Good morning.
If your basketball bracket is already busted, here's your chance at a different kind of bracket challenge—one where you actually get to call the shots.
Magnetic March Madness is officially open for voting, and this is your chance to boost your favorite ag brand to glory.
Voting will close at noon CST the day before each newsletter. (So, first round voting closes Monday 3/20 at noon CST; second round closes Thursday 3/23 at noon CST, etc.)
Get your first round votes in here, and may the cream of the crop win.
The News:
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It’s All About the Farm Bill Benjamins |
Dolla, dolla bills, y’all.
That’s what more than 400 state and national agricultural groups and organizations want from the House Committee on Agriculture and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, as the two groups work to craft a new farm bill.
Signed, sealed, delivered: In a letter sent to the chairmen and ranking members of both the House and Senate Budget Committees, the message is clear: America depends on farmers, and farmers depend on the farm bill.
The letter requests "sufficient budgetary resources to write a new bipartisan, multi-year, comprehensive, and meaningful" farm bill, which is composed by the members of Congress in the Senate and House Committees on Ag.
Tell me what you want: What farmers really, really want is help with financial stress—and the farm bill typically helps with insurance coverage—but there were a few things the farm bill lacked in the past few years. Zig-a-zig… ah, disruptors.
Farm bill disruptors: Everything from the Russian invasion of Ukraine to COVID-19 to natural disasters have disrupted U.S. agriculture. The increase in financial stress to farmers and ranchers often calls for ad hoc or supplemental assistance to cover insurance needs where the farm bill doesn’t. The farm bill is also needed for conservation, rural development, food security, and research.
Made in China: China is important for international sales of U.S. farm and food products. The People’s Republic is the top market, in fact. When little snafus like say, a trade war, happen—looking at you, 2018—agriculture suffers market loss, and a blinding light shines on the gaps in the farm safety net.
Washington, D.we’ll see.: The letter says the upcoming farm bill is an opportunity to address these problems with farmer and rancher coverage.
While Congress is not expected to agree on a budget resolution this year, the House could vote on a version.
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→ Flying the coop. About 1,700 workers will be laid off after Tyson announced it would close two poultry plants in Arkansas and Virginia.
→ Pipeline procrastination. Wolf Carbon Solutions might have to delay beginning construction of its proposed pipeline in Iowa, as the company waits for a hazardous liquid pipeline permit.
→ Ag yielding stress. According to a new study, farmers and ranchers deal with higher stress levels than the general population.
→ Swine health. The pork industry can now download a new standardized disease outbreak investigation instrument, which producers and vets hope will improve biosecurity in pork production.
→ Current events. In the continued back-and-forth over the so-called "Waters of the United States," the House recently overturned the Biden administration’s WOTUS rule.
→ Stormy spring? Severe weather could be "active" in several regions of the country this spring, with heavy rain expected through the Midwest and Great Lakes; meanwhile, parts of the West will likely still struggle with drought.
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You know the drill.
Don't let your brand down. Clock your votes in here before the Monday noon CST deadline.
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CNH Soups Up "Sense & Act" With Augmenta Acquisition |
CNH just got serious about machine vision technology.
Show me the money: CNH Industrial—the makers of Case IH, New Holland, and a host of other agriculture and construction brands—recently purchased Augmenta Holding SAS.
CNH has been a big fan for quite some time—the company already held a 10.5% minority stake in Augmenta prior to the acquisition. Valued at $110M, CNH will pay for the rest of the company with cash (cha-ching).
Sensing and Acting: So, why the acquisition? Precision ag.
Augmenta will continue the development of multispectral cameras and software that will be used to improve CNH’s "Sense & Act" technology—the tech at the heart of the company’s selective spraying capabilities.
By harnessing the power of "Sense & Act," this technology can "see" a field issue and then apply an appropriate fix: herbicide, fungicide, plant growth regulators, fertilizer, etc.
CNH hopes that souping up this tech will boost yields and improve sustainability by eliminating unnecessary input applications.
Soundbite: Derek Neilson, President of Agriculture at CNH Industrial seemed pretty stoked: "This is an important development for our agriculture business that will further support our dealers by differentiating our equipment through value-added technology."
What’s ahead: Augmenta will be housed within the Raven brand—a portion of CNH Industrial’s precision technology portfolio. With closing expected in Q1 of 2023, CNH plans to keep Augmenta’s current operations up and running in Greece and the U.S.
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New data from the USDA’s Farms and Land in Farms 2022 Summary went live recently. Here’s a trivia take from some of the new insights…
Which state below has the largest average farm size?
Answer at the bottom of the email.
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Finally, train news that’s not a derailment.
This week the Federal Surface Transportation Board granted the $31B merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern. The new company, Canadian Pacific Kansas City, will be the first railroad with single-line service from Canada to Mexico.
CPKC will be the smallest of six Class I railways, with over 20K miles of track, 8,600 in the U.S.
A track over troubled water: Following the Norfolk Southern derailment in Ohio last month, the transportation board received pressure to delay the decision over worries about public safety and increased rail traffic. The board assured the public that its analysis concluded safety risks would not significantly increase as a result of the merger.
What it means for ag: Several U.S. wheat grower groups expressed frustration with the decision, citing concerns that industry consolidation would lead to higher transportation prices.
Soundbite: "We see extreme disparity in rates for wheat shippers. Rail rates over the last decade have increased exponentially and rates for wheat are higher than rates for other commodities even with similar handling characteristics. Those higher rates make U.S. wheat less competitive in the global market at a time when higher prices already hurt our competitiveness." - U.S. Wheat Associates President Vince Peterson.
Train clapback: CPKC disagrees, saying the merger will create synergy and provide better service at a lower cost. Per the merger approval, CPKC will be required to offer an arbitration option and accept a seven-year oversight period.
The merger officially runs full steam ahead on April 14.
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*Curious where you stand? You can always check your referral hub and see rewards here.
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Wyoming for the win! The average farm size is 2,395 acres.
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Written & Edited by Sheridan Wimmer, Kevin Cross, Jen Hill, Travis Martin, Ashley Scoby
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Magnetic Ag
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Kansas City, MO 64153
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