Farmers who employ soil health management practices such as cover crops and no-till can significantly improve their bottom lines, a new study concludes.
“This project has demonstrated the consistently positive economic benefits reported by farmers that have adopted soil health management systems,” according to a summary on the project,
adding that “the wide range of farms, production systems and climates included in this project indicates that many more farmers may also benefit economically from adopting these systems.”
Take note: Soil health practices increased net income across 29 farms by an average of $65 an acre, according to the study. (An organic farm wasn’t included because of high revenue from price premiums.)
And on average, implementing soil health management systems saved corn growers $14 an acre and soybean growers $7 an acre. The cost to grow all other crops went down by $16 an acre.
Also note: While the farm results were impressive, 87 long-term research sites that were tracked did not fare as well with soil health management practices. That’s not surprising, the summary said. Research projects must follow pre-established experimental protocols, while farmers have more experience and can adjust their practices as needed.
Iowa gets the focus of presidential candidates
Former President Donald Trump and his Republican challengers for the party’s 2024 nomination are descending on Iowa to campaign at the state fair, starting today.
Trump will be at the fair on Saturday along with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Des Moines Register reports. That’s reminiscent of 2015, when Trump upstaged the eventual Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton: Trump circled the fair in a helicopter while Clinton was making her way through the fairgrounds.
By the way: This year, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has invited all the candidates for “fair-side chats,” but Trump isn’t participating, which is hardly surprising given the recent falling-out between the two.
Former Vice President Mike Pence and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum are scheduled to be at the fair today.
Survey rates consumer attitudes to beef alternatives
Consumers who spend time checking nutrition labels are generally happier with their diets. The same is true of consumers who tend to spend a lower share of their incomes on food. Those are findings from Purdue University’s monthly survey of consumers.
Nearly three-fourths of Americans surveyed say they are satisfied with their food consumption. The groups most satisfied include men (75%, versus 65% of women), people 55 year of age and older (77%), Asian-Americans (78%), and people who earn more than $100,000 a year (81%).
Report co-author Sam Polzin says consumers who are the most satisfied with their diets value nutrition “nearly as much as the taste of their food.”
By the way: The survey also assessed consumer attitudes toward beef and beef alternatives. Some 71% of those surveyed say beef tastes better than plant-based alternatives. Plant-based beef alternatives score better than beef on just one attribute: animal welfare. In terms of environmental impact, 41% of consumers surveyed think beef is better, compared to 34% who say the plant-based version is better.
Take note: Food insecurity is a percentage point lower than it was in last month’s survey, but the rate is still higher than the 2022 average for the third month in a row.
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Food insecurity rates as measured by a regular Census Bureau survey have been rising steadily since March. However, USDA’s Economic Research Service shows (in the chart below) the rate is still below the pandemic peak in December 2020.
Economists: Land values under pressure
Look for agricultural land values to moderate over the next couple of years because of sagging farmland returns and a rise in interest rates, according to economists at the University of Illinois and The Ohio State University. Those two trends typically push land values down.
USDA reported last week that average cropland prices jumped 8% this year and are up 33% since 2020.
But the economists say farm returns are likely to be lower this year than in 2021 and 2022, and the 10-year Treasury rate is likely to stay at about 3% for the foreseeable future. “Both declining returns and stable interest rates suggest downward pressures on farmland prices,” the economists say.
Virginia farm fined for H-2A violations
The Labor Department has recovered more than $45,000 in back wages for farmworkers at a Virginia fruit operation who were not paid the prevailing wage in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The Mt. Clifton Fruit Co. was fined about $9,000 for the H-2A violations, which affected 50 workers.
The department’s Wage and Hour Division says the company “denied dozens of farm staff … safe housing and transportation, and legally earned wages.”
Settlement requires plans for release of red wolves
The Fish and Wildlife Service has agreed to develop annual plans to release red wolves into the wild in eastern North Carolina in what Defenders of Wildlife calls a “historic settlement.”
A previous court order issued in the same case had spurred the service to release red wolves in 2021, 2022 and 2023 after the practice was suspended in 2015, which gradually reduced the wolf’s population to fewer than 10 animals. The settlement requires FWS to issue annual release reports for eight years. ‘
In addition to Defenders, other plaintiffs in the lawsuit are the Red Wolf Coalition and Animal Welfare Institute.
He said it. “Soil health management practices help producers increase profits, reduce costs, and limit risks while conserving our nation’s resources.” - NRCS Chief Terry Cosby on the soil health management study.
