California Ag Network

Category: Ag Economics

  • Helping Reduce Methane Emissions by Solving a Sticky Problem for U.S. Produce Exporters

    USDA Foreign Ag Service — We see them every time we purchase fresh fruits and vegetables: price look up (PLU) labels. The little coin-size stickers are stuck to everything from apples, bananas, and cantaloupes to watermelons, yams, and zucchini.

    According to the Sustainable Packaging Coalition , PLU labels have been used globally for more than 30 years with the International Federation for Produce Standards issuing more than 1,400 PLU codes.

    PLU labels offer many benefits to the agriculture, trade, and retail industries. The labels lower costs and optimize handling by digitizing supply chain management, minimizing packaging, and reducing time at the point of purchase – something we can all appreciate when rushing through the self-checkout lane. When it comes to agricultural trade, PLU codes also help exporters and importers consistently and quickly identify and track products across the globe. Whether you purchase a Red Delicious apple in the United States, Mexico, or Vietnam, the PLU code is the same.

    USDA Research Chemist Dr. Gabriel Patterson pours one of the experimental home compostable adhesives to sticker backing during the research process. The team tested more than 100 formulas to determine the top three adhesive (photo by James McManus).

    Unfortunately, PLU labels have also created a sticky situation for composters, the environment, and even U.S. exporters. Why? PLU labels are not biodegradable, which means they contaminate produce that’s tossed in the compost pile or sent to commercial composting facilities. As a result, the produce generally ends up in landfills, which creates more food waste, increases methane emissions, and negatively affects climate change.

    Several countries, led by France and New Zealand, have enacted legislation that will require PLU labels to be certified home compostable. This has posed a challenge for U.S. exporters by creating a trade barrier that puts millions of dollars of U.S. fresh fruit and vegetable exports at risk. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has stepped in to help solve the problem in an effort to help reduce trade barriers and mitigate climate change.

    With research and development funds provided by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service’s (FAS) Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops Program, FAS and USDA’s Agricultural Research Service are working to produce compostable PLU labels. FAS and ARS are collaborating with the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) and Sinclair Systems International to meet the EU standards. The goal is to develop adhesives that are both food-safe and compostable. When achieved, this will allow American companies to export fruits and vegetables as usual while helping to decrease food waste and methane emissions.

    Scientists at the USDA Western Regional Research Center in Albany, CA apply test and control PLU labels to grapefruits and sweet potatoes to evaluate their effectiveness (photo by James McManus).

    To date, the research team has tested more than 100 formulas to determine the top three adhesives that produce the desired biodegradation process. The team is performing final tests to confirm that these bio-based adhesives pass the home-compostable degradation test. They will then tackle scale-up adhesive coating trials as a key milestone toward commercialization.

    USDA has also coordinated closely with the IFPA on outreach and education to U.S. produce exporters to demonstrate the benefits of greener, environmentally friendly PLU labels and adhesives. Once implemented, the new PLU labels and adhesives will solve a sticky problem for U.S. exporters and ultimately help reduce methane emissions, another step towards more sustainable agricultural production and trade.

  • Rhone Rangers To Honor Sonoma Wine Grape Grower Frederic Cline

    The national Rhone Rangers will present its seventh Lifetime Achievement Award on Saturday, June 24, 2023, to recognize the significant contributions made by an individual to the American Rhone wine movement. This year’s honor will be bestowed to Frederic Cline, founder and owner of Cline Family Cellars in Sonoma, CA. Cline is also one of the original founders of the Rhone Rangers organization.

    A native of Los Angeles, Frederic Cline spent his summers as a teenager in Contra Costa County at his grandfather Valeriano’s farm. Valeriano, an Italian immigrant, shared with Cline a European approach to winemaking, and taught him how to farm grapes with care and intention. This sparked a lifelong love of agriculture and winemaking, with Cline attending U.C. Davis to study viticulture.

    In 1982, Frederic Cline started Cline Family Cellars in Oakley, California, making his first vintages from original plantings of head-trained and dry-farmed Mourvèdre, Zinfandel, and Carignane, with some plantings dating back to the 1880s. In 1989, Cline and his wife Nancy purchased a 350-acre horse ranch property in the Los Carneros region of Sonoma County, which is home to the present-day location of Cline Family Cellars. Cline’s love for Rhone varietals led him to initially plant Syrah, Viognier, Marsanne, and Roussanne, which were viewed with skepticism at the time. To help raise awareness for these obscure varietals, Cline co-pioneered, with other industry legends, the original Rhone Rangers. Cline has devoted his career to sustainable farming practices in the vineyard, the preservation of heritage vineyards in Contra Costa, and to his passion for sharing the highest quality Rhone-style wines with the world at accessible price points.  Cline Family Cellars will celebrate forty-one years in business this year. “It is a great pleasure that the Rhone Rangers have the privilege of honoring foundational leaders in the wine industry with the Lifetime Achievement honor.  Fred and his family have never wavered from their dedication to crafting fine wines from the classic Rhone varieties. They have built a foundation for all Rhone Rangers making wines from these varieties in the United States today,” noted national Rhone Rangers President Craig Camp of Troon Vineyard.

    Past Rhone Rangers Lifetime Achievement honors have been awarded to notable Rhone wine luminaries, including Randall Grahm – Bonny Doon Vineyard (2013), Robert Haas – Tablas Creek Vineyard (2014), Robert “Bob” Lindquist – Qupé/Lindquist Family Wines (2015), Bill Easton – Terre Rouge (2016), Sondra Bernstein – the girl and the fig (2017), and Gary Eberle -Eberle Winery (2021).

    The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Frederic Cline during the Rhone Rangers Summer Gala evening wine dinner, to be held at Cline Family Cellars on June 24, 2023.  The evening will include eminent speakers from the Rhone wine community and a stellar selection of Cline Family wines, in the exquisite outdoor setting of Cline Family Cellars.  Tickets are $250 per person and include a multi-course dinner, in addition to VIP Access to reserve wines at the afternoon wine tasting. The afternoon Rhone Rangers wine tasting will be held on the Cabana Lawn at the winery, featuring 30 Rhone Ranger wineries from throughout the national organization, representing Sonoma, Napa, Lodi, El Dorado, Lake County, Paso Robles, Santa Barbara County, Oregon, and Texas. Wine tasting only tickets are available for $75 per person. For tickets and additional information on participating wineries, please visit www.rhonerangers.org.

    About the Rhone Rangers

    Founded in 1998, the Rhone Rangers are a group of 100+ wineries throughout the United States dedicated to making wines from the 22 grape varieties originally made famous in France’s Rhône Valley. These varieties range from the better-known Syrah and Viognier to the up-and-coming Mourvèdre, Grenache, and Roussanne, and obscure grapes like Counoise and Picpoul.

    The Rhone Rangers started from a small gathering of American vintners who began meeting informally in the 1980s. As their numbers expanded, the non-profit organized under the name “Rhone Rangers,” with a focus on promoting the enjoyment of Rhône varietal wines produced in the United States. These grapes include the 22 traditional varieties approved by the French government for the Côtes du Rhône, as well as Durif (Petite Sirah). For a wine to qualify as a Rhone Rangers wine, the winery must be a member of the national organization and 75% of the wine’s content must include one or more of the twenty-two traditional Rhone grape varieties. For more information, please visit www.rhonerangers.org.

  • Crop Science Society of America Announces New Leadership

    The Crop Science Society of America (CSSA) announced its newly elected leaders for the next office term, beginning January 2024.

    The CSSA annual election, which was held March 6 – April 6, 2023, was open to all members of the Society. Candidates, either self-nominated or nominated by others, ran for positions including President, a member of the Board of Directors, and Division Chairs. Elected leaders represent members of the Society as a whole, and make decisions on areas such as how time and money are spent on programs and resources.

    The following individuals will serve during the 2024 term:

    President-Elect
    Mark E. Sorrells (Cornell University)

    Division Chair Leadership

    Division C-1 Crop Breeding and Genetics Chair-Elect
    Aaron J. Lorenz (University of Minnesota Agronomy & Plant Genetics)

    Division C-2 Crop Physiology and Metabolism Chair-Elect
    Cristiane Pilon (University of Georgia-Tifton)

    Division C-3 Crop Ecology, Management & Quality Chair-Elect
    Mark A. Licht (Iowa State University)

    Division C-4 Seed Physiology, Production, & Technology Chair-Elect
    Karen A. Cichy (USDA-ARS)

    Division C-5 Turfgrass Science Chair-Elect
    Aaron J. Patton (Purdue University)

    Division C-6 Forage & Grazinglands Chair-Elect
    David Mirabedini Jaramillo (U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center)

    Division C-7 Genomics, Molecular Genetics, and Biotechnology Chair-Elect
    Michael J. Thomson (Texas A&M University)

    Division C-8 Plant Genetic Resources Chair-Elect
    Vivian M. Bernau (USDA-ARS)

    Division C-9 Crops for Nutrition and Health Chair-Elect
    D. Jo Heuschele (USDA-ARS Plant Science Research Unit)

    Board Representative Leadership

    Graduate Student Board Representative
    Tina Marie Sullivan (Utah State University)

    Division C-2 Crop Physiology and Metabolism Board Representative
    John L. Snider (University of Georgia-Tifton)

    Division C-5 Turfgrass Science Board Representative
    Cale A. Bigelow (Purdue University)

    CSSA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Member-at-Large Board Representative
    Geoffrey Michael Koch (University of California-Davis)

    President-elect Mark Sorrells earned his Ph.D. in Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and is a professor in the Department of Plant Breeding & Genetics at Cornell University. Sorrells comes with an extensive leadership background, holding many elected positions throughout his professional career.

    As part of his vision statement, Sorrells’ plan for CSSA is to create a diverse and inclusive workforce that can innovate and apply sustainable plant science solutions. He hopes that by enhancing crop production systems, it will nourish a growing world population while protecting the environment.

    Jim Cudahy, Chief Executive Officer of the Alliance of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Science Societies, welcomes the newly elected leadership, saying, “I am looking forward to working with this talented and dedicated group of leaders and extend a warm welcome in their new roles. I know they will enhance and strengthen the Society they serve.”

    CSSA is also part of the Alliance of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Science Societies (ACSESS): a nonprofit organization providing management and administrative, support services to founding members, the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and Soil Science Society of America (SSSA). The headquarters office is located in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

    For more information and to learn about the Society and its leadership, visit our Governance webpage: www.crops.org/about-society/governance

    American Society of Agronomy, Soil Science Society of America, Crop Science Society of America: Collectively, these Societies represent more than 12,000 individual members around the world. Members are researchers and professionals in the areas of growing our world’s food supply while protecting our environment. Together we work toward solutions to advance scientific knowledge in the areas of agronomy, crop science, and soil science.

    Twitter: @ASA_CSSA_SSSA & @SSSA_soils | Facebook: ASA, CSSA & SSSA | Instagram: @sustainablefoodsupply & @iheartsoil

  • Sam Smidt Named AFT’s New Director of Land Use and Protection Research

    American Farmland Trust has named Sam Smidt as National Director of Land Use and Protection Research to develop and implement the organization’s land use protection research agenda.

    Among his duties, Smidt will lead the Land Use and Protection Research Initiative, which includes and builds upon the existing Farms Under Threat projects. He will also be part of both AFT’s internal virtual research team that discusses and prioritizes overall research needs and AFT’s farmland protection unit which will work with Sam to help identify and prioritize research questions that could advance farmland protection and retention efforts and AFT’s policy and program development.

    “We could not be any more thrilled and grateful for someone with Sam’s impressive background to lead AFT’s efforts to advance farmland protection and retention,” said Beth Sauerhaft, AFT Vice President of Programs. “Sam is a natural leader, and his extensive agricultural background will prove invaluable in advancing AFT’s mission of promoting sound farming practices and keeping farmers on the land.”

    Smidt’s career in academia and agriculture has prepared him well for his new leadership role at AFT. As an Assistant Professor at The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Smidt was director of the Land and Water Lab which was widely regarded for its elite teaching and research related to sustainable agricultural and natural resources management. With an extensive agricultural background, Smidt is skilled at evaluating and modeling land transformation impacts on human and natural systems. He is active among private, non-profit, governmental, and intergovernmental organizations, and is currently funded by the United States Department of Agriculture and the National Science Foundation.

    Smidt is a native of Morton, Illinois, the pumpkin capital of the world, and he has graduate degrees in both earth and environmental science and policy from Michigan State University and The University of Iowa.

    “I cannot think of too many places where I’d want to progress from my academic career and apply what I have learned thus far than with AFT,” said Smidt. “Joining AFT is an ideal next step in my career to build upon the work I have done in agriculture and land protection and take it to new heights. I am excited about the chance to be creative, build upon existing work of projects such as Farms Under Threat, and shape the future of AFT’s protection research and policy.”

    American Farmland Trust is the only national organization that takes a holistic approach to agriculture, focusing on the land itself, the agricultural practices used on that land, and the farmers and ranchers who do the work. AFT launched the conservation agriculture movement and continues to raise public awareness through our No Farms, No Food message. Since our founding in 1980, AFT has helped permanently protect over 6.8 million acres of agricultural lands, advanced environmentally-sound farming practices on millions of additional acres and supported thousands of farm families.

  • Building a More Heat Tolerant Plant Starts with Genes

    In a warming world, scientists at the University of Florida are looking for ways to help crops beat the heat.

    A new study identifies genes that may help plants cope with high temperature stress, setting the stage for developing crops bred for enhanced heat tolerance, said Bala Rathinasabapathi, senior author of the study and a professor in the UF/IFAS horticultural sciences department.

    Some plant species are more sensitive to heat than others. But when temperatures rise above what a species can typically withstand, the plants become stressed, often producing smaller yields, Rathinasabapathi explained.

    “Our program has been studying how plants respond to high temperature stress and designing new ways to improve the tolerance levels of crops. When we placed plants under controlled conditions and increased the temperatures, we noticed that young leaves were affected much less than older leaves,” Rathinasabapathi said.

    “This observation prompted us to question the cause of such a difference,” he added. “We rationalized that if we could identify the genes that are involved in young leaves’ tolerance to high temperature stress, it will provide testable ideas to improve heat stress tolerance of crops.”

    In the experiment, study co-author Qingyuan Xiang, a Ph.D. student in Rathinasabapathi’s lab during the study, tested how the plant Arabidopsis thaliana changes its gene expression in response to extreme heat. Arabidopsis is often used in the plant sciences because it grows relatively quickly and its genetics are well understood, making it a good candidate for experiments aiming to understand plants’ genetic response to different environmental conditions.

    In the tests, the scientists exposed some Arabidopsis plants to high heat — 107.6 degrees Fahrenheit — while others were placed in more typical non-stress conditions. After one hour under high heat, the researchers took samples of the plants’ young and old leaves and repeated the process again after 10 hours. The scientists then analyzed gene expression patterns in young and old leaves.

    By sampling at different times, the researchers were able to see how gene expression progressed in the young leaves compared with older leaves. They also compared those patterns to those in plants not exposed to heat.

    Gene expression occurs when a specific portion of DNA is activated in a specific part of that organism under specific conditions, Rathinasabapathi said. Plant breeders look to gene expression for clues about which genes play a role in different scenarios — such as extreme heat — in the hopes of developing plants with genetic traits that allow them to perform better in those scenarios.

    “The current study provided us lists of specific genes that may have functions in heat stress tolerance in plants. In the future, we will aim to test those genes for their potential connections to heat stress tolerance in plants and even use them in breeding strategies,” Rathinasabapathi said. — By Samantha Murray, University of Florida 

  • California FFA Elects 2023-2024 State FFA Officer Team

    Students from Gustine, Salinas-Rancho San Juan, Temecula-Saint Jeanne, Chino-Don Lugo, McArthur-Fall River, and Visalia El Diamantewere elected by delegates at the 95th Annual State FFA Leadership Conference to serve as 2023-24 State FFA Officers.

    • President: Austin Bell
    • Vice President: Sierra Short
    • Secretary: Makena Stanisai
    • Treasurer: Sydney Marich
    • Reporter: Piper Lakey
    • Sentinel: Thomas Rosa

    Candidates take part in an extensive online and in-person interview process with the State FFA Nominating Committee leading up to the election. The new team was announced during the closing session of the 95th State FFA Leadership Conference on Tuesday, March 19.

    After reviewing applications and conducting virtual interviews with 49 applicants, the Nominating Committee selected 31 individuals to advance to in-person interviews, which were conducted during the State FFA Conference. Candidates underwent nine rounds of interviews with the State Nominating Committee before being slated and elected by the California Association FFA delegation.

    State officers commit to a year of service to the California Association FFA. Throughout their year of service, the officers will interact with business and industry leaders, thousands of FFA members and teachers, corporate sponsors, government and education officials, local FFA leaders, and the general public.

    The team will lead personal growth and leadership training conferences for FFA members throughout the state and help set policies that will guide the future of FFA in California and lead the next generation of leaders.

    To obtain additional information about the new state officer team, contact Charles Parker, State FFA Advisor and program manager for agricultural education for the California Department of Education, at cparker@cde.ca.gov.

    About California FFA: The California Association FFA is part of a school-based national youth leadership development organization of more than 850,000 FFA members in 8,995 local FFA chapters across all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

  • Students Recognized for Excellence in Support of Ag Industry

    Four Fresno State students in the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology were recognized with ag scholar awards at the Jordan Agricultural Research Center.

    Plant science graduate students Margaret Fernando (of Ames, Iowa) and Bianey Medina Garcia (Salinas), plant science senior Kiera Searcy (Hanford) and agricultural business senior Ashleigh Sorensen (Sanger) were selected for the honors based on their passion, growth and innovation in various industries. The awards were presented at a ceremony on April 21, when each student received a $500 scholarship from 23rd District Assemblyman Jim Patterson.

    Fernando has published her master’s research on cover crops as a weed management tool and her oral presentations won first place among graduate student entrants at the 2022 Central California Research Symposium and third place at the 2022 California Weed Science Society conference.

    Her emphasis on sustainable agriculture led her to a biological science technician position at the USDA Agricultural Research Service station. At the Parlier research station, she has studied ways to improve soil health, weed pressure, grapevine development and crop water dynamics in a vineyard cover crop project. She has shared her agronomy experience with others through the FFA pruning contest, UC Master Gardner’s workshop and Avenal State Prison Insight Garden Program. She has also been active in community outreach efforts that share produce with community and campus food shelters. She will pursue a doctoral degree in soil and water science with a focus on agroecology at the University of Florida.

    Medina Garcia has shared her experience raising strawberries and other vegetables in the Salinas Valley to help her fellow campus Plant Science Club students to grow produce to donate to campus and local food cupboards. She worked with local companies to donate many of the seeds, irrigation equipment and other materials. Examples of the club’s professional development and community and industry outreach efforts helped it win the President’s Trophy at the Students of Agronomy, Soils and Environmental Sciences national convention.

    She also shared her agronomy experience with Fowler Lone Star 4-H students learning to raise vegetables, then shared a related recipe and emphasized the importance of good nutrition. Born in Michoacán, Mexico, she remembers seeing her immigrant parents work long hours in the fields in the Salinas Valley starting at a young age, and she said she is equally committed to helping feed the world. After an internship with FMC Ag Science studying field applications, she now works for Nutrien as an assistant research technician and studies technologies, tools and products that improve plant and soil health, which include various adjuvants that are part of her master’s research.

    Searcy has conducted research comparing chemical and no-chemical weed control methods for lavender plants in a nursery lathe house, and her poster presentation won first place in the 2023 California Weed Science Society undergraduate competition. She has also assisted in research with plant science faculty examining chickweed herbicide resistance in the Central Valley. As a campus horticulture nursery student assistant, she has helped propagate 3,000 to 4,000 seedlings for a Sierra Club Merced Chapter milkweed project to increase monarch butterfly forage areas.

    She has also been a part of community outreach programs tied to the Insight Garden Program at Avenal State Prison, Amendola Family Student Cupboard, 4-H groups and student tours at the campus nursery. A national tri-society student recognition recipient, she has shared her agronomy experience as a campus irrigation club treasurer, FFA Field Day volunteer, and member of the campus soils club, Plant Science Club and arboretum task force. This summer she will travel to the University of Kentucky to start a graduate program in weed science.

    Sorensen, who is a third-generation stone fruit, almond and citrus farmer, has analyzed the latest trends in nearby land choices for the nation’s leading farming area for her Jordan College Honors Cohort research project. She has identified correlations between acreage, production and total value for a recent, 20-year range to help policymakers better understand how technology, environmental conditions and technology advancements are affecting the production of various commodities.

    The 4.0 student has also served as a campus ASI senator and Agricultural Business Club outreach coordinator, and as a member of the Smittcamp Family Honors College student board, Jordan College Student Leadership Council and Ag Ambassadors. The former intern for Farm Credit West, Family Tree Farms and Wagon Wheel Farms looks forward to working as the director of business for California Berry Genetics after graduation.

    For more information on the awards, contact Alisha Gallon at Alisha.Gallon@asm.ca.gov or 559.446.2029.

    Fresno State Jordan College Dean Rolston St. Hilaire at Ag Scholar Awards presentation on April 21, 2023, Jordan Agricultural Research Center (photo by Geoff Thurner).

  • Caring People and Happy Cows – Where Quality Milk Begins

    Nearly 100 milk quality professionals from 16 U.S. states – from New York to California – and three more countries attended the National Mastitis Council (NMC) Regional Meeting, held May 2-4, in Visalia, Calif. The event attracted dairy processors, veterinarians, dairy producers, researchers, milking equipment dealers and dairy suppliers.

    Rolland Rosa Leads dairy tour

    “As the top milk-producing state, California provided an excellent home for this year’s NMC Regional Meeting that revolved around the theme, ‘Caring People and Happy Cows – Where Quality Milk Begins’,” stated Alfonso Lago of DairyExperts and the 2023 regional meeting program chair. “Those in attendance gained hands-on experiences and took home practical information to further the dairy industry’s pursuit in producing and marketing outstanding quality milk. Furthermore, they learned about moving milk from being a commodity to a value-added product. Opportunities abound for milk reaching beyond its current ‘commodity status’.”

    Rolland Rosa at M.F. Rosa Dairy discussing dairy nutrition

    The NMC Regional Meeting showcased a variety of topics, including selective treatment of clinical mastitis, teat sealant expectations, selective dry cow therapy, bedding management, quality milk production in automated milking systems, genomics, precision dairy technologies, genetic selection for mastitis resistance and nutrition’s impact on udder health. Additionally, some attendees participated in specialized short courses that addressed milking system evaluations, employee hiring, training and motivation, troubleshooting mastitis and milk quality challenges, and economics related to milk quality interventions. Furthermore, some participants toured M.R. Rosa Dairy and River Ranch Dairy, Hanford, Calif.

    Alfonso Lago of DairyExperts addressing attendees at River Ranch Dairy Farm tour

    NMC thanks its regional meeting sponsors who contributed to the program’s success. The Premier sponsor was DairyExperts. Platinum sponsors included Boehringer Ingelheim and Merck Animal Health. The Gold sponsors were Dairy Farmers of America and OZOLEA. Silver sponsors included Alltech, ThermoFisher Scientific, Zinpro and Corner Window Communications.

    The National Mastitis Council 63rd Annual Meeting is scheduled for Jan. 29-Feb. 1, 2024, in Dallas. Next year’s NMC Regional Meeting is tentatively set for early July in Belgium.

    National Mastitis Council is a professional organization devoted to reducing mastitis and enhancing milk quality. NMC promotes research and provides information to the dairy industry on udder health, milking management, milk quality and milk safety. Founded in 1961, NMC has about 1,000 members in more than 40 countries throughout the world.

  • Animal Ag Alliance Summit Speakers Discuss Strategic Attack on Animal Agriculture

    A recording pass to the Animal Agriculture Alliance’s 2023 Stakeholders Summit is available through May 19 to those who were not able to attend in person. Purchase your pass here! The event, themed “Partners in Progress: Building a Sustainable Future for Animal Ag,” was held in Arlington, Va. May 4-5 and attracted nearly 320 attendees. A highlights report with key quotes and takeaways will be available soon.

    The 2023 Summit featured a dynamic group of speakers from across commodities and the food supply chain and included an opening keynote from Ray Starling, former agriculture advisor to the president and general counsel of the North Carolina Chamber. Starling emphasized the theme of this year’s event by highlighting the need to make connections and reach those outside of our silos.

    The premise of Starling’s “Farmers Versus Foodies” concept and the idea behind his book of the same name is that those of us involved in food production are proud of the current state of our food system, while those who are not involved or connected think the system is “broken.” According to Starling, this belief stems from investor influence, policymakers that are increasingly removed from the farm, and legal schools promulgating the notion. “What we are seeing happen on the other side is a strategic, targeted, well-funded, and coordinated attack,” said Starling. He added that we need to be more strategic in influencing the influencers. He concluded with the thought, “Most people actually still like farmers. They are grateful for the system, and they don’t really think a lot about agriculture.”

    Closing keynote speaker Jack Hubbard, Owner of D.C. public affairs firm Berman

    Jack Hubbard, partner and owner of D.C.-area public affairs firm Berman, provided the closing keynote with an update on the current state of the animal rights movement and how extremist groups are exploiting animals and donors to bankroll their anti-animal agriculture campaigns. “They want this generation to be the last generation of people raising animals for food. And if they don’t do it this generation, they’re going to turn their focus to your children or your grandchildren,” said Hubbard. “The root of this movement is a very, very small group of people who have extreme, extreme radical points of view, trying to force it on the entire American public.”

    According to Hubbard, animal rights groups have drastically increased funding for their campaigns over the last few years. Much of this increase in funding is attributed to the perceived connection of groups like the Humane Society of the United States and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) to local shelters. Hubbard shared that the ASPCA was recently criticized for only sharing 2% of its budget to support pet shelters while providing its CEO a $1 million salary and keeping $11 million in offshore Caribbean accounts.

    Hubbard also discussed pressure campaigns on restaurant, retail, and foodservice groups to adopt certain practices and sourcing policies. “They’re trying to essentially get the food service community to dictate changes to you that will drive up costs and decrease demand. That’s their game,” said Hubbard. “The minute you raise your hand and invite any of these people to the table you are making yourself a target for the next campaign. It’s a move the goal post strategy.” The keynote session concluded with a call-to-action to flip the narrative and put animal rights groups on the defensive.

    Save the date for the 2024 Summit, set for May 8-9 in Kansas City, Mo. Follow the hashtag #AAA24 for periodic updates about the event. For general questions about Summit, please contact summit@animalagalliance.org or call (703) 562-5160.

    About the Alliance:

    The Animal Agriculture Alliance safeguards the future of animal agriculture and its value to society by bridging the communication gap between the farm and food communities. We connect key food industry stakeholders to arm them with responses to emerging issues. We engage food chain influencers and promote consumer choice by helping them better understand modern animal agriculture. We protect by exposing those who threaten our nation’s food security with damaging misinformation.

    Find the Alliance on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.

  • Dairy Industry Innovation Assessment Tool Identifies Most Promising Solutions

    The dairy industry in both California and the Netherlands faces four major challenges: manure management, enteric methane, labor, and sustainability measurements and standards. To identify existing and emerging market solutions and assess the impact of these solutions across the four categories and animal welfare, an innovation assessment tool has been created.

    The VINE, an initiative of the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Wageningen Livestock Research – Dairy Campus have released their novel Global Dairy Industry Innovation Assessment Tool. This tool is the first step in a joint dairy collaborative aimed at promoting sustainable, climate-smart agriculture for a better future.

    “The partnership between The VINE and Wageningen Livestock Research – Dairy Campus has enabled us to combine our expertise and insights to create an overview of these key challenges and opportunities for the dairy industry,” said Gabe Youtsey, chief innovation officer for UC ANR. “Understanding this landscape of innovation allows us to leverage our shared resources to support and drive the commercialization of solutions.”

    “Innovation is key for the future development of the dairy sector in both countries” said Kees de Koning, manager Innovation at Dairy Campus.

    This tool provides a snapshot of the current state of innovation addressing some of the challenges in the dairy industry, showcasing innovative technologies and products that are, or have the potential to, make a difference on a global scale. By identifying the most promising solutions and encouraging collaboration among key industry players, the team aims to drive further progress toward a sustainable dairy industry.

    The database lists companies, identifies which challenges their product addresses and ranks the maturity of the product from “proof of concept” to “mature.”

    “This Global Dairy Industry Innovation Assessment Tool is designed to give insights on the opportunities and tradeoffs inherent in deploying any new technology,” said Mareese Keane, co-founder of Opengate and partner of The VINE. “It is a living database and any companies that want to add or update their entry are invited to get in touch.”

    To complement the assessment tool, The Vine and Wageningen dairy collaboration are working on the following projects:

    1. Building Blocks for Virtual Future Farm: Envisioning a theoretical farm with zero emissions or maximum circularity by leveraging Dutch precision technology and California large-scale farming expertise.
    2. The VINE VIP (Validation of Innovations Project): Focusing first on value-added products from manure, participants will look for technologies that provide value-added products at scale from manure, beyond energy and direct application as fertilizer.
    3. A delegation of California-based dairy industry innovators and operators are invited to join an innovation tour of the Dutch dairy industry, starting Nov. 6.

    Click here to view the Dairy Innovation Assessment Tool: https://airtable.com/shrMIHqbWNnwhJs8y/tblN8IzvBQ5kAwSou

    For more information about the Dairy Innovation Assessment Tool, how the companies included were selected, and how to submit or update additional entries, please visit https://thevine.io/towards-better-dairy-global-innovation-landscape.

    About The VINE: The VINE, an initiative of the University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources, is California’s agriculture, food and biotech innovation network. The VINE aims to harness the power of open innovation to help industries and entrepreneurs grow and scale globally while catalyzing technology innovation and commercialization for productive, sustainable, and equitable food systems.

    About Wageningen Livestock Research – Dairy Campus: Wageningen Dairy Campus is a leading research institution in the Netherlands focused on dairy farming and sustainability. The Dairy Campus provides a platform for education, research and innovation, bringing together industry partners, academi, and government organizations to advance sustainable practices in the dairy sector.