It was revealed this week that a member of the Chinese Communist Party secretly purchased 198,000 acres of U.S. farmland, back in 2015.
Chen Tianqiao, a co-founder of Shanda Interactive Entertainment, made the purchase of Oregon land for $85 million, paying around $430 an acre, <a href="https://landreport.com/land-report-100/tianqiao-chen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Land Report magazine, the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/01/13/news/chen-tianqiaos-purchase-of-200k-oregon-acres-sparks-outrage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> Saturday.
&#8220;In 2015, Tianqiao Chen acquired nearly 200,000 acres of former Crown Pacific timberlands in Oregon from Fidelity National Financial Ventures for $85 million ($430 per acre),&#8221; the magazine said. &#8220;Chen did so via the investment vehicle Whitefish Cascade Forest Resources LLC. In December 2023, Oregon tax records revealed that the 198,000-acre block was currently owned by Shanda Asset Management LLC.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12952121/chen-tianqiao-shanda-games-china-oregon.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According</a> to the Daily Mail, Chen&#8217;s purchase does not show up in government records of land ownership by foreign investors.
Back in October, the Department of Agriculture estimated that Chinese entities owned around 400,000 acres of U.S. farmland, which translates to more than $2 billion dollars. Though it&#8217;s a fraction of foreign-owned farmland, the number has alarmed lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, since it’s been dramatically increasing over the past decade as China becomes more and more adversarial toward the U.S. 
At the time, it was acknowledged that the 400,000 acre estimate was likely far lower than the real number. For one thing, there’s been an antiquated paper-based reporting system for foreign owned-land, and if someone owns less than 10 acres, it doesn&#8217;t have to be reported, nor does someone leasing land. 
“Right now, we don’t know the full extent of the risk at hand,&#8221; Democrat Sen. Tammy Baldwin (WI) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_q4QO5GgakA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;Outdated reporting systems and a lack of auditing at both the state and federal level leave us with incomplete information and many questions.&#8221; 
Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY) <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/01/13/news/chen-tianqiaos-purchase-of-200k-oregon-acres-sparks-outrage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the Post on Saturday that the Biden administration has “dropped the ball” when it comes to foreign adversaries goggling up American farmland.
“Communist China is purchasing US agricultural land to subvert our sovereignty, undermine our agriculture industry, encroach on our military installations, and upend America’s rural communities,” she said.
As the shocking land purchase is uncovered, U.S. politicians are also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-is-not-normal-tens-of-thousands-of-chinese-nationals-cross-border-illegally-in-matter-of-months">expressing concern</a> over tens of thousands of Chinese nationals trying to cross our southern border in the past 11 months.
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It&#8217;s been estimated that some 31,000 Chinese nations were stopped by law enforcement at our border, a CNN report <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/08/americas/the-walking-route-how-an-underground-industry-is-helping-migrants-flee-china-for-the-us/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">highlighted</a>. According to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol data, the U.S. would typically only see around 1,500 Chinese nationals in a given year over the previous decade.
Most of the Chinese nationals are <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/08/americas/the-walking-route-how-an-underground-industry-is-helping-migrants-flee-china-for-the-us/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> claiming that they want to come to the U.S. to escape the oppressive communist regime. Notably, a NewsNation report last month captured footage of some Chinese nationals trying to get into the U.S., and overwhelmingly, those observed coming were single adult males.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-is-not-normal-tens-of-thousands-of-chinese-nationals-cross-border-illegally-in-matter-of-months" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘This Is Not Normal’: Tens Of Thousands Of Chinese Nationals Cross Border Illegally In Matter Of Months</a>

Shanda Group Chairman And Billionaire Chen Tiangqiao and Vice Chairman Chrissy Luo Interview

CCP Billionaire Secretly Bought 200,000 Acres Of U.S. Farmland

China

Communist China

Farmers

Farming

An agency in the United Nations <a href="https://www.fao.org/about/about-fao/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">designed</a> to lead international efforts to defeat hunger is <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-26/eat-less-meat-is-message-for-rich-world-in-food-s-first-net-zero-plan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> expected to call on the West — including the United States — to reduce meat consumption to combat so-called climate change.
The UN&#8217;s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced it plans to introduce a first-of-its-kind global food recommendation document at the Climate Change Conference COP28 — a two-week summit beginning on November 30 at the Expo City Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.
According to Bloomberg, the plan will call upon the world&#8217;s most developed nations to curb their excessive appetite for meat to reduce greenhouse emissions, issue guidelines for farmers to adapt to &#8220;erratic weather,&#8221; and cut back emissions from food waste, post-harvest loss, or fertilizer use.
&#8220;The failure of leading meat and dairy companies to reduce emissions underlines the urgent need for more policy focus on the food and agriculture sector,&#8221; Jeremy Coller, the chair and founder of the FAIRR Initiative, an investor network that works with financial institutions to promote climate-friendly agriculture worldwide, said in a recent statement <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/united-nations-set-call-americans-reduce-meat-consumption" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> by Fox News.
Coller said food system emissions represent an estimated third of greenhouse gas emissions and 40% of methane, which he asserted deserve &#8220;a place at the top of the table&#8221; with other climate concerns, including energy and transport.
&#8220;Investors hope the first-ever publication of a food and agriculture road map at COP28 this month will catalyze the transition to 1.5 degrees and a more sustainable food system,&#8221; he added.
Although U.S. representatives for the intergovernmental organization have not pledged to join the delegation, the UN agency&#8217;s recommendations are not binding.
According to a March 2021 study published in the Nature Food Journal, about 18 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year — approximately a third of total worldwide emissions — make up the global food system.
Fox News reported that the UN&#8217;s FAO data suggests that livestock accounts for approximately 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
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However, according to <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-12800019/meat-consumption-climate-change-global-emissions.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Daily Mail</a> — the U.S. agriculture industry only accounts for 1.4% of global emissions and 10% of total greenhouse gas emissions.
UN officials have reportedly advocated for a plant-based diet to reduce an individual&#8217;s annual carbon footprint by up to 2.1 tons, but researchers found that a vegetarian diet or switching to lab-grown meat could prove ineffective in improving global emissions.
The University of California, Davis, published a study <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-12067409/Lab-grown-meat-25-times-WORSE-climate-beef.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> by the Daily Mail earlier this year that indicated lab-grown or &#8220;cultured&#8221; meat produced by cultivating animal cells is up to 25 times worse for the climate than natural beef.
&#8220;Currently, animal cell-based meat products are being produced at a small scale and at an economic loss, however companies are intending to industrialize and scale-up production,&#8221; the researchers wrote. &#8220;Results indicate that the environmental impact of near-term animal cell-based meat production is likely to be orders of magnitude higher than median beef production if a highly refined growth medium is utilized.&#8221;
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson (R-PA) told Fox News Digital in a statement that regulating American farmers and ranchers out of business in the U.S would only export production overseas under hostile foreign governments, worsen emissions profiles, and harm food security and affordability rather than effectively addressing global climate change.
&#8220;Simply put, the world needs American farmers and ranchers more than the UN,&#8221; Thompson said, adding that U.S. farmers and ranchers are &#8220;climate heroes&#8221; for reducing emissions while providing Americans with abundant and affordable food, fiber, and fuel.
According to the <a href="https://www.fb.org/news-release/americas-farmers-are-reducing-greenhouse-gas-emissions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">American Farm Bureau Federation</a>, farmers and ranchers are getting almost three times more out of their production than what they put into it compared to 70 years ago. The organization noted that livestock emissions, including pork, milk, and beef production, continue to decrease.

Fresh hamburger with a beer on a wooden table.

United Nations Wants Americans To Reduce Meat Consumption In The Name Of ‘Climate Change’: Reports

United Nations Wants Americans To Reduce Meat Consumption In The Name Of 'Climate Change': Reports

Agriculture

Carbon Emissions

Climate Change

General

United Nations

World

A company suspected of being linked to Communist China that bought over 50,000 acres of land near a California Air Force base is suing farmers, claiming they inflated the cost of the sale.
Flannery Associates has spent roughly $800 million on land around Travis Air Force base, northeast of San Francisco. The company is suing farmers for $510 million, accusing them of forming a “secret conspiracy to drive up prices to supracompetitive levels by eliminating free market competition” and violating federal and state law by conspiring to inflate the land’s purchase price. Flannery said it has emails amounting to a “smoking gun” detailing the alleged conspiracy.
But California Democrat John Garamendi, who has been criticizing the land acquisitions since 2018,  suspects something illicit at work. He told <a href="https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/west/mystery-group-buying-land-near-air-force-base-sues-farmers-rep/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NewsNation</a> that he has spoken with farmers who said they didn’t want to sell their land.
“It’s a suit designed to force the farmers to lawyer up, spend tens of thousands of dollars on lawyering and maybe at the end of the day, bankrupt themselves,” Garamendi said. “In fact, that has happened to at least one family that I know of and I’ve heard rumors that another family simply said we can’t afford the lawyers.”
“An attorney representing Flannery said it is controlled by U.S. citizens and that 97% of its invested capital comes from U.S. investors, with the remaining 3% from British and Irish investors,” The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/investors-bought-nearly-1-billion-in-land-near-a-california-air-force-base-officials-want-to-know-who-exactly-they-are-fd868e38" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. But the Air Force’s Foreign Investment Risk Review Office, which has investigating the purchases for eight months, could not confirm who is funding the group.
“We don’t know who Flannery is, and their extensive purchases do not make sense to anybody in the area,” Garamendi said. “The fact that they’re buying land purposefully right up to the fence at Travis raises significant questions.”
“The fact they chose to buy all three sides of the Travis Air Force Base even raises immediate questions about national security,” Garamendi told News Nation. “So, is this Chinese money? We don’t know, but we do know that the Chinese money was being used in North Dakota and we have a very deep suspicion, given the amount of money, given the lack of attention to values, that they simply want to acquire all of this land.”
“Nobody can figure out who they are,” stated Ronald Kott, mayor of Rio Vista, which is mostly circumscribed by land Flannery has bought. “Whatever they&#8217;re doing — this looks like a very long-term play.”
Earlier this year, the people of North Dakota saw a Chinese plan for opening a corn mill near a sensitive military base and took matters into their own hands, blocking the project.
The Grand Forks City Council, aware that the U.S. military did not have jurisdiction to kill the project, voted unanimously in February to block Chinese food producer Fufeng Group from building the mill only 12 miles from the Grand Forks Air Force Base. In spring 2022 three North Dakotans sold the land for millions of dollars; the town’s mayor, Brandon Bochenski, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/01/chinese-purchase-of-north-dakota-farmland-raises-national-security-concerns-in-washington.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pointed out</a> that the proposed $700 million plant would create more than 200 jobs but also admitted there were national security concerns.
“The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) considered an October 2022 filing by the Fufeng Group to acquire certain assets in the vicinity of Grand Forks, North Dakota. Grand Forks Air Force Base is the center of military activities related to both air and space operations,” U.S. Air Force Assistant Secretary Andrew P. Hunter <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11704309/Air-Force-shoots-Chinas-plan-build-corn-15-miles-North-Dakota-base.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> North Dakota senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer in January.
“While CFIUS concluded that it did not have jurisdiction, the Department’s view is unambiguous: the proposed project represents a significant threat to national security with both near and long-term risks of significant impacts to our operations in the area,” he added.
“With regard to Fufeng, if you’re going to strategically decouple, that means we don’t want their investment,” Cramer <a href="https://www.am1100theflag.com/show-episodes/48874-6-03-22-whats-on-your-mind-hour-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> last June.

The C-17 is assigned to the 60th Air Mobility Wing at Travis Air Force Base, flown by a crew from the 349th Air Mobility Wing, a reserve associate wing which augments the 60th. Both wings work together as part of the Total Force, flying missions as re

Company Suspected Of China Ties Sues Farmers Over Land Sale Around Air Force Base

California

Military

U.S. Air Force

Lawmakers in the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/north-carolina" target="_blank" rel="noopener">North Carolina</a> House of Representatives unanimously approved legislation on Wednesday to prevent state-controlled enterprises from <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China</a> and other adversarial nations from owning land intended for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/farming" target="_blank" rel="noopener">agriculture</a> or property near <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/military" target="_blank" rel="noopener">military</a> bases.
The bill, entitled the North Carolina Farmland and Military Protection Act, asserts that state officials have an <a href="https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2023/Bills/House/PDF/H463v3.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interest</a> to guard farmland from “the potential of adversarial foreign government control” in order to ensure a “safe, abundant, and affordable supply of food” for residents of the state and the nation. Entities in which more than half of shares are <a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-15/subtitle-A/part-7/subpart-A/section-7.4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">controlled</a> by China, Russia, Cuba, North Korea, or Venezuela would also not be permitted to purchase or lease any land within 25 miles of a military installation or any agricultural land.
“As someone who grew up on a family farm, preserving North Carolina’s farmland is a top priority,” North Carolina State Rep. Jennifer Balkcom, a Republican and the primary bill sponsor for the North Carolina Farmland and Military Protection Act, said in a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/VoteBalkcom/posts/pfbid023bddBB618Vxvi3ubrZHsGPAtoQgNqMvaYjG3mP13iiKyAxoeziMJrQkB127sCbZXl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>. “Our state’s agricultural land is one of our most important assets and it is common sense that we protect it from foreign governments that do not have America’s best interests in mind.”
North Carolina presently has more than 518,000 acres of farmland held by foreign entities, according to a <a href="https://www.fsa.usda.gov/Assets/USDA-FSA-Public/usdafiles/EPAS/PDF/2020_afida_annual_report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Department of Agriculture, an amount which increased by nearly 11,000 acres between 2019 and 2020. Chinese entities own slightly less than 1% of acres held by foreigners in the United States; investors from Canada meanwhile own roughly 32% of agricultural and non-agricultural land held by foreigners while citizens of other allies, such as the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, represent 31% of land held by foreigners.
Officials have nevertheless cited national security risks from recent Chinese purchases of agricultural land. Lawmakers in South Dakota, who also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/south-dakota-to-restrict-purchases-of-farmland-by-china-and-other-nations-who-hate-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener">moved</a> last year to prevent Chinese entities from purchasing land in the state, are particularly concerned about the acquisition of farmland near Ellsworth Air Force Base. The purchase of land near Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota, where some of the nation’s secure drone technology is located, last year by Chinese food company Fufeng Group likewise raised <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pompeo-warns-communist-chinese-entities-buying-farmland-near-u-s-military-bases" target="_blank" rel="noopener">concerns</a> of potential espionage.
The North Carolina Farmland and Military Protection Act mentioned military facilities such as Fort Bragg, Camp Lejeune, and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base as locations where entities controlled by adversarial nations cannot purchase property.
Chinese entities composed 6% of foreign residential real estate purchases in the United States between April 2021 and March 2022, according to an <a href="https://www.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/documents/2022-international-transactions-in-us-residential-real-estate-07-18-2022.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis</a> from the National Association of Realtors. Some 3% of residential properties acquired by Chinese buyers were in North Carolina.
The move from North Carolina lawmakers comes as tensions between the United States and China worsen over several recent espionage efforts from the communist nation, including a spy balloon that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chinese-spy-balloon-collected-intelligence-from-sensitive-military-sites-sent-back-to-beijing-in-real-time-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">traversed</a> the continental United States and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tiktoks-parent-company-in-china-planned-to-use-platform-to-track-locations-of-specific-americans-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a> of social media platform TikTok collecting data on American citizens.
Members of Congress recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republican-senators-call-on-biden-to-sanction-chinese-tech-firms-that-assist-communist-party" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pressed</a> senior Biden administration officials to sanction cloud services offered by Huawei and Alibaba, while some officials are <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/defense-officials-worry-about-new-chinese-espionage-threat-report-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">concerned</a> that sensors mounted on seaport cranes manufactured by ZPMC could grant Chinese authorities access to data regarding items shipped for military operations.

North Carolina Goat Farm

North Carolina Lawmakers Unanimously Move To Stop Chinese Entities From Buying Up Farmland

North Carolina Lawmakers Unanimously Approve Bill To Block Certain Chinese Farm Investments

National Security

North Carolina

More than 18,000 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/farming" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cows</a> were killed on Monday in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fire</a> at South Fork Dairy Farm in Dimmitt, <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/texas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Texas</a>.
Authorities received several calls that employees were trapped in a milking facility, with at least one worker sent to the hospital in critical condition after he was rescued by first responders, according to a <a href="https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/thousands-of-dairy-cows-likely-killed-worker-injured-in-explosion-at-texas-farm/3234590/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. Castro County Sheriff Sal Rivera said that a fire from an explosion spread to a building where cattle are held before they are brought to the milking area, according to a <a href="https://www.newschannel10.com/2023/04/11/reports-upwards-18000-cattle-lost-explosion-dimmitt-dairy-farm/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from KFDA, with all of the cows except for a small percentage dying in the disaster. The blaze likely spread through the insulation of the building.
“Your count probably is close to that,” Rivera said with respect to the estimated number of remaining livestock. “There’s some that survived, there’s some that are probably injured to the point where they’ll have to be destroyed.”
Officials with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality assisted workers with disposing of the cattle carcasses. The Animal Welfare Institute said the fire was the deadliest with respect to cattle deaths since the organization started to monitor barn fires one decade ago.
Residents in Dimmitt, a town southwest of Amarillo with less than 5,000 residents, told local media that smoke from the fire was visible for miles. “It was lowkey crazy to hear about because we were just chilling and then we just heard a boom,” Renzo Sullivan said in an <a href="https://www.newschannel10.com/2023/04/12/it-was-crazy-dimmitt-community-shocked-by-massive-dairy-farm-explosion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with KDFA. “Then we look in the distance and there’s just a big cloud.”
“It was crazy because it’s like something like that happening here is like kind of unheard of, you know. So it was just like it was a mind-blowing thing to hear,” Sullivan continued. “It is kind of painful because it’s like that’s kind of what we do here, and that’s how we get our money for like the city and all that. So that’s just a major drop for us.”
Other residents said they were surprised to see the plumes of smoke and were concerned for the economy of Dimmitt. “We look up, we’re inside and we go out and look through the window, and we just see clouds. It was like an explosion,” Maleki Laurent commented. “It was crazy. And there was big, massive black air and it looked like fog in the street. And it was all burnt,” Kennedy Cleraman added.
The disaster in the small town comes after several similar reports of industrial and agricultural accidents across the nation in recent months. The incidents include a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-massive-five-acre-fire-breaks-out-at-florida-warehouse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blaze</a> at a nursery supply company in Kissimmee, Florida; a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/train-carrying-hazardous-materials-derailed-in-texas-days-after-ohio-incident" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crash</a> between a train and semi-truck which resulted in a chemical spill near Splendora, Texas; and a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/definitely-toxic-massive-fire-at-indiana-plastic-recycling-facility-forces-thousands-to-evacuate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fire</a> at a recycling plant in Richmond, Indiana.
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Another train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, was triggered two months ago when a malfunctioning axle caused the vehicle to derail and leak volatile chemicals, impacting the air and water supply of the small rust belt community. Local and state authorities evacuated all residents within one mile of the crash and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/evacuation-ordered-ohio-governor-warns-major-explosion-could-send-shrapnel-a-mile-from-derailed-train" target="_blank" rel="noopener">started</a> a controlled burn of the chemicals to decrease the risk of an explosion. Vinyl chloride, a carcinogen that can contaminate water supplies, was released from five train cars in the form of massive plumes of dark smoke visible throughout eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania.
Researchers from Texas A&amp;M University and Carnegie Mellon University found in February that nine chemicals present on the train had higher <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/east-palestine-residents-could-see-long-term-health-risks-from-highly-toxic-chemicals-analysis-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">concentrations</a> than normal in the town’s air and water supplies, posing the risk of long-term health complications to residents despite the assurances of state and federal public health officials.

View of flames of red-orange fire and motion clouds of black smoke covered sky

18,000 Cows Killed In Texas Dairy Farm Explosion

Thousands Of Cows Killed In Dairy Farm Explosion

Disasters

Fire

Texas

Dutch farmers just won’t stay home.
Two large protests unfolded in the Netherlands last week as citizens headed to vote in a provincial election yesterday. One protest was led by people with legitimate, tangible skin in the game: Farmers, fishermen, and their supporters. Dutch land, way of life, and time-tested traditions of success are under threat and being taken and destroyed. 
 
The second protest was an assembly of autonomous human drones, fueled by the information war. These victims of &#8220;menticide&#8221; are the &#8220;extinction rebellion&#8221; — brainwashed meatbots — from the same information ecosystems that created Antifa and Black Lives Matter. 

While the Dutch provincial election took a <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/european-farmers-fed-climate-policies-shock-political-establishment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">favorable turn</a> for the farmers, many believe the threat to their autonomy still remains. 
Dutch farmers are under a severe information attack of their own, with accusations that farming causes “stickstoff poisoning,” — nitrogen poisoning. The accusation is so fraudulent that to even discuss the merits is to lose the fight. A famous Dutch medical doctor and psychoanalyst, Joost Meerloo, wrote extensively about such menticide in his classic book on brainwashing, &#8220;Rape of the Mind,&#8221; published in 1956. In the book, Dr. Meerloo explained exactly what we are seeing today, including methods for countering this mental martial art. A paraphrase of Dr. Meerloo’s advice: Do not engage in discussion of details when the bedrock details of the argument are lies. To discuss the merits of the meritless is to lose. 
 
The nitrogen argument put forth by Dutch prime minister Rutte and his globalist friends is fake. Unworthy of discussion. Instead, they should fix their gaze higher — ad hominem in this case — on the communists and other tyrants who wield the information swords.
The argument is as prima facie fallacious as the accusation that calling Holland “Holland” is somehow wrong. Their true goal is total control. Control of the simplest acts of existence, such as eating, which words we use, and calling oneself Dutch or American. According to the Dutch government, the name “Holland” is now outdated and should no longer be used by Dutch government officials. Yes, the term Holland is now canceled.
In a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent interview</a>, Dr. Jordan Peterson pointedly and repeatedly called this country, the Netherlands, Holland. If any man understands the immense power of a single word, the man is Dr. Peterson. Dr. Peterson knows compelled speech is slavery and slavery leads to spiritual death.
Last year, I stood outside a venue in the Netherlands where Dr. Peterson was speaking to a full house. He travels with a security detail due to serious, credible threats. Antifa protested the event, attempting to intimidate those who will listen to men who study, stand, and speak the truth.
I have spent months with Antifa in the past — in Portland, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Hong Kong (yes), and Washington D.C. I know their ways and how they work tirelessly to intimidate, using an information war as their highest form of warfare. 
The information war currently spreading across the Dutch &#8220;mindscape&#8221; is the real poison. The Dutch government is openly in the grips of a beastly alliance of the WEF and the CCP — The World Economic Forum and the Chinese Communist Party. Klaus Schwab, chairman of the WEF, has publicly, effusively praised Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the Netherlands version of Justin Trudeau.
These globalists need the farmland to create their planned Utopia called &#8220;Tristate City,&#8221; a megalopolis, comprising most of the Netherlands, parts of Germany, and Belgium. And while the brainchild behind the massive blueprint, urban planner Peter Savelberg, recently <a href="https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/global-policy-lab/living-cities-taking-on-period-poverty-tristate-city-conspiracy-monumental-women/">walked back his proposal</a>, it doesn&#8217;t diminish the WEF&#8217;s vision of a human farm where every movement will be tracked, recorded, and analyzed in real time by people such as Chinese agents.
<div id="attachment_513883" style="width: 570px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-513883" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-513883" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image.png" alt="" width="560" height="366" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/03/image.png 560w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/03/image-300x196.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px" />www.tristatecity.nl</div>
Tristate City includes the two busiest ports in Europe: Rotterdam and Antwerp. If China has its way, its new growing <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/war-in-ukraine-challenging-china-s-train-routes-to-europe/6530632.html">Asian rail infrastructure</a> will chug across the middle of the Tristate City to Rotterdam. The Tristate City is set to become a giant Chinese port city. 
<div id="attachment_513887" style="width: 933px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-513887" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-513887" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image-2-923x576.jpeg" alt="" width="923" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/03/image-2-923x576.jpeg 923w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/03/image-2-300x187.jpeg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/03/image-2-768x479.jpeg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/03/image-2-1536x958.jpeg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/03/image-2-2048x1277.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 923px) 100vw, 923px" />Getty Images</div>
WEF/CCP needs and wants the land. Standing in the way, of course, are the farmers and a strong Dutch spirit. If the western WEF members, who now cooperate so deeply with CCP, succeed they will eventually fight over the spoils. Stated more plainly — though WEF and CCP are today wedded in unholy marriage, they are destined for bloody divorce. 
 
Why so herculean an effort to destroy Dutch culture including farmers and fishermen? Control: Control of food supply, freedom of movement, association, and commerce. Dutch farmers — among the most efficient and responsible in the world — are working in large parts on land that was reclaimed from the sea. Not primal forests, but underwater. Their family lines go back centuries. They are literally the original tribespeople, as it were. If this were any place other than Europe, the Frisians and others might be labeled indigenous, in need of protection. 

WATCH: New <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/b">Dr. Jordan B. Peterson podcast</a>, &#8220;Dutch Farmers: Canaries in the Globalist Coal Mine, with Michael Yon &amp; Eva Vlaardingerbroek&#8221;
<a href="https://michaelyon.com/">Michael Yon</a> became one of America’s youngest Green Berets at 19-years-old. Michael has lived over half of his life abroad living or traveling to about 90 countries. Author of three books in the United States and three others in Japan, he is America’s most experienced combat correspondent. Follow him on Twitter: @Michael_Yon, and http://michaelyon.locals.com
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Farmers protest against the government in Netherlands

How A Globalist Drive For A Utopian Super City Is Pushing Dutch Farmers To Protest

Chinese Communist Party

Readers Pass

The Netherlands

World Economic Forum

A pay-it-forward story is inspiring people after a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/farming" target="_blank" rel="noopener">farmer’s</a> good deeds were revealed after he passed away on New Year’s Day.
Hody Childress, a farmer and Air Force veteran from Alabama, went into a drugstore about a decade ago and asked the owner if there were people who weren’t able to pay for their medicine.
“I told him, ‘Yes, unfortunately that happens often,’” Brooke Walker, the owner, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/01/19/alabama-farmer-hody-childress-prescriptions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “And he handed me a $100 bill, all folded up.”
But he didn’t want credit for it.
“He said, ‘Don’t tell a soul where the money came from — if they ask, just tell them it’s a blessing from the Lord,’” she said.
He continued to anonymously provide resources for people in the form of a $100 bill each month for years, and was able to bless those around him with his actions.
“His kindness motivated me to be more of a compassionate person,” Walker said. “He was just a good old guy who wanted to bless his community, and he certainly did. He established a legacy of kindness.”
The money he gave her grew to thousands of dollars and Walker was typically able to assist two people each month who needed help paying for their medicine.
Walker was considering reaching out to his family, but his daughter was also getting ready to inform people about the gifts at his funeral since he had told her about it before he died.
“He told me he’d been carrying a $100 bill to the pharmacist in Geraldine on the first of each month, and he didn’t want to know who she’d helped with it — he just wanted to bless people with it,” Tania Nix, his daughter, said.
“It was just who he was — it was in his heart,” Nix added.
Childress told Nix so that she could <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/01/23/1150716078/friends-and-family-will-keep-hody-childress-kind-deed-going" target="_blank" rel="noopener">do it for him</a> when his health didn&#8217;t allow for it. Childress survived on a minimal retirement and Social Security.
“He didn’t spend a lot of money in life, but he always gave what he could,” she said. “If he took you out to eat, you had to be quick to grab the ticket, or he was paying for it.”
He had lived through tragedy, but was still an upbeat person. In 1973, his father and son were both killed in a tornado.
“That was really hard on him, but he never complained,” Nix said. “He never lost his optimism.”
When people in the community started figuring out at his funeral that he was the one who had helped them, they were shocked, she said.
“I heard from people who said they’d been going through a rough time and their prescriptions were paid for when they went to pick them up,” she said.
His actions have inspired people to keep giving to the pharmacy.
“We’re calling it the Hody Childress Fund, and we’re going to keep it going as long as the community and Hody’s family wants to keep it alive,” she said.
The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/25/us/alabama-pharmacy-donor.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that since The Washington Post published the story, Walker, as well as Nix and her family, have been contacted by people from all over the country who want to give. A man from Miami was even inspired to go to his local drugstore to begin a fund.
One woman, Ms. Schlageter, was able to get her son an EpiPen because of Childress&#8217; money, but she didn&#8217;t know he was behind it.
“All of a sudden it comes out that Mr. Hody did it,” Schlageter said. “What he doesn’t know, now that he’s in heaven, is that he helped a kid that works on a farm that he started. Look at that circle.”

736954D1-3A8B-45E4-8A3F-E4E6B4C7E77B_1_105_c

Pay-It-Forward Story Of Farmer Inspires People Around The Country

Alabama

U.S.

Farming company Deere &amp; Co., known as John Deere, signed an agreement allowing farmers to fix their own machinery or seek repairs from independent workers on Sunday. 
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and Deere &amp; Co. <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/us-farmers-win-right-to-repair-john-deere-tractors/ar-AA166A1b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> a <a href="https://www.fb.org/files/AFBF_John_Deere_MOU.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">memorandum</a> of understanding (MOU) as a culmination of the “right to repair” discussion. Some farmers have argued that manufacturing companies have used their own systems in order to make farmers go to specific places to repair their products. Deere has essentially <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/farm-bureau-deere-co-sign-mou-ensuring-farmers-right-repair-equipment-2023-01-08/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">required</a> farmers to seek repairs at their own divisions or given authorized dealers the ability to get into the technology instead of giving farmers more information about their system. 
&#8220;It addresses a long-running issue for farmers and ranchers when it comes to accessing tools, information and resources, while protecting John Deere&#8217;s intellectual property rights and ensuring equipment safety,&#8221; AFBF President Zippy Duvall <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/us-farmers-win-right-to-repair-john-deere-tractors/ar-AA166A1b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
Deere is looking forward to <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/us-farmers-win-right-to-repair-john-deere-tractors/ar-AA166A1b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">operating</a> with AFBF and &#8220;our customers in the months and years ahead to ensure farmers continue to have the tools and resources to diagnose, maintain and repair their equipment,&#8221; Dave Gilmore, a vice president at Deere, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/farm-bureau-deere-co-sign-mou-ensuring-farmers-right-repair-equipment-2023-01-08/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
The MOU noted that a manufacturer would not be able to “divulge trade secrets, proprietary or confidential information” or “allow owners or Independent Repair Facilities to override safety features or emissions controls or to adjust Agricultural Equipment power levels” under the signed agreement. 
The MOU also said that the farm group would &#8220;encourage state Farm Bureau organizations to recognize the commitments made in this MOU&#8221; and hold back &#8220;from introducing, promoting, or supporting federal or state &#8216;Right to Repair&#8217; legislation that imposes obligations beyond the commitments in this MOU.&#8221; Deere and the group can both <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/deere-to-allow-farmers-to-repair-their-own-equipment-11673228580" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pull</a> out of the agreement by providing written notice of fifteen days if right-to-repair legislation is enacted at the state or federal level. 
Kevin O’Reilly, director for the Right to Repair Campaign at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/deere-to-allow-farmers-to-repair-their-own-equipment-11673228580" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> legislators “should continue pushing Right-to-Repair legislation until every farmer in every state with every brand of equipment can fix every problem with every tractor.”
At a time when farmers have been seeing high prices for necessary items, the agreement could mean they get some relief when it comes to the ability to pay less for repairs. However, high commodity costs could also <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/high-commodity-prices-feed-a-boom-in-the-u-s-farm-belt-11671595947" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bring</a> an uptick in income for the industry.
President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-order-takes-aim-at-tractor-repair-11625914801?mod=article_inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> an executive order in 2021 to allow more freedom for farmers to fix their equipment or turn to independent repair workers. 
Deere has noted that it offered ways for private groups to do repairs but didn&#8217;t want its technical systems changed. In the past, Deere and other equipment makers were <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-order-takes-aim-at-tractor-repair-11625914801?mod=article_inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unwilling</a> to give farmers full range to their systems. Changing the technical elements could make them not work as well, according to the companies. 
Last March, Deere also <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/fewer-us-tractor-dealerships-raise-costs-farmers-sector-consolidates-2022-09-01/">said</a> it would allow a diagnostics software item to be bought by independent repair services and farmers. 
This year, New York <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2023/01/03/new-yorks-right-to-repair-bill-has-major-carve-outs-for-manufacturers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> right-to-repair legislation and Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul <a href="https://www.consumerreports.org/right-to-repair/new-york-right-to-repair-law-electronics-a1202339752/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> it on December 29. Massachusetts also passed a right-to-repair law aimed at the automotive industry in 2012.

019D96BF-BDB4-4553-B792-5124347B6436_1_201_a

John Deere Signs Agreement Giving Farmers More Freedom To Repair Equipment

Business

Lawmakers in <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/south-dakota" target="_blank" rel="noopener">South Dakota</a> announced a move to more heavily scrutinize foreign purchases of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/farming" target="_blank" rel="noopener">farmland</a> from investors in adversarial nations such as <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China</a>.
Foreigners in the Mount Rushmore State increased their land holdings from nearly 307,000 acres in 2019 to more than 356,000 acres in 2020, meaning that foreign nationals now control 0.9% of the state’s agricultural land, according to <a href="https://www.fsa.usda.gov/Assets/USDA-FSA-Public/usdafiles/EPAS/PDF/2020_afida_annual_report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the Department of Agriculture. Governor Kristi Noem (R-SD) announced support for legislation that would establish the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States for South Dakota (CFIUS-SD) to examine possible acquisitions of agricultural land by foreign interests.
“With this new process, we will be able to prevent nations who hate us — like Communist China — from buying up our state’s agriculture land,” she said in a <a href="https://news.sd.gov/newsitem.aspx?id=31923" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>. “We cannot allow the Chinese Communist Party to continue to buy up our nation’s food supply, so South Dakota will lead the charge on this vital national security issue.”
Chinese entities own slightly less than 1% of foreign-held acres in the United States, according to the Department of Agriculture. Canadian investors own roughly 32% of agricultural and non-agricultural land, while citizens of other allied nations such as the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Germany constitute 31% of land holdings by foreigners.
Lawmakers in South Dakota are particularly worried about the acquisition of farmland near <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pompeo-warns-communist-chinese-entities-buying-farmland-near-u-s-military-bases" target="_blank" rel="noopener">military facilities</a> such as Ellsworth Air Force Base. The purchase of 300 acres near Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota, where some of the nation’s secure military drone technology is located, earlier this year by Chinese food manufacturing company Fufeng Group raised concerns of espionage among some officials.
“For those of us who have lived and worked on the land, we know that it’s our past, but also our future,” State Senator Erin Tobin (R-SD) continued. “We grow the world’s food, and we need to protect the security of that food supply for our kids.”
Hawaii, Iowa, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Dakota, and Oklahoma have previously banned the foreign ownership of farmland. Chinese investors, however, can circumvent such restrictions by acquiring and operating through American corporations. House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/congressman-warns-against-americas-enemies-taking-over-agriculture" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced</a> the Promoting Agriculture Safeguards and Security Act earlier this year in an effort to bar entities from China, Iran, Russia, and North Korea from buying American agricultural firms.
“China’s efforts to influence American agriculture threatens U.S. security,” Johnson said in a <a href="https://dustyjohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases/johnson-stefanik-pass-act-prevents-china-purchasing-us-agriculture-businesses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “We have experienced numerous black swan events in the past few years, and we can’t risk allowing our adversaries closer access to our food and supply chains.”
The Biden administration likewise <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-quietly-probes-chinese-tech-firm-for-possibly-harvesting-data-from-military-bases-missile-silos" target="_blank" rel="noopener">investigated</a> Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei over concerns that cell towers using the company’s devices are transmitting data on military bases and missile silos to the communist nation. A final rule <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-makes-historic-move-to-block-certain-chinese-tech-after-national-security-concerns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published</a> last month by the Federal Communications Commission will block Huawei, ZTE, Hikvision, and Dahua from importing and selling certain technology that the agency considers a potential threat to national security. The new rule, however, does not apply to technology already within the nation’s borders.

Kristi Noem

South Dakota To Restrict Purchases Of Farmland By China And Other ‘Nations Who Hate Us’

South Dakota To Restrict Purchases Of Farmland By China

Politics

South Dakota

Agriculture in the United States is shifting, and could move even more in the coming years towards a new type of farming — with robotic, fully autonomous machines.
Agricultural AI can be used in various ways and for different tasks. According to <a href="https://intellias.com/artificial-intelligence-in-agriculture/#:~:text=AI%20can%20provide%20farmers%20with,minimizing%20the%20use%20of%20resources" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Intellias</a>, artificial intelligence can carry out everyday farming jobs, as well as difficult ones. It can also collect and sort through information digitally, find solutions and then carry them out when working with other tools. This type of technology is also able to give farmers information on their product, showing zones that are in need of water, fertilizer, or pesticide application. 
Agricultural expert Dmytro Lenniy is a senior delivery manager and AgriTech practice leader who helps agricultural technology businesses. He told The Daily Wire over email that “AI’s advancement of agriculture revolves around three overarching areas: forecasting, disease detection, and automation.” 

The ability to predict certain conditions can also help farmers use the best means of growing and be as effective as possible.
Bowery Farming <a href="https://boweryfarming.com/artificial-intelligence/">notes</a> the prevalence of AI in everyday life, and points out that it is one of the major assets that helps them solve issues.
AI in farming can also help supplement work when there are not as many people entering the farming business, or looking to provide manual labor to farms. 
The United States has struggled to overcome a farmworker shortage that has happened in part due to immigration laws and less people wanting to go into the agricultural sector, according to <a href="https://agamerica.com/blog/farm-labor-shortage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AgAmerica Lending</a>.
Almost half of <a href="https://agamerica.com/blog/2021-agricultural-outlook-for-us-agriculture/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">farmworkers</a> are illegal immigrants, and just 4% of immigrants who work on farms have become U.S. citizens. The shortage has led to farmers <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/farmers-pushing-immigration-reform-counter-labor-shortages-escalating-rcna45741" target="_blank" rel="noopener">backing</a> legislation that would stymie immigration reform. 
The <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1603" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Farm Workforce Modernization Act</a> has been passed in the House of Representatives and is pending in the U.S. Senate. It includes provisions concerning alien farmworkers that would update the ways people can temporarily work in the U.S. on farms. Some worker organizations are against the bill, though, citing issues regarding inclusion of all immigrants and power inequality between farm operators and migrant workers.
A Texas A&amp;M University <a href="https://www.tamiu.edu/coas/documents/tamiu-abic.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> from this year was commissioned by the American Business Coalition, which pushes for immigration changes. It discovered that more migrant and H-2A employees was connected to less inflation, associated with higher wages and lower unemployment. 
Although AI in agriculture could fix many issues, there are also various risks to such technological development. The image of a robot working on a farm and becoming sentient is a Hollywood-esque idea that may come to mind. The concept might seem to be fictional, but it doesn’t mean there are no privacy, security, and legal concerns that are associated with such technology. 
Data processing could be a risk, as well. &#8220;The biggest risk when using AI is the possibility of incorrect recommendations or forecasting,&#8221; Lenniy told The Daily Wire. The systems must be specially programmed to be in tune with the region in which they are operating. Another major concern of using AI is maintaining the safety of a client’s private data, Lenniy noted.
The risk of cyberattacks on the food chain could increase, especially if farmers are working with a few “machine-learning programs,” per a recent <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42256-022-00440-4.epdf?sharing_token=Ar58hegfiZ9_SWByDd0An9RgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0MWFepXeZ7UIRwLudsvzXukGTXmldGdPHOZ1xLqh-O0zjDOYjk_G0WWJP91-Le8v8EbypGimrOYIFd1AKUHSjwpgLAe-Pn2p0qObJIONmbOaZn5RBiSfucIZUfRqKXxXPPdGY1my5fqvct3yXSIdryWVegYslmPYNdFkAJ6pfJpsJYeaT01_k4NGh0lSfn43c8=&amp;tracking_referrer=www.washingtonpost.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> in Nature. 
“Under these conditions, farmers will bring substantial croplands, pastures and hayfields under the influence of a few common [machine-learning] platforms, consequently creating centralized points of failure, where deliberate attacks could cause disproportionate harm,” the report noted. The journal pointed out that AI should be responsibly implemented, and history has shown that “a focus on increased productivity carries potential risks, including intensifying inequality and ecological degradation.”
While it can help farmers determine how best to plant and harvest, this type of development could also raise concerns if government attempts to get involved.
Already, New Zealand is attempting to tax farmers based on their livestock emissions, such as the burps and urine that come from animals. Farmers have pushed back extensively on the proposed tax, saying it will be disastrous for farmers and essentially lead to farms shutting down in an economy that is heavily driven by agriculture.
John Deere is one company that has jumped into the AI agriculture game, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/02/how-deere-plans-to-build-a-world-of-fully-autonomous-farming-by-2030.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hoping</a> to be entirely autonomous by 2030.
The company showed off its 8R farming tractor at the Consumer Electronics Show last January, which propels John Deere towards its goal by acting fully autonomous. After almost twenty years of funding and strategizing technology, the tractor is the final result, according to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/02/how-deere-plans-to-build-a-world-of-fully-autonomous-farming-by-2030.html">CNBC</a>.
The Autonomous 8R Tractor was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvFoRk4JsPc&amp;ab_channel=JohnDeere" target="_blank" rel="noopener">portrayed</a> in a video by John Deere, in which a farmer explained how he can check the self-driving tractor on an app on his phone. The video showed a tractor driving itself in a field.
Doug Nimz, a fourth generation farmer from Minnesota, pointed out that labor is difficult to acquire on farms, and many hours of labor are needed for brief periods of time.
&#8220;Autonomy will help because we will be able to put a tractor out in the field and let it run for 24 hours a day because it&#8217;s not manned,&#8221; Nimz said. &#8220;But it also helps us with the weather because we can run so hard when soil conditions are fit.&#8221;
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Autonomous 8R Tractor | John Deere Precision Ag" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QvFoRk4JsPc?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Jorge Heraud, vice president of automation and autonomy for Deere in Moline, Illinois, told CNBC, “This comes from our realization that technology is going to drive value creation and increase productivity, profitability and sustainability for farmers.”
The move towards AI has its ecological benefits, as well. Microsoft is <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/project/project-farmvibes/">working</a> on developing technology that would add to sustainability by allowing farmers to track their farm&#8217;s estimated emissions, assist them “with climate adaptation by predicting weather variations” and “determine the right management practices that can be profitable and help improve soil health.”
The technology is <a href="https://blogs.microsoft.com/ai/microsoft-open-sources-its-farm-of-the-future-toolkit/">called</a> Project FarmVibes. 
“Project FarmVibes is allowing us to build the farm of the future,” Andrew Nelson, a farmer letting Microsoft Research use his land for the project, said. “We’re showcasing the impact technology and AI can have in agriculture. For me, Project FarmVibes is saving a lot in time, it’s saving a lot in costs and it’s helping us control any issues we have on the farm.”
Lenniy said the agricultural industry is heading in the direction of digitization, and AI is a main part of that shift. Farming operations that aren’t using AI will inevitably be behind those that do.
“That’s because the advanced knowledge will enable farmers to streamline their processes, increase efficiency and shorten supply chains. Simultaneously it will benefit food distribution, providing the public with a more steady supply of produce and increasing food security,” Lenniy said.
Lenniy pointed out that there is a shortage of experts who are familiar with all of the agricultural trends. It’s difficult for people to keep up with all of the shifting trends, so AI can help replace the “constant studying” and provide solutions.
Access to water is also a major issue and is something that the use of AI could help improve. AI can provide data about weather forecasts, so that farmers can use less water than they otherwise would need to without that information, Lenniy added. The predictions can also let farmers use less pesticides on crops.
The agricultural industry is changing and the use of artificial intelligence is ultimately something that could provide more solutions to the issues the industry is facing, but the risks and challenges of such technology should not be ignored.

US-TECHNOLOGY-SCIENCE-LIFESTYLE-COMPUTERS-ELECTRONICS

‘Let It Run 24-Hours A Day’: How Artificial Intelligence And Automated Tractors Will Change The Face of Farming

[HOLD FOR GW/READERS PASS]

Artificial Intelligence

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/farming" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Farmers</a> in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/new-zealand" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New Zealand</a> are taking their frustrations to the streets in protest over the government’s newly proposed tax on emissions from animals, such as burps and urine.
As The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-zealand-farmers-fume-after-government-proposes-animal-gas-tax" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> last week, New Zealand proposed the first-ever tax on farm animal emissions. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-new-zealand-animals-emissions-reduction-climate-and-environment-6f8847bc10ecdd0ba4d5c23bdab5617d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">It claimed</a> that those in the agricultural industry could recoup that tax money by charging customers more for their eco-friendly items. 
Thousands of people in the agricultural sector <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/20/new-zealand-farmers-protest-worlds-first-livestock-burp-tax" target="_blank" rel="noopener">protested</a> the potential tax on Thursday. Groundswell New Zealand organized the event, and its co-founder, Bryce McKenzie, said rural areas would be harmed.
“The government’s ideological commitment to punitive and counterproductive emissions taxes on food production is an existential threat to rural communities,” McKenzie said, adding that the move would be counterproductive. He said whatever reductions that occur “will be replaced by less efficient foreign farmers.”
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor acted as if the tax would essentially be a good thing for farmers, but the people who would potentially be impacted don’t appear to feel the same way. 
“New Zealand’s farmers are set to be the first in the world to reduce agricultural emissions, positioning our biggest export market for the competitive advantage that brings in a world increasingly discerning about the provenance of their food,” Ardern said, noting that the fees garnered from the tax would go back into the farming industry.
“Farmers are already experiencing the impact of climate change with more regular drought and flooding,” O’Connor said. “Taking the lead on agricultural emissions is both good for the environment and our economy.”
Farmers spoke out at the time, with the Federated Farmers lobby saying the proposal would “rip the guts out of small-town New Zealand” and reduce the number of farms in the country, which has <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/20/new-zealand-farmers-cow-burp-protest-00062675" target="_blank" rel="noopener">10 million dairy and beef cattle</a>, as well as 26 million sheep. The nation itself only has around 5 million people.
Critics say the end result of the tax would likely be more farmers leaving the industry altogether. 
Dave McCurdy, a farmer protesting on Thursday, said farmers care about the environment and treat it well. 
“It’s our life, our family’s lives,” he said. “We’re not out there to wreck it, we wouldn’t make any money. We love our farms. That’s what annoys us. We’re painted as these bad guys, but many farmers have spent generations looking after that land.”
McCurdy said that many farmers would suffer if the proposal and herd cutbacks move forward. “I’m out,” he said. “Waste of time.”

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New Zealand Farmers Protest Proposed Farm Animal Emissions Tax

New Zealand Farmers Protest Proposed Tax On Farm Animal Emissions Like Burps And Urine

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New Zealand farmers fumed about a new tax proposed by government officials Tuesday that would charge agriculturalists for greenhouse gases, biogenic methane, and nitrous oxide belched or urinated out from cows and sheep.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said such taxes would fuel the industry by funding new technology, research, and incentives for the farmers, The Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-new-zealand-animals-emissions-reduction-climate-and-environment-6f8847bc10ecdd0ba4d5c23bdab5617d">reported</a>.
“New Zealand’s farmers are set to be the first in the world to reduce agricultural emissions, positioning our biggest export market for the competitive advantage that brings in a world increasingly discerning about the provenance of their food,” Ardern said.
Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/new-zealand-price-agricultural-long-lived-gases-methane-separately-2022-10-10/">reported</a> that the proposed plan would go into effect in 2025, making New Zealand the first country to impose a livestock emissions levy on farmers.
But farm workers feel unsettled about such plans, claiming it would “rip the guts out of small town New Zealand,” adding the country would see fewer farms and more trees.
Andrew Hoggard, president of the lobbying group Federated Farmers, said farmers have attempted to work with government officials since 2020 on a plan to reduce emissions while maintaining current food production levels. Still, the new plan would force them to sell their farms “so fast you won’t even hear the dogs barking on the back of the ute [pickup truck] as they drive off,” he said, per The Associated Press.
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said that while farmers are already experiencing regular droughts and flooding, it poses an good opportunity for them and the country.
“Taking the lead on agricultural emissions is both good for the environment and our economy,” O’Connor said, according to The Associated Press.
However, opposing lawmakers said the plan would increase worldwide emissions by forcing other countries to make up for the lack of farming in New Zealand, which produces dairy products that are vital to its economy.
The Associated Press reports that while the country’s population caps at around 5 million people, the number of beef and dairy cattle in the country is double that size.
According to Reuters, the proposal goes to consultation before officials can pass and impose the law.
Government officials have pledged to reduce methane emissions from farm animals by 10% by 2030 and up to 47% by 2050, at which point they hope the country will be carbon neutral.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY “NZealand-farm-emis

New Zealand Farmers Fume After Government Proposes Animal Gas Tax

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