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Pest Resistance, Pet Food and Easter Butter Lambs
62 Plays9 days ago
Growing season is quickly approaching and researchers recently discovered a new Bt protein that is more powerful. In the weeds - this new protein relies on two receptor pathways, so for a pest to survive, it needs to mutate twice to overcome the Bt protein.
- Headline Story: https://www.morningagclips.com/natures-plan-for-delaying-pest-resistance-deciphered/
As always, the pair covered some fun and real stories through quick hits and live reactions. You can expect to learn more about the impact of the pet food industry, cotton seed in dairy cattle's diet and newly proposed climate change initiatives.
Other resources mentioned in the episode:
- Advancing Markets for Producers Act: https://www.agri-pulse.com/articles/22738-rollins-overhauls-renames-climate-smart-commodities-initiative?utm_term=0_-a348fcf9f9-48951597
- Cotton Seed in Dairy's Diet: https://www.morningagclips.com/feeding-dairy-cows-whole-cottonseed-byproduct-boosts-milk-fat-researchers-find/
- Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act of 2025: https://www.drovers.com/news/ag-policy/meat-and-poultry-special-investigator-act-introduced-promote-fair-play
- Easter Butter Lambs: https://www.foodandwine.com/news/easter-butter-lamb-meaning
About Magnetic Ag - Ears Edition
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Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Overview
00:00:00
Speaker
This week on the pod, from butter lambs to million-dollar pet food, we've got headlines that churn, cheer, and maybe even crack a few eggs.
Climate Initiative and Producer Prioritization
00:00:09
Speaker
The OCA's Climate Smart reboot is shaking up who gets the money. hint producers come first.
00:00:14
Speaker
Cottonseed is having a moment in the dairy barn and cow mane under fire for egg prices that soared a little faster than their profits. We're also digging into pest resistant plot twists, a third shot at breaking up the meat packing monopoly and why your dog's kibble might be keeping grain farmers in business.
00:00:32
Speaker
Let's dig
Hosts Introduction and Podcast Focus
00:00:33
Speaker
in.
00:00:38
Speaker
I'm Braden. And I'm Savannah. Welcome to Magnetic Ag Ears Edition. Every week we break down the top headlines and trends facing food and agriculture. Fast, fun, and actually useful.
00:00:49
Speaker
Let's get it.
00:00:55
Speaker
Savannah, let me tell you something about Oklahoma's weather right now. don't know what's happening, but there's a chill in the breeze. I took a set of pictures last night. It was cold. had wear sweatshirt.
00:01:07
Speaker
Now the sun's out. It's tempting me to go outside, but it's like still like a breezy 65, like a cool 70. So I really don't know how to think of it. Yeah, we are actually about in the same boat. It's been getting really, really nice in the day when the sun's out.
00:01:22
Speaker
But went for a walk last night and it was like chilly. I thought we were over winter re-showing us itself in April. It's April 15th?
00:01:34
Speaker
Nope. We're in spring in the Midwest. Anything can happen. We're in spring in the Midwest. Well, Brayden, we're starting to sound like an old farm report. Should we get into the episode? I think we should. Let's get on with some quick hits.
Impact of USDA's Climate Initiative
00:01:46
Speaker
Out with the partnerships for climate-smart commodities and incomes-advanced markets for producers, the USDA just gave Biden's $30 billion dollars climate initiative a new name, new rules, and quite frankly, a bit of a makeover.
00:02:00
Speaker
The big change, 65% of USDA's funding now must go directly to producers. That's pushing some project sponsors to rethink how they split public and private dollars.
00:02:11
Speaker
Originally, Biden's initiative funded conservation practices like cover crops and reduced tillage. But USDA now says the old version was tangled in red tape, sidelighting the very farmers it aimed to support.
00:02:24
Speaker
To summarize, big commodity projects will likely stay funded, but smaller ones may take the boot. A fresh study out of Penn State just gave dairy farmers a reason to look twice at cotton byproducts.
00:02:35
Speaker
Researchers found that adding 15% whole cottonseed to dairy cow diets boosted milk fat by 5% per day, making milk richer for butter and cheese production.
00:02:46
Speaker
While fluid milk consumption has dropped, U.S. demand for milk fat, think butter, cheese, and cream, is booming. According to the USDA, Americans hit record highs for dairy solids even as they skipped the glass.
00:02:58
Speaker
Led by Professor Kevin Harventine, the Penn State team found that milk fat jumped up by 0.2% concentration, no drop in feed intake or protein yield, No harmful effects from Gossapol, a natural compound in cottonseed.
00:03:12
Speaker
Even better, cottonseed's slow fat release supports the cow's rumen health, avoiding a major issue, milk fat depression, which can slash fat yields by up to 50%. Funded by Cotton Incorporated and the USDA, this study opens doors for cost-effective, sustainable feed solutions and gives ag producers another tool to meet evolving consumer preferences.
00:03:34
Speaker
The bottom line, more fat in milk equals more value on the shelf.
Meat Packing Monopoly Regulation Bill
00:03:38
Speaker
Third time's a charm, question mark? After failed attempts in 2021 and 2023, a bipartisan group of senators is reintroducing the Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act of 2025. The goal? To break anti-competitive behavior where just four companies control 85% of beef packing and 67% of pork.
00:03:58
Speaker
This bill would create a USDA-led team of investigators tasked with enforcing antitrust laws and coordinating with the DOJ and FTC to add some type of federal oversight.
00:04:10
Speaker
Senators say it's about leveling the playing field for producers and consumers, but the Meat Institute opposes it, saying the real problem is over-regulation, not lack of enforcement.
Egg Price Manipulation Investigations
00:04:20
Speaker
The U.S. egg industry just got a jolt.
00:04:22
Speaker
CalMain Foods, the country's largest egg producer who is responsible for one in every five eggs, is officially under investigation by the Department of Justice for potential price manipulation.
00:04:33
Speaker
The DOJ's antitrust division is looking into recent record-breaking egg prices, which averaged $5.90 per dozen in February, up 10.4% year-over-year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
00:04:47
Speaker
CalMain's Q3 profits tripled to over $508 million, dollars even as it battled bird flu, which has already led to the loss of 166 million birds nationwide of mostly egg-laying hens.
00:05:00
Speaker
The company sold a record 331 million dozen eggs, while prices jumped nearly 80% year over year. What does this mean? With food inflation and supply chain shocks already hitting farmers and consumers hard, the ag industry is watching closely.
00:05:15
Speaker
If price gouging is confirmed, this could reshape how regulators and producers navigate crisis-era pricing. After the news broke, shares in the company dipped over 4%. Wow, what a it week in food and agriculture. Lots to lots's going on.
00:05:32
Speaker
Savannah, there's always a lot going on in food and ag, but this week I feel like we're kind of all over the board. would agree. Lots of good news, bad news, and interesting news. I know. Speaking of interesting, and are you ready to get into this week's main headline?
00:05:47
Speaker
Let's go.
Innovations in Pest Resistance for Crops
00:05:48
Speaker
So, we're talking bugs, genes, and nature's own backup plans in this week's headline story. A new study may have just flipped the script on how pests become resistant to BT crops.
00:05:59
Speaker
And it could be a game changer for farmers planting genetically engineered corn. Here's the dirt. Researchers from the University of Arizona and Nongjing Agricultural University discovered that a certain Bt protein, Cry1AB, kills pests using two different toxin pathways.
00:06:16
Speaker
Normally, Bt proteins work by binding to specific receptors in a pest's gut. But over time, pests evolve, and usually if they mutate one of those receptors, they can dodge the Bt bullet.
00:06:29
Speaker
That's how resistance forms. Savannah, that sounds great, but they're telling me there's a plot twist. Cry 1AB doesn't rely on just one receptor.
00:06:40
Speaker
It uses two separate sets. Think of it like a plan A and a plan B. So for a pest to survive, it needs to mutate both pathways. And that's pretty rare. In layman's terms, pests have to win the genetic lottery twice just to beat it.
00:06:54
Speaker
The study compared the Cry 1AB variation that Brayden was just talking about to the more common Cry 1A variety, which has seen slower resistance development.
00:07:06
Speaker
This variety only uses one pathway. mean The conclusion helped explain a long-standing mystery. Why do some Bt proteins hold on better in the field than others? And it could help biotech companies design future Bt crops that are much more resistant-proof.
00:07:22
Speaker
Savannah, it backs up this idea of using quote unquote pyramided traits, um combining multiple BT proteins that kill pests in different ways. So essentially the more routes you have to take out a bug, the less likely it is to find this detour or find a way out of it.
00:07:37
Speaker
It all comes down to smart resistance management. Once pests become resistant, there's no easy way to reset this. So you're looking at lost yields, more chemical sprays, and of course, frustrated farmers in the field.
00:07:50
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's most important to recognize that the research underscores the importance of integrated pest management practices and could help inform future policies to sustain the effectiveness of beatt crops.
00:08:02
Speaker
Bottom line, farmers should start thinking about pest protections as we get ready to head into the next growing season, which is quickly approaching. I know. I can't believe it's already growing season again. It's crazy to see everybody kind of talking online and talking at community events about getting things ready here and there, talking about their family in other states, getting things ready for their growing seasons as well. So it's kind of always a hot topic in farming.
00:08:28
Speaker
Yeah, definitely approaching quickly. All right. Should we get into our live reactions? See what fun topics are happening in food and ag this week?
00:08:39
Speaker
Let's see what's going on. Let's see what we got.
Agriculture and the Pet Food Industry Impact
00:08:41
Speaker
Awesome. So I wanted to deep dive into a research reported by the meatpoultry.com. And i know here at Magnetic Ag, we both love our pets and And so I thought it would be fun to kind of reveal some of the impact that the pet food industry has on agriculture.
00:09:01
Speaker
This is really awesome. I'm ready to hear you break it down. But I must say, as is someone that did an animal science degree in college, for those of you that don't know, I have an animal science degree. We did very little pet information. It was always like a small little section that was tacked on the end of semesters that it was, we may or may not get to this information. So I'm really interested to hear about this today.
00:09:23
Speaker
Well, I hope I blow your mind to start with. peff food industry as a whole uses a whopping 9.4 million tons of ingredients. So think proteins and carbs, which equates to about $13.2 billion dollars worth of ingredients.
00:09:41
Speaker
That's a lot of tons of ingredients. It's a lot of food for animals. It's a lot of food, which I get it. My dogs are a little obese. They eat a lot. So felt that. mean, I just have a cat, so he don't eat much. but We have three dogs, for those of you that don't know.
00:09:56
Speaker
Okay, so leading the pack to, no surprise for myself, is chicken coming in 2.1 million tons, which equates to $1.8 billion. dollars But the most expensive product that we see in pet food is marine ingredients, so think fish meal and fish oils, which totaled $3.5 billion.
00:10:16
Speaker
billion dollars That's pretty crazy. And I'm also not surprised that it's chicken. our dogs eat specifically a chicken blend. Like that's the flavor they prefer. So, and it's chicken based, which is really interesting.
00:10:29
Speaker
But Savannah, I'm kind of, I would really like to know what else they use to make pet food because there's got to be more than just that, right? Yeah, I'm glad you asked. Pet food is also a big user of grains. So think corn, wheat, and soybeans, which made up a huge portion of volume, contributing nearly 1.6 million tons of food. That's a lot.
00:10:50
Speaker
That's absolutely insane. So this kind of makes me want to know, i'm kind of intrigued because you see, you go in the grocery store and you see dry pet food, but then you also see sometimes they have a cooler that has human grade pet food and things like that. So what kind is driving the most demand?
00:11:08
Speaker
Wow, you're just asking such great questions today, Brayden. So you were right. Our dry at pet food, specifically dry dog food, is dominating the food pet industry, at making 5.4 million tons in sales last year. That category alone brought home almost $19.7 billion. dollars That's a lot of money to be spending on pet food, in my opinion.
00:11:32
Speaker
Those are some pretty big numbers. How do they have an impact on ag markets? So they absolutely impact our markets. I mean, that's a lot of tons going to these pets. The report really points out the growth potential for ag producers when we start to think about how we can keep getting more ag products into pet foods, for especially for byproducts or specialty grains that might not fit our food-grade market.
00:11:57
Speaker
So think rendered fats, meals, and lower-grade grains. Pet food is a great way to add value to these byproducts. I really like that it's a good opportunity to use you know all parts of the animal and all the byproducts we're producing. So think it sounds like pet food has the opportunity to help make agriculture more sustainable.
00:12:15
Speaker
I think you're right.
Cultural Tradition of Butter Lambs Sculpting
00:12:17
Speaker
Awesome. So Savannah, do you and Colby have any big Easter plans? Unfortunately, not super fun or exciting this year. Well, I think the story I found today for Live Reactions kind of gave me some more ideas on how I might want to spend my Easter.
00:12:32
Speaker
i I think it can get everybody excited about how they might want to add some spark to their Easter table. Yes. All right. So hear me out. Butter lambs.
00:12:44
Speaker
No, no, not what you're thinking. Not buttered leg of lamb. Literal lambs made of butter. So I'm actually not surprised by this one because Colby's aunt, I think, at Christmas time buttered Christmas trees.
00:12:57
Speaker
But I'll let you keep going. That's actually really funny. So this is a thing apparently, and I guess it's pretty popular in the Midwest. So go Midwest. Think you've got multiple call outs today. These little creatures, these buttery creatures, as the article referred to them, show up at Easter dinner across tables in Polish American communities, like think Milwaukee, Buffalo, places like that in the Midwest.
00:13:21
Speaker
So they don't just put this butter on the table that's shaped like a lamb. They deck it out in red ribbons, carry little hallelujah flags. They're called, and please forgive my pronunciation, Baranek Welknochny?
00:13:38
Speaker
Welknochny? I don't know. Something to that effect. It translates to, you guessed it, Easter lamb. And they have a whole lot of symbolism, of course, with religious background on the Easter holiday, the lamb representing Jesus Christ, the red ribbon symbolizing his blood, and the tradition also comes to the U.S. from Catholic immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe.
00:13:59
Speaker
Turns out, if you're giving up dairy for Lent, churning cream into an adorable Jesus lamb butter sculpture is a pretty wholesome comeback. These little lambs sound a lot more pizzazz and dressed up than the sculpture butter we had at our Easter.
00:14:16
Speaker
But I definitely love that it really stands for something and has a unique way to bring butter back onto our tables. So in Buffalo, Savannah, they take this, I guess, really, really seriously.
00:14:28
Speaker
The Malseski family, excuse my pronunciation, i don't speak Polish, has been selling butter lambs since the 60s at Broadway Market. Someone has even dubbed it the Vatican of Dairy-Based Decor.
00:14:44
Speaker
That's wild. i am this Easter, I'm saying, heck with the Easter Bunny. Let's make more fun little Easter lambs out of butter. and can we talk about the flex of putting an entire religion, so much effort into a single little sculpture that is going to be eaten?
00:15:03
Speaker
Shout out to those people, man. The Midwest Catholics are a different breed. i think it's pretty iconic, if you ask me. I mean, it's butter. Butter, the possibilities are endless with butter. Who doesn't love butter?
00:15:14
Speaker
So what a fun little way to spice things up, get things interesting. I don't think the dairy aisle or my family Easter is ever going to be the same. Definitely will never be cooler. Put butter lambs in your Easter egg baskets.
00:15:30
Speaker
Yeah. Full support here. All right. That's enough. we're leaving. We're leaving. Have a great time with all your families. We're sorry. Too much on the butter. Spread it on too thick for you. We're sorry.
00:15:42
Speaker
Hungry for more? Subscribe to our twice weekly newsletter for more industry news right in your inbox. Or follow along on socials at magnetic.ag for more trends and headlines. Thanks for listening to Magnetic Ag, Gears Edition.