The Essential Work of Farmers

Despite the many coronavirus lockdowns around the world, people still need to eat, and agricultural work continues—but with many new challenges. Some crops that were ready to harvest are being plowed under or allowed to rot in the fields, because seasonal workers are restricted from traveling, and many buyers have temporarily closed. Unwanted flowers are being used as feed for livestock, and some fishermen are donating their catch to needy families. The farm workers who do have jobs worry about possible exposure to the virus, and have little protection, but many are glad to have a paycheck right now. In some places, the demand for organic produce has gone up, and farmers are working to get their crops to smaller markets as well as larger warehouses.

Read more
Hints: View this page full screen. Skip to the next and previous photo by typing j/k or ←/→.

Most Recent

  • Julio Cortez / AP

    Photos: Damage From the Tornado Outbreak in Mississippi

    Images from the small town of Rolling Fork, which was struck by a destructive EF4 tornado

  • Anupam Nath / AP

    Photos of the Week: Sky Bar, Kansas Sunset, Flooded Fields

    Drought conditions in Spain, heavy snow in California, the Fallas Festival in Spain, the start of Ramadan in Indonesia, cherry blossoms in Japan, a sandstorm in Inner Mongolia, and much more

  • Agung Parameswara / Getty

    Ogoh-ogoh Parades Welcome the Balinese New Year

    Giant demonic effigies are carried through the streets of Bali, then burned in purification ceremonies.

  • NASA

    The Beauty of Earth From Orbit

    Recent images of our home planet, seen by crew members of the International Space Station