Family farms are central to our nation’s identity. Most Americans, even those who have never been on a farm, have strong feelings about the idea of family farms — so much that they’re the one thing that all U.S. politicians agree on.

It’s time for agricultural researchers to take better advantage of the massive amount of data they produce and move into an era of “big science.” Open data—data that are publicly available and have been intentionally prepared for reuse and innovation by others—is the path to the research breakthroughs of the future. But to make that move, agricultural science must change in significant ways.

It's not often you hear people refer to "livestock farming" and "climate change" in a positive context. And even less so among tech entrepreneurs, as increasing numbers look to create meat-free, alternative food products with the hope of reducing the impact of the meat industry on the environment.

The US beef market was mixed this week with both positive and negative shifts in market prices, the US beef carcass equivalent declined by 1.7% week-onweek.

Agricultural transformation is a priority in the policy agenda of African governments in their quest to meet the challenges of food and nutrition insecurity, climate change, youth unemployment and overall economic growth.

As maize farmers around the country survey their crops for the 2018/2019 season, many are battling with tight margins that have prompted cutbacks on insurance in recent years.

Digital innovations could transform African rural areas and agriculture while tackling many of the continent’s other emerging challenges, from youth unemployment, food insecurity and the need for further economic growth, a new report explains.

The prolonged drought has exacted a toll with a negative impact on the yields of major summer crops this year. According to Statistics SA, the production of maize, soybeans and sunflower seeds is expected to be down 13%, 16% and 29% respectively from last year.

El Nino is still present but may change to neutral in coming winter months and summer of 2019/20. Probable late start to summer rain again. More favourable for Winter Rainfall Regions in next months.

The prolonged drought has exacted a toll with a negative impact on the yields of major summer crops this year. According to Statistics SA, the production of maize, soybeans and sunflower seeds is expected to be down 13%, 16% and 29% respectively from last year.

 The Agricultural Productivity Programme for Southern Africa (APPSA) has seen over 3 million people benefiting from agricultural technologies and innovations in Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia, said APPSA coordinator, Dr Monica Murata.

Agriculture is what makes us human. Sure, there are ants and fish and crabsthat perform the act of cultivating food; but this is a different kind of farming. Humans use farming to sustain our imbalanced population growth, and in many ways it has gotten away from us.

Women in rural Africa are among the most entrepreneurial people in the world, constantly finding ways to make ends meet with limited resources.

In speculating about the future of agriculture, David Hollinrake, president of Syngenta Seeds and North America region director, is certain of one thing: “It’s not going to be my daddy’s farm moving forward.”

Imagine a farmer who, rather than relying on his gut instincts, lets farm management software apply smart algorithms and a large pool of field data to make the daily decisions on how to work his fields. Instead of sitting on equipment outdoors, he and a handful of associates operate all the equipment for a farm covering thousands of hectares from a control room.

There’s little doubt that sustainable agriculture is the only way forward if we are to continue to produce food for generations to come.

The effects of changing the climate, which is, of course, a global challenge, have been felt in Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia in the recent past. This has been through erratic rainfalls and more frequent occurrences of droughts and floods.

Agriculture robots -

The price for US yellow Gulf corn declined by 3.3% this week. The USDA crop progress report indicated that a larger than expected number of corn acres have been planted and that 94% of the corn crop has emerged.

Digitization could change the game for agriculture in Africa. That's a key message in a reportrecently released by an international institution that enhances smallholder farming in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.