You an' Me Going Fishin' in the Dark

"You an' me going fishin' in the dark."

The Nitty Gritty Band popularized this song and it became a theme song for many fishing enthusiasts throughout the years. But take a second to think about fishing a little deeper. People consume tons and tons of fish each year, and it is a popular dish in many countries.

Where do the supplies for these gourmet dishes come from? That's right. Fishing is a part of the agricultural industry. Many people in the Midwest don't think of it as so because Kansas is situated as far from the coasts as possible. Commercial fishing isn't an industry in Kansas. Catfish is popular, but it doesn't play a large role in the ag industry like wheat, cattle and other products do.

On the coasts, however, fishing is one of the largest industries. Not only does it provide the fish for eating, but it creates jobs, as well. Then, you think about the fish by-products like fish oil or eggs, which also bring in revenue.

Think back to the post about aquaponics. The fish used in that process can also be sold commercially or even kept for people's own use.

Feeding the World: A Closer Look at Aquaponics

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World officials always speak of ending the hunger, and how exactly that is going to be accomplished. Well, that is the real question. How is the world going to be fed with the growing population?

Agriculturalists don't quite have a clear answer yet, but they have several steps that can help accomplish this task. One of those reasons is a practice called aquaponics.

Aquaponics is a process by which produce can be grown in a soilless medium, specifically, water and stones. To the lower left is a diagram of how exactly an aquaponics system would be set up.

What makes these systems unique is that some of the water reservoirs underneath the plant bed will serve as a home to fish. The fish droppings are also filtered and circulated to serve as fertilizer for the plants above.

Aquaponics is even expanding to help third world countries to develop an industry, as well as feed the country's population.

Really many vegetables can be grown this way, and the health value is the same as grown in a soil medium. It is just one way agriculture is expanding and changing to meet the world's needs.

Halloween's Biggest Commodity

Seeing as how Halloween is right around the corner, one part of the agricultural industry deserves to be acknowledged. That's right. Pumpkin farming.

Pumpkin patches have become an icon of pop culture today. Teenaged girls tweet and make statuses about how they just want to go on a pumpkin patch date. Families bring their children to pick out a pumpkin and play on the attractions that come with it. Not only these things, but the pumpkin industry has boomed within the last few years. Starbucks came out with the Pumpkin Spice Latte, which skyrocketed in popularity. According to a rough estimate from an online Forbes article, Starbucks sells 20 million Pumpkin Spice Lattes a year and makes about $80 million a year from them. (http://www.forbes.com//)

Now, if you were to visit your local grocery store, you would find pumpkin flavored granola bars, muffins, cookies, frosting, ice cream, smoothies, bread, chapstick and much more. The pumpkin flavor has taken the world by storm. The 2012 overall value of the pumpkin crop was more than $148.9 million, and has certainly gone up with the rising popularity of the vegetable. (http://www.agmrc.org/commodities__products/vegetables/pumpkins/)

So as you go pick out the perfect pumpkin for carving or you order that Pumpkin Spice Latte, just remember where it came from.

Journalism as a Part of Agriculture

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Journalism is the way that the world gets information. It keeps the world informed, inflamed and interested about what is going on around them. The topics covered in the news fall under a plethora of categories, and agriculture is one of them. However, the specific part of the agricultural industry that acts like journalism is actually called agricultural communications, or ag comm for short.

Ag comm does everything that journalism does. Ag magazines, newspapers, journals, blogs, radio talk shows, and social media accounts are all outlets of sending information to the audience. With ag comm, the audience is a very specific group of people, where as journalism is meant for a broader audience. As is obvious, most agricultural publications pertain to farmers, ranchers, industry leaders, industry advocacy organizations and even just industry supporters.

The content of agricultural publications also vary from regular journalism, which seems obvious, but it is also a different approach. Agriculture isn't covered on a breaking news-breaking scandal basis. Coverage of the industry includes news, but it is covered on a more informational scale. However, this isn't to say that controversial content doesn't exist in ag media. Topics like Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), Artificial Insemination (AI), pest control and animal "treatment." This is where outside organizations try to influence what content is published about these topics.

Beyond the Sows, Cows and Plows: Part 2

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It would be safe to assume that everybody is familiar with this little guy. He might be especially pesky when you are eating some sweet summertime snack or when you are working in your flower garden. After all, he is just a honey bee trying acquire pollen to take back to the hive so that it can be made into honey and wax. He is more than that. He is a part of the agricultural industry.

Beekeeping is one part of the agricultural industry that certainly doesn't get the most thought. It's also not the most attractive career to be in, because who wants to risk getting stung all the time? Even if it sounds crazy, there are people out there that suit up and tend to the hives every single day.

Just lend a thought to all the different foods that have honey as an ingredient. Chances are that you thought of at least five food products, but you're sure there are plenty more that you don't know about.

Here are a few facts about the bee and honey industry from http://www.agmrc.org/commodities__products/livestock/bees-profile/ that might blow your mind:

• There are 115,000 to 125,000 beekeepers in the United States.
• In 2013, about 149 million pounds of raw honey was produced in the United States.
• The value of honeybee pollination to crops was about 19 billion dollars.
• 60% of honey production is due to 1,600 commercial beekeepers.

Bees play a bigger role than it seems. Not only do they produce delicious honey, but they serve as a pollination tool for many farmers across the country. Their natural work is the reason that so many crops have been successful over the years.

Hopefully this insight has created some 'buzz' in your mind to learn more. The link up above has more general information, but a Google search is definitely always helpful.

For now, good day.

Beyond the Sows, Cows and Plows

"Farming" is one of the biggest keywords in the agricultural industry today. Not only is it what people instantly think of when they think of the industry, but it is most commonly seen as a blanket term that captures the whole of the industry in seven letters.

Agriculture is not just about farming.

Within this and the next several posts, we will take a look at different areas of the industry that people come across in their everyday lives, but don't realize that those things are actually part of the agricultural industry.

Today's post is going to focus specifically on a sector of the industry that comes to play at weddings, proms, homecomings, date nights, funerals, festivals, parades, pageants, and whenever a guy wants to surprise his girl.

That's right. I'm talking flowers.

More specifically, I'm talking floriculture.

The word 'floriculture' literally means the cultivation and culture of flowers. Floriculture spans from greenhouse production and care of flowers to floral arrangement to large scale production of flowers for retail. So that corsage that bought or wore in high school to prom was a tiny piece in the puzzle that is the agricultural industry. The casket spray you see on top of caskets at funerals is also a part of the ag industry.

Flowers are such a common thing to us that it is easy to overlook where they come from and what industry is actually being supported by their purchase. Something that people always seem to overlook about flowers is that many of the ones they find to be the most beautiful are genetically modified.

People tend to balk at talk of GMOs, which we discussed several posts ago, but they don't even realize that some of the new colors seen in their favorite flowers are due to genetic splicing. Odd how they are appreciated for beauty but when it comes to keeping animals and crops healthy and strong against damaging agents, suddenly the tables have turned.

Everything is not what it seems, which is part of what this blog is about. Farming is not just farming. Agriculture is not just farming.

Until next time, keep your seed open for water.