The Van Trump Report

Son of Potato Farmer Takes the French Fry Global… and Becomes Billionaire! 

Dubbed the ‘King of the French Fry’ Harrison McCain was a straight-talking son of a potato farmer, who along with his brother Wallace, would create a global commodity and a calling card of American culture, the frozen “French Fry”.  Until Harrison came along the potatoes grown on land near his home had always been baked …

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New AI-Powered Technique Can Accurately Estimate GHG Emission in Ag 

As agriculture continues to come under fire for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities (UMN) and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) have demonstrated that it’s possible to provide accurate predictions of those emissions. The study’s authors say the findings are a critical first step in developing a credible …

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World’s First Successful Transplant of Gene-Edited Pig Kidney Into 62-Year Old Man

Doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital recently performed a life-saving transplant on a 62-year-old man using a genetically edited pig kidney developed by biotech startup “eGenesis.” While it’s not the first attempt to use organs from pigs in humans, it is the first pig kidney transplanted into a living human. Surgeons say that many unknowns remain …

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US Agriculture Just Got the Greenlight for “Drone-Swarm” Farming

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently issued a landmark decision that clears the way for “drone-swarm” farming. Hylio, a Texas-based drone manufacturer, successfully applied for an exemption from the FAA to allow fleets of drones weighing 55 pounds or more to fly together.Meaning farmers can now use fleets of drones that in some cases …

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Scientists and Policymakers are Warming Up to Geoengineering

Tweaking the chemical composition of Earth’s oceans and atmosphere to slow global warming is an idea that most scientists have resisted due to concerns about the unintended consequences. Nonetheless, more researchers and governments are seriously considering possible applications as they seek ways to mitigate increasing weather disasters and other symptoms of a warming planet.   …

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As Dairy Cattle Fall Victim, Stakes are Rising in the Fight Against Avian Influenza

A lot of questions, as well as alarms, are being raised as the ag world digests news that highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), aka “bird flu,” is responsible for a mysterious illness afflicting dairy cows. According to the USDA, officials suspect the illness among primarily older dairy cows in Texas, Kansas, and New Mexico. Officials …

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FAPRI Projects Lower Prices, Tight Margins for 2024

As farmers are well aware, ag commodity prices have plunged from the peak levels reached in 2022. Unfortunately, new projections University of Missouri’s Food and Ag Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) indicate that the downward slide may continue though 2024 and possibly beyond. FAPRI’s recently released baseline projections for agricultural and biofuel markets shows lower commodity …

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