Tag: Ecology
Herbicide Resistant Johnsongrass: Coming soon to a farm near you!
Written by Matt DiLeo Pioneer and K State are jointly releasing a set of new herbicide resistant sorghum varieties, which will incorporate resistance to ALS and FOP herbicides. Ironically, these non-genetically modified varieties invoke one of the classic bogeymen of anti-GM thinkers – herbicide resistant weeds.
Polycultures in Modern Ag?
Written by Matt DiLeo The September issue of CSA news has a nice (open access) article entitled: “Do polycultures have a role in modern agriculture?” Some key caveats: * While diverse plant mixtures have been associated with many benefits, high biomass yield (i.e. what farmers get paid for) is usually not one of them. * It’s…
Real leadership leaves Friends of the Earth. Unfortunately, they still need it.
Finally, accept certain campaigns are not winnable, and simply drain resources. Absolutist positions do not hold up for the majority. Because of climate change, this probably includes total opposition to nuclear power and GM products globally. Focus instead on the conditions where these technologies become acceptable: safe, economic, free of patent control by a few…
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Nature and human activity are inextricably intertwined — in the Anthropocene
Nothing affects global food security as much as synthetic nitrogen fertiliser. Nothing underlines the inadequacy of organic farming for meeting current food and feed demand while sparing forests as much as the global accounts on the nitrogen cycle that is an essential part of all life on the planet. These facts of life are captured succinctly by…
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What Everyone Needs to Know about the Economics and Politics of Food, and Even More
The Economics of Food: How Feeding and Fuelling the Planet Effects Food Prices.(Link to Amazon entry)Patrick Westhoff. FT Press ( Financial Times, Pearson Education Ltd), New Jersey 2010.ISBN – 10: 0 – 13 – 700610 – 1ISBN – 13: 978 – 0 – 13 – 700610 – 6 Patrick Westhoff is an experienced agricultural economist…
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