Ocean Agriculture Grows Beyond Fish and Seaweed
As of now, 11% of the world’s land area is used for crop production, but land only accounts for 3% of the globe’s surface area. With the expansion of ocean agriculture, another 70% of the world’s surface is being used to grow an increasing number of crops. The seaweed industry has seen tremendous growth with expanded use in food products as well as food supplements, fertilizers, medications, and eco-friendly packaging as an alternative to plastics. Farmers off the coast of Florida have also expanded marine crops such as Salicornia, a.k.a sea beans or sea asparagus, noted for their beneficial trace minerals from the seawater. A recent trial in Florida found that 1 kilogram of sea beans can grow in just 10 weeks. Ocean Reef Group, an Italian ocean diving company, has undertaken more extensive ocean agriculture. Since 2012, its Nemo Garden Project has been growing strawberries, orchids, basil, and lettuce in contained pods on the ocean floor. Another startup company, Canada’s Agrisea, is now growing rice in the ocean. Sea-grown rice holds the promise of supplying much-needed calories to countries that depend on the crop while solving water shortage issues that plague rice crops grown on land.
USDA To Offer $15 Million To Socially Disadvantaged And Veteran Farmer Groups
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is making approximately $15 million in funding available to socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers and ranchers. The 1990 Farm Bill defines these farmers and ranchers as “subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice because of their identity as members of a group without regard to their individual qualities.” The groups include African-Americans, American Indians, Alaskan Natives, Hispanics, Asians, and Pacific Islanders. Nonprofits, community-based organizations, and higher education initiatives that serve these populations are all eligible for funds.
Funding will come the USDA’s Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program (a.k.a. the 2501 Program) and will increase through fiscal year 2023. The assistance may come in the form of initiatives such as farmer training and education, demonstrations, and conferences on farming and agri-business. Financial awards can be up to $450,000 per applicant. The deadline to apply is August 26, 2020.
The Promise Of Subterranean Farming
Sangdo Station in Seoul Korea is home to an unusual, eye-catching installation: an underground farm. The subterranean hydroponic concept, called Metro Farm, is a walled-off vertical organic farm whose water, LED light, and other metrics are automated by technology. Metro Farm harvests about 66 pounds of vegetables a day that feed as many as 1,000 people on a daily basis at a nearby cafe, reducing the carbon footprint, protecting crops that are increasingly affected by climate change and pollution, and using a farming method that is 40 times more efficient than traditional farming. Farm8 is the technology firm behind the venture, which plans to open three more farms in Seoul metro stations in 2020. If successful, the concept can be used in areas whose climates are not hospitable to traditional growing methods.
Global Meat Consumption Predicted To Decline Until After 2025
Data from the United Nations predicts that worldwide per-capita meat consumption will drop by almost 3% in 2020 to its lowest levels since 2011. In the U.S., researchers at the University of Missouri’s Food & Agricultural Policy Research Institute, predict that this year’s per-capita meat consumption will decline for the first time since 2014. U.S. meat consumption is not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels until 2025 at the soonest. In the European Union, pork consumption is expected to fall to a seven-year low in 2020, with beef and chicken also dipping down. In China, which accounts for 40% of the world’s pork consumption, consumers are expected to eat 35% less pork this year, according to Beijing consulting firm Bric Agriculture Group.
One reason for the decline is the economic fallout from the coronavirus, particularly the recession in the United States, as consumers tighten their wallets at the meat counter. Restaurant closures and limited dining out options have also suppressed demand and wholesale orders of meat. Before the pandemic, about 50% of U.S. meat consumption took place outside the home, according to Boston Consulting Group. While cooking at home, American consumers don’t appear to be allocating quite as much money for meat. Experts also cite the rise in plant-based eating and meatless options in grocery stores and restaurants as other factors.
Farm System Reform Act Aims To Help Small Regional Farmers
In 1980, 34% of pigs in the U.S. were slaughtered by four massive meatpacking companies. By 2015, that number rose to 66%. Similar consolidation has taken place across the agricultural industry for decades, resulting in monopolies that exert extraordinary power over how farmers must raise their products and how much money farmers are able to make. Farm incomes have not changed for the past 30 years when adjusted for inflation, according to USDA data. In 2018, most U.S. farms lost money, and the median farm income was negative $1,840. To help small regional farmers gain more control over their own production systems and get paid fairly, Senator Corey Booker introduced the Farm System Reform Act late last year. The act, among other things, creates a $100 billion fund to help farmers currently running concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) transition to less-intensive operations. The act also re-directs financial liabilities from independent farmers to the agricultural conglomerates that contract with them.
Bees Are Rebounding, A Good Sign For Agriculture, Study Says
For decades, scientists have witnessed shrinking populations of pollinators, which are critical to agriculture and the world’s food supply. Honeybees are the most easily tracked, and fortunately, only 22.2% of bee colonies died from October 1 to March 31, according to the Bee Informed Partnership’s annual survey. The average loss has been higher at 28.6%, and the new figure marks the second smallest winter loss in the survey’s 14-year history. To compile the survey, scientists interview 3,377 commercial and backyard beekeepers across the United States in both winter and summer. Low winter losses are considered the most important marker of colony health. In the previous winter of 2018-2019, a record 37.7% of bee colonies died. That significant loss also followed beekeepers through the summer of 2019 with a 32% death rate during that season. While the new numbers are encouraging, University of Georgia entomologist Keith Delaplane says it is possible that beekeepers are relocating their colonies indoors during the winter, improving their chances of survival.
Dairy Farmers Worldwide Suffer Massive Economic Downtown
The global dairy industry is valued at about $700 billion, and the sector accounts for about 14% of agricultural trade, according to the United Nations. But it appears that consumers around the world eat more cheese and butter when dining out than at home. As restaurants have closed, dairy farmers worldwide have been forced to dump millions of gallons of unused milk and euthanize older cows due to low demand for milk products. According to the National Milk Producers Federation, U.S. herds will likely contract to record lows this year. To help the struggling dairy industry, the U.S. is issuing $2.9 billion in aid, while the European Union has pledged 30 million euros ($34 million) to aid its dairy industry, and Australia has earmarked funds as well.
Government stimulus money has helped dairy farmers survive the pandemic thus far, yet dairy industry analysts predict a long road to economic recovery. Consumer consumption patterns have been changing for decades, and overall milk consumption is on the decline in developed nations. “How fresh fluid milk becomes a staple again remains to be seen,” said Tony Sarsam, chief executive officer of the bankrupt Borden Dairy Co. “It’s not going to be solved with a government program. Consumers want new ideas, indulgent foods, healthy choices and convenience, and the dairy industry has a lot of work to do there.”
Paris Rooftop To Become Europe’s Largest Urban Farm
A 4,000 square meter (43,055 square foot) farm on the rooftop of the Paris Exhibition Centre is set to become the largest urban farm in Europe. Soon after local authorities eased COVID-19 restrictions, developers began executing plans to expand the farm over the next two years to 14,000 square meters (150,695 square feet). The farm belongs to Agripolis, a French farming company with a focus on transforming unused urban areas into organic farming spaces. In the French capital, the Agripolis rooftop farm will feature rental space for citizens to grow their own produce as well as an on-site restaurant where visitors can sample various local farm-grown products and dishes made with them. Agripolis aims to produce 1,000 kilograms (2,205 pounds) of fruit and vegetables every day at the height of the growing season. “The goal is to locally supply healthy, pesticide-free products to local businesses, company restaurants, and to farming associations in a nearby area,” Agripolis president Pascal Hardy said.
‘Carbon Farming’ Act Goes Before Congress
“Carbon farmers” are reducing greenhouse gases using regenerative agriculture techniques such as plowing fields less often, covering soil with composted mulch and annual cover crops, and using drainage ditches. To help support these farming methods, Congress is considering legislation that would give farmers “carbon credits” redeemable in the international carbon-trading marketplace. The bill was introduced by senators Mike Braun (R-Indiana) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan) and will put the US Department of Agriculture in a position to certify independent consultants for farms that want to earn carbon credits as well as inspectors to confirm that farmers are using the approved techniques.
The bill has the support of more than 50 different farm groups, environmental groups and other corporations. Last fall, the Noble Institute in Oklahoma published a study that estimated the potential demand for carbon market trading from agriculture at 190 million metric tons at a value of around $5.2 billion.
Fishery Management Remains A Challenge In Developing Countries, says UN
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that more than a third of the fish stocks around the globe are currently overfished, particularly in developing countries. The biennial report mentions that solving the ongoing problem will require several measures, including stronger political will and better monitoring technologies among less-developed fisheries. In 2017, 34.2% of the fish stocks of the world’s marine fisheries were considered overfished, a trend that has persisted since 1974 when it began at just 10%.
In 2018, worldwide per capita fish consumption was 20.5 kilograms per year, a new record. That number has increased by an average rate of 3.1% since 1961, eclipsing consumption rates of all other animal proteins. Currently, fish account for one sixth of animal protein intake among the global population, but that number climbs to one half in countries like Bangladesh, Cambodia, the Gambia, Ghana, Indonesia, Sierra Leone and Sri Lanka. By 2030, the FAO expects per capita fish consumption to hit 21.5 kilograms.