World Without Cows Ireland: The Pasture Paradox
Special message from Dr. Mark Lyons on this St. Patrick’s Day.
Saint Patrick’s Day is, at its heart, a celebration of faith — and across Ireland, that spirit lives on in its people, its communities and the land they care for.
This St. Patrick’s Day, we’re sharing a first look at World Without Cows Ireland: The Pasture Paradox, the next chapter in our global journey.
The mini-documentary follows Irish dairy producers as they work to meet growing global demand for grass-fed dairy while protecting the land and water their farms depend on.
Watch the preview below, and stay tuned for the full release of World Without Cows Ireland: The Pasture Paradox in April.
From Ireland’s green pastures to fields around the world, may we continue growing a more abundant future together.
Sláinte!
Mark Lyons
President & CEO
Alltech, Inc.
Reservoir Opens Specialty Crop AgTech Innovation Center
Reservoir has officially opened Reservoir Farms – Salinas, its flagship on-farm innovation hub for specialty crops, turning its vision for an on-farm agtech innovation center into a working reality. The new site features multiple innovation barns and 24 acres of dedicated commercial test fields, creating the most concentrated ecosystem of technology leaders, growers, and startups anywhere in agriculture to rapidly scale solutions for global food production challenges.
Reservoir partners – including John Deere, Western Growers, the State of California, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Netafim, Tanimura & Antle, Naturipe Berry Growers, Hartnell College, and others – are contributing equipment, agronomic expertise, workforce programming, and R&D support to help turn promising ideas into tools that work on commercial farms today. The initial Reservoir Farms – Salinas, cohort includes Agtom, Beagle Technology, BHF Robotics, Bonsai Robotics, Cropr, Farmblox, Lumo, Neuralzome, Numanac, and TRIC Robotics, demonstrated technologies ranging from in-field sensing and AI-driven insight platforms to autonomous harvest and novel crop protection methods.
Last summer, Reservoir announced plans to expand its on-farm innovation center model across California, Arizona, and other major growing regions, with each hub anchored by leading academic and R&D institutions. As part of this multi-region strategy, Reservoir startups were invited to run pilots over the winter months at the University of Arizona’s Yuma Agricultural Center, testing technologies in commercial desert vegetable production.
Reservoir also announced that it will break ground on Reservoir Farms – Central Valley in Merced, this June and is moving toward the first close of its venture capital fund, Reservoir VC. These milestones mark the next phase of a platform designed to support agtech startups from early R&D through on-farm validation and commercial scaling.
NAMA Announces 2026 Industry Award Recipients
The National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) today announced the recipients of its 2026 industry awards, recognizing outstanding leadership and impact across the agricultural marketing profession. This year’s honorees are Brian Knifong, Nutrien Ag Solutions; Tom Posta, Bader Rutter; and Emily Metz, American Egg Board.
“These leaders represent the innovation, strategic thinking and commitment that continue to move agriculture forward,” said Jennifer Pickett, CEO of the National Agri-Marketing Association. “Brian, Tom and Emily are strengthening agribusiness and advancing the agri-marketing profession while inspiring the next generation of agricultural leaders.”
Brian Knifong Named 2026 Agribusiness Leader of the Year
Brian Knifong, Head of Marketing and Customer Experience for Nutrien Ag Solutions, has been named NAMA’s 2026 Agribusiness Leader of the Year, the association’s most prestigious honor recognizing exceptional leadership across the private, public and academic sectors.
Knifong leads a 30-person organization supporting one of North America’s largest agricultural retail networks. Known for his people-first leadership style, he has built a culture focused on mentorship, collaboration and growth while strengthening connections across sales, agronomy, retail operations and marketing.
Over the past year, he led a restructuring of Nutrien’s retail marketing organization to improve alignment and efficiency. His field-first mindset ensures marketing strategies reflect real grower needs while positioning marketing as a strategic driver of business growth.
Throughout his career, Knifong has delivered measurable results, including overseeing the launch of 55 products at Loveland Products Inc., contributing to revenue growth exceeding $1 billion. He also actively mentors future agricultural leaders through university programs, the Windsor FFA Chapter, and organizations including AFA and RAMP.
Tom Posta Named 2026 NAMA Marketer of the Year
Tom Posta, President and COO of Bader Rutter, has been named the 2026 NAMA Marketer of the Year, the association’s highest honor for an active member. The award is sponsored by Agri Marketing magazine.
With nearly three decades at Bader Rutter and deep Wisconsin dairy roots, Posta has helped guide the nation’s largest agricultural marketing agency through significant industry change. Recently, he has led efforts to modernize the agency’s operations and innovation capabilities while maintaining its strong focus on producers and agribusiness clients.
Under his leadership, Bader Rutter has expanded into adjacent sectors such as food and beverage and pet care while investing in artificial intelligence capabilities to enhance client insights and marketing performance.
A longtime NAMA member, Posta has served the association for more than 30 years in leadership roles including conference chair and national executive committee member, helping advance the agri-marketing profession.
Emily Metz Named 2026 Ag Association Leader of the Year
Emily Metz, President and CEO of the American Egg Board, has been named the 2026 Ag Association Leader of the Year, which recognizes senior executives who demonstrate exceptional leadership through their organization or association.
Metz has transformed the American Egg Board through a modern, data-driven strategy that integrates advanced analytics, consumer insights and marketing performance. Under her leadership, the organization delivers more than $10 in industry revenue for every dollar invested on behalf of U.S. egg farmers.
She has also strengthened the industry’s ability to respond to disruption, guiding the egg sector through challenges such as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) while launching the industry’s first national crisis communications program.
Metz has also driven innovation through initiatives including the Eggcelerator Lab™, the egg industry’s first innovation center, and the Anticipatory Issues Management (AIM) program, which helps the industry proactively address emerging risks.
The Passing of Orion Samuelson
WGN Tribute to Orion Samuelson
Orion is a name synonymous with WGN, having spent over 60 years with the station. His career spanned from the assassination of President John F. Kennedy to the COVID-19 pandemic and included interviewing seven Presidents and reporting from all 50 states and locations around the world including Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Scotland, England, Hungary, France, Denmark, India, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines, Thailand, Peoples Republic of China, Brazil, the former USSR, Vietnam, Cuba and Indonesia.
Orion was honored at the Ag Media Summit in 2018
Orion was also president of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting in 1965 and was instrumental in starting the NAFB Foundation and serving as president for many years. One of the few interviews I can find that we did with Orion over the years was in 2010 at the NAFB annual meeting about the history of the Foundation.
2010 interview with Orion Samuelson
Rest in Peace, Orion. Say hi to Conrad and Ray and Evan and Derry and Herb and all the old guys for us.
Use AgNewsWire and Save Some Green
As we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day this week, we invite you to consider using AgNewsWire to send your next news release and save some green. We started this service in 2005 with the intent to distribute audio with press releases – interviews, sound bites, podcasts – because it was just not being done at the time. We had to attach the audio file to the release back in those days but that was long ago and things have changed.
What has not changed is our price. In a world where everything gets more expensive every day, AgNewsWire still costs only $525. Order and pay on-line. Send your release, images, and audio file and we will put it together. We can record and edit the audio if you need it. We will send you a proof and distribute the release upon your approval.
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DWFI Podcast 51 – Protecting Groundwater Resources
When it comes to groundwater management, California was the wild west not long ago, with unrestricted pumping depleting many aquifers. But that changed in 2014 with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which created about 350 Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSA) responsible for management of more than 140 of the state’s basins. Using a framework of local control, GSAs work to sustain groundwater resources for growers, industries, residents and ecosystems.
In this episode, guest host Renata Rimšaitė, Senior Program Manager at DWFI, sits down with Matthew Beaman, groundwater regulatory manager with the Merced Irrigation-Urban Groundwater Sustainability Agency in Merced County, California. A professional geologist, Matt works on regulatory implementation, groundwater accounting, data management and other requirements of the state’s groundwater law for the Merced Irrigation-Urban GSA.
Joining them is also Jim Schneider, technical expert in environmental infrastructure for Olsson, a national design and engineering firm that got its start in Nebraska. Jim is a hydrogeologist who consults for Merced and other GSAs in California and other states. He formerly served as deputy director of the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, where he developed expertise in groundwater modeling, interstate water compacts and water policy.
Matt and Jim discuss the challenges in sustaining groundwater and how local management in California and Nebraska is helping to address them. Both are well-versed in technology that has revolutionized our ability to measure water and leverage data in ways unimaginable when California’s water law was put on the books 12 years ago.
Plus, their appearance on the podcast is timely, coinciding with National Groundwater Awareness Week.
DWFI podcast episode 51 32:25The Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute (DWFI) at the University of Nebraska was founded with the mission to have a lasting and significant impact on achieving more food security with less pressure on scarce water resources by conducting scientific and policy research, using the research results to inform policy makers, and sharing knowledge through education and communication.
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Agri-Pulse Summit Confirms Senate Ag Chair and EPA Admin
Agri-Pulse is pleased to announce that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) will be among the keynote speakers at the Ag & Food Policy Summit on March 23. Also previously announced, Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH) Vice Ranking Member of the House Agriculture Committee, will also be speaking at the summit.
This year’s Summit theme is: “Profit, Policy, and Possibility: Mapping the Future of Market Expansion for U.S. Agriculture.” Keynote speakers and panel discussions will cover everything from new value-added products, renewable fuels, the power of protein, trade, artificial intelligence and more.
The widely attended Agri-Pulse event is part of the celebrations surrounding National Agriculture Week and just one day before National Agriculture Day on March 24.