World Agriculture
Developments, trade, data, and topics in world agriculture
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Latin American Countries Addressing Climate Change Challenges~~Latin America tackles challenge of climate change BY JORGE FAMILIAR worldbank.org/lac It is no coincidence that the Globe International network of legislators has chosen Mexico as the venue for the Second World Summit of Legislators on climate change that takes place in the Mexican Congress this coming weekend. Five hundred legislators from around the world, especially from emerging economies, will tell the world that yes we can, that it is possible to create a movement that puts the interests of citizens first and that passes environmental legislation in favor of a more sustainable development model. They will make it clear that - in the absence of a global agreement - parliaments, governments, civil society and the private sector can show the way at a national level. Many of the alarming forecasts regarding the effects of climate change -from glacial retreat to rising sea levels - are being felt first hand in Latin America. From extreme weather variations in Mesoamerica and the Caribbean to prolonged droughts in the Southern Cone, all of this is having a devastating impact on agriculture, ecosystems and community life. The good news is that at least in Latin America we are not sitting back with our arms crossed, despite the absence of global agreements. In Costa Rica, reforestation projects, new market regulations and public campaigns are all part of the commendable effort being made by that country to become carbon neutral by 2021. In Brazil, the forestry and iron industries in the state of Minas Gerais are changing their ways and being rewarded with the first issue of carbon bonds for a forestry project, while in Mexico, the Climate Change Law of 2012 became one of the most comprehensive and ambitious at a global level. In fact, wherever one looks in Latin America and the Caribbean today, its leaders are pushing initiatives to mitigate or adapt to the effects of climate change. In this way, even in times of global uncertainty, it is evident that the region is contributing rationality, certainties and trustworthiness to become a significant part of the solution to a global threat. For example, its energy matrix currently boasts the lowest carbon emissions in the developing world (6 percent for the energy sector), the world's largest Rapid Transit System (associated with lower levels of environmental pollution) and the first catastrophe risk insurance mechanisms to guarantee the capacity to recover following a natural disaster. Many of the green initiatives in the region have been strongly endorsed by legislators. In fact, Latin America is the region of the world that has done the most in 2013 in terms of legislation to prevent or mitigate the effects of atmospheric change, according to a report from GLOBE International. Some of the most notable examples include the Mother Earth Law in Bolivia, which penalizes the mistreatment of nature, the law for Good Living in Ecuador and the climate change framework law in Costa Rica, which, among other things, guarantees that the subject will be taught in schools. Many of these initiatives have also received technical and financial support from the World Bank. We have supported the Amazon Protected Areas program, which covers a surface comparable to France's, and which has enabled Brazil to lower its deforestation rate continuously for more than four years. Faced with retreating glaciers in the Andes, the World Bank has established - alongside the governments of Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru - a regional adaptation project administered by the Andean Community of Nations. This will lead to improvements in the capacity of local economies, ecosystems and populations to address its impending impact. This becomes a life or death situation when 97 percent of regional GDP is generated in countries that are net commodity exporters - oil, minerals and agricultural products. These resources could be significantly depleted in less than one generation if current extraction rates remain unchanged or if more sustainable agricultural techniques are not adopted. Latin American leaders are aware of this reality and will not wait for others to take the first step toward changing it. They believe that a different future, a more balanced and sustainable one, is possible for all Latin Americans and future generations. Jorge Familiar is the vice president of the World Bank for Latin America and the Caribbean. Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/06/02/4153956/latin-america-tackes-challenge.html#storylink=cpy
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Fisheries are booming in AsiaFish farming is booming in Asia The aquaculture industry in Asia is booming but the sector remains largely unprotected, offering significant opportunities for insurers The world's top five aquaculture-producing countries are all in Asia, with China leading the way with a massive 36.7m tonnes of fish in 2010, dwarfing the second-biggest producer, India, at 4.6m tonnes. Overall, 90% of the fish we eat is produced in Asia, while the continent has also been responsible for 92.5% of increases in global production in the past 20 years. But despite the strong growth in aquaculture in the region, in addition to its importance in terms of both food security and employment creation, the majority of the Asian industry is uninsured. Insurance deficit Jason Scott, head of aquaculture and livestock at Hong Kong-based broker FP Marine Risks, says: “There is very little aquaculture insurance in Asia. There have been some pilot projects over the years and some government subsidy schemes, but the majority of the industry is underinsured ." Given the level of underinsurance, it is difficult to calculate how much premium income the sector could generate. The Chinese agriculture insurance industry generates around $6bn a year in premium income, and Scott estimates aquaculture insurance could be worth around half this amount. Paddy Secretan, managing director of AUMS, adds that growth for the insurance industry in the aquaculture sector could be “exponential” if it can model the right products. But he cautions: “The insurance industry has got to change and develop a lot of new products ." Scott agrees that one of the reasons aquaculture cover has failed to take off in Asia is that the products currently available are not suitable for the region. Only a handful of providers offer aquaculture insurance and they are all based in Europe, although some major Chinese insurers are showing an interest in developing products. The traditional policies are focused on a few high-value species, such as salmon and tuna, predominantly in sea cage farming. Small farms The Asian industry is focused on different species compared with Europe, such as shrimp, while it also has a different structure to in the West. Scott says: “In Asia there are two tiers. There are larger, more sophisticated companies that are trading on an international market, then there are the thousands and thousands of small-scale farmers ." “You need a very different product for the two different tiers. The larger ones have more in common with products that are currently available. The smaller ones are likely to need government subsidies and programmes that are done in very different way ." Secretan thinks the insurance industry has been too focused on the big producer and has lost track of the hundreds of thousands of small farmers who successfully run their businesses without big losses. “They are faced with rates, terms and conditions which to them are just totally unrealistic," he says. Reto Schneider, director of insurance and specialty risks at Swiss Re, points out that even where insurers are expanding into new markets, they do not have much data to set prices. Meanwhile, there are numerous risks that insurers need to factor in, including jellyfish, predators, disease and pollution, in addition to damage caused by storms and tidal waves, and losses due to algae blooms and water salinity. Schneider adds: “Other challenges include remote areas that are not accessible, and insuring completely new species ." Another challenge is that the cover is not well understood by many small-scale aquaculture farmers, for whom it may be the first insurance product they have ever bought - so education is key. Scott says: “We at FP Marine are very actively educating and working with local insurers to develop innovative solutions, as it is crucial to have a good local partner. “The big Chinese companies are beginning to get involved because they see the opportunities, and the government is keen to protect the aquaculture industry as it is vital for sustainable food security ." As part of this push to move aquaculture cover up the agenda, the first ever Asian Aquaculture & Risk Management conference was held in Hong Kong in May this year. But Secretan points out that other issues also need to be sorted out if the cover is going to be successful in Asia. He says: “The law has got to be right for both insurers and the aquaculture industry. If you are going to stop a disease in its tracks, you may need compulsory slaughter - but who will compensate for that? The availability of drugs to treat disease, the ability of the authorities to restrict movements of stock, and a comprehensive veterinary and laboratory infrastructure are also important issues ." Distribution is also a challenge, as many farmers are in remote and inaccessible areas. Schneider says: “We have to build up a completely new distribution channel. In Vietnam, government representatives went through People's Committees in various provinces, but government people are not insurance people, so a lot of training was needed to make them familiar with our products ." Affordability Another crucial issue is having government premium subsidies, otherwise affordability is likely to be an issue for small farmers. Schneider says: “When you really want to grow in small-scale farms with new countries and new species, you need government support, otherwise it probably will not work ." He adds that there are pilot schemes in China and Vietnam where the government subsidises part of the premium. Paul Koronka, chief executive of Regis Mutual Management, thinks encouraging small-scale farmers to develop mutual would also help increase the levels of aquaculture insurance cover in Asia. He says: “Mutuals are naturally suited to aquaculture. It is quite a powerful mechanism for broadening the access-to-insurance market ." “It is a natural bolt-on to existing co-operatives and it is good for all sides of the insurance industry to become aligned with a well-structured mutual ." Koronka believes well-structured mutuals are self-selecting, while cover can be tailored to members' needs and there is no cross-subsidisation of poor risk. He adds: “It also encourages the reinsurance market to engage, because it can see a self-selecting pool of business. It raises standards across the industry ." Meanwhile, there is talk of developing index-insurance for aquaculture to enable fast payouts. “Index insurance is possible in some areas for aquaculture insurance," says Schneider. “It is possible to make a model and correlate mortality with pollution. It can also be done with wind speed and typhoon damage. However, it will not be a super-sophisticated model and it cannot be done with disease ." There is much to consider and plenty of opportunity for aquaculture insurance to develop in Asia.
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U.S. Agriculture Faces Shortage of Agricultural Science Talents~U.S. agriculture faces shortage of trained scientists May 20, 2014 Olivia McClure, LSU AgCenter | Southeast Farm Press AGRICULTURE SCIENTIST Bob Kemerait (left), a UGA peanut specialist, speaks with attendees at the 2013 Georgia Peanut Tour. Demand for food and fiber is booming as world population grows at an exponential rate. Ironically, the United States - the No. 1 exporter of agriculture products - is facing critical shortages of agriculture workers. Leading domestic life science companies need to hire at least 1,000 trained ag scientists by 2015 to help meet changing global needs, according to a 2013 study by the Coalition for a Sustainable Agricultural Workforce. Nearly half of those hires need to hold doctoral degrees. Despite high demand for these scientists, not enough university students are being trained fast enough in disciplines such as plant science and crop breeding, said Rogers Leonard, LSU AgCenter associate vice chancellor for plant and soil science programs. Many students are simply unaware of these opportunities for employment, partly because of stereotypes of agriculture in popular culture. “A career in agriculture is not just about picking cotton or chopping weeds," Leonard told a group of high schoolers at a recent youth field day. “Science and technology drive the new agriculture today ." Even among children who grow up on farms, however, there has been a degradation of students wanting to go into agriculture, he said. Longer lifespans mean American farmers have gotten older and older in recent decades - in Louisiana, the average age of a farmer is 58.5, according to the 2012 Census of Agriculture. Because farmers don't hand over the reins to the family business as soon as they once did, their children often look beyond agriculture to find employment, Leonard said. The ag industry is running short on human capital at a time it is under pressure to be more efficient, which requires scientific innovation. The CSAW study reports “the pipeline of graduates … isn't as full as it needs to be” and companies “anticipate challenges in finding quality applicants ." Student recruitment at universities is part of fixing that problem. Incoming freshmen who are pondering majors need to know about the diverse opportunities available in agriculture, said Bill Richardson, LSU vice president for agriculture and dean of the College of Agriculture. The college has renewed its focus on recruitment this semester, with representatives traveling throughout Louisiana to reach as many students as possible.
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63% of U.S. consumers support a voluntary GMO labeling policy~~63% of U.S. Consumers Support Voluntary GMO Policies By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com A new study suggests that 63% of Americans support the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's existing voluntary policy for labeling genetically modified (GM) foods. Interestingly, the 63% figure is consistent with survey results from previous years. The survey which was conducted by the International Food Information Council Foundation also found that consumers generally had positive perceptions of GM foods. Specifically, GM foods that offer additional nutritional benefits. The study also found that consumers overall confidence in the safety of U.S. food supply to be strong at 67%. Comparatively, only one percent of the survey participants said that biotechnology is something that they avoid when purchasing food. A small percentage 4% of respondents identified biotech as something they want information about on their food labels. Sparingly, a sizable majority of Americans said that they have favorable perceptions about modern agriculture practices. Percentage wise, 73% viewed modern agriculture as sustainable and 71% said that it produces nutritional food. The survey was conducted between March 28 and April 7, 2014, and the sample size was 1000 participants.
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IGC raises global 14/15 corn yield dataIGC raises global 14/15 corn yield data 2014-06-03 09:21 | source: China Grain Network | london, June 2: According to the May monthly report released by the London-based International Grain Council (IGC), the global corn production in 2014/15 is expected to be 0.9552 billion tons, higher than the 0.9502 billion tons predicted in April, but still lower than the previous year's output of 0.9697 billion tons. IGC expects US corn production to be 0.35 billion tons in 2014/15, in line with earlier forecasts and 0.3537 billion tons in the previous year. Ukraine's corn production is expected to be 26.5 million tons, compared with an earlier forecast of 26.8 million tons and 30.9 million tons the previous year. EU corn production is expected to be 65.8 million tons, compared with an earlier forecast of 65.3 million tons and 64.5 million tons the previous year. China's corn output is expected to be 0.215 billion tons, in line with earlier forecasts, compared with 0.2177 billion tons a year earlier. Brazil's corn production is expected to be 71.5 million tons, compared with an earlier forecast of 70.5 million tons and 75 million tons the previous year. Argentina's corn production is expected to be 27 million tons, in line with earlier forecasts and 24 million tons the previous year. South African maize production is expected to be 13 million tons, in line with earlier forecasts, compared with 13.3 million tons the previous year. IGC expects global corn consumption to be 0.9468 billion tons in 2014/15, compared with an earlier forecast of 0.945 billion tons and 0.938 billion tons the previous year. Among them, the amount of feed will reach 0.5486 billion tons, up from 0.5457 billion tons previously predicted and 0.5419 billion tons last year. The consumption is expected to be 0.1028 billion tons, compared with an earlier forecast of 0.102 billion tons and 0.1026 billion tons the previous year. Industrial consumption is expected to be 0.2584 billion tons, compared with an earlier forecast of 0.2613 billion tons and 0.2552 billion tons the previous year. The IGC expects global corn trade to reach 0.1139 billion tons in 2014/15, compared with an earlier forecast of 0.1123 billion tons and 0.1156 billion tons the previous year. Corn ending stocks are expected to be 0.1721 billion tons, compared with an earlier forecast of 0.1629 billion tons and 0.1637 billion tons the previous year. (Source: Master Boyi
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U.S. Weather Ideal Corn Gathers Superior~ ~ u.S. Weather Ideal Corn Gathers Superior 2014-06-04 09:12 | source: China Grain Network | washington, June 3 news: The National Crop Progress Report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows that due to rising temperatures and sufficient soil moisture in the Midwest of the United States, corn crops are growing well. In the week ending June 1, the national corn planting progress in the United States was 95%, higher than 88% a week ago, higher than 90% in the same period last year, and higher than the average planting progress of 94% in the same period of five years. As of the week of June 1, the national corn emergence rate in the United States was 80%, 60% last week, 71% in the same period last year, and the average emergence rate in the same period of five years was 80%. This week the USDA also released its first corn crop rating data of the year. The proportion of good corn ratings nationwide was 76%, 6 points higher than the 70% expected by the market before the report was released, and also higher than 63% in the same period last year. Among them, the proportion of excellent rating is 13%, the proportion of good rating is 63%, the proportion of general rating is 22%, the proportion of poor rating is 2%, and the proportion of poor rating is zero. In Iowa, the main corn producing area, the proportion of corn with excellent rating is 17%, good 65%, general 17%, poor 1% and poor 0%. In Illinois, the proportion of excellent rating is 17%, good 53%, general 27%, poor 2%, poor 1%; In Indiana, excellent 15%, good 55%, average 24%, poor 5%, 1% worse. Warmer weather and favorable soil moisture have accelerated the growth of corn crops, according to a report released by the Iowa Farmland Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Bureau of the United States Department of Agriculture. (Source: Boyi Master)
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World Agriculture Becomes New Investment HotspotGlobal agriculture on verge of investment gold rush CHRIS McLENNAN • The Weekly Times • May 28, 2014 12:00AM INVESTORS are poised to pour even more money into Australian farming lured by the promise of high returns. The trickle of institutional funds will become a flood if the nation's network of family farms can get their finances on a more professional footing, one expert said. An international finance conference was told global agricultural earnings were set to jump in the next decade, beating the traditional safe haven of equities and bonds. Finance expert Margaux Beauchamp said agriculture would outperform bonds and equities by up to 8 per cent over the next 10 years. Mrs Beauchamp, the corporate finance executive director for investment bank BDO, said the earnings forecast was for US agriculture, but Australia was not far behind. “We just have to get our own house in order, promote a higher level of professionalism in the farming industry," she said. Mrs Beauchamp was one of 600 delegates to attend this month's Global AgInvesting Conference in New York. US farmland is forecast to deliver returns averaging 11 per cent, with bonds and equities at 3 and 5 per cent respectively. Banker ANZ has recently forecast that Australian agriculture needs $1 trillion of investment for production growth and farm turnover between now and 2050. The Victorian Government is aiming to double the state's food and fibre production by 2030. Queensland wants to double its production by 2040. A report by Cambridge Associates LLC showed the growth in value of agriculture assets in recent decades has matched or exceeded other asset classes. Ms Beauchamp said the challenge was for Australia's agriculture sector to perform as strongly as the US sector. While appetite is growing among institutions for agriculture sector investment, Ms Beauchamp said work was still needed for the sector to realise its full potential. “Conference presenters were clear in their view that the institutional 'herd' would eventually find agricultural investment and this is something BDO in Australia's food and agribusiness team hopes will occur in the Australian sector over the next decade," she said.
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El Niño will hurt global wheat productionEl Niño will hurt global wheat production 2014-05-20 10:25 | research led by agrometeorological researcher Toshichika Iizumi shows that global corn, rice and wheat production will be damaged by the El Niño weather phenomenon, while soybeans will benefit. The findings, published in the journal Nature Communications (Nature Communications), show that according to an analysis of wheat productivity, global wheat production fell by an average of 1.4 per cent from normal during the years of El Niño. The World Meteorological Organization says there are signs of an El Niño event later this year. The El Niño phenomenon occurs every 2-7 years, which is due to the increase in surface water temperature in the Pacific Ocean, and the opposite is the La Niña phenomenon. The 2006 El Nino phenomenon led to a sharp drop in Australian wheat production and a surge in prices, driving global food prices to their highest level since 2008. The study showed that all four of the crops studied were adversely affected by La Niña. "The overall impact of El Niño on global crop yields is uncertain," said a member of the study, led by Iizumi of the Japan Institute of Agro-Environmental Technology (National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences). "Our conclusions reflect the importance of El Niño to global crop yields." according to the study, according to the global harvest area data in 2000, El Niño had a "serious" negative impact on about 22% of the world's wheat crops, including southern and eastern Australia, Mexico, parts of China and the northwestern United States. About 6% of wheat crops benefited significantly, including parts of Russia, Argentina and North China. The study showed that global wheat yields were 4% below normal during La Niña years. Dry weather el Niño usually causes dry weather in parts of Australia, Southeast Asia and northern South America. US Department of Agriculture (USDA) data show that in 2006-07, Australian wheat production fell from 25.2 million tons to 10.8 million tons. During El Niño years, global corn yields are on average 2.3 per cent below normal, while La Niña years are 0.3 per cent lower. The study showed that El Niño had a "severe" negative impact on about 24% of the world's corn crops, including the United States and parts of China, Mexico and Spain. About 8% of the maize crop has benefited significantly, especially in Brazil and the Black Sea region. WMO said last month that El Nino is likely to occur in the Pacific Ocean this year. Since February, the surface temperature of the central Pacific Ocean has warmed significantly, and about 2/3 of the climate models predict that this phenomenon will occur between June and August this year.
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U.S. Agriculture Is Shrinking and AgingThe US farm sector is ageing and shrinking AAP The number of US farms is declining even as the value of their crops and livestock has increased over the past five years. A government census of American agriculture taken every five years shows there were a total of 2.1 million farms in the US in 2012, down a little more than four per cent from 2007. That follows a long-term trend of declining numbers of farms. Also, farmers are getting older - the average age was 58.3 years. But Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack points to a bright spot - a small rise in the number of farmers between 25 and 34 years old. Vilsack says the boost in the number of younger farmers is partly due to increased interest and government support for locally grown foods and a thriving export market. Many younger farmers work at smaller operations, where the boom in the farm economy and a rising consumer interest in where food is grown have helped them. That boom has been good to all of farm country. According to the survey, the market values of crops, livestock and total agricultural products were all at record highs. Farms in the US sold almost $US395 billion in products in 2012, 33 per cent higher than in 2007. Still, farmers are aging. According to the census, a third of farmers were older than 65 in 2012. "The reality is, over time those folks won't be able to continue farming, and the question for all of us is, if they don't, who will?" Vilsack said. He has made the revitalisation of rural America a priority at USDA. As people have moved to suburbs and cities, many communities have increasing poverty and fewer young people to take over family farms. He has also argued that the dwindling population has led to less political clout - made evident by a recent three-year congressional struggle to enact a new farm bill. President Barack Obama signed the bill, which provides farm subsidies and food stamps, into law earlier this month. "My question is not just who is going to farm, but who is going to defend them?" Vilsack said. The amount of farmland in the United States also shrunk over the time period, from 922 million to 915 million acres. At the same time, farms grew larger - the average farm grew from 418 to 434 acres. Vilsack said he is most concerned about the survival of middle-sized farms, which declined in the last five years. The number of larger and smaller farms held mostly steady. He said he believes that decline partly came from a lapse in disaster assistance while Congress haggled over the farm bill, drought in many states and rising feed costs. Ideally, he said, many of the younger farmers who are working on smaller farms will eventually grow their operations. One area of growth for agriculture is farms that are minority-operated. The number of farms operated by Hispanics, African Americans, American Indians and Asians all grew between 2007 and 2012, and the number of Hispanics who were principal operators of farms grew by 21 per cent. Still, farm country remains overwhelmingly white - 92 per cent of farms are operated by whites, while less than 64 per cent of the general population is white and the minority population is growing. Similarly, only 14 per cent of farms are operated by women, and more than 90 per cent of those were smaller farms.
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The global wheat market is well supplied. Wheat prices continue to fall.~ ~ the global wheat market is well supplied. Wheat prices continue to fall. 2014-05-26 09:34 | source: China Grain Network | in the week ending May 23, 2014, the global wheat market price fell moderately, mainly because the global wheat supply was still huge, and the winter wheat producing areas in the United States ushered in favorable rainfall, which helped to improve the winter wheat crop conditions. On Friday, July 2014 soft red winter wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade fell 21.75 cents from a week earlier to close at 652.50 cents a bushel. The spot price of US Bay 2 soft red winter wheat is 692.5 to 695.5 cents per bushel, down from 730.25 to 734.25 cents per bushel for a week. November flour wheat closed at 195.25 euros a tonne on the European Union's Euronext exchange, down 4 euros from a week earlier. September wheat futures on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange closed at 2629 yuan, down 13 yuan from a week ago. First, let's look at the state of the winter wheat crop in the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's crop progress report showed that in the week ending May 18, the situation of winter wheat crops in the United States continued to deteriorate, with an excellent and good rate of 29%, which was 1 point lower than a week ago. In Kansas, the number one wheat producing area, the rate of good winter wheat is one point lower than it was a week ago. Among them, 1% is excellent and 11% is good. In terms of heading rate, as of May 18, the proportion of winter wheat entering heading stage in the United States was 57%, higher than 44% a week ago and 41% in the same period last year, but lower than the average progress of 58% in the same period of five years. U.S. spring wheat sowing was 49%, up from 34% a week ago, but lower than 64% in the same period last year and 68% behind the average sowing progress in the same period of five years. However, as the meteorological agency predicts that there will be beneficial rainfall in the main wheat producing areas of the United States, it will help stabilize the situation of winter wheat crops, which will put negative pressure on wheat prices. In addition, the global supply of wheat is sufficient, and the price of wheat in the United States has risen sharply due to the drought in the southern plains, resulting in the lack of competitiveness of US wheat in the international market, which also puts pressure on US wheat prices. At the wheat import bidding meeting held in Iraq, the cheapest US wheat price was 378.95 US dollars/ton, which was much higher than the Russian wheat price of 324.55 US dollars, while the Canadian wheat price was 344.74 US dollars and the Australian wheat price was 371 US dollars. Judging from the situation in the Black Sea region, data from the Russian Agricultural Market Research Institute (IKAR) show that the price of new Russian wheat fell last week. The price of new Russian wheat with a protein content of 12.5 was US $265 per ton, down from US $270 a week ago, FOB price. The reason is that rival Ukraine's wheat exports have not been hurt by the country's political crisis and buyers are still sourcing Ukrainian wheat. Egypt bought 60000 tons of Ukrainian wheat last Friday, with the ship scheduled for June 20-30. Finally, let's look at the EU situation. According to the May report released by the European Commission, the output of wheat (excluding durum) in the 28 EU countries in 2014/15 (July to June of the following year) is expected to be 0.1359 billion tons, compared with 0.1343 billion tons last year. The European Commission expects EU wheat exports to be 22 million tons in 2014/15, compared with 27 million tons in the previous year. Domestic consumption is expected to be 0.1137 billion tons, compared with 0.1076 billion tons in the previous year. The feed consumption is expected to be 49.6 million tons, compared with 43.8 million tons last year. The EU's final stock of wheat in 2014/15 is expected to be 11.9 million tons, compared with 9.5 million tons in the previous year.
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EU expects increase in maize production in 14/15~ ~ EU expects increase in maize production in 14/15 2014-05-22 09:33 | source: China Grain Network | according to the May report released by the European Commission, EU corn production is expected to be 69.2 million tons in 2014/15, compared with 64.9 million tons in the previous year. The European Commission expects French corn production to be 17.2 million tons in 2014/15, up from 15.1 million tons the previous year. German corn production in 2014/15 is expected to be 4.8 million tons, up from 4.4 million tons in the previous year. Romania's corn production in 2014/15 is expected to be 9.3 million tons, compared with 11.4 million tons in the previous year. Italian corn production is expected to be 8.2 million tons in 2014/15, compared with 8.5 million tons in the previous year. Hungarian maize production is expected to be 7.9 million tons in 2014/15, compared with 8.7 million tons in the previous year. Spanish corn production in 2014/15 is expected to be 4.9 million tons, the same as the previous year. EU corn exports are expected to be 2.1 million tons in 2014/15, compared with 2.8 million tons in the previous year. Domestic consumption is expected to be 71.3 million tons, compared with 73.7 million tons in the previous year. The feed consumption is expected to be 57 million tons, compared with 59.7 million tons last year. EU corn ending stocks are expected to be 14.9 million tons in 2014/15, compared with 13.7 million tons in the previous year. (Source: Boyi Master)
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Anti-GMO Protesters Hold Monsanto Boycott Rally~ ~ Anti-GMO protesters rally against Monsanto Beekeepers fill coffin full of thousands of dead bees CBC News Posted: May 24, 2014 6:32 PM ET| Last Updated: May 24, 2014 7:26 PM ET Ontario beekeepers filled a coffin with thousands of bees in front of a large rally of protesters in Queen's Park Sunday in protest of GMO giant Monsanto. The third March Against Monsanto Toronto boasted thousands of Torontonians voicing their concerns about genetically modified seeds and calling for a permanent boycott of harmful agricultural chemicals. Genetically modified seeds are engineered to resist insects and herbicides, add nutritional benefits or otherwise improve crops and increase the global food supply. The dead bees were taken from farms where they died over the winter. Their deaths have been linked to the use of agricultural neonicotinoid pesticides which coats most corn and soy seeds. The march, entitled "Requiem for Bees," had pallbearers in beekeeping suits marching through areas of downtown as well as expert speakers and a GMO-free festival and farmers market in Christie Pits park. The beekeepers called for Montsanto and its subsidiaries and allied companies to stop producing GMOs and neonicotinoids. The protesters gathered in the park then marched north on Yonge Street to Christie Pits park on Bloor Steet. Not only was the goal of the March to raise awareness of this issue, but it was also to help non-GMO farmers and businesses in the Toronto area. Toronto's March was part of a global movement that saw rallies in more than 400 cities and 52 countries around the world.
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Argentina's annual corn production up~ ~ argentina's annual corn production up 2014-05-26 09:09 | source: China Grain Network | buenos Aires, May 23: According to a report released by the Argentine Ministry of Agriculture, corn crops in some areas of northern Argentina are in good condition. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture predicts that the corn output in 2013/14 will be 31.1 million tons, 1.3 million tons higher than the earlier forecast. Farmers in Argentina are currently harvesting corn crops. For comparison, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange in Argentina both expect 24 million tons of corn this year. Analysis agency Lanworth expects Argentina's corn production this year to be 25.1 million tons. Source: Master Boyi)
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Mexico may import Brazilian riceMexico may import Brazilian rice 2014-05-22 09:46 | source: China Grain Network | the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries has approved the import of Mexican rice in 2014. So far, however, Mexico has not imported any Brazilian rice. Currently, Mexico imports only U.S. rice, which is then processed domestically into finished rice for the domestic market. U.S. traders expressed dissatisfaction with the decision of the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries because the decision may affect U.S. rice exports to Mexico. According to the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Trade, Venezuela and Nicaragua have been the two largest importers of Brazilian rice in the past three years. U.S. traders say the entry of Brazilian rice into the Venezuelan and Nicaraguan markets has significantly reduced the share of U.S. rice in both markets.
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Food Crisis: Extreme Climate and Population Growth Make Building a Food Supply System a Challenge~ ~ Inside the Looming Food Crisis Extreme weather, booming populations make building the food supply a challenge. . By Dennis Dimick National Geographic Published May 22, 2014 We don't worry much about food, especially when it is plentiful and cheap. Only when prices rise do we we pay much attention to any potential problems with the food supply. In the United States food has been relatively cheap for decades-typically costing less than 10 percent of our income-so we often take it for granted. Perhaps we shouldn't. Quite a few people these days aren't taking food for granted, and it's not just the more than 800 million people worldwide who don't have enough to eat, or the more than 47 million in the U.S. who need food assistance. Whether we'll have enough food at affordable prices has been a particular concern for many scientists and economists since price spikes in 2008 caused unrest in places such as Egypt, Bangladesh, and Haiti. This week in Washington, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, which for years has been immersed in questions about food and its supply-where it comes from, what kind and how much we grow, how we use or waste it, and whether we will have enough in the years ahead-gathered to discuss solutions to what its members see as an emerging food crisis. These researchers see a collision ahead: between a rising world population that wants to eat more high-quality food such as meat and dairy, and a climate system that is diminishing harvests in many areas. Storms, floods, heat waves, and droughts are occurring with increasing frequency, trimming some crop yields across the planet. That's a problem, because we will need more harvests of the major grain crops-rice, wheat, and corn-in the decades ahead. Those crops are the basis of nearly all the food we eat-even meat, because we feed grains such as corn, wheat, and soy to meat animals. How do we meet the challenge of dramatically rising food demand? Jonathan Foley, a University of Minnesota researcher, is among many seeking solutions. In the May issue of National Geographic, he outlines a five-step framework for feeding 9 billion people by mid-century. Foley's article opens an eight-month series in the magazine on the future of food. Beside the linkage between climate change and food supplies, this week's Chicago Council meeting focuses on improving harvests in vulnerable regions such as sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where harvests are low or unreliable and the need for food solutions is escalating. Topics include "sustainable intensification" of agriculture, which means getting better yields without damaging the land and water; improving irrigation in Africa; and using field schools to teach improved farming techniques. Climate change gets some attention too. The group is examining how agriculture-which is responsible for about one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions-can reduce its impact on climate through precision tillage and fertilizer use. Discussants also emphasized the need for accelerated crop research to breed more climate-resistant crops that can survive heat waves, droughts, floods, and saltwater. The group issued a report today that calls for the U.S. to make food security-investments in research, education, technology, and data-a top priority for the long-term, especially in the face of documented climate impacts on harvests. The U.S. Agency for International Development also announced an initiative to help improve the nutrition of mothers and children in developing nations. It's part of a broader program called Feed the Future that aims to help alleviate hunger by helping farmers grow more and better crops across the developing world. USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah told attendees at the Chicago Council meeting Thursday that Feed the Future has lifted more than 12 million children out of poverty and improved the welfare of more than 7 million farmers. The United Nations projected last year that the world's population would reach 9.6 billion by 2050, up from nearly 7.2 billion now. A large portion of the increased food demand in decades ahead is projected to result from rising appetites for meat; several pounds of grain are needed to grow each pound of meat. We are entering uncharted territory. The March report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change highlighted the vulnerability of food supplies to rising temperatures and extreme weather in years ahead. Studies already show that yields are being damaged by rising levels of carbon dioxide, increasing temperatures, heat waves, and droughts. The 2012 Midwest U.S. drought, for example, damaged crop yields and drove prices up. Growing enough food for a booming world population as the climate changes is cited often as being among the greatest challenges to face humanity. Yet, young people who can help meet this challenge are not easy to find. One report this week indicated that U.S. agriculture is facing a shortage of trained scientists. So not only must we grow more food, we must grow more people interested in growing more food. Dennis Dimick is National Geographic's Executive Editor for the Environment. You can follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and flickr.
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China refutes food threat theory~~Beijing rebuts negative remarks about food security Xinhua 2014-05-23 09:19 (GMT+8) Chinese agricultural authorities on Wednesday fended off negative remarks made by a policy institute president over food security, saying China is able to feed itself. "China poses no threat to world food security but will contribute quite a lot instead," said Bi Meijia, chief economist and spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture. "We can carry our rice bowls quite safely ." The Chinese official's comments came almost three months after Lester R. Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute, raised fresh concerns over China's demand for world grain in his latest research note Who Will Feed China? Bi said China's grain self-sufficiency rate stood above 97% in 2013 and cereal imports reached 14 million tonnes, accounting for less than 2.6% of the country's cereal output. His comments were in contrast to Brown, who warned in February that as China imports increasing quantities of grain, it is competing directly with scores of other grain-importing countries, such as Japan, Mexico and Egypt. Brown said China turning to the outside world for massive quantities of grain was "forcing us to recognize that we are in trouble on the food front ." Soybean remained China's primary grain imports, which rose 8.6% year on year to reach 63.38 million tonnes in 2013, according to customs data. The country's grain output gained 2.1% year on year to hit 601.94 million tonnes, marking 10 years in a row for increased grain production, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. China's rising grain imports in recent years were mainly driven by lower offshore prices as compared to domestic grain prices, Bi said. "As global grain prices headed down, it's in China's interests to import an appropriate amount of grain at lower prices and follow the trend of international agriculture products," he said. The government's emphasis on and policy support to agriculture will encourage farmers to continue growing grain production, thus further consolidate the ability for the country to feed 1.3 billion people, Bi said. Relying more on machines, science and technology for higher grain output, China is also working to upgrade its irrigation system to make its food production sustainable, he added. China has designated permanent cropland to observe a red-line guarantee that arable land shall never shrink to less than 120 million hectares.
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Climate change leads to less nutritious food producedClimate change producing less-nutritious food, report says May 22, 2014 12:00 pm • By staff and wire reports This Feb. 7, 2014, file photo shows the cracked-dry bed of the Almaden Reservoir in San Jose, Calif., where the state is suffering one of its worst droughts. Climate change demands changes in how America grows food, according to a report from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, or it will produce less food that is not as rich nutritionally. A study from a project co-chaired by former 1st District congressman Doug Bereuter says climate change threatens to undermine not only how much food can be grown but also the quality of that food, as altered weather patterns lead to a less desirable harvest. Crops grown by many of the nation's farmers have a lower nutritional content than they once did, according to the report by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Research indicates that higher carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have reduced the protein content in wheat, for example. And the International Rice Research Institute has warned that the quality of rice available to consumers will decline as temperatures rise, the report noted. The council has been examining the effects of climate change on food for several months as part of a project co-chaired by former Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman and former Rep. Doug Bereuter, R-Neb., president emeritus of the Asia Foundation. Others on the advisory group for the project are prominent agribusiness leaders, such as Jose Luis Prado, president of Quaker Foods North America, Paul E. Schickler, president of Dupont Pioneer, scientists, academic leaders, former Kansas Gov. John Carlin, now chair of the Kansas Bioscience Authority, and Howard Buffett, a Nebraska farmer and son of Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett. The U.S. should embrace research into animal biology and plant management with the kind of enthusiasm it did space exploration in the 1960s, the council said, warning that the consequences of inaction could be severe. “History has shown that with adequate resources and support, agriculture can meet growing production demands and adapt to some changes in climate," Bereuter said in a news release. “But greater emphasis on adaptation must begin now ." The report, titled Advancing Global Food Security in the Face of a Changing Climate, was released Thursday at the council's Global Food Security Symposium 2014 in Washington, where 500 policymakers and scientists were gathered. “Adaptation must begin now," the report said. “Developing the necessary scientific breakthroughs and broadly disseminating them will require years, even decades of lead time ." Climate change initially will produce both winners and losers when it comes to food production, the report said, but research has indicated that growing regions everywhere will eventually suffer from global warming. The report calls on the U.S. government to integrate climate change adaptation into its global food security strategy. Recommendations include: * Passing legislation for a long-term global food and nutrition security strategy. * Increasing spending for agricultural research on climate change adaptation. * Collecting better data and making information on weather more widely available to farmers. There are significant global data gaps right now on weather, water, crop performance, land use and consumer preferences. * Increasing spending for partnerships between U.S. universities and those in low-income countries. * Urging that food security be addressed through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals. Another conclusion, closer to the soil: Plant and animal germplasm preservation for domesticated and wild species needs to be a priority. “As temperatures rise, rainfall patterns change and variability increases, farmers will need to figure out what their new normal might become, and, in fact, whether change is the new normal," the report concluded.
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Antarctic iceberg collapse could devastate world's food supply~~Antarctic Ice Collapse Could Devastate Global Food Supply Published: May 25th, 2014 By Suzanne Goldenberg, The Guardian The ongoing collapse of a large part of the Antarctica ice sheet could devastate global food supply, drowning vast areas of crop lands across the Middle East and Asia, according to new research. A new report urges the Obama Administration to step up research funding - especially in developing countries - to help make up a projected gap in future food supply. Credit: janet747/flickr The report, Advancing Global Food Supply in the Face of a Changing Climate, urges the Obama Administration to step up research funding - especially in developing countries - to help make up a projected gap in future food supply. It also warns America's Corn Belt could face yield declines of more than 25 percent by mid-century - unless there are new advances in agriculture to compensate for hotter temperatures, changing rainfall and more aggressive weeds and pests under climate change. The report, due to be released at a high-level conference in Washington, DC on Thursday, is the first to factor in the effects of the slow-motion collapse of the Western Antarctica ice sheet on future food security. Two independent studies last week warned the retreat of the Western Antarctica ice sheet was unstoppable - and could lead to sea-level rise of up to 4 meters (13 feet) over the coming centuries. Those rising seas would displace millions of people from low-lying coastal areas - and wipe out rice-growing areas across Asia, Gerald Nelson, a University of Illinois economist and author of Thurday's report, said. "That sea-level rise would take out half of Bangladesh and mostly wipe out productive rice regions in Vietnam," Nelson told The Guardian. "It would have a major effect on Egyptian agricultural areas ." The projected levels of sea-level rise, due to the retreat of ice in West Antarctica, pose a far greater threat to future food supply even than that envisaged in the United Nations' IPCC report in March, Nelson said. "A sea level rise of 3 meters (10 feet) over the next 100 years is much more likely than the IPCC thought possible," the report said. In terms of absolute land loss, China would be at risk of losing more than 3 million hectares (7.4 million acres). Vietnam, India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar could lose more than 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres), the report said. Farmland in Bangladesh are at risk of sea level rises, the food security report warns. Credit: Alamy via The Guardian The potential loss of viable crop land underscores the urgent need for new breakthrough technologies to increase agricultural productivity to keep pace with growing world population, the report said. "Agriculture is a huge world-wide industry that requires stable weather, 'or else,' and we might just be entering the 'or else' period," Dan Glickman, agriculture secretary under Bill Clinton and a co-chairman of the conference, told The Guardian. "The question is: 'are we doing the right kind of research at our universities, at the department of agriculture, or in the private sector to deal with those changes? We need more and more applied research to help us move those numbers up. That is the real challenge for scientists ." The increasing agricultural yields of the last 50 years have already slowed down or plateaued - even before climate change is taken into account. By mid-century, those declines will make it increasingly difficult for farmers to maintain the increases in crop yields needed to feed a growing population. According to some computer models included in the report, projected growth in yields in America's Corn Belt could drop by 25 percent by 2050- unless there are breakthroughs in agricultural research - because of higher temperatures, uncertain rainfall, and more aggressive weeds and pests under climate change. "We have got to figure out how to get plants to continue performance when average temperatures go up, and we don't know how to do that," Nelson said. "We need 60 percent more food generally, and this will make it harder to get there," he said. Reprinted from The Guardian with permission.
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Agriculture at an inflection point: How food systems affect biodiversity~~Agriculture at a Crossroads: How Food Systems Affect Biodiversity By Kumi Naidoo, EcoWatch 24 May 14 n today's United Nations biodiversity day, we are being asked to focus on small islands and their unique ecology and fragility in times of globally pervasive threats such as climate change. But, the whole planet is a small island in the vast sea of space, capable of producing food for all as a consequence of rich biodiversity. That diversity is under threat; our actions can strengthen it or weaken it. Our agriculture systems can help mitigate climate change and feed us, or they can accelerate the change and contribute to hunger. The food system we choose has a direct impact on which type of world we will have. It's the difference between a field that hums and is robust with life, or one which is dusty, dry and dead. It's the difference between a place where ecological farming has been used or where a cocktail of industrial chemicals has soaked into the soil where the same crop is grown, decade after decade. Our current food and farming system is creating more and more of these dry, dead ends. It is agriculture characterised by three things: the industrial-sized growing of a single plant, or “monoculture," genetically engineered (GE) crops, and repeated toxic chemical infusions of pesticides and the application of synthetic fertilisers. All of these harm people and the farming ecosystems they depend on. Just one example of the consequences of the current flawed agricultural system is the current catastrophic bee decline. Bees are being decimated in Europe and North America by the intensive use of chemical pesticides. In recent winters bee mortality in Europe has averaged at about 20 percent. A third of the food that we eat every day depends on bees and other insect pollinators. This dead-end road sees large multinational corporations persuading farmers to buy GE seeds based on the premise that they will increase yields, despite studies suggesting otherwise. Instead, they only increase farmers' indebtedness by failing to deliver the promised return on investment-turning them into slaves to a pesticide treadmill as superweeds develop. This is the ugly story behind the majority of the food we consume. This cycle increases our dependency on fossil fuels and contributes to climate change, as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) study recently reported. In fact, climate change affects this broken food system. Among other impacts, climate shocks cause food prices to rise, with deadly consequences in developing countries. Climate change is estimated to have increased the amount spent on food worldwide by $50bn a year. Climate change is also making food less nutritious according to a study published in Nature, with important staple crops such as wheat and maize containing fewer essential nutrients like zinc and iron. Projections show that up to 21 percent more children globally will be at risk of hunger by 2050. Industrial agriculture does not rely on diversification but on the standardisation and homogenisation of biological processes, technologies and products. It promotes off-the-shelf, one-size-fits-all solutions to food and farming around the world and in so doing undermines local and natural diversity, which are essential for resilience to climate change. Ecological farming increases resilience to climate shocks. It is based on the diversity of nature to produce healthy food for all: diversity of seeds and plants; diversity of many different crops grown in the same field; diversity of insects that pollinate (like bees) or eliminate pests; and diversity of farming systems that mix crops with livestock. Scientists from Wageningen University in the Netherlands, for example, recently found that certain beans greatly improve poor soils, increase productivity of maize when grown together and respond well to drought. They can be used for food, animal feed, and soil fertility. Researchers found that growing maize and beans at the same time increased farmers' income by 67 percent without the use of any chemical fertilisers. Ecological farming also relies on the innovations of farmers that enable adaptation to local conditions. It's the redeployment of traditional knowledge to counteract the impacts of climate change. In northeast Thailand, jasmine rice farmers have been adapting to increased drought by finding creative ways to use water resources-stock ponds for storage and simple wind-powered pumps made with locally available materials-which have been shown to increase yields and provide a safety net when drought strikes. Ecological farming effectively contributes to climate change mitigation. Industrial farming is a massive greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter. Agriculture, in fact, accounts for between 17 percent and 32 percent of all the emissions caused by humans, according to research for Greenpeace. Stopping chemical nitrogen fertiliser overuse and shifting to organic fertilisers (to increase soil fertility), improving water management in paddy rice production and increasing agro-biodiversity through agroforestry are just a few examples of how ecological farming practices and diversity could directly contribute to GHG reduction and help agriculture reduce the effects of climate change. Agriculture is now at a crossroads: we can pursue the dystopian dead-end road of industrial chemical-intensive farming or choose diverse and resilient ecological farming. Governments, donors, philanthropists and the private sector must start shifting funds towards research to generate new knowledge on biodiversity-rich ecological farming and services to disseminate diversified practices that are locally relevant. We must reject the dead-end trap of industrial agriculture and choose instead a food system that celebrates biodiversity and is healthy for people and the planet.
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A handful of big farms rule American agricultural production~ ~ Meet the '4%': Small number of farms dominates US Mark Koba | @MarkKobaCNBC 13 Hours Ago American farming is changing, according to the recently released agriculture census-and the change comes with a warning from the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack. Speaking at a symposium at Iowa State University on May 2, the day the census came out, Vilsack said the U.S. faces an "eroding middle" when it comes to farming, and that a small number of large farm operations "produces the vast majority of the nation's food ." Rice harvest in Williams, Calif. Ken James | Bloomberg | Getty Images Rice harvest in Williams, Calif. The U.S. Department of Agriculture census seems to back up Vilsack's complaint and his stated "need to expand the rural economy from the middle out." Large farms with over $1 million in sales account for only 4 percent of all farms, but 66 percent of all sales. That's up considerably from 1 percent of all farms and 50 percent of all sales a decade ago. However, three quarters of all U.S. farms gross only $50,000 a year and currently account for only 4 percent of product sales. But one analyst doesn't see that as a problem. Read More › White House issues dire warning on climate change "It's not terribly surprising that a relatively small number of farms produce the lion's share of products," said Darren Hudson, a professor of agriculture and applied economics at Texas Tech University. "Most of the smaller farms are 'hobby' farms with significant sources of off-farm income," he said. "They are large in number but have very small output ." Hudson argued it's because of the production from bigger farms that consumers enjoy lower food prices than they would otherwise-since those farms produce large amounts of crops cheaply through modern technology. Read More › Wanted: More young people for an old US industry If the recent findings-which cover the years from 2007 to 2012-do one thing, said Justin Gardner, a professor of agribusiness at Middle Tennessee State University, they dispel a common misconception. "Most farms in the U.S. are not the big corporations people think," he said. "If you look closer I suspect that you will find that the majority of the 'corporate' farms are large family farms that found it beneficial to form a corporation ." More Latino farmers The census, released every five years and conducted since 1840, also found that 30 percent of all farm operators are women and that the number of Latino farm operators has increased 21 percent since 2007. Sales of organically farmed food have increased 82 percent since 2007, to $3.1 billion in 2012. Also increasing was the direct sale of products from farms to consumers, up 8.1 percent since five years ago, to total more than $1.3 billion in 2012. Read More › Farming in America: There's growing discontent "Most of it is driven by the local, fresh food movement," said Texas Tech's Hudson. "This is good in that it offers farmers some diversification in market channels, so they're not completely dependent on large agribusiness firms to move products ." The census also said animal agriculture accounts for 45 percent of all industry sales. Grains, oilseeds, beans and peas make up a third, while fruits and vegetables account for 11 percent of sales. As for which states lead the way in agriculture sales, California is first with nine of the 10 top counties by value of sales. Fresno County was number one in the U.S., with nearly $5 billion in sales in 2012-which is bigger by itself than the sales of 23 individual states. Changing of the guard? When it comes to age, and the concern that not enough young people are taking up the profession, the census found that farmers who were the principal operators were on average 58.3 years old, up from 57.1 five years ago, and were predominantly male. Second operators, typically a spouse, relative or business partner, were slightly younger and most likely to be female. However, young, beginning principal operators who reported their primary occupation as farming increased 11.3 percent to 40,499 from 36,396 between 2012 and 2007. That's a good sign to show a changing of the guard, said Texas Tech's Hudson. "Getting into farming without an existing land base to inherit is expensive," he said. "So few want to do it. But seeing this increase gives me hope that the corner has been turned and we can get some new blood in farming ." Play Video Where you can make money Discussing the Fed's view of the economy, with Gene Peroni, Advisors Asset Management, and Jerry Castellini, CastleArk Management. Peroni points investors to agriculture stocks. All told, there are some 3.2 million farmers operating 2.1 million farms on 914.5 million acres of farmland across the United States. Both sales and production expenses reached record highs in 2012. U.S. producers sold $394.6 billion worth of agricultural products, and it cost them $328.9 billion to produce those products. Read More › Why inflation is a hard swallow for food companies In order to help smaller farms and others that need assistance, USDA Secretary Vilsack said on the department's website, the USDA "is going to create new market opportunities for farmers and ranchers, and provide access to capital, credit and disaster assistance for producers of all sizes ." But there's one census statistic that stands out above all that's a true positive sign for the industry, said Middle Tennessee State's Gardner-farms with Internet access rose to 69.6 percent in 2012 from 56.5 percent in 2007. "To me this is the most exciting trend," he said. "The Internet is a great learning tool. With an Internet connection, a farmer can become a better producer and a better marketer ." -By CNBC's Mark Koba