There is a battle going on in the organic industry over hydroponics, the technique of growing plants without soil. The debate gets at the very heart of what it means to be “organic” and may change the organic food available to grocery store shoppers.  To be labeled as organic, fruits and vegetables are required to be grown without genetic modification or synthetic chemicals, and to meet other rules set out by the Agriculture Department. [node:read-more:link]

Canada’s trade minister says the world-leading trade relationship between Canada and the United States does not need to be on U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s list of things to fix once he takes office. Chrystia Freeland told The Canadian Press last week the trade relationship between the U.S. and Canada “is very balanced and mutually beneficial.”Freeland visited Washington earlier this month and met with some senior Trump advisers and Republican senators, including Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts. [node:read-more:link]

A number of farming leaders in the United Kingdom have expressed their fear about the prospect of unrestricted imports of foreign food as a result of post-Brexit trade deals.  But in his recent address to the WTO, Dr Fox said international trade is the 'lifeblood' of the British economy, the 'driver of prosperity', and that commerce is part of the 'UK's national DNA.'Dr Fox told trade envoys during a meeting in Geneva: "The UK will work towards the reduction and ultimate elimination of trade barriers wherever they are found." The National Sheep Association, particularly, has raised concerns [node:read-more:link]

The market for agricultural robots is developing at a rapid pace, with a large number of established and startup agricultural technology companies developing, piloting, and launching an innovative range of robotic systems to tackle a wide variety of tasks, according to a new report from Tractica. Key application areas for agricultural robots include driverless tractors, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), material management, field crops and forest management, soil management, dairy management, and animal management, with a diverse set of subcategories emerging within each of those areas. [node:read-more:link]

ome members of a Donald Trump Agricultural Advisory Committee are pushing for a former Iowa legislator to become U.S. Agriculture Secretary. North Dakota State Rep. Mike Brandenburg, R-Edgeley, says his personal choice for the U.S. Department of Agriculture head has been Charles Herbster, a Nebraska cattleman and agribusinessman, but if the administration is looking for gender diversity on the cabinet his choice would be former Iowa state Rep. Annette Sweeney, R-Alden. [node:read-more:link]

Gov.-elect Eric Greitens has named a hog farmer from northeast Missouri to lead the state department of agriculture.

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Beef, for example, has long been “the bullseye of the target for many campaigners” and the effort has successfully resulted in the decline of beef consumption due to negative PR surrounding food safety, environmental concerns and health risks (cancer, cholesterol, etc.). This sentiment created a significant opportunity for Beyond Meat to raise $180 million to develop the Beyond Burger, with backers such as General Mills, the Humane Society of America and Bill Gates.  Additional examples of animal product companies dipping in to meatless territory in 2016: Unilever: After originally planning [node:read-more:link]

In other words, I am questioning whether small and medium buyers based in the EU would not mind paying a small premium for vitamins produced within the EU, especially now that this continent is tortured by many years of financial crisis. After all, as many vitamin manufacturers keep telling me, the cost of vitamins is minute compared to total feed cost. And, taking this opportunity, I would like to challenge my fellow EU nutrition business colleagues to consider re-evaluating our business model. [node:read-more:link]

The governments of Canada and Manitoba have invested more than $365,000 in five new research projects in Manitoba, including one intended to help reduce the risk of a common, costly and potentially fatal infection in dairy cattle. [node:read-more:link]