July 13, 2024
Spotlight Stories
Spotlight 1 – WTOP News writes that Kenya’s dramatic flooding is sweeping away a central part of its economy: its farms. Check out the story, here.
Spotlight 2 – UNEP discusses five ways that innovators are making farming easier on the planet. Check it out, here.
Spotlight 3 – Earth.org reviews how meat and dairy subsidies are driving climate change. Read the article, here.
Industry Updates
Italy sealed a regenerative agriculture deal with Algeria as part of its ambitious Mattei Plan, which seeks to create a new partnership with African countries to address the root causes of irregular migration. The office of Premier Giorgia Meloni said the accord entailed "the largest investment in sustainable agriculture made so far by Italy in North Africa". The agreement provides for a strategic concession by the Algerian government of 36,000 hectares, which the company Bonifiche Ferraresi S.p.A. will recover for agricultural use, creating an entire production chain. Activities will start as early as 2024 through the creation of wells and an initial sowing of cereals. [link]
A Norfolk, England firm's "revolutionary" soil analysis tool is set to play a leading role in a new farming project which digs down into the roots of crop performance. PES Technologies, based in Diss, has developed a sensor system which can "smell" a soil's biological signature, allowing farmers and agronomists to carry out quick, cost-effective tests in the field without the need to send samples to a laboratory. This can help them choose which crops to grow, and how to treat them. [link]
A record amount of Connecticut's farmland was protected in 2023, which comes at a time when the state is hemorrhaging farmland and seeing a handful of farms go up for sale. The Department of Agriculture said that the 23 farm parcels protected last year were the most in a single calendar year since the Farmland Preservation Program was established in 1978, with those 23 farm parcels spanning a total of 1,560 acres. A total of $10 million was spent to acquire the conservation easements – 51 percent from the state, 47 percent from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and 2 percent from local nonprofits and community land trusts. [link]
Syngenta Biologicals and Intrinsyx Bio announced a collaboration to bring a novel biological solution to agricultural markets globally. The collaboration will boost farmers’ access to a custom selection of Intrinsyx Bio’s proprietary endophyte formulations. Endophytes – small microorganisms that colonize in plants – fix atmospheric nitrogen directly into the plant, increasing the availability and uptake of key nutrients such as phosphorus and micronutrients that are important for plant health. This reduces the need for synthetic fertilizers, offering farmers greater flexibility in their nutrient management strategies while lowering the environmental impact of farming. Formulations will be offered as seed treatment and foliar application in key agricultural crops. [link]
The UNDP and the government of Switzerland have commenced the third phase of their Green Commodities Program, which instigates transformative changes in the sustainability of agriculture production around the world. Building upon the success of the two precedent phases, the renewed partnership between UNDP and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) aims to further enhance sustainable agricultural commodity production in five countries: Peru, Indonesia, Malaysia, Ghana, and Brazil. The project's emphasis on multi-stakeholder collaboration seeks to overcome an intertwined web of economic, ecological, and political challenges, engaging national and local governments, private sectors, and global stakeholders. [link]
The University of Manitoba has signed four new partnership agreements with institutions across Morocco to advance shared research priorities on green ammonia while supporting cutting-edge innovation, sustainable development, health, and Indigenous economic reconciliation. By working together, the hope is that collaboration and exchange can magnify the impacts of research to the mutual benefit of institutions and provide a model for environmentally sustainable food production across Africa and around the world. A key priority for this initiative is to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture through the development of new sustainable fertilizers, such as green ammonia. [link]
Major funding cuts to Illinois soil and water conservation district's staffing in the new state budget has the potential to hamper these efforts going forward. The new state budget slashes the district's administrative funding that goes toward office staffing and other costs, from $8.5 million to $4.5 million. Losing those employees will limit the number of projects districts can complete each year, creating a gap in Illinois conservation efforts. [link]
The vice president of sustainability with Better Earth says the company’s new compostable foodservice packaging is the first to be made exclusively with materials grown using regenerative agriculture methods. Native perennial grasses like miscanthus, switchgrass and sorghum are being grown in the southeastern United States on what would otherwise be underutilized land. After harvest, this grass creates the company's compostable packaging. Aside from cutting down on plastics and other packaging in landfills, these products also offer carbon benefits. [link]
University of New Hampshire researchers are working on a new project that studies integrating crop and animal farming in forested areas for enhanced food production, carbon sequestration and climate resilience. The five-year project, called Promoting Climate-Smart Sustainable Agriculture in New England through Regionally Adapted Agroforestry Systems (ADAPT), is funded with a $10 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture. New England is one of the nation's most forested regions, offering challenges and opportunities for producing food more sustainably. [link]
Tidal Grow AgriScience, a division of Tidal Vision Products Inc., has been awarded a Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP) grant by the USDA, helping to significantly increase production of its popular seafood hydrolysate liquid fertilizers, Oceanic and SeaPhos. Tidal Grow AgriScience manufactures novel plant nutrition and crop protection solutions. With this grant, a new facility breaks ground in Texas and expands production in Washington, tripling the capacity of these bioactive carbon-based fertilizers and accelerating the adoption of regenerative agriculture solutions. [link]
Growing interest in sustainably-raised meats, including grass-fed beef, is challenging meat alternatives, which continue to struggle with adoption and repeat purchases among their primary consumer base – flexitarians. Among U.S. households, 72 million identify as flexitarian and nearly half are buying plant-based foods, according to data from Numerator. Furthermore, 98% of consumers who buy plant-based protein alternatives also buy animal meat. Sustainable meat production is rising across the food industry, as products with Regenerative Organic Certification experience significant growth. [link]
A transdisciplinary team of researchers, educators and extension experts led by The Ohio State University has received a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to advance and co-create solutions to climate resilience of farmers in the Midwest. In addition to empowering farmers to lead the design and innovation of practical approaches to climate-smart farming, the project will provide opportunities to train the next generation of students in the use of on-farm research and community stakeholder collaborations as strategies to address future farming system challenges. Alongside Ohio State, the project will involve close partnerships with researchers, extension staff and students at Central State University, the University of Missouri, Lincoln University Missouri and Solutions from the Land. [link]
The general public has limited knowledge of the U.S. farm bill that politicians are debating on Capitol Hill, according to the June 2024 Consumer Food Insights (CFI) Report from Purdue University. Around one-third of American adults have never heard of the bill, while a similar proportion has heard of the bill but do not know what programs it supports. [link]
A new Responsible Agricultural Investment (RAI) Tool for Agribusiness has been developed by IISD, Cerise+SPTF, and other partner organizations with support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation to offer a practical framework for business leaders to understand what sustainable food practices look like, along with how to identify gaps and prioritize improvements. Intended to be used by a wide range of stakeholders engaged in promoting sustainable agricultural investments—such as agribusinesses, financial investors, and industry associations—the tool shows how to create a clear, actionable plan. It has been tested by agribusinesses in Africa and Asia and refined based on their feedback and is designed to be compliant with internationally recognized best practices of sustainable business conduct, such as the principles on responsible investment in the agricultural and food systems (CFS-RAI Principles) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards. [link]
UK retailer, Co-op, is supporting on-farm projects designed to improve sustainability and efficiencies through its new Future Farming Fund. It will help fund projects related to soil health, genetics, brassica crops, data management, and nature on farms. The projects are due to begin in August and are being led by the Co-op’s Beef and Lamb Farming Group with financial support and resources provided by major meat processor, Dunbia. [link]
Researchers in South Australia are digging deep into history of soil biology in the state to gain a better understanding of how the soil microbiome functions to ensure sustainable broadacre farming into the future. A new article in Advances in Agronomy aims to increase awareness of the importance of soil biology in farming systems, particularly in light of past practices. A core aim of the study is to determine whether the diversity and composition of soil communities from past farming systems differ from those of present farming systems, along with a goal of assessing changes in the soil microbiome and the evolution of broadacre cropping management practices in the Southern Australian farming zone. [link]
In Case You Missed It…
In late June, it was reported that the U.S. had urged the EU to delay its Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) - set to come into force in December this year - because the new rules would hurt U.S. producers of cocoa products, timber, and other forest-risk commodities. See more, here.