The Van Trump Report

Agriculture

How Gen-Z is Rewriting the Rules of Food Marketing… Interesting

Food and beverage companies have spent years chasing reach. Bigger influencers. Bigger followings. Bigger campaigns. But new research suggests the next competitive advantage may come from something much harder to buy: trust. The Summer 2026 MorganMyers Food Pulse shows that social media remains one of the most powerful tools for introducing Gen Z consumers to …

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Thinking More About “Rye” — How a Forgotten Grain Is Finding New Purpose in Modern Agriculture

Rye has long lived in the shadow of bigger US grains. Once a practical staple for farmers working with cold weather and poor soils, rye gradually lost ground to wheat and corn as US agriculture industrialized and consumer tastes shifted. Now, after decades as a niche crop, rye fans are hoping the grain can find …

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Natural Food Colors Could Open a New Lane for Corn Farmers

Food companies are rushing to find natural replacements for food colorings that are being phased out, a task that’s more challenging than it might seem. Researchers at the University of Missouri think a variety of purple corn could be a good substitute for some red dyes that are proving particularly tough to replace. They are …

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Biofuel Policy Is Creating Value Again—But Will It Reach the Producer?

Everyone in agriculture understands the bullish argument behind expanding biofuel demand. More renewable diesel should mean more soybean oil demand, more crush capacity, and ultimately more demand for U.S. soybeans. But there is a part of the equation we probably do not talk enough about: Who actually gets paid? Government policy can create billions of …

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“USA Drone Motors”… and the Race to Build American Drones

The North American commercial drone market is undergoing a structural transformation driven by supply-chain vulnerabilities, federal legislative pushes for domestic component sourcing, and the rapid adoption of heavy-lift aerial platforms in precision agriculture. Reliance on foreign-made propulsion systems, once the industry standard, has introduced mounting regulatory and operational risks. Emerging from this shift, American startup …

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Rethinking the Corn Belt: Why Diversification is the Next Big Strategy for Midwest Farming

If you drive across Illinois, Indiana, or Iowa during the growing season, the landscape tells a familiar story. Row after row of corn and soybeans stretch to the horizon. In fact, these two crops account for a staggering 94% of crop production across the region. For most Midwestern producers, this isn’t simply a preference—it can …

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