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Artist: He Sen 何森
DOB: 1968
POB: Kaiyuan, Yunnan
Education: Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts (Art Education), graduated 1989
Lives and works: Beijing
No. works in collection: 6
Brief Bio:
At the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, in Chongqing, with Zhang Xiaogang as his professor, He Sen was trained in the distinctively expressionist Sichuan style. From an early series of melancholy portraits of young women, and the dreamy, lingerie-clad contemporary odalisques cuddling soft toys for which he became best known, He Sen transitioned to a painterly examination of Chinese history and culture. His work has been shown widely, within China and internationally. In the 1990s and the early years of this century, He Sen's paintings documented the lives of his generation, growing to adulthood in an increasingly consumerist society. His photo-realist portraits of young women lounging in anonymously bland interiors represented a poignant liminal zone between adolescence and adulthood, their dreams and desires as yet unrealised. Erotic yet curiously melancholy, these paintings critique the emptiness of materialism, and the loss of values in a society that the artist believed had been corrupted by wealth. Working in a tradition of post-Cultural Revolution Sichuan painters, whose 'Scar Art' represented what they thought of as a lost generation, examining the inner lives of individuals in a society emerging from collectivism, He Sen too cast a critical eye on his world. After 2005, however, He Sen turned to Chinese literary and artistic history, appropriating classical paintings. Reproducing elements of iconic Chinese works in oil paint rather than ink, embedding western painting conventions into the iconography of gong bi realism and ink painting, He Sen turned from a focus on the impact of society on the individual to an examination of Chinese culture more broadly. Similarly, by breaking into the painterly surfaces of flat oil paintings on canvas with stripes, squares or grids of heavy impasto paint (a reminder of the palette knife technique of his student days in Chongqing), He Sen breaks the illusion of pictorialism. He questions the very nature of painting itself: 'Why should we deal only with what we see on the surface?' he has asked. 'In traditional Chinese art, meaning is not only on the surface; it involves the imagination and ideas.'
#1. Accession No: 2015.559 Title: Journey to the West – Divine Eagle, Journey to the West – Rebellious Birds Date: 2011 Broad Medium: Oil and Acrylic/Painting Specific Materials: oil on canvas Dimensions: 130 x 200 cm, 200 x 200 cm Description: 2 paintings intended to be shown one above the other (but not joined as a diptych) depicting birds and foliage, the canvas divided into sections.
Exhibition History: NA
Journey to the West—Divine Eagle and Journey to the West—Rebellious Birds (2011) are two canvases intended to be seen as a vertical diptych, one above the other; a soaring eagle is set above a composition featuring two smaller birds perched on the branches of a loosely drawn tree. The work refers to Journey to the West, a Ming Dynasty novel that records the legendary tale of the trials and tribulations of a Tang Dynasty Buddhist monk who travelled to India in search of sacred Buddhist texts. Journey to the West is part rollicking comic adventure, part journey of spiritual enlightenment, part folk allegory and morality tale. Its vast cast of characters includes animals, deities and demons. The story has been told and retold in song, opera, film, comic books, cartoons, a video game and an enduringly popular television series. Taking imagery from sections of the story as represented by illustrators in the 1950s, He Sen zooms in to focus on tiny separate moments. The image of the eagle, wings spread, above two unwitting small birds, presents us with a narrative moment, like one frame in a film. Birds of prey such as eagles traditionally represented boldness and heroism in Chinese art. Here the eagle swoops incongruously out of a field of heavy grey impasto. The grey has been dragged horizontally across the canvas, into an area of flat flesh-coloured pigment activated by a schematic and loosely drawn tree, recalling the quick brush marks of a Song Dynasty landscape painter. The influence of Gerhard Richter, a painter much admired by He Sen, is apparent in the areas of impasto; like Richter, He Sen revels in the sheer physicality of paint.
#2. Accession No: 2018.020
Title: Lake Rockery
Broad Medium: Oil and Acrylic/Painting
Specific Materials: oil on canvas
Description: A small canvas with impasto paint depicting a rock and trees against a background of rose madder. Part of a series of two works with 2018.021 'Lotus Leaf and Flower'
Exhibition History: Ex 19, Supernatural, 2018
Title: 'Lotus Leaf and Flower'
Description: A small canvas depicting leaves and lotus against a grey background of impasto oil paint. Part of a series of two works with 2018.020 'Lake Rockery'
Title: The Romance of West Chamber – Farewell at the Pavilion
Broad Medium: Oil /Painting
Dimensions: 300 x 400 cm
Description: Part of a series of three works with 2018.005 The Romance of West Chamber – Reunion and 2018.006 The Romance of West Chamber – Wooing Phoenix. Depicts a scene from the classic novel as illustrated by famous gongbi painter Wang Shuhui (1912-1985) in 1957, later reproduced as a series of postage stamps in 1983.
He Sen's painting, The Romance of West Chamber—Farewell at the Pavilion (2011) takes one particular scene, where the young lovers must say goodbye at a pavilion set in a mountainous landscape. He has appropriated a version that is well-known throughout China, as it was used on a postage stamp. Painted by Wang Shuhui (1912-1985), a celebrated gongbi artist, these pictures had been commissioned by the People's Fine Art Publishing House to publicise the promulgation of the new Chinese marriage laws in 1953. In 1957 she created a series of one hundred and twenty-eight illustrations, most of which were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. The series of postage stamps based on her illustrations appeared in 1983, so He Sen is reproducing an image familiar to Chinese audiences, redolent of history and national pride.
The canvas is filled with courtly drama and rhythmical movement, the long billowing sleeves and tasselled belts of the two protagonists flowing across the surface, blown by the wind that moves the reeds in the foreground and the branches of the pine trees above. The surface is disrupted by a broad horizontal swathe of grey impasto across its centre, like an intrusion from modernist hard-edge abstraction, interrupting the delicate colour above and below. It is as if we are suddenly watching the Tang Dynasty romance play out on an old black and white TV screen. Playing with juxtapositions of flatness and texture, colour and monochrome, He Sen's oil paintings recall modernist collage. His selection of imagery that presents a romantic view of ancient China deliberately employs 'Chinoiserie', in order to interrogate notions of Chinese-ness in the contemporary world.
Appropriated from this 1957 illustration by Wang Shuhui (above left)
https://new.qq.com/omn/20180726/20180726A0HV6I.html (in Chinese)
https://www.guohuashanshui.com/m/view.php?aid=964 (in Chinese)
And this 1983 series of postage stamps based on Wang Shuhui's 1957 series of illustrations (above right)
https://wt.gg-art.com/news/newsread14/artnews6447.html
#5. Accession No. 2018.006
Title: The Romance of West Chamber – Wooing Phoenix
Description: Female character in traditional dress drawn as a black outline above a poem written with oil paint emulating calligraphy
Part of a series of three works with 2018.005 The Romance of West Chamber – Reunion and 2015.560 The Romance of West Chamber – Farewell at the Pavilion, this work depicts a female character from the classic tale drawn as a black outline on a canvas divided into grey and Naples yellow sections. Below her is a poem written in calligraphy: The text is from the zither (guqin) song "The Phoenix Seeks Its Mate." The song reportedly originated in the Western Han dynasty, when the poet Sima Xiangru sang the song at a party, wooing the young woman poet Zhou Wenjun. In 'Romance of the Western Chamber', Zhang Sheng plays the song to his lover Cui Yingying.
(Source: Wang, Shifu, W. L. Idema, and Stephen H. West. 1995. The Story of the Western Wing. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), EBSCOhost )
Title: The Romance of West Chamber- Reunion
Description: Part of a series of three works with 2018.006 and 2015.560 The Romance of West Chamber – Farewell at the Pavilion. Depicts a scene from the classic tale: a male figure surprises 2 women in an architectural or pavilion-like setting. The right-hand third of the canvas is red, with a lattice like pattern and a vase of flowers drawn against it.
Appropriated from this 1957 illustration by Wang Shuhui, 1957
https://www.twoeggz.com/news/8813643.html (in Chinese)
Part of a series of three works with 2018.006 and 2015.560 The Romance of West Chamber – Farewell at the Pavilion. Depicts a scene from the classic tale: a male figure surprises 2 women in an architectural or pavilion-like setting. The right-hand third of the canvas is red, with a lattice like pattern and a vase of flowers drawn against it, an allusion to western modernist painting by artists such as Henri Matisse.
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NIOM toured the Scandinavian annual dental meetings in 2016. The presentation "Light curing – so easy, but so difficult!" was given at the Danish Årskursus in March by dr. scient. Ellen Bruzell, and at the Norwegian NTF Landsmøte and the Swedish Odontologisk Riksstämma, both in November, by dr. scient. Hilde Molvig Kopperud and Bruzell together.
At Riksstämman, Professor Jon E. Dahl also participated at the seminar FluORO, discussing the use and safety of fluoride.
Light curing – so easy, but so difficult!
Advice on proper light curing of composites and precautions on using curing lamps with too high irradiance (intensity; power per emission area) was given in this presentation. Although light curing is a well-established technique, developments in composite and curing lamp technology have introduced some new aspects that need attention. Some composites now have additional initiators to the traditional camphorquinone where the curing reaction is initiated by blue light (approx. 460 nm). These materials require additional wavelengths. Some curing lights have very high irradiances (> 3000 mW/cm2), promising very short curing times. This should be avoided from a material point of view as curing is not an instantaneous reaction: The chemistry needs some time! Thus, the dentist should make sure that a curing lamp with the proper light output is used. Relevant factors include choice of single or multiple light peaks (blue, violet, UV), a homogenous beam profile over the output area, and irradiances usually between 1000 and 2000 mW/cm2.
Patient and occupational safety are other reasons to choose curing lights with moderate irradiances. The blue light emitted from the curing lights may cause eye damage to dental personnel unless proper eye protection is used. Sufficient eye protection devices are either protective glasses or large hand-held shields. Without protection, estimations show that curing for about 10 minutes during a work-day will entail a risk for eye damage if the irradiance of the lamp is about 2000 mW/cm2 or more. Using loupes may not increase the risk of eye damage. For the patient, there is a risk of burns to soft tissues if too long irradiation times or too high irradiances are used. Temperature rises of 5–6 degrees have been measured in the tooth using curing lights of 1500 – 2000 mW/cm2, which may cause damage to the pulp.
Professor Dan Ericson, scientist Peggy Näsman and professor Dahl participated in the seminar about the use of fluoride to prevent caries. In Sweden there is a growing concern about the safety of using fluoride, both in tooth paste and other supplements. Some of the concern is due to the misunderstanding that sodium fluoride has the same toxic profile as fluorine. Dahl clarified the chemical issue and addressed kinetics and toxicity of fluoride compounds. Most information is based on data from people living in areas with water fluoridation and naturally occurring high levels of fluoride in the drinking water.
Ninety percent of ingested fluoride is absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract into the blood stream, and the maximum blood concentration is reached after 30–60 minutes. Approximately half of the absorbed amount goes to the hard tissues, bone and developing teeth, the rest is excreted in the urine. Chronic toxic effects of fluoride exposure are seen in teeth and skeleton. Mottled enamel appears in patients being exposed to more than 0.04 mg/kg body weight per day and skeletal fluorosis in patients receiving more than 6 mg fluoride daily. A large, recently published study from England showed no increased risk of health effects including cancer in areas having water fluoridation.


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text:
Die Siboga-Expedition war eine niederländische wissenschaftliche Expedition von März 1899 bis Februar 1900 zur hydrografischen und zoologischen Erforschung indonesischer Gewässer (damals Niederländisch Ost-Indien). Namensgebend ist das verwendete Schiff Siboga. Organisiert und geleitet wurde die Expedition vom Zoologen Max Wilhelm Carl Weber, dem Direktor des Zoölogischen Museums der Universität Amsterdam (ZMA).

Das Schiff und die Besatzung

Die Maatschappij ter Bevordering van het Natuurkundig Onderzoek der Nederlandsche Koloniën plante seit 1896 eine Expedition zur Untersuchung der Meeresfauna, speziell der Tiefseebecken in Niederländisch Ost-Indien. Für die geplante Expedition stellte die niederländische Regierung das Schiff Siboga zur Verfügung. Die Siboga war ein neu gebauter Schraubendampfer bzw. ein Kanonenboot für das koloniale Militär mit etwa 1400 PS, angetrieben von zwei Schiffsschrauben. Der Stapellauf des 50,60 x 9,40 x 4,61 m großen Schiffes mit einer Wasserverdrängung von 810 t fand am 28. April 1898 in Amsterdam statt. Die Entscheidung, das Schiff nicht für militärische Zwecke, sondern für die Expedition zu verwenden, fiel, als das Schiff fast seetüchtig war, im Mai 1898 durch den Generalgouverneur in Batavia, sodass ein Umbau für Forschungszwecke möglich war. Die Kolonialregierung finanzierte die Gehälter der Besatzung und übernahm die laufenden Kosten, beispielsweise für die Kohle.

Auf den Kanonenplattformen wurden zwei Tiefensondierungsmaschinen mit großen elektrisch und dampfgetriebenen Winden installiert. Insgesamt standen ungefähr 20 km Drahtseil zur Verfügung mit allen damals modernen Gerätschaften für das pelagische Fischen, für die Sammlung von Plankton (Hensen-Netz) und für die Probennahme von Meerwasser aus definierten Tiefen. Max Weber richtete ein Laboratorium mit Chemikalien zur Bestimmung der im Wasser gelösten Sauerstoffkonzentration ein und beschaffte verschiedene (Unterwasser-)Thermometer und Behälter für Wasserproben. Alkohol in Eichenfässern und Formaldehyd dienten der Konservierung der gesammelten Organismen, die in Zinkbehältern und hölzernen Lattenkisten gelagert wurden.

Die Expeditions-Mannschaft bestand insgesamt aus 63 Personen: 10 niederländische Marineoffiziere, 6 Wissenschaftler (inkl. Anna Weber), 45 (meist Javanische) Seeleute, und 2 private Bedienstete. Neben dem Leiter der Expedition Max Weber waren weitere Teilnehmer seine Frau, die Algologin Anna Weber-van Bosse, der Zoologe und erste Stellvertreter Jan Versluys, der Zoologe und zweite Stellvertreter Hugo Nierstrasz (1872–1937), der Arzt A. Schmidt, der Zeichner J. W. Huysmans und der Kapitän Gustaaf Frederik Tydeman (1858–1939), der für die hydrografischen Messungen verantwortlich war.

Die Expedition

Die Siboga verließ Amsterdam am 16. Dezember 1898 und erreichte Jakarta am 7. Februar 1899. Am 11. Februar fuhr sie nach Surabaja auf der Insel Java, wo letzte Vorbereitungen für die Expedition getroffen wurden. Die wissenschaftliche Siboga-Expedition startete am Morgen des 7. März 1899 von Surabaya und endete am selben Ort am 26. Februar 1900. Während dieses knappen Jahres kreuzte sie in einem Gebiet mit einer Ausdehnung von 1200 Meilen in Nord-Süd-Richtung und 1500 Meilen in Ost-West-Richtung und legte dabei mehr als 12.000 Seemeilen zurück.

Alle 181 Tiefseebagger- und die Zugnetzeinsätze während der Fahrt wurden von Tiefensondierungen begleitet. Außerdem wurde an 103 Positionen gefischt und an 96 Positionen wurden Sedimentproben genommen. Obwohl das Hauptziel der Expedition die Tiefsee des Archipels war, wurden auch Flachwasser, Korallenriffe und Strände untersucht. Es gab auch regelmäßig Exkursionen an Land. Insgesamt sind 323 Probennahmestellen aufgezeichnet. In den Häfen wurde nicht nur Verpflegung und Kohle gebunkert, es wurden auch die bis dahin gesammelten Proben in den verschlossenen Zinkbehältern auf den Versandweg nach Amsterdam gebracht. Max Weber hat die örtlichen Fischmärkte auch genutzt, um unbekannte Arten zu erwerben (z. B. Ruvettus tydemani).

Ergebnisse

Vier Wissenschaftler hatten auf der Siboga eine große Anzahl an zoologischem, botanischem und geologischem Material gesammelt. Wissenschaftler aus 12 Ländern untersuchten dieses in den nächsten Jahrzehnten. Die meisten Arbeiten behandelten zoologische Aspekte, fünf behandelten Algen, zwei befassten sich mit Geologie und eine (von Tydeman) mit dem topografischen Relief des Archipels. Die Temperatur- und Sauerstoffmessungen wurden nicht ausgewertet. Die Ergebnisse der Siboga-Expedition übertrafen alle Erwartungen: etwa ein Drittel bis die Hälfte aller gesammelten Arten schienen wissenschaftlich neu zu sein. Viele neue Arten wurden entdeckt, allein Max Weber beschrieb 131 Arten wissenschaftlich neu. Bis zu seinem Tode 1937 waren etwa 95 % aller Ergebnisse der Expedition veröffentlicht. Mehr als 60 Bände mit den Detailergebnissen der Expedition sind veröffentlicht worden, die letzte Arbeit 1986.

Die Ergebnisse der Siboga-Expedition führten zu einem besseren Verständnis der Übergangszone zwischen dem südostasiatischen (Orientalis) und dem australischen (Australis) Faunenreich. Weber zeigte, dass die Wallace-Linie keine scharfe Grenze ist. Er legte innerhalb dieser Übergangszone eine Linie, auf der genauso viele asiatische wie australische Arten vorkommen, die heute als Weber-Linie bezeichnet wird.

Schon 1922 bewertete die angesehene Fachzeitschrift Nature die Siboga-Expedition im Vergleich mit der ersten Tiefsee-Expedition, der Challenger-Expedition (1872–1876):

Der Kapitän und Hydrograf Tydeman zeichnete mindestens 28 Detailkarten mit Ankerplätzen, Meeresstraßen und Inselgruppen. Außerdem fertigte er zwei Seekarten des Indonesischen Archipels mit genauen Tiefenangaben an. Er schrieb 100 hydrografische Notizen, bestimmte die Höhen und Positionen von mehr als 200 Landmarken und führte astronomische Vermessungen von weiteren 34 Orten durch. Obwohl die Gegend bisher nur unzureichend kartiert gewesen war, gab Tydeman nur zwei Örtlichkeiten Namen: der Balisee und der Siboga Ridge.

Die ethnografischen Sammlungen befinden sich heute am Königlichen Tropeninstitut in Amsterdam.

Literatur

Weblinks

 Veröffentlichungen basierend auf der Siboga Expedition im Internet Archive

Asien-Expedition
Ozeanografische Expedition
Meereskunde
Niederländische Kolonialgeschichte
Ereignis 1899
Ereignis 1900

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Mrs Barnes is already washed and dressed, sitting on the end of the bed with a soft and rather bemused expression, like the shoemaker astonished to find all the wonderful things the elves accomplished overnight.
But half way down the stairs she stops and turns round.
The old place feels more like a house of doors than rooms. It has an eery, abandoned feeling, as if I'd closed my eyes for a second, every door had slammed shut, and the echo had run on through the years.
'Here we are,' I say, opening the door to the lounge.
She shakes her head sadly, and lumbers bad-hip first towards her favourite chair.
With everything done I sit opposite Mrs Barnes, filling in the yellow sheet.
'Where are you off to now?' she says, sipping her tea.
'You're welcome. And don't worry. I'll put the key back in the key safe.'.
She follows me to the front door. I demonstrate the keysafe, tucked away down to the right of the door, by a desiccated fuchsia in a cracked plastic pot.
I turn round at the top of the path expecting to see the door closed, but Mrs Barnes is still standing there, looking around. I wave to her. She stares in my direction and doesn't react at all.
Just as I'm getting in the car – which is parked on the road at the end of the path – I see her suddenly waving to me. I hurry down again.
I point to it, but I think she thinks I mean the plant.
I go through it again; she watches over my shoulder.
'Tables and chairs?' she says, amazed at the thought.
I go back into the house and have a quick look round, but there's no trace of the keys. Mrs Barnes is still standing by the front door, and I'm just wondering what to do about the keys and how to explain it all to her when she waves me over.
'Where can I get that fixed?' she says.
She's pointing to the concrete path, which is crumbling in places.
'This isn't council,' she says.
Her eyes cloud over and she bites her lip.
But the moment is gone just as soon as it came, and her face relaxes again.
'And what have you come for?' she says.


Tuscany rightly owes its fame to its fine museum-cities and picturesque hills, but all you need to do is push on a few km to the west to discover an unexpected, very varied coastal heritage.
What makes the Tuscan Archipelago truly unforgettable is the crystal-clear sea and its white sandy beaches such as Biodola, Procchio or the Spiaggia dei Cavoli.
Located between Tuscany and Lazio and overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea, Maremma is an Italian destination with a great personality. It offers not only a fluorishing vegetation, but also a rich cultural heritage. Furtheremore, it is bathed by a crystalline sea capable of suiting all travelers.
Forte dei Marmi is a gem of Versilia, the region of Tuscany widely renown for the beauty of its beaches, the high standard services and a vibrant nightlife, all things that made it one of the top summer destinations in Italy.
The Etruscan Coast not only hosts important archaeological sites, but is also an area of significant natural and marine interest, with the Hills of Livorno sloping down gently to wide beaches.
La Versilia è una delle località balneari più note d'Italia, apprezzata per le sue belle spiagge e per la qualità dei suoi servizi. Questa doppia natura rende la Versilia una destinazione ideale per le vacanze di famiglia e location perfetta per i giovani.


Good info on the Florida Prison Strike, which has been using Operation PUSH as its hashtag on IG. I think Operation PUSH was Jesse Jackson's organization back in the '70's — but this isn't connected, just using the name. Angela Davis has spoken out in support of the strike, and some other people are getting on board. I'm not sure about Jackson.
Campaign to Fight Toxic Prisons.
Supporters of Operation PUSH prisoners march among hundreds in local MLK parade, Gainesville, FL, Jan 15, 2018.
Information from prisoners is coming in at a much slower pace than people on the outside had anticipated, but reports are slowly and steadily making their way through the walls, despite many obstacles.
Things are getting serious… this is a critical movement.
Kevin "Rashid" Johnson is being tortured at the Florida State Prison according to an "emergency note" Rashid's lawyers received from him yesterday dated 1/19.
It is suspected the torture began sometime between 1/12 and 1/19 since there was no mention of it in his 1/12 communication.
No other details are available at this time but we will post updates here once we have them.
This comes immediately after news that Rashid faces an "inciting a riot" charge for merely reporting on #OperationPUSH. You can read Rashid's original reporting on Operation PUSH and the conditions in Florida prisons on IWOC's site here.
Rashid is the Minister of Defense of the New Afrikan Black Panther Party (Prison Chapter) and a prolific organizer, author, and artist.
She accurately blames the US pursuit of Empire for the Korean nuclear threat. Just like most every other country in the world, the Koreans are more militarized and more dangerous to world peace because THEY FEAR THE U.S.
How anyone can seriously doubt that is beyond me.
We continue to de-stablize the world and then blame the victims.
Caitlyn Johnstone lays it all out here.
Tulsi Gabbard is probably the only member of Congress who gets Empire. She is also probably the most radical member of Congress. She's not perfect on everything, but she's certainly beginning to understand the realities of power in the world.


text:
Pop/Bollywood Music
Taylor Swift calls 12-year-old fan battling cancer
Taylor Swift has called Emily Beazley, the 12-year-old battling with cancer.
By: Press Trust of India | Los Angeles |
May 1, 2015 11:15:47 am
Country singer Taylor Swift has called Emily Beazley, the 12-year-old battling with cancer.(Source: Reuters)
Country singer Taylor Swift has called Emily Beazley, the 12-year-old battling with cancer.
The Chicago-born girl had a street named after her and she has also been made an honorary member of the Chicago PD, reported People magazine.
[related-post]
"The smile on my daughter (is one) I have not seen in a very, very long time," her mother Nadia Beazley said, adding, "I could cry."
Beazley has been battling stage III T-cell lymphoblastic non-Hodgkins lymphoma since 2011.
Despite years of chemotherapy, her case remains so aggressive that last week her doctors told her family there was nothing more they could do.
EntertainmentGrammy-winner Meat Loaf, whose Bat Out of Hell is among top-selling albums of all time, dies at 74
EntertainmentMalaika says getting married early didn't impact her career
Election 2021 LIVE updatesElection Live: Shiv Sena ties up with TMC in Goa

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Authoritative Analytics
We deliver compelling solutions on the forefront of applied economics and computer science.
Why Trade Compensation Matters
After what turned out to be a relatively strong year in 2017, the U.S. farm sector was poised to experience a pivotal year financially in 2018. Growth that reemerged for U.S. agriculture in 2017 was at risk of losing momentum as farmers endured a multiyear slump in crop and livestock prices. Interest rates and energy costs have been on the rise with the economy warming up, resulting in increased borrowing costs and tighter credit conditions for farmers. Many key indicators that measure debt repayment ability and liquidity reached unsustainable levels. All of these concerns emerged prior to the escalation of trade disputes with China and other major trading partners.
In late July 2018, the Trump Administration announced a $12 billion trade compensation package to make up for farmer's market losses due to the ongoing trade war. Specific details of the program implementation will not be known until after Labor Day. For purposes of the 2018 Authoritative Analytics forecast, the assumption is that the $12 billion will be paid out in the 2018 calendar year. Since it is direct compensation, the impact of this highly criticized maneuver can be assessed on the U.S. farm sectors financial outlook.
Authoritative Analytics, Alternative August Farm Income Forecasts
The Authoritative Analytics August forecast for net cash income would have been below $100 billion in the absence of any trade compensation. Monthly values for net cash income forecasts have ranged from $98.2 billion to $107.8 billion since the first prediction in October of 2017. The initial impacts of trade disputes were estimated by Authoritative Analytics to be between $3.5 to $5 billion. With the $12 billion trade compensation being paid (assuming all payments go to production agriculture) in calendar year 2018, government payments would jump to $21.4 billion and net cash income reaches $111.7 billion. This would represent a 6 percent increase over what is estimated as the final 2017 value for net cash income and the second consecutive annual increase since falling 11 percent in 2016.
The dramatic difference in these alternative income trajectories is further amplified by examining how liquidity and debt repayment for the sector change. In each case, values of these critical measures would revert to 2016 levels. This would represent a challenging situation for maintaining cash reserves and timely repayment of debt.
Liquidity is vital to any business, but may be even more critical to agriculture depending on what is produced, the length of the production cycle, and how it's marketed. Two measures that are often associated with liquidity are the amount of working capital and the current ratio. Working capital is calculated by subtracting total current liabilities from current farm assets. One rule of thumb, is that a business should have enough cash available in working capital to cover 5-8 months of operations expenses; although this will vary with the type of business. Liquidity as measured by working capital divided by cash expenses reached its lowest level at 0.21 (reserves of less than 3 months of expenses) in 2016 and would gradually rise to 0.26 in 2018 with trade compensation payments.
Alternative Forecast Implications for Farm Sector Liquidity
Leverage and Debt Repayment
Even though debt can become more challenging to acquire when low levels of income are sustained for extended periods of time, borrowing has increased noticeably since 2013. In addition to real estate transactions, much of the recent rise in debt can be attributed to short-term loan conversions and efforts to refinance and lock in fixed interest rates. As incomes have been declining or stagnant; operating costs have not fallen by the same amount, thus depleting cash reserves. Farm sector debt divided by earnings before interest and taxes (EBITDA) provides a leading indicator of leverage and repayment problems. The value of this measure exceeded 3.0 for the first time since the 1980's in 2016. Much like liquidity, debt repayment would show gradual improvement through 2018 as trade compensation payments would help reduce debt divided by EBITDA to 2.79.
Alternative Forecast Implications for Debt Repayment
Uncertain Path Forward
Since some uncertainty remains regarding the specifics of trade compensation payments and the short- and long-term prospects for agriculture exports, 2018 remains a pivotal year for financial circumstances. Trade compensation payments represent, for the sector, an opportunity to sustain some of the economic growth that began in 2017 and ward off potential liquidity and debt repayment problems. Without trade compensation payments (or reinvigorated export potential), several key financial indicators will revert to 2016 levels and trigger some difficult financial adjustments for many participants in U.S. agriculture.
Trade Dispute Repercussions
The monthly World Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report released last week by USDA represents the first attempt to incorporate impacts from recently enacted tariffs by the U.S. and its trading partners on 2018 commodity markets. Authoritative Analytics uses these same numbers to update the financial outlook for U.S. agriculture. As a result, the initial impacts of reduced trade on U.S. Agriculture can be evaluated by comparing the June and July forecasts.
Figure 1. Monthly Change In Commodity Receipt Forecasts
The largest impacts were on soybean and dairy product receipts (Figure 1). Receipts for these two commodities were forecast to be $4.7 billion lower than in the previous month as a result of reduced exports. Most of the reduction in soybean exports was attributed to "The tariff that China recently imposed on U.S. soybeans…" Similarly, the export situation for dairy products was affected as indicated in the report, "China's tariffs on certain U.S. dairy products hampers exports to some extent…" The overall implication for net cash income would be a $3.5 billion drop, representing a 3-percent decline from 2017. In contrast, I reported net cash income forecasts for 2018 in June as being essentially stagnant. The impacts on net cash income would have been potentially larger (minus $5 billion) were it not for the positive adjustment to 2018 fruit and tree nut receipts stemming from the recently released NASS report.
How Bad Could IT get?
The good news is, year-to-date, 2018 was running slightly ahead of 2017 in terms of the value U.S. agriculture exports (through May, the latest month for which statistics are available). The bad news is that the remaining months, on average, account for about 60 percent of the total value of exports during the calendar year. Of course, not all of this trade value will be adversely impacted.
Figure 2. Calendar Year Agricultural Exports as Reported by the Economic Research Service, USDA.
For soybeans, China accounted for about 60 percent of calendar year export volume on average between 2014 and 2017 (Figure 3). Through May, China had already purchased one-fourth of the previous 4-year average volume of soybeans (7.3 million metric tons relative to 31.5 million metric tons). By my math, that leaves about $10 billion of soybean trade with China at risk for the remainder of the calendar year, of which 31 percent ($3.1 billion) has been discounted in the recent WASDE report. This suggests that some of the lost sales to China will be made up for elsewhere. Through May, soybean export volume to China was off more than 20 percent from the previous year, but total soybean exports were only down 2 percent.
Figure 3. Soybean Export Volume
Trade remains vital to the financial health of U.S. agriculture. Ramifications of the trade dispute with China will have a negative impact on 2018 earnings for U.S. agriculture. The magnitude is dampened somewhat by the export potential to other countries and unmet demand in China. Brazil, the world's top soybean exporter since the 2012–13 season doesn't have the capacity to meet China's demand alone, and there are few, if any, other producing countries that could step in this fall. What happens for the remainder of 2018 depends on whether and to what degree other trading partners retaliate and additional commodities are implicated.
Anxiety Rollercoaster
It seems that U.S. Agriculture has been overwhelmed with negative news in the last several months. Concerns about trade tariffs, renegotiation of NAFTA, and implementation of the new Farm Bill have dominated discussions in social media and news outlets. This, in addition to the usual concerns over weather and commodity prices. I wanted to revisit, the sentiment analysis that I performed regarding U.S. agriculture that demonstrated the extreme negative reaction when trade tariffs were first announced back in March. Scraping the recent news headlines (Yahoo News and Google News) for May 25 suggests that the same concerns remain (Figure 1).
FIgure 1. Word cloud from May 25, 2018 news headlines relating to U.S. Agriculture.
When examined for polarity, this day's headlines scored 0.149 suggesting neutral to slightly positive sentiment (0.33 is the threshold for strong positive). The polarity scores for news headlines during the last several months ranged from a low of 0.005 on June 8 to a high of 0.39 on June 30 and exhibited extreme volatility during this period (Figure 2). News headlines such as: "Agriculture caught in US-China trade dispute" , "Mexico Retaliates With Tariffs on US Agriculture" and "Canada to US: Explain that $30 billion farm spending war chest" are what drove the sentiment index to its lowest levels. In contrast, the prominent stories that help push the index to its highest level had to do with renewed efforts to push a Farm Bill through the Senate.
Figure 2. Polarity Scores for U.S. Agriculture News Headlines.
Sentiment expressed in social media regarding U.S. agriculture exhibits the same volatility (Figure 3). The longer-term view of twitter sentiment scores pertaining to U.S. agriculture show that for most days during the last several months viewpoints were neutral to moderately positive. There were three brief periods of extreme negativity. On or around April 2, 2018 having to do with trade concerns, on May 17, 2018 in relation to the failure to pass the Farm Bill in the House of Representatives, and on June 20, 2018 as there was heighten concerns regarding the escalation of U.S.-China trade disputes. Similarly, there were a few brief periods when sentiment moved towards strongly positive (above 0.50). The monthly trend in the hybrid sentiment score was 0.37 for March, 0.27 for April, 0.34 for May, and 0.45 for June. All four months were neutral-to-slightly positive and trending towards slightly positive. Later we will look at alternative sentiment measures for U.S. agriculture to see if this positive trend is further substantiated.
Figure 3. Sentiment Scores for U.S. Agriculture Tweets, March-July, 2018
Most of the tweets had a well defined emotional content., with the most dominant emotion being anticipation (Figure 4). Despite the high level of anxiety, positive emotions outnumbered negative emotions by nearly 2-to-1. Trust and joy were the most common positive emotions. The predominant negative emotions were fear, sadness, and disgust.
Figure 4. U.S. Agriculture Tweet Emotion, March – July, 2018
Alternative Agriculture Sentiment Measures
The Purdue/CME Group has, for several years, conducted monthly opinion surveys of agriculture producers to gauge economic sentiment. The results are used to calculate an index called "The Ag Economy Barometer." It is designed to be a comprehensive measure of the health of the agricultural economy. In a recent report it was noted that "producers' weakening perceptions of current conditions in the production agriculture sector, along with a decline in their expectations for future economic conditions" led to a sharp drop in the ag producer sentiment index in April 2018 and the second month in a row of declines. The report also postulates that "the undercurrent of concern expressed by producers in March became more pronounced in April as the trade dispute with key export customer China continued." It was also noted that "the attitude shift identified in the survey extended beyond crops into animal agriculture."
Looking at the recent history of monthly index values reveals that the largest monthly increase occurred in November 2016 (Figure 5). Coincidently, a Presidential election was settled during the same time frame. The May reading of the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer was 141, 16 points higher than in April 2018 and the highest barometer value since January 2017.
Figure 5. Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer Monthly Index Change, October 2015-June 2018.
To get a sense of what is driving the sentiment indicated in the Ag Economy Barometer, I examined the correlation with monthly indices of major commodity profit developed for Iowa and the general prices received and paid indices from NASS (Figure 6). The Ag Economy Barometer is most strongly correlated with the profitability of corn and soybeans and had a strongly negative correlation with cattle profitability. No relationship was evident with the general prices revived index, while prices paid was negatively correlated.
Figure 6. Correlation Between Purdue/CME Ag Barometer and Commodity Indices
What about monthly changes? There are periods where the Ag Economy Barometer tracks closely with indices for several commodities (March 2016) and periods where they seem to be moving the opposite direction (Figure 7).
Figure 7. Comparison of the Purdue/CME With Iowa Commodity Profit Indices
The Ag Economy Barometer was found to be most closely associated with corn and soybean profitability (Figure 8). Corn profitability was nearly four times more influential in explaining the Ag Economy Barometer. The results of the regression indicated that the model explained 66 percent of variance and that the model was a significant predictor of the Ag Economy Barometer, F(6,25) = 10.85.
Figure 8. Model Coefficients (PAB ~ CORN + SOYB + CATT + HOGS + PREC + PPAY)
Sentiment analysis is the measurement of positive and negative language. It is a way to assess written or spoken language to gauge if the expression is favorable, unfavorable, or neutral, and to what degree. It provides one approach to discerning opinions of individuals or groups. When done consistently, it provides a way to evaluate changes in topic views over time. At least as it pertains to U.S. agriculture, I have demonstrated that sentiment does reflect changes in the underlying economic fundamentals (commodity prices, expenses, etc…) to some degree and that news headlines seem to strongly influence sentiment. More importantly, sentiment about U.S. agriculture is extremely turbulent, which may not be surprising for an industry that is known for economic volatility.
Transitioning from Forecasts to Estimates: Commodity Receipt Revisions
Last month I revealed the Authoritative Analytics monthly farm financial forecasts (normally reserved for subscribing clients) in an article for the Farmer Mac, Feed magazine. Most of the questions I received had to do with "why my numbers were so much higher than USDA's February release?" Since the last of the major commodity receipt components for 2017 was just recently released (Noncitrus Fruits and Nuts 2017 Summary, June 26, 2018), I thought it may be instructive to lay out the process of transitioning from a forecast to an estimate and how that relates to the timing of National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) publications.
USDA will officially report the 2017 calendar year estimates for farm income in it's August release; nearly a full year after the fact. Some wonder why it takes so long to evaluate the preceding year. It all has to do with the timing of NASS surveys and reporting of statistics for commodity receipts and farm production expenditures. The array of reports used to compile commodity receipts are well defined in the ERS Farm Income and Wealth Statistics Documentation. These reports are released at different points between February and June of the calendar year following the year in which they are referencing. In addition to relying on the NASS reports for production and value, there is more information required (such as crop marketing patterns) to convert those commodities reported on a crop year basis.
The expected commodity receipt revisions for 2017 as part of the process of transitioning from a forecast to an estimate should be in the neighborhood of $8 billion. Most of the revisions are coming from crop receipts ($7.4 billion) and in particular from specialty crops. The revision for fruit and tree nut cash receipts should be nearly $7 billion and vegetables and melons -$1.9 billion. It so happens that the commodities with the largest revisions have the least amount of survey activity and statistical reporting during the production cycle. Livestock cash receipt revisions are much smaller, totaling just over $800 million, with cattle and calves representing the largest share ($782 million). Most of the revisions were to increase the estimate from the forecast. The three exceptions were vegetables and melons, cotton, and poultry and eggs.
Source: Authoritative Analytics calculations, June 2018.
The extent of revisions clearly illustrates the importance of NASS commodity surveys (all commodities) and how they are critical to achieving an accurate portrayal of farm financial conditions. Whether these revisions translate directly into 2017 income depends on the results of the expense survey (Agricultural Resource Management Survey) reported in August. Moreover, 2017 is a census year with data collection winding down and reporting to occur next year. There will likely be additional revisions to come. Stay tuned.
Ricardian Rents Prevail
David Ricardo in his theory of rent emphasized that rent is a reward for the services of land, which is fixed in supply. Secondly, "it arises due to original qualities of land which are indestructible." As a result, the basic tenets of Ricardian rent and its empirical definition have been the subject of contention in the farmland valuation literature for many years.
So, while commodities produced on farmland are the primary determinant of its value, other returns associated with land can be capitalized into farmland prices. Some of the distinctive characteristics of farmland markets are its thinness and immobility . The fact that a very small portion of total farmland is sold in a given year defines a thin market. Land is immobile, so market interactions are local and the nature of personal relationships between landowners and farmers alters the outcomes of individual transactions. Furthermore, multiple year rent contracts may lead rental rates to react sluggishly to market shocks.
Farmland Real Estate Investment Trusts
A contemporary institutional arrangement that best illustrates Ricardian rent theory is the triple net lease. Under a triple net lease, a tenant pays all of the operating expenses associated with a property in addition to the payment of rent to the landlord. Suppose that an individual owns a piece of land and leases it to a tenant, with the tenant paying for all improvements (including the construction of buildings), maintenance, insurance, taxes and other costs. The amount that this tenant pays to the landlord could be considered rent in the Ricardian sense, for the only contribution of the landlord to the real estate project is permission to use the land. Farmland Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS) almost exclusively utilize the triple net lease in their management of farm properties. There are two real estate investment trusts (REITs) involved in the ownership of agricultural land, Gladstone Land and Farmland Partners.
Gladstone Land is a publicly-traded (NYSE: LAND) real estate investment trust that invests in farmland located in major agricultural markets in the U.S., which it leases to farmers, and pays monthly distributions to its stockholders. The company reports the current fair value of its farmland on a quarterly basis; as of December 31, 2017, its estimated net asset value was $13.96 per share. Gladstone Land currently owns 73 farms, comprised of 63,014 acres in 9 different states across the U.S., valued at approximately $534 million. Its acreage is predominantly concentrated in locations where its tenants are able to grow fresh produce annual row crops, such as berries and vegetables, which are generally planted and harvested annually; as well as permanent crops, such as almonds, blueberries, and pistachios, which are planted every 10 to 20-plus years. The Company also may acquire property related to farming, such as cooling facilities, processing buildings, packaging facilities, and distribution centers. LAND invests heavily in specialty crops. As of the 2017 10-K, in terms of revenue LAND is 65 percent in produce, 15 percent in permanent crops such as nuts and only 10 percent in primary cash crops like grains. The remaining 10 percent rent is attributed to farm related facilities.
Farmland Partners Inc. is an internally managed, publicly traded (NYSE: FPI) real estate company that owns and seeks to acquire high-quality farmland throughout North America. The company was founded by farmers, and its management team has hands-on farm operations experience. As of February 27, 2018, Farmland Partners owns or has under contract over 166,000 acres located in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Virginia. The land is currently diversified across more than 125 tenant farmers who grow more than 30 major commercial crops. At the end of 2017,
approximately 75 percent by value, of the acres in the portfolio were used to grow primary crops, such as corn, soybeans, wheat, rice and cotton, and approximately 25 percent were used to grow specialty crops, such as almond, citrus, blueberries, vegetables and edible beans.
Since they both enjoy geographic diversity, one of the primary characteristics that distinguishes these farmland REITs is the composition of the commodities produced on the managed land. Farmland REIT values should reflect rental rates on managed land. More specifically, they represent the discounted value of expected future returns. These rents, in turn, reflect the expected returns from commodities produced on the land. In the case of Gladstone Land, the returns are predominately made up of specialty crops in contrast with Farmland Partners where a larger share of production on managed land is for traditional row crops.
Figure 1. Comparison of trends in stock prices for farmland REITS since May 2017.
So far so good, but here is where the stories diverge. One year ago (May 9, 2017) these REITS had a similar valuation of about $11 per share. Since then, their values have moved in opposite directions. Have the expected future returns deviated that much between specialty commodities and traditional row crops? USDA's Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) provides farm real estate values as a component or the reported balance sheets by production specialty. This allows some evidence of how real estate values have grown over time for specialty crops in comparison with row crops such as corn and soybeans (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Comparison of trends in the total value of farm real estate for selected production specialties.
The data do suggest that since 2013 the growth of farm real estate values have been quite different for specialty crops versus corn and soybeans. The value of farm real estate on farms that produce specialty crops increased by 40-percent from 2013-2016. In comparison, the value of farm real estate on farms that earn 50 percent or more of their total value of farm production from corn saw almost a 2-percent decline. Similarly, after peaking in 2014, soybean farm real estate value is down almost 6-percent. The 3-year moving average values represent a longer-term, expectation view and would suggest increasing values going forward for specialty crops and stagnant growth for corn and soybeans.
Farmland total returns consist not only of price appreciation, but also the earned income stream from the land. One estimate of the cash returns to farmland is cash rental rates less property taxes and other ownership costs. Using this approach, the rate return attributable to income can be computed by dividing the cash rental rate by the market value of land in the same year. The Hancock Agricultural Investment Group provides a regional breakout of the return components for their managed farmland portfolio (Figure 3).
The income returns (rent) to farmland within the Hancock Farmland Services portfolio show much less annual variability than does price appreciation. Those regions where permanent crops such as fruits and vegetables are predominant (Pacific West) have the highest percentage income returns, although declining since 2015. In fact, there is no region represented where income returns have grown since 2015. Furthermore, as is the theme of this article, the relative differences in the income returns between regions should reflect the configuration of commodities produced.
Figure 3. Regional components of the total returns to farmland for the Hancock Agricultural Investment Group framland portfolio.
As in any investment situation, there are likely additional factors at play in explaining the divergent nature of these REIT valuations. These include, but are not limited to, revenue growth, dividend rates, dividend coverage, and operating costs. Many of these are discussed in detail at Seeking Alpha. No doubt that tariffs, rumors of tariffs, and potential trade retaliations have dampened the outlook for row crops and soybeans in particular. Beyond the sentiment, details of these tariffs are an important consideration. Fundamentally, though, farmland REIT values reflect the potential income stream from rents and not the appreciation of land itself.
Rents Versus Value
The relationship between farmland value and cash rents remains dubious. Whether rents follow or lead land valuation could be argued either way. Cash rents would follow land prices since rents are longer term and take longer to change. Earnings are capitalized directly into land values rather than cash rents. The cash rent as a mover of land value argument would view returns per acre as setting the cash rent. Land values would follow based on a capitalization of those rents. In either case, the relationship or ratio between cash rents and land values warrants monitoring.
There are a variety of ways to evaluate the relationships between rents and value. This relationship should remain relatively consistent over time regardless if cash rents or land values react first. The stability stems from the balancing of renting versus purchasing in the market. Simply dividing farmland value by rent gives a quasi price-to-earnings ratio (Figure 4). A 10-year moving average calculation allows for comparison with alternative investment returns ( Shiller PE-10 and reciprocal of the 10-year treasury yield ). The imbalances in the U.S. housing market during the late 1990s to early 2000s is easily seen along with the impact of historically low interest rates in recent years helping to push PE values above 30 for some states.
Figure 4. Comparison of implied price-to-earnings (PE) for farm real estate
Another way to evaluate the relationship between cash rent and farmland value is to compare the amount of a 30-year fixed rate mortgage payment to rent (Figure 5). The extreme imbalance that occurred in the early part of the 1980s is readily apparent regardless of which State you measure. A sharp run-up in interest rates pushed the mortgage payment associated with farmland to a multiple of 3 in Illinois and higher in Kansas during the peak interest rates in 1981. Subsequent to the correction, rents and the cost of owning farmland track pretty closely in most states.
Figure 5. Cash rent in comparison with 30-year fixed rate mortgage payments for farmland.
Effectively functioning land markets have an important role to play in the performance of U.S. agriculture. Proper development of land markets requires secure land tenure agreements and low transaction costs.
REITS may be an effective hedge against inflation for current farmland owners. Moreover, farmland assets are a particularly attractive diversifier because they have a long documented history of generating returns that have low or negative correlation with traditional asset class returns.
Overall, farmland return expectations for 2018 remain muted; just outpacing inflation for the year. The main driver is the likelihood of a fourth consecutive year of commodity price declines, leading to declining on-farm profitability and tighter operating margins. Farmland markets are further susceptible to potential trade disruptions (NAFTA, trade relations with China).
One of Ricardo's chief contributions (arrived at without mathematical tools) is his theory of rents, which has withstood the test of time.
Note that this article does not constitute investment advice nor do I own shares in any farmland REITS. The author also appreciates the helpful comments from Dr. Todd Kuethe.
Earth Day, Farm Bills, and the Future of Conservation Programs
The day was first celebrated on April 22, 1970. Today marks the forty-eighth observation of Earth Day. An opportunity to raise awareness for the need to protect the environment and promote circumstances for environmental conservation. I thought it appropriate to reflect on how farmers and ranchers have contributed to environmental stewardship and the role of USDA conservation programs.
Investment in agricultural conservation has come a long way since the 1985 Farm Bill first added a Conservation Title. The Farm Bill conservation programs, taken in total, are the largest single source of funding for land conservation. Farm bill programs create significant opportunities for land trusts to protect high-priority farm and ranch lands, grasslands, wetlands, and forests. Today, there is a portfolio of payment programs and other policy instruments designed to encourage better environmental performance and accountability on U.S. farms.
Perhaps one of the more well-known and controversial programs is the CRP. The primary purpose of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is to conserve and improve soil, protect water quality, and provide wildlife habitat by establishing long-term cover on highly erodible land or land in need of conservation buffers that was previously in row crop production. The CRP program offers 10–15 year contracts for the retirement of land from crop production using submitted bids subject to field specific caps. In exchange for cost-share and rental payments, agriculture producers remove environmentally sensitive land from production and plant resource-conserving land cover to protect soil, water, and wildlife habitat.
Congress created CRP in the 1985 Farm Bill due to increased concern over unacceptably high levels of soil erosion. The 1985 Bill authorized USDA to enroll up to 45 million acres, though actual enrollment has never exceeded 37 million acres. Between 1985 and 2008, the enrollment cap was reduced to 36 million acres before being increased to 39 million and then reduced again to 32 million acres. The 2014 Farm Bill gradually lowered the CRP acreage cap from 32 million acres under the 2008 Farm Bill to 24 million acres in 2018.
Source: Farms Service Agency, USDA. (https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/conservation-programs/reports-and-statistics/conservation-reserve-program-statistics/index)
Despite substantial changes in producer preferences and program design; fluctuations in total acres enrolled; and tremendous technological advancements in agricultural production (many of the arguments used for lower support in the 2014 Farm Bill), payments per acre enrolled have generally declined over time and remained remarkably steady in recent years. This suggest, that at least in relative terms, the CRP program is operating with greater economic efficiency today than when its was first developed.
I offer 2 alternative methods for inflation adjusting federal CRP outlays. I first use a more traditional chain-type GDP deflator (2018=100). I also deflate expenditures by the farm real estate value index (2018=100), since the primary focus of the program and it's instruments are farmland. Although eligibility is centered on highly erodible land, most CRP land is selected from producer offers using the Environmental Benefits Index (EBI), a benefit–cost index that accounts for a broad range of environmental concerns and the cost of the contract to the government. Compensation is meant to capture the opportunity cost of foregone production on that specific land and its ownership and maintenance costs.
In addition to reducing the acreage cap to achieve cost savings, several other modifications were made as part of the 2014 Farm Bill. This included three transition options for expiring CRP land. First, within the 2 million-acre reservation for grassland enrollments, expiring CRP acres are prioritized; the land will remain in CRP but the economic use of the land for grazing and haying is greatly expanded. Second, it allowed producers with expiring CRP land to enroll in the Conservation Stewardship Program in the final year of their CRP contract. Third, it provided two years of extra rental payments to owners of expiring CRP land who rent or sell their land to a beginning, socially disadvantaged, or veteran producer who will practice conservation on the land through the Transition Incentives Program. These program refinements are potentially at odds with the direction of the current Farm Bill discussions.
America's farmers and ranchers have a proud tradition of conservation stewardship working in concert with the federal government to develop innovative approaches and sustainable practices that benefit the land, water, and wildlife for future generations. The next farm legislation will have an important impact on whether this stewardship legacy is maintained. The signals, so far, are not encouraging.
The House Agriculture Committee's proposed Farm Bill reauthorizes the conservation reserve program increasing acreage from 24 million acres to 29 million acres. It limits CRP rental payments to 80 percent of established local rental rates, with a 15 percent reduction for first re-enrollment and 10 percent thereafter. But working lands conservation is cut by 25 percent over the next 5 years with the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) being rolled into the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. Overall, conservation takes a nearly $1 billion cut over 10 years.
The Law of Unintended Consequences
Often cited but rarely defined, the law of unintended consequences suggests that actions of people—and especially of government—always have unanticipated or unintended effects. There has been a lot of discussion in the farm press this week regarding the impacts of recently enacted steel and aluminum tariffs and the pending NAFTA negotiations on future agricultural exports. The general characterization of the situation was negative, citing expressions of fear and worry on the part of U.S. farmers.
I have been examining the potential of twitter analytics for evaluating current events in U.S. farming and tracking how the consensus mood changes over time. The heightened commentary and awareness of agricultural trade concerns seemed like a perfect opportunity to see what social media opinion has to offer. Twitter is an online social networking service on which users worldwide publish their opinions on a variety of topics, discuss current issues, complain, and express many kinds of emotions. I pulled 2,400 tweets from the past 10 days (March 10-20) from all over the U.S. containing the keywords: agriculture exports, NAFTA, tariffs, trade, ethanol, soybean exports.
Words contained in the tweets were evaluated using NRC emotion lexicon which holds 14,182 different words with their emotion and sentiment classes. Most of the tweets had a well defined emotional content. Negative emotions outnumbered positive by nearly 2-to-1. Emotion words referring to fear were over-represented and accounted for nearly half of all emotion words in the sampled tweets. Anger, however, did not seem to be as strong as what might have been depicted in many of the media outlets. Trust was the dominant positive emotion, although I am not sure how to interpret its meaning in this context.
Sentiment analysis revealed some interesting results. In particular, the extreme negative rating for one day (March 16th) in comparison with the earlier and later parts of the 10-day period. The R Syuzhet package. comes with four alternative sentiment dictionaries and provides a convenient method for accessing the robust, but computationally expensive, sentiment extraction tool developed in the NLP group at Stanford University. Since these alternative measures are scaled differently, I transformed all of the outcomes to the 0-1 range for comparison purposes. Negative sentiment would be towards zero, while values approaching 1 would be positive.
During March 10-14 the sentiment values were running slightly negative prior to reaching extreme negativity for 3 days and returning to near neutral (0.50) on March 18. This suggests that aside from some of the known concerns about twitter analysis, the large drop-off could have been media driven or reflect media twitter activity.
Exports As A Source of Income
Just how important are agricultural exports to farm income? To answer this question, you have to look at calendar year export amounts in relation to gross farm earnings. Since 2008, agricultural exports have accounted for more than 30 percent of gross cash income and averaged just over 32 percent. The largest increase in the importance of exports in the last 20 years occurred between 2005 and 2008 when the percentage share climbed from 22.6 percent to 32.8 percent. That event and subsequent high levels of exports relative to income are in large part attributable to a dramatic reduction in the value of the U.S. dollar against currencies of key trading partners and competing countries .
The dollar exchange rate compares its value to the currencies of other countries. When the dollar strengthens, it makes American-made goods more expensive and less competitive compared to foreign-produced goods. The Economic Research Service provide a specific dollar index for agricultural trade, Real Annual Commodity Trade Weighted Exchange Rates. Exchange rates are one of the many factors that determine trade patterns and U.S. exports of agricultural products, but their influence has been powerful in the last decade. Their impact will be tested in the current environment as the Federal Reserve accelerates the path for US rate rises and continues to scale back its balance sheet.
Surprisingly, there has not been a lot of annual volatility in the importance of exports to farm income since 2008. This suggests that despite lower dollar valuations, other factors were countervailing. Changes in economic growth rates and incomes of importing countries can impact trade. Witness, the 2014 Ukraine Crisis and the debt crisis in Greece that has been ongoing since 2010. Changes in trade policies (often related to health or environmental concerns) can cause unexpected disruptions to trade patterns. For example, hog exports in 2013 were constrained by the PED virus and in 2015 they were limited due to concerns by China about feed ingredients. In 2017, the Chinese market to U.S. beef was reopened for the first time in nearly 14 years. Finally, U.S. and competing producers are subject to the whims of mother nature that influence world commodity supplies.
How Concerned Should We Be About Agricultural Exports
U.S. farmers and ranchers produce some of the most competitive, high-quality farm products in the world. They also consistently produce more product than can be consumed domestically. As a result, agricultural exports are important to both farmers and the U.S. economy.
FIVE Reasons We should Be Worried
Concentration of trading partners. The top destinations for U.S. agricultural exports have been limited to a few key countries. China, Canada, Mexico, and Japan represented more than half of FY2016 exports.
Strengthening of the U.S. Dollar. Any unanticipated moves by the Federal Reserve to further tighten monetary policy could result in a stronger U.S. dollar. For example, if the Fed decides to remove excess reserves by shrinking the balance sheet through asset sales rather than gradually reducing the balance sheet by ceasing to roll over securities as they mature, which began in September 2017.
Increasing competition across key commodities. The U.S. is the world's top exporter of agricultural products, but Americas global export share has been steadily declining. Rival countries have adopted more modern farming and agricultural practices and improved their transportation infrastructure in recent years.
Changing consumer tastes and preferences. Food safety has emerged as an important global issue with international trade and public health implications that will continue to cause disruptions in trade. The consumer movement to reject modern agricultural technology, such as genetic modification, synthetic fertilizers, and irradiation has not faded.
Growing uncertainty surrounding trade agreements. Renegotiations have started on the North American Free Trade Agreement, a 23-year-old agreement that removed tariffs and significantly increased commerce between Mexico, the United States and Canada. The outcome of this trade deal will have far reaching implications.
Infographic highlighting the total exports, top destinations and top commodities for U.S. agricultural exports in 2016. All data comes from the USDA-FAS GATS system.
Three Reasons to be Optimistic
Domestic and world economic growth. Steady global economic growth supports world food demand, global agricultural trade, and U.S. agricultural exports. Strong growth in developing countries is especially important because feed use and food consumption tend to be very responsive to income growth in those countries.
Greater access to new and existing international markets. USDA and other government agencies have, for many years, invested in a variety of trade promotion programs that have been successful at opening new markets and reducing trade barriers.
Continued weak U.S. dollar. Improved per capita income growth in the Eurozone coupled with a more restrictive European Central Bank Policy, and similar improvements in the economic outlook of other key U.S. trading partners in Asia should help dampen the agricultural export-weighted value of the U.S. dollar.
As Things Stand Now
Despite the legitimate concerns about U.S. agricultural export prospects in 2018 and beyond, the most recent Outlook for U.S. Agricultural Trade from USDA remains generally positive. Exports in FY2018 are projected to fall slightly below FY2017 levels and come in about $13 billion below the recent high established in FY2014. They regard robust per capita world GDP growth and continued weakening of the U.S. dollar against the currencies of many key trading partners as the two most important factors affecting U.S. agricultural exports. Growth in foreign incomes impact is mostly centered on developing countries since they have a much higher income elasticity for agricultural imports than developed countries.
The export situation for U.S. agriculture remains volatile, with the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and potential tariff wars creating the most uncertainty. This is in stark contrast to recent years where export unsureness was more depend on world growing conditions (weather) and U.S. and trading partner monetary policy changes. A complicated formulation just got more complicated. The return of Twitter sentiment to neutral territory suggests a wait and see attitude on agriculture export prospects. Stay tuned.
😀 Thanks to Mathew Shane for his constructive comments and suggestions.
The Perspectives of two Agricultural Economists
Haves and Have-Nots: Why MFP 2019 Will be A Disappointment for Some
Farm Loan Delinquencies Higher in 2018, Remain Historical Low
Direct Payments Set to Soar in 2019
Farm Sector Working Capital at Critical Levels
The Prevented Planting Giant Begins to Wake Up
farmdocDaily
Release of 2020 Crop Budgets, Revised 2019 Budgets, and Up-dated Revenues and Costs
Corn Prices Heating Up
Impact of Higher Corn Prices on Swine Finishing Feed Cost
The Other Side of the Seventies
Historical Prevent Planting Payments: Implications for 2019
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The Midnight Shade Bra is detailed with a beaded-embellished bow placed front and center to enhance the bosom while they sit snugly in this underwire bra. Hook and eye closure and adjustable straps. Extra padding is molded in to give additional lift.
This item is part of the Midnight Shade Collection.


A new App Note has been posted: AN009 by Stefan Mauerhofer describes a method for attaching a PS/2 keyboard to the EVB001 evaluation board. The whole process from the hardware to arrayFORTH till polyFORTH is covered by this app note. Download it from the Index of Downloads.


Im just getting into using ShaderGraph as my stepping stone into the world of Shaders and i appear to be having a really annoying issue.
I'm trying to create a Sprite Shader that offsets the position of the Main Texture based off a Distortion Texture. Im so far so good, however i am unable to connect the the "out(3)" to the "Position (3)" node and i have no idea why. I've tried googling around and i can't find a single helpful answer.
I've attached a Screenshot showing the issue. When i drag the node to connect it, it goes grey as if to signify they can't be connected, but i have no idea why.
I haver never used it, but just guessing about it , I would say they are of different types, if there is a way to check what type each one is, i'd start by checking that.


What is Machinarium Soundtrack + Art Book?
Machinarium Soundtrack + Art Book is a Adventure, Indie, Great Soundtrack PC game, developed by , available on Steam and published by .
According to Steam user reviews, 0% of the 0 user reviews in the last 30 days are positive. For all time, 0% of the 0 user reviews for Machinarium Soundtrack + Art Book are positive.


BOERNE, Texas -- Surrounded by diners munching on breakfast tacos and "the best fried chicken you will ever eat," Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott rolled into the Flagstop Café off I-10 West on Wednesday morning and maneuvered his wheelchair around the room to shake hands with supporters.
The odds-on favorite to win next year's election to succeed Gov. Rick Perry, Abbott has been eager to hit the campaign trail in earnest this summer, conscious that many Texans still don't know much about him.
Speaking into his microphone with the even-toned clarity of someone who has told the same story many times, Abbott recounted for the few dozen people present the freak accident that partially paralyzed him in 1984.
Abbott, who announced his candidacy for governor last month, spoke of the work that he and his doctors undertook in "piecing my life back together, literally," noting the two steel rods flanking his spine that will remain there for the rest of his life.
The crowd loved it, responding almost as positively as they did to the rest of Abbott's stump speech, which doled out heaping servings of red meat to accompany the breakfast tacos and fried chicken.
In rapid succession, he touted his support for strict voter ID laws, his efforts to defend the phrase "one nation, under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, and his concern that the U.S. adaptation of the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty (which seeks to regulate the transfer of weapons between nations) would infringe upon Second Amendment rights domestically.
The line may not be the most original piece of political prose that the former Texas Supreme Court justice has ever dreamed up. But for the man who rose to national attention in 2005 by leading a successful fight in the U.S. Supreme Court to display the Ten Commandments outside the state capitol, it struck exactly the tone that he was after.
In the early stages of his campaign, Abbott has sought at every turn to tout his conservative bona fides on hot-button social and cultural issues, despite the lack of a challenge from a viable Republican primary opponent and efforts by Democrats to paint him as an extremist.
In Texas, where a Democrat has not been elected to any statewide office since 1994, this tactic remains a safe bet, especially when considering Abbott's likely general election opponent: state Sen. Wendy Davis, who is expected to announce shortly after Labor Day her intention to enter the race.
Still, Abbott isn't taking victory for granted.
From its beginnings, the operatives behind Battleground Texas have emphasized the long-term nature of their attempt to identify and register enough left-leaning voters to turn Texas into a potential deal-sealer for future Democratic presidential candidates.
But the impending clash between Davis -- a recently minted progressive superstar -- and Abbott -- an old-school conservative stalwart -- in the state's first open gubernatorial race since 1990 will pose the first high-profile challenge for the group, whether it's prepared to face such a test so soon or not.
Jeremy Bird, who was the national field director for President Obama's 2012 re-election campaign before assuming his current role at the helm of the super PAC, said in an interview he was "flattered" that his group is being mentioned in Abbott's stump speeches.
And Bird left no doubt about Battleground Texas' plan to play a key role next year in promoting Davis' expected candidacy.
After earning national attention in June for her 11-hour filibuster of a bill implementing new abortion restrictions -- legislation that Perry ultimately signed into law -- the state senator from Fort Worth would enter the race with much fanfare on the left. But she will be a heavy underdog.
Still, there is a strong political case for Davis giving it a shot.
After drawing an abbreviated two-year term in the constitutionally mandated post-redistricting lottery, Davis has been staring at the prospect of a challenging re-election fight for her Senate seat next year after barely defeating her Republican opponent in 2012.
And even if she does lose to Abbott in the gubernatorial race, Davis will be lauded by fellow Democrats for stepping forward to run. What's more, a future in national-level politics may beckon.
But even the most optimistic of Texas Democrats would have to concede that Davis' hopes of actually defeating Abbott are long.
And last year, Mitt Romney bested Perry's margins in the Tea Party wave of two years prior by walloping President Obama in the Lone Star State, 57 percent to 41 percent.
Despite their grand designs, Democratic groups have a long way to go before making the state truly competitive.
Battleground Texas reported raising a relatively robust $1.1 million in the first half of 2013, and Bird was eager to tout a median contribution of around $25 from a pool of more than 3,500 donors, the majority of whom reside in-state.


text:
Q: How do use MySql Regex inside locate? If I try to use  Regex inside locate it fails
Select Locate(FieldA regexp '[a-z][A-Z][a-z]',Binary FieldA) from  PatternTester

as per http://sqlfiddle.com/#!9/403c36/2.
If I search for the explicit letter pattern it locates it correctly:
Select Locate('lC',Binary FieldA) from  PatternTester

as per http://sqlfiddle.com/#!9/403c36/6
Is there something I need to do to make locate 'obey' Regex or will it simply not?

A: As mysql document says, LOCATE() will returns the position of the first occurrence of substring substr in string st, so it will not take any regex as input argument.
Also from checking your fiddle reference, you don't have REGEX_INSTR in this version!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


A private retreat that will make you feel like your'e on vacation when you walk through the front gate. The courtyard leads to a great home to entertain and hang-out. Beautifully updated with Viking range & hood, Sub Zero refrigerator, farm sink, island workspace, Fisher Paykel dishwasher in the kitchen plus oversized french doors to the covered patio and pool. The bonus room is filled with light with a lovely view of it's own private courtyard oasis.


text:
Бериславци или Берислав (срещат се и формите Бориславци и Борислав, , Периклия, до 1925 Μπερίσλαφ, Берислав, , Birislăv, Бирислав) е село в Егейска Македония, в област Централна Македония, дем Мъглен (Алмопия), Гърция.

Георгафия

Селото е разположено на 570 m надморска височина в североизточната част на областта Мъглен, в малка котловина между планините Суха Рупа от изток, Паяк (Пайко) от югоизток и Кожух (Дзена) от северозапад, на около 23 km североизточно от Къпиняни. На 2 km на север е село Лугунци (Лангадия), на 5 km на запад е Нъте (Нотия), а на 4 km на юг към Паяк е Ошин (Архангелос). На 8 km на север е границата със Северна Македония.

Около селото минават три рекички, притоци на Мъгленица – Драгни (Ντράγκνι), Зайкова река (Ζάικουβα) и Усеа (Ουσέα). На юг от селото има пещера, в която жителите в миналото са се криели при нашествие.

История

В Османската империя

На хълма Свети Атанасий, където някога е било старото село, има следи от елинистическо селище с некропол. През 1969 г. на същото място е построен сегашният параклис "Свети Атанасий".

В края на XIX век Бериславци е влашко (мъгленорумънско) село във Влахомъглен. Църквата "Света Параскева" ("Света Петка") е от 1850 година. Изписана е през 1862 година. Сред фреските има и изображение на Света Злата Мъгленска с надпис на български "Света Злата Мегленская". Александър Синве (Les Grecs de l'Empire Ottoman. Etude Statistique et Ethnographique), който се основава на гръцки данни, в 1878 година пише, че в Перислав (Périslav), Мъгленска епархия, живеят 300 гърци.

В 90-те години на XIX век в селото се появява румънската пропаганда. В 1894 година в селото е отворено румънско училище от Рика Плана, който преподава в него три години. Училището работи периодично до 1912 година. До попадането на селото в Гърция в него няма румънска църква.

В селото в 1895 – 1896 година е основан комитет на ВМОРО.

Според статистиката на Васил Кънчов ("Македония. Етнография и статистика") в 1900 година в Бориславъ (Бориславци) живеят 380 власи християни. Според секретаря на Българската екзархия Димитър Мишев (La Macédoine et sa Population Chrétienne) в 1905 година в Берислав има 360 власи и в селото има влашко училище.

Екзархийската статистика за Воденската каза от 1912 година показва селото с 280 жители.

При избухването на Балканската война в 1912 година един човек от Бериславци е доброволец в Македоно-одринското опълчение.

В Гърция
През войната селото е окупирано от гръцки части и остава в Гърция след Междусъюзническата война. От 1919 година селото заедно със съседното Лугунци е самостоятелна община. В 1925 година селото е преименувано на Периклия. В 1997 година общината е присъединена към дем Ексаплатанос.

През Първата световна война, поради близостта на фронтовата линия населението на селото е интернирано от българските военни власти във вътрешността на България. След края на войната жителите му се връщат, но не всички.

Боривое Милоевич пише в 1921 година ("Южна Македония"), че Бериславци (Бьриславци) има 50 къщи власи християни.

В 1925 година осем семейства емигрират в Румъния и се установяват в добруджанското село Сансалай.

В 1935 година е построена нова сграда на училището, след като старата на площада изгаря в 1916 година по време на Първата световна война.

Селото пострадва и по време на Втората световна война от януарската българска офанзива през 1944 година. На 7 април 1944 година край селото се разиграва голяма битка между германските окупационни части и силите на гръцката комунистическа съпротива ЕЛАС, в която загиват 30 германци. По време на Гражданската война (1946 – 1949) селото се разпада напълно и повечето му жители емигрират в Югославия. След нормализирането на положението, селото е обновено.

Според изследване от 1993 година селото продължава да е чисто влашко (373 жители в 1981 г.) и влашкият език в него е запазен отлично. Жителите на селото се занимават с животновъдство и земеделие, в частност оглеждане на картофи.

В началото на 90-те години на ХХ век е възстановена малката църква "Света Богородица" на входа на селото. Четвъртата църква на селото е параклисът "Свети Йоан Предтеча" на пътя за Лугунци.

Селото е планинско и бедно, като населението се занимава със земеделие и скотовъдство.

Личности
 Родени в Бериславци
  Въчо Димов, български революционер от ВМОРО, четник на Андон Кьосето
  Георги Попчев (Γεώργιος Πόπτσης), гръцки андартски деец от трети клас
  Георги Чагрев (Γεώργιος Τσάγρης), гръцки андартски деец от трети клас
  Петре Георгиев (Пене, 1888 – ?), македоно-одрински опълченец, четата на Славко Радоев
  Стоян Дешов, български революционер от ВМОРО, четник на Андон Кьосето
  Ташко Кьопо, български революционер, деец на ВМОРО
  Ташо Пенов Шопов, български революционер, деец на ВМОРО

Бележки

Села в дем Мъглен
Мъгленорумънски селища


text:
Educate. Inspire. Enrich
EP Special
Edu Alerts
Science and technology play a central role in societal development: Annual India Symposium on 'Science & Society'
Apr 07, 2019 by EP Staff	in Edu Alerts
>>LMSAI- Harvard University collaborates with Scientific Adviser to GOI and NITI Aayog to host Symposium
L-R : Prof. Tarun Khanna, Director- the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute and Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor, Harvard Business School, Mr. Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog; Dr. V.K. Saraswat, Member (S & T), NITI Aayog and Chancellor, Jawaharlal Nehru University; Ms. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, CMD, Biocon; Dr. K. Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India
Focusing on the role of academia and government in catalysing intersection between industry, scientific development and societal need, the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute (LMSAI) at Harvard University in partnership with the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India and NITI Aayog, concluded an eventful, Annual India Symposium – 'Science and Society' at Vigyan Bhawan today.
Science and Society are two elements that share a symbiotic relationship, neither of the two can truly flourish without the intervention of the other. The event went ahead on the same lines to elaborate on the role of science in developing the society.
The symposium, which hosted scientists from leading universities in the US and India, identified three overarching strategic objectives, all directed to bolstering the intellectual ties that bind scientists to one another, and science to society
I. Strengthen the country's science clusters so that these are accessible and relevant to all in society
II. Link country's efforts in science and technology to global initiatives so communities benefit from shared knowledge
III. Foster a culture of scientific literacy at large
More than 150 leaders from business, academia, industry, government and the research community as well as officials and students from 20 academic institutes in India took part in an event that also marks Harvard University's increased academic research presence in India.
Mr Lakshmi Mittal, Chairman and CEO of ArcelorMittal, the world's leading steel manufacturer, and whose support lead to the creation of LMSAI, said: "My family has always believed in supporting higher learning and its actionable outcomes for business and society. We are very proud of this inaugural event of The Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute at Harvard University, which demonstrates our continuing commitment to these goals. In particular, I would like to see more young people actively pursuing education and careers in STEM subjects. These skill sets are critical for future economic and societal growth. It is important that collectively business, custodians of public policy and academia work together to address such skill shortages with a common aim and purpose."
The Symposium was graced by eminent leaders like Mr. Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, Dr. K. Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, Prof. Tarun Khanna, Director- the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute and Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor, Harvard Business School, amongst other.
Speaking at the event, Prof. Tarun Khanna, Director- the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute and Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor, Harvard Business School said, "The Mittal Institute has been active in India for over a decade, serving as a platform to facilitate a two-way exchange of ideas between Harvard and Indian universities, government agencies and civil society. LMSAI is an original source of thinking that advances our understanding of the key issues of our day – from STEM to technology in agriculture to the age of biology. As a multi-disciplinary Institute within Harvard, we have the advantage of working with faculty across all departments and professional schools at the University. We regularly bring creative minds together to provide multiple perspectives on ideas that can address complex societal problems facing South Asia and further help in policy decision making".
Spread across six sessions, the Symposium hosted industry veterans who deliberated on a number of issues. While one session talked about technological advancements in agriculture, focusing on enhancing productivity and ensuring food security for our country, another session focussed on 'Catalysing India's Digital Health Ecosystem', wherein Mr. J Satyanarayana, Chairman, Unique Identification Authority of India elaborated on the significance of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence.
In a discussion on Methods and Tools to Enhance STEM Education in India, Mr. R. Ramannan, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission, touched on issues revolving around talent mismatch- the evident disparity between college curricula and industry expectations being one of them. He further spoke about many tools that can be used to propagate idea of pursuing STEM careers among students.
Other distinguished names gracing the summit included Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog; Ms. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, CMD, Biocon; Dr. V.K. Saraswat, Member (S & T), NITI Aayog and Chancellor, Jawaharlal Nehru University; Manoj Kumar, Senior Advisor & Head – Innovation, Tata Trusts; Satchit Balsari, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School; Sunita Nadhamuni, Head, Healthcare Solutions, Dell Technologies; Venkatesh Murthy, Professor and Chair of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Mr. Dmitry Popov and Mr. Ankur Goel, John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, among many others.
Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog concluded the event, enlightening on the way forward by building a culture of science literacy in India. This society-centric Symposium, included some grave issues that our country is facing right now- in terms of agriculture, education and health. It also acted as a platform to make people from diverse disciplines come together to discuss these issues and spread awareness about substantial and productive change in the society.
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