Farming

An ear of corn sits on topsoil in Nebraska, part of the nation’s Corn Belt. Scientists estimate the region has lost about 35 percent of its topsoil.

The Nation's Corn Belt Has Lost a Third of Its Topsoil

Researchers used satellite imaging and surface soil color to find out how much of the nutrient-rich earth has eroded away

New research says the United States would need to more than double its current seedling production to add 30 billion trees by 2040.

To Fight Climate Change With Trees, America Needs More Seedlings

New research estimates the U.S. would need to double production to meet its reforestation goals

Damages wrought by climate change and deforestation have transformed the Amazon rainforest. New research suggests the changes to this icon of the natural world caused by human activity may mean the Amazon now emits more greenhouse gases than it absorbs.

The Amazon Rainforest Now Emits More Greenhouse Gases Than It Absorbs

Climate change and deforestation have transformed the ecosystem into a net source of planet-warming gases instead of a carbon sink

This recreated wooden building resembles one that may have housed enslaved people on John Dickinson's Dover, Delaware, plantation.

Graves of Enslaved People Discovered on Founding Father's Delaware Plantation

A signee of the U.S. Constitution, John Dickinson enslaved as many as 59 men, women and children at one time

This cow was fed a small amount of seaweed along with its feed to reduce methane emissions from its burps.

Seaweed-Fed Cows Burp Less Planet-Warming Methane

Researchers report an 82 percent reduction in methane emissions in cows fed 1.5 to 3 ounces of seaweed a day for 21 weeks

Across the globe, culling has become the default strategy for the egg industry to eliminate the unwanted hatchlings.

Can New Technologies Eliminate the Grim Practice of Chick Culling?

As the U.S. egg industry continues to kill male chicks, scientists are racing to develop accurate and affordable ways to sex a chick before it hatches

A young male in Lassen County, California, wears a collar that transmits his location. He was in a litter of four pups born in the area in 2019.

The Wolf That Discovered California

Nearly a century after the last wolf was eradicated in the state, a lone female arrived and established a pack. Not everyone is cheering

Indoor cannabis growing in California.

Growing an Ounce of Pot Indoors Can Emit as Much Carbon as Burning a Full Tank of Gas

In some parts of the United States, the growing cannabis industry is responsible for significant greenhouse gas emissions

Sea beans, otherwise known as sea asparagus and pickleweed, belong to the genus Salicornia, marsh plants that thrive in salty soils.

How One Farmer Is Introducing Americans to Sea Beans

In Charleston, South Carolina, Heron Farms is attempting to grow a gangly, salt-tolerant plant in the face of sea level rise

A blowfly on lavender flowers. Flies are the unsung heroes of pollination. They visit flowers to stoke up on energy-rich nectar and protein-rich pollen and transport pollen from flower to flower in the process.

How Much Do Flies Help With Pollination?

The much-maligned insect could be the key to ensuring future supplies of many of the world’s favorite foods

Researchers in France are testing which fish eggs are best suited to being launched to the moon. So far, European seabass are among the leaders.

Could Astronauts Rear Fish on the Moon?

Researchers in France aim to boldly farm fish where no one has farmed fish before

Regenerative farming, which centers on building soil health, is one promising pathway for decreasing agriculture’s carbon footprint.

To Meet Ambitious Emissions Goals, Large Food Companies Are Looking to Lock Carbon in Soil

But the logistics of moving farmers in their supply chains to regenerative agriculture practices can be complicated

In Singapore, a city-state notoriously tight on space, Apollo Aquaculture Group is building an eight-story indoor aquaculture facility.

An Eight-Story Fish Farm Will Bring Locally Produced Food to Singapore

The massive indoor aquaculture facility is an effort to boost food security for the small island city-state

The remains of an individual buried at the Augustinian friary, pictured during excavations in 2016

Medieval Britons' Remains Record the 'Skeletal Trauma' Inflicted by Inequality

New study reveals the horrific injuries sustained by lower-class members of English society

Seabird guano covers a small island off the coast of Peru.

Ancient South American Civilizations Bloomed in the Desert Thanks to Seabird Poop

Prehistoric farmers fertilized their crops with the waste, which they imported from the coast

Grōv Technologies’ vertical farm is designed to minimize land and water use of conventional feed production.

Could Indoor Vertical Farms Feed Livestock?

The people at Grōv Technologies think farmers can produce wheatgrass for their herds with less land and water using the method

German-American schoolteacher Robert Meyer believed strongly that he should be allowed to teach his community the German language.

From a Small, Rural Schoolhouse, One Teacher Challenged Nativist Attacks Against Immigration

In the wake of World War I, rabid anti-German sentiment led to the arrest, later deemed unjust by the U.S. Supreme Court, of Robert Meyer

Nearly 80 percent of the world's vanilla beans are produced by small farmers in Madagascar. The global supply is tiny compared with demand and is often threatened by extreme weather and disease.

Newly Sequenced Vanilla Genome Could Boost Tiny Global Supply

Tweaking the crop’s genes could help increase its yields and make it more resistant to disease and natural disasters

Early Puebloans wove turkey feathers into yucca fiber to make the blanket.

In the Ancient American Southwest, Turkeys Were Friends, Not Food

An 800-year-old blanket made out of turkey feathers testifies to the bird's significance in Pueblo culture

A map of Doggerland, which once connected Britain to mainland Europe

Study Rewrites History of Ancient Land Bridge Between Britain and Europe

New research suggests that climate change, not a tsunami, doomed the now-submerged territory of Doggerland

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