Climate Food and Agriculture
All Stories
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![Josh Davy prepares to feed hay to a herdo of cattle at a ranch near Red Bluff on April 25, 2022.]()
![Josh Davy prepares to feed hay to a herdo of cattle at a ranch near Red Bluff on April 25, 2022.]()
‘Everyone loses’: California’s Sacramento Valley struggles to survive unprecedented water cuts
Protected for decades by their water rights, grower are suffering for the first time during this record-breaking drought. Wildlife refuges are struggling, too.
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![A farmer in Los Banos, California]()
![A farmer in Los Banos, California]()
In an era of drought, an obscure water contract is pitting California farmers against each other
The so-called “exchange contract” has created a surreal split-screen effect: One group of farmers has ample water. Another has almost none.
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![cutout of corn with green mold growing on it on dirty looking beige background]()
![cutout of corn with green mold growing on it on dirty looking beige background]()
New study: Climate change will spread toxic mold to Midwest corn
Aflatoxin, a chemical produced by infectious mold, could be coming to the Corn Belt.
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![collage of cows, money, and a cloud of methane gas]()
![collage of cows, money, and a cloud of methane gas]()
Is California giving its methane digesters too much credit?
“California is treating factory farm gas systems at dairy farms like they are devices that suck carbon from the air.”
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When wheat never dies
Could commercially viable and tasty perennial crops like Kernza be regenerative agriculture's holy grail?
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![A male farmer wearing overalls and a red cap looking down at dry, cracked earth caused by severe drought]()
![A male farmer wearing overalls and a red cap looking down at dry, cracked earth caused by severe drought]()
‘Flash droughts’ are Midwest’s next big climate threat
New research shows that dry weather is coming on more quickly than before, with little advance warning.
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![A drone hovers in front of a tractor with fertilizer equipment during a 2021 technology show in a field in northern Saxony. A multispectral camera on the drone detects the fertilizer needs of the arable plants.]()
![A drone hovers in front of a tractor with fertilizer equipment during a 2021 technology show in a field in northern Saxony. A multispectral camera on the drone detects the fertilizer needs of the arable plants.]()
Although the data is thin, advocates say robotics and AI will soon revolutionize agriculture
Because most of the systems aren’t yet on the market, there’s precious little real-world data proving they work.
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![A boy sitting in an alley pouring water on himself during an extreme heat wave in New Dehli, India]()
![A boy sitting in an alley pouring water on himself during an extreme heat wave in New Dehli, India]()
Record heat in India and Pakistan is a wake-up call
Climate change is making heat waves more frequent and intense, experts say.
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![lots of cows packed into two aisles in a barn with hay in-between them. The cows are very crowded]()
![lots of cows packed into two aisles in a barn with hay in-between them. The cows are very crowded]()
In Wisconsin, small towns want more regulations for big farms
The state's agricultural lobby says local efforts to regulate CAFOs are illegal.
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![Surplus corn harvested in 2010 is piled outside a farmer's co-op storage silo December 4, 2010 in Paoli, Colorado]()
![Surplus corn harvested in 2010 is piled outside a farmer's co-op storage silo December 4, 2010 in Paoli, Colorado]()
Biofuels are getting a second look — and some tough questions
Bioethanol has been touted as a green way to cut reliance on Russian oil. But new modeling suggests it isn't the climate solution we'd hoped for.
