The humble black soldier fly has been a chicken feed staple for years, but it’s only recently that researchers realized their untapped potential to convert waste into natural fertilizers and pesticides.

The Tiny Fly That Could Transform Agriculture

Rubber may be the most important agricultural product in America — and it’s in danger. Now, scientists and growers are working to cultivate solutions.

A Plan to Save America’s Rubber Soul 

Previously dismissed as squishy and vague, soil scientists are embracing the term to advance protecting the precious resource.

Scientists Are Warming Up to “Soil Health” — if They Can Agree on a Definition

Jesse Hirsch

When a Los Angeles-area student sued her school district, she ended up sparking a national debate over milk in school lunches and the need for more inclusive options.

The Fight for Dairy Diversity in Public Schools

Years after an Upstate farm family started spreading biosolids on their land, local wells started registering high PFAS levels. Things got ugly. 

New York’s Sludge Wars Are Personal

Wholesale beef supplier Agridime told investors the deal they offered “sounded too good to be true” — and it was.

“Ghost Cows” and Spoiled Beef: The Ponzi Scheme That Rocked the Cattle Industry

Ramps, aka Appalachia’s wild leeks, are a highly coveted seasonal commodity. What will it take to get more people growing them? 

Where Are the Ramp Farmers?

In American agriculture, a few companies call the shots. Austin Frerick’s first book shows that we may know even less about them than we realize. 

Taking Power From the People: A Big Ag Playbook

In the interest of building closed-loop agriculture systems for future lunar bases, researchers are experimenting with earthworms and moon soil.

Worms in Space

As avian influenza moves from birds to cows to people, how worried do we need to be?

Humans With Bird Flu

The USDA has thrown $300 million at organic agriculture. Is that enough to save our soil?

Soiled Again: The Organic Transition Is Underfoot

A hopeful Southern project is helping reclaim lost heritage while building livelihoods, rebuilding old foodways, and rejuvenating land.

The Black Farmers Growing Rice

An increase in Arctic biomass has led to a threefold increase in delicious Svalbard reindeer. How long can the good times last?

The World’s Fattest Deer Are Doing Just Fine

Sukey and John Jamison never intended to farm — never mind sell 5,000 lambs per year to some of New York’s finest restaurants.

The Accidental Shepherds

Farmland isn’t something that always existed — it was created. And with it, the very notion of private property was born. 

Alchemy of Farmland

New research exposes how America’s beef industry is increasingly propped up by the consumption habits of middle-aged men.

Aging Out of Beef

One of the most destructive forces in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay also happens to be delicious. Why can’t we simply eat our way through the crisis?

Eating Away the Blue Catfish Invasion

The need remains extraordinary as difficult assessments and treatment continue.

Texas Ranchers and Veterinarians Salvage Life After Wildfires

In Florida — the nation’s hottest state — the Senate voted to kill local heat protection ordinances that could save farmworkers’ lives.

No Rest (Water, or Shade) for the Weary

A distrust of urban living and government control, combined with the advent of remote work, has led to a different kind of “back to the land” movement in the U.S.

All Stories