Feature Channels: Agriculture

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Scientists in Africa are working to develop maize hybrids that keep their genetic diversity and resistance to parasitic weeds.

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A shipment of seed sent by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) earlier this month to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway included a wild Russian strawberry that an expeditionary team braved bears and volcanoes to collect.

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Award recognizes his support of agriculture and conservation.

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The award recognizes her support of agriculture and science.

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Stormwater runoff is the main source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon pollutants to the NY/NJ Harbor.

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Award recognizes his support of agriculture, conservation.

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Geraniums may hold the key to controlling the devastating Japanese beetle, which feeds on nearly 300 plant species and costs the ornamental plant industry $450 million in damage each year, according to scientists with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS).

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Technology discovery, development and adoption play a huge role in how we're going to feed the world's growing population, according to a Kansas State University agricultural economist. Equally vital is funding to support research on food production technology.

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An Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist is helping to sort through the jumbled genetics of Echinacea, the coneflower known for its blossoms--and its potential for treating infections, inflammation, and other human ailments.

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Bovine Respiratory Disease causes between $800 million to $900 million annually in economic losses from animal death, reduced feed efficiency and antimicrobial treatment costs. Oklahoma State University scientists are showing real dollar benefits of BRD health management practices on cattle operations.

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After four years of decline, cotton production will rebound.

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Lots of leaves growing in easy reach of a cow's tongue means less time and less land needed to raise beef cattle.

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Economic Development Assistance Program grant to focus on aquaculture, agriculture and environmental technologies.

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Following an intense study of agricultural ecosystems near Montreal, a new tool that enables the simultaneous analysis and management of a wide range of ecological services has been developed. Environmental management typically focuses on nature’s resources like food, wildlife and timber, but can miss hidden ecosystem services such as water purification, climate moderation and the regulation of nutrient cycling.

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Hawaiian educators transform a professional development course to strengthen the teaching of environmental and agricultural science.

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Rangelands—During the past century, food production in the United States has achieved a remarkable degree of efficiency and the cost of food has remained low, but some of the conditions that made such a system possible are changing. Rising human population, water shortages, and depletion of fossil fuels all threaten current food production systems. In short, the era of cheap food may well be coming to an end.

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Can a computerized machine tend broccoli and lettuce in the fields? With automated cultivation assisting in the battle against weeds, vegetable growers may be able to reduce costs of herbicide and labor without diminishing the crop yield. A new study in Weed Technology examines the economic effectiveness of machine-vision guidance systems that help cultivators accurately till the soil between rows of vegetable crops.

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What are the top research questions facing agriculture? Earlier this year, the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) sought out the opinions of its members and leadership to develop a Grand Challenge statement, key questions, and expected outcomes.

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Combined mechanisms of transport have important applications—transport of nutrients across cell membranes in plants and animals, the aeration of agricultural soils, performance of chemical reactors, the design of membranes for desalting brackish water, and the design of clay membranes for retaining dangerous chemicals. In a recent article in Vadose Zone Journal, scientists show that the developers of popular models of diffusion have made invalid assumptions.

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A 2-year field study in Mississippi evaluated the effect of nitrogen, growth stage (bud formation and flowering), and harvest time (first in mid-July, second beginning of October) on peppermint yields, oil content, and composition.

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Food Safety Consortium research at the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture closes in on how probiotics -- direct-fed microbials -- can be used to fight Salmonella in poultry.

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Recent Food Safety Consortium-supported research at Iowa State University shows that antibiotics may be helpful in reducing the pathogen E. coli O157:H7 among swine.

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WSU receives federal grant to target genetics of E. coli in cattle.

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Scientists have known for a long time that plants grow differently when they are spaced closer together than farther apart. Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison conducted field experiments to determine the effects of early-season light quality on corn productivity.

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Some say the world's population will swell to 9 billion people by 2030 and that will present significant challenges for agriculture to provide enough food to meet demand, says University of Idaho animal scientist Rod Hill. Hill and Larry Branen, a University of Idaho food scientist, organized a symposium during the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting Sunday to explore ways biotechnology could provide healthy and plentiful animal-based foods to meet future demands.

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A cocktail of compounds emitted by the beneficial fungus Muscodor albus may offer a biologically based way to fumigate certain crops and rid them of destructive pests.

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The Agronomy, Crop Science and Soil Science Societies are accepting applications for several scholarships and fellowships for undergraduate and graduate students studying in these or related fields.

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Scientists analyze the literature to establish relationships between pollutant removal efficacy and key buffer design features.

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A pilot program for employment in sustainable agriculture, Sustainable Agriculture Scholars (SAS) Program, is used to expand on routine undergraduate lab work. The program includes hands on and experiential learning opporunties, designed to increase excitement, interest and understand of careers in sustainable agriculture.

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An international panel of scientists is urging dramatically changed ideas about sustainable agriculture to prevent a major starvation catastrophe by the end of this century among more than 3 billion people who live in the tropics.

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Presence of non-native turfgrasses in restored prairies likely due to previous site cultivations rather than post-restoration invasions as reported in Crop Science.

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U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists and their colleagues at the Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute today announced that they have completed sequencing the genome of a kind of wild grass that will enable researchers to develop hardier varieties of wheat and improved varieties of biofuel crops.

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Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are tapping into the DNA of a wild oat, considered by some to be a noxious weed, to see if it can help combat crown rust, the most damaging fungal disease of oats worldwide.

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The nation’s organic farms and ranches have higher average sales and higher average production expenses than U.S. farms overall, according to results of the 2008 Organic Production Survey released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.

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A new Web-based tool at South Dakota State University helps plant breeders & researchers worldwide analyze molecular data to select best grapes & other plant stock to breed better plants.

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Studies conducted by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are helping to increase understanding about the environmental factors that regulate production of avenanthramides (Avns), metabolites with potent antioxidant properties, in oat grain.

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Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have analyzed rust fungi from more than 160 sugarcane samples from 25 countries to provide a valuable resource for plant breeders and pathologists who are searching for genetic resistance to the deadly orange and brown rusts.

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One of the world’s most sophisticated plant research facilities, set to make huge advances in international agricultural sustainability and deliver significant benefits to Australia’s agriculture and horticulture industries, was opened in Adelaide, South Australia.

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) today announced the release of new satellite images depicting agricultural land cover across most of the nation for the 2009 crop year. The images, referred to as cropland data layers (CDL), are a useful tool for monitoring crop rotation patterns, land use changes, water resources and carbon emissions.

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Pistachios, almonds and other popular tree nuts might someday be routinely sprayed with a yeast called Pichia anomala to prevent contamination with aflatoxins, according to an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) plant physiologist.

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Studying pollen tubes, plant physiologist Peter Hepler has captured some of the fastest growing tissues known, on camera for the first time, advancing understanding of fertilization that’s critical to development of all fruits, nuts, grains, rice, corn, wheat and other crops we depend on for food.

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Wellesley's Heather Mattila studies honey bee hives to find out how colonies work together to find food. Her research, recently featured in Discover Magazine, has gained importance as honey bee populations have declined dramatically — and mysteriously — in recent years.

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Israel's kibbutz movement continues to shift from the "collective" model to differential wages.

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Climate specialist Jeff Gaffney explains Union of Concern Scientists' call for dialogue with American Farm Bureau, which recently said there is no generally agreed scientific assesment on the impact of carbon emissions from human activities.

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A Soon-to-be graduate of Western Illinois University is one of lead researchers in market research project to foster new Russian market possibilities for Illinois ethanol producers. Ethanol co-product DDGS (distiller's dried grains with solubles) can provide high-protein feed product for Russian livestock.

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A collaborative project by soil science and earth science teachers explored the development and dissemination of soil e-lessons. By harnessing technology, the instructors created learning tools that could reach beyond their classroom walls to teach other students and public audiences about soils as well.

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Scientists at the University of California, Riverside, have investigated carbon and nitrogen accumulation in soils formed on debris flows in a coniferous forest in southern California. Soil formation was studied using a space-for-time substitution, in which debris flows of various ages were used to approximate soil formation over time.

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A recent study concluded that 50 million U.S. acres of cropland and pasture could be used for the production of perennial grasses, such as switchgrass, for biofuel feedstock. Economically viable production of a perennial grass monoculture from which substantial quantities of biomass are removed annually is expected to require nitrogen fertilizer.

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A new study of maize has identified thousands of diverse genes in genetically inaccessible portions of the genome. New techniques may allow breeders and researchers to use this genetic variation to identify desirable traits and create new varieties that were not easily possible before.

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Sustainable farming, initially adopted to preserve soil quality for future generations, may also play a role in maintaining a healthy climate, according to researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge and Los Alamos national laboratories.