Good morning.
We're going to start off your week with ... spaghetti farming.
Which is, of course, not a thing—but that's not what a significant swath of Britain believed in 1957, after this April Fools’ "special report" from a TV news program.
This article does a deep dive on one of the most notorious news hoaxes, in which a reporter actually strung spaghetti from trees to really set the scene (although that went about as well as you would expect).
Sounds like viewers should have spent a little more time noodling on the actual logistics of how we get (cooked) spaghetti.
Stories:
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Precision Ag's Potential Bugs |
University of Nebraska-Omaha professors are turning up the heat on the ag industry for turning a cold shoulder to cyber security.
In a widely shared POV, they point out that the ever-increasing adoption of precision ag opens the door to attacks on farm equipment that would disrupt food production.
Not New News: Cyberattacks in the ag industry may not make headlines, but they’re happening. In 2021, a ransomware attack held 1/5 of U.S. beef processing plants hostage. Individual farms could be targets, too—exploiting anything from GPS guidance to artificial intelligence systems.
The Department of Homeland Security’s 2018 report on Threats to Precision Agriculture points to risks such as data and resource theft, reputation loss, or equipment destruction as threats to precision ag.
Hot Cold Topic: In an industry that already deals with a lot of bugs—literally—threats related to precision ag may not feel like an immediate problem to solve. The USDA also long-classified cybersecurity as a low priority before upgrading it in 2015.
Rewind: Back in 1997, farmers responding to an Iowa State study said they expected overall risk in agriculture to increase. Researchers wondered whether precision ag technology could help producers manage risk, though they noted that "the best precision farming data if left unanalyzed or mismanaged can have disastrous results."
Where this goes: University of Nebraska researchers from Omaha and Lincoln launched the Security Testbed for Agricultural Vehicles and Environments. The POV authors called on manufacturers and industry organizations to prioritize engineering equipment to proactively plan for cybersecurity issues.
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→ Grocery bill pain. According to the Labor Department, food prices in the U.S. climbed 10.9% from this time last year—good for the largest increase since 1979.
→ Late start, strong finish. In Michigan, cooler temperatures stuck around into May, which delayed a lot of farmers’ growing seasons—but the outlook is good for strong fruit and vegetable harvests throughout the state.
→ Grain gains (and declines). According to the USDA, 2022 corn production will be down 5% from last year, while soybean production is up 2%.
→ Digging finding holes. Farmers in Turkey are concerned for both their land and their own safety, after several in the Konya province found mysterious sinkholes on their property that appeared seemingly overnight.
→ Eminent domain battles are… eminent. In a continued fight over a potential 680-mile pipeline, Ames, Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions submitted its first list of properties it would seek to take over through eminent domain.
→ Going bananas. The Fusarium fungus, which destroys banana plants’ veins by entering through their roots, is spreading worldwide—and "the impact on humanity could be quite dramatic."
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In the west, "cloud seeding" is helping make it rain in the part of the country that needs it most.
Not new, but being improved, cloud seeding was first introduced in the 1940s. When it’s performed by airplanes, "silver iodide, various salts, or charged water is used to encourage the formation of ice particles or rain inside a cloud that falls as snow or rain."
In Dubai, they’re testing drones which emit highly concentrated lasers to shock clouds and cause water droplets to collect and fall as rain. Domestically, cloud seeding is used in California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming, with testing happening in Arizona.
The goal? Raise rainfall amounts, add to reservoir storage, and increase the snowpack in the mountains. It goes without saying that stored water is crucial to the west.
It’s working. On average, seeded clouds have between 5-15% more precipitation flux vs. their non-seeded buddies. Dr. Dan Martin, USDA ARS research engineer, said he’s seeing about 25-30% with the positively charged water device that he’s testing.
The proof is in the pudding precipitation. Eric Snodgrass, meteorologist with Nutrien, said they have "long-term statistical evidence from Idaho Power that cloud seeding has put more snow in the mountains."
Soundbite: "We can only enhance clouds that are suitable for rain," said Gary Walker, owner and pilot with Seeding Operations and Atmospheric Research (SOAR) in Texas. "The reason for the whole drought is there are few clouds."
Where this goes: Dr. Martin’s charged water device was selected as a top three finalist in the USDA’s ARSX2021 competition. While he acknowledges the technology won’t be cheap, the benefits may outweigh the costs to increase yields with limited land resources.
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Fast-tracking Success via IVF |
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But that’s where Vytelle makes all the difference.
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And with 12 global laboratories and customers in 19 countries, Vytelle has the experience to level up your genetics game.
So don’t wait. Find the nearest Vytelle location to you and schedule your donors at a site today.
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ICYMI… "National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day" was August 8th! The zucchini plant was first documented in 1901 in what country?
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Colombia
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Italy
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Mexico
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United States
Answer at the bottom of the email.
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Carbon Confusion — A Messy Market |
We mentioned this topic briefly in last week’s Magnetic, but figured the conversation deserved more credit.
Carbon dating: No, we’re not talking about aging dinosaur bones. We’re talking about new relationships forming around carbon. Businesses want to be carbon neutral. Their solution? Agriculture.
Credit conundrum: To sign up or not to sign up, that is the question for farmers. And in the case of carbon markets, the majority of farmers are saying "no, thank you." Or at least, "not yet."
It’s not me, it’s you… According to a report from Trust in Food, Farm Journal’s sustainable agriculture initiative, 9 out of 10 farmers are aware of carbon markets, but less than 3% participate. There’s a gap in confidence, trust, and understanding in the marketplace that needs to be met before large-scale adoption will take place.
What’s holding people back? "Producers might see such marketplaces as seeking to extract value from their operations at the lowest possible price, while requiring a lengthy and risky up-front investment of time, energy, and expert advisers." Cara Urban, lead author of the Trust in Food report.
Variability and confusion are commonplace in the carbon market. Contract length and exit strategy, agronomic requirements, and credit for pre-existing practices can vary widely across organizations.
Where this goes: "It's important to note that these credit markets are constantly evolving, and many are still under development or being refined in pilot stages. There is much more to explore, company-by-company and asset-by-asset, before making any decisions." – Shelby Myers, Economist at American Farm Bureau Federation.
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Italy. Although squashes did not originate in Europe (they were native to Mexico and northern South America), they were brought to Europe, and zucchini is credited to Italy.
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Written & Edited by Amelia VanLandegen, Aaron Dunajeski, Ashley Scoby, and Travis Martin
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