farming

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Automation Comes to Farming. Not Everyone Is Thrilled

Technology has the potential to cut costs, alleviate backbreaking labor, but it's got some worried

(Newser) - Jeremy Ford hates wasting water. As a mist of rain sprinkled the fields around him in Homestead, Florida, Ford bemoaned how expensive running a fossil fuel-powered irrigation system on his 5-acre farm was—and how bad it was for the planet. Earlier this month, Ford installed an automated underground system...

Odd Tick Allergy Is a Nightmare for Farmers

Atlantic reports on how many are becoming allergic to their own animals

(Newser) - The strange effect of a particular tick bite has been in the news for a few years now. A bite from a Lone Star tick makes some people allergic to meat and sometimes dairy, a condition known as alpha-gal syndrome. Now the Atlantic reports that one segment of the population...

Even the 'Cow Whisperer' Couldn't Escape Bovines' Wrath

Guardian reports on incidents of cattle attacks in the UK

(Newser) - When people spot cows idling in a field, it typically becomes an idyllic photo op. In the UK, however, cattle are the leading cause of accidental death in the nation's agricultural sphere, and they're said to be even more dangerous than dogs when it comes to going on...

Danish Farmers Will Pay Tax on Their Gassy Cows

World-first carbon tax will begin in 2030

(Newser) - In a world first, Denmark will tax livestock farmers for the greenhouse gases emitted by their cows, sheep, and pigs beginning in 2030. The country is targeting the major source of methane emissions as part of an effort to reduce Danish greenhouse gas emissions by 70% from 1990 levels by...

Angry Farmers Organize Very Smelly Protest

Cops in Belgium get sprayed with liquid manure amid protests over EU policies

(Newser) - Farmers clashed with Belgium police on Monday, spraying officers with liquid manure and setting fire to tire piles in a fresh show of force as European Union agriculture ministers met in search of ways to address their concerns. Brussels police said 900 tractors entered the city, many bearing down on...

These Men in Yellow Are Angry Farmers
These Men in Yellow
Are Angry Farmers
Feb 22, 2024 10:30 AM CST

These Men in Yellow Are Angry Farmers

They're turning out in Spain, other countries to protest EU policies

(Newser) - Hundreds of farmers drove their tractors into central Madrid on Wednesday as part of ongoing protests against EU and local farming policies and to demand measures to alleviate production cost hikes. The protest, the biggest to take place in the Spanish capital after more than two weeks of daily protests...

Scientists Found a Magic Bullet for Weeds. Now, 'Big Problems'

Crops now endangered as weeds grow increasingly tolerant of chemicals such as glyphosate

(Newser) - Weeds that were once curtailed by herbicides have quickly adapted to withstand them, raising concerns for farmers who are already seeing lower yields in their crops. Reuters breaks down the issue in a thorough investigation with the scientists, farmers, and herbicide companies involved. Weeds like kochia, waterhemp, and giant ragweed...

The Farm of the Future Might Just Float
This Is a Farm. Yes, It Floats
Dec 17, 2023 4:35 PM CST

This Is a Farm. Yes, It Floats

Cows have basically a houseboat in Rotterdam harbor, while Indians try seedling rafts to outsmart climate change

(Newser) - On the top deck of a three-tiered structure moored near downtown Rotterdam, brown and white cows graze on hay dropped from a conveyor belt above their heads. Canopies protect the cows from sun and collect rainwater they will drink. Sometimes the cows walk over to a machine that automatically milks...

Farming Is New Hope as Droughts Erase Truffles

Already rare wild truffles are becoming harder to find, driving up prices

(Newser) - If you thought wild truffles were already an indulgence, climate change is expected to make the fungal delicacy even harder to obtain. However, the newer practice of farming truffles may save the industry, Modern Farmer reports. In terms of the problem, "the climate's no good," Italian truffle...

For These New Tractors, No Driver Is Needed

Farmers are going high-tech

(Newser) - For years Americans have been told that driverless vehicles were just around the corner. Finally they’re here, but to catch a glimpse, you'll need to go to a farm rather than a city street, per the AP . Beginning this fall, 14-ton tractors that can plow day or night...

The Pine Needles Are Brown. They Might as Well Be Gold

Inside a $200M industry

(Newser) - They're brown, not gold. But fallen needles from the longleaf pine, which is native to the Southeast, might as well be the latter. The Washington Post reports pine needles are a $200 million industry, and of the trio of pine needles that are collected and sold, the longleaf's...

Something Is Rapidly Killing America's Apple Trees

The syndrome is called RAD, and it's a head-scratcher

(Newser) - The why is still very much unknown. The what is painfully clear: Something is rapidly killing apple trees that initially appear to be perfectly healthy. That rapid part is now part of the syndrome's name: rapid apple decline (RAD), with one apple farmer telling the Counter that some of...

US Officials Warn About 'Mystery Packets' From China

Is it a simple business scam, or something worse?

(Newser) - All 50 states are warning Americans about mysterious seed packages sent unsolicited to their doorsteps—mostly from China, USA Today reports. The US Dept. of Agriculture suspects a simple business scam, but some officials say it could be a poison pill to damage crops: "I've had people describe...

The 'Toughest Pill' From Farm Belt Flooding

Farmers were storing corn and soybeans, waiting for price to rise another 10 cents or so

(Newser) - Flooding has killed at least four people, plus livestock, and destroyed millions of dollars worth of grain supplies in Farm Belt states across the Missouri River Basin . Meanwhile, Southern states are apparently in for a brutal spring in terms of flooding. Details:
  • Farm Belt: There's more than $1.3
...

Researchers See Controversial Way to Help Planet

It involves getting rid of meat and dairy agriculture, or at least reducing

(Newser) - A comprehensive new study finds that more than 75% of the world's farmland—an area the size of the US, EU, China, and Australia combined—could be freed up for new uses and the world still wouldn't go hungry. The big catch: Humans would have to stop consuming...

3-Year-Old Rescued From Quicksand-Like Manure Pit

Boy is OK after falling into pit inside a barn in Pennsylvania

(Newser) - Officials say emergency crews rescued a 3-year-old boy who fell into a manure pit on a farm near Philadelphia. Emergency responders were called to the Honey Brook Township farm about 6:30pm Saturday after the child fell into the six- to 10-foot pit inside a large barn. Fire crews tried...

Farmer Faces $2.8M Fine for Plowing Field
Farmer Faces $2.8M Fine
for Plowing Field
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
May 28, 2017 12:27 PM CDT

Farmer Faces $2.8M Fine for Plowing Field

John Duarte is accused of disturbing California wetlands

(Newser) - California farmer John Duarte could be facing a $2.8 million fine—and may be ordered to pay millions more in wetlands mitigation—for an offense he describes thusly: "Planting wheat in a wheat field," something he says had been done many times previously. Duarte has been fighting...

Matt Damon Was Right: Potatoes Can Grow on Mars
Matt Damon Was Right:
Potatoes Can Grow on Mars
new study
Mar 9, 2017 10:12 AM CST

Matt Damon Was Right: Potatoes Can Grow on Mars

Which could also have implications for our changing climate

(Newser) - If you've seen The Martian, you might think it's totally possible to grow potatoes on Mars. You just might be right. In the film, Matt Damon plays fictional NASA astronaut Mark Watney, a stranded botanist who survives on the Red Planet by growing the hardy tubers. Now, real-life...

Exotic Spice May Become Cash Crop—in Vermont

Experiments with saffron show promise

(Newser) - For someone who has a passing familiarity with the spice saffron, a few words might come to mind: expensive, exotic, Mideast. Now researchers want to add another, more unlikely one: Vermont. As the Boston Globe reports, Dr. Margaret Skinner of the University of Vermont has been working with test crops...

3M Years Before Humans, Ants Were Farmers

Fijian ants have long built farming cities to plant and harvest fruit crops

(Newser) - If the emergence of agrarian practices is seen as a mark of intelligence in humans, then ants can boast some serious smarts. Not only have researchers discovered a highly organized type of farming in Fiji ants—who plant the seeds of fruit trees, fertilize and protect them, harvest the resulting...

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