A guide to growing apples ecologically, including antique versus modern varieties, resisting disease, planting An apple orchard may be the quintessential symbol of the good life in the country. What seems easier or more natural than plucking per fect, pesticide-free apples from trees you planted as saplings and lovingly watched grow over the years? In reality, apples are a demanding crop with many pest problems; commercial apple-growers don't apply 12 to 18 sprays a season because they enjoy spraying. But by carefully choosing apple varieties and rootstocks adapted to your area's climate and pests, by keeping trees healthy through good site selection and cultural practices, and by taking advantage of recent advances in biological control, you can grow high-quality, low-spray apples.
Agricultural Biotechnology Continues to Increase Crop Yield and Farmer Income Worldwide While Supporting the Environment Global use of biotech crops increased again in 2007, with global biotech crop acreage reaching a historic 282 million acres in 23 countries, according to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA). Global biotech crop acreage increased nearly 12 percent from 2006, when 252 million acres of biotech crops were grown in 22 countries.
What Would You Pay For A Trustworthy, Long Term Weather Forecast? About half of Cornbelt farmers would purchase improved weather forecasts for which they could be 75-100% sure of the weather 6 to 9 months away, all in an effort to make better production decisions. The results of a survey taken 6 years ago found that the average farmer who would subscribe would not pay much more than $75 for the information, even though it might accurately predict an El Nino that could cause up to $6.5 billion in damages to the US.
Spaniard shifts vineyards uphill in response to climate change Scientists and vintners say rising temperatures may change the huge European winemaking industry, with vineyards. While northern areas, like England, stand to gain, Mediterranean nations like Spain, France and Italy, the three largest producers, will need to adjust. The effects of warming are already visible across the industry. Torres says harvests take place two weeks earlier than they did 40 years ago. In Germany, grapevines this year blossomed earlier than ever, the Wine Institute in Germany said in June.
Coping with Drought:Evaluating the Economics for Livestock Producers’ Options Coping with the consequences of drought is costly for livestock producers. This article focuses on beef cattle and other livestock that use pasture are the main source of feed. Options will vary from farm-to-farm but in each case one of these options is likely to be less expensive that the others. Options include buying various types of forages and feed, reducing animal numbers, or some combination. The discussion that follows is intended to show how different options can be evaluated, using information from the NCSU enterprise budgets as examples. These options include buying hay, using abandoned row crops or row crop residues, stockpiling, growing winter annuals, selling livestock, and selling the whole herd. The examples used in this article are for beef cattle but these procedures apply to other pasture-based livestock such as meat goats.
Options for drought-stressed corn Drought-stressed corn silage can have from 75 to 90 percent of the feed value of normal corn silage. Nitrates may be an issue, but don’t write the crop off with out testing. Any corn that has pollinated and stays alive will use any rain to fill grain and that will add to the value of the crop for feed. Drought-stressed corn silage typically has higher sugar content, less starch, higher crude protein, higher crude fiber and more digestible fiber compared to normal corn silage. Always make ration changes gradually to give rumen microbes a chance to adjust to feed changes. Check with your crop insurance provider before starting any early harvest.
Camelina could lead drive for new source of biofuel A plant that flourished in Europe roughly 3,500 years ago could become a major source of biofuel and a potentially major new crop for Eastern Washington. Researchers say camelina, if planted on millions of acres of marginal farmland from Eastern Washington to North Dakota, might help power the nation's drive for clean energy.
New Zealand - Budget strengthens rural communities in crises Rural communities will benefit from a Budget allocation of $2.3 million over the next four years. It will be used to develop local capacity to respond to adverse climatic events and to assist with risk reduction and readiness issues. With a changing climate and more extreme weather predicted, local capacity to cope with such events will be increasingly important.
World Bank - Drought Management and Mitigation in Countries of Central Asia and Caucasus Drought is a recurrent feature of countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, which requires careful management and mitigation in order to forestall costly damage to the economy, population, and environment. It is a complex phenomenon with greatly varying impacts depending not only on the magnitude, timing, duration, and frequency of precipitation deficits, but also on the differing responses of various soils, plants, and animals to water stress. If governments and communities do not take steps to prepare for and mitigate the effects of drought, damage will be far greater than necessary, and responses to food insecurity and other adverse effects upon the poorest segment of the population will be delayed and possibly inappropriate.
07.06.2010 Adjusting Hail and Storm Damage on Maize seminar - September 8-10, 2010, Switzerland International Association of Agricultural Production Insurers offers a seminar on hail and storm damage on corn. The seminar is jointly organized by the association and Swiss Hail. the seminar will be conducted on September 8-10, 2010 in Egerkingen. Enrolment - by August 1, 2010. 12.04.2010 Remote Sensing Index-Based Crop Insurance Working Group meeting - August 10-11, 2010, USA The 2nd International Working Group On Remote Sensing Index-Based Crop Insurance will take place on August 10-11, 2010 in San Francisco, CA at the Fairmont Hotel. Practical technical issues related to implementing satellite derived index based crop insurance will be discussed.
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