Farming

With Semios, Farmers Can Monitor Their Fields Remotely and Keep Pests Away

Paired with wireless sensors and cameras, aerosol pheromone pesticides have entered a new era of effectiveness and affordability

April 30, 2015

How Farms Became the New Hot Suburb

A new real estate trend has developments planted around working farms. But are these communities sustainable?

May 2015

New Research

Northern Europeans Were Not So Sold on Farming

A new study of ancient beads shows “an enduring cultural boundary” between northern and southern Europe during the Neolithic Age

April 9, 2015

Anthropocene

Illegal Cocoa Farms Are Driving Out Primates In Ivory Coast

Thirteen national parks and reserves have lost all their primates as people move in to protected regions to farm cacao

April 1, 2015

Farmers Can Shell Coffee in a Fraction of the Time With This Bike-Powered Machine

A team at an MIT International Development Design Summit is making coffee production a little easier for small-scale farmers in Tanzania

March 31, 2015

Anthropocene

Rice Can Help Save Salmon If Farms Are Allowed to Flood

The Nigiri Project aims to restore the beloved fish by cutting a notch in a California levee and letting some floodplains return to nature

March 23, 2015

The World of Chocolate

How to Save the Chocolate Tree Without Sacrificing Flavor

Demand, disease and climate change are threatening cocoa, but a new breed of clones could keep the treat abundant and tasty

February 12, 2015

The World Hit “Peak Chicken” in 2006

The popular poultry is just one of many key food resources that hit peak production between 5 and 30 years ago

January 27, 2015

Trending Today

Toystory the Bull Fathered 500,000 Cows Before He Died

Toystory, a Wisconsin “dream bull,” had more than half a million offspring at last count and is the stuff of legend.

January 15, 2015

Art Meets Science

A Tree Grows 40 Different Types of Fruit

What started as an art project has become a mission to reintroduce Americans to native fruits that have faded from popularity

January 14, 2015

Anthropocene

Ancient Roman Water Networks Made the Empire Vulnerable

A model of ancient water movement shows how trade practices might affect today’s urban centers as the climate changes

December 19, 2014

Cool Finds

America’s Best Butter Is Handchurned in Vermont

The price for perfection is $49 per pound

December 17, 2014

Bees and Wasps in Britain Have Been Disappearing For More Than a Century

Changes in agricultural practices since the 19th century may be a major culprit in the pollinators’ decline

December 11, 2014

Future of Energy

Turning Shipping Containers Into Urban Farms

In a clever recycling experiment, the startup Local Roots Farms is growing organic, hydroponic produce in America’s food deserts

December 9, 2014

Can This Berry Solve Both Obesity and World Hunger?

At a playful café in Chicago, chef Homaro Cantu is experimenting with miracle fruit, a West African berry that makes everything a little sweeter

December 4, 2014

Anthropocene

Earth’s Soil Is Getting Too Salty for Crops to Grow

Buildup of salts on irrigated land has already degraded an area the size of France and is causing $27.3 billion annually in lost crops

October 28, 2014

Chimps Caught in First Known Nighttime Crop Raids

“The nightlife of chimpanzees has been neglected,” say researchers who filmed wild animals using a fallen tree as a bridge into protected cornfields

October 22, 2014

Cool Finds

Instead of Growing Meat in a Lab, Why Not Make It Out of Plants?

“Plant blood” is the secret behind the I-can’t-believe-it-isn’t-meat company, Impossible Foods

October 10, 2014

Mario Batali on Why Farmers Should Be the True Stars of the Restaurant World

In his new cookbook, Mario Batali looks to farmers from across the country for inspiration

October 7, 2014

Trending Today

The USDA Approved a New GM Crop to Deal With Problems Created by the Old GM Crops

Weeds became resistant to the herbicide partner of older genetically modified crops

September 25, 2014