Good morning.
No one outcheeses the Hut. And dairy farmers are getting in on the action.
Pizza Hut is partnering with Dairy Farmers of America to give farmers new technology to reduce their carbon footprint, make the company's cheese supply chain more environmentally friendly, and reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions.
When they sign up, farmers will get a SCiO cup (which helps with precise nutrition for their cows), and can apply for funds to start cooking up new sustainability projects.
Now that's a slice of good news.
Stories:
- Ag Gets Tapped in the Inflation Reduction Act
- Maxing the Vaxxing
- U.S.-Taiwan-China Tension Triangle Intensifies
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Ag Gets Tapped in the Inflation Reduction Act |
If there were a word for 2022, it would be "inflation." Unfortunately.
You can guess where this is going…
Spend money to make money: The Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and there’s a lot to unpack. Rather than letting the suitcase sit for a week after vacation, let’s get into it now.
The price tag: Just an easy $739B. Pocket change. The White House says the act will help with inflation by lowering energy and healthcare costs and decreasing the deficit over 10 years. Breaking it down a bit as it relates to agriculture:
$40B will be invested in agriculture, forestry, and rural communities to tackle climate, costs, and jobs.
- Climate-Smart Ag: $20B aimed at supporting climate-smart and conservation practices for farmers.
- Rural Power and Clean Energy: $14B to lower costs for families and support rural jobs
- Wildfire Protection and Climate-Smart Forestry: $5B to protect communities from wildfires and support the forestry workforce
The IRA also includes funds for USDA programs, with nearly $20B combined going to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), and Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP).
There are also dollars reserved for:
- Biofuels
- Farm debt relief
- Paying farmers who were discriminated against in USDA loan programs
- Fighting drought in the West
Who’s grabbing the check: Most of the bill would be funded by imposing a 15% minimum tax on large corps.
What happens now: The bill moves to the House—and reports out of D.C. indicate they could vote on the bill today.
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→ Farmers say "no thanks." About 9 out of 10 farmers are aware of agricultural carbon markets, but only 3% participate—and most say they wouldn’t join the programs without changes.
→ Spud supply snag. The Idaho potato harvest is coming in September, but until then, supplies from last year are dwindling faster than usual.
→ xFarm xpanding. $17.4M in Series B financing is headed to Swiss-Italian startup xFarm Technologies, which provides a mobile platform to farmers and ag businesses for on-farm data collection and analysis.
→ G’s for grazing. The USDA is hoping to give livestock producers more access to conservation technical assistance, and is investing $12M through the Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative.
→ Save the beef. Oklahoma State University scientists are researching how to increase shelf life of beef, which can turn brown if exposed to oxygen too long—leading to $3B in losses each year when people don’t buy discolored product.
→ Bad profit news. According to the University of Illinois, average returns for farmers will be far lower than last year, at $25 per acre, thanks to higher input costs and potential lower prices for corn and soybeans.
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A new startup funding round is maxing the vaxxing…
Iowa-based startup Genvax Technologies just brought in $6.5M to continue advancing its saRNA vaccine production, focused at protecting herds from African swine fever and other emerging animal diseases.
Bringing home the bacon: The funding round was led by United Animal Health, along with Johnsonville Ventures, Iowa Corn Growers Association, Summit Agricultural Group, and Ag Startup Engine.
Short-term goals for Genvax include vaccine approval and mitigating any future disease outbreaks.
But long-term, Genvax hopes to eliminate major animal diseases like ASF or swine influenza variants—all of which can wreak havoc on not just herd health, but farmers’ bottom lines and international food supply chains.
Soundbite: "For ASF, Genvax’s vaccine could be an important tool for eradication efforts and may alleviate any concerns with trading partners abroad. In addition, the financial and public support of multiple stakeholders like United Animal Health and others in the food industry is a huge validation of this technology’s promise." – Genvax CEO and co-founder, Joel Harris
Person Gene of interest: So how does this technology work? Genvax inserts a "gene of interest" (or a "transgene"), matched to the variant strain, into its proprietary saRNA platform. That cooks up an antibody response—and herd-specific vaccines.
Why it’s important: ASF can cause 100% mortality in pigs, with models showing a U.S. outbreak could be a major hit to the pork industry—to the tune of $50B in losses.
What’s next: According to Genvax, this funding round will help boost its vaccines towards USDA and international regulatory approval.
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Entrepreneurial Alert: The Final FoodBytes! Program of 2022 Has Arrived |
For their final scouting sprint of the year, FoodBytes! is actively seeking entrepreneurs that are reimagining the future of food and agriculture.
The focus of this final sprint is on the role of the worker and conditions of the workplace by introducing new technologies that create more from less, specifically working in the areas of:
- New Food Distribution: Developing new channels or methods that better match where consumers are and how they eat
- Novel Food Processing: Creating more nutritious, longer-lasting and/or more accessible food through novel processing methods
- Robotics & Manufacturing Automation: Utilizing technology to automate labor-intensive processes, reducing risk and loss in manufacturing and delivery
- Upcycling: Creating value-added materials or ingredients from waste streams or food byproducts
And you can't beat the benefits of joining a FoodBytes! cohort.
You can validate and grow your businesses through global industry exposure, tailored mentorship sessions, individualized strategic connections with corporates and investors, pitch refinement, and media visibility.
Supported by the vast global Rabobank network of investors and alumni, you'll be positioned to win from the startup starting line.
Amplify your impact through the FoodBytes! network today.
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A recent headline at the intersection of space and agriculture might have caught your eyes recently…
Can you complete the headline below?
SpaceX space junk crash lands in Australian _____ farm.
- Cotton
- Sheep
- Sunflower
Answer at the bottom of the email.
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U.S.-Taiwan-China Tension Triangle Intensifies |
U.S. and Chinese relations are tai-ed up in tension after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan.
But, China is still buying U.S. ag products… for now.
Refresher: Since Pelosi’s Taiwan trip, China has purchased at least 262K tons of U.S. soybeans and 133K tons of U.S. corn. Worries over Chinese demand had caused steep soybean losses last week. But this week saw November soybeans up 28.75 cents after Tuesday’s close.
Despite the rising tension, China was still the top customer for U.S. food and ag exports—a full $2B ahead of Canada and Mexico, the next two top U.S. ag importers. In fact, China is on track to break last year’s record for American ag product purchases, and could potentially buy as much as $40B.
Soundbite: "We’re encouraging China to diversify and build up their own [grain] production," said University of Missouri’s Ben Brown. "Right now, we’re playing this card of ‘you need us’; it might not be that far down the road that they don’t need us, at least not to the degree they do now."
Looking ahead: Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan did result in a few Chinese missiles fired over Taiwan, plus trade curbs. But with the economic tai-es between Taiwan and China, China’s economic measures against Taiwan are unlikely to escalate or impact trade.
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The space debris landed in a sheep farm. No sheep were injured.
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Written & Edited by Sheridan Wimmer, Rachel Robinson, Ashley Scoby, and Travis Martin
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