crops

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Peach State Was a Bit Too Warm for Peaches This Year

Georgia set to lose 95% of crop due to atypically warm temps, followed by damaging frosts

(Newser) - The Peach State isn't doing so peachy right now, at least not when it comes to its signature fruit. "You will not be able to find a Georgia peach in grocery stores this year," Lanier Pearson, the wife of a fifth-generation peach farmer in the state, told...

As US Dries Up in Drought, Farmers' Hands Are Forced

America's farmers are having to kill off their own crops, sell cattle earlier than usual

(Newser) - In 2021, nearly a quarter of America's farmers said they had to kill their own crops because drought conditions had made the environment so dry that the crops were never going to mature. Things haven't gotten any better since: This year, 37% of the nation's farmers say...

In N. Korea, a 'Battle for Manure' Is Underway

Kim Jong Un wants citizens to meet poop quotas to help fertilize crops

(Newser) - The pandemic has wreaked havoc on North Korea's food supply, the result of a domino effect of sorts: With the nation's borders closed, it can't import the manure it needs for its crops from China. The hunt for that stinky commodity has now reached "crisis level,...

Drought Is Hitting Corn, Wheat Production Hard

Inventories expected to fall to lowest level since 2013

(Newser) - This is a tough year for American farmers—severe drought has gripped much of the country and crops planted this spring are failing. The Department of Agriculture has now scaled back its forecasts for 2021 production and inventories of corn, wheat, and soybeans are expected to fall to their lowest...

US Officials Warn About 'Mystery Packets' From China

Is it a simple business scam, or something worse?

(Newser) - All 50 states are warning Americans about mysterious seed packages sent unsolicited to their doorsteps—mostly from China, USA Today reports. The US Dept. of Agriculture suspects a simple business scam, but some officials say it could be a poison pill to damage crops: "I've had people describe...

Teen Wins $250K for Malnutrition- Busting Tool

Inspired by her 3 siblings and an Ethiopian drought, Lillian Peterson aces Regeneron science contest

(Newser) - A high school senior in New Mexico has a bright future in STEM—and it just got much brighter with the announcement she beat out 40 other finalists to win a prestigious science and math competition. NPR reports that 17-year-old Lillian Kay Petersen of Los Alamos has taken home the...

Cherokee Nation: 'This Is History in the Making'

US tribe is first to deposit heirloom seeds in global vault

(Newser) - "There will always be a part of the Cherokee Nation in the world," declares the Native American tribe, which will be the first to store its heirloom seeds in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, better known as the "doomsday vault." In a statement , Senior Director of...

'Most Destructive Species in 150 Years' Is Here for Xmas

But don't worry, unless you're growing crops

(Newser) - Reading media reports about "invasive insects" that could sneak into your home on a friendly Christmas tree? Technically it's true—spotted lanternflies have been seen in four US states and could lay eggs in a tree—but tree-growers say it's rare and the inch-long insects, while possibly...

Burned by California Wildfires: Local Marijuana Industry

At least 31 pot farms have been destroyed, with many more damaged—and no crop insurance

(Newser) - The same fires that have destroyed Northern California's wineries have also taken a toll on the region's marijuana farms, which were about to begin an important harvest less than three months before the nation's largest recreational pot market opens for business in January. At least 31 marijuana...

Tiny Invader Threatens Food Staple in Africa

Fall armyworm is wiping out maize crops

(Newser) - Still reeling from a severe drought, Zimbabwe is now on the brink of going hungry as an invasive pest wreaks havoc on the staple crop maize. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization reports that seven of the country's eight provinces have been hit by the fall armyworm, and as...

Craft Breweries Are Finding Specialty Hops All Tapped Out

In spite of rapid growth in supply, demand is causing headaches

(Newser) - Henry VIII once called hops a "wicked and pernicious weed," but they're crucial to the production of most beers, especially when it comes to "hoppy" India Pale Ales, or IPAs. In fact, more than 4,000 brewers are battling for less than a dozen popular hop...

Brewers Are Scrambling to Get Pumpkin for Fall Beers

Blame it on the weather

(Newser) - No, the predicted Great Pumpkin Shortage of 2015 didn't actually live up to its name, as Fortune reported last November. But that's in part because the companies that can pumpkins didn't hold onto reserves for the following year's crop—that would, of course, be this year'...

Bees, Butterflies May Go Way of the Dinosaur

United Nations report says world crops are at risk

(Newser) - Don't care much about birds and bees going extinct? OK, but you may have to forgo popular foods (like blueberries, apples, and coffee) that depend on creatures that pollinate plants, the Christian Science Monitor reports. According to a UN scientific report approved by 124 nations, the coming extinction of...

One of Our Favorite Fruits Looks Doomed

A lethal fungus jumped continents in 2013 and is on a global rampage

(Newser) - If you like bananas, it's time to start savoring them while you still can. A deadly fungus that's been killing the plant since the 1960s has jumped continents, moving from where it ravaged crops for decades in Southeast Asia to parts of South Asia, Australia, the Middle East,...

Confusion in Wake of Indian Farmer's Suicide at Rally

Supposed suicide note mentions poverty, but some say Gajendra Singh was egged on

(Newser) - A land-reform rally in India's capital went horribly awry yesterday when a farmer took his own life in front of attendees, the Independent reports. Gajendra Singh, said by the Hindustan Times to be a 43-year-old father of three, shocked onlookers at the Aam Aadmi Party gathering by climbing a...

Researchers Solve Piece of Easter Island Mystery

The ongoing debate: Did Rapa Nui do themselves in, or are Europeans to blame?

(Newser) - The ongoing debate over what prompted the decline of Easter Island's native Polynesian inhabitants, known as Rapa Nui, is being clarified by scientists digging for answers in the soil. Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , an international team of researchers explain that they examined agricultural...

We'll Have 'Big Plants but Nothing to Eat' by 2070
We'll Have 'Big Plants
but Nothing to Eat' by 2070
STUDY SAYS
May 8, 2014 8:51 AM CDT

We'll Have 'Big Plants but Nothing to Eat' by 2070

Grain crops to have less nutrients in 40 to 60 years: study

(Newser) - As more carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere compliments of global warming, crops will indeed grow faster, but Harvard scientists have stumbled upon a big downside, too. They placed "rings of carbon dioxide jets" amid rice, wheat, peas, and other crops around the world to study what happens when the...

Get Ready for the Biggest Corn Crop Since 1936

2012 drought sent prices soaring

(Newser) - Last year's drought sent corn prices soaring, and this year, US farmers are looking to take advantage of it. They're set to plant the biggest corn crop the country has seen since 1936, USA Today reports, sowing some 97.3 million acres of the commodity. Right now, corn...

Climate Change to Make Bananas Vital Food Crop
 Climate Change's 
 New Vital Crop: Bananas 
in case you missed it
Nov 3, 2012 7:00 PM CDT

Climate Change's New Vital Crop: Bananas

Warming to force farmers to switch away from spuds

(Newser) - As the planet gets warmer, farmers are going to have to give up on certain crops and people are going to have to get used to radically changed diets, according to a new report. Agricultural experts predict that harvests of maize, rice, and wheat are set to fall in many...

In Record Drought, Nation's Farmers Twist in Wind

Depression, lost land, ditched vacations

(Newser) - The worst drought in decades has reached farming families' personal lives, making for a year very different than they might have expected. "You probably can’t print our mood," says a South Dakota rancher. "The wife says she can’t drink enough to dull the pain of...

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