Farmhand Community News #1
What I'm reading about in ag and why it matters
When I started my career, working at the Yield Lab, a few of the partners there requested an internal news digest. That turned into Agtech Action, a newsletter with thousands of organic subscribers, managed today by Brandon Day at The Yield Lab Institute. Agtech Action took over my Friday evenings for years. It also helped make my name and The Yield Lab brand recognizable in the now established agtech industry.
I realized recently that I miss reading and digesting wonky content and sharing it with an audience. I’ve been spending all of my time on tactics and not enough of my time on learning, and I think that over time, that will degrade my superpower, which quite simply, is an obsession with the details of ag(tech). I spend a ton of time these days LinkedIn stalking potential investors, and that’s not my idea of fun. I’m not complaining; I believe strongly in the importance of shoveling shit (metaphorical, in this instance.) I’m cool with always having some of that in my job description. At the same time, I want to be to doing the work to make agriculture better for people for the next several decades, and in order to do that, I need to sprinkle in some fun…and there’s really nothing quite as fun as learning!
I’ll continue to irregularly drop longer form content in Ag is For People and other outlets, but I’m bringing back the content-Connie-consumes newsletter. I’m keeping it short and simple - 3-5 articles, total. Publication cadence will be consistent - every other week. It’s free, for everyone, at least for now. The next newsletter will go out Monday, July 8, 2024, and you should expect a Monday evening publication schedule.
On to the actual content!
TL;DR: Asparagus production in CA has declined by 90+%. Why? Labor.
My takeaway: Old news to me, but new news to people less obsessed with ag than I am! I’m glad the mainstream media is covering it, and this particular write up from the LA Times does a good job of including facts and reputable citations.
TL;DR: New report from my friends at the Breakthrough Institute asserting that the USDA needs to be spending more $ on research instead of ag deep tech being reliant upon the crumbs of DOD, DOE, NASA.
My takeaway: Yes, please, we need this. I’ve already reached out to Emily (lead author) to thank her for her work publishing this (whitepapers are hard work!) and offer my support. At the same time, I am wary that if the USDA is controlling the pursestrings, something needs to be proactively done to manage discrimination issues within the Department. (Don’t know what I’m talking about? Keep reading this newsletter, I promise to share good journalism/reports on this as I read them.)
TL;DR: We can and should grow specialty crops in the Mid-Mississippi Delta region, for reasons of conservationism/environmentalism and economic development.
My takeaway: I would have chosen to name this differently, but I do believe in the the basic premise that the Mississippi Delta region has the potential to become a regional specialty crop production powerhouse. So much so that I’ve read this 121 page paper 2x already and am reaching out to various researchers involved with follow-up questions. I’ve had the privilege of working with a range of growers in the Mississippi Delta region during my time working with AgLaunch, and part of the reason that I left AgLaunch to start Farmhand is this long term, delusionally optimistic belief that we can bring regional specialty crop production back to the middle of the country. (And, California friends, don’t read this as either or - we’re also going to need to fight to develop a more resilient production system in the state where we currently produce 80% of the nation's fruit, vegetables and nuts.)
TL;DR: 2025 farm income is projected to be down, and that’s probably going to impact purchases.
My takeaway: This is worth keeping an eye on. These numbers skew row crops, and specialty crops kind of exist in their own special world. If soy and corn exports continue to be weak, that could actually be a useful driver for adoption of different crops like hemp as a form of diversification.
TL;DR: Title actually says it all. There are lots of farm labor violations, and this article focuses on Florida, and tech is part of (but definitely not the entire) solution.
My takeaway: I’m frequently frustrated that many climate tech investors focused on technology enabling GHG-emissions reduction understand that food waste is a problem, and that crop loss is a component of food waste, but then can’t make the logical progression to understanding that labor efficiency improvements are climate tech mitigation (and resiliency) solutions. I think this article does a pretty good job of articulating the necessity of investing in inclusive innovation and next gen ag equipment solutions.
If you have have thoughts, questions, responses, different takeaways, just want to say hello - reply directly to this email.
Have an awesome week!
Connie
As always Connie - your content is informative, important, and engaging! I've missed your summaries and am so glad you've decided to share what you're currently thinking about and working on!