February 8, 2025
Spotlight Stories
Spotlight 1 – CGIAR details how NATURE+ is mobilizing new value chains for neglected crops in 5 countries. Read the story, here.
Spotlight 2 – The Wall Street Journal does a story on how one milk brand went from touting its sustainability push to getting swept up in a conspiracy theory. Check it out, here.
Spotlight 3 – Morning AgClips writes about how to unpack and correct soil compaction. Take a read, here.
Industry Updates
The Maryland Department of Agriculture has launched a new public awareness campaign to educate farmers about the benefits of planting trees on farmland. Spotlighting the department’s full range of incentive programs, highlights include how farmers who plant trees can boost farm income, improve soil and herd health, and protect local streams and natural resources. The campaign will run throughout February and features a 30-second public service announcement airing on local cable and broadcast networks, including Maryland Public Television, as well as social media messaging shared across a range of digital platforms. [link]
GramaxNP, a biological liquid seed coating for small grains, has been awarded Canadian Food Inspection Agency registration. Developed by soil bionutritionist, Biolevel, GramaxNP offers a novel but proven solution to increase yield in wheat production in Canada, where 10.8 million of the country’s 31.5 million seed hectares are dedicated to production of the grain. GramaxNP’s liquid seed coating harnesses Biolevel’s beneficial microbes to enhance nitrogen fixation and phosphorus and potassium availability in small grains, including wheat and barley. Multi-year trials in South Dakota and the United Kingdom show that GramaxNP improved yields in 90% of trials at standard fertilizer rates, while protecting yields even with 30% less nitrogen. GramaxNP delivered an average $6 ROI for every dollar invested in these trials. [link]
American Farmland Trust and Sol Systems are working together on a new initiative that integrates solar energy production with sustainable agriculture. The initiative will focus on Kernza, a perennial grain developed from intermediate wheatgrass that may be used in bread and pastry production as well as in beer brewing. It will be conducted at Sol Systems’ Eldorado Phase II project site in Illinois and will incorporate Kernza grain under solar panels. [link]
Pennsylvania’s Governor, Josh Shapiro, announced recipients of $10 million in grants through the nation’s first Agricultural Innovation Grant Program. This funding will help Pennsylvania agricultural businesses adopt innovative technologies and practices to enhance conservation and implement clean energy solutions — boosting profits, protecting soil and water resources, and generating cleaner renewable energy. Grants will reimburse expenses for project planning and implementation, as well as larger-scale projects with a regional impact. These projects include technologies that improve efficiency, generate energy while reducing nutrient waste, and support crops that store carbon or replace non-renewable resources. [link]
New groundbreaking research shows how, at a local scale, agricultural research and development led to improved crop varieties that resulted in global benefits to the environment and food system sustainability. The Purdue University study, published in the latest issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, undertook a fine-scale grid analysis going back to the early 1960s and found that, globally, reduced agricultural land use from improved crop varieties saved 1,043 animal and plant species. The study also quantified the impact of new crop varieties developed by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), finding that it contributed roughly 47% of the total production gains in developing countries from 1961 to 2015. [link]
The Indonesian government has opted to promote and adopt an agroforestry approach to cultivate gogo-type paddy on 1.1 million hectares (2.64 million acres) across the country to achieve self-sufficiency in food. Speaking in Indramayu, West Java, Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni stated that his side is collaborating with the Ministry of Agriculture to execute the initiative starting this past week. He explained that agroforestry involves planting trees alongside essential crops, such as rice and corn, on degraded lands to restore the ecological functions of the areas while boosting food production. [link]
As U.S. egg prices have skyrocketed due to bird flu, some restaurants are passing on the added cost by asking customers to pay per egg. Rather than hiking prices on their menus, which are costly to reprint, they are letting diners know upfront that each egg in an omelet, breakfast burrito and French toast comes with a fee. Restaurants are calling the egg surcharges temporary, hoping that will make them more palatable to diners. [link]
Over $5 million dollars has been awarded by New York state to the Ontario County Soil and Water Conservation District to work with four local farms to help protect water quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The money is part of over $15.8 million in funding through the first round of the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) Enhanced Nutrient and Methane Management Program (CAFO ENMP). Funding from the program will go toward projects that help farmers protect water quality and mitigate the impacts of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. [link]
Farmers Business Network (FBN) has launched a pilot, the Regenerative Agriculture Financing (RAF) Land Loan program, to reward farmers financially for implementing regenerative agriculture practices. Select farmers that employ water and soil health practices such as no-till and cover cropping, and that meet criteria outlined by the Gradable platform and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), will be able to access discount interest rates through the new program on newly financed land for seven years. The project comes out of research done by EDF showing that borrowers and farmers would be willing to adopt some regen ag practices and provide data in exchange for a reduction in land financing interest rates. [link]
Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have created a new mapping tool that evaluates both the environmental and economic benefits of agroforestry adoption to farmers. The team developed a map identifying areas where agroforestry could deliver the biggest impacts in terms of soil erosion, water quality, climate, and profitability for lands that are not viable for other crops. They also arrived at a high-level estimate of potential carbon sequestration if agroforestry was adopted on the most suitable land in the Midwest. Crucially, the researchers are making their mapping tool freely available for landowners, conservation scientists, and policymakers. [link]
Kiss the Ground, a leading voice and educator in the Regenerative Movement, announced the launch of Regenerative Agriculture Essentials, a 90-minute course designed for anyone interested in exploring regeneration and what it means for our wellness, water, and climate crisis. The brand-new course explores the emerging concepts of regenerative agriculture with world-renowned leaders in the Movement, offering inspired audiences a concise and easy-to-understand essential guide to understanding the power of soil health. This course will help educate corporate teams and professionals taking their first steps toward regeneration while inspiring important conversations about the crucial role soil plays in human and planetary health. [link]
Like many other companies that manufacture chocolate products, The Hershey Co. is preparing for record high cocoa prices in 2025, and strategizing how to mitigate the impact of commodity volatility on its business. CEO Michele Buck said that the company expects "the surge in cocoa prices to continue to put significant pressure on earnings in 2025…view[ing] today’s high cocoa prices as transient, [but ready to] adjust pricing, price pack architecture, formulations, demand shaping, and investment strategies, should our view on the commodity markets evolve." Buck also noted that its experience with GLP-1 weight loss drug data is showing that such drugs continue to have a "mild impact" on the company's product categories, although a long-term shift towards healthier foods appears to continue. [link]
In Case You Missed It…
In early January, Flowers Foods announced that it will acquire Simple Mills for $795 million in cash. See more, here.