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  • Schools nurture students' agriculture interests

    The Agriculture Education program at Penn Manor High school aims to teach about career paths as a farmer or within the larger agricultural industry. This type of high school education is part of a larger national trend to use agricultural education to teach STEM skills and better equip students to enter a technology- and innovation-based agriculture sector.

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  • "Carbon farming" good for the climate, farmers, and biodiversity

    Deforestation, overgrazing, and increased carbon emissions are familiar challenges as climate change continues to threaten our food systems. Author Eric Toensmeier discusses how "carbon farming" - or practices such as agroforestry, improved annual crop rotation, and better grazing practices are not only good for farmers - increasing yields and reducing land degradation - but good for capturing carbon and environmental health overall. Toensmeier also discusses how to get more farmers to practice these methods: improved financial models, government support, and a certification system.

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  • A Toll-free Number Helps Villagers Live With Animals

    By calling a toll-free number, villagers in India can receive help for filing claims after human-animal conflicts like an elephant stomping on their crops or a tiger killing cattle. The service, known as Wild Seve, operates in 284 villages where a field agent arrives to take photos of the damage and file documentation to the government so residents can receive compensation. Field agents have helped file claims for more than 3,000 incidents. The hope is that residents can receive compensation for their losses quickly and, hopefully, are less likely to harm the animals.

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  • How a new source of water is helping reduce conflict in the Middle East

    Israel experienced extreme drought a few years ago and its water supply was very low. National campaigns to install desalination plants have helped Israel turnaround its inadequate water supply into a surplus. The water scientists who have helped make this surplus see an opportunity for water diplomacy and the de-politicization of water in the Middle East so that more of it can be shared with other geographies.

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  • How Vermont changed the national GMO-labeling debate

    Vermont's passage of a law requiring food that is genetically modified to be labeled spurred action at the national level to create one standard, rather than a patchwork of state laws, that offers food companies several ways to label foods with GMOs. The national bill did eventually pass, but as this piece illustrates, no one seems very happy about it. Environmentalists feel it leaves large loopholes and while the food industry likes one standard, it does not like the stigma the GMO label confers.

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  • A 700-year-old West African farming practice could be an answer to climate change

    Recycled kitchen waste and charcoal ash makes for healthy soil healthy that is more resilient to climate change. For centuries, women in Ghana and Liberia have used this technique on their farmlands, which are renowned for their fertility. The technique has now attracted the attention of anthropologists and researchers.

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  • Can Fruit Save Our Food Waste Problem?

    Los Angeles-based nonprofit Food Forward was born out of the observation that many farmers are growing more fruit than they can sell at market. To cut down on food waste and get these viable fruits into the hands of people that are food insecure, Food Forward operates as the "transfer point between donors and receiving agencies," while also coordinating volunteers to forage the local farms and farmers markets.

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  • Why the Gates Foundation is flooding a new rice variety with funding

    With climate changes causing extreme fluctuations in the weather, agricultural conditions and small farming operations are suffering around the world. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has funded research and initiatives that reduce poverty in the world and increase agricultural development. The Foundation supports the tools, crops, and partnerships for more robust and resilient crop yields through its Stress Tolerant Rise for Africa and South Asia initiative.

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  • Farming in the Desert

    Ajo, Arizona is home to a growing collective, collaboration of local agriculture and food-based initiatives. The small town coordinates actors from schools, restaurants, the farmers’ market, local gardens, and community supported agriculture initiatives in a network under the Ajo Regional Food Partnership. The network also works with the Desert Senita Community Health Center, making sure the benefits of the collaboration equitably reach all citizens.

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  • Researchers work to make milk greener

    Researchers at the University of Minnesota's West Central Research and Outreach Center are looking for ways to make producing dairy milk less energy intensive - something consumers are increasingly demanding. They have had some initial success in increasing efficiency using techniques such as capturing heat from the milk to heat water and experimenting with solar and wind to offset some electricity use.

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