Agriculture
- Agriculture
Herbal Herbicides
Scientists are tapping plants, and the self-defense chemicals they make, for new weed killers, many of which may find use in organic farming.
- Agriculture
Ethanol Juggernaut Diverts Corn from Food to Fuel
Corn feeds the production of meat and dairy goods in the United States, so those products are likely to increase in price as ethanol fuel demands more of the country's corn supply.
- Agriculture
Cloned Meat and Milk Are Safe, but They Won’t Hit Stores Soon
A Food and Drug Administration analysis concludes that food from cloned animals is safe, but the effort and expense involved in creating these animals means that products from them won't be in markets anytime soon.
- Agriculture
Big footprints
Livestock production carries surprisingly high, and largely hidden, environmental costs.
- Agriculture
Wheat gone wild
Researchers have identified a gene responsible for boosting the protein, iron, and zinc content of some varieties of wild wheat by 10 to 15 percent.
- Agriculture
Organic Dairying Is on Upswing, But No Panacea
Some small dairy farms are making the switch to organic operations to increase profits and distinguish their products from undifferentiated commodities.
- Agriculture
Cow Power
To improve the dire economics of dairying, some farmers are looking to generate commercial quantities of electric power.
- Agriculture
Demand for Ethanol May Drive Up Food Prices
The production of ethanol from corn and other crops for fuel could drive up food prices.
- Agriculture
Farm Fresh Pesticides
For people who live near croplands, traces of agricultural chemicals can find their way into homes by hitchhiking on windblown dust.
- Agriculture
Biotech cotton: Less spray but same yield
The way farmers grow transgenic cotton in Arizona lets them skip some of their regular spraying but end up with the same yield as traditional farmers, as well as the same impact on ants and beetles.
- Agriculture
Organic Doesn’t Mean Free of Pesticides
Even organic produce, especially root crops, can carry trace residues of long-banned pesticides.
- Agriculture
Wheat Warning—New Rust Could Spread Like Wildfire
A new, yield-slashing wheat blight has emerged in East Africa and could spread far beyond that part of the world.
