India's recovery gathers pace on good agri show, falling Covid cases: S&P

India faces a permanent loss of output versus its pre-pandemic path, suggesting a long-term production deficit equivalent to about 10 per cent of GDP

Panic as desert locusts invade farms in Embu County

Residents say efforts to chase away the voracious feeders have borne no fruit.

Evaluating the Impact of Post-Emergence Weed Control in Honeybee Colonies Located in Different Agricultural Surroundings

The honeybee Apis mellifera is exposed to agricultural intensification, which leads to an improved reliance upon pesticide use and the reduction of floral diversity. In the present study, we assess the changes in the colony activity and the expression profile of genes involved in xenobiotic detoxification in larvae and adult honeybees from three apiaries located in agricultural environments that differ in their proportion of the crop/wild flora. We evaluated these variables before and after the administration of a mixture of three herbicides during the summer season. The expression of several cytochrome P450 monooxygenases decreased significantly in larvae after post-emergence weed control and showed significant differences between apiaries in the case of honeybee workers. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that colonies located in the plot near to a wetland area exhibited a different relative gene expression profile after herbicide application compared with the other plots. Moreover, we found significant positive correlations between pollen collection and the pesticide detoxification genes that discriminated between plots in the PCA. Our results suggest that nutrition may modify herbicide impact on honeybees and that larvae are more harmed than adults in agroecosystems, a factor that will alter the colonies’ population growth at the end of the blooming period.

Tell the EPA: Ban Atrazine!

This dangerous chemical is contaminating our drinking water supply and putting our health at risk. Atrazine has been linked to serious health effects, like hormone disruption and cancer, and has been found in the drinking water supplies of 44 million Americans.

Biden halting Dakota Access Pipeline will increase transportation costs, SD farmer says

Scott Vanderwal, a third-generation South Dakota farmer, argued that transporting oil on trucks or trains instead of through the Dakota Access Pipeline will create “tremendous competition” for commodities of farmers and will lead to a spike in transportation costs.

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Horizon Europe to fund research on genome editing in agriculture

Horizon Europe is to allocate €5 million for projects aimed at understanding the benefits and risks of genome editing technologies in agriculture over the next two years, according to a leaked draft work programme. The move is in support of the ‘Farm to Fork’ plan to reduce the use of fertilisers by 30 per cent and turn 25 per cent of agricultural land over to organic farming. To reach these objectives, the Commission says the EU needs to “enable major advances in the life sciences and biotechnology, in new genomic techniques, such as gene/genome editing.” Plans for the €5 million call come after EU agriculture ministers called on the Commission last October to enable the use of “new innovative ingredients and techniques” to boost sustainable food production, once they are shown to be safe for humans, animals and the environment. The headline figure for the call is only indicative, and the Commission could fund proposals that go beyond this figure. Also last October, French scientist Emmanuelle Charpentier, director at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin, and her collaboration partner Jennifer Doudna, were awarded the Nobel prize in chemistry “for the development of a method for genome editing.” But as things stand, precision breeding of plants with gene editing technologies cannot be used in the EU, following a 2018 ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which founds genome editing is subject to the 2001 EU directive banning genetically modified organisms (GMOs). In an early post-Brexit move, the UK last month launched an industry consultation on gene editing, as it seeks to move away from EU regulations on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Depending on the outcome, there will be a second consultation on changing the definition of a GMO. The UK government view is that organisms produced by gene editing or by other genetic technologies, should not be regulated as GMOs if they could have been produced by traditional breeding methods. The proposed €5...

Cattlemen fighting to keep livestock alive and healthy through severe cold

Livestock producers are implementing tactics to protect cattle during severe cold and heavy snow. Here's a look at how they do it.

Soybean Innovation Lab provides knowledge that assists soybean production in Africa

URBANA, Ill. ­– Soybean production in Africa and other developing regions has the potential to alleviate hunger and boost local economies. But the transition from traditional crops such as cowpea or cassava to a major commercial crop such as soybean is fraught with challenges.

Feed beets: An economical substitute for grains

While beet pulp is well-known for being an energy concentrate that cows love, feed beets have yet to be discovered in a big way.