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Farming

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

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

A prototype gene gun developed by Dennis McCabe and Brian Martinell in 1986 delivered new genetic material into the cells of plants.

Age of Humans

How Roundup Ready Soybeans Rocked the Food Economy

This 1980s-era “gene gun” fired the shot heard around the world

California's Bar SZ Ranch offers daily hayrides.

Plan a Back-40 Getaway at One of These Four Exceptional Farm Stays

Plan an overnight adventure on a working farm

Fraises Des Bois, the Best Strawberry You’ve Never Had

Supermarket strawberries are big, perfectly red, perfectly heart-shaped, and perfectly flavorless—at least compared with what they could be

Jayson Mesman and his truffle hunting dog Samson hard at work at The Truffle Farm.

These Adorable Rescue Dogs Lead Truffle Hunting Tours in Australia’s Majura Valley

An Australian farmer trains these abandoned canines to sleuth out a gourmet delicacy

A group of students on a tour of Brooklyn Grange.

Honeybees are the Stars at New York City’s Coolest Field Trip

People are buzzing about world’s largest rooftop soil farm

The Svalbard seed bank is one of many seed libraries in the world, and one of the best funded.

Age of Humans

From Lack Of Diversity To Lack Of Funding, Seed Banks Face a World Of Challenges

Gene banks are meant to protect biodiversity, yet they themselves are in need of protection

Life is about to become a bit more humane for male chicks.

Trending Today

Egg Producers Pledge More Humane Fate for Male Chicks

Better technology could make “maceration” go the way of the dodo

Cool Finds

This Museum Made Art Out of a John Deere Harvester

‘Continuous Service Altered Daily’ finds life inside a familiar machine

Fleet Farming turns yards into "farmlettes."

A Band of Biking Farmers in Florida Reinvents Sharecropping

Fleet Farming transforms lawns into farms to create a new local food system

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