Category: Industry News: F&B / Ag

2017 State of the Plate

1/31/2017

"...During the farm crisis of the 1980s, an Iowa farmer asked if I knew the difference between a family farmer and a pigeon. When I said no, he delighted in explaining: “A pigeon can still make a deposit on a new John Deere.”

After A Long Fight, New Rules Defend Small Farmers. For Now

12/15/2016

From NPR's The Salt:
This week, just days before he says goodbye to his job, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack landed one last punch in a brawl that's gone on at his department since he got there eight long years ago.

Texas Monthly: The Future of Farming

4/7/2016

An interesting article highlighting issues related to converting to certified organic farms, the age gap of current farmers and lack of clear succession opportunities.

Organic Farms: Growing Industry in Central Texas

12/10/2015

Here's an oldie but a goodie, from way back in October 2014, from the Bluebonnet Electric Coop website by Kathy Warbelow...

Organic Farms Increase Sales / Decrease Numbers

10/21/2015

The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition reported on the US Department of Agriculture's 2014 Organic Production Survey, the first such survey since 2008. And there was good news - there was a 72% increase in organic sales over the last five years.

Beetnik-Dewberry Deal a Model for Tech-Ag Ventures

9/9/2015

Addie Broyles writes in today's Austin Statesman how David Perkins of Beatnik Foods invested in local chicken producer Dewberry Farms, to both's benefit. Excellent example of what we hope to accomplish at AFI. Congrats David Perkins and Jane & Terry Levan!

Perdue Buys Niman Ranch, Expands Specialty Meat Business

9/8/2015

You know an trend - in this case sustainably and humanely raised market animals - is hitting its stride when major "traditional" players start buying in via acquisition. Yesterday Perdue, a major family-owned poultry company, announced it had purchased Niman Ranch.

Tastes of Success

6/21/2015

Extensive front page Sunday edition story in the Austin American-Statesman by food writer Addie Broyles on the local consumer packaged goods boom.
Story here

Retailers now Demanding Natural, Organic, Non-GMO, says Hain Celestial

5/8/2015

Natural CPG (consumer packaged goods) giant Hain Celestial (HAIN) beat growth expectations and met earnings estimates for Q315, largely due, CEO John Carroll told analysts, to their ability to provide retailers with natural & organic brands - especially non-GMO brands - that appeal to Millennials.

How one company is trying to make 'pasture-raised' the new egg standard

5/3/2015

The Washington Post profiles Vital Farms, whose network of producers supply pasture-raised eggs nationwide...

Move over Tech Startups: Food Startups are the Ones to Watch

4/30/2015

Social entrepreneur & writer Lisa Curtis writes for Huff Post about five key trends for 2015 positioning food startups, and their investors, well...

Organic Food Companies Collaborate to Increase Grain Supply

4/15/2015

Ken Roseboro of Civil Eats explains how the growing demand for organic foods (Americans spent $35 billion on them in 2013) is placing significant strains on the supply of organic grains.

BITTMAN in NYT: What is the Purpose of Society?

2/11/2015

"The world of food and agriculture symbolizes most of what’s gone wrong in the United States. But because food is plentiful for most people, and the damage that conventional agriculture does isn’t readily evident to everyone it’s important that we look deeper, beyond food, to the structure that underlies most decisions: the political economy," starts Mark Bittman in this incisive critique.

2014 in Review: Animal Antibiotics

12/22/2014

Food Safety News recaps 2014 biggest animal antibiotics stories, including salmonella at Foster Farms, CDC reports of 23,000 people dying from antibiotic-resistent infections, and news from France, Sweden, and the Netherlands.

Millennials' hunger for fresh foods eats into food giants' profits

12/20/2014

"Shoppers across the United States are spending more time on the supermarket’s periphery — home to meat, fresh produce and dairy goods — and less in the center aisles, where processed foods rule. They’re piling on protein, moving toward organics, buying more niche brands — all in the name of what the food industry calls “wellness.” Full story at Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Working the Land and the Data

11/30/2014

Kip Tom, a seventh-generation family farmer, is as much a chief technology officer as he is a farmer. Where his great-great-grandfather hitched a mule, “we’ve got sensors on the combine, GPS data from satellites, cellular modems on self-driving tractors, apps for irrigation on iPhones,” he said.

2014 National Grocers Association Consumer Survey Report

2/12/2014

Study shows strong preference for local foods. Article about the study says "A.T. Kearney survey corroborates the importance of “local” to the nation’s food shoppers. “Almost 30% of grocery shoppers say they would consider purchasing food elsewhere if their preferred store does not carry local foods,” says the consultancy, noting further, “consumers have trust issues when buying local food at national and big box retailers.”