WRIT 689: Research Report on Trends in the Agriculture Industry

This research report provides a comprehensive overview of the trends shaping the agriculture industry, focusing on the impact of technology, sustainable practices, and economic factors. The report begins by highlighting the evolving definition of agriculture in the 21st century, emphasizing the industry's role in connecting producers with consumers. It then delves into the influence of information and communication technology (ICT), including the use of smartphones and digital platforms, and the potential of blockchain technology for enhancing transparency and efficiency. The paper also explores the benefits of aquaponics farming and the importance of research and development in adopting innovative technologies. Furthermore, the report addresses the decline in the number of farms and the challenges faced by farmers, such as understanding market conditions, weather patterns, and the impact of immigration policies. The report concludes by emphasizing the need for training, support, and insurance for farmers to ensure their sustainability and contribute to the overall growth of the industry. The report uses APA format and includes a detailed reference list.

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Research based report on trends in agriculture industry
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Introduction
As per the arguments of North Dakota State University, agriculture is something beyond
farming and ranching. In the 21st century, agriculture has been commodified for explaining
the transactions made to fulfil the needs, demands and requirements of the consumers.
However, one of the striking issues is the disproportionate relationship between number of
farmers and the evolving trends in the industry (Carlisle, 2016). In this, the advent of
technology aggravates the complexities, as the consumers are lacking the quality crops and
products. This research paper intends to explore the issue in greater details and recommend
solutions for altering the perspectives regarding the dynamics of operations in the industry.
Discussion
Information and communication technology has finds its way in every sphere of business.
Technology has added digitalization to the operations, providing the industries an opportunity
to enjoy competitive advantage over the contemporary brands. All these aspects proves true
for agricultural industry. Specific mention can be made of 3G enabled smartphones, which
has enabled the farmers to connect with the personnel for resolving any doubts regarding
conducting the operations (Crosson, 2016). The scientists need to be praised for their efforts
towards indulging in non-traditional collaborations. Typical evidence of this lies in sharing
case studies with the farmers. This approach has proved beneficial for enhancing the
awareness of the farmers about the recent trends, which have evolved.
Reference can be made of blockchain technology, which has revolutionized the operations of
the agricultural industry. The blocks of the technology is effective in terms of indicating the
transactions made to the clients and the customers. It acts assistance for the personnel of the
industry to maintain records of the transactions, helping in averting errors. Within this,
Greenwood and Ward, (2015) states that a relevant issue is the lack of adequate skills in case
of the staffs towards management of the data transactions. Governmental initiatives towards

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organizing training programs would prove beneficial in terms of increasing sales revenue and
profit margin. Transparent training methods would enhance the stability in the relationship
between the manager and the staffs. Tactfulness is needed for using the blockchain
technology, which would prove assistance for effective handling of the issues like recall of
the production. As per the arguments of Fuglie, (2016), provision of training to the staffs
regarding using this technology would be fruitful in terms of calculating appropriate
investment returns for the suppliers.
According to the prediction of the scientists, by the end of 2019, the suppliers would be
forced to make use of blockchain systems. Typical evidence of this lies in the joint venture
with IBM Food Trust, which would be productive for digitalizing the transactions. The
training programs need to be such which helps the farmers to gain an insight into the
productions in demand and the proportionate supply, which they need to plan. Apart from
this, merger and acquisition with aquaponics farming would be beneficial for the suppliers. In
this, use of information technology in growing of the plants would be an innovative means. In
this, consciousness needs to be projected towards the nutrients, which dissolves in water
(McFarlane et al., 2016). This is in terms of preserving the nutrients needed for growing
crops, keeping aside the nutrients needed by the aquatic animals.
Research and development team can be contacted for acquiring innovative technologies. In
this, the dynamics is crucial for maintaining the sequence of filtering the wastes and getting
the clean distilled water. Market research would be beneficial in terms of enriching
knowledge about the natural fertilizers, which are effective for growing the soiled plants.
Science has created wonders in the form of synthetic fertilizers, which is assistance for
growing the crops in an advanced manner (Santeramo et al., 2018).

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Decrease in the pesticides indicate increase in the quality of the crops. If the farmers are
trained about effective pest control means, positive results can be yielded. Sustainable
farming methods can be adopted by the farmers ensuring that the consistent use of the
pesticides in the soils are reduced. Digital screening of the fields would be one of an
innovative means for detecting the presence of pesticides and other harmful substances in the
crops. Banaeian et al., (2015) is of the view that before selling the crops to the clients, this
screening can be conducted for averting the instances of complaints regarding the sale of
inferior quality crops.
Arguments
All of these techniques and methods hold no value, if the farmers do not possess adequate
skills regarding farming. According to the census report of 2017, decline in the amount of
farms create an alarming situation for the agriculture industry. Reminiscence of 2.04 million
farms and ranches are the typical evidences. The total value of production was accounted as
$389 billion. Two thirds of this production came from the farms earning the income of more
than $ 1 million. One of the striking facts was decline in the agricultural lands from 2% to
900.2 million acres from 914.5 million acres in 2012 (Cnbc.com, 2019).
Lack of understanding towards the critical weather conditions, technology, international
market conditions aggravates the complexities in conducting the agricultural activities. The
slow demise of an American farmer has been a concern for the US politics. Compromise in
the survival is contradicted through the self-sustainability approach. The major drive behind
this is the foreign policies, which catered to the wellbeing of the western civilization. In
contrast to this, in Britain, the import value equals to the production of 86.5 million acres,
reflecting the stable farming conditions (Cnbc.com, 2019).
In 2012, the agricultural industry received the labors of 3.2 million farmers, ranchers and
agricultural managers. As an estimate, 757900 workers were employed in the industry.

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Animal breeders were 11500 and the rest were miscellaneous. The median pay was $9.12 per
hour or $18970 per year. The era of 1999-2009 encountered hiring of the farm workers from
outside. This was without the adherence to the legal considerations (Cnbc.com, 2019). Large
farms rely on the immigrants, who are forced to work at low wages, compelling them to
commit suicide. Decreased mobility is one of the other factors leading to an increase in the
high skilled labors.
Immigration Reform and Control Act is one of the effective initiatives, which can be
followed for catering to the needs, requirements of the immigrants. Along with this, mention
can be made of Special Agricultural Worker, which would work towards upgradation of the
lives of the farmers belonging to the poverty levels. Insurance of the farmers is crucial in
terms of reducing the decline in the number of farmers (Swinton & Deynze, 2017).
Affordable Care Act, Community and Migrant Health Centres can be established for catering
to the funding and healthcare of these farmers.
Conclusion
Poverty and lack of adequate resources adds an interrogative parameter to the survival
strategy of the farmers. Along with this, harsh weather conditions take a toll on the health
conditions of the farmers. Lack of understanding for the advanced technologies is one of the
other factors, resulting in their decline in the agriculture industry. This creates a
disproportionate relationship between the number of farmers and the evolving technologies.
The most affected ones are the clients and the customers intending to purchase good quality
crops. Training the farmers about the judicious use of the technologies would be one of the
means for reducing the death rates of the farmers. Feedback from the farmers is apt for
gaining an insight into their sufferings and ailments. If they are involved in the mainstream
business activities, they would feel encouraged to expose better performance.

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References
Banaeian, N., Mobli, H., Nielsen, I. E., & Omid, M. (2015). Criteria definition and
approaches in green supplier selection–a case study for raw material and packaging of
food industry. Production & Manufacturing Research, 3(1), 149-168.
Carlisle, L. (2016). Factors influencing farmer adoption of soil health practices in the United
States: A narrative review. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 40(6), 583-
613.
Cnbc.com (2019). Census of Agriculture shows continued decline in number of US farms.
Retrieved 23rd June 2019 from https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/11/census-of-
agriculture-shows-continued-decline-in-number-of-us-farms.html
Crosson, P. R. (2016). Productivity effects of cropland erosion in the United States.
Routledge.
Fuglie, K. (2016). The growing role of the private sector in agricultural research and
development world-wide. Global food security, 10, 29-38.
Greenwood, M. J., & Ward, Z. (2015). Immigration quotas, World War I, and emigrant flows
from the United States in the early 20th century. Explorations in Economic History,
55, 76-96.
McFarlane, J. A., Blackwell, B. D., Mounter, S. W., & Grant, B. J. (2016). From agriculture
to mining: The changing economic base of a rural economy and implications for
development. Economic Analysis and Policy, 49, 56-65.
Moeen, M., & Agarwal, R. (2017). Incubation of an industry: Heterogeneous knowledge
bases and modes of value capture. Strategic Management Journal, 38(3), 566-587.

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North Dakota State University. Trends in Agriculture. (2016). Retrieved June 23rd, 2019,
from https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/aglawandmanagement/agmgmt/coursematerials/
agtrends
Santeramo, F. G., Carlucci, D., De Devitiis, B., Seccia, A., Stasi, A., Viscecchia, R., &
Nardone, G. (2018). Emerging trends in European food, diets and food industry. Food
Research International, 104, 39-47.
Swinton, S. M., & Van Deynze, B. (2017). Hoes to herbicides: economics of evolving weed
management in the United States. The European Journal of Development Research,
29(3), 560-574.