Links Between Soil Microbes and Plants, Pasture Cropping Reaps Financial Benefits, No Kill Cropping, Soil Carbon Map, Soil Carbon Challenge Scenario, Minister Visits Biological Farmer, If You Were the Agricultural Minister, Technograze, Aquaponics, A Peach Plum Cross, Indonesia Aims to be The World's Food Bowl, A Natural Alternative to Animal Antibiotics, Toxic Eucalypts, Is Corn Ethanol Green or Not?, A Murray Darling Rivers Solution?, Is CO2 Harmful to Humans?, Greenhouse Gas Calculator, It's the Mining, Not Just the Burning, Biotechnology An Answer to the Future?, Fake GM Science, GM Crops Do Require More Pesticides, Are Weather Stations Unreliable?, Beyond Zero Emissions, Solar Power Coming of Age, Bundy on Tap, Slow Death By Rubber Duck, Bionutrient Solutions Clearance Sale, Canada's Organic Newsletter, Wrong Dates!, Agriculture's Quantum Leap, Stock Water Workshop, Agriculture and Greenhouse Emissions Conference 2010, Cell GrazingFocus Course, Health (socio-economic link to cancer, shooting the messenger, it's official, saturated fats are good for you, the many problems with soft drinks, fluoride sick kangaroos), Quote, Cartoon, Miscellaneous, Events, Postscript

Links Between Soil Microbes and Plants

Although plants and soil biota have mutual functional links as producers and decomposers in terrestrial ecosystems, less is known about structural linkages between above-ground and below-ground communities. Research suggests that bacterial richness is influenced by soil properties, whereas eukaryote (fungi) richness is associated closely with vegetation structure.

Pasture Cropping Reaps Financial Benefits

This is an article on Colin Seis's foray into pasture cropping, and the improvements he has witnessed, and others have measured using this low input system. There is evidence that retaining perennial native grass in grazing and cropping systems and having complete groundcover throughout the year increases plant biomass compared with conventional cropping methods. The extra biomass and perennial native grass are significant contributors to the increased soil carbon levels too. 

And here is Colin Seis telling his story on film (second story down) - fabulous visuals by Peter Hill.

No Kill Cropping

Bruce Maynard is the inventor of the Regenerative Agricultural practice of No Kill Cropping.
His farming operations reflect a desire to demonstrate true Triple Bottom Line principles, where a balance between Profit, soil and landscape function, biodiversity and a healthy social life is continually being strived for. What he has achieved with limited resources is truly remarkable and an example for other land managers to draw from in these changing times (view the third story down - what a great story, he uses so many of the regenerative ag practices, and you can see the results).

Soil Carbon Map

There is a lot of talk on soil carbon, what its impact on climate change might be, what's possible to achieve by what methods, and so on. But specific examples can seem hard to find. The Soil Carbon Coalition (US) has begun to map significant measured instances of soil carbon change, both gains and losses. It can be viewed as a Google Map, or in Google Earth if you have that free program installed.

Soil Carbon Challenge Scenario

The Soil Carbon Challenge is an unusual partnership between 54 nonprofit organizations and associations across the globe, many of whom have been competing with each other in advocating strategies for stewardship of land and resources. The activity of the Challenge is monitoring rather than advocacy of particular methods. Its purpose is to recognize land managers who do an outstanding job of turning atmospheric carbon into soil carbon, achieve positive change through monitoring, and tell the story of soil organic matter.

Minister Visits Biological Farmer

The Opposition Leader spent a day at Inverary Downs on the Liverpool Plains recently, putting manure into the soil. Mr Abbott said the practice, in which natural matter is broken down and absorbed into soil, captured carbon emissions that would otherwise be emitted into the atmosphere. [Oh dear, he missed the most most important part - that liquid carbon highway from the atmosphere to the soil via a LIVING green plant - not a decomposing plant!!] A good story nonetheless.

This is another past story on Inverary Downs and biological farming that might interest.

If You Were The Agricultural Minister...

If you’ve ever thought ‘I could do a better job if I was Minister for Agriculture’, then this is your chance. The Australian Farm Institute is giving you the opportunity to tell the world what you think Australia’s agriculture policies should look like – and win $500 in a writing competition! Entries close 26th March.

Technograze

It's been awhile since I last brought up the topic of technograze. I was recently contacted by Tom Chisholm of AgDesign who has designed a few systems in northern NSW (and no doubt in other areas of Australia). He has a free report you can download online that will no doubt bring the technograze advantage to your armchair. So much more from so little acreage.

Aquaponics

Aquaponics — a neologism that combines hydroponics (or water-based planting) and aquaculture (fish cultivation) has recently attracted a zealous following of kitchen gardeners, futurists, tinkerers and practical environmentalists. And Australians — a lot of Australians. In Australia, where gardeners have grappled with droughts for a decade, aquaponics is particularly appealing because it requires 80 to 90% less water than traditional growing methods.

A Peach Plum Cross

A plum and a peach have been accidentally crossed by a retired farmer near Mudgee to produce a highly unusual new fruit. The fruit looks like a peach from the outside, but more like a red plum on the inside.

Indonesia Aims to Be the World's Food Bowl

Indonesia is encouraging foreign and local investors to lease huge swathes of fertile countryside and help make the country a major food producer. Between now and 2030 Indonesia expects to become one of the world's biggest producers of rice, maize, sugar, coffee, shrimp, meats and palm oil. Foreigners will be able to control a maximum of 49% of any investing company, and will be offered incentives like tax breaks and reductions in customs and excise duties.

A Natural Alternative to Animal Antibiotics?

Eureka project E! 3025 Monalisa has developed a new, completely natural alternative to using antibiotics in animal feed. It involves binding molecules from seaweed extracts within the molecular layers of natural clays making the clay ten times more efficient at adsorbing the harmful fungal toxins which are commonly found in animal feed. The resulting new hybrid product has a huge potential market worldwide as a completely natural, effective alternative to the formerly-used antibiotics, which are now prohibited from this use in the European Union. [Sounds interesting] 

Toxic Eucalypts

Research has linked toxicity in a Tasmanian river used for drinking water to the leaves of genetically improved plantation eucalypt trees. [I watched this story unfold on ABC's Australian Story and was horrified the next morning to hear on the radio a minister trying to squirm out of action, stating that they needed 'real' science before they did anything...good lord, what constitutes 'real' science after all these researchers have been through over a decade? Another commentator simply stated that all eucalypts produce the toxins so it was not a concern....what! they have the evidence that only the genetically modified trees accumulated the toxins in this way. Yet again, the religion of 'real' science and quasi-logic is being used to protect an industry and its profits]

Is Corn Ethanol Green or Not?

U.S. corn growers expressed relief when the Obama administration unveiled new environmental rules that would boost use of corn-based biofuel, but green groups complained the guidelines may fill the air with nitrogen, a greenhouse gas viewed as more potent than carbon. [The debate has sure got more complicated. Not that many years ago all environmentalists were pro-plant ethanol - perhaps there is a dawning realisation that nature never works in a straight linear line]

A Murray-Darling Rivers Solution?

I'm not sure I can form an opinion either way on this overall project (diverting water from Fraser Island to the Murray-Darling basin), though it reads better than most by including an energy generation aspect, but I really got caught up in some of the rhetoric about why there could be opposition to the project - interesting points! And then the conversation about the corporatisation of water and the underhanded sell-out that seems to be happening before our eyes. It makes you think.

Is CO2 Harmful to Humans?

Texas became the first state to challenge the US government's finding that greenhouse gases are dangerous to people, claiming that the ruling is based on flawed science and would wreck the state's economy. Texas says the EPA's research should be discounted because it was conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared the Nobel Peace Prize with former Vice President Al Gore in 2007 for its work on climate change but has since been embarrassed by errors and irregularities in its reports.

Greenhouse Gas Calculator

This is a simple draft calculator for grass and cattle operations to calculate their greenhouse gas balance. This calculator differs from most other "carbon calculators" in that it recognizes that soil, and soil biology, is a principal factor influencing the composition of the atmosphere. To judge or quantify such effects, site-specific measurements are needed, such as changes in soil carbon levels over time. A common question is, can cattle grazing sequester enough carbon in the soil to balance the methane that the cows are releasing? If we want to try to answer this question, some monitoring is needed.

It's the mining, Not Just the Burning

Biotechnology An Answer to the Future?

An international panel of scientists writing in the Feb. 12 edition of the journal Science is urging world leaders to "dramatically alter their notions about sustainable agriculture to prevent a major starvation catastrophe" by the end of the century. Specifically, they are urging world leaders to "get beyond popular biases against the use of agricultural biotechnology," particularly crops that are genetically modified to produce greater yields in harsher conditions, and to base the regulation of such crops on the best-available science. [Yep, the same rhetoric over and over, and lots of mentions of ever-promised yields....]

Fake GM Science

The Indian Government has banned genetically engineered (GE) eggplant after the ex-Director of Monsanto India admitted the corporation provided 'fake scientific data' to regulators. Australia's food safety regulator, FSANZ, has approved GE foods using exactly the same evidence that led the Indian Government to declare them unsafe.

But it's certainly not new information. The role of Monsanto in numerous crimes on humanity have been documented widely. This review of the film 'The World According to Monsanto' is a great summary of what has been documented to date.

GM Crops Do Require More Pesticides

A model was developed that utilizes official, U.S. Department of Agriculture pesticide use data to estimate the differences in the average pounds of pesticides applied on GE crop acres, compared to acres planted to conventional, non-GE varieties. The basic finding is that compared to pesticide use in the absence of GE crops, farmers applied 318 million more pounds of pesticides over the last 13 years as a result of planting GE seeds. This difference represents an average increase of about 0.25 pound for each acre planted to a GE trait.

Are Weather Stations Unreliable?

Ex-weatherman Anthony Watts says many US weather stations produce unreliable data because they are located next to artificial heat – but a scientific analysis suggests that, if anything, such stations underestimate warming. [I guess under or over...either way suggests its anything but accurate!]

Beyond Zero Emissions

‘Baseload’ solar power; once a distant dream, is now a reality. While solar electricity was once limited to when the sun was shining, solar thermal energy can now operate 24 hours a day, even at night, with an ingenious and cheap storage method utilising molten salt.

Solar Power Coming of Age

Solar power generation is coming of age, and it is a moment that should have anyone with acreage sitting up and taking notice. A landholder choosing to install a 10 kilowatt solar array will currently spend $43,000-$55,000, depending on the installation. Under current NSW/ACT rules, an array this size will generate nearly $10,000 in electricity a year on current prices ensuring a constant return on investment and a pay-back period of four to five years. A farm with separate power lines to bore pumps or sheds can add 10kW per line. Interstate investors are offering to lease land from NSW farmers to put in solar installations, with the farmer getting free electricity and the investor taking profits from the surplus. [But unfortunately this boon is based on government subsidies]

Bundy on Tap

This is an interesting update on what has happened since the town of Bundanoon decided to stop all sales of bottle water last year. As well as generating unprecedented national and international media coverage and worldwide support, it's own drinking water facilities in the town have expanded. Businesses have available for sale reusable drink bottles and chilled filtered tap water, whilst both free filtered water stations, and water fountains or 'bubblers,' provide for the general public, and for local primary school children.

Slow Death By Rubber Duck

Inspired by Morgan Spurlock's fast-food gluttony in the movie Super Size Me, two environmental activists from Canada devised their own experiment. Instead of fast food, Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie absorbed themselves in everyday products like shampoos, soaps and cleaners to find out what kind of damage might be done to their health. But Smith and Lourie didn't need to take baths in mercury or eat tuna for a whole year to see the chemical levels in their bodies skyrocket.

Bionutrient Solutions Clearance Sale

Bionutrient Solutions are offering solid fertilisers (including some humates and guano mixes) at genuine clearance prices, giving you an excellent opportunity to save…as they clear all solid stock to focus on their core business of liquid fertiliser manufacture. Hurry though, orders need to be placed by 1st March.

Canada's Organic Newsletter

February's edition is online and includes: Nitrogen Availability from Liquid Organic Fertilizers, An organic option for broadleaved weed control in cereals using a microbial bioherbicide, Vitamins A, E and fatty acid composition of the eggs of caged hens and pastured hens, Biodegradation of genetically modified seeds and plant tissues during composting*, Conventional research on controversial issues: an exercise in futility?, How cows (grass-fed only) could save the planet*. [I found these article particularly interesting]

Wrong Dates!!

My apologies, I was given the wrong dates for Agriculture's Quantum Leap last week. It is 29th - 31st March. See below.

Agriculture's Quantum Leap

Energy, ecosystems and the human connection. This is a three day workshop designed to take us into the future – what does the future hold for Agriculture, what sort of Agricultural systems will be best placed for that future, and how do we handle the transition from where we are now to where we need to be. The goal is for the participants to debate the information provided, dovetail it with their own knowledge, and then jointly and individually produce a Vision for the future of Agriculture, and for their own businesses. Check out the program. Nundle 29th - 31st March. For more information email Gary McDouall [I'm aiming to make it!]

Stock Water Workshop

One of the most critical issues in improving grazing management is ensuring livestock have access to appropriate supplies of water. Those attending this workshop will hear and see first hand what to consider in terms of the principles and practice in the design and implementation of on-farm cost effective stock water systems. Murringo via Young 9th March.

Agriculture & Greenhouse Emissions Conference 2010

For the third year, the Australian Farm Institute is delivering the latest information on international and domestic developments in climate change science and policies, affecting Australian agriculture. The only Conference offered in Australia to focus solely on the impact of climate change science and policies internationally on Australian agriculture, this event is essential for anyone involved in farming or agribusiness. There are some interesting speakers, including Christine Jones. Adelaide 18th - 19th May.

Cell GrazingFocus Course

PrincipleFocus will be running its 4 day Cell GrazingFocus course in Dubbo 23-26 March 2010 and internationally renowned holistic management educator, Dick Richardson will be joining the training team for the course. The Cell GrazingFocus course will give you: the ability to improve the health of your land and livestock and increase profitability; skills to increase the productivity of your grazing enterprise; an understanding of natural ecological processes and their role in assisting you to reduce costs and improve performance; an action plan for implementing this system on your own property; and confidence in your own ability to achieve the results you want through field visits to farmers who have already done it!

Health

Socio-Economic Link to Cancer

The link between socio-economic status and a poorer outcome from various cancers has been detected before, with both unhealthier lifestyles and a tendency to be diagnosed later blamed for the differences. But now there are more clues - normally, the p53 gene is a "tumour suppressor", however, when it mutates, that ability is reduced or removed, making the appearance of cancer far more likely. Women from deprived postcodes were more likely to have a p53 mutation, and were less likely to have survived cancer-free.

Shooting the Messenger

When Mike Adams saw The Lancet's recent retraction of Dr. Wakefield's famous paper linking vaccines to autism, he couldn't help thinking back to 1989 when Fleischmann and Pons were widely attacked and discredited over their demonstration of cold fusion technology. [Which lead me to contemplate Prof. Kervran's experiments into biological transmutations...just because science thinks it's impossible now, does not mean that it really is]

Its Official, Saturated Fats are Good for You

A recent study has found that there was no difference in the risks of heart disease and stroke between people with the lowest and highest intakes of saturated fat. Apparently thinking on diet and heart health is moving away from a focus on single nutrients and toward "dietary patterns."

The Many Problems with Soft Drinks

It was found that less then one soft drink a day increases your chance of pancreatic cancer by 30%.  And now some are saying soft drinks are the new tobacco.  After all they are full of either artificial sweetener or man made sugars, highly addictive substances, the full extent of their ingredients are never fully established (secret recipes), they have a preservative that is known to damage DNA ( our most important cellur structures), as well as flavourings that have 48 chemicals (not ingredients) in them.  And that is just the start....

Fluoride Sick Kangaroos

Scores of starving and pain-ridden kangaroos have been culled after developing tooth and bone deformities from breathing and ingesting fluoride emissions. The affected kangaroos are living near the Alcoa aluminium smelter in Portland, in the state's south-west, and the Austral Bricks factory at Craigieburn. [I was taken with this story, because it fails to mention the likely pollution occurring into the water as well, and I was left with the thought that was if its this bad for kangaroos, it must surely have some effect on all lifeforms...]

Quote

An Old Chinese Proverb
1. He who knows and knows not that he knows.
            He is asleep... wake him.
2. He who knows not and knows not that he knows not.
            He is a fool... shun him
3. He who knows not and knows that he knows not.
            He is a child... teach him.
4. He who knows and knows that he knows.
           He is a king... follow him.   Author unknown

Cartoon

Miscellaneous

Anthony Atala's state-of-the-art lab grows human organs -- muscles, blood vessels, bladders, and more. In this video, he shows footage of his bio-engineers working with advanced technology, including a machine that "prints" human tissue. They are in the process of engineering a human ear and developing technology to print skin directly on burns using an ordinary inkjet printer!

Events

* Stock Water Workshop - Young NSW 9th March 2010.

* Cell GrazingFocus Course - Dubbo NSW 23rd - 26th March 2010.

* Agriculture's Quantum Leap - Nundle NSW 29th - 31st March 2010.

* Agriculture and Greenhouse Emissions Conference - Adelaide SA 18th - 19th May 2010.

Postscript