A research consortium has found a way to more accurately compare how efficiently plants and photovoltaic, or solar, cells convert sunlight into energy. The researchers found that the annual averaged efficiency of solar-cell-driven electrolysis is about 10 percent. But, solar energy conversion efficiencies for crop plants are about 1 percent, which illustrates the significant potential to improve the efficiency of the natural system.

Although both processes harvest energy from sunlight, they use that energy in different ways. Plants convert the sun’s energy into chemical energy, whereas solar cells produce electricity. This energy-efficiency analysis between plant photosynthesis and solar cells will lay the groundwork for improving the efficiency of plant photosynthesis in agriculture for improved yield.

Courtesy: NAFB News Service

Animal rights extremists have taken credit for Sunday’s attack on the largest feed yard in California where arsonists destroyed 14 trucks used to transport cattle. In an anonymous communiqué, the Animal Liberation Front indicated that – containers of accelerant were placed beneath a row of 14 trucks. The group boasted, – we were extremely pleased to see that all 14 trucks “were a total loss” with some being “completely melted to the ground”. The message ended with a call for other would-be terrorists to commit additional acts of violence against agriculture producers.

The Animal Agriculture Alliance called the act – a despicable terrorist action. The Alliance says – it is unacceptable for any group to praise this direct assault on American agriculture. In a statement, John Harris, CEO of Harris Ranch, said – we must live in a society that is safe for all and no one can tolerate violence such as this. ALF and similar terrorist groups pose a real threat and I am confident that the many law enforcement agencies working on this case will bring them to justice soon.

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President Bill Donald said – this is not only an attack on a family-owned and operated business; this is a domestic terrorist attack on our nation’s providers of food and fiber. These criminals are threatening lives and causing substantial economic harm. The ALF is listed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as a domestic terrorist organization.

Courtesy: NAFB News Service

The Department of Agriculture released its Crop Production 2011 summary on Thursday. According to the summary, U.S. farmers produced a smaller crop than the previous year because of unfavorable planting and growing conditions. Depending on location, producers in the United States battled everything from drought and above normal temperatures to heavy rains and lowland flooding which led to decreased production of corn, soybeans, cotton and wheat – the first time such a year-to-year decrease has occurred in all four commodities since the 2002 crop year.

Corn production totaled 12.4 billion bushels, down 1 percent from 2010. Corn yield in 2011 is estimated at 147.2 bushels per acre, 5.6 bushels below last year’s average yield. Area harvested, at 84.0 million acres, is up 3 percent from 2010.

Soybean production for 2011 totaled 3.06 billion bushels, down 8 percent 2010. The average soybean yield is estimated at 41.5 bushels per acre, 2.0 bushels below last year’s yield. Harvested area for soybeans in 2011, at 73.6 million acres, is down 4 percent from 2010.

For 2011, all cotton production is down 13 percent from 2010, at 15.7 million 480-pound bales. The U.S. yield is estimated at 772 pounds per acre, down 40 pounds from last year’s yield. Harvested area, at 9.75 million acres, is down 9 percent from last year.

NASS estimates the 2011 all wheat production at 2.00 billion bushels, down 9 percent from 2010. The all wheat yield is estimated at 43.7 bushels per acre, down 2.6 bushels from last year. Harvested area, at 45.7 million acres, is down 4 percent from the 2010 crop.

Sorghum grain production in 2011 is estimated at 214 million bushels, 38 percent down from 2010. Sorghum average yield was 54.6 bushels per acre, down 17.2 bushel from last year. Area planted for sorghum, at 5.48 million acres, is up 1 percent from last year. Harvested area, at 3.93 million acres, is down 18 percent from 2010.

Courtesy: NAFB News Service

North American Risk Management Services reports that ethanol refiners are consuming more of the U.S. corn crop than livestock producers and will remain the top users until at least 2014.  The Service reports that corn use for ethanol rose almost fourfold from 1.323 billion bushels in 2005 to 5.021 billion, exceeding 40 percent of the total harvest last year. Feed, which previously accounted for the biggest share of the crop, fell 22 percent during the period to 4.792 billion as livestock and poultry farmers turned to alternative feed, including dried distillers grain, an ethanol byproduct.

Jerry Gidel, a market analyst for the Chicago based firm, says – ethanol may consume as much as 5.1 billion bushels of corn in the year that began September 1, or 41 percent of the crop. Feed demand is forecast to drop to 4.6 billion bushels, the lowest since 1990, after the U.S. cattle herd on July 1 fell to the smallest for that date since at least 1973 and chicken producers curbed output because of poor profit margins from high corn costs.

Gidel expects – demand for corn from ethanol producers will likely exceed feed consumption for at least another 24 months. While the growth in ethanol production will slow, it will take awhile before meat production expands.

Data provided by Korea’s Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, shows that Korea’s self-sufficiency rate of pork dropped to the lowest point ever last year. The rate stood at 60.3 per cent, down 20.6 percentage points from a year earlier.  The reason was the massive culling of pigs in the wake of foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks from November, 2010 to April of last year. About 3.3 million pigs were culled nationwide due to the disease.

The massive culling led to more imports of pork throughout the year, causing Korea’s self-sufficiency rate to drop to the lowest level in history. Pork production for the year was down 192-thousand tones over the previous year. Meanwhile, Korea’s pork imports more than doubled to 374-thousand tones.

Data shows, too, that self-sufficiency ratios of beef and chicken also dropped to their lowest levels since 2003. Their ratios stood at 42.8 per cent and 77.4 per cent, respectively.

Dr. Daryl Jones, of the National Resources Enterprises Program at Mississippi State University, told attendees at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Annual Meeting that by maximizing the recreational value of their land, farmers and ranchers could reap an additional 20-thousand dollars per year without sowing a single seed. His statement is based on a recent study in Mississippi that showed recreational potential increased land value by 654-dollars per acre, or 52 percent.  That’s on top of the agricultural and timber value of the land.

Allowing the public onto private land to hunt, fish, bird watch and ride horses can be a boon for the environment too, since farmers and ranchers are providing a home to a thriving wildlife population.  Jones also pointed out that the state gets a bump by the landowners’ increased incomes and from all the recreational tourists, including international guests, who are drawn to the region.