Today's Agriculture Pulse
Corn‑based biopolymer ‘plantymer’ promises sustainable plastic alternative
Scientists from China and the Netherlands have created a corn‑protein biopolymer called “plantymer” using a spider‑silk‑inspired process. The material, derived from the protein zein, offers silk‑like rigidity and strong moisture and oxygen barriers, and it degrades up to 80% within a month in simulated soil.
Also developing:
Rare Today, Relevant Tomorrow: Lessons From an Old Barley Experiment
The Composite Cross II (CCII) barley experiment, started in 1929 at UC Davis, has been sown and harvested for 58 generations, creating a century‑scale evolutionary breeding dataset. Recent genomic analysis shows natural selection quickly narrowed genetic diversity, especially in flowering‑time genes, while doubling field yield. A doctoral thesis demonstrated that moving the population to a contrasting environment in Bozeman caused rare alleles to surge, illustrating a potential "genetic rescue" mechanism. These insights suggest new strategies for crop adaptation and genebank management.
Satellite Connected Cattle Collars Expand Remote Ranching
Halter, a Colorado ag‑tech firm, has launched satellite‑connected cattle collars that link directly to Starlink, removing the need for cellular or on‑site radio infrastructure. The solar‑powered, GPS‑enabled devices enable virtual fencing across remote terrain, expanding the addressable U.S. beef cattle...
Trader PhD Survey Highlights Fertilizer Price Impact on 2026 Crop Year
A Trader PhD survey of more than 800 U.S. producers shows 76.5% have pre‑booked fertilizer for the 2026 growing season, with the Midwest leading at 83% and the South lagging at 68%. Despite higher input costs driven by the Middle‑East conflict,...
New Genetic Test More Accurate for Poll Selection in Brahmans
Neogen, licensed from UniQuest, launched the Guarani Poll genetic test for Bos Indicus cattle, targeting a poll variant common in Australian Brahman herds. Based on University of Queensland research, the assay detects the presence or absence of the Guarani poll allele,...
AI Could Reshape “Almost Every Aspect” Of Red Meat Processing
Dr Cameron Ralph, General Manager of Research, Development and Adoption at the Australian Meat Processor Corporation (AMPC), says artificial intelligence will soon touch almost every facet of red‑meat processing. AMPC’s pilot AI‑enabled monitoring system now captures welfare metrics for calves,...
Inquiry Hears Ag Will Not Escape Impact of Diminished CSIRO
A Senate committee’s five‑month inquiry into CSIRO’s funding revealed a wave of job cuts – 818 positions already gone and another 350 flagged for redundancy – and a looming 7‑8.5% reduction in its agriculture and food division. The cuts have...
Thailand Pilots ‘Zero Burn to Earn’ Model Turning Farm Waste Into Renewable Energy
Thailand’s Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation has launched the PMUC Zero Burn to Earn pilot, beginning 5 May 2026 in Chiang Mai. The program swaps crop residues for farm equipment and renewable‑energy inputs, creating a market for agricultural waste. Pilot...
High Costs, Weak Markets: Middle East Conflict Will Have Long-Term Impact on Asia’s Food Supply
Shipping disruptions in the Middle East have sharply curtailed energy and fertiliser flows through the Strait of Hormuz, pushing Asian input costs up 50‑80% while export prices stay flat. Gulf nations have slashed imports of Asian rice, meat and dairy,...
Wingbeat Radar Signatures Let AI Sort Bees, Wasps and Other Insects
Researchers at Trinity College Dublin demonstrated that millimeter‑wave radar combined with machine‑learning can identify flying insects by their wing‑beat signatures. By extracting over 70 harmonic, spectral and temporal features from micro‑Doppler reflections, the AI model achieved 96% accuracy distinguishing bees...
Regenerative Grazing Isn’t a Climate Fix; Cut Beef
Some people continue to advocate for regenerative grazing as a big climate solution. But it's not. The better answer is to cut back on beef consumption, curb food waste, and rethink the food system. https://drawdown.org/insights/greenwashing-and-denial-wont-solve-beefs-enormous-climate-problems
Seaweed Feed Isn't a Simple Fix for Cattle Methane
I'm still surprised some people seem to think that we just need to feed seaweed to cows, and their methane emissions just goes away… It's not that simple. https://drawdown.org/insights/are-livestock-feed-additives-the-future-or-folly
Egg-Scanning AI May Let Hatcheries Sort Life, Death and Sex Before Chicks Emerge
University of Illinois researchers have demonstrated that hyperspectral imaging combined with machine‑learning can predict chicken‑egg outcomes before chicks hatch. Their model identified dead embryos with 97% accuracy by day 4 and classified sex at day 0 with 75% accuracy. The approach is...
What Works to Strengthen Productivity and Climate Resilience Among Small-Scale Agricultural Producers?
The Inter‑American Development Bank’s IDB Invest backed a pilot with a Mexican food company that supplied small‑scale beekeepers with basic inputs, training, and queen bees. The intervention lifted hive counts by 24%, honey production by 33%, and overall farm yields...
Italy’s Ripening Market Enters a New Phase as Catalytic Generators Targets Expansion
Catalytic Generators used its first appearance at the Macfrut trade show to launch an expansion push in Italy, a market that handles over 600,000 tonnes of bananas annually and a €3.5 billion (≈$3.85 billion) avocado import sector. The company’s Ethy‑Gen II system produces ethylene...
Climate Change Is Increasing Northern Ontario Cattle Herds—And Beef Prices
Canadian cattle herds showed a modest 2.5% rise in early 2026 after eight years of decline, but beef prices remain 23% above the five‑year average. Climate‑driven pasture stress and frequent droughts in the Prairies keep feed scarce, limiting herd expansion....
Levi’s New Program Promotes Regenerative Agriculture in Pakistan
Levi Strauss & Co. launched the Levi’s Regenerative and Resilient Landscape Initiative (LRI) in Pakistan to promote regenerative agriculture across one million hectares. The program, funded through a partnership with WWF‑Pakistan and the Laudes Foundation, targets water productivity, reduced synthetic...
RNA‑based Herbicide Kills Resistant Weeds, Leaves Crops Untouched
🟢 GreenLight = no chemical residues on our crops 🌱 The company heard the call to get off of glyphosates and already has more EPA approvals and products in the pipeline than any other new approach. Why does this matter? Herbicide resistant weeds...
Insecticidal Metabolites From Serratia Marcescens Associated with the Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera Frugiperda): Metabolomic Profiling and Molecular Docking Insights
Researchers isolated Serratia marcescens strain INS420 from fall armyworm and identified a range of secondary metabolites using LC‑MS and GC‑MS. Laboratory and field tests showed these compounds have strong insecticidal activity against Spodoptera frugiperda. Molecular docking indicated that squalene and...
Seven Certified B Corps Launch a Global Coffee Coalition
Seven Certified B Corporations spanning Brazil, Switzerland, the United States, Singapore, Denmark, Australia/New Zealand and Kenya have launched the B Corp Coffee Coalition. The coalition will begin with working groups aimed at farmer prosperity and workforce development and is open to...
Climate Change Reshapes Potential Distributions and Seasonal Mismatch in a Host–Parasitoid System: Cotesia Ruficrus and Fall Armyworm
Researchers used thermal development experiments and the CLIMEX platform to forecast how the parasitoid Cotesia ruficrus will track the invasive fall armyworm under current climate and future A1B scenarios for 2050 and 2090. The parasitoid tolerates a broader temperature range...
India’s Fertilizer Production Drops as Iran War Disrupts Supplies
Fertilizer production in India for March‑April 2026 is projected at about 64 lt, roughly 12 lt (≈ 15 %) lower than a year earlier. The decline is driven by a 24 % fall in urea output to 35.42 lt, as LNG feedstock supplies were disrupted after...
EU Introduces Regulations for Crops Bred Through New Genomic Techniques
The European Commission has approved a new regulatory framework for crops bred with new genomic techniques (NGTs), pending European Parliament ratification and slated to take effect in mid‑2028. The rules create two categories: Category 1 plants, which are treated like conventional...
Pivot Bio Expands St. Louis Footprint with New Centers of Excellence for Crop Nutrition Innovation and Manufacturing
Pivot Bio announced a $7 million expansion of its Greater St. Louis footprint, adding two Centers of Excellence in Hazelwood and Creve Coeur. The Hazelwood site will scale manufacturing, packaging and distribution, while the Creve Coeur hub focuses on research, development...
New UK Partnership to Tackle Food Waste and Support London Communities
Fischer Farms has teamed up with London food charity City Harvest to redirect surplus vertical‑farm produce to communities in need. The partnership has already diverted 1.3 tonnes of leafy greens, equating to 3,086 meals and preventing 895 kg of greenhouse‑gas emissions. By...
Crafting Flavor in Hydroponically Grown Lettuce with CRISPR
Researchers used CRISPR/Cas9 to knock out the DFR gene in red‑leaf lettuce, producing a green‑pigmented line without compromising growth. The edited plants lost anthocyanin coloration, while some lines showed a rise in total flavonoids. Metabolite profiling confirmed a sharp drop...
Andhra Pradesh Aims to Become India's Largest Mushroom Producer
The Andhra Pradesh government is preparing a "Mushroom Mission" to make the state India’s top mushroom producer. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has tasked officials with an action plan that will roll out roughly 162,000 small‑scale farms of about 5,000 sq ft...
Delivering Vertical Produce to the Heart of London
Harvest London, a vertical farming startup founded in 2017, celebrated the first anniversary of its Corner Corner facility in Surrey Quays. The 190 sq m footprint leverages a vertical design to provide roughly 400 sq m of LED‑lit growing space that operates 24 hours a...
Supply Rebound Pushes Prices Down as Uncertainty Clouds Outlook
European olive oil production rebounded sharply in 2024/25, rising 37% to about 2.1 million tonnes, driven primarily by a 66% surge in Spain and strong gains in Greece. The surge pushed extra‑virgin prices down from a peak of €8.3 ($9.1) per...
California Startup Fermeate Closes $2M Seed Round for Light-Based Fermentation Control Technology
California startup Fermeate closed a $2 million seed round led by Newfund Capital, with participation from SOSV and Ajinomoto Group Ventures. The company’s optogenetics platform embeds light‑sensitive proteins in microbes, allowing real‑time gene activation or repression via an external light‑delivery device...
Rise in Copper Sulphate Prices Increase Cultivation Costs for Coffee, Arecanut Growers
Copper sulphate prices in India have surged about 70% year‑on‑year, climbing from roughly ₹270 ($3.3) per kilogram to over ₹450 ($5.5) now, driven by higher copper and sulphuric‑acid costs. The chemical is essential for Bordeaux‑mixture fungicide used on coffee and...
India's Farm Output Hits Record 357 Million Tonnes in 2024-25: J&K Lieutenant Governor
India’s total farm production hit a record 357 million tonnes in 2024‑25, up 25 million tonnes from the previous year, while horticulture output rose to 362 million tonnes. The government highlighted several climate‑resilient initiatives, including the rollout of 25 crore soil‑health cards, an increase...
Appetronix Acquires Salad Assembly Robotics Co Cibotica
Toronto‑based Appetronix has acquired Canadian robotics startup Cibotica, adding its ingredient‑dispensing platform to the company’s automated pizza kitchens. The deal, terms undisclosed, enables Appetronix to roll out new cuisine formats—Asian noodles, Mexican burrito bowls and coffee—by the end of the...
Holland-Utrecht Developing Electric Tractor with 400 kWh Battery Pack
Holland‑Utrecht is set to launch the HUE Trac 620 Vario, an electric tractor built on a Fendt chassis and powered by a 400 kWh lithium‑iron‑phosphate battery. The machine promises roughly eight hours of operation—equivalent to about 100 liters of diesel—and supports 150 kW fast...
How Autosteer Systems Are Becoming Smarter and More Connected
Autosteer retrofit systems are evolving from isolated steering aids into fully connected components of digital farming ecosystems. Manufacturers are prioritizing seamless data exchange between in‑cab displays and cloud‑based farm management platforms, eliminating USB‑stick transfers. New high‑performance displays serve as central...
Measure Field Water & Nutrients; Adopt Diverse, Living Farming
This sounds brash… but it’s how I think. At @zebulousprime’s field day I did a @Farm4ProfitLLC podcast and said “I don’t like to be a bitch.” Water can make you its bitch. Weeds follow the stand inconsistencies especially in drowned out spots. ...
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Opinion: Phosphite Offers a Regenerative Path Out of Agriculture’s Fertilizer Trap
U.S. policymakers are scrambling to stabilize fertilizer markets amid soaring prices and supply shortages. Dr. Mike Gilbert argues phosphite, derived from phosphate rock, can cut phosphorus fertilizer use by up to 50%, delivering cost savings and supply resilience. The technology...
"European Consumers Prefer Mediterranean-Grown Watermelons over Long-Distance Alternatives"
Polish importer PIK Global reports a strong start to the European watermelon season, leveraging a diversified sourcing model that includes Turkey, Albania, Greece, Hungary, Romania and early shipments from Spain. The company expects healthy crops and competitive pricing, with early‑season...
Moroccan Tomato Exports Halted as Strike and Supply Concerns Grow
Moroccan authorities have suspended tomato exports, prompting exporters to halt operations. Exporters argue the ban won’t lower prices and points to deeper supply‑chain problems, while consumer groups demand priority for domestic availability amid rising food costs. The dispute threatens farmer...
Ontario Storage Vegetables Still Shipping
Ontario storage vegetables, including cello and jumbo carrots, are expected to ship through May with solid quality, a marked improvement over last year’s early spoilage. Parsnips should remain high‑quality until June, while yellow storage onions will be abundant through June...
ExpoLevante Níjar Exhibitors Show Innovations for a Sustainable Spanish Industry
Spain’s 17th ExpoLevante Níjar, held near Cabo de Gata Natural Park, highlighted the greenhouse sector that drives Almería’s fruit and vegetable export dominance. The indoor exhibition was fully booked, featuring seed firms, input suppliers, and cooperatives, while outdoor areas displayed machinery....
China Now Holds 75% of Gene-Edited Seed Patents as Europe Moves to Loosen NGT Rules
China now commands roughly three‑quarters of all gene‑edited seed patents, with 16,177 filings in 2024—five times the EU total. The European Union is moving to loosen its New Genomic Techniques (NGT) rules, introducing a flexible NGT 1 category that avoids the...
400 Million Crates, 2.5 Billion Uses: Inside IFCO's Global RPC Network
At Fruit Logistica 2026, IFCO Systems unveiled its 2030 roadmap, emphasizing a global reusable packaging network that now runs 400 million crates and logs 2.5 billion uses each year. The German‑based firm highlighted its folding‑crate innovation, ESG pillars, and a target to...
How to Electrify Greenhouses with Semi-Transparent PV, Heat Pumps
Canadian researchers at Western University demonstrated that 69%‑transparent crystalline silicon semi‑transparent photovoltaic (STPV) modules raise tomato greenhouse yields by up to 38% while providing beneficial partial shading. Simulations using EnergyPlus, Python and SAM showed that pairing these rooftop STPV panels...
US Wheat Signals Potential 2026 Corn Belt Drought
May Agriculture Outlook - Is US Wheat Foretelling a 2026 Corn Belt Drought? Gas May Guide April is typically a peak price month in the grains. Speculators are the longest they've been in about three years, while winter and spring wheat...
US Soybean Planting Hits Record Pace, Corn Also Ahead
🇺🇸U.S. soybean planting is on a record fast pace as farmers prefer to plant beans earlier. Most states are many percentage points ahead of average (except Iowa, which has been wet). But wet weather/early bean planting haven't held back corn planting,...
Südzucker Reports 35% EBITDA Drop as Sugar Prices Falter, Forecasts Modest Recovery for 2027
Südzucker AG announced FY2026 EBITDA of €535 million ($589 million), a 35% fall from the prior year, and revenue of €8.4 billion ($9.2 billion). The company confirmed its FY2027 outlook despite a challenging sugar market and geopolitical uncertainty.
2026‑27 RVOs Drive Critical D4 RIN Generation Requirements
1. TH and I are out with a new FDD on the implications of the 2026 and 2027 RVOs for required D4 RIN generation. I know that is a mouthful. But the question is a critical one...
A Brussels Moat: Can European Regulation Work for Founders?
The article argues that Europe’s sweeping AI and ESG regulations—particularly the EU AI Act, CSRD, CSDDD, and EUDR—can create a “Brussels moat” that benefits deep‑tech agrifood startups. By mandating auditable, high‑risk AI and structured sustainability reporting, the rules push corporations...
ADAMA Launches Marathon Herbicide in Australia, Its First Pyrasulfotole-Based Product
ADAMA Ltd. has introduced Marathon®, its first Pyrasulfotole‑based herbicide, to Australian wheat and barley growers for the 2026 season. The product uses a patented high‑load EC formulation that incorporates the safener Mefenpyr‑diethyl, delivering broadleaf weed control with lower application volumes...
Ever.Ag Unveils Everett, an Agentic AI Decision Engine for the Agricultural Supply Chain
Ever.Ag introduced Everett, an agentic AI decision engine, at the ADPI Annual Conference in Chicago on April 27, 2026. The platform initially targets dairy processors, embedding AI into cheese yield optimization, transportation planning, and sales‑and‑operations planning tools. Built on Ever.Ag’s...