April 25, 2026

Spotlight Stories

Spotlight 1 – Forests News looks at four competing nature visions for 2050 alongside how agroforestry helps address a developing polycrisis. Ready the story, here.

Spotlight 2 – The Baffler presents an important deep dive into farmland in Ukraine. Check it out, here.

Spotlight 3 – Farms.com says that soil health has become key to farm survival. Take a read, here.

Industry Updates

The Haryana government in India will launch an e-auction portal to enable farmers to sell agroforestry trees grown on their fields, such as eucalyptus and poplar, through the Haryana Forest Development Corporation (HFDC). This initiative is expected to help farmers secure better prices by eliminating intermediaries while also allowing them to set their own reserve prices. Tree volume details will be uploaded to the e-auction portal, enabling an auction to take place. Transactions will incur a 5% service fee, with the remaining amount being transferred directly to the farmer’s bank account. The scheme will also be open to institutions, for which a service fee of 10% will be applicable. [link]

Jesse Labbe-Watson will lead an online presentation called, Permaculture Design for Agroforestry Systems, on Tuesday, May 5, hosted by Merryspring Nature Center. Participants will be able to see how a permaculture design process can be helpful for farmers and homesteaders considering agroforestry practices for regenerating land, water and climate. The presentation will show examples of the design process using Erickson Fields farm as the case study in Rockport, Maine. Jesse Labbe-Watson operates Midcoast Permaculture Design. He has been doing landscape design, farm planning and construction contracting work for residential and farm clients since 2009. [link]

Some Minnesota farmers are skipping planting season amid rising fuel and fertilizer costs. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is noticing that more farmers are leasing out their property instead of farming it themselves. Steve Zenk, a farm advocate for the MDA said it’s an option that makes sense for older farmers who have owned their land for decades and don’t believe they can make a profit this year. Working with finances on a daily basis, Zenk said it boils down to sheer numbers. Right now, he foresees some farmers spending up to $900 to plant an acre of corn but getting a return of $800, a net loss. Zenk said he’s also seeing similar cases with cattle where high prices have some farmers choosing not to buy cattle and leaving their feed lots empty, for now. [link]

A multimillion-dollar grant will soon help the University of Missouri’s Center for Regenerative Agriculture put virtual fence collars on more cattle across two Midwest states. The $3.7 million grant will go to 200 producers between Missouri and Nebraska, covering about 150,000 acres of farmland. Rob Myers, the director of CRA, said cattle producers can begin applying for these funds in June. [link]

The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the Government of Germany signed a Host Country Agreement, marking a significant step in deepening their long-standing partnership on sustainable development, climate action and global food security as key pillars of global stability and security. At a time of increasing geopolitical tensions, climate risks and food insecurity, the partnership underscores a shared commitment to addressing root causes of instability. Sustainable land use, resilient food systems and climate resilience are central to preventing conflict, strengthening livelihoods and enhancing long-term human security. Building on decades of German support for international research and development cooperation, the establishment of a CIFOR European secretariat in Bonn reflects a continued commitment to science-based solutions that connect global knowledge with local realities. [link]

A University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign research team has developed a dynamic framework that uses satellite imagery and machine learning to detect tillage practices over large areas and long time periods. Overall, the researchers found that conservation tillage increased gradually across the Midwest for both corn and soybean from 2000 to 2022. The maps also revealed clear differences by crop and region: soybean fields generally showed higher no-till adoption, while corn fields relied more on reduced-till practices, and adoption trends varied substantially across the northern and eastern Midwest. No-till adoption is more common in drier regions such as the Great Plains, where leaving crop residues on the soil surface helps conserve soil moisture. It is also more prevalent in warmer regions, where slower soil warming under residue cover does not strongly constrain planting, the researchers found. [link]

Adelaide University researchers have demonstrated that a naturally derived seaweed compound can dramatically reduce methane emissions from beef cattle raised in extensive grazing systems, without harming calves. The study, published in Frontiers in Animal Science, investigated the use of bromoform extract oil, derived from the red seaweed Asparagopsis, in pregnant and lactating Angus cows. Methane is responsible for around 30% of the rise in global temperatures since the industrial revolution, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Across the eight-week trial involving 80 Angus cows, methane emissions were reduced by between 49% and 77% in cows receiving the supplement. [link]

The Nature Conservancy (TNC), in collaboration with leading agricultural organizations, announced the release of Advancing Regenerative Agriculture Through Trusted Farm Advisors: A Collaborative Roadmap for Action. This industry roadmap aims to accelerate the adoption of regenerative agricultural practices at scale by harnessing the influence and expertise of private-sector farm advisors and agribusinesses. The report outlines a coordinated strategy to strengthen and support the critical role of private-sector farm advisors—such as agribusinesses, independent agronomists, and certified crop advisors—who are among farmers’ most trusted sources of guidance shape on-farm decision-making across millions of acres. Developed through a year-long, multi-stakeholder process, the roadmap identifies four core barriers limiting progress—ranging from insufficient workforce capacity to unclear business value propositions—and lays out three interconnected pillars with nine actionable recommendations to address them. [link]

A University of Hawai’i soil service center is reopening with free testing for flood-impacted farmers. The University of Hawai’i at Manoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR) is reopening the Agricultural Diagnostic Service Center (ADSC). Local farmers will once again have access to soil and plant testing in Hawai’i at a reasonable cost, instead of sending samples to the U.S. continent. The center’s reopening also allows CTAHR to offer free soil and plant testing through July 21, 2026, to farmers whose land and crops were affected by Kona low flooding in March and April. [link]

A new study has found that innovative liquid biochar-based fertilizers can significantly increase crop yields, improve nutrient efficiency, and deliver strong economic returns, offering a promising pathway toward more sustainable agriculture. Researchers developed a series of liquid biochar mineral complex fertilizers and tested them in a pasture cropping system. These formulations combine biochar with mineral nutrients in a liquefied form, allowing easier application and faster nutrient availability for plants. The results show that certain formulations, particularly those enriched with nitrogen, dramatically outperform conventional fertilization approaches. [link]

Grasslands, wetlands and other non-forest ecosystems are being converted to agricultural land far faster than forests, yet they remain largely overlooked by Europe’s flagship anti-deforestation law and other environmental policies, according to a new report by the Rainforest Alliance, World Resources Institute and partner organizations. The report found such ecosystems are being lost to agriculture at roughly four times the rate of forests. Around 190 million hectares (470 million acres) of non-forest natural ecosystems, a combined area almost the size of Mexico, was converted to mostly pastures and farms over the 15 years from 2005 to 2020. Brazil saw the most conversion of non-forest ecosystems to agriculture over the 15-year period of the study, followed by China, Russia and the United States. [link]

New research published in the journal PLOS Climate examined 1,233 environmental claims made by 33 of the biggest meat and dairy companies between 2021-2024 and found that 98% of claims fall under the category of greenwashing according to a greenwashing assessment framework developed by researchers in 2022. Many of the statements were overly vague or unverifiable future projections. Only 356 (29%) of the claims were backed by supporting evidence from sources like government bodies or trade organizations, and scholarly scientific evidence was provided to support only three of these claims, two of which were climate related. While 17 of the companies included in the study have made net-zero commitments—compared to just 4 in 2020—the commitments appear to heavily rely on carbon offsetting, which involves funding projects that compensate for emissions, rather than decarbonization, which would directly address the source of emissions. [link]

Fully organic growers face fewer agronomic challenges as compared to mixed growers, according to a recent analysis published in Agricultural Systems by researchers at the University of California. The researchers combined quantitative and qualitative data from a survey and a set of interviews, respectively, with organic farmers in the state of California. The three main findings include: Fully organic farmers face fewer agronomic difficulties overall compared to mixed organic or non-organic farmers; Larger farms, regardless of organic status, face greater agronomic challenges in terms of crop nutrition, pest, and weed management; and Smaller-scale farms face fewer agronomic challenges than medium-to-large-scale farms. [link]

RegenAll announced it supported a Lancaster County, Pennsylvania farmer in installing a silvopasture project that will improve the health of the farm’s dairy cows, land, and future prosperity. Thanks to a $7,000 grant from RegenAll’s Community Climate Fund, Benuel E. Beiler was able to plant 130 trees across seven acres of his organic dairy farm. The trees will provide a wide range of benefits. Fruit and nut trees, including persimmons, mulberries, hickories, and chestnuts, will offer tree crops for retail sale and home use. Honey locust trees drop edible pods for the cattle during the winter months. Fast-growing trees, such as black locusts, will provide shade over the pasture, which improves the cows’ physical well-being and ultimately leads to higher milk output. With increased milk production, the farm can also expect to see an increase in revenue. [link]

In Case You Missed It…

In late January, North Dakota announced that it was creating a pilot program to encourage landowners to convert less productive agricultural land into grass habitat for wildlife. See more, here.