With bits of green grass poking through the stubble form last year’s residue spring is finally here. The paperwork for our field demonstration and market development studies has been finalized, and our participants are chomping at the bit to get going. I have also received word that several of our native grass establishments have been planted. As soon as they germinate I will be going to inspect them and will post some pictures here. 
The Gristmill has posted an interesting article regarding what we consider a farmer. In many areas in the U.S. being a “farmer” requires somewhere around 1000 acres, a million dollars in green tractors, and possibly several thousand hogs or cows. It is good to notice that this is not always the case, or even common in all parts of the world. This has only been the standard for a few brief decades here in the North America. Few can argue that our agriculture systems have evolved to be largely dependant on relatively cheap energy prices. As energy prices continue to rise and the concept of peak oil seems to be becoming a reality, we have to question the status quo in agriculture. Will industrial agriculture disappear as a result of rising energy costs? Not likely. However, agriculture will most definitely look different in 20 years. Will increasing input costs drive farmers to ever increasing sizes to take advantage of economies of scale or will the pendulum swing in the opposite direction with smaller farms producing more high value food for human consumption food? This will likely be determined by a combination of factors, some of which will be technological advances, federal ag policy and the level of interest in the new generations of farmers. Since we all know change is the only constant, I will leave predictions and prognostications to the palm readers, but I know which team I am cheering for…
The Gristmill has posted an interesting article regarding what we consider a farmer. In many areas in the U.S. being a “farmer” requires somewhere around 1000 acres, a million dollars in green tractors, and possibly several thousand hogs or cows. It is good to notice that this is not always the case, or even common in all parts of the world. This has only been the standard for a few brief decades here in the North America. Few can argue that our agriculture systems have evolved to be largely dependant on relatively cheap energy prices. As energy prices continue to rise and the concept of peak oil seems to be becoming a reality, we have to question the status quo in agriculture. Will industrial agriculture disappear as a result of rising energy costs? Not likely. However, agriculture will most definitely look different in 20 years. Will increasing input costs drive farmers to ever increasing sizes to take advantage of economies of scale or will the pendulum swing in the opposite direction with smaller farms producing more high value food for human consumption food? This will likely be determined by a combination of factors, some of which will be technological advances, federal ag policy and the level of interest in the new generations of farmers. Since we all know change is the only constant, I will leave predictions and prognostications to the palm readers, but I know which team I am cheering for…
No comments:
Post a Comment