JANUARY 2026

Growing tea isn't for the faint of heart

This month’s frigid temperatures have many of us reaching for a hot, comforting drink. Few warm-ups are as popular as a cup of tea, which may explain why frigid January is home to National Hot Tea Month. Which led us to think about tea as both a national and global crop and what goes into bringing this tasty drink to market.

Growing tea is, at its best, an agricultural experience shaped by patience, water, and respect for the land. Tea plants thrive in regions where rainfall is generous but well-timed, and where the landscape itself helps manage water rather than fight it. Because tea is a perennial crop, fields remain planted for decades, allowing roots to stabilize soil, reduce erosion, and improve water retention compared with annual crops that require frequent replanting and tilling. For many, the images of growing tea on hillsides are rooted in Asia and parts of Africa, but there are a number of producers in the United States, including one die-hard farm in Loudoun County, Virginia, near Waterborne's headquarters.

As with most crops, water is central to growing tea...

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Waterborne on the Road:

The 2026 Keystone Farm Show-York, PA

The 2026 Keystone Farm Show brought Pennsylvania’s agricultural community together for three days of innovation, networking, and business-focused farming insights at the York Fairgrounds in York, PA. As one of the largest regional farm trade events of the year, the show attracted farmers, producers, and ag-industry professionals to show and explore the latest tools, technologies, and services shaping modern agriculture. In attendance was Waterborne’s Outreach Lead, Martha Gerig, who manned our booth and showcased our latest webtool. 

At the Waterborne booth, Martha showcased an agricultural conservation web application that helps support the soil, water, and wildlife conservation goals of Pennsylvania farmers, ranchers, and landowners. This webtool allows a landowner to self-select their field on a digital map and identify particular concerns around sediment erosion and nutrient loss. The tool utilizes the best available geographic and soil data to narrow down what NRCS conservation standards (i.e., BMPs) would best suit the land characteristics of a particular plot and conservation goals.  Additionally, the web application offers contact information for technical experts at the local and county level, serving as the liaison between producers and the resources that can help them thrive. As Keystone attendees passed by the Waterborne booth, they were given the opportunity to use the webtool to navigate to their fields, input their resource concerns, and understand the tool recommendations for their particular plot. 

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In the News

Let the Water Quality Information Flow with NASA STREAM: Two February training courses offered by NASA's ARSET program will introduce a web-based platform for monitoring lake and coastal water conditions using satellite data.

New EU-wide protections against PFAS in drinking water come into effect: The rules are the first time systematic monitoring of 'forever chemicals' in drinking water is to be implemented in the EU.

A new study of lunar rocks suggests Earth's water might not have come from meteorites: Researchers from the USRA have concluded that meteorites in the Late Heavy Bombardment could only have supplied a small fraction of Earth's water. 

The world has entered a new era of ‘water bankruptcy,’ U.N. report says: Researchers say this is not merely a temporary crisis, but a permanent failure that requires rethinking the world’s approach to water scarcity.

Waterborne Environmental Inc.

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Leesburg, VA 20175

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