Till the Cows Come Home and $100,000 Donation

Have you heard the saying "Till the cows come home?" Well, one lucky northeast farm has been waiting years for the cows to come home, and they finally have. Besides this heartwarming story, this week we learned about new fertilizer technology,?tractor supply's $100,000 donation, and quite a few USDA announcements.?

Let's dive in to see what the week had to offer.

July 4th Cookout Cost

Independence Day is next week and we are sure most of you will be having a cookout to celebrate. However, celebrating the 4th of July with a cookout will cost significantly more than two years ago, although prices have fallen slightly from record highs in 2022. Families will pay $67.73 to host an Independence Day cookout with 10 family members or friends, based on the 2023 American Farm Bureau Federation market basket survey. Read more about it in our?Cost of Summer Cookout Down Slightly from 10-Year High?article.?

Produce Your Own Fertilizer

The new research project AELECTRA aims to develop a technology that will enable companies, industries, and farmers to produce liquid ammonia more economically and environmentally friendly than today’s centralized Haber-Bosch process. Read more about it in our?New Technology Will Let Farmers Produce Own Fertilizer, E-fuels?article.?

Lab Produced Fake Milk

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must end dairy product mislabeling by manufacturers of synthetic, cell-based “dairy” ingredients that violate federal dairy Standards of Identity to prevent a repeat of the plant-based labeling fiasco that’s created confusion among consumers and regulatory headaches at the agency, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) said in a letter to the agency. Read more about it in our?NMPF Letter Warns FDA: Don’t Repeat Plant-Based Mistakes with Lab-Produced Fake ‘Milk’?article.?

Agriculture Sustainability

AgriSolar or agrivoltaic partnerships are growing across solar-appropriate farmland in the U.S., providing a new revenue source for farmers, clean energy for surrounding communities, and myriad benefits to crops, livestock, and pollinators. AgriSolar Clearinghouse has released its short film “The Cows Come Home,” which shows viewers how the Knowlton family has been able to reintroduce cattle to their farm after about 28 years thanks to solar panels. Read more about it in our?AgriSolar Helped Cows Come Home to One Northeast Farm?article.?

In other news, the USDA plans to invest up to $500 million from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act to increase the availability of domestic biofuels and give Americans additional cleaner fuel options at the pump. Read more about it in our?Funding Homegrown Biofuels as Part of Investing in America Agenda?article.?

Also, Merge Impact has announced BEE: Biodiversity & Ecosystems Evaluation (BEE), a new solution taking another vital step toward a completely sustainable, transparent, independently verified supply chain from farmer to food brand to consumer. Read more about it in our?Solution to Measure, Track, Verify, Monetize Field-Level Biodiversity?article.?

Crop World

India has agreed to remove retaliatory tariffs?on certain U.S. products, including chickpeas, lentils, almonds, walnuts, apples, boric acid, and diagnostic reagents. These tariff cuts will restore and expand market opportunities for U.S. agricultural producers and manufacturers.?

In other news, data released June 22, 2023, from the U.S Drought Monitor showed 92.32% of Minnesota is now in ‘abnormally dry to exceptional drought’ conditions, up 15% from last week. Areas in ‘moderate to exceptional’ drought more than doubled since last week to 39.43%. Read more about it in our?Drought Effects on MN Local Foodshed?article.?

Also, the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) is awarding a $715,611 Seeding Solutions grant to Land Core to create an unprecedented market-based, actuarially-sound model that can determine the risk-mitigation benefits and related cost savings associated with specific soil health practices. Read more about it in our?Grant Quantifies Farm Risk Mitigation Through Improved Soil Health?article.?

Livestock World

Health industry experts agree, an integrated, unified cross-species approach, known as One Health, is necessary for optimizing the health of people, animals, and ecosystems and for combating antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

The?Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research?is awarding a $216,724 Seeding Solutions grant to?Iowa State University of Science and Technology?(ISU) to develop a standard method of collecting, reporting, and sharing multispecies antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) results for use in human and animal health industries.?Merck MSD?is providing matching funds for a total of $433,449 investment.

Read more about it in our?Building a Common Language for Antimicrobial Resistance Between Human and Animal Health?article.?

Farming Economy/Policy

New research has indicated that animal food manufacturing facilities drive economic growth, not only across our national economy but also in the counties and states where they are located. Read more about it in our?Research Proves Animal Food Manufacturers Vital to US Economy?article.?

In other news, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and litigation partners filed a motion in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas asking the court to strike down the Biden administration’s Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in?Sackett v. EPA. Read more about it in our?NCBA Files Legal Motion to Strike Down Biden WOTUS Rule?article.?

New With USDA?

The USDA announced?Historic Investment in Wildlife Conservation, a?New Tool to Track Federally Funded Investments, that they will be?Hiring Engineers, Natural Resource Specialists Nationwide, and that they have partnered with?Ag Producers to Promote Competition, Strengthen Food Supply Chain and Rural Economies.?

The USDA invested?$300 Million in 50 Projects Assisting Underserved Producers,?$188M to Keep Forests Working and Conserve Private Forestland, and?$2.7 billion to support American farmers and?students who participate in school meal programs and emergency food operations.

Also, USDA Under Secretary Alexis Taylor recently led the U.S. delegation on an agribusiness trade mission to Japan. Read more about it in our?U.S. Exporters Build New Partnerships During Ag Trade Mission to Japan?article.?

Other Top Stories

The American Agribusiness Association (A3) is proud to announce the launch of its non-profit membership organization being developed on an educational platform for farmers and agribusinesses on a national level. Read more about it in our?American Agribusiness Association (A3) Launched?article.?

Also, Dan Basse of Chicago, Ill., president of AgResource Company, has been elected chair of the Farm Foundation Board of Directors. Basse, who will serve a two-year term, succeeds Jerome Lyman, a retired executive of McDonald’s Corporation. Read more about it in our?Basse Elected to Lead Farm Foundation Board?article.?

Finally, honey bees are more faithful to their flower patches than bumble bees when it comes to returning to collect more pollen and nectar, according to a study by U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service scientists. Read more about it in our?Honey Bees More Faithful to Their Flower Patches Than Bumble Bees?article.?

Come Back Next Week!

Be sure to check in next week for our weekly national news roundup, and don't forget to follow us on all our socials! We can't wait to see what the next week holds for agricultural news.