January, 2024

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Quiet rollout of Sustainable Ag Strategy report sends a message

Real Agriculture

If a report is quietly published on a government website on the Friday before the New Year’s weekend and no one is told about it, is anyone supposed to read it or respond to it? Because that’s what happened with the federal government’s “What We Heard” report after holding consultations a year ago on its.

Food 345
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The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture sets its federal policy focus for 2024

NASDA

Press Release ARLINGTON, Va. – NASDA members, the state commissioners, secretaries and directors of agriculture, have chosen five issues to serve as the organization’s primary policy focus for 2024. They include the 2024 Farm Bill , food safety , labor reform , pesticide regulation and PFAS. NASDA CEO Ted McKinney remarked on the gravity of these issues for 2024.

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USDA 1890 National Scholar Connects Field Work with Academics

USDA Blog

Jordyn Ash, a sophomore at Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University (FAMU) in Tallahassee, is a USDA 1890 National Scholar studying plant and soil sciences. Ash applied to the USDA 1890 National Scholars Program during her senior year of high school. She recalls guidance counselors providing excellent summaries of different scholarship opportunities, but she decided that the USDA 1890 National Scholars Program offered the best fit for her career aspirations.

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20 Books Shaping Our View of Food Systems to Read this Winter

Food Tank

This winter, Food Tank is highlighting 20 book to help you broaden your understanding of food and agriculture systems. In Barons , Austin Frerick focuses on the careers of seven corporate titans who altered the U.S. food system. Generation Dread offers a new perspective for readers grappling with climate anxiety. And What if CAFOs Were History? offers a vision of an agriculture system that is regenerative and free of factory farming systems.

Food 137
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Genetically Modified Corn Tribunal Raises Concerns with First Decisions

Food Tank

The Christmas holidays in the United States are nothing compared to the celebrations in Mexico. And even less so compared to those in the indigenous southern state of Oaxaca, where I’m lucky enough to be spending the holidays. Schools and government offices closed December 15 and continue until January 8. The celebrations are non-stop. Religious and civic processions known as calendas , with giant puppets and marching bands, shut down traffic.

Science 141
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Misleading product of the week: Veggieblends Cheerios

Food Politics

I think it’s time to start a new “of the week” series of posts—this one on egregiously marketed food products. Thanks to Jerry Mande, who sent me this email: Are you writing about Veggie Cheerios ? An especially egregious case of misleading marketing. This could be Rob Califf’s Citrus Hill Fresh Choice moment. Particularly troubling is that original Cheerios, a go to finger food for moms of infants and toddlers, is lower sugar and higher in fiber than Veggie Cheerios – which only have 2g sugar

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Canada approves methane-reducing feed additive for cattle

Real Agriculture

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has approved 3-Nitrooxypropanol, known as 3NOP, for use in Canada. 3NOP is a livestock feed ingredient aimed at reducing methane emissions from cattle. The Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) says that it and the National Cattle Feeders’ Association (NCFA) have consistently advocated for new innovations such as methane-reducing feed ingredients to.

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More Trending

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Judge Orders Wind Turbines Removed From Osage Nation

AgWeb Farm Journal

Removal of the 84 turbines constructed 10 years ago without a mining permit from the Osage Nation ends a long legal battle and will cost the developers $300 million.

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Texas A&M AgriLife Research Director’s Awards recognize 11

AgriLife Today

Faculty, staff, projects exemplify year of agency advances Texas A&M AgriLife Research recognized 11 faculty and staff recipients of the 2023 Texas A&M AgriLife Research Director’s Awards on Jan. 10 during a ceremony dinner at The Stella Hotel in Bryan. Seven individuals and projects earned Research Director’s Awards — established in 2018 to recognize outstanding.

Science 130
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AFT Partners with Solar Farm Summit to Sponsor July Event

American Farmland

American Farmland Trust will be the Title Sponsor for the 2024 Solar Farm Summit, North America’s Agrivoltaics Expo, with a three-year commitment to collaborate in the development of an effective and catalytic annual event focused on solar projects that combine active farming with energy generation—a dual land use known as “agrivoltaics.

Farming 128
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How grocery stores encourage snacking

Food Politics

A reader from Phoenix, AZ, Maria Zafonte, sends this from a local Safeway: From her standpoint—and mine—this is a great way to encourage overeating. As she explained, if she bought just one bag of chips, each would cost $5.99. But if she bought four, the unit cost was only $1.97 each. As she put it: The problem is what am I going to do with four bags of Doritos??

Food 298
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Canadian beef industry on track to achieve its 2030 emissions reduction target

Real Agriculture

Compared to 2014, a kilogram of beef in Canada is now produced with 15 per cent fewer greenhouse gas emissions. According to the National Beef Sustainability Assessment (NBSA) and Strategy report, the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) says this latest assessment reflects three years of scientific analysis to make the determination, comapring 2014 to.

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Dr Philippa Borrill featured in Royal Society video to inspire a new generation

Agri-tech

Dr Philippa Borrill explains the value of gene editing as a tool for developing more nutritious, sustainable and resilient wheat, in a new series of Royal Society videos featuring Professor Brian Cox. John Innes Centre Group leader, Philippa outlines the case for this game-changing technology, in the latest instalment of Brian Cox School Experiment videos.

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Which Foreign Country Owns the Most Farmland in the U.S.? Hint: It's Not China

AgWeb Farm Journal

In October 2023, Arkansas became the first state to ban foreign-owned farmland. More states look to adopt similar laws, but one policy expert says the issue is rooted in politics and warns of unintended consequences.

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4 points to consider when managing risk

Western FarmPress

Ag Marketing IQ: Large carry-in for corn and higher acreage predictions for beans means two things to ag marketers: look to sell rallies and defend profit margins in 2024.

Marketing 128
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Nithya Rajan named director of Center for Greenhouse Gas Management in Agriculture and Forestry

AgriLife Today

Center to serve as global leader in research, communicating greenhouse gas emission impacts Nithya Rajan, Ph.D., has been named director of the Center for Greenhouse Gas Management in Agriculture and Forestry, Bryan-College Station — an organization established in February 2023 by Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Texas A&M University. Rajan is a professor of agronomy.

Forestry 123
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Young Farmers Bring Small-scale, Humane Hog Farming Back to Iowa

Food Tank

Eric Boor took over his great-grandfather’s nine-acre farm in southern Iowa four years ago. He and his wife Mikala transformed the property and now raise pigs with their two young children. And they do it differently than their neighbors by raising pigs in a more environmentally sustainable and humane way. When they first started, many in their family and community doubted that they could successfully farm this way.

Farming 125
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Follow a practical path to improving soil health

Real Agriculture

Sweat the details and practice, practice, practice. It may sound like gridiron football strategy but it will also make farmers winners in the battle to improve soil health, says North Dakota-based independent agronomist and crop consultant Lee Briese. When it comes to improving soil health there are plenty of fixes — from reducing tillage to. Read More Sweat the details and practice, practice, practice.

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Dr Yiliang Ding honoured with prestigious Blavatnik award

Agri-tech

The pioneering research of Dr Yiliang Ding investigating the structure and function of RNA in living cells has been recognised with a major award. Yiliang a group leader at the John Innes Centre, is among nine recipients of the 2024 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the UK, announced today by the Blavatnik Family Foundation and The New York Academy of Sciences.

Science 122
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Hemp Seed Livestock Meal Receives Green Lights On Way to Federal Approval

AgWeb Farm Journal

Wendy Mosher, CEO at New West Genetics and vice president of Hemp Feed Coalition, says this is something that has been in the works for at least four years

Seeding 133
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Farmers: Put your name on your product

Western FarmPress

What’s Your Story? If consumers want to know where their food comes from, it stands to reason that your products may well be worth more with your name on them — maybe up to 500% more.

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‘Learn to live with ugly’ after freeze damage

AgriLife Today

Pruning dead plant material can cause more harm through winter A hard freeze can make plants an ugly eyesore in a landscape or garden. But practice patience when it comes to freeze-damaged plants, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife expert. Michael Arnold, Ph.D., director of The Gardens at Texas A&M University and professor of landscape horticulture in the Department of.

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Unveiling the Revolutionary Role of Food in the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement

Food Tank

The recently published Food Power Politics: The Food Story of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement by Bobby J. Smith II spotlights the role of food as a political weapon and tool for resistance in the context of the Civil Rights Movement. Building upon his dissertation at Cornell University, Food Power Politics sets out to understand the importance of food in the strategies used by activists in the Civil Rights Movement, Smith tells Food Tank.

Food 123
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Researchers working together to better understand the value of diversity in crop rotations

Real Agriculture

Diversity pays dividends in crop production but researchers, agronomists and farmers really don’t have a good grasp of how and why different crops impact each others in the rotation. University of Guelph crop researcher Dr. Dave Hooker is never shy to champion more diverse rotations. Research from long-term trials at the University of Guelph’s Ridgetown.

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Discovery raises hopes of more temperature tolerant wheat

Agri-tech

Gene-editing techniques have helped to identify a temperature tolerance factor that may protect wheat from the increasingly unpredictable challenges of climate change. Researchers in the group of Professor Graham Moore at the John Innes Centre made the discovery during experiments looking at wheat fertility in plants exposed to either high or low temperatures.

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314 Bu. Corn Yield Uses Only 7" of Rain to Score Big Win in Minnesota

AgWeb Farm Journal

David Heublein won the conventional, non-irrigated category of the 2023 NCGA yield contest for the state. The amazing yield was grown with only one-third of the total rainfall his fields usually get in a growing season.

Yield 124
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War and bitter cold rock corn and soy cash markets

Western FarmPress

Ag Marketing IQ: Corn and soybean basis weaken in eastern Midwest. End users improvise in the wake of bearish USDA reports. Shipping lanes freeze, dry up or are literally blown apart.

Marketing 122
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Spotted Lanternfly Reveals a Potential Weakness

USDA Blog

USDA scientists have discovered that the spotted lanternfly , an invasive threat to fruit crops and many trees, may have an Achilles heel – an attraction to vibration.

Crop 124
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Climate Smart Agriculture Interventions Must be Gender-responsive

Farming First

Increasing women's participation in climate smart agriculture requires inclusion in decision-making and equal access to resources, research shows. The post Climate Smart Agriculture Interventions Must be Gender-responsive appeared first on Farming First.

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India’s election, Red Sea attacks, and Chinese export restrictions — three factors to watch in the nitrogen market heading into spring

Real Agriculture

The nitrogen fertilizer market is expected to remain firm heading into the ’24 planting season thanks to several global supply/demand factors, according to ADM Fertilizer’s Saskatchewan-based urea product line manager. With natural gas prices in Europe having dropped precipitously from their highs in 2022, the nitrogen market has turned its attention elsewhere, explains Noah Bishop, Read More The nitrogen fertilizer market is expected to remain firm heading into the ’24 plantin

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Dyslexia – it gives me my strengths, and they have shaped my career

Agri-tech

What is dyslexia? It’s a word that we all know, and it is highly likely that we all know someone who is dyslexic. It is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that affects the ability to read and write. It is thought to affect 10% of children and between 5 – 17.5% of the wider population, put into context up to 1 in 6 people are neurodiverse in this way.

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Winter Storm Survival: A Nightmare for Livestock Producers in Western Illinois

AgWeb Farm Journal

Despite nearly 24 inches of snow, below-zero temperatures and raging winds that some people are affectionately calling “Death Storm #2,” Illinois livestock producers are finding ways to overcome the horrific conditions.

Livestock 124
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Texas drought letting up, late-spring forecast dry

Western FarmPress

Many regions of the state have received relief from the 2023 drought. Current rainfall is expected to help wheat crops. Concerns remain for a dry late-spring and summer forecast.

Crop 119
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Texas A&M AgriLife Vice Chancellor’s awards presented to faculty and staff

AgriLife Today

Agency’s highest awards recognize service, teaching and research contributions Vice Chancellor’s Awards in Excellence honors were presented to Texas A&M AgriLife faculty, staff and graduate students from across the state at the Texas A&M AgriLife Connect ceremonies held Jan. 11 on the Texas A&M University campus. Previously known as the Texas A&M AgriLife Conference, AgriLife Connect is.

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Op-Ed | Sustainable Plates, Sustainable Cities: Urban Leaders Are Taking Climate Action with Transformative Food Policies

Food Tank

The weather in New York City can sometimes be extreme with events such as heat waves, blizzards, and hurricanes, and it can all change in a New York minute. In fact, extreme weather has caused New Yorkers to cope in a myriad of strategies from visiting one of our many umbrella vendors to stopping by a public cooling center. But communities that have been historically deprived of public resources risk greater health and economic threats from our climate, and, as the Executive Director of New York

Food 119
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Robinson named to the Senate of Canada

Real Agriculture

Agriculture leader Mary Robinson has been named to the Senate of Canada, representing Prince Edward Island. Robinson is currently the vice-president of the World Farmers’ Organisation and is a managing partner of the Robinson Group of Companies, a 6th-generation farm and agribusiness in Prince Edward Island. She is the past president of the Canadian Federation.

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Progress for local abattoirs at ORFC

Sustainable Food Trust

From grazing livestock to local abattoirs, our sessions at this year’s Oxford Real Farming Conference were a chance to share some of our latest work and to connect with others who are pushing for positive change. In this article, our Head of Policy and Campaigns, Megan Perry, reports back from the discussion on the future of local abattoirs. Our session at the Oxford Real Farming Conference on ‘Local Abattoirs: Funding, Future Models and Next Steps’ could not have come at a better time, hot on t

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