Feature Channels: Agriculture

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The recent discontinuation of pandemic-related food assistance benefits, known as the Supplemental Food Assistance Program (SNAP) Emergency Allotments, led to a substantial increase in food insufficiency in the United States, according to a new study led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

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A new study by Texas A&M AgriLife revealed a range of health and dietary benefits of consuming cardamom, including increased appetite, fat loss and inflammation reduction, making the spice a “superfood.”

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Artificial intelligence could hold the key to feeding 10 billion people by 2050 in the face of climate change and rapidly evolving pests and pathogens according to researchers at The University of Queensland.

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In a recent study, Illinois Sustainable Technology Center environmental chemist Wei Zheng and colleagues investigated the adsorption of sitagliptin in soils treated with sewage wastewater.

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The latest headlines from the Food and Water Safety channel on Newswise.

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Virginia’s most infamous hitchhiker is on the move again: the spotted lanternfly. These insects colonize quickly, disrupt native ecosystems, and potentially cause problems to human health and agriculture. The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the Department of Entomology at Virginia Tech and the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services have partnered to empower the citizens of the commonwealth to take action themselves on these most unwelcome visitors.

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Intensive production can cause immunological stress in commercial broilers, leading to growth retardation and intestinal damage. In this study, multi-omics analyses reveal that chlorogenic acid (CGA) improves the growth performance, intestinal barrier function and immune function of dexamethasone-treated immunologically-stressed broilers by regulating gut microbiota, gut microbiota metabolites and jejunal proteins.

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It’s a mold that causes billions in crop losses every year, infecting berries, tomatoes and most other fruits and vegetables. Now, researchers have found a way to defeat the mold without showering toxic chemicals on the crops.

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The results of the study demonstrated that sorghum is a more suitable feed grain than wheat in low-protein broiler diets and increasing dietary arginine to lysine ratios improved growth performance in low-protein diets based on sorghum.

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Renowned crop breeder Bir Bahadur (B.B.) Singh was honored with the inaugural Dr. Tai R. Shin and Mrs. You H. Shin Humanitarian Award by the University of Illinois System in recognition of his exemplary impact on humanity by addressing global food security.

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A type of soil called terra preta da Amazônia, or Amazon dark earth (ADE), promotes faster growth of trees and enhances their development in qualitative terms, according to an article published in the journal Frontiers in Soil Science.

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A study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and CIATEJ in Guadalajara, Mexico, explored the composition of seed coat extracts from black and pinto bean varieties unique to the Chiapas region of Southern Mexico.

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Summertime is synonymous with fresh berries, and there may be no better place to be on a sunny day – besides the beach – than a berry-picking patch. Berry production is a $6 billion industry in the United States, and Virginia has been become a key contributor with a suitable climate and soil types for growing blueberries and blackberries, in particular.

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Developing disease-resistant, high-quality improved crop varieties to benefit agricultural producers and consumers may seem like a “hairy” task, but Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists may have gotten to the root of the issue.

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The dependence of residual feed intake on growth and tenderness of Brahman cattle, a common breed chosen for crossbreeding cattle along the southern U.S., including Texas, was the focus of a cattle feeding study published in Applied Animal Science journal.

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In a multi-generation experiment, researchers from the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) found microbes helped plants cope with drought, but not in response to plants’ cries for help. Instead, the environment itself selected for drought-tolerant microbes. And while those hardy microbes were doing their thing, they just happened to make plants more drought-tolerant, too.

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Reducing waste is one way to help combat hunger around the world, but stricter control over food loss and waste does not lead to better environmental outcomes, according to researchers at the University of California, Irvine and the University of Colorado Boulder. In a paper published recently in Nature Food, the scientists stress that curbing food spoilage increases the amount of produce in markets, which leads to lower costs.

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Bat activity falls as farms make the transition to organic agriculture, new research shows.

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Plant species become exotic after being accidentally or deliberately transported by humans to a new region outside their native range, where they establish self-perpetuating populations that quickly reproduce and spread.

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Plant geneticists have identified a mutation in a gene that causes the “weeping” architecture – branches growing downwards – in apple trees, a finding that could improve orchard fruit production.

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Ranches across the Show-Me State manage approximately two million cattle — a significant number of which are Angus, a top-tier breed that has unrivaled success in the commercial beef market.

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CABI joined an international team of researchers from 57 institutions around the world to share its expertise in a ground-breaking study which highlights the urgent need to protect the world’s forests from non-native pests amid climate change.

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Over half of forests in the United States are privately owned, especially in the Eastern part of the country. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign looks at how family forest landowners in Maine and New Hampshire approach invasive species management and what factors influence their decisions.

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Two computer modeling and big data researchers at the Texas A&M AgriLife Blackland Research and Extension Center at Temple were part of a team award from a U.S. Department of Agriculture undersecretary recognizing contributions to farm production and conservation.

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Without intervention, the colorful but devastating Japanese beetle could make its way across the evergreen state within two decades, according to a study of their potential dispersion.

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With less than 5% of native vegetation remaining on private properties and roadsides on the Yorke Peninsula of South Australia, University of South Australia researchers are calling for dramatic changes to land management measures in order to retain native ecosystems and prevent further biodiversity loss.

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Grocery shoppers may have recently noticed that strawberries seem to be closer to the size of small apples. According to one Virginia Tech expert there are reasons for this change and it doesn’t include injecting them with chemicals to get the larger than life fruit. Jayesh Samtani, a small fruit expert at Virginia Tech, researches how to optimize berry production and determine the kinds that grow best in certain regions.

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Although wheat was among the first domesticated food crops, it remains a global dietary staple several millennia later.

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Since the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) approved the use of ultrasound to promote the extraction of grape compounds back in 2019, its application for obtaining superior red wines has been studied extensively.

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Researchers from the University of Notre Dame, in a study recently published in Nature, found that removing invasive vegetation at water access points in and around several Senegalese villages reduced rates of schistosomiasis by almost a third. As a bonus, the removed vegetation can also be used for compost and livestock feed.

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Food waste is a major problem around the world. In the United States, an estimated 30 to 40% of edible food is lost or wasted, costing billions of dollars each year.

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Dana Porter, PE, knew from an early age, living and working on her family’s farm in the Texas Panhandle, how agriculture production impacted the world around her.

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The Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN²), a technology incubator and platform funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation and co-administered by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), announced today it selected seven startups to participate in the program’s 12th cohort.

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The 69th annual Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course in Bryan-College Station will offer some cutting-edge information and ranch technology, along with basic beef cattle production information.

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Plant roots have their own thermometer to measure the temperature of the soil around them and they adjust their growth accordingly.

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For those whose primary experience with corn is the butter-drenched cob variety, it might come as a surprise that other forms of sweet corn are in trouble. A new University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign analysis shows sweet corn production for frozen and canned products has been steadily shrinking in the U.S. over the past 27 years, particularly in rainfed portions of the Midwest.

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The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Michigan State University will host United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack at the Universal Food Forum on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C.

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Reduced fertility prolongs the interval from calving to conception in dairy cows, resulting in significant economic losses to dairy farms.

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The ability of crops to withstand heat is critical to our food system’s resilience to climate change.

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The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, through its organics program, will lead the Texas Transition to Organic Partnership Program, or Texas TOPP, designed to recruit, train, mentor and advise farmers who want to transition to organic production.

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How will future climate change affect nitrogen loss, and will cover crops still be effective in removing nitrogen from drainage water? A new study investigating near- and far-term climate change in Illinois suggests cover crops will still be beneficial, but not to the same degree. The report also forecasts major declines in corn production across the state in the future.

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The School of Agricultural Resources, Chulalongkorn University, organized the opening ceremony of the “Innovation Center for Research and Development of Sustainable Thai Cocoa: ISTC” on Thursday, May 18, 2023, at Room 702, Chaloem Rajakumari 60th Anniversary Building (Chamchuri 10 Building), Chulalongkorn University. Prof. Dr. Chakkaphan Sutthirat, Vice President for Chula Research Affairs, presided over the event and delivered the opening speech. During the event, a speech titled “Passion & Vision in ISTC” was given, after which Asst. Prof. Dr. Tansiphorn Na Nan, Head of the “Innovation for Cocoa Value Chain Management in the Cocoa Business Ecosystem, Nan Province” project discussed the missions of ISTC.