Costa Rica coffee farmers innovate as rainfall plummets
Costa Rican coffee farmers were once blessed with abundant rains but as precipitation grows fickle they are being forced to innovate to keep producing one of the world's favorite brews......»»
Scientists find common genes defending coffee plants against devastating disease
Arabica coffee is the most economically important coffee globally and accounts for 60% of coffee products worldwide. But the plants it hails from are vulnerable to a disease that, in the 1800s, devastated Sri Lanka's coffee empire......»»
Your morning coffee may be more than a half million years old
That coffee you slurped this morning? It's 600,000 years old......»»
"Harvesting data": Latin American AI startups transform farming
For centuries, farmers used almanacs to try to understand and predict weather patterns......»»
Research suggests ways to ensure more sustainability in global agricultural trade
The EU wants to ensure greater sustainability in agricultural trade with the Global South—with the aim of minimizing the environmental and climate-damaging effects of importing crops such as soya, palm oil, coffee, and cocoa. However, this aspirati.....»»
The Rise of the Carbon Farmer
Farmers around the world are reigniting the less intensive agricultural practices of yesteryear—to improve soil health, raise yields, and trap carbon in the atmosphere back down in the soil......»»
Vibrations of granular materials: Theoretical physicists shed light on an everyday scientific mystery
Coffee beans in a jar and piles of rice or sand are examples of granular matter: materials composed of large numbers of macroscopic—rather than atomic scale—particles. Although granular matter is extremely familiar in everyday life, it represents.....»»
Study reveals substantial global cost of climate inaction
Traditionally, estimates of how climate change will affect global economies have focused on the effects of annual temperature changes. However, the additional impacts of variability and extremes in rainfall and temperature have remained largely unexp.....»»
Coffee grinder, old tires spur creation of sulfur-free oil
Using a coffee grinder, a freezer and a furnace, researchers have discovered a chemical synergy between scrap tires and polystyrene can be harnessed to create sulfur-free, light oil......»»
Fluctuating coffee prices are putting mental pressure on Vietnamese farmers
While your invigorating morning coffee may become cheaper when there are large fluctuations in the world market price, they are a major additional psychological burden for the farmers who grow the coffee......»»
Plant sensors could act as an early warning system for farmers
Using a pair of sensors made from carbon nanotubes, researchers from MIT and the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) have discovered signals that reveal when plans are experiencing stresses such as heat, light, or attack from i.....»»
Scientists discover how soil microbes survive in harsh desert environments
Prolonged droughts followed by sudden bursts of rainfall—how do desert soil bacteria manage to survive such harsh conditions? This long-debated question has now been answered by an ERC project led by microbiologist Dagmar Woebken from the Centre fo.....»»
Research team shows island bats are valuable allies for farmers
A new study has highlighted how bats can be valuable allies for farmers, by feeding on important agricultural pests. The findings demonstrate that encouraging bat species can be a win-win for both conservation efforts and local farmers......»»
Smart coffee maker, Qi2 chargers, Aqara P2 motion sensor, & more on HomeKit Insider
On this episode of the HomeKit Insider Podcast, we dive into the new Google My Devices network, Aqara's motion sensor, Fellow's new smart coffee machine — Aiden, and look at more Qi2 devices.HomeKit Insider PodcastSince the last episode, Google off.....»»
Newly sequenced genome reveals coffee"s prehistoric origin story, and its future under climate change
The key to growing coffee plants that can better resist climate change in the decades to come may lie in the ancient past......»»
Research finds dairy farmers receptive to methane-reducing seaweed feed
New England's dairy industry continues to evolve in response to significant market challenges that include a decreased demand for milk and higher production and land costs. However, there is also ongoing evidence that organic dairy farming can provid.....»»
Ghanaians love rice—how smallholder farmers could harvest more of it with the help of machines
Rice has become a big part of Ghanaians' daily diet. The country consumes about 1.45 million tons a year—but produces only 987,000 tons, approximately 68% of that......»»
Best coffee maker deals: Cuisinart, Ninja, Mr. Coffee starting at $20
Hot coffee tastes especially good in every season, so we gathered the best deals for coffee and espresso makers......»»
Research team releases new fertilizer prediction tool
A new fertilizer recommendation tool, developed nationally in collaboration with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, could save farmers millions of dollars annually while reducing excess nutrient losses to the environment......»»
Flash droughts are becoming more common in Australia. What"s causing them?
Flash droughts strike suddenly and intensify rapidly. Often the affected areas are in drought after just weeks or a couple of months of well-below-average rainfall. They happen worldwide and are becoming more common, including in Australia, due to gl.....»»
Cracking the code of flash floods: New insights from China"s mountainous regions
Recently, researchers have made breakthroughs in flash flood forecasting by studying how different rainfall patterns affect flash floods in China's mountainous regions. This research leads to the possibility of more accurate and localized flood warni.....»»