Technology - General

Exclusive: In the Eye of the Cycle, John Deere Charts a Path Through Ag’s Slump

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 21:25:37 GMT

After months of workforce reductions and sliding equipment sales, John Deere is reversing course, announcing it will bring 140 employees back to its Waterloo, Iowa, operations as demand ticks higher for its 8R and 9R tractors.

The recall comes even as Deere forecasts the North American ag equipment market will decline another 15% to 20% in 2026, underscoring the push-and-pull shaping today’s farm economy. Large equipment sales remain under pressure from lower commodity prices and tighter margins, yet pockets of global demand are forcing Deere to recalibrate production in real time.

In an exclusive interview with Farm Journal this week, Deere & Company President Deanna Kovar laid out how the company is navigating that tension: tightening its long-standing build-for-retail manufacturing model, adjusting output month to month and working to protect farmers’ equipment equity during a downturn.

At the same time, Deere is attacking costs where it can, reducing prices on 187,000 parts over the past two years and preparing to roll out a new lower-priced tier of replacement parts later this summer. The company is also testing a tractor powered by E-98 ethanol, technology that could eventually eliminate the need for Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) altogether while driving even more demand for the crops farmers already grow.

For Kovar, who grew up on a Wisconsin dairy farm before spending 26 years rising through Deere’s ranks, the stakes are personal. Now, just months into her role leading Deere’s Worldwide Agriculture & Turf Division, she is steering the company through one of the sharpest equipment pullbacks in recent memory, while positioning it for what comes next.

A Cyclical Business in a Prolonged Downturn

The ag equipment cycle has clearly turned. Industry data show steep drops in large equipment sales, and Deere’s internal outlook aligns with the broader trend.

“Deere is 188 years old, so we know we’re part of a cyclical business of ag equipment, but definitely we’re seeing similar numbers. Our expectations that we shared in our last quarterly earnings was that the North American equipment market would be down 15% to 20% again in 2026. We recognize the ag economy is in a tough spot at the moment, and we’re working hard to make sure we can help farmers become more productive and more profitable through using our equipment and technology solutions, but it’s tough out there.”

She says the Association of Equipment Manufacturers figures for 2025, which show sales of 4WD tractors fell nearly 42% and combine sales are down 36%, align with what Deere is seeing.

The significant slump in sales doesn’t come as a surprise to row crop farmers who’ve seen several consecutive years of declining net farm income following a record high in 2022. USDA’s first official forecast for 2026 suggests continued pressure and another year of declining net farm income, with not much relief on input prices and stagnant commodity prices. Kovar says Deere understands the financial strains producers are seeing.

“Overall, the outlook for 2026 is that farmers are going to continue to be under pressure from a commodity price standpoint,” she says. “We’re certainly seeing input costs somewhat flatten for producers, and, of course, many producers are grateful for the government payments that will help them start 2026 maybe in a better place than they would have without it. Certainly great yields last fall were a good positive thing for producers, but it’s still putting a lot of pressure on commodity prices today.”

For Deere, that pressure translates directly into lower equipment demand and tough decisions inside its factories.

Manufacturing Adjustments: Building for Retail in Real Time

Over the past year, Deere announced workforce reductions across multiple Midwestern facilities. Since 2024, it’s reported John Deere laid off over 2,000 employees in the U.S., with those jobs primarily located in Iowa and Illinois. Recently, it reversed course in a couple locations, announcing it would bring some of those employees back.

Back in January, Deere also announced it was returning 99 workers to the job in Iowa, impacting both its Davenport Works and Dubuque facilities. But Deere said this week it’s also bringing back jobs at its Waterloo facility.

“We’re constantly evaluating what we think the market will be. And it’s not an annual thing. It’s a month to month, a quarter-to-quarter opportunity. And yes, we just announced 140 workers to come back to our Waterloo operations. This is the operations where we make the drive trains for 8R tractors, where we pour the castings for the new high horsepower 9R tractors, where engines are made, and where we put tractors final assembly together. So we’re always happy when we can bring workers back into our factory. And it’s because we’re starting to see a little tick up in demand for those tractors,” she says.

Kovar says it’s not necessarily just a North American phenomenon. The uptick in demand is coming globally.

“We are seeing some signs that there could be some opportunities, but much of this is going to be iterative over time. It won’t be from a very low point to a very high point. We expect over time that we can start to see things normal,” she adds.

Kovar emphasizes Deere’s long-standing “build-for-retail” philosophy, avoiding overproduction that would flood dealer lots and depress used values.

“We’ve been in business for 188 years, so we’re always making sure that we’re being as efficient and effective as we can at building the quality products that farmers come to rely on. So we’re all always adjusting how we manufacture, how we make sure we have the quality checks and the automation to make sure we’re making every tractor as good as we can,” says Kovar.

She says the company is also working to forecast demand expectations and where that additional demand could surface. But she says for the past 25 years, the company has been focused on a build-to-order mentality, especially in the larger ag equipment space.

“We are a build for retail mentality,” says Kovar. “We don’t want to build it unless somebody wants it. So this has been something we’ve been working on for 20 years, and we will continue to be focused on really understanding the demand in the market and making sure we’re setting up schedules and plans to build for that amount.”

Equipment Prices: It’s About the Trade Differential

Few issues generate more coffee-shop debate than equipment prices. Farmers have seen machinery values dramatically climb over the past five years. Kovar points out that looking at sticker price alone misses the bigger financial picture.

“We’re always looking at making sure we’re delivering value for farmers when they buy our equipment, when they buy our technology,” Kovar says. “When we think about the price of equipment it’s really important we understand that farmers, when they buy a new piece of equipment, it’s really about the trade differential from the product they’re trading in to the one they’re buying, and if we were to lower the price of equipment, it would lower the trade-in value of their used equipment as well. We’re always very mindful of the equity farmers have in their equipment fleet and the fact it’s a huge part of their balance sheet.”

Not only does Deere need to be careful that changes don’t impact the trade differential, but she says the company is also focused on making sure there’s a balance between products being affordable and creating the value farmers expect.

That balance, of affordability versus protecting used values, according to Kovar, shapes Deere’s pricing philosophy in a down cycle.

Lowering the Cost of Technology and Parts

While base machine pricing remains complex, Deere is targeting affordability in other ways. The first, she says, is on the technology side, and lowering the upfront cost.

“We’re lowering the barrier to entry to amazing technologies like ExactShot fertilizer systems, See & Spray sprayer systems and a combine automation system so that more farmers can afford to get into the technology. These technologies are saving inputs, ensuring we’re getting all of the grain out of the field and increasing yields. That strategy to lower the upfront cost of those technologies, and help the customer pay for it as they get the value from it, is a huge step forward in allowing affordability of the technology.”

On repairs and parts, she points to self-service tools and direct price reductions. She says the company is constantly looking at the cost of parts for their equipment.

“Over the last two years, we’ve reduced the price on over 187,000 part numbers in the John Deere system. Later this summer, we’re going to be announcing a new tier of parts from John Deare that will allow us to give customers choice when they buy parts from us as to whether they want the traditional OEM, that likely has a longer life, or if they want to look at a lower cost option,” Kovar says.

Deciding between the two parts tiers depends on:

How much a farmer uses the machine
Equipment age
How long a farmer intends to keep that piece of equipment

Retrofit Kits: Precision Without the New Iron Price Tag

As new equipment sales slow and more farmers turn to the used market, Deere sees retrofit technology as a critical bridge, allowing producers to upgrade performance without taking on the cost of a brand-new machine.

Kovar says retrofit kits are designed to separate technology adoption from iron replacement.

“I think the beauty of retrofit kits is you don’t have to buy a brand new piece of equipment to get brand new technologies. Just last year we launched what we call our precision ag essentials kit, which is the foundation of our technology stack. It’s where farmers start to go from no precision to a more precision mentality, and this ability allows them to put a John Deere GPS receiver, a display and a modem on any piece of equipment, Deere or non Deere,” Kovar says.

The strategy fits squarely into Deere’s broader push to lower the barrier to entry for precision ag. By allowing a GPS receiver, display and modem to be installed on any brand of older equipment, the company is effectively expanding the addressable market for advanced automation and data tools.

“We’re seeing people put these kits on 20-year-old tractors and then being able to do things like AutoTrac, AutoPath and turn automation, section control, the things that can save 10% of inputs and make sure your stand is better in the spring and your weeds are deader during the season,” Kovar says. “This is a huge opportunity for every farmer to get more into precision. Once you get into that base of the technology stack, the sky’s the limit to be able to go to other products like ExactEmerge or See and Spray — these technologies that really drive savings to the bottom line for farmers.”

In a downturn defined by lower commodity prices and cautious equipment purchases, Deere is betting the future of precision ag won’t be limited to the newest machines on the lot, but will increasingly ride on tractors that have already been in the field for decades.

Right to Repair, EPA and DEF: Seeking Clarity

Right-to-repair and diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) rules have been flash points between manufacturers and producers with two major announcements from EPA.

In early February 2026, EPA made a right-to-repair guidance announcement guidance and actions supporting the right to repair for farmers and equipment owners, specifically addressing issues with Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) systems and emission controls. The guidance clarifies the Clean Air Act allows for temporary overrides of emission systems during repairs, prohibits manufacturers from restricting access to tools or software, and enables repairs in the field.

The following day, EPA announced the agency is demanding detailed failure data from major diesel engine manufacturers as it considers additional rules aimed at reducing DEF-related shutdowns and derates that have plagued farmers, truckers and equipment operators for years.

“I think if you step back and think about what EPA’s done over about the last nine months, there’s been two important messages. One was last summer when they gave voluntary guidance that said we should extend the time from when a customer might have an issue with their DEF systems and not cause them to go into an inducement or a derate within two hours, which was the original rule. We’re very glad EPA has come out and said we can extend that time to give farmers more time to maybe finish the field, finish the day before they have to execute a derate or go through a regen on their DEF,” Kovar says.

She calls it a huge opportunity for Deere and one to which the company is already responding.

“We’re in the process of making sure we can extent that time on all the equipment we’re producing. We’ll do that over the coming months and years to help make sure we’re extending that time and not putting people in jeopardy of having a shutdown opportunity,” Kovar says.

On off-road right-to-repair clarity, Kovar says EPA’s right-to-repair guidance announced in February directly responds to a formal request the company made to the agency in June 2025 .

“[EPS] had already shared that on-road equipment didn’t have to go to the original equipment manufacturer or an authorized repair shop to turn your tractor or your truck back on after you had a deratement issue. We said, ‘Hey, we have tools that a farmer can do this on their own, but the way we read your rules, we believe we need you to tell us it’s OK.’ We’re grateful that last week EPA came out and said, yes, it is OK for off-road equipment for farmers to fix their own issues. We’re in the process of making sure John Deere Operations Center ProService, which is our self-repair tool any farmer can access, by early March, mid-March, we want to have the ability for a farmer to, if they run into a deratement issue on their tractor or combine or whatever, use Operation Center Pro Service to get their tractors back up.”

If DEF Goes Away, It’s Not a Quick Switch

With political discussions swirling around eliminating certain environmental regulations, and President Trump specifically stating he wants to see those regulations removed on equipment , some farmers wonder whether equipment could quickly be built without DEF systems.

When Trump was in a roundtable with farmers in December, he claimed removing those requirements on equipment would prevent breakdowns and make equipment cheaper. During the one-on-one interview with Kovar, Farm Journal asked if removing DEF on equipment would bring down prices.

“We have to really understand what they mean and how they want to go about it before we can really answer, does it make equipment cheaper? I think we’ve spent 15 years perfecting the system we have today, so we’ll have to continue to understand how far back do we think we’re going to go, how long would it take us, because we don’t have all of the technologies that don’t have DEF today,” Kovar explains. “If it were called tomorrow, we couldn’t start building tractors without it the next day.”

Removing DEF is not as simple as flipping a switch on the assembly line. Instead, she says Deere is focused on making sure farmers have the ability to repair their own equipment if it would go into derate. She thinks that’s a huge step forward in solving some of the issues that farmers have had with DEF.

Deere Tests an E-98 Ethanol Tractor

Even as debate continues in Washington over DEF requirements, Deere is exploring a future that could bypass the issue entirely.

While the company says it remains engaged with EPA on next steps surrounding DEF and emissions policy, Deere is also investing in an alternative fuel platform, an ethanol-powered tractor designed to run on E-98. The tractor will debut at Commodity Classic in two weeks.

“We’re not just thinking also about diesel, right, we also considering how might we fix this problem another way. And that’s an ethanol tractor we’ve been using across Iowa and other places. It’s early for us, but the idea that we could use E-98 to run a tractor, it’s so clean you don’t need diesel exhaust fluid to run it. We’re early in trying to pioneer what is an alternative to diesel that would allow a farmer to grow the fuel they put in their tractor to grow next year’s crop. It’s something we think we need to continue to talk about. There is a ton of infrastructure that would need to follow to allow an E-98-type fuel to flow and be on farm, but we think it’s an opportunity in the long run to help agriculture grow the fuel they use to grow the food we all eat.”

Deere confirms the early results are promising.

According to Deere, the limiting factor isn’t the engine technology itself, it’s the infrastructure needed to support it.

“Do we have the fuels available? Do we have the on-farm ability? Are the fuel companies ready to deliver it to the farm? At this point, there is a much bigger system challenge that will have to work,” Kovar says.

Advocating for Demand: Ethanol, Exports and E-15

Turning the ag economy around, in Kovar’s view, is about demand, both domestic and global. Not only is Deere working on equipment that could run with higher blends of ethanol, but Deere is also advocating for more demand.

“Certainly, we’re focused on helping farmers grow more with less. At the same time, we’re focused on helping to make sure there are markets for the crops our producers sell. We certainly spend a lot of time advocating for agriculture and for producers to have access to markets. We’re grateful for all of the trade deals that have happened here recently. We’re hopeful they start to materialize, and we see more and more grains flowing outside of the U.S. in exports. We also know we’ve got a huge opportunity here in the U.S. to drive ethanol and renewable fuels,” Kovar says. “We’re focused on making sure we’re using our voice at Deere to advocate for agriculture to not only feed the world, but fuel it. It starts with E-15, which we are hopeful we can get across the finish line at some point very soon. But it can’t end there. We have to continue to advocate for renewable diesels and an ethanol future, so we have to make sure farmers can sell their grains at a price that’s profitable, and it’s all about creating demand.”

The Next Five Years: From Data Collection to Real-Time Decisions

For Deere, which sees itself as a technology company, Kovar says she also sees Deere as a smart industrial company. With a focus on technology, she thinks the future isn’t about a single breakthrough machine, but rather about what happens behind the scenes in the data.

When asked what the biggest shift will be over the next five years, Kovar points to the evolution of information rooted in data.

“I think if you look back over those 25 years of technology, data has been such an important part of it. It started with yield maps, yield monitoring and binders on a shelf and has evolved over time to a cloud-based system. Everything’s connected. With Deere, it’s about John Deere Operation Center and how farmers can leverage that data, share it with partners, with their seed dealer, with their ag retailer, with the banker and with their landlords and have this really cohesive opportunity to bring all of the data they have in agriculture into one place,” Kovar says.

Personally, she sees the next step involving Deere helping farmers move beyond timely insights to timely decision-making.

“How do we help [farmers] get insights, timely information, that helps them make the best decision they can make in that moment on their unique piece of land in the middle of wherever they are farming and really give them confidence the data can help them drive to even better decisions,” she adds. “If we’re going to help them be more productive and be more profitable, it really starts with all the decisions they make. I think this next three to five years is a huge opportunity for us to make sure we are connecting all of their data in one place and helping them make really important decisions in real time that help them become more.”

Instead of one sweeping, industry-altering change, Kovar sees steady gains driven by machine learning, automation and in-the-moment decision-making, sometimes by the operator and sometimes by the equipment itself.

“I think that’s a huge part of the next three to five years, and those decisions happen because they’ve consciously made them or the machines are making them. If you think about See and Spray, it is deciding whether that’s a weed or a plant and only spraying the weed to save 50% to 60% of the herbicides,” Kovar says. “Those kind of in-the-moment decisions are a huge opportunity over the next 3 to 5 years as computer vision and machine learning compute and all of these things continue to accelerate at a pace that is very hard to keep up with.”

For Deere, the future isn’t just bigger iron or even more automation, it’s about connecting every data point on the farm and turning it into actionable insight, fast enough to matter in the field.

Watch the full interview here:

44 Million Acres: The New Frontier of Farm Consolidation and Growth

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 18:00:31 GMT

At the 2026 Top Producer Summit , Farm Journal Intelligence unveiled new farmland insights derived from predictive modeling and deep-data analysis. The research focused on the shifting landscape of land acquisition, identifying which operations are at risk of consolidation, who is positioned for growth and where the most significant opportunities lie.

Here are the six primary findings for farm businesses:

1. Scale Does Not Immune Operations from Consolidation.

(Farm Journal)

While smaller operations face the highest risk — with 58% of small farms “at risk” for sale or acquisition before 2030 — size is not a complete safeguard. Research shows the risk of consolidation or ownership transfer never drops below 27%, even for the largest operations. Furthermore, crop diversity made minimal impact on these odds; the likelihood of transition remains constant whether a farm produces one crop or more than 11.

2. Geography Trumps Diversification.

(Farm Journal)

Regional location is increasingly becoming a primary driver of financial success, often outweighing the benefits of operational diversification. As regional market divides grow, farmers and ranchers are finding that local market conditions and individual circumstances dictate their trajectory more. State-level or even county-level effects are more indicative of their situation than national trends.

3. The 44-Million-Acre Transition.

(Farm Journal)

Nearly 15% of American cropland is projected to change hands within the next three years, driven by generational transfers, continued consolidation and economic pressures. Farm Journal data identifies the Midwest as the epicenter of this shift, with roughly 12 million acres likely to transition. Nationwide, that total reaches a staggering 44 million acres.

4. Mapping the “Sweet Spot” for Expansion.

(Farm Journal)

By plotting cost per cropland acre against the volume of land likely to transition, clear opportunities for expansion emerge. For producers looking to grow their footprint, the most viable opportunities are currently concentrated in Kansas, Texas, North Dakota, Missouri, and Oklahoma, according to this research.

5. Integrity Is the Top Currency in Rental Markets.

(Farm Journal)

When more than 400 landowners were surveyed about tenant selection, integrity ranked as the most critical factor. Interestingly, age was reported as the least important factor. For producers looking to secure rented ground, a reputation for character and experience outweighs both seniority and youth.

6. The “Willingness” Factor in Technology.

(Farm Journal)

Producers most inclined to expand share a common trait: a higher comfort level and rate of adoption with technology. Crucially, this is not necessarily tied to technical skill or existing expertise, but rather to mindset and action. The most growth-oriented producers are defined by their willingness to try new technologies rather than their current mastery of them.

Download the Full Report

EPA Backs Farmers, Affirms Right to Repair Equipment

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 17:42:10 GMT

EPA issued new right-to-repair guidance on Monday, clarifying how the Clean Air Act applies to non-road diesel equipment. It’s a move EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin says is intended to end years of confusion and misuse of the law that has limited farmers’ ability to fix their own machinery.

“Unfortunately, equipment manufacturers have misused the Clean Air Act by falsely claiming that environmental laws prevented them from making essential repair tools or software available to all Americans,” he says. “Because of this misinterpretation of the law, manufacturers have limited the ability of farmers and independent repair shops to repair equipment.”

How Much Will Right to Repair Save the Average Farm?

According to Kelly Loeffler, Small Business Administration (SBA) administrator, the savings could be $48 billion across agriculture. For an individual farm, that could mean:

$33,000 in savings per repair
$3,000 to $4,000 in potential yield losses avoided due to reduced downtime
10% reduction in annual operating costs
Up to 80% reduction in repair costs annually

Loeffler says savings come from avoiding dealer-only repairs, reducing downtime during critical fieldwork windows, and eliminating transportation and labor delays tied to authorized service requirements.

The news came as a joint announcement on Feb. 2 with Loeffler as well as USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins.

“Today we are issuing guidance out of the Trump EPA to make abundantly clear that if you own your farm and other non-road diesel equipment, you have the right to fix it,” Zeldin says. “This might seem like a no-brainer, but ask any American farmer and they will tell you about the headaches and costly hassles that they have been forced to endure at the hands of equipment manufacturers.”

Zeldin says manufacturers have relied on what he calls a false interpretation of the Clean Air Act to restrict access to repair tools, software and diagnostic systems. He says today’s announcement will make that new guidance clear.

What EPA’s Announcement Didn’t Include? A Complete Rollback of DEF

Following today’s right-to-repair announcement, Farm Journal asked EPA why the administration isn’t also removing Diesel Exhaust Fluid, or DEF, requirements for farm equipment. Farmers have long cited DEF as a major contributor to rising equipment costs, particularly compared with competitors in Brazil, for example. In summer 2025, EPA issued guidance relaxing DEF “inducement” requirements, and today’s announcement focuses on allowing farmers to temporarily override DEF when making repairs.

In response, EPA says the agency is actively building on last summer’s DEF guidance.

“As Administrator Zeldin mentioned on today’s press call, EPA is actively working to build upon the DEF guidance the agency issued this summer,” the press office wrote. “EPA understands DEF is a major issue facing farmers, truck drivers and equipment operators. The agency will be making an announcement on DEF in the near future.”

This indicates that while today’s right-to-repair guidance stops short of changing DEF rules, additional updates could be coming soon.

Downtime, Dealer Dependence and Lost Productivity

Zeldin says farmers are often forced to rely exclusively on authorized dealerships for repairs, even during critical times like during planting and harvest when downtime costs farmers time and money.

“Instead of a farmer being able to fix their own equipment in the field or bring it down the road to their local repair shop, farmers have been forced to rely solely on authorized dealers for essential repairs, which are not always close by,” he says. “For farmers, timing is everything. When equipment breaks down during planting or harvesting, delays can result in thousands of dollars in lost productivity.”

He adds that the financial burden goes beyond inconvenience.

“Being forced to haul machinery to a certified dealership, pay higher prices for repairs and wait in line; it’s not just inconvenient,” Zeldin says. “It can prove to be very economically damaging.”

The Future of DEF: Is an Emissions Rollback Coming?

This latest right-to-repair announcement builds on action taken by the Trump administration in August 2025, when EPA issued guidance addressing diesel exhaust fluid, or DEF, system failures in farm equipment. The 2025 guidance aimed to address widespread frustration among farmers with Tier 4 emissions technology, while maintaining long-term environmental protections.

Prior to that announcement, in early June, John Deere sent a letter to EPA, asking the agency to clarify that temporary emissions overrides are allowed. In response, EPA issued guidance on Aug. 12 and later urged DEF system software updates to prevent sudden shutdowns, helping farmers and equipment operators make repairs without losing productivity or safety.

The new right-to-repair guidance announced today by EPA, USDA and SBA aims to extend this administration’s approach by clarifying farmers’ ability to make essential repairs themselves, which they claim will further improve reliability, efficiency and cost savings on the farm.

If you go back to the Trump administration’s original announcement last summer, EPA said it would allow manufacturers to update DEF system software to prevent abrupt power loss in tractors, trucks and other diesel machinery. The goal was to reduce “red tape” and prevent equipment shutdowns during critical planting and harvest periods, while still maintaining emissions controls.

Key aspects of the 2025 DEF guidance included:

Reduced Derating: Instead of immediate, severe speed and power reductions when DEF levels are low or sensors fail, engines could now slow down more gradually, reducing disruption in the field.
“Soft” Power Loss for New Models: For 2027 and later models, engines were required not to shut down or lose power abruptly if DEF ran out.
Software Fixes for Existing Equipment: Manufacturers could issue software updates to ensure older machinery properly handled low-DEF scenarios.
No Deleting Permitted: Emissions equipment could not be removed, and the guidance did not legalize deleting any system.

EPA says the announcement meant tractors and machinery were less likely to experience sudden, catastrophic power loss, which would reduce downtime.

USDA: Right to Repair Is Important for Everyday Farm Operations

USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins says the administration has been working on the guidance for months because of its importance to everyday farm operations.

“We have been working on today’s guidance now for a while because we know how much it means for the everyday farmer,” Rollins says. “The right to repair isn’t just a slogan. It’s a common-sense extension of the God-given right to private property.”

Rollins ties equipment downtime directly to food production and national security.

“Every single day our farmers feed us, they fuel us, they clothe us,” she says. “But when that equipment breaks down and remains out of operation, it means crops aren’t planted or harvested, mouths aren’t fed, and America’s economic growth and national security are put at risk.”

She says farmers overwhelmingly agree they should be able to repair their own equipment, an issue USDA has been hearing since President Trump took office more than a year ago.

“Farmers shouldn’t be forced to haul their equipment to specialized and costly repair shops when they could be making those repairs on their own,” Rollins says. “An overwhelming majority of farmers, north of 95%, agree with that statement.”

What Does the New EPA Right to Repair Guidance Allow?

Zeldin stresses the guidance does not weaken emissions standards or change the Clean Air Act.

“It does not change the law, and it does not reduce compliance obligations,” he says. “What it does do is stop the law from being misused to block common-sense repairs.”

The guidance clarifies that equipment owners may temporarily override emissions systems — including diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) systems — when necessary to complete a repair, as long as the equipment is returned to compliance.

“At times, a tractor might just stop working altogether in the middle of harvest because of a DEF issue,” Zeldin says. “This allows farmers to fix broken DEF systems right there at home or in the field.”

SBA: ‘Huge Relief’ with Measurable Savings

Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler says the guidance delivers significant, quantifiable savings for farmers.

“I’m the product of one of the 1.9 million farms in this great nation that feed, fuel and clothe our country,” Loeffler says. “Diesel exhaust fluid and now right to repair — these are huge-relief, common-sense reforms.”

Loeffler says SBA economists worked to quantify the impact farm by farm.

“In the aggregate, this is about a $48 billion savings,” she says. “It’s about $33,000 per repair.”

She adds that downtime drives additional losses.

“The loss of yield could be up to $3,000 to $4,000 for the average farm,” Loeffler says. “That’s time spent leaving the field, missing a window of dry weather and dealing with delays in parts and labor.”

According to Loeffler, the guidance could reduce annual operating costs by roughly 10% and cut repair costs dramatically.

“This could potentially reach an 80% annual reduction in the cost of repairs,” she says. “And we know those repairs are getting even more expensive.”

John Deere Say’s EPA’s Guidance Responds to Formal Request

John Deere says the EPA’s right-to-repair guidance directly responds to a formal request the company made to the agency in June 2025 .

In a statement, John Deere says it sought updated guidance from EPA to expand repair options for customers and independent technicians while still ensuring compliance with federal emissions requirements.

“John Deere appreciates today’s action by EPA Administrator Zeldin, which responds directly to a formal request made by the company in June 2025,” the company says. “John Deere sought this updated guidance from the EPA with the intent to further increase customers’ and independent repair technicians’ repair capabilities while ensuring compliance with EPA requirements and guidance.”

The company says its request aligns with its long-standing position that customers should have flexibility in how their equipment is repaired.

“John Deere’s request to the EPA is consistent with the company’s longstanding commitment to supporting customer choice on how equipment is repaired — whether through their trusted John Deere dealer, with a local service provider, or by doing the work themselves,” the statement says.

John Deere adds that in light of the updated EPA guidance, it plans to roll out new repair functionality for customers.

“The temporary inducement override capability will soon be made available to John Deere customers through Operations Center™ PRO Service,” the company says, describing the platform as an enhanced digital repair tool that provides diagnostic, repair and reprogramming capabilities.

The company says additional information about the tool is available through its website.

Trump Administration Frames Announcement as Farmer Choice and Independence

All three officials frame the announcement as centered on farmer independence.

“This is about fairness, competition and independence,” Zeldin says. “Farmers should be able to choose where and how their equipment is repaired.”

“In America, the timely, affordable maintenance of agricultural equipment should not be a luxury,” Rollins says. “It should be a given.”

“And coming from a multigenerational farm family, this issue is very personal,” Loeffler says. “We’re going to continue to make sure farmers get the regulatory relief they deserve.”

Is The Death of DEF Coming Soon?

While today’s announcement is another step in reducing regulations and emissions standards, EPA didn’t go as far as to eliminate DEF requirements on farm equipment, but told Farm Journal an announcement on that is coming soon.

Industry analysts say a rollback of federal emissions requirements on machinery could send shockwaves through both the new and used equipment markets, though exactly how depends on how far any policy would go and how manufacturers respond.

Greg Peterson, widely known as “Machinery Pete,” says the biggest immediate impact would be on used equipment values, particularly older, pre-emissions models that farmers already favor.

Emissions Rollback Could Reshape Machinery Markets, Analysts Say

Peterson points to years of auction data showing strong demand, as well as rising prices for good-condition pre-DEF tractors and combines, even during tight grain markets. If emissions rules were suddenly relaxed, he says the industry would be entering uncharted territory.

“The wild card is what happens to that one-, two-, three-, four-, five- and six-year-old equipment that’s already out there,” Peterson says. “It would be unprecedented.”

Opportunity and Uncertainty for Dealers and OEMs

While that uncertainty could create short-term friction, Peterson also sees opportunity. If manufacturers were allowed to build simpler machines again, it could align more closely with what many farmers are already voting for with their checkbooks.

“That’s what farmers want,” Peterson says, noting the continued premium buyers are willing to pay for older machines without complex emissions systems.

He adds that such a shift could be “an unbelievable opportunity” for both manufacturers and dealers, depending on how quickly and cleanly changes could be implemented at the factory level.

Manufacturers Unlikely to Fully Abandon Emissions Systems

Casey Seymour, host of the ‘ Moving Iron ’ podcast, agrees the used equipment market could benefit, but he’s skeptical manufacturers would abandon emissions technology altogether.

Seymour says the bigger issue for OEMs is regulatory whiplash. Environmental rules can change dramatically from one administration to the next, making it risky to retool factories for non-emissions machines only to reverse course a few years later.

“I don’t see a manufacturer of any color completely stepping back and saying we’re not going to worry about this anymore,” Seymour says.

Flexibility Could Boost Used Equipment Values

Instead, if EPA would decide to roll back emissions standards, Seymour envisions machines leaving the factory “emissions-ready,” giving farmers flexibility down the road. If deleting emissions systems became legal, equipment could be modified and resold without violating regulations, opening new possibilities in the secondary market.

That shift, Seymour says, could actually strengthen used equipment values. Demand for legally modified machines could rise, and farmers would no longer need to remove emissions components illegally.

Both analysts agree the used market would likely react first to any regulatory change, while new equipment pricing may remain largely unchanged unless manufacturers gain long-term certainty on emissions policy.

Why Livestock Operations Are Ditching Spreadsheets for BinSentry’s Smart Bin Technology

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 18:32:10 GMT

Animal feed travels a very long and winding supply chain, and up to 70% of the total cost of raising commercial animals is directly tied to the simple task of feeding the herd.

In a world where there are literally cameras and sensors everywhere that are able to measure everything, and artificial intelligence running in the background to make those cameras and sensors “smart,” it just doesn’t make sense to keep animal feed inventories on paper or Excel spreadsheets anymore.

Ben Allen, CEO, BinSentry

(BinSentry)

That’s what BinSentry CEO Ben Allen, who grew up in farming on his families’ Iowa farm outside Ames says, adding: “Too many people are still taking feed inventories the way my grandfather used too.”

His company has been on the animal ag scene for seven years and has grown over 100% annually for each of the past three years, he claims, as large commercial feedlots and multinational processors like Cargill add the companies’ bin monitoring technology to automate the logistics of refilling feed bins. Allen says BinSentry’s tech is capturing imagery 24/7/365 on more than 40,000 feed lots across the U.S. and Canada.

BinSentry recently secured a $50 million Series C investment round, led by the No. 1 growth equity fund in the U.S., Lead Edge Capital. Allen says his company will use the funds to, among other projects, expand its technology and operational reach further into South America and Brazil, where BinSentry has an exclusive distribution agreement with Cargill.

“We install a camera sensor at the top of the bin, it’s solar powered and has cellular connectivity and only takes 15 minutes to install, and we can start getting high accuracy inventory reports throughout the day,” Allen says. “That data goes directly into our software where we do a lot more than just inventory.”

Allen says the company uses the real-time bin monitoring data to run analytics mainly to inform the logistics side of the feed operation, and it can also send preventative maintenance alerts if it sees something happening inside the bin that could potentially be a problem. While not as inherently dangerous as climbing into large grain storage bins in the row crop world, manual monitoring is a laborious and risky task that would be better left to technology components if possible.

A BinSentry sensor on a poultry feed storage structure.

(BinSentry)

“We have been working with AI since the founding of the company, and we use it in a very tactical and operational way,” he explains. “Our consumption forecasts are always updating with our AI algorithms; it’s constantly adjusting to conditions like the biological variables of animals and the weather. We can really dial things in and get precise, so you can take better care of your animals, burn less diesel fuel, and then you need less workers.”

Besides Cargill, BinSentry is also working with Wayne Sanderson Farms, The Hanor Company, and Maple Leaf Foods. The company is moving at a breakneck pace, installing between 2,500 and 3,000 new sensors per 30 days, and it has its own service and maintenance teams to keep systems running and the customers happy.

“Our focus is to scale up now — because we’re growing like crazy,” Allen says. “That’s because we solve real, operational problems and we cut costs immediately. Our customer ROI is high and fast; the only way you grow this quickly (in agriculture) is by solving real problems for real people.

“We’re excited about our progress and excited about what we can do in the future, and that excitement centers around being more efficient within the animal feed supply chain, we feel like that’s a good story, because we’re helping create economic and environmental sustainability.”

You can read more about BinSentry’s funding raise here and learn more about the company at BinSentry.com.

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How Iowa Farmer Mark Hanna is Investing in Innovation and Giving Ag Startups a Fighting Chance

Thu, 20 Feb 2025 17:23:24 GMT

You’ll still find Iowa farmer Mark Hanna behind the wheel of his combine every fall. The technology and automation is a signature of their farm, and what helps keep running the combine still fun for someone who’s been farming for 46 years.

But the landscape of equipment and technology today looks drastically different from when he started farming in 1979.

“I joined my dad’s operation where I was basically the labor force to help me get started,” Hanna says, who farmers in Joyce, Iowa. “I would trade my labor for the use of his machinery.”

The Cusp of the 1980s Farm Crisis
Right on the cusp of the 1980s farm crisis, Hanna’s rookie years of farming were tough.

“It was a horrible time. It was 1979 and my grandpa, Dewey, whose farm we actually bought in 1980, said he was always going to sell me that farm, even when I was little,” Hanna remembers. “And it came about in 1981, and a year later, the farm was worth half of what we bought it for.”

Hanna describes farming as an occupation of risks and rewards. And the risks then were high.

“The bank got concerned and said, ‘Boy, your equity is going backward here. Your net worth isn’t good.’ And I said, ‘Well, I have a private contract with my grandpa. And as long as I make that, it really doesn’t matter to you.’”

The Mortgage Lifters
With interest rates at 18%, Hanna weathered that storm. One way he did was with farrow to finish hogs.

“I figured out they were the mortgage lifters,” he says. “So, I just raised as many as I could in every nook and cranny on the farm for about five or six years. And that kept me making my payments and kept me farming.”

Throughout the ‘90s, Hanna expanded more and more, moving all his hogs and pigs into an environment he could control.

“By 1998, I had even my sows inside as fully confinement buildings,” Hanna says. “But 1998, that was a pretty tough. We had 8 cent hogs in December. I had all my buildings full. We had just built two new buildings. It turned out to be a $30,000 a month loss with no end in sight.”

The Hog Market Crash of 1998
In 1998, Hanna met his biggest challenge yet. With margins in the red and the debt mounting, he knew he needed to find additional income. So, he decided to take a job in town working nights, while also still raising hogs.

“After two weeks of that, I decided, ‘You know what? There’s more important things in life. I’m doing the best I can. And if I’m doing the best I can and I can’t make it, so be it.’ So, I kept breeding sows and keeping all the facilities full. And by July that year we had $60 hogs. I had full buildings, and I made more money than I ever thought I would and got my debt taken care of,” Hanna says.

It’s that moment in Hanna’s career that his son, Philip, says was a pivotal point for their family farm.

“It really stuck out to me is that he just focused on ‘what can I do and not worry about the things that I can’t control and just focus on that’,” says Philip Hanna.

The Next Generation
Hanna’s sons, Philip and Andrew, are now partners in their family farm. And they say the thing they admire most about their dad is his vision and ability to take risks.

“I feel like technology-wise, our biggest thing is being able to variable rate our planting, planting our split application of 32% and our fertilizer in the fall. That’s been huge,” says Andrew Hanna.

Mark’s sons, Andrew and Philip, are now partners on the farm.

(Tyne Morgan )

From the latest technology to the decision to dive into strip till in 2018, even Hanna’s employee of 20 years will tell you he admires Hanna’s intelligence and ability to always look ahead.

“They’re just really good people to work for,” says Larry Severson, a long-time employee. “I mean, they’re very innovative. They try new things like the strip tower. We were the first ones in this area to make that leap. And they went headfirst into it and it worked out really well for them.”

Mark Hanna was one of the first in his area to try strip till, and it wasn’t just a few acres. Hanna went all-in.

(Matt Mormann )

Investing in Innovation
What may be the biggest mark of success is how Hanna is investing in innovation through Ag Ventures Alliance .

“We help startups in ag thrive and be successful,” he says. “We offer them a wealth of information and knowledge and help to get them going.”

Ag Ventures Alliance and AgLaunch now select their top 10 startups each year, offering advice and financial investment.

“Out of that spun AgLaunch Farmers LLC , which we started two years ago. Farmers actually get a stake in each company. They have to put up $100,000 and pledge it to the AgLaunch Farmer LLC. When they’re successful, the farmers will get paid back with their stake in the equity in the company,” Hanna says.

Ag Ventures Alliance was created to accelerate ag tech innovation and redefine resilience and profitability for American farmers.

(Ag Ventures Alliance )

For Hanna, investing in others and helping start-up companies launch into the ag field is one of the most rewarding parts of his job today.

“I like to see new innovations. We like to try the newest thing that’s coming out there on our own farm,” he says.

For his sons, Hanna’s ability to give back and support others is just a glimpse into the strong character he instilled in both of them.

“I came out of high school wanting to be just like my dad, wanting to be a farmer like he has been in the past and to grow with him in the future,” Andrew says.

Phillip adds, “I hope with my brother and me, when my dad starts phasing out, that we’re going to continue to be on the new technology like my dad was and just keep on improving things on the farm and not be afraid of trying new things and new technology.”
Congratulations to Mark Hanna, a finalist for the 2025 Top Producer of the Year.

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Robot Bees? Check Out This New Pollination Innovation

Mon, 27 Jan 2025 19:25:56 GMT

Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed advanced robotic insects that could aid farming through artificial pollination. They could prove especially useful in the controlled indoor environments of high-tech ‘vertical farms’.

“These type of robots will open up a very new type of use case,” co-lead author Suhan Kim, from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), told Reuters.

“For instance, we can think of artificial pollination. So since our robot looks like an insect, and it’s real lightweight and small, if you can really precisely control the robot we might be able to do something on top of flowers or leaves, which really requires very delicate interactions.”

The robots, each lighter than a paperclip, can hover for approximately 1,000 seconds, over 100 times longer than previous models. They are also capable of performing high-speed acrobatic maneuvers, including double aerial flips.

The new design halves the size of the team’s earlier model, with increased stability while also freeing up space for electronics.

“We want the robot to be able to have a [circuit] board, battery and the sensors on board. So to do that, we need much higher payload than now. So what we’re currently pushing very hard right now is to optimize the robot design to be able to lift more and more so that we can afford these potential payloads,” said Kim.

Long term, the team hope this will enable autonomous flight outside the lab. This technology could significantly boost crop yields in multi-level warehouses by providing a more efficient method for artificial pollination.

Vertical farming, the name given to the production of crops in a series of stacked levels, often in a controlled environment, is a fast-growing industry with billions of dollars being pumped into projects across the globe.

It is seen as part of the solution to the food security challenge posed by population expansion at a time when climate change and geopolitics threaten supply.

“This doesn’t really mean that we want to entirely replace honeybees in nature, but what we sometimes hear from the people in the relevant field is that there are really good cases where we can’t rely on honeybees anymore, such as like indoor farming, where we can’t really have honeybee homes in it because of safety issues or some environmental issues. So in that case, we can start thinking of using our robot, if it works well, for tools like indoor farming,” added Kim.

Despite the team’s improvements, the robotic insects still cannot match the capabilities of natural pollinators. However, the researchers aim to improve the robots’ flight time and precision to enable them to land and take off from the center of a flower.

The research was published in the journal Science Robotics.

A Farmer Can Dream, Right? Tesla Robots As the Farm Labor Force of the Future?

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 18:24:44 GMT

With a visual form ripped straight from a skin-crawl inducing robot thriller, Tesla’s new AI-bot, Optimus, is eliciting strong reactions from tech advocates and flip-phone touting technophobes.

Let’s indulge our imaginations for just a second and imagine how a farmer could put one of Musk’s $20,000 helper robots to work around the family farm in, say, the year 2040. I use 2040 because, even though the prototypes in the video below look awesome, it turns out the AI behind it needs more work before any farmer would feel safe setting a squad of them loose on the farm.

Our own Clinton Griffiths was also inspired by Optimus’ unveiling. In his upcoming column in the November issue of Farm Journal, Clinton gets right to the heart of the issue, and that’s whether the bots will pan out on the farm?

The real test, he writes, “will be whether it can keep its glossy finish motoring along regardless of whether or not the field is mud-free.”

I couldn’t agree more, Clinton. Serving up fancy drinks during an unveiling party on a glitzy Hollywood film studio lot is one thing. Standing up to all the dust and heat and tough conditions of your average farm or ranch is a different beast altogether.

In that vein, we offer up the following farm chore list Optimus can take over from here on out.

No, seriously Opti, you don’t need our permission. Just go ahead and take care of these few little things every single day for the rest of time, and we’ll be off, I don’t know, fishing at the lake with the kids, rocking on the front porch, or something.

Farm equipment maintenance tech
Director of crop protection jug disposal
Backpack spraying around-the-clock weed warrior
Chief grain bin inspector
Head ladder climber
Irrigation pivot inspector general
Head high in July crop scout
Pig loader and unloader extraordinaire
Master bottle mixer and calf feeder

Now that you’ve read my list, I’m curious how you would use a robot that walks, talks and moves like a real human (and never gets tired, bored or spends 20 minutes staring at its phone) on your farm? or click

Share your robot wish list by clicking the green “Respond Here” button or click here .

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America’s Premier Farmers and Ranchers to Gather at 2024 Top Producer Summit in Kansas City

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 16:51:50 GMT

Farm Journal’s 27th Annual Top Producer Summit, agriculture’s premier educational and networking event, is set for Feb. 5-7, 2024, at the Loews Hotel in Kansas City, Mo. The event will bring many of the nation’s top farmers and ranchers together to share business opportunities and ideas to take their operations to the next level.

The 2024 Top Producer Summit will feature industry-leading speakers on finance, innovative management practices, human resources, technology and succession planning. Attendees will also enjoy a night out networking at Kansas City’s Power & Light District.

The event will recognize several of the nation’s most outstanding farm operations. Finalists for the 2024 Top Producer of the Year Award include:

Christiansen Land and Cattle, Christine Hamilton, Kimball, S. D.
Garrett Land & Cattle, Kelly Garrett, Arion, Iowa
Haynie Farms, P.J. Haynie, Virginia and Arkansas

To register for Top Producer Summit, go to www.tpsummit.com

Top Producer also proudly awards two additional outstanding leaders in agriculture at the annual awards ceremony. The winner of the Top Producer Women in Agriculture Award will be awarded to Pam Johnson of Floyd, Iowa. The Top Producer Next Gen Award will go to Hallie Shoffner of SFR Seed in Newport, Ark.

Join us in Kansas City to honor these producers during the TP Summit event which includes dinner and the awards banquet. If you are not able to join in person, the entire awards banquet will be streamed live on Feb. 6 at AgWeb.com.

“Top Producer Summit is one of Farm Journal’s annual highlights for the farmers that attend and for Farm Journal to host as a company,” said Charlene Finck, president of Farm Journal. “It is the connection point for leading ag businesses with its superior networking and thought-provoking program.”

Agenda items include:

A pre-conference workshop on succession planning led by Rena Striegel of Transition Point Business Advisors
General session presented by mountaineer and business leader Vanessa O’Brien
Panel discussion of what’s next in the farm economy moderated by Tyne Morgan
Fireside Chat with Howard Buffett
General Session with innovator and creativity coach Kyle Scheele

Top Producer Summit is supported by platinum sponsors BASF, Case IH and Rabo Agrifinance. Silver Sponsors include NewLeaf Symbiotics. Bronze sponsors for the event include AGCO/FENDT, Balzer, Certis Biologicals, Corteva Agriscience, FMC, Growers, Pattern Ag, Precision Risk Management, Timac Agro USA and Tracer Minerals.

For the full agenda and to register for Top Producer Summit, go to www.tpsummit.com.

“Technical Debt” Continues To Grow Rapidly In The Agriculture Industry

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 02:17:54 GMT

Last December Southwest Airlines was forced to cancel more than 15,000 flights during the peak holiday season. It wasn’t weather, mechanical issues, or even striking airline workers that caused the chaos. Instead, the real reason for the grounding was the weight of the company’s overall “technical debt” had become too much too bear. In short, the company’s antiquated systems and technology broke down at the worst possible time.

Could the same thing happen in agriculture? Absolutely. In fact, the agricultural industry as a whole, at both the macro and micro levels are ripe for such technical tsunamis. That’s not just Chicken Little talking, such warnings are echoed by a recent McKinsey Global Institute study that placed agriculture dead last in terms of the industry’s state of digitization.

Is too much “technical debt” putting your farm’s future at risk? To answer that question you must first understand what technical debt means and how it affects your overall business.

Technical debt — or tech debt — is the implied cost incurred when businesses do not fix problems that will affect them in the future. Accruing technical debt causes existing problems to get worse over time. The longer the debt builds up, the more costly it becomes to rectify.

Learn more about the risk of technical debt at the 2024 Top Producer Summit. Register online today!

Farmers have been on the agricultural treadmill for the better part of two centuries now. It was JFK’s Chief Agricultural Economist Willard Cochrane that coined the phrase “technology tread-mill” to describe the race to adopt new technologies in order to remain cost competitive. From the Industrial Revolution to the Green Revolution, to the Biotech Revolution, to now the Information Age, it feels like Cochrane’s treadmill has accelerated to warp speed.

Assessing your farm’s technical debt is not as simple as evaluating risks from financial debt. There is not a clear formula, like a debt ratio, that measures total debt to total assets. Addressing technical debt involves taking inventory of the technology on the farm today and evaluating the short-term and long-term risks to your overall operation if one or more of those technologies fail.

That’s just the first layer of the onion when it comes to knowing your true technical debt. The exercise should also involve answering various questions about your farm’s overall technical health. Questions like — What technology is missing that I need today, or even tomorrow? What equip-ment should immediately be put out to pasture or parked in the digital fencerow? Are my technology pieces compatible? In other other words, do they play nice together and talk to each other? And finally — are you really using the technology you already have and the data that comes with it?

In the real world those questions might sound something like this — Do I need to digitize and record more of my field activities, like anhydrous or crop protection product application, in order to increase my farm’s future carbon market value? Is my yield monitor so old that they don’t even make memory card readers to download the data? Will my John Deere tractor display talk to my new Kinze planter? Do I religiously use technology to implement actionable agronomy practices like variable-rate seeding and crop removal recommendations?

Just like financial debt, not all technical debt is bad. Just like regular debt, it must be managed and serviced on a regular basis. The most important way to turn technical debt into a positive is to simply have a technology plan. What do you want your technology to do for you and does it align with the other overall future goals for your farming operation?

Tech debt cannot be eliminated by geeking out and going on a technology buying spree. Investment in tech should not be considered just a fair weather proposition, nor should it be considered when you’re behind the eight-ball like in the case of Southwest. Since the dawn of precision farm-ing, the industry’s pervasive mentality has been that technology falls into more of a luxury category than treating it as the capital expense it should be.

The agricultural treadmill has always been unforgiving. The recent rise of technical debt has only ratcheted up the intensity. If you are not proactive, you will likely spend all your time putting out fires. That leaves little time or energy left for planning. And as Winston Churchill once said: “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”

Learn more about the risk of technical debt at the 2024 Top Producer Summit. Register online today!

Livestock and mRNA Vaccines: What You Need To Know

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 01:56:42 GMT

As misinformation regarding the use of mRNA vaccines in livestock filter through social media, there are facts begging to be set straight.

Recently, a claim was made saying producers are required to inject livestock with mRNA vaccines.

According to USDA spokesperson, Marissa Perry says, “There is no requirement or mandate that producers vaccinate their livestock for any disease. It is a personal and business decision left up to the producer and will remain that way,” in response to the claim, Associated Press shared in an article .

National Pork Board’s Director of Consumer Public Relations, Jason Menke echoed the statement to AP, noting that the decision to use vaccines and other medical treatments to protect animal health and well-being are made by the farmer under the direction of the herd veterinarian.

To further explain mRNA vaccines and shed light on controversies, Dr. Kevin Folta, a molecular biologist and professor at the University of Florida, shares his viewpoint and experience with the technology.

What are mRNA Vaccines?

First introduced to the population through the COVID-19 vaccines, mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) vaccines have been in development for decades, says Folta in a recent AgriTalk segment.

He adds that the technology’s potential in human health makes it a likely candidate to have a place in animal health as well. However, “the technology is being maligned in social media, and is now shaping decisions at the level of state legislature,” Folta says. This leads to the growing importance that producers and consumers become more educated on the topic.

What Folta believes began in January of this year, based on claims with very little data, certain advocates against mRNA vaccines are concerned that mRNA vaccines are in use and development in livestock. Additionally, these vaccines may then be present in the food these animals provide.

Why mRNA Vaccines Are Not Present in Food

“It’s not in your food. It’s a vaccine for the animal that, just like any vaccine, protects the animal from disease,” Folta says.

Current mRNA vaccines being used in swine are injected into the muscle, Folta explains, which causes the development of the immune response protein to then stimulate the body to work against the virus.

“In the absence of the virus, it’s kind of like giving the virus or giving the body a ‘wanted’ poster that says, ‘when this individual comes along, and this virus comes along, work against it,’ and it’s all gone within hours,” he adds.

The mRNA never leaves the cells from where it was injected. RNA is a very unstable molecule that must be kept cold, buffered and in solvent, to remain viable, Folta explains.

Additionally, any licensed vaccine comes with a minimum time before that animal can enter the food chain, also known as the “withdrawal time,” says Alan Young, professor in the Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences at South Dakota State University and founder of protein platform (non-mRNA) vaccine company Medgene.

The Animal’s Genes Are Not Altered

While mRNA vaccines include genetic code, Folta says the use of a mRNA vaccines does not alter the animal’s genes in any way.

“This [mRNA] is an intermediate between the gene itself and the products that the gene encodes. So, it’s like having a blueprint and a house. The mRNA is like the construction worker. It takes the blueprint and manufactures the house. In the case of the cell, it takes the DNA blueprint and then takes a little bit of that information to build part of the final structure. The mRNA is just that intermediate, it does not change the genes. It doesn’t change the DNA itself,” he explains.

What are the Benefits of mRNA Vaccines?

More flexibility and faster response to new disease, Folta describes as reasons why mRNA vaccines are becoming more popular.

Traditional vaccines require large amounts of a virus to be raised and purified before being injected to elicit an immune response, he adds. Meanwhile, mRNA encourages the body to make a little piece of protein to elicit the desired immune response.

“It’s much cleaner, much easier. If you’re moving parts in this machine, to make this product that induces an immune response, it’s so good in so many ways,” Folta says.

In pork production specifically, researchers are working with mRNA vaccines that will work this way against porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), which is a viral disease that causes economic loss totals around $664 million per year in the U.S. (Holtkamp et al., 2013).

Additionally, the use of mRNA technology adds another tool to the toolbox, which may be helpful in combating diseases, such as African swine fever (ASF), avian influenza and other food-animal diseases.
“This stands to be a revolutionary technology if we don’t get in the way,” Folta adds.

Are There Risks to mRNA Vaccines?

Folta says everything has some sort of risk, but it’s important to weigh the benefits against the risk.
As seen with the COVID-19 vaccines, in rare cases, people experienced side effects from the vaccine. However, Folta is encouraged by the initial results in livestock.

“If you look in animals where these [vaccines] have been used, there have been no unusual effects noted. Everything potentially has risk, but it’s monitored, and especially in large animal populations, we can look very carefully at that for surveillance,” he explains.

mRNA Enters State Legislation

While some consumers spread misinformation about the use of mRNA vaccines, the ideas have also crept into state legislation.

The Missouri House Bill 1169 , with a special hearing set for Apr. 19 on the matter, aims to require a label be used on meat from animals treated with an mRNA vaccine, identifying the “potential gene therapy product.”
This bill falsely claims that mRNA vaccines would modify the genes of the organism, Folta explains.

mRNA vaccines are simply another modality that can protect animal health, which results in healthy animals producing the best and safest food products, Folta says, and provides producers with more options to help combat disease.

“To have affordable food, we need to have continual innovation in the animal, medical, veterinary space and mRNA vaccines are safe and an effective way to treat the animal that does not change the final product,” he adds.

The COVID-19 pandemic simply “broke the seal” to the development of these new modalities that will change the way human and animal diseases will be treated in the years to come.

More on Vaccines:

Genvax Technologies Secures $6.5 Million to Advance Novel Vaccine Platform

Cattle Veterinarians Have New Vaccination Guidelines

Don’t Assume That Old Refrigerator Is Good Enough To Store Vaccines

OTC Livestock Antibiotics Will Require Prescription June 11

Can Telehealth Aid in Disaster Relief?

Thu, 13 Jun 2024 00:12:08 GMT

Telehealth, the use of TV and computer monitors to deliver healthcare remotely, is proving to be a valuable addition to many practices. Recently, a commentary on the role of telehealth in disaster response, by Brendan Carr , MD, Associate Dean of Healthcare Delivery Innovation at Jefferson (Philadelphia University +Thomas Jefferson University), and Nicole Lurie, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital, was published in The Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine ( JAMA Internal Medicine ). The authors discuss the advantages of using telehealth during disasters and some of the barriers to widespread implementation.

Brendan Carr (Credit: Philadelphia University and Thomas Jefferson University)

Here, Dr. Carr provides a vision for what disaster relief could look like if telehealth were implemented and also discusses some of the barriers to implementation.

Q: How is telehealth used today?

While telehealth programs originally developed in rural areas, which often lack health facilities or specialists, it has grown to improve delivery of care in any medical setting, regardless of geography. Examples of telehealth now include emailing your doctor, video-chatting for follow-up visits or even urgent care, remote consultation with a specialist, and mental health screening and care. Though hands-on care cannot be replaced, telehealth provides options when a clinician cannot be physically present with a patient, or even when a visit is not required to get the right care.

The treatment of acute stroke patients is a well-known example of particularly valuable telehealth – emergency departments without stroke neurologists can arrange rapid virtual consultation in order to make decisions about clot busting drugs so that optimal treatment can be delivered as quickly as possible. Similar remote access to specialists has improved outcomes for patients in intensive care units, has been used to improve care of Zika patients in Puerto Rico, and provided mental health care to patients suffering from the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) have substantial telehealth portfolios and have both announced expansions to their current telehealth systems that will take place this year.

Q: How can telehealth improve disaster response?

During and after a disaster, local hospitals and clinics can become overwhelmed with a massive influx of patients. In these situations, telehealth can aid clinicians on the ground to facilitate more rapid evaluation, diagnosis, and communication with patients. With remote access to subspecialists, clinicians have ready access to information that will help them stabilize, triage, and effectively treat patients with highly acute conditions. Using their own personal devices (smartphone or computer), patients in need of less intensive and immediate care can directly access providers without traveling to an already crowded hospital. Easy access to care is especially important for averting long-term mental health issues, which are rarely addressed during disaster response. Telehealth can also aid in near real time provider-to-provider education of post-disaster medical problems, such as skin conditions and infectious disease. All of these efforts can save lives and improve health outcomes for patients and the community. Apart from direct benefits to patients and clinicians, telehealth can significantly lower disaster response costs because remote clinicians do not need to be transported, fed, or housed.

Q: What are the barriers to using telehealth during a disaster?

The biggest barriers to using telehealth during a disaster are administrative and reimbursement issues. While access to electricity and internet or cell service is a barrier to telehealth in many settings, during a disaster, specialized equipment with satellite connection and batteries can be used effectively to keep on-site clinicians connected to telehealth resources. (Though limited access to electricity and internet is a barrier to patient-initiated telehealth.) Administrative barriers such as patient confidentiality, data security, licensing of telehealth providers, and reimbursement from insurance companies and disaster funds cannot be addressed with technology alone and require a coordinated effort across key stakeholders. Ideally, information about disaster-related healthcare visits could be transmitted to the patient’s regular healthcare team after the crisis in a smooth and secure manner.

Q: How can communities prepare for using telehealth in a disaster situation?

Few disaster response mechanisms work when if they are implemented for the first time during the crisis. It’s important for communities to assess their local services that may be overwhelmed during a disaster and determine exactly how telehealth could aid those services. Bolstering or expanding technology resources with an eye to using telehealth will put valuable tools in place, but communities can also identify existing technology that can be used or repurposed for telehealth during a disaster. Most importantly, communities must work with health insurers, NGOs, and federal disaster relief agencies to figure out how telehealth services will be used during a disaster.

Editor’s Note: This information was derived from an article by Nicole Lurie, MD, Brendan G. Carr, MD, “The Role of Telehealth in the Medical Response to Disasters,” first published in JAMA Internal Medicine, doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2018.1314 , 2018.

Climate and Tech Expected to Affect Ag Most This Year

Fri, 08 Mar 2024 19:43:28 GMT

Farm Journal’s Smart Farming Week is an annual week-long emphasis on innovation in agriculture. The goal is to encourage you to explore and prioritize the technology, tools and practices that will help you farm smarter. Innovation today ensures an efficient, productive and sustainable tomorrow.

Every year before the ball drops in Times Square, it seems everyone wants to pull out a crystal ball and prophesize what the new year will bring. And the ag industry loves a good prophet.

Before 2023 became history, Forbes Magazine took its shot at predicting agriculture’s highlights for 2024. So before Father Time turns the predictions stale, I thought it might be insightful, or at least entertaining, to provide some color commentary on the article, which focused on the following five areas where change in agriculture could be the greatest.

1. Farmland Holds the Key to Carbon Management
No different from last year or the prior year, agriculture has a bull’s-eye on its back when it comes to carbon intensity. According to the USDA Economic Research Service, U.S. agricultural operations are responsible for 10.6% of the nation’s overall greenhouse gas emissions. Climate scientists and Al Gore have told us this for years now. Expect the barrage of white papers and warnings to continue in 2024.

The good news, according to the pundits, is it will become increasingly clear this year that farmland is the key to carbon management. By default, nature has been seen as the most scalable way to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. What is becoming more obvious to those outside the sphere of agriculture is that farmland is the best place to store it.

Look to see more announcements at the consumer packaged goods level regarding programs and collaboration across industries and sectors to foster regenerative practices at the production level. Companies such as Walmart, PepsiCo and General Mills are seeking programs able to scale such practices across millions of acres.

2. Alternative Proteins Will Recover From Their Sophomore Slump
Last year, the stock market and the population’s tastes soured on meatless burgers and chickpea chicken nuggets. Beyond Meat’s market cap plummeted from an all-time high of $14.2 billion to just more than $500 million at the turn of this year.

But don’t count out the alternative protein industry yet. Those quoted in the Forbes article anticipate 2024 to be a renaissance year for animal-based product substitutes.

The reason for such renewed hope is a tactical marketing change adopted by the second wave of alternative protein startups. Instead of taking full-blown consumer-ready products direct to the grocery store shelf and the fast food drive-through lane, they are focusing on selling alternative protein products as ingredients.

For example, the Every Company is touting that “the world’s first liquid egg made without the hen” could replace real eggs in thousands of processed food items. Rue the day these eggs find their way into my favorite lemon meringue pie.

3. Forget Counting Calories. Count Carbon
A new diet seems to be on the table every new year. This year, paring down the amount of carbon in your life may be as important as limiting your calories. Just like requirements for disclosing calories through food labels, the social, political and regulatory environment is forcing food companies to be fully transparent about their carbon footprints.

Instead of carbon credits, experts say carbon insets are needed to move the climate needle. With recently passed climate disclosure legislation, such as California’s SB 253, expect more food companies looking to measure, report and reduce their carbon emissions.

This switch will put pressure on producers as food companies off-load the burden of carbon reduction on them. Look for additional emphasis on cutting methane emissions from livestock through innovative feeds and carbon-capture techniques and improving soil health through biotech innovation, data and artificial intelligence.

4. Technology Will Make Ag More Hip and Exciting
Agriculture has long been characterized in literature, and even nursery rhymes, as boring and depressing—think Grapes of Wrath and Old MacDonald Had a Farm. Well, technology is continuing to turn this industry on its head.

Specialty crop operations’ use of automation will grow quickly as ag labor shortages persist. Meanwhile, the food prep industry is transforming as food- and medicine-focused companies take root. Think HelloFresh and Blue Apron meet your medical dietician. Companies such as ModifyHealth are tailoring chef-inspired medical meals to support consumers’ specific health needs, and companies such as Farmer’s Fridge allow you to select a green goddess salad or Thai noodle bowl instead of a Snickers bar from a vending machine.

5. Capital Investment in Ag Will Be Even More Deliberate and Disciplined
Once viewed as the hot new space for disruption, the ag tech sector is now weeding out the venture capital investors who entered it with hopes of quick wins. That culling really started in earnest two years ago and is predicted to continue this year.

But all is not gloom and doom in the ag startup arena. Investors see the market stabilizing and valuations returning to more realistic levels. Quality companies that are scaling, have good economic fundamentals and growing customer demand will likely find the capital they are seeking in 2024, but expect no more free lunches.

So there you have it. This recaps the Forbes take on agriculture in the new year: climate, carbon, technology, money and a world with eggs but no chickens.

If you think that’s weird, then just wait. The year has only begun. In agriculture, nearly anything can happen. Just wait a day.

John Deere, SpaceX Announce Starlink Deal

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 19:08:32 GMT

Deere & Company announced an agreement with SpaceX to provide Starlink network satellite communications (SATCOM) service to farmers. Utilizing the Starlink network, this solution will allow farmers facing rural connectivity challenges to fully leverage precision agriculture technologies.

“The value of connectivity to farmers is broader than any single task or action. Connectivity unlocks vast opportunities that were previously limited or unavailable,” said Aaron Wetzel, VP of production and precision ag production systems.

The SATCOM solution will connect both new and existing machines through satellite internet service and ruggedized satellite terminals. This will enable autonomy, real-time data sharing, remote diagnostics, enhanced self-repair solutions, and machine-to-machine communication, all of which help farmers work more efficiently while minimizing downtime, according to John Deere.

“We are bringing satellite communications service to the farm at scale so farmers with cellular coverage challenges can maximize the value of connectivity to their operations,” said Jahmy Hindman, senior VP & CTO.

He adds that the SpaceX partnership “unlocks the John Deere tech stack so every farmer can fully utilize their current precision agriculture technology in addition to the new innovative solutions they will deploy in the future.”

But, by adding a third-party telematics solution into the data ecosystem, many online are wondering who controls the data (and access to it) as it passes through the Starlink system on its way to or from the Operations Center?

John Deere users with those concerns can rest assured that “we don’t anticipate any changes there, the customer still controls it,” said Mike Kool, senior product manager - connected fleets.

Kool also shared that John Deere has been working on its fleet connectivity project for the last 18-24 months. Starlink’s Leo constellation of low-orbit satelittes delivered the “high bandwidth and low latency” performance Deere was seeking.

“This solution fits our customer needs today and it also allows them to grow in the future,” said Kool. “The way I like to think about it is we’re giving our customers their time back, giving them more time to do the things they love to do. They have a very important job in feeding and clothing the world, and doing so on less arable land today. I believe wholeheartedly this will further unlock the power of our tech stack.”

Deere has yet to outline how the new Starlink features will be priced. Kool said those details are still in the works, so stay tuned.

To activate the Starlink solution, John Deere dealers will install a ruggedized Starlink terminal on compatible machines, along with a 4G LTE JDLink modem to connect the machine to the John Deere Operations Center.

The service will initially be available through a limited release in the United States and Brazil starting in the second half of 2024, according to the company.

New Ways To Address Healthcare Issues Are Needed For Rural Americans

Tue, 09 Jan 2024 14:36:27 GMT

It’s no secret the rural U.S. healthcare system faces ongoing pressures from financial struggles and labor shortages. Rural hospitals, in particular, have been hit by the shortages, according to Carrie Cochran-MacClain, chief policy officer for the National Rural Health Association (NRHA).

“We are raising a stink out here in Washington about what we’re seeing in terms of the status of our rural hospitals,” Cochran-MacClain says. “We know that coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic, a lot of hospitals really took a hit during that time. They did everything they could to provide services to the people in their communities, and now they’re struggling, and we’re continuing to see closures.”

Since 2005, 104 rural hospitals have closed. An additional 600 rural hospitals — 30% of all rural hospitals in the U.S. — are at risk of closing in the near future, according to the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform.

In response, Cochran-MacClain says one stop-gap measure Congress has enacted now is the development of rural emergency hospitals (REH), a Medicare provider designation established through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.

New Methods Of Care

REHs are meant to reinforce access to outpatient medical services and reduce health disparities in rural areas that are unlikely to be able to sustain a traditional, full-service hospital. Today, there are about 18 such facilities across the U.S.

“It’s a great model that’s keeping a level of (medical care) access in rural settings, and that’s fantastic,” she told Chip Flory, host of AgriTalk, on Monday.

“But I think our perspective is, in addition, we hate to see hospitals closing their in-patient units, because they can’t afford to keep them open and are being forced to turn to this model,” Cochran-MacClain adds. “We want to make sure those facilities that are in rural communities and want to keep their inpatient care are able to do that.”

Achieving that goal – and continuing to provide rural Americans with healthcare options – will require addressing the costs and labor issues, she told Flory.

“We have to do more to make sure that we’re training (medical) folks from rural areas, that we’re recruiting folks to rural areas, and really investing in that workforce,” she says.

Reimbursement rates to rural hospitals also need to be addressed. Many rural hospitals struggle to maintain financial viability under traditional Medicare payment models.

“When we moved to the way that we pay hospitals now, called prospective payment rates, those rates were not made for small, low-volume facilities,” Cochran-MacClain says. “So, we continue to really need some adjustments to the way we are paying for health care in rural areas. And that’s what we’re trying to do with a whole slew of proposals in Washington.”

The rural healthcare discussion between Cochhran-MacClain and Flory is available here.

More Funding Resources Needed

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced in late 2023 some of the steps underway to help rural communities keep access to local healthcare available to residents. These include:

Funding to rural providers to join value-based care initiatives. Medicare’s largest value-based care program, the Medicare Shared Savings Program, encourages providers to collaborate to provide coordinated, high-quality care to people with Medicare by forming or joining Accountable Care Organizations.

Grants to rural hospitals and communities to provide health care services. HHS has several grant opportunities to support rural communities, including $28 million to provide direct health services and expand infrastructure and $16 million to provide technical assistance to rural hospitals facing financial distress.

Developing and investing in the nursing workforce. Nurses play a critical role in primary care, mental health care and maternal health care, particularly in rural areas. HHS has announced more than $100 million in awards to address the increasing demand for registered nurses, nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives and nurse faculty nationwide.

Expanding access to services provided via telehealth. During the first year of the Covid pandemic, Medicare telehealth visits increased 63-fold, especially benefiting patients in rural communities. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is extending many of the Medicare telehealth flexibilities that were provided during the Covid pandemic through December 31, 2024.

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A Unique Gift the Whole Farm Will Want

Mon, 16 Oct 2023 12:49:39 GMT

Need a gift for the grower, child or farmer-customer in your life? Two companies have thought of a product that caters to the farm kid in all of us.

Aerial Rug and Boundri are using satellite imagery to create custom farm products that allow imaginations to run wild in farmers young and old. Whether it’s a wall hanging for the farm office, a blanket for a client, or their most popular item: rugs that take carpet farming to the next level.

“I’ve got little kids, and I wanted to create something kind of cool for them,” says Nathan Faleide of Boundri. “I bought a rug and made one of a farm field in North Dakota. I brought some old farm toys that I had as a kid out and they really seemed to enjoy it.”

Faleide, who has a nearly 30-year background in satellite imagery, saw his product quickly go viral on Twitter.

Susan Stroud’s company, Aerial Rug, was built from similar inspiration. Her son’s love for farm toys sparked the idea of farm landscape rugs.

“We created all sorts of different already laid out landscapes like a feed yard in Kansas or a gold mine out west,” Stroud says. “We quickly realized it was a market for something custom and people wanted their own farms on rugs.”

Though both companies started with carpet farming in mind, they recognize their custom items are meaningful for anyone with a passion for agriculture – no matter the age.

“I had one customer who got one of the farm for his dad. His dad is retired and lives in town but it’s in the front door of his house,” Faleide says. “They don’t even own the farm anymore so it’s a nice memento.”

Faleide shares other customers have placed the rugs in their offices or used them for farm safety demonstrations with local schools. Stroud has also had orders from real estate brokers who give them to clients.

How to Bring the Farm Indoors
To get these customized gifts under the Christmas tree, the process varies slightly between the companies.
Aerial Rug uses customer-submitted photos, screenshots, addresses, etc. as a guide to know where to pull satellite images. And according to Stroud, they’re able to work with just about anything.

“Someone sent me a photo of one of those old flyover pictures that were popular in the 80s and 90s,” she says. “We were able to use image enhancing and we printed that old school image on a rug.”

Boundri customers use a free mapping program on the company’s website to build their own product, which the company hopes will save time and improve accuracy. They input their address or zoom into a specific area and manipulate the map view or layers to their liking. Customers can also upload their own drone or logo files to the program.

Both companies are able to use a few different years of satellite imagery if the customer has a preference to the time of year the photo was taken, but there are limitations to what is available in rural areas.

Things to Know Before Ordering
Rugs from either company are available in multiple different sizes, depending on the customer’s needs and price point, and are made from a woven polyester material similar to an outdoor rug.

As for their durability, Faleide has put one to the ultimate test.

“I had an extra rug and gave it to my local daycare where my kids go,” he says. “It’s been played on nonstop for the last year and still looks good. I call that probably 10 years of experience in one year for being at a daycare.”

The size of the farm that will fit on a rug depends as well. Some customers are looking to achieve a 1/64 scale to match the size of farm toys (which according to Stroud would fit 20 to 25 acres), some prefer to have the farmstead prominent, and some just want to include as much land as possible.

Rugs from Aerial Rug take about 10 to 14 days from the time the order is approved by the customer and Boundri will need seven to 10 days from when the order is processed.

If a custom farm rug sounds like the perfect Christmas gift for someone on your list, both companies have set the first week of December as their cutoff to guarantee it makes its way onto Santa’s sleigh.

John Phipps: Is There Really a Shortage of Truck Drivers?

Mon, 14 Aug 2023 16:07:06 GMT

Cast your mind back to early 2022 and the headline-grabbing Trucker Shortage . My conclusion then was there wasn’t much hard data to substantiate that alarm. There has always been a need for truckers and perversely there seems to have always been ample qualified workers to fill it.

It didn’t take an economics degree to figure out the problem: truckers simply weren’t being compensated enough to entice and keep workers. Now a year and a half later the headline is the demise of one of America’s largest trucking companies – Yellow Trucking – and the end of 30,000 jobs they represent.

(Farm Journal)

Freight companies are struggling now with reduced demand, which threatens even more trucking jobs. At some point most of us begin to wonder about these alleged shortages. Adding to the muddled picture of jobs and pay is the historically low unemployment rate which emphatically illustrates how small the pool of potential employees is.

Related Story: Walmart Will Now Pay Starting Truck Drivers $110,000, Could It Backfire and Make the Nationwide Trucker Shortage Even Worse?

For trucking, which is often a career step up from entry wage employment, increases in the minimum wage by many states has helped low-wage employees keep up.

Since the pandemic, the surprising strength of low wage compensation compared to skilled or managerial wages removes some motivation for workers to consider a trucking job. Note the inversion after the pandemic of which income quintile is seeing greater wage increases.

Trucking companies have long dealt with astonishing turnover rates since the prospective employee pool was large and already qualified. New CDL licenses are issued to about half the current trucker numbers each year. Short-lived shortages are not limited to employees either.

Related Story: SHIP IT Act Could Save Truck Drivers Up to $10,000 and Cover CDL Costs

I started looking back at the numerous “shortages” and dire predictions of the last few years. At least some semiconductor chips, for example, are in now surplus, even a glut. We’ve discovered more new sources for lithium than anyone imagined. Ditto for copper, cobalt, and phosphates.

It appears markets can remedy shortages faster than we have imagined, and the few stubborn scarcities are sidestepped with alternative solutions. Not always, but certainly more than the hysterical headlines suggest.

There will always be warnings about trucker shortages, I suspect, but not from truckers.

Technology Is… Considering A CTO

Thu, 27 Jul 2023 16:00:00 GMT

Is now the time to expand your tech expertise?

As you look at your farm’s capital expenditures, how many are related to technology? Think broadly. The numbers probably climb pretty fast.

“An important part of our business is to try new things,” says Brian Watkins, Ohio farmer and CEO of CropZilla, a farm software provider. “Even if you’re not an early adopter, you still have to have an intentional innovation strategy.”

Your farm’s strategy should span management information, agronomic technology and equipment technology, Watkins says. To make sure your farm is ahead of the pack (or at least in the race) you need someone to own this part of the business.

A Strategic Move

A recent Farm Journal technology survey shows 68% of farmers say they don’t see their farm needing a chief technology officer or similar positions in the future. Yet, 58% of those same farmers say their data collection practices are adequate for now but probably not good enough for tomorrow.

(Farm Journal)

Don’t be intimidated by the title of chief technology officer, Watkins encourages. The job label isn’t important. Your goal is to have someone on the team at least spending part of their time evaluating technology options, determining what to buy into and chucking out products or services that are not a fit.

“The point is you don’t want to let other people lead you around in terms of technology,” he says.

Assess your technology needs to determine if you should have an in-house expertise or if you should hire an external person, suggests John Fulton, precision agriculture specialist for Ohio State University Extension.

“You need someone who at least spends time keeping up with the technology,” Fulton says. “This can include attending conferences, talking to neighbors, reviewing information online and reading articles — this person is responsible for the farm’s digital strategy.”

Fill the Need

Look around your family and team, suggests Peter Gredig, an Ontario grain farmer and technology developer with mobile app development company AgNitrion. Is there a child, sibling or new employee who geeks out on technology, is internet savvy or is a gamer?

“There are a lot of diamonds in the rough on farms,” he says. “We are hiring young people who may not be ag savvy, so we are teaching them the ag stuff. But we’re not letting them teach us what they know on the tech side.”

Technology will continue to change how you farm — make sure you’re ready to capitalize on it.

“I always say a successful tech strategy has nothing to do with what tech you’re using; it has to do with diligences and know what’s available and if it fits on your farm,” Gredig says.

What Does a CTO Do?

The responsibilities of a chief technology officer (CTO) can vary depending on the type of farm operation. Peter Gredig, an Ontario grain farmer and technology developer, says the job description can include the following tasks:

Develop a technology strategy aligned with the company’s business goals.
Discover and implement new technologies that create a competitive advantage.
Help staff use the technology profitably by cutting costs, boosting productivity or improving efficiency.
Ensure proper use and efficiency creation of new and existing technologies.
Make adjustments based on feedback from staff and clients to improve the use of technology.
Communicate the technology strategy to partners and investors.

Technology is… different for every farmer. Find resources on how to make smart technology investments.

Lower Your Farm’s Cyberattack Risks

Wed, 26 Jul 2023 17:57:23 GMT

Understand the cyber risks you face — and how to reduce your exposure

In 2020, the FBI received nearly 800,000 complaints about cybercrime — up nearly 70% from 2019. From phishing to spoofing to extortion, the attacks last year generated losses of more than $4.1 billion.

“While we often only see large operations make the headlines after a cyberattack, it’s really important to understand that hackers will penetrate and steal from any size of business if they are able to,” says Melissa DeDonder, CPA and business technology consultant at KCoe Isom .

Cybersecurity threats can easily become scary and overwhelming, says Francis Nemia, principal with CLA . “Although there are numerous ways in which you can be attacked or exploited, there are also many ways you can help protect yourself from cyber threats.”

DeDonder and Nemia, along with the companies’ technology professionals, provide these tips for farmers.

Use strong passwords and change them periodically. A strong computer password or phrase is perhaps the easiest way to enhance the security of your system. Set up a complex password from eight to 64 alphanumeric characters and use special characters such as “#@*&. Remember, passwords should never be written down and stored near your device. When possible, adopt a two-factor authentication strategy. Update your password periodically.
Keep an inventory of systems, software, data, and information. In addition to your equipment inventory, include cloud applications, mobile applications and other third parties who may have access or control of the data and information.
Install anti-virus software. Anti-virus software actively scans for viruses trying to invade your email, system files or operating system. Choose a quality software package, keeping in mind the reputation of the company and product, features of the software and compatibility with your computer.
Perform daily full system scans. Viruses, spyware, and malware are continually evolving. As a result, they can sometimes evade your protection methods and infect your computer system. Implement daily scans via your anti-virus, anti-spyware and anti-malware software to find, quarantine and remove any malicious agents in your network before any (or further) damage is done.
Create a periodic system backup schedule. Many types of malicious agents can destroy the contents inside your computer. Create a periodic backup schedule to make sure your data is retrievable when something harmful happens to your computer. Consider backup options like a cloud service or a personal external hard drive.
Regularly update your computer system. Run regular computer system updates to repair any bugs and abnormalities within the system. Make sure you allow updates as they are released. A network firewall is an essential tool that acts as a perimeter around your computer and blocks unauthorized incoming and outgoing access. When setting up or configuring a computer, take advantage of the built-in firewall capabilities of the operating system.
Use email and the internet with caution. Hackers can exploit email in many ways — hiding viruses in attachments, for example. Do not open or read emails from email addresses you don’t recognize. Delete them immediately. In addition, many phony websites are camouflaged to mimic authentic websites. When entering URLs, check the name and correct spelling of the website. Avoid clicking on popups, ads, graphics and links to other websites.
Practice ongoing, employee awareness and training for cybersecurity best practices. Make sure employees know their roles and understand how to handle and secure sensitive information.

Do A Risk Assessment to Gauge Your Farm's Technical Debt

Thu, 20 Jul 2023 20:57:47 GMT

Could agriculture face a Southwest-type meltdown?

Southwest Airlines faced a perfect storm last December when it was forced to cancel more than 15,000 flights. The primary cause? An antiquated software scheduling system with origins in the 1990s.

“Southwest lost all visibility into where their planes and people were,” says Steve Cubbage, founder of Longitude 94. “Reports indicate some employees — not customers — were on hold for 17 hours to report their location. Even when the planes and people were physically in the same place, Southwest still couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty back together.”

Southwest has a huge amount of “technical debt,” Cubbage says, which is a gap between what the technology needs to be and what it is today.

“ Agriculture also carries technical debt ,” he says “When one takes off agriculture’s rose-colored glasses, the reality is much of the industry’s technology is being held together with digital duct tape and baling wire.”

For example, Cubbage says, the precision agriculture revolution is now more than 30 years in the rearview mirror. Many of those legacy systems are still used on farms today.

As farming and agriculture have evolved, farmers have become increasingly dependent on three networks they can’t control, says Brian Watkins, on Ohio farmer and founder of CropZilla, a farm software provider. The networks are:

Internet
Mobile communication
GPS

“If any of those went down, especially GPS, where would we be? We could figure out how to get things done, but there would be some real gnashing of teeth,” Watkins says.

While farmers don’t have to worry about a meltdown on the Southwest level, they do face technological risks, adds Terry Griffin, agricultural economist and precision agriculture specialist at Kansas State University.

“We’re going to be subject to those types of issues, whether it’s a faulty system or an intentional data breach by extremists,” he says. “Humans built these systems and humans can break these systems.”

INVEST WISELY

Do a risk assessment of your farm, Watkins suggests. What key parts have the potential for failure? Is your data backed up ? Then you can determine how to narrow any gaps.

“We have so many types of technology marketed to us as farmers,” he says. “You have to have a strategy for testing and adoption. People have different strategies, such as being on the bleeding edge or being a late adopter. Most of us try to be in the middle.”

Your goal is to be proactive, as a reactionary approach to adopting technology makes it impossible to deliver what the marketplace demands today, Cubbage says.

“Carbon markets and the digital transparency involved in tracking food through the supply chain are all at risk,” he says. “Southwest rested on its laurels. Will agriculture do the same, or will we roll up our sleeves and get to work?”

Sara Schafer uses her Missouri farm roots to cover crop management, business topics, farmland and more.

John Phipps: The Truth About Artificial Intelligence

Tue, 20 Jun 2023 20:46:29 GMT

Frequent correspondent Jay Brown from Ravenna, OH is skeptical of Artificial Intelligence (AI):

“I could take issue with every point you made but instead I will give you the only truth. There is no artificial intelligence now or in the foreseeable future. Mashing up Siri search and databases is not AI. Just sophisticated programs doing what they are programmed to do, nothing more.”

Many people share your dismissal, but often it is centered on the name of the technology itself. The term artificial intelligence was first used in the early 1950’s and rapidly became a standard expression for science fiction writers. Even in the beginning few agreed on exactly what it meant.

One big issue is the confusion with sentience – self-awareness. That is a whole ‘nother scientific and philosophical issue. Today, the AI industry avoids that implication, but the image of the Star Trek character, Data, pops into minds . Worse still, the suggested alternative terms like “machine learning” and “LLM’s – Large Language Models” don’t clarify matters much, so the concept of AI is pretty much up to users.

As far as intelligence, there is a widely used standard – the Turing Test, first proposed by the mathematical genius of WWII, Alan Turing. The test is simple: if during a conversation you cannot identify a human from machine responses, you are dealing with intelligence. This criterion would appear to be approached and often met by current generation chatbots, such as ChatGPT4.

When AI programs began beating the world’s best Go players, the common comment from the masters was the victories were due to moves never imagined in the centuries the game has been played. Those moves were not programmed, only the goal (winning) and rules were.

To the extent that AI is simply a mashup of a search and logic software with extensive memory, how greatly different that is from a basic description of human brains? We use logic to reach conclusions and formulate actions about things we know or experience.

AI is already close enough to human capability that creative occupations, from copywriters to commercial artists to programmers are being laid off in thousands, and computer engineering graduates are stunned by a lack of entry level jobs. My judgments are also based on the same logic as EV’s – that’s where the money is going.

Perhaps some individuals do know the only truth as Jay puts it, but owners of hundreds of billions of dollars clearly embrace other conclusions.

Dead Noise: AM Radio Could Soon Be Phased Out of All Vehicles

Wed, 10 May 2023 21:35:06 GMT

Do you listen to AM radio? Curtis LeGeyt, National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) CEO, says AM radio reaches 47 million people each week. But there’s speculation it could be phased out for the sake of electric vehicles.

Electric vehicles generate a higher level of electromagnetic interference than gas-powered cars, which automakers say can:

• Disrupt AM reception
• Cause static
• Create a high-frequency hum

With these issues in mind, NAB reports Ford, Tesla, Audi, BMW, Porsche, Volvo and Volkswagen have chosen to remove the AM option from their electric lineup, along with some gas-powered vehicles, in coming years.

FM radio will remain intact, however, as the frequency is not as easily disrupted.

Joe Gill, National Association of Farm Broadcasters president, isn’t on board with the move. He says AM removal poses a threat to public safety due to emergency broadcasts on the frequency.

“I know the argument will be that if you have an app, you can listen online, but not everybody has reliable internet access today,” Gill says. “This would result in a lot of limitations, and we have to give listeners and citizens a choice.”

Government Concerns in Removing AM Radio

Gill isn’t alone in this thinking. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., penned a letter to 40 automotive industry stakeholders in December, outlining his hope for car companies to continue offering free access to broadcast radio for public safety.

Markey’s comments were backed by former Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrators who reached out to Pete Buttigieg, transportation secretary, underscoring the safety needs in AM radio.

“AM radio is an indispensable source of information for more than three million farmers in the U.S.,” says Nathan Simington of the Federal Communications Commission. “To those who say AM is a dead technology, 75% of farmers listen to the radio five days per week.”

Despite concern, legislation backing the concept has not been proposed.

Ag Teachers: 4 Free Classroom Lessons Available Through Farm Bureau

Fri, 05 May 2023 15:41:01 GMT

Four free Applied Digital Skills lessons were launched by the 2023 Farm Bureau Foundation Fellows on Wednesday to help students learn about food, fuel and fiber.

According to American Farm Bureau Foundation’s press release , the 40- to 90-minute courses focus on four themes:
1. Careers
2. Celebrating local food events
3. Pollinators
4. Regenerative ag

Powered by Google, the lessons were designed with a focus on rural classrooms and will be offered free of charge, along with a stipend and Chromebooks.

“Our Foundation Fellows have done an outstanding job crafting these unique and engaging lessons,” said Daniel Meloy, executive director of the Foundation for Ag. “Whether you’re a teacher in a rural, urban or suburban classroom, these lessons can be used to teach a broad variety of technical skills while fostering understanding of ag.”

The first two lessons were released on March 21. The full suite is now available in Google’s lessons collections .

What Teachers Can Learn from the Farm Bureau Courses

Students weren’t the only ones in mind when creating the software. Meloy breaks down the vision for teachers’ learning in the program:

“Digital skills are increasingly becoming a prerequisite for jobs in today’s economy, yet students in rural areas in particular often don’t have access to the resources that will set them up for success, such as broadband access and program instruction,” he said. “We hope this program empowers teachers to introduce their students to the exciting world of agriculture, while also teaching them an array of technical skills.”

Teachers who choose to use the program will be offered 1:1 instruction from Google experts.

No, Wyoming Isn't Looking to Ban Electric Vehicles...Yet

Fri, 20 Jan 2023 19:33:15 GMT

California turned heads in August when its lawmakers pushed and passed legislation to ban the sale of gas-powered vehicles state-wide by 2035. In Wyoming, similar legislation was recently proposed, but on the opposite side of the aisle.

Sen. Jim Anderson (R-Wyo.) introduced a resolution last Friday aimed at phasing out electric vehicle sales in Wyoming by 2035. According to the resolution, the concept is being considered in order to sustain the state’s oil and gas industry.

“The oil and gas industry in Wyoming has created countless jobs and contributed revenue to the state,” says Sen. Dan Dockstader (R-Wyo.). “Wyoming will be robbed of 12,000 to 16,000 jobs if we dismiss gas vehicles for the sake electric. It’s unacceptable.”

Tabled Until 2024

Following the proposal, the resolution was referred to Wyoming’s minerals committee, where it was discussed and tabled, “at least,” through the year, Dockstader says.

“The resolution won’t be heard on the Senate floor in 2023, but we will revisit it in 2024,” he says.

The resolution discussion follows the Biden administration’s federal ban on oil and gas leasing. According to Dockstader, the ban is costing Wyoming $304 million per year, from 2021 to 2025.

“At some point as a state we have to push back and say our people and our jobs are more important. Our mineral and gas industry, that’s what’s employing our families across the state, and we stand with them.”

Electric Outlook

Outside of electric vehicles, Dockstader says he and his fellow Wyoming legislators aren’t completely closed off to new technologies.

“We’re using hydroelectric power here in Wyoming as well as wind power and solar. We’re not saying we’re not interested in trying other energy outlets. But if you step away from our current energy sources, or step away from gas-powered vehicles, you can’t drive the economy,” he says.

Docskstader pointed to California, saying the state—and any others that choose to ban gas-powered vehicles—can expect “serious” economic consequences.

“The havoc the U.S. is experiencing now with rapid inflation will reach far beyond the economy if we take away oil and gas and continue this electric vehicle spending,” he says. “We didn’t need this before and we won’t need this in the future, at least not in Wyoming.”

First of Seven Ag-Specific Satellites Goes Into Orbit

Wed, 04 Jan 2023 16:37:46 GMT

In early January, Dragonfly Aerospace launched its first imaging satellite from the SpaceX launch site in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

Named EOS SAT-1, this is the first of seven ag-specific satellites to be launched over the next three years, which is boasted to be the first such constellation focused on image data collection for agriculture. The constellation will maintain low Earth orbit and collect imagery for EOS Data Analytics with the goal of collecting high-quality data for crop monitoring, application mapping, soil moisture, yield prediction and biomass levels.

Per the company, the EOS SAT-1 is equipped with two DragonEye electro-optical imagers to provide 27 mile swath panchromatic and multispectral imagery across 11 spectral bands at close to 1m resolution – making it one of the most capable imaging satellites in LEO.

“This is a momentous achievement for Dragonfly Aerospace and we are thrilled to have delivered EOS SAT-1 to orbit with a number of firsts – the first imaging satellite designed and built by Dragonfly, the first microsatellite to be manufactured in South Africa since 2009, the first satellite of the EOS SAT constellation and the first agri-focused constellation in space,” said Bryan Dean, CEO and Co-founder of Dragonfly Aerospace. “This has been an important project for our whole team and has allowed us to demonstrate our capabilities, not just in producing high-performance electro-optical imagers, but in designing and manufacturing a full imaging satellite system. It’s an amazing feeling to see EOS SAT-1 leave the launch pad and take the next step in its journey to delivering crucial data that will have important environmental benefits for our planet. We look forward to supporting EOSDA with its mission to launch the next six satellites by 2025.”

Dragonfly was started in 2019 and has customers which include: EOS Data Analytics, NanoAvionics, Spire, UKRI, ZfT, EnduroSat, Loft Orbital, and Pixxel.

Ag Commodities Transformed into New Bioproducts

Wed, 21 Dec 2022 19:04:50 GMT

USDA announced on Tuesday it will invest $9.5 million in its Bioproduct Pilot Program (BPP) , which will fund three bioproduct manufacturing projects.

The program was authorized under the Infrastructure Invest and Jobs Act in November 2021 in order to “better position” the U.S. for competition in the global economy.

“Adopting a more circular economy ensures that wealth and other economic benefits in the form of jobs and other opportunities are created, and stay, in rural communities,” said Tom Vilsack, Agriculture Secretary. “We must support and incentivize practices like these, because it’s what consumers want — and what farmers, and our planet, need.”

BPP provides USDA the opportunity to invest $5 million each of fiscal year 2022 and 2023. This year, the program will support three awardees that will convert:

• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Food waste to bioplastics
• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Pig manure and feedstock to an asphalt product
• Soylei Innovations , of Ames, Iowa, Soybean oil to rubber for pavements and shingles

Dr. Dionne Toombs, acting director of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) had a hand in administering the awards. She says all three projects have “compelling benefits” to America’s economy.

“Each of the recommended projects includes collaborations with universities and companies that can bridge the gap between invention and the marketplace as well as produce stronger and more effective outcomes,” said Toombs in the press release.

More on ag tech :

Invest in Your Farm’s Reputation with Social Media
The Scoop Podcast: Be The Trusted Adviser For Technology, Just Like Agronomy

Invest in Your Farm's Reputation with Social Media

Mon, 19 Dec 2022 17:43:48 GMT

From attracting landlords to honoring employees to sharing a behind-the-scene view of a modern farm, social media can be a vital tool for your operation.

Consider what passersby think when they see your headquarters or machinery on the highway. Do you want them to draw their own conclusions, or do you want to be the one telling the story?

Be Proactive

Fourth-generation farmer Leah Halverson can remember the exact moment she told her family they needed to get their operation, Black Gold Farms, on social media.

“My dad said, ‘But then everybody’s going to know what we’re doing!’” she recalls. “This led to what we call a drive by; we decided if you can drive by and see what we’re doing on the farm, then we should be able to talk about it.”

Have a Gameplan

Through her business, Ten Acre Marketing, Halverson and her team help growers communicate their farms’ stories through social media. The first steps, she says, are to define your goals, best tools and a plan for action. Halverson suggests a marketing plan checklist:

1. Ask yourself what you’re looking to achieve. Some examples include attracting employees or developing new buyer relationships.

2. Set an investment plan. This includes time, money and resources.

In 2012, Madeline Peterson, social media strategist at Peterson Farms in Loretto, Ky., and 2016 Top Producer of the Year winner, kickstarted her farm’s social presence with a similar checklist in mind.

“We’re most interested in creating meaningful content for the community while weaving in the narrative of Peterson Farms’ legacy that we want to leave behind,” Peterson says. “Sometimes it’s thought-provoking content, other days it’s feel-good content, such as a sunset.”

For years, Peterson has posted weekly on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. She recently joined TikTok since video content is becoming more relevant.

Power of a Brand

While these marketing stories are optional now, some, including Halverson, speculate telling your farm story will one day be essential.

“I don’t think you should be worried about getting asked about your operation’s practices, but I think you should be expecting that it’ll be part of your checklist each year in the future,” she says. “If that time comes, we have to make sure we have messaging and branding in place, and that we’re following through with it.”

The bottom line, according to Halverson and Peterson: Don’t be bashful in learning new skills and promoting your operation — it just might pay off.

More on social media:

Young Farmer Makes History, Uses Video Games and YouTube to Buy $1.8M Land
Tell Your Unique Farming Story Without Getting Lost in the Science

CoBank 2023 Report: 11 Sectors Effecting the Rural Economy

Thu, 15 Dec 2022 23:40:57 GMT

CoBank has released its outlook for 2023. The report includes detailed analysis on the:

global economy
U.S. economy
monetary policy
U.S. government
U.S ag economy
grain/farm supply/biofuels
animal protein
dairy
specialty crops
rural electricity
rural communications

“If we have learned anything over the past couple of years, it is that trying to predict the future is an extremely difficult business,” said Tom Halverson, CoBank President and Chief Executive Officer.

Halverson reflects that many events are leading to a new status in the global economy and globalization.

“From today’s standpoint, it is not clear what direction the world will take – what new construct will replace the integrated, liberalized global economic system that developed over the past 30 years. This is one of the great questions before us, and its answer has huge import for industries like agriculture that are deeply intertwined with global markets,” he says.

Here are topline takeaways from each of the categories. And click here for the full report.

Dan Kowalski says of the global economy: After two years defined by a strong economic rebound from the pandemic, the global economy will sputter in 2023.

Kowalski says of the U.S. economy: As financial conditions continue to tighten, we expect the U.S. economy to steadily soften through the first half of 2023, ushering in a brief, modest recession.

On U.S. monetary policy, Kowalski says: Our best gut prediction is that the Fed will pause rate hikes at 5.5% in Q2, a bit higher than consensus. But all of us are hoping the Fed’s gut is more accurate than our own.

About the direction of the U.S. government, Brain Cavey says: The 2022 midterm elections defied conventional wisdom as the party in control of the White House usually loses seats in both the House of Representatives and Senate. And the opening of the 118th Congress on Jan. 3, 2023, marks the official beginning of the farm bill reauthorization effort.

Rob Fox says of the U.S ag economy: In 2023 farm producers and related industries will begin to show financial strains from a relentless series of adversities: skyrocketing production costs, steeply higher interest rates, an elevated dollar, and weakening domestic and export demand caused by declining real incomes amidst spiraling inflation. And, in our view, none of the above headwinds are likely to reverse in the near term.

Kenneth Scott Zuckerberg say of the grain/farm supply/biofuels sectors: Looking forward to 2023, we see an environment of margin pressure amidst a slowing economy, rising interest rates, high labor and energy costs (namely diesel fuel), and trade uncertainty with China and Mexico.

Brian Earnest says of the animal protein sector: On the supply side, the high costs of feed, labor, and construction support the prevailing cautionary mood toward expanding production. On the demand side, consumers are reeling from rapidly declining real wages – a trend likely to continue well into 2023. Add in climate uncertainties, ESG pressures, and increasing labor and energy costs and it’s likely that 2023 will be a year when major market participants pause, reflect, and guard balance sheets.

Tanner Ehmke says of the dairy industry: After a year of stronger profits that allowed producers to pay down debt, dairy farm margins will come under more pressure in 2023.

Ehmke also shares on specialty crops: Specialty crop growers and processors face a multitude of headwinds in 2023: Costs of water, labor, fertilizer and other inputs are rising while a stronger U.S. dollar and weakening global economy drag on the U.S.’s ability to sell products abroad.

Teri Viswanath says of the rural electricity industry: The current energy crisis is surfacing age-old faultlines, with upstream fuel dependencies looking unsettlingly similar to those of the last crisis.

Jeff Johnston says of rural communications: We think the bigger risk to network builds in 2023 is the much discussed tight labor market and supply chain issues.

Click here for the full CoBank report