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Farming

Needle drop is one of the traits plant scientists at the Christmas Tree Research Center at Dalhousie University are hoping to improve.

Can Science Produce a Longer Lasting Christmas Tree?

LED Christmas lights make the needles hold on longer, and other discoveries from the world’s only Christmas tree research center

A cow is milked by a robotic voluntary milking system.

Rise of the (Cow Milking) Robots

The largest robotic dairy farm in the United States will be up and running in Michigan next year

Martha, a farmworker in California, says a group of white locals often harass her, yelling that immigrants take U.S. jobs. “Why don’t they work in the fields?” she asked.

A Photographic Chronicle of America’s Working Poor

Smithsonian journeyed from Maine to California to update a landmark study of American life

New Research

New Technique Could Supercharge Crop Production

Proteins inserted into tobacco plants improved yields by up to 20 percent

As a professional falconer, Rosen has trained all of her birds, which now number close to a dozen. Her brood includes Ziggy, a hybrid prairie-gyrfalcon.

Why Winemakers are Turning to Falconry to Tackle Pests

Napa Valley vintners are finding this tried-and-true deterrent more effective than modern technology

Puerto Rico’s #1 Crop Isn’t Sugar, But It’s Still Sweet

Puerto Rico’s agricultural economy was once dominated by sugar plantations. Today, the same fields hold everything from corn to bananas

This Champion Pumpkin Weighs More Than a U-Haul

At the annual Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Weigh-In, a pumpkin weighing 1,910 pounds took the crown

Food prices are getting higher. Or lower. Whichever.

Trending Today

Why Those Headlines About Rising Food Costs Are So Confusing

There’s more to the story

The 2016 corn maze "Rainbows, Kittens, and Killer Baby Unicorns" at the Treinen Farm in Lodi, Wisconsin.

From Star Trek to Killer Baby Unicorns, Five Over-the-Top Themed Corn Mazes to Visit This Fall

Empress Green is a 4,500-square foot urban farm located at Urby Staten Island, a 900-apartment complex in New York City.

Meet the Woman Who Runs NYC’s First Commercial Farm in a Residential Development

Wouldn’t it be great if all apartment complexes came with an urban farm?

The American Velocipede

American Drivers Have Bicyclists to Thank for a Smooth Ride to Work

Urban elites with a fancy hobby teamed up with rural farmers in a movement that transformed the nation

Reynolda House Museum of American Art

These Five Museums Put the “Culture” in “Agriculture”

It’s a lot more than just “tractor art”

Christian Puglisi, restaurateur, standing on his Farm of Ideas in Abbetved, Denmark on July 28, 2016.

Acclaimed Chef Christian Puglisi’s New “Farm of Ideas” Might Be the Next Big Foodie Destination

The Danish restaurateur is creating a place for food producers, chefs and foodies from around the world to gather and learn

Hops successfully grow up the retaining wall on a lot in the Stanton Heights neighborhood of Pittsburgh. The black circles at the base of the plants are old plastic drum barrels that were cut into rings and filled with mulch from a nearby community compost. This helps to keep the hops moist.

Growing Hops in Abandoned Lots? Pittsburgh Will Drink to That

The city’s craft breweries may soon be able to make truly local beer

The microbes living in soil may be crucial for healthy plants. What's more, soil microbiomes are hyperlocal, varying immensely from place to nearby place.

Age of Humans

Soil Has a Microbiome, Too

The unique mix of microbes in soil has a profound effect on which plants thrive and which ones die

Meet SwagBot, the Robot Cowboy That Can Herd and Monitor Cattle On Its Own

University of Sydney engineers have developed a four-wheeled robot to keep tabs on massive farms in Australia’s outback

Right: Photograph during excavation exhibiting excellent dry preservation of plant remains Left: A well-preserved, desiccated barley grain found at Yoram Cave.

New Research

After 6,000 Years of Farming, Barley Is Still (More or Less) the Same

Talk about an ancient grain

Trending Today

Five Things to Know About the New GMO Labeling Bill

Congress just passed a bill requiring GMO labeling, but it’s not as straightforward as you might think

New Research

What Do Goats, Puppies and Horses Have in Common?

Goats communicate with humans using eye contact, according to a new study

The FarmBot Genesis Brings Precision Agriculture to Your Own Backyard

Developed by a team from California, this machine plants seeds, pulls weeds and waters plants individually

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