• Water

Texas Drought Forcing Ranchers to Cull Herds

• climate change
• Drought
• farming
• Land use
• Texas

Texas ranchers are having to ask the tough question of whether they will have to cull their herds as much of the state continues to experience ongoing drought. As the grass dries out and ranchers face rising costs, it’s becoming less viable to maintain large herds of cattle and sheep in Texas Hill Country.

• Land

Farm State Voters Want Candidates to Talk Conservation

• 2020
• farm
• farmers
• farming
• Iowa
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• regenerative farming

Farm state voters in swing states like Minnesota see extreme weather, such as droughts and floods, as a significant threat to farming. According to a new poll conducted by Iowa-based RABA Research on behalf of the Union of Concerned Scientists, a majority of these voters say they would be more likely to back a 2020 […]

• Food

Why We Need Crop Diversity

• 30 by 30
• agricultre
• biodiversity
• crops
• farming
• food

Over the past 50 years, fewer crops are feeding the world’s people and diets around the world are becoming more alike. This puts us at risk of a “globalized diet” based on major crops such as soybeans, wheat, rice, and corn–which are grown on almost half the world’s agricultural lands.

• Water

Spring 2019 Floods Were BAD, Midwest Farmers Brace for More in 2020

• farming
• Flooding
• Mississippi River
• Missouri River

This past spring more than 1 million acres of land flooded across five states in the Midwest.

However, now that it’s nearly winter, Midwest farmers are still very much feeling the effects of the floods and are worried about another round of flooding in 2020.

• People

Interview of the Week: Jim Richards, CEO Milkadamia

• farming
• plant based
• regenerative farming
• trees
• vegan

Jim Richards is the CEO of Milkadamia, the maker of plant-based, vegan macadamia milk and products produced through regenerative farming techniques. ODP: What are the barriers that prevent regenerative farming from being used more widely? JR: The interest in regenerative farming among farmers is high and we can anticipate many more farms becoming regenerative. However, […]

• Food

Hummus is Good for You AND the Planet

• chickpeas
• farmers
• farming
• legumes
• pulses

For many of us, hummus is already a snack staple but its popularity as a healthy and filling snack is steadily growing. As NPR reported, Americans spent four times as much money on hummus in the marketplace last year than they did 10 years ago: more than $800 million in 2018 alone. The main ingredient […]

• Land

Nitrogen Fertilizer’s Double Whammy

• ammonia
• farming
• fertilizer
• nitrogen

Farmers rely on nitrogren fertilizer to cultivate their crops and feed our nation but the excessive application of the chemicals that help crops grow also pose serious environmental risks elsewhere. In addition to creating toxic runoff, the production of ammonia for fertilizer may result in up to 100 times more methane emissions than previously estimated. […]

• Oceans

Breaking Barriers in the Seaweed Cultivation Industry

• Connecticut
• farming
• Maine
• seaweed

Seaweed farming has become a rapidly growing business on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States. Fishermen have turned to seaweed farming to help supplement their income in the offseason and the nutrient dense nature of the plant has inspired some to label it the “new kale” giving it buzz in foodie […]

• Food

Midwest Flooding Preventing Farmers from Planting Their Crops, Threatens Food Prices

• agriculture
• crops
• farming
• floods
• Midwest

Here's where the #CropWatch19 #soybeans will be planted in central Kansas, if it ever dries out. pic.twitter.com/w9DkokOlUG — Karen Braun (@kannbwx) May 28, 2019 All across the midwest farmers are not able to begin planting their crops as persistent flooding has caused their fields to resemble shallow lakes. As Reuters explained, “Excessive rain has caused […]

• Climate Change

Climate change is altering how America’s favorite crops are grown

• climate change
• crops
• farming

Climate change is causing parts of the United States to become more drought-prone and in other regions is altering rainfall patterns so that precipitation becomes more erratic and causes catastrophic flooding. Additionally, climate change is driving the rise in pest infestations which will mean that farmers are scrambling to keep up with rapidly changing conditions, whether or not they acknowledge climate change or not.

• Climate Change

Saltwater intrusion a ticking time bomb for NC farms

• agriculture
• farming
• North Carolina
• sea level rise

As climate change is causing sea levels to rise, this salty water’s encroachment inland means that drinking water, native plant species, and agriculture are all coming under threat. The Washington Post reported that “rising seas, sinking earth and extreme weather are conspiring to cause salt from the ocean to contaminate aquifers and turn formerly fertile […]