By Gene Hall
I have been encouraged in recent weeks that good, old-fashioned, provable science has been making a comeback in the debate over biotech foods and the food supply of the human race. The idea that science cannot be ignored in the race to feed our ever-increasing population may be catching on.

Altering genes to benefit humans is nothing new. It happens routinely in medicine with scarcely a notice. It’s been done since 1996 in our food supply with no ill effects. However, the comparison bogs down here with sometimes shrill and mostly wrong complaints about a biotech food supply.

The following post is a reprint of The Ag Agenda written by Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation.

The New Year is upon us, which means many of you have probably made a New Year’s resolution or two. The funny thing about resolutions is that they are easier to make than to keep (I speak from experience). Come January 7, that piece of cheesecake typically wins out, while the elliptical machine is already starting to gather dust.

The following are excerpts from Texas Farm Bureau President Kenneth Dierschke’s address to the membership at the annual meeting in Waco.

Texas Farm Bureau is closing in on eight full decades of service to the farm and ranch families of Texas.

This has not happened by accident, as generations of Farm Bureau leaders have now met 79 times to not only deal with the problems of the day, but to secure a legacy.

It’s a record of service of which I hope you are very proud. I often think about those members in 1933, recognizing that the old and failing organization that was created a decade before could not meet the needs of farmers and ranchers.

By Mike Barnett

 Mind boggling. The need for water in Texas carries huge numbers and even bigger implications if we do nothing.

 I spent a day at a seminar on the Texas Water Plan, the plan that guides us to meet our 50-year water needs during a repeat drought of record. Some of you old-timers might remember that ’50s drought well. It was devastating. The drought last year brought home the fact that water is a precious resource in Texas, and if we are going to meet the needs of agriculture, municipalities, industry and a growing population, we better get to work.

By Mike Barnett

Never underestimate the efficiency, productivity and resourcefulness of American agriculture. A recent graphic by the American Farm Bureau Federation shows U.S. farmers and ranchers produce 2.2 trillion pounds of food annually. That’s trillion with a T. That’s 2.2 followed by 11 zeros. That’s a lot of groceries.

So really, how much is 2.2 trillion pounds? It’s hard to fathom. Let’s try to put it in perspective (and round down, for simplicity’s sake).

Two million seconds is about 23 days. Two billion seconds is 64 years. Two trillion seconds is 64,000 years. What a difference three zeros make.

By Mike Barnett

I’ve been writing a lot about water in Texas lately with good reason.

The drought brought home the reality of water shortages in our state and accusations are flying over who is using water and how much. Many of them are aimed at irrigated agriculture. Expect the finger-pointing to increase as we get ready for a new legislative session in Austin.

The Texas Water Resources Institute recently released a study on the status and trends of irrigated agriculture in Texas.  It completely blows out of the water allegations that Texas agriculture is a “water waster” and that irrigated agriculture is “stealing water” from urban areas.