How American whiskey is moving ahead by looking back.

Agriculture has a reputation of being stuck in the past. In reality, for farmers, their workplaces are a fertile testbed for innovative technology – they were among the first to embrace commercial drone use, and autonomous vehicles that could work effectively (and safely) in confined areas of farmland. Among the latest developments in agri-tech are small, farming robots that can improve crop yield and reduce farming’s impact on the environment.

California voters will soon decide whether to ban the sale of all veal, pork and eggs from farm animals raised in cages, even when raised in other states.

The trick to boosting crops in drought-prone, food-insecure areas of West Africa could be a ubiquitous native shrub that persists in the toughest of growing conditions. Growing these shrubs side-by-side with the food crop millet increased millet production by more than 900 percent.

We’re not managing our crops to support global nutritional needs: In fact, we use a disproportionate amount of land used to grow grains, fats, oils, and sugar, and not enough land to grow the fruits and vegetables that we need to survive, a new research paper asserts.

Tiny automated machines could soon take care of the entire growing process. Fewer chemicals, more efficient – where’s the downside?

A recent report from Bloomberg highlights the awful working conditions that sanitation workers experience in the meat industry.

Sequencing the wheat genome – once considered by scientists to be an insurmountable task – has been achieved through a worldwide collaboration of researchers spanning 13 years. On Friday the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium (IWGSC) published a detailed description of the genome of bread wheat in the journal Science.

Las Vegas isn't the first place that springs to mind as a sustainable agriculture hub. But the city could soon become a major purveyor of fresh greens, thanks to a new $30 million vertical farming facility. At 215,000 square feet, it's one of the largest indoor vertical farms in the US. The facility is home to Oasis Biotech, a startup that transformed a vacant Las Vegas industrial property into a center for hydroponic farming — a process of growing plants without soil to conserve water and speed up the maturation process.

Millenia ago, ancient farmers cleared land to plant wheat and maize, potatoes and squash. They flooded fields to grow rice. They began to raise livestock. And unknowingly, they may have been fundamentally altering the climate of the Earth.

An unkempt stretch of tall grass, wildflowers and weeds in front of a train station doesn't look like much — but it may be crucial to solving one of the world's biggest environmental puzzles. While scientists around the globe have been sounding alarm bells over the decline of bees and pollinators crucial to the growth of crops, the diversity of wild bee and honeybee species in the Dutch capital has increased by 45 percent since 2000.

Farmers growing the smoky pepper had no idea chefs were paying top dollar for it.

Switzerland is going to the polls on Sunday, in not one but two votes which campaigners say will promote ethical and sustainable food. The votes follow scandals in the last few years over horse meat in lasagne and the destruction of rain forests to make way for palm oil and cattle ranching. And they reflect growing consumer interest - not just in Switzerland but across Europe - in where food comes from and how it is produced.

Canadian dairy farmers say they’re on the losing end of a new trade pact with the U.S. that will allow Americans to ship more milk north. The new deal, which also includes Mexico, will give the U.S. greater access to Canada’s protected dairy market and eliminate its new milk pricing system, one that’s been repeatedly attacked by President Donald Trump. Dairy was one of the core remaining hurdles to striking a renewed North American Free Trade Agreement and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had vowed to defend the nation’s restricted sector.

The secret tactics used by global chemical giant Monsanto, to protect its billion-dollar business and its star product, the weed killer, Roundup.

A US judge has denied Monsanto a new trial after finding the agrochemical company liable for its cancer-causing product. The victim's lawyer hailed the decision as "a triumph for our legal system." A judge in San Francisco on Monday upheld a jury's verdict that found Monsanto liable for a groundkeeper's cancer. However, the judge slashed damages from $289 million (€252 million) to $78 million.

In September, the U.S. Department of Agriculture gave the green light to a version of the plant Camelina sativa, an important oilseed crop that had been genetically engineered using CRISPR to produce enhanced omega-3 oil. What was interesting about this approval was that the USDA did not ask that the inventors of the plant endure the usual regulatory hoops required to sell biotech crops. The next month, a drought-tolerant soybean variety developed with CRISPR also got a quick pass from the USDA.

Giant egg company Cal-Maine Foods’ CEO says vegan alternatives are responsible for the company’s first big loss of profits in over a decade. Large egg company Cal-Maine Foods (CMF) released its earnings report for 2017, and the numbers looked dire. For the first time in over one decade, the company reported a loss of $74.3 million for the last fiscal year. The company’s profit plummeted by $24.5 million in its fourth-quarter alone—a stark contrast to the $367,000 that the company lost in the same time period last year.

Meet GummiArm, the soft-handed robot that could fill in for a lack of human crop pickers—if British farmers can afford the cost.

The world’s largest almond grower has suddenly closed an eight-year research project to develop a new commercial pollinator. By Paige Embry.

A landmark project to make agriculture more sustainable in China has significantly cut fertilizer use while boosting crop yields on millions of small farms across the country, researchers report in Nature1. As part of a decade-long study, scientists analysed vast amounts of agricultural data to develop improved practices, which they then passed on to smallholders. Through a national campaign, about 20.9 million farmers adopted the recommendations, which increased productivity and reduced environmental impacts. As a result of the intervention, farmers were together US$12.2 billion better off.

From heirloom potatoes to honeybee sperm, this collection works to preserve our invaluable agricultural diversity

It would reduce greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, deforestation, species loss and human mortality. So what’s the holdup?

Able to survive temperatures as low as -40C, Saskatchewan’s prairie cherries are tarter than traditional sweet cherries and can be eaten straight from the tree.

A farmer tends to an onion crop on the slopes of Mount Cereme, Majalengka, West Java, Indonesia.

Oscypek, a golden-hued, spindle-shaped cheese, is as delicious as it is beautiful. But authentic versions are getting increasingly hard to find.

Porsche AG is delighted to announce the latest addition to the Mission E model line. Following the successful debut of the Mission E Cross Turismo at the 2018 Geneva International Motor Show, Porsche is heading even further off road with the all-electric Mission E Tractor. This bold vision for 21st Century agriculture blends design cues from Porsche’s original mid 1950s tractors with the same advanced digital connectivity and 800v fast-charging architecture that powers the Mission E.

It had been only five months since I quit my corporate job at IBM and I had a decent first crop. By Venkat Iyer.

Restrictions will remain on transgenic plants, which contain artificially inserted genes from other species.

Scientists in Antarctica have harvested their first crop of vegetables grown without earth, daylight or pesticides as part of a project designed to help astronauts cultivate fresh food on other planets.

A pair of major agricultural pests have combined to produce a “mega-pest” that could threaten crops around the world.  Losses from the original pest species, cotton bollworms and corn earworms, already amounts to billions of dollars worth of food.  But a hybrid of the two, shows signs of rapidly developing resistance to pesticides and it scientists fear it could cross international boundaries undetected, wiping out all the crops it comes across. 

Is the world ready for cows armed with artificial intelligence? A Dutch companies new tool, 'The Intelligent Dairy Farmer's Assistant,' has found its way to North America.

A wild tomato from the Galapagos Islands has been discovered by scientists from Wageningen University & Research to be resistant to a wide range of pest insects. This variety is closely related to the cultivated tomato, making the resilience easier to interbreed into the latter and ultimately making it resistant to many different types of insects.

A new rule in the US would eliminate food inspectors and lift limits on how quickly pigs can be killed. The impact on workers, animals and consumers would be disastrous

The FDA has been testing food samples for traces of glyphosate for two years, but the agency has not yet released any official results