March 1, 2025
Spotlight Stories
Spotlight 1 – Food Ingredients First looks at how food and beverage giants are using small shifts to drive big results when it comes to regenerative agriculture. Read the story, here.
Spotlight 2 – The University of Pennsylvania looks into the challenges of accurately measuring soil carbon sequestration. Check it out, here.
Spotlight 3 – Civil Eats speaks with farmers who say that Climate-Smart Commodities projects are crumbling. Take a read, here.
Industry Updates
Hawaii Community College is making a lasting impact on sustainable agriculture in Hawaii through its pioneering use of Korean natural farming (KNF). At the college’s Pana'ewa farm lot, students learn to apply KNF principles to cultivate crops such as ‘uala (sweet potatoes), pineapples, and kalo (taro) without synthetic fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides. This method harnesses Indigenous microorganisms and fermented plant-based biostimulants to enrich soil naturally—a crucial approach for restoring lands depleted by plantation-era farming. [link]
A new report issued by the Purdue Applied Research Institute’s Digital Innovation in Agri-Food Systems Laboratory, the research arm of DIAL Ventures, offers multiple strategies to help the agrifood sector navigate climate change-related challenges throughout the agricultural value chain. To improve climate resilience in agriculture, the report emphasizes the need to address increasing climate variability and its effects on food production. The report also prioritizes the efficient use of natural resources such as water, soil and energy. Examples include adopting precision agriculture technologies and integrating renewable energy. The report further stresses the importance of building a data-driven, decision-making culture across the agrifood value chain. [link]
China has renewed its $10 million contribution to the China-IFAD South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) Facility, reinforcing a partnership that has already benefited over 100,000 people in rural areas worldwide. The facility was first set up in 2018 with an initial $10 million contribution from China, constructed to provide a distinctive approach to sustainable agriculture development. Rather than traditional aid models, it focuses on facilitating knowledge-sharing and collaboration between developing nations, leveraging expertise from countries that have successfully addressed similar challenges. By the end of 2024, the facility had supported 20 SSTC projects across 40 countries spanning Africa, Asia and the Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean. [link]
A no-cost soil sampling program is now available for Indiana state farmers. Indiana’s Mississippi River Basin Soil Sampling Program is a no-cost program with a focus on increasing the knowledge and use of soil sampling as a nutrient management practice to benefit farm operations. The Indiana State Department of Agriculture and partners throughout the state have worked with the Gulf Hypoxia Program to develop the offering, which is open now for applicants. [link]
Kellogg’s has debuted a new government-funded hydrogen demonstration operation at its factory in the UK, marking an industry first. The cereal giant’s three-week demonstration was funded by the government’s £55m HyNet Industrial Fuel Switching program, and comes as part of its £1bn Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP). The effort saw fossil fuel gas replaced with hydrogen to power the toasting oven, producing cereal for popular brands such as Corn Flakes, Bran Flakes, Special K and Rice Krispies. Kellogg’s is the first food manufacturer in the country to produce cereal using this method. [link]
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) revealed the details of a major update to the methodology of the State of Stocks Index (SoSI), supporting global efforts to better track and manage ocean fisheries more efficiently. The State of Stocks Index is computed every two years and presented in the State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) flagship report. The enhanced methodology has been updated to deliver a more precise and comprehensive analysis of the state and health of stocks, and adopts a three-tier assessment approach, ensuring greater adaptability based on data availability and quality across different fisheries. A key improvement is a significant expansion in the number of assessed stocks in each FAO Major Fishing Area from about 500 to approximately 2,600, offering high-resolution insights into the state and health of fishery resources at both regional and global levels. [link]
On Feb. 25, the World Agroforestry Center (CIFOR-ICRAF) deposited seeds representing tree species of special value to communities across Africa in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. The 19 species represented included 13 native to Africa and six others that have found a place in the economies and ecologies of the continent. Among the trees selected were the baobab (Adansonia digitata), which people in several African countries prize for its edible fruit and leaves, and the incredibly versatile Faidherbia albida — its roots enrich soil with nitrogen, its leaves are fertilizer and fodder for livestock; it can provide shade for crops like coffee, or give up its branches for fuel; the seeds it produces in the dry season can be eaten. Across Africa, forests are under pressure. Unsustainable harvesting and agricultural expansion claims almost 4 million hectares (9.9 million acres) every year, urbanization fragments forest patches, and climate change affects viable growing zones. [link]
A recent brief from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) highlights the critical role of forests and wild foods in transforming food systems. Produced in collaboration with People and Plants International and the Alliance of Biodiversity International, “Forests, Trees and Wild Species in Agrifood Systems” shows that over 5.7 billion people rely on non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for food, energy, medicine, and income. The report highlights the biodiversity preserved in forests—approximately 50,000 wild species are used worldwide, 10,000 of which are used to feed humans. Forests also play a crucial role in nutrition, especially for vulnerable populations, with wild species providing essential vitamins, proteins, and minerals. [link]
At Chico’s University Farm in California, research is being conducted on regenerative agriculture to make farming more environmentally friendly and resource conservative. University Farm is currently participating in the California Soil Carbon Accrual Project alongside other campuses on projects that implement and compare regenerative management systems next to conventional management approaches. The purpose of the project is to compare how different farming management systems impact soil quality. Across California, several participating farms are growing different types of crops, such as rice, alfalfa, cotton and, at Chico, grain. [link]
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Jordan, in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and the National Agricultural Research Center (NARC), announced two new projects designed to bolster the country's agricultural sector, enhance food security, and improve livelihoods. The project “Conservation and Genetic Enhancement of Local Almond Varieties in Jordan for Sustainable Agricultural Development,” documents, analyzes, and preserves Jordan's valuable almond heritage, including wild and landrace types, which are threatened by climate change, agricultural modernization, and a lack of comprehensive genetic information. The second project, “Strengthening Jordan’s agriculture sector through enhanced capacities and market access,” aims to improve food security and the livelihoods of rural communities by supporting farmers in adopting sustainable farming practices, increasing productivity, and improving access to markets. [link]
Israel’s Aleph Farms, a pioneer of cultivated meat, has lowered its valuation by 73% in its upcoming funding round, noting that the company is adapting to “changing market conditions." As food tech companies feel the pinch, Israeli-cultivated beef producer Aleph Farms has been forced to slash its valuation as part of an “emergency fundraising” round, according to tech publication Calcalist. The company has reportedly been aiming to secure $25M from investors “to stay afloat”, though is so far expected to raise only $10M in the coming weeks based on reports from shareholder Millennium Food-Tech. [link]
Long-term field study results over 25 years show differences in soil carbon gain among cover cropped, no-till, and perennial cropping systems. Investigators at the Kellogg Biological Station Long-Term Ecological Research (KBS LTER) program site in Michigan found that field crops in a corn-soy-wheat rotation grown conventionally with tillage and no cover crops did not show an increase in soil carbon over 25 years. However, when a winter cover crop was added, these fields sequestered carbon rapidly – increasing by up to 25% over 25 years. Likewise, no-till practices, in which seeds are planted into unplowed soil using specialized equipment, also built soil carbon, but only half as fast as the rate of cover crops. Even more effective than cover crops in these annual systems, soils planted with perennial crops like alfalfa and unmanaged successional vegetation, sequestered carbon even more effectively. [link]
The Ohio Department of Agriculture will provide $10 million in state funding to help farmers recover from 2024’s historic drought. The state experienced extreme weather conditions throughout the spring and summer, significantly affecting agricultural producers. Local Soil and Water Conservation Districts will help administer the relief funding to 28 counties designated as primary natural disaster areas by USDA between Aug. 19 and Sept. 16 due to drought. Funding is available to any livestock producer participating in the Farm Service Agency Livestock Forage Disaster Program in a county designated as a primary natural disaster area. [link]
A new study in the journal, Nature, compares the carbon dynamics of silvopasture systems in the Northeastern United States relative to treeless pastures. For the study, total carbon content was measured in the woody, herbaceous, and soil pools for silvopastures and treeless pastures on five different farms. Results indicate that silvopastures stored 43% more total carbon than treeless pastures, with tree carbon in silvopastures being the driving factor. No significant difference in soil carbon stocks were found between systems across all five study farms. Total carbon content of forages was generally lower in silvopastures when compared to treeless pasture. [link]
A new study out of Australia using updated greenhouse gas metrics says that animal agriculture is the leading cause of climate change - not fossil fuels. In the study, Australian climate scientist Gerard Wedderburn-Bisshop, co-founder of the World Preservation Foundation, notes that the IPCC’s greenhouse gas accounting rules were developed three decades ago – while recent advances have improved our understanding of what causes climate change. According to his assessment, agriculture – the most extensive land user – caused 60% of global warming between 1750 and 2020, with meat and dairy farming alone responsible for 53% of the total. In contrast, fossil fuels contributed to 19% of warming in this period, less than a third of the food production sector. [link]
At the USDA's Ag Outlook Forum, the agency's Chief Economist, Seth Meyer, said that commodity prices year over year and cash receipts are expected to decrease for most major row crops, but the outlook for the livestock sector is more optimistic. The gap between ag imports and exports is also projected to remain wide in 2025. USDA is forecasting a $500 million dollar increase in exports based on higher grain and feed exports. While Mexico remains a top importer of U.S. ag commodities, China is importing less. [link]
In Case You Missed It…
One year ago today, New York Attorney General, Letitia James, filed a lawsuit against giant meat producer, JBS, accusing the company of making misleading claims about its greenhouse gas emissions goals to boost sales among environmentally conscious consumers. See more, here.