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Agriculture

Illinois study: Systematic review of agricultural injuries can help inform safety measures

Agricultural occupations are  hazardous with one of the highest rates of workplace injuries and fatalities in the U.S. The manual and often strenuous nature of the work, combined with the use of machinery and exposure to environmental hazards create a challenging work environment. Understanding the nature and causes of injuries can help improve safety guidelines and policy measures. However, obtaining a comprehensive overview of injuries is hindered by the absence of a central reporting system.

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ASC announces N2Onet to track nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural systems

Due to its status as a long-lived greenhouse gas, controlling the emission of nitrous oxide (N2O) is recognized as a core component of climate change mitigation. This gas largely comes from nitrogen fertilizer applied to soil in agricultural regions. An international team led by the Agroecosystem Sustainability Center (ASC) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is developing an initiative to better track and understand these emissions.

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How the Russian invasion of Ukraine has impacted the global wheat market

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 caused an immediate disruption in the global wheat market, with serious implications for food prices and global food security. Wheat is a staple commodity in many countries and one of the most extensively traded crops worldwide.

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Scaling up urban agriculture: Research team outlines roadmap

Urban agriculture has the potential to decentralize food supplies, provide environmental benefits like wildlife habitat, and mitigate environmental footprints, but researchers have identified knowledge gaps regarding both the benefits and risks of urban agriculture and the social processes of growing more food in urban areas.

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New genetic vulnerability to herbicide found in nearly 50 sweet and field corn lines

When a sweet corn breeder reached out in 2021 to report severe injury from the herbicide tolpyralate, Marty Williams hoped it was a fluke isolated to a single inbred line.

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Study: Extreme rainfall increases ag nutrient runoff, conservation strategies can help

Nutrient runoff from agricultural production is a significant source of water pollution in the U.S., and climate change that produces extreme weather events is likely to exacerbate the problem.

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Study: How farmers decide to store or sell their grain

When farmers harvest their grain, they can choose to sell it right away or store it to obtain better prices later in the season.

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The silver bullet that wasn't: Glyphosate's declining weed control over 25 years

It has been a quarter century since corn and soybeans were engineered to withstand the withering mists of the herbicide glyphosate. Initially heralded as a “silver bullet” for weed control, the modified crops and their herbicide companion were quickly and widely adopted across corn and soybean-growing regions of North America. In the years that followed, though, weeds targeted for eradication quietly fomented a rebellion. 

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