What If the Postman Becomes Part of the Farming System?
A farmer in a remote village may be far away from an agricultural office, but there is one service that already reaches many rural communities: the postal network. Odisha is…
India-Built AI Is Now Helping Farmers Beyond India
What started as an effort to understand India's farms is now becoming a global agricultural tool. Google DeepMind has developed two AI models in India that analyse satellite imagery to…
How British Berry Growers Turned Extreme Heat Into a Bigger Harvest
This summer has been brutal for much of British agriculture. Record heatwaves, drought and water shortages have damaged cereals, grasslands and several other crops. Yet in one corner of the…
Posted inFarmer crises innovation Sustainability
Farmers Are Starting to Look at Their Fields From Space
A farmer normally checks a crop by walking through the field. But increasingly, the first warning that something is wrong can come from hundreds of kilometres above it. Satellites are…
The Sheep Working Under Solar Panels
Solar farms usually bring to mind rows of panels stretching across open land. In parts of Texas, there is another sight beneath them: thousands of sheep. The practice is known…
The World’s Deepest Farm Is Growing Food 1.1 Kilometres Underground
What if the next frontier of farming isn't another field—but a mine? Researchers in North Yorkshire, England, are growing crops 1.1 kilometres underground inside the Boulby Underground Laboratory. The project,…
Can AI Help Farmers Get Better Crops Faster?
Developing a new crop variety has traditionally been a long process. Breeders cross plants, grow them in different conditions, test their performance and repeat the process over several generations. But…
Posted inClimate change Farmer crises scarcity
When a River Runs Dry, Farmers Start Rethinking What They Grow
In Italy's Po Valley, farmers are facing an uncomfortable question: what should they plant when there may not be enough water to grow it? The Po River is at exceptionally…
Posted inClimate change Farmer crises scarcity
When the Heat Changes the Farming Clock
In Japan, some farmers are starting work before sunrise—or even in the middle of the night. It sounds unusual, but for farmers facing increasingly intense summer heat, changing the clock…
Posted inClimate change Farmer crises scarcity
When Too Much Rain Becomes a Crop Problem
For farmers, rain is usually welcome. This year, in parts of Canada, there has been too much of it. A wet spring and early summer across parts of Western Canada…