Welcome to the
BROCOLLI HARVEST
The word broccoli, from the Italian plural of broccolo, refers to "the flowering top of a cabbage".[3]
Broccoli is classified in the Italica cultivar group of the species Brassica oleracea. Broccoli has large flower heads, usually green in color, arranged in a tree-like fashion on branches sprouting from a thick, edible stalk. The mass of flower heads is surrounded by leaves. Broccoli most closely resembles cauliflower, which is a different cultivar group of the same species.
Broccoli evolved from a wild cabbage plant on the continent of Europe. Indications point to the vegetable's being known 2,000 years ago.[4] Since the Roman Empire, broccoli has been considered a uniquely valuable food among Italians.[5] Broccoli was grown at Antwerp whence it was taken to England by the sculptor Peter Scheemakers, according to a biographical note by J. T. Smith.[6] Broccoli was first introduced to the United States by Italian immigrants but did not become widely known until the 1920s.[4]
Broccoli is usually boiled or steamed, but may be eaten raw and has become popular as a raw vegetable in hors d'œuvre trays.
*****************************************************
“Hormel Foods Discontinuing Use of Small Metal Crates”
Hormel Foods Corporation's company-owned farms will phase out the use of small metal crates for confining pregnant hogs by the end of 2017. In an on-line statement, Hormel says the breeding sows at its company-owned farms in Arizona will be transitioning to group housing by the end of summer this year and at its farms in Colorado and Wyoming before 2018.
Humane Society of the United States President and CEO Wayne Pacelle said in a statement, - this decision brings us closer to the day when the cruel confinement of pigs in gestation crates will be a bygone era for the entire pork industry. We thank Hormel for making this decision and urge the company to also apply it to any contract pig breeders it may use. According to HSUS, Hormel purchases hogs from more than 775 independent pork producers.
Pacelle says HSUS is also urging Hormel’s competitors such as Tyson, Triumph, Prestage and Seaboard to - stop lagging behind and get on the gestation-crate free pathway. HSUS is using its stock-holder leverage to press the issue at corporate annual meetings.
“Infrastructure Bill Moves Forward” The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has marked up the American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act of 2012. American Soybean Association President Steve Wellman says the proposal - includes the renewal of an agricultural harvest time exemption from the hours-of-service rules that limit the number of hours truck drivers may operate, as well as the inclusion of provisions enabling states to allow increased truck weight limits if an additional axle is used.
Wellman points out that - ASA is also particularly encouraged that the proposed bill includes stated support for the Realize America’s Maritime Promise Act, which will ensure sufficient funding for dredging of inland waterways and port maintenance activities. He says – this reauthorization is certainly overdue, and the soybean industry stands to gain much from a new, comprehensive transportation solution. The ASA leader says - our industry and agriculture as a whole needs reliable and modern roads and highways, rail infrastructure, inland waterways and ports to ensure that American farmers can move their products to market as quickly and efficiently as possible. The steps taken - are productive ones toward this ultimate goal.
STUDENTS AGES 14 TO 17
YOU HAVE THE CHANCE TO BE SELECTED FOR AgDISCOVERY. AN OUTREACH PROGRAM SPONSORED BY THE USDA/APHIS AND PARTNERING WITH UNIVERSITIES TO HELP STUDENT LEARN ABOUT CAREERS IN ANIMAL SCIENCE, VETERINARY MEDICINE, PLANT PATHOLOGY AND AGRIBUSINESS. THIS 2 - 4 WEEK PROGRAM, ALLOWS STUDENTS 12 TO 17, TO LIVE ON A COLLEGE CAMPUS AND LEARN ABOUT AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE FROM UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS, PRACTICING VETERINARIANS AND PROFESSIONALS WORKING FOR THE U.S. GOVERNMENT.. STUDENT CHOSEN TO PARTICIPATE IN AgDISCOVERY, WILL GAIN EXPERIENCE THROUGH HANDS-ON LABS, WORKSHOPS, FIELD TRIPS AND OTHER GROUP AND TEAM BUILDING ACTIVITIES.
PLEASE NOTE: THERE IS NO CHARGE FOR STUDENTS SELECTED. MEALS, LODGING AND TRANSPORTATION WILL BE PROVIDED FREE.
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO APPLY FOR AgDISCOVERY, VISIT:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/agdiscovery
MATRIX
Last Thursday, the House Financial Services Subcommittee held its second hearing on the FM Global Holdings failure. Lawmakers focused on an internal MF Global document that laid out extreme financial stress scenarios the firm could face in the near future. Just prior to the writing of the document, former Chief Executive Jon Corzine and the firm’s former chief financial officer, Henry Steenkamp, had upbeat comments about the firm’s financial stability.
CME Group Inc. launched an effort to rebuild market confidence damaged by the collapse of MF Global Holdings Ltd., creating a 100-million dollar insurance fund to protect farmers and ranchers who lost up to 1.2-billion dollars in the collapse. Those dollars have reportedly been traced to other customer accounts and banks.
CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler has ordered an extensive review of how futures brokerages are regulated after questions emerged about whether the CFTC or exchange-operator CME Group, whose self-regulatory arm served as MF Global’s front-line regulator, could have done more to prevent the firm’s collapse and safeguard customer money.
“Will Death Tax Die This Year?”
Will 2012 be the year when permanent relief from the estate tax is within reach? Kent Baucus, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association associate director of legislative affairs thinks so. Baucus addressed attendees of the 2012 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show in Nashville, Tennessee. He said the estate tax is top of mind for many cattlemen, especially young farmers and ranchers hoping to take over family-owned cattle operations.
Bacus said - this is not a tax on the wealthy elite. The wealthy are more likely to find a way to weather the storm. Small business owners and family farmers and ranchers will be forced to make difficult decisions. As the global population continues to grow, it is paramount we keep farms and ranches intact. We have to be able to feed people.
There are 29 pieces of legislation in the U.S. Congress to address the estate tax. Bacus said NCBA supports the Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act of 2011 introduced by Representative Kevin Brady of Texas. The legislation, if passed, would repeal the estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes. Bacus said the legislation has already garnered 194 bipartisan co-sponsors.
Global Update
February 6, 2012
=========================================================
TOP STORIES Panama Spotlight: Agenda Features Top Canal Expert - Tunisia Makes Progress on Feed Testing Laboratory Market Recap: Keeping Close Eye on Future Competitor, Ukraine USDA’s Weekly Export Sales Highlights for January 20-26, 2012 ==========================================================
“Budget Process on the Move”
The House last week approved its first budget reform bill requiring the Congressional Budget Office to provide economic analyses of bills that would have a minimum impact of 38-billion dollars on the federal budget. Negotiators still have major obstacles to overcome. Congress wants to keep extraneous measures out of a package to extend the payroll tax cut.
Everyone expects commodity programs will undergo an overhaul with the likelihood that direct payments are gone and will be replaced with another program. The problem is no one really knows how much money will be budgeted for agriculture programs. The commodity groups that met last week in Washington, D.C. are leaning toward the shallow-loss programs that provide a revenue guarantee. The American Farm Bureau has argued such programs offer too much protection on smaller losses and would prefer more focus on catastrophic losses.
DTN Ag Policy Editor Chris Clayton says there - is the lack of clarity on the mandatory sequestration cuts passed by Congress last August that were expected to take effect January 1. Those cuts were expected to be around 16-billion dollars in agricultural spending; however, specifics are not controlled by Congress, but by the White House Office of Management Budget. Minnesota Representative Collin Peterson adds – if the Congressional Budget Office builds the sequestration cuts into the March baseline that would effectively lower the money to spend on a farm bill.
“Organizations Push for Strong Farm Bill”
Joint meetings were held last week in Washington, D.C., for producer leaders of a dozen commodity organizations to discuss policy priorities, hear perspectives of key policymakers and to work toward consensus on the future of U.S. farm policy. The groups confirmed in the meeting that they are committed to working together to come up with a viable farm policy.
In a joint statement the organizations said - it is our common belief that Congress should pass and the President should sign a strong new farm bill into law this year. The law expires at the end of this year and producers – like all job creators – need certainty from Washington. If Washington provides America’s farmers and ranchers with some certainty, we can continue to help lead our nation’s economic recovery. The organizations, which include the National Sorghum Producers, say - American agriculture stands out as one of the few sectors of the economy that has, throughout the economic downturn, still contributed positively to our nation’s balance of trade while helping to create jobs and put this country back on its economic feet. And we have accomplished these things with a farm policy that also stands out as consistently under budget over the past 10 years.
NATIONAL CATTLEMEN'S BEEF ASSOCIATION CONVENTION NEWS
(CLICK HERE)
ALION HERBICIDE
“Tax Credits Important to Renewable Fuels”
The short term extension of the payroll tax reduction expires February 29 and a formal House-Senate conference committee has been convened to negotiate a longer-term extension. Most on Capitol Hill acknowledge that the bill is likely to be the only tax bill that will be passed before elections. The legislation remains the best possibility to extend production and investment tax credits that have done so much to boost renewable energy technologies and markets.
The American Soybean Association is hoping that Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus and other lawmakers are successful in their call for the conference committee to add the expired one-dollar-per-gallon biodiesel tax credit. Of exceeding importance is the fact that the production tax credit and the biodiesel credit were adopted on a bipartisan basis to create and sustain jobs.
Meanwhile, Governors Terry Branstad of Iowa and Sam Brownback of Kansas have written members of the conference committee urging them to include an extension of the wind energy production tax which is set to expire at the end of this year. The governors, whose states benefit significantly from wind energy production and manufacturing revenues, call the sector an “American success story,” building the U.S. manufacturing base, creating jobs, lowering energy costs and strengthening the nation’s energy security.
“USDA Funds Support Biofuel Changes”
USDA funds are now available for Fiscal Year 2012 for two key programs to encourage the use of renewable biomass and production of advanced biofuels. The Repowering Assistance Program provides approximately 25-million dollars in funding to biorefineries that have been in existence on or before June 18, 2008. The purpose is to provide a financial incentive to biorefineries to use renewable biomass in place of fossil fuels used to produce heat or power. According to Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack, by providing this assistance, USDA is helping these facilities install new systems that use renewable biomass.
USDA also announced the availability of up to 25-million dollars to make payments to advanced biofuels producers who expect to produce eligible advanced biofuels at any time during Fiscal Year 2012. To be eligible, an advanced biofuels producers must have enrolled in the program by October 31, 2011, even if the producer has an existing contract with the Agency. Payments will be made to producers of advanced biofuels derived from renewable biomass, other than corn kernel starch.
RELY Herbicide
“Cattle Forecast is for Strong Prices & Exports”
As cattle supplies remain tight and global demand intensifies profitability for cattle ranchers will continue in the year ahead. That’s the word from CattleFax analysts who addressed cattlemen at the 2012 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show in Nashville, Tennessee. CattleFax Chief Executive Officer Randy Blach says - the economic signals are in place for restocking to begin this year, all we need now is a little encouragement from Mother Nature.
Art Douglas, of Creighton University, says despite the fact there have been three months of near-normal rainfall in parts of Texas, drought will continue to play a role in determining if and when the cowherd expands. Douglas expects much of Texas to return to dry conditions by late-spring or early summer. He also predicts drought will spread into southern California, the Northern Plains and coastal areas of the southeast United States.
Blach told the audience he expects cattle inventory numbers to reach a low point in 2013, before increasing in 2014 and beyond. He expects an increase in average carcass weights will partially offset the decline in inventory numbers. Prices are expected to move higher in 2012. Good exports will continue. Blach said Japan won’t be the only export market to see significant growth during 2012. In fact, U.S. beef exports will likely set new highs as a result of strong overall global demand and continued weakness in the U.S. dollar.
“Youth Awards Handed Out at Cattle Convention”
During the 2012 Cattle Industry Convention and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Trade Show in Nashville, Tennessee, young cattlemen and women participated in youth public speaking, marketing and quiz bowl contests. More than 220 young people participated in the annual youth program sponsored by Farm Credit.
Christina Bowen, national contributions director for Farm Credit says - we’re very proud to support this NCBA program. NCBA, along with the beef producers who volunteer on the youth task force, have put together programs that are challenging and create the leadership development opportunities our future cattlemen and women need.
Jeffrey Mingus, an Arizona beef producer and co-chairman of the NCBA Youth Task Force believes - helping prepare young people for future leadership roles to move the needle on beef demand and protect the industry’s business environment is in alignment with the industry’s long range plan.
NEWS FOR DAIRY CO-OPS
USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service has released updates to its online geospatial exploring tool, CropScape. 2011 Cropland Data Layer products, which are derived from satellite image observations at 30-meter resolution, help users visualize how the volatile weather events of 2011 affected cropland in the United States. NASS is also releasing a new CropScape version with new functional capabilities and enhancements.
NASS Research and Development Division Director, Mark Harris says - these land cover images show first-hand the ever-changing face of U.S. agriculture and contribute extensively to research on various issues including biodiversity, agricultural sustainability and extreme weather events, such as flooding and drought.
CropScape was developed in cooperation with the Center for Spatial Information Science and Systems at George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia.
“Identifying Farmers Limiting Factors”
Most farmers don’t have the time it takes to do it all - purchasing inputs, planting, scouting, and harvesting.crops. But, what about marketing? An assessment tool is available to help you identify what you are and are not doing well. Farmers are finding that such assessments can shed light on their own strengths or weaknesses and enable them to improve performance by changing habits or hiring outside help to bolster weak points.
One such Marketing Assessment Profile was designed by Scott Stewart of Stewart-Peterson Advisory group. The MAP includes questions to identify any limitations in five areas: marketing knowledge, risk tolerance, time available for marketing, experience level and your personality type - how you react to price moves. The tool rates you on a numbered scale to help identify where you have room for improvement.
Stewart says - from our work with producers, we've found that uncertainty leads producers to freeze and do nothing, or to make costly mistakes. According to Stewart - this is eye-opening for many producers. Once we understand the most limiting factor, we can make suggestions for how to step up their marketing to the next level.
AG WEB NEWS
Dairy Market in Review
Stewart-Peterson's Rocky Gingg explains the week's dairy market moves.
Producer Support of the Beef Checkoff at 18-Year High
Four in five producers say the beef checkoff influences beef demand and is of value to them even in a weak economy.
DuPont Seeks to Find Food Security Solutions
The global agribusiness company has pledged $10 billion for research and development to bring 4,000 new products to the global market by the year 2020.
Cattle Market Long Term Outlook Remains Bullish
The long term outlook is still bullish because the cattle inventory report shows that herd rebuilding has begun in areas not suffering from drought. This means that fewer cattle will be sent to slaughter this year and indicates 2012 could be even smaller than the 4.7% reduction from a year ago USDA currently estimates.
Corn Market Is Entering a Key Marketing Window
The corn market will likely remain volatile throughout the first half of this year. Producers can use this volatility to aggressively market their 2012 crop.
AgWeb Radio: Weekly Dairy Market Wrap 2-3-12
Robin Schmahl, hedge and marketing specialist with AgDairy, says it was not a good week for dairy. Block cheese and butter were down, but milk futures really took a hit.
View More
RSS
Canada: Is Your Car Eating Your Lunch? 30% of Ontario's Corn Crop Used for Ethanol, Driving Up the Price of Animal Feed
Test Results on Family Cow Raw Milk Pending; Cases of Illness Rise to 23 in Maryland and Pennsylvania
Lean Times for U.S. Cattle; Herds have been Reduced to 1952 Levels, and the Price of Beef Is Expected to Rise
Higher Target for Cuts in EU Emissions Less Costly than Originally Thought
LIVESTOCK NEWS
China said on Feb. 1 it would boost agriculture innovation in an effort to increase food output, signaling that the world's most populous country is trying to tackle outdated farm and food infrastructure to feed its people. Read more
By Geni Wren, Bovine Veterinarian Magazine
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Bovine respiratory disease complex (BRDC) is the most significantly infectious disease in cattle, and is exacerbated by stress. Read more
Nebraska lawmakers are considering a bill (LB915) that would tighten the timeline and requirements for reporting animal abuse. Read more
Higher prices are a reality in today's cattle business. Producers are open to bigger opportunities and risks with each management decision. CattleFax has been a proven leader in market research and analysis for 40 years. Receive a 3-month trial membership to start making informed decisions.
By John Maday, Managing Editor
Without immediate action and a global shift in priorities, the world will not be able to feed its growing population in the coming decades, according to a new report from a United Nations panel. The UN Secretary General’s High-level Panel on Global Sustainability released its report, titled “Resilient people, resilient planet,” this week. Read more
By Greg Henderson, Editor, Associate Publisher
In an unprecedented market rally, stocker and feeder cattle continue to draw the most attention and headlines as winter nears the mid-point. Mild winter weather has been ideal for cattle performance and weight gains. Read more
Cattle markets have entered uncharted territory and cow-calf producers are in the driver’s seat. But with elevated prices comes elevated risk for all segments of the industry. Read more
During Cattlemen’s College at the Cattle Industry Convention in Nashville Feb. 1, Western Kentucky University animal scientist Nevil Speer, PhD, conducted some quick, electronic surveys of the audience. The session, on profiting during volatile times, was filled beyond the room’s capacity. One of the questions Dr. Speer asked beef producers in the audience was: “Do you plan to expand your herds during the next one to five years?” Read more
Locally heavy rain provided drought relief to the south-central U.S., while dry conditions returned from central California into the Four Corners Region. Read more
Leaders from the southeast region discuss issues affecting the beef cattle industry today Read more
Producers have questions about the safe period to haul heifers and cows without hurting their pregnancy rate. Read more
Visit Drovers CattleNetwork for the latest news and information on: baby calf health, beef retail, BVD, cattle feeding, DNA profiling, fly control, pasture & rangeland, preconditioning and supplement/nutrition. Click here to visit our resource centers.
OLDTIMER'S CORNER!!!!!
(Click Here)
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6th, 2012
It may seem hard to believe, but it was 48 years ago this month that G.I. Joe action figures first went on sale. G.I. Joe was the first mass market doll intended for boys, and at $2.49, it was a huge success. The figure's name came from the movie, "The Story of G.I. Joe," starring Robert Mitchum and Burgess Meredith. For several decades, families all over America found parts to G.I. Joes hidden under couch cushions, behind refrigerators, and stuck in vacuum cleaner hoses. Today, in a market dominated by imports, making dolls and stuffed animals is a $167 million a year business in the U.S., employing just under 1,000 people.
WWW.CENSUS.GOV
RESEARCH IN
AGRICULTURE
REPORTS
Over a decade of research at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has resulted in the development of a new matrix for invasive plant management. The model was created by scientists with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Burns, Ore., and helps land managers recognize how rangeland degradation processes vary across landscapes. ARS is USDA's chief scientific research agency.
Using the model can also increase the success rate of restoring native vegetation on damaged landscapes, which supports the USDA priority of responding to climate change.
Ecologist Roger Sheley synthesized a range of findings from scientific literature and field research to develop the model, which is called Ecologically Based Invasive-Plant Management (EBIPM). The process is a mix of plant establishment and succession theories, ecological principles, the identification of parameters that contribute to invasive plant management, and management actions that help restore native forage plants for livestock and wildlife. Sheley works at the ARS Range and Meadow Forage Management Research Unit in Burns.
Sheley and his colleagues based EBIPM on three general causes of plant succession: site availability, species availability, and species performance. They identified site-specific ecological processes that influence plant succession dynamics and determined how these processes are modified by environmental and human factors that affect plant establishment and long-term vegetation change. This information can be used to fine-tune the mechanisms and processes influencing plant succession, all of which helps rout invasive plants and support the return of native grasses and forbs.
Sheley and his colleagues tested their model in Montana's Kicking Horse Wildlife Mitigation Area at three sites that had varying degrees and types of damage from invasive plants. Using EBIPM, Sheley was able to increase the chance of restoration success by 66 percent over traditional approaches to invasive weed management. Sheley believes that EBIPM, which is also called "augmentative restoration," could be a valuable new tool for land managers in the western rangelands, where invasive plants like cheatgrass are fueling wildfires and limiting livestock grazing options.
Results from this work have been published in Rangeland Ecology and Management, Journal of Invasive Plant Science and Management, and www.ebipm.org.
A specific gene in corn seems to confer resistance to three important leaf diseases, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists and their university colleagues.
This discovery, published in 2011 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could potentially help plant breeders build disease-resistance traits into future corn plants.
The research team included Agricultural Research Service (ARS) plant geneticists Peter Balint-Kurti, Jim Holland and Matt Krakowsky in the agency's Plant Science Research Unit in Raleigh, N.C., and scientists with the University of Delaware, Cornell University, and Kansas State University. ARS is the USDA's chief intramural scientific research agency.
Three diseases-southern corn leaf blight, northern leaf blight, and gray leaf spot-all cause lesions on corn leaves worldwide. In the U.S. Midwest Corn Belt, northern leaf blight and gray leaf spot are significant problems.
The researchers examined 300 corn varieties from around the world to ensure a genetically diverse representation. No corn variety has complete resistance to any of these diseases, but varieties differ in the severity of symptoms they exhibit.
The researchers set out to look for maize lines with resistance to the three diseases to determine which genes underlie disease resistance, according to Balint-Kurti. When they tested the lines for resistance, they found that if a corn variety was resistant to one disease, chances were favorable that it was also resistant to the other two.
The researchers applied a statistical analysis technique called "association mapping" to identify regions of the genome associated with variation in disease resistance. According to Balint-Kurti, the scientists knew there was a strong correlation between resistance of one disease and the other two. They postulated that some resistance genes conferred resistance to two or more different diseases, and they identified a gene that seemed to confer multiple disease resistance.
This gene, a GST (glutathione S-transferase), is part of a family of genes known for their roles in regulating oxidative stress and in detoxification. Both of these functions are consistent with a role in disease resistance.
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have found that a commercial vaccine is effective against leptospirosis in cattle.
A widespread zoonotic disease, leptospirosis is transmitted naturally from domestic and wild animals to humans. The contagious disease, which is caused by Leptospira bacteria, is spread through contact with food, water or soil contaminated with urine from infected animals. It can affect all farm animals, rodents and wildlife.
Several years ago, retired microbiologist Richard Zuerner, veterinary medical officer David Alt and their colleagues at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) National Animal Disease Center (NADC) in Ames, Iowa, tested a version of this vaccine and discovered that it induced some protection against experimental infection with Leptospira borgpetersenii serovar Hardjo, the main cause of bovine leptospirosis.
ARS is USDA's chief intramural scientific research agency, and this research supports USDA priority of promoting international food security.
Alt and his colleagues, who work at the NADC Infectious Bacterial Diseases Research Unit, examined the vaccine's potency in reducing the shedding of bacteria, potentially affecting the spreading of leptospirosis in herds. They vaccinated cattle twice with this vaccine or twice with a standard or control vaccine.
To test the vaccine's ability to induce short- and long-term immunity to infection, cattle were challenged with L. borgpetersenii serovar Hardjo three months or one year after immunization.
Scientists found that the vaccine appeared to be effective at both three-month and one-year periods after vaccination. Although the vaccine did not provide complete protection from shedding at one year after vaccination, it induced greater immunologic responses and protection against shedding of leptospirosis than the standard vaccine.
After cattle were challenged three months after vaccination, bacteria were detected in the urine for several weeks, but the cattle appeared to be capable of clearing the infection, whereas non-vaccinated cattle remained infected, according to Zuerner.
Only one vaccinated animal in the year-long study was shown to have bacteria in the kidney at the end of the live challenge, but most animals had evidence of short-term kidney infections that eventually cleared, according to Zuerner.
Although the vaccine was partially successful in protecting cattle against leptospirosis, scientists agree that improvement is still needed.
Choosing the right vaccine depends on identifying the infecting serovar, according to Alt. The diverse organisms of Leptospira bacteria contain more than 200 serovars that can cause the disease.
Findings from this research were published in Clinical and Vaccine Immunology.
Drinking soy milk rather than cow's milk or mother's milk can result in better bones, at least in piglets, according to findings reported in the latest issue of the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Food and Nutrition Research Briefs and its Spanish-language edition (Informe de investigaciones de alimentos y nutrición).
View the English edition at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/np/fnrb/fnrb0112.htm
The popular online newsletter reports discoveries from researchers at ARS laboratories nationwide.
Among other findings, the current issue reports that:
• Newer broccoli varieties provide the same nutrient levels as heirloom varieties.
• Researchers are identifying ways to help identify breeding wheats that could make the best whole-grain cookie doughs.
• A cacao collecting trip may help save chocolate from witches' broom disease.
ARS Food and Nutrition Research Briefs is offered with color photos and illustrations on the Web. And by clicking the "subscribe" link on the newsletter's home page, readers can sign up for two e-mail options: They can receive the full text of the newsletter by e-mail, or simply an advisory that a new issue has been posted to the Web.
ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency.
The new USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is more sophisticated and accurate than any other previously developed. Click the image for link to zone map web site.
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today released the new version of its Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM), updating a useful tool for gardeners and researchers for the first time since 1990 with greater accuracy and detail. The new map—jointly developed by USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Oregon State University's (OSU) PRISM Climate Group—is available online at www.planthardiness.ars.usda.gov. ARS is the chief intramural scientific research agency of USDA.
For the first time, the new map offers a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based interactive format and is specifically designed to be Internet-friendly. The map website also incorporates a "find your zone by ZIP code" function. Static images of national, regional and state maps also have been included to ensure the map is readily accessible to those who lack broadband Internet access.
"This is the most sophisticated Plant Hardiness Zone Map yet for the United States," said Catherine Woteki, USDA Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics. "The increases in accuracy and detail that this map represents will be extremely useful for gardeners and researchers."
Plant hardiness zone designations represent the average annual extreme minimum temperatures at a given location during a particular time period. They do not reflect the coldest it has ever been or ever will be at a specific location, but simply the average lowest winter temperature for the location over a specified time. Low temperature during the winter is a crucial factor in the survival of plants at specific locations.
The new version of the map includes 13 zones, with the addition for the first time of zones 12 (50-60 degrees Fahrenheit) and 13 (60-70 degrees Fahrenheit). Each zone is a 10-degree Fahrenheit band, further divided into 5-degree Fahrenheit zones "A" and "B."
To help develop the new map, USDA and OSU requested that horticultural and climatic experts review the zones in their geographic area, and trial versions of the new map were revised based on their expert input.
Compared to the 1990 version, zone boundaries in this edition of the map have shifted in many areas. The new map is generally one 5-degree Fahrenheit half-zone warmer than the previous map throughout much of the United States. This is mostly a result of using temperature data from a longer and more recent time period; the new map uses data measured at weather stations during the 30-year period 1976-2005. In contrast, the 1990 map was based on temperature data from only a 13-year period of 1974-1986.
However, some of the changes in the zones are a result of new, more sophisticated methods for mapping zones between weather stations. These include algorithms that considered for the first time such factors as changes in elevation, nearness to large bodies of water, and position on the terrain, such as valley bottoms and ridge tops. Also, the new map used temperature data from many more stations than did the 1990 map. These advances greatly improved the accuracy and detail of the map, especially in mountainous regions of the western United States. In some cases, they resulted in changes to cooler, rather than warmer, zones.
While about 80 million American gardeners, as well as those who grow and breed plants, are the largest users of the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, many others need this hardiness zone information. For example, the USDA Risk Management Agency uses the USDA plant hardiness zone designations to set some crop insurance standards. Scientists use the plant hardiness zones as a data layer in many research models such as modeling the spread of exotic weeds and insects.
Although a poster-sized version of this map will not be available for purchase from the government as in the past, anyone may download the map free of charge from the Internet onto their personal computer and print copies of the map as needed.
As USDA's chief scientific research agency, ARS is leading America towards a better future through agricultural research and information. ARS conducts research to develop and transfer solutions to help answer agricultural questions that impact Americans every day. ARS research helps to:
Cattle that graze on rangelands in the western United States may soon have a new forage option, thanks to work by a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientist.
Research by geneticist Blair Waldron with USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Logan, Utah, suggests that forage kochia (Kochia prostrata) can provide more nutritious winter forage than traditional rangeland vegetation.
ARS is USDA's chief intramural scientific research agency, and this work supports the USDA priorities of responding to climate change and promoting international food security.
Waldron and his cooperators in Utah partnered to learn more about forage kochia, a shrubby Asian native plant that sometimes survives wildfires and other environmental challenges more successfully than North American native plants. Waldron works at the ARS Forage and Range Research Laboratory in Logan.
In a series of studies, the team found that forage kochia can be established on damaged rangelands, and that it can compete with cheatgrass successfully. It can even protect against wildfires.
Waldron and his research partners also investigated fall/winter rangeland forage yields, rangeland carrying capacities, nutritive values, and the livestock performance of cattle that spent the fall and winter grazing on either kochia-dominated rangelands or grass-dominated rangelands. The team stocked each site with predominately Black Angus cattle and ran field trials for two seasons.
They found that the forage yield on rangelands seeded with kochia was 2,309 pounds per acre, which was six times greater than the forage yield on traditional grazinglands. This difference meant that the rangelands with kochia could support 1.38 animals per acre, while the traditional rangelands could support only 0.24 animal per acre.
In addition, the experimental forage had a crude protein content of 11.7 percent, well above the recommended minimum, while the stockpiled grasses had a crude protein content of only 3.1 percent, which was below the recommended minimum.
Results from this research were published in Forage and Grazinglands, Journal of Extension, Small Ruminant Research, and elsewhere.
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are making sure that money spent on sustaining and repairing arid rangeland ecosystems is spent on programs that work.
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) researchers in Burns, Ore., have identified factors that limit the success of rangeland restoration projects. ARS is USDA's chief intramural scientific research agency, and this work supports the USDA priority of responding to global climate change.
After wildfires, public land managers on western U.S. rangelands often quickly reseed burned areas to provide watershed protection and control soil erosion. Although seeds planted in the fall on postfire rangelands usually emerge the following spring, their low establishment rates are often attributed to insufficient precipitation or competition with invasive grasses.
Plant physiologist Jeremy James and research leader Tony Svejcar, who both work at the ARS Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center in Burns, compared the success of postfire reseeding management on four sites in Oregon where wildfires had burned a total of 300,000 acres.
The scientists obtained an assortment of seeds for several rangeland species. Then they seeded study plots either with a rangeland drill—a common practice in reseeding postfire sites—or placed seed in the soil by hand so that burial depth could be tightly controlled. In addition, irrigation and weeding was applied to some plots so the relative importance of seed placement, annual precipitation and competition from weeds could be assessed.
The best seed establishment occurred in hand-seeded plots with around 14 plants per square meter. The drilled plots had establishment rates of only around four plants per square meter, and weeding or watering management had no effect on seed establishment rates. The researchers also observed that although the wildfires at the four study sites burned away all the sagebrush, other quick-growing native perennial herbs soon recovered, which suggests that some postfire landscapes might not need reseeding at all.
The scientists believe these findings indicate that small improvements in seeding technology could yield large increases in rangeland restoration success. Results from this work were published in 2010 in Rangeland Ecology & Management.
Soy-based baby formula nourishes millions of America's infants. Now, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-funded scientist Jin-Ran Chen is taking a close look at the effects that soy formula, cow's-milk formula, and mother's milk have on bone development in infants.
Very little is known about the short- and long-term effects of soy formula on bone health, according to Chen. A series of studies, conducted by Chen and his co-researchers, are helping to fill in the knowledge gap.
One early investigation provided a comprehensive comparison of bone formation in piglets that were fed either sow's milk or formulas based on either soy or cow's milk. The scientists chose pigs as the animal model because the pig digestive system is generally regarded as being closest to that of humans, Chen noted.
For this investigation, one of the most detailed of its kind, Chen's team used a range of leading-edge technologies to examine more than a half-dozen well-established indicators of bone quality and quantity (mass).
In general, the work suggests that soy-formula-fed piglets may have the best quality bone, and that soy may enhance bone formation by directly affecting the BMP2 (short for "bone morphogenesis protein") signaling pathway.
Signaling, or messaging, initiated by BMP2 is essential for building and reforming of bone. Though scientists have known of the existence of a BMP2 signaling pathway for several decades, details are still being uncovered. Chen's study was the first to spotlight soy's relative influence on initiating BMP2 signaling.
The findings, published in the Journal of Nutrition in 2009, have helped shape Chen's ongoing animal-model studies of the three feeding options.
Chen is lead scientist for the Skeletal Development Laboratory at the Arkansas Children's Nutrition Center in Little Rock. The Nutrition Center is a partnership of Arkansas Children's Hospital, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), USDA's chief intramural scientific research agency.
According to nutrition center director Thomas M. Badger, findings from the center's studies are improving the understanding of early nutrition choices, including breastfeeding, the option recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
