Purple Limes and More Corn Acreage Next Year
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.
**A new transgenic lime developed by USDA scientists can dramatically change the tint of your next margarita. Ready for purple?
The new purple lime is created by inserting the pigment gene from the blood orange into Mexican lime plants.
USDA research geneticist Jim Thomson says the idea is to stir discussion over bioengineered products in hopes of gaining greater public acceptance.
Bioengineering of citrus products is also seen as a potential guard against crop diseases.
**U.S. farmers plan to grow 5% more corn acres next year.
That’s according to a recent Farm Futures survey that found farmers expect to plant 94.3 million acres of corn next spring, an increase of 4.5 million acres from this year.
If correct, it will be the largest corn acreage planted in
the U.S. since 2013.
The survey also shows an increase in wheat acres in 2023, up 7.5%.
**The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association voiced support to the Senate for the Livestock Regulatory Protection Act.
NCBA Chief Counsel Mary-Thomas Hart told lawmakers, “NCBA strongly supports the Livestock Regulatory Protection Act, which protects farmers and ranchers from onerous regulation.”
The legislation aims to prevent the EPA from issuing Clean Air Act Title V permits for emissions like carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, water vapor, or methane that result from livestock production.
