact on public attitudes toward something they no longer understand and to which they have no direct connection.

“I don’t know where that will end up, but I am concerned about messages being conveyed to consumers, especially about the whole organic thing coming from big chain stores and restaurants. The end result of saying you’re only going to buy organic will be to drive up prices, forcing organic producers to get bigger,” MacDonald said.

Corey Reid, senior vice president of the Intelligent Solutions Group at John Deere, told the Agricultural Outlook Forum one of the barriers – but also opportunities – faced by the agricultural industry is making it easier to integrate complex genetics

developments, advanced machine operation, and health and other factors related to improving the total production system.

But using feedback from users has made it “a heck of a lot easier to integrate the technologies they can use to actually go do the work.”

“We have to be able to work together to open up the system and be able to make it easy to integrate at the local level. That will require not just great machines, not just great technologies, but services from a lot of companies that can go help that integration occur,” he said.

“The drivers are simple – it’s environmental, it’s economic and every one of those producers just wants the ability to compete on an open market. They want the ability to compete on their efficiency. It’s my belief that the biggest thing we can do is make it easier to integrate.”

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack added another challenge for agriculture: defining who is a farmer.

“We have a fairly expansive definition: Anyone who produces more than $1,000 worth of product constitutes, in our census, a farmer. … We have roughly 2.3 million folks who do that – roughly 2.2, 2.3 million. Of that number, 1.3 million are folks who have something in the back yard or in the back 40 that they do because they want to do it. Maybe they’re retired, maybe they enjoy it, maybe it’s something for the grandkids to do,” he said.

“That leaves about a million; of [those,] roughly 700,000 … produce less than $250,000 worth of merchandise, and those are the people that I have deep concern about … [they] are greatest at risk … because they have smaller operations and are trying to compete in a commodity-based market where it’s very, very difficult. That’s why we have made local and regional food systems a priority; it’s why we see the value-added proposition of organic being something that should be available. So you’re really dealing with commercial-sized operations – a balance of [about 300,000] – [who] produce 85 percent of what we grow. So it is important for people to understand that.”

U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

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CIRCLE IN THE SQUARE

Circle in the Square More than a half-century ago, center-pivot irrigation systems changed the way the world farms.

W

hen Coloradan-turned-Nebraskan Frank Zybach started piecing together his first experimental center-pivot irrigation system in 1947, he was on the cusp of nothing short of starting an agricultural revolution.

The rickety contraption was basically a span of pipes only a few feet off the ground, suspended by guy wires, driven by metal wheels, and dragged over the ground by skids. It looked like a Rube Goldberg device for wetting soil.

Only about a half-century earlier, mechanized pumping helped pull irrigation practices out of the Dark Ages. The process of filling irrigation ditches with vast amounts of groundwater meant that farmers were no longer tethered to streams and ponds, or at the mercy of rainfall, to keep their crops alive.

But irrigation ditches are wasteful and imprecise, flooding some portions of field while leaving others dry.

In the early 20th century, inventors began demonstrating the first spray irrigation systems. They were cumbersome contraptions of linked pipe that had to be connected to a wellhead, with long spans to set up and operate. Then the whole system had to be manually moved farther down the field and reset.

It was hard and muddy work, but it represented the first time that farmers were able to irrigate rather large swaths of field at a single time.

Still, when Zybach – whom history remembers more fondly for his success as an inventor than a farmer – saw a demonstration of an early irrigation system at work, he decided it could be done better. A major limiting factor of those systems was that they were constantly moving in relation to their wellhead hookups. Zybach’s elegantly simple but technically complicated solution would be to use a rotating coupling at the top of the well to supply water to a single arm of pipes that swung in a circle around its water source.

His first iteration used water to drive the wheels. As with any swing-arm mechanism, the farthest end of the irrigator traveled much faster than the end at the center, so the system had to regulate its speed. It did so by using the guy wires to control the water valves that drove the wheels. If one section got too far ahead or behind the rest, the tension on the guy wires would adjust the valves to turn the wheels faster or slower.

And since the outer end of the swing arm was moving faster, more water had to be sprayed at one end of the apparatus than from the other.

20

U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

By 1949, Zybach had refined his system well enough to apply for a patent for the “Zybach SelfPropelled Sprinkler Apparatus.”

Three years later, he won the patent and started plans to produce it with the help of a financial backer. But the system encountered skeptics. Not only did Zybach’s system look contrived, it only stood a few feet off the ground (not helpful for crops of meaningful height) and its circle pattern left more than 20 percent of a square field dry.

The first two years of production were slow-going, so Zybach and his partner licensed the design to Valley Manufacturing (known today as Valmont Industries), which was then a relatively young farm equipment company based in Nebraska. With the help – and occasional contention – of Zybach, Valley made improvements on the system’s original design: raising the pipes and sprinklers and developing an electrical drive system. Adding the center pivot irrigation system to its lineup of known farm equipment probably helped legitimize it in buyers’ minds, too.

“Prior to this pathbreaking invention, few had understood how irrigation could change the lives of Nebraskans,” the book Nebraska Moments summarizes Zybach’s invention. “Before 1850 there was little interest in settling Nebraska beyond the 100th meridian because the limited rainfall and lack of trees suggested the area could not support agriculture.” The book notes that the state’s number of wells increased tenfold between 1950 and 1990.

The same explosion occurred in many other states where center pivot irrigation opened up new land to farming. Today, massive crop circles are visible from space in places like South Africa and Saudi Arabia.

According to Western Farm Press, U.S. farming employs roughly 150,000 center pivots across the country – covering more than 20 million acres.

Photo by Samuel M. Beebe, Ecotrust

By Eric Seeger

CIRCLE IN THE SQUARE

USDA NRCS photo by Doug Ulmer

Above: Center-pivot irrigated fields along the Columbia River in Washington state. Right: A center-pivot irrigation system uses low pressure and high uniformity to water a cover crop mix that includes daikon radish in O’Brien, Florida.

While the development of irrigation technology like the center pivot system unquestionably transformed modern agriculture, that prosperity has not come without its side effects.

Today, farming irrigation accounts for about two-thirds of all groundwater use in the Unites States. And in recent years, farmers (especially in the West) have seen the levels of their wells start to drop.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), many of the nation’s aquifers are seeing water withdrawn by human use faster than nature can put it back. Nowhere in the country is this effect more pronounced than over the Ogallala Aquifer, which spans the High Plains from Texas to South Dakota. Many counties have seen their average well levels drop by more than 20 feet in only 20 years – some areas have lost an average of more than 40 feet of water – according to analysis of USGS data conducted by the Gannett Company.

When farm wells are drilled, they are typically rated for how many acre-feet of water they can produce over a given period.

That number, said Charles Corey, executive director of the Irrigation Research Foundation based in Yuma, Colorado, went largely ignored by most farmers, who watered their crops as they saw fit for decades.

As states like Colorado have come to realize the finite nature of their water supplies, they have started metering wells to

U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

21

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CIRCLE IN THE SQUARE

USDA photo by Scott Bauer

Above: Low energy precision application (LEPA) center-pivot sprinkler systems meet a 96 percent efficiency rating while providing efficient watering applications to the plant. Right: Two USDA researchers download data about the movement of a centerpivot irrigation system to reconstruct the amount of water and time it took to irrigate an area.

track usage and restrict overpumping. That has created a situation where farmers need to look for improved efficiency in their irrigation systems. The calculus of watering starts with getting the appropriate nozzle height and drop size to minimize evaporation and maximize absorption in the soil, and then it gets complicated (smarter) from there.

The nonprofit Irrigation Research Foundation partners with manufacturers to test new farming technologies – i.e. seeds, software, pump systems, nozzles, etc. – on experimental and commercial fields to learn how “to do more with less water,” said Corey, whose research is aimed at helping manufacturers provide better information to their customers in the Ogallala.

“That’s our concern: to prevent overpumping and keep this water resource viable for many years.”

The biggest single change to irrigation strategy has been adding the ability to control volume at the nozzles of centerpivot systems. In the past, farmers could adjust the speed of the pivot to increase or lessen the amount of water they applied to the fields. That strategy created huge watering zones that looked like slices of pie if viewed from above.

Today’s new systems give farmers control of nozzles that can release water at varying rates. Now irrigation systems can roll at a constant speed but change volume of output depending on the field’s needs.

“You might have a pack of 134 nozzles, but you get control of every three nozzles,” explained Corey. Each of those groups of three becomes a zone in that pivot’s rotation. “The important part is that once you have that control, then you can get creative with protocol, which consists of formulation,” meaning fertilizers, pesticides, and other applications.

Last season, the foundation tested a pivot system by Reinke® that used variable rate irrigation mated with a new Agri-Inject

brand fertilizer system that can insert variable amounts of fertilizer into the irrigation zones. As the irrigation rates shift within each zone, so does the amount of fertilizer placed into the water stream. “We are able to control the fertilizer in parts per million per flow (per gallon per minute),” said Corey.

While all new technologies come with their costs, farmers ideally will be spending less on pumping, fertilizer, and pesticides, while maximizing crops yields.

As farmers learn their new systems, they are changing some very basic methods of irrigation. For instance, a recent Farm Journal article describes how Ken Ferrie, the publication’s field agronomist, achieved better absorption in sloping terrain by using multiple field passes at lower flow rates. By allowing smaller amounts of water time to absorb into the soil between passes, the process was able to get better penetration by avoiding runoff and ponding in the field’s problem areas.

This goes to illustrate the level of complexity with which farmers will need to understand their fields and equipment in the future. As the technology allows more precise dispersion of resources, Corey predicts, the industry will see regular use of consultants to test soil, crops, and other conditions, and to develop irrigation and fertilizer prescriptions customized to each field and crop.

As Zybach’s invention changed farming over the last 55 years, it will become the future of irrigation entering its next phase – where yields will continue to be strong, but no drop can be wasted.

U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

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HIGHER LEARNING

Higher Learning Advanced degrees and the future of agriculture

By J.R. Wilson

U

ntil World War II, the United States was still a largely rural, agriculture-based nation, although the percentage of the population involved in farming already was on decline from its high of around 70 percent a century ago. Today, farming accounts for only about 2 percent of the U.S. workforce, yet food production has never been higher.

But also at a record level is the general public’s lack of understanding of how modern agriculture works and what is required of farmers and others in related fields to make it happen.

“Most people today don’t know anyone who is a farmer, which is a major contributor to not understanding our food system,” according to Ruth MacDonald, Ph.D., chair of Food Science and Human Nutrition and Assistant Dean of Graduate Programs at Iowa State University’s School of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering.

That lack of acquaintanceship has helped maintain the public image of farmers as ill-educated “hicks” who live isolated from technology, or more recently, as minions of giant corporations – Big Ag – that have gobbled up the majority of family farms of all sizes and are filling grocery stores and restaurants with dangerous genetically modified food. Neither image is accurate, as explained by Pat Westhoff, Ph.D., director of the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) at the University of Missouri.

“Agriculture has changed a lot since 1900. Obviously, the level of technology is much higher now, as is the need for sophistication,” he said. “A much higher proportion of commercial scale operators today have college and even graduate degrees; back then, few went to college. The median family household income now is even with or slightly higher than the average U.S. household. So where farmers may once have been considered very poor, that’s no longer the case, in general.

“The actual number of people classified as farmers today is in the same ballpark as 15 years ago, but that is very misleading because it includes a rapid growth in ‘hobby’ farms. The official USDA [U.S. Department of Agriculture] definition of a farm is a place that sells $1,000 in crops or livestock each year, but that’s still not a lot of people.”

Harvey James, Ph.D., professor and director of graduate studies in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, has seen a growing interest in and demand for master’s (MS) degrees in agriculture.

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U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

“In some respects, the MS degree today is playing the role that the BA/BS [bachelor’s] degree did decades ago.

Because there are so many students graduating from undergraduate programs, students need to differentiate themselves and employers can be choosier about whom they hire. Both of these factors promote growth in MS programs,” he said.

“Ph.D. programs are different. I can’t say one way or the other about what will happen to the trend in Ph.D. programs, [although] I think there will be a lot of growth in programs that offer interdisciplinary training.

“I don’t see specific disciplines disappearing – economics, sociology, chemistry, etc. But many of the problems we are facing in agriculture and society are extremely complex. It is not possible for scholars within their individual disciplinary silos to make a meaningful contribution to solving these problems.

Genetic engineers need to work with economists who need to work with rural sociologists and anthropologists who need to work with plant and animal scientists. We need greater respect for what scholars in other disciplines can bring to the table.

Academic programs that foster this kind of interdisciplinary collaboration will succeed.”

A major emphasis in American education in recent years, from grade school through grad school, has been raising the level of STEM education – science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Universities are heavily promoting those, gaining status – and funding – when one of their Ph.D.s makes a noteworthy breakthrough.

“But there needs to be equal consideration [of] the social sciences. Science does not develop in a vacuum. Problems we face in society are not merely technical ones requiring technical solutions. In fact, more often than we like to admit, technical solutions end up creating new problems,” James said. “We need to understand better how science connects with the human and non-human world.

“This is why the science disciplines have to work with and respect the social sciences. When universities and employers realize we live in a social rather than technical world, demand for agricultural economists, rural sociologists, anthropologists, and other social sciences will increase. So I would like to see a more visible association between the hard and social sciences.”

While providing better educated employees for the increasingly high-tech U.S. industrial sector – including agriculture-related R&D, manufacturing, and processing

USDA Flickr

HIGHER LEARNING

– the STEM focus also is attracting more foreign students, both undergrad and graduate.

“The U.S. has one of the best graduate educational systems in the world. We are seeing continued interest from international students in our program, which is roughly an equal split between U.S. and international graduate students, but there are differences in the MS and Ph.D. programs. Most of our U.S. students are in the MS program, while less than one-third of Ph.D. candidates are U.S. students,” he continued.

“Students from outside the U.S. have farm and rural backgrounds. That is becoming less common in students from the U.S. That does not mean there is not a lot of interest in agricultural economics; [indeed], I find it intriguing that students from urban settings want to complete an MS degree in agricultural economics. There also is definitely an increase in the number of women pursuing graduate degrees. Our current mix is roughly 50-50, but that ratio seems to be changing in favor of women.”

University ag school officials agree that advanced degrees are essential to the future of American agriculture. While knowledge can be acquired outside of educational institutions and experience can be a great teacher, acquiring in-depth and intensive interdisciplinary formal training is predicted to become even more important in the future.

“I do believe agriculture is driven by technology, which has been the trend in the U.S. since the end of World War II, when we really started applying technological solutions

Brittany Hazard, a University of California-Davis doctoral student conducting wheat and resistant starch research, collects samples from a wheat field for analysis at UC Davis’ Dubcovsky Lab. As agriculture continues to turn to technology for solutions to challenges presented by growing populations and climate change, well-educated people capable of making breakthroughs will be essential.

to agriculture. That’s not going to change,” MacDonald said.

“And as we continue to face growing populations with less farm land and all the issues associated with climate change, technology will play a bigger and bigger role in how we do agriculture. And having well-educated people to make breakthroughs in technology will be essential.”

Westhoff said he isn’t sure if the demand for advanced degrees is growing or leveling off, but much of it is coming from foreign students focusing on agriculture business and economics, especially the latter.

“We probably could fill our entire master’s and Ph.D. programs with students from China alone,” he noted. “The vast majority of people getting advanced degrees [go to] work for industry or academia, not on working farms. But in other countries, such as China and India, you are expected to have educational credentials, and a degree from abroad is highly valued.”

U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

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Ron Lewis, Virginia Tech

A Virginia Tech student participates in the online animal breeding graduate program. While some of those who earn master’s or doctoral degrees in agriculture-related fields do plan to work on farms, many pursue employment in academia or industry.

Despite concerns about a shortage of STEM degrees among U.S. citizens, MacDonald said the foundation on which America’s high technology leadership has depended remains in place within the nation’s universities. That applies to the relatively new world of high-tech agriculture as well as it does to space exploration, physics, biotechnology, and computer science.

“The U.S. is considered to be at the top in training people for higher degrees, so those graduating from good schools internationally want to come here to pursue their master’s or Ph.D. degrees,” she said.

Agriculture is committed to using new technologies to expand productivity, such as autosteer on tractors, variable-rate applications of chemicals on crops, the use of GPS and, with increasing importance, unmanned aerial vehicles, Westhoff said, adding there also is some concern about being overwhelmed by big data and who controls and uses it.

One of the most controversial issues for American agriculture is genetically modified organisms (GMOs). While only a handful of crops overall have GMO variants, more than 90 percent of combined planted acreage in corn, soybeans, and cotton is genetically engineered. Given the size of U.S. exports, Westhoff said, “there obviously are customers out there.” There are no American GMO wheat or rice products, although some noncommercial work has been done on both.

“Consumer acceptance is a huge issue with GMOs, especially overseas, so there is a lot more than just science

involved. As we look forward, on the animal side, we recently got approval of a genetically engineered salmon that grows more quickly on less food per pound of gain. Here at Missouri, an animal scientist recently announced developing a pig that is resistant to serious pork diseases,” he said. “There have been some grocery stores and restaurants that have said they will not buy GMOs.” With a technology utilization level second only to the Pentagon, American agriculture has become a magnet for graduate degree students, most of whom are not from rural backgrounds and few of whom plan to work on farms. Iowa State University offers an insight into where those with new advanced degrees are going – about 33 percent into industry and 25 percent into academia, with a substantial proportion continuing their educations to further develop their research skills, in both academia and industry.

“A lot of factors have played a role in increasing interest in higher degrees, including the higher technologies associated with the agriculture and life-science sector, which covers a wide range of disciplines. More interest and drive for research in agriculture have led to opportunities for people with higher degrees,” MacDonald said. “We also see a substantial number of students with bachelor’s degrees getting very good jobs. I also see a new trend happening with business education, with more people already employed pursuing master’s degrees.

“So I anticipate there will continue to be growth in demand for higher degrees in agriculture. I don’t see technology declining but continuing to become important in all aspects of agriculture and life sciences, with a higher expectation for people with skills needed to pursue new solutions for problems, which is what a Ph.D. does. Leadership positions and levels of higher responsibility have an expectation you will continue your education. The whole technology issue in agriculture

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USDA photo by Lance Cheung

Christina Walters, Ph.D., Plant Germplasm Preservation Research Unit research leader at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation (NCGRP), speaks to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack about the seed-quality research her team of international scientists is doing. Many Ph.D.s find positions with the USDA.

drives some of that, so you need people who can think in a new way in order to advance the company or the systems on which they are working.”

A lot of students graduating with bachelor’s degrees do plan to go into farming, but some of those are expected to pursue master’s degrees, such as the online degree Iowa State offers in seed management.

“A pretty wide range of industries will hire master’s students, from production to management to research. The food sector is a very strong employer, as is the ag industry in general – large manufacturing companies such as Monsanto and ADM. We also see a lot of Ph.D.s going into genetics and government positions with the USDA,” she said.

In an eerie parallel to a recent warning by the Chief of Naval Operations about the narrowing technology gap between the United States and nations such as China, MacDonald voiced concern the United States can’t maintain its leadership in agriculture if sufficient American students are not educated to use increasingly complex technologies to solve problems. Thus the need to maintain a very strong education program in agriculture.

“Personally, I think we are potentially at risk of losing some of our advantages in agriculture because of the somewhat challenging economic situation we are in in the U.S., with fewer

opportunities for graduate student financial support. We fund graduate students through research, where dollars come from the U.S. government and industry,” she said.

“In the past, government funding provided salaried funding for graduate assistantships, but that has shrunk with the reduced budget for overall research, so we have fewer opportunities to bring on students with financial support. That is a major concern for all of us in higher education – that we are losing the ability to bring more students into these advanced areas and so are not making the advancements we need to make. It’s a downward spiral.”

U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

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WEATHERING THE DROUGHT

Weathering the Drought How California’s farmers have adapted to dwindling water supplies – for now

By Craig Collins

A

century-and-a-half ago, Tulare Lake was about 500 to 700 square miles of water – more than three times the size of Lake Tahoe, depending on how much rain or snow fell in a given year. It was the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi, the end of the continent’s southernmost Chinook salmon run, and home to one of the most prosperous native tribes in California.

Today there is no lake. Its Sierra Nevada tributary waters were long ago diverted for irrigation, beginning after the Civil War and finally ending with five major water projects built in the 1930s. The area the lake once occupied – the Tulare Basin, in the southwest quadrant of California’s Central Valley – is home to some of the state’s most fertile farmland. It’s also among the state’s most arid regions.

This contradiction has never been lost on Californians. Over decades, they’ve engineered a byzantine system of water capture, diversion, and redistribution that has transformed the Central Valley – with its Mediterranean climate, rich soils, and steady supply of Sierra Nevada snowmelt – into one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world. California produces more than half the nation’s fruits and vegetables.

Since its inception, the system has suffered periods of noticeable strain. Before the dry spell that began in 2012 – the thirdworst on record so far, a drought that has caused the price of irrigation water to spike in some districts by a factor of 10 – California’s farmers and ranchers had already become some of the nation’s most careful stewards of water. Brian Medeiros, a dairyman who raises 2,500 cows on 1,400 acres at the northern edge of the former Tulare Lake, near the town of Hanford, has always had to conserve. “We use a good chunk of water on the dairy to cool the cows, wash the cows, cool the milk down, clean the areas where the cows are milked, and then also clean their housing. All that water at the end of the day turns into irrigation water.” Medeiros estimates that about 100 to 200 acre-feet are captured every summer, treated, and recycled into irrigation water.

Over the past four years, however, Medeiros has had increasingly less water to capture. He and his neighbors purchase water from a private ditch operator that distributes through a canal system. In 2011, he said, when the state received

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U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

good rainfall, his dairy received a surplus of water. “But it’s been downhill since. In 2012, we had about 80 percent of our normal allocation; in 2013, we had about 50 percent. Then in 2014, we had 11 percent. And this year we didn’t get a single drop. We received absolutely no surface water.”

There was little surface water to go around. By spring 2015, the Sierra snowpack, which supplies about a third of the state’s useable water, was at 5 percent of its average, an all-time low.

Gov. Edmund Gerald “Jerry” Brown Jr. had recently issued his second executive order to the state’s municipalities to cut their water use by 25 percent, and for the second year in a row, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced that most Central Valley farmers south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta would receive no water from the federal Central Valley Project. By August, the State Water Project was delivering about 20 percent of its promised allotment.

In August 2015, the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California-Davis released an analysis of the economic impact the drought was likely to have on California agriculture. Among its conclusions: The direct and indirect losses to all economic sectors would be as high as $2.74 billion, with a net loss of nearly 21,000 jobs. The total surface

WEATHERING THE DROUGHT

An irrigation ditch runs dry near Grizzly Island Road in Suisun City, California, Sept. 18, 2014.

water shortages, virtually all of them suffered by Central Valley farmers, would amount to nearly 8.7 million acre-feet.

Given such grim numbers, how have farmers and ranchers like Medeiros managed to stay in business? It’s worth pointing out that many California farmers and ranchers were more ready than most people expected to adapt to a prolonged drought.

But even so, nobody thinks the solutions being used in the Central Valley today – each of which involves its own costs – are going to be sustainable over the long term.

Photo by Florence Low

A SHOW OF RESILIENCE One of the simplest responses to the drought has been to let land go fallow. According to the UC-Davis report, about 540,000 acres of California farmland went unplanted in 2015 because of the drought. “The rest of the country was up,” said Daniel Sumner, Ph.D., professor of agricultural and resource economics at UC-Davis and co-author of the report. “So that’s a sign that this wasn’t a national phenomenon driven by price.”

The Central Valley is often discussed as two distinct regions: the Sacramento Valley, north of the Delta, and the more arid San Joaquin Valley, which stretches south to Bakersfield. Idling

was most prevalent, Sumner said, in the San Joaquin, where commodity crops such as cotton or corn silage are grown.

Growers of alfalfa, a water-intensive silage crop, have been able to keep farming – but as Sumner explained, that’s because it’s a grassy legume: “You water, you mow it, you water, you mow it.

You can cut alfalfa up to seven or eight times a year.” This year, alfalfa growers have scaled their cuttings back to about four.

Obviously, one of the most significant changes to the way Central Valley farmers are operating in the drought is their sourcing of water. Many farmers have found it more profitable to transfer their allotments to others, in districts where it’s permissible. According to the UC-Davis report, the 2015 price for irrigation water averaged about $650 per acre-foot, making it more profitable for traditional growers of thirsty crops, such as Sacramento Valley rice farmers, to simply sell their water, often to farmers farther south.

Determining how much water is allotted to growers in California is complicated, a maze of different public and private adjudications that date to the mid-19th century. But Dave Puglia, executive vice president of the Western Growers Association, a trade association of California, Arizona, and Colorado farmers founded in 1926, said that Central Valley

U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

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Above: Peters’ Drilling & Pump Service works to tap into groundwater at Meade Hill Vineyard and Winery in Smartsville, California, on May 26, 2015. Farmers are increasingly turning to groundwater use to offset surface water shortages.

Below: Comparison aerial views showing Brown’s Ravine Marina at Folsom Lake with low water (drought) conditions (right image) on Jan. 16, 2014, and with some water (left image), March 2, 2015.

growers generally relied on surface water to the greatest extent possible.

“In any event, no matter how much surface water you’re able to cobble together,” said Puglia, “if you’re in the San Joaquin Valley, you’ve probably turned more heavily to groundwater. You may have dropped new wells. You may have deepened existing wells. You’re pumping much more water from much greater depth than you ever have before – and in many cases, the quality of that water is worsening because as a rule, the deeper you go, the saltier the water coming up.”

The UC-Davis report projected that the 2015 shortage of 8.7 million acre-feet would be mostly offset by a 6 million acre-feet increase in groundwater pumping over the 2011 pre-drought baseline. In addition to the declining quality of this water, this surge in extraction involves other costs: According to Josué Medellín-Azuara, a senior researcher at the UC-Davis Center for Watershed Sciences, farmers will pay 77 percent more – $600 million – this year simply to pump water out of the ground. Another related problem is land subsidence, or the sinking of land overlying aquifers as water is pumped out. In August 2015, scientists with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory released a report, based on satellite imaging, that showed significant recent subsidence. A site near Corcoran, in the Tulare Basin, sank 13 inches over eight months. A stretch of the California Aqueduct, the main artery of the State Water Project, sank 8 inches over four months. Sections of the Delta-Mendota Canal, which supplies much of the San Joaquin Valley, have buckled and had to be propped back up.

The idea that pumping groundwater could help wreck the state’s surface water infrastructure is a grim irony, but many

Photos by Paul Hames/DWR Photography

California Department of Water Resources photo by Kelly M. Grow

WEATHERING THE DROUGHT

U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

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farmers don’t have much choice. With no surface water available, Medeiros has had to rely on groundwater to produce forage for his dairy cows. To ease the demand for water, he’s replacing corn and wheat with sorghum and a drought-hardy wheat/rye hybrid called triticale.

As Puglia pointed out, the water Medeiros uses is likely to become more saline as the water table drops. The risks associated with groundwater pumping are serious enough that the state finally passed its first groundwater management bill last fall, ordering local jurisdictions to draw up regulations – but the earliest deadline for establishing most of those regulations isn’t until 2020. Meanwhile some jurisdictions – including the Sacramento Valley’s main rice-growing counties, Glenn and Colusa – have set temporary moratoriums on permits for new wells.

One of the drought-adaptation strategies often mentioned in news reports – crop switching – is difficult to quantify, for several reasons. First, Sumner pointed out, it’s not a new strategy. “It’s been going on for 50 years,” he said. “Did it accelerate a bit because of the drought? We actually don’t know, because there were a lot of market things going on as well.” In those 50 years, California farmers have tended to drift away from annual commodity crops such as corn,

cotton, and rice, and more toward higher-value crops such as fruits, nuts, and vegetables. In the past year, California newspapers have featured multiple stories of farmers switching, say, from cotton to almonds – now one of the state’s most valuable crops.

Puglia said San Joaquin growers have taken this shift a step further: “You’ve got a lot of growers who have reduced their plantings of processing tomatoes or cantaloupes or broccoli, and they’re now growing almonds and pistachios and walnuts and grapes,” he said. “And that’s understandable. Those crops are more lucrative. You get more dollars per acre, but you’re taking some risk that you won’t be able to stop watering in times of scarcity, because you’ll lose the investment. So those folks are pinched. They’re the ones who are spending upwards of $1,250, all the way up to $2,000 an acre-foot, for water on the market.”

Puglia believes that after a certain point, there’s not much more farmers can do to conserve water and meet demand for their crops – and he believes the drought is only part of California agriculture’s problem, a symptom of a much larger systemic failure that’s occurred over the past few decades.

A series of lawsuits, regulations, and court actions have gradually shifted water away from the agricultural budget. A

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Above: Clouds threaten rain while a patch of light shines through the dry landscape on the west end of Lancaster, California, on May 8, 2015. Californians are hoping El Niño will bring desperately needed rain and snowfall. Right: Water, a precious commodity, irrigates a field in the southern San Joaquin Valley.

Photo by John Chacon

WEATHERING THE DROUGHT

commonly cited statistic is that agriculture uses 80 percent of the state’s water – but that’s only when human uses of water are accounted for. The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) sorts out the total, roughly, as follows: 50 percent of the state’s surface water is used to comply with environmental laws and regulations; 40 percent of it is used by agriculture; and 10 percent is consumed by urban areas.

It’s not simply that agriculture’s share of the state’s surface water has shrunk overall, Puglia said; it’s that existing laws and regulations prevent farmers from banking more water in times of plenty, even when all other requirements and environmental compliances have been satisfied. It’s an inefficient and inflexible system that he’d like to see reformed. “Interestingly,” he said, “water managers in California are starting belatedly right now to talk about not missing the opportunity that El Niño might provide this winter. If we do get heavy precipitation, especially if it comes in the form of rain and not snow in the Sierras, we’re going to see floodwaters coming down into the valley. And you see people at PPIC and UC-Davis sort of ringing the alarm bell and saying, if that water shows up, we’ve got to find farms to flood and allow groundwater basins to recharge.”

He’s not optimistic that there’s enough time, however, for the bureaucratic gears to turn: “I think what we’re going to see this year is millions of acre-feet of water channeled out underneath the Golden Gate that could have been either spread on

grounds for recharge of basins, or pumped south of the Delta and captured in one of our biggest reservoirs in the state, San Luis Reservoir near Los Banos.” Under federal environmental laws, the reservoir’s pumping facilities can’t be operated at full capacity, even in times of flood.

Beyond this winter, Puglia hopes for structural fixes to a system that has Central Valley farmers, especially those in the south, caught in a vicious cycle: Because California farmers have become so efficient at irrigating over the years, there’s very little water seeping beneath the root zone into aquifers.

“While you’re causing less water to be sent back into the groundwater basin,” said Puglia, “you’re increasing their reliance on groundwater, because you’ve cut off surface water.

It’s really distressing. Unless we regain some balance in the way we manage water, we’re probably looking, over time, at a much-reduced level of agricultural activity in the San Joaquin Valley.”

U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

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NEW FARMERS NEEDED

New Farmers Needed

By Craig Collins

L

ike many idealists, George Macros thought life as a teacher sounded good. At the Brooklyn school where he started his career, he ranked lowest in seniority. “I was given the classroom none of the other science teachers wanted,” he said. “It had a greenhouse attached to it, and the greenhouse was filled with dead plants.” But it was his classroom, so he thought he’d try to resuscitate the greenhouse – and he kept at it, until he found himself leaving in time to get to work by 6 o’clock in the morning. “I would come in as soon as the school building opened,” he said, “to spend more time with the plants.”

It was the beginning of an odyssey that would eventually take him to the West Coast, where he volunteered on organic farms from Washington to California until he discovered the place he wanted to settle down: the rolling hills outside the town of Sebastopol in western Sonoma County, a coastal climate where greens could be grown year-round.

Macros did some substitute teaching while he learned more about the area and worked on farms part time until, he said, “I decided: Hey, I’m going to have a really large vegetable garden.

It’s going to be either a great hobby and I’ll have tons of stuff to give to my friends, or restaurants and customers will take an interest and we’ll take it from there.”

In Northern California, where wine grapes are grown in abundance, agricultural land is pricy – out of reach, really, for a substitute teacher. With the help of California FarmLink, an organization established in 1999 to help new farmers get started, Macros connected with an older couple, goat ranchers who leased him a fenced half-acre plot and let him use their tools.

Today, Macros farms full time on a ¾-acre plot he calls Earthworker Farm. “I do two farmers’ markets and a little bit of wholesale,” he said, “and I only grow salad greens and edible flowers. So I’m growing high-value crops that have a maximum return for square footage.”

While the news in recent years seems to include many stories like Macros’ – stories of young, educated people, many without money or land or much experience farming, who nevertheless opt for a career in agriculture – the available data indicates it isn’t much of a trend. But the United States needs it to be: • Seventy years ago, nearly 40 percent of Americans grew up on family farms; today, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), that number is less than 3 percent.

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U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

• According to the USDA’s 2012 Census of Agriculture, the average age of the American farmer continues to climb steadily, and is now at 58.3 years old. About a third of the nation’s 2.1 million farmers are at least 65 years old; they outnumber young farmers by a ratio of 6-to-1.

• According to a 2014 USDA survey, about 10 percent of U.S. farmland, or about 91.5 million acres, is expected to change hands by 2019.

• Only about 6 percent of American farmers are under 35 years old, and the number of young farmers only increased by about 1,220 from 2007-2012. Estimates of the number of farmers needed to replace the retiring generation over the next two decades range from 700,000 to a million.

MONEY AND LAND There is a sliver of hope in these statistics: The 6 percent figure represents a slight increase in young farmers since the 2007 Census of Agriculture, which reported that 4.1 percent of American farmers were younger than 35. This increase may be due, at least in part, to a growing network of public and private organizations dedicated to pooling resources and connecting young farmers with opportunities in their states and local communities.

Aside from the many other things that attract people to agriculture, there’s a lot of money to be made in the nation’s $167 billion farming industry – but several challenges confront new farmers. The National Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC), established in New York state’s Hudson Valley in 2009, conducted a survey of beginning farmers in 2011 that identified a lack of capital (78 percent) and access to affordable farmland (68 percent) as the two primary obstacles they faced.

According to Holly Rippon-Butler, NYFC’s Land Access program director, access to affordable farmland is one of the organization’s top priorities: “Something like two-thirds of our agricultural land is owned or managed by a farmer who is 55 or older,” she said. “So in the next 20 to 25 years, two-thirds of our land is going to need a new farmer.” Much of RipponButler’s work is devoted to linking farmers and land trusts to make sure farmland remains in agriculture.

Several state programs, such as California FarmLink, mirror this effort. Iowa State University’s (ISU) Beginning Farmer Center operates a program known as Ag Link, which matches landless beginners with retiring farmers who don’t have heirs

USDA photo by Lance Cheung

NEW FARMERS NEEDED

Holding an oregano seedling and soil, Calvin Riggleman is a former Marine who served in Iraq. Now he serves his community farm fresh organic produce and food products made by his Bigg Riggs Farm team.

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U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

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Top left: A disabled veteran of Operation Desert Shield, Edward Avegalio stands in front of his farm in American Samoa on June 6, 2012. Avegalio’s farm provides locally grown fresh produce to area schools, local restaurants, and stores through the first hydroponic farm in American Samoa that was redesigned to allow him to actively work the land. Left: Marilyn and Erik Simpson returned to the Navajo Reservation in Torreon, New Mexico, to help Marilyn’s aging parents and to expand their own farming operation to benefit their family. The Simpsons applied for a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) microloan to improve their farm. Above: Evan Premer, an Army veteran, inspects aeroponically grown greens at his family-owned Aero Farm in Denver, Colorado.

to continue the family business. David Baker, the center’s farm transition specialist, said the program was launched during the farm crisis of the 1980s, when the state began to suffer what’s known as the “grain drain” – the exodus of farmers’ children out of agriculture into other sectors that assured a steadier paycheck. “Now,” said Baker, “we’re reversed. I think we have a large segment of young people who are interested in where their food comes from, and in the quality of the food.”

These talented young people, of course, are more likely to transition into smaller operations, such as a modest family dairy or hog-raising operation, rather than a vast tract of commodity crops such as corn or soybeans. And Baker usually likes to work with people who are educated and have spent some time in the workforce: “I don’t work with too many 20-year-olds,” he said.

“I want them to get through college. I want them to experience real work before they start trying to run a business.”

The task of finding programs like California FarmLink and Ag Link can be overwhelming for beginning farmers. NYFC has several “Resources” portals on its website (www.youngfarmers. org), including “Credit and Capital” and “Land and Jobs,” linking beginning farmers with opportunities at the federal, state, and local levels.

While the USDA considers itself a “lender of last resort,” many of its programs, particularly those administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA), are aimed specifically at beginning farmers. According to Kent Politsch, FSA’s public affairs chief, the programs range from crop insurance incentives to direct loans: “We know that if we can get them started and get them

over that inertia of the cost of startup, then they’ve got a good chance to succeed.” FSA offers microloans of up to $50,000 to beginning farmers. Another FSA program, the Transitional Incentive Program (TIP), encourages retiring farmers who have land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) to cede that land, through sale or lease, to beginning or socially disadvantaged farmers. Since 2009, TIP has facilitated 2,305 contracts for more than 384,000 acres of expiring CRP land.

According to Rippon-Butler, a significant remaining obstacle for young farmers is student loan debt. “Our big campaign right now,” she said, “is to get farmers added to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.” NYFC partnered with the office of U.S. Congressman Chris Gibson, R-N.Y., in writing the Young Farmer Success Act of 2015, which would add farmers to the list of professionals, such as civil servants, teachers, and nurses, who, after making 10 years of income-driven student loan payments, will have the balance of their loans forgiven.

“We were really, really excited to see that bill introduced,” said Rippon-Butler, “and are working hard now to get co-sponsors and get people excited about it across the country.”

KNOWLEDGE AND TRAINING Farming is a business, and no amount of land or capital guarantees success for beginning farmers. Along with the vast acreages of farmland that will transition into new hands in the coming decade, said Rippon-Butler, “There will be a large

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination against its customers, employees, and applicants for employment on the bases of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, gender identity, religion, reprisal and, where applicable, political beliefs, marital status, familial or parental status, sexual orientation, or all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program, or protected genetic information in employment or in any program or activity conducted or funded by the Department.

(Not all prohibited bases will apply to all programs and/or employment activities.) If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, or at any USDA office, or call (866) 632-9992 to request the form. You may also write a letter containing all of the information requested in the form. Send your completed complaint form or letter to us by mail at U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, by fax (202) 690-7442 or email at program.intake@usda.gov. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have speech disabilities and wish to file either an EEO or program complaint please contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339 or (800) 845-6136 (in Spanish).

Persons with disabilities who wish to file a program complaint, please see information above on how to contact us by mail directly or by email. If you require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) please contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension Work, based on the passage of the Food & Agricultural Act of 1977 on September 29, 1977, and in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Mark Latimore Jr., Interim Assistant Vice President for Land-Grant Affairs for the Office of Academic Affairs, College of Agriculture, Family Sciences and Technology, Fort Valley State University, a State and Land-Grant Institution, University System of Georgia.

Fort Valley State University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award baccalaureate, masterís and educational specialist degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Fort Valley State University.

Fort Valley State University is an affirmative action, equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate against applicants, students or employees on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability or marital or veteran status.

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Above: Patriot Farmers of America (PFA) staff participant Ned King (red shirt and tan pants) describes the soil-based farm training he is receiving to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services (FFAS) Deputy Under Secretary Karis T. Gutter (dark blue shirt), the current and first USDA Military Veterans Agricultural (MVA) Liaison at the future PFA facility site at the Hill and Dale Farm in Berryville, Virginia, July 7, 2015. Right: Agriculture Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden and USDA New and Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program Coordinator Lila McFarland host a USDA employee-only webinar on recent new farmer announcements. Bottom right: The USDA is encouraging a new generation to become farmers through several programs including the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program.

amount of knowledge and skill – and knowledge and skill that’s particular to the pieces of land being passed on – necessary to facilitate that transition.”

Many of the organizations originally established to facilitate access to land and capital – including NYFC, California FarmLink, and the ISU Beginning Farmer Center – have also formed programs and partnerships designed to give beginning farmers the knowledge and training they’ll need to make a success out of their new ventures. NYFC supports farmer-tofarmer training initiatives and recently partnered with FarmLink to conduct a series of California workshops.

Meanwhile, as Congress has worked to expand financial resources for beginning farmers, it has provided additional resources for training and education. The 2008 Farm Bill

established the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP), administered by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The BFRDP is a competitive grant program, explained Jill Auburn, its national program leader: “We fund collaborative networks and partnerships of

U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

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FARMING OPPORTUNITIES FOR VETERANS In recent years, a host of programs – many of them run by former veterans or private organizations – have sprung up to provide veterans with opportunities to turn their weapons into plowshares, including: • The Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC) (www.farmvetco.org). A nationwide nonprofit based in California, FVC hosts career fairs and educational retreats, matches individual veterans with mentors in their areas of interest, and sponsors a fellowship program to help launch the food and farming careers of veterans.

• The Veterans Sustainable Agriculture Training Program (VSAT) is an intensive six-week course offering trainees instruction in hydroponics, drip/micro irrigation, soil biology, environmental control, and business development. Originally launched near San Diego at Archi’s Acres Inc. (archisacres.com), a veteran- owned farm, the training is conducted in partnership with California Polytechnic University, Pomona.

• Veterans Farm, established by Iraq veteran Adam Burke, is an all-volunteer farm on 13 acres near Jacksonville, Florida. Veterans from northeast Florida and southern Georgia serve a six-month fellowship, learning the skills and knowledge needed to establish their own farming careers.

Open to anyone who has served two years, the fellowship, begun in August 2011, has most often

organizations that then do actual training, technical assistance, and mentoring programs for new farmers.”

California FarmLink is among several of the BFRDP’s recent grantees, which include a broad range of agricultural interests, from an urban agricultural training program administered by the Chicago Horticultural Society to a modular instructional series, provided through the University of Arkansas, in the basics of farm safety, business development, poultry, and livestock production.

The array of federal programs and other resources available to beginning farmers is increasingly numerous and can be difficult to sort through – but fortunately, USDA has set up a one-stop portal that offers new farmers a step-by-step guide through the process: newfarmers.usda.gov.

In Iowa, the Beginning Farmer Center conducts seminars, offers consultation, and publishes manuals for beginning farmers. Through Lutheran Services of Iowa, Baker also works with immigrants in the Des Moines area, many of them from

been awarded to veterans with some type of disability rating.

• Combat Boots to Cowboy Boots, a program launched in 2010 by the University of Nebraska’s College of Technical Agriculture (NCTA), helps young farmers compose a business plan and launch a farming or ranching enterprise with coursework and low-interest loans. Students graduate with a business partnership and an associate degree.

One of the NCTA’s partners in the Combat Boots to Cowboy Boots program is the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which has numerous initiatives for young ranchers and farmers – but until the 2014 Farm Bill had implemented few veteran-specific programs.

That’s begun to change: Many of the programs authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill, including the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, are required to spend a share of their funding on projects that serve military veterans.

In November 2014, USDA named its first military veterans agricultural liaison, a position created by the 2014 Farm Bill, to educate veterans about farming, work to connect them with agricultural training programs, and advocate for them at USDA. USDA’s New Farmers website has a portal (newfarmers.usda.gov/veterans) devoted specifically to veterans interested in exploring opportunities in agriculture.

rural villages in countries such as Laos or Burundi, to find them access to small lots and provide for their families and perhaps sell some produce at the Des Moines Farmers’ Market, which is visited by about 20,000 people every weekend throughout the summer.

Baker is himself a farmer who, nearing the end of his career, hopes to give back to his community and encourage as many people as possible to connect to the land that’s given him so much. “If you’re a farm community and you’re not trying to bring young people into your community through opportunities and jobs in the farming industry,” he said, “you’re a dying community.”

This isn’t what farmers, young or old, want for America’s rural communities. Said NYFC’s Rippon-Butler: “We want to make farming a viable career in America.” With help from a widening network of public and private partners, the industry may be on the verge of growing a new generation of family farmers.

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DOWN ON THE FARM, UP ON THE HILL

Down on the Farm, Up on the Hill Who are the agricultural experts in Congress today?

By Jan Tegler

T

he question posed above is trickier to answer than it might appear – particularly when coupled with the notion that the occupational makeup of members of the U.S. Congress today has transitioned almost completely away from agriculture.

Intuitively, one would assume that the proportion of members of the House and Senate with agricultural expertise or direct agricultural experience has declined precipitously since the very first U.S. Congress (1789-1791). After all, despite a thriving trade in fur, whaling, and fishing in New England, and exposure to the early throes of the Industrial Revolution, the American economy of the late 18th century was largely agrarian.

But a look at the occupational composition of the first Congress reveals that of its 91 members, only 12 were planters/farmers. That’s about 13 percent. By contrast, the Congressional Research Service lists 29 individuals as presently being or having been employed as farmers, ranchers, or cattle farm owners (four in the Senate, 25 in the House) among the 540 members of the 114th Congress (2015-2016). This amounts to a little more than 5 percent.

That drop, from 13 percent to 5 percent over 226 years, isn’t nearly as large as might be expected. The truth is, agriculture has never enjoyed the direct representation in Congress that occupations including public service/politics, business, law, education, and the military have.

Nevertheless, agricultural interests have enjoyed significant support from the House and Senate historically. It’s the nature of the support that has changed, reflecting the decrease in American agriculture’s share of GDP (gross domestic product) and its proportion of the labor force; consolidation in the industry; changes in proportional representation (apportionment) in Congress; and changes to legislative districts and to the committee system.

Debate about the clout of the modern farm lobby and the committees that have jurisdiction over agriculture policy is plentiful. But as Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, one of only two active farmers in the Senate currently, affirms, there’s little doubt that the more remote agriculture becomes from the nation’s legislative branch, the harder it is to represent.

“Fewer legislators coming to Congress with firsthand knowledge of farming makes it more challenging to serve as a voice

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U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

for rural America and those who choose to make their livelihoods in small towns and farming communities,” he said.

So where does representation for agriculture in Congress stand today and how has it changed? To understand why the nature of support is different today than it was two centuries ago, we must account for the changes detailed above.

AGRICULTURE & THE NATIONAL ECONOMY When colonial America became the United States, agriculture was the primary livelihood for 90 percent of the population. Immigration, industrialization, and the opening of new lands to cultivation through the first half of the 19th century greatly increased the number of U.S. farms even as looming gains to productivity and the growth of other industries began to decrease agriculture’s share in the national labor force.

According to 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data, the number of American farms grew from 1.4 million in 1850 to 4 million in 1880, reaching 6.4 million by 1910. Thereafter, the total number of American farms began to decline, dropping to 5.6 million in 1950 and 2.2 million in 2008. The most recent Census of Agriculture from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) lists the number of farms at 2.1 million for 2012.

Important though the total number of farms is, two metrics – agriculture’s share of the nation’s GDP and the number of people working in agriculture as a percentage of the total labor force – are even better indicators of the industry’s changing

DOWN ON THE FARM, UP ON THE HILL

U.S. Census Bureau photos

Opposite: Congressional representation of agricultural interests has evolved in response to changes in American demographics and the economy. Left: A 1790 Census enumerator record. Population data from the census has been used to determine states’ number of representatives in the House since the days of the Constitutional Convention. Above: A Census worker interviews a farmer for the 1940 Census. The total number of American farms had begun to decline by this time as people moved to more urban areas.

role in the U.S. economy. Looking back nearly 150 years, Philip Pardey, a professor at the University of Minnesota, illustrated the change in both measures in his 2006 book Agricultural R&D in the Developing World: Too Little, Too Late?

In 1869, agriculture accounted for 37.5 percent of GDP while the U.S. farm population constituted 46.3 percent (18 million) of the total U.S. population of 38.9 million. By 1916, 32.5 million people were working in agriculture. But due to the overall increase in the American population (to 102 million) and the growth of competing industries, agriculture’s share of the American labor force fell to 31.9 percent of total population.

In 2006, agriculture’s share of GDP was just 0.8 percent.

Today, agriculture accounts for just over 1 percent of total GDP, with direct on-farm employment amounting to 2.6 million Americans, according to the USDA. In summary, far fewer Americans are working in agriculture than in the historic past. Gains to productivity stimulated by technology, agricultural science, efficient business practices, and industry consolidation have resulted in greatly diminished numbers of farms and farm employees even as American agricultural output is high. These factors, along with other external forces, have transformed the labor force over two centuries, sending Americans from the fields to city streets.

That, in turn, contributed to changes in the nation’s political landscape, the form of public representation in Congress, and support for agricultural interests.

“Certainly, the makeup of Congress is different than it was 100 years ago,” Grassley said. “But that also reflects the shift in U.S. demographics as the population migrates toward metropolitan hubs. This rural-urban divide is reflected in the representatives elected to serve in Congress, especially in the U.S. House of Representatives.”

APPORTIONMENT, DIRECT ELECTION, AND THE HOUSE-SENATE CONTRAST From its inception, the Constitution specified a means for the “apportioning” representation in the bicameral legislature we know as “Congress.” Membership in the House was to be determined by state population while representation in the Senate was established at two members per state.

The Constitutional Convention determined that a census of the population conducted every 10 years would enable the House to adjust the distribution of its membership on a regular basis. Taxation also figured in representation, with states contributing to the national government based on local taxes or flat poll taxes on each citizen in the period before federal income taxes. Constitutional framers debated the relationship between representation and taxation with a number of delegates arguing that geographic size or useable farmland were better measures of state wealth than mere population.

In the end, proportional contributions were based on population, mirroring the process of apportioning the number of state

U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

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Population concentration shifts from rural farm areas (left) to urban centers (above) and changes in how members of Congress are elected have affected how – and how much – agricultural interests are represented in Washington, D.C.

representatives in the House by population size. Over time, this has had direct implications for the interests of agriculture in the House.

As the Industrial Revolution took hold and the national economy transformed itself from a model based on agriculture and natural resources to a manufacturing-based format in the 20th century and the service-based economy of the 21st century, population concentration shifted away from rural areas to cities and suburbs. Nationally, states with greater population gained more representation.

The obvious result is that members of Congress gradually transitioned away from representing the farming constituency they once had to concerning themselves chiefly with the interests of the urban and suburban electorate.

Modern legislative districting has further diluted direct agricultural representation as sparsely populated rural districts have increasingly been re-drawn to include areas with heavy urban populations. Not surprisingly, members representing these districts in Congress spend far more energy on the interests of their numerous urban constituents.

Another change in national governance and representation that affected agriculture was the 17th Amendment – also known as “direct election.” Enacted in 1913, the amendment was the outcome of a decades-long effort to change the election of members to the House and Senate from its original form wherein state legislatures were responsible for nominating (usually by party) and electing representatives.

Inconsistency in the processes employed by state legislatures to elect representatives along with widespread corruption and deadlocks (which left some seats unoccupied) provided the impetus for reform. By the first decade of the 20th century,

the national desire for the election of members to Congress by popular vote (direct election) had gathered critical mass.

Elected by the people of the states rather than state legislatures, congressmen and senators were compelled to represent broader interests. Accordingly, their loyalty to party and the narrow priorities of the legislature became less acute. As rural interests moved out of the spotlight, directly elected members of the House and Senate become more independent, focusing their attention on a wider range of issues. Again, this diluted the power of agriculture in Congress.

Additional nuances include a contrast in the manner in which members of the House and Senate consider issues before them. As outlined, the effects of apportionment in the House dictated by shifts in population led most state representatives to focus more specifically on urban-suburban interests in their respective districts. By contrast, the two senators representing each state are required to represent the whole of their geography. This is the “rural-urban divide” to which Grassley refers.

WHERE ARE TODAY’S AGRICULTURAL EXPERTS? IN COMMITTEE! “Of the 100 U.S. senators currently serving in the 114th Congress, [Democratic] Sen. Jon Tester, of Montana, and I are the only two active farmers,” Grassley said.

The fact that just 2 percent of the Senate’s current membership has any direct agricultural experience is attention-getting.

Slightly more surprising is that only Grassley serves in the Senate’s primary vehicle for addressing and supporting the interests of agriculture: the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.

Grassley is also chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and serves on four more committees while Tester serves on the Veterans Affairs Committee; Appropriations Committee;

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Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee; Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee; and the Indian Affairs Committee. Their varied roles are typical of the practice in Congress wherein expertise in areas including agriculture resides primarily in the committees and subcommittees that populate the House and Senate – not specifically among individual members.

Established in 1820 and 1825, respectively, the House Committee on Agriculture and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry have long been the centers for agricultural knowledge in Congress. Charged with the reporting of agricultural legislation to each of their respective legislatures and holding jurisdiction over matters including commodity price and income supports, trade, research, food safety, nutrition, and conservation, the agriculture committees (and their subcommittees) conduct hearings, some public and some in executive session, to consider various legislative proposals.

These hearings are held before representatives of farm organizations, consumer groups, and ordinary citizens. Committee members and other members of the House and Senate also receive input from subject-matter experts on their staffs and are lobbied by interests including the American Farm Bureau.

The committees also conduct oversight and confirmation hearings. The House and Senate agriculture committees were instrumental in the favorable reports that led to the establishment of the U.S. Department of Agriculture on May 15, 1862.

In 1889, Congress elevated the department to Cabinet level.

“Much of the agricultural expertise is concentrated on the House and Senate agriculture committees,” Grassley said. “Other members have farming backgrounds, including Sen. Joni Ernst [R-Iowa], who grew up on a hog farm in southwest Iowa. The committee system allows the 535 members of Congress to develop a more thorough, specialized understanding of public policy by creating opportunities to dive into the details of their committee’s legislative and oversight authority.”

The senior senator from Iowa who grew up and worked on a farm in New Hartford, still operated by his sons today, adds that members of Congress learn about agriculture by making a study of it.

“Although I bring real life experience to the agriculture policymaking tables in Washington, D.C., and some farm dirt underneath my fingernails, other members learn about federal farm policy by studying policy and hearing and learning from the experiences of others in various agriculture specialties,” said Grassley.

“Members of the agriculture committees cultivate a deeper understanding of the issues facing American agriculture and Rural America, including soil and water ecosystems, risk management, income security, financial markets, food safety, transportation and Internet infrastructure, and regulatory regimes.”

In answer to the question “Who are today’s agricultural experts in Congress?” we can safely conclude that they’re to be found on the committees that address this unique industry.

And, despite the apparent contradiction of a very low number of members of the 114th Congress having direct agricultural experience at a time when the output and impact of American agriculture globally (the USDA FY 2016 forecast for agriculture exports stands at $131.5 billion) is high, agricultural representation is still significant.

As Grassley acknowledged, given the interconnected nature of agriculture with global trade, nutrition, and foreign policy, perhaps it’s best that today’s agricultural experts have varied backgrounds.

“As geopolitical instability causes even more uncertainty in the world, it’s more important than ever to advance policies that help farmers and ranchers maintain U.S. food security and feed a growing world population in the 21st century.

That includes trimming the heavy-handed tax and regulatory excesses that make it harder for farmers to maintain productivity and prosperity, get their farm goods to market, and pass on the family farm to the next generation.

“For those of us with a passion for American agriculture, it is vital to continue to educate ourselves, other members of Congress, and the taxpaying public about the issues confronting American agriculture. From farm to fork, Americans from all walks of life have a vested interest in maintaining an affordable, abundant, and safe food supply.”

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AGRICULTURAL POLLUTION CONTROL

Agricultural Pollution Control

By David A. Brown

T

he earth provides a tremendous bounty of resources – the very essence and existence of the agriculture industry as we know it. Properly managed, these resources can be made sustainable for generations to come.

The key, of course, is an ongoing commitment to environmental stewardship.

Indeed, man’s harvest must be a two-way street – a mutually beneficial relationship that requires significant attention to what goes into the ground, air, and water. That’s a complex equation with many dynamic parts, but we find significant impacts through the key areas of pollution control, recycling, and reuse.

Ever the moving target, environmental responsibility grows and develops with the industry’s needs. Ideally, the two advance in lockstep, with equal emphasis on growing the crops and protecting the land.

Here’s a look at some of the ways the agricultural world and its stakeholders are making strides.

Stewardship Certification Program itself … on crop productivity and profitability, water quality, and perceptions of growers, nutrient service providers, and residents in the WLEB.” Following a similar path, the Water Environment Research Foundation, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), and the United Soybean Board (USB) have worked together to include agricultural best management practices (BMPs) in the International Stormwater Best Management Practices Database. The goal of this collaborative effort is the clarity necessary to implement more cost-effective and environmentally sound methods for managing agricultural runoff.

In many of the nation’s watersheds, effective reductions of pollutant loading are reached through understanding of both urban and agricultural BMPs. Populating the Agricultural BMP Database, the collaborating entities will draw upon existing research conducted by various federal and state agencies, university researchers, and other related contributors.

POLLUTION PLAN

(NOT) INTO THIN AIR

For evidence of serious investments in mitigating the environmental impacts of agricultural fertilizers, we look to a Nature Conservancy program inspired by concerns over nutrient runoff from the Western Lake Erie Basin (WLEB). Comprising Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana, this region is one of the nation’s richest growing areas; however, ag nutrients often enter the Great Lakes and its inflows, where harmful algal blooms increase water treatment costs and negatively affect the area’s lakerelated tourism industry.

To help remedy this situation, The Nature Conservancy’s 4R Nutrient Stewardship Certification Program unites the agricultural industry, state agribusiness associations, Ohio State University, Michigan State University, state farm bureaus, state agencies, and other stakeholders. The objective: Encouraging agricultural nutrient service providers to adopt proven best practices through the 4Rs of nutrient stewardship. That formula means “using the Right Source of Nutrients at the Right Rate and Right Time in the Right Place.”

This voluntary program guides the nutrient providers with a consistent, recognized standard. The program outlines 41 criteria to be implemented, staggered over a three-year period, with annual evaluation by a private, third-party auditor.

Considering the balance between planet, people, and profit, The Nature Conservancy is aiming to evaluate the “specific impacts of the adoption of practices associated with 4R Nutrient Stewardship, and the impact of the 4R Nutrient

Elsewhere, early December 2015 saw Kellogg Company intensify its commitment to climate action by announcing a new plan for ambitious science-based greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets, which includes a focus on helping its agricultural suppliers cut their emissions in half by 2050.

“Kellogg is more than a business. We care about nourishing people with our foods, feeding those in need, nurturing our planet, and living our founder’s values,” Kellogg Company Chairman and CEO John Bryant stated in a company news release. “People care about their food, where it comes from, the people who grow and make it, and that there’s enough for everyone. We must live our values and communicate with transparency to earn our seat at millions of tables every day.”

With a well-founded game plan, Kellogg bases its new goals on the Science Based Targets, a joint initiative by CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, the World Resources Institute, and WWF, which encourages corporate ambition toward GHG emissions reduction through targets consistent with decarbonization levels necessary to limit global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial temperatures.

To help bolster its GHG initiative, Kellogg Company has committed to supporting 15,000 smallholder growers by 2020 to increase adoption of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA). The company further plans to support the livelihoods of 500,000 farmers through partnerships, research, and training on CSA by 2030.

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AGRICULTURAL POLLUTION CONTROL

An algae bloom in Lake Erie, July 2015. The Nature Conservancy, area agricultural industry, farmers, agribusiness associations, universities, and others are working to reduce agriculture runoff to avoid such blooms.

“We recognize the interconnected and inter-reliant nature of our business with suppliers, farmers, customers, consumers, and governments,” said Bryant. “These types of commitments require cooperation across the full supply chain. That is the only way we can truly be successful.”

NASA photo

RECYCLING Even the smallest of farms generates significant quantities of waste material from sources such as horticultural mulch film, drip tape, dairy bunk silo covers, bale netting,

polytwine, feed and pellet bags, irrigation tubing, nursery pots, bee hive frames, packaging, etc. While farmers are allowed to burn brush and other organic agricultural wastes that are generated onsite within a designated property size, environmental laws prohibit discarding man-made waste items by fire. Not only do large trash fires pose high risks of wildfires, they’re also a woeful source of harmful emissions, which threaten air quality, personal health, and agricultural food crops.

So, what does a farmer do with all that waste material? A good place to start is the local agriculture extension office, where farmers often find advice on handling this material, if not a well-structured program to facilitate the objective.

Case in point, the Cornell University Cooperative Extension is now partnering with the New York state Recycling Agricultural Plastics Project (RAPP) to help farmers recycle agricultural plastics. Each county staffs a RAPP local educator, like Chenango County’s Emily Anderson, who coordinates with farmers to

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AGRICULTURAL POLLUTION CONTROL

White plastic-wrapped bales of pasture grass and alfalfa ferment for months to create sweet silage that stores well and can be used to feed cattle at varying amounts all year long. The state of New York’s Recycling Agriculture Plastics Project (RAPP) is helping farmers to recycle agricultural plastics rather than dispose of them in more environmentally harmful ways.

share recycling information – much of which remains relevant to agricultural operations nationwide.

“If you think about the environment, as a whole, there’s a big push for environmental sustainability, especially on a farm,” Anderson said. “So, having a holistic approach to dealing with agricultural plastics and other agricultural waste products on your farm is essential to having a more sustainable practice on your location.”

That’s a substantive point given the estimation that a small dairy farm that uses an average of one large wrapped feed bale each day will generate approximately 1,000 pounds of plastic each season. Expand that figure for larger operations and multiply by the number of farming operations spread across the United States, and it’s easy to understand the emphasis that Anderson and her regional counterparts place on this topic.

It’s unlikely that many farmers would flatly oppose the logic of recycling, but daily demands for time and effort often dim the interest. Moreover, Anderson points to weather and storage options as common impediments that she and other industry educators must strive to overcome.

“Last winter in New York, we had seven months of snow on the ground, so trying to take a piece of bale wrap or an ag bag, getting it dried, and rolled up into a nice pillow [stackable form] and then placing that into covered storage for a long period of time until you can move it to your county’s ag plastics recycling location becomes a difficult task.”

Difficult – but not impossible; and that’s a key point Anderson stresses.

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“It’s almost like a change in lifestyle once you decide, ‘Hey, we’re going to recycle all these agricultural plastics.’ You have to commit to it and be dedicated. Otherwise, it becomes ‘Oh, we’ll get to that later,’ and then it all just piles up.”

RAPP has developed markets to recycle most of these products if the plastic is prepared for recycling appropriately. For example, some of these recycled materials end up as landscape pavers, decking, and boat dock planks or raw materials exported to foreign manufacturing markets.

Since 2009, RAPP has collaborated with local agencies, organizations, businesses, and farmers across New York state to collect more than 1 million pounds of used plastic. Without this effort, much of that waste material would have been sent to landfills, left behind in fields, or burned.

In New York, farmers can obtain more information about recycling from their local RAPP representative, who will visit the farm to evaluate particular needs for the types and quantities of plastic waste and coordinate a recycled-item removal plan.

“There are best management practices, but then it’s a matter of working out a plan of what’s going to work on your individual farm,” Anderson said.

In many cases, farmers can obtain information on recycling programs from their local agriculture extension office. Farmers also can reach out to the Ag Container Recycling Council (ACRC) (www.acrecycle.org/) – an industry-funded nonprofit organization that safely collects and recycles a broad array of agricultural waste materials.

The ACRC administers member funding for cost-effective programs that improve public health and safety, environmental protection, resource conservation, and end-user convenience.

The organization also invests in significant research to identify acceptable end uses for recycled container plastic.

Supporting state-level container collection programs, ACRC works closely with the Environmental Protection Agency, state environmental regulatory agencies, and departments of agriculture and natural resources. ACRC also directly coordinates

USDA photo by Lance Cheung

Having a holistic approach to dealing with agricultural plastics and other agricultural waste products on your farm is essential to having a more sustainable practice on your location.

USDA – POLLUTION CONTROL

Kitayama Brothers, Inc. (KBI) hydroponic greenhouses with micro irrigation have been in use for years in its operation in Watsonville, California. Sterile reclaimed and recharge water from the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency (PVWMA) flows through micro irrigation tubes and emitters at each plant. As stresses on water supplies mount, the use of reclaimed and recycled water is also bound to increase.

USDA photo by Lance Cheung

with contractors to granulate and transport flaked containers from state-approved sites.

Among the other notable examples of recycling programs, Virginia’s Dinwiddie County has provided a plastic pesticide container-recycling program to local farmers since 1993.

Since its inception, this award-winning program has properly recycled nearly 70,000 containers.

Dinwiddie County also conducts an annual waste oil collection program that helps farmers dispose of motor and hydraulic oil from various pieces of agricultural equipment.

Working in conjunction with Appomattox River Soil and Water Conservation District, the county’s collection efforts have accounted for more than 35,000 gallons of oil properly recycled from local farms.

WASTE NOT, WANT NOT In closing, a natural segue off the recycling discussion is one of reuse – both in terms of directing resources to and from agricultural operations. Water’s intrinsic role across the agricultural spectrum keeps it at the forefront of the innovative efforts.

The USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) emphasizes this point by telling us that irrigated agriculture in the United States accounts for 60 percent of crop market values, but does so on less than 20 percent of farmlands.

The takeaway: Irrigation stands essential for the ag industry’s most highly productive, intensely managed, and internationally competitive sectors.

But let’s play this out a little further. Farms need increasing supplies of water to remain productive and competitive, but rising competition for fresh water resources creates a dilemma for farmers nationwide – how do you continue to improve productivity when your No.1 natural resource draws increasingly higher demand?

That question, no doubt, keeps many brilliant minds passionately engaged with potential solutions such as maximizing the use of urban effluents. To this point, an ARS project spanning January 2012 to January 2017 has been seeking to develop new and innovative water quality indicators – biological and chemical – to assess the quality of reclaimed water and judge its viability for agricultural irrigation.

Central to this research is the careful analysis of the contaminants, pathogens, and nutrients found in treated wastewater used for crop irrigation. Two key areas here are the development of small on-site treatment systems to minimize the bad stuff and the establishment of research-based regulations for how these effluents are managed.

Through this and other reuse innovations, such as agricultural waste products (pecan shells, wood debris, etc.) used for environmentally sound biofuels, respect and appreciation for the nation’s natural resources grows. The focus is more than the land and what the soil yields; it’s a far-reaching vision of sustainability through responsible management.

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UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI: A HEALTHIER WORLD

A Healthier World The College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) at the University of Missouri works to solve some of the most important issues facing our world today, including human health and environmental sustainability.

FIGHTING CANCER MORE EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY To a lay person, Raghuraman Kannan’s work can seem extremely complex, so he breaks it down to a highly relatable topic: the fight against cancer. The goal is to send more drugs to a cancer without putting patients’ lives in jeopardy through high amounts of toxicity from the drugs themselves.

A regular injection of a traditional cancer drug may only affect 1-2 percent of the actual targeted area in the body, whereas if you put a drug in a nanoparticle, it can carry thousands of drugs to a specific cancer tumor without actually drugging the patient, says Kannan, who works as an associate professor in bioengineering, among his other roles.

One of his recent projects has focused on a gold nanorod-based histochemistry (GNR-HC) platform that can help identify and quantify an array of target biomarkers in tumor tissues in superior ways than previous methods.

These nanoplatforms represent the biggest scientific breakthrough in all of Kannan’s projects because “we can use it for any cancer type of choice and it can be used for all cancer patients across the world.”

In an effort also related to the fight against cancer, a group of researchers being led by Michael Petris, associate professor of biochemistry, is currently working to address why certain chemotherapy drugs lose their effectiveness the second time around when a cancer comes back following remission.

The group’s focal point of research is cisplatin, an anti-cancer drug that has been particularly effective against testicular cancer. The drug is imported and exported from cancer cells via copper transporters. It is the hope of Petris and his team to be able to “perturb” the copper transporters to be able to eliminate the acquisition of chemotherapy drug resistance or reduce the extent to which that’s a problem by combining it with drugs that have been designed to change the abundance of copper transporters. Similar combinatorial-type approaches have proven to be very effective with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment, Petris said.

“The double advantage of working on copper transporters is that it seems that they intersect the pathways for cancer growth as well as chemotherapy drug resistance, so there seems to be a commonality when you look at copper biology between those two areas,” Petris said of the research, which is being funded by a grant from the National Cancer Institute.

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ELIMINATING A HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL TOXIN A joint project between Judy Wall, professor of biochemistry, and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (published in Science magazine) looks to address the major threat to human health by environmental mercury.

Wall’s work details the production of methylmercury, its impact on the environment and on the humans who consume it. Methylmercury is a neurotoxin created from mercury by bacteria that can only live in the absence of air. In wetlands, streams and lakes, methylmercury accumulates in aquatic organisms and the fish that eat them.

The primary source of contamination of humans is through eating fish and seafood. Methylmercury in the organs and tissues causes birth defects and disorders of the brain, reproductive system, immune system, kidney, and liver when ingested at toxic levels.

Wall’s team is continuing to work to identify the parts of the proteins involved in the catalytic reactions that turn mercury (released into the environment from burning coal and by volcanic eruptions) into methylmercury.

“All of the contributions that we’re making are to provide the tools needed to be able to evaluate the potential of our environments to produce this neurotoxin — so that we can then model the overall production,” Wall said.

“The research will help to limit the effects of mercury contamination.”

She reminds people to be aware that local health departments, as well as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Food and Drug Administration, issue warnings on fish consumption due to mercury contamination. Local warnings are more applicable to local waters, which Wall’s modeling work will aid by determining which bodies of water are more or less susceptible to the production of methylmercury.

UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI: A HEALTHIER WORLD

Photo by Kyle Spradley

SUSTAINABLE CAMPUS COLLABORATIONS The University of Missouri, in 2015, received a gold rating for sustainability efforts from the Sustainability Tracking and Rating System. CAFNR partners with campus on various sustainability projects, using faculty expertise to solve energy and waste issues.

Forestry Professors Francisco Aguilar and Hank Stelzer have worked with the MU Power Plant to develop a system for the procurement of materials for a 100-percent biomass-fueled boiler to heat campus — perhaps the biggest on-site sustainable energy undertaking on any major American university campus. This process could shrink the facility’s greenhouse gas emissions by almost 50 percent by 2019.

Stelzer and other forestry experts established research plots to test various species of trees as energy crops, while developing guidelines to protect the sustainability and health of the forests. Forestry faculty helped too with researching the optimum fuel and recommended stable sources for the new boiler. Aguilar surveyed other co-fired utilities in the U.S. to determine best practices and partnered with colleagues at the United Nations to make this a state-of-the-art system.

Like a small city, the University of Missouri trucks in tons of food each day to feed thousands of people. At the end of the day, all of the food waste was dumped in the Columbia landfill. With more than 8,500 meals served per day, and an average of 4.5 ounces wasted each meal, more than 250 tons of food waste ended up in the landfill each year.

To Tim Reinbott, superintendent of the MU Bradford Research Center, a unit of CAFNR, this process was inefficient. He’s created a “closed-loop” system where food grown at Bradford is served by Campus Dining. Then, that food waste travels back to Bradford to make compost to fertilize the crops grown there. The new food, including tomatoes, peppers and squash, then goes to Campus Dining, starting the cycle anew.

Opposite page: Tim Reinbott, Bradford Research Center superintendent, holds compost made via a “closed-loop” system, in which food waste from University of Missouri dining halls is trucked out to the center; compost made with that waste then goes to fertilize fresh vegetables for student meals. Top: Francisco X. Aguilar, associate professor of forestry, and Hank Stelzer, associate teaching professor and forestry department chair, at the University of Missouri Power Plant on campus. As part of their research, the power plant has coverted a biomass boiler to use grass and wood chips. Above: Raghuraman Kannan, bioengineering professor, stands in front of dry erase boards, which contain notes from each of his nearly 20 current research projects.

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NEW OLD CATTLE FOR THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST

New Old Cattle for the American Southwest The Raramuri Criollo

By Craig Collins

A

few years ago, like most Arizona beef cattle ranchers, Dennis Moroney, the owner of Cross U Cattle Company, had a herd composed of several mixed breeds – primarily Hereford crosses, with a little bit of everything else thrown in. And like most Arizona cattlemen, he found these cattle, with centuries-old lineages tying them to the misty British Isles, weren’t exactly suited for life in the Sonoran Desert region. They tended to stick close to water sources, trampling the rangeland in concentrated islands of erosion. They got sick a lot and required constant vaccination and medication. They needed lots of supplemental nutrition and minerals. “Every year,” Moroney said, “we would buy a semi-truckload of a supplement, a cooked molasses product ... that was sorghum based with trace minerals and a little bit of salt in it. It would be a $12,000 to $16,000 purchase every year.”

Moroney’s a restless soul, a tinkerer, and he began to wonder whether there wasn’t a better way of doing things than raising and marketing English breeds in the same way as everyone else – basically, selling them at auction. “The two big themes for me over the last 25 years or so have been how to reduce overhead or operating costs, and how to increase returns so that we could stay in business,” he said. “And we’ve been through some really deep valleys, where we owed a lot of money to the banks, had a lien on our cattle, and were basically facing imminent foreclosure.”

Moroney began to experiment with the Texas Longhorn – a more drought-tolerant breed directly descended from the first New World cattle. He brought in a pair of Longhorn bulls to cross with his heifers and cows. He liked the marbling and tenderness of the beef these crosses produced and began to market them directly. About 10 years ago, at a conference in Colorado, he met an old friend who was working at the Jornada Experimental Range, a 230,000-acre field research laboratory for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) with headquarters on the campus of New Mexico State University in the town of Las Cruces.

At the Jornada, his friend told him, animal research scientists were building a herd from a relatively obscure New World breed: the Raramuri Criollo (cree-o-yo), from the Copper

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Canyon region of Chihuahua, Mexico. Moroney, something of an amateur cattle scholar, was intrigued. As soon as he was home, he hitched his trailer and took off for Las Cruces.

He returned with about 15 heifers – and he hasn’t looked back since.

Today, the only bulls Moroney uses for breeding on 47 Ranch, about 18 miles north of the Mexican border in southeastern Arizona, are Criollos, and about half his herd are purebred Criollo cattle. About one-fourth are Criollo crosses. For a number of reasons – which he’ll gladly explain – he hopes to phase out the other bloodlines and manage a nearly pure Criollo herd.

AT HOME IN THE DESERT For the last decade or so, the beef business has been rough on nearly everyone in the West; it wasn’t until last year that the USDA’s numbers began to indicate the nation’s beef herd was on the rebound from years of drought. Livestock is notoriously thirsty, and beef is the thirstiest: According to a 2012 study

by Dutch scientists, it takes about 145,000 gallons of water to produce a ton of beef.

According to the USDA, the number of cattle and calves raised in New Mexico fell for the fourth year in a row, to fewer than 1.3 million head, as of January 2014. The inventory of cattle available for slaughter dropped to 387,000 head at the same time, the lowest inventory on record.

Lack of water is one of the problems being studied at the Jornada Experimental Range, but according to Rick Estell, a USDA animal scientist, the primary issue is the overall degradation of fragile desert rangelands, dating to a post-World War II era in which cheap and abundant feed supported huge herds. “They just kind of made pavement out of the desert,” said Estell. “So now there’s a great interest in the more sustainable and more environmentally friendly uses of these landscapes, and that’s what our focus is.”

A history of overgrazing, accompanied by drought, allowed for the invasion of much shrubbier plants into New Mexico’s ranges,

NEW OLD CATTLE FOR THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST

Photos courtesy of Dennis Moroney

A Criollo steer with Navajo Churro sheep. Criollo cattle are uniquely suited to the semi-arid landscapes of the American Southwest.

compounding the challenge of keeping cattle fed, and Jornada’s researchers began looking around for breeds that would work.

About a decade ago, Jornada researcher Alfredo Gonzalez took a colleague to Copper Canyon, in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, to look more closely at a species that appeared to live independently off the desert. They saw these animals everywhere, on rough and seemingly inaccessible ridges up to 11,000 feet above sea level, and on the canyon floor, where they browsed on scrub or lounged under the clotheslines of the natives – the Tarahumara, or Raramuri people. “We decided,” said Gonzalez, “to get this animal that lived way down on the bottoms, where the temperatures are a little warmer.”

The animals were descendants of the first cattle brought to the New World by the Spanish conquistadors, known collectively, like their human counterparts in South or Central America, as Criollo. Different varieties – descendants of North African desert cattle brought across the Strait of Gibraltar during the Moors’ 8th century conquest of Spain – spread

northward from where they’d come ashore in the Americas, cross-breeding and morphing into biotypes such as the Texas Longhorn, the Pineywoods cattle, and the Florida Cracker cattle. The biotype found on the Copper Canyon floor – and literally nowhere else – has lived in relative isolation, generally untouched by beef ranchers. It’s known simply as the Raramuri Criollo.

“These animals can use these poorer lands,” said Gonzalez.

“They are known to survive where other breeds cannot. They have the ability to browse.” Browsing, as opposed to grazing, refers to eating leaves, shoots, bark, or fruits – in other words, Criollos eat like goats, not cows. Gonzalez has seen them eat just about everything, from prickly pear to mesquite to chamiso – sometimes called by its less-appetizing name, fourwing saltbush.

After unraveling a mile of red tape, Gonzalez, Estell, and their colleagues were allowed to bring some animals north to build their own herd and see how the cattle lived on the Jornada Experimental Range, a place named for the inhospitable basin in which it lies – the “Jornada del Muerto,” rough translation: “dead man’s day-trip.” According to Gonzalez, the Jornada Criollo herd now numbers around 500, with about 250 mother cows. It’s big enough to study and to help Jornada

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NEW OLD CATTLE FOR THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST

Dennis Moroney (right), pictured here with Heloise Duchene, added a few Criollo cattle to his herd about 10 years ago. Today, the only bulls Moroney uses for breeding are Criollos, and about half his herd are pure-bred Criollo cattle.

researchers begin to make the business case for Criollo cattle in the desert Southwest.

MARKET RESEARCH In order to make the case for the Criollo, Jornada scientists – and to a lesser extent the handful of ranchers, such as Moroney, who have begun to build their own herds from Jornada breedstock – must prove that its advantages outweigh its disadvantages.

From a rancher’s perspective, the Criollo has a few strikes against it. Compared to traditional breeds, such as the 1,000to 1,200-pound Angus, the Criollo is small, topping out at about 800 pounds. “We know,” said Estell, “the big packers are not going to want small animals.” Because they spend their entire lives on the open range, Criollo also take longer to finish as beef – up to 30 months, compared to 18 months for an Angus steer. A third major drawback is simply cultural, Estell said: “There’s the traditional mindset that these animals are kind of like goats. They’re not really the classic, traditional beef cattle people are used to seeing.”

Both Gonzalez and Estell warn that research on Criollo has just begun, and it’s too early to draw conclusions. But there is some preliminary data, and observations from herdsmen such as Moroney, to support the idea that Criollo may be at least as good a choice, if not better, for ranchers in the Southwest: • Criollo are easier on the landscape. As browsers, they don’t need as much forage. Estell has fitted several animals with GPS trackers and observed that, unlike traditional cattle, which tend to congregate and trample the range around water sources, Criollo travel farther and into a greater variety of areas. Because they’re smaller and lighter, they cause less damage in their travels.

• Because they browse, they don’t need additional feed.

Supplementation tends to be a huge cost for beef ranchers – and it costs nearly zero for Criollo, both at the Jornada and on Moroney’s ranch. “During the cow/calf operations,” Gonzalez said, “they really don’t need supplementation because they eat the shrubs, and those shrubs have enough protein and energy for their requirements.” At 47 Ranch, Moroney supplies a little salt for his Criollos, but no extra feed.

• They are drought resistant. The fact that Criollo can thrive in the Jornada, which averages just over 9 inches of rain a year, means they’re less susceptible to fluctuations in precipitation. “These cycles are killers for ranchers,” Estell said. “If you have two or three of these [drought years] in a row and you have to destock, you know, it

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A mixed group of Criollo and crossbred cattle that are being finished on native rangeland pasture. With the exception of trace mineral salt, Moroney no longer administers any supplement or additional feed to his cattle.

takes generations to build the herd back up. What we’ve found with conservative stocking is that we haven’t had any ‘death droughts.’ In the last few years, we haven’t had to destock at all.”

• They don’t get sick as often. “I only vaccinate for the Clostridium perfringens organism at branding time,” said Moroney, “and we give our replacement heifers the BRD [Bovine Respiratory Disease], basically to give them a lifetime immunity for some reproductive issues. But we don’t do any insecticides. No wormers, no implants, no antibiotics in feed, or anything like that. We have absolutely zero sickness.”

• They’re docile around people, but defend fiercely against predators. “Just because they have horns,” Gonzalez said, “everyone thinks they’re wild.” In Copper Canyon, he saw

some cattle wander freely and in close contact with the Tarahumara – in some cases, in their homes.

In Arizona – where the federal and state governments are collaborating on the reintroduction of Mexican wolves to their historic range – traditional cattle breeds typically abandon calves to predators. But Moroney has seen the Criollos launch counter-attacks. “The bulls and the big steers, and even some cows, will charge predators and hook them and throw them,” he said.

• Many retail customers prefer Criollo beef and are willing to pay a premium for it. While cattle that remain on the Jornada are typically finished with hay, some have been sent elsewhere – to South Dakota, for example – to be grass-finished. These animals end up with a finished weight of 1,000 pounds or more. As you might imagine, an animal that lives mostly off prickly pear and mesquite tastes different from a corn-fed Hereford, but many prefer the Criollo’s leanness and more complex flavor, which Gonzalez compares to bison.

“If we were to take these cattle to auction,” Moroney said, “we wouldn’t do that well, because there’s still a lot of bias

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NEW OLD CATTLE FOR THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST

Though the Criollo is smaller and takes more time to finish than the more commonplace Angus-Hereford cross, it has an overall return that is nearly identical due to lower costs for feed, medication, and insect control.

regarding cattle that look like Longhorns or that have spots or horns.” But his direct-marketing customers ask for Criollo beef by name. “They prefer Criollo because the amount of marbling and the tenderness is just noticeably better.” Gonzalez is spreading the word and drumming up interest among specialty retailers – organic markets and health food stores – throughout the Southwest. Criollo beef will probably never be a massmarket commodity – and that’s fine with its sophisticated, niche-market customers.

While the anecdotal evidence is strong, it will fall to agricultural economists such as Alan Torell, a professor of agricultural economics at New Mexico State University, to turn these costs and benefits into numbers and give ranchers an idea of how

the profits of a Criollo beef operation might compare to traditional breeds.

“The numbers we’ve put together are preliminary and based on the Jornada herd,” said Torell. At a meeting on the Range last year, he revealed his preliminary analysis: Despite its smaller size and longer finishing period, the overall return for the Criollo is almost identical to the Southwest’s traditional Angus-Hereford cross, due to its lower costs for feed, medication, and insect control. Given its other advantages, the Criollo may be a better choice for some ranchers.

So far, very few ranchers in the Southwest are convinced, but Moroney is one of them, and he’s all in. “It seems like we spent a lot of years kind of forcing cattle to fit the environment that we were in,” he said. “And now we have cows that really evolved genetically to thrive in this environment.

We’re really enthusiastic about the breed – and I honestly feel they’re going to be a game-changer for ranching in this kind of semiarid desert grassland. I’m very thankful that I’ve had the privilege of getting to work with them.”

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AMERICAN DAIRY PRODUCERS: GOING ORGANIC

American Dairy Producers: Going Organic

By Craig Collins

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U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

no-till farming to reduce soil erosion and cut fuel costs. By the end of the decade, he had completely eliminated the use of chemical fertilizers.

These practices didn’t improve the market position for the Strauses’ milk – if anything, they raised their production costs – and Straus reached the conclusion that if he wanted to continue farming, and to treat his land and animals the way he wanted them treated, a radical step was necessary: He announced he was converting the dairy farm to 100 percent organic production, the first organic dairy west of the Mississippi – and rather than try to hunt down buyers for its milk, the dairy would establish its own creamery. In February 1994, Straus Family Creamery became the first certified 100 percent organic creamery in the United States.

Hindsight has proved Straus to be prescient: In Marin County today, more than 80 percent of the dairies are certified organic, along with more than 75 percent of the dairies operating in its agricultural neighbor to the north, Sonoma County. But 21 years ago, his move was widely dismissed as risky, a one-man rebellion against the entrenched system of producing and marketing milk in the United States. He would price himself out of the market, his neighbors warned.

That was the whole point, said Straus: He’d had enough of that market. So he decided to create his own. Today, the retail price for Straus milk is nearly twice that of conventional milk, and his customers gladly pay it – and gladly pay a premium for the butter, sour cream, yogurt, and ice creams produced by

Courtesy of Straus Family Creamery

B

y the time Albert Straus had earned his degree in dairy science and returned to his family farm near the town of Marshall, on the shore of Tomales Bay in California’s Marin County, he’d already acquired a deep regard, even reverence, for the land and the food it produced. His parents, Jewish immigrants who had escaped Europe after Hitler rose to power, established their dairy farm in 1941 with 23 Jersey cows, each named after a family member or close friend. Straus learned a love of farm work from his father, Bill, who worked tirelessly – happy, Albert has speculated, to have a place of his own in the world, where he knew he wouldn’t have to run anymore. Straus’ mother, Ellen, was a founder of the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, which protects 69 ranches and dairies covering 44,000 acres in Marin County.

In 1977, when Straus returned to Marshall with his university degree and a bigger share of responsibilities, he found the dairy industry undergoing a seismic shift: Dairies were getting bigger and more efficient, and the arcane system of federal price supports, which regulated the price of milk but not the volumes produced or processed, was making it difficult, if not impossible, for smaller family dairies to survive. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), there were 4.6 million dairy farms in the United States in 1940; that number has been consolidated to around 45,000. Many of these larger producers’ efficiencies were achieved through methods Straus was reluctant to adopt: heavy use of chemical fertilizers, purchased feed, and, beginning in the early 1990s, the use of engineered hormones such as bovine somatotropin (bST).

For his parents, Straus said, the dairy business had never been about making a killing: “My father started the dairy in 1941 as a conventional dairy … I think back then most people didn’t even actually look at farms as a business. They looked at them as a way of life – because no way would you want a farm as a business. When I came back, the co-ops and the regional processors were selling milk at a price that didn’t cover the cost of production. Feed and all these other costs kept going up and up year after year, and the price of milk essentially stayed stagnant for decades.”

To practice better land stewardship, the Strauses had already stopped using herbicides. In the early 1980s, Straus went to

AMERICAN DAIRY PRODUCERS: GOING ORGANIC

Opposite: Bottles of Straus cream top milk on the line. Above: Cows on pasture at the Straus Family Creamery in Marshall, California.

his creamery. “Organic production works to ensure economic viability to farmers,” he said, “because the price paid is intended to cover the true costs of producing high-quality products that sustain land, animals, and community.”

Courtesy of Straus Family Creamery

MORE THAN MILK: BUILDING A MARKET A look at recent trends in the U.S. dairy market is enough to make anyone want to escape it: According to the USDA, Americans drink about 37 percent less milk today, on average, than they did in 1970. The reasons for this plummeting demand are complex, rooted in changing consumer preferences and socioeconomic factors, but the response by the dairy industry has been pretty simple: to produce more milk, more efficiently.

In “How the Milk Industry Went Sour, and What Every Business Can Learn From It,” an opinion piece published in Forbes magazine two years ago, Hank Cardello, a former food

industry executive, detailed a series of missteps by the dairy industry: From 1970 to 2006, while the number of U.S. dairy cows declined by a quarter, the milk output per cow more than doubled. By the 1980s, Americans were consuming more soft drinks than milk. One of the primary reasons consumers continued to choose milk – its perceived status as a healthier, more nutritious option – was weakened in the 1990s when advocates began to question its nutritional value and the use of hormones and antibiotics. The decline in demand for milk, Cardello wrote, “illustrates the dangers of focusing on just one highly commoditized product, ignoring market trends, and trying valiantly to sell what you make rather than to make what people want.”

What Straus and other organic dairy producers around the country have figured out is that when consumers choose their products, they’re choosing a set of values.

Straus milk is unhomogenized, topped with a thick layer of cream, and sold in thick glass bottles with a $2 deposit on each, allowing the creamery to average four to six uses per bottle. It may seem quaint to think consumers of organic milk are consciously lending support to Straus’ ethic of sustaining land, animals, and communities – but their money is plenty real.

U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

67

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AMERICAN DAIRY PRODUCERS: GOING ORGANIC

USDA photo courtesy of Pleasantview Farm

USDA photo by Bob Nichols

Left: Chapel’s Country Creamery, a dairy farm that produces artisan cheeses in Easton, Maryland, starts with fresh raw milk produced on the family’s Grade A dairy farm. Above: Cows on Pleasantview Farm, an Ohio certified organic dairy farm.

Consumer demand for organic milk and value-added products such as organic yogurt and ice cream, mirroring demand for organic produce of all kinds, has continued a steady climb.

The USDA’s 2014 Organic Survey estimated that sales from organic farms have increased 72 percent since 2008, and the Organic Trade Association, an industry lobbying group, claims the organic dairy sector’s 2014 sales were $5.46 billion, an 11 percent increase over the previous year and the biggest percentage increase for that category in six years.

Despite these gains, of course, most of the U.S. dairy market remains unchanged. When Straus went organic, there were about 3,000 organic milk cows in the United States; today there are more than 250,000, according to the USDA – but this is still only about 3 percent of all U.S. dairy cows. While it’s a growing market, there’s a good reason for the inertia: Becoming organic isn’t easy. To earn organic certification, a dairy farm’s land must be without banned chemicals – pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic fertilizers – for three years. The cows must then undergo a year without hormones, antibiotics, or synthetic feeds – and remain free of these chemicals for the remainder of their lives. These changes cost money, but for Straus, they were relatively easy; he’d already made most of them by the time he’d made his decision to go organic.

Another obstacle to becoming organic is the size and reach of the existing market. Charging twice as much as

conventional producers can only work if you’re able to reach enough consumers willing to pay that price. Again, Straus had a built-in advantage: His creamery is a relatively small, regional business, with an affluent and environmentally conscious Northern California clientele. While unique, it has several analogues around the country – but an increasing number of organic producers have opted to simply sell their milk to large processors, such as Horizon Organic ®, Stonyfield®, or Aurora Organic Dairy, and others have joined forces in regional or national cooperatives.

The largest organic dairy cooperative in the United States, Organic Valley, was launched by a handful of family farmers in southwestern Wisconsin who joined forces in 1988 to market organic produce, and soon realized the demand for organic dairy products. Today, it’s a cooperative of 1,779 farm families from New England to California, who combine their resources and processing capabilities to produce milk, cheese, butter, eggs, juices, meats, produce, and soy beverages under the Organic Valley label. Each of these families is an equity-sharing member of the cooperative. They periodically elect a national board of directors and voice their opinions through regional executive committees.

While the cooperative is a national entity, Organic Valley spokesperson Sasha Bernstein said the markets remain regional. “The milk we’re drinking in the Bay Area comes from Petaluma or other regional farms,” she said. “We’re not getting milk from Wisconsin.”

Aside from the obvious benefit of expanded market access and profit sharing, Organic Valley members enjoy other forms of mutual support: technical and other assistance with production, certification, farm planning, supplemental feed sourcing, veterinary consultation, and more. In summer 2015, when many of the drought-stricken Western members had trouble raising enough pasture and forage for their cows, the cooperative stepped in to offer a premium price – a dollar or two more per hundredweight (100 pounds, the basic wholesale unit of milk in the United States) – to help these farmers absorb the associated costs.

U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

69

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AMERICAN DAIRY PRODUCERS: GOING ORGANIC

Photo by Scott Bauer, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

A concrete watering trough utilized in grazing pasture on a northeast Ohio organic farm.

Such fellowship has proven invaluable to organic producers, but Straus points out that the regional structure of the organic dairy market has built-in stability.

“Essentially the only way that small-scale family dairy farms can survive,” he said, “is to be certified organic, because the conventional business is so volatile. You can’t really farm with all that volatility and run a business … I think the agricultural system in this country, the way the pricing system has worked for the last 50, 60, 70 years, has not allowed for family farms to profit as a business and be passed on to the next generation.”

BREAKING DOWN MARKET BARRIERS For many conventional producers, significant barriers to the organic market persist, but a network of resources is growing around them to help with the transition. In New York state, where milk is the leading agricultural product, former dairyman A. Fay Benson helped to establish the Organic Dairy Initiative at Cornell University in 2004.

Benson had been one of the first New York dairymen to go organic, in 1997. “It was a struggle to compete against the large, efficient dairies,” he said. When most of the large producers began using bST in the 1990s to become even more efficient, he opted out. “I didn’t want to be a part of

it. So I either had to get out or do something different. And the consumers were really what drove my choice.”

Low demand isn’t a problem for the New York organic dairy market, Benson said; there’s currently a shortage of organic milk, and he and his colleagues have put together a webinar designed to help guide farmers through the transition. “When milk prices are good, the farmers aren’t interested in transitioning to organic,” he said. “And now that the conventional prices of milk have dropped, we’ve had a big influx of people starting their transition.”

Benson said probably the biggest obstacles to this transition remain the up-front costs and individuals’ fears of changing established practices. “The transition can be financially painful,” he said, “because you’re usually operating at a lower production level while you’re starting to learn a new style of farming.

It’s not terribly different, but your inputs are different, and you’re still receiving a conventional price and with lower production.”

An increasing number of small dairy farmers, however, are measuring one pain against another.

“It’s not until they’re really uncomfortable where they’re at,” Benson said, “that they’re willing to take the chance to try a new market.”

Straus thinks that for many family dairy farms, it may be a last chance. He started his creamery to save his own farm, he said, but that mission has evolved: “Our mission now is to sustain organic dairy farms in Marin and Sonoma County and help revitalize the rural community,” he said. “The people who thought I was crazy 21 years ago are certified organic now. Or they’re not in business.”

U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

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SOYBEANS

Soybeans

Worldwide consumption on the rise

By J.R. Wilson

P

rior to World War II, about the only connection most Americans, including farmers, had to soybeans was the soy sauce on their chop suey. Little more than a half-century later, soybeans are the nation’s second-largest crop – and some believe they ultimately may replace corn as No. 1.

“We’ve been neck and neck with corn for a couple of decades and since 2000 only slightly behind. Last year, corn had 90.4 million acres and we had 82 million,” Stephen Censky, CEO of the American Soybean Association (ASA), said. “I wouldn’t necessarily predict we will overtake corn, but I believe acreages will be very competitive looking out into the future.”

In the past couple of decades, soybeans have gone through an unusual demand cycle that carried them to the top ranks. In the first decade of the 21st century, that was due to the use of soybeans to produce ethanol, a demand that faded after 2010.

But it almost immediately was replaced by a new and far larger market: China, the world’s No. 4 producer, which has become the No. 1 importer since the 1990s, when they went from a net exporter of soybeans to a net importer.

When that happened in 1995, China’s total soybean imports could have been met by just two Illinois counties – McLean and Livingston – according to the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics at the University of Illinois. Only 25 years later, China’s estimated demand, beyond its own substantial production, will be only 5 million metric tons less than the world’s total soybean exports in 2014.

In 2015, China imported about 80 million metric tons – more than the rest of the world combined. U.S. exports to China during that time, which were more than half the nation’s total soybean exports and a quarter of production, accounted for about 30 million.

Brazil is the largest exporter to China, followed by the United States; in 2014, it exported 33 million metric tons to China. According to The Nature Conservancy, China, where the soybean originated, could be responsible for up to 90 percent of Brazil’s exports by 2020, even as that nation plans to substantially increase soybean production.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates Chinese imports will reach 112 million metric tons by 2023, a 40 percent increase in only eight years. In addition to nearly all of China’s own production and Brazil’s exports, the United States is expected to see China’s share of American exports rise, as well, to meet the Asian giant’s seemingly insatiable demand.

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U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

But China is not the only nation seeing increasing demand for soybeans. After China, the world’s largest soybean importers are Europe, Mexico, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Turkey, Thailand, Egypt, and South Korea.

“Asia is a huge user of soybeans; a lot of those climates are not suited for soybean production and have large populations with a lot of demand for meat, and so need livestock feed. In some countries, you have the direct use of soy as a food. In Indonesia, they use a lot of their soybeans in a traditional dish called tempeh,” Censky said.

“India has been a soybean producer and exporter, as well, sending meal to China and Southeast Asia, but we also have been working within India to develop their own demand and have seen tremendous growth in Indian consumption of their own soybean meal. In the mid-2000s, their exports exceeded consumption by 2-to-3 times, but today consumption exceeds exports by more than tenfold.”

U.S. domestic demand also has been on the rise, largely for livestock feed – including fish farms – but also in consumer products such as soy milk and tofu.

“We saw use go down some during the economic crisis in the late 2000s, with people eating out less, and demand for poultry and pork declined. But that has now rebounded and we’ve seen demand come back,” Censky added. “The consumption of soy beverages and foods has been increasing, but that is still a relatively small portion of our total use. More than 90 percent of soy use is for livestock feed, cooking oil, and biodiesel.”

The American Soybean Association was created in 1920 to represent soybean farmers on state and national policy issues and communications. In the 1990 Farm Bill, ASA worked with Congress to establish the Soybean Checkoff, which created the United Soybean Board to oversee funding and investments for research and market development and expansion. About 15 years later, those two jointly formed a new organization called the U.S. Soybean Export Council, which carries out international market development activities on behalf of both organizations.

On the processing side of the industry, the National Oilseed Processors Association represents major soybean processors; SoyFoods Association of North America represents companies involved in the soy food business and the National Biodiesel Board, formed by soybean farmers and in which the soy industry is a key part.

USDA photo by Bob Nichols

USDA photo by Lance Cheung

SOYBEANS

Above: Soybeans growing in a field. The nation’s second-largest crop is seeing increasing demand. Right: While demand for soybeans in the first decade of the 21st century mainly was due to their use as an important oil-producing plant for biodiesel fuel, today the crop is used primarily as a food source.

Other soybean organizations include the National Center for Soybean Biotechnology at the University of Missouri, the National Soybean Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois, major research programs at several other land grant universities, and USDA’s Agriculture Research Service, which does a lot of soybean research through its network of institutions.

The largest U.S. producers, which go neck and neck each year, are Illinois and Iowa, followed by Minnesota, Indiana, Nebraska, and Missouri. Overall, about 30 states produce soybeans, mostly east of a line from North Dakota to Texas.

One potential problem for U.S. soybean exports, especially to Europe, is opposition to genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The United States is the world’s largest proponent of GMOs, including nearly all soybean plantings.

“We make extensive use in the soybean industry of biotechenhanced breeding and seed stock. About 94 percent of the soybeans we produce are biotech soybeans enhanced to be resistant to herbicides used to control weeds, to improve the oil profile, increase yield, and they’re working on drought-resistant soybeans. Farmers have adopted biotech soybeans because they make economic sense, allowing them to produce more while being better for the environment. By spraying for weeds

over the top, you don’t have to till as much, so you don’t deplete nutrients or degrade the soil,” Censky said.

“Activists, particularly in Europe, have caused some challenges on the public acceptance side. What we have seen there – and it’s still a very large market, our No. 2 market behind China – is most soybeans shipped there are used as livestock

U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

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USDA photo

Photo by Danumurthi Mahendra, U.S. Embassy, Jakarta

USDA photo

SOYBEANS

Above: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack (right) listens to People’s Republic of China Vice Minister of Commerce Jiang Zengwei’s remarks at a signing agreement held at the Department of Agriculture. In 2015, China imported more soybeans than the rest of the world combined. Above right: Acting Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Michael Scuse takes a handful of U.S. soybeans used at a “tempeh/tofu village” production site in East Jakarta, Indonesia. Right: Sheyenne soybean seeds for Afghan farmers being shipped as part of the Food for Progress program.

feed. Because of Europe’s labeling policies and pressure from activists, biotech elements were removed from consumerready products. We‘re working to have a dialog with consumers and others to explain what biotech is and is not. We need biotech if we are to feed a growing population.”

But it is China that will continue to dominate the global market for soybeans as incomes continue to rise and the demand for meat and overall improvements in diet also grow.

“That includes aquaculture, which also uses a lot of soybean meal, as well as chickens and pork. We’ve been working with the Chinese Fisheries Institute and showing farmers how floating fish foods made with soybean meal are much more productive than traditional feeds. Lots of feedmills have been built to produce fish food from soybean meal and we have seen that grow from zero to 8 million metric tons since the turn of the century,” Censky said.

“Since the mid-90s, China has experienced a 10 percent annual growth, individual incomes grew, China joined the WTO [World Trade Organization], and we fought hard for no quotas on soybean exports to China.”

New non-food/feed markets also are opening for the versatile soybean. Those include continuing development of biodiesel, made from soybean oil, which already accounts for about 20 percent of domestic use; printing inks, glues, resins, etc. Soybean Checkoff is making significant investments to find other alternative uses.

That group also has been working closely with paint manufacturers, with Ford Motor Company to make foam for car seats and upholstery, with John Deere to make parts of the tractor and combine chassis out of soy-based resins, and to further development of soy-based carpet backing to replace

petroleum-based and soy-based artificial grass now going into football stadiums.

“It’s a very vibrant, growing industry. Certainly we face challenges typical of agriculture, going from undersupply to oversupply. Right now, we have both record production in the U.S. and Latin America and have temporarily overproduced compared to demand, but in the long run, I think the future is bright based on growing population and income growth,” Censky said.

“There is a tremendous amount of research into using renewable soybean oils and proteins as a replacement for petroleum products in paints, plastics, cosmetics, and all of the oil that goes into electrical transformers, using it for hydraulic fluids.

So there is a growing list of potential uses in the future.”

Soy is in most food products consumers eat, but is not a major ingredient, except in soy milk or soy protein bars.

Soy flour and oil are used in the baking industry and flour in meat processing. Yet it remains relatively unknown to the general public.

“There really hasn’t been a lot of direct human promotion, although we do work closely with the major users of soy, just not directly with consumers,” Censky said. “Probably the closest we got was on some policy actions we did more than a decade ago with the soy foods industry to submit proof on soybean health claims to the FDA [Food and Drug Administration], saying a diet containing 25 grams of soy protein a day is heart healthy and part of a diet low in cholesterol and fats.”

U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

75

THE ROLE OF ANIMAL HEALTH CARE PRODUCTS AND PHARMACEUTICALS

The Role of Animal Health Care Products and Pharmaceuticals in Agriculture

By Gail Gourley

A

s a key element in meeting the protein needs of growing populations, a range of significant efforts is being directed toward enhancing the health of America’s livestock. Within the context of heightened media attention and consumer awareness about the issue of antibiotic resistance, and the U.S. government taking action to change the way in which antibiotics are used in livestock as described in the 2015 “National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria,” the entire industry is adjusting to new regulations in this regard. Increased focus on animal disease prevention, technological advances, and new alternative products, combined with responsible use of antibiotics, all play a role in maintaining a healthy food supply, according to industry experts.

“Vaccines and antibiotics play a key role in prevention and treatment of disease for anyone involved in raising livestock,” said Craig Jones, D.V.M., MS, director, Cattle Professional Services at Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI). “But I think we need to keep in mind that keeping animals healthy involves a much greater, more holistic view than just vaccines or pharmaceuticals/antibiotics. We’ve got to focus on proper nutrition, genetics, housing, other basic animal care and husbandry practices. Animal health care products are a tool for helping us produce healthy animals, but by themselves, they’re not going to be nearly as effective. We have to have good animal husbandry, in addition.”

This philosophy supported the 2012 launch of the Prevention Works initiative by the BIVI cattle division. The initiative emphasizes disease prevention as a preferable way to maintain animals’ well-being, rather than just treating diseases as they arise, and to reduce the number of animals that require disease treatment. “We have a real focus around preventive medicine,” said Jones. “We believe that with good management and a well-designed vaccination protocol, many of the diseases can be prevented, or at least minimized.”

Speaking from a cattle perspective, Jones explained that the goal is promoting those measures “early in the calf’s life, in order to enhance immunity and prepare that calf for challenges

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U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

as it moves on through the production phase. In the case of the beef calf, moving from being on its mother to being weaned, or moving from the ranch to the feed lot, we want to prepare that calf for those next steps. With vaccination and good management, we can make that transition much, much smoother and improve that calf’s well-being.”

While those measures provide an excellent foundation for livestock health, vaccines and antibiotics also continue to support that effort.

“Vaccines are really a cornerstone to preventing many of the animal diseases,” Jones said. “I think we need to keep in mind that preventive medicine also helps us address many other important issues. When we prevent disease, we reduce the need for antibiotics, and at the same time, we promote animal well-being. It’s a win-win for everyone – the animal, the producer, and customers on down the line.”

Addressing the changing landscape concerning use of antibiotics, Jones said, “The livestock industry, whether we’re talking producers, veterinarians, the animal health industry, all of us recognize the consumer concerns about the use of antibiotics in food-producing animals. I think we have to keep in mind that just like people, animals get sick. We have to have antibiotics – they’re very important and necessary tools for treating disease and improving the health of that animal … When animals get sick, we need to treat them.”

Jones emphasized, “Everyone involved in the care of animals says we need to make sure we’re using them judiciously and responsibly so that they’ll continue to be efficacious, as far as antibiotics go. That means working with our veterinarians to determine a diagnosis, selecting an antibiotic that is effective for the condition to be treated, and any product that we use, using it as it’s labeled and/or prescribed.”

The use of antibiotics has been the subject of recent government action. Specifically, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) final rule aims to eliminate the use of medically important antibiotics for growth promotion and feed efficiency, and brings their remaining therapeutic uses in feed and water under licensed

THE ROLE OF ANIMAL HEALTH CARE PRODUCTS AND PHARMACEUTICALS

USDA photo

With the U.S. government taking action to change the way antibiotics are used in livestock, disease prevention, new technologies, and alternative products are playing a larger role.

veterinarians’ supervision. Jones said that although BIVI doesn’t market any products that are affected by the new VFD rules, it does represent a change for producers and veterinarians.

“I believe the producers will rely on their veterinarian extensively to help them gain the necessary information, to better understand these regulations, and to help them, if needed, implement them in their operations,” he said.

“They’ve got to learn what these [regulations] are and work with their veterinarian to determine how they can implement them when needed.

“I think consumers should know that the livestock industry, from animal health companies to veterinarians to livestock producers, we all work hard to provide food that is healthy and safe,” Jones stressed. “Producers are committed to caring

for their animals properly and treating them when needed, giving them respect and proper care, to ensure their health and well-being.”

Jones said that BIVI’s vaccine research and development efforts focus on “trying to monitor diseases and disease trends to help us better understand what challenges are out there, how they’re affecting the industry, and from there, is there a vaccine that is needed or not?” He also acknowledged challenges in developing both new vaccines and medications like antibiotics, including cost and the lengthy time required to develop new products and gain regulatory approval, as well as risk that some will not succeed.

Summarizing his message, Jones reiterated, “Vaccines are a key component of maintaining a healthy herd and antibiotics are an important tool for us when we have sick animals. We’re committed to trying to provide safe and efficacious vaccines and antibiotics to ensure that the animals that we care for are healthy, and that consumers

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THE ROLE OF ANIMAL HEALTH CARE PRODUCTS AND PHARMACEUTICALS

USDA photo by Lance Cheung

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have a safe and healthy food supply and protein source to choose from.”

Joel Harris, head of sales and marketing at Harrisvaccines, Inc., echoed some of those concepts regarding the role of vaccines in agricultural animal health. “Especially as people look toward alternatives to antibiotics, vaccines can be used as a preventive [measure],” he said. “I think that it’s an important role in mitigating disease issues that come up, but it is a tool. I think that you have to have a comprehensive strategy that includes biosecurity and animal welfare for a vaccine to really be effective.”

Harris explained that the company is unique in that it utilizes advanced molecular technology to develop and produce custom, herd-specific vaccines. A sample from an infected animal is sent to a lab where the RNA gene sequence of that specific viral strain is identified, and forwarded electronically to the Harrisvaccines production facility. With that precise genetic information, the custom vaccine is synthesized to address the specific organism in a herd. The vaccines can also contain more than one viral strain. And, this process takes as little as four weeks, a time frame Harris indicated they’re attempting to further reduce.

“We know that if you match the vaccine 100 percent to the strain that’s affecting the herd, you’ll have an impact on production, meaning you’ll have a positive impact on mortality rates and performance,” Harris said.

That process not only allows them to make custom vaccines for individual herds or flocks, Harris said, but to also tackle newly emerging diseases more responsively than traditional vaccine technology with the ability to rapidly develop new candidate vaccines in a period of weeks instead of months or years. For example, he said, “We were the first company to commercialize and get USDA [U.S. Department of Agriculture] approval for [a vaccine for] porcine epidemic diarrhea, which entered the U.S. in 2013 [and killed up to 8 million pigs], and the first company to get an avian influenza vaccine approved by the USDA and a subsequent stockpile order by the U.S. government. Both of these scenarios are very similar. When a new disease or a foreign animal disease comes into the U.S. and there isn’t a product on the market, we’re able to answer that need.

“I think at Harrisvaccines we’re kind of at the forefront of the newer technologies being more accepted in the animal health industry,” said Harris, adding that as they move forward and improve production, “it becomes more affordable, and we can try to address these diseases on the agricultural side that do matter and have an economic and emotional impact when something like bird flu comes in and wipes out 50 million birds.

“With a growing population and a need for more protein and having to raise more animals, there is going to be a need to protect the food supply from the next bird flu epidemic or foot and mouth disease, or something that can really put pressure on the food supply,” he said.

Looking ahead, Harris believes Harrisvaccines, which recently entered into an agreement to be acquired by Merck Animal Health, is unique in how the company is positioned to react first when a new disease enters into the U.S.

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agricultural system, whether it’s in poultry, swine, or other livestock. “The paradigm shift with us is that we’re more of a responsive role, so that when an outbreak happens, we can develop candidate vaccines in as little as four weeks, [and] we can bring them to the field and start evaluating their effectiveness,” he said, “instead of what I think the standard has been for the last hundred years, which is if a foreign animal disease comes in, we kill all the animals and try to stomp it out, or we develop vaccines by guessing what’s going to happen next.”

Harris said that they’re trying to instill in the industry a shift away from that way of thinking. “I think it’s important,” he stressed. “You have to have effective vaccine tools in order to eradicate disease without killing all the animals to try to stomp it out.”

Along with an increased role of vaccines and continued use of antibiotics to treat animal diseases, Randy R. Simonson, Ph.D., former CEO and president of Grazix Animal Health, Inc., also sees an important emerging role of alternative, polyphenol-based products.

Reflecting on more than three decades in the animal health business, Simonson, a veterinary microbiologist, identifies technology as one area of “amazing” change. “Now we can do complete genetic sequencing in a day. That goes a long way in terms of diagnostics, it goes a long way in terms of developing the proper vaccine, and [it] also works on the pharmaceutical side.”

In his former position at Grazix, Simonson worked to introduce the new, polyphenol-based products, which he said are extracted from green tea and pomegranate and composed of a wide range of chemicals, to the swine market.

“Antibiotics are directed at a certain group of bacteria, typically the gram-negatives or the gram-positives, and vaccines are targeted at a particular bacteria or virus,” he said. “These polyphenol-based [products] seem to have a lot broader mechanism. The work I see in the scientific literature is that they’re antiviral, they’re antibacterial, they’re antiparasitic, and they’re also anti-inflammatory.

The information is coming out stronger and stronger on how these work.”

Simonson added that research shows that polyphenols don’t seem to be harmful to the normal, helpful bacteria in the gut, but are detrimental to the pathogens. And they also have a positive effect on the immune system, augmenting the animal’s ability to withstand infection.

Grazix products for pigs and calves were getting “some good traction,” Simonson said, and users were seeing good results.

He noted that another company, Jaguar Animal Health, is also using botanical extracts in its alternative products.

Regarding the new regulations about use of antibiotics, Simonson said, “I don’t see the use of antibiotics as far as

treatment necessarily going down,” and that the industry is responding appropriately. He observed that additional record keeping and compliance could be an issue for producers, with a potential impact on cost of production.

Concerning replacement products, Simonson said, “We’re seeing more and more science come out about probiotics and prebiotics, enzymes – there’s a lot more data out there. I think that is looking very good, in addition to the antibiotic alternative such as the Grazix products I worked with.”

As vaccine use increases, one of the issues Simonson indicated concern about is the cost of developing new products that has changed so much over the years. “When I started my career, we could get a USDA-licensed vaccine, once you had the initial discovery research done, in about 24 months, at a cost of about $500,000, somewhere in that range. Today, that same vaccine will take over five years and several million dollars,” he said. “I see some impact on that side of it.”

Simonson said he sees more and more research looking at alternative products that can be used more naturally to make the animals healthier and be able to withstand stress as they are in the production system.

Regarding the industry’s future, he said, “There are definitely going to be changes, and it’s already started. I think the technologies to replace some of these products are coming. The science is very strong. We have technologies today that are just amazing.”

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FARM SAFETY

Farm Safety

By David A. Brown

I

t’s a simple concept with profound implications: Ignoring hazards magnifies their potential danger, while acknowledging threats and embracing their reality empowers individuals to be proactive in their efforts to prevent accidents.

So, what does that require? For agricultural workers, a heaping dose of brutal honesty – one steeped in optimism and seasoned with a solid sense of self-preservation – is a great start. Pragmatically, it’s the realization that solid data show that farming remains one of the most dangerous occupations nationwide.

Consider these stats from the U.S. Department of Labor’s 2013 study: Farming accounted for 500 fatalities, or 23.2 deaths per 100,000 workers. In terms of injuries, data from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) show that about 167 agricultural workers suffer a lost-worktime injury every day. One in 20 of those injuries will leave permanent impairment.

As daunting as these numbers seem, the U.S. agricultural network continues to thrive, due, in large part, to an everincreasing awareness of the job’s inherent risks and an evergrowing commitment to holding these hazards at bay. Safety starts with knowledge, but endures through diligent attention to protocols and procedures designed to maintain a buffer between farm workers and the many sources of imperilment.

LIVE SAFELY That truth takes center stage the third week of September as National Farm Safety and Health Week continues a tradition dating back to 1944. The 2015 celebration notched up the emphasis with the real-world message intended to motivate everyone who plants, grows, picks, and packs to integrate safety into their daily duties.

Indeed, the 2015 theme, “Ag Safety is not just a slogan, it’s a lifestyle,” espouses a prudent mindset. It serves to remind local and rural communities that, while agricultural work presents a perpetual atmosphere of risk, that needn’t impede their ability to earn a living in this occupation so vital to America’s domestic food supply.

Promoted annually by the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety (NECAS), the late summer event has been recognized by a proclamation by each sitting U.S. president since Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the original documentation more than seven decades ago. While the annual focus brings a spike in attention, NECAS Director Dan Neenan said he hopes the wisdom of points made will resonate year-round.

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“We get that week where we can pinpoint and get that information out, but we really hope that people take it to heart and make it a daily thought process,” Neenan said. “It’s about thinking every day how to make our jobs safer.”

MECHANICAL MENACE Farming safety hazards lurk in a wide range of areas, but according to the National Ag Safety Database, tractor accidents – particularly rollovers – are the single deadliest form of farming accident. NIOSH backs up that assertion with this sobering statistic: Each year, approximately 250 farm workers perish in tractor rollover accidents.

Tragically, most of these fatalities could have been prevented with rollover protective structures (ROPS), which form a frame around the tractor operator to minimize an accident’s impact.

Reminding us of the farm tractor’s deep list of safety considerations, Neenan points out that, while hilly and uneven terrain generally present operational challenges for tractor operators, adding wet weather and muddy ground creates a situation ripe with rollover risk. ROPS-equipped tractors give operators a better chance of escaping serious injury, but snapping those safety belts is an absolute must.

“Traveling with an implement that is heavier than what the tractor was designed for can create a safety hazard,” Neenan said. “Yes, the tractor with the diesel engine is strong enough to get it going, but the big problem is stopping.

“If you’re trying to slow down to take a turn, that implement might push you forward and into a ditch and roll you over. So we really have to make sure that the implement is the correct size for the tractor with which we’re using it.”

Neenan makes a key point that speaks to the dangerous trade-off between safety and haste. Bypass starting – the act of starting a tractor with means other than the normal starting system while standing outside the operator’s position – might save time on a cool morning, but this creates an extraordinary risk.

“We never want to bypass start a tractor,” he said. “A tractor will bypass start while it’s in gear and if you bypass start it, you’re typically right in front of the rear tire and several farmers are injured or killed each year doing this. Getting the starter rebuilt or replaced is definitely the safest route.”

ROADWAY SAFETY A year-round concern throughout the entire United States, proper lighting, marking, and slow-moving vehicle emblems are

Photo courtesy of Linda Blades

FARM SAFETY

Above: Emergency workers treat farmer Kent Blades after he was severely injured in a tractor accident on a roadway in 2006. While ensuring farm equipment is well marked and visible helps to prevent such accidents, Blades and his family urge drivers to slow down and be watchful of farmers on the road during spring planting season. Right: A small Kubota B 7610 tractor with a rollover protective structure (ROPS) in South Bend, Indiana. Rollover protection and always wearing a seatbelt are important to operator safety.

critical to maintaining visibility for motorists with whom farming equipment and vehicles often share the roadways. Particularly during mornings and afternoons, the generally rushed demeanor of most commuters can turn an annoyance into a tragedy.

Turning left into farmsteads, Neenan said, amplifies the risk, as motorists attempting to pass may not be aware of the intent.

Farm workers can help prevent accidents by maintaining clear windows and mirrors, but Neenan also notes the motorists’ role in this interaction.

“Getting behind a piece of farming equipment is no different than coming into a traffic signal, so slow down,” he said. “We need to make sure that when we pass them, we pass safely.

From the farming aspect or from the rural roadway side, a collision is going to be a lose-lose.

“There’s going to be some injuries; there’s going to be some equipment that will have to go out of service. So, if we can take a little bit more time, we can hopefully prevent an incident from happening.”

Photo by Shannon Ramos

DANGER CLOSE The tools of the agricultural worker are often intended to perform arduous tasks with processes rife with dangerous potential. As Neenan explained, farm workers often remove machinery guarding to repair a non-working part, but fail to replace the safety devices because they’re in a hurry to get back to work. This creates the potential for catastrophic injury when workers become exposed to moving parts intended to remain shielded.

Neenan offers this example: Removing a tractor’s power take-off (PTO) shield exposes a shaft that’s spinning at about 540 rpm – a dangerous snare for loose-fitting clothing, jacket drawstrings, or long hair.

“There’s only about 6-7 inches between the PTO shaft and the draw bar, and it’s going to try and fit that person through there at 540 times per minute, which isn’t going to have a good outcome,” Neenan said. “Also, if we take the safety [guarding] off another piece of equipment, like, say, a grain mill, it has the same potential to grab someone, especially little kids, if it’s down at their level.”

No one knows this better than Missouri farmer Brian Fleischmann, who lost part of his right arm during a farming accident he described as fully preventable. Speaking in an educational video for the Missouri Department of Labor, Fleischmann recounted the fateful day when he was harvesting corn with a one-row picker and found his header jammed with stalks.

Taking the tractor out of gear and locking the brake addressed a common tractor risk, but against the farm training he credits to 20 years of his father’s teaching, Fleischmann left the PTO running. Attempting to clear the choking stalks led to a lifealtering injury that he now uses to illustrate the need for farm safety awareness.

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FARM SAFETY

Grain bins can be potentially hazardous, but being aware of possible dangers and taking precautionary measures goes a long way toward preventing an accident.

“We get into bad habits and we never think about having an accident – it’s always someone else,” Fleischmann said. “But it can happen to you and I’m a living example of that.”

From brush hogging, to pulling tillage equipment or hay wagons, Fleischmann points to the tractor as the central piece of equipment for most farming operations. It’s this familiarity, he said, that allows danger to infiltrate the work day.

“We get careless with the tractor because we’ve used it so much we get lax on using it,” he said. “When people see, in person, the life-changing injury that I have had, it makes them think about safety.

“I tell people that the life you knew ends the day of [such] an accident. Even though some have done dangerous things, they realize they could be next. I hope that the image of [my injury] will stay with them and make them act safely and not just talk it.”

HAZARDS ELSEWHERE Here’s a look at some of the other safety risks found on farms: Crop-specific Risks: Green Tobacco Sickness, essentially nicotine poisoning from handling tobacco leaves, occurs when rain, dew, or sweat allow the chemical to pass through the worker’s skin and enter the blood stream.

In some cases, workers may suffer a less obvious safety concern with delayed impacts. Of the grape industry, Neenan said: “You may not have the initial trauma to start with, but you have that repetitive motion injury that you’re dealing with.

The bending over when you’re working with those plants can cause that.”

In these cases and others, proper safety procedures such as hand protection and cleaning and ergonomically correct movements can minimize such hazards.

Personal Health: Many of the daily medications individuals must take are food dependent. Under normal meal schedules, that’s a non-issue. However, when the workload pushes a farmer to maximize daylight, such otherwise manageable medical conditions may quickly spiral into potentially dangerous situations.

“If they take their medicine and they’re right in the middle of spring planting season, they may not take their breaks and eat as normal,” Neenan said. “That can cause a low blood sugar

event in which you lose your ability to think and your hand-eye coordination [diminishes].”

That being said, the importance of regularly scheduled breaks cannot be overstated. From maintaining a medicinal regimen to simple nutrition and hydration, healthy bodies promote the alertness that is vital in this potentially hazardous work environment.

Heat Hazards: Throughout much of the growing season, long hours of outside labor put farmers at risk of heat-related maladies. OSHA breaks this down into two levels of severity.

Heat exhaustion brings these symptoms: • Headache, dizziness, or fainting • Weakness and wet skin • Irritability or confusion • Thirst, nausea, or vomiting Heat stroke symptoms include: • Confusion, inability to think clearly • Passing out, collapsing • Seizures • Increased sweating or may stop sweating When in doubt, seeking medical attention for the afflicted is the right move, but in most instances, following OSHA’s recommended practices – water, shade, rest – provides sufficient remedy.

Electrocutions: The National Safety Council reports an average of more than 40 such fatalities annually directly related to farming operations. Electrocutions most often result from damaged or improperly operated hand tools and contact with electric power lines and utility poles.

Grain Hazards: The main concerns here are grain entrapment, combustible dust, and dangerous equipment presenting pinch points.

Other agricultural risks include slips and falls, chemical exposure, and hearing damage/loss due to excessive noise.

SITUATIONAL AWARENESS Being aware of potential dangers and planning ahead can make a tremendous difference in the event of an accident or emergency, as Neenan explained using the example of safety in the context of grain bins.

“You should never enter a grain bin or a manure pit alone; there should always be somebody there with [you],” he said.

“That attendant is paying attention to what happens to the person inside, and if that person becomes trapped or unresponsive, that attendant’s job is not to go in after them, but to call 911 and to be there when the [first responders get there].

“Unfortunately, if they try to help, and they may become trapped and unresponsive, they’re not helping that primary person out of danger.”

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FARM SAFETY

YOUNG AT HEART

Children may encounter hazards in the course of routine farm chores, so making sure they have an understanding of the potential dangers on a farm is imperative for their safety.

Additionally, Neenan pointed out that, because many small farmers are now operating on rented property, quickly identifying their location for first responders may not be as simple as stating a home or business address – a location that actually may be a considerable distance from their worksite. In the event of an emergency, this could cost valuable time for emergency personnel arrival.

“It’s important for [farm workers] to know the 911 address or the physical address of the farm,” Neenan said. “As 911 centers are being consolidated, you can’t dial 911 and say, ‘I’m at the old Joe Smith farm.’ Ten years ago, you could do that and the dispatcher would know where the old Joe Smith farm was, but that’s not an expectation any more.

“Everyone pays $1 a month for the 911 fee on their cell phone, and from that, we can use GPS to figure out where you are. But that takes time, and in an emergency, we may not have that time.”

Easy fix: Write down the farm’s physical address, along with “911” and leave a copy in every vehicle, tractor, or combine. If the unthinkable occurs, this information will ensure the fastest emergency response possible.

Referring to a previously discussed element of tractor safety – ensuring that lighting and markings on farm equipment are visible to other roadway users – to illustrate the wisdom of proactive safety practices, Neenan offered this closing thought: “It’s taking that safety-first thought process and applying it to every day. Unfortunately, we get into a hurry, and when we get in a hurry, we think it’s not a big deal. But if that motorist behind can’t see us in time to react or slow down in time, an injury can occur.”

Similar wisdom, no doubt, applies across the spectrum of agricultural jobs.

Maybe it’s familial bonding, or perhaps it’s simply the labor benefit brought by another set of hands; in any case, children commonly end up closely involved in farming operations. Notwithstanding the long-term value of early training and traditions, an inverse relationship exists between a child’s age and agricultural danger.

Despite the best efforts of older family members, children may encounter unexpected hazards throughout the course of seemingly routine chores.

Paramount to minimizing such risks, a parent or guardian must understand the child’s ability to comprehend and respond to such hazards.

To this point, Marshfield Children’s Clinic in Wisconsin has created the North American Guidelines for Children’s Agricultural Tasks (NAGCAT), which helps adults assign age-appropriate tasks for children aged 7 to 16 that live on farms and ranches. Understanding of childhood growth and development, agricultural practices, principles of childhood injury, and agricultural and occupational safety form the basis of the guidelines.

Elsewhere, Farm Safety for Just Kids (www. farmsafet y forjustkids.org) promotes a safe farm environment with the goal of preventing health hazards, injuries, or fatalities among kids.

Founded by an Iowa farm wife whose 11-yearold son died in a gravity flow grain wagon, the international nonprofit serves millions of rural families with educational outreach and various safety resources.

Finally, the International Society for Agricultural Safety and Health (ISASH) is supporting the next generation of safety and health professionals by offering 10 scholarships for interested youths to attend its June 2016 conference in Lexington, Kentucky.

“The 2015 National Farm Safety and Health Week theme, ‘Ag Safety is not just a slogan: it’s a lifestyle,’ is best served by everyone working together to build a safer and healthier agricultural workplace,” ISASH President Marcel Hacault said in a prepared statement. “No matter their field of study, these students might find a career in ag safety.”

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See what’s great from

Great Plains

The Great Plains “system” approach to farming is time-proven through many years of extensive research and field testing. Our innovative line of products has helped farmers everywhere increase their yields through proper seedbed preparation, nutrient application, and seed placement. From vertical and conventional tillage equipment to precision fertilizer applicators, grain drills, and planters… we’ve got the tools you need.

See your Great Plains dealer or visit www.GreatPlainsAg.com today to learn how we can help you improve your farming operation.

www.GreatPlainsAg.com www.VerticalTillage.com

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©Great Plains Manufacturing, Inc. 1533-GPM

THE LINDSAY ADVANTAGE

THE BEST LINE OF IRRIGATION SOLUTIONS. PERIOD.

THE LIN DSAY ADVANTAGE DURABLE RUGGED EASY TO USE I N T E G R AT E D TECHNOLOGIES B R OA D E S T L I N E OF SOLUTIONS

SOLUTIONS THAT ADD VALUE, REDUCE RISK & INCREASE PROFITS. Lindsay’s rugged equipment, integrated technologies, and plug-and-play add-ons will make the most of your operation – from a single, reliable source.

Pumps, pivots, filtration and remote control all work together to maximize your yields. Visit your local Zimmatic ® by Lindsay dealer to customize the right system for your needs. www.lindsayadvantage.com

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© 2016 Lindsay. All rights reserved. Zimmatic, FieldNET, Growsmart, Watertronics and LAKOS are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Lindsay Corporation and its subsidiaries.

The E.S.S. by Marcus Construction

Economical Storage Solutions The E.S.S. by Marcus Construction is new to the market and offers diversified options for new greenfield construction, additions or replacement of old facilities. These new solutions have been engineered and designed specifically for economical demand.

• Flexible bin sizes • Larger bins are unobstructed • Smaller bins use strategically designed and placed bracing • Various micro bin options • Natural light panels at both the alley way and conveyor levels • Pre-construction services from site selection through facility start up • Unlimited expansion capabilities • Common Alternates: • Door variety • Alley way width • In-floor heating in alley way • Covered receiving & loadout • Impregnation room

Contact us to visit about this new product to the market!

800-367-3424 info@marcusconstruction.com | www.MarcusConstruction.com

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FRUITS

NUTS

BERRIES

The perfect irrigation solution

Complete root-zone coverage

Improve fruit quality and yield

U.S. AGRICULTURE Call orOUTLOOK email today

for samples: 800-881-6294 • sales@maxijet.com

the Innovator, Never the Imitator™

years, NACHURS® has been helping farmers achieve higher yields and profits, fering premium in-furrow starters, foliar nutrition, and micronutrients. ct us today to learn about the latest technologies NACHURS® has to offer.

M

isit us online:

TM

TM

w w w . n a c h u r s . c o m or call: 800.622.4877 x 254 © 2015. NACHURS ALPINE SOLUTIONS. All rights reserved.

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America’s Ranches are Our Showroom,

Classic Panels and Bow Gates

and have been for generations.

If you want to get a look at some Powder River Equipment, there is a good chance you don’t need to go further than your nearest pasture. The fact is, Powder River has been making livestock handling equipment longer than anyone else out there. We revolutionized cattle working equipment by introducing the first all steel cattle equipment in 1938. Today we are still the brand of choice by livestock producers around the world. From the strongest gates in the industry, to the latest in squeeze chute innovations. Powder River is committed to quality, value, and efficient livestock equipment.

Call for a free catalog 800-453-5318

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www.powderriver.com

Crop Cart - Use in multiple crops year round Potatoes, Grains, Corn, Carrots, etc.

- 700 Sack, 1400 Bushel, 35 Ton capacity - Available in a smaller 20 Ton machine Spudnik.com

INDUSTRIAL HEMP: CROP OF THE FUTURE Last year, hemp was planted on 4,000 acres in the United States in accordance with the Farm Bill of 2014. Now is a great time to explore the industry and learn about hemp as a commodity. As the oldest and most established national trade organization dedicated to industrial hemp, HIA offers an extensive network and resources to its members.

SHOWCASE

P R O D U C T

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Spotlight on Education

U.S. AGRICULTURE OUTLOOK

Offering research and Extension opportunities in a top aquaculture program.

The Division of Aquaculture offers many education options at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Discover us today at: www.kysu.edu/CAFSSS and www.ksuaquaculture.org College of Agriculture, Food Science, and Sustainable Systems

College isn’t only studying theories and cramming for tests; it’s about discovering passions.

Southern Utah University allows its students opportunities not available at metropolitan “megaschools.” SUU’s brand new Equestrian Center is a perfect example.

The indoor arena allows for classes to be held year-round, supporting the University’s popular equine studies degree.

SUU.EDU

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World-class faculty & facilities School

Veterinary Medicine

VETMED.USU.EDU

“Best college for agriculture majors” – CampusExplorer.com

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Continuing the

Legacy...

Through effective in-state, national and global partnerships, we continue our legacy of innovation and excellence in the education of students; fundamental and applied research; sustainable agriculture agribusiness growth and development; and conservation of our environment and natural resources. We give special focus to enhancing production, marketing profitability and sustainability of small, historically disadvantaged and underserved farmers; preventive health through nutrition education and research; and youth and rural community development.

Much of Tuskegee’s rich agricultural history is rooted in the works of George Washington Carver, with many brilliant men and women to follow. Tuskegee University continues to play an important role as a leader in producing minority graduates.

Points of Distinction • Ranked #1 in producing African American graduates in Agriculture, Agriculture Operations and Related Sciences • Ranked #1 in producing African Americans with Professional Doctoral degrees in Veterinary Medicine • Approximately 50% of African Americans enrolled in veterinary schools today across the country are graduates of the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Animal and Veterinary Sciences undergraduate program

College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences George Washington Carver Experiment Station 1890 Cooperative Extension Carver Integrative Sustainability Center Black Belt Market Innovation Center

7th

Creating and Sustaining Small Farmers and Ranchers

SEPTEMBER 20-22, 2016 VirginiA BeACh, VA

Registration will open in early 2016.

Call (804) 524-5626 or email NSFC2016@vsu.edu Extension is a joint program of Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and state and local governments.

Virginia Cooperative Extension programs and employment are open to all, regardless of age, color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. An equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Virginia State University, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating.

Edwin J. Jones, Director, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg; M. Ray McKinnie, Administrator, 1890 Extension Program, Virginia State University, Petersburg.

SEPTEMBER 20–22, 2016

Virginia Beach Convention Center • Virginia Beach, VA Learn about strategies for creating and sustaining small farmers and ranchers for enhanced farm income and improved quality of life. Hear success stories from small farm activities. Discover innovative ideas in research, extension and outreach to strengthen collaboration and partnership among state specialists who work to ensure that small farmers and ranchers not only survive but thrive in today’s economy.

The 7th National Small Farm Conference will serve as a forum to discuss the results of research geared toward addressing challenges facing small farmers and ranchers. Short courses, presentations, exhibits and educational tours within the Virginia Beach and Chesapeake Bay regions are being planned.

Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to learn and network with local and national experts in agriculture and farming practices!

Photo courtesy of Alfredo Gonzalez

A Criollo cow and calf. The Criollo breed of cattle fares well in dry desert landscapes.