As our population continues to grow, the demand of a more efficient agriculture system heightens. We work to produce the highest yield possible to cover demands. Are we compromising our water quality for mass food production? In past years, the West Coast growers had been facing increasing struggles to farm with their allotted water often turning…

The textile industry is one of the most demanding industries for the environment. Due to new research, hemp proves to be a wise alternative solution to an oversaturated fiber market. Through the perspective of sustainable development, researchers look at the economic vantage point of agricultural activities and compare it to that of cotton. Hemp…

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is consistently seen as a top priority; however, STEM programs often suffer from low retention. Students who start in STEM degree programs often lose interest or face obstacles that cause them to leave. Here, we describe a non-traditional approach meant to encourage a range of…

Transdisciplinary approaches increasingly are needed to address complex environmental problems. Students can benefit from research and learning opportunities in which they investigate issues, integrate knowledge across disciplines, engage with stakeholders, collaborate with others, and devise solutions. This paper presents information on a 1-week…

The coffee bean is the most important agricultural product in international trade; it ranks second behind petroleum in product exports worldwide. An estimated 15 billion coffee trees are being grown to meet this demand, and the work that goes into this directly contributes to the income of 25 million small producers worldwide. Due to the…

Agricultural systems are complex and can be used as examples to teach science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts. However, inclusion of agriculture in core STEM courses is often limited. Three professional development sessions for K-12 teachers were offered in 2021-2022 (hybrid or remote sessions) and repeated in 2022-2023…

Food security is one of the most pressing concerns of our times. Despite the vast opportunities, there is a shortage of skilled professionals in the food, agriculture, and plant sciences. Although most programs focused on addressing this concern have targeted students, we have often overlooked another critical group--the teachers. To address this…

Information spreads fast, but even faster with the use of social media. For instance, if one goes to twitter and searches "Farm Bill" it can be seen that many people have tweeted about the recent passing of the Farm Bill and re-tweeted information about this. This increased the attention given to this bill as seen by the hundreds of tweets on this…

Arbuscular mycorrhizae fungi (AMF) play a large role in the current understanding of the soil ecosystem. They increase nutrient and water uptake, improve soil structure, and form complex hyphal networks that transfer nutrients between plants within an ecosystem. Factors such as species present, the physiological balance between the plants in the…

Claims of the (non-)sustainability of a given agricultural practice generally hinge on scientific evidence and the reliability of that evidence, or at least the perception of its reliability. Advocates of sustainable agriculture may dismiss science as purely subjective, or at the other extreme, may inappropriately elevate scientific findings to…

Nationally, both science and agricultural education professional organizations have identified agriculture as a fundamental technology to be studied by students, with the goal of achieving an understanding of the agri-food system necessary for democratic participation. Benchmarks representing the content that K-12 children need to understand about…