There is much more carbon stored in Earth’s soil than in its atmosphere. A significant portion of this soil carbon is in organic form (carbon bound to carbon), called soil organic carbon (SOC). Notably, unlike the inorganic carbon in soils, the amount of SOC, and how quickly it is built up or lost, can be influenced by humans. Since its advent about 10,000 years ago, agriculture has caused a significant amount of SOC to be released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, contributing to climate change. 

URBANA, Ill. – In Kirsten Wyatt’s agriculture science classroom in Paxton, an unusual piece of equipment helps high school students learn genomics. Not a microscope or a PCR machine, but a popcorn popper.

Agricultural runoff from Midwestern farms is a major contributor to a vast “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico. Nitrogen, phosphorous and other farm nutrients drain into the Mississippi River, which empties into the Gulf, spurring algae to overpopulate and suffocating other aquatic life. Illinois is a main culprit in this ongoing environmental blight. News Bureau life sciences editor Diana Yates spoke with U. of I.

URBANA, Ill. – Human-induced climate change is already causing dangerous and widespread disruption in nature and affecting the lives of billions of people around the world. The consequences will grow much worse with time unless more concerted efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the expected changes start now.

URBANA, Ill. – Just how much carbon is in the soil? That’s a tough question to answer at large spatial scales, but understanding soil organic carbon at regional, national, or global scales could help scientists predict overall soil health, crop productivity, and even worldwide carbon cycles. 

URBANA, Ill. – Agriculture’s one big thing, according to Dennis Bowman, is this: feeding the world sustainably in the face of climate change. 

Ag has always been a complicated business, a mix of biology, geology, and weather influenced by ever-changing economics, politics, and public opinion.

URBANA, Ill. ­­– Soybean is a promising crop for developing countries, because of its high protein and oil content. Over the past decades, humanitarian aid organizations and policymakers have promoted soybean processing technologies such as the “soy cow,” which extracts milk from soybeans. But a new study from the University of Illinois shows that soy cows in many cases are not economically viable and do not provide the expected benefits.

URBANA, Ill. -- Commercially viable biofuel crops are vital to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and a new tool developed by ACES scientists and the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) should accelerate their development — and genetic editing advances overall.

URBANA, Ill. – Amy Ando, professor in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics (ACE) at University of Illinois, will join the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources (BANR) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine this month.

URBANA, Ill. – Soybeans outmatch all other legumes as the protein powerhouses of the plant kingdom, providing a key protein source for humans and livestock around the world. And now, after 30 years, University of Illinois scientists have identified the gene with the largest impact on seed protein in soybean.