Recent Posts
-
- SUBSCRIBE:
Author Archives: Andrew Burger
Agriculture Ministers Meet in Berlin to Renew Efforts to Reduce Food Waste and Eliminate Hunger
/ January 25, 2012 11:02 pm
Ministers from 64 countries gathered in Berlin for the fourth Berlin Agriculture Ministers’ Summit to sign a declaration and issue a communique this past weekend underscoring the importance of improving environmental sustainability and reducing food waste in order to better address the interrelated issues of poor nutrition, food insecurity and scarcity. The ministers called on the UN Food and Agriculture Organization Continue reading
FAO, European Commission Launch Climate-Smart Agriculture Development Program
/ January 19, 2012 6:32 pm
Farmers and others working in the agricultural sectors in Malawi, Vietnam and Zambia will be the beneficiaries of a three-year, 5.3 million euro (~$6.8 million) “climate smart” agriculture and development transition project launched by UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and European Commission (EC). Aimed at reducing agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and ameliorating the damaging risks associated with climate Continue reading
Beyond Biofuel, Cornell University Professor Seeks to Demonstrate Promise of Algae as Animal Feed Substitute
/ January 18, 2012 5:36 pm
All the attention and R&D investment that algae has been receiving as related to its high-potential as a next-generation biofuel has obscured one of algae’s defining, and well-known, characteristics: it’s a great source of protein. This fact hasn’t escaped the attention of Cornell University animal science Professor Xingen Lei, however, according to an article in Cornell University’s Chronicle Online written Continue reading
Agricultural Incubator Foundation Seeks to Develop Sustainable Agriculture Systems in Northwest, OH
/ January 16, 2012 10:06 pm
Agriculture, aquaculture and food entrepreneurs in northwest Ohio looking to research, develop and test new sustainable food production methods and practices have a high-quality, growing resource in the private, non-profit Agricultural Incubator Foundation (AIF). Formed in late 1999 by a group of area farmers, agribusiness participants, researchers and educators, AIF’s mission “to promote the development, advancement and appreciation of agricultural Continue reading
Federal Programs in North Dakota Aim to Boost Organic, Conservation Agriculture
/ January 16, 2012 6:45 pm
As in the rest of the country, organic farming driven by market demand has caught on in North Dakota, and the federal government and state branch of the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) are working to ensure that its growth continues in the state. NRCS is offering technical and financial assistance to ND farmers implementing organic agriculture and conservation Continue reading
Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project Launches Local Food Center, Research Initiatives
/ January 9, 2012 7:11 pm
The sustainable agriculture credo – that locally grown food can be raised in environmentally beneficial ways that strengthen local farms and economies and improve individual and public health – will be put to the test at The Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project’s (ASAP) Local Food Center. ASAP’s Local Food Center will be built in Asheville, North Carolina with initial support from Continue reading
Sustainable Agriculture Land Use Methodology Aims to Open Door to Carbon Markets for World’s Small Farmers
/ January 9, 2012 3:06 pm
Agriculture scientists, field researchers, farmers and ranchers are searching for ways to address several critical and interrelated issues related to the sustainability of agriculture these days: growing demand for food by a growing world population; growing demand for water, energy and other natural resources; and challenges associated with a changing climate. A new World Bank methodology for estimating and accounting for Continue reading
Rejiggered U of Wisconsin Sustainable Ag Institute Launches Sustainable Agriculture Projects Across State
/ January 4, 2012 5:57 pm
Over the past couple of years, scientists at the University of Wisconsin, Madison’s College of Agricultural & Life Sciences (CALS) have broken out of their specialized disciplinary “silos” to focus on initiatives aimed at revitalizing the university’s Wisconsin Institute of Sustainable Agriculture (WISA). This break from routine and change in strategy was prompted by a review of the institute initiated Continue reading
USDA Economic Research Service Report Reveals Land Use Patterns and Changes across the Nation
/ January 2, 2012 7:08 pm
A survey of all public and private land use across all 50 states, the US Dept. of Agriculture Economic Research Service’s latest “Major Uses of Land in the United States, 2007” report is the most comprehensive source of land use and land use change available. Conducted every five years coincidentally with the USDA’s Census of Agriculture, the report is the Continue reading
USDA, FamilyFarmed Introduce Free Online Tool to Help Farmers Ensure Safety of Fruits & Veggies
/ January 2, 2012 6:58 pm
Farmers can now access a free, first-of-its-kind online application that can help assure that their practices are in compliance with the US Dept. of Agriculture’s (USDA) Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) food safety standards and procedures. Developed by non-profit FamilyFarmed.org with funding from the USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) and input from a broad base of farm and produce industry partners, Continue reading
Kraft Foods Takes Measure of its Environmental Impact; Sustainable Agriculture Key to Improvement Efforts
/ December 20, 2011 6:11 pm
Kraft Foods on Dec. 14 released results of a survey that measured the impact of its activities on climate change, land and water use. Conducted in partnership with Quantis Inc. and reviewed by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and academics at the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment, the multi-year study provides Kraft management a “big picture” views of its Continue reading
USDA-ARS Study Delves into Relationship Between Biochar, Soil and Crop Growth
/ December 16, 2011 5:13 pm
Biochar has been around for thousands of years. Pre-Columbian Amazonian natives first created it by burning their agricultural waste in pits that they covered with soil. It is believed that they intentionally used the resulting biochar to increase soil productivity in constrained or infertile soil. Today, the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service is studying how the use of biochar – which can be Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture Research, Biochar, Research, sustainable agriculture news, USDA News
Oregon State U. Study Finds Biofuel Production and Policy Ineffective and Inefficient
/ December 5, 2011 3:29 pm
When it comes to cost-effectiveness and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, biofuels aren’t all that they’re cracked up to be, according to a study conducted by economists at Oregon State University (OSU). Both the US and EU, as well as other governments around the world, have established ambitious targets for increasing biofuel production and consumption. While the stated goal of these Continue reading
Conservation and Sustainable Use of Plant Genetic Resources Key to Feeding a Growing Population, Says FAO
/ December 2, 2011 8:19 pm
At a conference this week to mark the tenth anniversary of the International Treaty on Plant and Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) director-general Jacques Diouf called on governments and the international community to develop and enact science-based policies with the specific aim of conserving and making wider use of traditional crops and plant Continue reading
Long-term Comparative Study Highlights Benefits of Low External-input Cropping Systems
/ December 2, 2011 7:40 pm
Results of a long-term study conducted by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University to compare the agronomic, economic and ecological benefits of conventional versus low external-input (LEI) cropping systems showed that low-input, diversified crop rotation systems can produce high yields of corn and soybean, improve soil quality, suppress weeds effectively, reduce the need for fossil fuel Continue reading
Commission on Sustainable Agriculture Stresses Need to Take Action to Assure Food Security
/ November 25, 2011 5:39 pm
An increase in droughts, floods and severe storms as well as land degradation, rising populations, increasing demand for biofuels and the changing dietary habits of the world population have all come together to tax and strain food and agricultural resources worldwide. The Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change, an independent group of prominent scientists last week urged “immediate, coordinated Continue reading
