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Ag News

NASA’s Earth Observatory Image Shows Two Decades of Global Cropland Expansion

NASA Earth Observatory recently featured research on global cropland expansion as its Image of the Day. The new mapping from the Global Land Analysis & Discovery Lab (GLAD) at the University of Maryland show changes between 2003 and 2019 and are based on imagery collected by Landsat satellites.According to the GLAD team analysis, the total land area covered by crops ...
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World’s Newest Seed Vault Holds the Largest Collection of Beans and Cassava

The world got a shiny new seed bank earlier this year that expands the global network, as well as technical capabilities of these critical gene repositories. The Future Seeds facility, located near Cali, Columbia, is touted as the largest gene bank for beans, cassava, and tropical forages in the world and has an impressive list of backers and partners, including ...
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Why We Still Don’t Have a Vaccine for Avian Influenza

As U.S. poultry losses from highly pathogenic avian influenza HPAI top more than +22 million, the urgent need for a vaccine is once again in focus. The USDA's chief veterinary officer recently said the agency is looking into possible options. Keep in mind, the last major avian flu outbreak in the U.S. ran from December 2014 to June 2015, when ...
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Bringing the Power of Designer Proteins to Mass Market Foods

Want to make a real difference in health and sustainability? Remove sugar from the equation. In fact, just a -1% decrease in worldwide sugar production would save +2.5 trillion liters of water, +6.5 million acres of arable land, and reduce healthcare spending on diet-related conditions by +$10 billion. But how? By replacing it with a sustainable, healthier option. You are invited ...
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Modern-Day Indiana Jones Found His Fortunes From the Sky

Thirty years after dropping out of college to chase meteorites across the globe, Michael Farmer, the son of a cattle rancher is calling it quits as he sends 84 pieces of his collection to Christie's Auction House to be sold tomorrow, April 6th. You can check out all the items up at auction HERE.Farmer’s obsession with rocks started as a ...
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How Atlee Burpee Parlayed Mom’s $1K Into Seed Empire

In 1876, 18-year-old W. Atlee Burpee, visited the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia and gravitated to the halls dedicated to agriculture and horticulture, where he would make a decision that would change American gardens forever. Born on this day in 1858 to a well-established family in Philadelphia, where his father and grandfather were prominent physicians, Burpee had a passion for devising ...
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Benson Hill is Now an Ingredient Maker

Benson Hill has made a name for itself via its innovative crop development technology and products like its ultra-high-protein soybeans. Now, the food technology company has launched its own line of plant-based protein ingredients under the brand TruVail. The initial lineup of TruVail ingredients includes high-protein soy flour, soy protein concentrate, and texturized proteins for use in traditional soy protein ...
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Checking in on Brazil’s Safrinha Corn Crop

Global corn supplies face a high degree of uncertainty following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which is responsible for around 17% of the world's exports. With Ukraine's remaining corn exports for this season in question and a likely substantial reduction in plantings later this spring, there is an increasing amount of attention on Brazil's second corn crop.Known as "safrinha" corn, the ...
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VC’s Pump Record $51B+ Into Agrifoodtech in 2021

Alternative investments are no doubt appealing when global markets are in flux, but an investment in agrifoodtech is also an investment in helping to secure our future and one of our most basic human needs. Year over year, Venture Capital (VCs) threw +85% more money at the sector than they did in 2020, totaling $51.7B. The team at Agfunder recently ...
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FAPRI Outlook Highlights Uncertainty for Global Ag Markets

The University of Missouri Food and Agricultural Policy Institute (FAPRI) just released its Agricultural Markets Outlook. FAPRI uses their models to develop a range of projected market outcomes that consider major sources of uncertainty about future supply and demand conditions. This year's projections were based on market information in January 2022, which was before Russia's invasion of Ukraine and further ...
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