Tessenderlo Kerley is pleased to announce that it has acquired Tiger-Sul Products, LLC, a North American focused provider of sulfur-based fertilizer products, from Platte River Equity. The acquisition closed on November 6, 2024.
The acquisition strengthens Tessenderlo Kerley’s specialty fertilizer portfolio as Tessenderlo Kerley looks to provide a better crop yield, more control for farmers, and a healthier planet for everyone. Tiger-Sul will continue to operate under its brand names.
“We’re excited to welcome Tiger-Sul to the Tessenderlo Kerley team, and we look forward to our ability to offer our customers Tiger-Sul’s complementary crop nutrition and soil enhancement products,” said Russell Sides, Executive Vice President of Tessenderlo Kerley.
By James Mintert and Michael Langemeier, Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture
October provided a surprising pre-election bounce in farmer sentiment as the Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer index climbed to 115, 27 points higher than in September. The biggest driver of the sentiment improvement was an increase in producers’ confidence in the future, as the Future Expectations Index jumped 30 points to 124.
The Current Conditions Index also rose in October but by a smaller amount. With a reading of 95, the Current Conditions Index confirmed that farmers think economic conditions this year are worse than last year and weaker than during the barometer’s base period of 2015-2016, which was in the early days of a multi-year downturn in the U.S. farm economy. Producers this month expressed some optimism that economic conditions will improve and not precipitate an extended downturn in the farm economy. The October barometer survey took place from October 14-18, 2024.
The Biden-Harris administration and USDA is awarding over $120 million to fund six fertilizer production projects in Arkansas, California, Illinois, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin through the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP), which is funded by the Commodity Credit Corporation and provides funding to independent business owners to help them modernize equipment, adopt new technologies, build production plants and more.
To date, USDA has invested over $368 million in 67 projects through FPEP, creating new jobs and increasing domestic fertilizer production across the country. President Biden and USDA created FPEP to combat issues facing American farmers due to rising fertilizer prices, which more than doubled between 2021 and 2022 due to a variety of factors such as war in Ukraine and a lack of competition in the fertilizer industry.
A Michigan State University researcher has received a $394,600 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service to develop a solar power-based irrigation technology that improves energy- and water-use efficiency.
Dong is an expert in accessible irrigation technology development, having already created and field tested the Low-Cost Monitoring System (LOCOMOS). LOCOMOS significantly lowers the initial cost of in-field irrigation sensors and is usable with a smartphone app.
The sensors collect data on soil moisture, leaf wetness and other environmental conditions, which is then analyzed by software that sends growers precise irrigation recommendations.
For the new project, Dong and Woongkul (Matt) Lee, an assistant professor at Purdue University who was previously at MSU, are designing a solar-powered microinverter. The small device is connected to a solar panel and allows electricity to be used for tasks such as soft-starting induction motors for irrigation or sent back to the grid for energy credits.
The microinverters will be connected with irrigation sensors via the Internet of Things — a system that promotes the exchange of data throughout a network — to increase efficiency of grid-connected irrigation.
The first objective involves scaling up a working solar-powered microinverter prototype that has already been manufactured and tested in the lab. The system will be installed for a year-long test at MSU research farms.
For the second objective, in the project’s second and third years, on-farm research will be conducted at partner farms in Michigan and Indiana. Some fields will be fitted with solar-powered microinverters, while others will serve as controls without the technology.
For the third objective, a decision support tool that considers in-field conditions, crop type, irrigation pump size and more will be created. Feedback from users will be continually collected, helping researchers optimize the system’s performance.
The 2024 Idaho Association of Plant Protection (IAPP) annual meeting will be held November 6-7, 2024 at the Herrett Center at the College of Southern Idaho. The IAPP meeting is open to anyone interested in learning more about plant protection. The agenda can be found here.
The cost to attend is $30 for normal registration and $20 for students and this covers both days of the program. On Wednesday, 2 ISDA and 4 CCA IPM credits are available. On Thursday, 2 ISDA and 3.5 CCA IPM credits are available.
By James Mintert and Michael Langemeier, Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture
The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometerrecorded its lowest readings since March 2016 in September. Declining income expectations pushed farmer sentiment down as the barometer fell 12 points to 88, and the Index of Future Expectations dropped 14 points to 94. The Index of Current Conditions also fell 7 points to 76, which nearly matched levels seen in April 2020, during the height of COVID-19 concerns for farmers. This month’s survey was conducted from September 9-13, 2024.
September’s survey revealed that farmers are increasingly worried about commodity prices, input costs, agricultural trade prospects and the potential impact of the upcoming election on their farm operations. When asked to identify their top concerns for the coming year, low commodity prices and high input costs were nearly tied, with 34% of farmers citing input prices and 33% pointing to lower output prices as their primary concerns. Interest rates trailed behind as a top concern, chosen by 17% of respondents. Producers’ apprehensions about commodity prices matched up with their lack of confidence in the future of U.S. agricultural exports; only 26% of respondents expect ag exports to rise over the next five years, the most pessimistic response to this question since it was first introduced in 2019. Additionally, 78% of producers expressed concern that government policy changes following the fall 2024 elections could impact their farms.
The continued drop in the barometer reflects deepening concerns among farmers regarding expectations for farm income in 2024 and 2025. It’s notable that producer sentiment dropped back to levels last seen in 2016 when the U.S. farm economy was in the early stages of an economic downturn. In addition to commodity prices and input costs weighing heavily on their operations, producers are also facing considerable uncertainty about what lies ahead for their farms with the possibility of government policy changes following the upcoming 2024 elections.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced an investment of $1.7 billion for purchase of locally and regionally produced foods and domestically produced foods for emergency food assistance.
Local Food Support
USDA is providing $1.2 billion for local food purchases that food banks, schools, and child care facilities will integrate into their meals for the coming year. This funding builds on previously provided local food support and creates new marketing opportunities for small- and mid-sized producers and food businesses. Past funding has provided much needed assistance to schools and food banks as they grapple with acquiring enough food to meet the needs of their recipients. Continued investment in local purchasing allows producers to expand, invest in infrastructure, and solidify new connections that support resilient regional food systems while providing healthy products to food recipients.
Of the funding, $500 million will be made available for states, territories, and Tribal nations to purchase local foods for emergency food providers and underserved communities, while another $500 million will allow school meal programs to make local food purchases. For the first time, USDA will also provide $200 million in funds specifically for child care facilities, which face similar challenges purchasing food as schools.
Support for Emergency Food Providers
USDA is providing $500 million to purchase domestic commodities for emergency food providers like food banks and food pantries. This latest round of funding, in addition to the nearly $2 billion previously provided in 2022 and 2023, will allow states to order American-grown commodities from USDA for emergency food providers. These investments and several other USDA actions to support emergency food providers will help ensure no one in America goes without the nutrition they need. Past domestic commodity support has enhanced food deliveries to emergency providers fighting food and nutrition insecurity while supporting American agriculture, and these funds continue that investment.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is announcing the launch of the Distressed Borrowers Assistance Network, an initiative designed to provide personalized support to financially distressed farmers and ranchers across the nation. Through a series of Cooperative Agreements, this national network will connect distressed borrowers with individualized assistance to help them stabilize and regain financial footing. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) made this announcement today at the Farm Aid Festival in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Representing 10 countries, nearly 100 members of the carrot industry converged in Raleigh, North Carolina, this summer for the 41st International Carrot Conference. Held every 18 to 24 months, this conference aims to bring together a worldwide audience of growers, packers, shippers, seed producers, breeders, pathologists, sellers, marketers, researchers, extension specialists, students and others interested in the carrot industry.
A sign welcomes attendees to the 41st International Carrot Conference in Raleigh, N.C.
With technologies in the agriculture sector continuing to evolve, meetings like this are critical to stay up to date, advance research goals, understand new challenges and facilitate transfer of research outcomes to industry partners, according to conference organizing chair Massimo Iorizzo with North Carolina State University.
The conference included scientific presentations that showcased the most recent findings and technical advances in the carrot community, as well as a tour of two carrot field trials.
Alternaria causes leaf browning in this plot of Nantes-type carrots grown in the Alternaria disease trial.
Research Presentations
A full agenda of presentations covered a wide variety of ongoing carrot research projects. Highlights included new findings about the health effects of carrots and compositional quality. Conference attendees learned about new methods for evaluating carrot traits like texture and anthocyanins, as well as new tools and molecular breeding strategies. A number of presentations highlighted the significant advances made in discovering the genetic mechanisms and genes controlling multiple traits and the effect of the environment or stresses on multiple traits. Presentations on crop management reported better strategies to diagnose and manage diseases, insects, nematodes and weeds.
Kevin Vander Kooi with the University of Guelph shares new tools for managing carrot weevil.
Field Trials
Conference attendees spent the final afternoon of the meeting at the Horticultural Crops Research Station in Clinton, North Carolina, viewing a conventional carrot cultivar demonstration trial and an Alternaria disease trial.
The conventional trial included 144 entries representing five carrot market categories: Imperator cello, Imperator cut ‘n peel, novel colored carrots, processing types, and Nantes or Kuroda. Seeds were provided by private and public breeding programs.
Carrot breeder Phil Simon honors the late John Navazio, a vegetable breeder and co-founder of the Organic Seed Alliance, for his contributions to the carrot industry.
The Alternaria disease trial included 91 entries provided by private and public breeding programs and the USDA germplasm repository. Pressure for Alternaria leaf blight, caused by Alternaria dauci, is very high in North Carolina. Typical symptoms are dark brown lesions on the individual leaflets and petioles, and these lesions can be surrounded by a yellow halo. Severe infections can reduce root size and yield. The goal of the Alternaria trial was to gather preliminary information about carrot lines showing some level of resistance or tolerance to the disease. Alternaria prevention strategies were applied to the conventional trial, while the Alternaria trial was untreated, allowing natural occurrence of disease infection. Carrot lines showing a medium to high level of resistance to Alternaria leaf blight were noted.
A conference program, including abstracts of the presentations, can be found at www.internationalcarrots.org/agenda. The 42nd International Carrot Conference will be held in 2026. The location will be announced soon.
Attendees of the International Carrot Conference gather for a group photo.
The August Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer dropped 13 points from July to a reading of 100, echoing levels seen from fall 2015 to winter 2016 during the early stages of a significant downturn in the U.S. farm economy. The Index of Current Conditions also dropped 17 points to 83, while the Index of Future Expectations decreased by 11 points to 108. Weakening farm income prospects weighed on farmers’ sentiment as the outlook for a bountiful fall harvest was more than offset by declining crop prices. This month’s decline in the barometer and related indices provide a signal that farmers are concerned about the possibility of extended weakness in farm incomes, similar to what took place from 2015 to 2019. This month’s survey was conducted from Aug. 12-16, 2024.
August’s survey results indicate a shift among farmers’ primary concerns, with 30% of respondents identifying lower commodity prices as their primary concern, compared to 33% who cited high input costs. Last year at this time only 20% pointed to weak commodity prices as a top concern.
At the same time, concerns about rising interest rates have lessened, with only 17% of farmers mentioning this issue, down from 24% last year. Looking ahead, 68% of respondents expect interest rates to decrease in the coming year, while just 19% anticipate an increase.
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