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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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%.

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.

Wheat: Genetic discovery to keep crops disease-free

Wheat: Genetic discovery to keep crops disease-free

Crop Models Help Increase Yield Per Unit Of Water Used

Crop Models Help Increase Yield Per Unit Of Water Used

Diversifying crops may protect yields against a more variable climate

Diversifying crops may protect yields against a more variable climate

Grasshoppers are what they eat: New method to extract plant DNA from grasshopper guts sheds light on plant-insect interactions

Grasshoppers are what they eat: New method to extract plant DNA from grasshopper guts sheds light on plant-insect interactions

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.

Fishing the road to future sustainability in agriculture.

It is a cliché of development discourse that it is better to teach people to fish than to give them fish to eat. While there is a core of truth in this statement, the issues have become much more complex than such simple ideas suggest.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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

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.

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

Study Finds Methane Leaks Negate Benefits of Natural Gas as a Fuel for Vehicles.

The sign is ubiquitous on city buses around the country: "This bus runs on clean burning natural gas."

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

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.

Ancient Bison Genetic Treasure Trove For Farmers

Ancient Bison Genetic Treasure Trove For Farmers

New plant species a microcosm of biodiversity

New plant species a microcosm of biodiversity

Uncovering the drivers of honey bee colony declines and losses

Uncovering the drivers of honey bee colony declines and losses

'Balanced' ecosystems seen in organic agriculture better at controlling pests, research finds

'Balanced' ecosystems seen in organic agriculture better at controlling pests, research finds

From international harbor to native habitat: Detecting exotic pests before forest and agricultural invasion

From international harbor to native habitat: Detecting exotic pests before forest and agricultural invasion

Loss of biodiversity limits toxin degradation

Loss of biodiversity limits toxin degradation

Medical imaging helps reveal lasting impacts of soil compaction

Medical imaging helps reveal lasting impacts of soil compaction

Parasites change bees brains, but not their behavior

Parasites change bees brains, but not their behavior

Cure For Honey Bee Colony Collapse

Cure For Honey Bee Colony Collapse

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.

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.

Slowing down the floodwaters.

Putting something called "Natural Engineering" to work in a five-year research project, Newcastle University in cooperation with the Environment Agency are discovering the benefits utilizing the land's natural defenses to slow river flow downstream and prevent flooding. Slowing down water in anticipation of flooding events is being tested all over the world. Strategies include use of retention basins; wetlands development; levee systems and flood-walls but Newcastle University researchers directed by Dr. Mark Wilkinson are employing additional water retention strategies further up the catchment system. The Belford Burn is a small catchment system located in Northumberland, a community just south of the Scottish border. It traverses through a town called Belford flooding it regularly.

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.

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."

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.