A bowl of cereal looks simple, but it’s the end of a long chain of choices that changed human life more than almost any ...

Discover how manure, wood ash, and modern NPK fertilizer transformed American agriculture long before tractors and steam engines.

From the development of rudimentary tools to today’s cutting-edge machinery, technological innovation in agriculture has steadily improved the efficiency of food and livestock production. Tools such ...

Dick Schirado has created motion-activated watering systems for cattle and other gadgets to make farm life easier. But he says the real challenge is convincing others to bring his work to market. Dick ...

Montana farmer John Mahan came up with an idea to make one part of sugarbeet harvest a little easier and safer, and he wants other farmers to know about it in case it can help them, too. John Mahan ...

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in ...