🐄 Cream of the Crop + Ag Trade Talks Teeter, GrapeTech, and more...

The “top-to-bottom” review of the U.S.-China trade policy (cringe) is finally complete… and it only took eight months.

After an unveiling earlier this week, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai’s trade plan got mixed reviews.

Refresher: In the wake of a vicious U.S.-China trade war that left the ag industry up the creek without a paddle, a “Phase 1” trade deal was implemented in February 2020.

Under the agreement, China was to purchase U.S. ag and manufactured goods worth $200B more than 2017 levels over the course of the two-year agreement.

As of right now, they’ve purchased a little over 60% of those promised goods. Getting there… right?

During her announcement, Tai noted she would engage in talks with China about their failure to meet Phase 1 expectations, but also said a planned Phase 2 would not be implemented.

The reaction to the plan? It depends on who you ask:

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack: Vilsack was supportive of the new approach, noting that China has met 50 of the 57 Phase 1 agreements, but conceded Tai should “press the Chinese on fulfilling their responsibilities,” especially in the area of biotechnology trait approvals.

Senator Chuck Grassley (Iowa): Grassley said China was “making an effort,” but also opined: “It seems like the Biden administration, then without pursuing Phase 2, is throwing in the towel.”

Industry: Overall, multiple sectors expressed concern over the plan’s lack of foreseeable action. One trade economist out of Syracuse University summed it up as “her whole plan seems to be, 'I'm going to have a conversation.'"

Quick Hits

→ Herbicide buddies. Crop health company Enko and agrochemical leader Nufarm have teamed up to use the former’s DNA-encoded library to produce new herbicide solutions with multiple modes of action to combat weed resistance.

→ Canadian canola feels the pinch. The country’s smallest oilseed crop in 13 years is forcing major importers like Japan and Mexico to pay big bucks or go search for alternative sources for their regular supply.

→ La Niña is right around the corner. A harsh winter will be here before we know it, as meteorologists predict a quick turn to cold temperatures as early as November.

→ Syngenta scanner = ‘big brother’ for bugs. A European division of the input company is testing the Diopsis scanner in fields to give farmers insights into the balance between pests and beneficial insects in their crops.

→ Ag gets cyber slapped again. A suite of online farm equipment and land auction sites—including TractorHouse, AuctionTime, and HiBid—are all back online after another ransomware attack focused on the ag industry.

→ Another day, another price-fix settlement. Chicken buyers nabbed $93.5M from poultry giants including Tyson, Pilgrim’s Pride, and Mar-Jac Poultry in a settlement from litigation around fixing chicken prices.

→ Sour Swiss weather nails ag output. A frosty spring mixed with a hail-filled summer has led to a 9% dip in Switzerland’s ag production value, with the most damaged crops being stone fruits, sugar beets, hay, and potatoes.

Dairy demand is getting butter and butter.

A Tuesday report from the U.S. Dairy Export showed increases in total exports of all dairy products at 13%. Other export increases:

Cheese is up 18.1%
Nonfat dry milk is up 15.4%
Condensed and evaporated milk is up an udderly amazing 128% over 2020

Comfort cows: Even with COVID restrictions on restaurants, domestic dairy demand is churning and burning. A USDA report noted people were seeking comfort food—like ice cream and butter—through the pandemic.

In fact, the average American consumed three more pounds of dairy products across all segments in 2020. We all had to get through the pandemic somecow.

Some months even saw an increase of 30% in ice cream sales from grocery stores. Butter increases were around 20-25%.

“Despite challenges posed by the pandemic to all parts of the supply chain in 2020—including the near-overnight loss of the foodservice sector—per capita dairy consumption continued to surge upward thanks to growth in ice cream, butter, and yogurt,” said Michael Dykes, D.V.M., president, and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA).

He added, “Last year’s consumption figures are nearly 70 percentage points above the annual average, showing America’s growing appreciation for their favorite dairy products.”

TreadSure® is another shining startup currently part of The Combine’s agtech business incubator program in Nebraska.

The free app is like having a tire expert in your pocket. Upon download, you’ll have the following features at your fingertips:

Cost savings: Save thousands as you avoid misevaluated tire results
Vast tire catalog: See tire data on over 30 major manufacturers, 400 models, and over 1,200 sizing options
Your tire data: Access real-time insights on the condition of one or more tires on your machines

Just take it from one of their users:

"TreadSure has dramatically reduced the amount of time it takes to determine the remaining tread percentage on used inventory coming in." - Cody Bebensee

Manage all your tire data and download the user-friendly TreadSure® app today.

Southwestern French wine growers were hit hard this year with devastating frosts and blistering heat. But for Pierre Escudie, his Marselan, Grenache Gris, and Chardonnay grapes fared better than his neighbors’ thanks to the rows of solar panels above the vines protecting the plants.

Throwing shade: The panels insulate the ground below them by around 1.1-ish degrees Fahrenheit. They rotate to allow more/less light to hit the vines depending on the day.

The solar panels at the vineyard generate enough energy to power 650 homes in the area, even though 15-20% of the power production is sacrificed for crop quality.

It's a win-win for crops that can't take the heat and the solar panels that work better with the cooler microclimate provided by the crop underneath. Many companies in Europe are developing similar solar panel systems to cover a variety of crops.

More grape tech: Maybe the solar panels can power the new robo-pickers that Italian winemakers are embracing amid pandemic-induced labor shortages.

With borders shuttered by COVID travel restrictions, Italian winemakers haven't been able to hire the (mostly Eastern European and North African) workers who typically fill their vineyards during harvest season. The use of harvesting machines spiked 20% this year among a group of winemakers in the central Italian region.

Some were able to cut a typical 18-day harvest down to just 10. Wine not make the switch?