“ERS Predicts Higher 2010 Farm Income”
According to the Economic Research Service of USDA, net farm income is forecast to be up 24 percent this year to 77.1 billion dollars. That number is 12.3-billion above the average of 64.8-billion dollars in net farm income earned annually in the previous 10 years and is the fourth largest amount of income earned in U.S. farming. Cash receipts are expected to increase 6.5 percent, due mainly to higher livestock receipts.
Farm business equity, assets minus debt, is expected to rise by 3.5 percent, largely due to an expected 2.9-percent increase in the value of farm business real estate and a 4.2-percent decline in farm business debt. The farm business sector’s debt-to-asset ratio is expected to decline to 11.2 percent and debt-to-equity is expected to decline to 12.6 percent in 2010, indicating an improvement in the farm sector’s solvency.
Both farm and off-farm income are forecast to be up this year, pushing the average family farm household income up by 5.8 percent to 81,670-dollars. In 2010, the average family farm is forecast to receive 11.1 percent of its household income from farm sources, with the rest from earned and unearned off-farm income.
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“Vilsack Responds to ERS Reports”
In response to the Economic Research Service’s report on expected farm income this year, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack called the information – encouraging news. He says – they show that while American agriculture has struggled through difficult economic times, the 2008 Farm Bill, the efforts of the Obama Administration – such as the Recovery Act – and the hard work and resilience of America’s farmers and ranchers have helped put American agriculture on the road to recovery.
The Secretary said – indicators point to a sustainable recovery sector-wide. While an increase in the value of livestock production accounted for much of the upward movement, the value of dairy production rose by 26.2 percent; the value of meat animal production is up 14.6 percent, and the value of poultry and egg production rose 8.4 percent. And commercial farms and intermediate farms are all expected to have higher average net cash income in 2010 than they did in either 2009 or 2008.
Mr. Vilsack credited the gains to the – successful implementation of the 2008 Farm Bill as well as the Obama Administration’s Recovery Act. Another factor driving this recovery is an increase in income from exports. USDA is raising forecast for agricultural exports for Fiscal Year 2010 to 107.5 billion dollars – the second highest year on record.
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“Agriculture Helps Keep Unemployment Rates Low”
The “Business Insider” reports that every U.S. state experienced job losses during the recent downturn, but some states have a far lower unemployment rate than the 9.5 percent national average. Did you know that eight of the ten states with the lowest unemployment rates have one thing in common? It’s agriculture.
That’s right – the five states with the lowest unemployment rates are: North Dakota with 3.6 percent; South Dakota with a 4.4 percent rate; Nebraska with a 4.7 percent unemployment rate; New Hampshire with a 5.8 percent unemployment rate and Vermont has an unemployment rate of 6.0 percent. At number seven is Kansas with an unemployment rate of 6.5 percent; Wyoming is number 8 at 6.7 percent; Iowa is number ten with an unemployment rate of 6.8 percent.
For each state – Business Insider mentions the importance of agriculture to the lower than average unemployment rate.
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“Ethanol Production, Demand Set Highs”
According to data released by the Energy Information Administration, ethanol production reached an all-time high in June. At the same time the Renewable Fuels Association reports ethanol demand also set a new record for June.
EIA says ethanol production in June was just over 854-thousand barrels per day. That is an increase of 8-thousand barrels per day from May and it’s more than 160-thousand higher than June 2009. Based on the first six months of 2010, US ethanol production is running at 12.87 billion gallons on an annualized basis.
As calculated by the RFA, ethanol demand also reached an all-time high of 857-thousand barrels per day, up from 721-thousand figure set one year ago. RFA estimates there are 22 days of ethanol reserves in storage.
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“Organic Price Election Programs Announced”
USDA’s Agriculture Risk Management Agency will offer an organic price election for four crops during the 2011 production year. Those crops are cotton, corn, soybeans and processing tomatoes. RMA is also eliminating the current 5 percent surcharge for organic crops insured under ten crop insurance programs. Affected programs are Figs; Florida Citrus Fruit; Florida Fruit Tree; Macadamia Tree; Nursery; Pears; Peppers; Prunes; Texas Citrus Tree; Texas Citrus Fruit. The agency says it will continue to accumulate data that will allow for more precise rating of other organic crops.
Also, RMA released three reports that provide the framework for improvements to crop insurance programs that are available to producers of certified organic crops. The reports compile research into data that support a price election for organic crops. They also provide a comparative analysis of loss experience for organic crops and conventional crops produced in the same counties during the same crop years.
Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack points out – USDA is working to provide producers of organic crops with improved opportunities and resources. We are taking aggressive action, he says, to improve delivery of our programs, with impressive results for our customers.
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“Call Made for Continued Use of Antibiotics”
A public policy think tank, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, has submitted comments on an FDA proposal to limit the use of certain antibiotics in livestock, warning that a ban could unintentionally increase the threat of foodborne illness in the United States. The FDA draft guidance would prohibit the use of “medically important” antibiotics for growth promotion in food-producing animals such as cows, pigs, and chickens, and would require veterinary oversight for remaining uses.
Gregory Conko, CEI’s Director of Food and Drug Policy, says – whether you’re talking about human or animal use, banning beneficial uses today can have negative impacts on human and animal health just as surely as a lack of long-term drug efficacy can. Instead, according to Conko, – we need to balance the current benefits of antimicrobial use against the inevitable development of resistance, and this can include using antibiotics for livestock growth promotion purposes.
Antibiotics use in livestock has been criticized by the public health community due to concerns that it contributes to the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria. However, U.S. government studies indicate that livestock uses account for only about 10 percent of the problem with resistant bacteria and misuse in human patients is the leading cause of antibiotic resistance.
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“NCBA at Odds With Partnership”
The Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund and Food and Water Watch are joining forces to support the Department of Agriculture’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyard Administration’s proposed rule on livestock marketing. Representatives of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association are questioning the partnership between the animal rights and environmental activist groups.
NCBA President Steve Foglesong says well-funded activist groups, like Food and Water Watch, are working to obstruct the success of U.S. agriculture and its efforts to feed a growing global population. He said Food and Water Watch, a lobbyist group, – has a longstanding history of lobbying for stringed agricultural regulations that are devoid of science. Foglesong says – as a cattle producer, it is concerning that an organization in my industry is admittedly partnering with a group that spreads fiction as fact to 98 percent of the population removed from production agriculture.
Foglesong says – this industry can disagree – that’s how progress is achieved – but to blatantly misrepresent the hardworking men and women in this industry is something that we cannot take lightly.
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“Covert Veal Production Footage Released”
Mercy For Animals is out with what it is calling covert footage, taken at Buckeye Veal Farm in Apple Creek, Ohio. MFA says its footage reveals baby calves chained inside 2-feet wide wooden stalls – so narrow they cannot turn around, walk, run, play, socialize with other animals, or engage in other basic natural behaviors. Mercy For Animals believes – in such tight confinement, the animals are unable to lie down comfortably, breathe fresh air, see sunlight, clean themselves or bond with their mothers.
After viewing the footage, Dr. Marc Bekoff, retired from the Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Department at the University of Colorado, said – frankly, the treatment of these calves is disgusting, horrific, and reprehensible. The American Veterinary Medical Association opposes chaining calves in restrictive crates and five U.S. states, as well as all 27 countries in the European Union, have outlawed their use.
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“September is National Rice Month”
September 2010 marks the 20th anniversary of National Rice Month, a time when Americans celebrate the important role rice plays in their lives. On average, Americans eat 26 pounds per year, but rice is also good for you. Low in calories and carbohydrates, and with no trans fats or saturated fats, enriched white rice and whole-grain brown rice can be an important part of a heart healthy diet.
Eighty-five percent of the rice consumed in the United States is grown by farmers in Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas, who produce more than 20 billion pounds of rice each year — half of which is exported to help feed people around the world.
The U.S. rice industry directly and indirectly employs thousands of Americans, both on- and off-the-farm, and rice contributes more than 17.5-billion dollars in value to our economy each year. It’s easy to see why rice is important for our physical and economic health and worthy of celebrating this September.
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“Rural Development Funds Released”
USDA Rural Development has announced 61 awards that will benefit 45 states, the Western Pacific region and the commonwealth of Puerto Rico as those areas seek to create economic and job opportunities in rural areas by ensuring that strategic investments are made in small towns and cities. The grants are made available under the Rural Business Enterprise Grant program.
In making the announcement, USDA Under Secretary Dallas Tonsager said – rural businesses drive community revitalization by providing products and services to local residents as well as throughout the country and world. Tonsager noted, – projects like these spur important economic development and strengthen communities across the nation.
For example, Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation in Laurel, Kentucky will receive a 499-thousand dollar grant; and in Cass, Iowa, the Southwest Iowa Planning Council has been selected to receive a 95-thousand dollar grant. Both will establish a revolving loan fund to assist small and emerging private businesses.
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“Loans Benefit Electric Consumers”
37 rural utilities and cooperatives in 20 states have been selected to receive guaranteed loans that will benefit more than 60-thousand rural electric cooperative consumers. These loans will finance the construction and repair of almost 7-thousand miles of distribution and transmissions lines. The 1.2-billion dollars in funding is being awarded through USDA Rural Development’s Electric Program.
This program provides loans and guaranteed loans to electric utilities to upgrade, expand, maintain, and replace rural America’s electric infrastructure. The Electric Program also helps fund energy conservation and renewable energy system projects. Funding of each recipient is contingent upon their meeting the conditions of the guaranteed loan agreement.
