The potential for cryptocurrency to amass shrewd investors up to 100-1000x in pure profit is well established. As the most explosively lucrative asset class of 2024, new investors in the market routinely seek out gems that have monumental potential for rapid growth. Binance Coin (BNB) and Immutable X are two well-known cryptocurrencies that could exponentially rise in the upcoming months. However, investors looking for life-changing opportunities should instead gravitate towards the trendiest crypto sector in July: play-to-earn GameFi tokens.

Rollblock, the leading play-to-earn GameFi crypto, is emerging as a leading investment opportunity for 2024. The project boasts a comprehensive casino platform on the Ethereum blockchain, merging decentralized and centralized gaming experiences. With increasing interest and momentum, analysts anticipate that Rollblock could surge over 50% in the upcoming weeks.

Though Binance Coin boasts a massive market cap of $76 billion, a crypto analyst predicts that BNB could rise to $1000 in the future, roughly double Binance Coins current price.

As the bull cycle picks up steam, Binance Coin is likely to soar as the Binance exchange onboards new users.

Though Binance Coin recently experienced a minor crash, diminishing to $515 in July, this is considered standard volatility for Binance Coin provided the state of the market. According to experts BNB should recover in the next few weeks.

Loitering around $0.5-3 for the last 12 months, Immutable X has struggled since 2021.Though existing within the gaming sector, Immutable X is struggling to regain hype, with new investors seeking shiner gems instead of Immutable X.

Despite this, some crypto analysts are predicting a mini-resurgence for Immutable X for the imminent bull cycle. That being said, all gaming coins including Immutable X are expected to rally simultaneously in 2024-2025. As a result, Immutable X could see a recovery in Q3.

Rollblock, a novel Play-to-Earn GambleFi token, aims to bridge the gap between centralized and decentralized gambling ecosystems. Emphasizing transparency and trust, Rollblock utilizes blockchain technology to secure transactions, ensuring they are both traceable and immutable, thus significantly enhancing security.

Rollblock excels in accessibility, allowing users to engage with the platform without the typical barriers of online casinos. By eliminating the KYC process, Rollblock enables players to join quickly by connecting their cryptocurrency wallet or signing up with an email, thereby lowering entry barriers and attracting a wider audience.

Rollblocks innovative revenue-sharing model rewards its token holders and fosters long-term engagement. Each week, up to 30% of the platforms profits are allocated to RBLK holders. Half of this revenue is used to buy back tokens from the open market, reducing supply and increasing scarcity, which can boost the tokens value. The remaining half is distributed to RBLK stakers, providing additional rewards for their commitment. This model incentivizes holding and staking RBLK tokens, ensuring the tokens value appreciates over time.

Continuous buybacks and token burns create a deflationary effect, enhancing investor confidence, supporting price stability, and aligning the platforms financial success with community rewards. This strategic approach makes Rollblock an appealing investment choice.

Rollblock is also integrating sports betting into its platform, adding a new dimension to its extensive catalog of over 150 classic and new blockchain-based gaming titles. This strategic expansion aims to tap into the booming sports betting market, attracting more users to the platform. This move is expected to see a surge of new users to the platform, increasing its overall value in the process.

Currently, in stage 3 of the presale, Rollblock is trading at $0.0154. With a fixed supply of 1 billion RBLK and 60% reserved for the presale, analysts predict an over 800% rise in value before the presale concludes. Experts foresee potential 50x returns in 2024, potentially catapulting RBLK into the worlds top 100 cryptocurrencies as the worlds pioneering GameFi crypto for the upcoming bull cycle.

Discover the Exciting Opportunities of the Rollblock (RBLK) Presale Today!

Website: https://presale.rollblock.io/

Socials: https://linktr.ee/rollblockcasino

Disclaimer:This is a paid release. The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily represent those of NewsBTC. NewsBTC does not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of information available in such content. Do your research and invest at your own risk.

Continued here:

BNB Price Prediction: Binance Coin To Break $1000 In 2024, Immutable (IMX) Holders Hedge Uncertainty With This Crypto As It Surges Over 50% - NewsBTC

The leading crypto exchange, Binance, is making headlines with its plan to sell its stake in the South Korean crypto exchange GOPAX. According to a recent report, the exchange aims to sell its 72.6% stake in GOPAX to MegaZone, the parent company of MegaZone Cloud. Notably, this move comes as part of the exchanges effort to restructure its governance to meet regulatory requirements.

Binance, one of the top crypto exchanges, is negotiating the sale of its GOPAX shares to MegaZone, significantly reducing its stake to around 10%. Notably, this decision is driven by the need to comply with the Financial Services Commissions request to change the largest shareholder and improve governance.

Meanwhile, the crypto exchanges acquisition of a 72.26% stake in GOPAX last year faced delays in approval from financial authorities, necessitating this strategic move. An industry insider commented, Binance is pushing for the sale to improve its governance structure as requested by financial authorities to process a change report ahead of the renewal of its real-name account contract with Jeonbuk Bank in August, the translated version of the report showed.

Meanwhile, the financial authorities have withheld a decision on the exchanges report for over a year, prompting this sale to facilitate regulatory approval. Last year, BF Labs, a domestic KOSDAQ-listed company, acquired an 8.55% stake in Streami, GOPAXs operator, becoming the second-largest shareholder.

However, their attempt to increase their stake further failed due to funding issues. Now, MegaZone emerges as a potential key player in resolving its regulatory challenges.

Also Read: Coinbase Ventures Buys 4.7 Million Tokens Of This Project

The sale of GOPAX shares is crucial for Binance and GOPAX to maintain their status as a won exchange. The real-name account renewal contract with Jeonbuk Bank, due on August 11, requires the exchange to restructure its governance and secure financial authorities approval. GOPAXs current state of complete capital erosion adds urgency to this situation.

Meanwhile, the crypto exchange had agreed to pay off GOPAXs 56 billion won debt incurred from FTXs bankruptcy in 2022, conditional on regulatory approval for its entry. However, the authorities, have not accepted the report for over a year, and the inflow of funds has been delayed.

With Bitcoin prices rising, GOPAXs debt has doubled to 118.4 billion won as of April this year. Meanwhile, the report cited a MegaZone official stating:

We are discussing various forms of collaboration, including equity acquisition, subject to government approval.

The discussions are ongoing, and the specifics of the process and timing remain undecided. Meanwhile, this sale represents a significant move for Binance as it navigates regulatory landscapes and seeks to solidify its position in the South Korean market.

Also Read: John Deaton Vows To Expose Senate Warrens Hypocrisy On Anti-Crypto Bill

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Just-In: Binance Plans Selling Its GOPAX Stakes To MegaZone - CoinGape

Rep. Rich McCormick has urged the US government to declare Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan a hostage if he is not released from the Nigerian government by mid-July. Nigerian courts take a recess until September from mid-July, which will leave Gambaryan locked up for longer than anticipated if his case does not conclude in a few days. He has remained arrested in Nigerias infamous Kuje Prison since February.

In a resolution brought to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Rep McCormick urged the US government to utilize all resources available to secure the release of Tigran Gambaryan, and to raise the case of Tigran and press for his immediate release in all interactions with the Government of Nigeria.

McCormicks concerns now revolve around Gambaryans extended stay if not released before mid-July, which seems highly likely. If Tigrans case is not resolved by mid-July, he may remain in detention for an even longer undue period of time, he expressed in the resolution.

It also stated that the Nigerian government is wrongfully detaining Tigran Gambaryan in order to extort Binance. Gambaryans troubles began when he visited Nigeria for the second time this year in February upon invitation from the government to settle its issues with Binance revolving around money laundering and tax evasion. The negotiations turned hostile, leading to his detainment alongside another Binance executive, Nadeem Anjarwalla.

Anjarwalla managed to escape prison and Nigeria. Gambaryan was left behind and remains in Kuje Prison amidst members of the terrorist outfit Boko Haram and other notorious criminals. His health has spiraled in prisonhe contracted malaria and double pneumonia. Rep. French Hill and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan visited Gambaryan in the Nigerian prison and stated that he was suffering.

Officials at Kuje Prison have refused to release his medical records to his lawyers or family despite the court asking them to do so.

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US Representative Asks Government to Classify Binance Executive as Hostage If Not Released by Nigeria Soon - Live Bitcoin News

A wallet belonging to Jeffrey "Machi Big Brother" Huang moved all its BLUR, roughly $3.1 million, over to centralized crypto exchange Binance early this morning, according to onchain data.

Earlier this morningamid the apparent selling on BinanceBLUR dropped as low as $0.1596. It's since recovered slightly; at the time of writing, BLUR is trading for $0.1621, down 7.2% on the day, per data from CoinGecko.

BLUR is the native token of the Blur NFT trading and lending marketplace, which launched in 2022 with backing from crypto venture capital heavyweight Paradigm. At one point, Blur accounted for at least 62% of all NFT trading volume, according to DappRadar.

But it's since seen activity on its platform take a big dive. The NFT marketplace has also become a controversial player in the NFT space, drawing fire for a model that critics say incentivizes traders to flip their NFTs.

Huang isn't one of the Blur founders or executives, but he has been one of the largest lenders on the platform. He did not immediately responded to a request for comment from Decrypt.

Huang's wallet movements were flagged on SpotonChain and appear to match up with the entity profile that blockchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence has compiled for Machi. But the transfers probably weren't a complete surprise for the NFT platform's community.

Just last week, Huang was chatting on the Blur DAO Discord server about growing unrest over the token's falling price as users questioned its value. In the past month alone, BLUR has fallen 52% from $0.34, according to CoinGecko data.

In one message, Huang appeared to be looking for clarification on how the BLUR airdrop had been divvied up among farmers, holders, and how much had been reserved for governance.

In a response to his message, another community member advised him to sell his BLUR tokens to buy BLAST tokens instead.

"Makes complete sense at this moment $blur is higher mc than $blast," they added. Huang's response: "I thought about it."

Blast is an Ethereum layer-2 network launched by Blur founder Tieshun Roquerre, who goes by Pacman online. The main draw of Blast is that it offers "native yield for Ethereum and stablecoins, letting usersstake (or lock up) their funds in the network to earn an interest-like return.

The two projects aren't related, other than sharing a founder. But Blur users have complained that the NFT marketplace and its tokenholders have seemed at times to be an afterthought.

A few hours later, on the Blur Discord server, Huang sent a message saying he was having trouble withdrawing his staked BLUR tokens. He came back 20 minutes later to say that a link shared by a moderator had worked. That was the latest message he sent on the server on July 5.

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Blur Plunges 7% After Machi Big Brother Transfers All His Tokens to Binance - Decrypt

Today, Binance, the worlds largest crypto exchange, announced its support for the $RNDR token swap to $RENDER, with a 1:1 conversion ratio.

This development solidifies $RENDER as a true Solana ecosystem coin, potentially setting the stage for significant growth with Solana Breakpoint as a major catalyst.

This move aligns $RENDER with other leading crypto exchanges, as Binance joins Coinbase and OKX in supporting the token. This widespread exchange support underscores the growing importance of $RENDER in the cryptocurrency market.

On-chain reports highlight a notable activity involving a prominent whale with a 100% winning rate over the past three months with $PEPE. Two hours ago, this whale deposited 84,465 RNDR tokens into Binance, which were originally acquired in March this year. If sold, this transaction would result in a loss of $448,000.

Interestingly, this whale has a history of trading $RNDR in various bands. From February 2024 to the present, they have executed five trades with a winning rate of 60%. However, despite some profitable trades, the cumulative loss stands at $276,000, mainly due to recent losses. Prior to these setbacks, the whale had accumulated total profits of $170,000.

The support from major exchanges like Binance, combined with significant market activities, positions $RENDER for potential growth within the Solana ecosystem. As $RENDER gains more traction and visibility, its role in the DeFi space could expand, offering more opportunities for traders and investors alike.

Overall, the token swap from $RNDR to $RENDER and the support from leading exchanges mark a pivotal moment for $RENDER, enhancing its liquidity and integration within the Solana ecosystem. As the market evolves, $RENDERs strengthened position could drive further adoption and utilization in the crypto community.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

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Binance Supports $RNDR To $RENDER Token Swap, Solidifying $RENDER's Position In The Solana Ecosystem - NullTX

Global crypto trading is only just beginning to take off, as a study from CoinWire predicts that industry trading volume will exceed $108 trillion by the end of 2024.

The study revealed that the end-of-year estimate is 90% higher than in 2022. The United States leads with the highest projected crypto trading volume for the year, surpassing $2 trillion.

While the US may lead in crypto trading volume, Europe leads the market in global cryptocurrency transaction value, accounting for 37.32%.

Europe is one of the most proactive regions in the world when it comes to defining its cryptocurrency industry through regulations. These regulations are designed to help lawmakers understand financial technology and provide traders and exchanges with clear guidelines for navigating the market.

The European Unions landmark Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation came into partial effecton June 30, focusing on stablecoins. In December, additional regulations for crypto asset service providers are set to come into effect.

This legislative framework, which has been in the works since 2020, is the EUs first set of uniform market rules for crypto assets.

Related: EU elections 2024: Pro-crypto parties pick up seats amid Green losses

The survey expects Europes cryptocurrency trading volume to hit $40.5 trillion in 2024, a 2.7-fold increase from its $15 trillion in 2022.

Asia ranks second with 36.17% of the worlds cryptocurrency transaction value.

The conclusions found in the study were made by analyzing centralized exchanges with trust scores higher than six on CoinGecko based on web traffic by country, supported languages, headquarters location and trading time zones.

Another finding revealed that Binance dominates in over 100 countries worldwide in the crypto exchange market, with a trading volume of $2.77 trillion. Binance.US was also dominant in the same number of countries, although it has a lower trading volume of $3.9 billion.

According to the study, this makes Binance the most widely used exchange worldwide. On July 5, the exchangecelebrated its seventh anniversary and the milestone of reaching 200 million users worldwide.

Following Binance are OKX and Cex.io, with a presence in 93 and 92 countries, respectively, and trading volumes of $759 billion and $1.83 billion.

Coinbase and Bybit operate in 90 and 87 countries, respectively, and their trading volumes are $662 billion and $1.14 trillion.

Magazine: Decade after Ethereum ICO: Blockchain forensics end double-spending debate

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Crypto trading volume to exceed $108T in 2024, with Europe in the lead - Cointelegraph

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, July 10, 2024

Metro Creative Connection

Modern consumers have more choices than ever before. Whether theyre buying appliances, books, clothing, or any of the myriad necessities of daily life, consumers have a wealth of products to choose from.

An abundance of options also is available at the grocery store. Thats especially true in the produce aisle, where many stores have expanded their fresh fruit and vegetable offerings. That expansion reflects a growing preference among consumers for fresh products, including fresh produce. A 2018 report from the market research firm IRI and the Food Marketing Institute found that sales of fresh foods comprised just under 31 percent of food industry sales in 2017.

Customers who prefer fresh fruits and vegetables to frozen alternatives may wonder if they should be even more selective when purchasing their favorite foods in the produce aisle. That decision may come down to whether or not to purchase organic produce.

Organic produce can be significantly more expensive than non-organic fruits and vegetables, so its understandable if budget-conscious consumers cannot afford to go entirely organic. However, its important that consumers recognize the many ways that organic agriculture is having a positive impact on the health of humans and the planet they call home.

Organic produce reduces exposure to pesticides and antibiotics. UC Davis Health notes that organic produce has been proven to reduce consumers exposure to pesticides and antibiotics. Thats a significant benefit, as pesticide exposure has been shown to lead to neurodevelopmental issues and has been linked to higher cancer risk. Consumers shopping on budgets can pick and choose which organic foods they purchase, as UC Davis Health notes that certain foods have been shown to have higher pesticide residues than others. Apples, celery, grapes, spinach, strawberries, and tomatoes have high levels of pesticide residues, so choosing organic versions of these foods may be a wise choice. Avocados, broccoli, cabbage, and cantaloupe are some of the foods that typically have low levels of pesticide residue.

Organic agriculture reduces environmental degradation. The Organic Trade Association notes that synthetic pesticides and fertilizers used on some conventional farms can deplete the soil of valuable nutrients and increase environmental degradation. Organic farmers do not use such pesticides or fertilizers, instead utilizing such practices as composting, cover cropping and crop rotation, each of which can have positive, long-term effects on soil quality.

Organic agriculture benefits local wildlife. A 2015 study from researchers in Argentina that was published in the journal Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment found that small mammals were more abundant around organic farms than conventional farms. Thats not just good for those mammals, but also the farmers, as small mammals can feed on insects that would otherwise adversely affect crops.

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Food: The benefits of organic agriculture - Stanly News & Press

Arkansas farmers are leaning toward certified naturally grown products over certified organic due to cost and lack of inspection availability in the state.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. Arkansas Farmers around the state are starting to go away from certified organic produce at their farms.

"When they think about farmers' markets, they have the assumption that, like all the farmers, are using organic practices," Heather Friedrich, Director of The Center for Arkansas Farms and Food, said. "Many of them are using organic practices, but not many actually go through the certification process."

Matthew Varoz, the owner of Hatch Farms in Elkins, says one of the main reasons for this is because a different practice exists. It's called certified naturally grown produce. Many farmers believe it is just as healthy and cheaper to verify.

"It also costs more to be certified organic, and there is a ton of paperwork," Varoz said. "Being farmers, we are limited on our time, so certified naturally grown just makes it a lot easier for us to accomplish that."

On top of the cost, becoming certified organic in the state is difficult for Arkansas farmers because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn't have a branch in Arkansas, which requires farmers to look out of state.

"We don't have a certifier that's based in Arkansas," Friedrich said. "There's one in Oklahoma, which a lot of farmers will use, but they're limited on the number of farms that they can certify out of state."

Friedrich said the process is difficult for some farmers to understand.

"Farmers that are looking to become certified often have a hard time understanding where they start that process," she said.

However, with the certified naturally grown option, it's given farmers the confidence to continue to grow healthy and nutritious fruits and vegetables.

"We go through and we check to make sure it's ripe for our customers," Varoz said.

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Why Arkansas farmers are moving away from certified organic produce - KFSM 5Newsonline

WINNIPEG Canadas organic industry struggled over the last couple of years, with the volume of sales dropping for the first time in many years.

After a 41-day strike, workers at the Cargill Dunlop beef processing plant in Guelph will return to work Monday. 960

Fresh organic fruit, for instance, saw a 43 per cent decline in sale volumes from 2021 to 2023. Other categories of organic had more success, but COVID-19 and the post-pandemic period of high food prices has been a challenge, says the 2024 Organic Market Report from the Canadian Organic Trade Association (COTA).

Organic sales over all categories have seen a modest increase of one per cent (in value) since 2022. However, there has been a notable decrease in volume by six per cent, indicating the pervasive influence of inflation, says the report, which COTA released in late June.

The sales numbers arent great, but the data shows that Canadians are making different choices around organic food, says Tia Loftsgard, COTA executive director.

What the numbers indicate is that shoppers were finding other ways to purchase organic, swapping out fresh produce purchases for canned, dried or frozen options that have better shelf life, she said in an email.

As examples, sales volumes of frozen organic fruit jumped 78 per cent from 2021 to 2023 in Canada.

Pickled vegetable volumes climbed 22 per cent in the same period.

Certain categories are doing well, such as salty organic snacks, and the numbers show that organics share of the food and beverage market is climbing, although at a much slower pace:

From 2017-20, the organic share of the market (in dollars) went from 2.6 to 3.3 per cent, a gain of 0.7 per cent.

From 2020-23, organics market share climbed only 0.1 per cent, reaching 3.4 per cent in 2023.

In some positive news, organic sales reached $9.01 billion in 2023, which is an 11 per cent gain from 2020.

Unfortunately, most of that growth came from higher prices rather than from increased sales.

Many products exhibited an uptick in sales value from 2022-23, with a decline in volumes. This trend indicates that these products are being sold at higher prices for smaller quantities, COTA said.

Loftsgard pointed to data from SPINS, a U.S. market research firm, indicating that the gap between organic and conventional food prices has narrowed. That change should boost organic sales.

Inflation started coming down for all products in 2023, and the conclusion of the research firm is that organic prices did not experience as much price increases as non-organic, making organic products even more attractive as the price premium has decreased, she said.

The majority of the COTA report was directed at organic demand and market conditions, but it did briefly touch on organic production.

From 2020-22, acreage of certified organic farms declined 5.8 per cent in Canada.

The drop in acreage is nothing to worry about, Loftsgard said.

Market demand will keep organic production motivated to continue to grow organic ingredients for both domestic and international markets.

That may be true, but COTA and others in Canadas organic industry have been lobbying Ottawa for a formal program to support the organic industry. The program would, ideally, help increase organic acreage and provide a strong foundation, strategy and growth potential for the organic sector, COTA said in its report.

The feds have not announced such a program, but on June 27 Agriculture Canada did invest $2 million in the organic industry.

Ag Canada will provide COTA with $1.17 million to bolster Canadian organic exports and resolve market access issues.

As well, the feds are investing nearly $1 million in the Prairie Organic Development Fund

The goal of the project is to increase profitability, improve environmental outcomes and increase public trust in the Canadian organic agri-food industry, said Jim Robbins, president of the Prairie Organic Development Fund.

The funds will (make) an important contribution to growing organic supply and helping farmers adopt agronomic practices, making them more resilient to climate change.

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Demand continues to soften for organic food - The Western Producer

KANSAS CITY As the organic market matures and grapples with inflationary headwinds, significant sectors, including bread, breakfast cereal and baby food, continue to show growth, according to the Organic Trade Association. Increasing organic wheat supply, finding a diverse set of ingredient suppliers and funding from the US Department of Agriculture are boosting the category as well.

US organic product sales reached $69.7 billion in 2023, up 3.4% from the previous year, according to the Organic Trade Association, Washington. Food sales made up $63.8 billion of that total.

In the grocery category, sales increased 4.1% to $15.4 billion. Within grocery, in-store bakery and fresh bread were up nearly 3% to $3.1 billion, dry breakfast goods were up about 8% to $1.8 billion, and baby food and formula were up nearly 11% to $1.5 billion.

Organic wheat supply in the United States rebounded solidly in 2023-24. Commodity analysts at Argus Media Group, Houston, in May estimated US organic wheat production at 24.41 million bus for the 2023-24 marketing year, which was up 22% from 19.96 million bus in the previous marketing year. Argus projected organic wheat production will increase to 25.32 million bus in 2024-25.

So far, in the US, this year has seen organic wheat markets rebound after several years of drought, insect pressure and higher-priced conventional markets, leading to a reduction in organic acres as growers considered their seeding options, said Sam Beveridge, director of emerging nutrition risk and grower relations at Ardent Mills, Denver. Recently, adequate moisture levels across hard red winter regions and spring wheat regions in the northern tier states and Canadian prairies have helped to drive supply to meet the current demand.

As a result, we have seen prices move lower on anticipated supply, which allows growers to expand and have different sellable crops, some of which they have not seen for the past couple years. Still, current carryout stocks remain tight through new crop, which is reflective in the price inverse.

Consumer dietary shifts and a growing consciousness about health are helping propel organic demand, he said. Data from Ardent Mills show 77% of consumers believe grain-based organic foods are healthier and better for them, and 72% said they believe grain-based organic foods are better for the environment.

Despite the promising outlook, various factors may affect organic supply, including economic conditions and weather patterns, Beveridge said. Rising inflation may impact growers entry into the organic sector, which requires years of adherence to organic practices for certification.

Additionally, weather fluctuations, such as the shift from El Nio to La Nia, will impact various growing regions differently. For example, organic wheat fields in the Pacific Northwest may benefit from improved moisture conditions, but organic wheat fields in the central US have seen almost too much moisture, causing concern for sprouting among wheat crops.

Ardent Mills has expanded in the organic category. The company in 2019 acquired a grain elevator in Klamath Falls, Ore., that enhanced its ability to source from organic wheat growers in the Pacific Northwest, according to the company. In 2021, the acquisition of Hinrichs Trading Co., a company involved in chickpea sourcing, cleaning and packaging, included the acquisition of a grain elevator in Shelby, Mont., which allowed Ardent Mills to source organic wheat from Montana and Canadian prairies.

Ardent Mills organic portfolio also includes ancient grains such as quinoa, amaranth, millet, sorghum, teff and buckwheat available in several formats such as flour, said Michael Rhodes, senior research and development dough systems specialist.

These increasingly popular gluten-free, non-GMO wheat alternatives have been found to work well in multi-grain mixes to create unique textures and flavor profiles in bread, he said. Additionally, we also offer organic heirloom wheat grains like spelt.

Bay State Milling Co., Quincy, Mass., has supplied organic wheat flour for decades, said Connor Bullum, organic commodity merchandiser.

BSM has invested in the organic supply chain by producing organic flour at four separate mills and has recently converted the Platteville, Colo., location to 100% organic wheat flour production, and we continue to originate over more than half of our total organic wheat needs directly from farmers, he said.

Besides wheat flour, Bay State Milling offers flour from grains such as rice, sorghum, millet and oats, Bullum said.

We see customers using these flours in gluten-free breads, as these are inherently gluten-free offerings, but also as inclusions and toppings to wheat-based bread, he said.

ResearchAndMarkets.com, Dublin, forecasts the global organic baby food market will increase to $8.10 billion in 2028 from $4.55 billion in 2023 through a compound annual growth rate of 12%.

Sales are up 61% over last year at Once Upon a Farm, Berkeley, Calif., said Emily Luna, baby and toddler manager for the company. She added sales within the baby business are four times higher than they were in 2022.

Luna said the increase has come through new product lines, including frozen toddler pasta meals and baby and toddler pantry snacks, consumers shifting toward organic, increased brand awareness and expanded distribution into retail in fresh, frozen and dry categories.

The baby and toddler portfolio at Once Upon a Farm includes fresh, organic, cold-pressed refrigerated pouches, shelf-stable pantry snacks and frozen plant-rich meals.

We have a very talented procurement team that manages a lot of complexity, said Jane Kuhn, sustainability manager at Once Upon a Farm.

The company develops multiple suppliers representing different geographies for each ingredient.

This helps us maintain a steady supply through different seasons and positions us to be more resilient amidst supply chain shocks due to weather events, Kuhn said.

The USDA in May announced new programs, partnerships, grant awards and an additional $10 million in funding to expand the markets for organic products and help producers transition to organic production. The USDAs Agricultural Marketing Service awarded about $24.8 million for 23 grant projects through the Organic Market Development Grant program.

Offsetting the costs for organic transition helps more farmers realize higher margins sooner while giving consumers more access to high-demand organic products, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said.

The Organic Trade Association and The Organic Center received $2.2 million in Organic Market Development Grant matching funds from the USDA.

We thank USDA for making this project possible with this important funding, said Tom Chapman, co-chief executive officer of the OTA.

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Growth in the organic aisle - BakingBusiness.com