Whether
it was a commercial fertilizer that my dad was using on the farm or
simply the house we lived in, it was always important to satisfy my
curiosity by learning the components of everything. I was shocked when
I first learned that the sheetrock on the walls of our house was made
of Calcium Sulfate, which just happens to be the exact same material
we spread on our fields each year. Farmers call it gypsum. Home-builders
call it gypsum wallboard or sheetrock. Either way, it's basically the
same product. Another interesting fact is that while building a 2000
square foot home, about 1 ton of gypsum wallboard waste is left over
in unusable scraps. Currently, scrap wallboard is going to landfills,
but people at the University of Wisconsin are looking at potentially
using this waste product as a replacement for its commercial fertilizer
counterpart in fields. If farmers can safely use this waste product
to benefit crops, it could be a winning solution for everyone involved.
Back
to top of page.
| SUNBUTTER |
When
agricultural groups like Sungold Foods in Fargo, North Dakota
find a home-grown product to meet the needs of hungry customers,
it's a match made in heaven. The challenge they saw was that while
peanut butter is a great food for many people, peanuts have a
few weaknesses that sunflower seeds can improve on. This new revolution
is called Sunbutter. While it's still in the initial stages as
a product, the early reports are in. Sunbutter has less saturated
fat, up to three times more iron, and twice the fiber compared
to traditional peanut butter. Plus, sunbutter provides an alternative
for people with allergies to peanuts. This is especially helpful
for young children as peanut butter is not recommended for children
under three. All in all, sunbutter tastes good, it's healthy,
and it provides a great market that sunflower growers in the Dakotas
and Minnesota can help to fulfill. Watch for farmers and innovative
companies to come up with more crops to help satisfy health conscious
consumers.
Back
to top of page. |
| FUNGUS
TO CONTROL GRASSHOPPERS |
Last
summer, grasshoppers were devouring acre after acre of pasture
and rangeland in the western United States [to the point that
the government declared some of these areas were in a state of
agricultural emergency]. In the past, the only way to eliminate
insect pests like grasshoppers has been with insecticides. However,
scientists at the Agricultural Research Service and the University
of Wyoming are testing new control methods using a naturally occurring
fungus that attacks grasshoppers. In order to get the grasshoppers
to come to the fungus instead of having to spray everywhere, they're
currently using canola oil as the carrier for the spray to draw
the grasshoppers in. Initial testing looked promising this summer.
If it works well, this method would be using natural products,
possibly at a reduced cost compared to insecticides, and resulting
in greater safety to humans and the environment. That's good news
for all of us, but definitely not good news for grasshoppers.
Back
to top of page. |
| DROUGHT
RESISTANT RICE |
Rice
is the staple food for a majority of the world's population. However,
weather problems have prevented some of the world's poorest countries
from raising good rice crops to adequately feed their people.
That situation is about to see a dramatic change thanks to a team
of plant scientists both in the U.S. and abroad. Using the world's
most widely used variety of rice, called Indica, and new genetic
engineering techniques, a group of scientists headed by Professor
Ray Wu at Cornell University have made significant improvements.
Drought tolerance, cold tolerance, and the ability to withstand
salt water have all been bred into the Indica variety. Scientists
believe that similar traits could be bred into other rice varieties
as well as other crops such as corn, soybeans, and wheat as well.
World hunger problems may never go completely away, but technological
advances like this are happening every day to try to end it.
Back
to top of page. |
|
People
often ask about the affect of drought on farmers. Many farmers experienced
a severe drought in the western corn belt of the United States in 2002.
Farmers in Australia this year are currently falling victim to the same
weather pattern. As feed grain crops suffer, the Australian livestock
industry braces itself as higher feed prices eat away at their bottom
line. It is estimated that the average hog farm in Australia markets
about 400 hogs per week and is losing nearly $3000 per week on those
hogs. The biggest factor impacting their profitability is the rising
cost of feed grains. When crops are short, you just can't MAKE corn.
It takes a whole year to grow more, and with a limited supply of grain,
the price per bushel goes through the roof. In Australia, the price
of feed grains has more than doubled in the last twelve months. We're
seeing rising feed grain prices in the western U.S. cornbelt as well
this winter. This situation is precisely the reason government farm
subsidies are often a farmer's only hope of survival.
Back
to top of page.
| COOL
LABELING |
Perhaps
one of the hottest topics in the food industry is the new labeling
provision called COOL, that's short for Country of Origin Labeling.
The purpose of this is to inform consumers at the point of sale
exactly where their food is coming from. COOL labels will affect
products including: beef, lamb, pork, fish, peanuts, and fresh
and frozen fruits and vegetables. By showing where the food comes
from, consumers will be able to make buying decisions to support
U.S. agriculture. The safety of the U.S. food supply is number
one in the world, but taking on such steps as Country of Origin
Labeling will be expensive and difficult to monitor. The American
Meat Institute estimates the cost of COOL to be in the neighborhood
of $1 Billion each year to implement. The effect on our trade
partners and our relationships with them are the big question.
Other countries like Canada, Australia, and the European Union
have already implemented similar labels on food products. In the
U.S., such policies are scheduled to take effect in September
of 2004.
Back
to top of page.
|
|
|
One of the best things about the abundance of agriculture in the
United States is that we have the very safest food supply in the
world. That said, unfortunately we are not able to produce enough
of certain foods so we still do have to import foods like fruits
and vegetables, especially during the winter months. The safety
of food from other countries is always a concern, and recently
the US Food and Drug Administration issued a blanket health advisory
against imported cantaloupes from Mexico. The unsanitary conditions
in packing and shipping companies as well as some farms has led
to outbreaks of salmonella with consumers of their fruit. Not
only is the Mexican fruit at risk, but the other fruit on the
shelf next to it can be contaminated as well, so be cautious of
out-of-season imported fruits and vegetables. The bottom line
is that Americans should expect a safe food supply in the country.
The American farmer and the US FDA are working hard to ensure
just that.
Back
to top of page. |
|
