🌾 Uh Oats + Grain Tool Game-Changer, Pistachio Crop Cracking, and more...

Oatmeal lovers are quakin’ in their boots.

With record-high temperatures and drought across the northern oat-growing states, there’s a small oat crop this year, which will affect oat products in the grocery store.

Are you cereal? ‘Fraid so. In fact, USDA says the 2021 crop is the smallest on record at 39.836M bushels—a 39% drop compared to 2020. In Canada—the biggest exporter of oats—oat harvest was cut by more than half.

Securing the goods: Swedish company Oatly searched all over the globe to secure reserves for its products, obtaining contracts in the Baltics and Canada. Cheerios maker General Mills, which is celebrating its 80th year by using its original name, CheeriOats-General Mills, also secured enough North American oats for production.They have not indicated whether they’ll increase the price of their popular cereal.

But while these larger companies have their share of oats, companies like SunOpta are struggling with supply.

But my oatmeal, though: Fewer bushels of oats means higher prices on your granola bars and other oat-based products. Combine fewer supplies of oats with higher inflation rates, and consumers’ pocketbooks will roll oat more cash.

Quick Hits

→ What the gigaton…? UPL, the agrochemical giant, is launching a series of initiatives to reduce carbon emissions by one gigaton (equal to two years of emissions for a country the size of Brazil) by 2040.

→ CNH’s chip issue. The global tractor company is temporarily shuttering some European agricultural and powertrain manufacturing sites due to disruptions like semiconductor shortages.

→ Pausing all pork decisions. The Massachusetts legislature voted to delay until 2023 a provision of the Question 3 initiative—similar to California’s Prop 12—that would prohibit pork product sales from operations not meeting the state’s production standards.

→ Go local and get micro. The USDA will now offer a Micro Farm insurance policy to smaller producers who sell their fruits, vegetables, and other specialty crops directly to consumers via channels like farmers markets.

→ Back up and running. Bayer’s Luling, La., glyphosate plant has resumed operations for the popular herbicide after nearly seven weeks of downtime due to damages from Hurricane Ida.

→ Hemp has its day. The USDA will mail its first Acreage and Production survey to 20,500 hemp producers as the department is set to begin estimating crop size, yields, and value at the national level.

Bushel, the Fargo, North Dakota-based grain trading platform announced Tuesday they had reached out to ADM and Cargill to say, “I want to hold your hand.” (figuratively)

All you need is love collaboration: According to the press release, Bushel has acquired the ADM/Cargill joint venture, GrainBridge. Merging the two grain supply chain platforms will increase collaboration and standardization across the industry while maintaining permission-based data sharing and fortifying relationships between grain elevators and producers.

Soundbite: “This is a win for producers, and it’s a win for our industry,” noted Doug Roose, Vice President of Producer Marketing at ADM

A major goal of the acquisition is to help farmers navigate the long and winding road of grain marketing caused by the constant flux of grain prices.

All my loving data science, I will give to you: The biggest win for Bushel stemming from the acquisition? Data science. According to Bushel CEO Jake Joraanstad, “Adding the GrainBridge team members to Bushel gives us stronger data science capabilities to provide even better insights from our expanded network.”

And even with the acquisition, those new team members from GrainBridge will get back to where they once belonged—hanging out in the Omaha, Neb., office that will eventually become a second headquarters for Bushel.

Where this goes: ADM and Cargill will soon begin transitioning their customers from Grainbridge to Bushel with a gusto that should make everyone twist and shout.

The upkeep and maintenance of poultry houses represent a real challenge for farmers and growers.

But no fear… Birds Eye Robotics is here.

The company's autonomous robotic solution aims to connect cutting-edge technology with farmer common sense.

As part of The Combine’s Incubator program in Nebraska, the scaling tech solution is designed with the farmer in mind. Already navigating broiler houses with 20,000+ birds, the robot is making big waves with benefits like:

Removal of Poultry Mortality: Artificial intelligence recognizes mortality and removes them with a 90% reduction in labor.
Increase Feed Conversion: Robotic solution encourages bird stimulation throughout the house, improving bird welfare and efficiency.
Improve Bedding Condition: Custom-designed treads break up caked bedding to improve the house environment.

Just another example of how rural Nebraska will lead the next generation of impactful ag technology solutions on the farm.

Learn more about what Birds Eye Robotics can offer.

California pistachio growers are pleasantly surprised with their harvest this year. Though the nuts be but little, the acreage was fierce.

This year’s California pistachios had an uphill battle on their way to the second-largest crop on record (about one billion pounds).

The comeback crop: Pistachios are alternate bearing, which means higher yields are expected every other year. This year was an “off” year, so producing just under last year’s 1.05 billion pounds leaves the industry shell-shocked. In addition, the drought in the West was expected to roast that extra yield.

How important are pistachios? Well, if California ag commodities were a basketball team, pistachios would be a starter. They are No. 4 behind milk, almonds, and grapes. In 2020, those little pistachios brought in a cracking $2.87B.

And because the crop is drought resistant, and water availability is a little nutty in the West, farmers are planting more pistachios, according to American Pistachio Growers President Richard Matoian.

That works out because global demand for pistachios is also rising, especially in Europe, China, and Hong Kong. About 65 to 70% of U.S. pistachios are exported. Cha-ching.

Down the road: After this pleasant surprise, the industry is looking forward to what happens next year during an “on” year.