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‘This place wanted to be a wetland': how a farmer turned his fields into a wildlife sanctuary

Gabrielle Canon

October 22, 2023 |

The Guardian |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Oregon

A barley farm in southern Oregon transformed 70 of its 400 acres into a wetland sanctuary after it had spent years leaking phosphorus pollution into the Upper Klamath Lake. A team of scientists and advocates collaborated with the farmer to finance and construct the new natural ecosystem, which began to yield the farmer both environmental and financial benefits after only one year.

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For Indian Farmers, Artificial Glaciers Are a High-Altitude Antidote to Drought

Geetanjali Krishna

October 19, 2023 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: India, Kulum

In the Ladakh region of Northern India, vertical artificial glaciers called “ice stupas” melt at a slower pace than natural glaciers, helping farmers to store water for irrigation during the spring drought. Through contests with cash prizes, more than 500 people in 45 villages have been trained to build their own ice stupas.

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Mar Menor: cleaning Europe's largest saltwater lagoon

María Elorza Saralegui

October 11, 2023 |

BBC |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Spain

Local authorities in Spain are introducing restoration measures to clean up the Mar Menor lagoon, which is suffering from years of nitrate and phosphate contamination. Their methods include mandating hedges are planted as barriers on farmland, collecting rain on farms so it doesn’t flow into the water, and limiting fertilizer use.

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The ancient Sri Lankan 'tank cascades' tackling drought

Zinara Rathnayake

September 26, 2023 |

BBC |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Sri Lanka, Maeliya

A hydraulic network of man-made water tanks built 2,000 years ago, called an ellangawa, collects rainwater that locals in Maeliya, Sri Lanka, can release during the dry season to support the rice crop and recharge the groundwater.

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Why Iowa farmers are turning to irrigation during drought. And why some are not.

Brittney J. Miller

September 15, 2023 |

The Gazette |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Iowa

Farmers in Iowa are slowly turning to irrigation systems instead of relying solely on rain to combat more frequent droughts.

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Automation is Transforming the World's Leading Vertical Farm Companies

Roe Medovoi-Klotz

August 28, 2023 |

The Sweaty Penguin |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Compton, California

Automated indoor farming harnesses technology like artificial intelligence, robotics, and climate-controlled systems to limit the negative environmental impacts of growing food while maximizing nutrients and yields.

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Cotton growers use "bank-less" systems to save water and improve efficiency

Pip Courtney

August 19, 2023 |

ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) |

Video |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Australia, Dalby

Cotton farmers in Australia are converting their fields to be bankless so the work requires less water and labor. That means they’re removing the mounds of soil that kept water contained in ditches and redesigning the fields so it flows from one side to the other in gated stages instead of siphoning water by hand.

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Napa Vineyards Are Pairing Wine With ‘Fish Friendly Farming'

Nicole Gluckstern

August 14, 2023 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Napa Valley, California

The Fish Friendly Farming (FFF) program aims to alleviate the impacts of farming and ranching on local waterways, specifically local salmon and trout populations. The program works with area farmers to become certified and enact the best practices regarding soil health and erosion management to prevent too much sediment from entering nearby waterways. So far, the program has certified more than 280,000 acres of farms across 10 counties. In Napa Valley alone, about 90% of all vineyards are now FFF certified.

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An Ancient Desert-Dwelling Culture Embraces Hydroponics

Vandana K

July 28, 2023 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: India, Ghantiyali, Rajasthan

A nonprofit in India focused on supporting farmers, Urmul Seemant Samiti, is helping pastoralists transition to using hydroponics to grow fodder for their livestock amid increasing droughts. Alongside hydroponic fodder startup Hydrogreens, the organization trains pastoralists to use sprinkler systems to create fog that waters their indoor crops.

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How Farmers Used California's Floods to Revive Underground Aquifers

Elizabeth Hewitt

July 27, 2023 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, California

Tulare Irrigation District in California encourages farmers to flood their fields with water during the wet season, so it can slowly seep underground and recharge the groundwater aquifers. Those who do so earn credit that can be redeemed during the dry season to extract more water than they would otherwise be allowed.

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