The erupting molecular farming revolution may strengthen one of the bulwarks of the agricultural ancien regime – the family farm.
“I think it will be done by the very good farmers and probably the very good farmers in some sort of family farm model,” said John Oliver, a biotechnology consultant and former president of DowElanco Canada.
“It may even enhance the family farm because it will be smaller acreages, very tightly controlled.”
Oliver told a molecular farming conference in Saskatoon that new biotechnology will create crops that are worth thousands of dollars per acre. “Molecular farming” means producing medical enzymes, industrial chemicals and specialized substances inside plants for refined uses, as opposed to traditional farming, which produces bulk foods and organic products for general purposes.
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Some specialized crops can be worth more than $1 million per acre, but Oliver said he thinks there will be few acres of those crops.
“But I do see quite a few (crops) here on the Prairies in the $1,000, $2,000, $5,000, $10,000, $20,000 per acre range,” he said.
At the conference, several hundred scientists from universities, companies and governments from across Canada and the United States discussed leading edge biotech science and opportunities, but Oliver said it won’t be the lab-coated legions out in the field growing the crops and making all the money.
“It’ll be farmers because they’re the ones that know the land, have the dollars and cents at stake,” he said.
Family farms will benefit because the highly specialized, non-food crops will demand much tighter control and management than the bulk food crops.
“It can’t be done on an absentee basis,” he said.
Family farms will be able to offer the small scale control companies need to make sure their valuable crops are produced correctly, controlled and protected.
Oliver said some family farms might have to decide whether to stay with bulk food production or totally commit to specialized cropping.
Farmers who get involved with companies that want to produce a specialized crop will have to think differently.
Farmers think differently
“You’re going to have to develop a mentality like a manufacturing plant where you’re going to have to make sure you have the right inventory, the right quality at the time the customer wants it,” he said.
Farmers can get in on the molecular farming revolution by “learning, reading, making lots of contacts… . Let people know you’re interested.”
For farmers, making the switch might be difficult, but those who do it right should benefit.
