Food and Agriculture News

January 25, 2025

Top Headlines

Scientists Predict What Will Be Top of the Crops in UK by 2080 Due to Climate Change

Jan. 23, 2025 — While climate change is likely to present significant challenges to agriculture in coming decades, it could also mean that crops such as chickpeas, soyabeans and oranges are widely grown across the ...

Dung Data: Manure Can Help to Improve Global Maps of Herbivore Distribution

Jan. 16, 2025 — Detailed livestock models are important for land-use planning, disaster relief and food ...

Diversified Cropping Systems Boost Nitrogen Supply but Not Soil Carbon

Jan. 15, 2025 — Longer, more diverse rotations of crops fertilized with livestock manure have many environmental benefits, but carbon sequestration isn't one of them, according to a new ...

Small-Scale Fisheries Essential to Global Nutrition, Livelihoods

Jan. 15, 2025 — Small-scale fisheries play a significant but overlooked role in global fisheries production and are key to addressing hunger and malnutrition while supporting livelihoods around the world, according to new research. The study rigorously quantified ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:15pm EST

Little Birds, Little Poops, Little Food Safety Risk

Jan. 21, 2025 — Smaller poops from smaller birds carry very low risk of foodborne pathogens on farms, finds a new ...

Could This Fundamental Discovery Revolutionize Fertilizer Use in Farming?

Jan. 15, 2025 — Researchers have discovered a biological mechanism that makes plant roots more welcoming to beneficial soil ...

What Makes Some Plant Species 'Ripe' for Domestication

Jan. 14, 2025 — Researchers have proposed that some wild plant species possess certain attributes which make them more suitable for human cultivation than ...

Just as Gouda: Improving the Quality of Cheese Alternatives

Jan. 14, 2025 — Scientists are working to produce plant-based cheese with all the characteristics of real cheese, but with better health benefits. To create a cheesy product with the same texture as the real thing, ...

Quantity Over Quality? Different Bees Are Attracted to Different Floral Traits

Jan. 2, 2025 — When it comes to deciding where they're going to get their next meal, different species of bees may be attracted to different flower ...

Reducing Irrigation for Livestock Feed Crops Is Needed to Save Great Salt Lake, Study Argues

Jan. 7, 2025 — The Great Salt Lake has lost more than 15 billion cubic yards of water over the past three decades, is getting shallower at the rate of 4 inches a ...

U.S. Corn Belt: Intensive Farming and Shallow Groundwater Affect Precipitation Patterns

Jan. 6, 2025 — New research shows that the sweeping land use changes and irrigation of the U.S. Corn Belt, along with the influence of the area's shallow ...

Growing Divide: Agricultural Climate Policies Affect Food Prices Differently in Poor and Wealthy Countries

Jan. 3, 2025 — Farmers are receiving less of what consumers spend on food, as modern food systems increasingly direct costs toward value-added components like ...

Pollinators, Pollen and Varieties Determine Fruit Quality

Jan. 3, 2025 — Pollination by animals contributes to a third of global food production, but little research has been done into the extent to which the identity of pollinators, pollen and crop varieties influence ...

Africa: Better Roads Promote Greater Dietary Diversity

Jan. 2, 2025 — A balanced diet is important for reducing hunger and malnutrition. Researchers thus advocate that small farmers in low- and middle-income countries should try to produce as many different foods as ...

Water and Gruel -- Not Bread: Discovering the Diet of Early Neolithic Farmers in Scandinavia

Dec. 20, 2024 — At a Neolithic settlement on the Danish island Funen dating back 5,500 years, archaeologists have discovered both grinding stones and grains from early cereals. However, new research reveals that the ...

Growing Safer Spuds: Removing Toxins from Potatoes

Dec. 20, 2024 — Scientists have discovered a way to remove toxic compounds from potatoes and tomatoes, making them safer to eat and easier to store. The breakthrough could cut food waste and enhance crop farming in ...

Across Southeastern US, Weedy Rice Steals Herbicide Resistance from Crop Rice

Dec. 16, 2024 — A new study shows that more than half of the weedy rice sampled in the rice-growing region of the southeastern U.S. has become herbicide ...

How Chemical Reactions Deplete Nutrients in Plant-Based Drinks

Dec. 13, 2024 — A new study of plant-based drinks reveals a common issue: they are lacking in proteins and essential amino acids compared to cow's milk. The explanation lies in their extensive processing, ...

Evaluating Food Safety Control Strategies for Produce Industry

Dec. 12, 2024 — Leafy greens can become contaminated with pathogenic E. coli or other bacteria through splashes of soil or contaminated irrigation water in the field, or through processing and handling. Growers and ...

Recycling Human, Animal Excreta Reduces Need for Fertilizers

Dec. 11, 2024 — Recycling all the human and livestock feces and urine on the planet would contribute substantially to meeting the nutrient supply for all crops worldwide, thereby reducing the need to mine ...

Neem Seed Extract Improves Effectiveness of Pesticide

Dec. 6, 2024 — A research group has developed an innovative pesticide delivery system called nanopesticides. These tiny technologies could change how we use ...

Climate Change Threatens Global Food Supply: Scientists Call for Urgent Action

Dec. 5, 2024 — As climate change accelerates, scientists are sounding the alarm about its potentially devastating impact on the world's food supply. Researchers warn that without rapid changes to how we ...

DNA of 1,000 Year-Old Maize Sheds Light on Origins of Globally Important Food Crop

Dec. 5, 2024 — Researchers have tested ancient DNA from corn found at archaeological sites in Arkansas, shedding new light on the dispersal of one of the world's most important food ...

Low Meat Intake Fuels Concerns Over Child Nutrition

Dec. 4, 2024 — Malnutrition and poor dietary diversity remain significant challenges for children in Ethiopia, despite the country's large livestock population, a study highlights. The study reveals that only ...

Climate-Ready Crop

Dec. 4, 2024 — A team has engineered potato to be more resilient to global warming showing 30% increases in tuber mass under heatwave conditions. This adaptation may provide greater food security for families ...

Backyard Chickens Are Here to Stay

Dec. 3, 2024 — Chickens have been a mainstay in Australian backyards for generations. New research reveals that owners see their chickens as a blend between pet and livestock as well as a trustworthy source of ...

Feeding Grazing Cattle Seaweed Cuts Methane Emissions by Almost 40%

Dec. 2, 2024 — Scientists find making a seaweed additive more accessible to grazing cattle reduces methane emissions 40% and could make cattle farming more ...

Animal Products Improve Child Nutrition in Africa

Dec. 2, 2024 — The consumption of milk products, eggs and fish has a positive effect on childhood development in Africa. This has been demonstrated in a recent study. The researchers used representative data from ...

Global Food Yields Have Grown Steadily During Last Six Decades, Study Finds

Nov. 27, 2024 — Contrary to widespread concerns that global crop yields have stagnated in recent decades, a comprehensive study of worldwide food production finds yields have continued to grow at roughly the same ...

Can We Avert the Looming Food Crisis of Climate Change?

Nov. 26, 2024 — Researchers share a mathematical model created to capture the nonlinear relationships between CO2, temperature, human population, and crop growth. Increasing evidence of chaotic and complex dynamics ...

Study Finds Genetic Mechanisms Behind High-Yield Apple Trees

Nov. 25, 2024 — Apples rank among the world's most valuable fruit crops, with production spanning more than 100 countries. Some apple trees naturally develop into what farmers call 'spur-type' ...

Will Agricultural Weeds Finally Claim the Upper Hand in a Changing Climate?

Nov. 19, 2024 — A few years back, a group of weed scientists showed that soil-applied herbicides are less effective against agricultural weeds in the context of our changing climate. Now, the same research group has ...

Revealing the Hidden Costs of What We Eat

Nov. 18, 2024 — Shifting our diets to be more sustainable can be a powerful way for each of us to address both climate change and global food insecurity, however making such adjustments at the large scales necessary ...

Bee Alert: Pesticides Pose a Real Threat to Over 70% of Wild Bees

Nov. 18, 2024 — A new study reveals alarming risks that pesticides pose to ground-nesting bees, which are crucial for pollination and food production. As agriculture increasingly relies on pesticides to protect ...