As the massive hurricane Florence bears down on the East coast, our thoughts are with anyone (including all the critters) in its path. The immediate concern in the face of such an historic natural disaster is protecting human life from violent winds, storm surge, and widespread flooding. But in the Carolinas, another risk looms. There […]
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A new study published in Science makes some progress untangling the roots of what’s known as the “irrigation paradox.” Water is precious, and irrigating crops uses a whole lot of it – accounting for 70% of global fesh water extractions. And, in many key agricultural regions, water availability is the key limiting factor to crop yields, and […]
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The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) considers wheat to be “the most important food grain source for humans” (Source, FAO) and globally wheat fields cover more land area than any other commercial crop. Thus, the new science out of the Earlham Institute in the U.K. has important implications. ScienceDaily reports on the paper published […]
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A recent story on NPR reviewed a new body of emerging research on the nutritional impact on food crops of the higher carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere that are the driving force of global climate change. Atmospheric CO2 levels are up and continuing to rise, and scientists are working to understand how this will effect […]
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New research out of the University of Illinois looks at the long-term consequences of crop rotations including corn, soybean, and wheat crops, compared to less diverse rotations. This study was conducted at the Northwestern Illinois Agricultural Research and Demonstration Center near Monmouth, IL, located in a region with “some of the most productive soils in […]
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The headline in a March 2018 story in the Western Farm Press reads “The alfalfa industry wants more favorable farm policy for its forage crop.” It argues that alfalfa doesn’t get the support and respect it deserves, given that by value, it is the number three field crop grown in the U.S., behind corn and […]
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A wonderful, long piece in the April 18, 2018 New York Times Magazine explains how changing land and agricultural management can “sip carbon from the air” and put it back in the soil — improving soil health and a farmer’s profit margin, while mitigating climate change. “Can Dirt Save the Earth?” by Moises Velasquez-Manoff starts with […]
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We cover today a new estimate of the increase in carbon emissions per year from renewable-fuels-driven land conversion over a five year period (2008-2012) in this “In the News” item. This latest study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison will surely not settle the ongoing debate over whether corn ethanol and soy biodiesel increase or decrease […]
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The expansion of ethanol and other biofuel production from 2008-2012 has triggered the conversion of an estimated 7 millions of acres of mostly grasslands, and a smaller number of wetland, shrub, and forest acres, to predominantly corn and soybean production. In the course of doing so over just five years, renewable fuels-driven land conversion released […]
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Note: Thanks to Mary-Howell Martens for permission to share with HA readers her reflections from a speaking engagement at a recent Youth Climate Summit. Mary-Howell is an organic grain farmer who also manages an organic feed and seed business in upstate New York, Lakeview Organic Grains. We had an interesting experience this week, speaking to […]
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