Agriculture

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to reauthorize the Farm Bill. The bill now moves to the Senate just weeks after a report from the New York State Comptroller’s Office found the state is losing farms and farmland at twice the national rate, especially for small farms.

As climate change intensifies droughts and disrupts rainfall patterns, freshwater supplies are becoming increasingly strained in many parts of the world. As a result, some farmers are turning to treated wastewater to irrigate their crops. While this approach helps conserve water resources, it also raises some concerns. Even after treatment, wastewater can contain trace amounts of various substances, including psychoactive medications used to treat mental health conditions.

The University of Vermont is launching a new online master’s degree in agroecology.

When we talk about locust swarms, we envision biblical plagues and famines in ancient societies. But locusts continue to be a serious problem around the world. Huge swarms of the insects can destroy crops across entire regions and cause massive economic losses.

Climate change is increasing pressure on farmers around the world as rising temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns, and more frequent extreme weather events make growing conditions less predictable. In Ghana, where agriculture largely depends on rainfall, cacao farmers are already feeling its impacts. As rains become less reliable, how can cocoa production adapt to a changing climate?

Healthier meatballs may soon be on the menu - and you can thank New York state apple trees for that.

As solar companies continue to target farms as prime real estate for their arrays, scientists at Cornell have turned their research to agrivoltaics — the method of combining agricultural production and solar panels on the same farmland space. WAMC's Capital Region Bureau Chief Dave Lucas discussed the effort with Matt Sturchio, a postdoctoral associate at Cornell’s Department of Natural Resources and the Environment.

The New York Farm Bureau this week released its national legislative priorities, targeting legislation it says would help New York’s farmers and rural communities.

For years, a federal program has supplied millions of dollars in guaranteed grants and loans to farmers – helping them tap into renewable energy and improve operations. Since 2014, it’s helped with thousands of projects in New York and New England combined. Now, it’s not clear when that cash might be disbursed again, leaving farmers in the lurch – including one in western Massachusetts still trying to turn the page on a disaster from last year.

For the 10th year, the Adirondack Council will provide micro-grants for projects on working lands within the Adirondack Park.