Harvest Public Media

Tiny shards of plastic called microplastics are all over the environment and even inside human bodies. Researchers have found a type of bioengineered algae that can clean up these pesky particles.

More than 1,600 plants and animals are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, but out of all of those, only one is a moss. A new effort seeks to protect these often overlooked plants.

The Trump administration's federal workforce cuts shrunk U.S. Department of Agriculture agencies that inspect produce, provide conservation resources and collect data on crops and livestock. It's creating longer wait times for farmers seeking federal services and programs, people working in agriculture say.

Farm aid promised last December is still months away from being paid out to fruit and vegetable growers. But industry groups say it won't be enough to get them through tough market conditions.

As companies launch an array of protein-rich products and new federal dietary guidelines advise Americans to prioritize protein, nutrition experts have mixed feelings about the new emphasis on protein.

Since its launch in 2022, the national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline has responded to nearly 13 million calls. But many states have been slow to spend their own dollars on the program.

Biofuel leaders say the shipping industry could be a golden goose for ethanol and soy-based biodiesel. One of the big barriers is the Trump administration, which torpedoed a global agreement to reduce pollution.

Environmental advocates say the outlined revision ignores science and threatens water quality, while farm groups argue it offers landowners needed clarity about which parts of their land count as federally protected.

In 2014, the U.S. Department of Agriculture created a network of “climate hubs” to understand how climate change affects agriculture and forestry and help farmers adapt to more extreme and unpredictable weather. Now, the future of these hubs is uncertain.

Alpha-gal syndrome, a tickborne allergy to red meat and dairy, has become more common in the last few years. The condition poses unique challenges to the lives and livelihoods of U.S. ranchers and farmers.