Farmers today can grow two to three times as much grain, fruit, and vegetables on a plot of land as they could 50 years ago, but the nutritional quality of many crops has declined, according to a new report from The Organic Center, a group based in Boulder, Colorado.

Writing in the May 10 issue of the journal Nature, a Cornell biogeochemist describes an economical and efficient way to help offset global warming: Pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere by charring, or partially burning, trees, grasses or crop residues without the use of oxygen

Biofuels like ethanol can help reduce global warming and create jobs for the rural poor, but the benefits may be offset by serious environmental problems and increased food prices for the hungry, the U.N. said Tuesday in its first major report on bioenergy.

China is losing vast amounts of arable land every year to erosion, pollution, heavy metals, and excessive fertilizer use.

An excellent article written in the 1930s that tells the story of the ancient world through the lens of agricultural development and collapse. It also briefly examines China.

Report by the US Deptartment of Agriculture discussing global land degradation issues.  This paper contains a number of helpful graphs.