Hacker News with Generative AI: Agriculture

Vintner making wine in Catalonia since 1870 may have to move to higher altitudes (theguardian.com)
A leading European winemaker has warned it may have to abandon its ancestral lands in Catalonia in 30 years’ time because climate change could make traditional growing areas too dry and hot.
Climate Change, Wine, Spain, Agriculture, Geography
6 points by rntn 14 days ago | 1 comments
Cows get GPS collars to stop them falling in river (bbc.co.uk)
Cows have been fitted with GPS collars to try to stop them falling into a river.
Technology, Animals, Environment, Agriculture
75 points by zeristor 14 days ago | 77 comments
US banana giant Chiquita fires thousands over Panama strike (aljazeera.com)
Banana producer Chiquita has announced mass layoffs in Panama amid an ongoing strike.
Labor Disputes, Business, Panama, Agriculture
10 points by mooreds 14 days ago | 0 comments
Rice inherits tolerance to cold without DNA changes (nature.com)
Rice plants can inherit tolerance to cold without changes to their genomes, according to a decade-long study1 carried out by researchers in China.
Genetics, Agriculture, Science, Rice
9 points by GolfPopper 14 days ago | 1 comments
How AppHarvest’s indoor farming scheme imploded (2023) (lpm.org)
The workers had spent the morning of November 8, 2021, clipping, trussing, and trellising hundreds of thousands of tomato plants that twisted almost four stories into the air. They were inside one of the world’s largest high-tech greenhouses, which sat on more than 60 acres of a former cattle field in Morehead, Kentucky.
Agriculture, Business, Technology, Sustainability, Kentucky
35 points by andrewrn 16 days ago | 19 comments
The Trump Administration Is Tempting a Honeybee Disaster (theatlantic.com)
Bees are dying. Federal funding cuts aren’t helping.
Environment, Politics, Agriculture
6 points by MaysonL 17 days ago | 0 comments
Ricepedia (ricefact.com)
For every one billion people added to the world’s population, 100 million more tons of rice need to be produced each year. But the challenges facing rice production are great.
Food, Agriculture, Population Growth
4 points by Tomte 21 days ago | 0 comments
Giant Robotic Bugs Are Headed to Farms (ieee.org)
Ground Control Robotics’ giant centipede robot is designed for data collecting and weeding on challenging farm terrain.
Robotics, Agriculture, Technology
5 points by Brajeshwar 21 days ago | 0 comments
How the humble chestnut traced the rise and fall of the Roman Empire (bbc.com)
The chestnut trees of Europe tell a hidden story charting the fortunes of ancient Rome and the legacy it left in the continent's forests.
History, Roman Empire, Environment, Agriculture, Forests
58 points by bookofjoe 23 days ago | 5 comments
X's Grok AI is suddenly hyper-fixated on South African farmers (bsky.app)
Artificial Intelligence, Social Media, South Africa, Agriculture
43 points by jsheard 24 days ago | 21 comments
Eucalyptus for Brazil's steelmaking dries out communities in Minas Gerais (mongabay.com)
Eucalyptus plantations in Brazil’s Alto Jequitinhonha Valley, grown to make charcoal for the steel industry, have drastically reduced local water resources, harming rural communities, locals and experts warn.
Environment, Brazil, Deforestation, Water Resources, Agriculture
6 points by PaulHoule 25 days ago | 0 comments
Farmers Sued over Deleted Climate Data. So the Government Will Put It Back (nytimes.com)
The Agriculture Department will restore information about climate change that was scrubbed from its website when President Trump took office, according to court documents filed on Monday in a lawsuit over the deletion.
Climate Change, Government, Lawsuits, Agriculture
46 points by xnx 25 days ago | 5 comments
Chile develops a rice variety that doesn't need to be drowned (france24.com)
A cold, dry part of Chile might not sound like the best place to grow rice, a famously thirsty grain that thrives in tropical conditions.
Agriculture, Chile, Rice, Climate Change
6 points by ofou 28 days ago | 0 comments
Scientists discover new way to convert corn waste to low-cost sugar for biofuel (news.wsu.edu)
RICHLAND, Wash. — Scientists at Washington State University have found a new way to produce sugar from corn stalks and other crop waste, potentially opening a new pathway to sustainable biofuels.
Science, Biofuels, Agriculture, Sustainability
38 points by gnabgib 31 days ago | 16 comments
Catastrophic fires and soil degradation: possible link with Neolithic revolution (springer.com)
The Levant is one of the main centers of domestication of wild plants for human use during the early Holocene Neolithic revolution, evidencing the first transition to agriculture (Wood 2011).
Agriculture, Climate Change, History, Archeology, Environment
15 points by Hooke 34 days ago | 0 comments
Deadly Screwworm Parasite's Comeback Threatens Texas Cattle, US Beef Supply (bloomberg.com)
After being eradicated in the US in the 1980s, the screwworm could be back as soon as this summer.
Agriculture, Texas, Pests, Biology, Livestock
129 points by nkurz 34 days ago | 180 comments
The US has approved CRISPR pigs for food (technologyreview.com)
Pigs whose DNA makes them resistant to a virus could be the first big consumer product using gene editing.
Gene Editing, Food Technology, Agriculture, Biotechnology
142 points by DocFeind 35 days ago | 160 comments
Art of the Hedgerow (engelsbergideas.com)
It is often quoted that, since 1945, 50 per cent of English hedgerows have ‘disappeared’ from the landscape.
Environment, England, History, Agriculture
7 points by royalroad 38 days ago | 1 comments
One-sixth of the planet's cropland has toxic levels of one or more metals (elpais.com)
The first 30 centimeters of soil are the foundation of life. This foot-deep slice of the pedosphere is the vital space for most plant roots. When roots go deeper, it’s to anchor the plant, not to nourish it. Within this narrow band, bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and countless other microscopic organisms form the so-called biological crust, which in turn supports the larger life forms above.
Environment, Agriculture, Soil Science, Pollution, Sustainability
91 points by PaulHoule 39 days ago | 51 comments
There Is One Clear Winner in the Corn vs. Solar Battle (cleantechnica.com)
“Solar energy is often framed as a threat to croplands. However, vast croplands in the Midwestern United States already support corn ethanol biofuel, a form of energy with a greater land-use footprint per unit energy (~30×) and potential environmental impact (e.g., excessive fertilizer application) than solar energy. We envisioned sustainable agro-ecosystems that can result from converting a small proportion of corn ethanol croplands into ecologically informed solar facilities (i.e., ecovoltaics).
Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, Agriculture, Environmental Impact
9 points by joak 39 days ago | 3 comments
Catastrophic fires and soil degradation: possible link with Neolithic revolution (springer.com)
The agricultural revolution of the Neolithic period in the Levant has puzzled researchers trying to resolve climatic vs. anthropogenic chain of events.
Agriculture, Climate Change, History, Environmental Science, Archaeology
12 points by Hooke 42 days ago | 1 comments
Controversial tree farms powering Apple’s carbon neutral goal (technologyreview.com)
The tech behemoth is betting that planting millions of eucalyptus trees in Brazil will be the path to a greener future. Some ecologists and local residents are far less sure.
Environment, Sustainability, Technology, Agriculture, Brazil
17 points by gnabgib 43 days ago | 1 comments
Remineralizing soils? The agricultural usage of silicate rock powders: A review (sciencedirect.com)
Soil nutrient depletion threatens global food security and has been seriously underestimated for potassium (K) and several micronutrients.
Agriculture, Soil Science, Environmental Science, Food Security, Sustainability
10 points by mooreds 43 days ago | 0 comments
A dozen states sue the Trump administration to stop tariff policy (apnews.com)
Vineyards in NY wine country push sustainability as they adapt to climate change
Politics, Lawsuits, Trade, Climate Change, Agriculture
13 points by bloppe 44 days ago | 0 comments
Chinese-owned farms press for repeal of California animal welfare law (kiowacountypress.net)
The largest pork producer in America is owned by a Chinese company, and a lot of people don’t like that.
Agriculture, Politics, China, California, Animal Welfare
25 points by miles 44 days ago | 1 comments
Pollen-replacing food for honey bees brings new hope for survival (news.wsu.edu)
Scientists have unveiled a new food source designed to sustain honey bee colonies indefinitely without natural pollen.
Bees, Food Science, Sustainability, Agriculture
12 points by geox 45 days ago | 1 comments
The complex origin story of domestic cats (phys.org)
Researchers looking into the origin of domestic cats have long considered that cats likely accompanied early farmers during the Neolithic, spreading through Europe alongside the adoption of agriculture.
Cats, Genetics, History, Agriculture, Europe
139 points by gmays 45 days ago | 86 comments
Inactive components in agricultural runoff may contribute drinking water hazard (phys.org)
Inactive ingredients in agricultural, pharmaceutical, and other common products have typically been excluded from consideration as potential contaminants in drinking water.
Water Contamination, Environmental Science, Agriculture
6 points by PaulHoule 46 days ago | 1 comments
The 'king of poisons' is building up in rice (grist.org)
As the planet heats up, this popular process of growing rice is becoming increasingly more dangerous for the millions of people worldwide that eat the grain regularly, according to research published Wednesday in the journal Lancet Planetary Health.
Climate Change, Food Safety, Health, Rice, Agriculture
8 points by libpcap 47 days ago | 1 comments
Baby chickens became America's hottest commodity (grist.org)
Murdoch’s Ranch & Home Supply in Helena, Montana, doesn’t often see a crowd. But, these days, the line to get in the door can be hours long. People have yelled at one another as they jockey for position and, inside, employees field as many 200 calls a day from eager patrons. Everyone is after the same thing: baby chickens.
Agriculture, Business, Supply Chain, Montana
10 points by rntn 48 days ago | 1 comments