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:
Fertilizer Matters EP48: Feed Phosphates Market Fundamentals
In this episode, Argus experts explain that feed phosphates—calcium and phosphorus supplements for livestock, poultry, and aquaculture—are a major driver of non‑fertiliser P2O5 demand, with China producing over half of the global 9 million tonnes and exporting 1.3 million tonnes. Prices have surged due to rising raw‑material costs, especially sulfur, the imposition of a 13 % VAT in China, and supply disruptions from the Middle East conflict, which has tightened sulfur supplies and spurred panic buying. Regional impacts vary: the Middle East faces undersupply and higher transport costs, Europe sees price hikes of €150‑200 per tonne, and Brazil’s DCP prices jumped from $700 to $900 per tonne. Producers remain bullish but cautious, citing ongoing sulfur scarcity, higher freight rates, and seasonal demand from aquaculture.
Tiny, Knotted Robots Jump, Fly and Plant Seeds
Researchers at Penn Engineering have created millimeter‑scale soft robots that store elastic energy in a Kevlar‑core, liquid‑crystal‑elastomer fiber and release it by heating. When the knot in the fiber unties at 60‑90 °C, the robot can leap up to two meters,...
Mechanization Enhances Wheat Yield and Technical Efficiency: Evidence From Smallholder Farmers in the Arsi Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia
A new study of 409 wheat‑growing smallholders in Ethiopia’s Arsi Zone finds that mechanization markedly improves technical efficiency and yields. Farmers using both tractors and combine harvesters achieve the highest efficiency score of 0.95, while fertilizer applications of DAP and...
Differential Responses of Soil Bacterial Community and Respiration to Plastic Film and Straw Mulching in a Maize Field
A three‑year maize field trial compared no mulching, plastic film mulching (PM) and straw mulching (SM). PM raised bacterial alpha diversity early in the season but suppressed it later, while SM consistently increased diversity. PM shifted the community toward oligotrophs...
Norway’s Farmed Cod Prices Double Since the Beginning of April; Wild-Caught Prices Fall in Scotland
Norwegian farmed cod prices have nearly doubled since early April, climbing to NOK 136.75 per kilogram (about $14.40). The surge follows a sharp production drop, with shipments falling from 8.26 million kg in March to 4.78 million kg in April – a 42% reduction. Lower...
The Next Matcha? Ube Surges in Popularity
Ube, the purple Filipino yam, is gaining global traction as a color‑driven food trend, echoing matcha’s rise. Social‑media buzz and a sharp increase in Google searches since February have pushed the ingredient onto beverage and dessert menus worldwide. Market research...
How Saudi Arabia Is Cultivating a New Era in Sustainable Agriculture
Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s most water‑stressed nations, is confronting escalating scarcity intensified by record‑hot 2024 temperatures and a growing population exceeding 35 million. To meet Vision 2030’s goal of boosting domestic food production, the kingdom is investing in controlled‑environment agriculture...
Cultivators, Vertify and World Horti Center Continue ‘Cultivation for Compounds’
Netherlands‑based Cultivators, Vertify and World Horti Center have launched the second phase of their international research consortium, “Cultivation for Compounds.” The new phase, beginning next month at Vertify’s Honselersdijk facility, shifts focus to practical, data‑driven studies of cannabis active compounds....
Ruoyan Li of Chengdu Newsun Delves Into China’s Sustainable Agriculture Sector
In this 12‑minute episode, host Sarah Webb talks with Royan Li, Director of Strategy and Development at Chengdu Nusen, about China’s push toward sustainable agriculture. Li explains how government policy, state‑backed capital, and large‑scale farming are driving the adoption of...
Tractor Supply’s Delivery Volume Jumps as Final-Mile Plan Advances
Tractor Supply reported a double‑digit rise in Q1 delivery volume as it expands its final‑mile network. The retailer built about 200 hubs last year and will add 176 more in 2026, shifting large‑item deliveries to its own drivers. This strategy...
Fable: The Man Who Saved A Billion Lives
A pioneering agronomist created high‑yield wheat strains that doubled output in Pakistan and India, effectively saving hundreds of millions of lives. His breakthrough earned him the Nobel Peace Prize, the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Congressional Gold Medal....
U.S. Shifts Away From Canadian Fertilizer Dependency
Canada is legally part of the US Defense Industrial Base and a massive fertilizer producer. And buying Canadian fertilizer was never a problem for American farmers... Until recently.
Use the WTO to Address Global Fertilizer Supply Constraints Related to the Iran War
The war in Iran has crippled the global fertilizer supply chain, affecting roughly 30% of worldwide trade that passes through the Strait of Hormuz. Export bans by China, Russia and Turkey have pushed fertilizer prices higher and sparked fears of...
Blake Croegaert on the Ag Tech M&A Reset and 2026 Outlook
The precision‑ag M&A boom has sharply corrected as farm economics weaken and OEMs such as Deere, AGCO and CNH report 20‑30% revenue declines. Buyers now insist on profitability or sizable revenue, pushing valuations from high revenue multiples to lower earnings...
45% Less Plastic and a Stronger Brand: How Looye Switched to Paper Banding
Looye Kwekers replaced plastic bands with narrow paper banding for its fresh‑produce range, cutting plastic use by roughly 45% while reinforcing its premium brand image. The paper bands keep the fruit visible, lower overall package weight, and are largely recyclable,...
From Satellite Images to Seed Advice: Experience Data Brings AI to the Fresh Produce Sector
Experience Data, a Dutch AI specialist, is rolling out affordable, custom AI solutions for the fresh‑produce sector, including an onion‑variety recommendation tool and a satellite‑imagery buyer‑identification model. Projects start at roughly €10,000 (about $10,800), dramatically lowering the cost barrier for...
The Decrease in Moroccan Courgette Exports to the EU Benefited Almeria's Producers
Morocco’s courgette exports to the EU fell 27.4% year‑over‑year, ending the season on 12 April after shipping 25,507 tons. The drop eased foreign pressure on Almería growers, who saw early‑year prices spike to about €3 (~$3.30) per kilogram before sliding to under €0.40 (~$0.44)...
Join Food Tank at London Climate Action Week
Food Tank, Google Cloud, and the U.N. Environment Programme are co‑hosting the third annual Food Tank London Climate Action Week Summit on June 25 at Google’s London campus. The event will convene more than 180 senior leaders—CEOs, CSOs, founders and...
University of Florida Research Aims to Cut $130M Cost of Strawberry Runners
University of Florida researchers are tackling the $130 million annual cost U.S. strawberry growers incur to remove vegetative runners. Doctoral candidate Kaitlyn Vondracek is mapping genetic markers that control runner formation, aiming to breed low‑runner varieties for commercial fields while preserving...
China and Chile Set up a Fully Digital Phytosanitary Certification System for Exports
Starting April 20, 2026 Chile began using a fully electronic phytosanitary certification system for all agricultural and forestry exports to China, marking the first time the Asian giant has adopted a completely digital inspection process with a trade partner. The platform was...
Opinion: As Fertilizer Volatility Persists, Efficiency Offers a Near-Term Policy Solution
Fertilizer price volatility is straining U.S. farms, yet Washington’s policy focus remains on boosting supply rather than immediate farmer decisions. About 70% of growers say they cannot afford needed fertilizer, prompting rapid changes in rates, timing, and nutrient mixes. Enhanced‑efficiency...
Iran War Pushing More than 30 Million Back Into Poverty, UN Development Chief Says
U.N. development chief Alexander De Croo warned that the Iran‑U.S. conflict will push more than 30 million people back into poverty. Disruptions to fuel and fertilizer shipments through the Strait of Hormuz are already lowering agricultural productivity, threatening crop yields later this...
Co-Op Renews Pledge to Exclusively Sell British-Grown Strawberries
Co‑op has renewed its pledge to sell 100% British‑grown strawberries throughout the year, extending the season beyond the traditional May‑September window. The retailer is using heated polytunnels, biomass boilers, heat‑exchange pumps and anaerobic digestion to keep crops viable in colder...
Phase 1 of 139th Canton Fair Introduces New Dedicated Product Zones as Emerging Technologies Take Center Stage
Phase 1 of the 139th Canton Fair added nine dedicated product zones, spotlighting emerging technologies such as consumer and agricultural drones, display tech, smart wearables, and service robots. The new drone zones attracted buyers from over 30 countries, generating more...
J. Huete Greenhouses Completes 3.2-Hectare High-Tech Greenhouse in Almería
J. Huete Greenhouses has finished a 3.2‑hectare high‑tech greenhouse in Almería, a key European horticultural hub. The structure comprises 16 bays with a 5.5‑metre gutter and 8.75‑metre ridge, delivering robust climate stability. Integrated systems include active air recirculation, a CO₂...
Wild Bioscience Expands Milton Park Operations
Wild Bioscience, an Oxford spin‑out, closed a $60 million Series A round in October 2025, led by the Ellison Institute of Technology. The funding enabled the company to enlarge its Milton Park campus to 16,000 sq ft, adding a CL2 gene‑editing lab and tripling plant output....
Minerva Foods Study Shows 50% Methane Reduction in Cattle Using Rumin8 Feed Additive
Minerva Foods and Australian climate‑tech firm Rumin8, together with ESALQ/USP, completed a 120‑day study on Nellore cattle that showed a 50.4% cut in enteric methane emissions and a 5% boost in feed conversion efficiency. The additive was tested in both...
Anaergia Secures C$8 Million Contract With Vanguard Renewables for Fourth Anaerobic Digestion Deployment
Canadian waste‑to‑energy firm Anaergia has secured an approximately $5.9 million contract with U.S. partner Vanguard Renewables to build a fourth anaerobic digestion facility in Minnesota. The deal includes Anaergia’s full suite of technologies—process design, proprietary permanent synchronous magnet mixers, and the...
UK Looked at Ways to ‘Open Doors’ to US Chlorinated Chicken, FoI Request Shows
British officials quietly examined how UK food law could be altered to permit chlorine‑washed chicken imports from the United States, a practice banned in the EU since 1997. The documents, released to campaign group 38 Degrees via a freedom‑of‑information request, show...
Aldi Commits £1.1bn to British Egg Suppliers in Five-Year Farming Push
Aldi announced a £1.1 billion (≈$1.4 billion) investment in British egg production over the next five years, backed by long‑term contracts with suppliers through 2030. The retailer currently sells more than 1,500 tonnes of UK eggs each week, roughly 2.5 million packs, and is...
How to Whack Waterhemp | Soybean School
In this Soybean School episode, Dr. Isabel Aiklin of the University of Guelph explains how to identify and manage herbicide‑resistant waterhemp, a highly aggressive pigweed that can cost soybean yields by 20+ bushels per acre. She details key visual differences...
Precision Sprayer SpotSprayING Added to the DRT List
Austrian ag‑tech firm Farm‑ING’s SpotSprayING precision sprayer has been added to the Dutch DRT list, earning a 95% drift‑reduction rating. The system combines AI‑driven camera imaging with individually controlled nozzles, spraying only where weeds are detected. Its 55 × 55 mm spray footprint...
RFK Jr Says Cultivated Meat Will ‘Have to Get Through A Lot of Scepticism’ From FDA
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. voiced amplified concern that cultivated‑meat products will face rigorous FDA scrutiny, warning they must overcome significant safety scepticism. The comment came during a Senate Appropriations hearing, where he echoed long‑standing criticism of lab‑grown proteins. 2025 marked...
Kingfish Honing in Yellowtail RAS Production as It Works to Establish Product Recognition
The Kingfish Company, based in Zeeland, Netherlands, has expanded its land‑based yellowtail recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) to a peak capacity of 3,500 metric tons. The firm is now concentrating on improving efficiency and consistency, leveraging year‑round production to serve primarily...
Coffee Companies Launch Satellite-Based Program to Track Deforestation
Coffee giants including JDE Peet’s, Tchibo and major traders have launched the Coffee Canopy Partnership, a satellite‑based system that uses Airbus imagery and AI to map coffee farms and detect nearby forest loss. The pilot will focus on East Africa’s coffee‑growing...
A Ripple Effect: New Research Links Calf Fertility Timing to Milk Production, Workload and Farm Costs
New research from New Zealand’s Resilient Dairy Programme links early calf conception to higher early‑lactation milk yields, reduced labor, and lower farm costs. Cows with higher fertility breeding values resume cycling sooner, conceive more reliably, mature earlier, and stay productive longer....
USDA Signs $300 Million Palantir Deal to Modernize Farmer Support Services
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has entered a $300 million blanket purchase agreement with Palantir Technologies to upgrade its IT infrastructure and data analytics under the National Farm Security Action Plan. The contract will power the “One Farmer, One File” initiative,...
'I Live in Vegas': Canadian Ag Producers Take Gamble with High Fuel, Fertilizer Costs
Canadian grain producers are confronting a sharp surge in diesel and fertilizer prices, which have nearly doubled since the Middle‑East conflict disrupted oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. Farmers such as Bruce Bird and Dave Reid pre‑purchased fuel and...
Reman Day Highlights Manifold Value of New Life for Parts
Reman Day, organized by the Remanufacturing Industries Council, spotlighted the growing role of remanufactured parts in farm‑machinery maintenance. CNH reported a 5,200‑tonne reduction in raw‑material consumption in 2024 and set a 90% recyclability target for new products by 2030. John Deere’s...
European Rapeseed Futures Reach One‑Year High, Prices Near $570/T
Rapeseed markets in Europe surged on 21 April 2026, with front‑month Euronext futures closing at 518 EUR/t (about $570/t), the highest level in a year. The rally stems from a tight physical supply outlook, higher crude oil prices, and strong demand for...
Avocados From Mexico Signs Key Step Against Deforestation with New “Zero Deforestation Agreement”
The Association of Avocado Producers and Export Packers of Mexico (APEAM) signed a voluntary Zero Deforestation Agreement on April 15, 2026 with Mexico’s environment ministry (SEMARNAT) and the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA). The pact aims to tighten traceability, enforce forestry...
Chef Robotics Physical AI Models Can Help Automate Produce Packing
Chef Robotics announced that its AI‑driven robots can now automate tray assembly for produce packing, handling both discrete fruits and scoopable vegetables. The system uses computer‑vision‑guided piece‑picking and weight‑based scooping to place items into clamshells, snack boxes, or layered trays...
Homegrown Fertilizer Act Would Boost Domestic Production
Congressman Eric Sorensen introduced the bipartisan Homegrown Fertilizer Act, which would provide USDA‑backed grants and low‑interest loans to expand domestic fertilizer manufacturing and storage. The bill deliberately excludes the four largest consolidated producers, aiming to spur competition among smaller firms....
Soil Capital’s Latest Deal with Nestlé Highlights Regen Ag’s Role in Building a More Resilient Food System
Nestlé has signed a four‑year partnership with Soil Capital to accelerate regenerative agriculture among European farmers. The program builds on a 2023 wheat and corn pilot in France and now covers the UK and Belgium, supporting about 230 farmers across...
Fertilizer Price Surge Triggers Gradual Food Inflation
Rising fertilizer prices are now hitting farmers, and eventually those will translate into higher wholesale food prices which will (assuming higher costs are passed onto consumers) eventually land at grocery stores too. The inflationary impulse doesn’t arrive all at once,...
Major Livestock and Animal Agriculture Companies Are Making Climate Promises They Aren’t Keeping
A new PLOS Climate study reviewed over 1,200 climate claims from the world’s largest meat and dairy firms and found 98% to be greenwashing. The research highlighted that livestock accounts for at least 16.5% of global greenhouse‑gas emissions, yet most...
98 per Cent of Meat and Dairy Sustainability Pledges Are Greenwashing
Animal agriculture drives about 16.5% of global greenhouse‑gas emissions, prompting the sector’s biggest meat and dairy firms to issue a wave of sustainability pledges. Researchers from the University of Miami examined 33 leading companies' reports from 2021‑2024, cataloguing 1,233 environmental...
India Decides to Import 2.5 Million Tonnes of Urea at $935 & $959/Tonne
India’s import agency Indian Potash (IPL) approved the purchase of 2.5 million tonnes of urea at $935 per tonne for the West Coast and $959 per tonne for the East Coast. The contract was awarded to five firms—Aditya Birla Global Trading,...
As EUDR Looms, Is the World’s Most Controversial Ingredient Ready?
EU’s Deforestation Regulation, now slated for December 2025, requires palm oil supply chains to prove zero deforestation after 2020. While national schemes such as Indonesia’s ISPO, Malaysia’s MSPO and the voluntary RSPO have improved traceability, the sector remains largely unprepared....
Syngenta Deploys Tetra OS to Accelerate Scientific Discovery Through Industrial-Scale Data Automation
Syngenta has selected TetraScience’s Tetra OS to automate data handling across its Crop Protection R&D labs. The Tetra Scientific Data Foundry will centralize raw instrument outputs—such as chromatography and mass‑spectrometry—into a single, AI‑ready repository. Tetra’s “Sciborg” scientist‑engineers will be embedded...