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Researcher sees exciting future in agriculture

Farms are smaller, farmers are older. Revenues are down, expenses are up. Global competition is more brutal than ever.

By William L. Spence
The Daily Inter Lake

To Duane Johnson, this is a great time to get into the agriculture industry.

"I think it’s going to be an exciting future," said Johnson, superintendent of the Northwestern Agricultural Research Center in Creston.

Speaking to about 70 people at the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce’s Ag Appreciation luncheon on Tuesday, Johnson didn’t downplay the challenges facing the industry.

Agriculture’s role in the local economy dropped by 27 percent between 1992 and 1997, from $30 million in annual sales to $22 million, according to the latest available Census of Agriculture figures.

"It’s still a commodity-based business as well," Johnson said. "There isn’t a lot of value-added taking place here. The number of large, commercial farms continues to drop, while the number of hobby farms has increased. Expenses are up, which is bleeding disposable income."

Nevertheless, "I see these as opportunities, rather than deficits," he said.

Taking advantage of the opportunities will require a shift in perspective, though. Rather than simply grow products and hand them off to value-added manufacturers, growers need to take more of an agri-business approach, Johnson said.

For example, while teaching at Colorado State University, he developed and patented a motor oil made out of canola, an oilseed crop.

"I knew the market for lubricants and motor oils was growing," Johnson said during an interview in May 2001. "I wondered whether there was an opportunity to get into that market with an agricultural crop."

The product ended up being the first biodegradable motor oil on the market.

Johnson also helped develop the U.S. market for quinoa, a grain that has been cultivated in South America for 5,000 years.

"It cost 10 cents per pound to grow and we sold it for $1 a pound," Johnson said.

Rather than look at the production side of the equation first, Johnson begins his research by looking for promising markets.

"If they aren’t growing at 3 to 8 percent per year, I don’t get into them," he said. "I’m looking for slow and steady growth."

Areas that currently meet that criterion are renewable energy, such as fuel oils, lubricating oils and biomass; essential oils, such as those used in the fragrance and flavor industries; snack foods; and fiber for paper and construction products.

For the skeptics in the audience, Johnson noted that Ford Motor Co. is developing a concept sports utility vehicle that has a hybrid hydrogen-fuel engine that runs on canola oil, has tires made out of corn starch, and body components made of bio-based plastics.

The Creston center can help local farmers take advantage of these emerging opportunities by doing some of the initial crop research, he said.

"Agriculture still has a future in the valley," Johnson said. "It just has to evolve and change a little bit from the way we looked at it before."

Reporter Bill Spence may be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at [email protected]

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