Science News

Potatoes are the most consumed vegetable in the United States. According to the USDA, US farmers grew more than 42 billion lbs. of potatoes in 2019. That’s 128 lbs. of potatoes per person.

Today’s cities don’t have walls for protection like ancient ones, but they are separate from less urban and rural land. Most goods that city-dwellers purchase are brought in from rural farms and manufacturers. There is an active community of urban gardeners and landscape architects who are trying to bring more of the “country” back into the city. And for good reason.

Hidden under our feet lies an entire unseen world. The soil teems with life. Microbes, small animals and fungi all call the darkness home. And so do plants. At least the half of them that we know as roots.

You may have heard the term “carbon sequestration.” In its basic terms, it refers to keeping and returning carbon to the soil. Since carbon is an element, how and why should this be done?

The amount of carbon in farm soils is important to farmers. Soils with high carbon contents tend to provide better yields. They also tend to have more resilience to weather-related crop failure. But measuring the amount of carbon in soil can be expensive and involve several steps. That can make it hard to collect this critical information in regions like sub-Saharan Africa.

The perfect cup of morning coffee. Before you even purchase the beans at the store, many things must go right before that great-tasting coffee can be poured into your favorite mug. It starts in the soil where farmers grow the beans. For example, Brazil is the world’s biggest coffee producer, and the soils there can cause problems for coffee plants.

Both chemical fertilizers and cover crops can help build the nitrogen content in soil. But cover crops come with many other benefits, like improving soil structure and boosting beneficial microbes.

Sunflowers have many uses. They are used for floral arrangements, animal feed, biofuels, and even food for us.

When grown commercially by farmers, the quality of sunflowers is based on the oil and protein concentrations in the seeds.

Lima beans are packed with nutrients. They are an excellent source of protein and fiber. They are rich in vitamins and minerals.

Lima beans are also good for the environment and farmers. They are effective as cover crops and as green manure.

Since humans began cultivating the land, we’ve prioritized one type of crop above all others: grain. With high amounts of minerals, protein, and vitamins, cereal grains form the foundation of diets worldwide.