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PLANTS THAT MINE METAL! China Buys Soybeans & Colorado Gator | Daily Farm Brief · Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm Brief

• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: Good morning, Farm Nation, and hello, Truck City.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: This is FarmTale's Unplugged Daily Farm Brief for Friday, October 16th.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: Brought to you by World TradeX, empowering farmers.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Rick Portanova.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: We start with new soybean orders from China, a harvest still running behind, and new funding to connect farmers with food banks.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: We'll check grain and livestock prices, then visit two farms that found unusual ways to build a business.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Plus, plants that collect metal and a quiet hunter working the night shift.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: If you enjoy this show, would you give us a follow, a like, or a share?
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: That would be fantastic.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: So grab your coffee, fire up whatever you're driving, and let's find out what was happening while you were busy actually working.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: China has booked another round of American soybeans.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: On Thursday, USDA reported sales of 330,000 metric tons to China.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: That follows Wednesday's announcement of 470,000 tons.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: Together, that's 800,000 metric tons booked for delivery during the current marketing year.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Thursday's report also included more than 280,000 tons sold to destinations that have not been named.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: Those are sales commitments, the beans still have to be shipped.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Meanwhile, American growers are bringing in the crop.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: USDA's latest weekly report put soybean harvest at 46% through Sunday.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: That's a big jump from 25% the week before, although it still trails the five-year average.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Corn harvest reached 33% compared with the usual 39.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: So there's progress in the fields and fresh business on the export side.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: We'll see what that means for prices in Market Watch.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: Next story: Farms and Food Banks.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: There's new money aimed at getting products into food banks.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: The John Deere Foundation announced an$18.5 million commitment this week.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: $17 million goes to Feeding America over three years.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: The work includes expanding an Iowa program that connects food banks with local producers.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: Another million and a half goes to the Farm Link Project, which finds surplus crops and arranges transportation.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: FarmLink expects that grant to help recover more than 6 million pounds of fresh produce over three years.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: For growers, there are two opportunities here: building a relationship with a food bank that buys local food and finding a destination for surplus crop.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: And for food banks, the transportation matters.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: Available produce doesn't help a family until somebody can get it off the farm and into their community.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: Now, a farm where the harvest might end up in your shower.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: On California's central coast, Deanne Kuhn turned growing loofahs into a business.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: A college botany project introduced her to the plants.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: She kept growing them as a hobby, then started her business in 1999.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: Her place in Napomo is called the loofah farm.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Loofas are gourds related to cucumbers.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: When they're young and tender, they can be eaten as a vegetable.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Let them mature, and something very different develops inside.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: A network of tough plant fibers.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: The gourds turn brown as they mature.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: Peel away the skin, remove the seeds, wash them, and let them dry.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: There's your sponge.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: The farm grows heirloom varieties and says it avoids harsh chemical and heat treatments.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: It also welcomes visitors who want to come see the process.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: That's what makes this little crop so interesting.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: The vine grows the shape and the fibers.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: The farmer's job is to grow it well, harvest it, and reveal what's inside.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: Here's Market Watch using Thursday afternoon's futures quoted just after 1 o'clock central.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: December corn was$4.78 a bushel, down nearly$3.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: November soybeans were$12.65, down 12.25 cents.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: December Chicago wheat was$6.71.25 down two cents.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: So those new soybean sales hadn't lifted prices by that point.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: Harvest supplies were still coming in, and market reports pointed to pressure from a stronger dollar, which can make American grain more expensive overseas.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: Livestock moved the other way.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: December live cattle were up about$2.08 at$227.20 per hundred weight.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: December lean hogs were also higher.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: Those are future prices your local cash bid will reflect local demand and delivery terms.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: The picture Thursday afternoon: weaker grains, stronger livestock, and export buying that hadn't yet turned soybeans around.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: A Colorado family needed a way to deal with fish scraps.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: Their answer was to buy a hundred baby alligators.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: Irwin and Lynn Young started a fish farm in southern Colorado.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: Naturally warm water from underground made it possible to raise tilapia.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: That water comes out at 87 degrees.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: It provided warmth in a place where winter can be bitterly cold.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: But raising fish also meant dealing with dead fish and processing scraps.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: In 1987, the youngs brought in alligators to eat those leftovers.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: The reptiles grew.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: People heard about them and wanted to come see them.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: The farm opened to the public in 1990.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: Then another need appeared.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: People who could no longer care for their pet reptiles began bringing them to the farm.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: The operation became Colorado Gators, now a rescue and education center.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: An answer to a fish farm problem had become a whole new part of the family business and a home for animals their owners could no longer keep.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: For today's high-tech moment, imagine harvesting a field for the metal inside its plants.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: Some plants pull nickel from the soil and store it in their leaves and their stems.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: Nickel goes into stainless steel and some rechargeable batteries.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: University of Florida researchers are studying a native wildflower called milkwort jewelflower.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: Their goal is to develop bigger plants that collect more nickel.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: University of Florida researchers are studying a native wildflower called milkwort Jewelflower.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: Their goal is to develop bigger plants that collect more nickel.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: Here's how that process would work.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: Grow the crop on suitable nickel-rich ground.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: Harvest it, dry it, and process the plant material to recover the metal.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: One method burns the dried plants and leaves behind metal-rich ash for further processing.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: The plants don't create nickel, they gather what's already in the soil.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: That could make certain ground useful even where ordinary crops would struggle.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: The Florida work is still research.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: Bigger harvest, recovery costs, and the amount of nickel available will determine whether it pays.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: But the possibility is remarkable.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: A crop grown for the metal it contains.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: Let's open the old farmer's almanac and step outside for a minute.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: An owl can pass over a field so quietly that you notice the movement before you hear anything.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: The barn owl is especially good at it.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: Its soft feathers help muffle the sound of flight.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: That gives a mouse very little warning.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: And that white heart-shaped face does a lot more than just make the bird easy to recognize.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: It helps gather sound and direct it towards the ears.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: And those ears sit at slightly different heights.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: That helps the owl pinpoint where the sound is coming from.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: It can locate prey by hearing it move, even in complete darkness.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: But if you're expecting a gentle hoot, you may be surprised.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: Barn Owl's familiar call is a rough, rasping scream.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: Quite a sound from such a quiet flyer.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: For farmers, these birds can be very useful neighbors.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: They eat mice and rats.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to look for one, watch an open field around dusk.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: Stay quiet, give it room.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: Where there's suitable hunting habitat but few nesting places, a properly designed barn owl box may help.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: As October evenings get longer, take a moment to notice what moves along the field's edge.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: A pale shape passing over the grass may be a barn owl searching for its next meal.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: Today, new soybean orders from China, harvest progress and funding to connect farms with food banks.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: We checked grain and livestock prices, visited a loofah grower and Colorado's alligators, and we looked at plants that collect metal.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: Then we stepped outside with a barn owl.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: And if you'd like more information about the topics we cover, there's a matching blog for every episode we release.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: You'll find it on our website, farmtailsunplugged.com.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: To farm nation, have a safe and productive day.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: To Truck City, keep the shiny side up and the rubber side down.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: The future of food starts with the people who grow it and depends on the people who move it.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: And there you have it.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: That's your FarmTales Unplugged daily farm brief for Friday, October 16th.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: Brought to you by World Trade X, empowering farmers.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Rick Portanova, and we'll see you Monday morning.