From the Minneapolis suburbs, Cargill Inc. runs one of the biggest food empires the world has ever seen, spanning the supply chain from farm to table—shipping fertilizer to farmers, buying the crops that are grown, processing grain into feed for livestock and poultry, and producing burgers and nuggets for the world’s biggest restaurant chains and retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and McDonald’s Corp.  As consumer tastes shift, Cargill is striving to make its immense size an advantage rather than a hindrance. [node:read-more:link]

The publication makes the usual three-part argument about why we should all stop eating meat – animal welfare (“why not stop killing animals for the fleeting taste of their flesh?”), nutrition (“why not stop clogging our arteries with saturated fat and cholesterol?”), and the environment (“why not stop supporting water and air pollution and the waste of resources caused by factory farms?”).  The kit also gives tips for going to parties, suggesting that if other guests seem annoyed by conversation about being vegan, it is just “a reflection of an otherwise kind person’s conflicted feelings a [node:read-more:link]

Aerial tours indicate that some hog waste lagoons were inundated by floodwaters in North Carolina but did not show any confirmed breaches or overtopping, according to the state’s Department of Environmental Quality.  State environmental inspectors flew over farms in eastern North Carolina over the weekend to survey the impact of Hurricane Matthew.  “We are cautiously optimistic that North Carolina’s swine operations have survived the storm without experiencing the catastrophic damage we saw during Hurricane Floyd,” said Donald R. [node:read-more:link]

U.S. farmers, bogged down in one of their toughest patches in years, are looking for a little magic—in seeds. Some are returning to the old-fashioned variety, bred without genetic engineering, and back in fashion as farmers strive to save money following three straight years of falling prices for major crops like corn and soybeans.  Others, meanwhile, are joining new subscriber-based services that collect seed and other detailed crop-related data from their farmer members, who then use the data to determine which seeds and pesticides will work best on their fields and at the fairest price. [node:read-more:link]

As U.S. dairy producers are facing the business-crippling burden of multiyear price lows, some are seeking more direct assistance to give producers a boost. However, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) is keeping its eye on the goal of fixing the Dairy Margin Protection Program (DMPP) in the next farm bill. Sen. [node:read-more:link]

Several leading U.S. farm groups are urging food companies to think twice about their sustainability goals, saying they may actually be causing more harm than good.  The groups, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, are responding specifically to Dannon's pledge to eliminate genetically modified ingredients from its yogurt products, which they noted was just the latest such promise from prominent food manufacturers and retailers in recent years.  In a letter sent today to Mariano Lozano, head of Dannon's U.S. [node:read-more:link]

Harvests are under way of what are projected to be the largest corn and soybean crops in U.S. history, which soon will hit a global market already sitting on the largest-ever grain stockpiles. Indeed, some farmers are hoping for a weather hiccup somewhere in the world to curb yields and breathe life into crop prices that recently hit multiyear lows. They may be waiting a long time. [node:read-more:link]

Small farms have unique production, distribution and marketing challenges. The good news is that we can work together to overcome! 1. Share Resources, 2. Access large markets, 3. Create New Markets, 4. Brand Recognition and 5. Production Savings [node:read-more:link]

2016 has been an active year for food regulations. From the implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act to the revision of the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels, the FDA has been finalizing rules meant to modernize and make our food supply safer, while also helping consumers stay informed and make healthier choices. [node:read-more:link]

John Deere announced its intent to license Precision Planting's high-speed planting technology, SpeedTube, to Ag Leader Technology once Deere's proposed purchase of Precision Planting is completed.  The move appears to be an initial attempt to appease the U.S. Department of Justice, which filed a lawsuit in August to stop Deere's acquisition of Precision Planting. [node:read-more:link]