🐄 Dairy's Bright Spot + Land O' Modern Broadband, Berry Seedless Future, and more...

Good morning.

We’re on a bit of a festive floriculture kick after doing some research on December’s plant darling, the poinsettia.

Fun fact: Did you know that the red, leafy plant was brought to the U.S. from Mexico in 1828 when Dr. Joel Poinsett, the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, sent a clipping back to his home state of South Carolina?

Shout out to Dr. Poinsett for propagating both plants and the holiday spirit.

Today's stories:

Dairy Demand is 'Dy-no-mite'
Going Seedless
Land O' Lakes' Wi-Fi Win

“There’s reasons to finally be upbeat in dairy.”

That was Dan Basse, president of the Chicago-based AgResource Company, at the recent Agricultural Bankers Conference.

And with 2021 dairy exports tracking toward setting a new record, dairy definitely has a reason to be “upbeat.”

Far East Eatery: So who’s driving the exorbitant export demand? China. The nation with the world’s largest population has had a healthy appetite for dairy products… a menu even the Chinese government is pushing.

Soundbite: Will Loux, director of global trade analysis at the U.S. Dairy Export Council had this to say: “A lot of [this demand] has to do with the Chinese government telling consumers, 'Hey, dairy is really nutritious, it's a great thing for your immunity, go out and buy dairy products.’”

And “buy dairy” they did. Amidst the pandemic, the Chinese government touting the health benefits of dairy resulted in a 32% increase in exports of dairy products to China during the first half of the year. So thank you, COVID. No really, thank you.

The best is yet to come: If 2021 was good, 2022 is projected to be even better. Exports across the barnyard are expected to be higher next year, but dairy exports specifically are projected to be $7.7B—that’s a forecasted increase of $200M.

On top of that, the USDA is projecting 2022 milk prices (across all classes) to pass the $20/hundredweight mark. Cha-ching.

Oh, and this: With international dairy demand climbing and proposed ag policy shifts likely transforming the European Union into a net dairy-importer in years to come, the longer-term future for dairy is looking up.

Quick Hits

→ Climate infrastructure gets big investment. The USDA will invest $633M in 800 climate-smart and resilient infrastructure projects across the country.

→ Brazil is crispy. La Niña and rainfall deficits are leading to the driest early December in over 30 years in key growing regions of the country.

→ The Monsanto of China. With the Asian nation on the verge of opening corn markets to GMO seed, Dabeinong Biotechnology is ramping up research and supporting a law keeping foreign competition out of China.

→ Let lamb roll. The USDA is ditching a 1989 ban on lamb imports from the United Kingdom, allowing the sheepmeat to be sold to U.S. consumers.

→ Strike averted. Union workers at Cargill’s High River beef plant accepted a new labor contract, avoiding a strike that would have affected 40% of Canada’s beef supply.

→ Smoke-tainted grapes aren’t all bad… if they can be used to make vodka, which is exactly what California’s Crimson Wine Group did in 2020 to salvage the crop.

It’s a berry good day for Pairwise, a company inching closer to making berries seedless through their work altering blackberries’ and black raspberries’ DNA.

How do they do it? Pairwise uses CRISPR gene-editing to remove or change the sequence of the genome so a specific trait doesn’t appear or a desired characteristic is more pronounced. Quite simply, it’s making changes to what’s already there versus adding new DNA.

In short: This is not creating GMOs. “Because gene editing creates variation that is already present in nature, the products can have a shorter and less complicated regulatory path than GMOs [genetically modified organisms] that involve inserting genes from other organisms into a crop genome,” said Pairwise CEO Tom Adams.

Why go seedless? Adams said Pairwise wanted to "get rid of seeds and bring the kind of properties into it that are in the other berries, so that we can expand the choices and give people more [options] for a healthy diet.”

One example of Pairwise’s gene editing work is changing the plants’ structure to get rid of thorns on bushes — making harvesting safer. Besides berries, Pairwise is working to make leafy greens less pungent and cherries pitless.

Hitting a grocery shelf near you. Be on the lookout sometime in the mid-2020s.

Scott Stump believes in the future of agriculture…like, really believes in it.

So much so that this past summer, he was selected to serve as the CEO of the National FFA Organization.

From wearing the blue jacket himself to serving as the organization’s new CEO, Scott has been bleeding National Blue and Corn Gold for decades—serving as an agriculture teacher in Northern Indiana, working at National FFA throughout the ‘90s, and even being appointed by former President Trump to support career and technical education efforts at the US Department of Education.

Magnetic caught up with Scott to hear about his background, his vast array of experiences, and what he sees for the future of agriculture.

Read the full Q&A here.

Partners. Customers. Consumers.

They all expect it. And ‘it’ is becoming table stakes in the food value chain.

Yep, we’re talking about food traceability.

And that’s where Fusionware saves the day for farms, packers, shipping operations, and more.

Focused on maintaining traceability from seed-to-shelf, the platform quickly initiates recalls and contacts people up and down the supply chain. Plus, its logistics capabilities help coordinate packing and shipping operations.

Just take it from one of their customers, BlackGold Farms in North Dakota:

“Our experience with Fusionware has been nothing short of extraordinary as it delivers the software platform of the future and opens doors that traditional software just isn’t capable of.”

Give Fusionware a try for your operation and learn more here.

Magnetic Must-See Stuff & Trivia

Fertilizer shortages got you down? Don't fret. Newly-named DPH Biologicals is scaling up its biofertilizer production to help you execute on fertility plans for the 2022 crop year. Discover DPH Biologicals’ complete biofertilizer today.*

Not your average job board. The Magnetic Ag Job Board showcases interesting gigs (both full-time and internships) that you won’t find just anywhere. Check them out today.

Trivia Time: Tree nut crops are popular snacks that can be intensive to produce. Can you guess which nut of the three below takes the least amount of water to grow 1 oz?**

Almonds
Pistachios
Walnuts

*Sponsored
**Answer at bottom of today's email

For our readers living in the country, butter your buns and get ready for broadband because Land O' Lakes is on a roll.

Butter together: The co-op—more than 1,600 dairy farmers strong—rings in its 100-year-old birthday with a big $65B broadband funding win, part of the $1 trillion infrastructure package.

Algorithms & agriculture: Land O’Lakes CEO Beth Ford says AgTech is key to farmers’ long-term survival. And thanks to the immense grassroots advocacy campaign they led, Congress and the Biden Admin are chipping in and recognizing the need for high-speed connection to power precision ag tech.

Why the urban/rural digital divide: Placing fiber in rural areas is not easy or economical for wireless providers, hence the shortfall. They have to navigate the challenging terrains (try lakes, forests, and mountains).

Unlike in the city, houses are spaced miles apart, which can drive the cost of laying fiber to an average of $40,000 per mile.

No farmer left behind: If you are one of the estimated 60% of U.S. farmers who don’t have sufficient broadband access to run a business, check this hotspot map created by the American Connection Project to see if there’s a connection near you.