Showing results for: agriculture soil News
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UN report confirms organic farming can protect soils
Organic agriculture can contribute to delivering global food security, help tackle climate change, protect soils and conserve wildlife. So recognises a four year study involving 400 scientists from around the world as well as 30 governments and the same number of NGOs. The International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) report criticises industrial ...
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View Cattle, Soil Building & More at Drive-Through Farm Tour May 31
SFA and Voss Farms are hosting a drive-through farm tour from 2 to 4 p.m. Sun., May 31, at 27725 Business 23, Paynesville. Participants will drive through Voss Farms (above) to learn about animals and animal health, food from the farm and soil health. An audio recording will be available for download to listen to as you visit each station along the tour. As soon as it is available, a notice will ...
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Free Soil Testing For Accurate Fertiliser Application
With the growing season nearly upon us, Welsh farmers are being given an opportunity to discover the benefits of soil analysis through a number of free soil testing workshops at Farming Connect. Regular soil testing enables farmers to adopt a targeted approach to fertiliser use, thus providing significant cost savings, according to Lisa Roberts of Farming Connect. Soil analysis also identifies ...
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Study by ARS microbiologist in Texas shows farming practices’ benefits to soil quality
The first evaluation of alternative farming practices—based on changes in soil microbes—in the Texas High Plains has been done by an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist. Soil microbiologist Veronica Acosta-Martinez has also done a similar analysis for land in USDA's Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), a first nationally. Changes in microbes can give a relatively early indication as to ...
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Organic Transitions Program (ORG)
The overall goal of the Organic Transitions Program (ORG) is to support the development and implementation of research, extension and higher education programs to improve the competitiveness of organic livestock and crop producers, as well as those who are adopting organic practices. In FY 2010, ORG will focus on environmental services provided by organic farming systems that support soil ...
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NewPage presents new on paper podcast featuring Maria Rodale
NewPage Corporation announced today a new On Paper podcast series episode featuring Maria Rodale, chairman and CEO of Rodale Inc., the world"s leading multimedia company with a focus on health, wellness and the environment. As the author of four books, including the recently released Organic Manifesto: How Organic Farming Can Heal Our Planet, Feed the World, and Keep Us Safe, Rodale has won ...
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Grass-based farming systems: Soil conservation and environmental quality
Crop selection and sequence can have a profound effect on the environment and on farm profitability. According to Chapter 7, “Grass-based Farming Systems: Soil Conservation and Environmental Quality” by Jeremy W. Singer, Alan J. Franzluebbers, and Douglas L. Karlen in the book, Grassland Quietness and Strength for a New American Agriculture, the basis for a productive agricultural system should ...
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Taking Stock: free resilience workshops for livestock farmers
The Soil Association is hosting Taking Stock, a programme of free online workshops for beef and lamb producers in the South West to help prepare for the coming changes and opportunities as we leave the Common Agricultural Policy. The first part of the programme, which is funded by Defra, is a 90 minute webinar that will cover: Is it all about the money? How the proposed changes to payments to ...
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Potentially harmful effects of nanomaterials on soybean crops
A new study has examined contamination of fully grown soybean plants by two nanomaterials – nano-cerium oxide and nano-zinc oxide. The results could be concerning, as they indicate that the nanomaterials are absorbed by plants, possibly affecting growth, yield, and the fixation of nitrogen in soil, an important ecosytem service. With the rapid expansion of nanotechnology, there is concern ...
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OSU Extension Conferences to Help Small Farm Owners March 7-8 and March 21-22
Small farmers wanting to expand or make their farms work more efficiently, or landowners who are new to agriculture and are looking for ways to utilize acreage, can learn entrepreneurial tips from agricultural experts with Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences during a series of small farms conferences in March. The “Opening Doors to ...
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Haiti’s Young Agronomists
In this past fiscal year, SOIL hosted six interns in the agricultural department. The interns were all agriculture students at local universities who come to SOIL to fulfill their internship requirement during their last year of schooling. In SOIL’s agricultural intern program, students gain practical hands-on experience in lab work, research and compost production, and then design and ...
By SOIL Haiti
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Restore Life to Your Soil With Vermaplex/Black Worm Castings
Farmers and gardeners alike are looking for ways to improve the health of their soil and ability to store water for drought relief. The United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service released its “Unlock the Secrets in the Soil” campaign, “leading the effort to get more farmers and ranchers to adopt soil health management systems for a ...
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Black Worm Castings/VermaPlex Can Replace Harmful Chemical Fertilizers
Whether you have a farm or home garden, the health of the soil directly correlates to the quality of the fruit and vegetables. The healthy soil movement is centered around bringing attention to the fact that fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides are killing our soil and seeping into our food supply. Our soil is depleted of essential nutrients, fungi and bacteria due to decades of agricultural ...
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EPA strengthens safety measures for soil fumigant pesticides
The Environmental Protection Agency is strengthening safety measures for soil fumigant pesticides. The safety measures will reduce fumigant exposures to bystanders—people who live, work, attend school, or spend time near agricultural fields that are fumigated—and increase overall safety of fumigant use by requiring greater planning and compliance. “With new restrictions, we’re allowing the ...
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Farmers and Nonprofits Sue Trump`s USDA Over Organic Soil-Less Loophole
Today, Center for Food Safety (CFS), along with a coalition of organic farms and stakeholders, filed a lawsuit challenging the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) decision to allow hydroponic operations to be certified organic. The lawsuit claims that hydroponic operations violate organic standards for failing to build heathy soils, and asks the Court to stop USDA from allowing ...
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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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Fertiliser trees prove a hit in southern Africa
Hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers in southern Africa are adopting fast-growing trees and shrubs to fertilise their fields naturally, for improved yields and incomes, according to a study. Scientists at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), a non-profit research organisation in Kenya, analysed two decades-worth of efforts to bring 'fertiliser trees' to African farms and announced ...
By SciDev.Net
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Small Robot Company £4m Crowdfunding Success: Public Back Sustainable Farming Future
Small Robot Company (SRC), a British agritech start-up for sustainable farming, raised £4 million in a successful equity crowdfunding campaign with Crowdcube. The company has now secured £11 million in funding to date. Over 2500 retail investors backed the campaign, with the initial target of £2m raised on the day of launch. The campaign then doubled the target, reaching the ...
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Small Robot Company Launches New Crowdcube Fully Funded At £2 Million
Small Robot Company (SRC), a British agritech start-up for sustainable farming, today announced the launch of its latest Crowdcube equity crowdfunding campaign, which already successfully hit its target of £2 million at launch. SRC has now secured £9 million in funding to date. Agriculture is a $2.4 trillion industry, with the precision farming market a huge global opportunity for ...
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Science preview: October 2012 meetings of agronomy, crop, and soil science societies
How are manufactured nanoparticles affecting the world’s terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems? What are the linkages between organic farming, healthy soils, and healthy foods? Can “grey” wastewater be safely used to irrigate farmland and replenish groundwater supplies? What strategies are underway around the world to sustain food security in the face of climate change? These are ...
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