Good morning.
So, a county judge, a former sheriff’s deputy, and two ranch hands walk into a bar…
Or a jailhouse, rather.
Four were arrested last week in tiny Loving County, Texas for allegedly gathering and selling stray cattle. That group included current County Judge Skeet Jones, who faces three felony counts of livestock theft and one count of engaging in criminal activity.
Loving County is apparently the least populated county in the U.S., with only 64 people living there. So if you’re doing the math, that’s 6% of the entire county’s residents involved in the cattle rustling scheme—busted after a yearlong investigation.
And with potential prison sentences of up to 20 years, the steaks are high…
The News:
- Trade Talks Tease Ag Industry
- Ah-Mazen
- Citrus Greening's Demise in Sight?
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Trade Talks Tease Ag Industry |
During his nation-hopping trip across the Eastern Hemisphere, President Biden recently launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF).
Say that three times fast.
On the surface, the new initiative between the U.S. and 12 other nations is reminiscent of the abandoned Trans-Pacific Partnership (yeah, remember that one?).
But deep down there’s a big difference. This time, he’s going at it alone.
Congress side-stepped: Due to the non-traditional nature of the agreement, Congress doesn’t have to sign off.
And that’s good for the president. Because given the current political climate, Congress would likely say, "Uh… no."
The president touted that the framework "covers half the population of the world and more than 40% of the global GDP," but in these early stages, the new initiative seems more complicated than a Pokémon trading game.
(And if you have no idea what that means, then yeah… you’re pretty much up to speed.)
It’s that lack of detail that has produced a mixed bag of reactions in the ag industry.
American Farm Bureau Federation President, Zippy Duvall, said that "the launch of the new [IPEF] is a positive step, and we hope additional progress will quickly follow."
But with no goals of increased market access and tariff reductions, others are a smidge skeptical.
Where this goes: The final framework is a long way off, and the impact on agriculture is sketchy.
But hopes are high. Because as U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai noted: "This will help our farmers, our ranchers, and our fishers gain certainty for getting their products to the region."
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→ Help at the pump? After diesel fuel prices jumped more than 37% in 10 weeks, plus J.P. Morgan’s prediction of $6.20/gallon gas prices by August, the White House could waive gasoline environmental requirements to bring some relief.
→ Re-up for Regrow. A Series B funding round is set to send $38M to Regrow, a startup driving regenerative ag practices; the money is set to help expand the company’s presence globally and increase the number of farmers in its ecosystem.
→ Sky’s the limit. The National Agricultural Aviation Association says more farmers will require aerial application in 2022, with 127M acres of cropland in the U.S. already being treated by ag aviators.
→ Pub bummer. With soaring prices for fish, potatoes, cooking oil, flour, and other commodities, British fish and chip shops are struggling to keep the nation’s most famous dish on the table.
→ Melting mango production. Pakistan is the latest country to be impacted by sweltering weather, with record high temperatures and drought conditions predicted to cut the nation’s mango production by 50% this year.
→ Strikeout. CNH Industrial workers will continue striking for a fourth consecutive week after rejecting the company’s "final offer"—a deal the union didn’t even "waste time" voting on, leaders said, because it was so far from what members asked for.
→ Dollars for data (interpretation). CropSafe, an Irish startup that helps farmers evaluate data points like satellite imagery, financial records, and more to make better, profit-driving decisions, raised $3M in seed funding.
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Just a spoonful of vaccine helps the needles go away.
Mazen, an animal health company out of Ames, Iowa, just raised $11M in a Series A round to offer a vaccine administered with feed as opposed to the traditional injection.
Digesting this: Since vaccines given by injection sometimes have issues, like finding the labor to even administer the vaccine, experiences with broken needles in the animals, or accidental punctures to the workers, oral vaccines eliminate those risks.
Protein, please: The oral vaccines Mazen makes are produced via recombinant protein production in corn—basically, a "molecular farm." The technology touts cost-effectiveness and convenience.
"Our investors are seeing the tremendous potential of the technology platform to deliver better vaccines more efficiently," says Jenny Filbey, Mazen CEO. "In fact, the technology can help achieve better animal health through disease prevention—rather than treatment—and improve economics, stewardship, and sustainability."
Oink, oink, cluck, cluck: The company’s lead oral vaccine in development prevents Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV) and is in trials required for USDA approval. They’re also developing vaccines for poultry.
The funding the company received will support the launch of their PEDV vaccine, more R&D of other products, and the addition of more people to their team.
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Grains: Soybeans surged again as wet weather hit planting areas. Corn and wheat weren't so lucky.
Livestock: Strong export sales took hogs higher while cattle remain mixed.
*As of Market Close [5/26/22]
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Sun Coming Out on Citrus Greening Solution |
fotoluk1983 | Getty Images
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Heat up your approval process, please: that’s essentially what Florida reps said last week in a bipartisan letter to the EPA, asking it to fast-track its thumbs-up of Vismax, a citrus greening biochemical pesticide.
U.S. Reps. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., and Al Lawson, D-Fla., led the charge with members of the Florida congressional delegation.
The backstory: Things haven’t been looking so sunny for citrus farmers the past few years. Citrus greening has negatively impacted nearly every Florida farm. It impairs the trees’ ability to take in nourishment and drastically reduces productivity within two years.
That has caused the Florida citrus industry to contract by more than two-thirds and has caused economic losses to the tune of $8B. Thousands of jobs have been lost as a result.
Where this goes: Florida lawmakers asked for rapid approval of Vismax to prevent citrus greening in time for the 2022 growing season this October.
Soundbite: "Without EPA approval of Vismax, the citrus industry will experience crippling losses at the hands of infected trees, which is why we need to make this safe and effective treatment readily available to our citrus producers," Cammack said.
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Since we gave a shoutout to our agricultural aviators out there in today’s Quick Hits, we thought we’d gauge your knowledge:
According to USDA data, what percent of U.S. cropland is treated by an aerial applicator each year?
Answer at the bottom of the email.
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Written & Edited by Kevin Cross, Sheridan Wimmer, Rachel Robinson, Ashley Scoby, and Travis Martin
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