May 4, 2024
Spotlight Stories
Spotlight 1 – No-Till Farmer says that investment in no-till, regenerative ag practices is gaining momentum. Check out the story, here.
Spotlight 2 – Euro News writes that Europe has to set aside its pesticides row and turn towards sustainable agricultural solutions. Check it out, here.
Spotlight 3 – Forbes discusses the full potential of the voluntary carbon market through an agriculture lens. Read the article, here.
Industry Updates
Regenerative agroforestry nonprofit and United Nations World Restoration Flagship Trees for the Future (TREES) is celebrating a land restoration milestone this week – 350 million trees planted around the world. Local TREES staff train farmers in a regenerative agroforestry technique called the Forest Garden Approach. Farmers grow trees from seed on their own land and plant them strategically to protect the land and support the farming family. Founded in 1989, TREES staff have worked around the globe. Today, TREES staff train farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. The average Forest Garden is made up of 2,500 – 4,000 trees to restore and protect the land and dozens of food and resource crops for the family to eat and sell. [link]
Pennsylvania State Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding visited Stroud Water Research Center for a first-hand look at research measuring the effects of farming practices that are improving water quality and soil health. Redding and local farmer, Jamie Hicks, were joined by the Stroud Center’s Executive Director, Dr. Dave Arscott, and Director of Watershed Restoration, Matthew Ehrhart, as they toured a field managed by Hicks, and discussed a new $1.5 million funding opportunity that will further conservation research to develop innovative solutions that farmers can implement to address complex challenges like climate change and loss of critical water and soil resources. This increased research funding, coupled with Governor Shapiro’s proposed $10 million Agriculture Innovation Fund will keep Pennsylvania researchers on the cutting edge of exciting developments in conservation and regenerative agriculture. [link]
The Federal Government in Australia has announced new grant funding for farmers to tackle sustainable agriculture at the grassroots level. In a statement, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Murray Watt said the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program Small Grants are designed for individuals as well as farming, community and Indigenous groups to lead on-ground projects. Funding comes from the Natural Heritage, the Federal Government’s key investment platform for achieving its natural resource management, sustainable agriculture and environmental protection outcomes. Starting in 2023-24, the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program is penciled in to allocate $302.1 million over five years. [link]
Australian Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Minister Murray Watt will bring together more than 150 stakeholders for high-level conversations about how to de-carbonize the agriculture industry. Farmers, peak agricultural lobby groups, researchers, environmental groups, energy experts and senior departmental staff from around the country will converge on the Darling Downs in late May to discuss how the sector can meet its own climate goals. The summit will be a chance for industry to discuss the Ag and Land Sector Decarbonization Plan, one of six such plans for various industry sectors under the government’s Net Zero 2050 Plan, forming part of the overall consultation process for the climate abatement agenda. [link]
The global regenerative agriculture market is forecasted to grow to a valuation of US$ 4,364.4 million in 2024 and is likely to register a CAGR of 15.6%, garnering a valuation of US$ 5,710 million by 2034, according to Future Market Insights. The growing focus of governments on sustainable practices in agriculture is propelling the global regenerative agriculture market demand. These initiatives include a range of financial aid programs, government grants, and legislative initiatives aimed at encouraging farmers to use regenerative farming methods. Industry giants are making significant investments in regenerative agriculture in response to customer demand for sustainably and ethically derived goods, further propelling the market growth. Regenerative agriculture practices include the following: Agroecology, Aquaculture, Biochar & Terra Preta, Agroforestry, No-till & Pasture Cropping, Holistically Managed Grazing, Silvopasture, and Others. [link]
ADM announced that its global regenerative agriculture program expanded to more than 2.8 million acres in 2023, exceeding its 2 million acre goal. In addition, the company announced that it is targeting 3.5 million regenerative acres in 2024 and is increasing its 2025 goal from 4 million to 5 million acres globally. ADM partnered with more than 28,000 growers of corn, soybeans, wheat, peanuts, cotton, sorghum, canola and barley in 2023 as it expanded its regenerative agriculture efforts globally, including the launch of new programs in Europe and Latin America. Participating farms again saw improvements in soil health and carbon footprint. ADM defines regenerative agriculture as an outcome-based farming approach that protects and improves soil health, biodiversity, climate and water resources while supporting farming business development. [link]
As part of the government’s quest to improve American eating habits, the Food and Drug Administration is considering requiring food manufacturers to put new labels on the front of packages. The labels might flag certain health risks, such as high levels of salt, sugar or saturated fat. The FDA is still weighing its approach, with an aim to propose its rule on labeling this summer. The agency hopes that clearer food labeling could help people make healthier choices as it tackles the rise of diet-related health problems such as Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. One label idea the FDA has tested uses red, yellow and green to convey whether products are high, medium or low in added sugar, sodium and saturated fat. Other potential labels that the FDA has shared state how much of those substances a product contains per serving. [link]
An innovative Scottish firm is harnessing the superpowers of the underground fungal kingdom to revolutionize tree-planting efforts at home and abroad, with a mission to help reforest the earth. Rhizocore, based on the outskirts of Edinburgh, creates bespoke ‘fungi bombs’ – or Rhizopellets – which are hand-crafted to contain the optimum mix of mycorrhiza for a particular site and the trees which will be grown there. Mycorrhiza connects the roots of trees and other plants in the habitat in a mutually beneficial arrangement that allows nutrients and water to be exchanged. [link]
In Case You Missed It…
In early April, twenty members of the U.S. House of Representatives wrote a letter to House Agriculture Committee Leadership urging them to include a voluntary crop insurance premium incentive program for farmers who plant cover crops in the upcoming Farm Bill. See more, here.