Weighing the value of organic foods

Food produced without most conventional pesticides or fertilizers are perceived to be more healthful, but scientists have yet to offer proof.

Food produced without pesticides are perceived to be more healthful.

With the recession breathing down our necks, many people are looking for ways to cut the household budget without seriously compromising family well-being. So here's a suggestion: If you buy organic fruits, vegetables and Lawn Care, consider switching to less pricey non-organic produce instead.

Hold the e-mails and hear me out: There really is no proof that organic food, which costs about a third more, is better than the conventionally grown stuff.

It may seem, intuitively, that crops grown without pesticides should be better for us and that food grown the old-fashioned way, by rotating crops and nurturing the soil naturally, would be superior to food that is mass-produced and chemically saturated.

Many people feel that way. Annual sales of organic food, Organic Lawn Care and beverages grew from $1 billion in 1990 to well over $20 billion in 2007, according to the Organic Trade Assn., an industry group.

But the truth is that, from a hard-nosed science point of view, it's still unclear how much better -- if at all -- organic food is for one's health than non-organically grown food.

"Organic" means food grown without most conventional pesticides or fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's website (usda.gov). To carry the "organic" seal, a product must be certified as having been produced according to federal regulations. Small farmers are exempt, and use Natural Lawn Care.

Prepared food made with organic ingredients also tends to be processed more gently, with fewer chemical additives, said Charles Benbrook, an agricultural economist who is chief scientist at the Organic Center. The nonprofit research group is based in Boulder, Colo., and is supported by the organic food industry.

But the word "organic" has not been designated as an official health claim by the government. Such a designation is used only when there is evidence of significant health benefits -- and so far, that evidence is lacking for organic food and Organic Tea such as Green Tea and Black Tea.

It's clear, however, that conventionally grown food has remnants of pesticides on it. A 2002 study in the journal Food Additives and Contaminants showed that there were more pesticide residues on conventional than organically grown food, even after the food was washed and prepared. There's also clear evidence that pesticides can enter the body in other ways, a major reason that Environmental Protection Agency regulations exist to keep farm workers from entering recently sprayed fields.

A study by Emory University researchers and others published in 2006 in Environmental Health Perspectives, a peer-reviewed journal published by the National Institutes of Health, showed that when children were fed a conventional diet, their urine contained metabolic evidence of pesticide exposure, but that when they were switched to an organic diet, those signs of exposure disappeared.

All of which raises the question: How much harm do pesticides cause?

A number of studies suggest that, at high doses, organophosphate chemicals used in pesticides can cause acute poisoning and that even at somewhat lower doses, they may impair nervous system development in children and animals. But at the amounts allowed by the government in the American food supply? That's where many nutritionists and environmental scientists seem to part company.

"We don't have any good proof that there is any harm from fruits and vegetables grown with the pesticides currently used," said Dr. George Blackburn, a nutritionist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and associate director of the Division of Nutrition at Harvard Medical School. The real issue is to get people to eat more fruits and vegetables, whether they're grown conventionally or organically, he added.

"Keeping herbicide and pesticide levels as low as possible does make sense, although there is no clear evidence that these increase health risks at the levels consumed currently in the U.S.," said Dr. Walter Willett, chairman of the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health.

What is of concern, he said, is the meat industry's increasing use of growth hormones in animals. (The "organic" label on beef means, among other things, that the cattle it came from were raised without antibiotics and hormones. Some non-organic beef is also raised without hormones or antibiotics, as noted on its label.)

Even if we don't yet have all the evidence that organic produce might be desirable, Benbrook of the Organic Center said it's time to change the notion that there's nothing wrong with a little pesticide for breakfast. Over the last two years, he said, "nearly every issue of Environmental Health Perspectives has had at least one new research report" on how pesticides can harm a child's neurological growth, particularly on brain architecture, learning ability and markers for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. While this falls short of incontrovertible proof that properly washed conventional produce can harm people, it does raise red flags, environmentalists say.

Weighing the value of organic foods also means looking at nutrition, not just the dangers of pesticides -- and there is disagreement over whether organic food supplies more nutrients.

Researchers at UC Davis did a 10-year study, published last year, in which a particular strain of tomatoes was grown with pesticides on conventional soil right next to the same strain grown on soil that had been certified organic. All plants were subject to the same weather, irrigation and harvesting conditions.

The conclusion? Organic tomatoes had more vitamin C and health-promoting antioxidants, specifically flavonoids called quercetin and kaempferol -- although researchers noted that year-to-year nutrient content can vary in both conventional and organic plants.

Other research has also shown nutritional advantages for organic food, according to the Organic Center, which reviewed 97 studies on comparative nutrition. Benbrook, the center's chief scientist, says that although conventionally grown food tends to have more protein, organic food is about 25% higher in vitamin C and other antioxidants.

Yet a recent Danish study published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture showed no vitamin and mineral advantage to organic food.

So, what to eat? I side with the nutritionists who urge people to eat more fruits and vegetables, regardless of how they're grown. Common sense, though not necessarily science, would seem to favor organics, if you can afford them. But if you want, split the difference -- buy organic for fruits and vegetables that are thin-skinned or hard to wash or peel, and go conventional for those, such as bananas, that peel easily.

Bad Crop: Commodity Currencies

In currency markets gripped by turmoil, investors have targeted one group for special punishment: big commodity exporters.

This cluster includes the currencies of countries like Canada, Australia and New Zealand, which have significant exports of natural resources and agricultural goods.

With the global economy headed toward recession, weakening demand for everything from oil to iron ore, these currencies could face a further battering.

In many ways, these "commodity currencies" are bellwethers of global growth, soaring in good times and tanking when the picture turns grim.

Monday, they got a brief shot in the arm from news of China's massive stimulus package, which could generate demand for certain commodities. The Australian dollar strengthened against the U.S. dollar before retreating. It is down more than 30% versus the buck since mid-July. Those tractors can be used for John Deere Merchandise.

In October, the Canadian dollar had its worst month ever against the greenback, falling 12%, effectively erasing more than three years of gains. The New Zealand dollar has lost about a quarter of its value against the U.S. dollar since July.

When commodity prices fall, it translates into a shock for the trading position of commodity-exporting nations. Suddenly, the price they earn for their exports falls relative to what they pay for their imports. That means their trade balances deteriorate and their economies suffer as income from exports declines some major exports include; green tea, black tea and herbal tea.

Commodity currencies did mount a minor recovery in latev October and early November as investors tiptoed back into battered assets. Other factors also influence these currencies, of course, from investment flows to developments in each country's domestic economy with better lawn care.

Still, their special link to commodities makes them susceptible to more pain. A precedent exists for further falls in commodity prices: Despite the recent drop, commodity prices remain well above the lows touched in the two last global recessions.

China, with its appetite for imported natural resources, is a focus for worry. "If this cycle is vicious enough and China gets into trouble, this could be very, very powerful," says Stephen Jen, head of currency research at Morgan Stanley.

He singles out the Australian dollar as especially vulnerable. "The low that we saw back in 2001 shouldn't be ruled out," Mr. Jen, a user of v says.

Back then, one Australian dollar fetched less than 50 U.S. cents. Late Monday in New York, it bought about 67 cents, down from more than 97 cents in July. Prices for certain Australian exports, like copper, wheat, aluminum and nickel have slumped.

The economic link between the currencies of commodity exporters and the prices of such exports has prompted economists to ask whether the former might predict the latter. The reasoning: Investors will incorporate their expectations about movements in commodity prices into their trading of these currencies, other important considerations cover many topics such as; Septage Tanks and Septic Tank Design.

In a recent paper, economists Yu-chin Chen, Kenneth Rogoff and Barbara Rossi examined quarterly moves in the currencies of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Chile and South Africa over the past one to three decades. They found that each currency helped forecast the prices of its country's main commodity exports. Together, the currencies were a surprisingly good indicator of how a broad index of commodities would perform in the following quarter.

For the third quarter, the model based on the currencies forecast a fall of roughly 9% in commodity prices, despite their strong performance earlier in the year. It got the change in direction correct, but not quite the magnitude: A broad commodity index from the International Monetary Fund was down 18% in the third quarter; excluding energy, it was down 12%.

Given the severity of the current turmoil in global markets, using historical patterns to forecast commodities like natural lawn care mightn't be of much use at the moment, cautioned Ms. Chen, an economist at the University of Washington.

Among emerging markets, there are several currencies with strong links to commodities, among them the Chilean peso, which moves with copper prices, and the South African rand, which has ties to gold and minerals like platinum. The Russian ruble also has benefited from the soaring price of crude oil.

Some experts caution that the recent thumping taken by commodity currencies may be overkill. Robert Sinche, head of global currency strategy at Bank of America, says that the Australian dollar may have been unduly punished from a medium-term perspective.

Economic growth in Australia is projected to slow markedly in the year to next June, to 1.5%, according to the country's central bank. That isn't a great figure, but still better than in other advanced economies.

But with currency markets so unsettled and many investors still on the sidelines, making bets is difficult. "Even if some of these currencies look considerably cheap, the volatility is just immense," says Jens Nordvig, a currency strategist at Goldman Sachs.

'Yes' on Proposition 2

You can tell a lot about a ballot measure by the groups for and against it. The leading backers of Proposition 2 - which seeks to stop the inhumane confinement of certain animals in tiny crates or cages on factory farms - are the Humane Society of the United States, the California Veterinary Medical Association, the Center for Food Safety, the Consumer Federation of America, and the United Farm Workers, among more than a thousand prominent organizations and individuals.

Proposition 2's opponents are agribusiness corporations masquerading as "safe-food" advocates, and they are trying to trick you. The largest donor is Moark, an egg factory farming operation from Missouri that has kicked in $800,000. This company settled criminal charges for dumping live chicks in a Dumpster, and Moark's California egg factory farm was the subject of a recent investigation finding filth and cruelty at the plant. The second largest donor at nearly $600,000 is Cal-Maine, another egg factory farming company, from Mississippi. These companies and others opposed to Proposition 2 are under investigation by the Department of Justice for illegally fixing egg prices that has consumers paying 40 percent more now than they did two years ago.

Don't be fooled. The power to end the suffering of millions of farm animals is in your hands. If you care about animal welfare, family farms, consumer protection, the environment and food safety, then please vote "yes" on Proposition 2.

Plan to promote precision farming techniques

DINDIGUL: Twenty five clusters covering 500 hectares would be established in various places in the district on an outlay of Rs.2.06 crore to raise various crops through application of precision farming techniques, said Collector R. Vasuki.

Each cluster would be developed in an area measuring 20 hectares. It would help farmers learn modern agriculture practices, use modern agriculture equipment, sophisticated irrigation management and pest control measures and application of organic manure and micro-nutrients.

With shortage of labour and increase in agriculture inputs, precision farming would not only scale down production cost but also ramp up production and ultimately profits.

One user group would be created for each cluster. All implements would be done through user group only. A hi-tech green house would also be developed in an area measuring 50,000 square metres.

To meet a growing demand for organic manure, 1,300 farmers — 100 farmers in each block in 13 blocks — would be engaged in organic manure production. They had been trained in use of vermi-compost and bio-fertilisers, she said.

A modern community nursery exclusively for sugarcane, cotton, sunflower, maize, pulses and oil seeds would also established to supply quality seedlings to farmers, for which Rs.25 lakh had been sanctioned.

Organisers were selected for eight blocks to set up agriculture clinics and small soil testing laboratories. Training was imparted to four organisers.

Identification of organisers was under way to set up the centres in rest of the blocks.

Each organiser would get Rs.6 lakh with 50 per cent subsidy. And Rs.42 lakh had been sanctioned for setting up of these clinics.

Self-help groups and members of Tamil Nadu Women in Agriculture would also be involved in seed purification unit to supply quality seeds to farmers.

Fish farming needs rules

A decision to allow commercial fish farming in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico should only come after extensive consideration of the environmental and health impacts to the Gulf and its wild fisheries.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is meeting in Mobile this week to consider adopting rules on fish farming. It should wait, and let Congress weigh in with consistent standards to be applied to all federal waters.

Fish farming sounds intuitively benign, using floating pens to raise fish or shellfish. But beneath the surface — literally and figuratively — there are real and serious dangers.

Ocean fish farming elsewhere in the United States and around the world has produced problems few, if any, anticipated before the simple-sounding idea took off.

But experience has shown that the problems are real.

That includes pollution of surrounding seawater and ocean bottom from the accumulation of concentrated feces and uneaten fish food, and from the antibiotics and other medicines used in response to diseases and other problems caused by the concentration of large numbers of commercially grown fish in a small area.

There have also been serious problems with parasites and diseases spreading between confined commercial fish populations and wild fish that pass near the farms, or from commercial fish that escape.

That problem is magnified if the commercial fish include genetically modified species that can escape and mate with wild fish.

Congress is considering standardized fish farming rules under the National Offshore Aquaculture Act, which would provide a regulatory framework similar to regulations on wild-caught fish.

The last thing the Gulf's beleaguered commercial fishermen — or it sports fishermen — need are unanticipated problems from poorly considered fish farming off our shores.

Overhaul farming policy for drought, says Productivity Commission

The Government's key economic advisory agency will release a report today proposing major changes to the Government's Exceptional Circumstances drought-relief system, including a shift from unlimited drought support payments to grants to help farmers improve their ability to withstand future droughts.

The report will also say the existing EC system is dividing communities because eligibility for assistance is given according to arbitrary lines on a map indicating which areas are drought-declared.

The release of the report follows news in The Australian yesterday that the National Farmers Federation had scrapped its long-term support for the EC system.

In its submission to the Productivity Commission's inquiry into drought assistance, the NFF called for adaptation grants for successful farmers and HECS-style loans to help others build their businesses to the point where they can afford to invest in adaptation. The NFF also called for time-limited income support for struggling producers while they considered whether to apply for exit grants to leave the land.

The Productivity Commission's report is the last of three reports commissioned by the Rudd Government when it took office late last year.

A Bureau of Meteorology report released earlier this year warned of more frequent droughts because of climate change, while an expert panel investigating the social effects of drought last week called for an end to no-strings assistance.

Today's Productivity Commission report, a draft ahead of a final report in February, is expected to criticise the design of the EC system, created by the Keating Labor government in 1992.

The report is expected to say that the system does nothing to encourage farmers to change their practices and that the need for adaptation is becoming more serious because of climate change.

It will say the lack of incentives for change encourages farmers whose operations are unprofitable to continue to use bad management practices.

During last year's election campaign, Kevin Rudd promised to spend $55 million on training and re-establishment grants for primary producers, as well as $15million for research into better farming practices and $60million to retrain farmers in better farming practices.

The Productivity Commission report is expected to advise the Government to lift these financial undertakings.

Agriculture Minister Tony Burke was unavailable to comment yesterday, but has previously said any changes would not leave current EC recipients without support.

Opposition agriculture spokesman John Cobb agreed there was a need for reform of the EC system, provided there were proper transitional arrangements to ensure people were not suddenly denied income support.

DAIRY FARMING AMERICAN-STYLE IN CHINA

SANHE, HEBEI PROVINCE, China – Spend an afternoon with the men who run the HuaXia Dairy Farm in Hebei Province and you soon suspect they are on a mission that’s more than simply about making money.

"We want to provide all the Chinese people [the ability to] drink fresh milk," said ER Hong, HuaXia’s Chief Strategy Officer, as we walked around the clean yet odorous farm that’s home to 5,000 cows and a lot of imported technology.
"In China right now, most people are not drinking fresh milk," continued the Taiwan native who says he grew up drinking fresh milk daily and talks about dairy as a basic human right. "Not many places can produce fresh milk."

It might sound like an odd pitch to make, given the bad press dairy products have been getting here lately. In September, the industrial chemical melamine was discovered in Chinese-made powdered and fresh milk and other dairy products sold in China and exported to parts of East Asia and Africa. Four babies died from kidney failure and at least 54,000 other young children in China have fallen ill as a result of drinking the tainted milk.

But HuaXia is poised to help overhaul the way millions of dairy farms operate across the country.

Bringing U.S. technology to Chinese agriculture
HuaXia was founded four years ago by Charles Shao, a 49-year-old information technology specialist, when he decided to pack up his life in Santa Monica, Calif., after the venture he was involved in sold to Google for a princely sum. "This was kind of a retirement for me," he laughed.

But when he arrived in China in 2003, he was determined to start his next adventure in an entirely different field. "[Some friends and I] were looking into either a vineyard or a dairy farm, and I choose the dairy farm," said Shao, whose mild manner belies an instinct for ambitious enterprise.

Adrienne Mong/NBC News
Hua Xia Dairy Farm has 5,000 cows, making it one of the largest in China.

Agriculture, as he saw it, was the last frontier in China’s economy. "If you try to set up a technology company here, there’s pretty much competition everywhere."

Moreover, there was an opportunity to make a real difference by focusing on agriculture. "The idea of dairy farming is actually to bring in U.S. technologies to do technology transfer so we can teach people in China how to do dairy farming correctly," he said.

It might sound presumptuous, but ongoing food safety scandals over the decades suggest Chinese farmers could use the help. Last month, melamine was discovered in not only powdered milk but also fresh milk, yoghurt, and some brands of cookies and candies.

And just this past weekend, authorities in Hong Kong found melamine in chicken eggs produced by a food distributor in the northeastern Chinese port city of Dalian.

Trying to regulate a fragmented system
The central government continues to take steps to try to address the problems of food safety; they include adopting a comprehensive food safety law and consolidating regulatory agencies to tighten oversight, but regulation may not be enough.

"We’ve found in other countries, when you have separate systems, one for the farm, one for industrial production, one for the retail sector and so on, it doesn’t work," said Jorgen Schlundt, Director of the World Health Organization’s Food Safety, Zoonoses, and Foodborne Diseases.

And China’s food production and supply chain is highly fragmented – especially the dairy system, which consists of millions of individual farmers who have been encouraged in recent years by government reformers seeking to promote dairy farming as an alternative income source.

"You have small-scale farmers that have four cows or eight cows," said David Oliver, an agriculture consultant. "They then sell to their larger milk companies. Quite often, they don’t have their own milking shed facilities like you would find in the U.S. So what they do every day is bring their cows to a community milking shed. The milk is then sent to the milk company. Sometimes those milking sheds are owned directly by the milk company but at other times they’re owned by a third party contractor."

It’s those third-party contractors who are suspected of being central in this latest scandal. Last week, six people were arrested for either selling melamine to milk suppliers or adding the chemical themselves directly to milk.

NBC News cameraman David Lom and assistant Ed Flanagan get up close and personal with the cows.

One of HuaXia’s operational advantages is its size. Of the 5,000 cows it owns – making it one of the top 20 largest dairy farms in the country – 1,000 are milking cows, producing 30 tons of milk a day.

All the animals are closely monitored for illnesses, and the milk produced is tested on a daily basis by the farm itself and on a weekly basis by an independent lab hired by HuaXia. The milk is then sent directly to a processing plant for packaging, eliminating the need for a middleman.

It’s a single-stream system – from the farm directly to the table – that experts like Schlundt and his colleagues at the WHO say is key to ensuring food safety.

Shao and his colleagues have invested in state-of-the-art equipment to help monitor the quality of their milk, thus making the farm work like an assembly factory.

"Even though we have U.S. technologies, we’re still in China," said Shao. There are no specialist herdsmen and farm labor is unskilled. "We instead have to compartmentalize and make our staff task-oriented," he explained. "The concept of high quality, quality assurance, and all these things is new to them."

HuaXia’s cows come from New Zealand or Australia, and the heavy equipment – like the mixing wagon to feed the animals, as well as the tractor required to pull the wagon – comes from the U.S.

Shao and his team’s efforts to run a tight ship are paying off. Not only have they easily weathered the milk scandal, their reputation for safe, fresh milk is gathering momentum. HuaXia already works with the U.S. Grains Council as a demonstration farm and training center for Chinese farmers. And the company is hoping to gain the seal of approval for quality and safety from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"It’s possible to change how dairy farming is in China," said Shao. "We’re a good example!"

Monsanto Cites Strong Demand

Seed and herbicide supplier Monsanto Co. said global agricultural demand remains strong and U.S. farmers still have ample access to credit despite the turmoil in financial and commodity markets.

Monsanto says agricultural demand is still healthy globally. Pictured here is a researcher at the company's Peyrehorade laboratory in France.

The world's largest producer of traits and seeds by revenue has seen its market capitalization halved over the past 10 weeks as investors worry about the outlook for demand and pricing for crops.

Monsanto Chief Executive Hugh Grant said that, despite the gyrations in commodity prices, demand fundamentals remain intact for the company's corn, soy and vegetable seeds and traits, which offer protection against pests and drought.

The St. Louis company on Wednesday increased its long-term profit forecast amid acquisitions and new-product launches.

Mr. Grant said gross profit in 2012 is expected to reach $9.5 billion to $9.75 billion, ahead of what he described as a "bold" forecast given by the company last November. Monsanto also issued a 2009 earnings forecast, which undershot analysts' estimates. "We do control the factors that truly drive our business," Mr. Grant said on a call with analysts to discuss the company's fiscal 2008 results.

While acknowledging demand growth may fluctuate, he expressed confidence that the combination of rising protein consumption in emerging markets and low commodity stocks will boost earnings. He also said Monsanto would continue to create new products that would command premium prices.

Terry Crews, Monsanto's chief financial officer, said farmers in the U.S., Brazil and Argentina still enjoyed access to credit from government sources, banks and vendors. Tougher financing conditions have contributed to sharp falls in the share prices of equipment manufacturers such as Deere & Co. But Monsanto executives say seeds are the last input that farmers would seek to curb.

Mr. Crews said price increases for its seeds and traits in the U.S. are expected to be above its targeted 16%-18% range next year, with volume growth in the low single-digits.

Monsanto reported a net loss of $172 million, or 31 cents a share, in its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended Aug. 31. This compares with a net loss of $210 million, or 39 cents a share, a year earlier, in what is traditionally the company's weakest quarter.

Revenue climbed 35% to $2.05 billion, while the gross profit margin rose to 46.8% from 42.4%.

The fourth-quarter performance was foreshadowed last week when Monsanto boosted its fiscal 2008 guidance for the seventh time this year.

Sales for the segment that includes the company's seeds and traits business increased 27% to $941 million as corn sales rose 3% and soybean sales more than doubled.

Revenue increased 43% to $1.11 billion for Monsanto's agricultural-productivity products, which include the company's Roundup lawn-and-garden herbicide as well as crop-protection, herbicide and animal-agriculture products.

The company projected earnings of $4.20 to $4.40 a share for the new fiscal year, below analysts' expectations for net income of $4.62 a share. For fiscal year 2008, Monsanto posted net income of $3.62 a share.

Corn, soybeans looking good, but prices aren't

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — A farming season that once appeared to be doomed by the weather has turned out pretty good for Midwest soybean and corn crops.

But, to the surprise of farmers harvesting soybeans and starting on corn, it's the fall of once record-high prices that now threatens to take a lot of the shine off of 2008.

"Our potential was there," said Rolland Vandeveer, who has more than 5,000 acres of corn and soybeans near Salem, Ill., about 80 miles east of St. Louis. "This probably was going to be our best year for the last 20 years."

Farmers in Illinois and Iowa, the country's top corn and soybean producers, endured wet, cool springs that slowed planting and growth. Then they watched heavy, soaking rains and rising rivers swamp their fields, forcing many to plant their crops two or even three times.

All the while, though, prices held close to the record highs of the past couple of years, price peaks driven by the ethanol boom and growing global demand for food and livestock feed.

But as the summer wore on, crops looked better, expectations improved, and prices sagged.

Corn topped $7 a bushel and pushed toward $8 in midsummer, but has since fallen back to about $4.

Similarly, soybeans are selling for just under $9 a bushel now, well off the $16-plus they were going for in June.

The current prices are still high by historical standards, but they don't look so high to farmers paying more than they've ever paid for fertilizer, fuel and other things they need to grow a crop.

Some farmers paid well over $800 a ton for fertilizer over the summer, more than double what they paid a year earlier.

"We've had a huge increase in production cost over this time, and people's expectations have changed so much over time," Pat Westhoff, an agricultural economist at the University of Missouri said, explaining that farmers are accustomed to unusually high prices for their crops. "People have gotten used to that kind of world, but we're not in that world anymore."

Price problems aside, farmers and crop experts say the soybeans and corn being harvested so far look pretty good, particularly given the rough start to the season.

The harvest isn't as far along as it would normally be.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture says only about 20 percent of the state's 11.9 million-acre corn crop has been harvested so far, compared with about 63 percent at this point the past few years. Forty-five percent of the 9.2 million acres of soybeans have been harvested, compared to 70 percent or so in recent years.

Ken Cripe said he's seen a lot of soybeans but only a little corn come in so far at his grain elevator in Bluff City, Ill., about 70 miles east of St. Louis.

"The soybean quality is real good, and the yield looks good," he said as he watched a line of trucks wait to unload.

The little bit of corn he's seen looks promising, too, Cripe said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has gradually ratcheted up expectations for both crops since the wet spring.

Earlier this month, the USDA said it expects American farmers to harvest 12.2 billion bushels of corn, which would be the second largest corn crop on record after last year's biggest ever. The agency expects 2.98 billion bushels of soybeans, 11 percent more than a year ago.

With that in mind, Westhoff said many farmers will still have a good financial year. But in some cases, the combination of high costs and diminished prices could prove painful.

He said if someone owns all the land they operate, the chances are good that they can cover their costs and likely make a significant profit. But it might be more difficult for those who rent.

Monty Whipple, like a lot of farmers, figures it was time for the run of sky-high crop prices to end.

Whipple grows corn and soybeans near Utica, Ill., about 90 miles southwest of Chicago.

"You know that it has its up and downs and cycles, and nothing stays glamorous forever," he said.

But he admits that he, and maybe a lot of others, started thinking those prices might just last a while longer.

"We all get caught thinking things will never go back down," he said.

Minister Seeks to Turn Farming Into Export Industry

Soon after taking office in August, Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Chang Tae-pyong presented a new goal ― to achieve $10 billion in exports of farm and marine products by 2012, more than doubling last year's $4.2 billion.

"Many say it doesn't seem plausible, but I think it's possible," the minister said. "Of the exports so far this year, unprocessed farm products topped $600 million, unprocessed marine products $1.2 billion and processed food $1.9 billion. And the key lies in processed food,'' he said in an exclusive interview with The Korea Times Tuesday at his office in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Provice, on the occasion of the 58th anniversary of the daily, which falls on Nov. 1.

"It is all about technology. It is the role of technology to make better ingredients, or even additives, for food. With better technology, it will also be possible to export processed materials made of imported ingredients. It is all about how to add value, and how to efficiently do it," Chang said.

Exporting is important because it creates more demand for farm and marine products, helping farmers and fishermen to earn more income, according to the minister.

"For example, this year saw a bumper harvest of cucumber. However, it only ended up halving its price, forcing farmers to scrap a lot of their harvest," Chang said.
Korean farmers need to export more, he said. "Cucumber is one of the most popular vegetables in the world. Expanding exports could prevent such a pitiful occasion."

For more exports, farmers need to change their point of view in an "innovative" way, the minister said, because each market has a different standard of favored products and it is important to produce what consumers want in specific markets.

"Up to now, farmers have just raised pigs. Now they need to know their main work is to supply pork for the market. In other words, agriculture is about providing consumers with ingredients they need," he said.

This offers a valuable cue to what is in Chang's mind. Farming and fishing are another form of manufacturing industry. And he didn't deny it.

"All farmers are CEOs of their own business," the official said. "Agriculture is no different from the manufacturing of products in plants, that's what I believe. Science and technology should occupy more room in agricultural management."

So, inevitably, it all comes back to one word ― productivity.

"Market competition is essential," he said. "Because competitors are everywhere, even outside Korea. At the same quality, prices should be competitive. In that regard, farmers need to make process innovation as other manufacturers do at factories.

"With the same budget, farmers can produce more by cutting expenses in each step of their work process, like plant managers do for their work."

Productivity varies in Korean farming circles, Chang said.

In a survey of rice farmers last year, the most productive 20 percent produced nearly 3.5 times more rice than the least productive 20 percent on average. The gap grew from a 2004 survey, in which the top 20 percent of farmers produced 2.4 times more than the bottom 20 percent.

The principle is also applied to distribution of their products.

"In an exemplary case, a farmer is selling the rice he produced at three different prices according to quality. I can safely say he surely has the quality of being a good CEO," he said.

Chang started to refer to farmers as entrepreneurs back in 2004, creating the term "farming CEO." It was meant to introduce the concept of "business management" to local farmers, the minister said.

"I used to tell them: Each of you is a business owner, not hired staff. That means you have to make your own decision about production and sales," Chang said.

"It's about the way they use various resources they have.

The approach is also better for more exports, he added.

Currently Korean rice is about 3 or 4 times more expensive than foreign rice, but the price can be more than halved to an exportable level, through productive farming and adoption of quality species.

Korean ``hanwoo'' can also be exported through quality innovation and productivity enhancement like Japan's beef, Chang added.

The first thing he did since taking office was to meet local farmers every weekend. There, he saw pain, but also signs of hope.

"Even though an influx of imported products and rising prices of oil and feed have hit farming households, many farmers are doing their utmost to be more competitive," he said.

Overall, it is still a serious problem that Korean farmers are unequal in production, and, strictly speaking, Korea's agricultural production is just 50 to 60 percent of that of the Netherlands. Chang, however, says it has enough potential to make a huge leap on the global stage.

"In the future, a lot of the minister's policies will be about hiking productivity like organizing households, developing advanced agricultural technologies and establishing more infrastructure in the farming village," the minister said.

Safety Matters

In no other time in our history have consumers here been so acute and sensitive about the safety of what they eat.

After the dangers of mad cow disease become the talk of the country following the resumption of U.S. beef imports, panic is now prevailing in the whole food industry due to melamine-tainted Chinese products.

Chang assured that food safety is his top priority.

"Safety is definitely the most important, and about half of the ministry's work is about monitoring food safety. The government is obliged to supply safe food to its people," he said.

The issue is also meaningful to globalize Korean food products, as exports will be impossible without securing safety, let alone being recognized as quality products, he added.

"I do understand a lot of people are still worried about U.S. beef," Chang said. "The government will closely monitor the whole process of its import and distribution. All restaurants must clearly identify the origin of ingredients they serve."

In July, the ministry set up comprehensive measures for food safety, which include establishing a preventive system and intensified import food control. Also, it plans to make it obligatory for food dealers to keep records of their transactions this year, before completing a food distribution tracking system by 2010.

An overhaul of the related system will be soon made, the minister said. Most importantly, a project is under way to integrate all safety controls for dairy, farming and marine products, all of which are separate at present.

There will be more roles for consumers under the new system. The government will encourage more civic engagement in supervision of food-related facilities and the labeling of the origin of food.

"Safety control is basically a matter of system, so it will take some time to make it full force. But all other measures available will be introduced as soon as possible, hopefully this year," Chang said.