Farming

After two years of development, California startup Monarch Tractor has launched the AI-packing, all-electric MK-V Founder Series, and announced deliveries to its first customer – wine and spirits producer Constellation Brands.

If you’re a farmer with a herd of hundreds of cows, keeping tabs on them can be tricky work, but we’ve seen how sensor tags might one day ease the burden. New research has demonstrated how smartwatch-style sensors could be powered by animal movement.

Farmers are increasingly being encouraged to plant cover crops, which take the place of their main crops during the off-season. According to a new study, however, the use of cover crops can actually reduce main-crop yields.

Just like many of the flowers in your garden, rice has traditionally been an annual plant – that means new crops have to be sown every year. A perennial version is now available, however, which comes back on its own over multiple growing seasons.

In an example of a building's design reflecting its purpose comes a fish eye-shaped floating event space dedicated to salmon farming. The Salmon Eye is finished in 9,500 stainless steel scales that are meant to resemble the fish's silvery skin.

A striking study has found eggs from hens in urban backyards can contain up to 40 times more lead than eggs from commercially farmed hens. The researchers recommend those in inner-city locations test their soil before raising chickens or growing food.

When we think of our fellow plant-eating mammals, we tend to picture them just eating whatever they find while foraging. According to new research, however, the pocket gopher actually farms its food … and it's the only non-human mammal to do so.

Scientists in the Netherlands studying the spread of microplastics have turned their eye to meat and dairy products and discovered high rates of contamination in farm animals, raising new questions around the widespread nature of plastic pollution.

Interest is growing in alternative fuel sources for heavy-duty vehicles that help sidestep heavy diesel pollution, and Amogy has broken new ground in this area by fitting its ammonia-fueled zero-emissions energy system to a John Deere tractor.

Farmers and ranchers have a lot of land to cover, and a lot of work to get done in a day. The Ryse Recon was designed with those facts in mind, as it's being made to quickly fly rural users from place to place.

Many city dwellers don't have access to an outdoor garden but would still like to grow their own greens. HydroArtPod is the latest in a long line of indoor gardening devices looking to automate the cultivation of fresh greens in the home.

A team of researchers has reported the development of an algorithm that can translate the emotional state of pigs from the sound of their grunts. The researchers indicate the system could be used to monitor the well-being of pigs on a farm in real-time.