3PM – It’s Not Too Late!
Farming isn’t a battle against nature, but a partnership with it. It is respecting the basics of nature in action and ensuring that they continue.
Jeff Koehler
The Farm or Ranch Hand is a Mighty Powerful Ag Person
We live in a time of automation in agriculture. But when push comes to shove, people have to sow, hoe, and harvest. We may do these tasks from the cab of a tractor, behind a pair of mules, or sitting on a tractor-drawn seat planting asparagus.
In the United States this year, agricultural operations needed an additional 2.4 million workers to get the job done, to bring the harvest in, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. Even when workers’ wages are increased it’s still hard to find farmworkers. The ag industry is competing with other industries that offer higher pay and the flexibility to work from home.
Farming or ranching has to be a passion more than a job. Few young farmers can break into ag because of the high price of land, steep initial investment, and uncertain income to support a family. But could these same people be approached as farmworkers? As paid apprentices? As farm managers? Whatever the title, this approach gives younger people a chance to find out if farming or ranching is really what they want to do. Just sayin…
For farmers or ranchers who need labor, young people bring new ideas and insights. Instead of trying to mold farmhands into your image, listen to their observations. Maybe your farm can achieve a better ROI. In agriculture, as in life, the only constant is change. If you keep doing things the same old way, you’ll get the same old outcome. Are your farm economics what you’d like? How about trying something new – an idea from a mighty powerful person? Your new hire.
Are Seeds Available to Everyone Equally?
When discussing regenerative agriculture, we tend to concentrate on soil health. But what about the seeds that go into that soil to grow our food, fiber, and animal feed? I’m not going to go into food for fuel – another time.
As the regenerative ag industry moves forward and more Big Food companies commit more acres to regen products, seed sourcing becomes an important question.
Which Agriculture Sectors Get the Seeds and at What Price?
Specialty crop growers have been hit particularly hard since the USDA expanded intellectual property rights protection (IPR) for more seed varietals. A grower can benefit from a new variety that has been genetically modified for extreme weather adaptation. But that seed will cost more, on average 30-50% more.
You’re paying for the research and development of traits developed through proprietary breeding programs. Private companies undertake most R&D and they’re protecting their investment. But does that increased price reflect REAL added value or is it BIG SEED consolidating germplasm?
PVP protects BIG AG while making it more difficult for small and organic farmers to compete in the marketplace. Conventional seeds, whether PVP or open source, are controlled by a small segment of the seed industry. Monsanto, Syngenta, Corteva, and BASF control over 30% of the global vegetable seed market.
These companies have seen the rising demand for organic foods from consumers and are increasing the quantity of vegetable and fruit varieties in their portfolios.
Large conventional vegetable and fruit growers can afford the PVP seeds and pass the costs on to consumers. The inputs they use to be able to grow “perfect” produce in their fields are produced by the same people who own the seeds. It’s a vicious cycle.
How Does This Impact Regen Agriculture?
The seeds, starter plants, and bare-root fruit trees that are PVP certified are more expensive so most regen farmers don’t buy them. The marketing campaigns of BIG AG have created the impression in many consumers’ minds that the PVP varieties are more desirable.
Traits that have been bred into the PVP varieties include longer shelf-life so unwary consumers see the benefit of paying the higher price for the “new and improved” variety. But whenever you breed for one trait you have to sacrifice another.
The farming practices used by regenerative fruit and vegetable producers create growing conditions that make the PVP disease, pest, and extreme weather traits irrelevant. But that doesn’t keep consumers from buying into the desirability, and even necessity, of those resistance traits. Seed racks proudly display the resistance traits so home gardeners assume those are the seeds that will grow best in their own gardens.
That consumer mentality oozes into the grocery aisle when the home garden doesn’t supply all of a family’s food. Organic isn’t as important as variety, especially with fruit. For example, Honeycrisp (a PVP apple) is desired by consumers over Red Delicious (open source). Taste is one consideration. But, on average, Red Delicious apples have a higher nutrient density because they are higher in antioxidants, especially if you eat the skin.
This isn’t a strong consumer concern. Buyers think an apple is an apple. This is the dilemma of the fruit grower.
These same issues plague vegetable growers. It’s not just the cost of seeds, but the buying habits of consumers that drive the market takeover by PVP seeds, plants, and seedlings.
The lesson here is that BIG AG and BIG SEED have done a bang-up marketing job. They have convinced a whole generation of consumers and gardeners that Hybrids and PVP are superior. Regen ag needs to take a close look at the playbook and see how the Monsantos of the world have molded buyer behavior. Remember: what’s been molded into one belief pattern can be remolded into another, more sustainable belief pattern.
No Farm Bill – We’ll All Hurt -Not Just Agriculture
The 2018 Farm Bill expired on Monday, September 30th. What are the immediate impacts and what’s going to happen further on down the road?
Immediate Impacts
Several federal programs have lost funding. Conservation programs, ag trade programs, and farm production safety nets are just the tip of the iceberg.
Important climate-friendly programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), the Healthy Forest Restoration Program (HFRP), and the Watershed Rehabilitation Program (REHAB) were not extended so their authority expired Monday. This doesn’t mean they’ve ceased activity but it does mean that without a 2024 Farm Bill, future funding is impacted and new projects aren’t being approved. (1)
What Does That Mean to Farmers, Ranchers, and Consumers?
The goal of the CRP is to pay farmers and ranchers a yearly rent to move marginal ag land out of production and re-establish land cover, improve water quality, reduce erosion, and provide habitat for wildlife. This is a voluntary program and the money paid to ag producers is used to plant native species as habitats for beneficial insects, pollinators, birds, and wildlife.
If you’re a farmer or rancher who is considering this program for that back forty that floods every year, you’ll have to wait and see. But until then you can still convert that marginal property to wildlife habitat. It won’t be pretty, but you won’t be losing money every year.
The same can be said for the HFRP and the REHAB. Maintaining healthy forests means working to reestablish native species where invasives have taken over. It also means clearing underbrush so forests aren’t fire hazards. A critical part of this program, and it’s voluntary.
REHAB, the Watershed Rehabilitation Program is our protection from flooding due to the failure of dams. There are over 11,850 dams that have been constructed since 1948 by NRCS. Whether you believe we should have built these dams in the first place is irrelevant. If local authorities decide to remove a dam it’s good to know it’s done in a way that won’t take out your crop or some of your best cropland.
Longer-Term Impacts of the Expired Farm Bill
If the 2024 Farm Bill isn’t passed some interesting things will occur. Our entire farm economy could revert back to the farm bills of 1938 and 1949. These farm bills are called the “permanent law” and chaos would ensue in government, retail, and the entire ag sector. Farm agencies would have to operate under conditions appropriate in 1938 and 1949. That means no computers, or technology inappropriate for the time. This sounds silly but be prepared to fill out forms at your local ag agency by hand. Keep your pencil sharp!
Almost 80% of the total budget of the Farm Bill is for food security for our most vulnerable citizens. SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, has seen a dramatic increase in demand since Covid.
Farmers grew corn and soybeans on 178 million acres in the US last year. But, less than 10% of the total production of these crops was for human consumption. The majority was used for animal feed and biofuel production. We like to think our farmers are growing food for humans, but they’re growing feed for livestock in CAFOs (Confined Animal Feeding Operations) and for fuel to run our vehicles.
So, farmers aren’t concerned with SNAP. And some may even think it is an unnecessary part of the Farm Bill. This is a real quandary. If the SNAP program isn’t funded through the Farm Bill, where will the money come from?
Nutrition and farming have been linked since the 1970s. Agricultural and nutritional policy in a comprehensive food policy was a more holistic approach to food policy. But back then farmers were actually growing crops for human food.
The SNAP program is one of the sticking points in the 2024 Farm Bill. The Republican House of Representatives passed a bill that would freeze SNAP payments at the 2024 rate until 2029. The Democratic Senate version continues the reevaluation of food costs to account for the cost of living and regional food cost differences.
According to Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs at Syracuse University, “ “If the appropriations bills are not passed by the end of December, January benefits will still go out because SNAP benefits are obligated in the prior month (December).. the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which funds SNAP, has “a multi-year carry over fund and contingency funds that could be used to continue payouts.” (2)
But the question is for how long?
Another program on the chopping block is MAP (Market Access Program). US agriculture depends on imports and exports. Trade partnerships don’t happen by magic. It takes a lot of outreach from the US agriculture industry to broker trade agreements with 20 countries under the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). You may agree or disagree with the FTAs but allowing them to expire without a plan in place isn’t good economic sense.
These agreements reduce or eliminate trade barriers and promote economic growth. Without USDA funding programs, such as MAP, agricultural trade delegations are hampered in their efforts. We have a lot of competition in the world for market share. Farmers and ranchers need all the help the federal government can give to maintain agricultural imports and exports for a robust US economy.
We’re all consumers so the Farm Bill impacts us every day of our lives. We seldom think of it as impacting us, but it is an integral part of the US economy. It’s also a part of the future of agriculture if we can keep climate-friendly funding focused on sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices.
Many of us spend time in national parks and enjoy the wild parts of land and water. Maintaining, and regenerating, these spaces improves mental, physical, and spiritual health.
- https://www.agri-pulse.com/articles/farm-bill-expired-nine-things-you-should-know
- https://www.newsweek.com/snap-warning-issued-millions-farm-bill-1961805
How Does Marketing Fit Into All This?
Every day we’re marketing. We’re convincing someone to do something all the time. Sometimes we’re even trying to convince ourselves to do something we feel like we’d rather not. That’s marketing.
When we talk to a neighbor about the 2024 Farm Bill or discuss seeds with another buyer at a local retail seed rack, we’re engaged in sharing of information. And that’s also marketing.
As a business owner your definition of marketing is more to the point of improving ROI and increasing impact. Doing business with a marketing agency that already knows what’s happening in the industry gives you a step up on your competition.
At 3 Pillars Marketing, we only work with businesses that matter. Helping them make more profit so they can have a greater impact. Is that you?
One of my favorite quotes:
The Now is as it is because it cannot be otherwise. What Buddhists have always known, physicists now confirm: there are no isolated things or events. Underneath the surface appearance, all things are interconnected, are part of the totality of the cosmos that has brought about the form that this moment takes.
Eckhart Tolle
That’s it for this month. Watch for my videos on marketing for sustainable businesses. There might be some tips JUST FOR YOU!
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