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What to Plant in March: The Best Early Spring Crops
by Sarah Jay, Modern Farmer March 4, 2026 Farms across North America are well on their way to spring, but they’re not there just yet! It’s a good time to sow seeds of cool-weather annuals and warm-weather annuals that require a long period before they can be transplanted. In areas where winter is still in…
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Backyard Chickens Pros and Cons: The Truth After 1 Year
Quick Answer Summary Startup cost: $300–$500 for coop, chicks, and basic supplies Monthly upkeep: $20–$40 for feed and bedding per small flock Egg yield: 4–6 eggs per hen weekly during peak laying season Time commitment: 10–15 minutes daily for feeding and checking Biggest surprise: The emotional attachment you develop to your flock I bought my…
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Chef Crystal Wahpepah Showcases Indigenous Oakland
It’s fitting, then, that Wahpepah’s first cookbook, A Feather and a Fork, publishing on March 17, centers on intertribal foods. While the 125 recipes are largely informed by her Kickapoo heritage, there are also clear nods to other Indigenous communities, including the Ohlone people, who stewarded the place now known as Oakland for millennia before…
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UCCE hosts rice production workshop March 18-19
UC Cooperative Extension scientists will discuss rice growth and development, land formation, varieties, planting and stand establishment, water and fertility management, weed control, insect and vertebrate pests, diseases and pest identification at the 2026 Rice Production Workshop. Photo by Evett Kilmartin Rice growers and other agricultural professionals across the Sacramento Valley are invited to attend…
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5 Agri-Environmental Strategies that Prevent Species Loss
by Sarah Jay, Modern Farmer January 12, 2026 Species loss is a huge concern in larger agricultural models. Hard annual tilling and the use of what was once habitat to grow food lessen the likelihood of survival. But there are multiple agri-environmental strategies farmers can employ to ensure their farms work with the natural world. Some…
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Growing Grocery Store Potatoes: What Worked and What Didn’t
That bag of russets felt heavy in my hands as I stood in my Orlando garden on December 2, 2025. I kept wondering, can you grow grocery store potatoes and actually get a decent harvest? So I dove into growing grocery store potatoes headfirst to find out. Honestly, planting grocery store potatoes is doable, but…
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Trump Directs USDA to Boost Production of Glyphosate
The order emphasizes increasing domestic production of elemental phosphorus, which is created by mining phosphate, to make glyphosate. Bayer currently imports most of its phosphate; its domestic supply comes from a long-running mine in Idaho that is nearly tapped out. But in October, Trump’s Bureau of Land Management approved the company’s proposal to build a…
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Backyard poultry at risk for bird flu as virus lingers in environment
Poultry owners should take precautions to protect their birds against the deadly avian influenza virus. Photo by Trina Wood UC expert offers tips, reminders after recent HPAI detections in Sutter, Sonoma counties Poultry owners should remain vigilant about protecting their birds because the risk of avian influenza can change as quickly as the weather, says a…
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5 Cover Crops You Can Plant in February
Most farmers plant cover crops in the fall, and let the winter terminate them before they go to seed. But you can still plant cover crops in winter, as long as you know which will work in your climate. Plant these five cover crops this month for early spring benefits. Source: modernfarmer.com
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Small-Scale Mushroom Farming Income Per Month (Realistic Earnings Guide)
Written by Jagdish Reddy, a small-scale mushroom grower from Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, with three years of hands-on experience managing 150–200 bags monthly from a home setup. Mushroom farming income per month usually differs from flashy YouTube reels. My first harvest in Guntur last September earned me exactly three hundred rupees after losing forty-eight bags to…