Showing results for: crop farming News
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CAP reform and crop diversity can be springboard for growth
Linking CAP payments to crop diversity represents a growth opportunity for farmers, according to anaerobic digestion (AD) specialist EnviTec Biogas UK. Under the new rules, 30 per cent of direct payments will depend on demonstrating environmentally-friendly farming practices – including crop diversification. Full details are yet to emerge, but “greening” the CAP is likely to ...
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Modern farming practices: a short term solution to soil erosion
New research shows that the damaging effects of soil erosion can be partly avoided by using modern farming methods, such as the use of fertilisers, but at a cost. An increase in the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, for example, is likely to have an impact on local ecosystems. A team of European scientists, lead by the Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium, have developed a ...
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TEG and Anagest to build AD/IVC facility
Organic waste specialist TEG has signed a deal with Anagest to jointly build and co-locate an anaerobic digestion and in-vessel composting facility site. It will handle 70,000 tonnes of organic waste each year and will be located at Anagest’s site at Stormydown near Bridgend, south Wales. AD will be used to treat 50,000 tonnes of food waste along with energy crops grown on adjacent land to the ...
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World’s most innovative agricultural ideas step into the spotlight in Abu Dhabi
A host of innovative ideas and products for sustainable agriculture, which have the potential to act as game-changing catalysts in the plight to feed 9.7 billion people forecasted by 2050, will be presented in Abu Dhabi next week. The free to attend Open Innovations Theatre, a popular feature on the show floor of the Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture (GFIA), will highlight products ...
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Climate change to shift global spread and quality of agricultural land
New areas of land suitable for agriculture will open up under climate change’s effects, new research predicts, particularly in far northern regions of the world. However, the overall quality of land for farming will decline and many regions, including Europe, could lose large areas of suitable land. Demand for agricultural products is expected to rise by 70–110% by 2050. This is ...
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Young Farmers Remain Concerned About Land Availability
Securing adequate land to grow crops and raise livestock was the top challenge identified again this year in the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual outlook survey of participants in the Young Farmers & Ranchers program. That challenge was identified by 22 percent of respondents, followed by economic challenges, particularly profitability, which was identified by 15 percent of the ...
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Commercial forestry – benefits for biodiversity?
Commercial forestry, often slated as monoculture, may have an important role to play in maintaining biodiversity. This beneficial effect occurs in nearby fields grazed by livestock, rather than the forest itself. This surprising finding could be important for the conservation of grassland species, which have declined dramatically over the past 100 years as agriculture has intensified in Europe. ...
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Herbicide reduction can preserve crop yields as well as biodiversity benefits of weeds
Pesticide-sparing approaches to farming do not have to compromise on crop yields, new research suggests. A study that explored the impact of reduced herbicide use across a variety of different farming contexts found that herbicideefficient systems could be just as productive as conventional systems — and more so than organic systems — whilst having other important environmental ...
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Satellite data plus conservation equals better crop yields
Combining remote sensing technology with water and soil conservation techniques can help raise crop yields in South Asia, scientists have reported. Satellite data can help identify specific problems on farmlands such as moisture shortage, excessive soil wetness and flood occurrence. Using the data along with appropriate resource conserving technology (RCT) will increase productivity, a study ...
By SciDev.Net
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Hemp homecoming: Rebirth sprouts in Kentucky
Call it a homecoming for hemp: Marijuana's non-intoxicating cousin is undergoing a rebirth in a state at the forefront of efforts to reclaim it as a mainstream crop. Researchers and farmers are producing the first legal hemp crop in generations in Kentucky, where hemp has turned into a political cause decades after it was banned by the federal government. Republican U.S. Sens. Mitch McConnell ...
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China`s clever water use boosts food yields
China produces more food for the same amount of water than other countries in Africa and Asia, researchers have found. The report, completed by Li Baoguo and colleagues from the China Agricultural University, found that China produces 1–1.5 kilograms of wheat and corn per cubic metre of water, compared with Ethiopia's 0.1–0.2 kilograms, India's 0.2–0.7 and Kazakhstan's 0.2–0.3. The ...
By SciDev.Net
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Farmers Urged to Consider Impact Of Pesticides on Insect Numbers
Farmers are continually urged to store pesticides safely and securely in order to minimise their impact on the environment and to reduce leakage into water supplies and systems. A study by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT), with support from Natural England, examined 40 year’s worth of data collected on farmland on the Susses Downs. Examining the effect of climate and ...
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Europe rejects GM crops as new report highlights 20 years of failures
All 19 government requests for bans of GM crop cultivation have gone unchallenged by biotech companies, pathing the way for two thirds of the EU’s farmland and population to remain GM-free [1]. The growing opposition to GM crops coincides with a new Greenpeace report reviewing evidence of GM environmental risks, market failures, and increased pesticide use [2]. Greenpeace EU food policy ...
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Making agriculture sustainable
Agriculture is possibly the most important sector of global activity. It is a source of foods, fibers and, increasingly, fuel. It provides livelihoods and subsistence for the largest number of people worldwide. It is vital to rural development and therefore critical to poverty alleviation. Up to 40% of the land’s surface is used for agriculture, along with 70% of the world’s fresh water supply. ...
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Abandoned farmlands are key to sustainable bioenergy
Biofuels can be a sustainable part of the world's energy future, especially if bioenergy agriculture is developed on currently abandoned or degraded agricultural lands, report scientists from the Carnegie Institution and Stanford University. Using these lands for energy crops, instead of converting existing croplands or clearing new land, avoids competition with food production and preserves ...
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New plant protein discoveries could ease global food and fuel demands
New discoveries of the way plants transport important substances across their biological membranes to resist toxic metals and pests, increase salt and drought tolerance, control water loss and store sugar can have profound implications for increasing the supply of food and energy for our rapidly growing global population. That’s the conclusion of 12 leading plant biologists from around the ...
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Plastic mulching reduces farmland bird numbers and diversity
Using plastic sheeting to encourage early growth of crops reduces the number and diversity of farmland birds, new research from Poland suggests. The study shows that this effect continues even after plastic has been removed. Plastic ‘mulching’ is the use of sheets of plastic to cover vegetables after sowing; this controls weeds and increases the soil temperature, allowing faster ...
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Plastic mulching reduces farmland bird numbers and diversity
Using plastic sheeting to encourage early growth of crops reduces the number and diversity of farmland birds, new research from Poland suggests. The study shows that this effect continues even after plastic has been removed. Plastic ‘mulching’ is the use of sheets of plastic to cover vegetables after sowing; this controls weeds and increases the soil temperature, allowing faster ...
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Wild Bee Decline Threatens U.S. Crop Production
The first national study to map U.S. wild bees suggests they’re disappearing in many of the country’s most important farmlands — including California’s Central Valley, the Midwest’s corn belt and the Mississippi River valley. If losses of these crucial pollinators continue, the new nationwide assessment indicates that farmers will face increasing costs — and ...
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Global Market Insights Report that Micro Irrigation System Market to hit $12bn by 2024
The Micro Irrigation System Market is set to grow from its current market value of more than $5 billion to over $12 billion by 2024; as reported in the latest study by Global Market Insights, Inc. Rising concern for depleting water resources will drive micro irrigation system market. As per United Nations report, water availability is projected to decrease in various regions with global ...
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