Month: October 2023

Over the next 30 years, the regions suitable for growing coffee are expected to decline by some 50%, according to some climate models. The decline is primarily the result of an expected increase in annual temperatures in key coffee-producing countries like Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Colombia. The world could be spared a future in which …

With The Future of Coffee Production in Question… Here comes “Beanless Coffee” Read More »

An interesting story about “Wonder Bread” was on CNBC a while back that talked about how the brand has survived the precipitous decline in white bread popularity. According to the article, in the first half of the 20th century, white bread accounted for as much as 30% of the American diet. But since around 2006, …

After More Than a Century, “Wonder Bread” Remains One of America’s Most Enduring Brands Read More »

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin (UT) have developed a new “smart” farming system that aims to solve a key problem in modern agriculture – the overuse of fertilizers. In tests, the system had the ability to match or increase crop yields over traditional methods while also minimizing environmental impacts. The system uses …

Researchers Develop System to Capture and Reuse Nitrate Waste Read More »

Tyson Foods is expanding into the insect protein market with a dual investment in startup “Protix.” Tyson will take a minority stake in Protix, a Netherlands-based insect ingredients maker. The two companies will also partner on a new U.S. facility that will “upcycle” byproducts from the food industry into insect proteins and lipids for use …

Tyson is the Latest Ag Giant to Dive Into Insect Proteins Read More »

Freight Farms is a Boston-based agriculture technology company and was the first to manufacture and sell “container farms”: hydroponic farming systems retrofitted inside intermodal freight containers. I’ve heard of some larger row-crop producers adding these container units to their farms to create additional revenue streams, so perhaps it might be something to think about or …

What the Heck is “Freight Farms”? Read More »

As the El Niño weather pattern continues to develop, various disruptions to agricultural production are expected around the globe. This year’s El Niño follows a rare, three consecutive years of La Niña, which has many of the opposite effects to El Niño on agricultural crop growing conditions. But while El Niño weather years have some …

What Crops are Most at Risk From El Niño? Read More »

Ed Currie, founder of aptly named “PuckerButt Pepper Company” in South Carolina, has unleashed a fiery new pepper variety into the world known as “PepperX.” According to Guinness World Records, the wrinkly yellow-green pepper is officially the hottest in the world, measuring an average of 2.693 million Scoville Heat Units. The previous record holder, the …

“PepperX” is Officially the Hottest Pepper on the Planet Read More »

Over the last couple of decades, a theory that the accumulated snow cover in Siberia during October can impact Winter weather in the United States has gained popularity among everyone from weather forecasters and snow plow operators to insurance companies and hedge funds. Even the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration monitors the snow cover …

How Siberia’s October Snowfall Can Predict How Harsh Winter Will Be in the US Read More »

Soybean Cyst Nematode (SCN) is the most devastating and yield-limiting pest of soybeans in the U.S. According to The SCN Coalition, the devastating pest is present in most areas where soybeans are grown and continue to rapidly spread each year with an estimated annual yield loss potential of $1.5 billion. The SCN Coalition’s has developed …

The Real Dangers of “Soybean Cyst Nematode” and Their Financial Toll on Producers Read More »

After two back-to-back record corn crops, Brazil’s 2023/24 production is expected to take a few steps back. In its first forecast for 2023/24, the country’s crop forecasting agency Conab estimates Brazil’s farmers will harvest 119.44 million metric tons (MMT) of corn, down -9.5% from last year. The decline is a combination of falling profit margins, …

Why Brazil’s 2023/24 Corn Crop Could Be a Wild Card Read More »