A new marketplace is paying farmers to capture carbon emissions
If farmers make changes to the way they manage soil on farms—and that happened on farmland globally—it could theoretically suck a trillion tons of CO2 from the atmosphere, or as much as humans have emitted since the Industrial Revolution. The changes aren’t particularly complicated, and Read More...
California restaurants are incentivizing eco-friendly farming with surcharge
Restaurants in California are banding together to fight climate change in an intriguing way. Concerned eateries can sign on to the Restore California Renewable Restaurant program, which pledges to add a 1% surcharge to diners' bills and then use the money to incentivize farmers to implement more Read More...
EPA to finally ban dangerous pesticide linked to development problems in kids
For decades, staple food crops in the United States, such as corn, wheat, apples, and citrus have been sprayed with chlorpyrifos – a dangerous pesticide linked to development problems in children and generally known to harm human health, water, and wildlife. Public health advocates have been Read More...
This smartphone app lets farmers control where their cows graze from afar
When left alone, livestock will often cluster in certain areas of a field while leaving other regions alone. That causes some sections to be overeaten, which makes the grass and soil there less healthy over time. The neglected areas—left to overgrow and develop weeds, and without the benefits Read More...
Scientists are honing in on a safer, natural alternative to pesticides
Pesticide-free farming would do wonders for the world's declining insect populations, but not all farmers are willing to take the risk of switching to more sustainable farming techniques. In an attempt to create a safer strain of pesticides that will do less harm to the planet, researchers at the Read More...
General Mills is on a mission to regenerate America’s farmland
Farming a single crop on the same path of land—something known as a monoculture—depletes the soil of its nutrients and ruins its ability to trap carbon. The longer a monoculture remains a place, the harder it becomes for healthy land to regenerate. The problem is that for farmers, rotating Read More...
This startup is empowering farmers with cheaper seeds and transparency
Farmers don’t have it easy. Despite doing all the work on the ground and taking the biggest risks in terms of crop selection, it’s the farmers who have the lowest incomes in the entire agriculture industry. One of the main expenditures that farmers have is seeds: when it comes to seeds, it’s Read More...
Agriculture is a big climate problem—now farmers are sharing solutions
Hans Herren began his farm as a hobby almost 20 years ago. He’s been planting grapes and growing apple orchards on an 11-acre plot of land near Napa Valley in Read More...
This robot can pick up lettuce with as much care as a human hand
A team of researchers has developed a robot that can maneuver so deftly that it’s able to pick up a lettuce head, find its outer layer of leaves, and delicately remove them. The machine is able to perform this task using three tools: a camera to size-up an individual lettuce head and find its Read More...
Growing agricultural investment
Photo: Africa Renewal Since little commercial lending goes to agriculture, the African continent is unable to feed its malnourished population of 200 million. Agricultural investment is seen as a risk, mostly due to the lack of data lenders have to work with when weighing the risks and benefits. Read More...