Farming and Agriculture

While recent studies have shown climate change will cut crop production, there has been less research into its impacts on livestock.... Read more

Scientists say there is an urgent need for aflatoxin control strategies in Pakistan's feed supply chain to improve animal health, productivity, food safety and exports of animal-based products.... Read more

The future of smashed avocado might depend on patches of native vegetation preserved alongside farmland, as new Curtin research reveals the hidden role of these habitats in supporting the insects that keep crops—and brunch menus—thriving.... Read more

Vanilla flavoring is widely used in food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. The primary source, Vanilla planifolia, however, is vulnerable to diseases, drought, and heat—stressors expected to become more frequent under climate change. Wild Vanilla species offer a genetic reservoir of crop wild relatives ensuring the future of the vanilla crop. Scientists... Read more

Food scientists are paving the way for 3D-printed food and pharmaceuticals based on drought-tolerant grain sorghum protein that won't turn into a blob.... Read more

Cucumbers, a summer staple of salads and sandwiches, are a valuable commercial crop. They also have a less well-known role as valuable model plants which are helping researchers to extend the boundaries of genomic discovery.... Read more

Scientists at the University of Helsinki discovered how plants heal their protective outer layer, the periderm. The diffusion of ethylene and oxygen through a wound triggers repair—a finding with potential implications for crop resilience and food preservation.... Read more

Australian farms are at the forefront of a wave of technological change coming to agriculture. Over the past decade, more than US$200 billion (A$305 billion) has been invested globally into the likes of pollination robots, smart soil sensors and artificial intelligence (AI) systems to help make decisions.... Read more

The way we currently produce and consume food takes a big toll on the environment.... Read more

Farming methods that support nature improve both biodiversity and crop yields, but more extensive measures may require increased government subsidies to become as profitable as conventional intensive agriculture. That is the finding of the first comprehensive on‐farm trials of their kind in the UK, which were led by the UK... Read more

A sweeping new executive order to deregulate the U.S. seafood sector risks unraveling decades of scientific progress and environmental protections, according to aquaculture and fishery scientists writing in a new paper published in the journal Marine Policy. Rather than strengthening the industry, they argue, the policy threatens the very systems... Read more

The U.S. government is preparing to breed billions of flies and dump them out of airplanes over Mexico and southern Texas to fight a flesh-eating maggot.... Read more

Plant scientists have used a standard "gene gun" since 1988 to genetically modify crops for better yield, nutrition, pest resistance and other valuable traits.... Read more

Wheat contains many valuable nutrients—and can help to make a diet with bread even healthier. However, the nutrient content depends on the type of wheat. A rapid test method could help to increase the nutrient content of wheat along the entire value chain.... Read more

Water is essential at all stages of food production, from irrigation to food processing to washing fruit and vegetables before we eat them. Crops and livestock need it to grow, but water can also be contaminated by pathogens (any organism that causes disease), heavy metals, and chemicals.... Read more