Have You Ever Stared Into an Alpaca’s Soul?

Photographer Traer Scott Views Livestock as Individuals Rather Than Numbers

Have you ever felt the direct, penetrating gaze of an alpaca? Or admired the symmetry of a sheep’s fuzzy nose? Or rued the fact that you had never stroked a goose’s long neck? And are there any pigs whose eyelashes you envy? If the answer is yes, photographer Traer Scott’s Radiant: Farm Animals Up Close and Personal, published by Princeton Architectural Press, is the book for you. If the answer is no, Radiant will acquaint you with these feelings and more.

Inspired by the personalities of the creatures she encountered, …

January 22, 2019

Salinas and Yuma Are 500 Miles Apart—But Agribusiness Is Growing Them Closer

The California and Arizona Cities Have Been Fused by Consumers’ Year-Round Appetite for Fresh Produce

by Joe Mathews | October 22, 2018

Salinas, California and Yuma, Arizona are quite far apart—485 miles by plane and 600 by car.

But no two cities in the West are closer.

Salinas and Yuma are bound by …

How Crop Circles Saved the Great Plains

In the 1940s, Farmer Frank Zybach Invented Center Pivot Irrigation and Brought the Dust Bowl Back to Life

by Joe Anderson | September 10, 2018

If you live in the Great Plains, sooner or later you’ll get a question about those “crop circles” that can be observed from airplane windows during flights over the region. …

Capturing the Architecture of American Agriculture—and a Passing Way of Life

For 45 Years, David Hanks Has Photographed Feed Mills in Every Season and Mood

By David Hanks | August 24, 2017

“Why would anyone want to take pictures of a place like this?”

That’s the question I often get when I enter the office of a feed mill or grain elevator, …

We Grow the Country’s Carrots, but Ours Come in Bags

Kern County's Food Policy Council Tries to Confront the Unique Paradoxes of Its Food System

By Jill Egland | October 19, 2016

Kern County is home to two seemingly opposite realities.

First, it’s famous for producing food. In 2014, it grew $7.5 billion worth of grapes, almonds, milk, citrus, and beef. The …

Why France Continues to Bitterly Defend Fatty Goose Livers

Despite Controversy, Foie Gras Production Remains a Crucial Entity to the Country's Identity

By Michaela DeSoucey | August 1, 2016

Vacations to the southwestern countryside have long been a staple of French life. People escape urban centers to visit ancient churches, beautiful gardens, and magnificent castles. They enjoy outdoor activities …

agriculture