UK newspaper The Guardian claims it has laid its hands on a copy of a forthcoming World Bank report on biofuels and world food prices. Unlike many previous analyses which said that biofuels programs were a minimal contributor to food price rises, the rumored World Bank report says that over half of the rise in food prices since 2002 can be attributed to biofuels programs.

The report analyzes a basket of food prices; the basket has risen a total of 140% in price in the last six years. The report attributes about a 15% price rise to higher energy costs and fertilizer expenses, while saying that a 75% price rise is due to the biofuels. I wrote about this back in April, and – if this alleged World Bank report pans out – it looks like I somewhat underestimated the impact that biofuels have had on food prices and somewhat overestimated the impact of fuel and fertilizer.

First off, I’m not 100% convinced that the report is accurate – for one thing, it’s easy for newspapers to get things like this wrong. (especially with non-published reports) Secondly, reports of this nature can be directed by the writer(s) to achieve certain desired argument results.  There are numerous other reports by credible sources that refute this claim that are published and peer reviewed.

Regardless of truth, however, I do not think it’s a huge blow to biofuels. The fact of the matter is that we must make a global move towards renewable energy. That transition is going to involve costs, and higher food prices might be one of them. For many years, the US has been the low cost producer of food for the globe, in much the same way that Saudi Arabia has been the low cost producer of oil – and Saudi Arabia is still the lowest-cost producer, even with oil at $144 a barrel and rising. We will continue to be a food exporter – our huge area of arable land and relatively small population pretty much guarantee that – but at the same time, we have to move towards energy independence for our country. That means developing our own energy infrastructure, both in conventional drilling and in sustainable power sources like nuclear, and by making a serious and sustained commitment to truly renewable sources of power – wind, solar, and biofuels.

If biofuels production does persistently drive higher food prices, then that will create a strong incentive for farmers and agronomists to develop crops that are suited for biofuels production, but that do not displace food crops. In other words, biofuels might end up increasing the size of the total farm economy, rather than just shifting food production to fuel production. Crops like switchgrass and miscanthus are a start, but they tend to grow best on prime farmland – what is needed are plants which provide a decent energy density even when grown on land that isn’t well-suited to food production. That can provide us the best of both worlds – high food production and biofuels production at the same time.

Bottom line; US farmers and people involved in agriculture will be key players the economic future of this country and will be called on to react-to and solve fundamental global need for both food and fuel.

It doesn’t look like I’ll be able to make it up to the Wisconsin Farm Technology Days this year, unfortunately. It’s too bad because Farm Technology Days is an excellent place to see the newest farm technology on display from equipment manufacturers, and is also a heck of a good time for anyone with an interest in the farm business. This year’s event is in Brown County (they hold it in a different county each year), at Country Aire Farms in Holland, from July 15 to July 17.

Unlike some farm shows, the Farm Technology Days focuses on pure practicality – this year’s show will have in-field demonstrations of tillage, mowing, raking, harvesting, and baling techniques. The University of Wisconsin Extension program will be at the show doing free on-the-spot water quality tests to check for high levels of nitrates. (At last year’s show, one in six samples brought in for testing showed problems.)

Organizers this year expect about 70,000 visitors, and about 900 commercial and educational demonstrators. One of the more interesting demonstrators at this year’s show is Elimanure, an outfit that has developed a technology for using evaporation and oxygen enrichment to convert manure into a dry fuel. Manure management is always on the agenda for farmers who maintain livestock; the Elimanure system reduces the manpower needed for handling manure drastically without losing the revenue potential that manure represents, since you can sell the fuel or use it to cut your own energy costs on-site.

There are almost 400 acres dedicated to on-site field demonstrations this year, and strip tillage is going to be demonstrated – so if you’d like to see this done by farmers who have already climbed the learning curve, this is a great chance. It’s not all seriousness, of course – locals can bring in their largest field-grown weed for the annual Biggest Wisconsin Weed contest. The usual farm life exhibits, art displays, youth exhibits, and an interesting historical presentation of farm equipment from days gone by are also on the agenda.

As state fairs become more carnival-like, shows like the Wisconsin Farm Technology Days are playing an increasingly important role in giving farmers a chance to see and share new techniques and technology. If you’re local to Wisconsin, or can make the drive, consider dropping in this year – you won’t regret it.

If your farm is located within easy driving distance of a Wal-Mart, you may have just found a new market for your produce. The largest agricultural customer in the country has just announced a major commitment to purchase locally-grown fruits and vegetables in its stores throughout the country – and my suspicion is that this is not a fad, but a genuine trend.

Advocates for local agriculture have long argued that the environmental and economic impacts of trucking food great distances outweigh the benefits. In terms of dietary diversity, they’re probably wrong on this one; nobody wants to live on just the crops that will grow close to home. But there are a lot of crops that can be grown nationwide, or at least across huge areas of the country. It makes sense to import the crops that just won’t grow in a particular region, but it also makes sense to grow locally where that’s economically sensible. Rising fuel costs are making it increasingly economically sensible. 

Wal-Mart’s move is tied closely to the company’s emphasis on low prices. The company says that the average piece of produce in its stores travels 1,500 miles to get to the customer. No matter how efficiently they pack the trucks, there’s a pretty hefty fuel bill attached to that tomato. The company says that its new emphasis on locally-grown produce will save millions of food-miles each year. No word on what a “food-mile” is supposed to represent, exactly, but the key point is that this represents a great opportunity for local growers. More than 70% of Wal-Mart’s produce comes from US-based suppliers, so the potential market space is enormous. (Bad news if you’re a farmer currently shipping to Wal-Mart, unfortunately.)

One word of warning to farmers planning a selling trip to Wallyworld – the company is notorious for its stringent requirements for suppliers, and that includes farmers. You’re likely to have to invest in the “right kind” of containers, the right RFID tags for your flats, and other hoops to jump through. On the other hand, the upside of selling to Wal-Mart is that they’re likely to order in bulk. The company says it will top $400 million in local ag purchases this year. That’s a lot of asparagus and carrots.

One exciting opportunity for farmers looking to diversity their crop base – Wal-Mart says they plan to work closely with state agricultural departments to encourage new plantings of crops that aren’t commonly grown in the areas around their stores, like cilantro in Florida. Putting in a new crop is always a bit of a risk, but having a guaranteed buyer at the end of the season sure cuts down on the worry factor.

They’re not likely to replace the large-scale farming anytime soon, but rooftop agriculture projects are sprouting all over the world these days. The basic idea is brilliant: there’s a huge demand in urban areas for fresh produce, particularly organic goods – but land costs in urban areas make urban farming completely nonsensical from an economic point of view. There’s one patch of land that’s usually not being used, however – the rooftop.

There are basically three ways of doing rooftop gardening. The easiest and simplest way is also the most inefficient – container gardening, where the rooftop is just used as a handy place to have lots of bins for growing crops. With a larger investment (and a stronger roof) it’s possible to fill the roof with a drainage system, a soil layer, and just plant crops in rows as though you were on the ground. And for rooftop gardeners who are serious about maximizing yields, it’s possible to deploy full-scale rooftop hydroponic systems, squeezing remarkable yields out of the rooftop environment. Hydroponic systems also dispense with the need for soil, which is tremendously heavy, making them more practical for rooftops that cannot bear a significant load.

The benefits of rooftop gardening are many. Most obviously, the building owner and/or the building tenants have a supply of fresh produce throughout the growing season, or even year-round with a well-designed system in the right climates. Whether growing herbs or organic tomatoes, this can be a serious benefit to the residents of a building. Produce can also be sent directly to local markets, turning the rooftop into an unlikely source of secondary revenue generation. A rooftop garden also can provide building residents with a cool, green place to spend time during hot days; commercial growing operations on rooftops can even employ residents as part-time gardeners. More generally, rooftop gardens cut down on the heat island effect of cities and remove pollution from the air. They also can serve as greywater recycling centers, since wastewater from the building can be easily routed up to the garden; most plants do just fine with greywater.

There are challenges facing the rooftop gardener. High winds and high temperatures are often a problem; windbreaks and heat-tolerant crops, among other solutions, have to be deployed in the rooftop environment. Pesticide use in densely populated areas can be a problem, and many rooftop gardeners go organic for this reason – and roof growers find the higher prices their organic crops command to be a welcome bonus. Liability concerns are a more difficult hurdle to overcome – for some reason, insurance companies get antsy when dozens of people are wandering around a rooftop ten or a hundred stories above the pavement! As rooftop gardens become more prevalent, however, insurance companies are climbing the learning ladder and will often have mitigation strategies (barriers at the edge of the roof, etc.) that can cut the expense.

I’ve only touched on this topic – there are people who devote entire careers to rooftop gardens. You can read a lot more about rooftop gardening and its potential at the Rooftop Gardening Source, among other places.