Agribusiness Update for Tuesday 04/21/15

Agribusiness Update for Tuesday 04/21/15

This is the Agribusiness Update...I’m Greg Martin...

During the Organic Trade Association luncheon last week - Montana Senator and organic farmer Jon Tester said advocates would have to work hard to achieve labeling of genetically modified foods. Tester says more farmers would transition to organic if land-grant colleges paid more attention to organics. Since he started farming organically - Tester says his production has increased - but he believes farmers follow what the land-grant colleges tell them to do. He says land-grants haven’t given organics any credit - so farmers don’t have the tools to transition to organics.

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National Pork Producers Council President Ron Prestage says while it’s true that farmers who grow crops use less water and pesticides today - but livestock and poultry farmers have done their part to become more environmentally friendly - too. He says hog farmers have cut their carbon footprint by 35-percent in the past 50-years while reducing water usage by 41-percent and the amount of land needed by 78-percent. He says these reductions have come through production efficiencies - including 33-percent pig feed efficiency over the past 50-years.

That’s today’s Agribusiness Update from the Ag Information Network of the West.

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