Happy New Year 2013

To all our visitors from 2012, we would like to wish you each a Happy New Year for 2013, and hope you have a prosperous 2013, from all the staff at NISA Media Ltd.

Updated Purdue Extension corn, soybean guide now available

A popular Purdue Extension pocket reference guide for corn and soybean producers has been updated and is now available. The 2013 Corn and Soybean Field Guide is an in-field reference to help farmers quickly identify and manage crop problems, such as weeds, diseases and insects.

The 324-page guide has information useful from planting to harvest and features color photographs and reference tables to help farmers make fertiliser and pesticide application decisions. Other topics include crop development, nutrient deficiencies, planting decisions, soil fertility and herbicide injuries. Read more...

Rainstorms delay soy and corn planting in Argentina

Christmas rainstorms across Argentina further delayed soy and corn planting, keeping markets guessing about whether the grains powerhouse can produce enough this season to help bring high-flying global food prices down.

Up to 100 millimetres of rain fell late on Monday and early Tuesday (Christmas Eve and Christmas Day), forcing growers to once again to park their seeding machines worried that they may sink in the mud.

Argentina is the world’s No 2 corn exporter after the United States and its No 1 soy-oil and soy-meal supplier. But sowing in the central Pampas farm belt lags behind last season’s tempo by about 20 percent, said Tomas Parenti, an agronomist with the Rosario futures exchange. Read more...

Bale Grist Mill to lobby for right to sell its flour, Food Safety Regulations Prevent Profiting From Historic Process

Built in 1846 in between St Helena and Calistoga, the Bale Grist Mill is a staple of any tour of historic Napa Valley, with tourists and residents alike flocking to the mill to see grains churned into flour using the same techniques used more than 160 years ago.

But this devotion to history has caused the mill’s operators to bump up against modern county and state health and food safety regulations — the flour and cornmeal ground by the mill can’t be sold, and bags of the products have carried a “not for human consumption” label in the past.

The problem is that during the milling process, grains come in contact with a wooden chute, and state law requires that they not touch “porous surfaces.” But Napa County, the Napa County Parks and Open Space District and the Napa Valley State Parks Association hope to change that in the upcoming legislative session in Sacramento. Read more...

RDS debuts WEIGHLOG α 10 at SIMA 2013

RDS Technology, recently acquired by Digi-Star, the market leader in the supply of weighing systems and associated software for the livestock sector, will be exhibiting its extensive range of on-board weighing scales including the new WEIGHLOGα10, which has been specifically designed for agricultural loaders.

The WEIGHLOG α10 incorporates a 4.3” colour, hi brightness resistive touchscreen display and additional physical keys providing a user-friendly on-board weighing system that can be used for trailer & hopper loading, batch blending or check weighing.

Suitable for use with up to 10 different attachments e.g. bucket or forks, the system can be retrofitted onto compact wheeled loaders, telescopic handlers, forklifts, skidsteer type loaders and tractor loaders.

The system measures hydraulic pressure using up to 4 sensors at a certain position on the lifting cycle compensating for pressure changes in the system. Read more...

Feed Industry Donates $6 Million in Support of Community Efforts

The US feed industry donated US$6 (€4.546) million toward local community efforts in 2011-2012. These figures were garnered from a survey recently conducted by the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) where members were asked about of sustainable efforts supporting the community, the sixth of six focal points comprising AFIA’s Sustainability Initiative:

1. Continuously improve feed and food safety
2. Optimise the use of energy and natural resources
3. Promote understanding and appreciation of US food production
4. Production efficiency and productivity
5. Embrace innovation
6. Support the community

The survey was sent to AFIA members last October, in an attempt to quantify industry efforts in various areas of sustainability. For the feed industry, “sustainability” is defined as: Read more...

Mexico promises ractopamine-free pork to Russia

Mexico, following the example of Brazil, has officially confirmed that it is complying with Russian demands concerning the feed additive ractopamine in pork imports and it is promising that all production supplied to the Custom Union (Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan) from now will be free of ractopamine.

Russia also hopes that soon Canada will take the same action.

“Mexico officially sent a message that it is strictly complying with the meat shipments. The Canadians first said that they agree to consultations, but after they held talks with the Americans they are now apparently hesitating. But we are taking this in its stride,” said the head of the Russian veterinary watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor, Sergei Dankvert. Read more...

Danisco focus on enzyme solutions to reduce feed costs

The rising costs of feed raw materials, particularly vegetable proteins like soybean meal, was the focus for Danisco Animal Nutrition at Eurotier 2012 in Hannover, Germany. Enzyme combinations (Avizyme 1500 series) with effects of protease on protein digestibility, beyond the release of energy by xylanase and amylase, created tremendous interest by feed industry visitors.

Eurotier enabled Danisco Animal Nutrition an opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to its feed industry customers through delivering new and proven solutions. In parallel with the exhibition, Danisco Animal Nutrition hosted a technical seminar that provided the ideal forum for customers and scientists to share the latest knowledge on maintenance of gut health in monogastric animals. Read more...

Russia gets rights to supply poultry meat to EU

Russian agriculture watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor reports that the EC has evaluated the Russian government quality and production safety control over the production of poultry products in companies that plan to export to EU countries.

“The results of the check show that Russia’s veterinary authorities can ensure that the guarantees they provide in relation to EU regulations on exports to its territory of poultry meat and poultry meat products are implemented,” the watchdog said. Read more...

Monsanto corn causes tumors in rats, new study finds

French researchers are sounding the alarm on genetically modified crops. A new, peer-reviewed study published in Food and Chemical Toxicology has found that rats fed a regular diet of Monsanto corn or exposed to Roundup, Monsanto’s top-selling weed killer, were more likely to develop tumors, suffer organ damage and die sooner.

Monsanto corn, called NK603, has been engineered to be resistant to Roundup, Monsanto’s weed killer. This allows farmers to douse fields with the herbicide without worrying about killing corn, but some researchers are worried that the corn isn’t safe to eat. Read more...

Harper government helps grain farmers grow stronger

The Harper government is helping grain farmers continue to grow their businesses with the help of sustainable, innovative, and modern systems and solutions.

The Honourable Michael Chong, member of Parliament (Wellington Halton Hills), on behalf of Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, announced an investment for Grain Farmers of Ontario that will help producers increase their yields of corn, soybean, and wheat through improved soil health, better pest management, and enhanced disease resistance.

“Our government’s top priority remains jobs and economic growth, and investments in research play an important role in keeping the economy strong and creating new opportunities for producers,” said MP Chong. “Canada’s tens of thousands of successful grain farmers play a pivotal role in driving economic growth, and that is why we are continuously investing to help them be more competitive and reap the benefits of the open market.” Read more...

Azerbaijan creates control system for GMO production

In December a decision made by the Cabinet of Ministers, has approved the rules for determining the possible dangers posed by genetically modified plants for consumers and the environment in Azerbaijan.

These rules in particular provide the establishment of the Expert Group of the Scientific and Technical Council, who will determine the direction of research into the possible harm of the genetically modified organisms (GMO).  Azerbaijan plans to establish a control system to clarify how dangerous the GMO products are that currently can be found on the markets of human food and animal feed. Read more...

The Fertilizer Push - Supporting Africa's Green Revolution (Full)

Fertiliser has enormous potential to help Sub-Saharan Africa achieve food security. But its farmers use less fertiliser than anywhere in the world. So far it has proved too expensive for many smallholders, and in some cases its misuse has actually led to the deterioration of soil fertility. To reverse this trend and to encourage the optimum use of fertiliser, lessons must be learned from past experience.

To download the policy research paper on Improving the effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of fertiliser use in Sub-Saharan Africa, visit http://agripolicyoutreach.org/research-paper

Maize & Malaria

This 25 minute documentary short details the recent research of the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future Director ad interim James McCann. Prof. McCann is a principal investigator for a five-year Rockefeller-funded study of the links between maize and malaria in Ethiopia. Through interviews conducted at a research meeting at Pardee House in December 2011 and other existing footage, this video reports on the maize-malaria connection and reviews the discovery, extent and consequences of the link and potential remedies from the perspectives of agro-ecology, entomology, and human ecology. This case study may inform further research on the links between large-scale agro-ecological shifts and coincidental incidences of vector-borne diseases.

Background

Maize production dramatically expanded in sub-Saharan Africa in the 1980s as part of a multilateral policy to increase local food supplies. By 2020, maize is expected to become the world's dominant food crop.

Meanwhile, the burden of malaria has progressively increased in a spatial and temporal pattern consistent with maize cultivation. Maize pollen shed to the environment provides substantial nourishment for Anopheles mosquito larvae and promotes development of more robust adults. Intensified maize cultivation thereby contributes locally to the force of malaria transmission. The apparent maize-malaria link is an unanticipated consequence of the dramatically changing agro-ecological dynamics of food crop production in Africa, and has obvious implications for the smallholder farmers in the region.

Intensified Maize Cultivation Enhances Malaria Transmission in Ethiopia

A research project led by Boston University and supported by the Rockefeller Foundation.

Principal Investigators:
James McCann, Professor of History and Director, ad interim, The Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future, Boston University
Richard Pollack, Research Associate Professor, Department of Biology, Boston University

Research partner institutions:
Ethiopian Ministry of Health/World Health Organization
African Studies Center, Boston University
Harvard School of Public Health
Ethiopian Institute for Agricultural Research

Additional footage of the research project in Ethiopia will be available on the Pardee Center Tumblr (bupardeecenter.tumblr.com)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2013

From all of US at NISA Media Ltd we would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year, and we look forward to seeing you all in 2013.

Schmallenberg virus now affects most counties

Most livestock farms in England and Wales are now likely to be affected by the Schmallenberg virus - the disease that causes deformed and stillborn lambs and calves. Little more than a year after arriving in England, the virus has now been confirmed in all counties of England and all major livestock-producing areas of Wales, said DEFRA chief veterinary officer Nigel Gibbens.

More cases would be found as winter lambing progressed, Mr Gibbens warned. But all the evidence suggested the impact of the disease would be low, with 4-6 percent of infected herds and flocks experiencing losses of 2-5 percent due to deformed and stillborn offspring. Read more...

Conference offers women ag advice, networking opportunities

A two-day conference focused on issues women face in agriculture will give participants an opportunity to tap into Purdue Extension expertise and a chance to network with their peers.
The 2013 Midwest Women in Agriculture conference will be February 21-22, at the Clarion Hotel, 2480 Jonathan Moore Pike, Columbus, Indiana.

Nikky Witkowski, conference chair and Lake County Extension educator, said the top reason women should attend the conference is to meet and share experiences with other women in agriculture. Read more...

Wheat commissioners training

Building a Foundation

The International Grains Program hosts wheat commissioners training

to educate participants about the milling process and export markets.

Wheat commissioners from across the U.S. traveled to the International Grains Program at Kansas State University for the Wheat Commissioners Training Program. Seventeen members participated in the training opportunity that was held Dec. 10-12, 2012.

Throughout the week, participants attended presentations from Mark Fowler, milling specialist and IGP associate director; Justin Gilpin, CEO of Kansas Wheat; and Dave Krishock, flour quality and baking specialist. To start off the course, participants were in the classroom learning about the classes and quality of wheat, milling math and blending.

“We came to get an education about what we do,” says Tom Zwainz, director for the Washington Grain Commission and wheat grower. “When we get new directors, we need to send them through these types of trainings to give them a better foundation with which to make decisions.” Read more...