The Organic & Non-GMO Report Newsletter

Pilot project launches for Southern cotton farms to engage in ecosystem service markets

The Ecosystem Services Market Consortium (ESMC), US Cotton Trust Protocol, Manulife Investment Management, and Forum for the Future recently announced the launch of an Eco-Harvest pilot project in Alabama, Arkansas, Texas, and Tennessee. This project will work with cotton farmers to generate high quality carbon and greenhouse gas credits on over 2,300 acres, through implementing […]

The gut microbiome connects the dots: farm to food to human health

For thousands of years, soil and environmental microbes have partnered with humans—we feed bacteria in our gut microbiome which then provides us with vitamins, hormones, and modulation of our immune systems. “The way you feed it well is with a diverse, plant-based, whole food diet,” said Dr. Japhia Ramkumar, internist and associate professor at the […]

Perennial crops can counteract biodiversity loss, research suggests

Dwindling biodiversity is a crisis facing humanity, threatening food supply and ecosystems. Perennial agriculture addresses the crisis, boosting on-farm habitat for many pollinators, while growing rich ecosystems for microbial and fungal networks. It also benefits off-farm diversity, reducing the negative impacts of annual cropping: chemically dependent monocropping, polluted water and air, soil depletion, and destroyed […]

Global collaboration on high-yielding perennial rice heralds new possibilities for grain production

Interest in developing and testing perennial grain crops has grown exponentially over the last decade. Recently, a new report in Nature Sustainability introduced a high-yielding perennial rice with impressive environmental and economic potential. Conceived by researchers in China’s Yunnan Province in 1999, the project has been aided by expertise and funding from nonprofit The Land Institute […]

New sensor may be groundbreaking tool to measure soil health

“This is the equivalent of having a wearable health sensor on your body that tells you in real-time what’s happening. Think of it as a wearable for the soil,” said Dr. Shalini Prasad, department head of bioengineering and the Cecil H. and Ida Green Professor in Systems Biology Science in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science. […]