Hemp is a cannabis plant, a variant of marijuana, that until recently was considered a drug. Growing it is state-regulated, it’s a popular nutritional supplement, and it’s becoming an important crop for NC farmers.
farming
Mushrooms: foraging, cloning and cooking
There's science behind every step of mushrooms farming: identifying wild mushrooms during foraging season, cloning the ones you like and explaining to customers how to cook them. Get an inside look at what it takes to farm our favorite fungi.
Oh Christmas Tree: Lesson Plan
Investigate the abiotic factors that support or limit the growth of plants in an ecosystem. Then learn about scientists who are studying what effect a warming climate will have on North Carolina’s $75 million tree industry, which ranks second in the country in Christmas tree sales.
Oh Christmas Tree
Scientists are studying what effect a warming climate will have on NC's $75M Christmas tree industry, which ranks second in the country in Christmas tree sales.
Aquaponics
Aquaponics is a system for farming fish and plants together in a mutually beneficial cycle. Fish produce waste that is a fertilizer for plants while plants suck up the nutrients as they purify the water. The system is efficient and environmentally friendly. A farm in Norwood, NC is pioneering the technique.
Super Fruit
Blueberries are nature's super fruit, packed with fiber, antioxidants and vitamins. Blueberries are also a big industry for North Carolina. Now scientists are working to decode the blueberry genome and create the super blueberry bush, which would help the state's blueberry industry.
The Bee-utiful Bee
The dramatic decline in the population of honey bees threatens the world's food supply, because bees are needed to pollinate a majority of food crops. Researchers in Research Triangle Park are working to figure out what is causing the collapse and how to save the honey bee.
What's My Story: Coffee Sustainability Manager
As Counter Culture Coffee’s Buyer and Sustainability Manager, Kim Elena constantly strives to improve the quality of coffee she is able to buy and roast, and to develop and strengthen relationships with producing partners all over the world.
When did you discover that you wanted to be a coffee buyer and sustainability manager?
Strawberry Mania
After an extreme winter of weather, it has been a challenging growing season for strawberry farmers. Learn how science is helping farmers grow their crops despite unusual winter weather.
The Miracle Crop
So after talking with the researchers at SoyMeds for the North Carolina Science Now story Just a Spoonful of Soybeans, I started to wonder just what soybeans are used for and why so many people call soybeans “The Miracle Crop.”
But first, a little history.
As far as anyone can tell, the first soybeans were planted by a colonist/farmer near Savannah around 1760. By 1770, Benjamin Franklin records sending soybean seeds to a botanist, John Bartram, to test in his garden in Philadelphia.