August 17, 2024

Spotlight Stories

Spotlight 1 – The New York Times discusses an Australian start-up’s unusual approach to slowing climate change via work in the farm sector. Check out the story, here.

Spotlight 2 – An article in Nature looks at unintended food safety impacts of agricultural circular economies. Check it out, here.

Spotlight 3 – Technology Networks discovers new farming nutrition strategies that could slash methane emissions by 60% in coming years. Read about it, here.

Industry Updates

Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) announced the launch of a collaborative regenerative agriculture program in Argentina, involving various agricultural value chain stakeholders with a common goal to help reduce carbon emissions, conserve natural ecosystems and resources, and boost climate resilience in agricultural communities, while continuing to meet growing demand for sustainably produced agricultural goods. Focusing on soy, corn and camelina crops, the regenerative agriculture program aims to cover 205,000 hectares and involve 400 farmers in the country by 2030. Among other partners, The Nature Conservancy will provide technical support for the design and implementation of the program. Syngenta will help organize producers in the program. And Nestle will help drive demand for these products. [link]

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) continues to spearhead environmental sustainability in agriculture with recent federal grants totaling $1.7 million aimed at advancing sugar beet nitrogen management and agroforestry practices. These funds are part of the wider $90 million Conservation Innovation Grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service aimed at innovative agricultural practices. UNL's project on sugar beet nitrogen management is on developing best practices for nitrogen application that enhance sugar yield while promoting environmental sustainability. The grant includes incentive payments to growers, encouraging the adoption of these practices with less financial risk. Money has also been allocated to explore alley cropping in the Midwest, focusing on integrating trees and shrubs with crop production to improve resilience against climate threats like drought and wildfires. [link]

Farmers looking to try cover crops can get a helping hand with cost and technical assistance through the recently established Farmers for Soil Health (FSH) initiative. Operating in 20 states, FSH facilitates financial incentives and technical assistance to farmers planting cover crops for the first time. The initiative results from a partnership between the United Soybean Board (USB), the National Pork Board, and the National Corn Growers Association, alongside the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Soil Health Institute, and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Funding comes from a grant awarded by USDA’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program. The 20 states covered by the FSH initiative include Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin. [link]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), in partnership with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), is reaching out to farmers, ranchers, and agricultural landowners to gather in-depth information about the conservation practices they use. Nearly 12,000 operators nationwide will receive the 2024 Conservation Effects Assessment Project survey. Data obtained will support the third set of national and regional cropland assessments delivered by USDA’s Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP), a multi-agency effort led by NRCS to quantify the effects of conservation practices across the nation’s working lands. CEAP Cropland Assessments quantify the environmental outcomes associated with implementation and installation of conservation practices on agricultural lands. Findings are used to guide conservation program development and support conservationists, agricultural producers, and partners in making informed management decisions backed by data and science. [link]

Boosting the power of crops and soils on U.S. farms and ranches to absorb and store more greenhouse gas emissions is one of many tools that state and federal leaders are investing in to combat climate change, but the amount of planet-warming carbon dioxide that can be naturally removed from the atmosphere by soils and their crops is vastly overinflated, according to new research in the journal, Earth's Future. The researchers found that if cover cropping occurred across the U.S. on all suitable farmland – about 30% of all cropland in the U.S. – it could double the carbon dioxide that these lands currently absorb from the atmosphere. But this would reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions from agriculture in the U.S. by just 3%. This is one-third of the 10% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions the USDA has claimed cover cropping could cut. Agriculture is responsible for about 10% of the U.S.’s overall annual greenhouse gas emissions. The findings question whether investments in carbon removal, or carbon sequestration, on “natural and working” farmlands would be better spent on other actions to reduce emissions and mitigate climate change. [link]

Canadian regenerative ingredients specialist, Above Food, will acquire The Redwood Group's specialty crop food ingredients division for $34 million. Based in Montana, U.S., Redwood's ingredients business supplies grains, pulses and specialty crops to customers in over 35 countries across high-growth product categories in both the human and pet food markets. Its vertically integrated model spans from the farm to the consumer, encompassing origination, merchandising, processing and value-added finishing. [link]

Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) wrote to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack expressing concerns about the ongoing drought in Kansas and Colorado that could threaten US farmers and ranchers’ livelihoods, asking for assistance in the new Farm Bill. The senators called out four programs in particular that they believe could be improved to support producers: the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Watershed and Flood Prevention Program (PL-566). Additionally, the senators recommended increased investment in water conservation research and the scaling of innovative and voluntary water conservation approaches, such as the creation of a voluntary groundwater conservation pilot program. [link]

Two innovative University of Saskatchewan (USask) research projects have received funding from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to use satellite technology for detailed mapping and analysis of the Earth’s surface. USask researchers are using state-of-the-art satellite imaging techniques to map agricultural emissions and to plan emission reduction strategies. By using machine learning to incorporate data information from satellite imaging and factors like soil moisture content, the team hopes to identify areas of potential high emissions early so they can be mitigated. [link]

Scientists in the US are aiming to reduce farmers’ reliance on pesticides by developing four new long bean varieties that are resistant to the attack of aphids and nematodes that commonly infest the legume. The aphid-resistant varieties can be substituted for current local lines to minimize insecticide use, and the nematode-resistant varieties can serve as “climate-smart green beans” used in mechanical harvest systems, according to the researchers. The California Department of Food and Agriculture provided the University of California, Riverside with funds of over $400,000 to develop the new varieties over 32 months in collaboration with the University of California’s Cooperative Extension and farmers in Fresno County, California. [link]

Farm Advisors has formally launched a new conservation mentor program that will help farmers implement soil health practices on their operation. The program is currently operating under the Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative and will focus on advisory work with farmers, letting producers themselves ultimately make the best conservation decisions for their land. [link]

Candy giant, Mars, is buying Cheez-It maker, Kellanova, in a nearly $36 billion deal, bringing together brands from M&M’s and Snickers to Pringles and Pop-Tarts in the year’s biggest deal to date. The deal is a bet on consumers continuing to indulge in branded snacks and comes as packaged food companies face stalling growth after years of price hikes to cover sky-rocketing inflation. [link]

Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are exploring the impact of cover crops on soil health and corn production to improve agriculture sustainability. The research findings will be used to develop tools to help farmers make decisions about when, where and what type of cover crops could be beneficial. A $650,000 award grant from the National Institutes for Food and Agriculture will support the research project. The research team will conduct multi-year field trials of 12 cover crop species that integrate with corn production, and use root phenomics, cutting-edge sensing technologies, and machine-learning enabled agroecosystem modeling to gain an improved understanding of the variation for root traits that exists among diverse cover crop species and their influence on soil and cash crops. [link]

Two investors announced an Australian partnership focused on ecosystem services and regenerative agriculture. The Australian arm of family office, Macdoch, and US-based agricultural investor, Impact Ag Partners, have launched a vehicle called Impact Ag Australia, according to a press release. The new entity will aim to demonstrate how investing in natural capital and adopting regenerative agricultural practices can increase farm productivity and profitability, rebuild the resilience of agricultural land, and decarbonize the agriculture industry. [link]

In Chippewa County, Wisconsin, the annual Wisconsin Farm Technology Days event is wrapping up, and a 70-foot-long soil pit is creating an immersive experience in conservation. The pit is 70 feet long, with ramps almost 100 feet long. Once people get down inside, they can see the different soil layers - commonly referred to as horizons. Participants are also educated on how to properly preserve soil, such as growing cover crops, leaving residue in the field, using minimal tillage, and adding manure or cattle to the land. [link]

Land O'Lakes affiliate, Truterra, has announced its first-ever programs specifically for dairy producers. The 2024 Truterra dairy soils carbon program rewards pre-qualified dairy producers who adopt sustainable farming practices on the crops they use for dairy feed — including silage and alfalfa. Sustainable practices include the use of cover crops, strip-till or no-till to improve soil health and increase soil carbon levels. [link]

In Case You Missed It…

In early August, a report from University of California-Riverside (UCR) researchers called for urgent and innovative measures to address declining water availability from climate change. See more, here.