New research from The University of Texas at Arlington and the U.S. Department of Agriculture demonstrates how mathematical modeling can predict outbreaks of toxic fungi in Texas corn crops—offering a potential lifeline to farmers facing billions in harvest losses.

The less intensively you manage the soil, the better the soil can function. Such as not ploughing as often or using more grass-clover mixtures as cover crops. These are the conclusions from a research team led by the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW). Surprisingly, it applies to both conventional and organic farming. These important insights for making agriculture more sustainable are published in the scientific journal Science today. ‘It offers clear evidence to help farmers manage soils better.’

Published this month in Nature Partner Journal Sustainable Agriculture, a cost-feasibility analysis found that using rice malt instead of milled rice in beer brewing, as performed by large breweries, would decrease the cost of beer production by up to 12 percent. Malted rice also reduces crop-growing acreage needs by half or more because it produces more grain per acre than barley while having an equivalent or greater sugar extract potential, the study noted.

A long-term shift toward drier conditions is reshaping landscapes and livelihoods across the globe. Known as aridification, this gradual drying trend now affects 2.3 billion people and 40% of Earth’s land, with serious implications for agriculture and water systems—especially in the U.S. From California’s Central Valley to the Great Plains, often called the world’s breadbasket, farmers are facing tough decisions about what to plant, how to irrigate, and how to adapt to a future where water is no longer guaranteed.

Mapping soybean cultivation with high precision is crucial for maximizing agricultural productivity and ensuring food security.