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The number of the world’s farms to halve by 2100 – Point of Order :

New University of Colorado Boulder research shows the number of farms globally will shrink in half as the size of the average existing farms doubles by the end of the 21st century, posing significant risks to the world’s food systems.

Published this week  in the journal Nature Sustainability, the study is the first to track the number and size of farms year-over-year, from the 1960s and projecting through 2100.

The study shows that even rural, farm-dependent communities in Africa and Asia will experience a drop in the number of operating farms.

“We see a turning point from widespread farm creation to widespread consolidation on a global level, and that’s the future trajectory that humanity is currently on,” said Zia Mehrabi, assistant professor of environmental studies at CU Boulder. “The size of the farm and the number of farms that exist are associated with key environmental and social outcomes.” . . 

Red meat is not a health risk. New study slams years of shoddy research – Ross Pomeroy :

Studies have been linking red meat consumption to health problems like heart disease, stroke, and cancer for years. But nestled in the recesses of those published papers are notable limitations.

Nearly all the research is observational, unable to tease out causation convincingly. Most are plagued by confounding variables. For example, perhaps meat eaters simply eat fewer vegetables, or tend to smoke more, or exercise less? Moreover, many are based on self-reported consumption. The simple fact is that people can’t remember what they eat with any accuracy. And lastly, the reported effect sizes in these scientific papers are often small. Is a supposed 15% greater risk of cancer really worth worrying about? 

Study slams lazy research 

In a new, unprecedented effort, scientists at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) scrutinized decades of research on red meat consumption and its links to various health outcomes, formulating a new rating system to communicate health risks in the process. Their findings mostly dispel any concerns about eating red meat. “We found weak evidence of association between unprocessed red meat consumption and colorectal cancer, breast cancer, type 2 diabetes and ischemic heart disease. Moreover, we found no evidence of an association between unprocessed red meat and ischemic stroke or hemorrhagic stroke,” they summarized. . . 

Importance of climate context alongside yield prediction in tomato production :

Tomato growers face the challenge of predicting yields accurately, which is crucial for their business operations and forecasting. However, traditional yield prediction models often fail to account for sudden spikes or dips in actual yield, known as yield swings. These unpredictable variations can be caused by biological, environmental, or external factors. The team of crop science and data scientists at WayBeyond conducted a study to shed light on the factors leading up to yield swings and propose a more holistic approach to yield prediction.

Tomatoes are one of the most widely grown fresh produce crops globally. While outdoor cultivation remains prevalent, many growers have turned to protected environments such as plastic houses, greenhouses, or glasshouses to ensure year-round production and mitigate unfavorable weather conditions, pests, and diseases. The controlled environments provide opportunities for manipulating climate, water, and light, resulting in significantly increased production compared to traditional methods.

Dr. Tharindu Weeraratne, Director of Crop Science & Agronomy, says: “Accurately predicting yield is crucial for growers as it drives short-term response and long-term strategy. It helps steer crops towards desired production outcomes, provides certainty in available produce for sale, and aids in fulfilling supply contracts. However, consistently achieving high accuracy in yield prediction is a challenge due to the occurrence of yield swings, which can significantly impact business operations and forecasting.”

WayBeyond’s study challenges the sole pursuit of high accuracy yield prediction and instead focuses on identifying and understanding the biological and environmental events preceding yield swings. By adopting a more holistic approach to interpreting yield prediction, growers can improve their confidence in predicting yields and optimize production. . . 

AI helps farmers manage parasites using FECPAKG2 :

FECPAKG2 is using AI to report on samples with high parasite counts ensuring farmers with high FECs (faecal egg counts) receive results within minutes.

Faecal samples processed through FECPAKG2 are analysed utilising the speed and power of AI and when results are high – over 700epg in sheep and horses – a preliminary FEC result is reported within a few minutes. This is followed a short time later with a confirmed count from a FECPAKG2 trained technician. This breakthrough innovation will help farmers make faster decisions for animals requiring immediate parasite treatment.

Announcing what is stage 1 of its AI development, Techion founder and Managing Director, Greg Mirams said; “We hope providing near-instant FEC results when testing using FECPAKG2 will encourage more farmers to test more often.”

“The ability to make fast informed decisions is an important development for farmers managing the welfare and performance of their livestock. We process tens of thousands of FEC tests annually from farms across New Zealand and we are recording increased variability pf results and at times, higher parasite challenges than in previous years.” . . 

Banana appeal : Australia’s first genetically modified fruit sent for approval – Donna Lu :

Scientists have submitted Australia’s first genetically modified fruit – a Cavendish banana – to regulators for approval, saying it has been engineered to withstand a deadly fungus that poses a threat to banana growers worldwide.

The banana, known as QCAV-4, has been genetically modified to resist a fungus known as Panama disease tropical race 4 (TR4), which is threatening the multibillion-dollar Cavendish industry globally.

If approved, the banana would become Australia’s first GM fruit to be approved for cultivation and consumption, as well as the first GM banana to be approved worldwide.

Prof James Dale of the Queensland University of Technology, who led QCAV-4’s development, said the GM variety offered a safety net for growers in the event that the Australian industry was wiped out by TR4. . .

Many of Vermont’s dairy farms have shuttered and the forecast is for still fewer – and much larger – operations – Kirk Kardashian,

Five years or so ago, dairy farming stopped being fun for Robert Bassett.

He had taken pleasure for 30 years in managing his herd, working outdoors and being his own boss. He had chosen this life, dropping out of college, abandoning his plans to become an engineer, and returning to the 98 acres his grandfather and father had farmed since 1945. The Bassett Farm was a landscape of flat pastures, hillside forest, red barns and Jersey cows less than two miles from the Woodstock Village Green. He felt a deep connection to the land.

For three decades, Bassett rode the steep ups and downs in milk prices and found ways to manage rising costs. He held on when the family’s 240-year-old farmhouse burned to the ground.

But a persistent oversupply of milk in the U.S. depressed prices paid to farmers so much, for so long, that most dairies like his hadn’t seen positive balance sheets in years. Bassett, 55, was growing weary of toiling for such little return. His 100-cow farm was just too small to operate with the same efficiency as the emerging 1,000-cow dairies in Vermont, and he couldn’t afford to expand.

So, last fall, Bassett sold his herd. He is trying to figure out what to do next. For the first time in more than 75 years, no Bassett is milking cows in Woodstock. In fact, few people are. Bassett’s farm was the last remaining dairy in town, aside from the nonprofit Billings Farm & Museum.