Robot farmers could improve jobs and help fight climate change – if they're developed responsibly

Autonomous robots hold great promise for the agricultural sector, but it's vital that the public gets a say in their creation.

Simon Pearson, Professor of Agri-Food Technology, University of Lincoln • conversation
June 23, 2021 ~7 min

Wasps: why I love them, and why you should too

We value bees for the jobs they do for the environment and us – why is the same not true of wasps?

Seirian Sumner, Professor of Behavioural Ecology, UCL • conversation
April 29, 2021 ~25 min


Farming without disturbing soil could cut agriculture's climate impact by 30% – new research

Drilling instead of tilling the soil to plant seeds could help the ground store more carbon.

Sofie Sjogersten, Associate Professor in Environmental Science, University of Nottingham • conversation
April 27, 2021 ~6 min

Climate change threatens coffee – but we’ve found a delicious wild species that could help save your morning brew

Stenophylla's black cherries have brightened prospects for a coffee supply that can withstand rising disease, pests and droughts.

Aaron P Davis, Senior Research Leader, Plant Resources, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew • conversation
April 19, 2021 ~7 min

How should the British countryside look post-Brexit? We asked the public

A new survey serves up a tall order for UK agricultural policy outside the EU.

Niki Rust, Environmental Social Scientist, Newcastle University • conversation
April 14, 2021 ~5 min

Growing food and protecting nature don't have to conflict – here's how they can work together

It's possible to feed the world's 7.8 billion people with more environmentally friendly farming practices. Here's how.

Thomas Hertel, Professor of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University • conversation
March 9, 2021 ~10 min

Tiny cacao flowers and fickle midges are part of a pollination puzzle that limits chocolate production

Entomologists wonder if the insects currently pollinating farmed cacao are the right ones for the task.

DeWayne Shoemaker, Professor and Department Head, Entomology and Plant Pathology, University of Tennessee • conversation
Feb. 10, 2021 ~6 min

Biodiversity: why foods grown in warm climates could be doing the most damage to wildlife

Food farmed in tropical and Mediterranean climates comes at a higher cost to biodiversity than that grown elsewhere.

Jessica J Williams, PhD Candidate in Conservation Science, UCL • conversation
Jan. 26, 2021 ~7 min


UK Agriculture Bill: how farming and forestry could co-exist happily

Alternative farming models, like wood pasture grazing, would allow the UK government to maintain food production while regenerating ecosystems.

Stephen Hall, Emeritus Professor of Animal Science and Visiting Lecturer, Estonian University of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln • conversation
Dec. 2, 2020 ~6 min

Farmers are depleting the Ogallala Aquifer because the government pays them to do it

An invisible crisis is brewing in US farm country as the overpumped Ogallala-High Plains Aquifer drains. The key drivers are federal farm subsidies and the tax code.

Jacob A. Miller, PhD Student in Sociology, Kansas State University • conversation
Nov. 9, 2020 ~10 min

/

12