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+49 +7
Intentional creation of carbon-rich dark earth soils in the Amazon
Fertile soil known as Amazonian dark earth is central to the debate over the size and ecological impact of ancient human populations in the Amazon. Dark earth is typically associated with human occupation, but it is uncertain whether it was created intentionally.
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+36 +10
Navigating the Buzzwords Behind an ‘Ethical’ Bag of Coffee
A complex production chain can turn choosing which coffee to buy into a complicated decision for consumers.
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+43 +8
Plan to save world's only wild macadamia trees from extinction
Given the lack of genetic diversity in the farmed crop, the race is on to preserve wild macadamia trees to improve traits like disease resistance, size and climate adaptability.
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+50 +9
Brown, red, black, riceberry: Which is the healthiest type of rice?
There are more than 40,000 varieties of cultivated rice. If you've ever wondered about the differences between all the colourful rices at the supermarket, here's a rundown.
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+47 +9
Farmers or foragers? Pre-colonial Aboriginal food production was hardly that simple
For a decade, debate has raged over Dark Emu’s account of Aboriginal agriculture. But ancient food production in Australia is more complex than labels like farming or hunter-gathering suggest.
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Analysis+29 +7
‘We’re Cut Off’: Rural Farmers Are Desperate For Broadband Internet
Millions of Americans live without reliable internet services. For farmers and food providers, this leaves them lagging behind competition and stuck with outdated equipment. Now, they’re looking to the Farm Bill for answers.
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+25 +2
Can You Feel It?? Things are Changing... [Better Get Ready]
1 comments by Gozzin -
+7 +1
Can Powdered Water Cure Droughts?
Solid Rain is a Mexican product, just introduced to the U.S., which bills itself as a miracle powder that could solve the world's drought problems. And it may be right.
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+9 +1
The Challenge of the Aging Farmer
Agriculture economists have long warned that farmers are getting old and staying on their land longer, delaying the turnover to a younger generation. But an Ohio State University professor argues that those fears are overstated and the United States likely will have little problem replacing aging farmers as long as business is good, as it has been for the past decade.
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+12 +1
UK and China agree £45m pig semen export deal
Britain has won the right to export pig semen to China in a deal worth £45m a year. Owen Paterson, the environment secretary, who is accompanying David Cameron on his trip to China, has also embarked on negotiations to export pigs' trotters – a local delicacy – to China.
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+14 +1
Monsanto’s scary new scheme: Why does it really want all this data?
As biotech giant pays huge sums for data analysis about farms, many are terrified about how it might be harnessed
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+16 +1
Farmers Abandoning GMO Seeds And The Reason Will Surprise You
A growing number of farmers are abandoning genetically modified seeds, but it’s not because they are ideologically opposed to the industry. Simply put, they say non-GMO crops are more productive and profitable.
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+15 +1
Calif. wine-grape growers celebrate bumper crop
California agriculture officials reported good news for wine lovers and vineyard operators alike: a record harvest of wine grapes. Growers in the nation's premier wine region brought in a bumper crop last year, thanks to expanded acreage and overall favorable weather.
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+15 +1
Why Farmers Can Prevent Global Warming Just As Well As Vegetarians
We Americans are heavy consumers of meat, and we're increasingly reminded that eating less of it will shrink our carbon footprint. Growing the crops to feed all those animals releases lots of greenhouse gases. But a new study argues that eating less meat isn't a very practical climate-protection recipe for developing countries, where demand for meat is rising most quickly.
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+19 +1
New threat to Brazil's breadbasket: a pesky caterpillar
Brazilian farmers are battling a voracious caterpillar that likely arrived from Asia, challenging the agricultural superpower's widely touted mastery of tropical farming
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+17 +3
How to Grow Sweet Potatoes and Mangoes in an Urban Jungle
Hong Kongers are finding inventive ways to grow sweet potatoes, mangoes, and other edible goodies in an urban jungle.
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+16 +2
The Fat Drug
IF you walk into a farm-supply store today, you’re likely to find a bag of antibiotic powder that claims to boost the growth of poultry and livestock. That’s because decades of agricultural research has shown that antibiotics seem to flip a switch in young animals’ bodies, helping them pack on pounds. Manufacturers brag about the miraculous effects of feeding antibiotics to chicks and nursing calves.
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+16 +2
Farm Confessional: I Was a Pig Semen Catcher
In our Farm Confessional column, we hear from the workers and other folks involved in animal or agricultural production. Do you have a story to tell? Anonymity is okay and guaranteed. For Pig Week, we heard from Sabrina Estabrook-Russett, a veterinary student at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Originally from Vermont, Estabrook-Russett has gotten lots of ah, hands-on experience in Scotland, with sheep, chickens, cows and, of course, pigs. Here is her story.
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+14 +2
Would You Eat a Salad Grown in a Bomb Shelter?
During World War II, German bomb raids sent London residents racing down narrow staircases into underground bomb shelters to avoid the destruction. After the war, the underground shelters sat unused, dark and damp, empty or holding rows and rows of legal and financial documents.
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+16 +1
Monsanto Owns Us: The Monopoly of Seeds and Intellectual Property Rights
For plants designed in a lab a little more than a decade ago, they’ve come a long way: Today, the vast majority of the nation’s two primary crops grow from seeds genetically altered according to Monsanto company patents.
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