Agriculture In the Real World

Robert Young - Chief Econ/Deputy Director

Public Policy
American Farm Bureau Federation
National Press Foundation
St. Louis, MO.
July 25, 2016

Agenda
A Commercial
The Focus of All Evil Production
Agriculture
How Ag Is Structured
The Four Questions You Ought To Ask
Anyone About Agriculture
The Costs Of Farming
Organic vs. Conventional
A Miracle

A Commercial About Farm Bureau

American Farm Bureau Federation

Largest General Farm Organization in U.S.

Organizations in all 50 states + Puerto Rico
5.8 million member families
Apples to Zucchini
Conventional, Organic, Commodities,
Specialties, Crops, Livestock, Farmers Markets,

Borlaug gave the developing world the latest

science of his time. We should honor his memory
and his legacy by following through with his goal of
solving hunger by giving the developing world the
tools to grow their own food, but we need not use
his outdated Green Revolution technologies to do
it.
- Jill Richardson

Fri Aug 15, 2014 at 21:48:58 PM PDT

After moving from California to Wisconsin, I decided to start a garden ASAP. Why
ASAP? Because if I don't do it now, I can't do it until the spring. I mean, I'm sure I
can plant garlic in October to harvest next summer, and I can plant a cover crop of
some sort... but if I want to harvest something before 2015, I better get planting
now. And for some things, it's still too late.

So what exactly does "organic" mean?

Organic products are grown in
environmentally friendly ways, without toxic
or persistent agricultural chemicals. Organic
agriculture is a production method that
emphasizes the use of renewable resources
and the conservation of soil and water to
enhance environmental quality.

Make Sure You Get That Little Sneer In Your Voice When
You Say Corporate Agricutlure

97percent of farms in the U.S. are

family owned and operated
2.1 million farms in 2012, averaged 434
acres
2.1 million farms in 2002, averaged 441
acres

Concentrated output however

2012 took 33,330 farms to produce half
all output
2002 took 34,085 farms to produce half
all output

Four musts for agriculture

Deal with the bugs
Deal with the weeds
Feed the plant
Pay for it

The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture

21

Who are our members?

Sample Results: Resources/bushel,

Soybeans

23

2015 Cash Rent In This Area Averaged $300 per Acre

Conventional vs Organic Yields/Costs

Yield

Corn - 2010 Soy - 2006

Wheat 2009

Conv. Org Conv. Org

Conv. Org

159

121

47

31 44.3 30.3

Cost/bu $3.46 $4.44 $5.87 $10.97 $6.07 $9.11

Comparing Organic and Conventional Dairies

Organic dairies produce about 30 percent

less milk per cow than conventional dairies
(13,601 pounds per organic cow
compared with 18,983 pounds per
conventional cow).
Organic dairies paid $6.37 (price of milk at
the time ~$15/cwt) per cwt more than
conventional dairies in operating and
capital costs, including transition costs

World Population
7,500,000,000.0
7,000,000,000.0
6,500,000,000.0
6,000,000,000.0
5,500,000,000.0
5,000,000,000.0
4,500,000,000.0
4,000,000,000.0

This is an increase of 2
billion people

Take Aways
Probably the most family oriented
business sector in the country
Bugs, Weeds, Feed the Plant, Pay for
it
It costs a lot of money
If you can afford it nothing wrong
with organic
Global food production miracle
Will we be allowed a repeat?