USA – Population boom to pressure farm water supplies

By dana.bucur Comment Closed
With a projected 25 per cent and 50pc increase in United States and world populations respectively by 2050, substantial increases in freshwater use for food, fibre and fuel production, as well as municipal and residential consumption, are inevitable, according to a new publication from the Council on Agricultural Science & Technology (CAST). This increased water use will not come without consequences, and as one of the largest users of water in the US, agriculture will be affected significantly by changes in water availability and cost. An abundant, reliable supply of water to meet demands cannot be taken for granted, CAST said. To evaluate current trends, summarise key vulnerabilities and identify possible solutions to current and future challenges, CAST convened a task force of eight scientists, educators and resource analysts who have prepared the new CAST Issue Paper, Water, People & the Future: Water Availability for Agriculture in the United States. Through case studies, the new CAST publication discusses the diverse demands for water resources...
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Rural development: first wave of approvals of national/regional proposals for using funding from CAP Health Check and European Economic Recovery Plan

By dana.bucur Comment Closed
The Rural Development Committee approved a first wave of proposals from Member States/regions for using fresh European Union funding for rural development. The Member States/regions in question have proposed amendments to their Rural Development Programmes (RDPs) to make use of extra funding provided by the Health Check of the Common Agricultural Policy and the European Economic Recovery Plan (EERP), agreed in November 2008. The extra funding in question totals € 4.4 billion for the EU as a whole and must be spent through RDPs in the period 2009 to 2013. Member States/regions choose the priorities on which to spend their funding from a list which includes climate change, restructuring of the dairy sector and broadband for rural areas. "The current economic and environmental situation demands action – in the countryside just as much as in our towns and cities," said Mariann Fischer Boel, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development. "We have been taking determined action at European level in many ways. The...
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Can the green movement save wool?

By dana.bucur Comment Closed
CAN the green tag reinvigorate wool demand? That’s the question circulating around the industry as vertically integrated wool marketing company, The Merino Company (TMC), becomes the first wool licensee of the highly respected EU Eco-label ‘Flower’ and offers it to its retail clients. The environmentally conscience label first hit European retail shelves in 1992 and at the beginning of 2009 more than 750 companies world-wide had been awarded the label as marketing managers attempted to benefit from the shiny green dollars by helping consumers find more environmentally friendly products and services. Growth spiraled 18 months ago when around 230 new companies were added to the green store catalogue. To become a licensee the credentials are tough, but in one promotional week in Denmark licensee holders reported a 600 per cent lift in sales. It is this consumer response that Stefan Bernerius, manager of TMC yarns, says is why the Eco-label is a significant marketing tool. "We recognise the importance placed on high quality natural fibres that...
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Drought-tolerant GM corn by 2012: Monsanto

By dana.bucur Comment Closed
MONSANTO’S director of scientific affairs Harvey Glick has shrugged off suggestions genetic modification advances have stalled and has predicted a boom period for biotech products as the 'second generation' of traits becomes available to growers. "I think we are just at the beginning of an exciting period, with crops being rolled out with new traits, especially in soybeans and corn," Dr Glick said. Canada-based Dr Glick said that it was not just more of the same herbicide resistance traits either. "We are working on more nitrogen efficient and drought tolerant lines, as well as oilseeds with higher oil levels." He dismissed claims that many of the new traits being developed were being done by conventional breeding regardless of genetic modification. "It's not fair to say its just being done with conventional traits." And work is still being done on perfecting existing traits. "Take a look at Roundup Ready soybeans," he said. "Roundup Ready is one of the most widely planted traits, but we are not just taking...
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Prototype corn cob harvester impresses farmers

By dana.bucur Comment Closed
Pre-commercial, prototype equipment for harvesting cobs for cellulosic ethanol production continues to improve. Several hundred farmers braved cold, wind and rain this week at Emmetsburg, Iowa, USA, to see the latest in pre-commercial equipment designed for harvesting corn cobs for cellulosic ethanol production. The event was the POET Project Liberty field day. Project Liberty is POET's effort to commercialise cellulosic ethanol. The project will be a 25 million-gallon-per year cellulosic ethanol plant located within the current grain ethanol plant. POET's pilot-scale plant in Scotland, South Dakota, is already producing cellulosic ethanol at a rate of approximately 20,000 gallons per year. "We feel this can be a brand new revenue stream for farmers," said Jeff Broin, POET chief executive. "It's a tremendous opportunity for farmers and rural America. "We had 800 farmers here last year and the equipment continues to improve." Corn cobs are the feedstock of choice for POET. But collecting corn cobs can be a challenge while trying to get the harvest done on time. That's why a number of...
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Wool, a naturally carbon friendly fibre

By dana.bucur Comment Closed
LIVE with wool and reduce your carbon footprint'. That's the theme of a new marketing alliance for wool announced today, highlighting the benefits of wool as the ideal fibre to help reduce global warming. Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) launched the program with the Wool Carbon Alliance, a group of Australian and international wool industry representatives working together. It's based on international research which says a household can significantly reduce its carbon emissions by living with wool: insulating with wool, wearing wool, walking, sleeping and sitting on wool. According to the alliance, wool is a planet-friendly fibre made from the simple combination of sunlight, water and grass. It is made of up to 50 per cent carbon, stored in a stable form. It is renewable, has the ability to biodegrade without harm to the environment and can be recycled. Furthermore, it takes significantly less energy to produce wool products than that required by man-made fibre products, and this ensures CO2 emissions are kept very low. Therefore, the...
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Antibiotic resistant bacteria here to stay

By dana.bucur Comment Closed
ANTIBIOTIC resistance is never going to go away, and resistance will prevail no matter how many drugs, money or resources are thrown at it, according to a new report by the American Academy of Microbiology. Instead of trying to eliminate antibiotic resistance, the academy concludes in its report that public health officials, clinicians and scientists must find effective ways to "cope" with antibiotic-resistant bacteria that are harmful to people and animals and to "control" the development of new types of resistance. The view that antibiotic resistance is simply an undesirable consequence of antibiotic abuse or misuse is "inaccurate," the academy said. In reality, the report states, the rate of antibiotic resistance emergence is related to all uses of these drugs, not just misuse. Likewise, the total amount of antibiotics used and the environment also play roles. It was indicated that the main driving factor behind resistance may actually be a lack of adequate hygiene and sanitation, which enables rapid proliferation and spread of...
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Australia-THE ability of microscopic plants to increase soil carbon and nitrogen levels

By dana.bucur Comment Closed
THE ability of microscopic plants to increase soil carbon and nitrogen levels may hold the secret for land managers in Australia's arid landscape to benefit from bio-sequestration, according to rangeland ecologist Wendy Williams of the University of Queensland. It is good news for producers who graze livestock on the arid or semi arid rangelands - regions with less than 500mm of rainfall - which form more than 70 percent of Australia's landscape. "Simple, microscopic plants grow on the soil surface of these areas, generally forming large masses or colonies which are visible on bare soil between plants or on rocks," Ms Williams said. "These single-celled micro-organisms were once called 'terrestrial blue green algae' and are now more correctly known as cyanobacteria, and well-managed grazing practices can encourage cyanobacterial soil crusts to thrive within their natural environment." Ms Williams explained that through the process of photosynthesis, cyanobacteria utilises carbon dioxide and converts it into biomass while replacing oxygen back into the atmosphere. They thrive in harsh...
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