Agriculture (Page 4)

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

Urban water crises often boil down to classism

Urban water crises often boil down to classism

By Carla Delgado

John Deere farm equipment

How John Deere’s tech evolved from 19th-century plows to AI and autonomy

By Kristin Shaw

Yosemite National Park waterfall after California winter snow and rain

What California’s weird winter means for its water problems

The oldest chili pepper specimen may be from present-day Colorado

The oldest chili pepper specimen may be from present-day Colorado

By Sara Kiley Watson

New Zealand’s wild pigs could be a source of much-needed donor organs

New Zealand’s wild pigs could be a source of much-needed donor organs

By Bill Morris/Undark

A new robotic seed can wriggle into soil to harvest climate data

A new robotic seed can wriggle into soil to harvest climate data

By Sara Kiley Watson

Cannabis sustainability

Is growing weed sustainable? The answer is complicated.

By Shaena Montanari

Cannabis plant under purple weed grow light

On 420, learn more about weed with these carefully cultivated science stories

By Jamie Helmick

Person in a dark room watering a houseplant with a beam of light. Illustrated.

How to grow plants in the dark

By Ellen Airhart

Food forests can bring climate resilience, better health, and tasty produce to city residents

Food forests can bring climate resilience, better health, and tasty produce to city residents

By Carla Delgado

Tulare Lake flooding stalls a train after severe rainstorms from the atmospheric river in California Central Valley in March 2023

This phantom lake in California is back with a vengeance

By Jamie Helmick

This is how bad a ‘super pig’ problem can really get

This is how bad a ‘super pig’ problem can really get

By Sage Marshall/Field & Stream

Japanese beekeepers holding honeycomb up at the top of a Tokyo skyscraper

Beehives are the honeypot for a city’s microbial secrets

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

Paleo and keto diets aren’t great for you or the planet, study says

Paleo and keto diets aren’t great for you or the planet, study says

By Carla Delgado

Poop emoji covered in soap bubbles on a light blue background

Your poop is useful. Meet the father-son team creating ‘humanure.’

By Lina Zeldovich

The US government wants to round up the West’s feral cattle

The US government wants to round up the West’s feral cattle

By Jonathan Thompson / High Country News

Whitespotted eagle ray swimming in the ocean.

Scientists test different gear for protecting clams from ‘crunching’ rays

By Laura Baisas

A worm at the bottom of a shot glass of Mezcal.

What kind of worm is in your mezcal?

By Laura Baisas

Corn stalk leaf measuring robot parked in front of field

The corn leaf angle measuring robot is more useful than you think

Beech mushrooms growing on a substrate against a gold background

How to use the power of mushrooms to improve your life

By Julia Craven

Miniature greenhouse with semitransparent solar cell roof growing crop

Scientists think this tiny greenhouse could be a game changer for agrivoltaics

The entrance to the Mycenae citadel in Greece called the Lion Gate.

Details of life in Bronze Age Mycenae could lie at the bottom of a well

By Laura Baisas

Three rows of various plant-based milks in a grocery store refrigerator.

The FDA says it’s ok to call almond milk ‘milk’ (for now)

By Laura Baisas

Two light brown cows standing on a grassy hill against a yellow sun and purple clouds. Illustration.

The social lives of cows are remarkably sophisticated

By Brandon Keim

A tractor in Argentina drives over a dry and dusty soybean field with a blazing sun.

La Niña is exacerbating drought conditions for millions

By Laura Baisas

A small, young plant sprouts up from dark soil.

Smarter fertilizer use could shrink our agricultural carbon footprint

By Laura Baisas

White bread loaf cut into slices with spoonful of soybean flour

A new ingredient could revolutionize white bread

Oyster farms are all the rage—until they block your ocean views

Oyster farms are all the rage—until they block your ocean views

By Magdalena Puniewska / Hakai Magazine

Why we shouldn’t get too excited about bioplastics

Why we shouldn’t get too excited about bioplastics

By Michael Allen / Hakai Magazine

A seaweed farm underwater near an island in Indonesia.

Why seaweed farming could be the next big thing in sustainability

By Laura Baisas

John Deere finally agrees to let farmers fix their own equipment, but there’s a catch

John Deere finally agrees to let farmers fix their own equipment, but there’s a catch

The EPA wants more ‘renewable’ fuel. But what does that actually mean?

The EPA wants more ‘renewable’ fuel. But what does that actually mean?

By John McCracken / Grist

Colorful produce at a grocery store.

Why US vegetable prices have skyrocketed in the past year

By Laura Baisas

Rising sun viewed from the stone causeway of the solar observatory on Mount Tlaloc, Mexico.

The Aztecs’ solar calendar helped grow food for millions of people

By Laura Baisas

Wastewater could be the secret to eco-friendly fertilizer

Wastewater could be the secret to eco-friendly fertilizer

By Carla Delgado

‘Red Robin’ dwarf tomato growing in Veggie hardware at the Kennedy Space Center. Image courtesy of NASA

Microgravity tomatoes, yogurt bacteria, and plastic eating microbes are headed to the ISS

Why German scientists got cows stoned

Why German scientists got cows stoned

By Sara Kiley Watson

How kelp farming is helping revive the economy and ecology of a Long Island bay

How kelp farming is helping revive the economy and ecology of a Long Island bay

By Iris M. Crawford / Nexus Media

Dams show promise for sustainable food systems, but we should tread lightly

By Laura Baisas

a small green desert shrub with small yellow buds at the tips

To save water, Arizona farmers are growing guayule for sustainable tires

a fuzzy bumblebee settles on a pink flower

Bees can sense a flower’s electric field—unless fertilizer messes with the buzz

By Lauren J. Young

Some climate activists aren’t suing over the future—they are taking aim at the present

Some climate activists aren’t suing over the future—they are taking aim at the present

By Isabella Kaminski / Hakai Magazine

Italian chefs are cooking up a solution to booming jellyfish populations

Italian chefs are cooking up a solution to booming jellyfish populations

By Agostino Petroni / Hakai Magazine

Roofgarden in Rotterdam, Netherlands

Pumping carbon dioxide waste to rooftop gardens boosts crop yields

a closeup of honeybees on honeycomb

The first honeybee vaccine could protect the entire hive, starting with the queen

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

New Zealand may be the first country to carbon price cow farts

New Zealand may be the first country to carbon price cow farts

By Carla Delgado

brilliant-10-2022

The Brilliant 10: The top up-and-coming minds in science

By Mara Grunbaum, Yasmin Tayag

A flooded field

How disastrous floods can also lead to food insecurity

By Laura Baisas

A man standing in a field lands a drone in the back of a pickup truck.

Microsoft is hoping its algorithms can help farmers—and the planet

By Helen Bradshaw

Orange and white pottery shards sit scattered on top of a dark blue background.

Cacao was probably loved by all, even 1,000 years ago in Maya culture

By Helen Bradshaw

Bowl of mussels.

Eating seafood can be more sustainable and healthy than red meat

By Carla Delgado

Groundwater pumps like this one deliver water from below to farms in Bangladesh.

Farmers accidentally created a flood-resistant ‘machine’ across Bangladesh

Biofuel is a ‘renewable’ resource, but climate change could soon limit its potential

Biofuel is a ‘renewable’ resource, but climate change could soon limit its potential

By Carla Delgado

Printer making flyers.

Should we switch from petroleum ink to soy-based ink?

By Carla Delgado

Press photo of John Deere 8RX Tractor with ExactEmerge Planter

John Deere tractors are getting the jailbreak treatment from hackers

Farmers and scientists unite to save the home of an endangered salamander

Farmers and scientists unite to save the home of an endangered salamander

By Lourdes Medrano/Undark

A clay pot filled with milk, with a spoon of milk over it.

Ancient milk-drinkers were just fine with their lactose intolerance–until famine struck

By Philip Kiefer

Woman shopping for fruit in grocery store.

The case for paying carbon taxes on unsustainable food

By Carla Delgado

Cow eating hay at farm.

We’re one key step closer to buying lab-grown burgers

By Sara Kiley Watson

Field of pearl millet grain crops

Pee makes for great fertilizer. But is it safe?

Soil with small green plants.

Diverse microbes are key to healthy soil. Climate change is threatening that.

By Carla Delgado

Coffee farm in Puerto Rico covered in tarp to protect it from climate change

Climate-related food shortages are driving more Puerto Ricans to farming

By Angely Mercado / Nexus Media News

Farmer holding freshly harvested carrots.

The EU’s plan to halve pesticide use is ambitious, but realistic

By Sara Kiley Watson

Three jugs of milk on sidewalk.

Heat stress might curdle the dairy industry

By Carla Delgado