Food prices are high worldwide and many factors are causing the increase, according to a Kansas State University agricultural economist.
Soybean growers in Argentina have something in common with their counterparts in some areas of the northern United States: Problems with a plant disease called northern stem canker.
Agricultural land values are booming again in the Northern Great Plains, if a South Dakota study is any indication. The latest study from South Dakota State University economists suggests South Dakota land values charted a 16.5 percent increase in 2010-2011.
Pollination typically brings to mind an iconic story of the bee visiting the flower in a lovely meadow. And everyone benefits from this ecological cooperation. But a closer look at the process in rangelands reveals a more complex picture of competition, attraction, negotiation, and, of course, the forces of the wind.
Scientists practice a method to help discover specific genes that determine fruit traits.
Research is being conducted on degrading a toxic compound found in groundwater systems around the world.
The economic impacts of routine weather events can add up to 3.4% of the nation's GDP.
A Kansas State University plant pathologist is finding in a statewide study that this year Kansas wheat has also been battling a much smaller opponent: viruses.
Scientists turn to an exotic Chinese wheat cultivar in search of disease resistant genetics.
Not all consumers share the same attitudes toward animal cloning, but the latest research from Sean Fox, Kansas State University professor of agricultural economics, shows that Americans may be more accepting of consuming cloned animal products than Europeans.
University of Adelaide computer scientists are developing image-based technology which promises a major boost to the breeding of improved cereal varieties for the harsher environmental conditions expected under climate change.
Crop Science Society of America releases a position statement that calls for research programs to understand crops’ adaptation to drought, heat, and biological stresses from climate change
The 10,000-plus members of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America develop a position statement on climate change.
Researchers analyze data collection methods for examining the environmental impacts of pesticide use.
Tropical maize is a valuable genetic resource that can help scientists identify the specific genes controlling daylight response.
Research on phosphate sorption of alpine soils is limited, but European researchers have provided new data regarding the impact alpine soils have on catchments of alpine lakes.
Educators experiment with a new inquiry curriculum in hopes of better preparing students in solving real world issues.
Research shows that sufficient genetic variation exists in cotton cultivars to continue improving agronomic performance.
The southeastern U.S. might be uniquely equipped with the right combination of natural resources to meet the nation’s growing demand for farm products, according to a scientist with The University of Alabama in Huntsville.
Some Midwestern communities are bucking the outmigration trend according to two new reports that profile those communities, their amenities and some of the keys to their economic vitality.
Margaret McGrath, an expert on plant diseases and associate professor of Plant Pathology at Cornell University, comments on the impact of an unusually wet spring on the potential for an outbreak of late blight.
Our world of electronic conveniences has now reached the cow pasture. In the not-so-distant future, landscapes may be dotted only with virtual fences and cattle will be herded with global positioning system (GPS) technology. Of course, as with most electronics, how long the battery will last is still an issue. In this case, the amount of battery power a bovine can carry on the collar around its neck limits the use of technology.
Producers of agriculture products will have the chance to learn more about the exciting new crop, field pennycress, and its possibilities for use in bio-fuels and industrial products at the WIU Pennycress Field Day June 2, near the Western Illinois University Macomb-campus.
A pattern of earthen berms, spread across a northern peninsula of the big island of Hawaii, is providing archeologists with clues to exactly how residents farmed in paradise long before Europeans arrived at the islands.
While invasive plant species continue to grow like—well, weeds—costing millions of dollars in damage and control attempts, the field of weed science is not keeping pace. There is demand for further knowledge of herbicide persistence, movement, and toxicity in the environment, and the biology and ecology of weeds. But the numbers of weed science researchers, educators, and extension agents are few.
The sagebrush rangeland of Park Valley, Utah, has seen its share of land-use demonstration projects. One hundred years ago, an experimental farm was created there to display “dry farming” and encourage settlers to come to this semi-arid land. Today, demonstration sites seek to show ecologically based invasive plant management strategies. Ironically, it was the dry farming experiment that first introduced the weeds that ranchers are struggling against today.
In the May-June 2011 issue of the Journal of Environmental Quality, scientists report how natural plant compounds known as tannins cut both the amount of nitrogen cows excrete in urine, and the action of a microbial enzyme in manure that converts nitrogen into ammonia on the barn floor. In their study, ammonia emissions dropped by up to 30%.
While demand for food is soaring, the soil’s ability to sustain and enhance agricultural productivity is becoming increasingly diminished and unreliable. A new book, Soil Management: Building a Stable Base for Agriculture, is now calling for renewed investment in soil management, restoration and science-based soil practices.
Discovery of a new class of insect repellant raises the possibility of formulations that are thousands of times more effective than current repellants.
Plant science professor Sharon Clay breaks ground literally every growing season when she begins a new set of studies of how weeds interfere with crop growth, reduce yield, and compete for nutrients, water and sunlight. This year she has broken ground in a different way — as the first woman ever chosen as president-elect of the American Society of Agronomy.
Scientists have reviewed state-of-the-art association mapping of maize, and the factors that will allow for the maximum impact of this new tool in gene discovery studies and practical maize improvement programs.
South Dakota State University has released soybean germplasm lines to help plant breeders elsewhere incorporate desirable qualities such as high protein and low linolenic acid into their own soybean varieties.
Scientists made 20 collections of Searls prairie clover in an attempt to characterize their potential for agronomic seed production, flowering date and biomass, inherent population relationships, and phenotypic correlation.
ISU researchers have discovered a new arm of the pathway by which plants activate a response to environmental stress caused by adverse environmental conditions, such as drought, flood and heat. These stresses affect yield more than crop pests and diseases. Finding a way to maintain high yields for plants under stress is a goal of plant breeders and other agriculture stakeholders.
Weeds are hard to kill; they seem to come back no matter what steps people take to eradicate them. One reason is because of the persistence of weed seeds in the soil. Organic farming and conventional farming systems both have their methods of taking on weed seeds, but does one show better results than the other?
Scientists at the Johannes Gutenberg University at Mainz, Germany, recently examined the mobility of arsenic and copper found in dendrites of a local limestone.
Paul Curtis, an expert on wildlife-human conflicts and a professor of Natural Resources at Cornell University, comments on the spread of feral hogs into New York state.
Invasive Plant Science and Management –Invasive plant species do not make good neighbors. Aside from their obvious disrespect for fence lines, weeds can continue to edge out native species even after the invaders have been plucked or controlled.
A gene newly discovered by Eve Wurtele and Ling Li introduced into soybean plants has increased the amount of protein in the plant's seed by 30 to 60 percent. People with protein-starved diets around the world could benefit.
Scientists at USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and Penn State used computer simulated farms with the support of field research to compare the environmental impact and economic efficacy of using alternative manure application methods in farming systems.
As rice farmers across the southern U.S. prepare to plant their crop this month, evolutionary geneticist Ana Caicedo and others have begun a major new study of how weeds evolve in general and of invasive weedy rice in particular, a prime threat to a staple that feeds millions worldwide every year.
Analysis published this week in the journal Science shows how declines of bat populations caused by a new wildlife disease and fatalities at industrial-scale wind turbines could lead to substantial economic losses on the farm.
In the first report on the uptake and internal processing of triclocarban (TCC) in fish, scientists today reported strong evidence that TCC — the source of environmental health concerns because of its potential endocrine-disrupting effects — has a “strong” tendency to bioaccumulate in fish. They presented the findings here today at the 241st National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.
Scientists investigate the distribution of contaminants in the roots of ryegrass. Recent studies had indicated that contaminated fungi attached to the root of plants were responsible for the plant’s uptake of toxic contaminants.
A collaborative study was carried out between University of Copenhagen and University of Aarhus, Denmark, to investigate the influence of dairy slurry on leaching of manure nutrient components.
Scientists test the effectiveness of removing solids from dairy manure to improve yield by increasing the nitrogen to phosphorus ratio and reducing the loss of nitrogen by hastening soil infiltration.
Five major scientific societies cautioned today that global production of phosphorus fertilizer could peak and decline later this century, causing shortages and price spikes that jeopardizing world food production. The white paper, Chemistry for a Sustainable Global Society, also cautioned about the supply of other natural resources where monopolies or political instability affect supplies or inflate prices.
Crafting oat varieties suitable for horses and other livestock is priority for plant breeders at South Dakota State University. But horses are having to make room at the trough for humans as scientists continue to learn more about the health benefits of oats in human diets.
A joint study between local oyster growers and researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science suggests that moving farmed oysters into saltier waters just prior to harvest nearly eliminates the presence of a bacterium that can sicken humans.
Scientists at Lincoln University in New Zealand conducted an experiment over an 86-day spring/summer period to determined the effect of incorporating biochar into the soil on nitrous oxide emissions produced by cattle urine.
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