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Farming

One source of the cyclosporiasis outbreak is Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce grown in central Mexico.

Two People Died After Getting Sick With Cyclosporiasis, Marking the First Known Deaths Linked to the Ongoing Multistate Outbreak

Both patients, who were in Michigan, had underlying health conditions, according to state officials. The parasite-caused infection usually isn’t life-threatening

The dominant female wolf of Yellowstone's Canyon pack on February 26, 2015

Rooted in the American West: Food, History and Culture

Yellowstone Is Among the World’s Best Places to See Wild Wolves. Here’s the Story of the Animal Called Both ‘Public Enemy’ and Cultural Icon

A century ago, resident wolves were eliminated from the park. In 1995, biologists brought them back, marking a historic reintroduction of a top carnivore

The brown trout were likely introduced to guarantee a food source if reindeer hunts were unsuccessful, according to a new study.

Hunter-Gatherers Brought Trout to a Norwegian Mountain Lake 7,000 Years Ago, the Earliest Known Example of Humans Translocating Fish

Researchers have long known that the animals were introduced into the region’s high-altitude bodies of water, but they weren’t sure when it happened or whether humans had a hand. Analyses of recently discovered ancient fish traps provide new clues

Two young boys at a Georgia cotton mill. Their slim arms and tiny hands were considered ideal for machine work.

America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark

When a Photographer Turned His Focus on Social Injustice, It Helped Usher in the First Child Labor Laws

Lewis Hine didn’t consider his job as taking pictures; it was “detective work.” Sometimes gaining access with ruse and subterfuge, he captured stark images that touched hearts and changed minds

New World screwworm is the name given to the larval, or maggot, stage of the Cochliomyia hominivorax blowfly

Flesh-Eating Screwworms Have Been Detected in the United States 60 Years After They Were Eradicated From the Country

The parasites were identified in a bovine in southern Texas. This marks the third time the cattle-threatening pests have been found in the U.S. and the first in Texas since they were eradicated in 1966

Cattle are a major driver of methane emissions.

Why Do Cows Burp Up So Much Planet-Warming Methane? A Newly Discovered Structure in Their Gut Microbes Could Be a Culprit

The “hydrogenobody” is an organelle inside certain microorganisms that live in a special stomach chamber in cattle, sheep and goats, according to a new study

Archaeologists found the historic structures while preparing for renovations at the Fox Tech High School campus, located in downtown San Antonio.

Cool Finds

New Archaeological Discoveries Reveal How San Antonio’s Earliest Settlers Irrigated Crops and Accessed Drinking Water

While preparing for school renovations, researchers in Texas found remnants of the historic San Pedro acequia, a centuries-old technology that provided water to the burgeoning village

A cowgirl competes in a race that requires horses to run around barrels in an obstacle course.  

Rooted in the American West: Food, History and Culture

See 25 Photos of Real-Life Cowboys and Cowgirls Wrangling Cattle and Riding Bucking Broncos

Giddyap and get a look at these stunning selections from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

This 12,000-year-old butterfly clay bead was decorated with red ochre and marked with the fingerprints of a child.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Identify Traces of Children’s Fingerprints Still Visible on Clay Beads Created 15,000 Years Ago

Discovered in present-day Israel, the beads suggest that Natufian groups used clay for symbolic purposes many years earlier than scholars previously thought, according to a new study

Even common backyard birds like house finches are disappearing.

North American Bird Losses Are Accelerating. New Research Suggests Fertilizers and Pesticides May Be to Blame

Scientists found the severest changes in decline rates in places that include hallmarks of high-intensity agriculture

Manuel Díaz Cárdenas harvests the tender tips of his Salicornia plants.

As the Planet Warms, a Humble Sea Bean Is Proving to Be a Promising Superfood

Known as samphire, sea beans, glasswort or pickleweed, Salicornia thrives in high-saline environments, like coastal marshes, and has a lot of nutritional and medicinal properties

Jaguars in Porto Jofre, Brazil, support a lucrative tourism industry, leading conservationists to argue that the big cats are most valuable when they’re alive.

In the World’s Best Place to See Wild Jaguars, Residents Are Using the Big Cat’s Appeal to Reach Conservation Goals

Brazil’s Pantanal region has the highest jaguar density on Earth, drawing camera-toting visitors to its riverbanks. Despite overtourism concerns, one enclave may offer a model for how to protect the charismatic apex predator

Two livestock guardian dogs, both akbash and Great Pyrenees mixes, stand among their flock at a ranch run by the prominent dog-breeding Buchholz family.

When Coyotes Threatened Livestock on Central Texas Ranches, the Solution Was to Unlock an Ancient Ability in Dogs

Killing the predators is not nearly as effective as the intimidating presence of well-trained guardians, a role some breeds have played for 5,000 years

Veronika scratches her back. 

A Cow Named Veronika Can Scratch Her Back With a Broom. Watch the Video That Scientists Are Calling the First Documented Evidence of Cattle Using Tools

The pet cow’s tool use challenges long-held assumptions about bovine intelligence

Research suggests that elephants use certain plants for medicinal purposes.

When Some Elephants Raid Farms, They Might Not Be After a Snack. They Could Be Looking for Medicinal Plants

A recent study suggests that the large mammals may seek out parts of bananas and papayas when they’re suffering from gut parasites, sparking a cross-species exchange of pharmaceutical knowledge

A dead tree stands with its bare, white trunk and branches in contrast to the greenery around it.

What’s Killing These Oak Trees in the Midwest? Conservationists Believe Drifting Herbicides Are to Blame

When Illinois landowners noticed tree deaths and diseases on their properties ramp up in 2017, they suspected industrial agriculture. A survey found herbicides in 90 percent of tree tissues

Grandma Moses painting in her garden, 1946

In Her 70s, Grandma Moses Began Painting Lovely Scenes of Rural Life. Then She Became an Icon

A new Smithsonian retrospective explores the legacy of America’s beloved late bloomer, often underrated in art history

Ian and Stuart Paton pose with their world record pumpkin, nicknamed Muggle. The pumpkin weighs 2,819.3 pounds.

The Giant Pumpkin World Record Just Crept Closer to 3,000 Pounds. Here’s How Science, Sweat and ‘Soul Crush’ Keep Growers Reaching for the Heaviest Fruit Possible

Twin brothers in the United Kingdom grew the biggest pumpkin ever documented, tipping the scales at 2,819.3 pounds

Every September in the Swiss Alps, dairy farmers drive their herds from mountain pastures to the villages where they spend the winter.

When the Cows Come Home in the Alps, the Swiss Eat Raclette

Every September, dairy farmers herd cattle from high-alpine pastures back to the villages where they reside for the winter and celebrate the occasion by roasting cheese over a fire

A worker lowers a pump system into the water. The tube sucks in the berries and pulls them into a machine that separates the fruit from water, stems and debris. 

These Photos of Harvesting Cranberries Transform the Annual Ritual Into a Shimmering Spectacle

In eastern Massachusetts, flooded wetlands cover the landscape as farmers collect the crop that features on Thanksgiving tables nationwide

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