The rapidly expanding world population, expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, together with dwindling resources, make technology innovation to improve agricultural output not just a fascinating and profitable arena, but a real need for humanity’s survival. Israeli companies are developing new technologies in diverse fields, from breeding new (more…)

One of the biggest challenges in the water arena is lowering the cost of wastewater purification, which is a heavy consumer of energy. Israeli start-ups Diffusaire and Mapal have developed technologies which bring dramatic cost-savings to wastewater treatment facilities. (more…)

Valcent Products will build a super efficient 6,000 square-foot greenhouse in downtown Vancouver.

Valcent has revolutionized vertical farming with their hydroponic VertiCrop growing system. VertiCrop is a series of four-meter-high stacks of growing trays assembled on motorized conveyors. The conveyors (more…)

The type of agriculture practiced in a given region depends heavily on the climate and weather that region receives. So naturally, with climate change, agriculture will be forced to change. Certain crops will have to be discarded for alternative crops which may grow better in the new climate. In other cases, agriculture (more…)

Perhaps the largest impact of global climate change will be on agriculture, and there is no crop more sensitive to changes in climate than wine grapes. As temperatures rise and average precipitation levels change, the signature wine-making regions such as those in France and California will be forced to adapt. There have been studies conducted analyzing (more…)

Farmers and horticulturists are being advised to act now in order to survive the years of drought ahead.

A recent report commissioned by the Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) shows that higher temperatures and lower annual rainfall in summer is likely to reduce river flow (more…)

Last week I took part in an American tradition: visiting the Wisconsin State Fair. The Wisconsin State Fair and state fairs throughout the country are a cherished summertime experience for rural America – a place where old friends and old traditions go hand-in-hand with the latest innovations. In a solar powered building, I sampled my first cheese curds. I visited Senator Herb (more…)

Empty rhetoric. That’s the verdict on the recently established New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) from Geoff Bertram and Simon Terry in their searching book The Carbon Challenge: New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme. It is something of a cautionary tale for others contemplating such schemes. (more…)

(Reuters) – The messages are tense, angry, cajoling.

Written between 2008 and January 2010 and sent between lobbyists, scientists and high-ranking European civil servants, they hint at the intense emotions in the debate over one of Europe’s most contentious environmental issues: the use of biofuels, long touted as an alternative to carbon-emitting petroleum.

But it’s not how the emails are written that’s important. It’s what’s in them — and (more…)

The United States Department of Agriculture was tasked with tracking Farmers Markets beginning in 1994. The directory was updated every two years through 2008. In 2009, the process changed to a yearly rite. Here’s the breakdown:

• Number of Farmers Markets in 1994 – 1,755
• Number of Farmers Markets in 1996 – 2,410
• Number of Farmers Markets in 1998 – 2,746
• Number of Farmers Markets in 2000 – 2,863
• Number of Farmers Markets in 2002 – 3,137
• Number of Farmers Markets in 2004 – 3,706
• Number of Farmers Markets in 2006 – 4,385
• Number of Farmers Markets in 2008 – 4,685
• Number of Farmers Markets in 2009 – 5,274

(more…)