Agricultural issues and trends

Corn based ethanol in the United States

The increased price of corn has changed rotation patterns

Crop rotation?

Environmental impact

• Issues have been raised regarding possible effects on natural resources resulting from the ethanol expansion and changes in farmers’ cropping choices. – Impact on conservation set asides– Soil fertility– Water pollution due to increased use of

agricultural chemical

Impact on livestock production• Higher corn prices reduce the profitability of

meat production because of corn’s importance to the livestock sector as an animal feed.

In response to higher corn prices, red meat production is projected to decline in the United States and growth in poultry output is likely to slow.

US milk consumption/per capita is declining

Cheese consumption/per capita increasing

Why is cheese consumption increasing?

Demand for time-saving convenience foods is a major force behind this growth in cheese consumption

• 2001, Americans consumed 30 pounds of cheese per person, 8 times more than they did in 1909 and more than twice as much as they did in 1975.

Most of increase due to use of Italian cheese in pizza pie

More than half (about 55 percent to 65 percent) of our cheese now comes in commercially manufactured and prepared foods (including for food service), such as fast food sandwiches and packaged snack foods.

New products, such as re-sealable bags of shredded cheeses, have also raised consumption.

End

Organic Agriculture

• Organic farming has been one of the fastest growing segments of U.S. agriculture for over a decade.

• The U.S. had under a million acres of certified organic farmland when Congress passed the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990.

• By the time USDA implemented national organic standards in 2002, certified organic farmland had doubled, and doubled again between 2002 and 2005. Organic livestock sectors have grown even faster.

Organic farming has been one of the fastest growing segments of U.S. agriculture for over a decade.

“Corn” fed feedlot beef vs grass fed free range beef.

The manure is collected, composted, and usually sold to local farmers who apply it as organic fertilizer to their fields

A major issue factory farms must deal with is waste disposal.

Liquid waste is channeled towards retention ponds.

“Factory” chickens vs cage free chickens

So why don’t more people buy organic foods?

And finally, Fair Trade and Eat Local movements.

Fair trade is an organized social movement that aims to help producers in developing countries to make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. It advocates the payment of a higher price to exporters as well as higher social and environmental standards

The “eat local” movement promotes buying fresh food grown from local farmers.

The positives?Negatives?