2025 Tech Hub Live

Water for Food Conference Partners for 2024 World Water Forum

Cindy Zimmerman

Loïc Fauchon, president of the World Water Council, was one of more than 120 global speakers and 400 participants who gathered at the recent Water for Food Global Conference in Nebraska to discuss innovative ways to improve water and food security by increasing farmers’ resiliency to a changing landscape.

“Water and food are two of the most important priorities of tomorrow’s world,” Fauchon said during his remarks. “We must stop ignoring that water is food.”

The conference was produced by the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska (DWFI) and held May 8-11 in Lincoln, Neb. The 2023 conference was a partner event for the 10th World Water Forum, the world’s largest water-related forum organized by the World Water Council. It will be held May 18-24, 2024, in Bali, Indonesia.

“The role of the forum is to be able to gather all of the water family, so it’s a huge meeting,” Fauchon said in an interview. “Water is politics because the solutions are here, we need political will. Water has to be considered as a priority.”

Learn more in this interview with Fauchon.
2023 Water for Food interview - Loïc Fauchon, World Water Forum (9:03)

See more interviews and photos from the Water for Food Conference

Audio, Food, International, Water, Water for Food

Pluton Biosciences Closes $16.5M Series A Funding Round

Cindy Zimmerman

Pluton Biosciences, a startup working to discover microbes to fight climate change, has announced the close of a $16.5 M Series A funding round co-led by Illumina Ventures and RA Capital.

“The funding will accelerate the development of Pluton’s flagship product, the Microbial Cover Crop™, through field trials and towards commercial partnerships,” remarked Elizabeth Gallegos, CEO of Pluton. “It will also enable us to expand our team, advance a microbial-derived pesticide to combat the fall armyworm, and harness the full potential of our Micromining™ platform to swiftly identify tailored solutions for agriculture.”

Illumina Ventures’ Charles Lin, PhD, who has joined Pluton’s Board of Directors, expressed his excitement about the fund’s first AgBio investment, “In the past two decades, we have witnessed how genomics revolutionized the landscape of human diagnostics and therapeutics. We expect genomics to also enable breakthroughs in agriculture. Pluton’s Micromining™ approach, combining genomics with rigorous data science, can unlock the potential of soil microbes for more sustainable agriculture and beyond.”

RA Capital’s Michael Gillespie, MD, has also joined Pluton’s Board of Directors, along with agricultural industry veterans Jerry Steiner and Neal Gutterson, Ph.D.

Read more.

AgWired Precision

Precision Ag News 5/24/23

Cindy Zimmerman

  • CNH Industrial and ONE SMART SPRAY, a joint venture between Bosch and BASF, have signed a collaboration agreement to integrate the latter’s advanced spraying system within CNH Industrial’s agricultural brand product portfolios. The system’s integration will be led by the Raven team and will be commercially available via the global Case IH and New Holland Agriculture brands.
  • The American Farm Bureau Federation signed two more memoranda of understanding with two agricultural equipment manufacturers, AGCO and Kubota, providing farmers and ranchers the right to repair their own farm equipment. The MOUs, which were negotiated independently with each manufacturer, follow similar agreements AFBF entered into with John Deere and CNH Industrial Brands earlier this year. Combined, the four MOUs cover roughly 70% of the agricultural machinery sold in the United States.
  • The non-profit Soil Health Academy has announced the availability of educational scholarships for leaders in indigenous and underserved communities, as well as agriculture education professionals to attend one of SHA’s three-day, on-farm soil health and regenerative agriculture schools. In addition, the grant will provide ag educators with free access to the regenerative agriculture online course, Regen Ag 101.
  • “Living Soil,” a film produced by the Soil Health Institute in 2018 – has reached a milestone of over 4 million views. The documentary has been watched in over 130 countries and has won numerous awards, including “Outstanding Excellence in Direction, Editing, and Cinematography” at the Women’s International Film Festival (2021) and “Best of Show for Environmental Films” by the Docs Without Borders Film Festival (2022). It was made possible through the generous support of The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation.
  • Landus, Iowa’s largest farmer-owned cooperative and a leading retailer of agricultural inputs, announced today that it has joined The GROWERS Retail Network. This partnership connects Landus to farmers on The GROWERS App, a digital platform for farmers to connect with retailers and research input products.
  • CNH Industrial, parent company to Case IH has entered into an agreement with AGuru Machinery, a strip-tillage company based in Congerville, Illinois. With this relationship, Case IH incorporates a key partner to enhance and elevate its Strip-Till product offering with the most dependable, productive, and agronomically superior Strip-Till solutions to meet the growing demands of our customers.
  • EnGeniousAg has received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to develop low-cost instant-readout plant nitrate sensors to aid farmers in maintaining crop productivity, increasing profitability, and reducing nitrogen runoff. The EnGeniousAg in-field nitrogen sensors enable farmers to measure nitrogen levels in their crops in as little as 3 seconds.
  • Registration for the 16th Annual Conservation in Action Tour is now open. This year’s tour will take place in in Frankenmuth, Michigan, July 10-11, with the theme “Experiencing Conservation in Supply Chains” to help connect the circle from farmer to consumer. At this year’s event, farmers, input suppliers, conservation advocates and processors will dig deep and share their perspectives on sustainable, climate-smart food production. Attendees can look forward to seeing the supply chain up close and personal, including cutting edge dairy practices, specialty crops like sugar beets and dry beans, milling and processing, and more.
  • Ceres Imaging is proud to announce its commitment to increasing the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices by enrolling as a Program Supporter of Leading Harvest, an industry leader in sustainable agriculture. As a Program Supporter, Ceres joins the Leading Harvest membership that includes farmland managers, suppliers, retailers, consumer product companies, investors, and tech innovators with a shared vision of advancing the rigorously vetted and third-party verified Leading Harvest Farmland Management Standard.
  • OPI is introducing an innovative new Grain Quality Sensor designed to assist farmers and commercial storage operators. This innovative sensor aims to detect biological activity in grains at the earliest possible stage, offering valuable insights and enabling proactive measures to maintain grain quality.
  • UPL Ltd., a global provider of sustainable agricultural solutions, introduces its SHENZI™ 700 WG and SHENZI™ 400 SC insecticides to the North American market to provide growers with proven solutions to protect crops against insect pests and resistance while minimizing environmental impacts. Both contain the powerful active ingredient chlorantraniliprole.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

Cargill Expands Regenerative Agriculture Program to Europe

Cindy Zimmerman

Cargill is moving its award-winning regenerative agriculture program into Europe, allowing farmers in Germany, Poland, Romania, and France to receive financial compensation for adopting climate-friendly farming practices.

Building on two years of success in North America, Cargill RegenConnectTM will also expand from 15 to 24 states, introducing the program in nine new states including North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Colorado, Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas. It will also provide U.S. farmers with higher payments, cover more commodities (such as cotton) and improve ease and access to enrollment via mobile devices.

Cargill RegenConnectTM has not only received positive feedback from growers and customers but has also been recognized by the prestigious 2023 Edison Awards™ for its innovative approach to creating a more resilient and secure food system. Its expansion demonstrates Cargill’s commitment to helping farmers adopt sustainable agricultural practices across its global supply chain, rooted in the firm belief that change starts where the food system begins – at the farm.

Cargill RegenConnect is a voluntary, market-based regenerative agriculture program which helps farmers improve soil health and decarbonize the agriculture supply chain. Farmers enrolled in the program can choose the practices best suited to their operation, which includes planting cover crops and implementing reduced- or no-till farming.

In addition to providing technical support and resources to enable farmer success, the program offers an environmental market opportunity for participants, who are then able to connect with some of the world’s largest companies actively seeking to reduce their environmental footprint while supporting regenerative agriculture.

Eligible farmers in North America are invited to enroll now through Sept. 15 by visiting Cargill Regenerative Ag Program (cargillag.com)

Eligible farmers in participating EU countries are invited to enroll beginning June 1 through July 15, 2023 at regenconnect.cargill.com.

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, Environment, Precision Agriculture, regenerative ag, Technology

Custom Agronomics Appoints New Chief Financial Officer

Cindy Zimmerman

Custom Agronomics, a leading provider of private-label liquid plant nutrition and other specialty products for the agriculture, turf, and ornamental markets, has appointed Jerry Cook as Chief Financial Officer.

“We are excited to have Jerry join our executive leadership team,” said Brian Scott, Custom Agronomics co-founder and co-CEO. “He is a skilled financial leader who will help manage our growth as we pursue strategic acquisitions to expand our business.”

Cook is an experienced financial executive with extensive experience in corporate accounting, financial analysis, and strategic planning and budgeting.

“I look forward to providing financial leadership to Custom Agronomics,” Cook said. “The company is doing exciting work around custom formulations that improve soil and plant health, and I look forward to helping the company build its capacity and expand its reach.”

Cook previously served in financial leadership roles at major chemical firms, including Ascent Chemicals, DanChem Technologies, and TCI Powder Coatings. He has previously worked with private equity firms and has more than a decade of international experience.

Agronomy, AgWired Precision, people, Precision Agriculture

Passing of Charlie Stenholm

Cindy Zimmerman

Charlie Stenholm (R) smiles at Barry Flichbaugh during the 2012 AMS Great Debate

Former Texas Democrat Rep. Charlie Stenholm died last week at the age of 84 and many in ag media fondly remember the man as part of the famous “Great Debates” at Ag Media Summit with Dr. Barry Flinchbaugh, former ag economist at Kansas State University, who passed away in 2020.

Stenholm served in the House of Representatives for 26 years from 1979-2005 and was the Ranking Member of the House Agriculture Committee from January 1997, playing a major role in farm policy.

The “Great Debates” between Stenholm and Flinchbaugh at AMS were as entertaining as they were newsworthy, with the two friends on opposite ends of the political spectrum frequently agreeing to disagree about farm policy. Those of you who were there are smiling as you remember!

You can listen to the 2012 Great Debate here: AMS Great Debate

Speaking of Ag Media Summit … it’s coming up July 30-August 2, 2023 in Palm Springs, CA and registration is open now.

Ag Media Summit, Audio, obituariess, people

Animal Ag News

Cindy Zimmerman

  • Researchers at the University of California, Davis have released a pre-print study finding that lab-grown or “cultivated” meat’s environmental impact is likely to be “orders of magnitude” higher than retail beef based on current and near-term production methods. Researchers conducted a life-cycle assessment of the energy needed and greenhouse gases emitted in all stages of production and compared that with beef.
  • Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack plans to roll out $3.7 billion in Emergency Relief Program (ERP) and Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP) assistance to crop and livestock producers who sustained losses due to a qualifying natural disaster event in calendar year 2022. USDA is sharing early information to allow producers time to gather documents in advance of program delivery. Through distribution of remaining funds, USDA is also concluding the 2021 ELRP program by sending payments in the amount of 20% of the initial ELRP payment to all existing recipients.
  • National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Todd Wilkinson testified last week before the House Agriculture Committee Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry at a hearing titled “A Review of Animal Agriculture Stakeholder Priorities.” Wilkinson, a second-generation cattle producer from South Dakota, highlighted stronger market conditions in the cattle industry and discussed new challenges facing farmers and ranchers from burdensome regulations and inflation.
  • The dairy checkoff is bringing a new approach to building trust with young Americans by helping high school curriculum writers across the country incorporate accurate science behind dairy farming. The “On The Farm STEM” (science, technology, engineering and math) experience is co-funded by National Dairy Council and Midwest Dairy, and created in partnership with the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture to offer a science-based counterbalance to misunderstanding about how dairy is responsibly produced by farmers and its contributions to health and wellness. The curriculum is expected to be implemented in several states by early 2024.
  • Results from the 2022 National Beef Quality Audit indicate that the beef cattle industry is producing a high-quality product that consumers want more efficiently and the industry’s primary focus across the supply chain remains food safety. When comparing 2016 and 2022 NBQAs, the largest improvement was overall increased efficiency across the beef supply chain. The NBQA, conducted approximately every five years, provides an understanding of what quality means to the various industry sectors, and the value of those quality attributes.
  • Attendees at the 2023 World Pork Expo (WPX) will have free access to a wide range of educational seminars covering all aspects of the pork industry. Presented by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), this year marks the 35th anniversary of the industry’s largest pork-specific trade show. The free seminars held at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa, will again be a cornerstone of the three-day event June 7-9.
  • Certified Angus Beef is launching a new product, Certified Angus Beef ® Grass-Fed by Niman Ranch. While less than 1% of the total Certified Angus Beef supply, the grass-fed product is an important piece of the brand’s strategy to remain relevant in the marketplace – and continue driving demand for high-quality Angus genetics.
    • AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Beef

    Land O’Lakes CEO Includes Water Security in Ag Challenges

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Land O’Lakes President and CEO Beth Ford was the guest speaker for the May 8 Heuermann Lecture at Nebraska Innovation Campus in Lincoln, Neb., which coincided with the 2023 Water for Food Conference and she shared why water is at the top of her priority list.

    “Food security is national security,” Ford said. “Fresh water demand will outstrip supply by 2030 by 56% globally, and water is critical to production agriculture, it’s critical to communities and to life.”

    Ford also said that to meet the grand challenge of feeding 10 billion people by 2050, more agricultural research funding is needed. While GMOs have increased yields by 25%, Ford said we’ve nearly maximized the increase in production that they can provide. However, she said research funding is still at 1970s levels, while we simultaneously face an unprecedented challenge of population growth, climate change, water crisis, and food insecurity.

    She also addressed the need for more agricultural laborers to ensure all available food is harvested and all available acres are planted.

    Listen to a recording of Ford’s fireside chat with Dr. Tiffany Heng-Moss, dean of the College of Agricultural and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
    2023 Water for Food interview - Heuermann Lecture with Beth Ford, Land O'Lakes 1:03:35

    View photos from the event here:
    2023 Water for Food Global Conference

    Agribusiness, Audio, Cooperatives, Technology, Water, Water for Food

    Des Moines to Host 3rd Annual Tech Hub LIVE

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Des Moines will once again host the third annual Tech Hub LIVE Conference and Expo, bringing together tech-enabled, data-driven agriculture practitioners for a groundbreaking conference, July 24-26 at the Iowa Events Center.

    Tech Hub LIVE, powered by CropLife Media Group™, will kick off with a 1990s-themed welcome party, sponsored by the Greater Des Moines Partnership, on July 24 at 5:30 pm. Just prior to the reception, Tech Hub LIVE has announced the inaugural meeting for Women in Ag Tech on July 24 starting at 2:00 pm.

    Central to the unique event experience is the exhibit hall, where leading companies showcase their latest products and services. Tech Hub LIVE continues to enhance its offerings by developing new elements with Fireside Tech Chats showcasing top retailers and industry leaders sharing experiences, case studies, and best practices. Roundtable Discussion Groups will be available each morning for more focused conversations with industry experts and innovators. There’s also more dedicated time available to explore companies in the exhibit hall and listen in on 10-minute Tech Talks to learn more about the technologies and solutions developed to improve operations.

    The conference sessions span a wide range of subjects, including optimizing digital strategies, the Ag Retailers’ playbook, drones, scouting and imagery tools and techniques, innovations in application equipment, attracting and retaining top talent, farm data management best practices, and advancements in autonomous equipment and robotics. There will also be sessions dedicated to ag tech risk and reward, achieving clean data collection in the field, soil sampling insights, and actionable takeaways from the 2023 Purdue/CropLife® Retail Precision Adoption Survey.

    To learn more and register for Tech Hub LIVE, visit TechHubLIVE.com. Take advantage of Early Bird discounts by registering before May 19.

    Get a taste of Tech Hub LIVE by browsing the photo albums from the first two years – 2021 in Des Moines and 2022 in Indianapolis.
    2021 Tech Hub LIVE Photo Album
    2022 Tech Hub LIVE Photo Album

    Agronomy, AgWired Precision, Tech Hub LIVE, Technology

    MyLand Grows Leadership Team with New VP

    Cindy Zimmerman

    MyLand Company, a soil health company, is pleased to announce the continued growth of the company’s leadership team with the appointment of Jerry Trotter as Vice President of Technology and Manufacturing. In his new role, Trotter will focus on integrating the technology and manufacturing teams to drive MyLand’s pioneering improvements in healthy soil on a global scale.

    A North Dakota native, Trotter brings a wealth of agriculture experience to MyLand with over 20 years of experience in sugar processing, ethanol production, and large food and farming operations. He most recently led the engineering and business analysis for RD Offutt Company where he oversaw capital projects throughout the enterprise.

    “I’ve always been involved with agriculture, and together with my background in business management this opportunity is a great fit. I am very excited to work with the MyLand team to drive success in our movement for rebuilding soil,” Trotter says.

    Trotter joined MyLand on March 29, 2023.

    people, Precision Agriculture, Soil, Technology