A Roadmap to Better Decision Making

More agricultural land across the country is being covered by solar panels as farmers look for ways to lessen the blow dealt by sliding crop prices and high input costs. It’s a trend that’s forecast to continue, also. The American Farmland Trust estimates that 83% of expected future solar development will take place on agricultural soil. This is raising alarms ...
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American farmers have led the way in adopting smart-farming tools and practices that have not only helped increase productivity but also sustainability. Still, adoption levels of so-called “sustainable farming practices” remain relatively low, according to a recent report from McKinsey. It found that although 90% of farmers are aware of sustainable farming practices, a lack of operational and financial support ...
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The Lower Sioux Indian Community, near Morton, Minnesota, has made a big bet on hemp to offer a better future for its residents. Construction is nearly complete on a 20,000-sq-ft manufacturing campus that will process hemp into a construction material known as “hempcrete.” The short-term goal is to use the natural building material to construct homes for members of the ...
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Plant-based meat alternatives hit the US market with a bang a few years ago to what seemed like enormous popularity. So much so that some US state have even moved to ban labeling these products as “meat.” The concerns about meat alternatives killing the livestock industry appear to be greatly overblown, however, as most Americans still prefer the real thing.Sales ...
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A county in California could be the first in the nation to vote on a measure to limit CAFO sizes. In case you are wondering... CAFO is the acronym they use for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, aka CAFOs. The measure was approved for the ballot after a petition drive by the group “Coalition to End Factory Farming” which wants to ...
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Cattle producers are being urged to watch for signs of an emerging disease caused by “Theileria orientalis,” a protozoal organism transmitted by the Asian longhorned tick. While the invasive tick species is now found in 19 states, only 9 states have so far confirmed the presence of Theileria orientalis and the resulting disease known as “theileriosis.”Asian longhorned ticks originate from ...
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Each week our good friend and business partner Carter Williams will be sharing some of his thoughts on agriculture below are a few recent highlights from his weekly report called "Creative Destruction", written by Carter Williams, CEO at iSelect Fund (@jcarterwil on x/twitter) What I learned this week… Crop yield and nutrition developments have been negatively correlated for 50+ years. Who ...
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China this year has released a string of policy priorities for agriculture aimed at boosting domestic production. According to state media, China has reached a “bottleneck” in these ongoing efforts where it is increasingly difficult to lift production any further. Roadblocks include an aging farm labor force and a lack of workers to take their place, as well as a ...
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According to the latest outlook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center, flooding is not expected to be an issue for the Mississippi River this spring thanks to an unusually hot, dry winter. Unfortunately, the lack of precipitation means shipping along the river could be disrupted again by low water levels for a third year in ...
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Researchers for the first time ever have genetically altered a cow to produce insulin in its milk. The breakthrough is cause for celebration for the more than 3.6 million Americans with diabetes that use insulin to control their condition. Because global demand is so high, insulin is often expensive and can be difficult to obtain. The hope is that having ...
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