Positive Future News #929 (Feature Photo – Grain Harvest – CCA 2.0 Generic, Charles Knowles) According to the USDA, of the 895 million acres of farmland in America, approximately 315 million acres are in crops, and 580 million acres in are in pasture. The USDA’s Land Values 2021 Summary shows that farmland for crops increased…
Touch the Soil News #1814 (Feature Photo – Farmers Market – CCA SA 2.5 Generic) The Snack Food and Wholesale Bakery Association recently released its sixth annual Feeding the Economy Report. Among other things, the report reveals that the total numbers of jobs related to the production, processing and distribution of food is 43,464,211 or…
Touch the Soil News #1813 (Feature Photo – Loading Grain onto Cargo Ship – CCA SA 2.0 Generic, John Fiddes) How does Ukraine export is wheat around explosive mines planted by Russia in waters around Ukrainian ports and the threat of Russian naval vessels? As global food tremors escalate, the world’s attention is on western…
Touch the Soil News #1812 (Feature Photo – Orthographic Map of China – CCA SA 3.0 Unported) China is a lot of things, but food secure is not one of them. According to the World Agricultural Outlook Board (WOAB), China needs to import approximately 135 million metric tonnes of agricultural commodities from around the world…
Touch the Soil News #1811 (Feature Photo – Strawberry – CCA SA 4.0 International) Vertical farming company Oishii, is farming specialty strawberries, famous for their exceptional flavor. Oshii, has attracted over $55 million in venture capital to expand its operations, including building the world’s largest indoor vertical strawberry farm. The strawberry in the highlights is…
Touch the Soil News #1810 (Feature Photo – Composting – CCA SA 3.0 Unported, Crystalclear) Food wastes represents an immense source of raw material for composting. Making news is Domingo Morales of New York, who has become a local champion and hero for composting waste. Domingo raises the question: Is there opportunity to create compost…
Touch the Soil News #1809 (Feature Photo – Greenhouse – CCA SA 4.0 International, Veeti Davideson) While growers like to be passionate about what they do, the reality is that the bills need to be paid, wealth needs to be built, and we have to have a vacation here and there. For this reason, having…
Touch the Soil News #1808 (Feature Photo – Wheat – CCA SA 3.0 Unported) While vegetables are important, Grains are the cornerstone in terms of bulk. Grains include – wheat, rice, barley, oats, corn, millet and a variety of smaller crops. Ukraine is now the focal point as it comes to grains, as Ukraine provides…
Touch the Soil News #1807 (Feature Photo – Urban Agriculture – CCA SA 4.0 International) While this story is about cities embracing urban agriculture for a variety of reasons, the important aspect for growers is finding a sustainable business model that delivers what the cities want, Hopefully there are ideas from these cities, that have…
Touch the Soil News #1806 (Feature Photo – Grains – Public Domain) The World Agricultural Outlook Board (WOAB) is part of the USDA’s Office of Chief Economist. For the 2022 crop year (June 2022 through May 2023) the WOAB estimates that the world will eat 20 million metric tonnes more of grains that it will…
