Peanuts

Big Strides for Small Microbes

Tue, 23 Jan 2024 13:50:43 GMT

For ag tech startup NewLeaf Symbiotics, helping a crop meet its full potential begins with what’s already growing on it: pink-pigmented facultative methylotrophs (PPFMs).

And while PPFMs may not be part of everyone’s everyday vocabulary, NewLeaf president and CEO Brent Smith says they are part of our everyday lives.

“These microbes are naturally occurring. They are on every plant that you would ever see, on the salad you eat, on the grass that you grow, on the trees that you look at, and everything in between,” Smith says.

The team at NewLeaf works to isolate strains of these microbes and research what they can do to benefit crops.

“We optimize them for the things that they’re good at, and then we produce them to optimal concentrations for the optimal outcomes,” Smith says. “It helps us harness actionable solutions to some of farmers’ biggest challenges like yield, crop protection, nutrient use efficiency and methane mitigation.”

Smith compares the abilities of the different strains of PPFMs to the abilities of different humans: some are highly intelligent, some naturally athletic, and some could be both.

“Our products do a lot of different things, but they do them in very specific prescriptive ways,” he says. “It isn’t throwing the same product out that does a lot of things – it’s a strain that does a thing to deliver an outcome. And that’s a little unique for a biological company.”

Over the past decade, the company has been focused on one thing and doing it well – successfully sequencing 6,500 strains of the technology and obtaining over 200 patents. With two of the strains for use in corn and soybeans currently available through retail and channel partners, such as BioWake through AMVAC, Revline Hopper Throttle through Meristem, and NewLeaf Technology+Dust through Low Mu Tech, NewLeaf is looking toward a large-scale expansion in 2024.

“In 2023, our products were applied on 3.5 million acres and we’re on track and expecting almost 11 million acres treated this year,” Smith says. “We’ve launched our corn rootworm bioinsecticide and we’re also launching our cotton and peanut biostimulant products. So we’ll have three new products on the market this year and an additional 50 projects and products in our pipeline.”

As far as the projects that are still in the works, the company plans to launch 10 new products over the next two to three years as well as expand into nine additional countries outside of the U.S. And as they hit the gas pedal on growth, Smith shares NewLeaf’s five-year plan focuses on five key areas.

“We spent time building out our plan and it’s focused on expanding and scaling our row crop market presence, entering specialty crop, entering international, nutrient use efficiency, and methane mitigation – primarily in rice,” he says.

Through their expansion, NewLeaf plans to continue partnering with product manufacturers and distributors to deliver their products through the ag retail channel – something Smith feels can be a win-win situation.

“We source our technology to our partners and help them build their brand equity in the market,” he says. “They can feel confident in those brands and confident in presenting that to their customers, and we’re fully supporting and standing behind those technologies.”

New Biofungicide Offers Disease Control and Plant Health Benefits

Mon, 08 Jan 2024 19:10:11 GMT

Certis Biologicals has launched Convergence biofungicide, a new crop protection offering that blends disease control and plant health into one product.

Convergence can be used in corn, soybeans and peanuts and protects against diseases caused by pythium, rhizoctonia, fusarium and phytophthora, as well as tar spot, rusts and leaf spots.

According to the company, the bio-based product protects the crops using naturally occurring microorganisms that also preserve soil and plant health and do not create a negative effect on beneficial insects.

“The flexibility and power of Convergence set it apart from existing products on the market. It can be applied whenever is most convenient for a farmer’s next planned trip across the field,” said Eric Luce, global portfolio manager of row crops at Certis Biologicals. “Farmers can use Convergence to effectively manage resistance, control disease and improve plant health without making an extra pass.”

Convergence has been tested on fields throughout the Midwest and can be applied through in-furrow or foliar applications. It also has no special storage requirements and can be tank-mixed with nearly any synthetic application.

“In field trials, Convergence has shown it can help increase corn yields compared to zinc starter fertilizer alone,” said Shaun Berry, vice president of research and development at Certis Biologicals. “When applied in-furrow, Convergence has shown the ability to help increase yields in soybeans compared to no treatment.”

Farmer Welcomes Sesame Street to Promote Agriculture

Fri, 05 Mar 2021 17:04:46 GMT

When Sesame Street knocked, Casey Cox threw open the door on her Georgia farm and charged toward an opportunity to take American agriculture to a new audience. The classic children’s television series, with viewership reaching dizzying heights, was asking, and Cox was readily answering. “Yes. Absolutely. We’ll make it work and get it done—no matter what.”

In early 2019, Sesame Street began preparing a segment partially focused on an iconic food with a hallowed place in every American pantry: peanut butter. Cox, always on the alert for a chance to champion agriculture and educate the public—particularly kids—didn’t blink at a shot to take the farm-to-table message directly from her rows to 150 million children across the planet: “There was no way I was going to miss out on telling millions of kids about where food truly comes from.”

“Make it Happen”

Cox, 29, a sixth-generation farmer at Longleaf Ridge Farms in Camilla, Ga., grows sweet corn (spring and fall) and peanuts on sandy ground, along with field corn and soybeans on the level land of Mitchell County. Outpacing row crops, Cox has more acreage in timber production and timber preservation, adding to the timeless, pristine appearance of a property that rubs against the stunning beauty of the Flint River. It’s a unique ecological environment dictated by the Flint, a flow Cox considers part of the lifeblood of her farm, and in many ways, the winding river knows her name: “It’s a special part of our family and it’s a part of our lives,” Cox explains. “I’ve grown up on the Flint River, and whether I’m in it or walking beside it, it’s the way I recharge.”

Prior to full-time devotion at Longleaf, Cox led the Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District for six years, and learned the media ropes, going from local television spots to RFD-TV’s FarmHer series to a season one appearance on Netflix’s Rotten . Each interaction was an opportunity, Cox emphasizes: “I never imagined being in the spotlight, especially on camera, but I am grateful for every opportunity to cast the agriculture industry in a positive light.”

In 2019, Sesame Street , as part of its Foodie Truck segment—helmed by the classic presence of Cookie Monster—began planning a feature on peanut butter. A hired crew ( Film Captive Productions ) out of Atlanta contacted the Georgia Peanut Commission , in search of a spotlight farmer. Since returning home to south Georgia, Cox had become very involved in advocating for the peanut industry, including participating in the Peanut Leadership Academy . Due to her past experience, Cox was tapped for the Sesame Street role, and after the production team watched a bit of GoPro footage of Cox at Longleaf, the questions were over: Sesame Street had found its farmer. “It was certainly different, and out of my comfort zone,” Cox explains, “but I was all in right from the start.”

However, there was a slight problem, or more accurately, a sizable problem: There wasn’t a peanut plant in sight. Filming was set for February—a month when fields are bare and far removed from May planting. Cox began a tristate, all-hands-on-deck hunt at USDA research facilities, University of Georgia, University of Florida, and Auburn University, in search of a token peanut plant. “It was Sesame Street,” Cox recalls with a grin. “We were going to make it happen no matter what.” (A single potted peanut plant was obtained, but never made it on camera.)

Fortunately, a few months prior during the fall, the National Peanut Board had filmed three farm families at harvest for a promotional video, including the Cox operation . Translation: Sesame Street had access to Cox’s B-roll footage.

The film crew shot Cox on a tractor, and then spliced the video with B-roll to make up for the disparities. The crew then filmed processing in a peanut butter factory with Cox performing the voiceover. All told, despite the hurdle of February production, the finished product was seamless and included in episode 12 of season 49 .

“Best Opportunities”

Cox maintains the highest praise for the Sesame Street crew: “I commend Sesame Street because they were a total pleasure to work with, and the Foodie Truck series is a brilliant concept and great way to reach children with where their food comes from. As an agriculture industry, we need to seize every opportunity to broaden our platform and reach more people. Working with an iconic partner like Sesame Street was an invaluable opportunity.”

As media windows open for other farmers, what is Cox’s advice? “Never be afraid to get uncomfortable because one door may open another. As a farmer, you know more about your subject than you realize because it is your life, and people want to hear from you.”

“You never know where your efforts might lead to next,” Cox concludes. “I never imagined I’d be on Sesame Street, but how can I top it? That experience has been one of the best opportunities of my life to promote agriculture.”

For more, see:

Grizzly Hell: USDA Worker Survives Epic Bear Attack

Rat Hunting with the Dogs of War, Farming’s Greatest Show on Legs

Misfit Tractors a Money Saver for Arkansas Farmer

Predator Tractor Unleashed on Farmland by Ag’s True Maverick

Government Cameras Hidden on Private Property? Welcome to Open Fields

Farmland Detective Finds Youngest Civil War Soldier’s Grave?

Descent Into Hell: Farmer Escapes Corn Tomb Death

Evil Grain: The Wild Tale of History’s Biggest Crop Insurance Scam

A Skeptical Farmer’s Monster Message on Profitability

Farmer Refuses to Roll, Rips Lid Off IRS Behavior

Killing Hogzilla: Hunting a Monster Wild Pig

Shattered Taboo: Death of a Farm and Resurrection of a Farmer

Frozen Dinosaur: Farmer Finds Huge Alligator Snapping Turtle Under Ice

Breaking Bad: Chasing the Wildest Con Artist in Farming History

In the Blood: Hunting Deer Antlers with a Legendary Shed Whisperer

Corn Maverick: Cracking the Mystery of 60-Inch Rows

Blood And Dirt: A Farmer’s 30-Year Fight With The Feds

Against All Odds: Farmer Survives Epic Ordeal

Agriculture’s Darkest Fraud Hidden Under Dirt and Lies

2019 Income Estimates $15 billion Less than 91-Year Average

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 20:59:16 GMT

While 2019 income forecasts are expected to be above 2018, they’re still dramatically lower than the average over the past 91 years. In 2019 experts expect net farm income to reach $69.4 billion, 2018 hit $64.2 billion and the 91-year average (adjusted to 2019 dollars) is $84.2 billion.

“Although the forecast for higher income caught most of the headlines, farm financial conditions are still challenging,” said David Widmar and Brent Gloy in a recent post on Agricultural Economic Insights . “Since 1990, net farm income has only been less than $70 billion six times.”

The pair is quick to point out that even though three of the six below-$70 billion years were in the past four years, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, current conditions are significantly stronger than in the 80s when real farm income fell before $50 billion (in 2019 dollars).

Notably, 2018 marks the lowest income year since 2002, obviously even lower than 2016 which had served as the “low-water” mark for the current slowdown, the economists explained. Without MFP payments 2018 income would have dropped below $60 billion and put it back into levels not seen since the 1980s.

A portion of MFP payments weren’t distributed in 2018. That $3.5 billion was included in the forecasted net farm income for 2019.

Increased forecasts for farm income come from lower production expenses and higher crop values. Together, they add $9.6 billion to the pile. However, decline in direct payments and other unnamed costs drive the total down to just a $5.2 billion increase over this past year.

Credit: Agriculture Economic Insights

“The USDA’s first estimate of 2019 farm income provides some positive news,” the economist wrote. “First, real net farm income is expected to be 8% higher. Second, the major sources of these improvements—higher values of production and lower costs of production—are encouraging.”

Because this is just a forecast, time will tell if these numbers hold true for 2019.

https://www.agweb.com/article/usdas-long-term-projection-shows-farm-income-up-by-12/

https://www.agweb.com/article/farm-bill-wont-impact-farm-income-significantly-/