Production miracle or scourge?

Back in April, I devoted space in this column to information I had run across chronicling the incredible progress in our nation's agricultural production over the past 40 years (since 1970). The increase in production has been phenomenal over this period, as farm and ranch producers have benefited from using innovations in breeding (both plants and animals), in feed use and production, in more effective ag chemicals and in using GPS technology for field work and fertilizer application, etc.

I was especially delighted about this information as the sources I read also predicted a continued increase that would help us meet the world's food needs, also, for the next 40 years. However, while discussing this accomplishment with a visitor to our office a few days later, a question was expressed. This increase in production will be "at how large a cost" in other resources -- specifically, oil and the environment, as well as consumer expense?

That encouraged me to do some more research concerning food and energy costs that are certainly affecting all of our pocketbooks, as well as some of the input costs and applications that definitely do impact our environment.

In undertaking some additional research, I found that the percentage of every food dollar actually ending up in a farmer's pocket is less than 12 percent (11.6 percent, to be exact) of our total food bill, according to available USDA statistics. The balance of our food costs comes from shipping, processing, packaging, delivering and selling the food products.

A large influence on the non-farmer portion of food expenses is, of course, the price of oil. The year 1947 was the last time the price of a bushel of corn and a barrel of oil were the same -- $2.16. Based on Friday's (June 24) corn and crude posted market prices ($6.70/bushel for corn; $91.19/barrel for oil); the price of corn has increased 310 percent since then while the cost of oil has increased 4,222 percent.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out which of those things has had the largest influence on food prices. That information, then, sheds some light on the question about consumer monetary costs due to higher farm-level prices. It is not the current higher farm commodity prices that are causing the marked jump in food prices. So, what about the environmental costs?

I found a recent article in the Western Farm Press (June 3, 2011, issue) that addressed the cost in resources and environmental factors involv-ed in our farm production increases. The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) reported that between 1980 and 2010, U.S. farmers nearly doubled corn production using slightly fewer fertilizer nutrients than were used in 1980.

The announcement is based on fertilizer application rate data released this spring by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). (The peak historically in U.S. fertilizer use, in fact, was during the 1950s.)

Specifically, in 1980, farmers grew 6.64 billion bushels of corn using 3.9 pounds of nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) for each bushel, and in 2010 they grew 12.45 billion bushels using 1.6 pounds of nutrients per bushel produced.

In total, this represents an 87.5 percent increase in production with 4 percent fewer nutrients during that same timeframe. Corn production accounts for half of U.S. fertilizer use, and experts estimate that 40 to 60 percent of world food production is attributable to fertilizers.

To be continued due to space considerations -- the conclusion of this topic will be included next week.

PROGRAM NOTE: The deadline for reporting acres is Aug. 1. Reporting of all crop and land uses remains a requirement under the terms of the current farm bill for most USDA program participation -- including the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), the Direct and Counter-cyclical Program (DCP), Acreage Crop Revenue Election (ACRE), Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE), etc.

The local USDA office is encouraging those needing to file an acreage report to call ahead for an appointment. In Bourbon County, call (620) 223-1880. This will allow the office to 1) prepare for your visit, as well as to 2) reserve a time for you to avoid your having to wait in line.

Program participation requires the acreage report to be filed. If completed late, a late-filed penalty will be charged to cover the cost of a farm visit to verify and measure reported acres. The charge for a late report is now a minimum of $46 per farm.