Food and farms

Heat pumps

World’s oldest cheddar-maker slashes energy bills with novel heat pumps

Innovative tech from U.K.-based Arkaya Energy cools fresh milk and redirects the resulting heat, saving Barber’s Farmhouse Cheesemakers more than $90,000 a year.

By Alison F. Takemura . 10 August 2026

Cows gather besides a hedge in a greenfield, with a blue sky behind them; two cows are in the foreground looking at camera — Cows in Somerset, England (Matt Cardy via Getty Images)

Food and farms

Virginia lays groundwork to combine more solar with farming

A new state law aims to spur agrivoltaics projects where crops or livestock thrive amid solar panels, as AI power demand booms and concerns about farmland loss rise.

By Elizabeth Ouzts . 3 August 2026
Solar

New York takes on the myth that solar is swallowing farmland

As the White House and viral influencers push misleading info about solar, New York says the facts show the clean energy source and agriculture can thrive together.

By Kathryn Krawczyk . 31 July 2026
Solar

In Ohio, solar is no big threat to farmland

Fears over farmland loss have fueled arguments against renewables in Ohio — but golf courses and suburban sprawl take up far more acreage than solar does.

By Kathiann M. Kowalski . 2 July 2026
Food and farms

Your morning coffee is killing the planet

Coffee farms take a heavy toll on wildlife and the climate, as seen recently with deforestation in Vietnam. But the food you eat is causing even more damage.

By Michael Grunwald . 23 June 2026
Wind

Minnesota now has a wind-powered green ammonia plant

A yearslong project has finally started producing ammonia with wind power. If the process can be scaled up, it could help ensure farmers have cheap, reliable fertilizer.

By Brian Martucci . 12 June 2026
Solar

In new attack on solar, lawmakers spread myths about potato farms

Misinformation about renewable energy fuels local pushback to proposed energy installations and could threaten farmers’ livelihoods.

By Austyn Gaffney . 1 June 2026
Food and farms

Trump is blocking solar for farmers. Can the Farm Bill fix that?

REAP had been helping farmers go solar and save money since 2008, until Trump came along. A looming Farm Bill vote could seal its fate — or solve its problems.

By Kari Lydersen . 27 April 2026
Food and farms

Federal policy on biofuels goes from bad to worse under Trump

The administration’s lavish biofuel subsidies for farmers are bad for consumers and the planet, but the problem goes way beyond his administration.

By Michael Grunwald . 16 April 2026
Clean energy

This Ohio county put a ban on wind and solar. Will voters reverse it?

Richland County blocked large-scale renewables in most townships. Voters now have a rare opportunity to overturn that policy at the ballot box.

By Kathiann M. Kowalski . 13 April 2026
Solar

‘We’re harvesting the sun’: A huge solar project grows in California

A sweeping plan to build 21 gigawatts of solar plus batteries on 136,000 acres could be a lifeline for Central Valley farmers facing devastating water shortages.

By Jeff St. John . 24 March 2026