In the fall of 2004, Diane Miller, a tree-fruit specialist, began a two-part expedition on a Fulbright to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, in Central Asia, the birthplace of the apple. Her quest: to bring back seeds from the region’s wild apple trees that could infuse domestic breeding programs with biodiversity.

The American apple industry is concentrated almost entirely on...

March 23, 2026 – According to a new analysis, 144 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) county offices lost all of their conservation staff in 2025, prompting questions around who will assist farmers looking to enroll in popular pr...

Andrew Nelson is a self-described “tech-forward” farmer near Garfield, a tiny town in eastern Washington close to the Idaho border. He uses popular precision agriculture services, paired with artificial intelligence, to produce wheat, canola, lentils, garbanzos, and green peas across 7,500 acres.

Precision farming technologies gather data from a variety of points, such...

March 18, 2026 – As the war in Iran drives fertilizer prices higher, lawmakers and federal agencies are turning their attention toward powerful companies and potential price fixing.

In a bipartisan effort to address farme...

March 19, 2026 — Members of Congress and state officials are working to distance celebrations, streets, and buildings from renowned farmworker union leader César Chavez, following extensive allegations of sexual abuse.

Ch...