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MAY 16, 2023

TOGETHER WITH:

Good morning.

You know any story that starts with the words "We know that's no cow bone" has to be an excellent one. 

And that’s exactly where this one starts. Farm Journal dug up the story of two farmers in Michigan who started digging a hole under some soybean acres... and stumbled into a woolly mammoth skeleton. 

Yes, that woolly mammoth—the one that's been extinct for thousands of years. And the one that's considerably bigger than any cow bones you've ever seen. 

Read the full tail here.

Stories:

• Prop 12 Verdict Is In
• Carbon Capturing Attention
• Meet Ginger, the Gene-Edited Calf

AG POLICY

lusia83 from Getty Images

ICYMI: Prop 12 prevails. The Supreme Court ruled to uphold California’s Proposition 12, forbidding in-state sale of pork that comes from breeding hogs that are "confined in a cruel manner."

Fun fact: Only 1% of U.S. pigs are raised in California, a state that consumes 13% of American pork. 

Which means… States who sell pork into California must comply with Proposition 12, even though they did not vote for it.

Zoom out: In 2018, Prop 12 was approved by California voters. It bans the sale of pork, veal, and eggs from animals whose dwelling doesn’t meet the minimum space requirements. "Cruel confinement" for porcine is defined as a space that prevents the hog from "lying down, standing up, fully extending [its] limbs, or turning around freely."

For pregnant pigs, this is 24 square feet.

Contesting the commerce clause: In 2019, the American Farm Bureau Federation and National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) sued on the grounds of the legislation conflicting with the commerce clause. This clause in the Constitution limits individual states’ power to regulate business outside their borders.

The ruling is an expensive one for pork producers, as it would force farmers across the country to change production practices in order to sell pork to Californians. All in all, it could cost the pork industry as much as $350M to make these changes—which will hit customers in their pocketbooks.

Soundbite: "Allowing state overreach will increase prices for consumers and drive small farms out of business, leading to more consolidation. We are still evaluating the Court's full opinion to understand all the implications. NPPC will continue to fight for our nation's pork farmers and American families against misguided regulations." — Scott Hays, NPPC President

→ Cotton market not softening up. The total U.S. cotton crop is up by 1M bales since 2022, at 15.5M total; rice production is also expected to see a jump this year. 

→ The grass is greener in South Dakota. There’s a great migration happening, with more and more dairy cows moving to the middle of the U.S., particularly South Dakota, as the West deals with continued water shortages. 

→ Let it rain. Amidst continuing drought, some regions of the country (particularly Kansas) are seeing their worst pasture conditions in a decade, and more cow culling could happen this year. 

→ Stay the course. Although commodity prices might drop a little by 2024, the long-term outlook has these prices increasing over the course of the next several years, through 2030.  

→ West coast, rice coast? After an historically wet winter and early spring in California, rice farmers are "just tickled" at the amount of seed they’re able to plant this year. 

→ Precision principles? A bill that would set voluntary standards around precision ag has been sent to the U.S. House, along with four other bills from the Ag Committee involving disaster relief, timber contracts, and more.

ENERGY

valdisskudre from Getty Images

A potential provision in the Inflation Reduction Act aims to capture farmers’ attention when it comes to measuring the carbon intensity (CI) of their production. The act could also expand carbon credits into new agricultural markets.

The Section 45Z tax credit incentivizes biofuel producers to produce low-emission fuels, which could provide a new business model: one that would connect farmers’ carbon data with their crop at the point of sale, rather than the carbon being an asset of its own. 

Carbon catch: The IRS hasn’t yet issued a regulation on this topic. Ethanol producers are in a pinch waiting for this rule before setting expectations with farmers. Once that’s set, the credit percentage that ethanol plants share with farmers is up in the air. 

CI score!: This new method could be a win-win for farmers and the environment. One Iowa farmer says his low-carbon intensity grain could recoup $400/acre in tax credits. This grain would be assessed by a CI score, which is defined by the Department of Energy. 

Soundbite: "What excites me the most about this is it really opens the potential for farmers to be price makers and not price takers." — Iowa farmer Mitchell Hora

Carbon credits mooove in: The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy is working to bring carbon credits to the dairy industry. With Newtrient’s seed investment in carbon credit marketplace Athian, there’s a seat at the table for dairy producers to develop climate-focused goals and reduce environmental footprints.

The Inflation Reduction Act and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program may both bring opportunities to fund this type of voluntary incentive program. 

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Disclaimer: Grain Market Insider is a service of Stewart-Peterson Inc., a publishing company. Futures and options trading involve significant risk of loss and may not be suitable for everyone. Therefore, carefully consider whether such trading is suitable for you in light of your financial condition.

Farming on Mars might not be as far off as we think. New research shows that genetically modified ______ has great potential for growth on the Red Planet.

Answer at the bottom of the email.

LIVESTOCK

USDA-ARS

Cattle producers deal with various costs for raising beef cattle, including disease prevention and treatment. And cutting down on costs is integral to securing profitability. (To put it mildly). 

Enter Ginger, the gene-edited calf.

The rundown: This scientific spectacle is resistant to contracting the bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV). The announcement was seen as a major accomplishment considering the virus costs the beef sector billions of dollars annually.

Ginger was produced through a study conducted by the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in partnership with the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the University of Kentucky, and industry partners Acceligen and Recombinetics, Inc.

How it's done: The scientists used CRISPR gene-editing technology to reduce Ginger’s susceptibility to the virus. As a calf, she displayed no adverse symptoms when exposed to the virus. She’s now 16 months old and still healthy. Success.

Soundbite: "Our objective was to use gene-editing technology to slightly alter CD46 so it wouldn't bind the virus yet would retain all its normal bovine functions." — Aspen Workman, lead author and researcher at the ARS U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC) in Clay Center, Nebraska

Where this goes: Gene-edited meats won’t be hitting store shelves anytime soon, as the study is still in the testing phase. But the edited calf also represents another potential opportunity to lessen the need for antibiotics in agriculture.

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Rice! University of Arkansas researchers found that genetically modified rice would grow there better than potatoes. (No one tell Matt Damon.) 

Written & Edited by Amelia VanLandegen, Kelsey Faivre, Dawson Schmitt, and Ashley Scoby

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