Enorm Biofactory A/S is an insect farm located in Denmark. Founded by Jane Lind Sam and her father Carsten Lind Pedersen, it specializes in insect production for animal feed.

The farm spans 22,000 square meters and aims to produce over 10,000 tonnes of insect meal and oil annually, initially for animal feed, using 500 million maggots fed with waste materials like orange peels, promoting nutrient recycling and efficient use of agricultural byproducts and food waste.

Millions of black soldier flies lay hundreds of thousands of eggs daily in plastic cages, producing approximately 25kg of eggs that turn into 100 tons of wet larvae within twelve days, providing food for developing flies and future maggots. The finished product takes between 40 and 50 days to produce.

The finished product is a flour with 55% protein content, distributed across Europe for various animal feed, with potential for human consumption in the future, although cultural acceptance may be a hurdle.

The production of insect flour in Europe could reach one million tons by 2030, according to the Ipiff lobby, as the insect farming industry is expected to grow, contributing to the evolution of agriculture and substituting less climate-friendly options.

Importing soy for livestock feed in Denmark generated 7 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2020, according to the University of Copenhagen, impacting the country's total agriculture emissions, which Enorm aims to reduce through its insect-based products.

Enorm started production with both public and private investments but currently has a modest order book due to it being a new industry, focusing on minimizing waste and recycling nutrients through the rearing of insects.

According to Aalborg University biologist Niels Thomas Eriksen, the barrier to accepting insects as food is cultural.

Sources: Taipei Times, Sud Ouest, Bilyonaryo, International Business Times, Watauga Democrat

This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq.

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The Agriculture Ministry is worried that chicken coops where bird flu has been identified could infect residents of nearby communities, the ministry reported Saturday.

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An outbreak of the bird flu was also found at a farm in the southern Golan Heights containing roughly 17,000 turkeys, The Jerusalem Post reported.

The ministry's veterinary services placed the farm under quarantine.

"We are in a war against a virus that may not be visible but is deadly to birds and can be contagious to humans as well," said Agriculture Minister Oded Forer.

"Although cases of infection in humans are rare, they are extremely fatal, with about 50% mortality in humans who have been infected with the disease," Forer said.

In addition to the risk of the bird flu being transmitted to humans, the country could also face a major egg shortage as infected laying hens are destroyed.

Forer has issued instructions to prevent the outbreak from spreading, and to lift quotas on the import of eggs.

On Thursday, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority reported that one in five wild cranes living or migrating through Israel are infected with bird flu.

So far, about 100 birds have died in the outbreak, according to The Jerusalem Post. Authorities expect to remove 25 to 30 tons of carcasses, The Times of Israel reported.

Some 100,000 cranes visit northern Israel's Hula Valley annually. Many stay in the country until early March, then they fly north to nest.

Inspectors are sweeping the Hula Valley for evidence of the virus and searching water bodies in neighboring valleys.

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Can a salad have too many ingredients? Israeli farmers sought to answer that question on Wednesday, making a salad with 99 ingredients, not including spices, and breaking an Israeli record in the process.

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Within the framework of the 12th annual Israel Agriculture Summit, every ingredient used to make the salad was produced on an Israeli farm – from the Galilee in the north the Negev Desert in the south.

Noi Hadas, CEO of the Noi HaSadeh food chain, which provided the fruits, vegetables, cheeses, and herbs for the salad, said of the grand salute to Israeli farmers and agriculture: "I'm proud to give a home and a stage to more than 100 farmers from across the country, who safeguard our nutritional security, the country's borders and our health. With this salad, we are displaying the strength of Israeli agriculture – sophisticated, diverse, healthy, and fresh."

The salad includes Asparagus, artichoke, purple onion, shallot, dried onion, carrot, colored mini-carrot, zucchini, red cabbage, white cabbage, chinese cabbage, Fioretti cauliflower, cauliflower, cucumber, mini-pepper, red beet, plain tomato, Roma tomato, Maggie tomato, cluster tomato, Cherry tomato, Roma-Cherry tomato, Black Zebra Cherry tomato, Cherry-mix tomato, Yellow Cherry tomato, Cherry cluster tomato, Mini-Cherry tomatoes, red pepper, yellow pepper, orange pepper, light pepper, kohlrabi, Japanese radish, radish, fennel, washed green beans, sweet corn cobs, Romaine lettuce, Arab lettuce, Lalique lettuce, lettuce hearts, Salanova lettuce heads, Salanova lettuce leaves, and round lettuce.

They were joined on the place by a micro-leaf mix, micro Amaranthos, micro basil, micro Rashad, micro pea sprouts, micro mustard sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, black lentil sprouts, baby leaves, oregano, basil, Oxalis, beet leaves, purple kale, Israeli garlic, pearl garlic, black garlic, black pearl garlic, vacuum-sealed beet, Turkish spinach, New Zealand spinach, Champignon mushrooms, Shinoki mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, Shimeji mushrooms, portobello mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, king trumpet mushroom, maitake mushrooms, edible flowers, natural hazelnut, natural walnut, peeled pumpkin seeds, peeled sunflower seeds, peeled chestnut, peeled pistachio, acorn, natural almond, gouda cheese, camembert, rosmarino, mozzarella balls, feta, ripe Hass avocado, Ettinger avocado, lemon, lemon-lime, red raspberry, Hermon apple, Granny Smith apple, golden apple, peeled pomegranate, eggs and tahini.

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Israeli foodtech start-up CarobWay has partnered with the Jewish National Fund-KKL on a nationwide carob tree research initiative, the company announced this week.

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The venture has already begun extensive field research to attain a full analysis of domestic trees and identify the most fruitful carob varieties, as well as optimum growing conditions.

Researchers have mapped the country using a Geographical Information Systems (GIS) data collection format that assigns trees to the closest meteorological station, allowing researchers to accrue location-based data on such key parameters as rain volumes and humidity levels to help identify the most best areas for growing carob trees.

"There are five species of carob trees that grow throughout Israel," explains Sohel Zedan, Chief Forest Officer for the JNF and a leading global expert in carob cultivation and agriculture.

"Some have been growing wild in forests for thousands of years and are well acclimatized, so have proven resilience to extreme weather conditions and other environmental changes. Most were planted in the 1950's as part of a major afforestation campaign initiated by the JNF. Many of these deep-rooted perennial trees have long life spans, with the potential to live decades or even centuries. This makes them a highly sustainable, yet low-maintenance crop – traits we look for when selecting the best species to develop."

CarobWay currently harvests carob from key carob groves owned by the JNF in several parts of Israel and has established its own first 70-hectare (17- acre) modern carob grove in the Upper Galilee region.

CarobWay has also sealed agreements with R&D farms and local farming communities to optimize carob cultivation to develop innovative carob-derived products.

The team is conducting broadscale screening of native carob species, which is expected to allow the company to develop carob-based products that are in line with food industry needs.

"We applied several analytical methods to attain a deeper understanding of various carob species and their unique characteristics specifically so that we can tailor our offerings more adroitly to our clients," says CarobWay co-founder and CEO Udi Alroy.

"For example, some carob species grow fruit with higher sugar content, albeit with a naturally low glycemic index. These can serve the needs of food and beverage companies seeking viable sugar alternatives. Other trees bear more seeds and so are more suited to the locust bean gum industry," Alroy points out.

Research farm Hulata operates a model grove dedicated to R&D, where it analyzes local carob varieties and their cultivation methods from irrigation through to pollination technologies. The orchard is fully automated and computerized.

CarobWay also reports headway in creating innovative carob-centered food products in its private lab. "Carob is a highly nutritious and flavorful fruit, yet its true potential has yet to be realized," adds Alroy. "We are continually striving to bring the best of this super crop back to the table and to boost the carob value chain.

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Approximately 80% of drinking water in Israel is desalinated water, coming from the Mediterranean Sea. Now, scientists from the Technion- Israel Institute of Technology and Wageningen University and Wetsus (European center of excellence for sustainable water) in the Netherlands have developed a way to improve the quality of desalinated water, while reducing the costs of the process. The findings of the international team's study were published in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America).

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Desalination removes mineral particles (salts) from saltwater, making it fit for human consumption and irrigation. The chemical properties of some particles make them more challenging to remove than others. Boron, which is naturally found in high quantities in the Mediterranean Sea, is among the hardest to remove, as change in acidity causes it to change its properties. Boron is toxic in high concentrations, and it harms plant growth, which is a problem in the context of irrigation. The normal process of boron removal involves dosing the water with a base in order to facilitate removing the boron, followed by removal of the base.

The most commonly used method of desalination is by means of a membrane – a sort of sieve that allows water to pass through it, while blocking other particles, based on their size or charge. This membrane, however, is expensive, and needs to be replaced periodically.

Ph.D. students Amit Shocron and Eric Guyes, under the supervision of Professor Matthew Suss of the Technion Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, together with their collaborators from Wageningen University and Wetsus, have developed a new modeling technique to predict the behavior of boron during desalination by means of capacitive deionization.

Deionization is an emerging technique for water treatment and desalination that uses relatively cheap porous electrodes, as opposed to the expensive membrane. When an electric current is applied, charged particles (like boron under high pH conditions) are absorbed by the electrodes and hence removed from the water.

Shocron formulated the theoretical framework that allowed this breakthrough, while Eric Guyes constructed the experimental setup. Working together, they were able to develop the novel system. Shocron and Guyes found that for optimal boron removal, the positive electrode should be placed upstream of the negative electrode – counter to the accepted wisdom in their field. They also calculated the optimal applied voltage for the system, finding that higher voltage does not necessarily improve the system's effectiveness.

The method the group developed could be used to solve other water treatment challenges, such as the removal of medicine residues and herbicides from water sources.

Prof. Suss is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and the Wolfson Department of Chemical Engineering at Technion- Israel Institute of Technology and is affiliated with the Nancy and Stephen Grand Technion Energy Program and Stephen and Nancy Grand Water Research Institute at Technion.

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Israel and Jordan signed a deal on Tuesday to prioritize agricultural imports from the Jewish state's eastern neighbor during the upcoming shmita (sabbatical year) beginning in September.

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The agreement was inked during a meeting at the Allenby Bridge border crossing between Agriculture Minister Oded Forer and his Jordanian counterpart Rasan al-Majali. The Israeli and Jordanian ambassadors were in attendance.

The sides agreed that Israel would import Jordanian produce during the biblical sabbatical year that takes place every seven years of the agricultural cycle. Shmita is mandated by the Torah and is observed in Judaism.

Israeli farmers must leave their land fallow and cease all agricultural activity for the year in order to be certified kosher.

Purchasing agricultural produce from Arab neighbors is one solution for obtaining fruits and vegetables to feed Israel's observant Jewish population.

The ministers also discussed boosting agricultural cooperation between the two countries.

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Ties between Israel and Jordan have been warming since Israel's new government was sworn in on June 13.

The two countries last month agreed to increase Jordan's export potential to the West Bank from about $160 million a year up to $700 million annually. Israel also agreed to sell an additional 50 million cubic meters of water to Jordan this year.

This article was first published by i24NEWS.

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Thousands of farmers blocked roads and junctions across Israel on Thursday in protest of reforms that would open the fruit, vegetable and egg markets to foreign import, a move they say will threaten their livelihoods.

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The reforms were proposed last week by Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Agriculture Minister Oded Forer.

The farmers arrived at junctions on tractors and other heavy equipment as early as 7 a.m., and threw eggs and produce on the roads in anger.

The reforms aim to recognize European standards on fruits and vegetables and create more competition in the industries, thus, in theory, lowering prices. This will be done gradually by lowering tariffs on fruit and vegetables.

Additionally, regulations on European fruits will be loosened, meaning there will be a bigger range of fruits available all year round.

The reform, however, also includes compensation in the form of a support package consisting, among other things, of direct financial support for each farmer per cultivated dunam (acre). It also offers expanded tax benefits to encourage capital investment and an investment of over NIS 2 billion for raising productivity in the agriculture industry.

Avshalom Vilan, head of the Israeli Farmers Union, said: "Farmers from all over Israel went out to protest and say clearly: The prices in supermarkets are high not because of the farmers, who only receive a few shekels [per kilogram] for their produce, but because of the supermarket chains, who multiply the prices and make billions of shekels off of the backs of the farmers and consumers.

"The farmers have no control over fruit and vegetable prices or on the high cost of living" he continued. "This is cowardice on the part of the Finance and Agriculture ministers, who are afraid to challenge the retailers and supermarket chains, and therefore are bullying the farmers, who work in the fields in the heatwaves and the winter. The price mark-up is in the hundreds of percent, but apparently, they're afraid of taking on the chain stores."

Vilan added that "We're out here to prove that Israel's agriculture will not be shut down. We will not comply with a reform that will harm the country, the citizens, the farmers, and our collective physical and nutritional safety."

Last week, when announcing the reforms, Lieberman said their purpose was to "strengthen the Israeli farmer while addressing the cost of living and benefit consumers."

On Thursday, he said: "Throwing eggs, fruits and vegetables on the ground while blocking roads won't benefit the consumers. I'm sorry that farmers choose not to focus on the most troubling question – why in the last 20 years fruit prices have increased by more than 100%, vegetables by more than 80%, while consumption has fallen by 20%, and why fruits in Scandinavia are cheaper than Haifa?"

Lieberman added that the reform provides "unprecedented benefits" to farmers.

If it is adopted, the reform plan is expected to save Israelis around 2.7 billion shekels (around $823.6 million) a year, according to Lieberman and Forer.

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Israel on Tuesday signed its first agricultural agreements with the United Arab Emirates following last year's Abraham Accords that normalized relations between the two Middle Eastern countries.

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UAE Minister of Food and Water Security Mariam Al-Muhairi joined Agriculture Minister Oded Forer in Tel Aviv for the signing ceremony.

The two countries agreed to cooperate on research and innovation, including developing crops that can thrive in desert environments as well as advancements in water management and irrigation.

"The United Arab Emirates and Israel share many challenges when it comes to food security, and we are cooperating to find innovative and feasible solutions to these challenges," said al-Muhairi.

The Gulf state officially inaugurated its embassy in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, with President Isaac Herzog and Emirati Ambassador to Israel Mohamed Al Khaja in attendance.

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Israeli and Emirati flags were raised outside the building.

In his speech, Al Khaja expressed hope that the inauguration would be a milestone for relations "between the peoples and the nations."

 This article was first published by i24NEWS.

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In a letter to Lior Farber, the acting deputy director-general of the Prime Minister's Office's Home Affairs, Planning, and Development Division, Environmental Protection Affairs Ministry Director-General Galit Cohen emphasized that 27 years after the Animal Protection Law was enacted, the "Agriculture Ministry has not brought about the effective implementation of the law and has not met the objectives set out for it."

By shifting authority to the Environmental Protection Ministry, officials hope to enlist professionals in the field like veterinarians in animal protection efforts.

Zandberg, who served as chairwoman of the Knesset Lobby for the Protection of Animals in the previous government, has for years participated in every discussion on the subject as well as introduced legislation to halt the live shipment of animals.

She told Israel Hayom: "The ministry that represents the economic interests of the animal food production industry cannot monitor animal welfare, and has even failed at this for years. The Environmental Protection Ministry is the best suited to be given authority on the subject, both due to its commitment to protect animals' rights and protect the environment that is harmed by the polluting industry of animal food production."

In a statement, Agriculture Ministry officials said: "Animal welfare is under the authority of Agriculture Ministry veterinary services in most countries around the world, and it is not for nothing that the veterinary services know the animals' needs and the mutual influences on the environment and the health of the animals and the public."

Ministry officials continued: "The ministry, in cooperation with other bodies, cares for animal welfare on a daily basis. All this alongside public diplomacy activities to increase awareness, sterilization, and castration, and unique initiatives like involving the public in the issue of regulating stray cats."

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Israeli artificial pollination agtech startup Edete Precision Technologies is expanding its services to wind-pollinated crops, starting with pistachios, the company announced this week.

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Thus far, Edete has focused on insect-pollinated crops.

Wind pollination is a natural process for many plants: Cereals and grasses, as well as olives, dates, pistachios, walnuts, and some vegetable seeds. The effectiveness of natural wind pollination is dependent on the synchronization of the bloom of male and female plants or of different cultivars, meteorological conditions such as temperature, day length, intensity of winds and other environmental conditions including water and soil quality.

Commercial pistachio orchards in the world have only one male tree for every nine to 24 female trees. Male trees do not bear fruit and are planted solely for pollination purposes. Given appropriate pollination conditions, female trees will yield a commercial crop from the age of seven and for decades to come.

In recent years, growers have noted increasing asynchrony between the flowering of male and female trees. One hypothesis attributes this change to the impact of climate change and global warning, as it is not unique to pistachios and occurs in other crops, such as hazelnuts.

Edete conducted a first pilot of artificial pollination on 80 acres of pistachio orchards in California, over the course of a week. One of the points of the pilot was to explore the possibility of increasing the yield of young female trees and of securing and increasing the yield of mature orchards.

"After testing our unique automated pollination technology on insect-pollinated crops such as almonds, Edete is bringing its capabilities to the massive market of wind-pollinated crops," said Keren Mimran, co-founder and VP for Business Development and Marketing at Edete.

"In recent years, growers have been confronted by an  increased asynchrony between the bloom timing of male and female trees. As a result, the yield is reduced, and in extreme cases even result in lack of yield in entire plots. Our technology can and will solve this problem in a manner that helps growers feed the world in the most economical and effective way possible," Mimran explained.

The global pistachio market generates $6 billion to $9 billion a year. The world's leading growers are the United States, Turkey, and Iran. Greece, Italy, Spain, Afghanistan, Syria, China, and Australia are also major producers.

Edete's artificial pollination solution starts with the mechanical collection of flowers, from which pollen is separated. The best genetically fit pollen is then applied on the target trees using the company's unique autonomous 2BeTM pollinators, which employ a combination of technologies to disperse an optimal dosage of pollen on targeted flowers. The 2BeTM mechanical pollinators can work during the day or night and independent of ambient temperature.

The company's proprietary method enables maintenance of good viability rates of pollen stored for over two years.

Edete's artificial pollination service has been implemented in the almond sector in Israel and a pollen bank was produced in Australia, using prototypes of mechanical pollinators developed by the company. The company's technology can also be used to pollinate cherries, apples, and other crops.

Founded in 2016, Edete's team is multidisciplinary and includes highly skilled researchers and engineers. Co-founder and CEO Eylam Ran served as a VP of engineering and R&D at Plasan, a global leader in vehicle protection for security forces. Since its establishment, Edete has raised around $6.2 million in pre-seed and seed funding, including $2.2 million from the Israel Innovation Authority. The company intends to raise additional funds in a Series A round during 2021, to support its scale up plans and entry into the US market.

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