October 25, 2025
Spotlight Stories
Spotlight 1 – The Yale Center for Environmental Communication writes about what happens when you let nature back into the farm. Ready the story, here.
Spotlight 2 – Minnesota Public Radio offers up a short podcast discussing “the land problem” associated with feeding a growing population. Check it out, here.
Spotlight 3 – A new article in PNAS evaluates the persistence of conservation and climate-smart agricultural practices in the U.S. Take a read, here.
Industry Updates
Lloyds Bank has launched its “Farming with Nature: Mapping the Growth Opportunity for UK Agriculture” report, claiming it is the most comprehensive analysis of its kind. The report maps 5.1 million hectares - almost a third of the UK’s farmed land - using geospatial data, on-farm assessments and new economic insight. It says that 1.2 million hectares of UK farmland have the highest potential for habitat creation that can act as carbon stores and boost beneficial species. In addition, a further 600,000 hectares is suitable for tree and hedge planting, to help farms reduce flood risk and soil erosion, while improving water retention and biodiversity. The bank is also introducing Lloyds’ Agricultural Transition Finance, a new product launching later this year, designed to support farmers transitioning to more sustainable and regenerative systems. [link]
Researchers from University of Gloucestershire will play a key role in a new £12.3 million project to discover how regenerative and conservation agriculture could help reverse the alarming degradation of soils. Working hand-in-hand with farmers, the EU-funded TRAILS4SOIL project will provide hard evidence from 100 sites across nine European countries on regenerative and conservation agriculture’s impacts - not only on soil health, but also on crop yield, farm income and farmer wellbeing. According to European Environment Agency figures, over 60% of soils in Europe are degraded, harming crop yields, income and biodiversity. The project comes in response to surging interest in the potential of regenerative and conservation agriculture to undo this damage. [link]
PepsiCo has partnered with agri-carbon platform Soil Capital to drive regenerative agriculture across its supply chains in the UK, France and Belgium. The partnership will ensure more than 35,000 acres of farmland, which currently supplies ingredients for brands such as Lay’s and Walkers crisps, to transition to low-carbon, soil-restoring practices. Under the partnership, farmers in PepsiCo’s European supply chain will gain access to Soil Capital’s agronomic expertise and digital tools to support the adoption of practices such as cover cropping, reduced tillage and the replacement of synthetic inputs with organic fertilizers. [link]
dsm-firmenich and Bayer have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to accelerate sustainability across the animal agriculture sector through enhanced environmental footprint measurement. The agreement integrates Bayer’s expertise in primary crop life cycle assessment (LCA) data with dsm-firmenich’s Sustell platform – an ISO-assured environmental footprinting solution for animal protein. Together, the two companies aim to provide farmers and food producers with reliable, actionable insights to measure and reduce the environmental impact of animal protein production. [link]
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is now accepting applications for the Green Fertilizer Grant Program. The program will support agricultural and rural electric cooperatives registered as 308A or 308B within the state of Minnesota so they can invest in green fertilizer manufacturing. Green fertilizers are nitrogen-based fertilizers produced from water, air, and renewable energy and have significant climate and sustainability benefits compared to fossil-fuel derived nitrogen-based fertilizers. The MDA expects to award up to $3.8 million for business-ready and shovel-ready projects. Applicants may request between $250,000 and $3.8 million. Applications are due by Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. [link]
Arizona State University recently hosted a “Food is Medicine and Eating for Health” event together with Food Tank, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation. Trailblazers from science, farming, health, culture and community advocacy gathered at the Walton Center for Planetary Health on ASU’s Tempe campus, sharing innovative, community-driven solutions to challenges in food production, quality, access and sustainability. Breakout groups led by ASU faculty and graduate students brainstormed new ideas to advance science, policy and local initiatives. [link]
Raising groundwater levels and adding biochar to agricultural peat soils could dramatically cut greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining healthy crop production, according to a new study from Bangor University. The study, published in Biochar (2025), tested how water table management and biochar, a charcoal-like soil additive made from plant biomass, affect carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide emissions in peat-based farming systems. Researchers found that rewetting peat soils by raising the water table reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 18 percent and nitrous oxide emissions by 40 percent, though it slightly increased methane release. When biochar was added under these wetter conditions, total greenhouse gas emissions fell even further, by up to 4.64 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents per hectare each year, while improving crop yields. [link]
The Trump Administration plans to release more than $3 billion in aid to U.S. farmers and partially resume U.S. Department of Agriculture operations despite the ongoing federal shutdown. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that “Thursday, USDA will resume Farm Service Agency core operations, including critical services for farm loan processing, ARC/PLC (commodity) payments, and other programs.” Reports say the funds will be drawn from the Commodity Credit Corporation, a USDA financing vehicle previously used under the Trump administration to deliver billions in trade-related farmer support. Officials have not yet detailed the breakdown, timing, or eligibility criteria for the aid. [link]
MyLand, a leading innovator in soil health, announced an expansion of its collaboration with Texas A&M AgriLife Research, designed to accelerate the adoption of sustainable soil practices across Texas and beyond. The new phase of research will evaluate the effects and benefits of microalgae in a range of agriculture and natural resources production systems specific to Texas. This milestone builds on the success of the collaboration, which began in 2023. Over the past two years, MyLand and AgriLife Research have expanded soil research and data collection across 12,000 acres in Texas, representing multiple soil types, crops, and regions. [link]
A new report from the nonprofit Coffee Watch says that modern coffee production in Brazil continues to be a significant driver of deforestation, with hundreds of thousands of hectares of native forest cleared inside coffee farm boundaries since 2001. Beyond the global implications for biodiversity and climate change, the continued loss of forest in key coffee regions presents economic threats to the Brazilian coffee sector, driving a cycle of drought and yield volatility, according to the report. The 34-page report, “Wake Up and Smell the Deforestation,” combines satellite and land-use datasets to map coffee’s direct and indirect footprint across Brazil’s major growing regions. Among its key findings are that at least 312,803 hectares of intact forest were directly converted to coffee between 2001 and 2023, while about 737,000 hectares of forest were lost inside coffee farm boundaries over the same period. [link]
Delegates are calling for stronger collaboration to accelerate the global expansion of agroforestry as Rwanda hosts the sixth World Congress on Agroforestry. The event, held this past week in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, drew more than 700 participants from across the world, including farmers, researchers, policymakers, private sector leaders, civil society groups, and youth representatives. Held under the theme “Agroforestry for People, Planet, and Profit,” the congress served as a platform for sharing knowledge and innovations that advance sustainable agriculture, climate resilience, and inclusive economic growth. It aimed to strengthen partnerships among researchers, governments, the private sector, and farming communities to integrate agroforestry into local and global development agendas. [link]
The Regenerative Innovation Portfolio is launching Lower Silesia 360°, a flagship regenerative agriculture landscape in Poland. Designed as one of the largest initiatives of its kind in the country, the landscape will bring together farmers, businesses, and local institutions to accelerate the transition to regenerative farming and strengthen agricultural resilience. EIT Food is orchestrating the landscape in collaboration with Food Valley and alongside Bunge, PepsiCo, Viking Malt and Malteurop, backed as well by the Lower Silesian Agricultural Advisory Centre in Wroclaw (DODR). Encompassing more than 20,000 hectares of farmland across four major crops, including rapeseed, wheat, malting barley and sugar beet, Lower Silesia 360° will serve as a model for landscape-level transformation, with the potential to be replicated across Europe. [link]
This week, Reps. Mike Lawler (NY-17) and Eugene Vindman (VA-07) introduced the Organic Science and Research Investment Act of 2025, legislation that strengthens America’s organic agriculture sector by expanding federal research, improving coordination across the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and supporting producers transitioning to organic production. The bill directs USDA to elevate organics research within its core scientific mission, ensuring the department better coordinates research across its agencies, includes organic priorities in its annual budget, and expands opportunities for universities and producers to advance innovation in the field. [link]
Major food, agricultural and consumer products trade groups and companies have given their support to Americans for Ingredient Transparency (AFIT), a new policy advocacy coalition seeking a uniform national standard for ingredient transparency. Amid heightened public scrutiny of the contents of consumer packaged goods, AFIT said it’s pursuing federal legislation that would create one US benchmark for ingredient transparency that “applies consistent, science- and risk-based principles to give Americans everywhere confidence in the safety of their foods, beverages and personal care products.” With many states now enacting or considering their own ingredient transparency laws, the goal is to avoid the emergence of “an ever-expanding patchwork of disjointed food, beverage and personal care regulations” that would sow confusion among US consumers, the coalition said. [link]
In Case You Missed It…
Earlier this month, details were released about how Japan is using new laser drone systems to scare birds from farms in order to reduce avian flu risk. See more, here.