Sustainability and continuity of life sole depends on the natural resource called the soil. The soil is the basic unit of life sustenance. But, Human activities directly and indirectly affect the soil every day. The daily activities of living things contribute both positive and negative effects on the sustainability and growth of the soil. This effect is due to soil degradation.
Click the attachment to download.
Brown Mang
Saturday, 16 August 2014
Thursday, 29 May 2014
Wood-waste biofuel to cut greenhouse gas, transform shipping industry
A sustainable
biofuel made from Norwegian forest wood waste could help transform the
shipping industry and reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.
Saturday, 10 May 2014
Non toxic sorghum offers respite to dry land farmers
Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have launched a new type of the corn-like crop sorghum that no longer becomes toxic in prolonged drought, offering the hope that thousands of farmers may no longer need to discard the crop as a potential killer or suffer millions of shillings in livestock fatalities.
Sorghum, has traditionally been adopted by farmers in the dry areas of Eastern parts of Kenya due to its ability to withstand drought. However, when exposed to prolonged drought, the sorghum plant produces large amounts of dhurrin, which forms toxic cyanide, commonly known as Prussic acid.
Farmers thus face a big dilemma. During a period of drought when they most need food for their animals, they are often forced to discard their sorghum because they do not know how poisonous it is and how much the animals can eat without suffering from cyanide poisoning. In East Africa, for example , where the sorghum has been recording increased uptake as weather pattern changes, farmers lose hundreds of millions of shillings each year as a result:
"The fact that the sorghum plant produces large amounts of the natural cyanogenic glycoside dhurrin when exposed to drought is a serious problem for farmers in many parts of the world. Dhurrin breaks down to form toxic cyanide or Prussic acid when an animal eats the plant. So when there is a drought and most need for forage, the farmer can no longer use the crop and it goes to waste," said Professor of Plant Biochemistry at the University of Copenhagen, Birger Lindberg Møller, during the unveiling of the new crop.
The new sorghum plant is unable to produce Prussic acid. Instead of using genetic engineering, the researchers used plant breeding and advanced biochemical and molecular biological screening methods: "This is a breakthrough which, globally, can be very important for agriculture, especially in warmer areas where climate change is expected to cause longer and more frequent periods of drought in future.
Especially in Africa, where farmers cannot afford to buy new forage in periods of drought, it is a huge step forwards that they will now be able to feed their animals with sorghum they can grow themselves," says Birger Lindberg Moller. This breakthrough comes at a time when farmers have been suffering the effects of prolonged and repeated droughts, which significantly impact animal feeds by making pasture unavailable, and have seen the prices of commercial feeds hitting an all time high in the last two years.
This has seen farmers turn on drought resistant crops like sorghum, but which are then turning out to be dangerous. Last year, some 250 farmers in Eastern province and parts of Coast province lost 15million worth of livestock after feeding them with dried sorghum that had cyanide. The drought had been declared a national disaster with where over 5 million livestock died.
Brown Mang
Wednesday, 30 April 2014
Don't Mimic Nature on the Farm, Improve it by Andrew McGuire
Behind many efforts to make agriculture more sustainable is the idea that our farming systems need to be more like nature. According to agroecologistMiguel Alteri, "By designing farming systems that mimic nature, optimal use can be made of sunlight, soil nutrients, and rainfall." This strategy arises from a long history of thinking that there exists a "balance of nature." This idea has greatly influenced how we look at nature1 and agriculture. In the latter case, it drives much of what is done in organic farming and agroecology, but also finds its way into no-till farming. Nonetheless, it is false, and because it is false we can abandon the restrictive "nature knows best" argument in designing agricultural systems. Instead, we can improve on nature.
The "balance of nature" view and its derivations assume that ecosystems, as integrated communities, maintain themselves in an equilibrium if undisturbed by man. The equilibrium is maintained through governing rules, emergent properties, and self-organization within ecosystems. These properties act not just on the local populations, but on wider communities. Pests, predators, prey, and herbivores are kept in check by complex interactions between species and by a specific mix of species (biodiversity).
It is by these processes and properties that ecosystems have come to be thought of as analogous to organisms, with their own immune systems and other self-regulating mechanisms. In this model, every species has its function, and every interaction is essential for maintaining the overall working balance of the ecosystem.
Such thinking can be traced back to ancient Greece, and was supported by notable ecologists like Eugene P. Odum in his Fundamentals of Ecology (1953), but there have been critics. Henry A. Gleason (1882-1975) rejected the "super-organism" description of plant communities and instead suggested that the makeup of these communities was greatly influenced by chance events, which, within a locale, could result in very different communities; there was no balance, no climax state toward which all of the communities moved.
Other critics have been more forceful. Conservation biologist Michael Soulé writes "the idea that species live in integrated communities is a myth."2Ecologist William Drury, in his studies of forests, found no support for emergent properties, governing rules, or integration3. In his book, The Balance of Nature; Ecology's Enduring Myth4, ecologist John Kricher states it bluntly, "there really is no such thing as a 'balance of nature.' Nor is there purpose to nature." Evolutionarily speaking, Kricher points out, ecosystems do not evolve; they change because organisms change.
In addition to being false, the whole idea of the "balance of nature" is misleading. From it has come the view that ecosystems are a highly complex, integrated system of interactions between species, complexity that is beyond our understanding. The evidence, however, points to different conclusions. Drury reports "once seen, most of the interactions are simple and direct. Complexity seems to be a figment of our imaginations driven by taking the 'holistic' view." Similarly, because ecology (at least until recently) has maintained that "natural communities tend towards equilibrium" Soulé concludes "the science of ecology has been hoist on its own petard." In other words, ecologists have been misled by erroneously seeing what they assumed they would see.
Even as ecologists have, for the most part, abandoned the "balance of nature" thinking, it remains influential in popular thought and in agriculture. R. Ford Denison, in his book Darwinian Agriculture5, takes up this thread and asks the question, "Have ecosystem-level features, such as the mix of species and how they are distributed in space and time, been reliably improved by natural processes?" The answer is "no" according to Denison; natural communities have not been optimized and so we have no reason to mimic these communities in designing agricultural ecosystems. Because of this, Denison questions whether agroecologists, those for whom "the near-perfection of natural ecosystems is apparently the foundational hypothesis," are misguided in promoting certain practices based on this thinking. The evidence, according to Denison, does not support them.
In Darwinian Agriculture, Denison concludes that because "evolution has improved trees much more consistently than it has improved forests," we will find 'nature's wisdom' not in natural ecosystems, but in individual species, where natural selection has improved survival and reproduction. And by looking at adaptations in individual plants and animals, "we may be able to improve on nature."
I agree. If what we see in natural ecosystems is not optimized, but random (stochastic, say the ecologists), we should be able to do just as well or better. We can, with ingenuity, wisdom, and a good dose of humility, purposefully assemble systems that outperform natural ecosystems in providing both products and ecosystem services (Biology Fortified indeed). By taking advantage of individual species' properties and processes, and by managing abiotic conditions (soil physical and chemical properties and water levels, etc.) we can create designer agro-ecosystems, successful by criteria that matter in agriculture; productivity, efficiency, and stability. I propose that this is, in fact, what we have been doing all along (more on this in a followup post), and that the "balance of nature" has only been a distraction from our efforts to improve the sustainability of our agriculture, a distraction that should be decisively cast aside.
<![if !supportLists]>1. <![endif]>Marris, E. (2013). Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.
<![if !supportLists]>2. <![endif]>Soulé, Michael. 1995. "The Social Siege of Nature." In Reinventing Nature? Responses to postmodern deconstruction. eds. M.E. Soule and G. Lease. Washington: Island Press.
<![if !supportLists]>3. <![endif]>Drury, W.H. 1998. Chance and Change: Ecology for Conservationists. Berkeley: University of California Press.
<![if !supportLists]>4. <![endif]>Kricher, J. (2009). The Balance of Nature: Ecology's Enduring Myth. Princeton University Press.
<![if !supportLists]>5. <![endif]>Denison, R. F. (2012). Darwinian Agriculture: How Understanding Evolution Can Improve Agriculture. Princeton University Press. (Denison's other main thesis in this book is that natural selection has left us few tradeoff-free opportunities for genetic improvement through genetic engineering. Full Disclosure – Denison served as my major professor in graduate school at UC-Davis.). His book blog.
The "balance of nature" view and its derivations assume that ecosystems, as integrated communities, maintain themselves in an equilibrium if undisturbed by man. The equilibrium is maintained through governing rules, emergent properties, and self-organization within ecosystems. These properties act not just on the local populations, but on wider communities. Pests, predators, prey, and herbivores are kept in check by complex interactions between species and by a specific mix of species (biodiversity).
It is by these processes and properties that ecosystems have come to be thought of as analogous to organisms, with their own immune systems and other self-regulating mechanisms. In this model, every species has its function, and every interaction is essential for maintaining the overall working balance of the ecosystem.
Such thinking can be traced back to ancient Greece, and was supported by notable ecologists like Eugene P. Odum in his Fundamentals of Ecology (1953), but there have been critics. Henry A. Gleason (1882-1975) rejected the "super-organism" description of plant communities and instead suggested that the makeup of these communities was greatly influenced by chance events, which, within a locale, could result in very different communities; there was no balance, no climax state toward which all of the communities moved.
Other critics have been more forceful. Conservation biologist Michael Soulé writes "the idea that species live in integrated communities is a myth."2Ecologist William Drury, in his studies of forests, found no support for emergent properties, governing rules, or integration3. In his book, The Balance of Nature; Ecology's Enduring Myth4, ecologist John Kricher states it bluntly, "there really is no such thing as a 'balance of nature.' Nor is there purpose to nature." Evolutionarily speaking, Kricher points out, ecosystems do not evolve; they change because organisms change.
In addition to being false, the whole idea of the "balance of nature" is misleading. From it has come the view that ecosystems are a highly complex, integrated system of interactions between species, complexity that is beyond our understanding. The evidence, however, points to different conclusions. Drury reports "once seen, most of the interactions are simple and direct. Complexity seems to be a figment of our imaginations driven by taking the 'holistic' view." Similarly, because ecology (at least until recently) has maintained that "natural communities tend towards equilibrium" Soulé concludes "the science of ecology has been hoist on its own petard." In other words, ecologists have been misled by erroneously seeing what they assumed they would see.
Even as ecologists have, for the most part, abandoned the "balance of nature" thinking, it remains influential in popular thought and in agriculture. R. Ford Denison, in his book Darwinian Agriculture5, takes up this thread and asks the question, "Have ecosystem-level features, such as the mix of species and how they are distributed in space and time, been reliably improved by natural processes?" The answer is "no" according to Denison; natural communities have not been optimized and so we have no reason to mimic these communities in designing agricultural ecosystems. Because of this, Denison questions whether agroecologists, those for whom "the near-perfection of natural ecosystems is apparently the foundational hypothesis," are misguided in promoting certain practices based on this thinking. The evidence, according to Denison, does not support them.
In Darwinian Agriculture, Denison concludes that because "evolution has improved trees much more consistently than it has improved forests," we will find 'nature's wisdom' not in natural ecosystems, but in individual species, where natural selection has improved survival and reproduction. And by looking at adaptations in individual plants and animals, "we may be able to improve on nature."
I agree. If what we see in natural ecosystems is not optimized, but random (stochastic, say the ecologists), we should be able to do just as well or better. We can, with ingenuity, wisdom, and a good dose of humility, purposefully assemble systems that outperform natural ecosystems in providing both products and ecosystem services (Biology Fortified indeed). By taking advantage of individual species' properties and processes, and by managing abiotic conditions (soil physical and chemical properties and water levels, etc.) we can create designer agro-ecosystems, successful by criteria that matter in agriculture; productivity, efficiency, and stability. I propose that this is, in fact, what we have been doing all along (more on this in a followup post), and that the "balance of nature" has only been a distraction from our efforts to improve the sustainability of our agriculture, a distraction that should be decisively cast aside.
<![if !supportLists]>1. <![endif]>Marris, E. (2013). Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.
<![if !supportLists]>2. <![endif]>Soulé, Michael. 1995. "The Social Siege of Nature." In Reinventing Nature? Responses to postmodern deconstruction. eds. M.E. Soule and G. Lease. Washington: Island Press.
<![if !supportLists]>3. <![endif]>Drury, W.H. 1998. Chance and Change: Ecology for Conservationists. Berkeley: University of California Press.
<![if !supportLists]>4. <![endif]>Kricher, J. (2009). The Balance of Nature: Ecology's Enduring Myth. Princeton University Press.
<![if !supportLists]>5. <![endif]>Denison, R. F. (2012). Darwinian Agriculture: How Understanding Evolution Can Improve Agriculture. Princeton University Press. (Denison's other main thesis in this book is that natural selection has left us few tradeoff-free opportunities for genetic improvement through genetic engineering. Full Disclosure – Denison served as my major professor in graduate school at UC-Davis.). His book blog.
http://www.biofortified.org/2014/03/dont-mimic-nature-improve-it/
Brown Mang
Monday, 21 April 2014
Friday, 18 April 2014
Ag Day focuses on First State farming
The free Saturday affair, which drew more than 10,000 visitors last year to the university's dairy farm, is a major annual undertaking by UD's College of Agriculture & Natural Resources.
This year marks the 37th Ag Day – a space where seven students, faculty and staff volunteers coordinate a livestock display with UD's animals, live bee demonstrations, free-flight bird shows, tree-climbing, tractor rides, farm tours, beehives, live music, 4-H arts and crafts, plant sales and 70 other hand-on exhibits and demonstrations – all to bring focus to agriculture's critical role in feeding a growing world population of 7 billion.
"The takeaway, I hope, is that they see that every meal you eat, whether it's a full meal or a snack, ties back to agriculture," said UD senior Maya Althouse, 22.
"A lot of people are very distant from livestock and the farming community," she said. "So I hope that Ag Day is a chance for them to see agriculture in any form – whether it's crop or meat or dairy, pest control, food science or the effect on wildlife or habitat, how that's very much a part of their lives as a consumer. And I hope they come away with a greater appreciation for the work and the science."
Farm science
"Feed the World, Protect the Planet," is the theme for this year's Ag Day, which brings an opportunity to showcase what the college is really about, said Renee Poole, a 23-year-old recent graduate-turned-supervisor at the UDairy Creamery.
"People don't think about where their food comes from and how the animals are treated," Poole said. "A lot of it deals with farming, but there's also a lot beyond the farm, like food science.
"People are really working hard on techniques to make food safer."
Mark Rieger, dean of the College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, reinforced the words of his current and former student advocates.
"We hope to be myth busters of sorts, we want them to walk away and shake their head and say, 'Wow, we didn't know that about the food we eat every day,' " Rieger said. "If they do that, then I'm really happy."
By 2050, the population is expected be between 9 billion and 10 billion, which will require at least 60 percent, and some say 100 percent, more food production, Rieger said. Take China and India, which one-third of the word's population calls home, he said. "They're developing a middle class quickly, and those people are going out and buying cars and buying meat and dairy."
Then comes demand to grow more livestock feed and an ever-growing need for employees in the agriculture arena.
"What it turns out to be is about two job opportunities for every graduate we can produce nationwide," Rieger said. The projection is for 50,000 to 55,000 jobs, he said, yet "there are only 29,000 graduates for agriculture and natural resources every year."
Big business
The big business of agriculture in the First State carries some compelling numbers with it, according to the University of Delaware and National Agricultural Statistics Service, such as:
• 13,919: Agricultural employment (including production and processing)
• $1.2 billion: The value of agricultural production (crops and livestock)
• $429 million: Value of crop production
• $854 million: Value of poultry/livestock production
• 508,654 acres: Land in farms and
• 2,457: Number of farms.
"The backbone of Delaware agriculture is the poultry industry, which provides thousands of jobs in production and processing," said Ed Kee, Delaware Secretary of Agriculture. "Related to that are our grain producers, growing corn and soybeans, which largely goes to poultry feed."
Sussex County is the No. 1 broiler producing county in the nation. Last year saw record corn yields, the largest since 2000, and fruit and vegetable growers also are thriving, Kee said, with Delaware a leader in lima bean production.
"In Delaware, we have a variety of programs, partnerships and initiatives to bring more people into agriculture and to strengthen the industry," Kee said, and "drawing the next generation of farmers into the field is important. ... We are addressing that through the state's Young Farmers Program."
Events like Ag Day are significant for Delawareans to learn more about farming and the role that agriculture plays in our lives, Kee said.
Brown Mang
This year marks the 37th Ag Day – a space where seven students, faculty and staff volunteers coordinate a livestock display with UD's animals, live bee demonstrations, free-flight bird shows, tree-climbing, tractor rides, farm tours, beehives, live music, 4-H arts and crafts, plant sales and 70 other hand-on exhibits and demonstrations – all to bring focus to agriculture's critical role in feeding a growing world population of 7 billion.
"The takeaway, I hope, is that they see that every meal you eat, whether it's a full meal or a snack, ties back to agriculture," said UD senior Maya Althouse, 22.
"A lot of people are very distant from livestock and the farming community," she said. "So I hope that Ag Day is a chance for them to see agriculture in any form – whether it's crop or meat or dairy, pest control, food science or the effect on wildlife or habitat, how that's very much a part of their lives as a consumer. And I hope they come away with a greater appreciation for the work and the science."
Farm science
"Feed the World, Protect the Planet," is the theme for this year's Ag Day, which brings an opportunity to showcase what the college is really about, said Renee Poole, a 23-year-old recent graduate-turned-supervisor at the UDairy Creamery.
"People don't think about where their food comes from and how the animals are treated," Poole said. "A lot of it deals with farming, but there's also a lot beyond the farm, like food science.
"People are really working hard on techniques to make food safer."
Mark Rieger, dean of the College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, reinforced the words of his current and former student advocates.
"We hope to be myth busters of sorts, we want them to walk away and shake their head and say, 'Wow, we didn't know that about the food we eat every day,' " Rieger said. "If they do that, then I'm really happy."
By 2050, the population is expected be between 9 billion and 10 billion, which will require at least 60 percent, and some say 100 percent, more food production, Rieger said. Take China and India, which one-third of the word's population calls home, he said. "They're developing a middle class quickly, and those people are going out and buying cars and buying meat and dairy."
Then comes demand to grow more livestock feed and an ever-growing need for employees in the agriculture arena.
"What it turns out to be is about two job opportunities for every graduate we can produce nationwide," Rieger said. The projection is for 50,000 to 55,000 jobs, he said, yet "there are only 29,000 graduates for agriculture and natural resources every year."
Big business
The big business of agriculture in the First State carries some compelling numbers with it, according to the University of Delaware and National Agricultural Statistics Service, such as:
• 13,919: Agricultural employment (including production and processing)
• $1.2 billion: The value of agricultural production (crops and livestock)
• $429 million: Value of crop production
• $854 million: Value of poultry/livestock production
• 508,654 acres: Land in farms and
• 2,457: Number of farms.
"The backbone of Delaware agriculture is the poultry industry, which provides thousands of jobs in production and processing," said Ed Kee, Delaware Secretary of Agriculture. "Related to that are our grain producers, growing corn and soybeans, which largely goes to poultry feed."
Sussex County is the No. 1 broiler producing county in the nation. Last year saw record corn yields, the largest since 2000, and fruit and vegetable growers also are thriving, Kee said, with Delaware a leader in lima bean production.
"In Delaware, we have a variety of programs, partnerships and initiatives to bring more people into agriculture and to strengthen the industry," Kee said, and "drawing the next generation of farmers into the field is important. ... We are addressing that through the state's Young Farmers Program."
Events like Ag Day are significant for Delawareans to learn more about farming and the role that agriculture plays in our lives, Kee said.
Brown Mang
MSU STUDY SHOWS CHANGES IN FARMING PRACTICES COULD HELP ENVIRONMENTAL STABILITY
By changing row-crop management practices in economically and environmentally stable ways, U.S. farms could contribute to improved water quality, biological diversity, and soil fertility while helping to stabilize the climate, according to an article in the May issue of BioScience.
Thursday, 17 April 2014
Sunday, 13 April 2014
Thursday, 10 April 2014
Tuesday, 8 April 2014
Wednesday, 2 April 2014
Understanding plant-soil interaction could lead to new ways to combat weeds
Using high-powered DNA-based tools, a recent study at the University of Illinois identified soil microbes that negatively affect ragweed and provided a new understanding of the complex relationships going on beneath the soil surface between plants and microorganisms.
Tuesday, 1 April 2014
Monday, 31 March 2014
Sunday, 30 March 2014
Manure storage and getting through the winter.
livestock farms under the NPDES permit system are required to have manure storage systems emptied down to the point of having 6 months of available storage sometime between the November 1 and December 31. This available volume also has to include freeboard and expected precipitation. The storage does not have to be empty, just emptied down enough to have the estimated 6 months of storage, which may mean being empty for some farms.
The concept is good advice for all livestock farms but calendar dates do not provide any promise the weather will cooperate. But the requirement does reduce the need to spread manure during the winter. In general, winter manure is surface applied and surface applications during the winter are vulnerable to random weather conditions; the worst being rain on frozen ground or snow melting so fast that runoff occurs before the ground can thaw and take in the moisture and manure. Winter applications not only have to be concerned with the weather and soil conditions the day of spreading and several days after, but also several months later when thaw occurs.
One way to reduce the risks of manure applications is to avoid winter application. And one way to achieve that is to have manure storage systems emptied down in the fall to the point of having the storage capacity to get through till spring without having to haul manure.
The rain and snow events that have already occurred this fall have made have made empting manure storages very challenging to say the least. Given the wet field conditions across the state there will not be many spreading days left until winter sets in. Those farms needing to haul additional manure before spring do have options.
It is still legal to winter spread manure in Michigan, as long as it does not reach waters of the state via runoff, rain or snowmelt any time after application. Permitted farms are required to utilize the manure application risk indicator (MARI) to determine which fields are acceptable for winter spreading and which ones to avoid. This spreadsheet can be helpful to any size farm and can be found at www.maeap.org and search for MARI. This spreadsheet helps you look at soil type, slope, rate of manure, distance to waters and other factors that are important in estimating and reducing the risk of manure running off in the winter.
Research at the University of Wisconsin has shown that fall applications, ahead of winter snow events, are generally safer for water quality than manure applied in the winter months, and especially manure applied onto snow covered fields. For a recorded webcast on their research, visit http://www.extension.org/pages/60034/spreading-manure-in-winter-what-are-the-risks.
Brown Mang
The concept is good advice for all livestock farms but calendar dates do not provide any promise the weather will cooperate. But the requirement does reduce the need to spread manure during the winter. In general, winter manure is surface applied and surface applications during the winter are vulnerable to random weather conditions; the worst being rain on frozen ground or snow melting so fast that runoff occurs before the ground can thaw and take in the moisture and manure. Winter applications not only have to be concerned with the weather and soil conditions the day of spreading and several days after, but also several months later when thaw occurs.
One way to reduce the risks of manure applications is to avoid winter application. And one way to achieve that is to have manure storage systems emptied down in the fall to the point of having the storage capacity to get through till spring without having to haul manure.
The rain and snow events that have already occurred this fall have made have made empting manure storages very challenging to say the least. Given the wet field conditions across the state there will not be many spreading days left until winter sets in. Those farms needing to haul additional manure before spring do have options.
It is still legal to winter spread manure in Michigan, as long as it does not reach waters of the state via runoff, rain or snowmelt any time after application. Permitted farms are required to utilize the manure application risk indicator (MARI) to determine which fields are acceptable for winter spreading and which ones to avoid. This spreadsheet can be helpful to any size farm and can be found at www.maeap.org and search for MARI. This spreadsheet helps you look at soil type, slope, rate of manure, distance to waters and other factors that are important in estimating and reducing the risk of manure running off in the winter.
Research at the University of Wisconsin has shown that fall applications, ahead of winter snow events, are generally safer for water quality than manure applied in the winter months, and especially manure applied onto snow covered fields. For a recorded webcast on their research, visit http://www.extension.org/pages/60034/spreading-manure-in-winter-what-are-the-risks.
Brown Mang
Observation of calcium in canola meal in pig diets
When formulating diets for pigs, it is more accurate to use values for standardized or true nutrient digestibility than values for apparent nutrient digestibility because the former are additive in mixed diets.
Research at the University of Illinois is helping to determine the true digestibility of calcium in swine diets. Hans Stein, a professor of animal sciences at the U of I, led the team that conducted the study.
Research at the University of Illinois is helping to determine the true digestibility of calcium in swine diets. Hans Stein, a professor of animal sciences at the U of I, led the team that conducted the study.
Thursday, 27 March 2014
Tuesday, 25 March 2014
Commission proposes new organic farming rules
The European Commission today (25 March) unveiled plans to improve organic food production and the labelling of organic products. But there are concerns that the proposal does not go far enough to boost a sector that has quadrupled in size in the past ten years.
Saturday, 22 March 2014
The answer to food poverty does not lie in making foods cheaper.... Take time to read this
A specialist in food ethics at Harper Adams University has warned that in order to sustainably feed a growing population into the future, the days of cheap food must draw to a close.
Increases in the number of people who experience food poverty and regularly go without food could be said to be a result of welfare reforms being enacted during the current recession. But Ralph Early, Head of the
Increases in the number of people who experience food poverty and regularly go without food could be said to be a result of welfare reforms being enacted during the current recession. But Ralph Early, Head of the
Monday, 17 March 2014
Breeding leads to increased control of crop diseases.
The description of the activity sounds like a project from a doctorate-level biotechnology course — and it could be and probably was for some of the researchers at Monsanto studying not just plants, but seeds and their genes and chromosomes.
The science behind urban farming at Selovita.
The road to Selovita on Metro Parkway in Fort Myers was filled with different types of industrial businesses -- millworkers, electrical suppliers, granite distributors, and pavers -- making it the last place anyone would expect to find an urban farm.
Sunday, 16 March 2014
Saturday, 15 March 2014
New maize map to aid plant breeding efforts
In a massive survey of genetic diversity in maize, also known as corn, researchers across the United States, have developed a gene map that should pave the way to significant improvements in a plant that is a major source of food, fuel, animal feed and fiber around the world.
Thursday, 13 March 2014
Vote for my blog; ISSUES IN SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL GROWTH for the #YoBloCo Awards 2014.
Link to vote for TWO BLOGS which includes mine is .http://www.yobloco.info/submission?filter=individual
YoBloCo Awards
Vote for my blog; ISSUES IN SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL GROWTH for the #YoBloCo Awards 2014. link to vote for TWO blogs;http://www.yobloco.info/submission?filter=individual
Wednesday, 12 March 2014
Farmers’ returns on investment to continue diminishing
Ministry of Agriculture Principal Secretary Dr Robert Thwala said the sad part would be that they would sell off the meagre physical assets they owned.
He said the farmers would fail to feed their own families and worse still, the ageing farming generation had failed to attract the youth into the sector as farming had become the business of the poor who depended on hand-outs.
He said the farmers would fail to feed their own families and worse still, the ageing farming generation had failed to attract the youth into the sector as farming had become the business of the poor who depended on hand-outs.
Monday, 10 March 2014
Affordable Care Act impacts farming families
Farm families, as small business owners, often need to purchase health insurance coverage for themselves. They also often manage employees and need to make decisions about what they will offer as healthcare coverage.
Creation and Improvement Of Economy Through Livestock Farming.
Awareness on creation of rural economy through livestock farming was jointly organized by Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) for North East Region, Research complex Jharnapani and All India Coordinated Research Project on Pig (AICRP-Pig), Nagaland University School of Agricultural Science and Rural Development (NU-SASRD), Medziphema Campus on Thursday at ICAR for NEH Region. The scheme is funded by Tribal Sub-plan. Seventeen farmers participated from Kohima District.
How African Agricultural Yields can be Boosted.
For tens of millions of people in rural Africa, life has gotten harder in recent years. Reliant on erratic rains, working exhausted soil and hobbled by decades of underinvestment and neglect, many have sunk deeper into poverty as agriculture — the mainstay of the region's economy — continues to face neglect. A growing number of African governments and UN and non-governmental agencies argue that unless urgent efforts are made to raise crop yields, build transportation and marketing systems and adopt modern, sustainable farming methods, the continent will fail to reach its development goals and the rural majority will reap only meagre harvests.
Tuesday, 4 March 2014
Poor forage quality requires solid nutrition management
Concerned with forage quality, particularly over late-made first cutting hay, an Ohio State University Extension specialist said farmers need to diligently manage livestock nutrition needs this fall and winter.
"We have pretty good forage quantity, but what is going to hurt us is the quality," said Rory Lewandowski, an educator with the Extension Beef Team. "Most of southeastern Ohio is going to be in that situation, because we had decent amounts of hay in terms of tonnage, but the quality, especially of that first cutting, is going to present a problem."
Lewandowski said some producers reported making more hay in terms of overall tonnage than in recent memory, but that most were uniformly late getting into fields because of the overly wet spring across most of Ohio.
"We have pretty good forage quantity, but what is going to hurt us is the quality," said Rory Lewandowski, an educator with the Extension Beef Team. "Most of southeastern Ohio is going to be in that situation, because we had decent amounts of hay in terms of tonnage, but the quality, especially of that first cutting, is going to present a problem."
Lewandowski said some producers reported making more hay in terms of overall tonnage than in recent memory, but that most were uniformly late getting into fields because of the overly wet spring across most of Ohio.
Monday, 3 March 2014
Livestock beating pandas to the bamboo buffet
Pandas, it turns out, aren't celebrating the Year of the Horse.
Livestock, particularly horses, have been identified as a significant threat to panda survival. The reason: They're beating the pandas to the bamboo buffet. A paper by Michigan State University panda habitat experts published in this week's Journal for Nature Conservation explores an oft-hidden yet significant conflict in conservation.
Livestock, particularly horses, have been identified as a significant threat to panda survival. The reason: They're beating the pandas to the bamboo buffet. A paper by Michigan State University panda habitat experts published in this week's Journal for Nature Conservation explores an oft-hidden yet significant conflict in conservation.
Sunday, 2 March 2014
Herbicides may not be sole cause of declining plant diversity
The increasing use of chemical herbicides is often blamed for the declining plant biodiversity in farms. However, other factors beyond herbicide exposure may be more important to species diversity, according to Penn State researchers.
If herbicides are a key factor in the declining diversity, then thriving species would be more tolerant to widely used herbicides than rare or declining species, according to J. Franklin Egan,research ecologist, USDA-Agricultural Research Service.
If herbicides are a key factor in the declining diversity, then thriving species would be more tolerant to widely used herbicides than rare or declining species, according to J. Franklin Egan,research ecologist, USDA-Agricultural Research Service.
Coral fish biodiversity loss: Humankind could be responsible.
Literal biodiversity reservoirs, coral reefs and associated ecosystems are in grave danger from natural and human-made disturbances. The latest World Resources Institute assessment is alarming with 75% of coral reefs reported as endangered worldwide, a figure that may reach 100% by 2050. The numbers are concerning, particularly as coral reefs provide sustenance and economic benefits for many developing countries and fish biodiversity on coral reefs partly determines the biomass available for human consumption.
Competition breeds new fish species, study finds
Competition may play an important role during the evolution of new species, but empirical evidence for this is scarce, despite being implicit in Charles Darwin's work and support from theoretical studies.
Dr Martin Genner from Bristol's School of Biological Sciences and colleagues used population genetics and experimental evidence to demonstrate a role for competition that leads to the differentiation of new species within the highly diverse cichlid fishes of Lake Tanganyika in East Africa.
Dr Martin Genner from Bristol's School of Biological Sciences and colleagues used population genetics and experimental evidence to demonstrate a role for competition that leads to the differentiation of new species within the highly diverse cichlid fishes of Lake Tanganyika in East Africa.
Saturday, 1 March 2014
Friday, 28 February 2014
Cover Crops can be foul Weather Friends.
Cover crops proved themselves foul weather friends during the Great Drought of 2012. A groundbreaking farmer survey conducted in the Upper Mississippi River watershed showed that during that year's brutal growing season keeping the soil covered with small grains and other plants helped fields preserve enough precious moisture to provide a yield bump of, in the case of corn, around 11 bushels per acre. Soybeans planted after cover crops enjoyed a yield advantage as well that year, according to the survey, which was conducted in states like Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and the Dakotas, among others.
11 innovations to fight food and water scarcity.
Precision agriculture is one of the unexpected bright spots in a new International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) report that examines 11 agricultural innovations many hold up as the answer to the world's burgeoning food scarcity, water shortage and climate change challenges.
None of the technologies considered can address these concerns on its own, but taken in aggregate they could help improve global crop yields by up to 67 percent by 2050 while reducing food prices by nearly half, reports IFPRI.
None of the technologies considered can address these concerns on its own, but taken in aggregate they could help improve global crop yields by up to 67 percent by 2050 while reducing food prices by nearly half, reports IFPRI.
New soil test measures soil health.
SALEM, Ohio — For decades, farmers have been measuring the quality of their soil by the nutrients found in that soil. But, thanks to research by a laboratory in Maine and a U.S. Department of Agriculture scientist in Texas, there is a new test that determines overall health of the soil.
Known as the Soil Health Nutrient Tool, the test measures the soil's carbon dioxide rate, microbial active carbon and water soluble carbon. Each of these is an indicator of the soil's biological health — its structure and its ability to use nutrients.
Known as the Soil Health Nutrient Tool, the test measures the soil's carbon dioxide rate, microbial active carbon and water soluble carbon. Each of these is an indicator of the soil's biological health — its structure and its ability to use nutrients.
Scientists to tackle burden of cattle disease on UK farms .
The £1 million project will look at how to improve the detection and control of liver fluke, a disease that is transmitted by the dwarf pond snail and is found on over 75% of UK dairy farms.
The disease causes cattle to lose weight, become anaemic, lethargic and reduces productivity in dairy and beef herds. Outside of the UK, there have also been examples of it being transmitted to humans.
The disease causes cattle to lose weight, become anaemic, lethargic and reduces productivity in dairy and beef herds. Outside of the UK, there have also been examples of it being transmitted to humans.
Heritage chicken farmers flock for holistic breeding.
Three Cariboo women committed to holistic farming practices, as well as preserving heritage chickens for sustainable meat and eggs, have come together as partners in a unique venture.
Danielle Kugelstadt from Snowvale Heritage Chicken in Big Lake, Danielle Kershaw from Kershaw Farm in Springhouse and Sarah Best from Phoenix Farm in 150 Mile House raise, breed and sell free-range heritage chickens and their eggs.
Danielle Kugelstadt from Snowvale Heritage Chicken in Big Lake, Danielle Kershaw from Kershaw Farm in Springhouse and Sarah Best from Phoenix Farm in 150 Mile House raise, breed and sell free-range heritage chickens and their eggs.
Family Farmers
Family farmers are more than food producers. They are stewards of biodiversity, climate change fighters, and entrepreneurs, boosting local economies. To help them do their multiple jobs better, we need to invest more in family farmers, small and large, in the United States -- and around the world. Watch our new video about the importance of family farmers here.
Thursday, 27 February 2014
Higher nitrogen rates don't always equal higher corn yields in the South
Many growers automatically equate higher nitrogen rates with higher corn yields, but that’s not necessarily the case.
Several ways to lose nitrogen
There are several different ways to lose nitrogen during the growing season, notes Larson. Volatility is when nitrogen is applied to the surface and then volatilized and lost to the atmosphere.
Egg producers relieved by farm bill
Petaluma’s egg farmers are celebrating the passage of the federal farm bill without a controversial amendment that would have given out-of-state producers an unfair market advantage by skirting a costly California regulation.
Wednesday, 26 February 2014
Ohio-Farmers-Educators-Do-More-with-Cover-Crops-and-No-Till
In western Ohio, farmers and agricultural educators are making a compelling case that cover crops and no-till will get you more from less: Requiring less fuel, less machinery, fewer chemical inputs and less acreage, these ecological farming practices lead to improved profitability, better soil health, more jobs, improved environmental stewardship and a better quality of life.
Conservation-Practices-Reduce-Nutrients,-Soil-Runoff-In-Chesapeake-Bay.
A record number of voluntary conservation practices adopted by Chesapeake Bay farmers since 2006 have significantly reduced the amount of nitrogen, sediment and phosphorus leaving cultivated croplands, according to a new report released.
The report, part of USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP), estimates that since 2006, conservation practices applied by farmers and landowners are reducing nitrogen leaving fields by 48.6 million pounds each year, or 26%, and reducing phosphorus by 7.1 million pounds, or 46%.
Tuesday, 25 February 2014
CWT Assists with 5.8 Million Pounds Export Sales
Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) has accepted 23 requests for export assistance from Dairy Farmers of America, Foremost Farms USA, Land O’Lakes, and Tillamook County Creamery Association to sell 4.791 million pounds (2,173 metric tons) of Cheddar, Gouda and Monterey Jack cheese, and 1.032 million pounds (468 metric tons) of 82% butter to customers in Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and South Pacific. The product will be delivered in February through June 2014.
Monday, 24 February 2014
Sunday, 23 February 2014
Genetic chip will help salmon farmers breed better fish
Atlantic salmon production could be boosted by a new technology that will help select the best fish for breeding.
The development will enable salmon breeders to improve the quality of their stock and its resistance to disease.
Monday, 17 February 2014
Fishing the road to future sustainability in agriculture.
What is the real cost of food production.
Unsustainable farming systems that damage the environment and public health thrive at the expense of sustainable producers. Patrick Holden makes the case for "true cost accounting.
We must account for the real costs of food, or sustainable food systems will never break through to the mainstream.
We must account for the real costs of food, or sustainable food systems will never break through to the mainstream.
SRI Rice Production Method May Reduce Global 'Resource Wars.
Is there is a "rice revolution" in India's poorest state, Bihar? Sumant Kumar claims to have shattered the world's record for output of the staple.
Kumar, from the village of Darveshpura in the district of Nalanda, usually harvested four to five tons per hectare. In 2011, each stalk was heavier and each grain bigger. The result? The shy young man had grown 22.4 tons on a hectare. That topped the record of 19.4 tons held by China's Yuan Longping, the elderly agronomist known as the "father of rice."
Kumar, from the village of Darveshpura in the district of Nalanda, usually harvested four to five tons per hectare. In 2011, each stalk was heavier and each grain bigger. The result? The shy young man had grown 22.4 tons on a hectare. That topped the record of 19.4 tons held by China's Yuan Longping, the elderly agronomist known as the "father of rice."
IRRI Deputy Director for Research Discusses Controversial 22.4 Ton per Hectare Yield Claims and Why We’re Missing the Point.
Dr Achim Dobberman speaks.
Nine years ago, I published one of the first papers that tried to provide a critical analysis of the biological principles underlying the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and its potential to improve rice production.
Nine years ago, I published one of the first papers that tried to provide a critical analysis of the biological principles underlying the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and its potential to improve rice production.
Sunday, 16 February 2014
Indigenous Peoples Stand Up to Save Native Corn.
From time immemorial, indigenous communities in the Western Hemisphere have depended on corn not only as a source of nutrition, but as the center of their cultural traditions and spirituality. This past September, the Yaqui Peoples of Sonora Mexico hosted the inaugural "Indigenous Peoples International Conference on Corn" in the Zapoteca Nation of Oaxaca Mexico. The conference, attended by 48 Indigenous Nations across from North, Central and South America, was created to encourage unity among indigenous communities, restore traditional economies, and ensure the survival of all native varieties of corn.
Friday, 14 February 2014
Bangladesh Farmers Achieve 25-30% Higher Rice Yield with Dry Bed Technique.
Bangladesh Farmers Achieve 25-30% Higher Rice Yield
Bangladesh farmers have achieved 25% - 30% higher rice yield in the current boro season by using a new system for growing IRRI-boro saplings called 'dry bed technology.' Many farmers in the northern region of the country used this technology to grow IRRI-boro saplings and said that this system of growing saplings is better than the traditional system as it saves land, time, money and labor.
The new system allows the farmers to grow saplings in dry beds and does not need much water unlike the traditional system in which the saplings have to be grown in low lands where there is ample water. The saplings grown in this method are not damaged by cold weather or heavy fog and they yield 25-30% higher than the saplings grown by the traditional method. While 50-60 days are needed to grow saplings under traditional method, only 25-30 days are needed using the new technology. Growing saplings with the new dry technology needs about Tk 271,700 - Tk 284,050 (around $3,444 - $3,600) per hectare compared to Tk 382,850 - Tk 395,200 (about $4,853 - $5,009) per hectare with the traditional method. Also farmers can easily harvest these saplings as they are healthy and strong.
Nearly five hundred farmers in different villages in the Lalmonirhat district have used the new system for producing IRRI-boro saplings, according to the district's agriculture officer. At least 16 - 19 hectares of land have been used for producing IRRI-boro saplings using the dry bed technology, and they are satisfied as they got 100% output from their seedbeds compared to only 50%-60% output from the seedbeds sown under the traditional method. The officer noted that the agriculture officials are encouraging farmers to grow saplings under the new method and said he was confident that more number of farmers will use this method in the next season.
Brown Mang
Bangladesh farmers have achieved 25% - 30% higher rice yield in the current boro season by using a new system for growing IRRI-boro saplings called 'dry bed technology.' Many farmers in the northern region of the country used this technology to grow IRRI-boro saplings and said that this system of growing saplings is better than the traditional system as it saves land, time, money and labor.
The new system allows the farmers to grow saplings in dry beds and does not need much water unlike the traditional system in which the saplings have to be grown in low lands where there is ample water. The saplings grown in this method are not damaged by cold weather or heavy fog and they yield 25-30% higher than the saplings grown by the traditional method. While 50-60 days are needed to grow saplings under traditional method, only 25-30 days are needed using the new technology. Growing saplings with the new dry technology needs about Tk 271,700 - Tk 284,050 (around $3,444 - $3,600) per hectare compared to Tk 382,850 - Tk 395,200 (about $4,853 - $5,009) per hectare with the traditional method. Also farmers can easily harvest these saplings as they are healthy and strong.
Nearly five hundred farmers in different villages in the Lalmonirhat district have used the new system for producing IRRI-boro saplings, according to the district's agriculture officer. At least 16 - 19 hectares of land have been used for producing IRRI-boro saplings using the dry bed technology, and they are satisfied as they got 100% output from their seedbeds compared to only 50%-60% output from the seedbeds sown under the traditional method. The officer noted that the agriculture officials are encouraging farmers to grow saplings under the new method and said he was confident that more number of farmers will use this method in the next season.
Brown Mang
Coffee Agroforestry: A Shady Affair?
Coffee plantations are expanding fast at the cost of disrupting ecological systems. Coffee Agroforestry System (AFS) seem to have positive impact on environmental services; or do they?
Kodagu, located in the Western Ghats in India, produces 2% of the world's coffee. The Western Ghats is one of the top ten biological hotspots in the world; over 137 species of mammals and 508 species of birds can be found here, including a sizeable population of majestic elephants.
Kodagu, located in the Western Ghats in India, produces 2% of the world's coffee. The Western Ghats is one of the top ten biological hotspots in the world; over 137 species of mammals and 508 species of birds can be found here, including a sizeable population of majestic elephants.
Agroforestry: Attracting youth to farming and transforming Rural India.
When the company he worked for was celebrating lavish annual function at Goa, India my husband Gaurav Chaudhary was bringing 20 calves from outskirts of Delhi to the deep interiors of Uttar Pradesh where he is actively engaged in Agroforestry, Dairy and Agribusiness.
Gaurav, post graduated in Economics from prestigious Delhi School of Economics in 2006, worked for few months as an economic analyst with WNS Global Services and quit his high profile job for farming. Having grown up in farming family he knew how much an educated youth like him could contribute to farming community and village if they work with full enthusiasm and determination in agriculture.
My father in law Chaudhary Veerpal Singh was the first person in the village to plant Poplar trees on farm in 1987 when West India Match Company launched an extensive campaign in North India to motivate farmers to adopt poplar based agroforestry as the local matchwood and timber companies were facing acute shortage of supply of wood. Since this was new to farmers and required a waiting period of 7 years farmers were reluctant to plant it. " I thought it to be my responsibility to promote trees on farms as it would not only save our forests from being cut but also benefit our environment in long run", recalls Chaudhary Veerpal Singh.
Gaurav had seen his farmer father Chaudhary Veerpal Singh working hard throughout the year to take best yields of crops so that he could be educated. " In school only I had decided that after completing my higher studies I will go back to my village and get involved in farming , modernize agriculture and improve attitude and perception of people towards this very important sector of our economy."
Gaurav 's passion for farming and for rural India inspired me too and after completing my MSC Business Economics from University Of Surrey , London I married him in 2011. Both of us are thoroughly enjoying our work and it gives us immense satisfaction that with our intelligence, good education background we are actually transforming our village. We raise very good poplar plantations on farm, guide farmers on right practices of growing poplar, eucalyptus trees and other crops. With good returns from trees and crops we are continuously growing in related areas as well. We are expanding our dairy farm where we rear H.F cows and sell milk in city. Dairy and agriculture go very well together. Farmer can earn daily from milk by selling it and make their soil rich by adding cow dung. In order to improve farmers know how on running successful dairy farm we have also set up an association called Progressive Dairy Farmers Association, U.P wherein regular meetings with Dairy experts are conducted.
Our Journey from agriculture to agroforestry, from agroforestry to Dairy Enterprise and further to Agro inputs business shows endless opportunities for growth and innovation offered by Agriculture. I and my husband are earning more in agriculture than we could have earned in Corporate.
Farming needs intelligence, good know-how, and lot of professionalism to carry complex agricultural operations. We need to change our attitude and perception towards farming and I request youth to come up with green thumb and not to underestimate farming. Agriculture has the potential to provide them with not only very good income but also the chance to transform rural India.
Seeing us many farmers in the region started planting poplar on their farms. Small farmers plant poplar and eucalyptus on boundary while large farmers plant block plantations of poplar trees and grow intercrops underneath which ensure them annual returns. They are further diversifying to Dairy and Poultry farming. They now feel proud of their work and realize how much they can grow if they work with sincerity on their farms.
Not to forget poplar based agroforestry has improved lives of farmers with its higher returns, provided security against crop failures due to extreme weather and climatic conditions; reduced regular engagement and attendance on high input intensive culture of other crops and provided financial stability to farmers. Higher returns from agroforestry facilitated farmers to give their children best education. It has opened an avenue for youth to grow in agriculture.
The Net Present Value of returns from poplar agroforestry per acre per year (1 acre = 0.4 hectare) turns out to be USD 2000 compared to just USD 491 from paddy- wheat rotation the traditional agriculture practice followed in this Pilibhit, U.P. Poplar has become popular among farmers as it is ready for harvest in 6 years, allows intercropping with it, meets fuel wood requirement of farmers, needs less management compared to other farming practices. Agroforestry is to some extent also playing a positive role in reigniting the love of youth for farming which is also very important if we're to meet the challenge of feeding 9 billion people by 2050.
I request educated youth to come back to their roots and give shade to many people who have worked hard in fields day and night to feed them. Youth can transform rural India with its great determination and hence make tremendous contribution to society and environment.
Brown Mang
Cameroon Targets Higher Food Production with ‘Rice Month’ in March.
The Cameroon Ministry of Trade is striving to promote domestic food production in 2014. Starting in March, they will focus on a different local sector each month. They are starting off the project with "Rice Month" this March.
Cameroon's government is making efforts to increase consumption of domestic rice. Currently, the country produces about 100,000 tons of rice each year, and imports about half a million tons annually, according to the USDA, with some of that paddy and rice finding its way into Nigeria.
Brown Mang
Cameroon's government is making efforts to increase consumption of domestic rice. Currently, the country produces about 100,000 tons of rice each year, and imports about half a million tons annually, according to the USDA, with some of that paddy and rice finding its way into Nigeria.
Brown Mang
Study Finds Methane Leaks Negate Benefits of Natural Gas as a Fuel for Vehicles.
But a surprising new report, to be published Friday in the journal Science, concludes that switching buses and trucks from traditional diesel fuel to natural gas could actually harm the planet's climate.
Although burning natural gas as a transportation fuel produces 30 percent less planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions than burning diesel, the drilling and production of natural gas can lead to leaks of methane, a greenhouse gas 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
Those methane leaks negate the climate change benefits of using natural gas as a transportation fuel, according to the study, which was conducted by scientists at Stanford University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
The study concludes that there is already about 50 percent more methane in the atmosphere than previously estimated by the Environmental Protection Agency, a signal that more methane is leaking from the natural gas production chain than previously thought.
"Switching from diesel to natural gas, that's not a good policy from a climate perspective," said the study's lead author, Adam R. Brandt, an assistant professor in the department of energy resources at Stanford.
But the study does conclude that switching from coal-fired power plants — the nation's largest source of carbon pollution — to natural gas-fired power plants will still lower planet-warming emissions over all. Natural gas emits just half the carbon pollution of coal, and even factoring in the increased pollution from methane leaks, natural gas-fired plants lead to less emissions than coal over 100 years, the study found.
The report adds weight to efforts by New York and other Northeastern states to push the federal government to regulate methane emissions. Currently, there are no federal regulations on methane emissions from oil and gas production, although some states are considering such rules.
The finding on trucks and buses is a blow to years of public policy efforts to switch the vehicles from diesel to natural gas, an effort aimed at decreasing pollution as well as America's dependence on foreign oil.
President Obama praised natural gas production in his last two State of the Union addresses, and has noted that natural gas production creates jobs while natural gas-powered electricity is more climate friendly than coal. But environmentalists say that natural gas production comes with the hidden climate risk of methane leaks from drilling wellheads, valves and pipelines.
The report's authors conclude that the leaks can be reined in if oil and gas companies invest in technology to prevent methane from escaping into the atmosphere from gas wells and production facilities. That recommendation is in line with a petition sent by New York and other Northeastern states urging the E.P.A. to create federal methane leak regulations.
The regulations would require that oil and gas companies install equipment at wellheads to capture the leaks, use valves in production facilities that do not allow methane to escape and have regular inspections.
"This report justifies E.P.A. taking action on regulation of methane pollution and to focus that regulation on existing wells," said Mark Brownstein, chief counsel for the American climate and energy program at the Environmental Defense Fund.
The oil and gas industry has consistently resisted new regulations. Natural gas developers say that it is in their interest to capture methane since it is a component of natural gas and can be sold as such. Allowing it to escape causes them to lose money.
"The industry has led efforts to reduce emissions of methane by developing new technologies and equipment, and these efforts are paying off," Carlton Carroll, a spokesman for the American Petroleum Institute, which lobbies for oil and gas companies in Washington, wrote in an email. "Given that producers are voluntarily reducing methane emissions, additional regulations are not necessary."
Friday's report is one of a series of closely watched and sometimes hotly disputed studies on the environmental impacts of natural gas production. Natural gas producers celebrated a September report published in The Proceedings of the Natural Academies of Science that concluded that methane leaks from hydraulic fracturing sites are, on average, at or lower than levels set by the E.P.A.
However, that study also found that on some fracking rigs, valves allow methane to escape at levels 30 percent higher than those set by E.P.A. The authors of Friday's study say that despite the good news in that report, methane appears to be leaking elsewhere in the natural gas supply, production and transportation chain. For example, the authors said, methane could be leaking from facilities where natural gas is stored, compressed or transported.
Brown Mang
Thursday, 13 February 2014
Why size matters in agricultural production.
Coastal areas in Kenya provide a vivid illustration of the factors that thwart agricultural potential across much of Africa: small plot sizes, minimal irrigation and endemic poverty, which precludes investment, and in turn, greater productivity.
Wednesday, 12 February 2014
Sunday, 9 February 2014
Saturday, 8 February 2014
Thursday, 6 February 2014
Wednesday, 5 February 2014
First African study on biodiversity in genetically modified maize finds insects abundant
Previous studies from China, Spain, and the United States on genetically modified (GM) rice, cotton, and maize have concluded that the biodiversity of insects and related arthropods in GM crop fields was essentially the same as that among conventional crops. Now a new study from South Africa shows similar results.
Tuesday, 4 February 2014
Biofuel crops 'may amplify mosquito-borne disease'.
The expansion of the some biofuel crops may unwittingly increase the risk of mosquito-borne disease by altering the insects' life cycle, a study suggests.
The so-called first-generation biofuel crops, most notably maize, are increasingly being replaced by second-generation biofuel crops, such as perennial grasses, which require less energy, water, fertilizers and pesticides to thrive.
The so-called first-generation biofuel crops, most notably maize, are increasingly being replaced by second-generation biofuel crops, such as perennial grasses, which require less energy, water, fertilizers and pesticides to thrive.
Slowing down the floodwaters.
Drought tolerant maize to hugely benefit Africa.
Distributing new varieties of drought tolerant maize to African farmers could save more than $1.5 billion dollars, boost yields by up to a quarter and lift some of the world's poorest out of poverty, a study found.
The study published on Thursday by the Mexico-based International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), with input from other food research institutes, focused on 13 African countries in which it has been handing out drought tolerant maize to farmers over the past four years.
It described maize as "the most important cereal crop in Africa," a lifeline to 300 million vulnerable people.
The Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa plan aims to hasten the adoption of maize varieties that withstand dry weather.
The study published on Thursday by the Mexico-based International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), with input from other food research institutes, focused on 13 African countries in which it has been handing out drought tolerant maize to farmers over the past four years.
It described maize as "the most important cereal crop in Africa," a lifeline to 300 million vulnerable people.
The Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa plan aims to hasten the adoption of maize varieties that withstand dry weather.
Mexico City vows to protect historic maize varieties.
Mexico City has announced that it will take steps to protect more than 60 maize breeds known to grow in its territory, also known as the Mexican Altiplano.
The announcement came just days before the Mexican Government said that it would allow the experimental cultivation of genetically modified (GM) maize in other parts of the country.
The first announcement was made by Marcelo Ebrard, mayor of Mexico City, in regulations known as the 'Declaration of Protection of the Maize Breeds of the Mexico Altiplano'.
"The Altiplano is one of the centres of maize domestication," says the decree. "There the Teotihuacan, Tolteca and Mexica cultures have their splendor and contributed to the integration of Mesoamerican agriculture."
The announcement came just days before the Mexican Government said that it would allow the experimental cultivation of genetically modified (GM) maize in other parts of the country.
The first announcement was made by Marcelo Ebrard, mayor of Mexico City, in regulations known as the 'Declaration of Protection of the Maize Breeds of the Mexico Altiplano'.
"The Altiplano is one of the centres of maize domestication," says the decree. "There the Teotihuacan, Tolteca and Mexica cultures have their splendor and contributed to the integration of Mesoamerican agriculture."
Sunday, 2 February 2014
Genetic analysis calls for the protection of two highly endangered Portuguese fish species
Chromosome study of the endemic Portuguese fish Squalius aradensis and S. torgalensis draws attention to their current status of highly endangered species. Rapid habitat loss in combination with ongoing geographic confinement and a poor genetic bank of the two species requires the fast application of specific conservation measures to preserve the integrity of their genomes.
New collaborative process can help improve management of marine recreational fisheries
In an era when fisheries management is rife with controversy, new research led by a team of University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science fisheries scientists shows that a new, stakeholder-driven process can improve the way we manage fisheries targeted by both commercial and recreational interests.
Traditional fisheries management approach jeopardizes marine ecosystems worldwide, expert argues
In a Perspectives article published online in the Oct. 26 issue of the journal Science, Dr. Ellen K. Pikitch, executive director of the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science and professor at Stony Brook University, cautions against continuing traditional fisheries management.
Friday, 31 January 2014
Hempseed oil packed with health-promoting compounds, study finds
Long stigmatized because of its "high"-inducing cousins, hemp -- derived from low-hallucinogenic varieties of cannabis -- is making a comeback, not just as a source of fiber for textiles, but also as a crop packed with oils that have potential health benefits. A new study, which appears in ACS'Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, details just how many healthful compounds hempseed oil contains.
Infants know plants provide food, but need to see they're safe to eat
Infants as young as six months old tend to expect that plants are food sources, but only after an adult shows them that the food is safe to eat, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
Coastal ocean aquaculture can be environmentally sustainable
Specific types of fish farming can be accomplished with minimal or no harm to the coastal ocean environment as long as proper planning and safeguards are in place, according to a new report from researchers at NOAA's National Ocean Service.
Nine steps to save waterways and fisheries identified by researchers.
The key to clean water and sustainable fisheries is to follow nine guiding principles of water management, says a team of Canadian biologists.Tuesday, 28 January 2014
New research on community gardening reveals the roots of emotional and physical health
Did you ever
make mud pies as a kid? Remember how good it felt to get your hands in
the dirt, to run through the sprinkler, and get pollen from a
sweet-smelling flower on your nose? Most kids who grow up in cities
today never have this experience. But the latest research aims to change
all that.
Jill
Litt, PhD, author and associate professor at the University of Colorado
Gardening Gives Older Adults Benefits Like Hand Strength And Self Esteem
Researchers at
Kansas State University already have shown that gardening can offer
enough moderate physical activity to keep older adults in shape.
In
research to be published in February in the journal HortScience, the
researchers discovered that among the other health benefits of gardening
is keeping older hands strong and nimble.
Monday, 27 January 2014
Increased grazing helps improve soil
The world's soil is in trouble. Ecologists say without dramatic changes to how we manage land, vast swathes of grassland are at risk of turning into hard-packed desert. To make sure that doesn't happen, researchers are testing out innovative ways to keep moisture in the soil.
In eastern Colorado, one way could be in the plodding hooves of cattle.
Conventional wisdom tells you that if ranchland ground has less grass, the problem is too many cows. But that's not always the case. It depends on how you manage them, if you make sure they keep moving.
In eastern Colorado, one way could be in the plodding hooves of cattle.
Conventional wisdom tells you that if ranchland ground has less grass, the problem is too many cows. But that's not always the case. It depends on how you manage them, if you make sure they keep moving.
Conservationists to Convert Pesky Prairie Dogs into Valuable Farm Tools in Northern Mexico.
Conservationists have bought 46,000 acres of desert grasslands in northern Mexico in an effort to show the black-tailed prairie dog -- seen as a pest in much of the western United States -- can help grazing lands thrive.
Organic Or Local Fruits and Vegetables? which one is gaining more popularity throughout the world
The
emerging trend toward healthier, fresher foods that are also gentle on
the environment presents new dilemmas for conscientious consumers.
Marketers tout the attributes of "organic" food, while the "local foods
movement" is gaining popularity throughout the world. The
"organic-or-local" debate is particularly interesting when it comes to
fruits and vegetables; proponents of each system offer strong evidence
to support their cause.
Friday, 24 January 2014
Mushrooms Used for Bioremediation to Clean Pesticides From Oregon Waterways .
The test project launched Sunday, Jan. 19 on the banks of Sequoia Creek, a tributary to the Willamette River. Using recycled burlap bags filled with used coffee grounds, straw and yellow oyster mushroom spawn, the purpose of the unusual potpourri will be to harness the extremely effective filtering capabilities of mycelium.
A kind of root system for fungi, mycelium demonstrate a wide variety of biological powers, from breaking down oil, pesticides and harmful bacteria to acting as natural pesticides against some of the most problematic pests.
A kind of root system for fungi, mycelium demonstrate a wide variety of biological powers, from breaking down oil, pesticides and harmful bacteria to acting as natural pesticides against some of the most problematic pests.
Thursday, 23 January 2014
Tree farms return to traditional agriculture in WA
Former blue gum plantations in the Esperance region could be returned to traditional agriculture within two years.
16,000 hectares of trees have been planted in the Esperance region, over the last 15 years.
But in 2013, tree farm manager Elders deemed the venture un viable, and many of the properties have since been sold.
Tim Carmody bought a 400 hectare tree block near Coomalbidgup in September and started clearing the plantation a couple of weeks ago.
"We've pulled all the timber now, its been back chained and approximately a third of it has been stacked and by that I mean its been pushed up into heaps to burn."
He says while its been hard work, and brings back memories of clearing his original block near Cascade in the 70's, he's disappointed the blue gum venture didn't work out as it would have offered more diversification for Esperance farmers.
"For me, personally, hugely, hugely disappointing because it bought a diversity into the area and with diversity you get the sustainability and different point of business opportunities, so yes, to me, its a crying shame."
None the less, he says purchasing the block and clearing it will enable him to expand his family business in a region where arable land is very tightly held.
"Where our home property is, the land is held, so yes, land is keenly sought after in Esperance so this was an opportunity to pick up some land in the 500 mill rainfall."
"Esperance is full of courage, it wouldn't be here without it. You look at the diversity of people, you look at the diversity of operations and its just nice to be part of that."
16,000 hectares of trees have been planted in the Esperance region, over the last 15 years.
But in 2013, tree farm manager Elders deemed the venture un viable, and many of the properties have since been sold.
Tim Carmody bought a 400 hectare tree block near Coomalbidgup in September and started clearing the plantation a couple of weeks ago.
"We've pulled all the timber now, its been back chained and approximately a third of it has been stacked and by that I mean its been pushed up into heaps to burn."
He says while its been hard work, and brings back memories of clearing his original block near Cascade in the 70's, he's disappointed the blue gum venture didn't work out as it would have offered more diversification for Esperance farmers.
"For me, personally, hugely, hugely disappointing because it bought a diversity into the area and with diversity you get the sustainability and different point of business opportunities, so yes, to me, its a crying shame."
None the less, he says purchasing the block and clearing it will enable him to expand his family business in a region where arable land is very tightly held.
"Where our home property is, the land is held, so yes, land is keenly sought after in Esperance so this was an opportunity to pick up some land in the 500 mill rainfall."
"Esperance is full of courage, it wouldn't be here without it. You look at the diversity of people, you look at the diversity of operations and its just nice to be part of that."
Food Fresh and Local at Farmers’ Markets, Well After the Frost.
Kendrya Close approached the first installment of the Morris County Winter Farmers' Market with a little trepidation.
"You just never know — six people could show up," said Ms. Close, who came up with the idea for the market.
Not to worry: The premiere event, held Jan. 12 at the visitors' center at Fosterfields Living Historical Farm in Morris Township, drew 800 shopping-bag-toting visitors over four hours to investigate the market's 16 booths, staffed by vendors selling locally produced meat, cheese, bread, honey and other products (but no fruits or vegetables).
"It looks like we're filling a void," said Ms. Close, the executive director of the Foodshed Alliance in Blairstown, a nonprofit organization that connects farmers with their communities.
Though most farmers' markets in New Jersey are two- or three-season affairs, with tents dismantled and tables collapsed for the winter by November, in recent years, a steady trickle of indoor winter markets has opened around the state.
Ms. Close, 44, of Blairstown, began planning a winter market in Morris County a year ago, after two successful seasons of the Newton Winter Farmers' Market, in Sussex County, which she helped start in 2011.
"It was one of the first ones," she said. "We saw a need because farmers lose income in the winter months. Everyone goes back to the grocery store, which we don't want."
Newton, which has a three-hour winter market with nine vendors each Saturday, is more of a farming area than Morris County is, she said. "There are farm stands on every street, and people are accustomed to going to them" even in winter, she said. In Morris County, "people have access to Costco and every convenience, but they don't have access to farmers, which is one of the reasons we wanted to come here."
Shoppers like Nadja Davidson, 43, of Morris Plains was waiting in line at the booth of Glenmalure Farm of Branchville, which sells meats from grass-fed animals. "We all miss the chance to buy fresh food in the winter after the outdoor market closes," Ms. Davidson said.
Year-round markets also are helping to close the gap, including the Stockton Market in Hunterdon County, which opened in 2010.
"People in this area really needed the option" of a weatherproof market, said Dawn Mcbeth, 56, of Stockton, the manager of the 12,000-square-foot market, which has 25 winter vendors. "The vendors needed a way to make money year-round, and people needed a place to buy locally made stuff."
Ms. Mcbeth said, "People have embraced us not just as a place to buy fresh cheese and beef and pasta in the winter, but also as a community meeting place." That was evident on a visit this month, when patrons lingered at a market cafe selling coffee and crepes, as well as at booths such as Sciascia Confections of Stockton, where a specialty is handmade macarons ($2 each). Stockton Market is home to a fishmonger, a pasta maker, an organic farmer, a bakery, a mushroom stand and beef and poultry producers.
"So you can essentially come here and get everything you need for dinner. It's one-stop shopping," said David Borgert, who operates the Eat This booth, selling pâtés, jams and marmalades made in Erwinna, Pa.
The Ramsey Farmers' Market in Bergen County began opening in 2011 on winter Sundays at a local middle school, said Nancy Boone, the founder and manager, "because every November when we'd close outdoors people were asking us, 'What are we going to do all winter?' "
Previously, the market was open June through November at the Ramsey train station; now it also runs from December through March indoors.
Ms. Boone, 69, of Ramsey, started with 20 vendors at the middle school. Now there are 30, including a cheesemonger, a dried flower vendor, several farmers and a seafood vendor, with a few other stands, such as from WoodsEdge Wools Farm of Stockton, setting up outside the middle school entrance when weather allows.
On a recent Sunday, the booth of Homespun Chili of Fair Lawn, offering varieties of chili including vegan, turkey and beef ($12 for 24 ounces), had heavy traffic. Also popular was Madura Farms of Goshen, N.Y., a booth specializing in exotic mushroom varieties, such as reishi, which is said to have medicinal properties ($20 an ounce for the dried reishi).
While newer markets begin to make their year-round presence known, at least one has maintained cold-weather hours for decades.
"There was a time when Trenton Farmers' Market was the only game in town" in winter, said Jack J. Ball, who manages the 20,000-square-foot market, in Lawrence Township, with his wife, Marcia.
The Trenton market, with space for up to 40 vendors, has been in its current location since 1948, said Mr. Ball, 70, of Ewing. It began operating year-round sometime before 1980, when he became co-manager.
"Naturally, the farmers have very little to offer in the winter months," he said. But several, including Pineland Farms of Hammonton and vendors selling meats and baked goods, even jewelry and Tupperware, are there each Thursday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., from January until March. On a recent Saturday, Pineland Farms sold freshly shelled black-eyed peas, cider, several varieties of sweet potatoes and other root vegetables. By May, the market has nine farmers six days a week.
"Now that more markets are opening in winter, it's put a bit of a strain on us," Mr. Ball said. But he understands the motivation of the other markets: "This is a way to be loyal to our regulars and keep winter economically sound for the farmers," he said. "We think that's important."
●
The following are among New Jersey's farmers' markets that are open in winter:
LAWRENCE TOWNSHIP Trenton Farmers' Market, 960 Spruce Street, Lawrence Township. Open year-round; winter hours (through April): Thursdays through Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with additional hours before Easter. (609) 695-2998 or thetrentonfarmersmarket.com.
MORRIS TOWNSHIP Morris County Winter Farmers' Market at Fosterfields Living Historical Farm, 73 Kahdena Road. Second Sunday of each month, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. January through May. (908) 362-7967 or njlocalfood.com.
NEWTON Newton Winter Farmers' Market at Springboard Shoppes, 145 Spring Street. Saturdays through April, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (908) 362-7967 or njlocalfood.com.
RAMSEY Ramsey Farmers' Market, at Eric Smith Middle School, 73 Monroe Street. Sundays through March, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (201) 675-6866 or ramseyfarmersmarket.org.
STOCKTON Stockton Market, 19 Bridge Street. Year-round Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sundays, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. stocktonfarmmarket.com or (609) 610-3532.
Tuesday, 21 January 2014
Vermicompost Beneficial for Organically Grown Tomatoes
Marketable yields of organic horticultural crops
frequently fall below those of conventional crops; this and other
factors restrict widespread adoption of organic production. Researchers
recently studied the growth and yield responses of tomatoes grown in
organic substrates amended with vermicompost and compared the results
with plants grown in a popular growing medium. "More research in this
area is needed to provide a base of information that will lead to the
expansion of the organic sector, especially in the greenhouse industry,
to meet consumer demands and preferences," they explained.
How Scavenging Fungi Became a Plant's Best Friend
Glomeromycota is an ancient lineage of fungi that has a symbiotic relationship with roots that goes back nearly 420 million years to the earliest plants. More than two thirds of the world's plants depend on this soil-dwelling symbiotic fungus to survive, including critical agricultural crops such as wheat, cassava, and rice. The analysis of the Rhizophagus irregularis genome has revealed that this asexual fungus doesn't shuffle its genes the way researchers expected. Moreover, rather than having lost much of its metabolic genes, as observed in many mutualistic organisms, it has expanded its range of cell-to-cell communication genes and phosphorus-capturing genes.
Adaptable Button Mushroom Serves Up Genes Critical to Managing the Planet's Carbon Stores
The button mushroom occupies a prominent place in our diet and in the grocery store where it boasts a tasty multibillion-dollar niche, while in nature, Agaricus bisporus is known to decay leaf matter on the forest floor. Now, owing to an international collaboration of two dozen institutions led by the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) and the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI), the full repertoire of A. bisporus genes has been determined.
Waste From Textile Industry Transformed Into Rich Compost With Help Of Manure And Earthworms
Waste from the textiles industry could with the assistance
of earthworms and some animal manure become a rich compost for
agriculture, according to a report in the International Journal of Environment and Pollution.
Feeding Cows Natural Plant Extracts Can Reduce Dairy Farm Odors and Feed Costs
With citizens' groups seeking government regulation of
foul-smelling ammonia emissions from large dairy farms, scientists
report that adding natural plant extracts to cow feed can reduce levels
of the gas by one-third while reducing the need to fortify cow feed with
expensive protein supplements
Friday, 17 January 2014
Soil Microbes Produce Less Atmospheric CO2 Than Expected With Climate Warming
The physiology of microbes living underground could determine the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from soil on a warmer Earth, according to a study recently published online in Nature Geoscience.
Fungi May Determine the Future of Soil Carbon
When scientists discuss global change, they often focus on the amount of carbon in the atmosphere and vegetation. But soil contains more carbon than air and plants combined. This means that even a minor change in soil carbon could have major implications for the Earth's atmosphere and climate. New research by Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute scientist Benjamin Turner and colleagues points to an unexpected driver of soil carbon content: fungi.
Wednesday, 15 January 2014
Study Estimates Land Available for Biofuel Crops
Using detailed land analysis, Illinois researchers have found that biofuel crops cultivated on available land could produce up to half of the world's current fuel consumption -- without affecting food crops or pastureland.
Global Warming Causes Soil To Release Carbon, Study Says
Global warming is causing soil to release huge amounts of carbon, making efforts to fight global warming tougher than previously thought, scientists said on Wednesday.
A study in the journal Nature looked at the carbon content of soil in England and Wales from 1978-2003 and found that it fell steadily, with some 13 million tonnes of carbon released from British soil each year.
A study in the journal Nature looked at the carbon content of soil in England and Wales from 1978-2003 and found that it fell steadily, with some 13 million tonnes of carbon released from British soil each year.
Grass Hailed as Potential Source of Clean Energy
A tall, decorative plant that can be grown in Europe and the United States could provide a significant amount of energy without contributing to global warming, scientists said on Tuesday.
Field trials of the grass called Miscanthus in Illinois showed it could be very effective as an economically and environmentally sustainable energy crop.
Field trials of the grass called Miscanthus in Illinois showed it could be very effective as an economically and environmentally sustainable energy crop.
Climate Change Raises Risk of Hunger, Scientists Say
About 50 million more people, most of them in Africa, could be at risk of hunger by 2050 due to climate change and reduced crop yields, scientists predicted on Monday.
Roughly 500 million people worldwide already face hunger but rising levels of greenhouse gases could make the problem worse.
Roughly 500 million people worldwide already face hunger but rising levels of greenhouse gases could make the problem worse.
Tuesday, 14 January 2014
The Significant Role of Forests in Regulating Global Climate
A new study published in the journal, Science, has quantified the forests' role in regulating carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere. Because plants absorb CO2 as part of their metabolism, the greater the forest, the more CO2 is removed, and the impact of global climate change is decreased. The study found that the world's established forests remove 8.8 billion tons of CO2 from the atmosphere per year. This equates to nearly one third of all annual fossil fuel emissions from humans.
Plants buy Earth more time as CO2 makes them grow
Trees and plants are growing bigger and faster in response to the billions of tons of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by humans, scientists have found.
The increased growth has been discovered in a variety of flora, ranging from tropical rainforests to British sugar beet crops.
The increased growth has been discovered in a variety of flora, ranging from tropical rainforests to British sugar beet crops.
Newly Discovered Modifier Protein Could Stimulate Plant Growth Under Environmental Stress
But according to new research led by scientists at Durham University, plants contain a natural mechanism that could stimulate their growth even under stress, which could potentially lead to better crop yields.
Sunday, 12 January 2014
How Ancient Plants and Soil Fungi Turned Earth Green
New research by scientists at the University of Sheffield has shed light on how Earth's first plants began to colonize the land over 470 million years ago by forming a partnership with soil fungi.
Plant-Driven Fungal Weathering: Early Stages Of Mineral Alteration At The Nanometer Scale
For the first time, the boundary between fungi and rock
has been imaged on a nanoscale -- unraveling the fundamental processes
by which fungi break down rocks into soil whilst extracting essential
nutrients.
Fungi's Role in the Cycle of Life Discovered
The nitrogen cycle is the natural process that makes
nitrogen available to all organisms on earth. Scientists at the
University of York have discovered that one of the world's most common
and ecologically important groups of fungi plays an unsuspected role in
this key natural cycle.
How the world became green..............Ancient Plant-Fungal Partnerships Reveal How the World Became Green
Prehistoric plants grown in state-of-the-art growth
chambers recreating environmental conditions from more than 400 million
years ago have shown scientists from the University of Sheffield how
soil dwelling fungi played a crucial role in the evolution of plants.
Saturday, 11 January 2014
Symbiotic Fungi Inhabiting Plant Roots Have Major Impact On Atmospheric Carbon, Scientists Say
Microscopic fungi that live in plants' roots play a major role in the storage and release of carbon from the soil into the atmosphere, according to a University of Texas at Austin researcher and his colleagues at Boston University and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. The role of these fungi is currently unaccounted for in global climate models.
Friday, 10 January 2014
Low Levels of Blood Calcium in Dairy Cows May Affect Cow Health, Productivity
The health of dairy cows after giving birth plays a big
factor in the quantity and quality of the milk the cows produce. Now,
researchers at the University of Missouri have found that subclinical
hypocalcemia, which is the condition of having low levels of calcium in
the blood and occurs in many cows after giving birth, is related to
higher levels of fat in the liver. John Middleton, a professor in the MU
College of Veterinary Medicine, says these higher levels of fat are
often precursors to future health problems in cows.
Wednesday, 8 January 2014
Tuesday, 7 January 2014
E. Coli Outbreak in Connecticut Caused by Raw Milk Consumption
Raw milk is consumed by an estimated 1-3 percent of the
United States population. Raw milk and raw cheeses are responsible for
almost 70 percent of reported dairy outbreaks. On July 16, 2008, the
Connecticut Department of Public Health identified two unrelated
children who had experienced hemolytic uremic syndrome after consuming
raw milk from the same farm. The authors investigated the situation
further and found more cases of people affected by raw milk from the
same farm.
New Test For Detecting Fake Organic Milk
Scientists in Germany are reporting development of a new, more effective method to determine whether milk marketed as "organic" is genuine or just ordinary milk mislabeled to hoodwink consumers.
Alternative to Yogurt
Researchers at the Universitat Politècnica de València have obtained new products fermented with probiotic bacteria from grains and nuts -- what is known as plant-based or vegetable "milks" -- which are an alternative to conventional yogurts. The products are specially designed for people with allergies to cow's milk, lactose or gluten intolerance, as well as children and pregnant women.
Saturday, 4 January 2014
Plan to End Use of Environmentally Harmful Chemicals On Commercial Crops Developed
Two University of Alberta researchers have published a
step by step plan to one-day end the use of environmentally harmful
chemicals on commercial crops by developing plants that produce their
own fertilizer.
Thursday, 2 January 2014
Mobile applications for agriculture speaks greek.
iFarm rappresent the first agricultural mobile application entirely in Greek.
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