"Beyond the Bean"

According to the September 2013 issue of Beyond the Bean, US soybean farmers are the "most committed to responsible production and continuous improvement". This magazine is solely for soybean farmers, and this issue focuses on how processors should determine the cash prices they pay farmers based on the protein and oil inside the soybeans. Many US soybean farmers use sustainable practices such as soil and water conservation, reduced tillage, precision application of nutrients, crop protection chemicals, and biotechnology. According to this issue, there might be a great opportunity for US soybean farmers in India as it rapidly develops and grows. Most of the yields from soybean farmers in the US goes to the animal- ag sector, since soybean meal is the most healthy feed for animals that humans consume.
Reading this magazine was very relevant to South Carolinian small-scale farming success, since many crop farmers in South Carolina farm soybeans. A notable upcoming technology for soybean farmers that the magazine includes is the UAV, which is a super cam adapted from drone technology. This high- precision tool can fly over fields and spot insects at leaf level, or even identify nitrogen deficiencies within a row. Congress has recently asked the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to develop guidelines for UAV use by 2015, because as of right now, UAV technology can only be legally used at universities. Although this technology may not be practical for really small farms, it would definitely be practical for small farms on the larger end of the spectrum.
Another significant development mentioned in the magazine was local- leadership conferences to help educate local farmers on how to prevent farm accident. Chip Petrea, a professor at the University of Illinois, experienced a farm accident years ago on the farm. He is currently studying how stress can affect behavior, which can consequently cause farm accidents. His presentations rarely share the "do's and dont's" of farm safety, but rather the discussion of how behaviors can be distorted when under stress. I contacted Mr. Petrea, and hopefully he will be willing to share more about his research in the prevention of farm accidents. The success of many farmers is largely hindered by health issues, health care, farming accidents, and things of this nature. Most of the farmers that I have interviewed ranked health care and related issues as one of the most difficult barriers to overcome. I plan to further investigate how Obama Care might change this issue in agriculture, and how steps towards the prevention of health issues can be tackled at a more local level.
I love these farming magazines... they provide such brilliant and innovative ways to help combat the barriers in farming success!

“The Progressive Farmer” Review

This week I read "The Progressive Farmer" September 2013 issue. The caption on the front of the magazine is "Facing a Food Cliff? Agriculture is under pressure to find new sustainable solutions to feed a hungry world". The letter from the editor in this issue elaborates on the caption displayed on the cover. Chief Greg Hillyer, editor in chief of the magazine, references Jim Borel, the executive president at Dupont in explaining the upcoming world food crisis. For those of you that don't know, Dupont is a very unique company that partners with others to "tackle unprecedented challenges in food, energy, and protection now facing our world". Hillyer states that "mankind may need nothing short of a Green Revolution to meet the future food demand". Borel states that in order for farmers to meet the high demands for food due to mass population growth, food security must be reached by achieving the following goals: creating "local wisdom"science, local food- security solutions, collaborative efforts, and sustainable solutions. In the broadest sense, the movement required to take on the challenge of the upcoming food crisis will include "economic, social, as well as environmental" changes.
This issue contains many articles that address particular economic, social, and environemental issues and provide solutions.  My favorite is called "Water, Water (Not Everywhere), by Boyd Kidwell. This article is about how variable- rate irrigation lowers water costs and protects the environment. The article starts with a success story of a farmer named Preston Jimmerson in Doerun, GA that received grant money from the NRCS and SWCD to pay for the installation of a VRI, or variable- rate irrigation from Advanced Ag Systems Inc. Without VRI, Jimmerson claims that he was wasting irrigation water on 25 acres with every pass, plus overwatering. Now that he uses VRI to cut off zones of wasted water, he claims to save enough to do one extra irrigation cycle. Whereas conventional irrigation systems apply the same rate of water to all soils and areas, the farmer is able to control what areas receive water based on the hydration needs of the different soil types in those areas. In the Flint Basin, where Jimmerson farms, 15 billion gallons of water are saved per year already, since 75% of the farmers in that area have adopted VRI technology. This option is also open to South Carolina farmers, and I highly encourage local farmers to reach out to this technology. Clemson University has offered help to South Carolinian farmers in the past in the implementation of VRI. EQUIP is prepared to help South Carolinian farmers find cost- share help for this technology, as this state is a part of the NRCS Southeast Region.
http://www.dupont.com  Here is a link to the innovative and purposeful website of Dupont

“Contemporary Agrarianism: A Reality Check” by Melissa Walker

I have decided to read “Contemporary Agrarianism: A Reality Check” by Melissa Walker. This essay is on the recent “good food” movement.  The truth is that agrarian ideology has become very mainstream. People all around us are interested in purchasing “organic” food labels and visiting farmers markets. In her essay, Walker studies the different aspects of the movement, as well as the wide array of social groups that participate in it. I believe that this resource is very valuable to my study because it will help me assess how the community is reacting to the movement, and what type of involvement from those whom are interested can actually benefit the farming community. Community involvement is a very important aspect in establishing a successful farmer- consumer relationship, and most farmers I have interviewed agree that this is a very challenging, but important step to having a successful career. 

Walker writes about how the “good food” movement is very far- reaching. She makes a reference to James E. McWilliams, who notoriously quoted that “New agrarians see agriculture as a counterculture ideal to understand the modes of production”. Although some people would argue that this movement began with Rachael Carson’s “Silent Spring”, Walker believes that writers such as Gene Logsdon were the true leaders of this movement. I read two of Logsdon’s books over the summer, and his writings and writings similar to his own focus on how farming is “the highest human calling”. There seems to be an overall great desire to return to the small-scale, “yeoman farmer” that Thomas Jefferson believed so strongly in. Walker identifies the general goals of this movement. One goal, for example, is environmental/ sustainable- agriculture stewardship. As the list carries on, Walker writes that these goals very far-reaching.  She also writes that the people who are able to take part in stimulating this movement are only those who can afford supporting local agriculture, because as we all know, our regular Walmart produce is a lot cheaper than purchasing fresh produce through a market or a CSA.

Walker covers all different aspects of this movement, and she is right- the goals are very far-reaching. The title of her essay is very fitting, because those interested in the “good food” movement need to have a “reality check”. From what I have gathered from her essay thus far, Farmer- consumer relationships need to be more well- established, and the goals of this movement need to be prioritized. 

As I am studying all these different aspects of my senior project, one theme is starting to really stick out to me- Farmer-consumer relationships. The lack of this kind of establishment in this community is becoming more and more apparent as I study statistics, interview farmers, and research about programs that help farmers across the nation. I love where this project is taking me, and I can't wait to dig deeper! 

Mt Pleasant Farmer's Market Survey

Today was my first out of three farmer's market visits for this week. In all, surveying crop farmers at the market took over an hour- and that was with the help of my Slow Food YCAC friends Grayson and Thomas. We surveyed the farmers with my own questions about the barriers to local, small- scale farmer success. These questions were based off of a Cornell Survey titled "Barriers to Beginning Farmer Success".
Our results from the survey were very interesting to compare to the statistics recorded in Shute's "Building a Future With Farmers". According to Shute's report, farmers in the South rated the following obstacles to success in order from the biggest to smallest:
1. lack of capital
2. land access
3. health care
4. access to credit
5. business planning and marketing skills
6. profitable markets
7. education and training
In this same report, farmers in the South also rated the following existing programs for assistance from most to least important:
1. apprenticeships
2.local partnerships
3. community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
4. land- linking programs
5. non- profit training and education
6. college and university training and education
The results in our data were slightly different from Shute's data. The farmers that we interviewed saw land access as less of an obstacle to success, meanwhile they saw health care as a bigger obstacle.
Our farmers' ratings for existing programs of assistance also varied slightly. Farmers neglected to place apprenticeships and CSA on top of their lists. In addition, when we asked what could be put into place that could potentially help farmers succeed, most responded that connections to provided aid programs, customers, and employees would be beneficial.
Reviewing the differences between my results and Shute's results, it makes sense that our group of farmers today did not see land access as a big issue. The reason for this is that most of the farmers inherited their land, therefore eliminating land access as an issue. Furthermore, they didn't see apprenticeships as a priority since most of them come from large farmer families, causing them to be less likely to leave their own "community" for farm assistance. This is also due to the lack of apprentice connections in the area.
Local farmers need a way to become more "in tune" to what is provided to them, just as the community needs to become more "in tune" to what barriers are causing farmers to struggle.

The image below is a tube of honey from Blue Pearl Farms. Ms. Ward farms blueberries and makes honey from her bees. Yummy!

"Building a Future with Farmers", by Lindsey Shute

“Building a Future with Farmers” is a report by Lindsey Shute, who is a profound member of the National Young Farmers’ Coalition in NY. For those of you that don’t know, the National Young Farmers’ Coalition (NYFC) is a group that is made up by, and for American family farmers in the next generation. The group’s mission is to “present a vision of policy change and achievable recommendations that will help the next generation of American farmers thrive”.

This report has been a very valuable resource. It focuses on the “challenges faced by young, American farmers and a national strategy to help them succeed”. Firstly, I would like to point out that although this report focuses on the barriers of beginning farmers towards farming success, the findings apply to older farmers as well. The three major obstacles (in order) for beginning farmers in the US are capital, land, and health care. The report highlighted the current size of the farming class in the US, which has been on a steady decline for quite some time. Shute writes, “for each farmer under 35 there are 6 over 65, and the average age of farmers is 57. It is estimated that between now and the year 2030, half a million (one- quarter) of American farmers will retire”. With the recent influence that the “good food” movement has had on agriculture, there is a great potential in the future of American farmers, but there are also big challenges.

Shute identified what’s working in the current state of small- scale agriculture as: apprenticeships, local partnerships, and community supported agriculture (CSA). She identified what’s not working as: lack of capital, land access, health care, access to credit, business planning and marketing skills, profitable markets, and education/ training.

As you can see, there are far more aspects in the current system that are not working than those that are working to help generate success among beginning farmers. This reading has been a significant step in my research. Using what I have learned about the broad issues in the system and what needs to be done to help, I would like to prioritize what would be most viable in helping farmers.

Trip to Basil Owen's Farm

This weekend I travelled to Pleasant Hill, South Carolina to visit a friend-of-a-friend's farm with Helen (one of my classmates). We explored all of the different crops on Mr. Owen's farm, which includes the following: corn, soybeans, wheat, and my personal favorite, cotton.
I interviewed Mr. Owens with a series of questions based of a survey created by Cornell University called "Barriers to Beginning Farmer Success." Through the help of my interview, I was able to grasp the issues among crop farmers. I asked Mr. Owens to prioritize what kind of help is necessary for a beginner farmer, even though he himself has been farming for many years. I won't list all of my findings for my readers about what needs to be put into place to help beginner farmers- instead I would like to interest you with some pictures of Mr. Owen's farm, as well as a video of Helen and I in a combine!
*For all of you who don't know what a combine is: A power operated machine that cuts, threshes, and cleans grain. (Well, in this case, corn!) Also noteworthy- new combines can cost a farmer anywhere from $300,000- 400,000! 

This bumper sticker says it all.