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Agriculture

USDA invests more than $46M in SARE

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced an investment of more than $46 million in the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, which has funded farmer-driven grants and grassroots education programs resulting in climate-smart solutions for farms and ranches in every state and island protectorate since 1988. “This investment in sustainable agriculture underscores USDA’s ongoing commitment to transforming our food and agricultural systems,” Chavonda Jacobs-Young, USDA Chief Scientist and Under Secretary for Research, ...

Juniata Dairy Promotion Court recipe for buttermilk brownies

Hi, my name is Kera Bentz. I am a dairy Ambassador on the Juniata Dairy Promotion Court. I am 16 years old and a Senior in high school. My favorite dairy promotion is working in the ice cream trailer at Juniata County Fair. Did you know a cow produces an average of 6.3 gallons of milk daily ...

USDA conducts shorter Maple Syrup Inquiry

HARRISBURG — USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) sent the 2023 Maple Syrup Inquiry to approximately 1,600 Northeastern producers on April 28. Maple syrup producers, processors and commodity markets rely on the data from this survey to make informed business decisions and help promote the industry. Survey recipients are encouraged to respond securely online at agcounts.usda.gov, by mail or fax by May 8. Producers who do not respond by the deadline may be contacted to arrange an interview to complete the survey. There are changes to this 2023 survey. Last year, ...

How food demand is affecting farming

The population is growing and so is its demand for food to fuel those extra bodies. Harvard Business Review reports the global population has quadrupled over the last century. It’s predicted that, by 2050, the population will exceed nine billion people. The world is not able to feed all of its inhabitants, according to Penn State. There are more than one billion people who are estimated to lack sufficient food, and two billion who do not receive adequate nutrition. Researchers from the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota concluded that, to feed the world by ...

Agbotic breaks ground on next SmartFarm

Newswire HARTFORD, Conn. — Agbotic, the leader in regenerative SmartFarm technology, announced its ground breaking in Ashford, Connecticut where it will build the newest version of its highly automated, machine leaning, organic farm technology. Regenerative farming cleans the air, water, and soil and can reverse climate change by rebuilding soil organic matter and restoring soil biodiversity - resulting in carbon drawdown. It also makes higher quality and lower cost food. There are significant advantages to embedding organic, soil greenhouses on distributed SmartFarms. Those ...

Clean energy gains foothold in India

BENGALURU, India (AP) — For six years, Pravinbhai Parmar’s farm in Gujarat state in western India has been lined with rice, wheat and solar panels. The 36-year-old is among a handful of farmers in his native Dhundi village who have been using solar power to irrigate crops. “I was spending nearly 50,000 rupees ($615) every year to water my crops,” said Parmar. “With solar I spend nothing.” Parmar also sells the excess electricity to his state’s grid, earning an average of 4,000 rupees ($50) a month. “It’s a win-win in every way,” he said. Thousands of farmers ...