The Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform Act of 1996,
popularly known as "Freedom to Farm," heralded a shift in federal farm policy.
Farmers would trade a strict set of supply-control programs for a new era of
market-driven cropping decisions, tempered with seven years of transition
payments to help move the government out of farming.
Congress will consider a new Farm Bill in 2002, and experts predict
more fine-tuning than final solutions. Some things haven't changed. Farmers
need more skills in marketing and risk management. Policy-makers require the
means to make better decisions. Congress and consumers want assurances that
environmental programs in agriculture pay off. The USDA and Land-Grant
university partnership works to help open international markets, promote
win-win environmental programs and give farmers and others the tools they need
to succeed.
Payoff
- Un-risky business. A North Carolina A&T program
taught financial and risk management skills to more than 1,000 small-scale
farmers facing economic hardships. Nearly 200 farmers learned how to apply
for financial assistance, and 20 cooperators secured nearly $1.4 million
in operating and equipment loans. More than 30 farmers reported they
learned how to purchase crop insurance and use other risk management
techniques. One first-time crop insurance participant was spared financial
ruin when drought devastated his oat crop.
- Exploiting exports. Trade policy reforms in Tunisia and Morocco
led to 1998 imports of 40 million bushels of American feed grains, up from
18.8 million bushels in 1993. The U.S. Feed Grains Council credits
Purdue agricultural economists and expects imports to double again
by 2008. Removing U.S.-Canadian trade barriers opened up markets for
Montana feeder calves. Montana State experts estimate economic
gains of $3 to $4 per hundredweight in transportation savings, with $4.32
million in additional revenue to Montana cattle producers.
- Banking on carbon. Capturing and storing atmospheric carbon in
groundcover and crop residue may offer environmental and income benefits
for producers. Nebraska researchers believe farmers could sell
carbon credits to industry for an additional dollar per acre, certified by
remote sensing technology. It could mean a new agricultural enterprise
worth $27 million if implemented on just 25 percent of the nation's
cropland. An Ohio State scientist has been working with commodity
groups, federal agencies and the United Nations to promote crop-based
carbon sequestration.
- Flexing to flax. Over-reliance on small grain crops has put
North Dakota producers at risk for plant diseases and supply surpluses.
North Dakota State Extension specialists have helped producers add
to their cropping mixes and their bank accounts. Acreage for
unconventional crops has increased in the last four years, including
canola acreage by 344 percent; soybeans, 122 percent; flax, 167 percent;
field peas, 264 percent; and lentils, 200 percent. Diversified cropping
has led to an average of $11.40 per acre more, with an estimated increase
of $185 million in 1999 gross income.
- Wider margins. Not everybody is ready for the computer
revolution. Maryland faculty taught 700 agricultural producers
financial management and basic computer skills. Better balance sheets,
cash flow budgets and enterprise analyses should improve decision-making
and profitability.
- Marketing majors. When farmers get only 18 cents out of every
food dollar, marketing skills are crucial. Dairy farmers who learned about
futures contracts from Wisconsin Extension specialists have eagerly
adopted the risk management tools. One cooperative estimates the number of
forward pricing contracts has quadrupled. A dozen marketing clubs with an
average of 15 to 30 members have formed to continue the study of new
marketing methods. A Purdue Extension educator has formed two
marketing clubs for 72 producers in four counties. He estimates that
members have boosted their combined incomes by $500,000 per year. One
producer reports a $150,000 increase in sales over two years using options
as hedging tools. Another using options to lock in corn prices estimated a
market gain of $27,000.
- Certifiably profitable. Small-scale farmers have learned that
earning organic certification can command premium prices for their
produce. Virginia State experts have been helping growers meet the
new USDA standards as well as teaching new methods of organic production
and marketing. Thirty new farms were certified in 2000, bringing the total
to 120 farms representing 6,483 acres.
- Coping with smut. Winter wheat growers in the northwestern
United States have been denied Asian market access since 1972 because of a
plant disease called smut. University researchers from Utah
State, Montana State, Oregon State, Idaho and
Wyoming worked with Chinese scientists to show that the disease would
not threaten their wheat production, which led to a groundbreaking
shipment of wheat to the People's Republic of China in 2000. Lifting the
restriction could boost Montana wheat exports alone by several million
metric tons.
- Environmental outreach. Urban-rural interactions have led to
more interest in best management practices for crop and livestock
operations. Missouri specialists helped one county's communities
and surrounding corn farmers work together to meet drinking water quality
standards. One project saved a community $50,000 per year without
economically harming the corn farmers. Louisiana State
specialists took the lead in publishing recommendations for specific
commodity production ranging from poultry to sweet potatoes. Demand for
the publications has prompted a second printing of rice and poultry
publications, and the environmental ethic has been prized by the general
public.
Cooperative State Research, Education, and
Extension ServiceUnited States Department of Agriculture
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
in cooperation with the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy,
the Experiment Station Committee on Organization and Policy, the Academic
Programs Committee on Organization and Policy, the International Programs
Committee on Organization and Policy, and the Louisiana State University
Agricultural Center.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of
race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political
beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited
bases apply to all programs.)
April
2001