The Van Trump Report

Month: January 2022

Understanding the Difference Between Biodiesel and Renewable Diesel

Diesel engines are in many ways the backbone of American industry. Most of the transportation models used to move goods across the country and around the globe utilize diesel-powered engines, including trains, boats, barges, heavy- and medium-duty trucks. They also power a large portion of the equipment used in farming, construction, the military, and public …

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How Two Idaho Farmers Turned Potato Scraps into an American Food Classic

The Great Depression was one of the worst times in modern history for American farmers. Like others of the time, brothers Francis Nephi Grigg and Golden Grigg barely scraped by. They initially grew sweet corn and potatoes on the borders of eastern Oregon and their native Idaho but a big gamble on the future of …

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Walmart First Large US Retailer to ‘Significantly Invest’ in Vertical Farming

The nation’s largest retailer announced yesterday that it is investing in indoor vertical farming company “Plenty”, a San Francisco-based startup, uses indoor warehouse facilities in California to house rows of hydroponic towers to grow leafy greens like lettuce, kale, and arugula. The operation incorporates engineering, software and “sustainable crop science” to grow several crops on …

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How an Uneducated Hide Trader Built One of America’s Most Successful Independent Meatpacking Companies

Hormel Foods is probably most famous for its novel canned meat product “SPAM” which gained worldwide popularity during World War II. The company, founded by George A. Hormel in 1891, had a long history of innovation before that product made them a household name, though, guided by Hormel’s business mantra, “Originate, don’t imitate.” By the …

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Could Be a Big Opportunity Growing “Bioenergy Sorghum”

Texas A&M’s AgriLife Research scientists just released a new study showing how “bioenergy sorghum “could be a huge player in removing larger amounts of carbon dioxide from the air and putting more carbon back in our soils. In fact, research is showing the crop can improve soil fertility and potentially earn carbon credits to offset …

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Smaller, Autonomous, Cheaper Equipment on the Way

You can think of Agtonomy as a hybrid autonomy and tele-assist service platform that turns tractors and other equipment into autonomous machines using a robust sensor suite and custom software stack to enable remote modes of operation focused on lowering the cost of repetitive tasks such as mowing, spraying, and precision weeding.  Just last September …

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Strategies for Successfully Managing the Historic Herbicide Shortage

Ag insiders have been warning for months that producers could face an unprecedented chemical shortage in the 2021/22 growing season. Unfortunately, the warnings have not subsided. If anything, they have grown more urgent as supply issues for the two most popular herbicides – glyphosate (Roundup, others) and glufosinate (Liberty, others) fail to subside. Where the …

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“Greeneye” Bringing NEW Tech to Spraying

Greeneye Technology, founded in 2017 by three veterans of Israel’s elite Sheldag commando unit, is using artificial intelligence to enable precision spraying technology that can not only distinguish between crops and weeds, but also classify weeds down to the species level. CEO of the Israel-based company, Nadav Bocher believes there are more effective ways to …

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