Good morning.
Good news for our cheese-lover readers: ‘gruyere’ for all. But, like, literally.
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A Virginia judge ruled that the term ‘gruyere’ was not exclusive to Europe and that the generic name can be applied to cheese that comes from anywhere in the world.Â
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If someone tries to tell you otherwise, they are full of bologna—another term the European Union apparently tried to monopolize, alongside parmesan and chateau.
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Stories:
- GM-Oh, What Are They Called Now?
- Ag Tire Industry Not Spared
- Scaling Up Seaweed
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GM-Oh, What Are They Called Now? New Rules Hit the Shelves
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New coat of paint, same car: The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard took effect Jan. 1st.
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You may remember this as GMO Labeling, but the term GMO has undergone a facelift. Instead of genetically modified or GMO, food products in this category will be required to be labeled as "bioengineered" or "derived from bioengineering."
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So, what’s really required? Well, at least one of the following:
- A label that includes "bioengineered food" or "contains a bioengineered food ingredient"
- Use of one of two USDA-approved symbols for bioengineered food
- QR code for consumers to scan
- A phone number for consumers to text to learn more information about the food product
Anything else I should GMKnow? A significant exemption within these guidelines is for highly refined foods, such as corn syrup, where bioengineered material has been utilized but isn’t detectable after processing.Â
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Final… but maybe not final final: The Center for Food Safety has sued the USDA in federal court over the final labeling regulations.
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Negative soundbite: "These regulations are not about informing the public but rather designed to allow corporations to hide their use of genetically engineered ingredients from their customers," said Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director of the Center for Food Safety.
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Positive soundbite: "Soybean farmers are pleased that USDA took the time to do this rule the right way. We believe that it allows transparency for consumers while following the intent of Congress that only food that contains modified genetic material be required to be labeled bioengineered under the law, with food companies having the option of providing additional information if they choose." noted Davie Stephens, American Soybean Association President.
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→ PowerPollen’s pockets filled with funding. The startup focused on capturing pollen and eliminating the dependence on wind pollination snagged a $7M Series B round to scale its platform and enter new geographies.
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→ Cattle congestive heart failure. Researchers are studying if an increase in feedlot heart disease might be tied to genetic selection for increased growth and marbling in beef cattle.Â
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→ Smithfield licking its plate clean. The global meat company pledged to cut food loss and waste at its operations in half by 2030 through recycling waste to use as animal feed or compost, plus focusing on loss prevention.
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→ Strains for days. Multiple new bird flu variants in Asia and Europe are being watched closely as they could potentially mutate or mix with the human flu and be transmittable.Â
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→ Brazilian pork bonanza. The country’s pork exports jumped 11% in 2021 as it shipped 1.13M tonnes of pork to foreign markets, China being the top destination.
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→ No small fry. McDonald’s Japan is shrinking the size of fries it dishes out and limiting portions after shipping delays of potatoes from North America have restricted supplies.
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→ A pork probe and a cover up? Thailand officials rejected claims that the country covered up an outbreak of African swine fever after a lab confirmed a pet pig in the country died from the disease.
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Ag Tire Market Falling Flat
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Opla / Getty Images Signature
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Between constant labor and supply shortages, it hasn’t been a Goodyear. The latest shortage in tires has some farmers feeling even more deflated.Â
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Fueled by a demand for new equipment, plus the need to simply turn raw materials into a final usable product, the struggle is real.
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How real? Farmers will actually buy old tires now vs. waiting until spring for new ones. If they still hold air, they’re sold.Â
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Michael Hirakata, a fifth generation farmer in southeastern Colorado, says he’s "never seen anything like this." His farm experienced a shortage of storage supplies for freshly picked cantaloupes, watermelons, and pumpkins, which slowed work this past growing season. They stopped picking until they had more boxes, bins, and pallets.Â
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To make matters worse, transportation became an even larger issue, and Hirakata said they lost produce due to delays and a lack of trucks.
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Soundbite: "I think it’s a global thing. If we go over to Charles City, Iowa to Mitas, or Firestone, wherever we’re at, I think you’re going to find the same problems at any of the manufacturers," said Allen Miler, CLAAS North American marketing manager, about the tire shortage.Â
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Grains: Profit taking was the name of the game as soybeans felt the biggest sting yesterday.
Livestock: Close watch on China's buying of pork and beef have kept prices tamed.
*As of Market Close [1/10/21]
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Don't Fear the Fertilizer Frenzy
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If supply chain challenges and fertilizer shortages got you down, it’s time to spring into action.
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DPH Biologicals (formerly Douglas Plant Health) is here to the rescue with plans to scale their flagship biofertilizer - TerraTroveâ„¢ SP-1 Classicâ„¢ - to give row and specialty crop farmers a viable alternative and complement on-farm fertility needs.
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SP-1 Classic has a complete set of powerful ingredients that work together to help manufacture fertility in the soil.
- Plant-Based Humus Extracts
- Consortium of Microbes
- AlgaeÂ
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All this to improve soil structure, make more nutrients available, and ultimately increase yield.Â
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And when it comes to effectiveness, the results speak for themselves. When SP-1 Classic is used with starter fertilizers, corn growers have been able to replace up to 50% of synthetic fertilizer when used in-furrow.Â
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Don’t wait. Ask your retailers about TerraTrove today.
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Magnetic's Must-See Stuff
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Just beginning your carbon journey? No sweat. Truterraâ„¢ has the program for you. Simply take this survey and discover all the ways you can be rewarded for your stewardship.*
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Snow day fun. Successful Farming has all the hot tips on how to build a snow fort, make sleds
faster, or even create your own ice skating rink.
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While gruyere cheese can *technically* be made anywhere these days, it does have its roots in Europe.
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Which country below was the birthplace of the popular cheese?
- Austria
- France
- Switzerland
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Answer at the bottom of the email.
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**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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Seaweed Farming Gets Fueled
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Sky Sea’s the limit: Seaweed has been slowly drifting into the agricultural world in the form of animal supplements that help reduce methane emissions in cattle, fertilizer, and as an ingredient in a variety of food products like sushi.Â
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Seaweed farming is the fastest-growing aquaculture sector, growing almost as fast as the floating weed itself—which happens at a rate of up to two feet/day. The global seaweed industry doubled in size between 2005 and 2015, and produced 33M metric tons in 2018.Â
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But labor is a major limiting factor.Â
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Just keep seeding, just keep seeding: Individual pieces of seaweed are tied to rope lines or nets by hand. After it’s grown, seaweed producers have to manually harvest and "re-seed" the lines.
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This costly production system makes seaweed economically viable only for high-priced applications.Â
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But Sea6 Energy founder Shrikumar Suryanarayan says his company could help. Â
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Introducing the sea combine: Sea6 has developed an automated catamaran that hovers over rows of seaweed on lines at the company’s floating seaweed farms in Bali, Indonesia. The combine works its way down the rows, simultaneously slurping up the fully grown strands of seaweed and reseeding the lines.Â
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Eli Whitney of the sea: Suryanarayan hopes the sea combine will cut costs and make seaweed cheap enough to be used as a biofuel and a biodegradable alternative to plastics.Â
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In Friday's newsletter, we incorrectly stated that John Deere's new autonomous tractors will have mirrors installed on the shanks. Rather, they will have reflectors on the shanks. Our bad. To learn more, jump here.
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Written by Aaron Dunajeski, Savanna Barksdale, and Travis Martin
Edited by Ashley Scoby
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