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Stories:
- EPA Steps Up to the ESA Plate
- Supply Squeeze: Declining Florida Orange Production
- Autonomous Tractor News Keeps Rolling
P.S. Our Movers & Shakers series is back with Janette Barnard of Merck Animal Health Ventures and Prime Future! See the Q&A on the scroll.
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EPA Steps Up to the ESA Plate
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is opening a once-blind eye to its responsibility to comply with the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and it has farmers raising an eyebrow.
Why now? The EPA gets to determine whether active ingredients (AI) could be harmful to ESA species. In the past, they haven’t consistently reviewed the impacts of AIs on threatened species. The results haven’t been great.
"This [lack of review] resulted in insufficient protections from new AIs for listed species, as well as resource-intensive litigation against EPA for registering new AIs prior to assessing potential effects on listed species," according to the new policy announcement.
Tangent: This follows the EPA re-approving Enlist and Enlist Duo for seven more years, complying with ESA and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). But—and it’s a big one—the approval comes with new asterisks for risk mitigation and bans the chemicals for farmers in specific counties where the ESA risks are higher.
Where this goes: The EPA will conduct biological evaluations on every new pesticide registered, and if likely to impact an ESA species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service may propose measures to reduce risk, called "reasonable and product alternatives (RPAs)." (Because this story really needed another acronym).
Every pesticide that goes through the re-registration process will also be evaluated and subject to new label restrictions, such as county bans or spraying limitations.
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→ Farm Bureau says "nah." The largest U.S. farm group, while favoring more transparent cattle markets, doesn’t approve of the new Senate Bill, which would require meatpackers to buy slaughter cattle on the cash market.
→ Boosting barge infrastructure. A $732M lock and dam modernization project on the Mississippi River will upgrade a crucial shipping point for nearly every bushel of soybeans and corn shipped from Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin.
→ Fish for days. Indonesia-based eFishery raised a $90M funding round, becoming the world’s largest aquaculture tech startup.
→ Canola coming on strong. Canola demand is still rebounding well after last year’s severe drought, and now a fifth potential crushing plant has been announced in Canada, which would increase total canola crush capacity by 62%.
→ No residue for you. The USDA released results from its 2020 testing of 9,600 samples of fresh and processed fruits and veggies for pesticide residue levels. 99% tested below benchmark levels.
→ Spain’s farming spat. Over 500 agriculture groups marched in Madrid on Sunday to protest environmental and economic policies that they claim hurt rural communities.
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New estimates of Florida's orange crop are not so sunshiney: The USDA is predicting the lowest production figures since 1945.
The current estimate is 44.5M 90-pound boxes, down 1.5M from last month's forecast. Consumers may have to keep their eyes peeled for higher prices in the coming year.
What caused this? One notable culprit is a plant disease known as citrus greening. This disease has been a significant factor in Florida's orange production decline for over 20 years, with a major drop of 18.1% occurring during the 1998-99 season.
Citrus greening at a glance:
- The spread is caused by a disease-infected insect, the Asian citrus psyllid.
- Infected trees produce fruits that are bitter, misshapen, green, and unsuitable for sale.
- Infected trees cannot be cured.
Soundbite: "The disappointment of another decline in the forecast is hard to overstate. But so too is the determination of Florida’s citrus growers who remain focused on delivering great-tasting and high-quality fruit while–simultaneously–seeking new solutions to citrus greening," - Shelley Rossetter, assistant director of global marketing at the Florida Department of Citrus.
For some perspective: The last time Florida orange production was at current levels, Franklin D. Roosevelt was president, WWII had just concluded, Elvis Presley made his first public appearance at age 10 at the Mississippi Alabama Dairy Show, and the price of one pound of Ritz Crackers was 21 cents.
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Grains: Tensions of Russia possibly invading Ukraine took wheat higher as the Black Sea region is a big wheat exporter.
Livestock: A bearish Cattle on Feed report mixed with lower slaughter prices kept cattle prices down.
*As of Market Close [1/24/22].
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Janette Barnard of Merck Animal Health Ventures & Prime Future
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Judging by her Instagram account, you might think Janette Barnard is simply a cactus connoisseur.
But don’t let her love of nature fool you.
The Arizona native has a back pocket of professional experiences across the food value chain that could rival the best in the business.
Her professional ride has zigzagged from early experiences at the White House and working in the poultry sector for Elanco Animal Health to an MBA internship with McDonald’s and going on to lead and consult for a wide range of AgTech startups.
Today you can find her searching for top-notch animal agriculture innovation in her role with Merck Animal Health Ventures and writing her popular Prime Future newsletter with her insights on the animal protein value chain.
Read our Q&A with Janette here.
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Magnetic's Must-See Stuff
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The carbon countdown is on. Truterra™ is in its final sprint to qualify farmers for its 2022 carbon programs. Looking for a new revenue stream while improving soil health? Don’t wait: the survey closes February 1.*
Filling the nitrogen gap. Azotic has launched free CCA accredited online training for Envita, the nitrogen-fixing solution that can transform your corn. Discover Envita today.*
If you’re a corn yield nerd like us… Check out AgWeb’s data maps on which states had record-breaking yields in 2021.
*Sponsored Post. Looking to advertise your event, announcement, or product here? Learn more.
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Florida agriculture is front and center with today’s orange crunch story, so let’s keep the ball rolling in today’s trivia.
Reader Abby M. from Florida posed this question: Which of the following commodities is Florida NOT ranked first in the U.S. for production value?
- Grapefruit
- Oranges
- Strawberries
- Watermelon
Answer at the bottom of the email.
**Win a Magnetic koozie when you submit a trivia question and it gets used in a future newsletter! Submit questions here.
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More Autonomous Tractor News...
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Uber for agriculture is just around the corner, and Agtonomy is making it happen.
Using a mobile phone app, a farmer can assign a job to one of his or her tractors, which is basically like calling an Uber driver to the farm to do the work.
As demonstrated by John Deere at CES earlier this month, autonomy in farming is here. Agtonomy is working to mainstream this trend.
The deets: Agtonomy, a hybrid autonomy and tele-assist service startup, makes tractors and other machines autonomous. In a world where skilled labor can be hard to come by, autonomous machines provide a welcome low-cost and technology-enabled alternative.
The company just closed on a $5M Seed II funding round, bringing their total seed funding to $9M.
Soundbite: "Five years ago, it was hard to get any VC attention related to AgTech, but there has just been overwhelming interest from investors, and though we are just starting out, local agriculture needs help now," Agtonomy co-founder and CEO Tim Bucher said.
What lies ahead: Within the next few months Bucher plans on 50 trials, plus doubling the company’s headcount, which currently stands at 20.
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Strawberries. Florida is 2nd in production value to California.
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