The Economist's Special Report on Feeding the World

(T)here will not be big gains in food production from taking in new land, using more irrigation or putting more fertilizer on existing yields. Cutting waste could make a difference, but there are limits. The main gains will have to come in three ways: from narrowing the gap between the worst and best producers; from spreading the so called livestock revolution; and above all from taking

Farm Photo: Irrigation in Arizona 1984

Laser-leveled land is irrigated near Phoenx, AZ.Laser-leveling is done by earth movers equipped with laser receiving equipment and is done to optimally manage the flow of irrigation water across a field.by Tim McCabe 1984

Macro Reading Picks

Geithner’s Gamble, by Simon Johnson [Project Syndicate]Does the U.S. Really have a Fiscal Crisis? by Simon Johnson [NYTs]When Pretending Fails to Hide Bankruptcy: Laurence Kotlikoff [Bloomberg]Delay on debt ceiling comes at a cost [CNNMoney]Which countries depend upon Libyan oil? [The Economist]New-home sales in January drop 12.6% [USAToday]Making Sen$e: Paying For Public Pensions [PBS NewsHour]

An Aid to Permaculturists: The Global Village Construction Set

Thank you to my friend Dr. Jason Bradford of Farmland LP, who pointed me towards this truly amazing permaculture oriented operation which aims to provide "an open source, low-cost, high performance technological platform that allows for the easy, DIY (Do It Yourself) fabrication of the 50 different Industrial Machines that it takes to build a sustainable civilization with modern comforts." Watch

A New Documentary on the Global Population Issue: Mother - Caring our Way out of the Population Dilemma

[Film Website]Last weekend BIFF, the "Boulder International Film Festival" was held here. Included was a world premier showing of "Mother: Caring Our Way Out of the Population Dilemma." The movie features a Boulder mother, Beth Osnes, a last sibling of a family of twelve. It is very well-done and covers the various facets of the complexity of the issue, as well as discussing the political

Smallest Farms Are Most Fully Owned

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from USDA's 2009 Agricultural Resource Management Survey. Note: Tenants rent all the land they farm. Part owners own some of the land they farm and rent the rest. Full owners own all the land they farm.Contributing to this statistic is the current rapidly growing "retirement and lifestyle farmer," a new category recently established by the

U.S. Weekly Grain Market in Review for February 25, 2011

~February 25, 2011~Compared to last week, grain and soybean bids were moderate to sharply lower as the markets were mostly under pressure during the week. The markets opened on Tuesday limit-down as the grains were swept up in a commodity sell-off due to the political unrest in Libya. Favorable weather for China, rain in the central and eastern winter wheat belt of the U.S. and talk of large

In the News

From Scientific American on which nations are most vulnerable to climate change: In Wheeler's assessment of nations rich and poor, China came out as far and away the world's most vulnerable nation overall, followed closely by India. Bangladesh and Trinidad and Tobago also made the top 10, as did the African nations of Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Burundi, Sudan and Rwanda. But a

Farm Photo: Cotton Farming During the Dust Bowl

Cultivating cotton on a farm during the Dust Bowl

U.S. Agricultural Imports - Part II

* see footnote/Source: usdaIn 2010, the U.S. agricultural exports reached a record high of $115.8 billion but imports reached a new high, as well, totalling $81.9 billion.The U.S. is a breadbasket for the world which presents good balance sheet opportunities for producing agricultural export commodities. Previously, I've written Agricultural Exports versus the U.S. Trade Deficit which concluded

U.S. Agricultural Imports

The U.S. agricultural import forecast for 2011 is moved up to $85.5 billion, an 8.2-percent increase over 2010. The projected import growth in 2011 reflects about 2-3 percent volume gain and 6 percent increase in import unit values. Major commodities inflating the U.S. import bill include coffee beans, cocoa beans, coconut oil, palm oil, rubber, and sugar.Of the additional $7 billion in

How Much Ethanol Will the World Produce in 2011?

source: F.O. LichtThe Global Renewable Fuels Alliance in cooperation with F.O. Licht released its global annual ethanol production forecast earlier this month.The GRFA forecasts ethanol production to hit 88.7 billion liters (23.4 billion gallons) in 2011, "replacing the need for one million barrels of crude oil per day worldwide." The GRFA predicts a growth of over 3 percent in global production