Plans by the Prince of Wales to sell off up to 20% of the Duchy of Cornwall could see more tenant farmers across England asked to buy their farms or move out. Up to 40 farm holdings across Devon, Cornwall, Herefordshire and the Midlands could be affected by the sale, according to the Tenant Farmers Association (TFA). Locals say talks over the future of nine farms on the Bradninch estate in Devon have already caused distress for some tenants who fear they cannot afford to buy. A spokeswoman said the Duchy could not confirm the total number of tenants affected by the ten-year sale plan, external but told the BBC the estate was supporting them through the process with care and respect. Image caption, The Duchy's rural director Matthew Morris said he was listening to feedback from farmers The Duchy, which covers around 51,800 hectares (128,000 acres) in 19 counties, plans to use the £500m raised from the property and land sale over the next decade to invest in local communities, affordable housing and environmental projects.

The nonprofit Rainforest Alliance, headed by Santiago Gowland, runs one of the world's largest sustainability certification programs--partnering with farmers and brands around the world to support climate resilient growing practices under its iconic green frog seal. In 2025, the organization's efforts resulted in some 5.5 million metric tons of emissions being avoided or sequestered. The group recently announced a new regenerative agriculture standard aimed at transforming the way tropical commodities are grown, certified, and traded. The standard supports farmers looking to better understand and employ regenerative agriculture practices--focusing on areas such as soil health and fertility, biodiversity, and crop resilience. The first crop the framework is focusing on is coffee, but the organization plans to extend the certification to cocoa, citrus, and tea.

Is the war entering a new phase? Three black naval drones resembling oversized plastic toys struck a freighter sluggishly navigating the Black Sea off the coast of Bulgaria on October 28. Aerial drones joined the attack, and explosions rocked the Liberian-flagged Contship Jet Monrovia, loaded with more than 400 terracotta-coloured containers. The vessel, travelling from the Israeli port of Haifa to Romania, listed and sank, but all 18 crew members were rescued, Bulgarian authorities said. The drones were Russian, Kyiv claimed, adding that the attack was designed to make the Black Sea unsafe for civilian ships, paralyse Ukraine's exports of grain and further hobble its war-ravaged economy.

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It's been a terrible year for farming, Jeremy Clarkson tells Tory conference To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Figure caption, Jeremy Clarkson: Farming this year was'an absolute disaster' Jeremy Clarkson has said it had been a terrible year for farming due to the hot weather, at a surprise appearance at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham. The former Top Gear presenter and star of Clarkson's Farm also said farmers were being attacked from every angle by rising costs, but he was optimistic about the future. He was greeted by loud applause from the Tory faithful, but joked that a lot of people have come dressed as seats, I notice, around the edges there. In a question and answer session alongside land agent Charlie Ireland, he also criticised the economic conditions faced by business owners, asking: Why would anybody set up a business in this country right now? Clarkson - who also hosts ITV's Who Wants to be a Millionaire - was introduced to the stage by the Conservative shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins. Asked what kind of year he had had on the farm, Clarkson said: We worked really hard all year and we ended up with, I think I'm right in saying, three ounces of hen food.

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Startups and Big Ag are using Crispr gene editing to create crops that taste better and grow on a hotter planet. But will they find a market? If you wanted to create better blackberries, you could try to breed a variety without the seeds that get stuck in your teeth. Or one without the thorns that make the berries hard to pick. Or you could aim for more environmentally efficient plants that produce more berries per acre with less water and fewer chemicals.

Those same ancient avocado lineages could help protect the popular fruit today. More information Adding us as a Preferred Source in Google by using this link indicates that you would like to see more of our content in Google News results. Fruit grows in a native avocado tree in southern Mexico. The smooth-skinned fruit of native avocado trees in this region are genetically distinct from the fruit found at the grocery store. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week.

Things to Do in L.A. Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article. This startup was supposed to revolutionize California's wine industry: 'It totally failed' Nilay Patel, left, interviews Monarch Tractor Chief Executive Praveen Penmetsa during Vox Media's 2023 Code Conference in Dana Point, Calif., in 2023. That year, Monarch was on a Forbes list of startups most likely to reach a $1-billion valuation. This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here .