Agriculture

The latest on what's growing and what's faltering across the world's farms—and the resources they use to keep running.

Latest in Agriculture

a swarm of locusts in the sky

Locust swarms may meet their match in protein-enriched crops

By Nidhi Sharma

a brown cow with a large stick in her mouth and mountains in the background

Veronika the Cow shocks scientists by using a tool

By Laura Baisas

A shark tooth next to a spoon used to excavate it from sand in Oman

In ancient Arabia, people dined on sharks and stingrays

A top-down photograph of a pile of fresh, green okra pods resting on a rustic, beige linen napkin with a red striped border. The pods are scattered across the fabric and a weathered wooden tabletop, with the wooden handle of a kitchen knife visible in the upper right corner.

Why is okra so slimy? Blame the mucilage.

By Andrew Coletti

Close up of man's hands reaching into box of apples at orchard

Test your apple farming skills with this free video game

Pint of beer next to a cheeseburger

Beer waste helps lab-grown meat taste meatier

Close up of microwave vacuum dried beet chips and hands reaching to grab them

Food scientists cook up healthier chips that don’t taste awful

A person in a blue jacket holds a labeled glass jar filled with grain seeds while standing in a narrow aisle of a genebank. The room is filled from floor to ceiling with shelves holding hundreds of similar jars for long-term storage.

The seed vaults that could save humanity

An 1886 color illustration depicting a crowd of people, including men, women, and children, gathered around a massive wheel of cheese in the East Room of the White House. A man in a dark coat is carving into the cheese with a knife, while others eagerly reach out with their own knives and hands to take a piece. In the foreground, a small boy sits on the floor eating a piece of the cheese. This event commemorates the distribution of the "Mammoth Cheese" gifted to President Andrew Jackson in 1835.

Andrew Jackson’s White House once hosted a cheese feeding frenzy

a close up of evergreen branches

How the evergreen shaped America

By Trent Preszler

A female kestrel in a cherry orchard in northern Michigan.

Falcons help keep bird poop off your delicious cherries

By Laura Baisas

Close up of white turkey with beak open

Turkey tallying could get a boost from AI-powered drones

green moss on a rock

Moss survived 283 days in space, shocking biologists

By Laura Baisas

a winter outlook map of the united states for 2025-2026

The ‘Farmer’s Almanac’ says goodbye after 208 years

By Laura Baisas

a close up of food scraps being poured into a compost bin

Food scraps could power future airplanes

By Mack DeGeurin

Two men are standing behind an enormous, pale orange Atlantic Giant pumpkin, with their hands resting on it. They are inside a large greenhouse structure, surrounded by green vines and leaves. Both men are smiling and wearing casual t-shirts and jeans.

Giant pumpkin growers face off for world gourd domination

By Diana Hubbell

pouring coffee into a white cup that is sitting on coffee beans

Coffee’s delicious journey from tiny bean to tasty brew

By Sara Kiley Watson

Dubai chocolate is a dessert prepared with milk and dark chocolate, roasted shredded wheat, pistachio paste and tahini.

Why foods like Dubai chocolate go viral

A dramatic, wide-angle photo of a scarecrow standing in a dry cornfield or patch of tall, brown crops at sunset. The scarecrow is dressed in a dark hat and long coat, with a sack covering its head and stick arms outstretched. The sky above is colored with orange and pink clouds.

How scarecrows went from ancient magic to fall horror fodder

Selection of overripe avocados against yellow background

AI may help you pick the perfect avocado