Could farming bamboo be the next big thing? The idea of growing bamboo for profit in the United States has been in play for nearly a century.  The first test plots of giant bamboo were successfully grown in Alabama in 1944. But with a ready supply coming from Asia, there has been no incentive to fully explore a domestic source of bamboo—until now according to bamboo advocates.

Now the race for truly renewable resources and solutions for climate change is on.  Unsustainable practices and overharvesting in Asia means that creating a domestic supply of bamboo in the United States has the potential for major practical, economic and environmental benefits.

The US has prime growing conditions, pioneering propagation techniques, and innovative companies ready to create the necessary manufacturing and infrastructure links.  So where does that leave us?  Bamboo advocates suggest that all that remains is the political commitment and front-end investment. From there, willing farmers can begin to turn this vision into a reality.
 
If this topic interests you as a farmer, I suggest you check out the following:

1. Watch this video to learn a great deal about growing Bamboo. http://www.marthastewart.com/article/clip-of-the-day-dreamers-into-doers-winner-jackie-heinricher. (Jackie Heinricher was recently selected as a winner of Martha Stewart's Dreamers into Doers program. You can see Jackie's appearance on the Martha Stewart show)

2. Additional Information can be found at http://www.bamboonow.us/. (Booshoots is involved in the creation of a new coalition aligned around supporting the growth of bamboo and a bamboo industry here in the United States. It's in the early stages of formation. Some early partners/supporters beyond Booshoot include the Delta Economic Development Center, Teragren, Rose Carbon and Naturally Bamboo.)

 

Congratulations to my brother for running the New York City Marathon yesterday in  4 hours and 9 minutes AND for helping to raise $94,000+ for cancer research!  Check out www.nicktiller.com  to learn more about the amount raised and visit http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/Results.htm, then click “Unofficial Results” and then enter runner number “42825” to get the details like run/finish times.

If you had a business card, what would it say?  Would your titles include; Chief Grower, Lead Mechanic, Soil Specialist, Veterinarian In Training, Lease Negotiator, Master of Plant Disease and Pest Management, Farmland Acquisition Guru, Commodity Marketing Analyst, Procurement Manager, and Meteorologist?  -I bet your card would include all of that and you would have even more titles.  That’s the thing about being a farmer or rancher; you wear a lot of different hats. 

One really important “hat” you probably wear has to do with how your business is run from a financial stand point.  We aren’t just talking about basic accounting and balancing a check book here.  Most ag producers are their own chief financial officer.  (Here is a general job description for a CFO. Check the description to see if you are already doing any of these tasks, or if you SHOULD be doing these tasks, but are neglecting them for lack of knowhow)

As agriculture becomes more and more complex, farm and ranch managers need to understand and communicate in the financial world.  The Center for Farm Financial Management has created a new online workshop series to help ag producers (and anyone who works with them) understand and use common financial statements and measures.  Their new website, Interpreting Financial Statements and Measures (IFSaM), is intended to teach producers the basics of interpreting the 4 major financial statements and the 21 financial measures recommended by the Farm Financial Standards Council. 

IFSaM is a series of online videos that producers can work through at their own pace.  Each session provides benchmarks, based on actual farms, that producers can use to evaluate their own financial position and their financial performance.  Case farm examples are used to bring the data to life.  There are also optional “test your knowledge” quizzes at the end of each session.  In total, there is over 2 ½ hours of information. 

Here is the kicker: It’s free.  This series was created with funding from the North Central Risk Management Education Center. 

IFSaM is located at http://ifsam.cffm.umn.edu/