Agriculture

Twenty years from now, the most important tool for putting food on your table won’t be a harvester, combine or a plow. It will be a piece of software.  Agriculture is in the process of transitioning into a fully high-tech enterprise. This is a long-overdue revolution in the way things have been done for centuries. To put it in perspective, if we keep doing farming the old-fashioned way, two billion more people will go hungry by the year 2050.  World population growth is driving the urgent need for a radical boost in farm productivity. Incremental advances in output simply won’t cut it. [node:read-more:link]

This blog post will focus on the rules related to Open Space Valuation (“OSV”).  Passed in 1978, more than a decade after Agricultural Use Valuation, this method is governed by Article VIII, Section 1(d)(1) of the Texas Property Code and Sections 23.51-59 of the Texas Tax Code.  This valuation method may also frequently be referred to as “1(d)(1) valuation.”  A one-time application must be filed with the County Appraisal District. [node:read-more:link]

A Florida man has been arrested in connection with illegal horse slaughtering in an unlicensed rural slaughterhouse in western Miami-Dade County. [node:read-more:link]

Second-largest U.S. animal feed producer Land O’Lakes Inc. plans to acquire Southern States Cooperative Inc.’s animal feed business.  Southern States Cooperative is one of the largest U.S. farmer-owned cooperatives, supplying animal feed in 23 states through its network of eight feed mills. “This is an excellent opportunity to expand our relationship with Southern States and increase our animal feed business in the eastern U.S.,” said Chris Policinski, president and CEO, Land O’Lakes Inc. This year, Southern States entered into a supply agreement with Land O’Lakes Inc. [node:read-more:link]

U.S. farmland is the savings account that is propping up ag borrowers today. Its stability is the mitigating factor keeping both borrowers and farm lenders in relatively good standing despite three back-to-back years of negative farm incomes, a growing number of ag economists and lenders say.  While some land experts forecast as much as a 25% to 30% drop from recent peak land values, most doubt a correction of that size would cause the kind of contagion that infected the farm economy in the 1980s. [node:read-more:link]

The American vegan movement was always its own worst enemy.  Members of the movement made their first impressions bellowing into bullhorns, desperate to make a difference by willing it with a loud enough voice. But actual engagement was a weakness as people tended to ignore the passionate subculture with a rigid gospel prohibiting use of any and all animal products. For the most part, the only marks left by their efforts throughout the 1970s, 80s, and 90s were those scuffed into their shoes as police officers dragged them off the streets.  And then, with little warning, something changed. [node:read-more:link]

Researchers who have sequenced the genome of a 5,310-year-old corn cob have discovered that the maize grown in central Mexico all those years ago was genetically more similar to modern maize than to its wild ancestor. For example, the ancient maize already carried genetic variants responsible for making kernels soft, a common feature of modern corn. [node:read-more:link]

The streak continues for the Colorado cannabis industry.  Colorado marijuana shops in September reeled in $127.8 million in sales of medical and recreational cannabis, notching a new revenue record for the third consecutive month, according to newly released data from the Colorado Department of Revenue.  So far this year, sales have topped $974.3 million in nine months, about $22 million shy of the $996.2 million revenue totaled for the entirety of 2015. [node:read-more:link]

South Dakota’s sheep population peaked in 1943 at 2.4 million head. Now there are only 255,000 sheep in the state, a 89 percent drop, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s South Dakota office of ag statistics.The reasons for the decrease are several, but key ones have to do with U.S. trade policies that have given other countries more access to America’s meat-loving consumers, says Bryan Hanson. [node:read-more:link]

The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, a nonprofit organization that supports innovative science addressing food and agriculture challenges, today announced the first New Innovator in Food and Agriculture Research Award recipients.  The nine New Innovators will receive a total of $4.8 million over five years. Matching funds from each awardee’s respective institution will leverage the Foundation’s investment of up to $300,000 per recipient. [node:read-more:link]