Murray State University

1. Contemporary Issues in Agriculture Lecture #4 Murray State University

2. Agriculture Education • How important is it? • What are the historical markers in Ag. Ed.? • Review: • 1862 • 1890 • 1887 • 1914

3. How does history affect current issues? • How have the developments in Agriculture Education enabled us to get to where we are in Agricultural Production? • For Example: • Technology • Chemicals • Fertilizers • Access to large amounts of Capital

4. Where are we headed? • In the year 2050  • 9,309,051,539 people will inhabit the earth • According to:npg.org

5. Where are we now? • This year: 2010  • 6,840,423,256 people inhabit the earth

6. That’s a difference of: • 2,468,628,283 people • Which begs the question: • “With farmland decreasing daily, and the population climbing daily, how are we going to produce enough food by 2050?”

7. How much food will we need in 2050? • “If we assume the business as usual case for expanding into natural habitat, there will be very little natural habitat left by 2050.” • “We will have 3 billion more people with 2.9 times as much income, consuming twice as much.” • (Global Harvest Initiative, 2010)

8. Questions for Concern: • Think back to the History of Agriculture lecture. • Is it possible for Thomas Malthus’s theory to come true? • What influence will Norman Borlaug’s impact have on agriculture in the next 40 years?

9. Back to Ag. Ed. • Is it necessary for the Agriculture Industry to continue to educate intellectuals in the field such as Norman Borlaug? • Will the world need a new “Norman Borlaug?” • Is it possible that the “Norman” is listening to this lecture?

10. How can we educate? • Agricultural Education in the High Schools • Collegiate Agriculture undergraduate and graduate programs • Internships • Etc.

11. Informal Education • Agritourism • What is agritourism? • Thoughts?

12. Agritourism • Merriam-Webster says: • Noun, the practice of touring agricultural areas to see farms and often to participate in farm activities. • Developed by the tourism industry as a way to define an emerging trend of people visiting a working farm or any agricultural, horticultural, or agribusiness operation for the enjoyment, education or active involvement in activities on the farm or operation.

13. Examples of Agritourism • Farm tours for families and school children (Educational) • Wineries • Hay or sleigh rides • U-pick or self-harvest of produce • Corn mazes • Horse farms • Christmas Tree Farms

14. 250 farm based destinations • “Kentucky Farms are Fun”- campaign name to increase awareness • Since 2005, the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board has provided $2 million to develop and stimulate the growing agritourism industry.

15. Tourism generates $10 billion dollars in economic activity each year. • It would be good for Agriculturists to tap into this $10 bill . . .

16. Nearly 60% of recreation farms specialize in raising cattle and calves, horses, ponies, and mules (Agricultural Resource Management Survey)

17. Funding for Agritourism • Kentucky Agriculture Development Fund investments- result of tobacco settlement. • Offered a financial incentive that allowed small farmers to develop agritourism business. • “Kentucky Farms are Fun” – campaign that promotes KY’s tourism industry.

18. Why is agritourism important to all Kentucky citizens? • The ultimate goal of an agritourism venue is to increase net farm income by filling customer needs for education and recreation on the farm. 

19. Today most Kentuckians have no direct connection to farm life, even in rural areas. Agritourism gives people an opportunity to better understand the skill and hard work that go into producing the food and fiber we all enjoy. It's also a chance for great food and clean country fun at destinations that are close to home.

20. Agritourism: • Can increase awareness of the necessity for Agriculture for food and fiber production. • Can generate more income to any farmer or production agriculturist that participates. • Why Agritourism? • Discuss

21. What role can Ag. Education play in the following: • Urbanization • Deforestation • Plant and Animal Habitat

22. What is Urbanization? • urbanize - make more industrial or city-like; "The area was urbanized after many people moved in" • urbanize - impart urban habits, ways of life, or responsibilities upon; "Birds are being urbanized by people in outdoor cafes feeding them" • wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

23. Perhaps another way to express it: • Urban Sprawl or Rural Flight: • Rural flight (or rural exodus) is a term used to describe the migratory patterns of peoples from rural areas into urban areas. Rural flight is exacerbated when the population decline leads to the loss of rural services such as stores and schools, when then leads to greater loss of population.

24. Do technology and mechanization contribute? • It often occurs in a region following the mechanization of agriculture when fewer people are needed to bring the same amount of agricultural output to market. • For example: The trend that has led to 1.8% of the working population being in agriculture. • That leaves 98.2% that need to live and work somewhere.

25. The effects • Rural flight is exacerbated when the population decline leads to the loss of rural services such as stores and schools, which then leads to greater loss of population.

26. How are you affected? • Is your hometown affected by Rural Flight? • Or is your hometown affected by Urban Sprawl?

27. Animal Habitats • The change in land use through the building of roads, homes, and businesses can fragment or eliminate animal habitats, blocking feeding areas and altering migration patterns • http://www.enviroliteracy.org/article.php/409.html

28. Increased Pollution • An increase in pavement and other covered surfaces that are not able to absorb rain or runoff can also contribute to an increase in the discharge of pollutants into area water sources, lakes, and streams. • http://www.enviroliteracy.org/article.php/409.html

29. Less time outside/More on the road • In addition, the reliance on transportation routes can elevate air emissions as the number of cars per person and the amount of time spent on the road increases. • http://www.enviroliteracy.org/article.php/409.html

30. How do we manage Urban Sprawl positively? • Will Urban Sprawl negatively affect the growing world population? • Will Urban Sprawl negatively affect wildlife population? • Will Urban Sprawl cause land prices to increase enormously?

31. Management of Urban Sprawl: • smart growth and urban growth boundaries: • higher density development • increase the focus on public transportation • promote green space • http://www.enviroliteracy.org/article.php/409.html

32. Outside of “Nashvegas”

33. On the Previous Slide • You can visibly see how the suburbs are encroaching on the farm. • I believe Montgomery Gentry said it best: • “When his tractor backs up traffic, the reception ain’t too warm”

34. Deforestation: • What is its affect? • Thoughts???

35. “Deforestation can be defined as the large scale removal of forests. Deforestation occurs when forests are converted to non-forest areas for urbanization, agriculture, and other reasons without sufficient reforestation.” • (ezinearticle, 2007)

36. “At present, forests are considered among the most endangered on the planet. Everyday at least 80,000 acres of forest vanish from Earth.” • (ezinearticles, 2007)

37. Deforestation Leads To: • Extinction of Thousands of Species • Heavy Soil Erosion • Greenhouse Effect • Flooding • Landslides • Denuded Land- Land no longer useful for agriculture after slash and burn has run its course.

38. Reasons for Deforestation: • Growing Population • Suburban Growth • Agricultural Uses • Slash and Burn in third world countries

39. Issue: • How do we refrain from deforestation, when from an agricultural standpoint, we need as much productive land as possible, looking to the year 2050. • Thoughts?

40. Thus the need for Ag. Ed. • These issues and more are a threat to agriculture, the environment and the human race. • Education of Agricultural issues to the general public and trained agriculturist will lead to a beneficial productive society not only now, but as the population continues to explode.

41. Activity: • Define High Yield Farming: • How can High Yield Farming play a key role in meeting food needs for 2050? • How can High Yield Farming prevent deforestation? • Why might we need to practice High Yield Farming due to the reality of Urban Sprawl? • When you have researched the prompts, present, informally to the class.