 |
|||
 |
" I heard it |
||
September 14, 2011
· Calif. ag industry going soft chemicalwise
· Cities could produce most of their own food
· Web offers fresh produce at big-box prices
· A new key to diamond back moth control
· Alaska set to enter a budding world market
Calif. ag industry going soft chemicalwise
(Wire Services) WATSONVILLE, Calif. – A new report examining pesticide use trends in California provides clear indication that farmers are reducing their use of older, more stringently regulated pesticides in exchange for newer, environmentally-friendly methods to control pests.
The report, issued by the
The new report titled, Pesticide Use Trends in California
Agriculture was commissioned by the
“The purpose of this report is to examine whether long-term pesticide use trends support the widely-held belief that farmers are increasingly using Integrated Pest Management strategies and more modern tools targeted toward specific pests,” said James Wells of Environmental Solutions Group and former director of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR), who authored the report and conducted the analysis of CDPR Pesticide Use Report data. “The analysis shows a dramatic drop in the use of organophosphate and carbamate pesticides from 1998 to 2009. More importantly, the decline has been steady for the 12 year period, indicating that it is not just the result of ‘low pest’ years, but a clear trend in pest management strategies.”
The report shows that organophosphate and carbamate pesticides currently represent just two percent
of all pesticides used in
While data is from
“It is very gratifying, but not surprising, to see these numbers so clearly reflect the shift in farming practices to IPM and other environmentally-friendly farming methods over the past decade,” said Marilyn Dolan, Executive Director of the Alliance for Food and Farming. “We knew this trend was happening but it is good to see it quantified in this analysis.”
The
“As any home gardener knows, insect pests reproduce rapidly.
The ability to apply conventionally and organically approved pesticides is
still important to maintain as some pest outbreaks can be difficult to
control,” explains Wells. “In addition,
“Whenever pesticides are used by
The full report on Pesticide Use Trends in
Highlights from Report:
• There has been a significant reduction in the use of
older, more highly regulated organophosphate and carbamate
pesticides in
• The amount of these older, more highly regulated
pesticides is far, far lower when compared with other pesticide classes
including many newer, safer and more environmentally-friendly pesticides and
those approved for use on organic crops. Currently, these older compounds
comprise just 2 percent of the total pesticides used in
• The reduction in use of older compounds indicates that
• There is still a need for farmers to maintain the ability to use some of these older compounds for many reasons including the resistance of pests to more frequently used materials; the influx of exotic pests; and the lack of suitable alternatives in some instances. In addition, these materials may play a key role when used as a last resort to gain control of a pest outbreak that has overwhelmed an Integrated Pest Management system, allowing growers to re-establish IPM strategies.
• It is important to note that these older compounds are
also the most highly regulated. In
• Findings from the analysis conducted in
Cities could produce most of their own food
(The
In recent years the practice also has become popular in
Despite the increase in food production within cities, citizens continue to depend on the importation of food to meet their daily basic needs. A new study from The Ohio State University, however, suggests that most modern cities have the potential to generate up to 100 percent of their current needs for produce and other items.
The study, “Can cities become self-reliant in food?,” conducted by Parwinder Grewal, professor of entomology and director of the Center for Urban Environment and Economic Development at Ohio State University, suggests that a city such as Cleveland, OH, could produce most of the food its citizens need.
Grewal determined that
"
Grewal says Cleveland annually spends about $115 million on fresh fruits and vegetables, poultry, eggs and honey, “most of which comes from somewhere else -- California, Mexico, South America, even as far away as China and Thailand. Our study indicates that the city can prevent economic leakage anywhere from $27 million to $115 million annually by increasing its production of fresh produce, poultry and honey. This could boost the city's economy and lead to increased job creation."
Local food production has many other benefits, he says. Several studies have found that urban agriculture can help boost access to and consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables; cut obesity rates due to consumption of healthy food and increased physical activity; promote a sense of community and decrease crime activity; and raise property values as vacant lots are put to attractive and productive use.
Urban farming can also reduce human impact on the
environment. Grewal said food in the
"Just like the organic food movement, where it was
about five to six years ago, the local food movement is gaining a similar type
of momentum right now, and every city has the potential to at least increase
its local self-sufficiency and resilience by producing its own food. This is
something we must move forward to, and the city of
Web offers fresh produce at big-box prices
(cnet News)
The same dynamic, of course, goes for just about any type of fresh food, be it meat, fish, or other vegetables. And while there are a growing number of companies that deliver fresh produce to people's homes, consumers have very little control over what they get when they buy in to such systems.
Now, a
The system works by essentially directly linking together farmers and consumers, though not on a one-to-one basis. Instead, Farmigo has created a system in which farmers deliver their goods to centralized locations. Buyers pick up their produce at those locations.
They key to the Farmigo system, which the company demonstrated here at TechCrunch Disrupt today, is the group-buying dynamics that results from farmers delivering their wares only if enough people at any individual location agree to buy them. What that means is that if a farmer requires 10 buyers in order to deliver, they don't have to do so until at least 10 sign up there.
Already, Farmigo has created a network of more than 1,500 delivery/pick-up locations, many of which are at companies like Google, where dozens of employees are taking advantage of the ability to pick up their groceries right at work. The same goes for other types of locations, including community centers, or schools.
Would-be users can type in an address and see a location near them. They can see who delivers there, and what type of food is delivered, as well as what day or days the food arrives. Users can also see what types of grocery distribution is available. For example, one farm delivers a variety of different meat selections, including the $100 "Grande meat share," which promises an "assortment of pasture-raised beef, pork and chicken. [The] assortment [is]determined by availability of cuts. From London broil to rib-eye steak to ground beef all our beef is of the highest quality and comes from grass fed and grass finished cows. From roasts to cutlets and chops our pork is always juicy and delicious, and our pasture raised chickens are robust and fresh to your table."
This seems like a great idea, and clearly is already working at a local level. For it to really take off, it needs to attract a wide number of buyers and farmers in a diverse geographical area. And that depends on people outside foodie regions like Silicon Valley and San Francisco deciding that it's worth signing up for a system like this that requires them to pick up groceries in nontraditional locations like the office or the kids' school.
But if it does work, it could help promote something that is desperately needed: a broader adoption of farm-fresh food and a rapid reduction in reliance on Big Food controlling the way that fruits, vegetables, and meats get to our tables.
A new key to diamond back moth control
(ScienceDaily) — The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, is one of the world's most destructive crop pests. It has developed resistance to many chemical and biological pesticides, and the estimated global cost of controlling this insect is approximately US$1billion annually.
In a new article published in the open access journal BMC
Genomics, researchers from
Diadegma semiclausum, the parasitic wasp, attacks P. xylostella by injecting its eggs into the moth larvae. The wasps then manipulate the hosts' physiology in favour of their developing larvae by introducing secretions that contain symbiotic viruses, such as polydnavirus (PDV), into the host. PDVs suppress the hosts' immune system and stall metabolism and development. Research so far has concentrated mainly on individual genes of PDV, in order to explore their function following parasitization, but never before has so comprehensive a profiling study been conducted.
Asgari and his team used an RNA deep sequencing technique called Illumina to identify the symbiotic PDV D. semiclausum ichnovirus (DsIV) genes expressed in the host and compared their sequences with other reported PDVs. Their novel study provides detailed information on the differential expression of P. xylostella larval genes following parasitization, as well as on the DsIV genes expressed in the host. The genes identified here may be targets that allow for the control and manipulation of host-parasite interactions.
Dr Asgari said, "This emphasizes the necessity for the continued development of innovative alternative control measures and resistance management strategies. Parasitoid regulatory molecules can be used to improve pest control strategies in sustainable agriculture."
Alaska
(Alaska
Journal of Commerce) – When you think of exports from
Fresh cut flowers wouldn't be on the list.
They soon will be, though.
A niche industry is developing fast in growing and selling fresh-cut peonies, those blossoms much in demand and beloved, world-wide it turns out, for weddings. It's a small business so far but it's growing, and there seems to be an insatiable market demand at a certain, critical time of the year.
That's according to Ron Illingsworth, a grower in North Pole, who is also president of the Alaska Peony Association, a trade group that recently formed.
The growers are all small operators, many, like Illingsworth, who also own greenhouses and sell plants and vegetables at retail or at local farmers' markets.
"Buds are what we ship, not open flowers," Illingsworth said. "The buds, stems with buds on them actually, are cut at a time just before they would open and then chilled to 34 degrees for a minimum of 24 hours before we ship them. The stems are cut about 30 inches long so that they can be re-cut at the destination and rehydrated to open the bloom," Illingsworth said.
It takes five years for a peony plant to produce flowers
that can be sold, he said. There are now about 25,000
It's just a guess at this point, but Illingsworth
thinks about 6,000 cut peony stems were shipped to buyers in about 15 states
this summer, about half of the production from growers are on the
"Last year our sales were much smaller. Most of us are just now at the point where we have enough plants that are mature enough to do commercial sales," Illingsworth said.
Different seasons
The market niche is this: peonies blossom later in
Shelley Rainwater, who operates Glacier Peonies LLC near
Homer, said most Lower 48 growers end their season on Memorial Day, which
leaves June to September open to
Conditions vary in the state and even locally, and this can affect the seasonality. Rainwater said her growing season in Homer ends in mid-July but other Homer-area growers at somewhat higher elevations can grow and ship in August.
So far the
The worldwide market is tempting, though. There are
inquiries coming from places as far afield as
"We're not there yet," in terms of the production capacity, he said.
Rainwater said there are good reasons for taking a gradual approach to export sales.
"There have been some shipments to
Still, the export market is potentially huge.
"If everyone in
Illingsworth and his wife, Marji, have about 4,000 peony plants in the ground at their
Lilyvale Farm near North Pole and have been growing
for four years. Like most growers, Illingsworth
started the peony business as a sideline to growing vegetables and plants for
the local market. He and his wife retired from teaching at the
Illingsworth started very small in peonies with 20 plants, then planted a few hundred the next year, gradually increasing the numbers. About 1,800 new plants went into the ground this year, he said.
Other growers have more. Rainwater has about 6,000 plants at Glacier Peonies near Homer, and has been growing her plants for six years now. She is a retired nurse, who also raises greenhouse vegetables, although most of these are donated to the local food bank, except for what she keeps for personal use.
Sue Kent, who operates Midnight Sun Peonies Inc. near Soldotna, has 10,000 plants. Midnight Sun Peonies may be the largest grower in the state.
"It has been exciting. One Monday,
Near Palmer, Craige and Kathy
Baker just started with peonies at their Grey Owl Farm on the
Illingsworth said there are about 18 growers on the state doing commercial sales and about 75 members of the peony growers' association.
"Many of our members are people in the process of planting enough peonies to be considered growers. We have a 500-plant threshold before you become a 'grower' for purposes of the association," Illingsworth said.
"The fact that we have organized ourselves and are working together seems to have impressed people," she said.
Research needed
Growers can get several buds off a mature plant in a season.
"A mature plant after five years should have 10 cutable buds. You want to leave the rest on the plant to let it grow. It might have as many as 15 to 20 total buds," Illingsworth said.
Logistics must be managed carefully, however.
"We ship out of state using FedEx priority next day air. So far, they've given us the best deal," Illingsworth said. "Temperatures are a problem as flowers on a truck at the destination waiting to be delivered for 5 hours in 95 degree temperatures will probably end up being ruined. Often we have the buyers pick up their flowers at the destination FedEx office rather than having them delivered."
Because Alaskans can sell when no one else can, they can command up to $5 a stem. That is about seven times the price in early summer when the big Lower 48 growers supply the market.
Despite bright prospects for the infant industry, recent budget cuts at the U.S. Department of Agriculture will result in USDA's Agriculture Research Service closing in September, leaving peony growers without vital assistance in research, plant variety and nutrition just when it is vitally needed.
"There's no one left to help us," said Sue Kent. "We're building an industry here, but we're left now to figure things out for ourselves," in terms of scientific and technical matters.
Illingsworth said there had been plans for the USDA center to become a peony gene bank, which would have been an important advantage for Alaskan growers.
Researchers at UAF played a crucial role in the creation of
the infant industry. Pat Holloway, director of the
"He told me we had something no one else in the world has – peonies blooming in July," she said.
Not long after, two
"They were dumbfounded to see peonies growing in
There are peonies shipped from
Holloway obtained a $500,000 grant from the USDA's new crops program and began experimenting with peonies at the university's botanical gardens. Word about peonies and the commercial possibilities ultimately got around in the state's gardening community, and a mini-industry took off.
Holloway said there are a range of issues growers face, including appropriate soils and fertilizers, weed control, disease identification, proper stages for cutting, and post-harvest chilling and handling.
"Growers can experiment on their own but it is hugely expensive. The cut flower trade is very competitive and we need to build the best foundation we can for these growers to succeed," Holloway said. "Every industry I know of is supported by public research and development dollars. This industry is just beginning, and dollars for research are practically non-existent."
Holloway has been in
"I was told bluntly that
End Transmission