A2B-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 22, 2002 Penn State Cooperative Extension Capitol Region Dairy Team SALUTING AMERICA’S FOOD INDUSTRY Del Voight Extension Agronomy Agent Capitol Region This article will discuss a small portion of the food production system. Most of the information was obtained through the Agri culture Ambassador program that I attended in Jackson, Miss. We as Americans have the safest, most reliable food produc tion system in the world. Consider this: The average life expectancy in the U.S. today is 76.1 years, com pared with 70 years in 1960, 60 years in 1930, and 47 years in 1900.1 am in my 30s and consid er myself young, but I pause to think that back in the 1900 s I would have been considered old. Today, U.S citizens have ac cess to a wide variety of nourish ing fruits, vegetables, grains, meats, poultry, and dairy prod ucts. The quality, selection, and low cost make our food supply the envy of the rest of the world. Again, our modem agricultur al practices allow a very small percentage of our population to produce more agricultural prod ucts than any other country. Take a look at these statistics on percentages of income spent on food as opposed to percentages of population in agriculture. We spend 11 percent of our income on food while only 2 percent of our population is involved with farming. If you lived in France, 28 percent of your income would go to food bills and 14 percent of the population would be involved with farming. Consider living in India, where 64 percent of your income would go to food and 68 percent of the population are farming. Chances are, you would be farming and working to eat. Here’s a different perspective. This one may hit a little closer to home. Imagine you went to the grocery store to pick up a few things, such as a gallon of milk, a dozen eggs, five pounds of sugar, one pound of cheddar cheese, one pound of sirloin steak, and a two pound bag of apples. How much would you expect to pay? On av erage, in the U.S. it would cost about $18.79. Can anyone guess what the same groceries would cost in Spain? How about China? In Spain that same bag would cost $28.14 and in China that bag would cost $74.23. Like any other industry, agri culture has and must continue to evolve’ with technology. Farm output has more than doubled since the year 1940. Agriculture has advanced more rapidly in the past 50 years than in the past 12,000 years combined. Consider the magnitude of the following statistics: Production of food has in creased by 230 percent since 1940 and doubled since 1960 using the same amount of cropland. In 1960 one farmer fed 25 people. Each of today’s U.S. farmers feeds 129 people. In 1950, U.S. fanners produced 50 bushels of com per acre today’s farmer will produce 127.1 bushels of com per acre. Today’s Americans would spend about $195 billion more per year on food if we were to begin using technology of the 1950 s again. The use of modem agriculture practices are allowing farmers to produce more food and food at lower cost for consumers in America and around the world. Each day, approximately $6 mil lion in U.S. agricultural products such as grains, oilseeds, cotton, meats, vegetables, and snack foods will be consigned to export to foreign markets. The U.S. plays a huge role in providing food to foreign mar kets. We provide 19 percent of the world’s cotton, 49 percent of the world’s soybeans, 12 percent of the world’s wheat, and 36 per cent of the world’s com. In addi tion, the $lOO billion in annual exports create jobs for about 1 million workers throughout the U.S. It is imperative that the U.S. continues the current level of food production in order to sus tain our foreign export levels. As the population of the world in creases and the amount of avail able farm land decreases, many are questioning if the U.S. can maintain food production levels to keep our food costs down and our exports strong. U.S. agriculture will face many challenges in the next millenni um. World population will peak at 8.5 billion people in 2035 from today’s 6 billion and 1980’s 4.3 billion. The world must produce as much food in the next 40-80 years as in the past 12,000 years, and on less land than ever before. Only 7 percent of Earth’s surface is available for agricultural pro duction, and this decreases daily. Agriculture practices have changed dramatically since 1900. Modern technology has made it possible for U.S. farmers to pro duce much higher yields on less land. As a result, American fami lies enjoy the cheapest, most abundant food supply in the world. Delicious, nutritious, high quality food is available to us at a very low cost. Therefore, today’s Americans are eating better and living longer than ever before. Modern agriculture practices are the cornerstone of U.S. food production. These practices will enable food production to thrive in the face of increasing world population and decreasing farm land. But this can only happen if we concentrate on agricultural research and the continued devel opment of agricultural science and technology. Just like any other industry, agriculture must continue to evolve with technolo gy to meet the ever-increasing de mand for food. David Bittner Chosen State FFA 2002-2003 President UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre Co.) David Bittner, Berlin (Somerset County), was chosen president of the Pennsylvania FFA for 2002-2003 during the state convention last week at Penn State University. He is a member of the Brothers Valley FFA. Selected state vice president was Tim Lesher, a member of the Mahantango FFA at Line Moun tain High School in Herndon (Northumberland County). He lives in Pitman (Schuylkill Coun ty). The four regional 2002-2003 vice presidents chosen are: east ern Courtney Miller, McClure (Snyder County), West Snyder Pennsylvania FFA 2002-2203 State Officer Team. Front row, from left, Courtney Mill er, West Snyder FFA, eastern region vice president; Mary Strasbaugh, Cumberland Val ley FFA, south central vice president; Emily Grove, Shippensburg FFA, secretary; Julie Flinchbaugh, Eastern York FFA, reporter; and Mark Fulton, Big Spring FFA, treasurer. Back row, from left, David Bittner, Brothers Valley FFA, president; Tim Lesher, Mahan tango FFA, Line Mountain High School; Drew Cowden, H. G. Parkinson FFA, Fort Cherry High School, western region vice president; Andy Allwine, Bermudian Springs FFA, sen tinel; Tony Seymore, Bermudian Springs FFA, chaplain; and John Lauver, Middleburg FFA, northern region vice president. PDA Accepting Applications For Nutrient Management Plan Grants Next Deadline Is June 28 HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.) Applications for the next round of the Pennsylvania Nutri ent Management Plan Implemen tation Grant Program are due by 4 p.m. Friday, June 28. “Pennsylvania is committed to the preservation of our natural resources,” said Sam Hayes, Pennsylvania secretary of agri culture. “Initiatives such as this assist farmers and landowners in installing the best environmental ly-friendly management practices on their operations.” Administered by the Pennsyl vania Department of Agriculture (PDA) and the State Conserva tion Commission, the Pennsylva nia Nutrient Management Plan Implementation Grant Program is available to farmowners with a livestock or poultry operation that: has been in existence since Oct. 1, 1997; has an approved Nutrient Management Plan; and meets the financial qualifications of the program. The program provides funding to qualified applicants to imple ment best management practices that are called for in a farm’s ap proved Nutrient Management •Wan; QuaHficd*appHcants-can tc-- FFA; north central John Lauv er, Mt. Pleasant Mills (Snyder County), Middleburg FFA; south central Mary Strasbaugh, Me chanicsburg (Cumberland Coun ty), Cumberland Valley FFA; and western Drew Cowden, Hickory (Washington County), H. G. Parkinson FFA, Fort Cher ry High School. Shippensburg FFA member Emily Grove, who resides in Shippensburg (Cumberland County), was named secretary of the state FFA. Also from Ship pensburg is the new state FFA treasurer, Mark Fulton, who is a member of the Big Spring FFA. Julie Flinchbaugh, York (York County), was chosen reporter on the state FFA officer team. She is ceive up to $75,000 per approved plan. To date, the PDA has approv ed over $8 million for the install ation of best management prac tices. Signup periods for the Nutri ent Management Plan Implemen tation Grant Program take place on the last five business days of Pennsylvania Farm Show 2003 a member of the Eastern York FFA. The Bermudian Springs FFA in Adams County will have two members on the team. Andrew Allwine, East Berlin, will be the sentinel and Tony Seymore, York Springs, will be the chaplain. The 2002-2203 state FFA offi cers were scheduled for orienta tion training at the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture in Harrisburg, June 19-20. From June 25-July 3, the cho sen 11 will participate in FFA state officer training at Wenger’s Cabin. The first board meeting of the Pennsylvania 2002-2203 FFA of ficer team is is scheduled July 11 in Coudersport. every other month, including June 24-28. Following June, the next sign-up period will be the last week of August. For more information or an application, contact your local conservation district, the depart ment’s Bureau of Plant Industry at (717) 772-4187, or the State Conservation Commission at (717) 787-8821. 1 zn ill
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