The Van Trump Report

Problems Stacking Up on the Mississippi River

There is a lot going wrong on the Mighty Mississippi this year. Plummeting water levels have disrupted transportation and industry while low flows have allowed saltwater to push upstream, threatening drinking water supplies. With harvest season in full swing, the compounding problems could not come at a worse time with barges transporting a shrinking amount …

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Have Plant-Based Meat Sales in the US Reached a Saturation Point?

Many companies across numerous sectors are struggling to maintain the shine they were sporting before markets turned sour. That said, the plant-based meat category stands out as a particularly stunning fall to earth. Investor darling Beyond Meat just recently slashed nearly -20% of its workforce, while meat giant JBS has pulled the plug entirely on …

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Return of Torrential Rains Threatens Australia’s Bumper Wheat Crop

Australia’s wheat farmers were expecting to harvest a near-record crop as recently as September but the return of unrelenting rains in some growing regions is now complicating the outlook. Parts of the country in early October were inundated with three to four times their average monthly rainfall in less than a week. Bumper production in …

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Smaller China Corn Crop Forecast but US Exports Unlikely to Benefit

China is among the many countries that struggled through one bad weather hit after another this growing season. About half the country endured a record-breaking heatwave that lasted some two months while northern regions suffered nearly two months of excessive rains. Corn production was also up against  greater competition from soybeans while much of what …

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Plenty of Christmas Trees Expected This Year But Be Prepared to Pay More

Real Christmas tree fans will be happy to hear that there should be a plentiful supply this year after a shortage of both real and fake trees in 2021. Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like Christmas tree prices have escaped the inflation plague with wholesalers expecting to lift prices anywhere from +5% to +20% over last …

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Honeywell Introduces New Technology to Turn Ethanol Into Aviation Fuel

Honeywell has announced a new technology to make aviation fuels cleaner and cheaper than ever by converting ethanol into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Aviation is considered among the most difficult to wean off fossil fuels as planes require enormous amounts of energy to take off and stay in the air. But according to Honeywell, its …

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Thanksgiving Turkey, Egg Supplies Could Be Slim as Bird Flu Cases Explode

Bird flu, aka highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), is wreaking havoc on the US poultry industry again and threatening supplies of everything from turkeys and chickens to eggs. This year’s outbreak is ongoing from the spring wild bird migration, which is different from the previous major outbreak in 2014-15, when cases mostly disappeared over the …

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Ezra Cornell, The Farmer that Made Millions and Gave Most Away

While the agricultural land grant university endowed by Ezra Cornell may be the legacy the world remembers him by, his journey from being a farmer, carpenter, salesman, inventor, entrepreneur, politician and most importantly, philanthropist leaves no doubt about the mark he left on society. While he referred to himself simply as a farmer and mechanic his story goes …

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