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Researchers building green fertilizer system to reuse wastes, cut greenhouse gas emissions

Midwest researchers want to take some of the greenhouse gas emissions out of crop fertilizer.

Research teams from Iowa State University and Wichita State University in Kansas are teaming up to develop a system that captures waste nitrogen and carbon dioxide to produce a green fertilizer that reduces emissions of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

The system’s big goal, according to a research summary, “is to promote N2O (nitrous oxide)- and CO2 (carbon dioxide)-relieved nitrogen fertilizers with economic resilience and environmental consciousness as an innovative way to mitigate the challenges posed upon climate change-threatened Midwest farming and ranching communities.”

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Trending Video

How American Farmers Harvest 1.15 Billion Pounds of Sunflowers

Video: How American Farmers Harvest 1.15 Billion Pounds of Sunflowers

Across the open plains of North Dakota and South Dakota, sunflower fields turn the American landscape into a sea of gold. In this farming documentary, we go inside modern sunflower farming to see how farmers plant, grow, harvest, clean, dry, process, and transform sunflower seeds into valuable products used every day.

In 2024, American farmers harvested about 1.15 billion pounds of sunflowers. This video follows the full journey from warm spring planting to combine harvesting, seed cleaning, storage, oil extraction, refining, roasting, packaging, and animal feed production.

You will see how sunflower seeds are processed into cooking oil, roasted snacks, bakery ingredients, birdseed, livestock feed, and useful byproducts. From golden fields to modern processing plants, this is the story of how a beautiful flower becomes one of America’s important oilseed crops.

Watch until the end to discover how sunflower farming connects farmers, machines, factories, food production, and sustainable agriculture.