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January 19, 2012
Dairies: Cost of Production More Important Than Milk Prices

Profiting from efficient milk production

via dairyco.org.uk

According to the DairyCo (UK) Milkbench+ report, the relationship between cost of production and profit is much stronger than many dairies realize. The report states that cost of production is the most significant factor in determining profit.

Milkbench+ analyst Karolina Klaskova says: “Through robust data and statistical analysis we see that the relationship between cost of production and margin is strong.” Ms Klaskova acknowledges that the findings are challenging. “The report raises many issues, including just how difficult it can be to make a profit from milk production,” she says.

November 11, 2011
Antibiotics in Food Animals

How will the future of antibiotics in food animals be impacted?

What are the issues of using antibiotics in food animals? How will their use impact consumers? What are some of the scientific studies saying? These reference links are only a starting reference point to help understand the issues and form an opinion on actions to take.

September 20, 2011
Food and Ag

How are food and agriculture related?

Food and agriculture are related, it just takes many steps to get from farm to plate. These links are just a small representation of ag products on their journey to the grocery store.

August 19, 2011
The Economy Stupid?

The economy appears to be going crazy and unpredictable. However, the economy is always unpredictable and has been "crazy" in the past. It is how we handle the information that determines how people get through the issues.

The economy appears to be going crazy and unpredictable. However, the economy is always unpredictable and has been "crazy" in the past. It is how we handle the information that determines how people get through the issues.

August 15, 2011
Ag Econ 101

The economics of agriculture is core to functioning societies. The ability to understand crop growth, trade functions, and identify trends is important to the billions of people that depend of food every day. These resources are good starting points to understand economics and how to apply it to agriculture.

August 15, 2011
This Week In Ag 0039 - Ag Economic Impacts From The US Government

Do we feed or export grain?  Turn it into ethanol?  And when will the Washington debate turn to the Farm Bill?

Dr. Terry Barr, Knowledge Exchange Group of, CoBank, and Ross Anderson, Chief Credit Officer with AgriBank, provide some insight and thoughts on the economic environment, the impacts to ethanol, and what the USDA might do with the debt ceiling.

July 15, 2011
Food, People, and 2050

9.8 billion people by 2050 will require 2.3 billion metric tons of food per year. How can this be supported?

The population continues to increase to levels that concern those that grow and produce food. Many believe there is a need to develop technologies that will increase food production at least by 50% to support the expected population of 2050 (9.8 billion by some estimates). While there is general agreement that the population will increase and that access to food will be an issue, there is no definitive solution.

April 29, 2011
What Is Pork's Carbon Footprint?

How are those in the US Swine industry tackling sustainability and environmental issues? This presentations outlines the actions being taken and what the future holds.

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

Presentation.

April 26, 2011
This Week In Ag 0036 - Animal Ag Alliance, What Is Coming Up?

The Animal Ag Alliance brings tools and resources to agri-professionals to help agvocate agriculture to many Americans not involved in raising food.

Show notes

Conversation with Sarah Hubbart, Director for Communications for the Animal Agriculture Alliance.

  • What is the focus for the Animal Agriculture Alliance?
  • In May the Animal Ag Alliance will be holding its 10th Stakeholders Summit. Can you share with us what this year's theme is?
April 5, 2011
This Week In Ag 0035 - What Is The Consumer's Stake in Today's Food Production?

Animal agriculture must begin to incorporate consumer desires, wishes, and input into how animals are raised. The first step involves educating farmers and ranchers about the consumer issues and develop goals to bring consumers closer to the process.

Show notes

Conversation with Scott Stuart, NIAA Board Chairman, about the 2011 National Institute for Animal Agriculture conference

  • What is the focus for the 2011 National Institute for Animal Agriculture Annual Conference, titled Consumer's Stake in Today's Food Production?
  • What do you want attendees to take away from the conference? Are there any actions you hope they follow-up on once back to their operations?
January 14, 2011
Buy Local Food Economics Not Valid

"A major flaw in the case for buying local is that it is at odds with the principle of comparative advantage."


via econlib.org

Economists Jayson Lusk and F.

January 5, 2011
This Week In Ag 0022 - What Are Rural Businesses?

What opportunities are there for rural businesses?

Show notes

What are rural businesses?

  • What does a rural business looks like?
  • Are farms considered rural businesses?
  • What issues face rural businesses?
  • What are some ideas for farm / ranch business operations to think about in next 18 months?
  • Information sharing, communications, marketing, etc in rural businesses ... What does that look like? 

What is you website pick of the week? What information do we all need to know about, use, share, rave about?!?

December 13, 2010
Can Ethanol and Politics Mix?

What is so hot about ethanol that it brings out the hard core politics and lobbying?

Including extensions to the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) is one of the actions taken up by the 111th U.S. Congress. This extension seeks to continue the 45-cents per gallon credit given to fuel blenders. What is the VEECT? From Bioenergy Wiki:

December 13, 2010
Discovering Ethanol

Ethanol is consider by some to be the path to U.S. energy independence while others say it is only a stop gap at best. These links offer a starting point to learning more.

Ethanol as an energy source has lots of sides, politically, economically, and socially. These links only offer a starting point to discovering more about ethanol.

December 12, 2010
This Week In Ag 0021 - Fueling Ethanol

What is the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit and what impact will new legislation have on the ethanol industry?

Show notes

Chat with Matt Hartwig, The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA).

  • Can you explain the key points of the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (aka VEETC)?
  • What impact would a reduction in the VEETC have on the U.S. ethanol industry? Ideas floating in DC have credit going from $0.45 to $0.36.
  • What is the status of U.S. exports of ethanol? 
November 4, 2010
This Week In Ag 0018 - What Does Ag Policy Look Like Post Election?

The 2010 elections are over and January will bring new legislators. What ag policies will be affected or what impacts on ag could the 112th US Congress impose?

Show notes

  • Post elections ag policy outlook
    • Estate taxes, environmental regulations, land use?
    • The 2012 Farm Bill will continue its development in 2011. What will that look like?
  • Swine industry in current economy.
    • Highlights from Swine conferences?
    • "corn would be a whole lot more affordable for the swine industry if every pound of pork had a 46-cent tax credit, similar to ethanol", comments?
    • Does more consolidation need to occur?
November 2, 2010
What is in store for the 2012 Farm Bill?

The 2010 Farm Bill outcomes are still in the "distant" future. But the elections this year and next will play a major part in what is in or out of the bill.

How will the 2010 election affect the discussions on the 2012 Farm Bill? No one knows definitively. However, the following links may provide some indicators and information to help understand the issues and concerns.

September 14, 2010
This Week In Ag 0015 - Investment In Agriculture To Help Drive Change In Food Systems

Agriculture 2.0 bring ideas and venture capital together to effect change on food systems.

Show notes

  • Janine Yorio, Managing Director and Founder of NewSeed Advisors, updates us on the Agriculture 2.0 conference series and how its expansion to other cities is working.
August 27, 2010
This Week In Ag 0013 - Will We See Congressional Action On Estate Taxes This Year?

What will happen if the US tax code is not addressed by the Congress before January 1, 2011?

Show notes

Estate taxes are in limbo as American Farm Bureau Federation Tax Policy Specialist Pat Wolff explains.  Yes, we may still see action but if not, the tax clock roles back ten years come January 1.  You need to talk to your congressman because you really don't want that to happen.

August 19, 2010
This Week In Ag 0012 - What Is The Farm Credit System?

How does the Farm Credit System work and how does one obtain financing?

Show notes

  • The Farm Credit System.
    • Special guest expert on the Farm Credit system, Jack Shuler, President and CEO of ArborOne Farm Credit.
    • What is the Farm Credit system? How does the Farm Credit system operate? Can you share how the Farm Credit is organized?
    • Why is the Farm Credit system used over traditional banks / lending institutions?
    • What are some of the issues farm operations are facing today where the Farm Credit system can hopefully provide assistance?
July 30, 2010
What Are Agriculture Extensions?

Did you know agriculture extensions offer more than ag data and research?

The USA agriculture extension services are an outreach program of land grant universities. The goal of the extension service is to bring research based information to the ag community.

Ideally, the research information can be applied on production and community operations to help them become more productive, increase their yields, and improve their lives. Extension personnel and services are not only agriculture focused but also focus on family, consumer sciences, youth education, and economic & community development.

July 29, 2010
How Do I Find Partners and Businesses Resources?

Web tools can help improve your ability to find a contact at other companies.

Looking for specific businesses or contacts within a company? Using tools like Manta.com or LinkedIn can help improve your chances of making a connection.

July 23, 2010
Dairy Market and Pricing Information

The diary industry is complex and sometimes difficult to understand. These resources can help wade through the maze.

July 23, 2010
World Agriculture Information Research Tools

Looking for ag data can seem daunting. Use these web sites and the power of Google to speed up the search and reduce the hassle.

When looking for information on world agriculture, where do you start? The following websites are good starting points. They are not all encompassing but they will get you started.

Use the power of Google Search. For example Google allows you to specify that your search results must come from a given website. For example, the query [ corn site:fao.org ] will return pages about corn but only from fao.org.

July 15, 2010
Ag Career and Job Search Tools

Where can I start my ag career and job search?

These are stating points for discovering and researching agricultural jobs and careers.