THE EVOLUTION OF THE US WHEAT INDUSTRY :: essays research papers

The US wheat labor demonstrates how integration across the food chain can raise efficiency. At the beginning of the century, it was much like what India is today. It was fragmented, with a proliferation of sm whole regional markets. on that point was no standard grading system each state had its avow informal grades. Farmers, although large, were exploited by traders, who often bought wheat at first gear prices by claiming that it was poor or that demand was weak. The storage, handling, and transport infrastructure was limited. The give was high intermediary margins, a dearth of accurate market signals to producers, waste, and baseborn processing yields. Today, however, the US industry is the benchmark for efficiency in atom processing and procurement. Its farmers produce 36 bushels per acre, one of the highest yields in the world, and its millers achieve flour extraction levels of 75 share. Its average waste level of 2 percentage is the lowest in the world, and well ahead of the 8 to 11 percent in India.Large, integrated grain processors such as Cargill and Archer Daniel midland (ADM) vie a central role in this transformation. They have influenced all parts of the chain agricultural inputs, agricultural production, procurement, and processing and in so doing have been able to build profitability in a low-margin business. verdant inputs - Cargill has developed high-yielding seed varieties that are resistant to disease and pests, raising productivity and reducing the need for agrochemicals. Agricultural production - Large, integrated processors have naturalized joint ventures with farmers reconcilings and provided marketing support, access to credit, and extension services. ADM, for example, works with Growmark, a cooperative of 175,000 farmers, to encourage them to use better seed varieties and improve farming practices. procurement - Integrated companies have invested in upstream infrastructure to streamline procurement. ADM owns virtually 200 grain elevators in which grain is stored according to moisture content, grade, and berth (impurities). The elevators allow incoming streams of wheat to be blended to achieve conformity of grade and functional characteristics. ADM also owns almost 1,900 barges, 800 trucks, and 130,000 railcars for the rapid movement of grain. any loading and unloading is done using pneumatic blowers. Investment in infrastructure enables companies like ADM to achieve waste levels as low as 1 to 2 percent. Integrated companies have also influenced grain marketing. They played a key role in the development of grading systems and the standardization of grades in 1916.