Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Steve

UC Davis @ucdavis.bsky.social · 13h

UC Davis scientists developed wheat plants that stimulate the production of their own fertilizer by using the gene-editing tool CRISPR, opening the path toward less air and water pollution worldwide and lower costs for farmers: ucdav.is/471PBwz

#FromLabsToLives #SpeakUp4Science

Wheat That Makes Its Own Fertilizer

UC Davis scientists have developed wheat plants that produce their own fertilizer, opening the door for less air and water pollution and lower costs for farmers.

ucdav.is

1 3

Steve @steveharing.bsky.social · 14h

Amino acids as fertilizer for agronomic crops: The next green revolution? doi.org/10.1002/agj2... "…results could point the way for the development of agronomic fertilizers produced by biosynthesis as opposed to the Haber–Bosch process and a positively charged N source that would resist leaching…"

Amino acids as fertilizer for agronomic crops: The next green revolution?

Amino acids could potentially replace inorganic fertilizers for agronomic crops. Corn (Zea mays L.) grows equally well with L-lysine as the N source as with ammonium nitrate. The positively charged ...

doi.org

Reposted by Steve

Jesse Hirsch @jessehirsch.bsky.social · 2d

Are you familiar with "microbials," the tiny biological products being sold to farmers with the promise of higher yields and greater plant health? It's a promising billion-dollar industry — without much oversight.

Researcher Brianna Almeida digs in:
ambrook.com/offrange/tec...

Should Farmers Use Microbial Biological Products? It Depends. - Offrange

Microbial products made for improving crop growth, also known as biologicals, are a billion-dollar industry, but the promises touted by these products might be too good to be true.

ambrook.com

2 1

Reposted by Steve

Our World in Data @ourworldindata.org · 6d

Today we celebrate #WorldFoodDay & the 80th anniversary of @fao.org!

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN provides crucial data to understand food & agricultural systems around the world & how they’re changing.

Much of our work on these topics would not be possible without them.

A line chart showing the total daily supply of calories per person, from 1961 to 2022, for each continent. This is the quantity that is available for consumption at the end of the supply chain. It does not account for consumer waste, so the quantity that is actually consumed may be lower. It is the total of all agricultural produce, both crops and livestock.

The data shows that there are differences between continents, with Africa at the bottom in 2022 with around 2,500 kcal/day, and North America at the top with around 3,500 kcal/day. The supply for all continents has increased since 1961.

The data source is the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2024). The chart is licensed CC BY to Our World in Data.

1 8 37

Steve @steveharing.bsky.social · 7d

"We described three comprehensive perspectives on farmers’ ideal societal role... Perspective 1 unites farmers with a strong focus on food production... Perspective 2 farmers strongly distance themselves from peasant agriculture... Perspective 3 is less production-oriented than the other two..."

Steve @steveharing.bsky.social · 7d

"The concept of multifunctional agriculture often focuses on reconciling food production with other ecosystem services... In this paper, we take multifunctionality not as a goal but as a starting point, inherent to agriculture." doi.org/10.1007/s10460-025-10789-y

The farmer I want to be: farmers’ role identity in multifunctional agricultural landscapes - Agriculture and Human Values

Farmers (are expected to) fulfil diverse economic, environmental, and social roles or functions. Yet the relative importance of these functions remains contested both within farming communities and in...

doi.org

1

Steve @steveharing.bsky.social · 7d

all of the policy suggestions - investing in ag R+D, reducing trade policy "whiplash", etc. - are pretty much the exact opposite of what we're doing. A huge, unforced error. Here's the original paper doi.org/10.1002/aepp...

Row Crops and the U.S. Agricultural Trade Deficit: Recent Trends and Policy Issues

Row crops such as soybeans, corn, wheat, and cotton are the backbone of the U.S. farm sector, accounting for around $60 billion of exports in 2023. While U.S. row crop exports remain robust, growing ...

doi.org

Steve @steveharing.bsky.social · 7d

Kind of wild to see reports looking back at declines in US ag over the last 5-10 years and think about how we've continued to double down on this decline over the last ~9 months
www.agdaily.com/crops/study-...

Study: Long the world's ag powerhouse, U.S. now looking more flabby

A new University of Illinois and Texas Tech study warns that U.S. farm exports are slipping amid trade tensions and rising global competition.

www.agdaily.com

1

Reposted by Steve

Our World in Data @ourworldindata.org · 14d

Does the news reflect what we die from?

The image presents a comparison of the leading causes of death in the United States for 2023 and the media coverage these causes receive from three news outlets: The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Fox News.

In the footer, it notes the data sources, indicating that the information is based on media mentions from Media Cloud (2025) and death data from the US CDC (2025) and the Global Terrorism Index, with a clarification that values are normalized to sum to 100%.

7 200 330

Reposted by Steve

Science Magazine @science.org · 18d

In 2020, wildfires in California and Oregon cost the U.S. wine industry an estimated $3.7 billion in losses. And with climate change fueling ever longer, drier fire seasons, winemakers are desperate for new defenses.

Now, a new study offers a surprising new lead. https://scim.ag/42m7vHB

Wildfire smoke is charring your wine. This microbe could help

Bacteria already living on grapes can break down smoky chemicals that wreck flavor

scim.ag

3 8 34

Steve @steveharing.bsky.social · 19d

lots of folks are starting to submit AFRI grant applications today (one of USDA NIFA's signature programs), under a government shutdown. Who knows when we'll see a dime of that money go out to support critical ag research

1

Steve @steveharing.bsky.social · 19d

USDA funding delays under Trump compromise agricultural research doi.org/10.1126/science.z6m1yp4 "We are all juggling"

USDA funding delays under Trump compromise agricultural research

Sharp drop in grant awards leaves researchers frustrated

doi.org

1

Steve @steveharing.bsky.social · 19d

Great article on peasants as environmental stewards. aeon.co/essays/the-p... Peasants are central to agroecology, but we have a complicated relationship with the term in the US. Read to the end for a poignant quote that might resonate with a lot of US farmers

The planet, and human social life, depend on peasant farmers | Aeon Essays

Far from being a relic of the past, peasants are vital to feeding the world. They need to be supported, not marginalised

aeon.co

1

Steve @steveharing.bsky.social · 29d

Forest expansion may actually increase farming output

Agriculture is the largest cause of deforestation. But new research finds forest expansion may not displace agriculture.

www.futurity.org

Steve @steveharing.bsky.social · 29d

Empirical evidence supports neither land sparing nor land sharing as the main strategy to manage agriculture–biodiversity tradeoffs doi.org/10.1093/pnas... ¿por que no los dos?

Validate User

doi.org

1

Reposted by Steve

Minnesota Farmers Union @mnfarmersunion.bsky.social · Sep 19

“The 40th anniversary concert comes at an auspicious time, as American farmers face perhaps the bleakest economic conditions since the 1980s farm crisis that spurred the first Farm Aid.”

Farm Aid Turns 40 and Returns to Crisis Mode

www.nytimes.com

1 1

Reposted by Steve

bioGraphic @biographic.bsky.social · Sep 11

Seed banks are critical for preserving the genetic diversity of imperiled plants. But did you know there are some species--including up to a third of Hawai‘i’s at-risk plant species--whose seeds simply cannot be banked? How do we save those?

Enter: pollen banking.

Banking on Pollen

When seed saving doesn’t work, pollen may be the answer to preserving botanical heritage.

www.biographic.com

14 32

Reposted by Steve

Nature Portfolio @natureportfolio.nature.com · Sep 13

Nature reports on the momentum that is building in Europe for regenerative agriculture, a set of approaches that could help farms to weather the changing climate and make them more profitable. #plantscience 🧪

A revolution is sweeping Europe’s farms: can it save agriculture?

Momentum is building for regenerative agriculture, a set of approaches that could help farms to weather the changing climate and make them more profitable.

go.nature.com

21 43

Steve @steveharing.bsky.social · Sep 19

Herbivores induce plant chemical defenses based on the identity of their attacking parasitoid doi.org/10.1002/oik.... "...we found evidence for specific plant responses to feeding by different herbivore–parasitoid combinations that was... dependent on parasitoid identity."

Herbivores induce plant chemical defenses based on the identity of their attacking parasitoid

Many parasitoids increase plant fitness by decreasing herbivore feeding damage. Solitary parasitoids (where only one individual completes development per host) generally cause their hosts to feed les...

doi.org

Reposted by Steve

High Country News @highcountrynews.org · Sep 14

“No other corporation in history has ever amassed this degree of control over the U.S. food system.”

Who controls food in the West? - High Country News

Consolidation, shifting politics, water rights and the myth of the cowboy all play into the region’s ability to feed itself.

buff.ly

34 53

Steve @steveharing.bsky.social · Sep 12

Got to visit Virginia Tech's research farm in Winchester for a field day this morning. Possibly among the most scenic research farms in the US

Researchers speaking to a group of people in front of a vineyard, with mountains in the background

1

Steve @steveharing.bsky.social · Sep 10

A tale of two sources

A screenshot from an RSS reader showing diverging coverage of the MAHA report from two ag news sites. Civil Eats reports that MAHA "moves further away" from their goals, while CropLife highlights industry groups that "applaud" the MAHA report

Steve @steveharing.bsky.social · Sep 10

Heard a grain marketer speak at a farmer meeting tonight. Lots of folks started to shift in their seats when he spoke about the current soybean market - Brazilian farmers grow 6 billion bu annually vs 4 billion bu from US, China demand for US beans has completely evaporated this year

Reposted by Steve

Marcia Brown @marciabrown.bsky.social · Sep 9

The #MAHA strategy document is finally public.

Contrary to what MAHA world wanted, it argues pesticide regulations are already “robust.”

It also calls for ensuring the “best childhood vaccine schedule” and addressing vaccine injuries.

More details below:

www.politico.com/news/2025/09...

RFK Jr.'s new MAHA roadmap is finally public

The long-awaited document stops short of surprise regulations and leaves pesticides alone.

www.politico.com

1 4 4

Steve @steveharing.bsky.social · Sep 9

Fossil fuels emit carbon that had been stored on geological time scales. Effective carbon dioxide removal needs to sequester carbon for a long, long time. grist.org/accountabili...

Report: Big businesses are doing carbon dioxide removal all wrong

The technology is needed to limit global warming. But corporations are supporting it in lieu of emissions reductions.

grist.org