The report, produced by Deutsche Bank, one of the world’s leading global investment banks, in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, provides a framework for investing in sustainable agriculture against a backdrop of massive population growth and escalating demands for food, fiber and fuel.

At a crossroads

“We are at a crossroads in terms of our investments in agriculture and what we will need to do to feed the world population by 2050,” said David Zaks, a co-author of the report and a researcher at the Nelson Institute’s Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment.

By 2050, world population is expected to exceed 9 billion people, up from 6.5 billion today. Already, according to the report, a gap is emerging between agricultural production and demand, and the disconnect is expected to be amplified by climate change, increasing demand for biofuels, and a growing scarcity of water.

“There will come a point in time when we will have difficulties feeding world population,” said Zaks, a graduate student whose research focuses on the patterns, trends and processes of global agriculture.

Although unchecked population growth will put severe strains on global agriculture, demand can be met by a combination of expanding agriculture to now marginal or unused land, substituting new types of crops, and technology, the report’s authors conclude.

Solution

“The solution is only going to come about by changing the way we use land, changing the things that we grow and changing the way that we grow them,” Zaks explains.

The report notes that agricultural research and technological development in the United States and Europe have increased notably in the last decade, but those advances have not translated into increased production on a global scale.
Subsistence farmers in developing nations, in particular, have benefited little from such developments and investments in those agricultural sectors have been marginal, at best.

Strategies

The report, however, identifies a number of strategies to increase global agricultural productions in sustainable ways, including:

— Improvements in irrigation, fertilization and agricultural equipment using technologies ranging from geographic information systems and global analytical maps to the development of precision, high performance equipment.
— Applying sophisticated management and technologies on a global scale, essentially extending research and investment into developing regions of the world.
— Investing in “farmer competence” to take full advantage of new technologies through education and extension services, including investing private capital in better training farmers.
— Intensifying yield using new technologies, including genetically modified crops.
— Increasing the amount of land under cultivation without expanding to forested lands through the use of multiple cropping, improving degraded crop and pasturelands, and converting productive pastures to biofuel production.

Action plan

“First we have to improve yield,” notes Zaks. “Next, we have to bring in more land in agriculture while considering the environmental implications, and then we have to look at technology.”

Contributing writer

STOW, Ohio — Daniel Ryan of Stow, Ohio, is not your average guy on the street. The former horticulturist at Hale Farm and Village in Bath sometimes found himself called upon to harness and drive the farm’s team of Belgian draft horses and even the oxen.

Little did Ryan guess how handy those teamster skills would prove to be when after 10 years his position at the living history museum was eliminated.

Unique act

Ryan didn’t become a teamster in the conventional sense. Instead, he hitched Richard, his pet rooster, to a cart with a hen passenger and took his unique act on the road.

The musician/storyteller with a carriage-driving chicken finds audiences for his act crosses generational barriers.

Love at first sight

Ryan, who sports a long beard and dreadlocks, says it was love at first sight when he saw the Mille Fleur Bantam at a livestock auction and bid an outrageous $7.20 for the speckled little fowl.

“Chickens were selling for less than a dollar, but I didn’t care…I was going home with Richard,” Ryan said.

That was 10 years ago. Soon after taking Richard to work (eating bugs) in the farm gardens, he discovered that visitors enjoyed the friendly rooster.

“He helped a lot of people overcome their fear of chickens,” claimed Ryan.

Verbal commands

He fashioned a harness and leash so Richard could safely be walked around the farm, then worked on verbal commands.

“I trained him through positive reinforcement, he explained. “When Richard went to the right, I’d say ‘Gee, Richard.’ When I picked him up I’d say ‘Whoa.’”

The bird was a quick study. His commands now include: gee, haw, whoa, step up and easy (just in case he gets going too fast).

Mildred

Richard’s “bride” Mildred is seven years old.

“They even had a wedding at the farm,” laughed Ryan as he hitches the rooster to a sleigh which appears to be a Christmas relic retrofitted with rough-terrain wheels for year-round use. “I’d really like to have a nice little cart, but I haven’t found anything.”

The tiny hemp traces attach to a breast collar concealed by luxurious plumage. Richard clucks softly as Mildred takes her place in the sleigh.

Gives bride a ride

“They’re never more than six inches apart. She likes to sit in the cart and he likes to give his bride a ride,” said Ryan.

Even with her cataract-clouded eyes Mildred looks regal.

“Step up,” said Ryan. Richard leans into the collar and away they go until he says, “Whoa, Richard.”

Billed as educational entertainment, they perform everywhere from nursery schools to nursing homes. Ryan plays mandolin and flute and sings between stories.

“His world is huge. Richard gets in places that would never allow me in. He’s even infiltrated high society country clubs,” Ryan said.

Tough act to follow

As the duo approaches retirement age, Ryan hopes to pick up some young chicks, but Richard and Mildred will be a tough act to follow.

The OSU Master Gardener has a new job, so he’s limiting their engagements until autumn.

For more information, call Ryan at 330-686-6222.

Consignments from across the U.S. and Canada congregated in Dubuque, Iowa, for the sale June 19. In spite of trying economic times, the sale averaged $2,747 for the 53 live animals struck off by auctioneer Lynn Lee of Smyrna, Tenn.

As Eric Lang’s voice rang out announcing the virtues of her stellar pedigree, excitement in the sale arena was at a high as Lashburn Belinda-ET paraded around the ring.

“She’s the number one conformation cow in Canada. She was nominated All-Canadian in 2008. And, just look at her momma’s outstanding production,” Lang said.

The dam is EX-93 6E, made over 26,700M at 10-07 and was grand champion of the 1997 World Dairy Expo. The grandam’s full sister was a World Dairy Expo champion, as was the third dam.

Highest-selling Ayrshire

At $24,500, the highest-selling Ayrshire at a U.S. public auction, “Belinda” was sold to the syndicate of Gerald Koss, Epworth, Iowa, Steve McDonald, Princeton, Ill., and Jim Tentinger, Remsen, Iowa.

The second high seller was another crowd favorite. A Calimero fall calf out of the Family-Af-Ayr Cornelius Daisy sold for $8,000 to Ferme Jean-Guy et Fils of Quebec.

The dam is EX-94 2E, has lifetime totals of 121,650M 4.1 percent 5028F 3.3 percent 4035P, was grand champion at the 2007 World Dairy Expo and Unanimous All-American Aged Cow in 2007.

The next dam is EX-95 3E, over 119, 730M lifetime, WDE reserve grand champion and All-American. She was consigned by Family-Af-Ayr Farm, the Gregg Borchardt Family of Caledonia, Ill.

The next high seller at $5,000 was a stylish Poker winter calf out of Old-Bankston Wandering Meg, EX-90 Elite with records to 4-09 365D 28,280M 3.2 percent 1,206F 2.8 percent 1,086P.

The next dam has records to 28,800M. She was consigned by Kurt Wolf, Epworth, Iowa, and purchased by Glen Malcolm Farms, Ontario.

Embryos packages

Eleven embryos packages sold, averaging $420 per embryo. The high-selling embryo consignment was Des Chamois Poker x Onword Calimero Addy-ET.

The dam was the 2008 All-American winter calf. The next dam is EX-91 and was the 2006 All-American Jr. three-year-old. She has production to 5-00 305D 29,870M 3.8 percent 1133F 3.0 percent 890P.

The embryos were consigned by Jonna Schutte of Oelwein, Iowa, and purchased by P&A Ayrshires, Dyersville, Iowa.

The volume buyer was Yarrabee Cows LLC, Maynard, Craig, Eric and Dane Lang of Brooklyn, Iowa.

The Lang Family has a long Ayrshire history. Maynard’s father, Howie, developed the family’s Iow-Ayr Farm Ayrshires starting in 1932. He was awarded the prestigious Ayrshire Distinguished Service Award in 1967.

Weather report

The storm began in the late afternoon July 25 between 4 and 5 p.m. but the toll won’t be completely known for at least a week, if not longer.

The National Weather Service in Cleveland received several reports of hail accumulation on the ground in the area around state Routes 322 and 46. Some of the hailstones measured 1 inch in diameter at one point during the storm.

One farmer, Ken Coltman, reported receiving more than 2 inches of rain in a 35-minute period.

Tim Krieg, another farmer in the area said it stormed for at least a half hour and when it was finished, there were at least 3 inches of hail on the ground, and near the barn doors, it was piled even higher.

Ken Nims, also described the storm as one that just wouldn’t let up.

“It just kept coming down harder and harder,” Nims said.

Different outcome

As of June 29, things may be looking up, at least for one farmer.

“The crops are starting to look a little better,” said Ken Coltman, a partner in Coltman Farms, about his corn crop. He estimates 220 acres of corn received damage and 180 acres of hay was also hit hard.

“We’re giving it (corn) a few days to see if it comes back. It is probably a 15-20 percent loss, but it is better than a total loss,” Coltman said.

He added a field of hay seven miles away from the majority of fields around state Route 322 was able to be chopped the day after the storm, June 26.

“I guess this is a disadvantage to having everything in one spot,” Coltman said referring to the heavily damaged crops.

Wheat damage

Coltman describes the damage to the wheat crop as “deceiving.”

“The wheat is standing, but the kernels are on the ground. All you will get out of it is straw,” Coltman said.

Coltman added the farm lost 40 percent of the second cutting of the hay crop.

He said the waiting game continues for the farm until at least June 30 to determine if some drastic changes need made to the corn crop.

Damage tallied

The Krieg farm, operated by Tim, Terry and Gary Krieg on Troutman Road, is reporting damage to 350 of the 415 acres of crops planted this spring.

In addition, the hail is blamed for breaking windows in barns, damaging vehicles, creating holes in roofs, and even taking the paint off buildings.

The hail hit so hard it knocked corn down that was 3 feet high to less than 10 inches.

The leaves on the corn plants were destroyed, wheat was knocked out of the hulls and the alfalfa was shredded, dashing hopes for the second cutting of hay from it.

“The wheat crop is literally on the ground,” Krieg said.

Krieg immediately went to work after the storm.

“I knew we were in uncharted territory with this kind of damage,” Krieg said.

Surveying fields. A team of chemical dealers, seed dealers and the Ashtabula County Ohio State University agriculture educator assembled June 25 to survey crop damage at farms in the area.

The Krieg farm does carry crop insurance and a claim was filed July 26 but the adjuster wasn’t expected to look at the fields for a few days.

The wait begins

The day-after tour brought good and bad news for the Krieg and the Nims farms.

The first corn field visited near the Kriegs’ home farm appeared damaged but, to the Kriegs’ surprise, the damage on the field is not permanent and the plants are expected to recover as long as the stress on the plants can be kept low.

“One month from now and that corn plant will not even know the leaves had been there,” said Bill Mondak, an account manager for Rosen’s Inc.

The growth point in the plants in the field off of Troutman Road were not damaged and can still grow and develop.

Crop delay. “It’s not shut down completely,” said Dave Marrison, Ashtabula County OSU ag educator.

Marrison added the corn would probably be delayed in maturity between a week and 10 days.

“The plant will survive. It’s not as bad as it looks. The corn will make ears,” said Gary Marcy, Western Reserve Co-op.

A second corn field surveyed was not in the same shape and a decision about what to do next with the field will have to be made. The field contains 24 acres of corn.

This field was different because the hail actually pushed the corn plants over and bruised the plant. White spots, which are the bruises, were found on the majority of the plants in the field and they won’t recover. They will, instead, get worse, with fungus and disease entering the plant through those bruises.

The Kriegs are awaiting the crop adjuster’s visit before a final determination is made on what to do.

The soybean fields appeared to be the least damaged.

Crop survival

Ken Nims, a farmer in nearby Colebrook, is also in limbo on the status of his crops. He is worried about crop survival and yield as well, but after a look at the field, Marcy gave him some reassurance.

“It looks terrible now, but give it 10 days,” Marcy said. “They look ugly, but I think you will be surprised.”

However, Nims is still unsure about what he should do next with his fields, if anything.

Only time will tell if the crops will recover or the farmers will need to take a different route in their plans.

Within a week, two similar bills, H.J.R. 2 and S.J.R. 6, were introduced and passed through the House of Representatives and Senate. (more…)

Grammer Jersey Farm hosted individuals from 14 countries participating in the Midwest leg of the World Jersey Cattle Bureau tour.

All about Jerseys

The tour originated in Columbus Thursday, with stops Friday at the American Jersey Cattle Association headquarters in Reynoldsburg and Select Sires in Plain City.

From Columbus, the group wound to Holmes County for a field day at Clover Patch Jerseys, a 400-cow seasonal dairy owned by the Alan Kozak family. The June 27 event, open to the public, drew nearly 200 people who were interested in seeing the grazing dairy operation.

Sunday, the group visited the Grammer farm, then headed to Irishtown Acres, home of the Steve and Joe Paxton families, in Mercer County, Pa. Monday’s tour stops included Hi-Land Farm, owned by David and Greg Chamberlain of Wyoming, N.Y., and Den-Kel Jerseys, owned by Kip Keller and Robin Denniston-Keller, Byron, N.Y.

The New York leg of the tour includes joint annual meetings of the World Jersey Cattle Bureau, the American Jersey Cattle Association and National All-Jersey in Syracuse. The meetings run through July 5.

(Now, you can purchase any of the photos from this slide show.)

‘Inspirational’

Gloomy milk prices worldwide affected most tour visitors’ dairy outlook. “There’s no one excited about milk prices,” observed retired Australian dairyman Eric Johnson. But, he added, there have been positive lessons from the U.S. trip.

“It really was inspirational to see the enthusiasm of those California guys,” Johnson said of the group’s visit to the Hilmar Cheese Company’s manufacturing plant in Dalhart, Texas.

Hilmar Cheese was founded 25 years ago by 12 central California dairy families who owned Jersey cattle. The Texas plant was commissioned in 2007.

Johnson’s words were echoed by Brazil’s Claudio Costa. “This was a very learning opportunity,” said Costa, who obtained his Ph.D. in animal breeding from Cornell University and now works with the Ministry of Agriculture in Brazil. “These people are committed to each other.”

Annual trip

Every year, the 39-member World Jersey Cattle Bureau leads a tour to a different country to learn about and promote the Jersey breed.

Bureau president Gonzala Maldonado of Colombia said the farm visits in Texas — to operations like Faria Brothers Dairy in Etter, Texas, which has a barn built for 7,000 milking cows — were “something unbelievable.” The Ohio farms visited were similar to many of the international visitors’ home farms, “only bigger,” he added.

“I’m very impressed with the idea to control the environment,” Maldonado said of the U.S. dairy farms he visited. “Everybody needs to be involved with biosecurity and the environment.”

Full circle

Globally, the Jersey breed maintains a strong presence. In South Africa, for example, the breed surpassed Holsteins with total number of registered cows (90,787 head) as well as total number on milk.

Of note, the Isle of Jersey — opened its borders last September to the importation of Jersey semen for the first time in history, and the first calves were born June 11 (a bull calf) and June 13 (first heifer calf). Interestingly, the bull calf lineage has been traced to a female ancestor, Gypsy Countess, exported from Jersey in 1879.

Despite these recent uncertainties, ‘up’ is precisely the direction an Iowa State researcher believes agriculture is headed for at least the next 10 years. (more…)

Farm and Dairy correspondent

MERCER, Pa. — After much deliberation, judges selected Lena Aiken as 2009-10 Mercer County Dairy Princess. She is the daughter of Dave and Carol Aiken, New Wilmington.

The alternates, both from the Grove City area, are Alisha Henry, daughter of Alan and Beverly Henry and Elizabeth Weber, daughter of Rick and Brenda Weber. All three girls are 16.

Rigorous competition

After rigorous competition where each girl presented a dairy-related skit, an informative speech and answered an impromptu question, judges Sherman Allen, George Greig and Christine Waddall, all of Crawford County, retired to another room to deliberate.

It was apparent to the audience at the annual dairy pageant that the judges were having a hard time making a decision when it took such a long time for them to return to the auditorium.

All three girls will be representing the Mercer County dairy industry until June 2010.

State seminar

Aiken will participate in the state seminar for county dairy princesses from across the state. This intense training experience helps prepare these spokespersons for the challenges they will face as they make public appearances.

She will also compete for the position of state dairy princess in September.

The Mercer County pageant, held at the Leslie N. Firth Education Center includes participation by girls from 5 to 16.

Dairy Darlings

The youngest group, Dairy Darlings, included Christa Ealy, daughter of Dan and Sherry Ealy, Sharpsville; Rebekah Leise, daughter of Pete and Elaine Leise, Greenville and Hannah Sturgin, daughter of Raymond and Paula Sturgin, Fredonia.

The three primary school girls performed a song with dairy promotion lyrics.

Dairy Delights

Three upper elementary girls, Dairy Delights, each performed a skit promoting the nutritional assets of dairy products.

These included, Elena and Josie Canon, daughters of Mark and Marie Canon, West Middlesex and Jocelyn Snyder, daughter of Todd and Paula Snyder, Greenville.

Prior to the evening event, the Dairy Maids presented speeches to the judges.

Alyssa Miller, daughter of Chris Miller, Greenville and Melissa Miller, Sandy Lake, won a certificate for her outstanding speech “Farmer in the Recession” and the honor of presenting her speech during the pageant activities.

Sarah Slater, daughter of Bruce and Cheri Slater, Clarks Mills, and Samantha Weber, daughter of Rick and Brenda Weber, Grove City, also participated as Dairy Maids. These girls also had to answer an impromptu question.

Dairy Ambassador

Amanda Minor, daughter of Steve and Heidi Minor, Grove City, participated as a Dairy Ambassador. Her speech was about dairy competition and the economic importance of the dairy industry to the state and the community.

The Dairy Ambassador and the Dairy Maids are often called on to participate in dairy promotion activities through out the year.

Abbie Trotter, 2008-09 Pennsylvania State Second Alternate Dairy Princess, Brittany Trotter, 2009-10 Beaver/Lawrence County Dairy Princess and Robert Dixon, a member of the board for the state dairy princess program attended the event.

Janet McDougall, Mercer County extension director, served as mistress of ceremonies for the event.

SALEM, Ohio — June Dairy Month began more than 70 years ago as “National Milk Month.” The 1937 campaign’s theme was “Keep Youthful — Drink Milk.”

Although the promotion name might have changed, the efforts continue today — especially through breed representatives and the dairy princess program across the nation.

Meet five young women — true farm girls — who are promoting and celebrating the dairy industry. All five hail from western Pennsylvania and represent the entire commonwealth. (more…)