Alltech symposium 'great debate' discusses feeding 9 billion by 2050

The 'Great Debate' held during the Alltech 28th Annual International Symposium focused on the challenges surrounding feeding a global population of 9 billion people by 2050.
Presented in front of nearly 3,000 delegates from 72 countries and 42 U.S. states, the topics debated were: Feeding 9 billion people; Is Africa the new Brazil? What are the implications of the African land grab? What’s next for biofuels? Other topics included: Water — the fight for natural resources; protecting the rainforests; educating urbanites about agriculture; dealing with groups hostile to agriculture; solutions to obesity; organic labels; malnutrition; what ‘Local’ really means; what does the future hold for the four year-olds of today’s world.
Tom Arnold, CEO, of Concern Worldwide; Sean Rickard, senior lecturer in business economics, Cranfield University, United Kingdom; Dr. Marcus Vinicius Pratini de Moraes, former Minister of Agriculture and Food Supply of Brazil; and Tom Dorr, CEO of the U.S. Grains Council in Washington DC, each took to the stage to discuss their ideas on what the future of agriculture and food supply will look like.
Experts at the debate all agreed that the agricultural industry is here to stay, and that demand for its output will continue to grow. “Modern agriculture needs to continue to embrace technology, innovation and place an emphasis on education," said Alltech Vice President Aidan Connolly. "We must recognize that we are going to face critical issues, particularly with regard to water shortages, and focus on the need for transparency.”

Food, agriculture organizations want comprehensive US-EU free trade agreement

An ad hoc coalition of 40 food and agricultural organizations has sent a letter to the Obama administration and Congress expressing concern that a proposed free trade agreement between the U.S. and the EU might fall short of long-established U.S. objectives for trade pacts.
It has been suggested that a U.S.-EU free trade agreement negotiation should not be pursued as a “single undertaking” with success in one area dependent on success in all the others, according to National Pork Producers Council President R.C. Hunt. “The agriculture community, however, believes that, rather than creating a high-standard 21st century trade agreement that is central to the administration’s trade policy efforts, approaches other than a single undertaking would assure the perpetuation of trade barriers to many U.S. products and sectors, including agriculture,” said Hunt.
Had it embarked on any of its existing free trade agreements using the approach being suggested by some for an agreement with the EU, the U.S. would not have in place the comprehensive agreements it has today, according to the coalition letter, and the administration would not be pointing to the ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership trade talks as the model for all future agreements. “The EU’s free trade deals with other countries do not meet the high standards of U.S. trade agreements,” said Nicholas Giordano, the National Pork Producers Council’s vice president and counsel for international affairs, “and we doubt that the EU would ever agree to open its market to agricultural commodities unless it was obliged to do so as part of a comprehensive trade agreement.”
The coalition letter says that the removal of unjustifiable EU sanitary and phytosanitary restrictions on U.S. food and agricultural products would have to be an important part of the overall goal of improving the bilateral U.S.-EU relationship. The letter also points out that keeping agriculture in trade deals is a way for governments around the world to help keep the price of food affordable. “We need to see this as the critical national security issue that it surely is,” said the coalition. 

UK poultry, pig producers face revised quality mark standards

Beginning Oct. 1, certification bodies in the UK will start assessing Red Tractor Assurance farm members against revised Farm Scheme Standards.
The changes affect the standards across various agricultural sectors, including poultry, pigs, beef and lamb, crops, dairy and fresh produce and are the result of a regular review of the standards to ensure they continue to be in line with legislation and reflect good agricultural practices consistent with industry needs and expectations. “At Red Tractor, we’re committed to ensuring high standards in food and farming," said Red Tractor CEO David Clarke. "This latest review helps to ensure that the Red Tractor Standards continue to progress in line with the latest industry needs without adding unnecessary costs or complexity.”
Red Tractor is the UK’s leading quality food assurance mark guaranteeing food safety, quality and traceability. Its standards cover animal welfare, food safety and environmental practices and have been developed to include regulatory requirements, best industry practice and, at the same time, be practical, achievable and fit for purpose.
Details of the changes can be found at: http://assurance.redtractor.org.uk/rtassurance/global/home.eb.

Virginia corn crop damaged by Hurricane Irene

Virginia's agriculture industry took an estimated $60 million hit from the recent Hurricane Irene, and a significant portion of that included the state's corn crop, according to the state's agriculture reports.
Growers in the rural Peninsula and Western Tidewater counties suffered $9 million in losses and damages, mostly corn and cotton. "It was a total wipeout in some areas," said Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Todd Haymore. "It's devastating for farmers." Haymore said he expects the $60 million estimate to rise as more damage claims come through in coming weeks.
So far, more than 3,000 damage claims have come through Virginia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance.

Philippines increases agricultural production

Reports say the Philippines saw an increase of 1.5% in agricultural production for the first nine months of the year over last year.
The Department of Agriculture said rough rice production increased 2.9% and corn jumped 0.8% over last year. Hog production also saw a 2% growth.
The growth is predicted to slow for the remainder of the year given the storm damage to crops.