A Roadmap to Better Decision Making

Since the first organic survey in 2008, the number of organic farms, the acres used for organic production, and the value of organic products sold has all increased, more than tripling by 2019. Last year's full data is not yet out but I suspect it will be higher. There is some debate however as higher food inflation and COVID-related dislocation ...
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Drought conditions are intense across North Dakota and South Dakota, which combined accounted for about 6% of 2020 soybean production last year. There are also some worrying drought conditions across parts Iowa and a large portion of Minnesota, which sit at number 2 and 3 respectively in the top soybean production state rankings. While soybeans are pretty a resilient crop, ...
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The headline sounds like the setup for a horror movie, but unfortunately for the Australian agriculture industry, it is all too real. Hundreds of thousands of mice have infested eastern Australia causing millions of dollars worth of damage to crops, machinery, vehicles, and even homes. Video shot by a farmer in New South Wales (NSW) showed mice falling like rain ...
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Agriculture is full of massive uncertainty! Farm operations, food retailers, and manufacturers are being squeezed byoutdated business models and rapid changes in technology and major shits in consumer demand. A company called "Growers Edge" is using sophisticated data science, as well as public and private data sets and deep learning algorithms to design warranty-backed crop management plans sold through U.S ...
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Pasture conditions have been a growing concern this season as drought has continued to intensify across critical cattle production states. USDA reports current pasture and range conditions are some of the worst ever for May with nearly 40% of pasture and rangeland experiencing negative conditions. Approximately one-third of U.S. cattle and over half of milk cow inventories are covered by ...
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Consumers have made clear that they are looking for quality, traceable agriculture products, but too many food producers are still relying on outdated and imprecise R&D processes that don’t take those evolving preferences into account. There is a need for a massive digital transformation across the industry in order to meet this rising demand. A company called "Native" is the ...
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USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service staff in Beijing recently released a report detailing some of their observations from the China Feed Industry Expo and Conference, held earlier this year in mid-April. FAS reports that African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreaks were a hot topic, with several reports of the disease gaining a stronger foothold in northern provinces. I've summarized the key takeaways ...
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Interesting changes are happening in the soybean market with soybean oil for biofuels being a huge driver of overall demand. According to the most recent update from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service, since the beginning of the marketing year (October 2020), soybean oil prices in Decatur, Illinois, have more than doubled. Soybean oil’s share of gross crush ...
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I recently ran across the most incredible story about a man named Barney L. Ford, an escaped slave who became one of the wealthiest men in the American West. Ford's story is filled with a crushing number of obstacles that would surely break most people. He not only overcame slavery and a lifetime of discrimination, but also war, fire, swindlers, ...
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Consumers have easily embraced plant-based meat alternatives, with promises like "sustainability" and "eco-friendly" striking a chord with many. The trend doesn't look like it's going anywhere either, and the world's largest meat companies have definitely taken notice. The biggest U.S. meat conglomerates have all positioned themselves to take advantage of the alternative protein business, which is forecast to grow to ...
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