Productivity Increases in Pig, Farming and Fishery

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(1) Marshall Eckblad, Big Litters Put Farms in Hog Heaven,  Wall Street Journal, July 19, 2011.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303795304576454290739070946.html

Quote:

"They've [Producers have] continued selectively breeding for the most productive females, made advances in disease control and generally keep sows in special stalls to prevent them from crushing and killing their offspring.

"Experts say there's no identifiable limit to how much bigger the healthy litter can grow. After U.S. producers took 14 years to grow the average healthy litter from eight to nine piglets, they took less than six years to move from nine to ten.

(2) Stephen Gande3l, Want to Make More Than a Banker? Become a Farmer!  Seriously, it's the best job in the 21st century. Down on the farm, incomes are up. Time, July 11, 2011 (cover date).
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2080767,00.html

(a) Two consecutive paragraphs in web page 2:

"The main reason for U.S. farmers' unlikely recovery is as familiar as the outcome is foreign. Wealthier consumers in places like China and India are eating more, and in particular they are eating more meat. The average American consumes about 250 lb. (113 kg) of meat a year. The average Indian eats less than 10 lb. (4.5 kg) a year. In China, it's more like 100 lb. (45 kg). Which means there's a lot of room for growth. Half of U.S. corn production goes to feed cattle, pigs and poultry, which drives up demand for grain. Ethanol has increased the demand for corn as well. As a result of both trends, corn prices have more than doubled in the past year, to a recent $6.81 a bushel. Soybeans, which are the U.S.'s largest farm export to China, are up too.

"Meanwhile, a number of innovations have made U.S. farmers significantly more productive than they were just two decades ago. Bioengineered seeds mean they can use smaller amounts of pesticides and water. And with GPS-aided, computer-monitored planting, some farmers are able to squeeze two rows in a space not much bigger than what used to fit only one. An average acre produced 91 bushels of corn in 1980; it now produces 152. That, along with higher prices, is boosting profits and making farmland dramatically more valuable — and farmers richer.

(b) Excerpt in windows of print:
(i) 1.9%  First-quarter GDP growth
20% Expected 2011 net farm income growth
(ii) 4.1% Unemployment rate in Nebraska
9.1% National unemployment rate

Note: Green Acres
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Acres
(a television series; broadcast on CBS from 1965 to 1971)


(3) Bryan Walsh, The End of the Line; Fish are the last wild food, but our oceans are being picked clean. Can farming fish take the place of catching them?  Time, July 18, 2011 (cover date).
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2081796,00.html

Quote:

"Humans have been raising some fish in farms for almost as long as we've been fishing, beginning with Chinese fishponds 4,000 years ago. But it's only in the past 50 years that aquaculture has become a true industry. Global aquacultural production increased from less than 1 million tons in 1950 to 52.5 million tons in 2008

"Especially troubling, many of the most popular farmed species are carnivores, meaning they need to be fed at least partly with other fish. By one count, about 2 lb. of wild fish ground up to make fish meal is needed on average to produce 1 lb. of farmed fish, which leaves the ocean at a net loss. 'Aquaculture's reliance on fish meal and fish oil is a major concern for marine conservation,' says Sebastian Troeng, a marine expert with Conservation International

"
For its new dietary guidelines, the U.S. government just upped the recommended consumption of seafood to 8 oz. or more a week — which is more than twice what the average American eats — and 12 oz. for pregnant women.

"But while tilapia are more sustainable than many other fish because they're vegetarians, they lack the high amounts of omega-3 oils that make salmon so heart-healthy. Goldman tried striped bass but found them too fussy to raise. It wasn't until a chance encounter with an Australian entrepreneur that he found his dream fish: the barramundi. As a farmed species, the barramundi is just about perfect. It can survive in a wide variety of environments and lays eggs frequently. It has a flexible diet, and much like its fellow Australians, it is laid-back by nature, so it can endure the rigors of farming.

Note:
(a) barramundi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barramundi
(section 1 Origin of name)
(b) There are photos and graphics inthe print report.
(i) A phot shows workers immunized barramundi (by injection with a gun) individually. The tasak looks time-consuming.
(b) A panel of graphic:

"FARMING SEAFOOD VS. FARMING LAND ANIMALS

Cold-blooded fish convert feed to protein much more efficiently than warm-blooded mammals--so in terms of how much feed it takes to produce nutritional body tissue, fish farming compares well with meat production.

% OF FEED THAT'S CONVERTED TO PROTEIN
CARP 30%
POULTRY 25%
PIGS 13%
CATTLE 5%"


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