policy

There are a series of campaigns aimed at securing larger government support for smaller farms. Smaller operators believe US agriculture policies do not favor small, independent farmers.

"I think funding is one of the biggest struggles I have encountered," said [Alex] Bryan. "To get funding to play in the game, to purchase equipment or to build infrastructure that follows guidelines that may be more appropriate for a large-scale producer, may be prohibitive to the small producer. We're following a lot of the same regulations."

Rules through the Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) are seen as a way to help smaller farms be on a level playing field with larger operations.

Dr. Terry Etherton points out that food safety today is much better than even ten years ago. Few people would really

like to live life using the biomedical and public health resources that were available in 1850.

and that today's media attention to food safety tends to forget the advances in discovery and control that are in place today.

Photo AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File

The Diane Rehm Show brought together four experts on world economies and agriculture to address the current commodity prices and their impact on food, fuel, and fiber.

Corn production and demand are coming together to increase corn prices. This is great for corn growers but not great for those that depend on corn for animal feed. Adding ethanol into the mix again put corn in the middle of the food versus fuel debate.

Ethanol is consuming corn at a rate that is only 10 percent less than that of livestock and poultry demand. And more than one bushel of corn out of three produced in the US will be converted to ethanol in the current marketing year. That is going to cause concern about the amount of corn we will produce and whether it will be enough to meet demand with minimal rationing. And that causes concern for the traders.

Dr. Robert Wisner, University Professor Emeritus at Iowa State University, states "Corn supplies will be tight and some rationing of demand likely will be needed in the year ahead." This is not a great situation for those in animal agriculture without hedges and other risk mitigation actions in play.

Whole Foods highlights through a 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating system how animals are raised before being purchased by consumers. Global Animal Partnership (GAP), developers of Whole Foods' rating system, seeks to achieve higher welfare for farm animals by building partnerships, working in collaboration with farmers, ranchers, food retail, and animal science experts.

Whole Foods Market harbors the same hopes for its chickens that many parents do for their kids: That they'll get plenty of fresh air, live at home until they reach maturity and avoid gaining weight so fast that they can't walk.

While Whole Foods Market was the driving force behind developing the standards, GAP Executive Director Miyun Park believes they will move well beyond the chain, spurring "massive improvements in the way animals are raised in this country."

The 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating is available for beef cattle, pigs, and broiler chickens.

BeefCast 0503 Show Notes:

• From the Leman Swine Conference, Dr. Jon Foley, Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota presents current concerns and long-term prospects in addressing the growth of the world's population and the demands we are placing on the environment.
• Link to the full video presentation courtesy of the University of Minnesota.