USDA estimates 8,400 US Jobs for Every $1 billion raised from Agricultural Exports

With the economic hardships American’s are now facing, there are only so many financial solutions we can create. However, among the ever growing list of problems, we also have our ever growing population. As of this July, the estimated population for our planet has reached 7 billion. With that, comes a drastic growth in resources obtained. Consuming and maintaining these resources efficiently will be a challenge. Both farmers and consumers must develop a way to use these resources effectively in order to maintain a constant supply.

Researchers recently teamed up with Nourishing the Planet and traveled to countries all across Africa. Their results prove to be successful. “Nourishing the Planet's research in Africa has unveiled innovative and cost-effective approaches to agriculture where farmers are treating land as a resource rather than solely as a means for food production. Many of these solutions are scalable and can be adapted to farming systems around the world.”

Many people also overlook the fact that the demand for agriculture produces a lot of jobs. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsak estimates that the demand for exports will be historical in 2011. “USDA estimates show 8,400 jobs are created in the United States for every $1 billion raised through agricultural exports.” Farmer’s markets are an easy way to promote local products and also encourage healthier lifestyles. “A study of the Springfield Farmers’ Market by the Lane Coalition for Healthy Active Youth in 2010 found that during the three years of market operation, customers reported an increase in the consumption of fruits and vegetables due to enhanced accessibility.”

I think as we continue to look for answers to help consolidate and solve our national debt, we will start to discover all of the opportunities that our Agriculture Industry has to offer.

For more information or to register, please visit www.ibclifesciences.com/globalaginvesting

Comedian Paul Rodriguez, Water and Agriculture No Joking Matter

In this 2009 video, comedian Paul Rodriguez reflects on breaking bread with Cesar Chavez, being a farmer and having been a migrant worker, and puts a Latino perspective on the water shortage crisis and farming.

Definitely worth a view:

Agricultural Technology Sector Primed to Explode!

AG Chat Interview Series Explores Opportunities & Investment In The Fertile Technology Bioeconomy

Some of you may recall the high-tech boom that began in the late 80s/early 90s when the IBMs, Apples, Unisys’s and Honeywells of the world unleashed a torrent of major innovation.

Well, it appears the agricultural technology sector is on a similar trajectory and may be about to break out in spectacular fashion.

According to Dave Smardon, President and CEO of Bioenterprise Corporation, ag tech is in the “embryonic” stage—teeming with innovations that may revolutionize everything from fuel to pharmaceuticals—and the venture capital community is watching closely.

In this episode of AG Chat, Smardon takes us on an in-depth tour of the burgeoning bioeconomy: Which technologies to watch? Who’s investing? Exit strategies? Deal size?

Listen to this episode of Ag Chat here.



Download a transcript of our interview here.

Editor’s note: Meet Dave Smardon and his colleagues from Bioenterprise at the Ag 2.0 Global Investments Conference taking place in Toronto, Canada, November 7-8, 2011.

For more information or to register, please visit www.ibclifesciences.com/globalaginvesting

ABOUT AG CHAT
AG Chat is an executive interview series featuring the business experts, investors and entrepreneurs at the forefront of sustainable agriculture. Each episode explores the trends, technologies and drivers shaping the world of sustainable agriculture today.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR/INTERVIEWER
Marc Dresner works closely with IBC Life Sciences as a communication lead with a background in trade journalism and marketing. He is the former executive editor of Research Business Report, a confidential newsletter for the marketing research industry. He may be reached at mdresner@iirusa.com. Follow him @mdrezz.

What Countries Lead Investing in Agriculture?

According to Oxfam's new report:Growing a Better Future, these are the leading countries investing in Agriculture:

Growing a Better Future shows how the food system is at once a driver of this fragility and highly vulnerable to it, and why in the twenty-first century it leaves 925 million people hungry.

The report presents new research forecasting price rises for staple grains in the range of 120–180 per cent within the next two decades, as resource pressures mount and climate change takes hold.

How To Invest In A Changing Climate—Literally

AG Chat Interview Series Talks Global Warming Investment Strategy

Climate change has long been a controversial topic, despite consensus among the overwhelming majority of the world’s climatologists that this phenomenon is genuine.

But when investors begin creating strategies around climate change forecasts, you know the verdict is definitely in.

To wit: As part of Deutsche Bank’s Climate Change Advisory service, Director and Senior Investment Analyst Bruce Kahn maintains an investment horizon of one to two decades based on anticipated global warming trends.

Bruce Kahn

In this episode of AG Chat, Kahn discusses the potential impact of climate change on global agriculture markets and what investors need to consider when entering these markets.

We’ll also look at emerging markets, consumption trends and various macroeconomic factors that have conspired to create enormous opportunities in water, food, feed and fuel.

Listen to this episode of AG Chat here.

Download a transcript of our interview here.

Editor’s note: Bruce Kahn will deliver a keynote on Day One of the Ag 2.0 Global Investments Conference taking place in Toronto, Canada, November 7th through the 8th.

For more information or to register, please visit www.ibclifesciences.com/globalaginvesting.

And be sure to tune in next week, when AG Chat features Dave Smardon, President and CEO of Bioenterprise Corporation, who takes us on an in-depth tour of the agricultural technology sector—which appears poised to break out in spectacular fashion!

ABOUT AG Chat

AG Chat is an executive interview series featuring the business experts, investors and entrepreneurs at the forefront of sustainable agriculture. Each episode explores the trends, technologies and drivers shaping the world of sustainable agriculture today.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR/INTERVIEWER
Marc Dresner works closely with IBC Life Sciences as a communication lead with a background in trade journalism and marketing. He is the former executive editor of Research Business Report, a confidential newsletter for the marketing research and consumer insights industry. He may be reached at mdresner@iirusa.com. Follow him @mdrezz.

Prediction: Significant Global Water Shortage by 2030

Access to water is crucial. A constantly increasing global population and economy is increasing demand on a valuable resource that grows more scarce every year.

Last week's "declaration of famine confirms that the Horn of Africa emergency is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world now," according to C.A.R.E., this comes at the same time when food prices and rising fuel costs have skyrocketed and the global economy is riddled in crisis.

According to a 2010 report from McKinsey Quaterly, there will be a significant shortage of water by 2030, given the current rates of usage by agriculture.

You can click here to read the full report: The Water Imperative - McKinsey Quarterly

How will the water scarcity challenge be addressed? 
How will it affect the market? 
What new agricultural processes and technologies are available to remedy and decrease water usage?


Together we will pursue the answers to these questions and more at IBC's Water 2.0 Investment Summit and Agriculture 2.0 Global Investment Conference on November 7-8, 2011 in Ontario, Canada. We hope you can join us!

Valerie M. Russo is a Senior Social Media Strategist on the Ag 2.0 Global Investments and Water 2.0 Investment Summit team, with a technology, anthropology, marketing and publishing business acumen. She is a published poet and also maintains a literary blog. She may be reached at vrusso@iirusa.com. Follow her @Literanista.

Introducing Ag Chat Wednesdays

We're launching a new podcast interview series here at Agriculture 2.0 called Ag Chat!

We invite you to join us on Wednesdays throughout every month for podcasts featuring in-depth interviews with agribusiness experts, investors and entrepreneurs at the forefront of sustainable agriculture and the water sector, in association with our upcoming events, Agriculture 2.0 Global Investments Conference and Water 2.0 Investment Summit.

Back in March, we interviewed Ejnar Knudsen, co-portfolio manager of the Agriculture Fund at Passport Capital – one of the top hedge funds in the world, right before our Agriculture 2.0 conference in San Francisco.

Based on the success of that podcast, we've decided to launch a whole series dedicated to hearing what the experts have to say -- so stay tuned for more great interviews to take the conversation to new heights!

Since our blog is fairly new, we'd like to to kick off Ag Chat today with our first-ever podcast:

Ejnar Knudsen Talks Shop: An Ag Chat Podcast - Knudsen explains why we’re at the early stages of a massive agriculture market reset – in step with an iterative, 38-year cycle – and the impact of quantitative easing in the ag sector, as well as how a “silent tsunami” of global proportions poses new challenges and fresh opportunities to agriculture investors.

Click here to listen to the interview or download the transcript.

Valerie M. Russo is a Senior Social Media Strategist on the Ag 2.0 Global Investments and Water 2.0 Investment Summit team, with a technology, anthropology, marketing and publishing business acumen. She is a published poet and also maintains a literary blog. She may be reached at vrusso@iirusa.com. Follow her @Literanista.

AG Economics 101: Tom Eisenhauer of Bonnefield Financial

Tom Eisenhauer of Bonnefield Financial, a speaker at Ag 2.0 Global Investments 2011, provides an overview on how agricultural economics is different than other industries and the implications for investors.





Valerie M. Russo is a Senior Social Media Strategist on the Ag 2.0 Global Investments and Water 2.0 Investment Summit team, with a technology, anthropology, marketing and publishing business acumen. She is a published poet and also maintains a literary blog. She may be reached at vrusso@iirusa.com. Follow her @Literanista.

Welcome to Agriculture 2.0!

Hello, and welcome to the new Agriculture 2.0 blog! I am thrilled to have a place where people can come year-round to talk about the issues and stories that are important to all of us. I hope that this will evolve into a platform and sounding board for innovative ideas, strategies, success stories, connections, and as a call to action for the ag investment sector.

We will be sharing our own thoughts, and as we move forward each of the dedicated Ag 2.0 team members will be introducing themselves. We will also be producing podcasts and written interviews with some of our expert conference contributors as well as publishing original content from guest bloggers on the topics of climate change, farmland strategy, commodities analysis, new technologies and much more. If you are interested in contributing, feel free to give us a shout!

I want this to be a fun and informative space to talk about anything and everything that has an impact on the sustainable natural resources portfolio—from the riverbank to The World Bank. Let’s get started!

Kate Westfall is the director of the 2.0 investment conference series, which includes Agriculture 2.0 Global Investments, the Water 2.0 Investment Summit, Ag 2.0 San Francisco, AgReturn Latin America and the InfraReturn Investment Forum. Kate holds a Master’s Degree in Food Culture and Communications from La Università degli Studi di Scienze Gastronomiche in Italy’s Emilia Romagna region and currently resides in New York City.