" I heard it through the AgLine"

February 11, 2010

 

 

·        Eye in the sky has US cropland covered

·        Monsanto maintains 2010 profit outlook

·        Deal predicted in US-Mexico truck dispute

·        Organic fertilizer gets top marks in trials

·        Beekeeping hobby leads to new career

 

 

Eye in the sky has US cropland covered

 

(SPX) Washington DC: The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) has 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.

 

These crop-specific, digital data layers are suitable for use in geographic information systems (GIS) applications. They can be used by agribusinesses, farmers, government agencies, researchers and academic institutions to study pesticide risk, epidemiology, transportation, fertilizer usage, carbon dioxide flux and other topics.

 

NASS produced the CDLs using satellite images observed at 56-meter (0.775 acres per pixel) resolution and collected from the Resourcesat-1 Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS), Landsat Thematic Mapper and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS).

 

The collection of images was then categorized using on-the-ground farm information including field location, crop type, land cover, elevation, tree canopy and urban infrastructure.

 

For the first time, the CDL images are available for 47 of the 48 contiguous states. Data for the final state, Florida, will be available this spring pending the availability of certified farm data required to produce the images. NASS is also making available, for the first time, the New Mexico CDL for 2008.

 

The entire inventory of CDL products, including metadata and accuracy assessments, is available online at the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service's Geospatial Data Gateway and at this NASS website.

 

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Monsanto maintains 2010 profit outlook

(AP via Yahoo! News) – Monsanto Co., the world's biggest seed maker, said Wednesday that it is on track to meet its financial targets this year.

Monsanto also said it remains focused on building opportunities for new corn and soybean products.

The company said it will tell investors at the Goldman Sachs 14th annual agricultural biotech forum that it expects to make between $3.10 and $3.30 per share this year before restructuring charges of 19 to 25 cents per share.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect profit of $3.28 per share. Such estimates typically exclude charges.

Scott Begeman, executive vice president of seeds and traits, also is expected to talk about expected strong growth in Latin America, a key driver for the company.

Monsanto shares fell 42 cents to $75.30 in midday trading Wednesday. The shares have traded between $66.57 and $93.35 over the past year.

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Deal predicted in US-Mexico truck dispute

 

(AFP via Google) – Mexico's economy minister said a trade spat with the United States would be resolved this year, as top US trade envoy Ron Kirk visited the Mexican capital on Tuesday.

 

Economy Minister Gerardo Ruiz Mateos said both sides were working together on the dispute and that a solution "will surely occur this year," underlining that it harmed competition in the recession-hit region.

 

Mexico last March placed tariffs on nearly 90 US products in retaliation for the cancellation of a program allowing some Mexican trucks into the United States.

 

The move by US lawmakers violated a section of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Mexico, the United States and Canada.

 

Trade Representative Kirk -- who sought to boost a new US export initiative during his two-day visit -- underlined that the Obama administration had already changed the language of the bill.

 

"We have the green light to go forward and start those consultations with Congress (and) with our stakeholders in the US," Kirk told a joint news conference.

 

Kirk met Monday with leaders of small- and medium-sized businesses, and said they would be key for new export opportunities between the long-term partners.

 

"We think that is a real growth opportunity to deepen and strengthen what is already a dynamic relationship," Kirk said, as he sought to reassure Mexico amid a US push for trade deals with Panama, Colombia and South Korea.

 

"Completing those agreements does nothing to diminish the importance of the relationship between the United States and Mexico," Kirk said.

 

The United States is Mexico's main trading partner, and Mexico is the third biggest US partner, with joint trade representing some 400 billion dollars per year, according to the Mexican minister.

 

US President Barack Obama last week unveiled the National Export Initiative, a broad plan to double US exports in five years, targeting huge emerging economies like China, India and Brazil.

 

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Organic fertilizer gets top marks in trials

 

(AZcleantech.com) – Early stage research field trials conducted by the University of Arizona’s Maricopa County and Yuma County Cooperative Extension, have demonstrated that organic farmers using EarthRenew Organic Matter in a Granule products can achieve substantially higher yields than farmers using conventional chemical fertilizer applications, the company announced here today.

 

With one pre-plant application of EarthRenew patented products, the Arizona research trials conducted in late 2008, showed approximately a 40% higher yield in carrot production and 15% to 28% higher yields in spinach production, compared to two applications of conventional chemical applications.

 

EarthRenew funded this third party research.

 

The private company’s patented products have uniquely over 50% concentrated organic matter. EarthRenew products had 40% less nitrogen and 68% less phosphorus applied per acre than the conventional chemical fertilizers and its concentrated organic matter products hold plant nutrients within the plant root zone throughout the growing season, and are believed to increase the plant nutrient uptake.

 

“We are very encouraged by these early results.” said Christianne Carin, founder and chief executive. “EarthRenew’s patented products offer organic farmers for the first time a clear economic advantage over conventional growing practices. Our products offer a clear value proposition: higher yields, productivity, and net returns.”

 

EarthRenew has developed patented products with concentrated organic matter and nutrients in dense pellets, granules and prills. These products utilize fresh manure, without additives, that are cooked at temperatures exceeding 600 degrees Fahrenheit using the company’s patented heat processing technologies. The heat process renders nonviable weed seeds and pathogens.

 

EarthRenew’s product, Organic Matter in a Granule®, is approved for unrestricted application in organic agriculture under the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) Organic Food Program for use in certified organic food production and it comports with the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program requirements and as such provides approval equivalency in most other states.

 

“We believe that these results are attributable to the high concentration of organic matter in the product,” added Dr. Al Fedkenheuer, the company’s president. “Further third party research projects in western North America are ongoing and are expected to achieve similar results in other crops.”

 

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Beekeeping hobby leads to new career

 

(Montana State University) – In David Baumbauer’s beekeeping class the participants take an oath: “I am a beekeeper and I will get stung.”

 

Baumbauer, manager of Montana State University’s Plant Growth Center, quickly follows with an explanation, “If you work the bees when the weather is nice and pay attention to what you are doing, you can usually avoid getting stung.”

 

Although Baumbauer does feel the sting of an irritated bee once or twice a year — always his fault, he said — he hasn’t let that stop his beekeeping hobby from morphing into research and classes.

 

In January, Baumbauer will be offering his fifth hobby beekeeping course. Open to the public and limited to 50 participants, the class fills up every year.

 

“It’s a neat addition to the agricultural experience,” Baumbauer said. “It’s a fun hobby, kids seem to be naturals at it and gardeners reap wonderful benefits from having bees around (to pollinate their crops).”

 

His bees also make an appearance in Baumbauer’s organic market gardening class, taught in the summer on MSU’s horticulture farm. While learning about small-scale direct market enterprises, students get a primer on beekeeping.

 

“There are a lot of products that come out of beekeeping, such as honey, lip balms and candles, that can supplement a gardener or farmer’s income,” Baumbauer said.

 

Baumbauer got hooked on beekeeping after working bees with a friend. He currently has five bee colonies on MSU’s Bozeman Area Research and Training Farm and his daughters have another five colonies in friends’ yards. (Five colonies per hobbyist and two hobbyists per household are allowed by the Montana Department of Agriculture.) The honey and beeswax his family collects is used for Christmas presents, the MSU welcome picnic and a church fundraiser.

 

Researchers at MSU see the bees living on campus as more than honey and pollinators; they see them as research subjects and lifesavers.

 

Lee Spangler, faculty in chemistry and biochemistry, Joe Shaw, engineering faculty, and researchers from the National Energy Technology Lab use bees for carbon sequestration work. By analyzing the pollen a bee collects for tracers that have been added to carbon dioxide, he can tell whether buried carbon dioxide is staying stored underground or leaking out of the ground.

 

University of Montana professor Jerry Bromenshenk; Kevin Repasky, MSU engineering faculty; John Carlsten, MSU physics faculty; Shaw and Spangler have figured out a way to use bees to detect land mines.

 

Bromenshenk conditioned honeybees to be attracted to land mines by adding trace amounts of the chemicals used in explosives to their food. When honeybees are released into a minefield they will pause over the landmines in their search for food. To be able to detect the pausing of the bees, the MSU researchers developed lidar, a measuring system that detects and locates objects on the same principle as radar but uses light from a laser.

 

Bees can also help improve the lives of people around the world. In October, Baumbauer volunteered at a Heifer International beekeeping class in Perryville, Ark. Heifer International is a nonprofit development organization dedicated to improving communities through sustainable agriculture.

 

“Bees are good for international development because you don’t need any land to raise them,” Baumbauer said. “They are a great enterprise for women in developing countries because women do most of the chores and don’t have a lot of extra time. Bees don’t require a big time commitment.”

 

He also talks bees with youth groups. He has read bee stories to children at the library, taught beekeeping and served honey to middle school students at their fall camp, and taught sixth graders the waggle dance, a dance bees use to communicate where nectar is.

 

“It’s been interesting to see how this hobby has blossomed in the last six years,” Baumbauer said. “From carbon sequestration to landmines to international development—it’s taking on a life of its own.”

 

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