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Under both programmes, USDA purchases US-grown commodities and provides them to implementing organisations, including the United Nations World Food Programme. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Agriculture

In an attempt to strengthen global food security, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) would be investing US$466.5mn through its two premier international development programmes

The announcement which was made at the Clinton Global Initiative 2024 annual meeting, Vilsack explained about the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Programme which would be allocated US$248mn in fiscal year 2024 to support projects in nine countries that will provide critical school meals and boost literacy and primary education, especially for girls. On the other hand, the Food for Progress programme would be provided with US$218.5mn to help seven countries strengthen their agricultural systems, adopt climate smart technologies, sustainably increase productivity and expand international trade.

Under both programmes, USDA purchases US-grown commodities and provides them to implementing organisations, including the United Nations World Food Programme. Food for Progress implementing partners sell the commodities locally and use the proceeds to support local development projects. McGovern-Dole partners use the commodities directly in school feeding programmes. 

This year, USDA will provide more than 37,000 mt of US commodities to support projects in Angola, Bangladesh, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Laos, Malawi and Rwanda, benefitting approximately 1.2 million children and their family members in more than 2,800 pre-primary and primary schools. 

The Food for Progress projects funded this year will utilize 315,000 mt of US commodities and ultimately benefit nearly 200,000 farmers in Benin, Cambodia, Madagascar, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Tunisia and will focus on priority topics including climate-smart agriculture, food security, sanitary and phytosanitary standards, access to capital and trade facilitation.

“The McGovern-Dole and Food for Progress programmes are the embodiment of USDA’s multi-faceted approach to combatting hunger and poverty and addressing the effects of the climate crisis worldwide,” Vilsack said. “Teaming up with both private- and public-sector partners, we’re not only providing direct food assistance, but also fostering sustainable agricultural productivity growth, promoting climate-smart agriculture and enhancing developing countries’ ability to engage in trade, which is critical to food security.”

 

Ambient Carbon’s mission is to develop and commercialize effective, safe, and scalable technologies that mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Cattle

Denmark-based company, Ambient Carbon has announced its new partnership with Benton Group Dairies to field-test a prototype of Ambient Carbon’s Methane Eradication Photochemical System (MEPS)

This first-of-a-kind non-invasive technology helps remove methane from airy barn exhaust. Ambient Carbon also has a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Danone North America which sources milk from Benton. This month, the company will install methane monitors at Benton's dairy farm in Ambia, Indiana in preparation for installing and testing a MEPS field prototype in early 2025. 

On 2 October, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) released a new report on the need and potential for atmospheric methane removal. MEPS is a point-source methane removal system which is the only scalable, cost-effective solution for eradicating low-concentration (non-flammable) methane from cattle and manure, as well as other point sources. It uses a patented gas-phase photochemical process that combines chlorine atoms and UV light in a reaction chamber, mimicking a natural process of methane destruction in the atmosphere.  As dairy barn air is cycled through MEPS, it breaks down methane at its source, preventing its release into the ambient air. The chlorine atoms are generated onsite via electrolysis of saltwater, and after eradicating 80-90% of the methane, the chlorine is recycled in a closed system.  

While the Indiana tests are underway, Ambient Carbon will also test another MEPS field prototype in Denmark as part of the AgriFoodTure PERMA Project, which includes Northern European dairy cooperative Arla, and is publicly funded by Innovation Fund Denmark and the EU’s NextGenerationEU

“We believe that by 2030, Ambient Carbon will be eliminating well over one gigaton of CO2 equivalent annually by destroying methane from dairy barns and other low-concentration methane sources such as wastewater treatment plants and biogas plants,” said Ambient Carbon’s co-founder and COO, David S Miller, while Chris Williams, conservation lead at Benton Dairies also expressed his enthusiasm regarding their collaboration with Ambient Carbon.

Monarch MK-V tractor demonstrating V2G through Borg Warner DCFC and Gridtractor CMS. (Image source: Gridtractor)

Equipment

Gridtractor, Monarch Tractor, and Borg Warner have achieved a significant milestone by successfully demonstrating Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) capabilities utilising a Monarch MK-V tractor, a Borg Warner 60 kW DC fast charger, and Gridtractor’s cloud-based charge management system employing the Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) 

The Thulit MF/1200 harrow which is now available in small quantities, will start its series production in March 2025. (Image source: LEMKEN)

Machinery & Equipment

LEMKEN presents Thulit MF/1200, its first weeder harrow with more than 12 m working width

The new model is based on the innovative properties of the Thulit MF product series launched last year. The design with four bars and eight rows of harrow tines and hydraulic tine pressure adjustment is unique on the market. The tine pressure can be continuously adjusted from 100 g to 5,000 g across the entire width during travel and remains constant at every setting – for optimum and reliable work results.

The new Thulit MF/1200 comprises five harrow sections, with various folding options available for different applications. For greater ground clearance at the headland, LEMKEN offers the option of folding the weeder harrow into a V position. To do this, the outer folding segments are angled slightly upwards to prevent the tools from coming into contact with the ground. For convenient and safe road transport, the weeder harrow can be folded in on both sides to a transport height of 3.3 m. The automatic transport locking system is active in all variants, making manual intervention a thing of the past.

For the frame, LEMKEN uses torsion-resistant support profiles that guarantees both stability and low weight. The frame design with six support wheels at the front, distributed across the entire working width, has an extremely positive effect on the smooth running of the machine and thus on the guidance of the harrow tines to the soil surface. The Thulit MF/1200 can additionally be operated as a rigid implement or with ground contour adjustment.

Customers opting for the rigid frame will not need the optional support wheels behind the side panels. If the individual working sections of the weeder harrow are to follow the soil horizon at all times, the Thulit must be equipped with additional rear support wheels. This ensures maximum flexibility and perfect working results on hilly terrain. Precisely adjustable trailing harrows on the rear support wheels eradicate wheel marks and leave loosened weeds on the soil surface to dry out. 

The Thulit MF/1200 harrow which is now available in small quantities, will start its series production in March 2025.

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