SAP and Syngenta Partner for AI-Assisted Agriculture

Cindy Zimmerman Leave a Comment

Jeff Rowe – CEO of Syngenta Group (left) and Christian Klein – CEO of SAP (right)

SAP SE and Syngenta today announced a new partnership to accelerate AI-assisted innovation across Syngenta’s global operations.

The partnership will embed artificial intelligence at the core of Syngenta’s enterprise, modernizing operations and enabling accelerated innovation through advanced data analytics across the business — from manufacturing and supply chain to grower-facing products and services.

Agriculture continues to navigate challenges driven by climate variability, supply chain complexity, and global uncertainty. By deploying AI-assisted tools enterprise-wide, this partnership positions Syngenta to meet the challenge of feeding a projected 10 billion people by 2050, while unlocking faster innovation, stronger operational resilience, and scalable impact across the business.

Syngenta’s transformation will begin with SAP Cloud ERP Private solutions, modernizing core operations across the value-chain to deliver agility, resilience, and scalability. The company’s ambition is clear: unlock innovation faster, strengthen its leadership in agriculture, and future-proof operations against volatility.

Through SAP Business Data Cloud, Syngenta will create a unified, more secure, and scalable data foundation essential for real-time decision-making and AI integration. Combined with SAP Business AI and AI-assisted tools such as the Joule copilot, this will help the company explore smarter, faster decisions that drive operational efficiency and accelerate innovation. Additionally, Syngenta will be able to deliver better products and services to growers worldwide while enabling them to retain control and privacy over their proprietary information.

Learn more from Syngenta.

AgWired Precision, AI, Precision Agriculture, Syngenta

Trump Signs Bill Putting Whole Milk Back in Schools

Cindy Zimmerman Leave a Comment

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 into law, allowing whole and 2% milk to return to America’s schools where it has been banned since 2012 under President Obama.

“This is the first bill signing of the new year, and it will ensure that millions of school aged children have access to high quality milk as we make America healthy again,” said President Trump during a signing ceremony in the Oval Office that included members of Congress who sponsored the bill, dairy farmers from around the country, and Secretaries Brooke Rollins and Robert F. Kennedy.

Rollins said students will have access to whole milk again as soon as possible. “USDA is posting today the new rule making that is necessary to get whole milk back into school lunches,” said Rollins, estimating it “should just take a few weeks.”

Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy called the bill “a long overdue correction that puts children’s health first.”

Listen to the ceremony remarks here:
President Trump Signs Whole Milk Act 31:21

Audio, Dairy, USDA

Regev® HBX BioPowered™ Fungicide Label Expanded

Cindy Zimmerman Leave a Comment

Summit Agro USA today announced federal approval of an expanded label for Regev HBX BioPowered Fungicide, extending its use to dry edible beans, dried shelled peas and chickpeas. The expansion provides growers of dry beans and shelled peas with an additional option to manage white mold (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum) and other economically important diseases in these crops.

White mold remains one of the most persistent and yield-limiting diseases in legume production, particularly under dense canopy conditions. Regev HBX brings to dry bean growers the same BioPowered™ Chemistry that has demonstrated strong performance against white mold in soybeans, now available on additional acres where disease pressure continues to challenge yield stability and profitability.

“This label expansion gives growers another strong option for protecting yield where white mold pressure is a constant concern,” said Eric Tedford, R&D Manager for Summit Agro USA. “Regev HBX has a proven track record in soybeans, and its multiple mechanisms of activity make it a valuable addition to disease management programs in dry beans.”

Regev HBX is part of Summit Agro USA’s BioPowered portfolio. By uniting tea tree extract and difenoconazole, Regev HBX delivers preventive, curative and anti-sporulant control with nine mechanisms of activity and only one MRL, supporting resistance management and reduced chemical load.

“BioPowered Chemistry represents the next step in crop protection and field health,” said Justin Gayliard, CEO of Summit Agro USA. “It leverages the unique benefits of biologically derived active ingredients and reinforces them with the exceptional strength of synthetic actives, delivering the consistency, performance, and convenience growers expect. These solutions are designed to fit easily into existing programs and complement a wide range of production practices.”

AgWired Precision, Biologicals, Fungicide, Precision Agriculture, Technology

Capstone Journeys in Cotton Engineering

Cindy Zimmerman Leave a Comment

Engineering students at Texas A&M are working on capstone projects that could help the cotton industry in the future.

Michael Buser is Professor and Endowed Chair in Cotton Engineering, Ginning and Mechanization at Texas A&M and he had two student teams who presented their projects at last week’s Beltwide Cotton Conferences.

“One is working on a feeder for a breeder gin stand. The other is developing a platform for crawling across cotton seed piles as an early detection for fire project,” said Buser.

Texas A&M students: Jedidiah Munsell, Lacie Horton, Reed Kallus, and Benjamin Williams

“It is their final senior project. It’s supposed to take everything that they’ve learned over their 3 1/2 years of education and pull it all together. And they’re supposed to apply that to these projects. Our projects are 100% client-based, working with industry or government individuals on these projects.”

Buser says right now the teams are about halfway done with their projects. “So they’ve got recommended solutions that their clients have signed off on. So when we get back next week, starting January 12th, These young folks are going to start building these designs that they have. They’re going to do the fabrication, they’re going to go through, do the assembly, and then they’re going to do the testing and evaluation. They’ll take those results, determine how well those designs performed, and then they’re going to go through and do redesigns until they try to, until they come close to meeting the client needs.”

Learn more in this interview with Buser.
Michael Buser, Texas A&M - interview 5:32

2026 Beltwide Cotton Conferences Photo Album

Audio, Beltwide Cotton, Cotton

USDA Secretary Addresses Key Issues at AFBF Convention

Cindy Zimmerman Leave a Comment

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins addressed the American Farm Bureau Federation convention for the first time Monday, hitting on key issues being discussed by the nation’s largest general farm organization this week.

Rollins started with the bad news. “All of America is under threat when American agriculture is under threat. And there’s no doubt that right now, American agriculture, your way of life, is under threat,” Rollins said. “According to the latest USDA Census of Agriculture, we have lost over 140,000 family farms in just the last few years. The last administration, and the one prior to the first time we were in with Trump, basically hollowed out our heartland, our factories, and our farms.”

However, Rollins says all that changed when President Trump took office again, one year ago this month. “President Trump is rebuilding the farm economy by focusing on what matters — lower costs, reliable financing, stronger markets, and fair trade.”

Listen to Rollins’ comments here:
AFBF26 USDA Secy Rollins address 29:59

AFBF, Audio, USDA

Industry Ag News 1/12

Carrie Muehling Leave a Comment

  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture released its World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates projecting a 17-billion-bushel corn supply in 2025-2026, raising alarms among the nation’s corn growers and triggering an immediate market reaction.
  • As U.S. agriculture faces incredibly strong economic and trade headwinds, what does the future hold for farmers, ranchers, agribusinesses and food companies? That’s a question at the core of the 2026 Agri-Pulse Ag and Food Policy Summit. The theme this year is: “Profit, Policy, and Possibility: Mapping the Future of Market Expansion for U.S. Agriculture.” We’ll cover everything from new value-added prospects, renewable fuels, the power of protein, artificial intelligence and more. You can register and find more information here.
  • Joe Sanders has been appointed the new executive director of the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute (DWFI) at the University of Nebraska.
  • The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture presented its 19th Book of the Year award to author Shannon Anderson for “I LOVE Blueberries.” The award was presented at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 107th Convention.
  • Join the Livestock Publications Council for the next Coffee and Collaboration on Wednesday, January 21 at 12 p.m. CT. The topic is Mapping Out 2026, with speaker Whitney (Whitaker) Dahmer, Whitney Whitaker Creative. Register here.
  • The Department of Agriculture has announced funding to maintain operations of USDA’s BioPreferred Program, which certifies products as biobased under federal standards and facilitates purchasing requirements for government agencies and contractors, through FY 2026. Following that announcement, Plant Based Products Council Executive Director James Glueck released a statement.
  • The National Association of Wheat Growers CEO Sam Kieffer issued the following statement in response to news of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reaching an interagency agreement allowing USDA to operate the Food for Peace program. “For decades, the Food for Peace program has embodied the best of American leadership—delivering life-sustaining food around the world while supporting U.S. farmers at home. NAWG is thrilled to see this agreement between USDA and the State Department and thanks the Trump Administration for initiating this common-sense move. Having USDA manage Food for Peace strengthens the program’s stability, ensures continued market opportunities for American grown crops, and safeguards in-kind food aid for the people around the world who need it most. While this agreement provides near-term certainty, we call on Congress to pass H.R. 1207 and S. 525 to permanently transfer Food for Peace to USDA.”
  • The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture released the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). The International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) appreciates the continued recognition of fruits and vegetables as central to healthy dietary patterns and the Administration’s focus on reversing diet-related chronic disease.
  • Nominations are now open for the 2027 World Food Prize, the preeminent international award for food and agriculture. The $500,000 award recognizes significant contributions in any field involved in the global food supply system. Most recently, the award was presented to Brazilian soil scientist Mariangela Hungria for her extraordinary advancements in biological nitrogen fixation, transforming the sustainability of soil health and crop nutrition for tropical agriculture. Each year the Laureate is honored in a ceremony held in parallel with the Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue, a globally renowned high-level event focusing on cutting-edge issues in food security and agriculture.
    • Zimfo Bytes

    DWFI Podcast 49 – Irrigation as a Service: A New Paradigm

    Cindy Zimmerman Leave a Comment

    In our first episode of 2026, host Frances Hayes discusses a unique approach to supporting access to irrigation for smallholder farmers with Erin Anders, Senior Program Manager at the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute.

    Farmers of all sizes in all parts of the world need access to water, inputs and financing to grow food. Irrigation as a Service (IaaS) is an emerging business model to expand irrigation access, especially to smallholder farmers, and ultimately grow more food.

    Irrigation as a Service (IaaS) has a broad definition but generally refers to the concept of third-party providers of irrigation in which the farmers do not own or maintain the equipment. The companies that arise under this business model can look very different and employ a variety of methods. However, they all unlock vital irrigation access to millions of smallholder farmers globally without the burden of high upfront costs.

    Erin and her team have been working closely with and supporting entrepreneurs across the globe who are pioneering and providing this essential irrigation as a service, including those featured in the DWFI’s recent series on IaaS. In this episode, she gives an insider’s look at the challenges and potential of this growing movement.

    DWFI podcast episode 49 27:08

    The Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute (DWFI) at the University of Nebraska was founded with the mission to have a lasting and significant impact on achieving more food security with less pressure on scarce water resources by conducting scientific and policy research, using the research results to inform policy makers, and sharing knowledge through education and communication.

    How to subscribe:

    Audio, Food, Irrigation, Water, Water for Food

    Seizing Opportunities for U.S. Cotton

    Cindy Zimmerman

    The purpose of the National Cotton Council is to increase profitability for the industry, and it is especially important when the market is down and growers are struggling.

    Marjory Walker, NCC VP Operations and Communications, presented some of the council’s recent initiatives at this week’s 2026 Beltwide Cotton Conferences. “One of the most innovative, I think, is Buying America Cotton Act, or BACA,” said Walker. “It has been introduced in the Senate. It was introduced in the House (where we) are currently looking for coalition letters for that, but the legislation rewards those who use U.S. cotton in their products…It’s a tax incentive for location and then for origin.”

    Walker also discussed the “Plant not Plastic” campaign and the involvement of the Trump administration’s MAHA commission on the dangers of microfibers and microplastics from textiles. “What we didn’t know was the textiles from inhalation, the microfibers that they shed just from a simple hug, is very detrimental. It’s present in your brain, your lungs, your heart. So the MAHA Commission was so interested in that, they ended up putting it in their commission report to dedicate research dollars to that, which I thought was outstanding.”

    Learn more in Walker’s interview and presentation to the conference.

    Seizing Opportunities for U.S. Cotton – Marjory Walker, National Cotton Council
    Marjory Walker, National Cotton Council - presentation 14:11
    Marjory Walker, NCC VP Operations and Communications, interview
    Marjory Walker, National Cotton Council - interview 4:34

    2026 Beltwide Cotton Conferences Photo Album

    Audio, Beltwide Cotton, Cotton

    Precision Ag News 1/9

    Carrie Muehling

  • Loveland Products, Inc. has announced the launch of AQUA FORCE, a new kind of water use efficiency product designed mainly for center pivot systems. Unlike traditional soil surfactants or wetting agents, AQUA FORCE helps water move more evenly through the soil, stay where plants need it, and work harder for every acre.
  • The University of Florida is partnering with Agtools to evaluate the impact of emerging data analysis technology on market decision-making in agriculture. This partnership aims to develop a market analysis framework using the Agtools Data Analytics Platform, which will focus on at least two fresh produce commodities that are important to Florida’s agricultural industry.
  • Nutrien eKonomics, a trusted agronomic resource that provides farmers with practical insights and decision-making tools, has introduced two new calculators to help growers and agronomists plan for the upcoming season: the input planning and the dry fertilizer calculators. The input planning calculator helps farmers evaluate a variety of farm inputs, including fixed and variable costs, equipment and labor spend, and fertilizer investments. Farmers can model yield goals, input costs, and market prices to project break-even points on a per-acre basis. The input planning calculator also allows for crop-by-crop comparisons by forecasting before planting to provide insight about different crop mix opportunities in the season ahead.
  • NewLife Biosciences LLC, a technology and manufacturing based biological solutions company in the agricultural industry, is excited to announce the approval of an important microbial patent for soil and crop health for uses in agriculture. This patent will allow NewLife Bio to produce and provide Remediate™ products to help significantly accelerate the breakdown of pesticide residues.
  • Bayer announced the launch of Baya Solara, the first commercial strawberry variety from Bayer’s De Ruiter brand. The launch is a vital part of the company’s strategic expansion into the strawberry market and follows Bayer’s acquisition of the strawberry assets from UK-based NIAB in 2023. The introduction of the new variety reinforces Bayer’s commitment to providing innovative solutions to protected culture growers and sets a new standard in soft fruit cultivation. Strawberries are among the fastest-growing fruit crops, with year-round demand exceeding supply.
  • During a media briefing at CES 2026, Kubota reiterated its global vision to become an Essentials Innovator for Supporting Life—committed to enriching lives and building a brighter future through technology innovation. At the heart of this vision is Kubota’s mission to solve pressing global challenges such as skilled labor shortages, an aging farming population, and the need to feed a growing world. By delivering reliable, versatile, and intuitive equipment, Kubota empowers customers to work more easily and productively, enhancing their lifestyles while naturally delivering sustainability benefits along the way.
  • PowerPollen and Oxbo announced the first mechanized pollination solution for corn seed production, enabling seed companies to directly purchase, integrate, and scale the system ahead of the 2026 growing season. This exclusive partnership leverages PowerPollen’s second-generation technology stack with Oxbo’s 5180 high-clearance power units for a true breakthrough in commercial pollination technology.
  • Bushel Plus Ltd., the global leader in harvest optimization technology, today announced the launch of its new X9 Split Frame MAD Concaves, purpose-built for John Deere X9 Series Combines. Designed to maximize throughput, reduce dockage, and simplify crop transitions, this modular concave system sets a new standard for combine performance and operator safety.
    • AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

    Water for Food Institute Names New Executive Director

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Incoming DWFI Director Joe Sanders

    A new executive director of the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute (DWFI) at the University of Nebraska has been appointed.

    Joe Sanders will step in to the role just vacated by the retirement of Peter McCornick at the end of 2025, after nearly a decade of dedicated service to the institute. Sanders will officially assume the executive director position on Feb. 1, 2026, and brings more than 27 years of experience as an international development leader, designing and managing large-scale programs across Africa, Asia and Latin America. Throughout his career, Sanders has led eight major initiatives totaling over $330 million, with a focus on agricultural market systems, food security, climate resilience, irrigation, youth livelihoods and governance.

    DWFI is one of three University of Nebraska (NU) institutes in which talented experts across all four campuses come together to find innovative solutions to challenges facing our state, nation and world. DWFI addresses the complex challenges of water and food security, and its work directly supports the university’s commitment to local impact with global reach.

    As DWFI executive director, Sanders will provide leadership, strategic direction and oversight for the institute’s three primary missions of research, education, and policy, while continuing to build DWFI as a global leader and partner in the international water and food communities.

    Agribusiness, Food, Research, University, Water, Water for Food