Good morning.
In a shocking turn of events, both FFA and AFA lost loyal voters and couldn’t grind to the Magnetic March Madness Championship…
April Fools.
Can’t say we were surprised. The faithful young ag supporters and alumni have taken their respective tribes to the tourney’s finale.
Which nonprofit will hoist the trophy? You decide. See voting details below.
Stories:
- Sows in the Supreme Court
- Diesel Gets Fired, Ethanol Is Hired
- Magnetic March Madness: Championship Time
- Transparent Cattle Markets Get Muddier
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Sows in the Supreme Court |
It’s no sow-prise Prop 12 is back in the courts. And soon, the Supreme Court will hear a challenge by farm groups.
Swine time in the courts: In 2018, California voters approved a ballot measure to give sows and egg-laying hens more room and ban the sale of meat produced on farms in states that don’t match California’s set standards.
Since nearly one third of the hogs raised in America come from Iowa, the requirements would be a boar-den for hog producers, incurring "tens of millions of dollars" of costs yearly. The proposition took place Jan. 1, but there aren’t yet regulations or obligations for farmers set by the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
Not living high on the hog: Some ag groups are wanting to pork chop Prop 12, saying it’s a misguided law.
"One state’s misguided law should not dictate farming practices for an entire nation," said Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Meanwhile, according to president of the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) Terry Wolters, Prop 12 "sets arbitrary animal housing standards that lack any scientific, technical, or agricultural basis and that will only inflict economic harm on U.S. hog farmers and consumers."
That’ll do, pig: A California state judge barred enforcement of Prop 12, and it can’t be enforced until 180 days after regulations become final. Arguments could start this fall and rule by the end of the year, according to the NPPC.
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→ Equipment in a jam. Farm equipment companies are cutting production because of continued supply chain woes, rapidly rising costs for raw materials, escalating gas prices, and more.
→ Conservation acres for days. The Biden administration’s 2023 budget proposal is out, and proposed USDA funding would include $2.4B to enroll 27M acres into the Conservation Reserve Program.
→ Sweet sustainability. Nestle plans to spend $1.3B over the next 5 years to fund regenerative production practices, in an effort to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
→ Ethanol escalation? President Biden is reportedly considering dropping restrictions on higher-ethanol gasoline blends to bring some relief to soaring U.S. gas prices.
→ Turning over new (funding for) Leaf. The data infrastructure company Leaf Agriculture, which developed a unified farm data API used by companies representing 200M acres, raised a $5M seed round to expand its team and launch new services.
→ Green treatment. Germains Seed Technology has introduced a new seed treatment for spinach in Europe, which they hope will reduce crop losses and help plants be less susceptible to abiotic stress.
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Leaf Agriculture is looking for a product marketing rockstar to lead everything from messaging and positioning to customer marketing and sales enablement. Apply here.
Check out all the jobs on the Magnetic Ag Job Board.
Want to get your open roles in front of our 10,000+ readers? Post a job here.
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Diesel Gets Fired, Ethanol Is Hired |
Dump the diesel and bring on the corn juice.
‘Cause your tractor may soon be running on ethanol.
ClearFlame Engine Technologies, the Chicagoland-based startup, recently announced it will be running a field test of its technology on a 9-liter John Deere diesel engine.
The goal? Completely transform the heavy-duty engine industry.
So… what’s that mean? By modifying an existing diesel engine using its proprietary injection technology, ClearFlame converts the engine to run on… you guessed it… ethanol.
Basically, diesel engine ≠ diesel fuel.
How does it work? Well… that’s a secret. But it does work.
Big Rig on the road: In February, ClearFlame announced a successful "on-road" demonstration of a Class 8 semi-truck with a 500hp Cummins engine running on E98.
The funding to fuel up its long-haul trucking program was provided last October through a Series A partnership led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and the jolly green giant itself, John Deere.
When the John Deere trial (and a possible future with more ethanol demand) was announced last week at a Nebraska Ethanol Board forum, you can bet those cornhuskers’ ears perked up.
Rolling coal? Don’t think so: By switching diesel engines to run on renewable ethanol, the resulting emissions are out of this world.
Like, literally… they barely exist.
Burning ethanol means less CO₂, 90% fewer nitrous oxides, and virtually no soot coming out of the exhaust pipe.
Where this goes: With equal power and cheaper overall operating costs, the future may be closer than we think—ClearFlame has hinted at a tractor and combine demonstration later this year.
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Grains: Corn surged and soybeans sank after yesterday's USDA Planting Intentions Report.
Livestock: Continued concern on consumer confidence had all the proteins dipping lower.
*As of Market Close [3/31/22]
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PARTNERED WITH GLOBAL AG NETWORK
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Press Play: Ag Podcasts for Days |
The Global Ag Network is a lot like a buffet.
It’s got a whoooole lot of options and a little bit of something for everyone.
Launched in 2018, the network has a slew of agriculturally focused podcasts with new content released daily.
Not sure if your niche is represented? Check out just some of their offerings:
- Ag News Daily
- Ag On Tap
- Working Cows
- The Millenial Ag Podcast
- Ag State of Mind
- Dryline Farmer
…and more! The options are endless.
Head over to Global Ag Network and start your listening today.
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It's the final countdown.
For the last time, here's the rundown:
- Simply head to the link below and hit 'Click Here to Vote!' once in the portal.
- You will vote only once for the championship matchup.
The Magnetic March Madness Champion will be announced in Tuesday's newsletter!
Go Vote Here!
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Transparent Cattle Markets Get Muddier |
Melanie Grimes / Getty Images
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The cattle market can see clearly now, the bill is done…
Well, maybe.
The updated version of the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act is done. Introduced in November 2021, the bill has mixed support. In one corner, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association says the bill "strayed from the wishes of the majority of cattle producers around the country." Other groups feel the same.
In the other corner, Iowa Cattlemen’s Association, U.S. Cattlemen’s Association, and others believe this bill is a show of bipartisan support from Congressional leaders to find a solution. The hope is packers will be required to increase competition and fairness in the fed cattle market.
Breaking it down: As the proposed bill would have it, to ensure complete and transparent price discovery, the Secretary of Agriculture would establish five to seven regions nationwide and then create minimum levels of fed cattle purchases made through approved pricing mechanisms:
- Negotiated cash
- Negotiated grid
- At a stockyard
- Trading systems where multiple buyers and sellers regularly can make and accept bids
Oh, and the bill would establish a publicly available library of available marketing contracts and required box beef reporting.
And if packers don’t participate? Covered packers (those that slaughtered 5% or more of the fed cattle nationally in the preceding five years) face a maximum penalty of $90K.
Where this goes: Stakeholder groups will review the updated bill and provide feedback.
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The U.S. has got milk—and plenty of other dairy products ready for export.
Below is a graph showing total dairy exports to one particular country increasing 48% over the past decade.
Which country is driving this dairy demand?
Answer at the bottom of the email.
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Your link:
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Written & Edited by Sheridan Wimmer, Kevin Cross, Rachel Robinson, Ashley Scoby, and Travis Martin
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