When the benefits of an activity are difficult to put a dollar value on, or monetize, the traditional cost curves don’t tell the whole story. Total costs are the sum of all the variable costs and fixed costs. Undervalued community … Continue reading →
Food price inflation is still in the news. Eggs have become a national security issue. Well, one would think so from the news. Mostly, the egg-laying chickens are sick and dying. But once we get beyond this egg-industry crisis, we … Continue reading →
One hundred and one years ago, USDA began counting the production of soybeans on US farms. This is not because that is when farmers began harvesting soybeans for grain. No. This is when the quantity of soybean production was sufficient … Continue reading →
In a January 21, LinkedIn post about a 1/19/25 Wall Street Journal Article on food prices rising in December, it was speculated that it is traditional food eating month. If prices were going to rise in an annual cycle, December … Continue reading →
Agricultural byproducts are not produced on demand. The quantity of byproduct production is based on the demand for the higher valued commodity or product. This is not news. But it seems forgotten in the passionate discussions of waste cooking oils … Continue reading →
Is emerging cellular agriculture an extension of farming? Or is it a replacement for farming? An extension of farming – grain to beer – is an economic complement. A farm replacement – meat and dairy protein from tanks – is … Continue reading →
Raised by depression-era parents, I have lived through the 1980s farm crisis, and spent 2 years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nepal using my first degree (BS agronomy) to help Nepali farmers grow more food. In the 80s and … Continue reading →
One of the follow-on surveys to the Census of Agriculture is the Census of Aquaculture. Since the 2022 Census of Agriculture has been conducted, a new USDA, Census of Aquaculture has been conducted for the production year 2023. Fish farmers … Continue reading →
English is so difficult. The word ‘mean’ here has three different meanings, one of which is to understand. The first occurrence of ‘mean’ infers an average. The second ‘mean’ occurrence implies or conveys understanding. The third ‘mean’ is a value … Continue reading →
Last week Biomass Rules posted about comparing 4-year loans to 7-loans. The Wall Street Journal published an article that discussed negative equity from partially paid car loans. There are multiple factors to consider with more than one correct solution. The … Continue reading →
