|
**************************************************************************************************************


SPINACH HARVEST
You could call this
a "hands-on" harvest. These workers, on their knees, can grasp a
handful of
spinach, cut it, bundle it up, tie it, and lay it on the bed, perfect every
time, and then It's boxed, loaded on a trailer and sent to a cooler to
be hydro-cooled to 34 degrees, and shipped to market.
*************************************************************************************
“NCBA Releases Responses to Audit”
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association has released a 27-page
response to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board audit and
independent accountant’s report critical of the way NCBA expenses are
charged as beef checkoff activities. According to the report - the audit
was performed to assist the Board in determining that the salary and
wages, disbursements and other charges selected for testing are in
compliance with the Beef Promotion and Research Act of 1985 and the Beef
Promotion and Research Order and the contract between NCBA and the Beef
Promotion Operating Committee.
In the NCBA report - the organization’s leaders addressed each
discrepancy. Here is a sampling. One of the problems cited was expenses
for three employees to attend the NCBA Charity Golf Tournament. In
submitting their expenses neither participant charged their expenses to
the same account. The report also noted seven invoices totaling nearly
188-thousand dollars that were not paid timely. Payments ranged from two
to twelve days late.
A question that came out of the audit was spouse and family travel. The
NCBA response stated historically - an officer dinner with spouses at
the annual industry meeting has not been an issue. Currently - CBB
guidelines for contractors and NCBA policies do not prohibit spousal
travel expenses - but we will meet with CBB to establish a guideline.
“Checkoff Guidelines Needed”
Working through the NCBA response to the CBB audit - one quickly sees
that work needs to be done to address the problems identified by the
report with guidelines to address each issue. And in some cases - it
will be necessary to review existing guidelines and change them to
better address each issue. Also - guidelines for establishing a paper
trail before an event is incurred will likely be of help.
The report also addresses time reporting. Often times - trips are used
to address several issues covered by different divisions of NCBA. The
report detailed 25 instances in which auditors were unable to determine
if time was properly recorded. Once again - NCBA says the independent
accountant was unable to reach a conclusion on these items in large part
due to a lack of detailed checkoff guidelines.
“Others Watching NCBA Situation”
Several agricultural and livestock organizations are closely watching
the NCBA situation. National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson notes
an appropriate checkoff program with the right financial, operational
and governance structure is important for everyone. Johnson says his
organization commends the CBB for assisting in the audit and pushing for
further evaluation, with a more comprehensive compliance review.
In
a joint letter - five agricultural and livestock groups addressed the
CBB audit and indicators that NCBA has substantially breached the
financial firewall and did not maintain sufficient documentation
differentiating between the policy and checkoff sides of the
organization.
NFU is continuing dialogue with NCBA, CBB and other agricultural and
livestock leaders to ensure producers benefit from a revised checkoff
program.

http://www.chevrolet.com/pages/open/default/future/silveradohd.do?seo=ysm_|_2008_Chevy_Awareness_|_IMG_2011_Chevy_Silverado_HD_|_Silverado_HD_New_|_silverado_hd_new
“Estate Tax Remains Outside of Bill
Considerations”
Senate Republicans stood against Democrats Thursday by voting against a
motion to limit debate on a substitute amendment to the small business
bill. Republicans complained that they were not given a fair chance to
get votes on five amendments - including one on the estate tax.
Still - Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says we’re getting closer. He
predicted a chance of significant progress very soon. But Majority
Leader Harry Reid remains frustrated. Reid accused the Republicans of
not wanting an agreement. Democrats and President Obama continue to urge
the Senate to act quickly.
The measure pending before the Senate would create a 30-billion dollar
small business lending fund, extend 12-billion in tax breaks and enhance
federal programs designed to help small businesses.
“Lincoln's Ag Disaster Money
Dropped from Senate Bill;
Will Come from USDA Instead”
Senate Ag Committee Chairman Blanche Lincoln pulled her 1.5-billion
dollar ag disaster provision from the pending Small Business Jobs bill
on Thursday after the Obama administration agreed to take money from
existing programs to fund the payments to eligible farmers and ranchers.
Lincoln told Agri-Pulse that while she firmly believes agricultural
producers are rural small businesses - it was clear the Republicans
pulled out all the stops to block her legislation.
In
exchange for pulling ag disaster from the small business bill - she says
she secured an agreement from both Majority Leader Reid and White House
Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel - and have their commitment to deliver
critical agriculture disaster assistance administratively in the next
two weeks. Lincoln declined to say where the money would be taken from.
She simply told Agri-Pulse they’re looking and will find it.
The Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation said in an email to its members
Thursday afternoon the payments for 2009 crop losses would be funded
“directly from the USDA budget.”
“Senators Lincoln, Lugar: Child Nutrition
Bill Needs Passage
Before Programs Expire”
Senate Ag Committee Chairman Blanche Lincoln and Senator Richard Lugar
were joined by four other Senators Thursday in urging passage of the
Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act - a bill that will reauthorize child
nutrition programs before they expire September 30th. Lincoln says the
act will put the nation on a path to end childhood hunger and obesity
and improve the health of the next generation of Americans. Lugar says
food from child nutrition programs may provide the bulk of nutrition
children from low-income homes receive during the day. Given the
nation’s economic climate - he says the moment to pass the bill should
be seized.
The legislation passed the Senate Ag Committee unanimously at the end of
March. It provides the first non-inflationary increase in the Federal
reimbursement rate for school lunch programs in nearly 40 years. The
bill includes a provision requiring the Ag Secretary to establish
national nutrition standards consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for
Americans for all foods sold on school campuses throughout the school
day.
Doctor Sandra Hassink - American Academy of Pediatrics Obesity
Leadership Workgroup Chairman - says as a pediatrician who specializes
in treating obesity – she’s pleading for the Senate to put her out of a
job. Hassink says she would like nothing more than to have an empty
clinic. If legislators miss the opportunity to pass the bill and improve
programs - Senator Lincoln says the nation’s children will pay the price

“Senators Chambliss, Brownback
Question USDA Budget”
Senate Ag Committee
Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss and Senate Appropriations
Subcommittee on Agriculture Ranking Member Sam Brownback wrote a
letter to Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack Wednesday urging USDA to take
deficit reduction seriously. The Senators say they openly
question why USDA would require flexibility from the Office of
Management and Budget to cut mandatory farm safety net programs
to meet discretionary funding reductions. They say honest
budgeting requires discretionary savings come from reductions to
discretionary programs - and they believe the President’s
proposed budget for the 2012 fiscal year should be based on
honest budgeting.
In their letter - Chambliss and Brownback note
discretionary and mandatory programs in regard to USDA’s budget
increased seven and 20-percent respectively over the previous
two fiscal years. They state nutrition, feeding and food safety
programs are significant portions of outlays for mandatory and
discretionary accounts - but conservation, rural development and
other discretionary functions received an approximated
15-percent increase this fiscal year compared to the previous
one.
The Senators note farmers and ranchers need a level of certainty
to operate. They say the time to examine and make changes to
mandatory programs is during the upcoming reauthorization of the
farm bill.
“EPA Rejects Climate Science as
Flawed”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has denied 10 petitions
challenging its 2009 determination that climate change is real,
is occurring due to emissions of greenhouse gases from human
activities and threatens human health and the environment. EPA
says the petitions to reconsider EPA’s Endangerment Finding are
based on selectively edited, out-of-context data and a
manufactured controversy - therefore providing no evidence to
undermine their determination.
EPA Administrator Liza Jackson says defenders of
the status quo will try to slow EPA’s efforts to get America
running on clean energy. She says a better solution would be to
join the vast majority of the American people who want to see
more green jobs, more clean energy innovation and an end to the
oil addiction that pollutes the planet and jeopardizes our
national security.
EPA says the global warming trend over the past 100 years is
confirmed by three separate records of surface temperature - all
of which are confirmed by satellite data. Beyond this - evidence
of climate change is seen in melting ice in the Arctic, melting
glaciers around the world, increasing ocean temperatures, rising
sea levels, shifting precipitation patterns and changing
ecosystems and wildlife habitats.
“NFU Joins Ag Groups Supporting,
Urging Senate Inclusion of RES”
The Senate’s pending energy legislation doesn’t include a
Renewable Electricity Standard that would provide significant
opportunity for investment in ag and rural communities according
to National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson. NFU supports
an RES and wrote to Senate leadership with other ag groups about
the critical importance of including a 25-percent RES as the
Senate considers the energy legislation.
Johnson says the coalition is disappointed with
Majority Leader Harry Reid’s omission of an RES from the
legislation - saying including the provisions will help
America’s drive toward energy independence, reinvigorate rural
communities through job growth and income generation for ag.
Johnson states America’s farmers and ranchers support the
opportunity to increase energy production under an RES and the
Senate should have an opportunity to vote for it.

www.zimmatic.com
“New York Times Fails,
Mischaracterizes Fueling Freedom Plan”
Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis says Thursday’s Editorial titled
Energy Subsidies, Good and Bad in the New York Times
misrepresents the company’s proposal to open the U.S.
transportation fuels market and fails to acknowledge the
technological advancements that have made ethanol production
cleaner and more efficient. Buis says the editorial doesn’t
correctly signify Growth Energy’s Fueling Freedom Plan - which
would redirect the current blender’s tax credit to support the
build-out of the distribution infrastructure to give Americans a
true choice of fuels at the pump.
Buis states the editorial mistakenly claims
demand for ethanol will plow under more grasslands or forests.
He says U.S. farmers produced a record corn crop on
seven-million fewer acres last year than the previous record
year - proving farm efficiencies and technology are helping
produce even greater yields from fewer acres. Buis says the New
York Times opinion fails to reflect the facts about modern
American agriculture, its productivity and advancements in
technology.
“ASA’s Steps to Doubling Exports
by 2015”
The American Soybean Association announced this week key steps
it believes will help meet President Obama’s National Export
Initiative goal of doubling exports in the next five years. Some
of those key steps include approving the pending Free Trade
Agreements with Colombia, South Korea and Panama and negotiating
new FTAs with countries that have the potential to expand
imports of U.S. products - among other things. However – the
group says approving the pending deals is the most important
step. ASA President Rob Joslin says the rest of the world is
moving forward rapidly to expand bilateral trade while the U.S.
is at a virtual standstill. He says that must change quickly if
the NEI is to have a chance to succeed.
The U.S. has lost market share in Colombia and
Panama due to delays in approving the FTAs. U.S. soy and
livestock product exports declined 34-percent in Colombia and
6.9-percent in Panama. Joslin says soybeans and soybean products
are the most important U.S. export commodity - with export sales
exceeding 21-billion dollars last year. Those exports
represented more than 50-percent of U.S. soybean production and
21-percent of total U.S. ag exports in 2009.
In order to move forward on the NEI agenda - Joslin says the
Administration needs to reach consensus with Congress on the
scope of FTAs and the priority of approving the concluded
agreements as soon as possible.
“Health Care Legislation
Provisions Analyzed in Center for Rural Affairs Report”
The Center for Rural Affairs will release its second policy
report in a series of reports examining the health care reform’s
impact on rural America - titled Health Care Reform, What’s In
It - on August 4th. The report examines important,
beneficial provisions of the legislation. The report’s author -
Center for Rural Affairs Research Director Jon Bailey - says
much of the attention to the new federal health care law was
paid to the politically volatile insurance coverage provisions.
But he says an important part of the law received little
attention - the portions concerning quality health care access.
Access issues are serious health challenges in
most of rural America according to Bailey. He says the new law
provides numerous opportunities for rural areas to increase all
medical professions and stabilize their medical delivery system.
The provisions also have the potential to aid the economies of
many rural communities - Bailey says - as new and improved
medical facilities and more health care professionals in rural
communities will afford more jobs, more income and more economic
opportunity in those communities. He states rural families,
businesses and communities have a lot to gain from health care
reform as it passed both the House and Senate - and much to lose
if government fails to properly implement of Congress fails to
adequately fund the provisions crucial to improving rural health
care access.
Those provisions - highlighted in Bailey’s report - include
funding opportunities for the training and education of rural
physic8ians and expansion of other medical professionals;
recruitment of young rural students for health care careers;
expansion of medical care facilities in rural areas; improving
Emergency medical services; and healthier eating and living
initiatives and earlier access to primary care providers for
disease prevention. He says they are long-term solutions to a
significant challenge to rural health care - but they must
become priorities for the Administration, Congress, state
governments and all rural people for them to work.
DOW
CHEMICAL -
RALLY
FUNGICIDE
http://www.dowagro.com/usag/prod/073.htm
“Pioneer Agronomists Say Look
Out for Foliar Diseases”
Pioneer Hi-Bred experts are suggesting scouting fields and
then evaluating whether a foliar fungicide application
offers benefits because of the wet, humid weather conditions
causing risk of foliar disease in fields on top of extra
disease inoculums from wet and cool conditions in 2008 and
2009. The conditions in those growing seasons allowed many
disease inoculums to survive on field residue - corn-on-corn
fields especially - and caused disease pressure to increase
this growing season. Pioneer Technical Services Manager
Brent Wilson says disease pressure varies from field to
field - but foliar diseases are conducive to wet growing
conditions.
Wilson says the window to see the greatest
return from a fungicide application is rapidly closing as
the corn crop and disease cycle progresses - and fields with
high disease pressure could still see a return on a
fungicide investment. He says hybrids with high tolerance
will likely withstand any yield impact to foliar diseases.
Fungicides potentially offer positive outcomes - but
deciding to apply fungicides should be something growers
assess on a field-by-field basis - according to Wilson. It’s
imperative to apply fungicide at the right time - and the
right time is during tasseling when spraying.
Wilson says corn planted in mid-April is near the end of the
application window - but it’s a good time to evaluate and
take note of fields impacted by foliar diseases for the crop
in the ground and assessing hybrid performance for next
year’s seed purchase decisions. For more information on
foliar fungicide applications or hybrid tolerance ratings -
contact your local agronomist or sales professional.
“New Beef Resource
Organization Formed With Purpose to Spread Facts”
Beef industry leaders at the Cattle Industry Summer
Conference learned about the Sustainable Beef Resource
Center and its goal to provide useful, science-based
information to the food chain. SBRC Chairman Paul Parker
says SBRC members see the organization’s role as that of a
go-to resource for associations, coalitions, academia and
other industry stakeholders - which allows the organization
to zero-in on research that can fill information gaps as the
industry improves its ability to produce safe, wholesome,
affordable beef while using fewer natural resources.
The SBRC was formed because beef producers
and branded-beef marketers recognized the need for a
centralized source of facts about technologies used in
sustainable beef production. Iowa Beef Industry Council
Executive Director Nancy Degner says SBRC materials are so
valuable in ongoing education about beef’s role in a
healthy, affordable diet. SBRC invites other organizations
and individuals to join its membership.
Anyone can visit www dot Sustainable Beef dot org (www.SustainableBeef.org)
for more information on the organization, beef-production
facts and talking points about the environmental and
economic benefits of beef technologies.
“Mandatory Price Reporting
Bill Passes House Ag Committee”
The House Agriculture Committee recently approved three
bills including the Mandatory Price Reporting Act of 2010.
The bill reauthorizes mandatory price reporting for five
years. It also adds mandatory reporting for wholesale pork
cuts and electronic reporting for dairy products. House Ag
Committee Chairman Collin Peterson says mandatory price
reporting ensures that producers have access to transparent,
accurate and timely market information that helps them make
the best decisions for their business.
The committee also passed the Veterinary
Services Investment Act which establishes a competitive
grant program to support efforts to increase access to
veterinary care in underserved areas. Chairman Peterson
points out that right now - the United States is
experiencing an alarming shortage of large animal
veterinarians who are the first line of defense against
animal disease and play an essential role in ensuring food
safety.
Also passed was the Chesapeake Bay Restoration and
Improvement Act. The bill will give farmers and ranchers in
the Chesapeake Bay region additional tools to help them meet
regulatory requirements imposed on them by the Environmental
Protection Agency. Peterson says Chesapeake Bay producers
face some of the most stringent environmental regulations in
the country - and this bill provides them with resources and
certainty as they address environmental requirements and
work to improve water quality and wildlife habitat in the
region.
“Eat Up: White Button Mushrooms Enhance Immune System”
Agricultural Research Service scientists have conducted
animal-model and cell-culture studies showing white button
mushrooms enhance the activity of critical cells in our immune
systems. The mushrooms may actually promote immune function by
increasing production of antiviral proteins released by cells
when trying to protect and repair tissue. The mushrooms enhanced
maturity of immune system cells that make important white blood
cells that can recognize and destroy antigens on invading
bacteria. Ninety-percent of the mushrooms consumed in the U.S.
are actually white button mushrooms. The study appeared in a
2008 issue of the Journal of Nutrition.
Read more by scrolling down to the first story under Research In
Agriculture:
/AG JOBS |
|
|
http://www.agcareers.com/newsletters/agcareers_weekly.htm
IF YOU ARE,
OR YOU KNOW OF SOMEONE UNEMPLOYED AND
STRUGGLING
WITH HOME PAYMENTS,
VISIT THIS
WEBSITE FOR HELP FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE:
http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov
LIVESTOCK
NEWS
 |
|
|
Quotes
|
Weather |
Video
|
| |
|
|
 |
Megan Pierce
Assoc. Editor
Dairy Herd
Management |
|
Raw Milk
The Wonder
Tonic?
The debate on the sale of raw
milk continues across the country. Recent raids
on raw milk clubs in California and in Minnesota
continue to add fuel to the fire.
More... |
Hog Futures Near
5-Week High As Packers Cut Slaughter, Pork Dwindles
Hog futures in Chicago jumped near a
five-week high amid dwindling pork supplies that have
sent grocery store bacon prices to record levels.
More...
Micheli's
Family Ranch Received Federal Subsidies
Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron
Micheli's family ranch has received over $132,000 in
federal agricultural payments in recent years, according
to an environmental group's database.
More...
Immigration Ruling Could
Send Message To States
States that had been watching Arizona's
immigration law in hopes of copying it received a rude
awakening when a judge put most of the measure on hold
and agreed with the Obama administration's core argument
that immigration enforcement is the role of the federal
government.
More...
Cow Death Prompts Call
For Emergency Protocol
In response to the tragic July 27
shooting death of a cow at the California State Fair,
David Wilson is calling for a complete review of animal
use and handling procedures for all animals intended for
public exhibition at the state fair.
More...
Schwarzenegger Vetoes
Farmworker Overtime Bill
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill
Wednesday that would have given California farmworkers
overtime pay after working 40 hours in a week, the same
as other non-management employees who earn
time-and-a-half after an eight-hour day or 40-hour week.
More...
Schwieterman:
Downward Correction Likely For Feeder Cattle, Corn
Demand Rising
Feeder cattle futures closed mixed on
Wednesday, with losses in the front two months and
modest gains in deferred contracts. The close was
considered constructive in the face of double digit
gains in the corn futures.
More... |
Video
Flooding Claims Dozens Of Rancher's Cows
A Starr County rancher is counting his
losses. More than half of his cattle herd drowned in
floodwaters.
More...
Spot Prices
|
Name |
Today |
Previous |
Chart |
|
Live Cattle |
92.78 |
92.65 |
Chart |
|
Feeder
Cattle |
114.53 |
114.90 |
Chart |
|
Corn |
3.76 |
3.63 |
Chart |
|
Est.
Livestock Slaughter |
130,000 |
125,000 |
Chart |
|
Boxed Beef
– Choice |
154.70 |
155.23 |
Chart |
|
Boxed Beef
- Select |
146.34 |
145.73 |
Chart |
|
Boxed Beef
–C/S Spread |
8.36 |
9.50 |
Chart |
|
Total Beef
Loads |
222 |
182 |
Chart |
|
Daily Drop |
10.60 |
10.55 |
Chart |
|
Cutter Cow
Cutout |
131.01 |
132.98 |
Chart |
Source: USDA Livestock and Grain Market
News
Reports
Beef Sales Down 23 Percent
Net sales of 12,800 MT were down 23
percent from the previous week, but up 8 percent from
the prior 4-week average.
More...
Weather
Wildfire Threat High In West, Storms Possible On Plains
In the West, isolated showers are mostly
confined to Arizona and Utah. Cool weather prevails
along the immediate Pacific Coast, but hot weather
elsewhere in the West favors rapid crop development.
Wildfires remain a threat in parts of California and the
Great Basin.
More...
Find your local weather
 |
| |
DTN AG NEWSLINE
DAY,
JULY 29th, 2010
Today marks the
birthday of a man who changed the face of American industry. Henry Ford
was born in 1863 in Dearborn, Michigan. He built his first automobile in
1896 and in 1908, introduced the Model T, an immediate hit which
literally put America on wheels. To meet demand, Ford developed the
assembly line, which cut the time to build each car from over 12 hours
to just 90 minutes. At one point, half of all the cars in America were
Model Ts -- all of them painted black -- which sold for as little as
$300. Today, the average cost of a new car at one of the nation's 20,000
dealerships is just over $23,000. www.census.gov
****************************************************

THANK YOU FOR
SUPPORTING U.S. AGRICULTURE.
WANT ONE OR
MORE???? WE'LL SEND THEM BY MAIL, FREE. CONTACT:
ggatley@sprynet.com
WE ARE TEMPORARILY OUT OF THESE, BUT THE PRINTERS WILL SOON REFRESH US
WITH A LARGE SUIPPLY.
****************************************************
RESEARCH IN AGRICULTURE

White button mushrooms
were shown to enhance
the activity of critical
cells in the body's
immune system by ARS
nutritional
immunologists Simin
Meydani (left) and
Dayong Wu. Click the
image for more
information about it. |
Researchers Study Benefits of
White
Button Mushrooms
Mushrooms are among the many
foods thought to play an
important role in keeping the
immune system healthy. Now,
Agricultural Research Service
(ARS)-funded scientists have
conducted an animal-model and
cell-culture study showing that
white button mushrooms enhanced
the activity of critical cells
in the body's immune system. In
the United States, white button
mushrooms represent 90 percent
of the total mushrooms consumed.
The study was conducted at the
Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition
Research Center on Aging (HNRCA)
at
Tufts University by center
director
Simin Meydani, colleague
Dayong Wu, and others. The
results suggest that white
button mushrooms may promote
immune function by increasing
production of antiviral and
other proteins that are released
by cells while seeking to
protect and repair tissue.
Wu and co-investigators are with
the HNRCA
Nutritional Immunology
Laboratory in Boston, Mass.
The study's cell-culture phase
showed that white button
mushrooms enhanced the maturity
of immune system cells called "dendritic
cells," from bone marrow.
Dendritic cells can make T
cells-important white blood
cells that can recognize and
eventually deactivate or destroy
antigens on invading microbes.
When immune system cells are
exposed to disease-causing
pathogens, such as bacteria, the
body begins to increase the
number and function of immune
system cells, according to
Meydani. People need an adequate
supply of nutrients to produce
an adequate defense against the
pathogen. The key is to prevent
deficiencies that can compromise
the immune system.
The study appears in a 2008
issue of
The Journal of Nutrition.
Read more about this and other
research related to improving
health through nutrition in the
July 2010 issue of Agricultural
Research magazine, available
online at:
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/jul10/immunity0710.htm.
ARS is the principal intramural
scientific research agency of
the
U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA).
|
|
|
|
New
Issue of Healthy Animals Now
Online
The
Agricultural Research Service
(ARS) today posted a new issue
of
Healthy Animals. This
quarterly online newsletter
compiles ARS news and expert
resources on the health and
well-being of agricultural
livestock, poultry and fish.
Each quarter, one article in
Healthy Animals focuses on a
particular element of ARS animal
research. The
current issue discusses ARS
research on ways to help cattle
producers protect their animals
against heat stress.
Research highlighted in this
issue includes:
● ARS findings that coat
color, wind speed, access to
shade and breed could
influence the animal's
physical response to heat.
● A model that predicts when
environmental conditions are
ripe for heat stress in
livestock, and presents the
information in an
easy-to-read, color-coded
map.
● Findings that
solar-radiation-blocking
polyethylene cloths are an
effective way to reduce
stress-related losses.
Professionals interested in
animal health issues might want
to bookmark the site as a
resource for locating animal
health experts. An index lists
ARS research locations covering
70 animal health topics. These
range from specific diseases,
such as Lyme disease to broad
subjects such as nutrition or
parasites.
The site also provides complete
contact information for the 25
ARS research groups that conduct
studies aimed at protecting and
improving farm animal health.
To receive an email alert about
each issue's online posting,
contact
Chris Guy, ARS Information
Staff, or
sign up on line.
ARS is the principal intramural
scientific research agency for
the
U.S. Department of Agriculture.
|
|
|
|

ARS molecular biologist
Christian Tobias and his
colleagues have
published the genetic
map for switchgrass, a
tool that may speed up
development of this
native perennial prairie
grass as a source of
biofuel. Click the
image for more
information about it. |
A New
Tool for Improving Switchgrass
Agricultural Research Service
(ARS) scientists have developed
a new tool for deciphering the
genetics of a native prairie
grass being widely studied for
its potential as a biofuel. The
genetic map of switchgrass,
published by
Christian Tobias, a
molecular biologist at the ARS
Western Regional Research Center
in Albany, Calif., and his
colleagues, is expected to speed
up the search for genes that
will make the perennial plant a
more viable source of bioenergy.
Switchgrass is now grown as a
cattle feed and to restore
depleted soils. But interest in
using it as a biofuel has
intensified in recent years
because it can be burned to
produce electricity and, like
corn stalks, can be converted to
ethanol. It also grows on
marginal lands, is adaptable to
different regions, and—as a
perennial—does not need to be
replanted each year, which means
lower energy costs and less
runoff.
To assemble the genetic map, the
team crossed a commercial
variety of switchgrass known as
Kanlow with an ARS-developed
variety known as Alamo to
produce 238 plants. They
extracted DNA from that
population and assembled a map
based on more than 1,000 genetic
markers that could each be
attributed to one parent or the
other.
The map divides the switchgrass
genome into 18 distinct groups
of genes linked together on the
same strand of DNA. The results
were recently published in the
journal
Genetics.
The work is funded by the
U.S. Department of Energy
and the
U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA)
National Institute of Food and
Agriculture, as part of the
joint
USDA-DOE Plant Feedstock
Genomics for Bioenergy Program.
Understanding the genetic
composition of switchgrass could
produce big rewards. To make
switchgrass more commercially
viable as a biofuel, scientists
are searching for ways to
increase yields and make it
easier to break down the plant
cell walls, an essential step in
producing ethanol from
cellulosic biomass.
The genetic map could lead to
genes associated with cell wall
composition, crop yields and
other useful traits. Scientists
will be able to use the genetic
map to compare the genetic
profile of switchgrass to that
of rice, sorghum and other
plants with better understood
genomes and find analogues to
genes linked to specific traits
in those crops.
ARS is the principal intramural
scientific research agency of
USDA. The work supports the USDA
priority of developing new
sources of bioenergy.
|
|
|
|

Scientists have found that spraying
low concentrations of the compound
thidiazuron can significantly extend
the life of some potted plants'
leaves and flowers such as the
treated cyclamen on the left.
Click the image for more information
about it. |
Longer-Lasting Flowers: Fresh Ideas
from
ARS Researchers
Tomorrow's fragrant bouquets and colorful
potted plants might last longer, thanks to
floriculture research by
Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
plant physiologist
Cai-Zhong Jiang. His investigations
might help boost the vase life of favorite
cut flowers and shelf life of prized potted
plants.
Jiang
is with the ARS
Crops Pathology and Genetics Research Unit
at Davis, Calif. He's collaborating with
researchers from the
University of California-Davis (UCD) and
elsewhere.
In
ongoing studies, Jiang, UCD colleague
Michael S. Reid and co-researchers have
shown that spraying low concentrations of a
compound known as thidiazuron (TDZ) has
significant, sometimes spectacular effects
in extending the life of potted plants'
leaves and flowers. For example, in tests
with greenhouse-grown cyclamen plants, TDZ-treated
plants had a significantly longer life than
did unsprayed plants, according to Jiang.
Leaves of TDZ-treated cyclamen plants took
longer to yellow and fall off than those of
untreated plants.
TDZ, a
synthetic version of a naturally occurring
plant compound known as a cytokinin, is not
new. But preliminary studies with cut
flowers, reported by Reid and co-researchers
in 2000, were the first to demonstrate the
value of TDZ for a commercial floricultural
species—in that case, alstroemeria. The
cyclamen experiments conducted by Jiang and
collaborators are the first to show the
leaf-saving and blossom-boosting effects of
TDZ with potted floricultural plants.
Jiang
and colleagues reported some of their TDZ
findings in
Postharvest Biology and Technology
earlier this year, and in
Acta
Horticulturae in 2009.
Though
commercial use of TDZ on cut flowers and
potted plants seems promising, the
researchers' deeper interest lies in
determining precisely how TDZ affects genes
and proteins inside the plants.
Read more about this research in the
April 2010 issue of Agricultural Research
magazine.
ARS is
the U.S.
Department of Agriculture's principal
intramural scientific research agency
|
|
|

ARS scientists and their
collaborators found a
way to improve the
ability of compost
filled mesh tubes called
filter socks to remove
silt, heavy metals,
fertilizers and
petroleum products from
storm water runoff by
adding flocculation
agents. Photo
courtesy of Filtrexx
International. |
"Super
Socks" Help Stem Pollution
Runoff
Agricultural Research Service
(ARS) scientists and their
collaborators have improved on
an existing method for removing
contaminants from storm water
runoff. These findings could
provide surface waters
additional protection against
runoff containing pollutants
from point sources such as
construction sites, storm waters
and other urban landscapes.
"Filter socks" containing
compost tucked into mesh tubes
are used to capture some of the
silt, heavy metals, fertilizers
and petroleum products washed
from compacted surface areas
into nearby streams and rivers.
A group of scientists from the
ARS
Animal and Natural Resources
Institute in Beltsville,
Md., teamed with researchers
from
Filtrexx International,
which manufactures the socks, to
see if adding flocculation
agents to the socks improved
their performance. The ARS team
included agronomist
Eton Codling, microbiologist
Dan Shelton and soil
scientists
Yakov Pachepsky and
Ali Sadeghi. Their Filtrexx
International partners were
Britt Faucette and Fatima
Cardoso-Gendreau.
Wastewater treatment plants use
flocculation agents to help
sediments and pollutants form
clumps large enough to be
filtered out of the water, even
when the substances are in a
dissolved state. The team added
flocculation agents to compost
socks and then ran laboratory
tests to see how well the socks
trapped sediment, coliforms,
nitrates, E. coli
bacteria, heavy metals and
petroleum products in runoff
after simulated "rain events."
The scientists found that
compost socks alone removed the
majority of clay and silt
particles that contribute to
suspended solids in surface
waters. The socks also removed
17 percent of ammonium nitrogen,
75 percent of E. coli
bacteria, and from 37 percent to
72 percent of the heavy metals.
In addition, runoff levels of
diesel fuel dropped 99 percent,
levels of motor oil dropped 84
percent, and gasoline levels
dropped 43 percent.
However, socks with flocculation
agents removed even more of the
pollutants from runoff,
including 27 percent of the
ammonium nitrogen, 99 percent of
E. coli bacteria, 99
percent of the motor oil, 54
percent of the gasoline and from
47 percent to 74 percent of the
heavy metals.
Results from this research were
published in the
Journal of Environmental Quality.
ARS is the principal intramural
scientific research agency of
the
U.S. Department of Agriculture.
|
|
|
|

ARS research
physiologist Sean H.
Adams has developed new
information about how
natural compounds in the
body called fatty
acylcarnitines may serve
as early biomarkers for
emerging type 2
diabetes. Photo
courtesy of Microsoft
clipart.
|
Potential Indicators of Type 2
Diabetes
Investigated
Though you may not have type 2
diabetes, you probably know
someone who does.
Agricultural Research Service
(ARS) research physiologist
Sean H. Adams is conducting
studies to discover more about
this complex disorder and
especially to determine how
better nutrition and regular
physical activity might help
prevent it.
Some of these investigations are
yielding new indicators, called
"biomarkers," of the disease. In
time, physicians and other
healthcare professionals might
be able to use these indicators
to identify, at an earlier
stage, the children and adults
who are at risk for developing
this type of diabetes.
Also, nutrition scientists would
be able to use the markers to
monitor the progress of
experimental nutrition- and
exercise-based strategies
designed for prevention.
One investigation led by Adams
underscores the potential of
natural compounds in the body,
known as "fatty acylcarnitines,"
to serve as diabetes biomarkers.
The scientists determined this
after searching for telltale
molecules in blood samples from
diabetic and nondiabetic
African-American women who
volunteered for the research.
In some instances, levels of
certain fatty acylcarnitines
were almost 300 percent higher
in the diabetic volunteers than
in those without the disease.
Apparently, the higher levels
result from incomplete or
inefficient oxidation of fat in
the diabetic women, according to
Adams. He's with the ARS
Western Human Nutrition Research
Center in Davis, Calif.
Incomplete oxidation of fats has
already been associated with
insulin resistance, a hallmark
of type 2 diabetes. However, the
study that Adams led adds detail
to what he describes as the
emerging picture of abnormal
fatty acylcarnitine levels in
blood as potential biomarkers of
type 2 diabetes. The scientists
documented their findings in a
2009 issue of the
Journal of Nutrition.
Adams collaborated in the
research with
Daniel H. Hwang and
John W. Newman at the
center, and with
co-investigators at the
University of Alabama-Birmingham
and
Case Western Reserve University
in Cleveland, Ohio.
ARS is the principal intramural
scientific research agency of
the
U.S. Department of Agriculture.
|
|
|
|

ARS scientists have
developed a more
efficient way to produce
Atlantic salmon that are
sterile so they grow
faster and cannot
interbreed with wild
salmon. Click the
image for more
information about it. |
Better
Control of Reproduction
in
Trout and Salmon
May be
in Aquaculture's Future
Fast-growing farm-raised salmon
and trout that are sterile can
now be produced using a method
developed by
Agricultural Research Service
(ARS) scientists. Blocking
reproduction can enhance growth,
and is important for fish being
reared in situations where
reproduction is undesirable.
The method allows researchers to
more efficiently and reliably
produce fish that have three
sets of chromosomes, instead of
the usual two sets. Fish with
the extra set of chromosomes
can't reproduce, so the energy
from the food they eat is
shifted from reproduction to
growth. Also, cultured fish that
are not capable of breeding with
native populations can be
stocked in natural waters.
Bigger fish for consumers and
sterile fish for producers and
anglers are the goals of ARS
scientists who are working with
the aquaculture industry on
genetic methods to more
efficiently produce fish that
grow faster on less feed and
can't reproduce in the wild.
William K. Hershberger, former
research leader at the ARS
National Center for Cool and
Cold Water Aquaculture (NCCCWA)
in Leetown, W.Va., and NCCCWA
biologist
Mark Hostuttler investigated
the earliest stages of fish
development, from fertilized egg
to the two-cell stage, and
developed a more effective way
to produce rainbow trout that
have four sets of chromosomes.
Those trout are then crossed
with typical fish that have two
chromosome sets, yielding
offspring that have the desired
three sets of chromosomes.
Now, ARS fish physiologist
Gregory Weber and Hostuttler
have improved on that method,
and preliminary studies have
expanded its application to
Atlantic salmon, brook trout and
brown trout. They are also in
the process of breeding these
fish for experiments that will
determine whether these
three-chromosome-set fish are
good performers in terms of
production traits such as growth
to market size, stress
tolerance, and disease
resistance.
Additionally, Weber and
Hostuttler have developed a way
to validate chromosome status on
20 fish at a time, instead of
just one.
ARS is the primary intramural
scientific research agency of
the
U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA). The research supports
the USDA priority of promoting
international food security.
|
|
|
|
|