A Conversation on the Rural Midwest and the Sustainable Development Goals
People across the U.S. are using the Sustainable Development Goals as a road map to build back better by turning these global ambitions into local action. In the Midwest, that…
Jacksonia
Wes Jackson recalls the Topeka farm where he was born, in 1936, as “an agricultural paradise, with an abundance of plants for food, for flower gardens, for beauty.” In that…
RUDN: Deep-Rooted Plants Help Slow Down Climate Change, Says A Soil Scientist From RUDN University
A soil scientist from RUDN University found out that plants with deep root systems promote the storage of organic carbon in the soil. This, in turn, can help reduce the…
New kind of wheat shows promise for cleaning nitrates from soil, water
The soil and water near some of the most polluted wells in Minnesota is almost entirely clean three years after a new type of wheat was planted on the surface….
These Kansans See A Way To Fight Climate Change By Breeding Ecofriendly Crops
SALINA, Kansas — Ebony Murrell and a few interns meticulously sort 99 kinds of silphium. It’s a wild relative to a sunflower. And the biologists at The Land Institute — an outfit…
Can Bioengineered Plants Solve Our Carbon Problem?
Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology is being hailed as an indispensable part of the energy transition. Net-zero emissions “will be virtually impossible without CCUS,” says the International Energy Agency (IEA), while…
The Roots of Regenerative Agriculture
Shiloh Maples, an educator and community organizer of Ojibwe and Oglala descent, works with Anishinaabe peoples in Detroit to strengthen urban food sovereignty. Maples’ growers asked for access to culturally…
Agriculture Must Change, With Different Skills and a New Attitude Required
An opportunity came along last summer to do some good for the Earth and at the same time engage in a form of distraction late in my working life. Owners…
Researchers Examine Role of Perennial Crops, Other Practices on Climate Resilience
A rash of natural disasters, including wildfires, hurricanes and a historically early ice storm, backlit by a contentious election season, are keeping climate change in the headlines, even as agricultural…
Can the Climate-Friendly Grain Kernza Finally Hit the Big Time?
At Bang Brewing in St. Paul, Minnesota, co-owner Sandy Boss Febbo keeps an 18-foot-long poster on the wall with photos of two grasses and their excavated roots. The first is a wheat…
Prairie Research Could Help Farming Become More Resilient, Sustainable
On a still November day, Patrick O’Neal, the burn coordinator at Kansas State University’s Konza Prairie Biological Station near Manhattan, Kansas, convenes a meeting about a planned fire. “The goal…
Industry Helps Regenerative Ag Gain Momentum
KANSAS CITY — Whole Foods Market identified regenerative agriculture as one of nine leading food and beverage trends in 2020. The supermarket, a division of Amazon.com, Inc., predicted consumers would…