Doha Round Could be Concluded by 2010
This week, Bloomberg.com reported that World Trade Organization members might be able to finalize the Doha Round discussions next year. These discussions could potentially spark a deal for global agricultural trade.
The Doha Round was started in order to strike a deal with wealthy governments, who would lower farm subsidies and tariffs, in exchange for developing countries to open up their markets to imports of farmed goods and manufactured products.
The promising news is that India and the US seem to be on board to complete the round by next year. Previously, these two countries clashed last year and caused the talks to fall out and everything has stalled since then.
While the deal seems to help spread agricultural wealth around the world, do you think it will help reverse the current agricultural problems plaguing developing countries?
Is Carbon Capture for Real?
Our blog has frequently mentioned the problem of global warming and how it is directly tied to agriculture. Many arguments have been made stating that global warming will directly impact agricultural output, but what if agriculture had the inverse affect on global warming. A study released yesterday by the Worldwatch Institute seems to think it can.
According to the study, world agriculture could become a major player in the race to reduce global warming. Current innovations and experimentations in food production and land usage could be put to work to reduce greenhouse gases by 25 percent. The process is referred to as carbon capture technology and it could also be used to manage the levels of carbon already in the atmosphere.
Though the technique is not entirely proven, its influence could be pivotal in our attempt to lessen global warming. In the meantime, the report recommends that we take steps to “go negative” with our carbon emissions in order to help carbon capture technology lessen the amount of carbon in the atmosphere by 2050.
Would you support an initiative that could reduce greenhouse gases by altering our agricultural system?
An Attempt to End World Hunger
First and foremost, we would like to again thank everyone that participated in our 2009 World Congress last week. It was by far one of the most influential Congresses we have ever held.
That being said, many articles have been published surrounding one of the Congress’s primary topics and overall goal of the World Agricultural Forum – ending world hunger.
Jim Bolger, Chairman of the World Agricultural Forum, had one of the most poignant statements at the World Congress. Many articles quoted him saying, “You can park unsold cars, but you can’t park poverty and hunger.” This reference to the auto industry bailouts reoccurred in many discussions. Many participants mentioned that the auto industry received drastic action and millions of dollars after only suffering for a few years, while the impoverished suffer for their whole lives and have not received such drastic action from their government.
Another speaker, author of The Bottom Billion and Oxford University Economics Professor Paul Collier, spoke about problems with hunger in a heavily populated world. The problem, argued Collier, lies in politics and global policies. According to Collier, we must begin by halting three policies:
- First, get rid of the ban on genetically modified crops in Europe
- Second, get rid of U.S. subsidies on biofuels
- And third, stop promoting the concept of organic peasant farming as a solution to hunger.
What do you think was the most impactful story to come from this year’s World Congress?
Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter!
The Importance of Missouri
As the World Congress comes to a close, we would like to thank everyone who participated. Our efforts would not be possible without you. And we are proud to have Kathy Moldthan as new Chief Executive Officer of the World Agricultural Forum. She is incredibly dedicated to the efforts of our organization, as well as the St. Louis community.
Also, we would like to point out the significant contributions of the state of Missouri. This Congress has showcased just how important agribusiness is in Missouri is to the United States, as well as the rest of the world.
The Missouri Partnership has helped make great strides in recent years to help increase agribusiness in the state by promoting the skill sets and attributes Missouri has to offer. The state’s main agricultural strengths include chemical manufacturing for pesticides and fertilizers, food manufacturing, farm production and, finally, farm supplies, clothing and services.
Overall, Missouri’s farms are ranked 12th in the United States, due in part to the efforts of the Missouri Partnership.
For more information about the Missouri Partnership and its agribusiness opportunities, please visit www.missouripartnership.com.
Be sure to check our Web site, as we will be posting wrap-ups from the World Congress.
Importance of Food Production
There have been many great discussions sparked at this year’s World Congress. However, one topic seems to be at the forefront of each conversation: sufficient global food production.
Bloomberg.com reported that global agricultural production must rise in order to help curb surging grain prices, which are forecasted to increase again. In 2008, corn, wheat, rice and soybeans rose to record highs, but have since marginally decreased. Dave Morgan, President of Syngenta Seeds Inc. was quoted in the article saying that the world needs to grow more from less as the world’s population increases and the amount of farmable land decreases.
Government intervention across the world is hindering free market trade and consequently hurting agriculture, according to reports from Reuters. Carl Hausmann, President and CEO of Bunge North America stated that the world does not need domestic independence, rather global interdependence. A system like this could create long-term stability as global demands rise.
Brownfield Network also reported on this main topic at the World Congress. In an interview, Leonard Guarraia, Chairman of the Board for the World Agricultural Forum, posed several important questions, such as, “How are we going to (create enough food), can we do it with existing technology, do we need better inputs? What policies are needed for trade? What policies are needed in production and in technology?” Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jim Bolger was able to provide a partial answer to Guarraia’s questions. Bolger stated that a healthy global economy is vital and that plentiful production will depend on both developed and developing nations.
What do you think we can do to help create adequate food supplies?
Don’t forget to check our Web site and our Twitter for constant updates of the Congress. And audio presentations from the Congress are available for download at our Web site as well.
Countdown to the World Congress
The World Agricultural Forum’s 2009 World Congress is less than a week away and news is still breaking that will drastically impact the panel discussions.
Just yesterday, the US Agriculture Department announced its forecast for the country’s crop outlook and unfortunately, its is not as optimistic as the Department had hoped it would be. US farm prospects are predicting that farmers will struggle well into 2010 with high crop prices. Corn and soybean prices are supposed to fluctuate, yet still wind up at the more expensive end of the spectrum; while the overall wheat harvest is projected to fall from last year’s intake.
The everyday consumer will also feel these farming woes at the local grocery store. Wells Fargo & Co. have predicted US food prices to climb at least 4% to 4.5% before the end of the 2009 calendar year. These new findings are sure to make its way into the events of the Congress’ first day, where the schedule discussion topics include “The Agricultural Challenge During the Global Financial Crisis: The Nature of the Challenge?” and “Managing Risk and Financing Agriculture and Food Production in the Changing Global Economy.”
If you are not able to attend the World Congress, you can still follow it from the comfort of your computer. Check back here to our blog, check our Twitter and our Web site for constant updates throughout the Congress. Feel free to join our discussions and your comments might even be read at some of our interactive discussion.
The Need to Secure More Food
This week, two organizations released strong statements regarding the need for increased global food security. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Food and Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) are raising awareness of the lack of food all over the world.
OECD released a statement on its Web site about governments’ intervening in agricultural production. According to OECD, while the government might have good intentions, they “impose costs on consumers and taxpayers, reduce economic efficiency, distort production and trade, impede growth in developing countries, and may damage the environment.” OECD is meeting with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization later this week to discuss possible solutions.
Also this week, the IFPRI released a new study warning that climate change will drastically affect food supplies everywhere. The findings state that agriculture faces new and more challenging demands on its productivity as climates all over the world dramatically change. Future crops and livestock need to be able to survive in a wide array of environments, rather than survive in a narrow set of climate conditions.
Claudia Ringler, Senior Research fellow from the IFPRI is attending the World Congress and participating on the panel “Water Resource Management for Agriculture – Policy and Technical Solutions.”
These topics, and more, will be covered on the first day of our Congress, May 18, in St. Louis, MO, USA. Our theme for the day is “Financial Measures to Ensure Food & Agriculture Security.”
What preparations do you think we need to take in order to increase global food security?
Previous WTO Chairman latest to attend 2009 World Congress
Former WTO Chairman of the Agriculture Committee Crawford Falconer is the most recent keynote speaker to confirm attendance at the World Agricultural Forum’s 2009 World Congress in St. Louis, Missouri, USA on May 18-20.
Falconer was replaced just last Thursday after serving as Chairman of the Agriculture Committee for more than three years. He has already accepted the position of Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in his native country of New Zealand.
The Congress’s events on Tuesday, May 19, which will be dedicated to “Trade and Food & Agricultural Security,” are set to begin with Falconer. He will deliver a speech centered on the challenges of global trade, as well as answer participant questions, followed by a press conference.
For more information about the 2009 World Congress and other participants, please visit The World Agricultural Forum. Registration information can also be found here on our Web site.
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS – Syngenta Recognizing Contributions to Global Challenges Award
The WAF is pleased to announce the establishment of the Syngenta Recognizing Contributions to Global Challenges Award, which will be presented at the World Congress in St. Louis this May. The award will be given to honor an individual or organization that has impacted the lives and livelihood of the world’s population by meeting the growing need for food. The recipient would have contributed significantly to bringing plant potential to life by addressing the crucial issues of safe, affordable and reliable supplies of food, fuel, fiber and water.
Complex issues continue to weave challenges into the WAF vision of empowering agriculture to feed every man, woman and child on earth. But while the challenges are many, great strides have been taken, with individuals and organizations implementing new ways to protect our resources, unearthing successful methods of farming, discovering new and better crops, and spreading knowledge and tools to those in need.
Syngenta believes that agriculture is vital to society. The adoption of modern crop protection technologies and improved crop genetics are essential to achieve the goals of sustainable agriculture. “This award is an excellent opportunity to recognize those at the forefront of agricultural development in bringing plant potential to life across the globe,” said David Morgan, President of Syngenta Seeds Inc., who will be on hand to present the award at the World Agricultural Forum in May.
The award will be based on contributions to innovative programs that have made a difference in people’s ability to provide sustained food sources, while identifying and implementing agricultural solutions
Nomination forms can be downloaded here or at http://worldagforum.org/images/pdfs/WAF-Syngenta-Award-Nomination-Form.pdf. Nominations should be emailed to Bruce Kupper at bkupper@blacktwigllc.com. The deadline for nominations is April 30, 2009.
U.S. Elections and Global Agriculture
What will the recent U.S. elections mean for global agriculture and how will new leadership in America affect ag-issues overseas?
This article, found at farmonline.com (http://sl.farmonline.com.au/news/nationalrural/agribusiness-and-general/general/us-election-big-changes-ahead-for-agriculture/1352936.aspx), outlines what’s known about Barack Obama’s farm policies.
Who will be Obama’s Secretary of Ag?
Who do you think Obama will choose for Secretary of Agriculture? These links pose interesting choices:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jvY5vqpkY9mXr6rH1CBOs-ROuFIQD94EQH5O1
http://www.wisconsinagconnection.com/story-national.php?Id=2675&yr=2008
http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081114/NEWS/711149949/1006
http://www.northbynorthwestern.com/2008/11/13629/ideal-cabinet/
WAF has joined Twitter!
Check out the latest news on agriculture at http://twitter.com/WorldAgForum.
Market Update from Reuters
U.S. grains, soy surge as crude oil, Wall St rally
* Grains/soy rally with higher crude oil, equity markets
* Weaker U.S. dollar supportive
* Concerns linger about slowing demand in slumping economy
(Updates price, adds analyst quotes, changes dateline from PARIS/SEOUL)
Change for Agriculture?
It will be interesting to see how Obama fits agriculture into his change agenda, if at all. Does that have an impact on the U.S. Farm Bill? How will that affect ag investments in the Midwest? There are lots of questions to be answered and they start with Obama’s pick for Secretary of Agriculture…who will it be?
What do you think?
Check out this related article from Forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/home/2008/11/21/obama-policy-agriculture-biz-wash-cx_1124oxford.html
This just in…
The President of Malawi will be present at the 2009 World Congress, scheduled for May 18-20, 2009 in Sain Louis, Missouri, USA.
Global Warming Continues to Affect Agriculture
After a short hiatus, the World Ag Forum blog is back. We will have new posts for you to read weekly and encourage your feedback and comments.
Today, the largest foreseen threat to the agriculture industry would undoubtedly be the lack of investments in agriculture globally. Certainly, the economy has negatively impacted farming all over the world. At the same time, there are also natural threats that farmers must overcome every year, such as climate changes.
The Scientific American published an article this week stating that for the next 30-40 years, temperatures will steadily rise during the growing season and hinder the production and outcome of crops. This production decrease will directly affect food supplies, prices and security, in addition to billions of people around the world.
This issue has been a hot topic in recent history. We even devoted an entire panel discussion of our 2007 World Congress to “How Can Agriculture Mitigate Climate Change?” The discussion brought up issues surrounding food deficits both then, and future. James Spellman, consultant to the United Nations Foundation, spoke with Reuters at the 2007 World Congress about the topic.
“Climate change has had an impact on prosperity,” said Spellman. “If climate change is not mitigated or understood early enough, the ability of a country to generate a livelihood may be impacted by increased disease, new pest patterns and diseases that plants weren’t accustomed to.”
The 2009 World Congress, held in St. Louis, Missouri, USA on May 18-20, will catch up on these topics and their status in the world today. We will discuss how to move forward and empower change in our panel entitled the “Impact of Climate Change on Food Prices.”
Concern for this issue seems to be heating up. What do you think?
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=croplands-may-wither-as-global-warming-worsens
President Obama’s Promise
The NewScientist posted an article yesterday surrounding arguably the most impactful statement of President Obama’s inauguration address. He affirmed that the United States would restore science to its rightful place. We can only assume that he plans to devote a significant amount of time, energy and tax dollars to developing new, productive technology, most notably in the realms of energy sources and agriculture. This statement, paired with his later mention of aiding poor nations so their farms may flourish once again, shines a hopeful ray of light on the future of agriculture. President Obama made it clear that America needs to take the reins as a perennial world-leader in this industry.
This renewed dedication to science has endless possibilities if Obama is able to follow through on his influential vision. And now the public knows he understands the issues affecting agriculture, but do you see this promise coming to fruition? Why or why not?
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16452-obama-to-restore-science-to-its-rightful-place.html
Genetically Modified Food Debate
One of the most heated debates in the agricultural community these days surrounds the topic of genetically modified foods. Some agricultural experts feel genetically modified foods will help bring an end to our current agricultural challenges, while others believe these so-called “frankenfoods” have no advantage over traditional, natural foods and our research efforts are better served elsewhere.
Late last week, the Science Museum in London held a debate centered on genetically altered food. The debate coincided with the opening of their new “Future Foods” exhibit, which is an exhibit dedicated exclusively to information about genetically modified foods. Though there is no empirical evidence that proves genetically modified food improves yields, experts in favor of producing this type of food suggest that before anyone makes up their mind, we first need to research their actual effect.
How do you feel about genetically modified food? Do you think they will help solve our food challenges?
Water is the Answer
Two articles published last month presented opposing sides of an important agricultural resource: water supply. Water supplies are vitally important to agriculture and directly affect crop yields, among other things.
The Keystone Center, a Colorado, USA based not-for-profit organization aiming to develop policy solutions for global problems, published a report in early January entitled, “Field to Market.” This report positively summarized how American agriculture has been able to use fewer resources while producing more food. Specifically, the report mentioned that emerging technologies are allowing US farmers to use less water for their crops. The Keystone Center also looks to the future and states that in order to maintain this trend, farmers need to find a way to farm with higher-quality water. This will be one of the major factors impacting agricultural sustainability in upcoming years.
Additionally, the World Water Forum met in Rome late last month. They announced that more pressure is being placed on the world’s water supply due to city expansions, water reservoir pollution and climate change. The meeting focused on the forecasted population increase to 9 billion people in 2050 and the efficiency of using a limited water supply. They feel that feeding a growing world, with the strains already placed on our water supply, will prove to be an incredibly difficult task.
We will be discussing water resource management for agriculture with Dr. Rattan Lal, Professor of Soil Science, SENR and Director, Carbon Management and Sequestration Center, OARO/FAES, Ohio State University at the 2009 World Congress on May 18-20 in St. Louis, MO, USA.
How do you feel about the potential troubles facing our world’s water supply?
Funding the Small Farmer
There have been too many proposed solutions for our current economic crisis to keep track of them all. However, some of the more noteworthy plans have a common theme: working from the bottom up. The World Bank has taken that notion and started putting it into action.
Early yesterday, the World Bank designated US $27 million to aid three provinces in Mozambique, Africa and help to increase agricultural production in the region. More than 20,000 farmers are expected to benefit from receiving agricultural production tools and other agriculture-related materials.
The funds will help families recovering from the flooding of the Zambezi River over the last few years, as well as raise awareness for protecting the environment and preventing erosion – which was one of the main reasons the floodwaters affected so many people.
The World Bank also announced on Wednesday that it would be enter into a pact with the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) to boost agricultural business across sub-Saharan Africa. With this new pact, The World Bank is taking a stance against the lack of credit for the small farmers all over the globe.
The World Bank has begun to fund small farms in order to stimulate their country’s economy and create self-sustaining food production. Do you think this tactis will help pull us out of our economic troubles?
Syngenta Award Recognizes Outstanding Efforts
The World Agricultural Forum is pleased to announce the establishment of the Syngenta Bringing Plant Potential to Life Award, which will be presented at the World Congress in St. Louis, in May. The award will be given to honor an individual or organization that has impacted the lives and livelihood of the world’s population by meeting the growing need for food. The recipient would have contributed significantly to bringing plant potential to life by addressing the crucial issues of safe, affordable and reliable supplies of food, fuel, fiber and water.
Comples issues continue to weave challenges into the WAF vision of empowering agriculture to feed every man, woman and child on earth. But while the challenges are many, great strides have been taken, with individuals and organizations implementing new ways to protect our resources, unearthing successful methods of farming, discovering new and better crops and spreading knowledge and tools to those in need.
Syngenta believes that agriculture is vital to society. The adoption of modern crop protection technologies and improved crop genetics are essential to achieve goals of sustainable agriculture. “This award is an excellent opportunity to recognize those at the forefront of agricultural development in bringing plant potential to life across the globe,” said David Morgan, President of Syngenta Seeds Inc., who will be on hand to present the award at the World Agricultural Forum in May.
The award will be based on contributions to innovative programs that have made a difference in people’s ability to provide sustained food sources, while identifying and implementing agricultural solutions. Nomination forms can be found on the World Agricultural Forum Web site. Nominations should be emailed to Bruce Kupper at bkupper@blacktwigllc.com. The deadline for nominations is April 9, 2009.
Please visit http://worldagforum.org/images/pdfs/WAF-Syngenta-Award-Nomination-Form.pdf
Join Our World Congress Today!
Our members often inquire about quantifying the value of membership with the World Agricultural Forum and we have discovered that one of the principal benefits of membership comes from having your clients present at the World Congress and engage in high-level discussions with the key influencers in attendance.
The old adage about time is money is truer today than ever before. Clients want to focus on their businesses and their greatest challenges. As much as they appreciate working with your representatives, buying and using your products/services may not be their most pressing issue. However, there is nothing more valuable than having time to build and strengthen your relationships with your valued trade partners. Participation and attendance at the World Congress has much to offer in regard to enhancing these relationships. Whether it is simply entertaining your guests or meeting with World Congress presenters and participants in private sessions, the World Congress is an excellent platform to use for an associated sales or marketing event.
World Agricultural Forum members who have invited customers to the World Congress derive substantial business benefits. Spending three or four days with clients is always advantageous. Plus, there are ample opportunities to conduct meetings of your own either on site in conjunction with the World Congress or just before or after the World Congress.
The World Congress attendees are very enthusiastic about the caliber of the speakers, the senior level of the participants and the ‘invitation only’ approach that we implement. Accessing such senior level participants has consistently proven to be a big bonus.
So as you plan for your attendance at the 2009 World Congress (May 18-20), we urge you to consider inviting ten to twenty of your key customers to attend. We have group discounts of up to 50% available and the WAF staff is eager to assist your organization in coordinating activities in conjunction with our main program.
We encourage you to take advantage of these opportunities, as we believe you will find this to be one of the principal benefits of membership with the WAF. Please contact Jo-Ann Digman at (314) 657-1108 for further information or visit http://worldagforum.org/join.htm.
Where’s the Profit?
The USDA report titled, Census of Agriculture Shows Growing Diversity in U.S. Farming, provides recent update on farming from 2002-2007. Diversity was highlighted as one of the high points of the report as the number of women, Hispanic, American Indian, Asian and African farmers has increased noticeably since 2002.
However, the rest of U.S. farming appears to be feeling the economic crunch. Of the 2.2 million farms in America, 900,000 of the farms reported earnings of $2,500 or less for all of 2007. On the extreme opposite end of the spectrum, 100,000 of American farms accounted for more than 75% of the country’s total agricultural production.
The gap grew even wider as the report mentioned that only 1 million of the farms in America recorded a positive income from their farming efforts in 2007.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack acknowledged that these figures point to a major problem. He has vowed to do something about it. What do you think Vilsack should do to help balance the numbers?
Discussions Sparked from the First-Ever Asia Roundtable
Our first-ever Asia Roundtable Meeting just concluded yesterday, March 10, 2009. We would like to thank our gracious host in Phuket for hosting this dynamic event, as well as our sponsors, which included Novus, Monsanto, CMI and Lihue Group, our speakers, who included Rt. Hon. James B. Bolger, Dr. Harvey Glick, Jan Lambregts, Hans Joehr, Dr. Ajva Taulananda, Richard Landis, Peter Bracher, Xu Tao, Vipul Prakesh, Thad Simons and Tesco Asia, and all of our attendees. We are pleased to report that the event proved to be a great catalyst for our 2009 World Congress discussions in St. Louis, MO, USA on May 18-20.
The Roundtable discussions brought up suggestions about how to help our global society’s agriculture thrive. For more information about the discussions that took place at the 2009 Asia Roundtable please visit:
Food Output Needs to Grow Rapidly
Andaman News Program Highlights
Also this week, YES! Magazine published an article with an interesting idea on how to repair the global agricultural issues. The article, entitled Food Rebellions: 7 Steps to Solving the Food Crisis, calls for removing false aid policies that hinder farmers, rather than provide support. The 7 Steps proposed in the article sound good, in theory.
1. Support domestic food production
2. Stabilize and guarantee fair prices to farmers and consumers by re-establishing floor prices and publicly owned national grain reserves. Establish living wages for workers on farms, in processing facilities, and in supermarkets
3. Halt agro-fuels expansion
4. Curb speculation in food
5. Promote a return to smallholder farming. On a pound-per-acre basis, family farms are more productive than large-scale industrial farms. And they use less oil. Because 75% of the world’s poor are farmers, this will address poverty too.
6. Support agro-ecological production
7. Food sovereignty: Recognize the right of all people to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound methods and their own food systems.
Do you think these proposals will help reverse the current agricultural climate?
What Investments Need to be Made?
Though the World Ag Forum is currently in between our major events, just completing our Asia Roundtable and preparing for our World Congress, there are still plenty of other agriculture events happening. This week is National Agriculture Week, March 15-21, and National Ag Day is this Friday, March 20.
Agriculture is a crucial investment in the future because it is often the foundation for developing and emerging economies. This week is vitally important to our country’s leaders to reflect on the impact of agriculture.
In fact, this week two major aid investments were completed between different countries. First, Russia gave $300 million to Mongolia for their agricultural developments. This aid is imperative for trade between these two countries, which totaled more than $1.3 billion last year alone. Mongolia will now be able to distribute those funds to its farmers to purchase supplies and machinery for the upcoming harvest.
Secondly, Taiwan opened an agriculture center in El Salvador to help the Salvadoran people increase their production of value-added fruit and vegetables. The center is located on a large plot of land and is expected to plant more than 500,000 fruit tree and vegetables. Again, this aid is essential to global trading. In 2008, Taiwan helped Salvadoran farmers develop crops worth more than $1.36 million dollars.
What investments do you think US representatives should look to make, both domestically and overseas, as they reflect on agriculture this week?
High Food Prices are Deceptive
This past week, Reuters interviewed the World Bank about the state of the global food crisis and found an interesting argument: there is actually not a lack of food around the world, rather the prices and lack of distribution are making that impression. In fact, the majority of food prices have dropped so far this year, though they are still well above prices from 2005.
The World Bank mentioned that the financial crisis has prevented the price of food from dropping more. Trade financing has affected countries’ ability to trade with one another so less trade is occurring around the world. If this trend continues, we will see more and more people become poor and malnourished. Current estimates put the number of hungry people around the world at 923 million, but that number could reach one billion in just several short years. Additionally, the financial crisis increased the number of impoverished people by 130-155 million people last year.
Ethanol has been pegged as one of the main reasons for the high costs of food. The scare of a food shortage is prompting many countries to take preventative measures, such as cutting back on the export of goods. This in turn hurts the country as well as others who are in dire need of those goods.
What do you think we can do to reverse this trend?
Bloomberg Survey Reveals Mixed Soybeans, Corn Findings
Bloomberg News recently unveiled the findings of its survey on the future of US soybeans and corn. It reported that US farmers are planning on planting record amounts of soybeans this season as the demand for corn falls, dropping prices to levels not seen in more than two years. Soybeans will also drop, and will dip below prices seen more than a year ago. Farmers have said that the increase in soybean planting is because it costs roughly 32% less to raise than corn.
These price decreases will drastically affect US farming incomes, which will drop after two consecutive years of recording breaking profits. The US Department of Agriculture is projecting net farm incomes to decline 20% this year, or more than $18 billion.
Livestock farmers are also projected to be negatively impacted. It is estimated that upwards of 49% of US corn consumption is for animal feed. With the demand for corn production dropping, these farmers are preparing to reduce their herds and flocks simultaneously for the first time since 1973, according to the USDA. Currently, the number of dairy cows across the country is declining and their prices are the lowest since 1980. Cattle ranchers have reported losses for 21 consecutive months, and unfortunately, this trend does not appear to be reversing itself anytime soon.
What investments can be made to help turn this around?
Climate Impacts Water Supply More Than We Know
The relationship between water and agriculture cannot be underestimated. These intertwined items heavily impact everyone on the planet. So it comes as no surprise that recent climate change has some officials very worried about the future of both water supplies and agriculture.
Many countries have experienced rare, long-lasting weather phenomenon in recent years (droughts, desertification, cyclones, floods). These incidences can be attributed to several major factors – population growth, migration, urbanization, land degradation and major shifts in dietary preferences – all of which negatively impact fresh water supplies in developing countries, and in turn negatively impact agricultural production as well.
What needs to be discussed more are the issues of food security and how climate is an impactful factor. At the upcoming 2009 World Congress, we will be discussing this very issue with Professor Allan Buckwell of CLO, Caroline Saunders, Professor at Lincoln University in New Zealand and Frank Tugwell, President and CEO of Winrock International.
What is the first step to secure sufficient water management in these countries?
Hidden Value
With our World Congress less than a month away, we wanted to discuss a very crucial, unique aspect of our Congress that is often overlooked. You will not find it in the program or the agenda, you will not find it in any roundtable discussion or keynote speech; however, it is an incredibly powerful attribute of the World Agricultural Forum. The incomparable feature we are talking about is how the Congress is able to bring people together that might not have otherwise had this opportunity to meet, yet their work shares a common cause.
These encounters will happen because the attendees strongly believe that we need to come together and work to solve our current agricultural issues, regardless of political affiliations, corporate agendas or personal beliefs. This passion for positively changing agriculture has formed relationships and initiatives that extend beyond the events sponsored by the World Agricultural Forum, most notably the professional relationship struck by the World Wildlife Foundation and Cargill, who met at our 2007 World Congress.
This is an amazing benefit of holding a global congress with people who want to see significant changes come to fruition. When people and organizations come together for the common good of their fellow man, great things are possible, and we foresee great projects coming from this year’s World Congress.
It’s still not too late to attend the Congress in person, May 18-20 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Register here or contact Michelle at mkuehler@blacktwigllc.com if you would like any more information.
