Jan 04 Think El Niño is weird now? Just wait for this summer By Nsikan Akpan Scientists predict what El Niño might mean for the cost of cookies, the quality of marijuana and the arrival of DC's cherry blossoms. Continue reading
Dec 14 Watch 6:45 Italian olive trees are withering from this deadly bacteria By PBS News Hour, Frank Carlson The Salento region in southern Italy is synonymous with its renowned olive groves, some of which are thousands of years old. But a deadly bacteria, which causes trees to wither, is threatening a critical part of Salento's livelihood and very… Continue watching
Dec 05 Watch 4:23 How to solve Puerto Rico’s looming food crisis? Eat local, farmers say By PBS News Hour Last week, Puerto Rico managed to make a $354 million payment on $72 billion worth of bond debt, which the government says it cannot pay off. Officials hope that boosting the agriculture sector will help dig the island out of… Continue watching
Nov 24 Watch 8:45 Are pesticides to blame for the massive bee die-off? By PBS News Hour Commercial beekeepers across America have been struggling with great numbers of bee deaths over the past few years. What’s behind their failing health? Some research points to a class of pesticide that’s coated onto a large proportion of corn and… Continue watching
Nov 24 Move over turkey. Here comes the Thanksgiving ham By Vikram Mansharamani Can you imagine a Christmas ham on your Thanksgiving dinner table in place of the traditional turkey? It’s a scenario some agricultural economists have been worrying about for months. Continue reading
Nov 13 Why do potatoes grow pink slime? By Alexandra Sarabia Scientists find that pink slime on potatoes is a ‘space suit’ for one bacterium, but also a possible weapon against antibiotic-resistant microbes. Continue reading
Oct 19 Global seed bank opens ‘doomsday vault’ to deliver Syrian varieties to safety By Gretchen Frazee Walking through dark, grey tunnels carved 400 feet into the base of a mountain in the Arctic Circle, researchers did something that hadn’t been done since the “doomsday vault” was built in 2008. Instead of putting containers into the vault,… Continue reading
Oct 17 Watch 9:15 Why Kentucky farmers are quitting tobacco and turning to an unlikely new crop By PBS News Hour A Farm Bill passed by Congress last year included an amendment granting states and universities the right to research hemp. Several states have since started research projects, but Kentucky is at the forefront, experimenting with creating a new industry around… Continue watching
Oct 01 Watch 7:36 Why growing lettuce in New York City is a growing business By PBS News Hour In cities like New York and across the river in Newark, rooftops and abandoned buildings are underutilized pieces of real estate now being turned into agricultural operations. Can these urban farms address the coming global food crisis, or are they… Continue watching
Oct 01 Making use of empty space, urban farming becomes a business By Paul Solman With the repurposing of rooftops and abandoned buildings, urban agriculture has grown to be a business in cities like New York and Chicago. Continue reading