Corn Belt to Cambodia: A Global Week for Ag

In the relentless flow of information we process at the Association each week, we sometimes see trends in topics.

The trends are often predictable. When it rains for 18 consecutive days, for example, the news will trend toward planting progress and crop predictions.

Sometimes though, the trends are more random, such as last week. In stories produced at Indiana’s Purdue University, and in Cambodia, Australia, and Washington D.C., we saw a consistent theme develop around Asia, specifically the challenges and opportunities in agriculture in this rapidly changing part of the world. Here’s a glimpse:

China Soil Loses Moisture – In West Lafayette, Ind., researchers from Purdue University, in cooperation with China Agricultural University, released results of a 30-year soil study in a key farming region.

The findings: Soil moisture in Northern China is declining, and while climate change is a factor, increased farming may be the bigger contributor.

Soil moisture has declined on average by 1.5 to 2.5% a year. If the trend continues, the soil may not be able to support crops by 2090.

Northern China is home to 40% of the country’s population and 65% of its cropland.

Farm Equipment Replaces Labor – The WhaTech Channel, which is a global information technology resource, released a report that forecasts a worldwide rise in demand in farm equipment driven by a move toward more sophisticated farming techniques in developing parts of the world.

Two days earlier, the Khmer Times in Cambodia produced a story describing a shift in farming in which machines are replacing farm labor. The country’s labor force is migrating to urban areas, the story said, which is causing labor costs to rise more quickly than the cost of machinery.

Sam Vitou, executive director of an agricultural support organization in Cambodia, told the Khmer Times that over the next decade, the number of people whose primary income is from agriculture will fall from 80% to 25%, which sets the stage for this shift toward machines.

Among immediate challenges: Farmers will need better access to credit and more certainty about how they will maintain the equipment.

Billionaires Invest in Ag – A piece written earlier this month in the Australian Financial Review took note of a series of billionaire investments in agriculture. The author wrote that “the Asian-demand story” is driving the investments.

Australian agriculture executive Troy Setter told the Review: “The forecast growth of the Asian middle class between now and 2030 is massive … we’re all very confident about increasing the outlook for quality protein and beef.”

Setter also said that cattle supply in the United States is under pressure, which contributes to the increased demand in Australia.

Trade Talks Advance – And, in Washington, D.C., U.S. agricultural negotiator Darci Vetter prepares for a meeting with the top trade ministers from countries seeking to finalize the Trans- Pacific Partnership, or TPP.

The 12-nation pact with Asia Pacific countries will open new markets for American products and has the support of small business, agriculture, and trade associations.

Leaders meet in Maui from July 28 to 31. S