 |
|
|
|||||
Global competitors are pouring billions into agricultural research and emerging technologies, while American farmers are being asked to do more with less. The pressure on farmers is real: Net farm income for row crop producers remains persistently low, public investment in agricultural research has plummeted to 1970s levels, and the technologies that could reshape our industry too often stall before reaching the farm gate. At Land OLakes Inc., we believe theres a better way forward rooted in cooperation, trust, and a ground up approach to innovation. We believe the cooperative mindset is what it will take to overcome the challenges ahead. Its a mindset that shows up in how we invest, innovate, and grow. For example, our recent announcement of AgRogue Growth Partners shows how we aim to harness the strength of the cooperative model by working together with our local agricultural retail owners to fast-track the discovery, investment, and adoption of breakthrough technologies. This isnt simply a funding initiative. Its channeling deep, generations-old relationships and a mindset of continuous productivity improvements to better support the businesses, farmers, and communities that feed the world. REAL INNOVATION STARTS WITH SYSTEM-LEVEL THINKING The future of agriculture depends on our ability to bring stability and predictability to an industry that too often feels like a roller coaster. The pressures were facingweather volatility, rising input costs, and international competition wont be solved by any single tool or tactic. We need system-level thinking and long-term partnerships. Innovation shouldnt be about chasing the next shiny object. Its about helping farmers make smarter, lower-risk decisions, acre by acre, season by season. Whether thats through precise application technologies, AI-powered insights or new business models that reduce exposure, our innovation-focused goals should be simple: Make farming more resilient and more profitable for those who feed the world. HOW TO CRACK THE CODE TO FARMGATE ADOPTION The problem isnt a lack of ideas. Every year, new technologies emerge with the potential to transform how we farm, from AI-powered analytics to cutting-edge crop inputs. But the simple truth is that many promising solutions never scale, not because they dont work but because they cant break through the noise, earn trust, or integrate into the systems growers rely on. Bringing local agricultural retailers and producers together for pilot testing and performance discussions is central to finding practical and scalable solutions. Sitting at the kitchen table with farmers provides invaluable data and feedbackthey know the land, the seasons, and the day-to-day pressures associated with the crop or livestock they raise. When innovation flows through this channel, its far more likely to be understood, adopted, and create lasting value. Ultimately, retailer partners provide the local support, operational know-how, and market access that startups crave as they look to scale innovation. Weve seen it work time and again with the latest innovations in seed and crop protection; theres no reason we cant do it again with the most promising ag tech solutions. The last-mile connection between innovation and implementation is where a cooperative structure and retailer network will truly shine. A CALL TO COLLABORATE The challenges facing agriculture and Americas farm families are not something any one business can solve alone. It will take cooperation and cross-sector partnerships to ensure U.S. agriculture remains globally competitive. So, the cooperative approach offers a blueprint worth consideringespecially for industries wrestling with the same adoption gaps and trust barriers that agriculture faces. Capital alone isnt enough. Relationships matter. Local connections matter. And innovation that ignores the end user is destined to stall. Our message is clear: If youre building for the farm, you need to build with the farmer by tapping into the systems they already trust. True success in agriculture depends on solutions that work where it countsin the hands of farmers. Brett Bruggeman is the executive vice president and chief operating officer of Land OLakes, Inc.
Category:
E-Commerce
I always dream of the same mall. So begins a recent post on the popular subreddit r/The MallWorld. The subreddit was first created in 2021, and currently has 10,000 monthly visitors detailing their recurring dreams of eerie, often empty spaces. The description reads, Have you been to one of these common dream locations? The post continued: It has a very vintage feel to it. It always has warm amber lighting and wooden guard rails. It has 3 main floors, and one secret lower floor. The lower floor is usually kept pristine, a time capsule of the 90’s. The stores are closed, but the merchandise remains. It smells like my kindergarten class did.. If this dream sounds familiar, you are not alone. The post is among thousands on Reddit and TikTok who say they also dream of the same space, collectively referred to as Mall World. But this is no ordinary shopping mall. While not always identical, many say their mall worlds share similarities. It has endless stairwells, forbidden floors, and looping elevators. Some have dreamed of the same food court, others of an arcade. Sometimes the dreamscape is not even a mall at all but a water park or an airport. People have tried to draw maps of Mall World. I finally dont feel alone, wrote one on Reddit. I feel so much relief in not being the only one. The dreamscape has recently seen a resurgence in interest. One TikTok user said she discovered the Mall World subreddit after searching for answers about a recurring dream she was having. She explained, Finding the Mall World has literally changed my life because there are 20 thousand people having the same exact dreams as mine. The video was posted earlier this year and currently has over 400,000 views. So why is everyone having the same dream? There are a number of theories circulating the internet. One suggests it is related to Carl Jungs theory of collective unconsciousness the idea that all humans share a deep, inherited layer of the unconscious mind that shapes how we think and dream. Others have linked the idea to astral travel, where the physical body is left behind to go explore other planes of consciousness. Another conspiracy theory links these shared dreams to the gifted and talented program in the 1980s and 1990s. Or perhaps the real reason is less intriguing. Most of us have been to a mall at least once in our lives and our brains tend to feed off existing mental maps and memories to construct our dreamscapes. As Dylan Selterman, an associate teaching professor at the Johns Hopkins University department of psychological and brain sciences, told The New York Times, sometimes people dream about weird stuff. Liminal spaces have been a source of online fascination for years. A simpler explanation may be that the online discourse is unconsciously influencing peoples dreams. If youve not visited Mall World and are feeling left out, just reading about Mall World might be enough to trigger a visit.
Category:
E-Commerce
Want more housing market stories from Lance Lamberts ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. D.R. Horton, Americas largest homebuilder, is doubling down on mortgage rate buydowns to keep its sales volumes up amid an affordability-strained housing market. On its October 28 earnings call, the builder said 73% of its homebuyers in fiscal Q4 2025 received a mortgage rate buydownup slightly from 72% in the previous quarter. As we anticipated on our last call, we did expect to lean in more heavily to the offering of 3.99% [mortgage rate buydown], said Jessica Hansen, D.R. Hortons senior vice president of investor relations. That is something that we’ve been doing, and we saw the mortgage rate in our backlog come down. It’s actually below 5% today coming into this quarter. For D.R. Hortons buyersmany of whom are first-time homeownersthe monthly payment remains the decisive factor. The most attractive monthly payment we can put them in is with a lower rate, said CEO Paul Romanowski. Its a benefit to the homeowner over time in terms of paying down more of their principal. The strategy has come at a cost: incentive spendingincluding mortgage rate buydowns. The companys gross margin on home sales fell to 20% in Q4 2025, down from 23.6% in Q4 2024 and well below the 26.9% in Q4 2021. Indeed, increased incentive spending accounted for 61% of D.R. Hortons recent margin compression in Q4, while higher litigation costs made up another 33%. The incentives appear to be working. Net new orders rose 5% year-over-year in Q4 to 20,078up from 19,035 a year earlierdemonstrating D.R. Hortons ability to maintain sales momentum despite affordability headwinds. However, its backlog continues to shrink as the builder intentionally slows housing starts to better align inventory levels and capitalize on easing construction costs. Regionally, D.R. Horton pointed to softness in parts of Florida, including Jacksonville and Southwest Florida, where excess inventory has weighed on absorption rates. The company also described Texas as choppy and California as a bit of a struggle, while noting signs of stability across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}); Even with new tariffs and immigration policy headlines, the company said material and labor costs remain under controldown 1% quarter-over-quarter and 1.5% year-over-year. Many giant homebuilders are crediting softer housing starts for helping offset policy-related cost pressures. ResiClub PRO members can read our full D.R. Horton analysis here.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||