crops

ICARDA lab employee Bilal Inaty cuts a lentil plant in order to test it for various diseases at the ICARDA research station in the village of Terbol in Lebanon's Bekaa valley, on Dec. 21, 2022.

How ancient seeds from the Fertile Crescent could help save us from climate change

10:30am January 25, 2023

Some of the tens of thousands of seeds stored at a facility in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley may hold keys to helping the planet's food supply adapt to climate change. Many seeds were saved from Syria's war.

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Environment

The fate of North Carolina's climate and what it means for those who live here

6:00am December 29, 2021

by David Ford

The last decade in North Carolina has been the warmest on record. If nothing is done to slow down global warming the trend lines are not promising.

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Environment

How Climate Change Affects Fall Crops In North Carolina

7:00am November 25, 2019

by Eddie Garcia

When fall arrived this year, it didn't make its entrance with crispy air and cooling temperatures.

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Brent Henderson harvests soybeans on his farm near Weona, Ark., in 2017. That crop showed symptoms of dicamba exposure. Henderson switched to Xtend soybeans the following year, he says, as "insurance" against future damage.

National

Is Fear Driving Sales Of Monsanto's Dicamba-Proof Soybeans?

11:34am February 07, 2019

by Dan Charles

Some farmers say they're buying a popular new soybean seed partly because they're afraid of crop damage from herbicide drift. A new lawsuit claims the seed maker is violating antitrust laws.

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The Big Iron Farm Show draws thousands of farmers and farm equipment-makers to a fairground in West Fargo, N.D. For many this year, concerns about crop yields have been eclipsed by worries about President Trump's trade policies.

Farmers Hope For China Trade Deal, But For Now They Worry About Tariffs' Impact

3:03pm September 13, 2018

by Jim Zarroli

At the Big Iron Farm Show in North Dakota, the usual concerns about crops have been heightened by another big worry: a trade war with China that's already driven soybean prices down sharply.

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Workers in dust masks wash fresh red bell peppers in smoky conditions outside of Eltopia, Wash. Even with the masks, the smoke is still causing tight chests, itchy eyes and dry throats.

As Wildfires Rage, Smoke Chokes Out Farmworkers And Delays Some Crops

7:03am August 29, 2018

by Anna King

Smoke from wildfires is blanketing much of the West. That's ruining some crops and may be stunting others. And it's making it difficult or unsafe for laborers to pick the harvest.

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As Trade War Continues, North Carolina Farmers Get Caught In The Middle

5:00am July 27, 2018

by Sean Bueter

North Carolina farmers are waiting to see what will happen as a trade war between the U.S. and the rest of the world plays out.

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Composting food scraps is one way to reduce food waste, but preventing excess food in the first place is better, says the EPA.

Grocery Stores Get Mostly Mediocre Scores On Their Food Waste Efforts

3:04pm April 16, 2018

by Menaka Wilhelm

A new report, "Supermarkets Fail to Make the Grade in Reducing Food Waste," scores the 10 largest grocery stores on how they handle food waste. No store got an A, but Walmart got a B.

In 2012, record heat throughout the U.S. farm belt curtailed crop production like this rotting corn on a farm in Bruceville, Ind. Farmers are now worried that the lack of rainfall this year could start the cycle over again.

Widespread Drought Across U.S. Stokes Fears About A Repeat Of 2012's Wrath

1:57pm March 01, 2018

by Madelyn Beck

If rainfall doesn't come soon, it could cost billions in devastation — a difficult fallout considering the USDA expects farmers' incomes to hit a 12-year low even if crop yields stay high.

Warmer temperatures are making canola and possibly other brassica seedpods open too early, reducing crop yields.

What Canola Can Tell Us About Crops And Climate Change

12:01pm February 12, 2018

by Angus Chen

When canola seedpods shatter prematurely, farmers can lose a lot of their crop. Scientists have now figured out how this happens, and it has implications for similar crops facing global warming.