Agriculture News and Headlines
Agriculture News and Headlines
Agriculture Pulse
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A generative AI voice agent developed by Farm Vaidya now provides real‑time, context‑specific agricultural advice to Telugu‑speaking smallholders in southeast India. The system leverages mobile phones, bypassing the need for broadband, and delivers guidance on inputs, pest control, weather, and market information. Development emphasized local language processing, human‑centered design, and collaboration with local experts to build trust. The pilot demonstrates how AI can bridge long‑standing information gaps for marginalized farmers.
An analysis by Global Witness shows that UK cocoa imports triggered over 2,000 hectares (≈4,940 acres) of deforestation in 2025, chiefly in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. Since the 2021 Environment Act, total forest‑risk commodity exposure linked to UK imports has...
German agri‑tech firm AgrarPro has unveiled the ProTube Prime, a new distribution head for precision fertilisation of liquid manure streams. The system can be configured with 20 to 48 outlets and offers 40 mm or 50 mm diameters, keeping hydraulic resistance constant even...
Purdue Extension plant pathologist Darcy Telenko warns that 2026 disease pressures for corn and soybeans hinge on weather, with southern rust and tar spot as primary concerns for corn and red crown rot gaining attention in soybeans. She encourages Indiana...
Dicamba use on tolerant soybeans returns in 2026 with tighter limits. Maximum application rates are halved to 1 lb per acre in 0.5 lb increments, and coarse nozzles are now allowed. Temperature restrictions cap use at 95°F and limit coverage to 50%...
Mosaic and Simplot have filed support to keep countervailing duties on Moroccan and Russian phosphate fertilizers during the five‑year sunset review, seeking higher rates than the current 16.6%‑47% range. The duties, imposed in 2021 to offset foreign subsidies, are under...
Circulate Capital announced the first close of its second climate‑focused fund, securing $220 million to back agri‑food startups tackling emissions. European and Asian innovators also drew sizable capital, including Standing Ovation’s $34 million round, Nature Robots’ €4 million ($4.4 million) for AI‑driven robotics, and...
A tariff dispute between the United States and China has redirected Chinese soy demand to Brazil, pushing 2025 exports to a record 85.4 million metric tons, about 80 % of the country’s shipments. In Mato Grosso, soy acreage expanded by 3.4 million hectares since...
Heritable Agriculture, a Google X spin‑out, is using AI‑driven digital twins, high‑resolution environmental data, and advanced genomics to accelerate crop breeding. The platform can simulate plants at 10‑meter resolution worldwide and pinpoint causative genes with unprecedented accuracy, validated through real‑field...
Food manufacturers are turning to AI to overcome pandemic‑induced supply chain volatility, especially for perishable goods. CookUnity, a chef‑to‑consumer meal subscription service, now uses AI to lift its sales‑forecast accuracy from roughly 55% to 80‑90%, enabling precise, temperature‑controlled deliveries. The...
American fertilizer traders are re‑exporting over 100,000 short tons of phosphate fertilizer after the Iran war created a price gap between U.S. spot markets and overseas demand. Domestic prices linger around $700 per short ton while farmers cut back on...
The National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) is monitoring two critical pieces of legislation: the surface transportation authorization, which lapses at the end of September, and the biennial Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). The highway bill, originally enacted under the...
Cargill has been honored with the 2026 BIG Artificial Intelligence Excellence Award, recognizing its extensive AI integration across the food and agriculture value chain. The company leverages tools such as Agriness, CattleView, CMAX and generative‑AI platforms like Ask Emma to...
Iowa State University nematologist Greg Tylka received the 2026 Exceptional Service to Agriculture Award for his 36‑year fight against soybean cyst nematode (SCN). SCN, a microscopic roundworm, can steal 30% or more of soybean yields without visible symptoms, threatening Midwest...
Vietnamese shrimp farms are turning to AI to curb rising production costs and protect thin profit margins. ESG uses weather stations, satellite data and underwater cameras to automate feeding and prevent waste, while RYNAN’s TOMGOXY system balances dissolved oxygen and...
Pure Salmon Japan has secured an additional USD 180 million, raising total project funding to USD 640 million for its land‑based salmon farm in Tsu, Mie Prefecture. The facility, designed as a recirculating aquaculture system, will have a 10,000‑metric‑ton capacity, making it Japan’s largest...
Flikweert Vision has upgraded its optical sorting robot QualityGrader with a second ejection unit and a wider 1.5‑metre model, enabling three‑stream sorting and higher throughput. The new version can process roughly 30 tonnes per hour, compared with the previous 1‑metre variant....
German equipment maker Nexat set a new Brazilian soybean harvest record on March 23, pulling 637.76 tonnes from 158.16 ha in eight hours—about 80 tonnes per hour. The run used a Nexco combine module with a MacDon FD250 FlexDraper header, kept grain losses...
The Port of Newcastle shipped 2.95 million tonnes of wheat in 2025, nearly five times the volume recorded in 2024. This surge helped lift total non‑coal cargo to a record 11.12 million tonnes, surpassing the 2021 high. Wheat accounted for about 12%...
Mort & Co has launched an Australian‑made organic fertiliser granule produced from beef‑feedlot manure at its new $15 million AUD (≈$10 million USD) Grassdale facility. The granules can substitute roughly one‑third of traditional urea while delivering comparable nitrogen efficiency, as demonstrated on...
Michigan State University extension specialist Eric Anderson is inviting soybean growers to join 11 on‑farm research trials across the state. The trials use donated inputs and limit farmer exposure to risk by testing products on a modest acreage. Current focus...
Cairnspring Mills has assembled a hybrid financing package to build its 27,000‑square‑foot Blue Mountain Mill, slated for completion in 2026. The structure blends a $10 million subordinate loan from Steward, a $5 million equity stake from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla...
Global dairy production hit record levels in 2025, driven by unprecedented herd growth in the United States. US milk output rose 2.8% year‑over‑year, and cheese exports surged 20% beyond the previous record. While Europe is expected to trim output to...
The Choose Iowa program announced three meat-related projects.
U.S. farmers face a tightening fertilizer market as the Strait of Hormuz bottleneck drives up prices for urea, phosphates and sulfur. A USDA survey shows all eight major fertilizer products rose in early March, leaving 20‑25% of growers without full...
The Iran‑Israel‑U.S. conflict has throttled shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for roughly 30% of global fertilizer trade and 20% of LNG. Prices for nitrogen‑based fertilizers and phosphate have spiked sharply as export hubs in Qatar and Iran...
A University of California, Riverside study of 98 California dairies over eight years shows that manure digesters cut methane emissions by roughly 80 % compared with open lagoons, but occasional leaks can reach 1,000 kg CH₄ per hour and erode most of the...
The EPA announced new Renewable Fuel Standard rules that raise biodiesel blending obligations and lower the equivalence value for renewable diesel, leveling the credit playing field. The 2024 RVO for biomass‑based diesel jumps to 5.4 billion gallons, a 61 % increase, and...
Fertilizer prices have spiked as the Iran war choked off key imports, especially urea, prompting calls for expanded U.S. production. Experts say a world‑scale nitrogen plant would cost $3‑5 billion, and the USDA is weighing a grant program to finance such...
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has collapsed by about 90% since the Iran‑U.S./Israel conflict began, halting the flow of U.S. tree‑nut shipments to the Middle East. The region accounts for roughly $1.75 billion, or 20 % of U.S. agricultural exports there,...
Mississippi became the first U.S. state to prohibit cell‑cultured dairy products with the passage of HB 1153. Signed on March 23, the law bars manufacturing, sale, and distribution of lab‑grown milk, cheese, and yogurt, imposing daily fines up to $10,000. It also...
John Deere unveiled the 8R 540, a 634‑hp tractor weighing 17 tonnes and priced around $674,000, signaling a push toward larger, premium equipment. In contrast, Sabanto’s retrofit system lets existing tractors run autonomously, allowing a grower to replace a 750‑hp machine with...
Jensma Agro, a Dutch seed‑potato grower, installed two Tolsma‑Grisnich Optica Q optical sorters in its storage facility, automating quality grading and slashing labour needs. Each sorter handles about 15 tonnes per hour, together delivering 30 tonnes per hour—equivalent to the work of...
Rabobank warns that by 2050 roughly 20% of the world’s arabica coffee‑growing land could be classified as unsuitable due to rising temperatures and erratic rainfall. Currently 8% of existing plantations already face marginal conditions, with Brazil, Colombia and Honduras projected...
Tetra Pak has opened its twelfth Product Development Centre (PDC) in Rayong, Thailand, marking the most innovation‑focused facility in its global network. The centre combines a fully integrated pilot plant for liquid foods with a kitchen‑equipped development lab, enabling products...
Iowa extension agronomist Rebecca Vittetoe reports that most southeast and east‑central Iowa farms have already applied fall manure, delivering the bulk of phosphorus and potassium needs, and have completed most lime applications. However, nitrogen prices remain volatile, prompting some producers...
USDA forecasts sorghum planting at 6.12 million acres for 2026, an 8 % decline from 2025. The drop reflects drought impacts in the Plains, with Kansas acreage cut by 10 % and Texas also seeing reductions. Conversely, South Dakota’s sorghum area jumps 53 %...
Iran has instituted a formal toll and vetting regime in the Strait of Hormuz, charging up to $2 million per vessel and effectively barring Western-bound fertilizer cargoes. The move has driven benchmark urea prices up 68% to $681 per metric ton...
Grundfos installed six SPE solar‑powered submersible pumps at the Athelle Outback Hideaway, a 60‑hectare farm 200 km north of Alice Springs. The system replaces diesel generators, delivering reliable irrigation for hay, lemon, agave, almond and mulberry crops despite temperatures above 40 °C...
Danone and Arcor have created a 50:50 joint dairy venture in Argentina, merging Danone Argentina’s dairy business, Mastellone Hermanos’ La Serenísima operations, and Logística La Serenísima. The combined entity will target high‑margin categories such as cheese, butter, yogurts, creams and desserts while...
