Latest
CropsUnusually heavy sugarbeet root aphid infestations in 2025 and 2026 are cutting yields and sugar content in Michigan; Michigan State University, Michigan Sugar and USDA are running trials and monitoring to find the causes.
AgribusinessNABVENTURES, NABARD's venture capital arm, has reached a Rs 450 crore first close for Fund II, which targets Rs 1,500 crore for early- and growth-stage agritech, food, rural fintech, climate and logistics companies.
Daily lifeCrisil Intelligence says a home-cooked vegetarian thali cost 10% more in September than a year earlier and a non-vegetarian thali 6% more, driven by onions, rice, edible oil and cooking gas, with onion prices likely to stay high into mid-October.
HealthAn ongoing doctoral study at MIT World Peace University detected fibres, fragments and pellets in freshwater fish entering Pune, estimating that a regular eater could ingest 93,600-124,800 particles over 50 years; detailed polymer analysis is still under way.
CropsA study backed by the seed industry finds unapproved HTBt cotton on 65-72 lakh acres in Kharif 2025-26, 24-30% of India's cotton area, with an informal seed market worth about Rs 1,500 crore and many samples carrying a gene never approved in India.
CropsIndia's monsoon ended 13% below normal, milder than 1987 or 2002, but Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh have declared drought in hundreds of taluks and mandals, with 70.6% of the country dry or in drought, Down To Earth reports.
EnvironmentThe Living Planet Report 2026 finds a 73% average fall in monitored vertebrate populations from 1970 to 2022, steepest in freshwater, while India's tigers, rhinos, Asiatic lions and river dolphins show gains; experts warn species outside protected areas are being left behind.
LivestockWith 2,878 bluetongue cases this season against 348 in all of last season, a Devon practice finds around 50% of some 800 tested rams infertile and urges fertility tests before tupping, while a sheep association survey points to strong vaccine demand for 2027.
AgribusinessDaera began sending £15m of Sustainable Farming Investment Scheme offers on 8 October, part of £40m over three to four years, as farmers are reminded the Forest Expansion Scheme closes on 19 October.
AgrotechAutoSpray Systems and the National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs have launched a Defra-backed scholarship giving five YFC members CAA-approved, Lantra-accredited spray-drone pilot training worth £17,500 in total.
EnvironmentAfter a snow drought, the North Platte's main irrigation reservoirs hold about 270,000 acre-feet less water than a year ago; DTN's long-range forecast leans towards above-normal precipitation into early 2027 with the strong El Niño.
CropsUp to six times normal September rain across parts of Iowa has encouraged ear rot in corn and seed problems such as purple seed stain in soybeans, and Iowa State's grain quality specialist urges farmers to harvest affected fields first and dry grain quickly.
AgrotechVermeer's driverless Bale Hawk picked up 257 round bales in 24 hours, about 10.7 an hour, carrying three at a time to a set unloading row; the machine is still a concept and not for sale.
AgrotechCGIAR's Scaling for Impact programme runs 19 tracks that pair proven innovations with finance, markets and services, with results such as SMS weather advice for over a million Kenyan farmers and machinery-hire services in India and Bangladesh.
LivestockILRI researchers argue that forecasts protect pastoralists only when they trigger early support, pointing to index-based livestock insurance and the KAZNET crowdsourcing platform as tools to act before El Niño floods and disease take hold.
AgribusinessERS's Global Food Assessment estimates 884.4 million people, 19.5% of the population of 83 low- and middle-income countries, are food insecure in 2026, with most countries improving on 2025 but Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America facing persistent risks.
OrganicFirst-year results from the Regenerative Organic Alliance and food-testing firm Edacious found 46 certified products from 13 brands measured better than USDA reference values on several nutrients, including a much lower omega-6 to omega-3 ratio in meat.
LivestockThe East of England's Swaffham group has become the Outdoor Pig Environmental Risk Reduction Programme, chaired by AHDB, to gather evidence on reducing outdoor pig farming's impact on water and to work with regulators.
LivestockUniversity of New England professor Peter McGilchrist says record exports and heavier carcases hide a fall in the share of each carcase sold as red meat, and that simply measuring yield would help breeders and processors reverse it.
LivestockThe French government will pay the interest on up to €2 billion of farm loans for fodder, fertiliser and other inputs after record heatwaves and drought damaged crops and pastures, on top of €1.3 billion in emergency aid.
AgribusinessDirect-from-origin food brand KisaanSay plans to grow its farmer network from more than 50,000 to two lakh by 2027 and source from 15 states, saying more than half of what consumers pay goes to farmers.
EnvironmentThe World Meteorological Organization's seasonal update forecasts record sea-surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific by December, above-average heat across much of the world and below-normal October-December rainfall over the Indian subcontinent.
FisheriesUnder the PMMSY scheme India approved 392 subsidised deep-sea vessels for traditional fishers in 2020-25, but only 131 have been ordered by September 2026, and early owners in Kerala report defective boats, delayed subsidies and mounting debt, a Mongabay-India investigation finds.
HealthDoctors and researchers tell Mongabay-India that extreme rain, heat and drought are changing when and where cholera, hepatitis, leptospirosis, dengue and malaria appear, while old drains and water systems amplify the risk.
Watch
VideoIn the latest AgriView episode, agricultural economist Wandile Sihlobo asks whether the enlarged BRICS bloc is opening real markets for South African produce, or mostly producing talk.
VideoAt Bindhara in Panchbibi, Joypurhat, small dark-skinned Black Baby watermelons hang from bamboo trellises. The 60-day crop needs 50 grams of seed a bigha, yields 1,200 to 1,500 fruits or 4 to 4.5 tonnes, and at Tk 30 a kilo earns far more than other field crops.
VideoShykh Seraj examines the government's first 180 days in agriculture, from farm loan waivers and farmer cards to crop insurance and canal excavation.
In pictures
GalleryPictures: autumn in Jaflong, with kash flowers on the Piyain riverbed1 photos
GalleryPictures: a misty morning in the Rangamati hills, from paddy fields to the lake1 photos
GalleryPhoto story: drying paddy at Ashuganj, and the rush when clouds gather1 photos
GalleryGlimpse, 7 October: paddy in the sun, early potatoes, nets rolled up and beehives1 photos
GalleryPhoto story: the dawn fruit market by the railway crossing in Kushtia1 photos
GalleryAutumn kash flowers draw Dhaka crowds to Aftabnagar1 photos
GalleryGlimpse of 6 October: dew on paddy, river fishing, jute stripping and buffaloesSection
LivestockWith El Niño expected to bring below-normal rainfall and heat to South Africa's 2026/27 summer, livestock advisers urge farmers to match breeding to grazing, check bull fertility and body condition, and vaccinate well before mating.
OpinionBlake Busse of The Pew Charitable Trusts argues that the USDA should drop its proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule, because its own draft environmental impact statement finds little wildfire benefit and real harm to forests, water and communities.
The fifth meeting of the cell formed to deliver the five-year, 250 million tree planting pledge discussed care of saplings after planting, monitoring of survival rates and plans for green employment.
