World Grain - November 2021 - 12

NEWS REVIEW
GrainCorp invests in AgTech company
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - GrainCorp Ltd. announced in
October that it has acquired a 15% stake in Hone, a Newcastle,
New South Wales-based AgTech startup company, a move
that sets the stage for the companies to develop technology
with high standard quality testing capabilities.
Hone's technology is currently used to analyze grain quality,
soil carbon, and many other agricultural products and inputs.
The companies have been working together for the past
two years.
" We've been extremely impressed with Hone's equipment, it's
as accurate and consistent as anything we've seen in the industry,
but the big difference is that growers will literally be able to hold
it in their hands, " said Jesse Scott, chief innovation and growth
officer at GrainCorp. " For the grains industry, getting your answer
on a crop sample can take weeks - with Hone, this process
can be brought down to minutes at the touch of a button. "
Taliban offering wheat as payment for labor
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - With more than
half of
Afghanistan's population facing food insecurity, the Taliban's
interim government reportedly has launched a program offering
wheat to thousands of people in exchange for labor, according
to a report from the Hindustan Times.
Zabijullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Taliban, said during
a recent press conference that the program will be rolled out
in major Afghan cities, with the intention to employ 40,000
people in Kabul alone, the report said.
The United Nations' World Food Programme estimates that
22.8 million Afghan citizens will face acute food insecurity
starting in November. The WFP said the combined impacts of
drought, conflict, COVID-19 and the economic crisis have severely
affected lives, livelihoods, and people's access to food.
The report's findings come as Afghanistan's harsh winter
looms, threatening to cut off areas of the country where families
desperately depend on humanitarian assistance to survive
the freezing winter months.
Miller
John H. Miller dies at age 60
SOUTHLAKE, TEXAS, US - John H.
Miller, a well-known executive in the grain
and rail industries, died suddenly Oct. 12 at
the age of 60.
A native of St. Louis, Missouri, US, Miller
graduated in 1983 from Harvard College
with a bachelor's degree in economics. He
began his career with Continental Grain
Co. in Lake Charles, Louisiana, US, and had assignments with
Continental in numerous cities, including Fort Worth, Texas,
US; Kansas City, Missouri, US; Chicago, Illinois, US; and
New York, US. He held senior positions at Bartlett Grain in
Kansas City and The Scoular Co. in Overland Park, Kansas,
US, before joining The BNSF Railway Co. in Fort Worth in
12
Hone was founded in 2016 by Antony Martin, William
Palmer and Jamie Flynn. Initially, the founders worked together
to develop a 3D microscope to image medical samples.
They eventually discovered the technology could have applications
as a highly accurate and portable testing kit for the
agricultural industry. Now, with GrainCorp on board, Hone
hopes to accelerate the adoption of the technology by grain
growers across the Australian eastern seaboard.
" The technology empowers producers to make real-time,
data-based decisions that result in healthier soil and crops,
more sustainable farming practices and ultimately a more
profitable business, " Martin said. " Our vision is for anyone
to be able to test what they want, when they want, without
the inconvenience of collecting and sending samples away for
weeks on end. We certainly hope it will accelerate the uptake
of carbon farming for landholders as well. "
The report noted that this is the highest number of acutely
food insecure people ever recorded in the 10 years the UN
has been conducting IPC analyses in Afghanistan. Globally,
Afghanistan is home to one of the largest number of people
in acute food insecurity in both absolute and relative terms.
The IPC report reflects a 37% increase in the number of
Afghans facing acute hunger since the last assessment issued
in April 2021. Among those at risk are 3.2 million
children under age 5 who are expected to suffer from acute
malnutrition by the end of the year. In October, the WFP and
UNICEF warned that 1 million children were at risk of dying
from severe acute malnutrition without immediate lifesaving
treatment.
In August, the United States pulled its military out of
Afghanistan after a 20-year occupation. In just a few
weeks, the Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist political
movement and military organization, assumed control of
the government.
2008. At the time of his death, Miller was group vice president
for Industrial Products. Earlier, he was group vice president of
Agricultural Products.
Miller is survived by his wife of 34 years, Daveen; four
children, Amalia Ramirez of Northlake, Texas; Benton and
Whitney (Hall) Miller of St. Louis Park, Minnesota, US;
Jenna Miller of Denver; and John Miller Jr. of Minneapolis,
Minnesota, US; three grandchildren, Ivy, Mya and Eli
Ramirez; and three siblings, a twin brother, Dr. Oren Miller
(Elizabeth Heier) of Tulsa, Oklahoma, US; Elizabeth
Miller (Michael Mullins) of St. Louis; and Peter Miller
(Casey Baltos) of Brooklyn, NY, US. A Celebration of Life
was held Oct. 25 at White's Chapel Methodist Church,
in Southlake.
November 2021 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com
http://www.World-Grain.com
World Grain - November 2021

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