"The holy grail is a heat-resistant varietal that provides quality coffee, " says Patrick Criteser, chief executive of Coffee Bean International, which supplies the private-label coffees to such retailers as Target and Kroger and is part of World Coffee Research.

WSJ: The Indiana Jones of Coffee

In other cases, grain spoils due to the lack of simple things such as high quality weather-resistant bags.

WSJ: Indian Grain May Rot After Bumper Harvest

The adoption of herbicide-resistant crops could help improve water and soil quality by reducing the need for tilling.

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But high-quality dividend paying stocks tend to be much more resistant to market downturns and you receive a monthly cash flow while you are waiting.

FORBES: More themes for the coming year