January 24, 2026
Spotlight Stories
Spotlight 1 – Business Alabama discusses how a Robertsdale company is putting flies to work for a regenerative farming application. Ready the story, here.
Spotlight 2 – UNEP says that we are actively funding nature’s decline. Here’s how the world can turn things around. Check it out, here.
Spotlight 3 – The Sierra Club writes that mulch is dirtier than you think. Take a read, here.
Industry Updates
The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) is now accepting applications for its new Regenerative Farmer Network Grant, which will support farmers in implementing practices that improve soil health, protect water quality and promote the long-term sustainability and profitability of Michigan agriculture. MDARD’s Regenerative Agriculture Program is one of the first in the nation to be embedded within a state agriculture agency. The department’s Regenerative Farmer Network Grants offer awards of up to $50,000 for the creation of farmer-led networks committed to: promoting the core principles of regenerative agriculture, testing new ideas and innovations, and sharing the results of their practices. Prospective applicants must complete the grant application available on MDARD’s website and email it to MDARD-RFNG@michigan.gov by 5 p.m. ET on Friday, February 27, 2026. [link]
Mirova, a global asset manager based in France, has invested in Big Tree Farms to support the expansion of its vertically integrated, smallholder-focused supply chain in Indonesia. Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Burlington, Vermont, Big Tree Farms operates a vertically integrated value chain sourcing from approximately 17,000 smallholder farmers in Java, Indonesia. The investment aims to increase Big Tree Farms’ farmer network from 17,000 to 25,000 and significantly expand production capacity. Planned initiatives include improved farmer payments, logistics optimization, technical training, and facility upgrades starting in 2028. [link]
Young people without a farming background are being offered a fully funded route into agriculture, as Nuffield Farming opens applications for its 2026 Next-Gen Scholarships. The scheme is aimed at 18 to 24-year-olds and is designed to help address some of the barriers facing those trying to establish themselves in the industry, including access to experience, networks and opportunity. The Next-Gen Scholarship uses Nuffield’s existing scholar network to link successful applicants in the UK directly with farmers, giving participants practical exposure alongside professional development. [link]
A district judge has denied Texas’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit by two food tech startups over its ban on cultivated meat, allowing the case to move forward. Four months after Upside Foods and Wildtype sued Texas for its ban on cultivated meat, a judge has rejected the state’s attempt to dismiss the complaint. At the hearing, the judge also denied the companies’ request for a preliminary injunction that would have allowed them to sell their products in Texas during the case, meaning the ban remains in effect for now. [link]
Lucerne Capital Management is targeting up to $500 million for an investment platform devoted to U.S. farmland. The firm’s debut farmland strategy will look to acquire and operate high-quality permanent and specialty crop properties in the U.S. The platform will also pursue regenerative organic certification as a strategic value lever designed to enhance cash yields, resilience, and long-term asset value, according to a company statement. [link]
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) awarded nearly $500,000 in grants to eight projects under the Developing Markets for Continuous Living Cover Grant program. The funding will help build early-stage enterprises and value chains needed to bring continuous living cover (CLC) crops and cropping systems to commercial scale. Funding was provided to the MDA by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency under its Minnesota Climate-Smart Food Systems initiative, supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. [link]
2nd Nature—a startup using AI to identify high-value ingredients from abundant ag side streams—will launch its first products for commercial sampling this quarter: non-caloric natural sweeteners and umami flavor enhancers that help firms reduce sodium. The tech creates a path to more rapid commercialization of natural ingredients by using AI to search for small molecules, fibers, peptides, enzymes, and proteins based on functional property prediction. The company’s AgWaste Portal identifies these compounds in the byproducts of crops like wheat, soy, rice, peanut, and corn that food manufacturers already process in massive quantities and currently pay to dispose of their side streams. [link]
Papa Johns is tapping into the protein trend with a one-day test release of protein crust pizza this past week. On Wednesday, the new menu item featured protein-infused dough that contains 23 grams of protein. Papa Johns offered the pizza in a meat pizza variety, with sausage, pepperoni and a six-cheese blend totaling 55 grams of protein, and a vegetable pizza variety, with mushrooms, onions, green peppers and the same cheese blend delivering 49 total grams of protein. The one-day test occurred at a select Atlanta Papa Johns location. [link]
The slumping ag economy has many farmers closely examining their soil fertility plans. Josh Stoller, southern Illinois region manager with Precision Planting, says adjusting soil fertility plans in tough economic conditions can bring savings. He says a quality soil test is key before making fertility decisions, noting that as far as NPK application goes, a band is hands down more efficient and a field-by-field analysis of how much you can cut back and move to banding is key for saving money and overall profitability. [link]
In Case You Missed It…
In mid-November last year, the Inter-American Development Bank produced a new report saying that countries in Latin America and the Caribbean face a unique opportunity to boost agricultural productivity to safeguard food security, improve rural livelihoods, and protect the environment. See more, here.