Retired professor issues call for new mindset in agriculture

Title

Abstract

Retired University of Missouri (Columbia) professor Dr. John Ikerd was the keynote speaker at a dinner held at the Farm Centre, Charlottetown, to honour all of the Island inductees into the Atlantic Agricultural Hall of Fame in Truro. (There has been an Island producer inducted in every year since 1970.) Ikerd maintains that agriculture in North America is now facing a crisis of corporate ownership, and he claims that a total change of mindset on the part of both producers and consumers is needed to remedy the situation. Ikerd claims that American agriculture is moving from subsidies to subsidized crop insurance that will guarantee many corporations a profit at the expense of the taxpayer. According to his claims, a growing number of investment companies are purchasing farmland, with 40% of arable land in the US expected to change hands within the next few years and 30% of US acreage now owned by non-farmers. Ikerd warns that corporations have worldwide shareholders who do not have shared common values, and this results in a lack of concern about agricultural sustainability since economic decisions are generally focused upon short term results. Ikerd advocates a food revolution that will help farmers reconnect with consumers and rebuild confidence in the food system.

Date

2014-06-25

Issue

6

Title	Retired professor issues call for new mindset in agriculture
Authors	A. Walker
Abstract	Retired University of Missouri (Columbia) professor Dr. John Ikerd was the keynote speaker at a dinner held at the Farm Centre, Charlottetown, to honour all of the Island inductees into the Atlantic Agricultural Hall of Fame in Truro. (There has been an Island producer inducted in every year since 1970.) Ikerd maintains that agriculture in North America is now facing a crisis of corporate ownership, and he claims that a total change of mindset on the part of both producers and consumers is needed to remedy the situation. Ikerd claims that American agriculture is moving from subsidies to subsidized crop insurance that will guarantee many corporations a profit at the expense of the taxpayer. According to his claims, a growing number of investment companies are purchasing farmland, with 40% of arable land in the US expected to change hands within the next few years and 30% of US acreage now owned by non-farmers. Ikerd warns that corporations have worldwide shareholders who do not have shared common values, and this results in a lack of concern about agricultural sustainability since economic decisions are generally focused upon short term results. Ikerd advocates a food revolution that will help farmers reconnect with consumers and rebuild confidence in the food system.
Journal	Island farmer
Date	2014-06-25
Volume	41
Issue	6
ISSN	0823-7735