TOPIC(S): Beekeeping, Environment, Pollinators,

03/04/2021 SOURCE: modernfarmer.com

A Common Soil Pesticide Cut Wild Bee Reproduction by 89 Percent

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. When you think of bees, a hive humming with activity probably comes to mind. But most of the world’s 20,000 bee species don’t call a hive home. These wild species lead solitary lives instead, and around 70 percent of them build nests underground where they raise their offspring on the nectar they gather from flowers. Incredibly, almost all scientific understanding of how pesticides affect bees has come from testing domesticated honeybees, and, more recently, bumblebees. That’s largely because these species tend to be easier to work with in lab

Read More

John LaRose Jr. John LaRose Jr.
shared this 2 article 4 years ago
Topics: Sustainability, Ag Innovation, World Hunger, Government / Policies, Ag Africa, World Population, Safety (Farm/Production),
John LaRose Jr. John LaRose Jr.
shared this 2 article 4 years ago
Topics: Dairy, Agriculture US, Young Farmers, Ag Innovation, Education,
John LaRose Jr. John LaRose Jr.
shared this 2 article 4 years ago
Topics: Agriculture US, Agriculture Global, Lamb/Sheep, Sustainability, Renewable Energy (Solar/Wind),
John LaRose Jr. John LaRose Jr.
shared this 2 article 4 years ago
Topics: Vegetables, Agriculture Global, CRISPR/Gene Editing, Ag India, Ag Innovation, Tomato,
Nancy Kavazanjian Nancy Kavazanjian
shared this 2 article 4 years ago
Topics: Agriculture US, Sustainability, Ag Innovation,
Randy Krotz Randy Krotz
shared this 2 article 4 years ago
Topics: Cotton, Sustainability, AgriBusiness,
TOPIC(S): Agriculture Global, GMO's,
Nancy Kavazanjian Nancy Kavazanjian
shared this 2 article 4 years ago
Topics: Soybeans, Ag Innovation, AgriBusiness,

Funny this is questioned, but soyoil coated wire isn't more tasty to rodents!

Assessing Rodent Gnawing of Elastomers Containing Soybean Oil Derivatives

Replacing petroleum-based components with biobased materials makes products more sustainable, but anecdotal evidence has suggested that this might also make them more attractive to rodents for gnawing. This study was conducted to determine if the inclusion of soybean oil or its derivatives in natural rubber, styrene–butadiene rubber, ethylene–propylene diene monomer, or flexible polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plaque samples affects the extent of gnawing damage by mice. The components tested were epoxidized soybean oil, degummed soybean oil, high oleic soybean oil, and styrenated soybean oil. Twelve treatments were tested, each exposed individually to 10 mice for 14 days. At days 8 and 15, the plaques were assessed for gnawing damage, both subjectively and by weight loss. Extensive gnawing was noted only on plaques made of PVC (both PVC standard and PVC with 10 PHR epoxidized soybean oil), and the gnawing damage difference between these two PVC treatments was not statistically significant. The other 10 treatments all showed negligible gnawing. The inclusion of soybean oil or its derivatives in common elastomers did not affect rodent gnawing.

Read More

Advertisement

Your Trusted Voice We are the voice of progressive dairy farmers in the nation. We are an industry organization led by farmers. This ensures that those most affected by governmental policy have a vehicle to protect their interests and ensure the growth and future livelihood of the industry. The American Dairy Coalition focuses on federal dairy policy.