January 6, 2024
Spotlight Story
Spotlight – Curious about which U.S. states produce the most greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture? Check out the story, here.
Industry Updates
Platinum Equity is acquiring the Horizon Organic and Wallaby businesses from Danone SA. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Danone announced in January 2023 it was exploring strategic options for both businesses. The company will retain a minority stake in them once the transaction is completed. Horizon Organic is a USDA-certified organic dairy brand with a product line that includes milk, creamers, whiteners, yogurt, cheese and butter. Wallaby is a manufacturer of Australian-inspired Greek yogurt. [link]
As lawmakers prepare to begin work on a new farm bill in 2024, farm bill priorities are being voiced by all parties, with some calling for reform to the pesticide labeling process. The EPA is responsible under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) for regulating pesticides. However, Congressman Dan Newhouse (R-WA 4th District) says that some states have gone beyond EPA’s own stringent regulations. Newhouse supports the Agricultural Label Uniformity Act to reaffirm pesticide label uniformity, noting that uncertainty on EPA-approved science-based labels will erode access to critical pesticides. Newhouse concedes, states have authority to regulate pesticides in their jurisdictions, but should not impose labeling requirements on top of or different than the scientific findings of EPA. [link]
The Maryland Department of Agriculture will accept Fiscal Year 2024 grant applications for its Healthy Soils Competitive Fund beginning January 3, 2024. This program provides financial assistance to eligible farmers and organizations to adopt conservation practices that benefit the climate, soil, and water. Practices can include agroforestry, cover crops, conservation tillage, pasture/hay planting, crop rotation, nutrient management, and more. Maryland farmers and organizations with innovative conservation ideas are encouraged to apply for these grants. Successful applicants will receive up to $50,000 to support 3 years of enhanced soil health practices. [link]
A second year of state funding for the Water Quality Program for Agriculture (WQPA) program cleared the way for the Idaho Soil and Water Conservation Commission to allocate another $5 million to 51 conservation projects across the state in fiscal year 2024. Overall, participating producers are working to reduce the amount of farm chemicals being applied to the soil while using alternatives to commercial fertilizer and herbicides. Biostimulants, in particular, have been making a "world of difference" as local farmers see a decrease in nutrient and sediment flows into groundwater alongside a decline of nitrogen and phosphorous being added to fields. [link]
Sinking soybean prices have been the theme to start the new year. One reason behind the price pressure is bearish news of rain returning to key growing areas in South America that had been impacted by severe drought. However, one leading ag meteorologist thinks this rain could do more harm than good at this point in the season, even impacting the planting of the safrinha corn crop. Eric Snodgrass, science fellow and principal atmospheric scientist with Nutrien Ag Solutions, says that the last three months have been incredibly dry in the center-West region of Brazil and that significant rainfall in coming weeks is likely to get recycled in the form of additional moisture that delays harvest and therefore pushes the safrinha corn crop into a late window of the calendar. Snodgrass says El Niño reached its peak at the end of December. Now, what’s called the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) is riding on top of El Niño, which is pumping tropical moisture into Brazil and increasing farmers' chances there for heavy rainfall and continued rain events. [link]
Seven out of 10 farmers expect a U.S. inflation rate below 4% this year, a sharp turn in sentiment from the start of 2023, when half of producers expected inflation to exceed 6%, said a Purdue University poll. One-third of farmers said they expected interest rates to decline this year, and 22% said interest rates would hold steady. When asked what the farm safety net would look like after the 2024 elections, 22% said it would be weaker, 16% said it would be stronger, and 61% said it would be about the same as now. Congress failed to pass a new farm bill in 2023, and there are doubts whether lawmakers will agree on a bill this year. [link]
The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research is awarding a $7,657,633 grant to Kansas State University. Funding will support an expansive study across the U.S. Corn Belt and Great Plains exploring how crop, soil and water management affect the soil microbial communities that drive agroecosystem functions. Bayer Crop Science provided $4,601,244 in matching funds, and Iowa State University, K-State, LandScan, LI-COR, Mississippi State University, The Ohio State University and The University of Kansas also provided funds for a total investment of $16,362,948. Over an initial five-year period, this project will investigate how combinations of cover crops, nitrogen, crop rotation and tillage, and water management under variable soil water conditions influence soil microbial communities that drive nutrient availability and loss. [link]
The oldest flour company in the U.S., King Arthur Flour Co., recently rolled out a new "Climate Blend" whole wheat flour, using wheat from two farms that employ regenerative agriculture techniques. Some of this wheat is perennial, meaning that it doesn't have to be planted season after season. This eliminates tilling, making it easier for soil to resist erosion and soak up moisture and nutrients. King Arthur sells the new product for roughly $3/lb, more than double the price of its regular whole wheat and a shade above the organic version. The company is betting on enough early adopters to pay this premium and boost regenerative agriculture more broadly. Early returns are promising; Climate Blend was King Arthur’s top-selling whole wheat flour last month, according to the company. [link]
In a study published in the Nature journal, scientists from China, France and the United Kingdom say soil worldwide will shed, instead of absorb, billions of tons of carbon by the end of the century, even if global warming is kept low. The results mean that the world’s carbon budget for staying under 1.5°C of global warming – what experts say is a safety limit – could be 66 percent smaller than previously estimated. Some computer models in the past have found soil to be a good storage for man-made carbon emissions. But the results changed drastically when researchers incorporated data from hundreds of long-term soil studies at sites ranging from tropical forests to the deep Arctic. Many of the experiments have found soil to be getting rid of its carbon content faster than thought, especially in the polar regions where plant cover is sparse. As such, where a model would predict global soils trapping about 30 billion tons of carbon by the end of the century with mild climate change, the updated formula returned a 19 billion ton discharge instead. [link]
In Case You Missed It…
In early December, the European Commission adopted guidelines for designing sustainability agreements in the agriculture space, excluding restrictive covenants normally in place for anticompetitive purposes. The hope is that this will allow companies the ability to advance sustainability in their value chains without running afoul of consumer protections and antitrust laws. Read more, here.