agriculture

British American Tobacco has ended a contract with a biotechnology firm doing nicotine science with ties to the Piedmont.

Researchers have won a prize for discovering that a cow's genetics determine which microbes populate its gut. Some of those microbes produce the greenhouse gas methane that ends up in the atmosphere.

The smoke and ash hanging in the air from the still-burning Eagle Creek Fire in the Columbia River Gorge could easily transfer to the grapes, potentially changing the quality of the wine.

Hurricane Irma smashed through one of the country's top areas of fruit and vegetable production. The storm destroyed half of the citrus crop in some areas, as well as housing for seasonal workers.

Could tomatoes and kale bring in the green? Or will bacterial wilt get in the way?

After a year of training, feeding and caring for an animal, kids learn what it takes to raise livestock for food and then let it go. And while it can be tough, it's part of the business of farming.

Farmers are starting to grow new crops in winter, when their fields usually lie fallow. Meanwhile, air pollution, which contributes to climate change, is weakening India's solar energy production.

Climate change is complicating the lives of subsistence rice farmers in Madagascar. For years, the wet and dry seasons arrived predictably. No more. To survive, farmers are looking to diversify.

Thanks to globalization and climate change, the pest has spread to 60 countries, attacking coconut, date and oil palm plantations, and costing millions of dollars in damages.