Agriculture News and Headlines
Agriculture News and Headlines
Agriculture Pulse
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Daily
Every morning
Weekly
Tuesday recap
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% later) and disciplined EC management. An 8‑10% overnight moisture drop is highlighted as the most effective steering tool, while night‑cycle irrigation can mitigate sudden EC spikes. Small missteps in this window can reverberate throughout the season, affecting fruit set and quality.
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...
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....
Chinese pig farms are rapidly adopting fermented feed made from locally sourced brans, pumpkin vines and wine lees to cut reliance on imported soy protein, which accounts for 80% of China’s soy use. Feed costs, which represent 70% of pig‑rearing...
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...
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...
China’s ambassador to Ukraine signed a protocol establishing inspection, quarantine and sanitary standards for Ukrainian wheat‑flour imports, expanding China’s agricultural trade with Kyiv. The agreement highlights the complementary nature of the two economies and signals a shift from raw‑grain shipments...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Japanese startup Fermelanta has developed a platform that inserts nearly 30 plant genes into a single E. coli strain, allowing microbial fermentation of complex, rare plant secondary metabolites in one step. The technology bypasses traditional CRISPR tools and promises cheaper,...
Purdue University students formed Team SoySeal and created a soy‑based adhesive tape that earned the top prize at the Student Soybean Innovation Competition, winning $20,000. The tape is 95% soy, fully biodegradable, and demonstrated greater strength than standard masking tape...
Mississippi State University Extension specialist Brendan Zurweller warns that warm, wet conditions, high soil pH, and heavy surface residue create a perfect storm for nitrogen loss in Delta fields. Ammonia volatilization can reduce nitrogen use efficiency to as low as...
Kawa Project has developed an upcycled powder made from spent coffee grounds that mimics industrial cocoa in taste and functionality. The product offers a more stable supply chain and price consistency compared with volatile cocoa markets. Economically, the alternative becomes...
The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension study shows that deep soil testing can reduce fertilizer expenses by $12 to $150 per acre, translating to over $26,000 savings on a 1,000‑acre irrigated field. By measuring residual nitrogen in the 6‑24‑inch profile, producers...
The EPA announced on March 27 that it is removing the mandatory urea‑quality (DEF) sensor requirement for all diesel‑powered farm equipment, allowing manufacturers to rely on NOx sensors instead. The agency estimates the change will save U.S. farmers roughly $4.4 billion annually...
Kentucky farmer Tanner Stroup partnered with Adam Services and Mitchell Brothers to build a dual‑purpose grain center near Maceo, delivering roughly 850,000 bushels of storage for corn and soybeans. The facility’s design, featuring separate dump pits, scales, and GSI EVO...
Syngenta’s Casper herbicide and Vixeran nitrogen‑optimising endophyte are being promoted to improve silage production. Casper provides targeted control of weeds such as docks and thistles, delivering cleaner swards and better fermentation. Vixeran converts atmospheric nitrogen into plant‑available form, increasing dry‑matter...
In‑vitro fertilisation now produces roughly 87 % of all cattle embryos worldwide, signalling a decisive industry shift. Wagyu producers such as 3D Genetics, Arubial Wagyu and Booth Creek report pregnancy rates between 49 % and 57 % and markedly faster genetic turnover. By...
Carbery’s Milk Quality and Sustainability Awards highlighted West Cork’s family‑run dairy farms for producing premium, low‑carbon milk while protecting land and animal welfare. The Buttimer family of Lisavaird Co‑op won the overall prize, exemplifying a balance of productivity, sustainability and...
U.S. agriculture is undergoing rapid consolidation as the number of farms fell 150,000 in five years, a rate three times faster than the loss of farmland, while farm bankruptcies surged 46% year‑over‑year. Severe wildfires in Nebraska scorched over 800,000 acres,...
Missouri’s Department of Agriculture reports an unusually early onset of alfalfa weevil activity, driven by March temperatures that were roughly seven degrees above normal. Some growers have already begun pesticide applications, with a few contemplating a second spray before the...
U.S. farms operating biogas capture systems have more than doubled over the past five years, reaching over 630 installations according to the American Biogas Council. Dairy farms dominate the sector, accounting for nearly 80% of the projects, while California alone...
Iowa’s southeast and east‑central fields are greening as cover crops emerge with warming spring temperatures. Extension agronomist Rebecca Vittetoe notes that growers are already planning termination timing based on objectives such as erosion control, weed suppression, or forage. Some producers...
The Saudi Food and Drug Authority announced that U.S. beef shipments will no longer need to undergo the Export Verification (EV) Program, and the kingdom now permits bovine‑derived tallow in animal feed. The policy shift removes a barrier that has...
