Know What's Happening in Agriculture
Know What's Happening in Agriculture
Agriculture Pulse
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Crop genomics firms are swapping scientific founders for seasoned scale‑up CEOs, a shift dubbed the ‘Founder Flip.’ The pattern is evident at ALORA, where Adam Helms takes the CEO role while founder Luke Young moves to CTO. Hiring priorities now favor data architects, autonomous‑systems engineers, and chief data officers, while boards are bolstered by international life‑science governance experts. New CCO and COO positions signal a split between commercial and operational value chains as the sector moves from validation to large‑scale commercialization.
April is a critical period for Central European greenhouse tomato growers, as rapid canopy expansion and the 10th truss flowering demand precise crop steering. Cultilene advises a tight vegetative‑generative balance through controlled slab moisture (55‑60% early month, rising to 70‑75%...
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) is building a simulated greenhouse digital twin to test tomato‑harvesting robots. The environment combines 3D plant models with robot dynamics, reproducing growth, leaf orientation and fruit placement variations. Partnering with DENSO and Certhon, the simulation...
Albers Alligator, a Dutch specialist in manure and water storage, has joined the greenhouse‑technology association AVAG during its 125th anniversary. The company, now led by Michael van der Windt and Lennard Blijdorp, aims to raise its profile and accelerate international...
University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is close to releasing disease‑resistant lettuce varieties, backed by a $500,000 USDA‑NIFA grant. Researchers are leveraging a rare Macedonian lettuce that naturally resists bacterial leaf spot and have bred hundreds of...
Bosch Rexroth is positioning its ctrlX AUTOMATION platform as a unified solution for controlled‑environment agriculture, merging motion control, environmental regulation, and data collection. The open, app‑based architecture lets growers add third‑party and custom apps, while a virtual control environment enables risk‑free testing...
RED Horticulture is shifting greenhouse lighting from static schedules to dynamic, plant‑response‑driven strategies based on photobiology. By integrating light intensity and spectrum management through its MyRED platform, growers can tailor light recipes to crop stages while monitoring energy use. The...
Source.ag has launched its AI‑driven Harvest Forecast solution for bell peppers, extending the technology previously used for tomatoes. The model delivers weekly harvest predictions up to eight weeks ahead and has already cut three‑week forecast error by more than 40%...
The European Union will enforce Regulation 2025/40 on Packaging and Packaging Waste starting 12 August 2026, with a phased rollout extending to 2040. The rule applies to all food packaging, including imports, and mandates recyclability by 2030, higher recycled‑content thresholds for plastics, and...
Italian greenhouse equipment supplier Vifra has broadened its portfolio to include water‑treatment solutions that combine ultrafiltration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO) for irrigation and nutrient recovery. The company stresses that high‑quality water is the foundation of a full‑cycle management approach,...
Jiffy has launched Jiffy Pot R3, a plastic‑free, fiber‑based container designed for retail bedding plants, herbs, perennials and landscaping crops. The pot is fully recyclable in the paper waste stream and can be planted directly into soil or larger containers. Compared with...
BioWorks Europe, part of the BioFirst group, is expanding its footprint across Europe as biosolutions transition from niche alternatives to a structural component of modern crop protection. The company highlighted its biodegradable pheromone diffusion clips for Lobesia botrana in vineyards...
A trial in Turkey’s 900‑metre‑high Afyon/Sandıklı region demonstrates that greenhouse cherry production can meet the chill requirement earlier by leveraging cold winters, abundant sunshine and geothermal water for heating. The natural chill combined with controllable heat accelerates phenology, enabling an...
Wireless Value partnered with Van der Knaap Group to create a load‑cell weighing system that measures substrate moisture for pepper cultivation. Together with BBM Company, the solution was re‑engineered into a modular, greenhouse‑agnostic frame that can be installed quickly, even...
The global strawberry market is diverging regionally as spring unfolds. California is set for a high‑volume season, with the Santa Maria area leading peak conventional output in April and organic supplies arriving later. Florida’s winter‑freeze damage has trimmed yields, while Mexican...
Royal Air Maroc Cargo is expanding its cold‑storage footprint at Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport, adding a 590 m² warehouse with five temperature‑controlled chambers—three for imports and two for exports. The upgrade targets the growing demand for fresh‑produce, flower and pharmaceutical shipments...
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has halted roughly half of global urea exports, driving fertilizer prices up about 30 percent in just weeks. The disruption also curtails sulfur shipments, tightening supplies for phosphate fertilizers and compounding the shortage....
Chile’s newest cherry cultivar, Cheery Glow, is being rolled out by Nueva Vid and Bloom Fresh to extend the early‑season supply window. The bi‑color fruit matures 5‑10 days before the benchmark Santina, needs only about 450 chill hours, and delivers firm, 20‑22 Brix...
Monarch Tractor, an autonomous electric tractor startup, announced its shutdown after failing to secure additional capital. The company had raised significant venture funding but could not deliver a commercially viable product that met farmers' needs. Hosts Tim and Tyler use...
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has driven a sharp rise in fertilizer and energy costs, with urea prices up about 40 percent, while grain markets remain largely stable, showing only modest increases in wheat, maize and soybeans. Unlike...
Steward, founded by Dan Miller in 2015, offers a direct‑to‑investor lending platform that finances regenerative‑agriculture projects ignored by traditional banks. The model lets individuals invest as little as $100, underwriting loans for farmers, processors and regional food‑system infrastructure. Notable deals...
Bakkafrost’s 2026 harvest outlook has been revised down to 112,000 metric tons, falling short of the 150,000‑ton target set in its 2022 plan. The company’s Scottish operations, acquired in 2019, continue to underperform, with a projected 20,000‑ton harvest for 2026...
Biotalys announced the first research milestone in its Syngenta partnership, confirming promising in‑vitro results for a novel bioinsecticide built on its AGROBODY™ platform. The achievement moves the collaboration into the next phase of in‑vivo testing on living organisms. The milestone...
FMC Corporation announced that the Herbicide Resistance Action Committee (HRAC) has granted rimisoxafen, marketed as Isoflex, a historic dual‑mode‑of‑action classification, placing it in Groups 12 and 32. The herbicide uniquely blocks both phytoene desaturase (PDS) and solanesyl diphosphate synthase (SDPS), a first...
AGRO‑AI announced the completion of a technical integration with the WiseConn API, extending its irrigation intelligence engine to WiseConn‑controlled farms. The integration pulls farm, zone, telemetry, weather, and irrigation data, feeding it into AGRO‑AI’s recommendation, reporting, and execution‑assurance workflow. By...
In episode 236 of The Agronomist, Edgar Hammermeister and Marshall McDaniel dissect how soils release nitrogen and why predicting that release is notoriously complex. They highlight the influence of organic‑matter quality, soil texture, moisture, and temperature on mineralization rates, and...
The USDA’s March cotton report shows a modest shift in global supply, with world production rising by 1.13 million bales, driven primarily by Brazil (+750,000) and China (+500,000). Imports increased 200,000 bales while exports grew 200,000 bales, all from Australia. World...
Michigan State University Extension released a new 2026 Projected Cost of Production for Soybeans tool, available as a single Excel file with three budgeting scenarios: Base Projection, Build‑up, and Push Production. The Base Projection estimates a breakeven price of $10.90...
Missouri’s University Extension and the Department of Natural Resources are expanding a network of soil‑moisture sensors to track drought across the state. As of March, 78% of Missouri faces dry or abnormally dry conditions, prompting the launch of the Missouri...
The Central Platte Natural Resources District (NRD) in Nebraska has been tackling high groundwater nitrate concentrations for five decades, employing a phased management program across its 1,012,000 irrigated acres. Recent adoption of the university‑developed Sentinel Ag satellite sensor allows participating farmers...
USDA’s latest Prospective Plantings report shows corn acreage holding steady nationally but slipping in key Midwestern states. Michigan’s corn planting is down 4% and Pennsylvania is set for its smallest corn planting ever, while overall corn area falls 3% to...
USDA's 2026 Prospective Plantings Report shows Southern producers shifting acreage away from corn toward soybeans and cotton. National corn acreage is projected at 95.3 million acres, down 3.5%, while soybean acres rise 4.3% to 84.7 million and cotton up 3.8% to 9.64 million....
CSIRO is developing a sensor‑based system that uses 3D computer‑vision and artificial intelligence to deliver real‑time estimates of sheep liveweight, fleece production and disease status. The multimodal sensors create high‑resolution three‑dimensional images as animals move, linking each measurement to an...
In an April 1 episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, Pulse Canada’s Shane Stridehorst explains how pulse growers can manage phosphorus, potassium and sulfur (PKS) amid soaring fertilizer prices and tight margins. He stresses that pulses need no nitrogen, allowing farmers to...
Glyphosate is presented as essential for sustainable agriculture, enabling no‑till practices, cover‑crop termination, and reduced emissions. The article argues the herbicide’s low toxicity, rapid environmental breakdown, and off‑patent affordability make it a safe, cost‑effective tool for farmers. It also claims...
In 2018 I realized that I can grow higher yielding soybeans with wheat than without and just soybeans. I proved it to myself for 3 years straight growing 17 varieties of soybeans monocrop vs relay. While most...
CHARTS OF THE DAY: Not every fertiliser price is going up. Back in 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine, nitrogen fertilisers (urea and ammonia) rose shaprly. AT THE SAME TIME, potash fertiliser (potassium chloride) also surged. This time, potash fertilisers are little changed....
The USDA released its first 2026 crop progress report covering the week through April 5, showing early planting activity across major commodities. Corn planting is 3% complete, slightly ahead of forecasts, with Texas, Tennessee and Missouri leading the effort. Winter wheat...
The USDA Prospective Plantings report showed corn, soybean and wheat numbers essentially in line with expectations, leaving little room for surprise. Prices held firm, with December corn hovering near $4.85 and November soybeans around $11.57, reflecting continued market resilience. Fund...
China has surpassed 100 offshore aquaculture platforms and vessels, marking a rapid expansion driven by stricter near‑shore regulations and a new fisheries law emphasizing intensive, environmentally friendly practices. The government has elevated deep‑sea aquaculture to a strategic growth area, encouraging...
Norwegian private equity firm Bluefront Equity has taken a 54% majority stake in Anteo, a Norwegian software provider for the aquaculture sector. Anteo reported roughly NOK 27 million (US$2.8 million) in revenue for 2025, marking about 20% year‑over‑year growth. The acquisition is aimed...
Triumph Foods announced a $30 million expansion of its St. Joseph, Missouri pork processing plant, adding cold‑storage and shipping capacity along with new equipment. The upgrade is designed to support higher production volumes and modernize the facility. Triumph, the city’s second‑largest...
Onions 52 has completed full vertical integration, uniting growers, packers and shippers under one organization to guarantee consistent quality from seed to shelf. The company is rolling out advanced sorting equipment at its Utah facility and has expanded its footprint with...
FY 2025 crop protection and seed results have all been reported, across @Bayer, @BASF, @corteva, FMC, @Syngenta, @UPLLtd, and @NufarmSeedsNA. Several players were down, however, the crop protection market was viewed as more stable (before recent geopolitical events, anyways). Channel inventories...
🇺🇸Only 35% of U.S. winter wheat is in good or excellent condition, below all trade estimates and down notably from late Nov. This is the week's fourth lowest rating of the last decade. Corn, cotton and spring wheat planting have just...
Hormel Foods has rolled out the o9 artificial‑intelligence planning platform across more than 70 of its facilities, linking demand, supply and inventory in a single system. The deployment, completed between March and December 2025, aims to shift the company from...
Export inspections destined for China in the week ending April 2 (mln bu): #corn 0.0, grain sorghum 2.3, #soybeans 18.3, #wheat 0.0 #oatt
Anything you want to move will be possible with the @stockcropper drive system… I can’t wait to get mine to move things between alley crop corn… or perennial food crops, etc https://t.co/zjfxJiRD2g
UPL Corp introduced a new seed‑treatment combination to combat aphanomyces root rot in peas and lentils. The Rancona Trio treatment paired with Belmont 2.7 FS is currently the only Canadian solution offering disease control. Aphanomyces can cut yields 60‑84% and cause up to...
Air Tractor Holdings announced the acquisition of competitor Thrush Aircraft, uniting the two largest manufacturers of aerial application planes. The companies will continue operating as separate entities with distinct dealer networks and production lines in Texas and Georgia. The merger...
