February 28, 2026

Spotlight Stories

Spotlight 1 – Successful Farming discusses how to sustain the vitally important Ogallala aquifer. Ready the story, here.

Spotlight 2 – Where The Food Comes From reviews Michigan State University’s efforts to transform dairy sustainability. Check it out, here.

Spotlight 3 – An article in Scientific Reports provides early evidence for the benefits of biochar in organic regenerative agriculture. Take a read, here.

Industry Updates

A new $1 million research project at Colorado State University is using artificial intelligence to help farmers turn complex soil data into practical, decision-ready insights that can strengthen agricultural resilience across Northern Colorado and beyond. The TerraScope project, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, brings together computer scientists, soil experts, and outreach specialists at CSU to build a unified platform that combines on-the-ground measurements with satellite remote sensing data. The goal: make it easier for producers to understand soil conditions, track changes over time, and make informed management decisions. [link]

An Iowa State University scientist has teamed up with an Ames entrepreneur to launch a company that plans to revolutionize fertilization on farms across the state and around the world. Santanu Bakshi is a principal scientist for Iowa State’s Bioeconomy Institute, an adjunct assistant professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering and co-founder, inventor and scientific advisor for Reform Bio. He and his partner, Ames entrepreneur Kyle Anderson, have launched their startup which focuses on slow-release fertilizers and the positive impact they can have on farming and the environment. Based on biochar, the product has the potential to reduce leaching and water runoff while seamlessly fitting into farmers’ current management practices. [link]

The National Geographic Society and PepsiCo have announced five new grants funding on-farm research to support practical advancements in regenerative agriculture, from rewilding prairies to leveraging AI technology to translate complex genomics into tangible farming guidance. The research will target critical food crops in climate-stressed production hot spots around the world. The scientists were selected from a highly competitive pool of talented researchers with proposals in 140 countries. The research is funded as part of Food for Tomorrow, a collaboration between the Society and PepsiCo which aims to harness the power of science, storytelling and education to inspire positive change throughout the global food system, with a focus on regenerative agriculture. [link]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking public input on how its core economic and statistical programs should evolve. The RFI explicitly asks how USDA can improve transparency around data sources, assumptions, and economic modeling. That question carries weight in an era where agricultural output is increasingly shaped by climate variability — drought, flooding, heat stress, and changing growing seasons. USDA appears to be assessing whether its current frameworks reflect evolving environmental realities. [link]

Applications are now open for FarmPath, a national, multi-year program designed to make farming more accessible and achievable for aspiring and beginning farmers across the United States. The program is supported by The Mosaic Company Foundation for Sustainable Food Systems and The PepsiCo Foundation whose investments reflect a shared focus on helping to strengthen the next generation of farmers and build a more resilient food system. FarmPath is grounded in a simple reality: as many U.S. farmers approach retirement, the sector needs a new generation of skilled producers. Yet beginning farmers often face barriers including limited access to land, capital, business planning skills, agronomic knowledge, and mentorship. By investing in these new farmers, FarmPath helps support stronger rural, urban, and suburban economies, strengthens food security, and builds a more diverse and resilient agricultural community. [link]

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and CGIAR have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to accelerate the transition towards nature-positive global food and agricultural systems. The agreement comes at a pivotal moment as food security, biodiversity loss and climate change increasingly converge to challenge global agriculture. In response, both organizations have committed to deepening collaboration on sustainable production landscapes, ecosystem restoration and the transformation of farming systems worldwide. Alongside this, the partnership will strengthen policy advocacy, support biodiversity-friendly value chains, generate shared knowledge and help advance implementation of the Rio Conventions. [link]

New research from WRI, Land & Carbon Lab, Rainforest Alliance, and the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre indicates that the world lost as much as 95 million hectares of non-forest natural ecosystems, including grasslands, savannas and wetlands, to annual crops between 2005 and 2020. A comparable area (95 million hectares more) was likely converted to pasture. Together, this is an area nearly as large as Indonesia — and roughly four times the amount of forest that was lost to annual crops and pasture over the same period. Though sometimes overlooked in conservation efforts, non-forest ecosystems are vital to people and the planet. Grasslands are estimated to hold between 20% and 35% of land-based carbon stores. Wetlands (with and without trees) hold another 20%-30%, despite covering much less area. Non-forest ecosystems provide crucial wildlife habitat, protect soil, sustain fresh water supplies, and underpin food security and livelihoods for over a billion people around the world. [link]

Niman Ranch announced the launch of its Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) beef program sourced entirely from U.S. family ranches and brought to market at meaningful scale. The program debuts with a network of ranchers covering 105,000 U.S. acres and a roadmap to reach 250,000 acres by 2028. With the U.S. cattle herd at a 75-year low, the domestic supply chain is under unprecedented pressure—just as demand for organic, grass-fed beef reaches an all-time high. Today, more than 95% of organic beef is imported to fill the gap. Niman Ranch is actively re-shoring this supply by investing in a robust domestic option that rewards U.S. family ranchers for their stewardship while delivering the premium eating experience consumers demand. [link]

The climate and conservation director for an organic farming organization says “regenerative” farming has lost its meaning. Thomas Manley with Marbleseed says the term regenerative has an identity crisis, and in the early days, most understood the term but not now. “I think the word regenerative has been hijacked, and largely by industry interests, and it’s been watered down to the point where I think, for a lot of folks, it means nothing more than conventional no-till.” Manley says the result is farmers are deploying more GMO seed and corresponding herbicides and actually increasing the use of those things. He expects the research to soon show that many regenerative practices do not regenerate soil systems or sequester enough carbon deep enough in the soil. [link]

Target said it will only carry cereals made without certified synthetic colors at its stores, citing sales data and customer research showing a shift toward foods made without artificial additives. The retailer said it has worked closely with national brands and owned-brand partners to reformulate products where necessary. It plans to implement the change by the end of May. [link]

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault recorded its first deposit of 2026 on Tuesday, February 25, 2026, receiving 7,864 seed samples from 10 institutions across four continents and pushing its total collection past 1.38 million samples — the largest ever held in the facility since it opened in 2008. The 69th deposit to the vault, located deep inside a mountain in the Norwegian archipelago of Spitsbergen under natural permafrost, brought two countries into the global seed conservation network for the first time. Guatemala’s national genebank, managed by the Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología Agrícolas (ICTA), deposited 950 samples covering beans, maize, squash and amaranth, including two varieties of teosinte, a wild ancestor of maize native to the country. Niger’s national genebank, operated by the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique du Niger (INRAN), deposited 204 accessions of sorghum, cowpea, groundnut and pearl millet, crops that underpin food security across the Sahel. [link]

In Case You Missed It…

In late January, a new Trees on Farm guide was launched in the UK with the support of The Royal Countryside Fund’s patron, King Charles III. See more, here.