Trends

Thanks to geot­hermal energy almost all of Iceland’s energy is sourced from renew­able resources. Farmers are able to grow toma­toes, straw­ber­ries and even bananas. In fact, some farmers have even constructed their own geot­hermal power plants.

For Lars Ander­sson and 20 other live­stock farmers collab­o­rating with Biokraft Mönsterås, low earn­ings and prob­lems with spreading manure are no longer an issue now that biogas produc­tion is ramping up in Sweden.

Partic­i­pants from banks, NGOs and machine manu­fac­turers learn more about the current chal­lenges facing agri­cul­ture and possible solu­tions at the Light­house Farm Academy. With the accu­mu­lated knowl­edge, they can make deci­sions that will help farmers tran­si­tion to more sustain­able systems. Marc Gijs­bers is one of these partic­i­pants and reports on his expe­ri­ences as a member of the Academy. 

Building an agri­v­oltaic instal­la­tion can be expen­sive; however, when inte­grated with green­houses or poly­tun­nels, this system may provide a more cost-effec­tive solu­tion while also improving the nutri­tional content of plants. This perspec­tive is based on an inter­view with Elinor Thompson, Assis­tant Professor at the Univer­sity of Green­wich.

Agri­cul­ture accounts for around one fifth of Ghana’s gross national product. In addi­tion to export successes like raw cocoa and palm oil, there is further poten­tial, although some struc­tural deficits still need to be over­come.

Many German farmers are concerned about their land because the federal govern­ment is focusing on rehy­drating peaty soils to achieve its climate targets. However, in some circum­stances, there are prospects of using this rehy­drated land prof­itably.

What does regen Ag look like in prac­tice? In the absence of any regu­la­tory or scien­tific defi­n­i­tion, it can be diffi­cult to pin down. Overview of the main goals and tech­nical indi­ca­tors.

An old 2030 LS tractor with a trans­mis­sion fault had been sitting forgotten in the work­shop of a school in Zambia. Retired John Deere expert, Günter Becker was drafted in to help with the repairs. To make sure nothing went wrong, he prac­ticed on a dupli­cate model in Germany.

The Global Crop Diver­sity Trust has set itself the goal of preserving the genetic diver­sity of all agri­cul­tural crops. The seeds are stored in a gigantic vault in a moun­tain in Norway. In an inter­view, managing director Stefan Schmitz explains who bene­fits from this.

Carolin Schäfer founded the agency Agrar­mar­keting Detail­reich (Agri­cul­tural Marketing in Rich Detail) and works with, among others, farmers who enter into short supply chains or direct sales. The Furrow speaks with her about brands, branding and commu­ni­ca­tion using social media.

In the Berry region of Nerondes, France, Marion Breteau and Damien Sneessens produce a wide range of "super­food" seeds, which they market under their own brand. In doing so, they now buy from some 50 contract farmers. We meet this couple of young farmers, full of initia­tive and convic­tion.

Aisha Hassan and Lukas Paltanav­ičius are cycling across the world to learn hands-on about prac­tices of regen­er­a­tive agri­cul­ture. In a series of arti­cles, they share their insights from the field. In this guest article they look at the busi­ness models of regen­er­a­tive farms.

Aisha Hassan and Lukas Paltanav­ičius are cycling across the world to learn hands-on about prac­tices of regen­er­a­tive agri­cul­ture. In a series of arti­cles, they will share their insights from the field. In this guest article they look at how regen­er­a­tive farmers are managing water resources.

Aisha Hassan and Lukas Paltanav­ičius are cycling across the world to learn hands-on about prac­tices of regen­er­a­tive agri­cul­ture. In a series of arti­cles, they will share their insights from the field. In this guest article they uncover how regen­er­a­tive agri­cul­ture helps to increase biodi­ver­sity.

In Germany trees in the fields have a repu­ta­tion for nega­tively affecting crop yields. A recent study in the south-eastern German State of Bavaria has now shown this is true, but only in the imme­diate vicinity of the trees. Outside of this vicinity, oat, wheat, and clover grass yields actu­ally increase because of the favourable micro­cli­mate the trees help to create. 

Even the most passionate of lobby­ists wouldn't dream of claiming that biochar alone could save the world. But in inter­ac­tion with other factors, aspects and agents, biochar may well contribute to long-term carbon seques­tra­tion and soil revi­tal­i­sa­tion in the future. 

A John Deere fan lives and works in the Cana­dian province of Québec. His love liter­ally gets under your skin. Swiss-born Jean-Charles Reihle's tattoos tell a story all of their own.

Slovenia is a great example of why small farms should have their place within modern agri­cul­ture, next to bigger, more inten­sive oper­a­tions. They can meet the chal­lenge of rein­forcing dialogue between farmers and non-farmers and, in so doing, create new revenue models for farming.

The sooner insects are discov­ered in grain stock, the better. It increases the like­li­hood that only a small part of the stock is infested and that the farmer can success­fully combat the pests. The Beetle Sound Tube System is designed to detect the greedy little animals by making them audible.

Tinned toma­toes are not consid­ered a big money busi­ness. But despite this, one Italian producer has managed to achieve success by focusing on quality and fair condi­tions for its farmers. So what has been Mutti's recipe for success?

Soya imports are becoming more and more expen­sive and get increas­ingly crit­i­cised, espe­cially for organic live­stock farms. In Scan­di­navia, feed and seed manu­fac­turers are about to commer­cialize a protein feed concen­trate made from grass, clover, and alfalfa for non-rumi­nants such as pigs and poultry.

A passion for soils has seen one farmer achieve net zero without sacri­ficing yields, using tech­niques which could cut input use dras­ti­cally. 

A good content of organic matter not only helps the envi­ron­ment, but also the fertility of the soil - for Henning and Arne Beecken, the two aspects cannot be sepa­rated from each other. Following this prin­ciple, the young farmers have completely converted the family farm's cultivation system.

Waste­water minus water and cont­a­m­i­nants equals a very potent, and more impor­tantly, recy­cled, fertiliser. The Swedish company EkoBalans aims to capi­talise on this as it develops a more sustain­able NPK fertiliser.

The Euro­pean Bee Award aims to protect polli­na­tors through tech­nical inno­va­tion and the imple­men­ta­tion of new agri­cul­tural prac­tices. The award is based on a joint initia­tive by John Deere and the Euro­pean Asso­ci­a­tion of Profes­sional Beekeepers. Gilles Dryan­cour, one of the founders of the award, shares his thoughts about the impor­tance of bees and show­cases some of the winning ideas.

Geot­hermal, solar and wind energy, methane extracted from manure to produce high-quality natural gas and elec­tricity - there is plenty of green energy in a valley in the middle of the US desert. 

Some plants absorb the metal in impres­sive quan­ti­ties. In certain cases, this phytoex­trac­tion can be put to good use.

How to get started with preci­sion farming, and how quickly does it spread in prac­tice? An inter­view with Peer Leithold, the managing director of Agricon, a consulting firm he founded in 1997.

The US firm Ocean Reef is exper­i­menting with under­water cultivation in the Italian Riviera. The goal of the project is to develop a tech­nique for using the ocean for irri­ga­tion in arid regions.

Water is one of the essen­tial foun­da­tions of agri­cul­ture. How will its avail­ability in Europe develop in the future? Our info­graphics provide an overview.

During the corona crisis, farmers are seizing the oppor­tu­nity to open up new busi­ness areas. We have collected three exam­ples from three coun­tries.

In southern Mexico, researchers have discov­ered giant maize with aston­ishing prop­er­ties. Other vari­eties can benefit from this.

A modern farm is no place for chil­dren, it’s often said. So how will they discover and under­stand the joys and chal­lenges of rural life? Peter Grimshaw met some farming cham­pions who are dedi­cated to inspiring the rising gener­a­tion.

Cuba is allowing more and more private enter­prise and is seeking normality in its rela­tions with the US. Agri­cul­ture is also changing as a result.

The coun­try­side is a space to live and to work. And thus often an arena of conflicts of how to use that space. A chal­lenge that needs to be tackled by farmers them­selves.

The Columbia River is the largest river in North America in terms of the volume of water flowing into the Pacific. With over 26m tonnes of grain moving through it, it is the third largest trans­port corridor for grain.