Money Grows Out of the Ground | The Financial Planner’s Briefcase | TheStreet.com

DECATUR, Ill. (TheStreet) — Agriculture and fair competition have had a strained relationship.

Price-fixing scandals, such as the lysine conspiracy, have marred the industry. (Lysine is a vital component of livestock feed and the subject of the new movie "The Informant.")

Regardless, the industry is growing in appeal as the world’s population expands, straining food production. More food is needed from less space as cities grow, claiming more farm land. Companies such as Archer Daniels Midland(ADM) is a big source of food, and its shares will benefit as a result. Archer Daniels has risen 37% over the past year, compared with a decline for the benchmark S&P 500 Index. Archer Daniels’ growth potential is all but guaranteed.

Still, not all food producers have risen quite like Archer Daniels. Bunge(BG) and Corn Products International(CPO) declined during the past year, while The Andersons(ANDE) is little changed. Some of the biggest players in the industry, such as Cargill, are closely held.

Global population growth stands at 1.1% a year, which doesn’t sound like much, but in reality means there will be 77 million more people every year, taxing an already stretched food supply and leaving a huge hole to fill by food producers. Food isn’t a complex industry to understand: Everyone needs it, and it’s all basically the same.

That last point gives the industry most of its character. Commodities, be they corn, grain or lysine, require hedging, which is a huge task. Archer Daniels, for example, has nearly $2 billion in derivative contracts to help guard against a decrease in price or other events that could affect profits, such as foreign-exchange risk.

Money Grows Out of the Ground | The Financial Planner’s Briefcase | Financial Articles & Investing News | TheStreet.com

Business briefs – Hawaii Business – Starbulletin.com

star

Organic certification aid renewed

Federal funds have been renewed to assist Hawaii’s organic farmers, organic livestock operators and organic produce handlers with the cost of obtaining organic certification. The funds became available Thursday following two cooperative agreements between the state Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Organic farmers and livestock operators are required to have their farms and practices inspected annually and certified by an agent approved by the USDA. Seventy-five percent of the cost of this inspection and certification (up to a maximum of $750) is eligible for reimbursement under the Agricultural Management Assistance program authorized under the Federal Crop Insurance Act.

Business briefs – Hawaii Business – Starbulletin.com

Council approves ban on GMO taro – The Maui News

maui-news-ad

By MELISSA TANJI, Staff Writer

POSTED: October 3, 2009

WAILUKU – A bill prohibiting genetically modified taro in Maui County received final approval Friday by the Maui County Council.

In other council business, a bill banning alcohol at Kamaole Beach Park I received initial approval.

The taro bill prohibits anyone from testing, propagating, growing or introducing genetically engineered or modified taro, or kalo, within Maui County. Council members voted 9-0 to approve the ban, saying they believed taro’s cultural and spiritual significance to Native Hawaiians was more important than any other factor.

Mayor Charmaine Tavares said after the vote that she would support the ban.

"I will be signing the bill into law and recognize that the passage of this new law will send a message of support for state Representative Mele Carroll’s efforts to introduce and pass a bill at the state Legislature," she said in an e-mailed statement.

"The input from various stakeholders that I’ve received has been valuable," Tavares said. "I am told that this important law will bring us closer to protection of kalo on a statewide level. I support the intent of the bill and the protection of Hawaiian kalo, which deserves our respect and acknowledgment for its ancestral ties to Native Hawaiians, our host culture."

Tavares previously had expressed doubts about the bill, saying it might be difficult to enforce.

Hawaii Agriculture Blog now tracking DuPont (DD)

hawaii-agriculture-logo

Based on this article:

The science-based products and services company is set for a record year, thanks to increased seeds business.

The Hawaii Agriculture Blog is tracking EI DuPont de Nemours & Co. (DD) on it’s “Hawaii Agriculture and Related Stocks ETFs ETNs Annual Charts” Page, it’s weekly report posts of daily activity, “Hawaii and Related Agriculture Daily Charts for the week” and it’s “Comparative 200 day performance chart” page.

Please contact us if there are other indicators of the relative health of the US Agricultural industry that relate to the health of the Hawaiian Agricultural industry which should also be included here and/or any improvement on this service.

The bees and the trees (and tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, mac nuts…) | Hawaii 24/7

The bees and the trees (and tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, mac nuts…)

Special to Hawaii247 by Andrea Dean/Volcano Island Honey

Do you know that one-third of all the food you eat is pollinated by bees?

The decimation of bee colonies is a threat to food production in Hawaii. In Hawaii we do not have the disappearance of bees (Colony Collapse Disorder or CCD), but we now have the devastating and aptly named varroa destructor, commonly known as the varroa mite.

The varroa mite is a parasite that attacks honey bee adults, larvae, and pupae. The varroa mite has been know to destroy up to 90 percent of wild hives and beekeepers can easily lose all or a majority of their managed hives.

Until recently, Hawaii and Australia were the only remaining varroa free places in the world. The varroa mite was found on Oahu in 2007, unfortunately this did not result in quick and aggressive action by the private or government sector. As a result, the mite has now been found in hives on the Big Island.