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Guardian Agriculture’s Autonomous eVTOL Wins FAA Approval

Guardian Agriculture has been working on an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft specifically geared toward large-scale agriculture since 2017. Sometimes referred to as “air taxis,” Guardian’s eVTOL doesn’t carry people but rather crop inputs, and it’s the first of its kind to gain Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval for commercial use. Drone use …

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“Homestead Act”… More Than the Start of Our Family Legacy

It’s that time of year, and time to pay our remembrance to the “Homstead Act”. About 93 million Americans living today are the direct descendants of “homesteaders” those who filed claims under the “Homestead Act” which was signed on this weekend (May 20th) in 1862 by President Abraham Lincoln. Sadly, however, most of us have …

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Bird Flu Has Reached Brazil, the World’s Top Chicken Supplier

Brazil’s luck in avoiding the spread of bird flu in South America seems to have run out. The country has confirmed cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in wild birds, marking the first-ever occurrence in the country. As the world’s leading chicken exporter, global supplies could be seriously impacted if the disease spreads to …

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NEW Report from FAO Makes Positive Case for “Animal-Derived” Food Products

Diverse foods derived from livestock production systems, including grazing and pastoralist systems, and from the hunting of wild animals, provide high-quality proteins, important fatty acids, and various vitamins and minerals that cannot be easily obtained from plant-based substitutes. That is the conclusion of a new analysis by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United …

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Supreme Court Deals Blow to Pork Industry by Upholding California Confinement Law

Californians will soon face a severe pork shortage even as producers in the rest of the country will probably be sitting on surplus supplies. At least that’s the anticipated result of the Supreme Court’s recent decision to let California’s “Proposition 12” stand. The law, passed in 2018, bans the sale of pork in the state …

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Happy Birthday, USDA!

Today marks the 161st anniversary of the United States Department of Agriculture, which President Abraham Lincoln called “The People’s Department.” Lincoln signed the bill to establish the independent agency on May 15, 1862, with a stated mission to “acquire and to diffuse among the people of the United States useful information on subjects connected to …

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Stanford Researchers Develop New Tool to Help Optimize Irrigation

Researchers at Stanford have designed an irrigation optimization tool that could help farmers reduce water use. The tool rapidly estimates water loss from soils due to “evapotranspiration,” a process that involves the evaporation of water into the atmosphere and the uptake of water by plants. The tool is designed to work with drip irrigation systems …

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Gene Discovery Could Protect Sorghum Crops From Yield-Killing Anthracnose Infections

Sorghum growers may soon have new cultivars that protect against “anthracnose,” a fungal disease that can inflict devastating yield losses of up to 50%. Researchers from the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Purdue University have discovered a gene that can help fortify the cereal crop against anthracnose, opening the door to disease-resistant cultivars. Sorghum …

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