Posted by Hannah Howard, June 25, 2008 at 1:45 PM
One of the US Department of Agriculture's jobs is to predict crop yields. To do so, they survey a sample of farmers, a method that doesn't appear to be the most effective.
It's no surprise that agricultural consultancy company Lanworth is beating them at their own game. Wired reports that Lanworth, a small Illinois-based company, gets its information from satellite images, digital soil maps, and weather forecasts, allowing them to estimate harvests on an individual field scale. So far, these projections are proving to be spot-on.
Last October, agricultural consultancy Lanworth not only correctly projected that the US Department of Agriculture had overestimated the nation's corn crop, it nailed the margin: roughly 200 million bushels. That's just 1.5 percent fewer kernels but still a significant shortfall for tight markets, causing a 13 percent price hike and jitters in the emerging ethanol industry.
Lanworth got their start back in 2000, mapping forests for land managers and timber interests. These days, the firm makes sense of 100 gigabytes of information each day and aims to grow globally—they already have their eye on wheat fields in Kazakhstan and soy crops in Argentina.
Posted by Jamie Forrest, October 8, 2007 at 11:00 AM
In August of 2006, then Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns announced that the U.S. commercial rice supply had been tainted with an experimental, genetically modified variety unapproved for human consumption. The experimental rice supposedly posed no threat to human health, according to both the USDA and Bayer CropScience, the company that created it. However, the European Union subsequently banned imports of American rice, a move that drastically affected the domestic market. Now, 14 months later, in absence of any evidence one way or another as to how this contamination occurred, Bayer CropScience has been cleared from any governmental enforcement action, and the investigation has officially been closed.
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Posted by Alaina Browne, October 4, 2007 at 6:30 PM
- Seafood now said OK for pregnant women: In a major break with current U.S. health advice, a coalition of top scientists from private groups and federal agencies plans to advise pregnant and breast-feeding women to consume at least 12 ounces of fish and seafood a week to ensure optimal brain development of their babies. Since 2001, these groups advised pregnant that women eat no more than 12 ounces a week. [Seattle Times]
- USDA took 18 days to recall meat: The U.S. Department of Agriculture waited 18 days after learning that millions of pounds of ground beef made by Topps Meat Co. could be contaminated with E. coli before it concluded that a recall was necessary, according to an email from an agency inspection official. [Chicago Tribune]
- Another day, another food recall: Some packages of Kraft's Baker's Premium White Chocolate may have salmonella contamination. "The company said the recalled product is in 6-ounce packages with UPC Code 0043000252200 and the following "best when used by" dates: 31 MAR 2008 XCZ, 01 APR 2008 XCZ, 02 APR 2008 XCZ, 03 APR 2008 XCZ." [Reuters]
- Farm gets grant to study which apple bakes best: "The U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded the farm with a $9,800 grant to assess the baking, drying, browning and growing attributes of 40 apple varieties. 'Then the idea is to tell new organic farmers which trees they can plant,' said Lou Lego, who co-owns the Elderberry Pond farm and restaurant with his wife, Merby." [The Citizen, of Auburn, NY]
- Moscow eliminating food kiosks? Looks like the international war on street food (taco trucks in California, street fare in Toronto) has a new front—the capital city of Russia. [Moscow News Weekly]
- Amsterdam's "space cakes" go animal-friendly: Amsterdam's coffee shops have begun using free-range eggs in their hashish "space cakes." [Belfast Telegraph]
