April 4, 2026

Spotlight Stories

Spotlight 1 – Edie looks deep inside a German farm’s transition to regenerative agriculture. Ready the story, here.

Spotlight 2 – Mother Jones says that high-tech experiments reveal we have been farming all wrong. Check it out, here.

Spotlight 3 – Natural England discusses the UK’s new agroforestry principles. Take a read, here.

Industry Updates

Razan Al Mubarak, President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, delivered a keynote address at the opening of the ChangeNOW Summit in Paris, calling for stronger global cooperation and the integration of nature at the heart of economic and political decision-making. Speaking to an audience of global leaders from business, finance, science, and civil society, she emphasized the urgency of addressing interconnected environmental crises, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem degradation, as these challenges continue to accelerate amid global uncertainty and geopolitical challenges. Representing more than 1,400 Member organizations and over 18,000 experts, IUCN continues to play a leading role in translating science into practical conservation action worldwide. [link]

Nestlé and the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) have partnered to establish the World Food Academy 4 Sustainable Food Systems, a global initiative to strengthen education, career development and knowledge exchange across the food sector. The academy will support university students, early career researchers and young professionals working in food and nutrition research and production, particularly those from priority regions in the Global South. A core element of the initiative will be Nestlé’s Science & Technology Seminars, which will now be delivered through the academy and cover topics including agricultural science, food science and technology and nutritional science, alongside technical expertise related to affordable and sustainable food production. UNU-INWEH will contribute expertise in research, capacity building, policy engagement and knowledge dissemination to strengthen the program. [link]

A new report by leading online loan marketplace, LendingTree, reveals that nearly half of Americans now find putting food on the table a major financial strain, with 49 percent saying affording groceries is a real challenge. Based on an online survey of 2,000 US consumers ages 18 to 80, the questionnaire shows that over the past month, six out of 10 people have worried about paying for groceries. Gen Zers aged 18 to 29 and low-income households earning under $30,000 are feeling it the most. Among low-income households, 22 percent report increasing difficulty affording groceries, compared to 19 percent of Gen Z, 18 percent of millennials, and 17 percent of parents with young children. Only five percent of baby boomers (ages 62 to 80) say it is very difficult to pay for food. [link]

Bramble Run is partnering with Lucerne Capital Management to raise its first US farmland investment fund, targeting a raise of $500 million for an estimated project pipeline worth $5 billion. While the entire country is in play, the largest swath of that pipeline lies in California’s Central Valley due to its ability to produce a diverse set of crops thanks to its Mediterranean climate. Through partnerships with agricultural management firms like Agriglobe, Bramble Run’s unique structure allows farmers to maintain full equity in their operating companies. Once Bramble Run obtains the land in its pipeline, it will all transition with the goal of becoming Regenerative Organic Certified. [link]

The market for carbon credits generated by sustainable agriculture projects has been boosted by a flurry of recent corporate deals, pilot projects and approvals by standards bodies, ratcheting up the likelihood that market-based mechanisms will play a significant role in decarbonizing food systems. The moves come on two fronts, with project developers working with farmers to issue millions of new credits into the voluntary carbon market and food companies investing in credit-based schemes that count against supply chain emissions. The credibility of farmland credits was enhanced last October when the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM), an influential standard-setter, rubber-stamped two key methodologies that govern how farmers generate credits, including through reduced tillage and fertilizer use. The decision is expected to strengthen demand for the credits, which has risen steadily this decade. [link]

New nutrition guidance from the American Heart Association advises getting protein from plants rather than meat, choosing low-fat or fat-free dairy and using olive, soybean and canola oils instead of beef tallow and butter. The recommendations contrast with dietary guidelines that the Trump administration introduced earlier this year, which prioritize the consumption of red meat, dairy, and beef tallow. The AHA counts 30,000 scientific, medical and healthcare professionals among its more than 35 million volunteers and supporters. Long an authoritative source of health recommendations, the group releases dietary guidance about every five years to promote cardiovascular health. [link]

Unilever agreed to combine its food business with McCormick in a deal that creates a new sauces-to-spices behemoth valued at more than $65 billion, including debt. Under the terms of the deal, Unilever and its shareholders are expected to own about 65% of the new, combined foods business. Unilever will also receive a one-time $15.7 billion cash payment. The combined company will have annual revenue of about $20 billion. It will house Unilever’s brands, including Hellmann’s mayonnaise and Knorr soup mixes, alongside McCormick’s red-capped bottled spices and French’s yellow mustard. [link]

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s (MDARD) Farm to Family Program is announcing its next grant opportunity, which will focus on expanding market opportunities for farmers using regenerative agriculture practices. Selected recipients will receive funding for purchases that may include on-farm point-of-sale equipment, marketing materials, light processing equipment and washing and packing infrastructure. This is Farm to Family’s third grant opportunity since the program launched 18 months ago thanks to Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s leadership and bipartisan support in the legislature. Applicants for this funding opportunity must be farmers in Michigan who can describe how they apply regenerative principles to their operation. Grant awards will be capped at $50,000. [link]

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum announced new actions aimed at boosting the supply of American born, raised, and harvested beef. Both agencies said they have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will strengthen coordination, cut bureaucratic red tape, and deliver immediate, tangible support for America’s farmers and ranchers who rely on public lands. Specifically, the MOU aims to reduce delays for grazing permits, strengthen educational partnerships, enhance transparency and data access, encourage the adoption of innovative technologies like virtual fencing, and bolster wildfire response and recovery. [link]

Producers surveyed across the United States intend to plant 95.3 million acres of corn in 2026, down 3% from last year, according to the Prospective Plantings report released by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Soybean growers intend to plant 84.7 million acres in 2026, up 4% from last year. The Prospective Plantings report provides the first official, survey-based estimates of U.S. farmers’ 2026 planting intentions. NASS acreage estimates are based on surveys conducted during the first two weeks of March from a sample of nearly 74,000 farm operators across the nation. [link]

Research at the University of Minnesota is finding farmers implementing soil health principles can start spring field management sooner than their conventional counterparts. Extension soil health specialist Anna Cates says practices like reduced tillage create better physical structure for soil to manage water. She says while some tillage can lead to earlier fieldwork during years with average soil conditions, those fields can’t handle extreme weather. Cates says because farmers had more control over the timing of field work, they also reported the change improved their quality of life, lowered stress and financial worry, and created more time with family. [link]

New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that more than $25 million is being awarded to 133 farms in 23 counties across the state through the Climate Resilient Farming (CRF) Grant Program. Funded projects help New York’s farmers reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect water quality, protect and enhance soil health and increase on-farm resiliency to the effects of a changing climate. Grants support on-farm implementation of conservation practices such as manure and methane management, nutrient management, water management, soil health management including cover cropping, reduced tillage, afforestation and building pollinator habitat. [link]

In Case You Missed It…

In early March, the European Union agreed to ban 31 meat-like names from being used on plant-based product labels, exempting more common terms like ‘veggie burger.’ See more, here.