June 21, 2025

Spotlight Stories

Spotlight 1 – UNSTUCK reviews the rise of alcohol-free beer and asks what lessons the sustainable food industry can learn. Check it out, here.

Spotlight 2 – Policy Circle writes about how satellite data is reshaping agriculture. Read the story, here.

Spotlight 3 – The Wall Street Journal holds its Global Food Forum, whereby Chobani’s CEO says that the food system needs immigration to function. Take a read, here.

Industry Updates

Some farmers in Saskatchewan are using drones to manage their crops more efficiently, mainly by identifying crop plant health. Flying 10 to 12 feet above the crop canopy, farmers in the province see the DJI AGRAS model as a game changer. Covering about 40 acres an hour, the AGRAS model weighs 80 pounds while holding up to 70 pounds of water or granular fertilizer. The spray can help prevent more soil compaction, creating better access for crops to grow. The DJI AGRAS T50 model can also be paired as a secondary “mapping” drone, along with the Mavic. The Agras can identify crops through thermal vision, where the model will inform the Mavic on which area of crops may need certain levels of spray. [link]

Waitrose has announced the recipients of a new £500k fund aimed at helping British farmers transition to low carbon farming methods, as part of its commitment to reach net zero across its UK farms by 2035 and the entire supply chain by 2050. The net zero farm fund will support nine innovative farmers within the Waitrose supply chain, implementing projects that reduce agricultural emissions and build resilience in farming. The new projects span a range of low carbon innovations, including water and fertilizer recycling, establishing wild habitats alongside traditional farming, testing cover cropping in orchards, and converting waste materials like poultry litter into fertilizer. Additionally, some farms plan to introduce agroforestry and wildflower planting for better water management, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration, while others are exploring renewable energy and emissions tracking systems. [link]

Kiss the Ground, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting regeneration and healthy soil, announced the release of its Regenerative Purchasing Guides, a suite of free, easy-to-use tools designed to help consumers shop with purpose and confidence. As wellness and sustainability rise in consumer priority, most shoppers remain unsure how to align their values with their purchasing habits. The new Regenerative Purchasing Guides aim to bridge this gap, empowering consumers with transparent and trustworthy information about how their everyday choices impact both personal and planetary health. [link]

Senator Rob Black of Ontario has introduced the Second Reading of Bill S-230, a National Strategy for Soil Health Act, which aims to develop a national strategy for soil health protection, conservation, and enhancement in Canada. Inspired by the 2024 Senate soil health report, the bill reflects urgent concerns about degraded soil. According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, 30% of global soil is already degraded, and 90% could be degraded by 2050. The bill underlines soil’s role in food security, calling it a strategic national asset. It also warns against urban development on productive farmland, especially in places like Ontario, where 319 acres of farmland are lost daily. The proposed strategy will bring together provincial, territorial, and Indigenous governments with various federal departments. The plan will include education programs, data collection, policy updates, and appointing a national soil advocate to raise awareness. [link]

Kraft Heinz said it plans to remove artificial food dyes from its U.S. products before the end of 2027. Kraft Heinz also said it would no longer use artificial colors in new products in the U.S. The move comes as the Trump administration is pushing to strip artificial dyes from the U.S. food supply. The Health and Human Services Department and Food and Drug Administration said in April that it aimed to work with the food industry to remove six synthetic dyes by the end of next year. Kraft Heinz said that nearly 90% of its U.S. products, in terms of sales, don’t use artificial dyes. For those that do, including many Crystal Light, Heinz relish, Kool-Aid, Jell-O and Jet-Puffed products, the company said that it would remove, replace or reinvent colors. [link]

The ASPCA moderated a briefing featuring farmers and ranchers from across the country who shared their experiences both raising animals in the industrial agriculture system and operating in a healthier, more humane and sustainable manner. Congressional staff in attendance heard directly from farmers who advocated for policy solutions, highlighting the need for greater investment in America’s independent farms, and encouraged Congress to prioritize support for higher-welfare, more resilient, pasture-based farming systems as discussions continue around federal funding and the next Farm Bill. The briefing directly follows a June 16th tour of two higher-welfare farms in Virginia – Whiffletree Tree Farm and Kinloch Farm – where congressional staff joined the ASPCA, farmers, and other food system experts to visit these operations in-person and hear directly from the farmers making them successful. [link]

The Farm Credit Northeast AgEnhancement Program, a joint effort of Farm Credit East and CoBank, recently provided $115,000 in grant funding to 27 organizations to assist their efforts to encourage youth leadership development, support young and beginning farmer initiatives, promote diversity, equity and inclusion, and advance northeast agriculture, forestry and commercial fishing. The Farm Credit Northeast AgEnhancement Program was created in 1996 to support projects that promote and enhance the region’s agricultural community. Since inception, the program has provided more than $3.6 million in grant funding to 1,196 projects. Submissions for the next round of grant funding are due by August 1, 2025. [link]

Bayer and Kimitec have announced the launch of two next-generation biological products—Ambition Complete Gen2 and Ambition Secure Gen2. Both formulations, now in regulatory review, are set to join Bayer’s Crop Performance Enhancer portfolio. The move underscores Bayer’s continued push toward nature-based, regenerative agricultural solutions. Developed at Kimitec’s MAAVi Innovation Center, these innovations aim to boost plant performance using nature-derived science and AI-powered discovery. [link]

The global food system faces growing risks from climate change, even as farmers seek to adapt, according to a June 18 study in Nature. In contrast to previous studies suggesting that warming could increase global food production, the researchers estimate that every additional degree Celsius of global warming on average will drag down the world’s ability to produce food by 120 calories per person per day, or 4.4% of current daily consumption. The study draws on observations from more than 12,000 regions across 55 countries. The team analyzed adaptation costs and yields for crops that provide two-thirds of humanity’s calories: wheat, corn, rice, soybeans, barley, and cassava. [link]

The USDA has announced a sweeping readiness and response plan in light of increasing threats of New World screwworm (NWS). The plan aims to enhance USDA’s ability to detect, control, and eliminate the pest in the U.S. cattle herd. The plan uses a five-pronged strategy aimed at controlling animal movement, creating strong surveillance systems, and utilizing proven sterilization techniques. Broadly, the U.S. government wants to stop the NWS spread in Mexico, protect the U.S. border, maximize American industry's readiness, and force eradication through innovation and offensive measures. [link]

General Mills said it will work to remove artificial colors from its U.S. retail portfolio by the end of 2027. It also committed to removing synthetic dyes from its U.S. cereals and foods served in K-12 schools by the summer of 2026. The Trix and Lucky Charms maker said the change will impact “only a small portion” of its school portfolio and 15% of its U.S. retail portfolio. General Mills’ announcement marks the second food company this week to commit to removing the controversial ingredients from its portfolio, following an earlier Kraft Heinz announcement. [link]

A new joint report by Bain & Company and the World Economic Forum (WEF) says that an estimated $1.1 trillion in annual investment is required over the next five years to shift global food production toward sustainable, resilient models that create jobs and align with the Paris Agreement targets. Today, however, annual investments stand at just 5 percent of that need, leaving a staggering financing gap. Unlocking the necessary capital to close it, the report argues, will depend on adopting innovative financing models that can attract a broader, more diverse set of financial actors. [link]

Bregal Sphere announced an investment in Jubilación Segura, an agroforestry and reforestation initiative focused on coffee and cocoa landscapes in the Peruvian Amazon. Bregal Sphere's investment aims to double the project’s size, enabling the distribution of 4.4 million trees over the next five years and the restoration of more than 5,000 hectares of degraded land. The project will seek to engage over 4,000 additional smallholder farmers and is forecast to remove approximately 1.3 million tons of CO2 equivalent by 2039. [link]

In Case You Missed It…

Early this month, Farm Credit Canada (FCC) announced a $2 billion commitment to domestic agriculture and food innovation by 2030, funneling investment into the space through its newly launched capital arm, FCC Capital. See more, here.