About
Welcome!
Big Picture Agriculture is produced by Kay McDonald, an independent agricultural researcher out of Boulder, Colorado.
E-Mail: bigpictureagriculture (at) gmail (dot) com
This site aims to provide:
- Frequent Ag news updates. You will often see it here first.
- Early trend spotting.
- Help in problem-solving the many challenges facing agriculture today.
- A prioritized focus upon the energy issues facing agriculture, both in industrial production systems, rural living, and in the area of biofuels.
- Information about agriculture which appeals to a wide audience (organic and small farmers, investors, ecologists, academics, industrial agriculture participants, and food security specialists)
Work has appeared on:
- Washington-Post on Fertilizer April 2013
- AGree on Synthetic Biology April 2013
- Mark Bittman, food writer for NYTs Links multiple times March, April 2013
- Boerderij Interview January 2013 print edition (largest farm magazine in Netherlands)
- Al Jazeera Live News Interview August 20, 2012
- CNN Opinion Piece: “Paying more for food? Blame the ethanol mandate” August 2012
- NYTs Room for Debate: Corn’s Dominio Effect February 2011
- NYTs Dot Earth here and here and here
- Mother Jones/Tom Philpott
- The Atlantic
- FT.com/Alphaville
- Forbes here and here
- Marketwatch
- Seeking Alpha Editor’s Pick: Will Price Inflation Of Meat, Corn, Food, And Farmland Continue? February 2012
- Michael Pollan, Naked Capitalism, Abnormal Returns, Energy Bulletin, The Oil Drum, CME Group, Genetic Literacy Project, and More.
Citation:
Funding:
For the curious, this site is not producing revenue above the minimal costs of operation. Plus, I struggle to do all of my own technical work. I’m willing to do this (for awhile) to establish myself as a credible writer on the subject of Ag. So far, it’s been a fun process. I love having the site, so I’d love to see it become financially successful either through voluntary subscriber-ships, advertisers, or foundation sponsorship. I’d never accept an offer which would stifle my independent voice, however. Online success is difficult, just ask any newspaper, and so time will tell whether this site succeeds. I am not willing to give away my time and work for free forever. Given the right writing opportunity I might be enticed to jump ship. Unfortunately, I’m so busy doing this that I’ve not spent any efforts towards marketing. If you appreciate this site and want it to succeed, I encourage you to make a voluntary subscriber contribution on the right sidebar, just as you would pay for a magazine subscription. Or if you have marketing advice for me I’d love to receive suggestions. I am working very hard behind the scenes. Thankyou.
If you are interested in advertising on this site, if you wish to send a news tip, or if you wish to communicate, please contact me at bigpictureagriculture (at) gmail (dot) com.
Hey,
Just wanted to let you know I really appreciate your website and think you are doing a fantastic job. Keep it up!
Thank you Eric. It’s great to get positive feedback. I welcome your comments or insights any time under any thread.
Hi Kay,
This is a great website, and I have learned so much about farming and farmland investments. Thank you for your great job.
I am looking for some names and info of global agricultural consulting firms and global agricultural investment firms. Could you recommend some? Thanks.
Best,
Jennifer
Jennifer,
That’s not really what I do here. I’d suggest setting up a twitter account and then start following agriculture/investment topics that you are interested in. Twitter is very useful for finding a specific niche of information. You might visit my twitter account @Bigpictureag and I have many investment people as followers. Seeking Alpha is another site you might check out and search the investment subjects that you are interested in. Good luck!
K.M.
This site is wonderful. Not only do we get a news recap, we also get your valualbe insight.
Thanks and please continue posting.
Belal Mohammed
Kay,
Please keep up the good work. Here is an article relevant on several levels.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/01/11/subsidizing_starvation
Thanks,
Dave
My opinion is that agriculture’s problems are centred around “the free robbery system” which has replaced the corrupted “free enterprise” system” and protected by the even more corrupt legal system that shields it from honest real scrutiny.Producers of food being at the end of the production chain have become price takers and so the result is “unsustainability” and landuse/economic uncertainty. Landuser find themselves doing whatever it takes to stay afloat and so environmental costs are foregone for short term survival.
I see only a giant mess (just look at state of urban areas)that calls for a new paradigm in which money must be foregone and replaced with greater truthfullness, personal integrity, and practical solutions in terms of generating more successful inter-personal relationships to assist people in feeling worthwhile and capable of doing things.