Good Morning.
They say don't cry over spilled milk. But if you're crying over a paper cut... maybe spilled milk can help?
In a manner of speaking, anyways.
New research out of the UK shows that milk protein-infused bandages actually helped with wound healing. The scientists mixed casein (a protein from cow's milk) with a biodegradable polyester to create these new-age bandages.
Pretty cool.
Stories:
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Cap-tivating Farm Bill Proposal |
alvarez by Getty Images Signature
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Cap, cap. Who’s there? A U.S. Senate bill proposed last week.
Senate bill who: The bill, proposed by Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Sherrod Brown of Ohio, would cap crop subsidies per farm per year at $250K.
Even Steven: The bill, dubbed the Farm Program Integrity Act, would require beneficiaries of commodity support for farm operations to spend at least 50% (or 1K hours) of their year engaged in the labor or management of the farm in order to receive subsidies.
Flip it and reverse it: Currently, 10% of farm operations receive 70% of yearly farm payment subsidies. This legislation would max out commodity payments at $125K per person and $250K per farm per year. The cap would eliminate loopholes and loose definitions of today’s system.
Soundbite: "This bill brings honesty to the farm payment system and prioritizes farming families over mega farms," said Grassley.
According to Brown, "Too often, farm program payments have gone to producers who do not need the support or to people who aren’t even involved in farming."
Farm bill looming: This type of proposal is par for the course for Grassley, according to an AgriTalk interview with Paul Neiffer, a certified public accountant and business advisor in the ag industry. Grassley has previously attempted payment limits in farm bills but was unsuccessful. Neiffer indicates there may be a chance it passes with the new farm bill because Republicans in the House are looking for ways to cut spending. Farm bill things.
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→Laborious bills. The ag sector will spend more than $42B on labor costs in 2023—a more than 4% increase from last year.
→ Real pests steal pesticides. Thieves made away with about $10.5M worth of pesticides from Brazilian company Sipcam Nichino after holding employees hostage.
→ Internet for everyone. There’s a new bill on the Senate floor that would expand broadband connection to every "last acre" in the U.S., including the 18% of farms currently without internet access.
→ Person to person pig. A new study shows that the swine flu strain responsible for the 2009 outbreak has jumped from humans to pigs almost 400 times since that year.
→ Corteva-Canada canola connection. Canadian researchers and Corteva teamed up to modify canola plants’ DNA to increase protein content so that livestock can better digest canola meal.
→ Sales numbers not so meaty. New data shows that alternative meat sales have dropped by almost 20% year-over-year.
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The results are in… <dramatic pause> … and 89% of the 2023 Precision Ag Dealership Survey respondents are using auto guidance on their application equipment!
Are you surprised? Unlikely, but this is up 4 points from 2022.
The numbers don’t lie in "the longest-running continuous study of precision farming adoption" managed by CropLife/Purdue University. This year’s survey was of 87 retail input suppliers working with corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, cotton, milo, sugar beets, and forages mainly in the Midwest.
We won’t drown you in data, but for the first time in survey history the total number of those using GPS fleet management to track their vehicles came in at 55%. This is the first time the number has been over 50%.
A majority of dealers offer precision soil sampling (85%) and VRT fertilizer and lime applications (90%), but these numbers have leveled off recently. Farmers are using less grid/zone soil sampling and a lower amount of VRT fertilizer and liming.
Up, up, and hovering over your crops: Roughly 33% of dealers are using drones for some crop input applications. More than half said they’d be doing this in 2026, making it the largest anticipated growth category for any product or service offered by dealers.
Tackling tech isn’t easy. The three largest obstacles dealers have faced in the last 10 years include finding employees who can deliver these services, the equipment needed for precision services is forever changing (which is expensive), and they can’t charge enough for precision services to make them profitable.
The full report will be out later this summer.
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Rap superstar Snoop Dogg has entered the ice cream arena with his new sweet treat brand, Dr. Bombay Ice Cream. But according to the USDA, ice cream consumption in the U.S. is… dropping like it’s hot.
Any guesses on how many pounds of ice cream Americans consume per year?
Answer at the bottom of the email.
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Big Brands, Big Sustainability |
Corporate America is abuzz with the word sustainability, and Walmart and PepsiCo have partnered up to take their pledges to the next level.
The deets: The two powerhouses are committing $120M over seven years to push regenerative ag practices on over 2M acres of U.S. farmland. They claim the new practices will reduce 4M metric tonnes of greenhouse gas by 2030, all with the stated goals of supporting farmers, improving soil and water health, and lowering carbon emissions.
Soundbite: "This collaboration aims to help elevate farmer livelihoods, engage them on how to more sustainably manage soil health, increase yields, and create a model that others can mimic across other product categories, including encouraging additional investments in regenerative agriculture by other brands." — Jane Ewing, Walmart Senior Vice President for Sustainability
Wally World’s commitment: Walmart is not new to the sustainability table, implementing electric delivery vehicles across the U.S. and removing plastic bags from their stores in Canada.
Purposeful PepsiCo: The partnership will help PepsiCo reach its goals of regenerative ag across 7M acres, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030, and net-zero emissions by 2040.
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In 2021, the average American ate 12 pounds of frozen dairy, down 4 pounds from 2020.
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Written & Edited by Sheridan Wimmer, Amelia VanLandegen, Jen Hill and Dawson Schmitt
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