July 12, 2025

Spotlight Stories

Spotlight 1 – An article in Art discusses the future of food…and how technology and sustainability are changing what we eat. Read the story, here.

Spotlight 2 – The WBCSD reflects on London Climate Action Week and looks at how to finance the future of sustainable agriculture in Brazil’s Cerrado. Check it out, here.

Spotlight 3 – Forbes connects the dots and says that farming is America’s first line of defense for creating healthier people. Take a read, here.

Industry Updates

A $723,839 USDA Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure grant will connect Pennsylvania farmers with 15 community partner locations — including shelters for individuals experiencing homelessness, domestic violence support centers and substance use recovery programs. The NEPA Food Dignity Movement has been awarded a United States Department of Agriculture Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure grant to tackle systemic challenges in farm sustainability and revolutionize the regional food supply chain in Northeast Pennsylvania. [link]

In Hawaii, the Kaua‘i County Office of Economic Development has awarded 12 Agriculture Farm Expansion Grants for fiscal year 2024-25. This is the second year the office offered funding through the grant program aimed at advancing Kaua‘i’s agricultural industry through targeted investments in the expansion of farming and/or production around the island. A selection committee carefully reviewed and scored each of the eligible 18 proposals submitted, with the 12 selected projects partially or fully funded with a total of $637,429. [link]

Snacking, food, and pet care products provider Mars announced the launch of the Mars Sustainability Investment Fund (MSIF), a new $250 million fund aimed at providing capital to companies developing solutions to address key industry sustainability challenges. The new fund will deploy capital across investment funds as well as through direct investments, targeting solutions to sustainability challenges across the company’s value chain in areas including the sourcing of its ingredients, the health aspects of its products, and circular packaging. [link]

New University of Minnesota research, recently published in the Soil Science Society of America Journal, significantly improves a tool that farmers can use to guide nitrogen application decisions on their fields. A well-known tool, called the Pre-Sidedress Nitrate Test (PSNT), uses soil nitrate status to help farmers determine whether their corn crop may need more nitrogen. By analyzing data from 34 field trials across Minnesota, the researchers updated the PSNT threshold, finding that 20 parts per million of nitrate in the top 12 inches of soil reliably delivers 97% of maximum yield, and that if PSNT is below such levels, roughly 12.3 lbs of nitrogen per acre is needed for every one part per million shortfall. [link]

U.S. House representatives have introduced the Conservation and Regenerative Optimization Practices for Farming Act, or the CROP for Farming Act, a bipartisan proposal to strengthen conservation efforts and equip farmers with new tools to improve soil health, enhance productivity, and reduce harmful emissions through voluntary practices. The bill updates the Food Security Act of 1985 to recognize and support farming efforts to reduce nitrous oxide and methane emissions, while promoting carbon storage in soil and vegetation, all through existing conservation incentive contracts under the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Through updates to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), the bill encourages practices such as no-till farming, cover cropping, and improved grazing management —strategies that enhance soil fertility, improve water retention, and support long-term farm resilience. [link]

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers and its member company leaders released a comprehensive whitepaper detailing how advancements in technology have revolutionized the cultivation of specialty crops and enhanced efficiency, sustainability, and productivity. Today’s ag equipment plays a pivotal role in shaping these transformations, with innovations spanning autonomy and automation, precision spray application and weed management techniques, irrigation systems, as well as harvesting technologies. [link]

A global research study published in The Innovation found that certain farming practices can simultaneously boost food production, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve soil health. Drawing on more than 39,000 field comparisons across 104 meta-analyses, the study found practices such as legume and cereal intercropping, organic amendments and precision nutrient management can increase yields while reducing environmental footprint. A key finding was that legume-cereal intercropping can significantly enhance system productivity while also lowering fertilizer use and greenhouse gas emissions. [link]

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson wants to move legislation this fall to address farm and nutrition programs left out of the budget reconciliation bill. Thompson, R-Pa., told reporters that the bill would need about $8 billion in additional funding over 10 years, far less than the $66 billion spending increase included in the reconciliation bill dubbed the One Big Beautiful Act and paid for out of cuts to funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Issues that would be addressed in what Thompson calls farm bill 2.0 include controversial provisions to address concerns around industrial hemp, lawsuits against pesticide manufacturers, and California’s Proposition 12 regulations on sow housing. Other issues that need to be addressed include reauthorization of the Conservation Reserve Program; limits for USDA direct and guaranteed loans; rural broadband assistance; and a provision to trigger permanent price-support laws if existing commodity programs are allowed to lapse after 2031. Thompson also said there are several nutrition assistance issues he wants to address, including expanding SNAP eligibility for ex-convicts and families of young adults who are still in school, along with modifying SNAP eligibility requirements to eliminate a "poverty cliff." [link]

A new free modeling tool is enabling researchers, farmers and food processors to assess how changes in the ways a dairy farm is managed would influence its environmental impact, energy use and economics. The Ruminant Farm Systems (RuFaS) modeling tool, developed by Cornell researchers and collaborators across academia, industry, government and nonprofits, is available at no cost for open-source collaboration. Cornell researchers created the scaffolding for the model and worked with collaborators to integrate Cornell and other dairy farm research on factors like animal feed, crop growth and milk production. The model predicts outcomes such as production costs, resource use and greenhouse gas emissions. [link]

The holding company Allterra, owner of the Microgeo and TMF brands, has announced the launch of three new biological inputs to ensure the improvement of soil: a bionematicide, a biofungicide, and a bioactivator. Allterra is one of five companies in Brazil with the newly launched QIMA certification, bearing the Regenera seal, which guarantees alignment with Regenerative Agriculture practices. The new biological product launches are part of Allterra’s strategy to consolidate its role in offering solutions and services that combine technological innovation, increased profitability for the producer, and reduced environmental impact. [link]

The Italian candy maker behind Ferrero Rocher and Nutella announced a roughly $3 billion deal to buy the breakfast-cereal conglomerate WK Kellogg. WK Kellogg is the company behind Froot Loops, Frosted Flakes, Rice Krispies and a variety of other cereal monikers. It has a market value today of some $1.5 billion, and more than $500 million in debt. Ferrero has been targeting the U.S. for acquisitions to grow geographically and expand by category. It bought Wells Enterprises, the maker of Blue Bunny and other ice-cream brands, and before that struck a $2.8 billion deal to acquire Nestlé’s U.S. chocolate business. [link]

The European Commission announced the launch of its “Roadmap towards Nature Credits,” aimed at helping to develop a new market for nature credits. Similar in concept to carbon credits, nature credits would represent activities that protect and restore biodiversity and ecosystems targeting nature-focused outcomes based on specific metrics and indicators. Under the new roadmap, the Commission said that it will establish a dedicated expert group including member states, stakeholder and technical experts to co-develop certification methodologies and governance principles for nature credits, with first results expected in 2026. From 2025 – 2027, the Commission will launch a pilot project on nature credits, and it will subsequently consider next steps for the development and scaling up of nature credit markets. [link]

Major food corporations are failing to effectively support farming practices that protect human and environmental health, according to an assessment of 20 companies released by the corporate watchdog group, As You Sow. The report scored corporate programs and policies related to regenerative agriculture – a type of farming that prioritizes healthy soil – determining that, on average, the companies deserved a near-failing grade of “D”. The nonprofit group assigned the lowest grades to W.K. Kellogg Co., known for popular cereals including Frosted Flakes and Rice Krispies, and B&G Foods, Inc., whose brands include Crisco and Cream of Wheat. Companies earning the highest scores included PepsiCo, the global snack and beverage giant, as well as McCain Foods and Lamb Weston, both known for their French fries and other potato products. [link]

In Case You Missed It…

In mid-June, Impossible Foods CEO Peter McGuinness said that the plant-based giant could enter the blended meat space to try and spur more sales growth with flexitarians. See more, here.