New research shows that the majority of consumers will accept the presence of nanotechnology or genetic modification (GM) technology in foods – but only if the technology enhances the nutrition or improves the safety of the food.
What some farmers grow as pasture plants others view as weeds. But with the need to cheaply feed food animals rising, circumstances are right for the weed invasion to escalate.
By comparing grasshoppers found at woodland sites once used for agriculture to similar sites never disturbed by farming, UW-Madison Philip Hahn and John Orrock show that despite decades of recovery, the numbers and types of species found in each differ, as do the understory plants and other ecological variables, like soil properties.
In a study published Wednesday, Nov. 19, in Nature, scientists at Boston University, the University of New Hampshire, the University of Michigan, the University of Minnesota, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and McGill University show that a steep rise in the productivity of crops grown for food accounts for as much as 25 percent of the increase in this carbon dioxide (CO2) seasonality.
A patent-pending technology at Kansas State University has built resistance to certain viruses in wheat plants. These viruses can be an economic drain to wheat farmers by costing them 5 to 10 percent or more in yield reductions per crop. Although the technology involves genetic engineering, which is not an option for wheat in today's market, the research has extended to building this resistance in non-genetically engineered wheat lines as well.
Greenhouse lettuce plants bathed in soft pink light that cuts growing time in half. Farmers who boat to their coastal water “fields” of crops. Beef cattle bred for optimal meat production humanely and sustainably. All this and more is already on the way, according to the latest series of interviews from the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) FutureFood 2050 publishing initiative
An emerging virus demands quick action. One week after the diagnostic lab at Iowa State confirmed that porcine epidemic diarrhea virus had spread to the United States, Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Lab researchers at South Dakota State University released a diagnostic test to differentiate PEDv genetic material from that of other viruses. A faster, more sensitive second-generation PCR test was commercially available within a few months.
A common vision to define, measure, and communicate about sustainability in U.S. agriculture
Knowing that their county had rank toward the bottom of healthy counties in Kansas, citizens got together to enhance access to more healthy foods, specifically produce. Now a rural grocer partners with a local farmers' market to provide more fresh produce to people and promises to buy leftover produce from market night to sell in his store.
Trained professionals in the area of agronomy needed to help close the food security gap
Hot, dry conditions can wreak havoc on a field of soybeans. Assistant professor Jai Rohila of the South Dakota State University Biology and Microbiology Department is uncovering the molecular mechanisms that lead to drought and heat tolerance. This will help breeders develop soybean varieties that can survive heat and drought. To do this, he is working with University of Minnesota soybean breeder Jim Orf, who provided Rohila with two varieties of soybeans, one that has greater tolerance to hot, dry conditions, and another that is susceptible.
The Rural Mainstreet Index moved to its lowest level in more than four years, according to the October survey of bank CEOs in rural areas of a 10-state region dependent on agriculture and/or energy.
Lake Erie has become increasingly susceptible to large blooms of toxin-producing cyanobacteria since 2002, potentially complicating efforts to rein in the problem in the wake of this year's Toledo drinking water crisis, according to a new study led by University of Michigan researchers.
A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has pioneered the world’s first fluorescent sensor – called Milk Orange – that rapidly identifies the presence of fat in milk. This novel sensor is being applied to the development of a device for rapid on-site measurement of milk fat, which is especially useful in areas such as dairy farms in developing countries. This device could also help enhance the current milk quality control process, particularly in resource-limited regions.
Australian researchers fit oysters with biosensors to measure how they respond to changing environmental conditions or stressors on aquaculture farms. Their results have implications for achieving and maintaining ideal conditions for targeted species in aquatic environments.
Organic agriculture and food systems can contribute to society goals of sustainable food production
University of Adelaide researchers are introducing a method to use bees to deliver disease control to cherry blossom, preventing brown rot in cherries.
The smell of cut grass in recent years has been identified as the plant’s way of signalling distress, but new research says the aroma also summons beneficial insects to the rescue.
Korean white winter wheat is particularly susceptible to preharvest sprouting, according to Dae Wook Kim, a scientist at National Institute of Crop Science in Suwaon, South Korea. Working with molecular biologist Jai Rohila at South Dakota State University, Kim has identified proteins which are differentially expressed in tolerant cultivars, with the goal of breeding more resistant varieties that can help increase wheat production in Korea.
People make decisions all the time, and some have long-term consequences: Do I work out? Do I take the bus? Do I recycle? A UF/IFAS researcher and his colleagues found those who value long-term consequences of their decisions are more apt to buy eco-friendly plants.
A pharmacologist warns that if you are raising chickens in your backyard, don't consume their eggs if the animals have been taking medication.
A comprehensive new analysis released today says that nearly half (49%) of all recent tropical deforestation is the result of illegal clearing for commercial agriculture. The study also finds that the majority of this illegal destruction was driven by overseas demand for agricultural commodities including palm oil, beef, soy, and wood products. In addition to devastating impacts on forest-dependent people and biodiversity, the illegal conversion of tropical forests for commercial agriculture is estimated to produce 1.47 gigatonnes of carbon each year—equivalent to 25% of the EU’s annual fossil fuel-based emissions.
A new study suggests that nearly half of workers who care for animals in large industrial hog farming operations may be carrying home livestock-associated bacteria in their noses, and that this potentially harmful bacteria remains with them up to four days after exposure.
An invasive weed poses a serious and frightening threat to farming families in Ethiopia, but scientists have unleashed a new weapon in the fight against hunger: a tiny, speckled beetle.
Texas has been known for its oil production for almost 150 years. Now, a new oil industry is sprouting in what may bring producers cash and consumers a local, edible choice — olive oil. Olive trees, native to the Mediterranean region, have been planted on an estimated 2,000 acres in the state already, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension.
If Americans altered their menus to conform to federal dietary recommendations, emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases tied to agricultural production could increase significantly, according to a new study by University of Michigan researchers.
A University of Florida-led research team’s development of an RFID tracking system could change the way companies ship fresh fruits and vegetables, providing consumers the freshest products available.
University of Adelaide research has shown that piglets can be weaned later with no negative effects on sow birthing frequency.
Coffee drinkers beware: Surprise ingredients may be hiding in your coffee, and growing shortages may well increase the chance of having more fillers in the future. A new test that will be reported today at the 248th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society, may quickly find them before the beverage reaches stores and restaurants.
Thanks to a USDA grant, two professors are teaching farmers, ranchers how to better utilize the Internet.
Researchers at NCAR and partner organizations are making significant headway in predicting the behavior of the atmosphere on a variety of fronts. Highlights include improving weather forecasts, advancing renewable energy capabilities, helping satellites avoid space debris, and estimating the risk of a crop slowdown due to climate change.
Spring rains that delayed planting and a cool summer have farmers concerned about whether their corn will reach maturity before the first frost. Two new online decision-making tools available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Useful to Usable research project will help, according to state climatologist and South Dakota State University associate professor Dennis Todey. Farmers are producing crops under more variable conditions, so these tools can be critical to both food safety and the farmers’ economic survival.
A new approach for formulating the active chemical ingredients of common drugs and agricultural products has been developed by researchers in Italy, and it holds broad potential to make such products more durable, safer, cheaper, easier to manufacture and less harmful to the environment.
Blueberries get lots of media attention for their antioxidant benefits, but a new UF/IFAS study shows 60 percent of blueberry purchasers buy the fruit for its flavor.
Traditionally, strawberry growers spray weekly to preserve their crop. But a UF/IFAS model can help them save more than $1 million in a decade-span on an average 26-acre farm by telling them optimal times to spray.
Manipulating a cow’s nutrition level during the second trimester can alter the carcass composition of her offspring, according to South Dakota State University meat scientist Amanda Blair. Fetal programming is the concept that during fetus development important biological parameters can be manipulated by environmental events and these alterations can carry through to maturity. The long-term goal is to improve the quality and quantity of beef.
For the millions of adults and children in the U.S. who have to shun nuts to avoid an allergic reaction, help could be on the way. Scientists are now developing a way to process cashews — and potentially other nuts — that could make them safer for people who are allergic to them. They’re presenting their work at the 248th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.
Location. Location. Location. The popular real estate mantra also is equally important to the growing of grapes and the storing of the bottles of the beverage, according to researchers. Those are just two of the many scientific subjects that will be covered in a symposium titled, “Advances in Wine Research,” at the 248th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society. A new video explains these topics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Km3UujrPLEU.
University of Iowa researchers examined how changes in rainfall amounts and an increase in the amount of acreage used to grow such crops as corn and soybeans can affect the volume of river water flow in the U.S. Midwest.
The world faces a small but substantially increased risk over the next two decades of a major slowdown in the growth of global corn and wheat yields because of climate change, according to NCAR and Stanford University research. Such a slowdown would occur as global demand for crops rapidly increases.
A decline in overall potato consumption has Texas A&M AgriLife Research breeders working on “designer” spuds that meet the time constraints and unique tastes of a younger generation.
New research at the University of Adelaide has opened the way for the development of new lines of barley with resistance to powdery mildew.
Scientists from the Weizmann Institute and the U.S. created a tool to analyze the environmental costs of agriculture, with the goal of determining which types of animal-based food one should eat, environmentally speaking. In the most comprehensive study of its kind, they came up with answers both expected and surprising.
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