June 7, 2025

Spotlight Stories

Spotlight 1 – Arizona State University does a report on a new algae system that’s helping Arizona farmers grow better crops with less water. Check it out, here.

Spotlight 2 – Mercer University highlights the work of one of its faculty members to look at how language and communications fit into the field of animal agriculture. Read the story, here.

Spotlight 3 – The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition takes a deep dive into the House Agriculture Committee’s reconciliation bill. Take a read, here.

Industry Updates

Farm Credit Canada (FCC) has announced a $2-billion commitment to agriculture and food innovation by 2030, funneling the investment through its newly launched capital arm, FCC Capital. The federal Crown corporation says the funding will support the development of new technologies, research and business models aimed at increasing efficiency, productivity and sustainability across Canada's agri-food sector. The move comes amid concerns about Canada’s lagging agtech investment levels. In 2023, venture capital investment in the sector reached just $270 million — about one-tenth of U.S. investment when adjusted for population. [link]

As part of a multiagency effort led by Virginia Cooperative Extension, a statewide survey is now open to document voluntary best management practices on farms within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Many farmers take proactive steps to preserve soil and water health — such as cover crops, streamside butters, and rotational grazing — without accepting cost-share funding or reporting their efforts. The survey seeks to close that gap. By capturing these unreported efforts, it will help better reflect the full extent of agricultural contributions to soil health and water quality across Virginia. [link]

Researchers in the University of Oxford’s Department of Biology and Wild Bioscience Ltd are to receive backing of a £6.7 million grant from the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) to pioneer a new synthetic biology approach which promises to improve yields in potato and wheat. Established by the UK Parliament in January 2023 and sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, ARIA is an R&D funding agency created to unlock technological breakthroughs that benefit everyone. The ARIA Synthetic Plants program, led by Program Director Angie Burnett, will catalyze a new generation of major crops that are more productive, resilient, and sustainable to help future-proof our agricultural system. [link]

New research is helping to answer an important question about ultra-processed foods: Which ones might be healthier? One reason many ultra–processed foods often lead us to eat big meals and heavy snacks is because of their texture, which makes them go down easily and quickly, according to a new study presented this week at a conference in Orlando, Fla., of the American Society for Nutrition. But some diets filled with ultra-processed foods don’t cause us to eat as much. People in the study who had a diet of slower-to-eat ultra-processed foods such as crunchy breakfast cereal and multigrain buns consumed an average of 369 fewer calories a day than when they were eating quick-to-eat ultra-processed foods such as commercially made smoothies and soft breads. [link]

European farmers transitioning to regenerative agriculture can produce significantly more food for lower prices compared to average conventional practices, flags a new study. The European Alliance for Regenerative Agriculture (EARA) study benchmarks 78 regenerating farms in 14 countries covering over 7,000 hectares against their neighboring and national average conventional farmers. According to the report, regenerative pioneers show 24% to 38% higher productivity than the average European farmer across 14 countries studied. Between 2020 and 2023, regenerative agriculture farmers achieved, on average, just 1% lower yields in kilocalories and proteins while using 62% less synthetic nitrogen fertilizer and 76% less pesticides (g/active substance) per hectare. [link]

Many farmers will no longer have to keep any records of when, where, or how they’re using pesticides known to pose the highest risks to human health and the environment after a recent change made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). In May, the agency rescinded regulations on the books since the 1990s that required farmers to record basic details about their use of pesticides classified as “restricted use.” Farmers were required to record the chemical’s name, date of use, volume, location, and type of crop treated, and to keep the records for two years. In rescinding the regulations, the USDA did not follow the typical rulemaking process of proposing a change, taking public comment, and then finalizing it. In the notice, the agency officials said the regulations are “not a priority” and that “to the extent there is any uncertainty about the costs and benefits [of the regulations], it is the policy of USDA to err on the side of deregulation.” [link]

The Ivey Business School’s Centre for Building Sustainable Value has launched the Collective Action for Regenerative Agriculture Program (CAP), a new initiative to support farmers in Ontario, Canada. CAP brings together farmers, scientists, agronomists, and industry leaders to co-create farming practices suited to local soil and climate. The goal is to improve ecological health, increase farm profits, and support the entire region’s agricultural sustainability. Farmers will contribute by working with experts to adopt regenerative practices, join other farmers to share ideas, and help solve sustainability issues while exploring shared resources and income opportunities. [link]

Beverage and spirits giant Suntory Group has recently launched two partnerships aimed at increasing the sustainability and resilience of its agricultural value chains. First, Suntory and Japanese agritech startup Towing Co. have launched a joint pilot program to explore the potential of high-performance biochar — produced from manufacturing byproducts in Suntory Group’s supply chain — to both reduce manufacturing waste and boost crop yields, compared to the use of conventional organic fertilizers. Meanwhile, Suntory Holdings and Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT) have begun collaborating with sweet potato producers in Japan’s Kagoshima Prefecture to fight disease and increase and stabilize yields using regenerative practices. Sweet potatoes are a key ingredient in several of Suntory’s shochu brands — including Kuromaru, Nanko and Osumi. [link]

UConn’s College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources (CAHNR) welcomed fellow researchers and poultry industry representatives from across the US and the world to the Storrs campus to continue their interdependent work on the Sustainable Agricultural Systems (SAS) Poultry Project. In 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) awarded the school a $10 million grant for the initiative. At the two-day meeting, held at the Innovation Partnership Building, the multi-institutional group and its project teams discussed their on-going efforts to enhance broiler sustainability without antibiotics and ensure safe approaches to improve chicken, human, and environmental health. The group has made a number of technological advancements to lower heat stress, improve bird welfare, generate energy from poultry litter, and reduce disease, including a UConn-patented probiotic spray method that improves the hatchability and the health of chicks. [link]

Rural Action has announced that two major grants from the US Department of Agriculture are currently underway, enabling the organization to provide free site visits and technical assistance to landowners and landholders in 44 Ohio counties, including all Appalachian Ohio counties. Landowners in the focus area can receive a free site visit for advice on agroforestry and wildlife habitat practices such as forest farming, silvopasture, reforestation, wildlife habitat and water quality protection through Rural Action’s Sustainable Forestry and Watersheds Programs. The Sustainable Forestry team is working with the US Forest Service on a Forest Landowner Support project to provide technical assistance on forest farming, silvopasture, invasive species removal and opportunities for sustainable forest management. The Watersheds team has entered into a Cooperative Agreement with the US Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service to help landowners plan streambank and floodplain reforestation, invasive species removal and other opportunities to benefit water quality and wildlife habitat. [link]

In Case You Missed It…

In mid-May, the USDA reversed course and committed to restoring climate-focused webpages purged from its websites earlier this year. See more, here.