Biological Farming - The Neighbourly Way

This is a great story about neighbourly rivalry using biological approaches to farming. And just like the result for many growers I deal with, they have found their DAP/MAP inputs have dropped from 100kg/ha to 40kg/ha or less with no dent in production. Believe me, its extremely do-able!

This approach is in contrast to the conventional way of decreasing synthetic inputs. The new fertiliser research centre I mentioned in a previous newsletter, seems to be more focused on better fertiliser use, not 'different' soil building fertilisers and approaches.

US Soil Carbon Coalition

Peter Donovan is an FTSU newsletter subscriber and alerted me to the US Soil Carbon Coalition which he is involved with - have a read of the opportunities they see for soil carbon - brilliant!! You will also love the slide show - all common sense with some great visuals. The message will surely reach mainstream soon...

Horse Vaccine Curiosities

There are many many anomalies emerging around the horse influenza fiasco, but it seems to be deepening as the vaccination program is rolled out. I have certainly heard of a few local stories which are leaving even vets scratching their heads. I thought this was a great series of questions posed to our local Federal representative...

Listen to the Consumer!

It never ceases to amaze me - industry representatives hell bent on telling consumers what they need (based on industry desires of course) rather than listening and responding to the customer. For example, a meeting between WoolProducers president and Swedish retailer H&M has failed to break the company's stance on refusing to sell products made with wool from mulesed sheep. They don't want it, so we need to respond, afterall, isn't that is why we produce wool in the first place, to sell to the consumer?

Then you have a delegation from the Consumers Union of Japan (CUJ) visiting the Australian Embassy in Tokyo, to ask the new Australian Government to ban genetically manipulated (GM) canola. "Eighteen countries grow GM-free canola (only Canada and the USA grow GM) but Australia is the sole exporter of GM-free canola on world markets...Over 90pc of Coles and Foodland customers also want GM-free food." Is the government listening to the industry or the consumer?

Mood Food

While the pharmaceutical industry is busy creating new disease syndromes for their products, the food industry is busy creating new markets for their products too - the latest is 'mood food'!! Supposedly food that stimulates neurotransmitters. What a weird artificial world we are creating.

Holes in GM Legislation

As NSW and Victoria gear up to lift their GM moratorias there is concern that there is no regulation in place to deal with the issues of contamination, segregation and marketing of GM and non-GM crops. "The NSW Government has said that 'strict labelling laws will be in place' - but questioning in Senate Estimates revealed that NSW is not in a position to commit to this."

GM Genes Are Stabilising in Weeds

First the propagandists said that genetically engineered plants wouldn't cross with weeds. When they did, they said the new hybrids wouldn't persist. They are unstable plants that die out after a year or two, so no need to worry. Now, new research from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada scientists provides the first report of persistence and apparent introgression (stable incorporation of genes from one gene pool into another).

Turning CO2 into Gasoline

Some scientists are working on a new idea of capturing CO2 emitted from cars and turning it back into gasoline, methanol, or jet fuel. The idea is simple. Air would be blown over a liquid solution of potassium carbonate, which would absorb the carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide would then be extracted and subjected to chemical reactions. But when you read more of the details, the energy required to do all this seems to be rather high.

The Debate For Biofuels

While the expansion of biofuel production is getting a bad rap lately, this well argued article about the viable use of woody materials for biofuels to leave food crops to produce food crops is published. Rather than berate the whole biofuel industry and throw the baby out with the bath water, the author argues that biofuel production needs to be differentiated and appropriate policies put in place.

Are Nanomaterials Safe?

It appears that so so little is known about how nanomaterials behave that scientists are still scrambling to determine what is safe or not safe. To date short-term conventional toxicology tests are being performed on a small range of animal cells in artificial environments, and they admit that they are literally learning on the run. Worrying still is that many of the companies producing and selling nanomaterials do no toxicology testing themselves. This is a sobering article.

BP Goes Back to Petroleum

With BP's new chief executive comes a shift in BP's "beyond petroleum" to that of going back to petroleum as the company starts to exploit the oil sands in Canada at the same time the company's alternative energy portfolio is downgraded and plans for an innovative carbon capture and storage (CCS) experiment at Peterhead, Scotland is dropped.

Corporate Greenwashing?

A deal between Landcare Australia and Coca-Cola Amatil has been strongly criticised as 'greenwashing'. The deal allows Coca-Cola Amatil to use the Landcare logo in return for money and some tree planting. Personally I would like to see all 'green' money separated from on-the-ground works - perhaps all 'green' money needs to be channeled into a green trust. All the corporations get their kudos from publicising their contributions to this trust. The green trust then deals out the money to on-the-ground organisations according to a formula developed by those same on-the-ground organisations...

Greenwashing certainly devalues the meaning of organic and healthy, though there is at least a test that may help verify whether produce has been artificially fertilised - called 'nitrogen isotopic discrimination', but whether it is practical or desirable to use will determine its ultimate success in limiting some greenwashing.

FarmBis Axed

The Federal Government has announced that the national program in Victoria, New South Wales, and the ACT will cease immediately while the state-run programs in Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and Northern Territory will cease on June 30, 2008. Apparently the Federal Government is repackaging the funds into climate change programs.

Victorian Scholarships

Three scholarships worth $10,000 each are available to advance your skills and education in agriculture, conservation and land management. 1) Two Invergowrie Foundation Agricultural Scholarships for women have been established by The Invergowrie Foundation with Birchip Cropping Group (BCG) at Longerenong College, Victoria, and 2) A Victorian Farmers' Federation (VFF) and BCG Scholarship has also been established, to support a male or female student to undertake tertiary education at the college. Contact Longerenong College 1800 814 294.

NTS Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture

This course has sold out 17 times in the last 7 years and has become increasingly relevant in the face of massive price increases in agriculture inputs (linked to oil price rises). Attached are 10 good reasons to enroll for the next course in Yandina Qld from 10th - 13th March... Ten Reasons 26/02/2008,12:22 266.96 Kb

Graeme Sait is also planning to hold this course in northern NSW mid-2008 - contact me if you would be interested.

The Biology of Belief

Bruce Lipton's books and videos are just so eye-opening and forces you to reassess all your assumptions on life and the way things really work. I have been getting great pleasure from subscribers who decided to read up then come back absolutely wowed! He trained conventional doctors at university but has ended up in the world of epigenics and the concept that the environment (including our emotions and vibrations etc) affect our health and well-being. He is giving presentations in Perth 1st April, Melbourne 2nd April and Sydney 3rd April, with bulk tickets as cheap as $20.

Home-Based Business Seminar

The topics for this free day include: "Using the Internet to Grow your Business" (Part 2) - presented by Gordon Cramer - (morning session) and Legal Issues for small business - presented by Horst Merten - (afternoon session). The seminars will be held in Tamworth 4th March and Narrabri 5th March.

Single Rural Males Wanted

While Sydney is facing a 'man drought', it seems rural NSW has a 'female drought' and farmers now have an opportunity to do something about it - apply for a spot on the hit TV show, The Farmer Wants a Wife.

Sofenica - Part 32

We were keen on creating a meditation space - a space to go to to read, sleep or just ponder life. The architect created such a space as part of our master plan design, but we suddenly realised that there are two distinct ways of meditating 1) inwardly or 2) outwardly.

We found that his design certainly created a quite space, but effectively locked you into 4 walls with little contact with the outside world. Wonderful for inward reflections perhaps.

But it made us aware that the meditation experience we were chasing was an outward communing with nature, and soon after seeing the architects design we came across this photo of floating 'rooms' in a travel magazine. It captures the essence of what we were after. A real feeling of being close to nature, perhaps with a roof though.

While we will be focusing on building the house initially, we aim to create a meditation space like this on/beside our water feature eventually. We will have to get the cushions made and the grapes grown ready for that day....

Coolroom Wanted

Does anyone know of any second hand coolrooms for sale, preferably mobile? It is for the Inverell Biological Co-op and any leads will be much appreciated.

Health

Misunderstanding Drugs

Many commonly prescribed drugs are killing people instead of helping them, which is raising questions about how much science really does know about cause and effect, how effective trials are, whether pharmaceutical companies are over-promoting benefits, whether mixing drugs is creating new problems, or whether doctors are over-prescribing. For example, some doctors have started diagnosing "pre-osteoporosis" or "pre-diabetes," and prescribing drugs to prevent bones from thinning or to lower blood sugar before patients have either disease.

Drug Side Affects

As a nice follow on to the story above, they seem to have discovered why muscle atrophy occurs when taking cholesterol reducing drugs. While the drug certainly lowers cholesterol levels (which is not necessarily a good thing by the way...), they also activate a gene which plays a key role in muscle atrophy.

Cancer and Night Light Link

Another study seems to support the link between night time lights and breast cancer. The theory claims that exposure to too much light at night interferes with the brain's production of a tumor-suppressing hormone. WHO (World Health Organisation) has even categorised night shift employment in the same health-risk category as exposure to toxic chemicals such as trichloroethylene, vinyl chloride and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). This study also raises questions about our push towards energy saving fluorescent lighting.

No Legal Protection

Makers of medical devices like breast implants are immune from liability for personal injuries as long as the FDA approved the device before it was marketed and it meets the agency's specifications. The next step is for the same legislation for all FDA approved drugs. This is coming at a time when the effectiveness of the FDA is under strong scrutiny, and leaves you wondering what the public will be able to do when more of those FDA-approved killer drugs continue to hit the market...

New Vaccine

The FDA has just voted in a new vaccine that even in the trials had worrying side-effects and death. What is going on here?

Meanwhile in France a number of vaccine companies are being investigated for manslaughter in response to allegations that the companies failed to fully disclose side effects from an anti-hepatitis B drug used between 1994 and 1998.

Diet and ADHD

Twenty three children with ADHD from the one town were put onto milk-free diets and tracked through from 1996-1997 - the results are stunning, yet conventional doctors still want to believe that medication like Ritalin is the best way to treat the condition.

Bisphenol Leaches with Temperature

While it is best to avoid all plastic products with Bisphenol A in it, putting heated liquids in such containers is a definite no-no, such as coffee in plastic coated cups.

Miscellaneous

Sunny is a dear friend who is getting international recognition for his spiritual work, particularly in terms of showing proof of life after death. His ability to communicate with spirit is brilliant and comforting, as the testimonials on this site highlight. It has helped many find peace after tragedy, and often helps others find direction and meaning in their lives. There is far more to life than just our physical experiences...

Events

For all February events

For all March events

* Home-based Business Seminar - Tamworth NSW 4th March 2008.

* Home-based Business Seminar - Narrabri NSW 5th March 2008.

* NTS Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture - Yandina Qld 10th - 13th March 2008.

* The Biology of Belief - Perth WA 1st April 2008.

* The Biology of Belief - Melbourne Vic 2nd April 2008.

* The Biology of Belief - Sydney NSW 3rd April 2008.

Postscript

Some sage advice from Bruce Elkin:

Seek out the shoulds. "Shoulding" on yourself, others, and the world is the root of much, maybe most, negative emotional states.

There is a big difference between saying, "I should be able to do this," and "I want to be able to do this". The first leads to negativity, and, often, to inaction, quitting. The second leads to desire and actions -- and, often, success.

So seek out your shoulds. See them for what they are, demands that reality be different than it is. Change them to desires -- preferences -- and you'll be better able to act on them, and to make changes in your experience.

And note: