1. Big Farms Getting Bigger

Big data gives and takes: What changes will the transition to data-driven agriculture bring? (The American)

2. Tinkers and Hackers

Ag Patent Explosion of the 1800s: A look at what has always been the genius of U.S. agriculture. (Modern Farmer)

3. Monsanto, Angels, and Devils

Monsanto is the great polarizer in so many agriculture debates and that’s unlikely to change soon. (Cosmos)

4. An Unlikely Hunter

Where food comes from: Killing the meat on your plate is the best lesson. (Vocativ)

5. Oil and Water Never Mix

Fracking and agriculture are a bitter pair when it comes to competing over water supply. (Denver Post)

Cockfighting Freakshow

6. Cockfighting Freakshow

Chicken farmer kings, Romanian princesses, derbies in Queens, pet stores in Brooklyn, birthday parties in Texas, and Angry Birds — the odd world of cockfighting makes for strange bedfellows. (WFP)

7. The Almond Gold Rush is on

What does the drought hold for California’s booming almond industry? (BBC)

8. "Worse As I've Ever Seen It"

How much acreage will go unplanted due to California's drought? The California Farm Water Coalition says agriculture may lose $11 billion in revenue. (New York Times)

9. The Wages of Cattle Rustling

Jake Spoon and the Suggs brothers only got stretched in Lonesome Dove, but when four rustlers got caught in India (either by a rival smuggling gang or irate villagers), they got charred — literally burned to death. (Hindustan Times)

10. Tumbling Snow and Lucky Goats

Two videos worth checking: 1. An Italian farmer filmed an avalanche rumbling right through a tiny village (YouTube) 2. A different avalanche; no village, but footage features the world’s luckiest goats. (The Independent)

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From the "10" archives

10 agriculture stories you should read today, Feb. 13

10 agriculture stories you should read today, Feb. 10

10 agriculture stories you should read today, Feb. 3