Changes in Agriculture: How can
AgrAbility Keep Pace
Brad Rein, PE
Director
Processing, Engineering and Technology
USDA Cooperative State Research Education
and Extension Service
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
http://www.csrees.usda.gov
Presentation Outline
•
•
•
•
The Bio-energy Economy
Animal Agriculture
Specialty Crops
Farm Structure, Finance &
Technology
• Implications for AgrAbility
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
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The Up and Down Support For Biomass
Carter
Reagan
Bush 41
Clinton
Bush 43
120
100
Public
Utility
Regulatory
Policy
Act
&
Energy
Loan
Tax Act
Guarantees
For Alcohol
Plants
Funding (Million $)
80
60
40
Deficit
Reduction
Act
Intermodal
Surface
Transportation
Act
Tax Reform
Act
Clean Air Act
Amend.& Pollution
Gramm Rudman
Prevention Act
Hollings Act
Transportation
Equity Act For the
21st Century
Energy Security
Act &
Crude Oil
Windfall Profits
Tax Act
20
Energy
Conservation
Reauthorization
Act
Biomass
R&D
Act
Energy
Policy
Act
EPACT
Renewable
Energy
Production
Incentive (REPI)
Farm American
Jobs
Bill
Creation
Act of 2004
Tax
Relief
Extension
Act
0
77
81
85
89
93
97
01
Fiscal Year Alcohol Fuels R&D & Market Development
Biobased Products - Included
Forest Products and Agriculture (Interior)
Biomass, Biofuels, Biopower,
Energy from Municipal
Waste - EMW
(Interior- &Included
EWD)
Biobased
Products
Forest Products
and
Agriculture
Bioenergy
(EWD)
(Interior)
Energy f rom Municipal Waste - EMW (Interior and EWD)
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05
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U.S. Dependence on Foreign Oil
Updated July 2005. Source: International Energy Annual 2003 (EIA),
Tables 1.2 and 8.1-O&GJ. Canada’s reserves include tar sands.
Oil Reserves
Saudi Arabia
Canada
Iran
Iraq
Kuwait
U.A.E.
Venezuela
Russia
Libya
3%
Nigeria
2%
U.S.
2%
21%
14%
10%
9%
8%
8%
6%
5%
Rate of Use
U.S.
Japan
China
Germany
Russia
India
Canada
Brazil
S. Korea
France
Mexico
0%
25%
7%
7%
3%
3%
3%
3%
3%
3%
3%
3%
The United States uses
more oil than the next
five highest-consuming
nations combined.
5%
10%
15%
20%
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25%
•
President George W. Bush –
2006 State of the Union Address
Keeping America competitive requires
affordable energy. And here we have a
serious problem:
• "America is addicted to oil, which is
often imported from unstable parts of
the world."
• "The best way to break this addiction
is through technology.”
• …. and we are on the threshold of
Capitol,
incredible advances…
Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2006
• “…. replace more than 75 percent of
White House photo by Eric Draper
our oil imports from the Middle East by
2025.”
“By applying the talent and technology of America, this country can
 dramatically improve our environment,
 move beyond a petroleum-based economy, and
 make our dependence on Middle Eastern oil a thing of the past.”
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MUCH INTEREST - - - - MANY GOALS
HAVE WE ONLY JUST BEGUN?
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USDA-REE
Energy Science and Education Programs - ERS
USDA projections of corn use for ethanol have risen dramatically
Billion bushels
4.5
4.0
3.5
3.0
RFS - Renewable
Fuels Program,
Energy Policy Act
of 2005
RFS + Oil Prices
2007
RFS 2006
2.5
2.0
1.5
Pre-RFS
2005
1.0
0.5
0.0
2000/01
2005/06
2010/11
Crop year
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2015/16
ENERGY AND AGRICULTURE
The U.S. ethanol sector is adding over 6 billion gallons to its capacity
Changes in distribution
and transportation of raw
materials and products
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Future Directions ?
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Future Directions ?
How will new crop production
systems impact accommodating
disability in agriculture?
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ENERGY AND AGRICULTURE
In 2004 “no till” farming reduced
greenhouse gas emissions by
10mil tons = to 20% of cars
Source: Monsanto
Pesticides
6%
LP Gas
5%
Natural Gas
4%
Does reduction in fuel
equate with reduction of
exposure to farm
equipment injuries?
Fertilizers
28%
Gasoline
9%
Source: Miranowski, John, “Energy
Consumption in U.S. Agriculture,”
Proceedings – Agriculture as a Producer
and Consumer of Energy Conference,
Arlington, VA, June 24-25, 2004.
Sponsored by Farm Foundation.
Electricity
21%
Diesel
27%
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Animal Agriculture
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Source: USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum, March 2007
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Demand for animal protein depends primarily on income and
population growth
Projected Growth in Meat Consumption
(mt) 2004-2014
Source: OECD-FAO
Millions of tons
14
12
10
8
Series1
6
4
2
0
Canada
Brazil
China
Russia
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Future of US Animal Agriculture
• Growth
– $99Billion Ag. sector increasing $1Billion/yr
• Scale
– Increasing in size & concentration
– Advantage in needs of processors
• Location
– Processors (urban to rural) close to producers
• 85% beef, pork, chicken 400+ employees
Source: The Future of Animal Agriculture in North America: A Farm Foundation Project
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Future of US Animal Agriculture
Challenges and Issues
• Consumer Demand
– Food safety, quality, animal welfare
• Global Competitiveness and Trade
– Perceived vs real risks
• Environmental Issues
– Byproducts, air & water quality
• Community and Labor Issues
– More dangerous lower pay than manufacturing
– Rely on immigrant labor
Source: The Future of Animal Agriculture in North America: A Farm Foundation Project
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Co-location of Animal Agriculture
and Bio-fuels Industries
• Integrated system
– Energy from methane cogeneration
– Dried distillers grains for feed
• Adds to rural infrastructure
– Not just the mid-west
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Specialty Crops
The U.S. specialty crop industry is
comprised of producers and
handlers of fruits, tree nuts,
vegetables, melons, potatoes
and nursery crops, including
floriculture.
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.
Specialty crop production as a percentage of total agricultural
production by county.
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Specialty Crops
• 2.9% of harvested cropland
• 40% of value of all harvested
cropland
• $50B in 2004
• Highest labor cost (40-60%)
• Intense global competition
• Homeland Security/Immigration
reform
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Specialty Crop Research Initiative
• Proposed by USDA
Secretary in 2007 Farm
Bill
– Improve crop
characteristics
– Identify invasive species
– Optimize production
efficiency
– Develop new
mechanization
technologies
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Farm Structure, Finance &
Technology
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Source: USDA-OCE 2007 Agricultural Outlook Forum, March 2007
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Source: USDA-OCE Agricultural Outlook Forum, March 2007
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America’s Diverse Family Farms
• Small family farms (<$250,000)
–
–
–
–
–
Limited Resource
Retirement
Residential/Lifestyle
Farming-occupation/low sales (< $100k)
Farming-occupation/high sales (> $100k)
• Large- family (<$500k)
• Very large family (>$500k)
• Non-family farm
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ERS Family Farm Report 2007
• Large, very large and
non-family account
for 75% of production
• 90% of farms are
small family farms
and account for 61%
of land owned by
farmers
• Small farms have
82% of the land
enrolled in CRP and
WRP
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ERS Family Farm Report 2007
• Most rapid growth is farms with sales of
$1mil. or more accounting for 48% of
sales in 2002 compared to 23% of sales
in 1982
• Small farm households rely on off farm
income
• Few small farms use production and
marketing contracts while 64% of very
large family farms use contracts and as a
group produce 61% of production grown
under contract
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Farm households with higher off-farm
income are more likely to adopt farm
technologies that economize on
management time than those that are
time intensive.
Adoption of time-saving technologies,
such as herbicide-tolerant (HT)
soybeans, is associated with higher offfarm incomes
Source: USDA Economic Research
Service, Off Farm Income,
Technology Adoption, and Farm
Economic Performance, Jorge
Fernandez-Cornejo
Adoption of time-intensive technologies
such as integrated pest management is
more closely associated with lower offfarm incomes
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Technology
• Ergonomics
– UC-Davis
Agricultural
Ergonomics
Research Center
• Autonomous
vehicles
– Carnegie-Mellon
Robotics Institute
Autonomous Mower-Conditioner
Carnegie-Mellon Robotics Institute
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Implications for
AgrAbility
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AgrAbility VISION
Enhance the quality of life for
people with disabilities in
agriculture in a rapidly
changing agricultural economy
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Working together to create a
stronger organization
Cognizant of roles and responsibilities
of partnership
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Role/Responsibilities of the National
Project
• Provide limited, on-demand type services in areas
without a state project
• Produce and/or recommend educational materials,
networking strategies, assistance protocols, and
marketing products for state project adoption and
use
• Moderate information-sharing forums
• Identify, promote, and address opportunities and
challenges for AgrAbility
• Evaluate the program’s impacts annually---this is
where demographic and other data collection falls
into place.
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Role/Responsibilities of the State Projects
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Operate within a defined geographic area
Complete project objectives under three
overarching priority areas
Partner with a non-profit disability
organization
Participate in National Project-initiated
efforts to collect activity data
Submit annual and final reports to
CSREES
Effectively serve the qualifying population
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Role/Responsibilities of CSREES
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•
•
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Provide program oversight to the National
Project and the State Projects
Ensure that federal dollars are spent and
managed appropriately
Ensure fair and objective review of
proposals
Communicate program successes and
impacts to USDA and Congress via
program and OMB portfolio reviews
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Summary & Recommendations
• Current and future trends in
agricultural production systems can
have either positive or negative
impacts on people with disabilities in
agricultural.
– New jobs? New hazards?
•Be at the table in identifying priority research,
education and accommodation needs
• Identify opportunities for resource sharing
• Acknowledge challenges and prioritize resources
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