USDA Names New Deputy Under Secretary

Jamie Johansen

USDAAgriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Lanon Baccam as the USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services, overseeing the Farm Service Agency and Risk Management Agency, and the USDA’s Military Veterans Agricultural Liaison. Baccam is a U.S. Army and Iowa National Guard veteran and replaces Karis T. Gutter.

“Throughout his career in military and public service, Lanon has demonstrated a strong commitment to expanding opportunity in rural communities. Lanon brings to his new position strong management skills and a deep knowledge of USDA programs, policies and priorities. His leadership skills will be invaluable to USDA and rural communities across the nation,” said Vilsack.

Baccam, a native of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, is a military veteran and spent eight years in the U.S. Army and Iowa National Guard and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2004-2005. During his time in the Army, Baccam held leadership roles as a unit movement officer and served as a combat engineer in charge of explosive demolitions. Baccam previously served as the director of scheduling and advance in the Office of the Secretary at USDA. Prior to his role as director, Baccam served as a special assistant in the Foreign Agricultural Service and as executive assistant to the Secretary. Prior to joining USDA, Baccam worked in the Iowa state government and for several state and national political campaigns.

“Lanon was my top choice for this position. He is a flexible, capable leader who will bring a strategic, innovative approach to implementing USDA’s priorities and goals. I believe he will do an outstanding job on behalf of farmers, ranchers and rural communities as the Deputy Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services,” said Agriculture Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Michael Scuse.

Ag Groups, USDA

Young Ag Journalists Develop Leadership in New Zealand

Kelly Marshall

Young Journalists 1 Ten young ag leaders representing ten countries are gathered in New Zealand to continue to develop their leadership skills and further their professional development in ag journalism.  The International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) boot camp is sponsored by Alltech and provides the journalists with opportunities for presentations, interactive group sessions, and even a visit to a local dairy.

Matthew Smith, Alltech vice president of Asia-Pacific, presented “Agribusiness leadership today and tomorrow,” encouraging the delegates to be different and break the mold. “Leaders should not think outside the box; they should get rid of the box altogether,” said Smith.  Smith also stressed that agricultural journalists must travel for a truly international perspective that they can then share with their readers, listeners and viewers, whose livelihood is highly influenced by global activities. “Our industry is global—there are no borders,” he advised, challenging the journalists to think outside of their individual countries and look for the bigger stories.

Young Journalists 2Winners of this year’s IFAJ-Alltech Young Leaders Award Candace Weeda (USA) pictured right, Trevor Bacque (Canada) pictured left, Brett Worthington, (Australia), Christian Erin-Madsen (Denmark), Andrea Bergman (Finland), Ewald Wurzinger (Austria), Doerte Quinckhardt (Germany), Ben Pike (United Kingdom), Mary Phelan (Ireland), and Camilla Olsson (Sweden).

Candidates were selected based on a written submission, leadership potential, proven leadership abilities and a narrative of their interest in the program.  The boot camp is now in it’s 11th year and more than 100 journalists have come through the program.

“As part of its global strategy, IFAJ is taking new measures to unite colleagues from around the world,” said Owen Roberts of Canada, IFAJ vice-president. “With Alltech’s help we are mobilizing the agricultural journalism profession, an essential link in the knowledge translation and transfer chain for farmers everywhere.”

The young leaders’ program is held jointly with the IFAJ-DuPont Pioneer Master Class prior to the IFAJ congress.

Agribusiness, Alltech, Journalism

USDA Releases Farm to School Program Data

Kelly Marshall

USDAData from the 2013-2014 school year for the USDA’s Farm to School Grant Program has been released.  The results show that a strong farm to school program encourages students to purchase breakfast and lunch at school, increases students positive food choices, and reduces waste.  The census also showed a 55 percent increase in the amount of food purchased locally by school districts from 2011-2012, up to nearly $600 million last school year.

The results are an outcome of efforts by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Secretary Vilsack’s leadership, to target resources to help schools serve healthier meals to students following the passage of the bipartisan Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. Through its Farm to School Grant Program, established and funded through the Act, USDA offers grants to help schools and other eligible entities establish or expand farm to school programs. In September 2015, USDA released a report that shows that the grants alone have helped 12,300 schools improve nutritious meal options made with local ingredients for 6.9 million students, while expanding market opportunities for family farmers and ranchers in their communities.

“Farm to school is one of many tactics and resources that USDA makes available to help schools successfully serve healthier meals to kids. Farm to school partnerships have a proven track record of encouraging kids to try, like and eat more healthy foods and creating new market opportunities for the farmers that grow them,” said Vilsack. “Congress should act quickly to reauthorize the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act to build on the success of farm to school and the healthier school meals and continue our momentum towards a healthier next generation of Americans.”

With program trends up and continuing to grow, the school districts provide farmers with a business opportunity.  It also encourages a link between the farm and classroom with hands-on activities and field trips.  Independent research and testimony from school personnel show these interactions improve a student’s healthy eating habits, specifically the consumption of more fruits and vegetables and less plate waste.

Education, Food, USDA

Hunger Levels Remain High in 52 Developing Nations

Joanna Schroeder

Global Hunger IndexThe World Food Prize and Borlaug 101 Dialogues was a place for global leaders to gather and come together to solve the problems of world hunger as well as how to safely and nutritiously feed the growing worldwide population. During the event, the International Food Policy Research Institute, Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide released the 2015 Global Hunger Index (GHI) and found that while the hunger level is down 27 percent since 2000 in the developing world, hunger levels remain “serious” or “alarming” in 52 developing countries. The Central African Republic, Chad, and Zambia had the highest hunger levels in the report.

The report showed that conflicts can be strongly associated with severe hunger and the reports focal point of interest was armed conflict and the challenge of hunger. The report found the countries with the highest and worst GHI scores tend to be those engaged in or recently emerged from war. The two worst-scoring countries both experienced violent conflict and political instability in recent years. In contrast, in Angola, Ethiopia, and Rwanda, hunger levels have fallen substantially since the end of the civil wars of the 1990s and 2000s.

“War and conquest have long been the drivers of mass starvation. Although humanitarian responses are far faster and more proficient than in the past, we still need to attend to the perils of armed conflict and inhumane policies generating severe hunger,” said Alex de Waal, author of the essay and executive director of the World Peace Foundation and research professor at Tufts University. “The world has enough food, enough logistics, enough knowledge, to end severe hunger: achieving that is a matter of political will only.”

Another focus of the report were areas of success and programs that are working well to end world hunger. The level of hunger in developing countries has fallen by 27 percent since 2000, and 17 countries reduced their hunger scores by at least half since 2000. Among those countries are Azerbaijan, Brazil, Croatia, Mongolia, Peru, and Venezuela. Some of the world’s poorest countries could not be included in the report due to unavailable data. As a result, the picture of global hunger may be worse than reported here.

Global hunger is a continuing challenge with one in nine people worldwide chronically undernourished and more than one quarter of children too short for their age due to nutritional deficiencies. Nearly half of all child deaths under age five are due to malnutrition, which claims the lives of about 3.1 million children per year.

Food, World Food Prize

DOT Announces Registration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Jamie Johansen

DOTThe U.S. Department of Transportation announced that recreational users of unmanned aerial systems, or drones, must register their systems with the federal government. A task force will be created to develop recommendations for a registration process for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said, “Registering unmanned aircraft will help build a culture of accountability and responsibility, especially with new users who have no experience operating in the U.S. aviation system. It will help protect public safety in the air and on the ground.”

NCGA-Logo“As with any technology, unmanned aerial systems will make our farms safer, more efficient and more environmentally friendly. That’s good for farmers, good for consumers and good for the environment. We support reasonable rules and regulations to govern UAS technology,” said National Corn Growers Association President Chip Bowling, a farmer from Newburg, Maryland. “Most farmers who use a drone will do so over open cropland in rural areas, far away from airports or large population centers. We hope the Federal Aviation Administration will recognize the important commercial applications of UAS technology and create rules that will put the technology in farmers’ hands.”

The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International estimates that agriculture will account for as much as 80 percent of all commercial UAS use. Applications of unmanned aerial systems include crop scouting; early detection of pest infestations and crop disease; more precise application of fertilizers and other crop inputs; and reducing the need for humans in potentially dangerous tasks.

Ag Groups, Corn, NCGA, Precision Agriculture, transportation

Total Factor Productivity Can Increase with Precision Ag

Joanna Schroeder

Kelly Winquist John DeereTotal Factor Productivity (TFP) is a way to measure outputs versus inputs and the key tool of the annual GAP Report produced by the Global Harvest Initiative. This year’s report, “Global Agricultural Productivity Report: Building Sustainable Breadbaskets,” was released during World Food Prize and John Deere’s Kelly Winquist provided a preview of how countries are doing with TFP.

“So its a ratio that tells us, are we getting a lot for the output? explains Winquist. “Are we putting a lot in to it or are we only putting a little in to it? Because with the population growing to 9.7 billion by 2050 we need to be able to feed a lot more people. But earth’s not getting any bigger so we need to make more with the resources we already have.”

The Global Harvest Initiative has calculated that in order to meet that demand, global countries need to grow their TFP by 1.75 percent each year and even developing markets like the U.S. is not meeting this. Globally the average is 1.72 percent while low-income countries are only at 1.5 percent. This means, says Winquist, there is a big gap in where we need to be to meet future demand. She explains that there are multiple factors affecting TFP such as agriculture and research development is underfunded and needs investments from both the private and public sectors. In developing countries, they lack infrastructure, access to markets and more. She also notes that in developing countries, John Deere is helping to address market development and financing through collaborative partnerships so small-holder farmers, and especially women, can increase their TFP.

Listen my interview with Kelly Winquist to learn more about Total Factor Productivity: Interview with Kelly Winquist, John Deere

2015 World Food Prize photo album.

Coverage of the World Food Prize Global Harvest Initiative is sponsored by Coverage of the World Food Prize Global Harvest Initiative is sponsored by John Deere
Agribusiness, Audio, John Deere, Precision Agriculture, World Food Prize

White House Announces Companies’ Climate Pledges

Joanna Schroeder

White house logoThe White House has announced additional commitments from companies across the U.S. who are joining the American Business Act on Climate Pledge to reduce their environmental footprint and use of natural resources. Eighty-one companies have signed on the dotted lines including many in the agricultural arena including Cargill, Campos Brothers Farms, Coca Cola, General Mills, Hershey’s and more.

The companies have come on board prior to the climate talks in Paris set for December in an effort to show other countries the commitments being made by the U.S. in doing our part to reduce climate change emissions. By signing the pledge, companies have agreed to increase low-carbon investments, deploy more clean energy and take other actions to build more sustainable businesses.

For example, Campos Brothers Farms has committed to:

  • Reduce the amount of CO2 being released into the atmosphere by an additional 166.4 Million pounds by 2025.
  • Reduce our waste by another 25% through additional efficiencies and directive to utilize shells and orchard prunings for co-generation.
  • Through increasing our solar power utilization by 400%, purchase of additional electric equipment/vehicles we will move from being nearly carbon neutral, to becoming carbon negative with respect to greenhouse gases.
  • Reduce dust into the atmosphere by 60% by 2025.
  • Improve our company-wide recycling rate to 95% by 2025 up from our 2009 baseline of 75%
  • Reduce water usage by at least an additional 10% through technology, soil and tree improving on our baseline of 33% reduction in 2009 by converting to micro/drip irrigation.
  • Invest in additional research funding for Project Apis M to enhance the health and vitality of honey bee colonies.
  • Participate in a new USDA-funded pilot project between the Almond Board of California and the Environmental Defense Fund and others designed to give both almond and corn growers greater access to greenhouse gas markets like those under California’s cap-and-trade program.

The American Business Act on Climate Pledge was launched in July 2015 and this announcement marks the third round of pledges. The measures taken by these hundreds of companies helped President Obama set an ambitious but achievable goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions economy-wide by 26-28 percent. To date, 150 countries representing more than 85% of global carbon emissions have reported post-2020 climate policies to the United Nations. To read the American Business Act on Climate Pledge as well as to read the 81 companies’ pledges, click here.

Agribusiness, Environment, Sustainability

Ag Biologicals Can Play Starring Role in Productivity

Joanna Schroeder

Colin Bletsky, Vice President of BioAg, Novozymes was a participate in the panel discussion following the 2015 Gap Report release during World Food Prize. In an interview, he says that Novozymes came on board with Global Harvest Initiative because the company has a mission to help develop sustainable technologies. Bletsky is also passionate about this mission in his role as a farmer from eastern Saskatchewan in Canada.

Colin Bletsky BioAg NovozymesHe says that to see a farmer from anywhere in the world smile because he had a good crop, a better yield than the year before, it makes him smile. Novozymes, he stresses, wants to bring technologies to people to help them.

Novozymes main work is on developing agricultural biological products, or in other words, naturally occurring organisms found in the soil. They ferment these microbes and sell them as seed treatments, folio applications or as a topical on soil. What these ag biologics do is help nutrient efficiency or nutrient uptake. They also help with root and plant health, plant growth as well as mitigating insects, disease and weeds.

Bletsky notes there is a huge gap in understanding about biologicals in ag and a strong need to educate farmers around the world on their benefits.

Bletsky says their main focus right now is around fertility enhancement. Their products are another tool in the toolbox to help farmers produce more with less. They currently sell their biologics in 42 different countries and are continuing to take their technologies to other farmers around the world. “If we can help a grower reduce his cost by putting our microbe in and produce more, we’re happy.”

Learn more about ag biological products’ role in improving productivity in my interview with Colin Bletsky: Interview with Colin Bletsky, BioAg Novozymes

2015 World Food Prize photo album.

Coverage of the World Food Prize Global Harvest Initiative is sponsored by Coverage of the World Food Prize Global Harvest Initiative is sponsored by John Deere
Audio, Education, Precision Agriculture, Soil, World Food Prize

USFRA Chooses New Director of Communications

Kelly Marshall

USFRAKevin Aandahl has been announced as the new Communications Director of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA). The Alliance, an organization that fosters dialogue on food issues to build trust in America’s agriculture is excited to welcome Aandahl on board.

“I’m very pleased that Kevin is on our team since he brings more than 25 years of diverse expertise in corporate communications and military public affairs to USFRA. His unique skill-set enhances our on-going efforts to make an impact in the communications landscape on how consumers perceive agriculture. I am confident Kevin will play a key role in that regard” said Randy Krotz, USFRA’s Chief Executive Officer.

As Communications Director, Aandahl will manage and execute USFRA’s overall media communications outreach and engagement strategies through its established programs and resources. Prior to joining USFRA, he served as a US Navy public affairs officer including multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan where he worked with U.S. Special Operations Forces. He has also held communications leadership positions with Blue Cross Blue Shield, National Corn Growers Association and DEKALB.

USFRA is comprised of more than 90 farmer and rancher-led organizations.  Their website provides resources and tools to answer questions about food raised and grown in America.

Agribusiness, USFRA

Hungry for Food-Based Information

Joanna Schroeder

Science-and-Food-Flash-Poll-Brief-1According to a new report from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, although Americans do find GMOs, antibiotics, sustainability and transparency important, they are most concerned with affordability, nutrition and food safety. This survey found that Americans care a great deal about how their food is produced: a full 78 percent of Americans say they are “very” or “somewhat” interested in how the food they buy makes its way to their plates.

In particular, the report found:

  • Americans want food producers to prioritize food safety most of all, followed by nutrition and affordability. When asked which issues Americans believe food producers prioritize and what issues they believe those producers should prioritize, perceptions fall short of expectations by more than 50 percentage points on food safety and nutrition.
  • A majority of Americans name affordability and nutrition as very important issues concerning the food they buy, followed by a third of Americans who say buying non-GMO and antibiotic-free food is very important to them.
  • Americans trust health professionals, friends and family, farmers, scientists, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) most when it comes to information about their food. They trust documentaries to a lesser degree and the food industry (grocery stores, food companies, food packaging) and media (both social and traditional) least of all.

The survey points to much of the food conversation being “hype” around want consumers want. Only three-in ten surveyed say they consider non-GMO or antibiotic-free to be very important food traits, and even fewer were concerned about food being organic, from a family farm, or locally produced.

Author Marcus Glassman writes, “These results suggest that the public discourse on these hot-button topics may be more noise than substance.”

Food, GMO, Nutrition, Organic, Research