Agriculture

"The first Black chairman of the powerful Agriculture Committee says his team is already lining up several spring hearings on key issues."

"Perhaps the most promising solution for reducing bovines’ release of this powerful planet-warming gas [methane]? Feeding cows seaweed."

"Some Hopi families don’t have running water. Many others have water tainted with arsenic. Steps toward fixes are finally taking shape."

"MISHONGNOVI — At the end of a dusty road, beside two water tanks in the desert shrubs, a windmill spins in the breeze.

From a spigot, water flows through a blue hose and gushes into a bucket.

When the water reaches the brim, Kayla Johnson heaves the bucket into the back of her family’s car. Her younger brother, Terron, holds the hose and keeps the stream running into a 5-gallon jug.

"Five states this week sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over a rule that narrows the areas where farmers are required to limit human presence during the application of pesticides."

"Climate change and its enormous human migrations will transform agriculture and remake the world order — and no country stands to gain more than Russia."

"As droughts become longer, the soil additive could save on irrigation water and, if mass produced, might compete with energy sources such as oil and gas."

"Biochar, a charcoal-like substance made from burning organic materials in a low or zero-oxygen environment, can improve the quality of soil and trap carbon dioxide in the earth for potentially hundreds, or even thousands, of years.

But a recent study suggests that it may also have another benefit: it could reduce irrigation costs for farmers, thanks to its highly porous and water-absorbent properties.

"A U.S.-funded project using satellites to track and publish water levels at Chinese dams on the Mekong river was announced on Monday, adding to the superpowers’ rivalry in Southeast Asia."

"News that President-elect Joe Biden has picked former Obama administration Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to run the agency anew has drawn disappointment from some who felt he was too aligned with major agriculture corporations during his previous stint."

"Get poisoned or get on board. That’s the choice soybean farmers such as Will Glazik face. The past few summers, farmers near Glazik’s central Illinois farm have sprayed so much of the weedkiller dicamba at the same time that it has polluted the air for hours and sometimes days."