Student (NOT Journalism School)
Collections are versatile, powerful and simple to create. From a customized course reader to an action-guide for an upcoming service-learning trip, collections illuminate themes, guide inquiry, and provide context for how people around the worls are responding to social challenges.
After many years of attempts, scientists have discovered how to create a heat tolerant wheat that has the potential of impacting the growing concerns around food insecurity. Tested in sub-Saharan temperatures in Senegal, the International Centre for Research in the Dry Areas (Icarda) have seen success with their strain of wheat that turns this formerly cold-weather only crop into a fast-growing crop that can withstand 40C temperatures and be grown in the between seasons of planting rice crops.
Read MoreAmerican cows are not typically made to withstand the warmer summers occurring across the United States. To combat the negative side effect of a decrease in milk production, farmers are trying solutions such as using fans and misting water and even going so far as to create a new breed of cow.
Read MoreThe Seasonal Workers Program in Australia was implemented when there was a need to be met for more farming laborers. Although not without issue, the program is drawing many Pacific Islanders as a means for them to boost their incomes, while Australia ensures the labor they need to thrive.
Read MoreAs land for solar energy production has increased around the world, cities have discovered that the same land can provide robust “pollinator-friendly” crops. These lands function as “dual-farms” because the agriculture grows under “solar canopies,” thus serving more than one purpose. They cut down on electricity costs, and increase crop production as well as the amount of pollinating insects in the surrounding areas.
Read MoreGovernments, UN officials, and climate experts alike are ringing the alarm bells of growing soil degradation around the world. But a new agricultural movement is tackling this challenge head on. Instead of the centuries-old method of ploughing, or turning up the soil, farmers have recently taken to keeping their fields covered with varied plants year round, to keep soil healthier. Advocates also point to lower costs on machinery and labor, more resilient crops, and climate change dividends as added benefits as well.
Read MoreThanks to a partnership between the United Nations Development Program and the government of Punjab, the state is seeing a reduction in poverty and a regeneration of agriculture. Since implementation, farmers incomes have doubled or tripled after treating the land with gypsum, a biosaline that neutralizes saline soil.
Read MoreIn northern Spain, the Fire Flocks project uses goats to clear vegetation between grassland, bushes and treetops because this can help stop the spread of future wildfires. This depends on shepherds moving herds to key areas that are vulnerable to fire. It’s a difficult life, so the project supports shepherds by encouraging butchers to sell goat products with the Fire Flocks brand to get support for the organization’s efforts.
Read MoreWestern Kansas' finite Ogallala aquifer is the bedrock of an agricultural region that accounts for 10 percent of Kansas' economy. But thanks to decades of over-drafting for irrigation, the aquifer is on track to run dry in the not-so-distant future. Now some are calling for regional conservation, and some smaller programs have shown promise; however, the challenges of scalability and political wrangling remain vast.
Read MoreWhen people are released from prison, they often have a hard time finding work due to time lapsed and prison records. RecoveryPark Farms in Detroit, Michigan aims to change this by providing job training in urban farming which benefits both the individuals and the community.
Read MoreAs climate change continues to impact agriculture production and land viability, a new concept known as “sustainable intensification” has entered the conversation as a way to cultivate a relationship between traditional and organic farming. Taking the best from both practices, this new practice emphasizes environmentally friendly farming with higher yields of food production.
Read MoreCows will produce the same amount of milk no matter the demand for the product, and with supply staying steady and demand decreasing, a surplus of milk is thrown out routinely. Through a collaborative effort by farmers and a local non-profit in Pennsylvania, however, a solution has emerged that not only turns the extra milk into cheese and yogurt, but supplies the products to those in need.
Read MoreMotivated by crop devastation from a severe drought, farmers in parts of Kenya took action to prevent a similar event from impacting them in the future. Working together, these small-scale farmers implemented conservation agriculture practices to ensure crop viability during even the harshest climate conditions.
Read MoreAs populations urbanize and the disparity between city and country grows, farmers in Japan are facing increasing economic challenges and a shortage of new farmers to work the land. But a new scheme may help farms to be more profitable by creatively doubling the productivity of their land. New projects allow farmers to grow produce or graze livestock beneath large swaths of solar panels, generating income from both energy sold to the grid as well as more traditional agricultural means.
Read MorePhosphate is used for fertilizer on many farms. However, once the phosphorus washes away, it is next to impossible to recover, thus creating a phosphorus depletion. Using a very on the ground, grassroots approach, a small group of local citizens started asking other citizens to donate their urine to be recycled for the phosphate. After just a year, the group had 600 gallons of urine and after filtering it, it's being used on a local Vermont farm to fertilize hay on a dairy.
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