2011 was a banner year for agriculture. According to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, “Today’s farm income forecast shows that the American brand of agriculture continues to be a bright spot in our nation’s economy. Following on a strong 2010, all three measures of farm sector earnings experienced strong growth in 2011. According to today’s numbers, farmers are earning 28 percent more for their products than they made last year. And it is making a real difference for America’s farm families, whose household income was up 3.1 percent in 2010 and is forecasted to increase 1.2 percent in 2011. This is good news for rural America and for our national economy.”
What has fueled this rapid growth? Many factors, including growth in cash receipts, off-farm employment and an astonishing record high of $137.4 billion in FY 2011 farm exports, continuing U.S. agriculture’s year over year trade surplus.
In addition to this direct growth of the agriculture industry, the afore mentioned production increase has created numerous opportunities for small business owners and jobs people who work to package, ship and market agricultural products. This has been a boon to our entire economy, helping to fuel what growth there has been this year.
The cattle industry has also seen a record year. A global beef shortage was not alleviated here at home due, in part, to large numbers of imports to Russia. The drought that racked much of the southern US also played a role. Farmers and ranchers all across the Southwest first lost their pasture, then their water. Finally, many of them were left with no choice but to sell out. Please keep them in your prayers as they attempt to rebuild their lives. On a positive note, high cattle prices (an increase of about 10% in the first 11 months of 2011) have meant good news for those who sell, either locker beef or seed stock. Prices are expected to continue rising in 2012.
2011 has been a good year for agriculture across the board. Jobs were created, prices climbed, and nearly every farmer profited. I hope and believe that agriculture will continue to grow and profit. We can help this along by informing consumers of where their food comes from and how much they depend upon us. People will always need to eat and we, American farmers, can and will continue to meet that demand.
Happy New Year everybody! May your crops and children grow and all your dreams come true!
Luke
Growing Up On a Farm Directly Benefits the Immune System
ReplyDeleteHi Luke, In celebration of your latest year in farming ... here is a summary of the immunological benefits of being farm-raised. Wishing you & all your farms many healthy years!
mgw
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Growing Up On a Farm Directly Affects Regulation of the Immune System, Study Finds
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120208132549.htm
ScienceDaily (Feb. 8, 2012) - Immunological diseases, such as eczema and asthma, are on the increase in westernised society and represent a major challenge for 21st century medicine.
A new study has shown, for the first time, that growing up on a farm directly affects the regulation of the immune system and causes a reduction in the immunological responses to food proteins.
The research, led by the University of Bristol's School of Veterinary Sciences, found that spending early life in a complex farm environment increased the number of regulatory T-lymphocytes, the cells that damp down the immune system and limit immune responses.
Dr Marie Lewis, Research Associate in Infection and Immunity at the School of Veterinary Sciences, who led the research, said: "Many large-scale epidemiological studies have suggested that growing up on a farm is linked to a reduced likelihood of developing allergic disease. However, until now, it has not been possible to demonstrate direct cause and effect: does the farm environment actively protect against allergies, or are allergy-prone families unlikely to live on farms?"
In the study, piglets were nursed by their mothers on a farm while their siblings spent their early life (from one day onwards) in an isolator unit under very hygienic conditions and were fed formula milk, therefore, reflecting the extremes of environment human babies are raised in.
The work was carried out in piglets as they are valuable translational models for humans since they share many aspects of physiology, metabolism, genetics and immunity.
The researchers demonstrated that compared to their brothers and sisters in the isolator, the farm-reared piglets had reduced overall numbers of T-lymphocytes, the immune cells which drive immune responses, in their intestinal tissues. Importantly, these dirty piglets also had significantly increased numbers of a subset of these cells, the regulatory T-lymphocytes, which pacify immune responses and limit inflammation.
This shift in the ratio of stimulatory and regulatory cells appeared to have functional effects since the farm-reared piglets also exhibited decreased antibody responses to novel food proteins when they were weaned.
Regulatory T-cells have been identified in many mammalian species, including humans, and appear to be universal regulators of immune systems and a reduction in their numbers is often associated with the development of allergies, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
Dr Lewis explained: "At this point it is not clear exactly what caused the increased capacity for immune regulation in our farm-reared piglets. Our previous work suggests that intestinal bacteria play a pivotal role in the development of a competent immune system and these bacteria are obtained from the environment during early life."
The researchers suggest additional work is required to determine the extent to which other farm-associated factors, such as social and maternal interactions, aerial contaminants, antigens from bedding and early nutrition, contributed to the impact of the environment on increased local and systemic immune regulation.
Further clarification of the mechanisms underlying these interactions could lead to methods of intervention during infancy to prevent the development of immune diseases in later life.
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