food production

A rare treat getting rarer: Chimayo Red, New Mexico's 'holy chile'

5:00am September 21, 2024

A beloved heirloom variety of New Mexico red chile commands high prices because of its scarcity. Finding farmers to continue cultivating it has become a challenge.

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A farmer leads dairy cows from the pasture to the milking barn at a creamery in Gallipolis, Ohio. The USDA launched a $3 billion plan to distribute food to families, called the Farmers to Family Food Box Program.

USDA Secretary Says Despite Plant Closures, He Does Not Anticipate Food Shortages

1:56pm May 15, 2020

by Steve Inskeep

Sonny Perdue says he expects "85-90% production in probably a very few days or weeks." He also says the government is stepping up efforts to buy food from farmers and distribute it to families.

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Along the back of this field of sugar snap peas, sunflowers and bachelor buttons at Oxbow Farm & Conservation Center is a buffer of maturing big-leaf maples and red-osier dogwoods. It's a combination of forest and thicket that the farm has left standing t

Which Vision Of Farming Is Better For The Planet?

6:23pm August 03, 2018

by Paul Chisholm

Should we concentrate farming in a small area, or spread it out to reduce the environmental impact? It's a dilemma farmers face as they feed a growing planet. A new study weighs in.

"Bee health remains of paramount importance for me," said the EU's Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, after the EU moved to ban neonicotinoid insecticides everywhere except greenhouses. Here, a bee hovers near a peach flower.

EU To 'Completely Ban' Outdoor Use Of Pesticides Blamed For Devastating Bees

11:38am April 27, 2018

by Bill Chappell

Citing concerns for food production, the environment and biodiversity, the European Union moves to protect bees from a popular insecticide.

During the day on Aug. 21, large swaths of farmland will be plunged into darkness, and temperatures will drop about 10 degrees. Scientists are waiting to see how crops and animals react.

Will The Eclipse Make Crops And Animals Flip Out? Scientists Ask (Really)

6:01pm August 17, 2017

by Kristofor Husted

During the day on Aug. 21, large swaths of farmland will be plunged into darkness, and temperatures will drop about 10 degrees. And scientists are waiting to see what happens on the ground.

The University of Toronto's solar-powered pond aerator could help fish farmers in Bangladesh earn up to $250 of extra income a year.

A SkyMall For Farmers Would Have Fish Bubblers And Poop-Powered Coolers

6:23pm December 15, 2015

by Malaka Gharib

A milk chiller run on manure. A sun-powered pond aerator. These are some of the creative ideas that could change the game for the world's poorest farmers.

"Trucking is not a 9 to 5 job. It's really a 24-hour operation," says Cody Blankenship, owner of 4BTrucking, which operates out of Waco, Texas. He logs about 100,000 miles a year on the road. A planned run during harvest time this year will keep him away

These Are The People Who Haul Our Food Across America

7:03am September 05, 2015

by Anne Bramley

Farmers, chefs and small-batch producers get a lot of praise these days. Truckers are rarely mentioned — yet most of the food that ends up on our dinner tables depends on their labor.

Black soldier flies mate and lay eggs inside these cages at EnviroFlight.

Making Food From Flies (It's Not That Icky)

9:14pm September 19, 2013

by Dan Charles

One of the really big challenges facing our world is how to grow more food without using up the globe's land and water. One company in Ohio says we've been ignoring one solution: insects. It's using larvae of the black soldier fly to convert waste into feed for fish or pigs.

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