Agriculture & Food Production

Horizon Family Brands Names Scott Wallace Chief Customer Officer

Broomfield, Colo. – September 29, 2026 -- Horizon Family Brands has promoted Scott Wallace to Chief Customer Officer, expanding his mandate to oversee customer strategy and retail partnerships across its organic dairy portfolio, which includes Horizon Organic, Maple Hill Creamery and Wallaby Organic yogurt.

Wallace moves from senior sales leadership to a company-wide customer strategy role

Wallace joined Horizon Family Brands in November 2023 as vice president of sales and was elevated to senior vice president in 2025. In his new CCO role, he will coordinate across sales, marketing, operations and brand teams to deepen customer engagement and identify shared growth opportunities across the company's retail and commercial networks.

Reser's Fine Foods Cuts Facility Power Use 20% via CO2 Refrigeration

Salem, Oregon – September 29, 2026 -- Reser's Fine Foods has completed two energy efficiency upgrades at its new Don Pancho West facility that are expected to cut overall electricity use by more than 20%, saving nearly 1.9 million kilowatt-hours annually and reducing facility emissions by 8%.

New CO2 refrigeration system replaces six units and cuts power use 41%

The 300,000-square-foot facility, which Don Pancho moved into in September 2025, now runs a centralized refrigeration system using carbon dioxide as its primary refrigerant, replacing six systems that relied on a higher-global-warming-potential refrigerant. The new system is expected to consume 41% less electricity than the modeled baseline while delivering 114% greater refrigeration capacity and more consistent temperature control, positioning Reser's as an early food-manufacturing adopter of CO2 refrigeration technology.

Mars Petcare, Big Idea Ventures Pick 3 Startups for Pet Food Program

New York – – September 29, 2026 -- Big Idea Ventures and Mars Petcare have selected three startups for the third edition of the Next Generation Pet Food Program, drawing 83 applications from 33 countries to advance alternative proteins, fats and oils aimed at cutting the environmental footprint of pet food ingredients.

Program partners with AAK, Bühler, Givaudan and Ingredion select three ingredient startups

EcoBean, a Polish company that valorizes spent coffee grounds from industrial production into high-value ingredients for cosmetics, food and pet applications, joins the 2026 cohort. Loopworm, an Indian insect biotech firm, manufactures protein and fat ingredients from silkworms using proprietary technology. Space Ark Biomedical, based in Taiwan, upcycles okara and brewer's spent grain into functional protein ingredients through enzyme technology and precision fermentation.

Daesang's Jongga Kimchi Exports Hit $90M as U.S. Becomes Top Market

Seoul – September 29, 2026 -- Daesang Corporation's Jongga brand generated approximately $48 million in kimchi exports in the first half of 2026, capturing 56% of Korea's total $86 million kimchi export volume for the period. The United States has overtaken Japan as Jongga's largest export market since 2023, cementing a shift in the company's global sales strategy toward North America.

Jongga's export revenue nearly tripled in eight years

Jongga's kimchi exports grew from approximately $32 million in 2017 to $90 million in 2025, according to company figures. The brand is now distributed in more than 90 countries across North America, Europe, and Asia, with U.S. distribution expanding beyond Korean grocery stores into mainstream retail channels across the western and central United States since 2019.

StePacPPC's Xgo Pouch Cuts Cucumber Spoilage, Extends Shelf Life to 16 Days

Tefen, Israel – September 29, 2026 -- StePacPPC has launched a patent-pending resealable pouch that extends the shelf life of moisture-sensitive cucumbers to 16 days by combining modified atmosphere, humidity control, and condensation management in a single package.

Xgo PAZ pouch solves a longstanding packaging trade-off for cucumbers

Traditional laminated stand-up pouches restrict water vapor transmission, trapping moisture that accelerates microbial decay in cucumbers. Packers have historically countered this by macro-perforating the film, but that sacrifices modified atmosphere protection, speeds dehydration, and still allows condensation to form. StePacPPC's Xgo pouch integrates three functions -- modified atmosphere, modified humidity, and condensation control -- into one film structure, according to CTO Gary Ward.

Agrochemicals Market to Hit $355B by 2034 as Biologicals Rise

Pune – September 28, 2026 -- The global agrochemicals market was valued at $245.15 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $355.01 billion by 2034, growing at a 4.2% compound annual rate from 2026, according to a new report from Maximize Market Research.

Pest and disease pressure continues to drive nearly 40% of annual crop losses worldwide

Bayer noted in 2026 that plant diseases and pests can destroy up to 40% of global crops each year, while weeds alone can cut yields by close to 34%. This sustained pressure keeps demand elevated for herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, fertilizers and seed-treatment products across cereal, grain, fruit and vegetable production.

Kubota Awards $500,000 to 10 Nonprofits via Hometown Proud Grants

Grapevine, Texas – September 28, 2026 -- Kubota Tractor Corporation has named ten community nonprofits as winners of its 2026 Hometown Proud grant program, each receiving $25,000 in cash and $25,000 toward Kubota equipment purchases, totaling $500,000 in combined funding and machinery across the country.

Program draws more than 1,100 applications in its sixth year

Kubota's review process selected 10 winners from over 1,100 submissions, covering agricultural education, workforce development, food security, youth empowerment and environmental stewardship projects. Since the program launched, Kubota has distributed more than $2.9 million in total funding and equipment to hometown initiatives nationwide.

Yili Presents Dairy Symbiosis Model at FAO's One Health Conference

Rome – September 27, 2026 -- Yili Group presented a China-based whole-value-chain dairy symbiosis model at the Food and Agriculture Organization's inaugural Global Conference for Actions on One Health in Agrifood Systems, detailing how the company restored 55,000 mu (3,667 hectares) of degraded grassland and helped 5,600,000 herders in Inner Mongolia raise incomes over more than a decade.

Yili restores 3,667 hectares of degraded grassland in Inner Mongolia

In Ar Horqin Banner, Yili Group Vice President XU Ke said the company applied a grass-livestock integration approach, planting deep-rooted alfalfa to stabilize soil and rehabilitate land that had suffered persistent degradation. The restored grassland now supplies forage while supporting broader ecosystem recovery, creating what Yili describes as a self-reinforcing cycle between land, cattle and dairy production.

Farm Aid 2026 Spotlights Farm Bankruptcies Up 46% Amid Land Pressure

Virginia Beach – – September 26, 2026 -- Farm Aid 2026 drew a national spotlight to America's family farmers on Saturday, staged at Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater as Chapter 12 farm bankruptcies rose 46% in 2025 and roughly 15,000 farms closed nationwide.

Chapter 12 farm bankruptcies climbed 46% in 2025, marking the third consecutive year of increases

The filing surge represents a sustained deterioration in farm finances rather than a single-year anomaly, with the closures translating into direct losses of local jobs, tax revenue and food-supply capacity across affected counties.

Plant Growth Regulator Market to Hit $5.33B by 2031, MarketsandMarkets Says

Delray Beach, Fla. – September 25, 2026 -- The global plant growth regulator market is valued at USD 3.72 billion in 2026 and is projected to reach USD 5.33 billion by 2031, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 7.4%, according to MarketsandMarkets.

Asia Pacific outpaces global growth as regulators drive bio-based formulations

Asia Pacific is set to post the fastest regional CAGR at 8.8% between 2026 and 2031, fueled by a large agricultural base and rising use of crop-productivity inputs. Europe, led by Germany, France, Italy and Spain, holds a significant market share as regulatory pressure pushes suppliers toward bio-based and environmentally safe formulations for high-value fruit, vegetable and cereal production.