https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Illinois is a top agricultural state, generating billions of dollars annually, but even where stalks of corn and acres of soybean vastly outnumber its 400,000 head of cattle, cows raised for beef and dairy account for an outsize portion of the industry's methane emissions. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-illinois-dairy-beef-farms-methane.html Environment Mon, 29 Dec 2025 07:19:54 EST news686215141 Researchers find that diversifying crops and integrating livestock improves farm efficiencies and ecosystem services in the US Midwest. The work is published in PNAS Nexus. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-diversifying-midwest-farming-stability-resilience.html Agriculture Tue, 23 Dec 2025 09:58:39 EST news685706282 Using satellite imagery and government data, researchers measured a 5% increase in voluntary, or non-subsidized, cover crop adoption by Arkansas farmers. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-voluntary-wintertime-crop-arkansas.html Plants & Animals Tue, 16 Dec 2025 06:40:32 EST news685089608 Cover crops improve soil health and water quality, prevent nutrient loss, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but they're only grown on about 5% of U.S. agricultural lands. That's despite billions in annual federal investments, primarily in the form of cost-share and incentive payments to farmers who adopt conservation practices. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-crop-farm-network.html Agriculture Thu, 04 Dec 2025 12:37:26 EST news684074222 Cover crops, plants grown to protect and enrich the soil, are known to boost soil health and help store carbon. However, the exact mechanisms behind these benefits, especially under Nordic climate conditions, have been unclear—until now. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-crops-key-healthier-soils-norwegian.html Agriculture Mon, 03 Nov 2025 19:00:01 EST news681393171 New research has found cover crops that are viable in Washington's normal "off season" don't hurt the soil and can be sold as a biofuel source. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-farmers-boosting-biofuels-crop-benefits.html Biotechnology Thu, 16 Oct 2025 07:06:04 EDT news679817162 Researchers have developed a new model that can suggest the optimal conditions for farmers to plant cover crops, or crops grown in between cash-crop seasons, to help ensure long-term cash-crop success. The findings, which appear in the European Review of Agricultural Economics, could help improve farm budgets and serve as aids to farmers making decisions about their land. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-scientists-optimal-crop-thresholds.html Plants & Animals Thu, 12 Jun 2025 05:16:03 EDT news668924161 People have assumed climate change solutions that sequester carbon from the air into soils will also benefit crop yields. But a new study from Cornell University finds that most regenerative farming practices to build soil organic carbon—such as planting cover crops, leaving stems and leaves on the ground and not tilling—actually reduce yields in many situations. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-crops-solution-crop-yield-carbon.html Ecology Mon, 19 May 2025 11:40:04 EDT news666873601 Planting ground cover in fields between cash crop growing seasons is an effective way to prevent farmland from losing soil carbon from erosion, a factor that's underestimated in considering the carbon sequestration potential of cover crops, according to a new study by an Iowa State University ecologist. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-crops-overlooked-reduction-soil-carbon.html Ecology Thu, 03 Apr 2025 07:10:06 EDT news662883001 Monday was momentous for the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing although it still looked like a bridge to nowhere from the 101 Freeway, where more than 300,000 vehicles stream endlessly every day. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-world-largest-wildlife-critical-milestone.html Plants & Animals Wed, 02 Apr 2025 06:41:25 EDT news662794879 Insecticides may help growers hoping to protect their crops from harmful insects, but they also may contribute to a larger amount of some weeds, according to a study led by researchers at Penn State. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-insecticides-contribute-bigger-problems-weeds.html Ecology Fri, 21 Mar 2025 14:26:04 EDT news661785961 Recently published research in the journal Weed Science shows that planting soybeans in a green, living cover crop provides effective control for some of the nation's most troublesome weeds when integrated with pre-emergence (PRE) herbicides. More specifically, planting soybean over a cereal rye cover crop demonstrates an effective practice to both produce soybean and to suppress two problematic Amaranthus weed species: waterhemp and Palmer amaranth. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-soybean-green-effective-waterhemp-palmer.html Ecology Mon, 13 Jan 2025 15:08:18 EST news656003294 Researchers have discovered that using cover crops as "living mulch" between rows of maize can significantly improve soil health and nutrient cycling, offering a sustainable approach to agricultural management. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-crops-mulch-boost-soil-health.html Ecology Fri, 03 Jan 2025 09:36:03 EST news655119361 On a warm late-summer evening, a small speedboat motored across a pea-green stretch of Lake Erie past a beach where a child sat splashing and a pair of newlyweds waded for a portrait photographer. On the sand, unseen or ignored, bright red signs warned people to stay out of the water due to dangerous algae toxins. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-lake-erie-problem-algae-food.html Environment Tue, 22 Oct 2024 15:50:01 EDT news648830407 In September, the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer recorded its lowest readings since March 2016. Declining income expectations pushed farmer sentiment down as the barometer fell 12 points to 88, and the Index of Future Expectations dropped 14 points to 94. The Index of Current Conditions also fell 7 points to 76, which nearly matched levels seen in April 2020, during the height of COVID-19 concerns for farmers. This month's survey was conducted from Sept. 9–13, 2024. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-farmer-sentiment-lowest-income-weaken.html Economics & Business Tue, 01 Oct 2024 13:14:42 EDT news647007278 In Kansas, where a prolonged drought has killed crops and eroded the soil, Gail Fuller's farm is like an oasis. Sheep, cows and chickens graze freely on crops and vegetation in a paradisiacal mess. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-farmers-climate-crop-wont.html Agriculture Mon, 29 Jul 2024 09:10:04 EDT news641462267 A University of Kentucky study titled "Productivity benefits of cereal-legume cover crop mixtures under variable soil nitrogen and termination times" suggests that mixing cover crops is a beneficial strategy for modern agriculture. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-highlights-benefits-crops.html Agriculture Wed, 17 Jul 2024 14:26:03 EDT news640445161 Twelve million hectares of agricultural soils are lost globally through soil degradation every year. As an ecologist, I work alongside farmers and growers in the field and have seen how farming can help solve this global soil crisis. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-robots-drones-sheep-trackers-tech.html Biotechnology Wed, 10 Jul 2024 11:50:17 EDT news639831013 The United States, along with 123 other countries, have pledged to reach "net-zero" carbon emissions by 2050 or 2060. A number of strategies are being deployed to reach this ambitious goal, but the one most pertinent to South Dakota residents is the utilization of one of the state's most abundant natural resources: soil. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-price-wrong-explore-farmers-carbon.html Economics & Business Wed, 26 Jun 2024 10:16:14 EDT news638615770 Research published in the journal Weed Science shows that drill-interseeded cover crops into vegetative growth stage 3 (V3) corn performs well in Northeast U.S. production regions. The paper is titled "Light partitioning strategies impact relative fitness of weeds and cover crops when drill-interseeding in corn." https://phys.org/news/2024-05-drill-interseeded-crops-v3-corn.html Agriculture Thu, 09 May 2024 12:21:02 EDT news634476061 For years, both scientists and farmers have debated whether the use of cover crops—plants used to cover the ground after harvesting of main crops—have a positive or negative impact on subsequent crop yield. Hundreds of studies have been performed on the subject, with each resulting in a different conclusion. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-global-meta-analysis-quantifies-benefits.html Agriculture Tue, 07 May 2024 14:43:04 EDT news634311782 The citrus industry in Florida, a historic hub for citrus (Citrus sp.) production, has been grappling with the devastating effects of Huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening disease (Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus). In the face of this challenge, a recent study delves into the potential economic viability of incorporating cover crops in citrus groves to enhance soil health and overall tree well-being. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-analysis-crops-citrus-production.html Agriculture Thu, 01 Feb 2024 16:58:04 EST news626029082 Nutrient runoff from agricultural production is a significant source of water pollution in the U.S., and climate change that produces extreme weather events is likely to exacerbate the problem. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign looks at how extreme rainfall impacts runoff and suggests possible mitigation strategies. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-extreme-rainfall-agricultural-nutrient-runoff.html Environment Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:28:16 EST news621534492 There is a need for changing the way of accounting greenhouse gases from agriculture. The current inventory of nitrous oxide from plant residues relies solely on the amount of nitrogen in the residues, while crucial factors such as the degradability of plant residues are not included. According to the researchers, this leads to misleading inventories, which also misrepresents possible mitigation measures. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-accurate-accounting-nitrous-oxide-agricultural.html Ecology Wed, 18 Oct 2023 16:38:03 EDT news616865881 A survey of farmers in four Northeast states, including New York, found that incentive payments encouraged participants to plant twice as many acres of cover crops as they did prior to receiving funds—a change that can both improve their farms and mitigate climate change. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-incentive-crop-farmers.html Ecology Wed, 20 Sep 2023 16:56:03 EDT news614447761 Farmers usually plant cover crops after harvesting their main crop. This prevents erosion of the soil and nutrient leaching. The roots of these crops also stabilize the structure of the soil. It had been assumed that a mixture of different cover crops would result in particularly intensive rooting. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-agriculture-crops-mixtures-unexpected-results.html Plants & Animals Wed, 06 Sep 2023 14:38:03 EDT news613229881 While the practice of no-till gardening is not new, information has traditionally centered on agricultural field crops. Now, home gardeners are catching on. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-no-till-gardening-soiland-plantshealthy.html Plants & Animals Tue, 05 Sep 2023 17:14:04 EDT news613152841 The perfect pairing for certain fine vines may be grasses. A new study by Penn State researchers shows that in regions with fertile soils that receive plenty of rainfall, growing cover crops under the vines so that the vineyard floor is completely covered with vegetation is a sustainable strategy. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-crops-vineyard-vines-sustainability-strategy.html Ecology Thu, 13 Jul 2023 10:33:39 EDT news608463213 Winter cover crops could cut nitrogen pollution in Illinois' agricultural drainage water up to 30%, according to recent research from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. But how will future climate change affect nitrogen loss, and will cover crops still be up to the job? https://phys.org/news/2023-07-corn-state-future-yield-crop.html Ecology Thu, 06 Jul 2023 16:25:04 EDT news607879501 One of the main reasons plants use water is to allow them to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This means that in plants, the water and carbon cycles are tightly linked. In a new study, researchers from the University of Missouri and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) have used this foundational principle to identify sustainable farming practices aimed at helping staple crops like corn and soybeans thrive during extreme weather conditions that have become more common in the Midwest. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-variability-carbon-missouri-agriculture-ecosystems.html Plants & Animals Wed, 21 Jun 2023 17:00:06 EDT news606585601