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

    Cotton Consultants Conference Covers the Latest

    Cindy Zimmerman

    From what’s new in crop protection technology from the major players, to what’s new that could impact this growing season, the 2026 Beltwide Cotton Consultants Conference covered the waterfront on the first day Wednesday.

    Conference coordinator Hank Jones was pleased to see a good crowd. “We had a very good turnout from around the belt,” said Jones. “I know there’s people here from Georgia, consultants from Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, I’m from Louisiana, of course, Texas and other states … we had a room full in the big hall, so that was good to see.”

    Emerging topics included the Cotton Jassid pest and Syngenta’s new insecticide Vertento®, as well as research into a new phenomenon being seen.

    “One very exciting thing that we were able to do this year was invite a grad student from the University of Tennessee, Ms. Gabriella Marcotti, to present on her research that is funded by the Cotton Foundation, which is an entity of the National Cotton Council about the aborted terminal phenomenon that we’re seeing in various regions of the Cotton Belt,” said Jones.

    Attendees also got updates from USDA and the National Cotton Council, as well as a Meteorological Update with Eric Snodgrass from Nutrien.

    The 2026 Beltwide Cotton Conferences continue through tomorrow with technical conferences on a variety of topics including agronomy and soil, economics and marketing, ginning, sustainability, weed science, and much more.

    Hank Jones, Consultants Conference interview 7:17

    2026 Beltwide Cotton Conferences Photo Album

    Audio, Beltwide Cotton, Cotton

    Syngenta Spotlights New Insecticide at Cotton Conferences

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Syngenta’s PLINAZOLIN® technology just received registration from the Environmental Protection Agency last month and is now available for use, subject to state approvals, powering five separate insecticide products including Vertento® for cotton.

    Tripp Walker, Syngenta agronomic service rep, gave a presentation at the Beltwide Cotton Consultants Conference Wednesday in San Antonio on the new foliar-applied insecticide for cotton, peanuts and onions to treat insect pests including plant bugs, thrips and mites.

    “So what we’re seeing, and it’s been tested across many crops in many different locations, is we see an extended residual activity out of this product,” said Walker. “Of course, we’ve already mentioned this several times, broad-spectrum control, including mites along with other insect pests. It’s very crop safe, we don’t see any kind of crop response. It’s very UV stable, it’s very rain fast.”

    Listen to Walker’s presentation to learn more about what Vertento® has to offer cotton growers.
    Tripp Walker, Syngenta - presentation 20:37

    2026 Beltwide Cotton Conferences Photo Album

    Audio, Beltwide Cotton, Cotton, Insecticides, Syngenta

    NewLife Bio Announces Approval for Remediate™

    Cindy Zimmerman

    NewLife Biosciences announces 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. Each Remediate™ product, available through a customized and stabilized formula, is an optimized consortium of microbes designed to break down residues of specific pesticides. The patent provides for a broad base of microbes and pesticides with which Remediate™ can be used. With these product lines, NewLife Bio can provide tailored and specific biological consortia to break down different pesticide residues much more efficiently and quickly in both soil or foliar applications.

    By identifying and blending specific microbes for specific tasks, NewLife Bio can offer various Remediate™ products to address either individual pesticide residues, or multiple groups of target residues, all within specific Remediate Products. Most importantly, NewLife’s stabilization technology will allow for pre-mixes or tank mix options for extreme flexibility of application windows for this technology.

    Remediate will become one of the first biological products in this important and expanding category of soil health. Remediate is expected to help retailers, distribution and manufacturers with one of the many challenges they face by ensuring they have the tools to help deliver optimized soil health for their customers by reducing effects of pesticides that could impact biological function and root development.

    “Remediate™ will be available in 2026 as we plan our paths to market and expand our R&D through the year for improved customization,” says Steve Stansell, CEO of NewLife Biosciences. “We believe Remediate™ will be a great tool to help growers and the supply chain around the globe succeed in this category.”

    Biologicals, Crop Protection, Soil, Sustainability

    Overview of New Invasive Pest – Cotton Jassid

    Cindy Zimmerman

    A brand new invasive pest is on the scene for cotton growers in the Southeast.

    University of Georga Extension Entomologist Phillip Roberts presented the latest information on the Cotton Jassid during the Cotton Consultants Conference yesterday in San Antonio on the first day of the 2026 Beltwide Cotton Conferences.

    “So this is an invasive insect, native to India,” said Roberts. “It was discovered in this hemisphere in Puerto Rico in 2023. The following year, in 2024, it was detected in Florida. So the first time in the U.S. was 2024. We first detected the insect in Georgia on July 9th on cotton. It was found in cotton in Florida and South Carolina about that same time. But just within a matter of weeks, the insect had really spread across the southern part of Georgia. By September, the insect was present and every cotton producing county in our state has ran up the eastern seaboard to the Virginia line and west to Mississippi and even some areas of Texas. So it expanded very, very quickly.”

    Roberts was joined by other UGA extension agents on a panel to discuss their experiences with the invasive pest. Listen below to learn more.

    Cotton Jassid – a New Invasive Pest in the Southeast – Interview with Phillip Roberts, UGA extension entomologist
    Phillip Roberts, UGA extension entomologist, interview 10:44

    Cotton Jassid panel – UGA Extension – Phillip Roberts, Will Brown, Jacob Kalina, Jeremy Kichler
    UGA extension agents Jassid panel 20:10

    2026 Beltwide Cotton Conferences Photo Album

    Audio, Beltwide Cotton, Cotton

    Industry Ag News 1/7

    Carrie Muehling

  • Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), a fourth generation rice farmer who represented much of California’s rural north in Congress, died suddenly this week. He was 65. LaMalfa represented California’s 1st Congressional District from 2013 to 2026, serving as Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus and served on the House Agriculture Committee.
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins released the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030, marking the most significant reset of federal nutrition policy in decades. The new Guidelines deliver a clear, common-sense message to the American people: eat real food.
  • U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins congratulated Dr. Seth Meyer for his years of service to our country and announced Dr. Justin Benavidez as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Chief Economist.
  • U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced the next phase in the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program (FBA), the eligible commodity per-acre payment rates. As announced earlier this month by President Trump and Secretary Rollins, $12 billion will be paid to American farmers in 2026. Of that amount, $11 billion consists of one-time FBA program payments. This is in response to four years of disastrous Biden administration policies that created record-high input and production costs, zero new trade deals, and a forgotten rural America.
  • The American Farm Bureau Convention welcomes U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins to the closing general session stage on Monday, Jan. 12. Sec. Rollins will speak about the challenges and opportunities ahead for American agriculture. A congressional panel entitled “Shaping the Future,” will take place during the mid-general session on Sunday, Jan. 11. The chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), and Ranking Member on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) will be joined by the chair of the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-Pa.), and Ranking Member of the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) to discuss their vision for the future of U.S. agriculture and their plans for 2026.
  • Members of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists are invited to apply for a seat at the IFAJ Executive Meeting and Press Tour in Brazil, March 15–20, 2026, organized by Agrojor Brazil. The week includes visits to soybean, cattle, orange, sugarcane, coffee, poultry, flower, and biologicals production, plus expert briefings and cultural highlights around São Paulo. Click here to apply by January 9.
  • U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) announced the promotion of two staff members to key posts in Southeast Asia and the addition of two international staff members. The shifts reflect a shared commitment across USW’s global operations to build on recent momentum, continue to grow demand for U.S. wheat and drive innovation in the organization’s market development activities.
  • Producers can improve the bottom-line of their farming operation with knowledge, connections and information gained at the 49th annual Georgia Peanut Farm Show and Conference, held at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference Center, Jan. 15, 2026. The show ­hours will be 8:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Peanut farmers and those involved in the peanut industry will be able to learn more about the latest products, services and peanut research at the show, which is sponsored by the Georgia Peanut Commission.
  • U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced the eligible commodity per-acre payment rates for the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program (FBA). Eligible peanut producers can expect to receive $55.65 per acre by February 28, 2026.
  • AgCareers awarded the fourth annual USA Feed Your Future Scholarship to Sarah Witte, a University of Arizona student. Witte is studying Systems Engineering and minoring in Food Science, Fermentation, and Biosystems Engineering. AgCareers created the Feed Your Future $1,000 scholarship to assist financially a post-secondary student studying agriculture or intending to pursue a career in agriculture. The application process required students to respond to essay questions, including: “Why did you decide to pursue a career in agriculture or food?”
    • Zimfo Bytes

    PowerPollen and Oxbo Partner for Mechanized Corn Seed Pollination

    Cindy Zimmerman

    PowerPollen® and Oxbo have announced the first mechanized pollination solution for corn seed production to allow seed companies to directly purchase, integrate, and scale the system ahead of the 2026 growing season. The partnership leverages PowerPollen’s second-generation technology stack with Oxbo’s 5180 high-clearance power units for a true breakthrough in commercial pollination technology.

    For the first time, seed companies and their service providers can purchase complete pollination units to control in-field pollination at scale, improving seed set, mitigating environmental and timing risks, and enhancing yield potential across commercial acres. Units are available exclusively to current PowerPollen license holders and fully supported by Oxbo with comprehensive sales, service, and technical support.

    “This launch is more than just new equipment—it represents a turning point for our customers and for PowerPollen,” said Carl Cox, CEO of PowerPollen. “For the first time, seed companies don’t have to rely on limited-service windows. They can own the technology, run it on their schedule, and integrate it directly into their operations. That shift not only scales pollination in a historically unprecedented manner, it also represents PowerPollen’s unyielding commitment to the success of our customers. With this product offering, PowerPollen is pioneering innovation to deliver durable commercial solutions that generate unique value for our customers and strengthen the entire seed production system.”

    The agreement runs through 2030 and PowerPollen co-founder Jason Cope says seeing their technology become commercially available through this partnership is very rewarding. “We believe this is just the beginning of what’s possible when breakthrough biological innovation is scaled through world-class engineering and manufacturing partnerships,” said Cope.

    The new pollination collectors and applicators integrate seamlessly with existing Oxbo power units and will also be available as an upgrade with new equipment purchases.

    Learn more in this interview with Cope.
    PowerPollen co-founder Jason Cope 7:55

    AgWired Precision, Audio, Equipment, pollinators, Precision Agriculture, Seed, Technology

    Animal Ag News 1/5

    Carrie Muehling

  • As of Dec.1, there were 75.5 million hogs and pigs on U.S. farms, up one percent from December 2024 and up slightly from Sept. 1, 2025, according to the Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
  • The National Pork Board (NPB) welcomes five appointees to serve a three-year term ending in June 2028, and one appointee to serve a two-year term ending in June 2027. Congratulations to the following producer leaders: Chad Groves, Kansas; Jessica Stevens, Ohio; Paul Ayers, Illinois; Dwight Mogler, Iowa; John Rauser, Montana; and Jeremy Burkett, Wyoming (two-year term).
  • The Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act, modernizing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), has passed the House. House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR) and Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) originally sponsored this bill to speed up NEPA permitting processes. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and Public Lands Council (PLC) have consistently pushed to modernize NEPA to allow livestock producers to be able to quickly carry out critical conservation work.
  • The Pet and Livestock Protection Act, introduced by Reps. Tom Tiffany (R-WI) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO) passed the House with a bipartisan vote. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and Public Lands Council (PLC) have been strong supporters of this legislation which would reissue the 2020 rule delisting gray wolves in the lower 48 states and ensure that the delisting cannot be overturned in federal court again.
  • Updated research, supported by the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), was released quantifying the U.S. poultry industry’s on-farm antibiotic use. The updated report shows continued improved antibiotic stewardship and commitment to disease prevention within poultry production. As part of its commitment to a transparent and sustainable food supply, the poultry industry works to balance the responsible use of antibiotics considered “medically important” to human health with the need to maintain healthy poultry flocks.
  • USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation announce the completion of a research project focused on creating a messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine platform for two major poultry viruses: infectious bronchitis virus and infectious laryngotracheitis virus. The research is part of the Association’s comprehensive research program encompassing all phases of poultry and egg production and processing and is made possible in part through proceeds from the International Poultry Expo, part of the International Production & Processing Expo.
  • The U.S. Poultry & Egg Association will host its annual Poultry Market Intelligence Forum at the 2026 International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) in Atlanta, Ga. This year’s forum will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, and is complimentary for all registered IPPE attendees.
    • AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites

    2026 Starts with Beltwide Cotton Conferences

    Cindy Zimmerman

    The National Cotton Council and its cooperating partners will be ringing in the new year with the 2026 Beltwide Cotton Conferences January 7 through 9 at the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter, San Antonio, Texas.

    Beltwide Coordinator Lauren Krogman says the conference includes three days of individual reports, panel discussions, hands-on workshops and seminars designed to provide attendees with information they need to help producers make key cotton production/marketing-related decisions.

    “So there’s 11 total conferences and 10 of those run concurrently throughout the meeting,” said Krogman. “I’d like to highlight the Cotton Consultants Conference, which is scheduled for the afternoon of January 7th, which is the first day. Presentations include a panel discussion on emerging pests and invasive species, including the new cotton jassid bug. A report on PLINAZOLIN will be provided, as well as reports on resistance monitoring and cotton aborted terminal phenomena.”

    The Beltwide Cotton Technical Conferences provide findings from current research and updates on emerging technology and programs aimed at elevating US cotton production and processing efficiencies. Those sessions meet concurrently beginning the morning of January 8th and conclude by noon on January 9th, with a total of 310 presentations scheduled.

    Learn more in this interview with Krogman.
    Beltwide Cotton Conferences preview - Lauren Krogman 3:54

    Audio, Beltwide Cotton, Cotton