Top Stories: Insulin Producing Cows and How Hybrids Benefit Your Farm

This week, we learned about a major breakthrough in Brazil that led to an insulin-producing cow, how a Montana man illegally bread giant sheep, benefits of cultivating Kratom, how to breed your cattle for modern demand, and so much more.

Read on to learn what else the week had to offer. 

Montana Man Used Animal Tissue to Breed Giant Sheep for Sale to Hunting Preserves

A Montana rancher illegally used tissue and testicles from wild sheep killed by hunters in central Asia and the U.S. to breed “giant” hybrid sheep for sale to private hunting preserves in Texas, according to court documents and federal prosecutors. Arthur “Jack” Schubarth, 80, of Vaughn, Montana pleaded guilty to felony charges of wildlife trafficking and conspiracy to traffic wildlife during an appearance Tuesday before a federal judge in Great Falls. Each count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Read more about it in our Montana Man Used Animal Tissue to Breed Giant Sheep for Sale to Hunting Preserves article. 

Project Creates First Insulin-Producing Cow

An unassuming brown bovine from the south of Brazil has made history as the first transgenic cow capable of producing human insulin in her milk. The advancement, led by researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Universidade de São Paulo, could herald a new era in insulin production, one day eliminating drug scarcity and high costs for people living with diabetes. Read more about it in our Milk to the Rescue for Diabetics? Project Creates First Insulin-Producing Cow article. 

Taking Care of Wildfire Victims

Toiletries, pots, pans, diapers, wipes, linens, water, food, water, and more water began pouring into the AgriLife Extension supply point established primarily for human needs at the Hemphill County Exhibition Center. Such an outpouring of kindness had to be managed to ensure effective outreach to those in need as well as to keep track of the 1,000s of donations coming in from across the nation. Read more about it in our Taking Care of People in Need article. 

Sustainable Agriculture

As societies look for ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions and slow climate change, large-scale solar power is playing a central role. Climate scientists view it as the tool with the greatest potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. In the U.S., the Department of Energy predicts that solar will account for nearly 60% of all new utility-scale electricity-generating capacity installed in 2024. Read more about it in our Solar Power Occupies a Lot of Space – Here’s How to Make It More Beneficial article. 

Crop and Food World

AgriGold® Agronomist Sam McCord’s multiyear kernel count study started as an attempt to get a better handle on how many kernels it takes to make a bushel and whether that varies by hybrid. His efforts and the kernels per bushel report it generated take things a step further, providing a better understanding of how and when hybrids flex. Farmers can use that to home in management to get the most yield out of their hybrids. Read more about it in our A Deeper Understanding of How Hybrids Benefits Your Farm article. 

In other news, Kratom, a member of the coffee family, is a plant native to Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. Cultivating and consuming kratom has a rich history in traditional medicine, offering various physical and mental benefits. However, beyond its medicinal properties, kratom cultivation can also have significant environmental advantages. Read more about it in our What Are the Major Environmental Benefits of Cultivating Kratom? article. 

Also, for families juggling the pressures of work, school, or other commitments, putting together an Easter meal can feel like a challenge. But it doesn’t have to be this way. This year, let your Easter brunch or dinner be a source of joy – not stress – with these time-saving ideas. Read more about it in our Easy Time-Saving Tips for Classic Easter Dishes article. 

Livestock World

In the intricate dance of farm management, challenges often arrive in clusters, testing the resilience of farmers. Calf scours lurk as a threat to young livestock, while the corn rootworm silently undermines crop yields, and the battleground of the feed bunk sees its own conflicts, with competition and overstocking impacting feed efficiency and animal health. Read more about it in our Tackling Farm Woes: Calf Scours, Corn Rootworm, and Feed Bunk Competition article. 

In other news, as a seedstock producer selling bulls to commercial cattlemen, and the demand by bull buyers for more growth in bulls — and to an extent buyers looking to do that with more frame as well — how can a seedstock producer meet this demand while also keeping cow size moderate, efficient, and easy-keeping on grass? It seems that there is a fork in the road: that a producer must decide to have a maternal herd or a terminal herd. Is there a way for a seedstock producer to strike the balance? Read more about it in our Beef Blueprints: Rethinking Cattle Breeding for Modern Demand article.

Farming Economy/Policy

National Farmers Union (NFU) closed its 2024 Convention by adopting the organization’s grassroots policy book, laying the foundation for advocating on behalf of family farmers and ranchers across the country. Convention delegates also adopted six special orders of business focused on issues of particular importance in the coming year. Read more about it in our NFU Closes 2024 Convention, Outlines Policy Priorities, and Special Orders of Business article. 

In other news, delegates to the National Farmers Union’s 122nd Anniversary Convention cast a unanimous ballot on March 11 to reelect Rob Larew and Jeff Kippley as the organization’s President and Vice President, respectively. Each will serve another two-year term. Read more about it in our Rob Larew and Jeff Kippley Re-Elected as NFU President and Vice President article. 

New With USDA

This week, the USDA identified the 2024 Food for Progress Priority Countries, finalized the Voluntary “Product of USA” Label Claim to Enhance Consumer Protection, announced $40.5M in Grant Awards to Support Domestic Organic Products, outlined a vision to Strengthen the American Bioeconomy through a More Resilient Biomass Supply Chain, released a statement by Secretary Vilsack on the President’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget, and invested about $138 million of financial assistance from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act—the largest climate investment in history—in 138 new climate-smart conservation easements, through which farmers and ranchers are conserving wetlands, grasslands and prime farmlands that you can learn more about in our Agricultural Producers to Conserve Land Through Climate-Smart Easements article. 

Also, farmers who had been denied federal loans won only 17 percent of appeals in the USDA’s National Appeals Division, according to a new analysis by the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law and Graduate School with partners Farm Aid and the Rural Advancement Foundation International. Read more about it in our Farmers Face Steep Challenges in USDA Farm Loan Appeals Process, Report Says article. 

Other Top Stories

The expert team at Auction Impact consists of auction and marketing professionals, software developers, and sales representatives with over 160 years of industry knowledge. The collective expertise is led by a dynamic group of industry professionals and powered by Willoughby Auctions and W2 Auction Solutions' innovative auction platform that prioritizes efficiency, accessibility, and transparency. Read more about it in our Launch of Auction Impact article. 

In other news, thousands of farmers protested in India’s capital on Thursday to press their demand for a new law that would guarantee minimum crop prices, after weeks of being blocked from entering the city. They rode crowded buses and trains instead of their tractors to New Delhi after authorities barricaded highways into the capital with cement blocks and barbed wire. Police also banned the use of farm vehicles as a condition for granting permission for the rally in the city. Participants were also barred from carrying sticks or swords to avoid clashes with police. Read more about it in our Thousands of Indian Farmers Protest in New Delhi Demanding a Law Guaranteeing Minimum Crop Prices article. 

Just Me, Kate

"Traveling to another country is an experience. Not to mention, doing it with your whole family is double the experience. With three different generations, there are a lot of things to consider. Where is the nearest bathroom, who is hot, who is thirsty, who needs to snap a picture, where the sunscreen is, where we are meeting for cocktails, coffee, etc.

So, I put together a top 10 list of things that surface in my mind as I think about the past week and ready myself for re-entry into work."

Read more about what Kate has to say in her "Top 10 Reasons to Go On Vacation in the Dominican Republic With Your Family" article. 

Come Back Next Week!

Be sure to check in next week for our weekly national news roundup, and don't forget to follow us on all our socials! We can't wait to see what next week holds for agricultural news.