Farm land or pasture livestock 4 Quarter sections of farm land, all within 5 miles of each other. This land grows great Grain or Grass seed crops. It would also be suited to pasture livestock or grow hay crops. This would make a great addition to an existing farm or would be an incredible parcel of land to start farming with. There is also plenty of opportunity to do some great hunting in the area. Seller would like to sell all as one package but would consider splitting some of the quarters off. Do not be afraid to bring us your plans or wish list! More land is also available for purchase- all the quarters together can be found at MLS L121264.


The awards are the first example of EU-wide organic awards and are conceived as a follow-up to the
Action Plan for the development of organic production, adopted by the Commission on 25 March 2021. This Action Plan takes the approach that, in order to stimulate organic production, consumer demand for organic products should grow. This requires, amongst others, increased public awareness of the characteristics and benefits of organic production. For this purpose, the Action Plan includes the launching of annual awards recognising excellence in the organic value chain. These awards will be awarded for the first time in 2022.
The CoR adopted an opinion on the EU organic action plan in December 2021 which support the action plan.
The CoR was invited to participate in the official celebration of the first EU Organic Day, attended by Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski on 23 September 2021, and is a co-organiser of the
EU organic awards, with the responsibility of
The EU organic awards scheme comprises 7 categories and 8 awards. They acknowledge different actors along the organic value chain, that developed an excellent, innovative, sustainable and inspiring project producing real added value for organic production and consumption.
More information is to be found on the webpage
EU organic awards and on social media using #EUOrganic.
The submission of the application forms for the CoR awards will only be possible from 4 March 2024 till 12 May 2024, through the online application form available at Organic awards district, Organic awards region and Organic awards city.
The CoR is proud to announce the winners, by category, for the second
EU Organic Awards, co-organised with the European Commission and other partners to reward excellence along the European organic value chain. The winners of each category were announced on 25 September, during a special ceremony with EU commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski:
Best organic region
Best organic city
Best organic “bio-district"
- Idanha-a-Nova, Beira Baixa, Portugal
The EU organic awards was awarded for the first time on 23 September 2022!
The CoR is proud to announce the winners, by category, for the first ever EU Organic Awards, co-organised with the European Commission and other partners to reward excellence along the European organic value chain. The winners of each category were announced on 23 September, EU Organic Day, during a special ceremony with EU commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski:
- Best biodistrict: Biodistretto Cilento
- Best Organic Region: Occitanie
- Best Organic City: Seeham
Did you check the
Commission's website and the
Practical guide (FAQ) but still have questions or inquiries? Contact the CoR:
Commission for Natural Resources (NAT)


GrainCorp [ASX:GNC] shares were as high as 9% this morning following its FY22 earnings guidance update.
GNC shares traded as high as $9.46 per share — a new all-time high.
Over the last 12 months, GNC is up 70%.
GrainCorp updates earnings guidance
GrainCorp, the 100-year grain and edible oils business, saw its shares reach a record high on the back of a FY22 earnings guidance upgrade.
The upgrade comes just two months after GNC’s last earnings guidance, highlighting how quickly market conditions have changed.
GrainCorp attributed the improved market outlook to ‘significant ongoing global demand for Australian grain and oilseeds and favourable planting conditions for winter crops.’GNC now expects EBITDA to increase from $480–540 million to $590–670 million.NPAT is expected to rise from $235–280 million to $310–370 million.
These estimates are subject to variables like 2022 product trades, supply and production margins, next year’s crop outlook, and global conditions.
Despite recent weather-related supply chain disruptions, GrainCorp said it continues to operate its ports ‘at close to full capacity, exporting as much grain as possible to international markets.’
GNC forecasts to export 8.5mmt to 9.mmt in FY22. In FY21, GNC exported 7.9mmt.
Ukraine conflict disrupts grain trade
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has disturbed global agricultural markets.
Russia and Ukraine both make up about a third of global wheat imports, triggering supply concerns.
For instance, since the war began, global wheat futures prices rose 50% to a record high of US$13 a bushel but have since retraced to US$10 a bushel.
As the European Commission observed, the war in Ukraine has ‘created more uncertainty regarding the future availability of grains and oilseeds and has added a layer of instability to already tense markets.’
GrainCorp CEO Robert Spurway is noticing this, too:
‘The conflict in Ukraine and resulting trade disruptions in the Black Sea region have created uncertainty in global grain markets, with buyers looking for alternate sources of supply. This has further increased both the demand for Australian grain and oilseeds and export supply chain margins.’
GrainCorp share price outlook
The earnings guidance upgrade saw Morgan Stanley release a bullish note on the stock.
Morgan Stanley analyst Ella McAlister placed an ‘outperform’ recommendation on GNC, arguing:
‘In the context of global wheat trade distortions, we believe demand for Australian wheat will be elevated and expect GrainCorp to benefit from increased margins on export sales.’
Now, whether GNC is a good investment or not partly depends on how much one thinks the stock is worth.
But how do you come up with a fair valuation? What do you base it on?
If you’re interested in finding out how to approach valuing businesses, I suggest checking out our free report on just that.
Access our report here: ‘How to Find Bargain-Priced Superstars after a Big Sell-Off’.
For The Daily Reckoning Australia


Tomato - Beefsteak - Heirloom Seeds
The Beefsteak Tomato is an old-time favorite and the king of all slicing tomatoes! This variety produces large, juicy fruit of up to 2 pounds that are perfect for just about any dish. From being served raw in salads or sandwiches to stuffed tomatoes, this versatile vegetable is sure to please.
Name: Beefsteak Tomato
Botanical Name: Lycopersicon esculentum
Size: Up to 2 lbs
Days to Maturity: 85 Days
Sun / Shade: Sun
Hardiness Zones: All
PLANTING INSTRUCTIONS: Start indoors 3-4 weeks before the threat of the last frost is expected or direct sow seeds in well-drained soil in a sunny location after last frost is expected. Plant seeds ½" deep and space plants 24-36" apart depending on the variety that you are growing. Most tomato varieties also do well in containers and hanging baskets.
You accept credit cards, debit cards and Etsy gift cards and PayPal.
We ship within 3-5 business days and we use USPS First Class Mail. USPS is not always reliable so if you do not receive your order within 7-10 business days, please let us know and we will look into it.
Just contact me within: 3 days of delivery
Ship items back to me within: 7 days of delivery
Returns are accepted within 7 days of delivery. We do not do exchanges. Any items returned opened will be subject to a 50% restocking fee. Buyer pays return shipping.
We are open M-F from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST.
We answer all emails within 48-72 hrs as we are closed on the weekends.


The Farmers Produce Auction is a wholesale auction which runs seasonally throughout the spring, summer and fall. Sales in April-May and October are held on Tuesday’s and Wednesdays. June through September, Sales are on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Each day the auction floor is filled with fresh, locally grown produce that is auctioned off to the highest bidder. In the Spring the floor is filled with flowers of all kinds. Throughout the summer, the floor is flooded with wide varieties of produce. In the Fall, pumpkins, gourds, fall squash as well as local produce fill the entire auctiion floor. The sale provides a unique opportunity for buyers of all kinds to buy the freshest and highest quality produce, flowers, or fall decorations at one location at a wholesale price.
The Farmers Produce Auction serves as an agent for the farmer/grower selling their products. 95% of all produce and fall items are produced locally within miles of the Auction with most of our growers being Amish. Please feel free to come and view/visit/enjoy/and BUY from our local farm fresh Auction. Sale results are posted daily on our Market Report page.
For more information on the sale contact Jim Mullet (Sale Manager) at 330-763-0533 or Levi Kuhns (Order Buyer) at 330-231-7044. The Auction phone is 330-674-7661. Auctioneers: Orus Mast, Walter Zimmerman, Aden Yoder, Allen Mast & Arlen Yoder.


In Azerbaijan the vine-growing and the winemaking are closely connected to the culture. Grape-growing, and particularly winemaking, experienced an adventure fraught with pitfalls to reach its current position. Favorable soil and climate conditions of the region have enabled the spreading of the viticulture for thousands of years.
The beginning of the Azerbaijani viticulture dates back to the Tertiary period. The National Research Institute of Wine and Viticulture found data testifying the age of cultivation in both the tangible and the intangible heritages. The beginning of the Azerbaijani viticulture dates back to the Tertiary period.


The par 72 Coyote Creek course totals 6,344 yards of golf from the black tees. The course rating is 70.8 with a slope rating of 120. Opened in 1999, the Coyote Creek golf course was designed by Ted Locke.
Find the right time to visit Willows Run
Available from $25-$150
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The average golf course uses 312,000 gallons of water per day. The Environmental Institute for Golf recognizes reclaimed water as a valuable resource for irrigation as does Willows Run Golf Course.


Sustainable behaviors in agriculture: Modeling societal transitions from individual decision making
In the context of climate change, global increase in production as well as consumption of limited resources requires a transition to a more climate resilient, and resource efficient society. While research and development policy on transition toward sustainable behavior have focused primarily on communicating sustainable behavior and changing attitude to climate change, little is known about the decision making process leading to behavior change at the individual level or the collective impact this change may have on the socio-economic-environment at a larger spatial-temporal scale. Considering that agricultural production and consumption contributes largely to greenhouse gas emissions, and climate change is threatening food security, sustainable behavior in supply and demand parts of the agrifood system can be an important part of climate change mitigation. This research aims to model sustainable behavior adoption in agriculture from both supply-demand side and how changes from one side affect the other. Innovative integrated modeling combining both bottom-up agent-based modeling of individual behavior, top-down general equilibrium analysis, and participatory tools with role playing game are developed. The research closes the research gap in modeling supply-demand dynamics and a practical gap in policy intervention promoting adoption of sustainable behaviors.
- : Nga Nguyen, Alexey Voinov


The study conducted by Sheffield University’s Leverhulme Centre for Climate Change Mitigation, found that adding rock dust to farmland could remove the carbon dioxide equivalent of more than the current total emissions from global aviation and shipping combined.
The carbon dioxide produced by both industry’s is roughly equal to half of Europe’s current total emissions.
Published in weekly journal Nature, the study reveals how spreading finely crushed basalt, a natural volcanic rock, on fields can boost the soil’s ability to extract CO2 from the air.
The scientists have demonstrated the method’s potential for carbon drawdown by major economies, and identified the costs and engineering challenges of scaling up the approach to help meet ambitious global CO2 removal targets.
Led by experts at the University of Sheffield’s Leverhulme Centre for Climate Change Mitigation with Professor Steven Banwart from the University of Leeds as a principal author, the analysis captures some of the uncertainties in enhanced weathering CO2.
It has also helped to identify the additional areas of uncertainty that future work needs to address specifically through large-scale field trials.
Encouragingly, despite China, the United States and India emitting the highest level of CO2 fossil fuels, they also have the highest potential for CO2 drawdown using rock dust on croplands.
All three nations have a combined potential of approximately 1 billion tonnes of CO2 per year from the atmosphere, at a cost comparable to that of other proposed carbon dioxide removal strategies (US$80-180 per tonne of CO2).
Indonesia and Brazil, whose CO2 emissions are 10-20 times lower than the US and China, were also found to have relatively high CO2 removal potential due to their extensive agricultural lands, and climates accelerating the efficiency of rock weathering.
Professor Steven Banwart, a partner in the study and Director of the Global Food and Environment Institute at Leeds, said: “The practice of spreading crushed rock to improve soil pH is commonplace in many agricultural regions worldwide.
“The technology and infrastructure already exist to adapt these practices to utilise basalt rock dust. This offers a potentially rapid transition in agricultural practices to help capture CO2 at large scale.”
Meeting the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global heating to below 2 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels requires drastic cuts in emissions, as well as the active removal of between two and 10 billion tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere each year to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
This new research provides a detailed initial assessment of enhanced rock weathering, a large-scale CO2 removal strategy that could make a major contribution to this effort.
The scientists suggest that meeting the demand for rock dust to undertake large-scale CO2 drawdown might be achieved by using stockpiles of silicate rock dust left over from the mining industry, and are calling for governments to develop national inventories of these materials.
Calcium-rich silicate by-products of iron and steel manufacturing, as well as waste cement from construction and demolition, could also be processed and used in this way, improving the sustainability of these industries.
These materials are usually recycled as low value aggregate, stockpiled at production sites or disposed of in landfills.
China and India could supply the rock dust necessary for large-scale CO2 drawdown with their croplands using entirely recycled materials in the coming decades.
The technique would be straightforward to implement for farmers, who already tend to add agricultural lime to their soils. The researchers are calling for policy innovation that could support multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals using this technology.
Government incentives to encourage agricultural application of rock dust could improve soil and farm livelihoods, as well as reduce CO2, potentially benefiting the world’s 2.5 billion smallholders and reducing poverty and hunger.
Professor David Beerling, Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Climate Change Mitigation at the University of Sheffield and lead author of the study, said that the process is “straightforward” and offers a potential boost to “soil health and food production”.
“Carbon dioxide drawdown strategies that can scale up and are compatible with existing land uses are urgently required to combat climate change, alongside deep and sustained emissions cuts,” he said.
“Our analyses reveal the big emitting nations – China, the US, India – have the greatest potential to do this, emphasising their need to step up to the challenge. Large-scale Research Development and Demonstration programmes, similar to those being pioneered by our Leverhulme Centre, are needed to evaluate the efficacy of this technology in the field.”
Professor James Hansen, a partner in the study and Director of the Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions Program at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, said: “We have passed the safe level of greenhouse gases. Cutting fossil fuel emissions is crucial, but we must also extract atmospheric CO2 with safe, secure and scalable carbon dioxide removal strategies to bend the global CO2 curve and limit future climate change.
“The advantage of CO2 removal with crushed silicate rocks is that it could restore deteriorating top-soils, which underpin food security for billions of people, thereby incentivising deployment.”
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At the onset of fall, the three year old class began learning about different kinds of trees. While walking in the park, they collected leaves that we brought back to the classroom to identify.
As Halloween approached, we learned about pumpkins; we cut one open, identified its parts, and roasted its seeds for a crunchy snack! We were sure to set one seed aside to plant outside in the garden. Finally, each child enjoyed making a paper bisection view of a pumpkin to take home.
Now that we are approaching Thanksgiving, we will be talking about corn, apples, and potatoes in preparation for our in-class feast. Below are some pictures from last week's corn husking party! The students separated the husk and the silk from the ear of corn. We'll be using the husk and silk for another art project. After the ears were husked, the children took turns gently removing the kernels with either tweezers, or their fingers. We learned that the kernels are actually the seeds of the corn plant, so we planted a kernel and it's growing!


Produce, livestock and arts and crafts will be on full display at the St. Thomas-St. John Agriculture and Food Fair, scheduled for 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 5, and Sunday, Nov. 6, at the grounds of UVI’s Reichhold Center for the Arts on St. Thomas. The theme for this year’s fair is “Farm Today for a Healthier Tomorrow.”
The opening ceremony of the fair, scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5, is dedicated to the memory of Gene Emanuel, the University of the Virgin Islands long-time professor who died in July. Prof. Emanuel was a staunch supporter of agriculture and served as the fair’s master of ceremony for at least the past 10 years. During the ceremony, members of the Agriculture and Food Fair Planning Committee will make a check presentation to the Emanuel family to support the Gene Emanuel Scholarship at UVI. Gov. John P. deJongh, Jr., V.I. Department of Agriculture Commissioner Dr. Louis Petersen, Jr. and UVI President Dr. David Hall will all make remarks during the opening ceremony.
The UVI Cooperative Extension Service 4-H Program will conduct a food drive on both days. Attendees are encouraged to bring canned and dried food items to contribute to the food drive. The food collected will be donated to the Catholic Charities and Salvation Army.
The Agriculture Fair will have the usual delights of fresh produce, plants, arts and crafts, and food on sale. This year will feature a demonstration of the “Quick Tank” Aquaculture Systems, developed at UVI, that grow tilapia fish while producing plants. There will also be displays about container gardening. Composing workshops and tree grafting demonstrations are also planned. A livestock area will feature some of the territory’s prized and unique animals.
Entertainment will include music by DJ Ubba, Ah We Band, the Gladys A. Abraham School Cultural Choir and dancing by the St. Thomas Heritage Dancers. Children’s games will be held daily from 12:30 to 5 p.m.
Entrance fees are $3 for adults and $1 for children under 12 years.
The St. Thomas-St. John Agriculture and Food Fair is sponsored by the University of the Virgin Islands Cooperative Extension Service and the V.I. Department of Agriculture, with support from Fintrac.


CSA collaborated with the United Disabled Persons of Laikipia (UDPL), to develop solutions for value-chain promotion for honey production for communities around Chesoi Forest station.
The current conventional methods of honey processing in the rural areas using firewood is both wood fuel wasting and contributes to pollution to the extent of compromising the quality of honey being processed. Honey is hygroscopic and will easily incorporate smoke into its volume.
The solution proposed by CSA has led to development of a honey processing innovation that utilizes solar energy. This innovation aims to address the following:
- Significantly reduce deforestation by replacing use of firewood with solar energy for sustainable honey processing
- Contribute to conservation of trees and forests to ensure uninterrupted flow of ecological services such as carbon sequestration
- Greatly improve the quality of honey through a smoke free process of purification
- Spurr entrepreneurship in honey production especially for marginalized groups of beekeepers including persons living with disability (PWD)
Further, this new found working relationship is directed towards building capacity of bee keepers in the establishment of viable enterprises in honey production that will translate into increased incomes and improved livelihoods.
Our partnership venture has already received invitation for capacity building to the honey and candle-making project run by Kileleoni Mara Widows and Children Rescue Centre in Narok County.
For more information, contact firstname.lastname@example.org


CHURCHVILLE, VAâ€”Long-term field tests by a Swiss organic farming institute, as reported in Science on May 31, confirm that organic crops yield little more than half as much per acre as conventional farmersâ€™ fields.
The Research Institute of Organic Agriculture in Frick, Switzerland said its organic yields were â€œonlyâ€ 20 percent lower than the conventional yields in its comparison test plots, and used less energy while producing â€œhealthier soils.â€
However, the wheat yields in the Swiss organic tests averaged only 4 tons per hectare. The Swiss government says its national wheat average is 6 to 7 tons per hectare. The organic instituteâ€™s potatoes yielded only about 3 tons per hectare, compared to a Swiss national average that generally exceeds 4 tons per hectare.
Dr. Anthony Trevawas, a respected expert on European agriculture from the University of Edinburgh, noted that the Swiss organic institute has the level, high-quality soils typical of Swiss valleys, which should have supported much higher yields.
Dr. Trevawas said, â€œOrganic farmers choose varieties carefully to minimize their severe pest problems, but such varieties usually have reduced yields. If the Swiss organic tests used the same varieties for their conventional plotsâ€”or simply didnâ€™t select the top-yielding conventional varietiesâ€”this variety bias would make organic yields look better by comparison; but only for the purpose of the test. The poor yields achieved by the Swiss organic plots mean that organic farming in the real world could not feed our expected peak population without plowing down huge tracts of wildlife habitat.â€
Dr. Trevawas said that, in Britain, both the recent Boarded Barns study and the Cooperative Wholesale Society report organic wheat yields about half as high as conventional ones.
He also noted that Englandâ€™s Rothamsted experiment station has produced winter wheat continuously on some of the same test plots for 158 years. Some plots have received mineral-only fertilizer, some manure only. The two sets of plots have had identical yields, and currently produce about 9 tons per hectareâ€”more than double the newly announced Swiss organic yields. This conflicts with the organic claim that mineral fertilizers reduce the long-term productivity of soils. Moreover, the heavy used of manure on Rothamstedâ€™s organic plots have unfortunately caused the greatest nitrate pollution of waterways.
Dr. Paul Mader, the lead researcher in the Swiss organic test, said his organic test plots were home to a larger and more diverse community of soil organisms, with more microbes, more root-colonizing fungi and more earthworms than the conventional test plots. However, the Swiss test did not include conservation tillage, the newest and most rapidly spreading form of high-yield farming. In conservation tillage, the soil is not plowed. Instead,
herbicides are used to control weeds.
Dr. Mader said, â€œThere are investigations that no-till [the most complete form of conservation tillage] in conventional [fields] shows better soil structure than plowed soils. Organic farmers still use the plow. However plowing is restricted to certain cropsâ€”in our experiment, three times in seven years.â€
Conventional farmers are using conservation tillage on hundreds of millions of hectares in North America, South America, and Asia because it reduces soil erosion by up to 90 percent with no yield sacrifice.
Dr. Trevawas says no-till farming uses one-third as much fuel per ton of production as organic farming, because it eliminates the heavy fuel consumption in plowing. He noted that replacing the industrial nitrogen currently taken from the atmosphere (to comply with organic farmingâ€™s mandate for organic-only fertilizers) would require feeding another 7â€“8 billion cows and clearing billions of hectares of forest to grow more cattle feed.
Dr. Trevawas also warns that the potato disease problems in the Swiss tests may become chronic and contagious. â€œTwo papers in recent scientific journals reported that organic farms can act as repositories of disease, and this paper would seem to confirm this possibility. Copper sulphate, which organic farmers have used up to now to deal with their potato disease problem, has recently been banned throughout the European Union because it is highly toxic to humans, and persistent.â€
The organic farming communityâ€™s current focus on higher yields should be applauded. In the past they were pleased just to produce a harvest. But the world is already farming 37 percent of its land area, while the human population is still rising, and demanding better diets. The Swiss study leaves two critical questions: Can organic farmers triple their yields to help save wildlands? And how?
DENNIS T. AVERY is a senior fellow for Hudson Institute of Indianapolis and the Director of the Center for Global Food Issues. He was formerly a senior policy analyst for the U.S. Department of State. Readers may write him at Post Office Box 202, Churchville, VA 24421
This article was published by Knight Ridder Tribune
Dennis T. Avery is based in Churchville, Va., and is director of global food issues for the Hudson Institute of Indianapolis.


Our plant doctors Radko Tichavshy, Mark Moodie and Pawan Singhania weigh in on your plant problems.
Radko TIchavsky Mark Moodie Pawan Singhania
Radko Tichavsky is a Czech born Mexican Agrohomeopath. He is a co-founder and director of Instituto Comenius in Mexico and author of Handbook of Agrohomeopathy, 2007 (Spanish) and Homeopathy for Plants, 2009 (Spanish) and creator and teacher of Holohomeopathy. http://icomenius.edu.mx/index1034.php?lang=esp El 04/12/2014, a las 15:36, Radko Tichavsky email@example.com
Mark Moodie hosts the website Considera which provides a growing M.M and Repertory for plants and discusses resources for biodynamics and Agrohomeopathy http://considera.org/hrxmatmed.html The website allows the world community to contribute their experiences in planting.
Radko Tichavskyi is now offering a one semester virtual course in Agrohomeopathy (in English). You can learn how to define and analyze holons and how to repertorize the specific homeopathic treatment beyond just disease or pest names. You can find out more here: www.icomenius.edu.mx
Mark Moodie hosts the website Considera which provides a growing M.M and Repertory for plants and discusses resources for biodynamics and Agrohomeopathy http://considera.org/hrxmatmed.html The website allows the world community to contribute their experiences in planting.[hr]
Dear Radko Tichavshy, Mark Moodie and Pawan Singhania,
The oak woodlands in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains are overrun with mistletoe. And probably related, the Oak trees are very weak and growth is stunted. They don’t put on much shoot growth in the spring. The drought is not helping but not causative. The problems were there before. I worked with Dr Lee Klinger and provided alkalization and trace minerals to several oaks which helped greatly but the scale of the problem is overwhelming. Thousands of square miles are affected.
The particular area that I was living in was at 2900 feet, in a transition climate between pines and oaks, but the problem is also down at lower elevations in the drier oak woodlands, and higher up where the moss tends to cover the trees.
Is there any homeopathic approach that you can recommend? Also, how do you apply remedies on a large scale in agrohomeopathy without proving the remedies on yourself? Discussing your methods would be helpful.
Radko Tichavsky: Dear Roger, the problem of the mistletoe infestation has to do directly with the imbalance and deforestation in the middle and lower strata of the forest. The birds when they don’t find food in the lower strata (plants) and medium strata (bushes) of the forest, climb to the treetops where lie the seeds of mistletoe; some of them are ingested and evacuated and others stick on their plumage and so move and spread, infecting other trees en masse. Mechanical removal of mistletoe or alcalinization method will have limited results, while the revitalization and repopulation of the lower strata by native plants and bushes with edible seeds for birds will not be made. Seeds of plants at lower strata and seeds of bushes at medium strata serve as food for the birds and keep them busy at these two levels and in this way the treetops are free and are not re-infested by mistletoe seeds.
You can apply sprayed, the soil nosode 6 CH (made with representative soil sample taken at different locations) with the aim of revitalizing the holon. The homeopathic application can be sprinkled on large scale by helicopter or plane from the air. As a treatment of infected trees with mistletoe (Phoradendron spp.) we use Tilandsia usneoides 6 CH and we also have experimented with a “live nosode” (dynamisations are realized in water without alcohol) of Tilandsia recurvata. The mistletoe is relatively sensitive to the application of fungi eg. Cladosporium spp. The fungus Cladosporium (contained in this two mentioned Tillandsias) dry mistletoe leaves and mummify them on the tree without affecting the branches.
First to analyze your situation
- Zone which is dry. (Possibly dry cold)
- Zone which is, expectedly, more colder and wetter (wet cold) with Pine forest
3 The ground is covered with mistletoe (acting more as a weed – but is also as ground cover). (I wonder if mistletoe is standing as a problem or is useful – as ground cover?)
- In transition zone, with Pine and Oak trees. (two kinds of weather!)
- The main problem is “very weak and stunted growth”.
I feel each zone and each problem requires separate treatment.
I wonder, if you have the possibilities of making a small experiment and can make careful observation. Considering that you can, I have the following suggestions. But, I also have a request. This is a very interesting case. I would suggest that if you can undertake serious study of it and if you happen to follow my recommendations, you will share your observations in these pages for future learning. I also expect your close and continuous cooperation, as there may or may not be need of repetition of doses (at appropriate time/s), or need of single or change of remedies, depending upon the developments or no development. My advice is based on classical homeopathy.
I would like to address the problems using preparations from two sciences, Homeopathy and Biodynamic Agriculture.
First, if possible, I would suggest dividing the zones (as for experiment) into mainly 4 zones out of which one should be as CONTROL. No treatment – serving as mark for comparison.
- BD 501 (silica preparation) @ 1 gm. per acre. You need to procure BD 501 preparation from any Biodynamic Agriculture Association or BD farmer.
You need to use 1 gm in 13 liters of water, stirred (rhythmically clockwise and anti-clockwise) for one hour and need to spray skyward. This needs to be sprayed on the day when the moon is in Air/Light sign. or when the Moon is in Opposition to Saturn. (Please refer to the current Biodynamic Calendar for the dates) This is required to be applied, early in the morning, before sunrise. I would suggest two to three doses only. (Please calculate the quantities required for covering the area considering the size of container you can afford for stirring the solution and the size of the spraying tank)
Besides, I would also like to enliven the soil with BD 500 and bring in the Calcium influence using BD505 (the oak tree preparation). The use of BD500 followed by BD501 will establish balancing of the forces and BD505 the calcium influence (homeopathically). Although BD505 is usually used as one of the compost preparations, I suggest using it as spray on the Oak trees. BD 501 is expected to initiate the growth.
- May be you can have two zones. In one you, use only the BD501 but in another equal size zone, all the three BD500 + BD505 (mixed together and applied to the soil and the trees) followed by BD501 (sprayed skyward and allowing the fine mist to fall on the trees). This combination should be more apt, especially for the Dry Cold region, where the soil supposedly should be low in organic matter and poor in soil life activity (also due to draught).
- As for Homeopathy (remedy) only zone, I would advise using Medorrhinum 30 (125ml in 500 liters water per hectare as advised by Vaikunthanath Das Kaviraj) and spraying directly over each tree. Wait and watch for at least a month, if not for two months. If required, another dose (at appropriate time – to be discussed before application) to be given. Maybe we will require to change the potency then.
It is important that the homeopathy remedy should be stirred, at least for 15 minutes, before administering.
- Mistletoe if seems to be a problem in itself, please try to using Viscum album 3x (125m/500 liters/hectare). Repeat once every 7-15 days. Closely watch the results, if it is benefited or dying.
You may require big size tankers and some mechanism to stir the solutions (which is very important). You may use high density Sprayers or even Airplanes to spray in large areas. Please add upon the quantities, depending upon the size you can handle.
None of the above are harmful to humans, but especially while using Medorrhinum, you may use some kind of protective gears (though, not essential), so need to worry about provings.
Dear Plant Doctors,
Hi, I live in Thailand and I have a lime tree with these diseases: citrus greening, (also known as Huanglongbing or HLB); citrus canker (Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri), and Asian Citrus Psyllid.
Symptoms: I see curly leaves, deadened blackened branch shoot tips; citrus canker spots all over the leaves and stems; yellow halos around the canker; excessive branching of the tree; stunted growth of tree; greening effect from a bacteria, grayish irregular paterns on the lime fruit itself; limes drop off to the ground. I just found this: http://homeguides.sfgate.com/citrus-canker-symptoms-44438.html


Green and Growing!
Our Community Garden is off to a great start, thanks to many of you – Stacy Bossi, Helen Sue Morgan, Janet Lane, Jean Herron, Sharleen Gonzalez, Marge Sadowski, Larry Blondin, Carrie Pilarski, St. Joseph’s Guild, John Beach, our fantastic maintenance crew, and the 5th/6th graders, who did a lot of the grunt work!
Growing season is in full swing and we are looking for help watering the garden and the flower beds around the church and grounds. Watering will take one to two hours and needs to be done two times per week (Monday or Tuesday and again on Thursday or Friday). If you and your family or group would like to commit to one week of tending the Community Garden and flower beds, please click here to sign up!


The cultivation farms are mainly located in Hainan province. Hainan province is in the extreme south of China. The difference in temperature between the summer and the winter is small. The average temperature is high. The sunshine hour is 1780-2600 hours per year. The solar radiation is 4500-5800 megajoule per square meter. The annual precipitation is 1500-2500mm. The weather in Hainan province is very fit for the cultivation of spirulina and chlorella.


Vanbandhu Sankari Yojana Is By The Government of Gujarat has undertaken various programs for the development of Scheduled Tribes. The State Government has set long term development goals for the Scheduled Tribes. Department Support Agency of Gujarat operates under the Department of Tribal Development. Many loan schemes have also been issued by the Tribal Department. Such as Beauty Parlour Scheme, Tractor Loan Scheme, Laptop Assistance Scheme etc. In addition, this department has released various schemes for farmers in the year 2022-23, the Agricultural Diversification Scheme.The scheme covers distribution of maize, vegetable seeds as well as fertilizer kits. Through this article we will get detailed information about Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana Gujarat Online Apply.
DSAG Sahay Gujarat performs the functions of the Tribal Development Department. In which development of Scheduled Tribes, working on issues related to caste, prevention of atrocities against them etc. work. In addition, the Integrated Tribal Development Sponsorship (IIDP) oversees area development and the Tribal Sub Plan (TSP). In addition, online forms of Vanbandhu welfare schemes are filled from the portal. Agricultural diversification program is run under Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana.
Announcement has been issued for Agricultural Diversification Scheme 2022-23 under Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana. In which the Ismos of the tribe are given the benefit of different schemes. Which are as follows.
Tribal farmers will get free access to maize vegetable seeds and fertilizer.
Under this scheme 1 bag of 50 kg DAP fertilizer and 1 bag of 50 kg prom fertilizer kit will be available.
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|Tribal Development Department||Click Here|
|Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana Gujarat Online Apply Links||Click Here|
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At a glance
There’s a growing hunger for Australia’s organically grown produce. Two in every three Australian households report having bought organic products in the past year, contributing to a domestic consumer market predicted to be worth A$2 billion by 2018. If you are a millennial, or you have young children, the likelihood that some of your grocery budget has gone to organics is even higher.
Worldwide, the market for organics in 2015 was worth US$81.6 billion – a fourfold increase from 2000, according to the Australian Organic Market Report 2017. The US is far and away the biggest market, accounting for 44 per cent of organic food and beverages sold. However, individually, the biggest consumers of organics are shoppers in Denmark, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Sweden. Figures from Euromonitor reveal that in 2016, the Danes were the world’s biggest spenders on organics, handing across US$107.10 per person.
Australians are, per capita, the world’s 16th highest spenders on organic products, averaging US$20.40 (A$26) a year per person. The most common organic items in our shopping bags are fruit and vegetables, but increasingly we’re choosing organic eggs (sales in Australia are up 10 per cent in two years) as well as dairy products, red meat and poultry (all up 6 per cent).
While better health is the number-one reason people give for switching to organic products, the science is out on whether going organic makes any difference.
In 2012 a group of researchers from Stanford University in the US carried out what they said was the most comprehensive meta-analysis to date of existing studies comparing organic and non-organic foods. After sifting through thousands of papers, they found little evidence organic food was more nutritious or less risky for health, although it did reduce exposure to pesticides. They did note, however, that all of us would benefit from eating more fresh fruit and vegetables, organic or not.
Organic growth in Australia
The growing consumer consciousness around health and wellbeing, as well as increasing demand from China for Australia’s clean produce, signals “blue skies ahead” for Australia’s organic industry, says Dr Andrew Monk, chairman of Australian Organic Limited.
While organic sales currently make up only about 1 per cent of Australia’s national food and beverage total, Monk believes that will grow to 3 to 5 per cent in the next five to 10 years, closer to the rates now found in the US and Europe.
“As a consumer it is easier than ever to choose organic,” says Monk. “I can get quality organic wines at Dan Murphy’s, and organic yoghurt, mince, butter and even organic chocolates in the supermarkets.”
Organics are now the US’s fastest-growing retail food sector, according to the Organics Trade Association’s 2016 Organic Industry Survey. Europe’s Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) says the European market grew 13 per cent between 2014 and 2015, the first double-digit expansion of the industry since the global financial crisis.
“It is market driven and [Australia is] about five to 10 years behind the US and Europe,” says Monk. “But we don’t want it to grow too fast or it overheats. It is organic growth and we have a massive opportunity here that is very much unharnessed.”
Double-digit increase in organic exports
Australia’s organic exports increased to all continents in 2016, growing 17 per cent from the previous year, states the Australian Organic Market Report 2017. About one third of exports went to the East Asia market – China, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore – and another third landed in North America. The top seller was organic beef, but organic fruit and vegetables, dairy and wine were also heavy hitters.
China’s widely reported issues with pollution and some recent breaches of food safety standards – such as the tainted baby formula scandal in 2008, which killed six babies and made many more infants ill – has made it a key market. Cross-border e-commerce sites – such as www.jd.com and www.kaola.com – have given international suppliers, such as organic infant formula and baby food maker Bubs Australia, access to a large and enthusiastic Chinese audience.
Since listing on the Australian Securities Exchange on 3 January 2017, Bubs has more than doubled its share price. CEO Nicholas Simms says organics have a much higher share of the baby food sector than other categories. Globally, organic products are lucky to secure 4 to 5 per cent of their market, but organic baby food holds more than 20 per cent, he says.
Significant trade deals in the past few months have helped Bubs expand further into the Chinese market and bolstered its share-market value.
For close to 40 years, China has enforced a one-child policy and, although that has recently been relaxed, Simms says middle-class Chinese parents are willing to pay a premium when it comes to their children.
“Parents in China are seeking the best quality products for their children,” he says. “There are inherent concerns with locally sourced products and their authenticity. Australia has some of the highest food safety standards in the world and that is recognised by the Chinese.”
Yet the China market is not always so kind. On 2 December 2016, organic infant formula maker Bellamy’s Australia saw its share value plummet 43.5 per cent to A$6.35 in a little over an hour. The drop came after it warned that Chinese import rule changes for 2018, relating to the fresh registration of foreign vendors to guarantee the safety of food products, had seen other formula makers dump their products in China before the registration deadline. Bellamy’s had to drop its own prices as a result.
Bellamy’s hit another roadblock in July 2017, when its newly acquired Camperdown Powder canning facility in Melbourne’s Braeside had its Chinese export licence suspended by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People’s Republic of China (CNCA). The regulator had acted on a third-party complaint about quality and record-keeping.
The China market supplies a third of Bellamy’s revenue, according to its February 2017 half-yearly earnings update. Trading in Bellamy’s shares was suspended for two weeks, although the company was still processing infant formula at China-approved plants run by Fonterra and by Bega. After the export licence was reinstated in early August, Bellamy’s shares recovered.
Keeping up with the demand for organics
The demand for organics is certainly strong, but what about supply? At last count, Australia had close to 2100 certified organic producers, more than 1100 processors and more than 500 certified handlers.
As a country that holds more than half the world’s certified organic farmland – 27 million of the 51 million organic hectares planted globally – Australia is well placed to take a bigger bite of the global organic cherry.
International industry consultant Marg Will, CEO of Organic Systems and Solutions, says Australia has several key advantages: its diverse landscape allows a wide variety of products to be grown; it has good shipping routes to Asia; and it brought in the first organics standards in the world 20 years ago, which gives its organic producers a long-term advantage.
Australia can be proud of its excellent regulatory oversight. This ensures a certified organic product is what it says it is: free from synthetic fertilisers and pesticides, not genetically modified, free from added hormones or antibiotics, and independently audited.
What organic producers in other countries most envy, she says, is the support given at industry and government level through research and development programs, and organisations such as Austrade, and Meat and Livestock Australia.
She fears plans to remove the requirement for government-approved certification that currently accompanies all of our exports will impact market confidence.
“Many of our competitors, including the US, don’t have that extra layer of verification,” she says. “It is of great concern that the Department of Agriculture wants to pull out because they don’t see it as a food safety issue; we’d like to see it housed in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.”
Riding the wellness wave
Will believes the organic movement was first driven by a growth in cancer diagnoses and an awareness of food as medicine in the 1970s and 1980s. The latest demand springs from what she calls a second wellness wave, with a focus on health and fitness, concerns about big corporations screwing down farmers’ returns, and a growing desire to leave a lighter footprint on the planet.
She doesn’t believe supply is likely to ever catch up with demand but acknowledges converting to organic practices has appeal for many farmers.
“It is the one industry that makes [farmers] a price maker, not a price taker,” says Will. “Yes, it is a robust system with additional paperwork but I think we need it. It gives us market access, and it gives our customers assurance in a very unsure world.”
Is organic farming the future?
Since University of Michigan professor Catherine Badgley suggested 10 years ago that organic farming methods could make a difference in the fight against world poverty, the issue has been fiercely debated.
Agricultural industry consultant Steve Savage, writing in The Wall Street Journal in 2015, referred to National Agricultural Statistics Service data for 2011 that showed for organic farming to match conventional farming’s production of 14 staple food crops in the US, another 6 million hectares (14.5 million acres) – “roughly equal to all of the farmland in Indiana” – would have to be put to the plough.
Back in 2002, plant breeder Norman Borlaug, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for increasing crop yields and the world’s food supply, declared: “We aren’t going to feed six billion people with organic fertiliser. If we tried to do it, we would level most of our forest and many of those lands would be productive only for a short period of time.”
Sceptics say organic farming’s strict rules limit innovation; for example, its bans on genetically modified crops mean that organic farmers can only selectively breed plants for pest resistance and higher yields – a much slower process than gene splicing.
However, Badgley and others who support the case for organic agriculture say it’s not so much about the yields as wastage.
Writing in the same Wall Street Journal edition as Savage, Badgley said agriculture already produces enough food for nine billion people; we just don’t use it wisely.
“Only 43 per cent of the cereal grains grown worldwide becomes food for people; 35 per cent becomes livestock feed and 10 per cent goes to biofuels, high-fructose corn syrup and other processed products,” she said. “One-third of food produced for human consumption … is wasted.”
Five years ago, Jenny and Leo Watling opened their Apples and Sage Organics Wholefoods store in the Melbourne suburb of Balwyn.
The couple had been eating organic for more than 20 years, and knew how difficult it could be to obtain organic foods.
Experienced in retail, they did their homework, created a clear and detailed business strategy, and set about opening the doors of one of the biggest organic stores in Australia.
Demand for products, however, is greater than they can supply. “There is a lot of innovation from the suppliers and a lot of new suppliers with start-up companies,” says Leo. “But there’s still not enough. I will always need more stock.”
Apples and Sage offers more than 5000 organic products, from grocery items, fruit and vegetables, meat and dairy foods to ready-made meals, wine and beer, and cleaning products. Fermented kombucha and kimchi are in hot demand, adds Leo.
“We notice our customers don’t buy a massive basket once a week; they might buy four times a week,” he says. “They cook what they buy – it keeps it fresh. Organic food doesn’t have preservatives.”
Everything inside Apples and Sage is individually certified, and the store itself is certified. Several times a year, the business is inspected. Certifiers check the invoices, check the farms the products come from, and do a stocktake to check the stock matches the quantities on the invoices.
Leo doesn’t bemoan the paperwork. “Australia has very strong standards, which is fantastic,” he says.
Apples and Sage has three core groups of customers. There are those who are wedded to eating certified organic produce all the time, are worried about the planet’s health and they want to support local farming.
Millennials are also strong supporters of the business. They express concern about climate change and are into personal health. They ask about what they are buying and want to know how items are sourced.
The third group “pop in and out of organics”. They are selective in what they buy, perhaps leaving the organic toilet paper on the shelf but adding organic vegetables to their basket.
Leo would like changes to labelling laws so the word organic can only be used on products certified as meeting Australia’s National Standard for Organic and Bio-Dynamic Produce.
“We knew that internationally organics was one of the biggest retail growth areas … it will continue to grow because of the environmental movement and the younger age group questioning everything,” says Leo.


Molecular Plant Breeding
by Yunbi Xu
Recent advances in plant genomics and molecular biology have revolutionized our understanding of plant genetics, providing new opportunities for more efficient and controllable plant breeding. Successful techniques require a solid understanding of the underlying molecular biology as well as experience in applied plant breeding. Bridging the gap between developments in biotechnology and its applications in plant improvement, Molecular Plant Breeding provides an integrative overview of issues from basic theories to their applications to crop improvement including molecular marker technology, gene mapping, genetic transformation, quantitative genetics, and breeding methodology.
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Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Spring, spring, spring!! We are loving the warmer temperatures... well we were anyway. I will be happy to embrace the steady warm winds when ever they decided to stick around long enough.
Since we have started a spring theme at home and are reading about gardens, rain, flowers, and all of those fun things we have really been getting in to the mood. But, today we really found ourselves inspired,
We read a library book today called "The Gardner." It is a beautiful story with brilliant illustrations. I won't ruin the story for you, but I will tell you it made me want to plant seeds now!
So, after Gracie's "nap time" we went to the store and got seeds and potting soil. We pulled out all of our planters, and even made some new ones out of creative things around the house. We cleaned up the deck and when the warm weather gets even warmer, we should have a patio garden of our very own.
I can't wait to watch our seedlings grow with Gracie and see all of the brilliant colors come alive.
I love spring time!


Located in Bradford, ME – raw land, ready for new adventures. The full acreage is being offered as a whole or broken up as three separate properties as allowed by the agricultural easement. Each location has the opportunity for abuilding envelope, which will allow for the new owners to build a house along with barns/out buildings for agricultural use. This land has been in agricultural production for decades and the owner has worked hard to build up the soil health and leave the property better than he found it. All parcels offer beautiful open fields, productive wood lots, and adequate road frontage. Each property has been in a high fertility program, adding manure each year.
This property is protected with an Agricultural Conservation Easement and held by Maine Farmland Trust and can be reviewed at any time. For more specific easement details and questions, please contact the Land Steward for MFT, Garrett Linck at firstname.lastname@example.org.
Full acreage (all parcels purchased together):
Farm 1 –Smith Road
131.75 acres;large portion is wooded, but would grow most anything. High land, well drained. Has been growing alfalfa for 7 years.
Farm 2 –Middle Road (multiple parcels, separated; in close proximity)
Previously used for Alfalfa and corn. Good use would be for critters.
Farm 3 –Reeves Road (two separate parcels on either side of Reeves road)
Good, harvestable wood on this lot, along with nice open fields. Ample open fields to grow just about anything. One field is a bit wet, but still ample growing acreage.
Maine FarmLink is a place for farmland owners to post listings about their available farmland in Maine, and for farm seekers to post a profile about their farming interests. Anyone can browse the property listings on FarmLink, but you must register to create a listing or profile, and to contact farmland owners or farm seekers. Our coordinator can help you list your property on the site and connect you with technical assistance and resources to support you through buying, selling, or leasing land.
Are you a farmer looking for farmland?
We help Farmland Owners connect with farmers interested in leasing or purchasing land, or other tenure opportunities. Create a listing for your farm and find a farmer for your farmland.
Are you looking for a farmer to lease, buy, or grow on your land?
Meet our current Farm Seekers.


Yesterday was the time to start some of my many seedlings.
The more you start, the more likely you will get some strong plants for the garden. I wanted to start some herbs yesterday, along with my pumpkins, some sunflowers, and corn.
It’s so exciting to start the seeds and know you how much money you will save on veggies and what not over the summer.
Each plant is treated differently, some love direct sun while others couldn’t withstand such a lifestyle.
Oh and while planting, I of course enjoyed some tea.


Mozambique is one of the “least developed countries” in the world according to EuropeAid. One of the main challenges facing farmers is a lack of money to survive from one crop cycle to the next. Many meet this challenge by selling too much of their crop leaving them without enough seeds to adequately prepare for the following season. This problem is exacerbated by out-dated methods of crop-storage.
A two-year project co-funded by EuropeAid with €1.3 million in the provinces of Cabo Delgado and Nampula has focused on “better access to quality seeds, increased yield of seeds and food crops and reduced storage losses for farmers.”
Caura, a community development worker, says: “Now we use a variety of maize seeds that are produced in a shorter period and in bigger quantities. The project helped us choose the right land and sowing period, which increased our production yield and with the silos we can better store what we produce.”
In all 38,000 rural farming families have been affected with 150 farming councils trained in trained on “post-harvest technologies, quality seed production and seed bank management”. All of this works towards increasing food security in the region.
Much of the work focuses on marrying local skills with modern technology. So the improved storage silos are built with local materials but incorporate the use of repellants to decrease insect damage.
District Technician Mamudo Ibraimo says: “The project has a big positive side to it because it supports methods that can easily be adapted at local level. The project has improved the food security situation and increased incomes for rural families.”
Maize occupies nearly half the land used for annual crops in Mozambique but its average maize yields are less than 1 ton per hectare according to the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). Since 1995, CIMMYT has worked with Mozambique’s National Institute of Agronomic Research (IIAM) to improve yields by developing improved maize varieties and hybrids.
Luki Biosphere Reserve. Supported by the Simon Cumbers Media Fund, photojournalist Lar Boland documented the harvest of medicinal plants to create a new business opportunity in DRC.
A worker operating a blister pack machine in one of only two pharmaceutical plants in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Workers stripping Moringo leaves at the center where the plants are transported after harvest. They will be processed (dried, ground and extracted), conditioned (packaged, labeled) and stored there.
A range of plant extract for medicinal use
A worker operating a machine in the final stages of producing medicinal tablets.
Tablets in storage.
It has been reported that the ethanolic extract of this herbaceous plant contains flavonoids, saponins, glycosides and tannins (kindayohan/celosia) of potential medicinal value.
Four Ecopreneurs in discussion with Anna Samake, Portfolio Manager with philanthropic group Lundin Foundation.
Support for the Ecopreneur programme has come from local chiefs of the Luki Biosphere Reserve region of DRCongo
Luki Biosphere Reserve is unfortunately in the process of a long term collapse from a species rich haven into a degraded landscape.
A typical village in the Luki Biosphere Reserve of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Normally grown for their beautiful flowering, some Heliconia are grown for their roots and seeds for potential medicinal use.
National Botanical Gardens in DRCongo (Jardin Botanoque de Kinshasa).
Luki Biosphere Reserve, DRC.
Women return from a day foraging in the forest. The Congo Basin provides food, water and shelter to 75m people and 150 distinct ethnic groups.


Do you own, lease or rent a suburban home? Does it have a backyard? If so, then you can easily forge for yourself and family a greener existance, a healthier way of life than has been available to most of us in the industrialized world during this last century.
This may sound like a significant change, but there's really no need for drastic action. Relax. You can keep your front yard and rose bushes. Really. There's no need to plow them up to form neighborhood crop cooperatives. No need to break up residential roads to provide grazing land for the goats. Not yet, anyway.
But, with a little bit of initial work and minimal upkeep, you can turn half, or even a quarter, of a standard tract house's back yard into a miniature self-sustaining organic farm. It will keep your family in fresh, healthy produce that is free of unnatural preservatives and pesticides and tastes better than anything you'll find in the stores.
And, in case it matters to you, this is produce that didn't have to be trucked in from farmlands so distant that it cost hundreds of gallons of fossil fuels to reach you. On second thought, maybe backyard gardening is drastic action. Viva la Revolución!
One of the easiest and most productive ways of utilizing every inch of your land is through Square Foot Gardening. Read on...


The Front Steps are juniper steps leading to the front yard and Wildflower Meadow.
Before the steps there was an eroded path down the hill. It was a logical path down the hill but very slippery and under constant danger of more erosion. Andrew took the path frequently while working in the front yard but it needed improvement.
Andrew organized a work party the weekend of January 7th, 2023. Grant, Nate, and Ben came out from Austin to join him.
We started by clearing the large rocks from the path. These were placed on a hill next to the trail. We originally planned to use these to hold the juniper branch steps in place but they looked so nice on the hill we decided to just keep them there.
We split in two groups. One group cut down two juniper trees to harvest for branches. These trees were crowding out live oaks so they needed to be cut down anyway. The other group started at the bottom of the hill and laid out the steps one by one.
The branches were either dug into the hill or propped up in place with rocks and juniper wedges. After all branches were cut down the first group started filling buckets with dirt and leaves and using it to backfill the steps.
By the end of the weekend the steps were completed but still a bit wobbly and in need of support. Over the course of that week Andrew collected coffee grounds from Mazama in Dripping Springs and used them to cement the steps in place. He had learned while building the Path to Cabin that coffee grounds settle and become very dense after a few rains.
The slope next to the steps was exposed and in danger of further erosion. Andrew thought grasses would help hold the soil together and bought a native grass mix from Native American Seed.
He spread the seeds, covered them with dirt, and then mixed it all up with his hands to make sure the seeds had good soil contact. He cut a bunch of little juniper twigs to line the area and carefully place them over the dirt. He added more dirt and then watered everything. He continued to hand water the steps and grass until rainfall returned.
At this time the steps are awaiting wood chips and the grass has yet to emerge.


Three sisters farming is an indigenous method of farming that allows each crop to flourish through interdependence. Traditionally the bean, the corn and the squash are planted together. In her lovely book Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin wall Kimmerer points:
“It’s tempting to imagine that these three (the three sisters) are deliberate in working together, and perhaps they are. But the beauty of the partnership is that each plant does what it does in order to increase its own growth. But as it happens, when the individuals flourish, so does the whole.”
For this to happen each of the sisters need to know what it is they specialize in and also to know that they need not be like each other or compete for the same resources. As with our monoculture farming and so with our monoculture education, all derived out of the industrialization of objects and of minds we’ve lost our individuality and the belief in our ‘specific’ way of being. Individuals that are different from one another, thriving with each other, while at the same time working towards their own goals is a fact seldom heard of. But for a collective to thrive there is indeed a necessity to understand one’s own needs and stand behind it first and foremost to be of use to the larger group. We need to deeply understand and take what we need and give what is needed by the other for the collective to thrive together.


Many families living near the dumping ground in Kalyan have been facing problems due to the foul smell. As a solution to these problems, the team has promoted use of Magic Bucket (courtesy of Paryavaran Dakshata Mancha), a small compost bucket that can be used at home to dispose wet waste. This bucket converts kitchen waste/wet waste into useful biocompost which can be used as organic fertilizer for plants. The Magic Bucket is a simple bucket with a lid. One can easily convert any bucket into a magic bucket at your home itself.
DIY (Do it yourself) Magic bucket is as follows:
Note: Soil conditioner aids in creation of bacteria which helps in decomposing the waste.
Some precautions and rule to be followed:
Make sure you collect all the wet waste, clean it properly and set a time and put all the waste during the set period. This will help in habituating the bacteria in the bin to start composting the waste.
If possible, make small pieces of waste, especially fruits or vegetable remains. This will make easy for the bacteria to eat the waste ultimately speeding up the composting process.
Once the bucket is 2/3rd full remove the compost. Make sure the bucket is 1/3 empty to aid proper ventilation. Add handful water to the upper layer.
The holes at the bottom of the bucket allow water to drip, so a tray at the bottom is recommended. The water collected in the try can be mixed with normal water in a ratio of 1:10, this will act as pesticide. The degraded waste will have a texture of powdered coffee which is the COMPOST. The bucket never fills up completely and so its is called a “MAGIC BUCKET”. Ensure there is no plastic or glass shreds in the waste and the box should not come under extreme temperature.
For a family of three members, 1ft. X 1ft. magic bucket takes around three to four months to fill. Do not add water and waste prior to the removing the ready compost form the bucket. A black residual in the bin is the compost which can be utilised as fertilisers. While removing the compost form the bucket remove only the upper layer of compost and wait for some time. If not removing at one time, one can also remove small portions of compost as and when required.
Almost anything that will break down can be used for compost, but exceptions include meat, fish, dairy and cooked foods. Items like coffee grounds, grass clippings and fruit and vegetable scraps will decompose faster.


E5703.IWE 2 LB Reciprocating Ice Water Extractor
Eberbach’s Stainless Steel Ice Water Extractor (IWE) is designed to remove the Marijuana plant’s trichome heads from the trichome stalks on the plants exterior which is commonly referred to as “Bubble Hash" or “Full Melt”. The Eberbach IWE can be used with third party sieving bags, bubble bags, or with Eberbach Corporation’s all new food grade stainless steel Trichome Separation & Collection System (TSCS).
The Eberbach IWE will successfully remove the Marijuana plants trichome heads from the plant exterior without solvents, this machine uses only Ice and Water and is a 100% solvent free extraction system.
The all new Eberbach E5703.IWE is Easy to Use and Easy to Clean, the process is simple, and the ROI is quick!
All surfaces that touch the Ice, Water and plant material are food grade materials and, the machine can easily be disassembled for cleaning.


The North City Farmers' Market is back in business for the 2016 and set to open on Saturday, June 4th from 10am - 12pm!
While we are excited to be back, we do have a few changes to let you know about. This year, the market will be held one block east in the 13th Street Community Garden from 10am - 12pm. You'll find the garden at the intersection of N 13th Street and Montgomery. While you may not be as familiar with the garden as you think, they've been growing food for the market since 2010 and are excited to host us this season. You'll get an up close and personal look at where your produce comes from and how it's harvested!
Other vendors this season besides the garden will include City Seeds Urban Farm (part of Gateway Greening), The Burning Kumquat, Andrea Berry, 37 Chocolate Street, Beaucoup Creek Honey, and City House Country Mouse.
We'll also be working in regular cooking demos, nutrition education, and health screenings to make sure we promote health all the way around for our visitors.
We're taking a step back this year as we work to build capacity for an even bigger and better market in the future. We hope you enjoy this new "farm stand" style of market hosted in the garden and we are looking forward to seeing you on Saturday, June 4th!
If you have any questions, want to be a produce or local food vendor, or want to volunteer, please contact Jessica at firstname.lastname@example.org or 314-241-5031x104.


After the wettest winter since records began (and probably one of the mildest) we have been left to deal with a surfeit of slugs and snails. At least these much hated creatures are slow movers so we don’t have to chase them. They hide during the day ready to emerge in the evenings all set to feast on our vulnerable plants, they are especially partial to hostas, salad crops, bedding plants and strawberries but all too often it seems that nothing is safe. This year has been particularly bad and having seen my newly planted containers being reduced to nothing reluctantly I have resorted to slug pellets. It is only necessary to use these sparingly and I must admit they have done a good job. Where I have had to replace ruined plants they are virtually untouched.
Both slugs and snails are almost impossible to control but if you decide against slug pellets there are other ways to try to deal with these voracious pests. Ideally if you are able to encourage wildlife such as frogs, toads or hedgehogs into your garden they will feast on any slugs they can find. Another way is to scatter sharp grit round susceptible plants or I am told that slug traps filled with beer are very effective but on the down side you will have to dispose of the bodies. Perhaps you could invest in a biological control pack from a garden centre. I have also read that coffee grounds spread around will help as a deterrent but I haven’t met anyone who has tried this. I have friends who go on a snail patrol at dusk and collect the offending creatures in a bucket and then dispose of them. I am assured that the numbers collected night after night are limitless. It seems that snails have homing instincts so it doesn’t work to toss them in your neighbour’s garden, they will just come back!
Whatever you have to do to protect your plants and crops I hope it works for you.


About the club
Founded in 1935 on agricultural land of sandy sub-soil nature by leasing 70 acres from the Ashby Decoy farming estate to provide 9 holes for 27 founder members. By 1947 the whole estate of 150 acres had been purchased and 18 holes established.
The estate house and outbuildings housed the golfing facilities. Part of the estate - 4 acres - comprised established woodland and a duck decoy with four pipes - dating back to late 1890's. The Decoy was re-established in 1996 and now provides the irrigation water for the fairways and greens together with natural wild and pond life. The original estate house was raised to the ground in 1970 and the present clubhouse and amenities provided.
A warm welcome awaits those who visit Ashby Decoy Golf Club!
Please visit the clubs own website by clicking on the link above for more information


Urban Agricultural Heritage and the Shaping of Future Cities
The Herrenhausen Conference on May 6-8, 2019, focussed on food production in cities and elaborated why urban agriculture should be part of a sustainable urban planning in the future.
Yedikule Bostans in Istanbul (Axel Timpe, Institute of Landscape Architecture, RWTH Aachen University)
Given the global challenges of urbanization and limited resources, Urban Agriculture has become an important tool for a sustainable planning of cities since the Millennium. However, it is mostly unknown, that Urban Agriculture already has its history. This is where the Herrenhausen Conference on Urban Agricultural Heritage started from. It aimed at providing a first global survey of projects and initiatives dealing with traditional forms of food production in cities and was supposed to lead to a better understanding and academic awareness of the issue. Experts from science, international organizations, and civil society approached the Conference's theme from different angles. Reasons were identified why valuable agricultural heritage must not be neglected or even destroyed. You can find the summary report of the conference here (pdf): Summary Report: Herrenhausen Conference "Urban Agricultural Heritage and the Shaping of Future Cities"


- HOT TOPICS
- Farmland lost to BC's Site C Dam
- WHY ALL THE FUSS ABOUT THE SITE C DAM?
- Holm: A damning indictment of process. Van Sun OpEd April 15, 2015
- Holm July 3 Presentation Metro Vancouver Board
- Holm V.Sun Op-Ed: Why Site C should be stopped
- DIMINISHED AND DISMISSED - Submission to Joint Review Panel
- Smarties 4 dummies - farm land lost to Site C dam.
- HOLM December 2013 Written Submission to CEAA Panel on Site C
- BC Hydro Site C Dam- Agroeconomic GAP Analysis 2013
- BC Hydro Site C Dam Analysis of DRAFT EIS 2012
- Defending Supply Management
- Young Farmer Apprenticeship Cooperative for Southlands
- Farmland lost to BC's Site C Dam
- 2017 Cuba Farmer Tour
- CUBA CO-OP PROJECT WIITH ANAP
- Cuba Papers: Food, Farm, Co-ops!
- The Cuba Story
- Columns on Cuba
- Cuba Dairy Project
- Blog: Holm on Cuba
10 EXCELLENT REASONS TO GO!
#10 YOU CAN WRITE IT OFF AS A BUSINESS EXPENSE.
If you make your living from farming, you'll have little difficulty justifying this as a business expense! The goal of the Project is to facilitate cooperation between farm communities. Canada has expertise in processing, packaging, labeling, marketing and sales. Cuba's farmers are world leaders in commercial organic cropping systems, have highly organized cooperatives, good farm extension, unparalleled soil and water resources and a tropical climate. We have a lot to learn from them. They have a lot to learn from us. Together, we're more competitive. Farmer's who travel to Cuba as part of this project are exposed to this potential "from the ground up".
#9. YOU'LL BE IN GOOD HANDS.
With nineteen successful years, thirty-two farm tours, ten UBC student field study courses, six chefs delegations, one group of scientists and one group of Cubans to Canada - 862 delegates in all - we are professionals highly experienced in organizing and delivering unique Canadian farmer tours of Cuba. Our Cuban partner ANAP (the national farmer organization to which all Cuban farmers belong) works with us to deliver a high-quality, memorable and safe travel experience completely free of stress and filled with delightful memories of the real Cuba and her people. We promise. All farmer tours fully escorted by Wendy R. Holm, P.Ag.
#8. YOU'LL BE TRAVELING WITH A "GREAT BUNCH" --- OTHER FARMERS:
Dairy farmers, crop farmers, ranchers, orchardists, poultry farmers, greenhouse growers, bee keepers and the like - a relaxing and fun group to travel with. So far, approximately two percent of our Delegates have been organic farmers, most are conventional farmers.
#7. YOU'LL SEE FIRST HAND INNOVATIVE PRACTICES THAT MAKE CUBAN FARMERS WORLD LEADERS IN SUSTAINABILITY.
In 1999, Cuba won the prestigious Right Livelihood Award of the Swedish Parliament for sustainable agricultural practices. This was due in no small measure to strong scientific capacity and good agricultural extension,. We will visit large scale worm composting facilities, CREE's (Centres for the Reproduction of Entomopathogens and Entomofagos) and plant protection laboratories to see how Cuba became an innovative world leader in the use of biopesticides and biofertilizers.
#6. YOU'LL VISIT OUR AWARD-WINNING DAIRY PROJECT AND SEE THE RESULTS OF CANADIAN COOPERATION.
This project began with a small CIDA pilot grant in December 2004. By its end in 2011, through the cooperative efforts of farmers in Canada and Cuba, we had tripled milk production and created a self sufficient rural milk production model that is attracting big attention in this tiny little country… And you will get to see how we did it!
#5. YOU'LL EXPERIENCE A CULTURE WHERE FARMERS ARE RESPECTED.
A majorly unique - dare we say empowering - experience for Canadian farmers. We will have the opportunity to meet with Cuban farmers to discuss how they run their cooperatives, how production decisions are made, how state contracts are negotiated and profits are shared, how crop insurance works, how they get access to farmers' markets and how ANAP (Cuba's national farmers' organization) speaks with one voice in the interests of the farm community.
#4. YOU'LL BE "IN ON THE GROUND FLOOR" IN TERMS OF FUTURE PROJECT INITIATIVES.
The experience of Cuban agriculture - that large scale commercial organic production IS possible - is a lesson for the world. By partnering with Cuba, Canada can piggy-back on this expertise. Farmers who participate in these Delegations will receive regular updates on the Project and are "in on the ground floor" in terms of any future initiatives.
#3. YOU'LL ENJOY SOME OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BEACHES AND HOTELS IN THE WORLD.
We begin with 3 nights at the beautiful 5 Star Hotel Melia Varadero and conclude with 2 nights in the Melia Santiago de Cuba followed by 3 nights at Havana's fabulous 5 Star Hotel Nacional.
#2. YOU'LL SEE "THE REAL CUBA" THAT TOURISTS NEVER EXPERIENCE.
Cuba is a safe and gentle destination with a unique culture and warm and friendly people. During your 8 day tour of Cuba's farming communities, we leave the tourist zones and travel into the countryside, visiting the provinces of Artemesa, Cienfuegos, Camaguay, Ciego de Avila, Bayamo and Santiago de Cuba. There is ample time set aside for sightseeing, sampling Cuban culture and even horseback riding on the beach at pristine Cayo Coco if you're so inclined.
#1. YOU'LL HAVE THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME. (AND ISN'T THAT ABOUT TIME?)
It's perhaps best expressed in the words of other farmers: "wonderfully unique... ...an opportunity to see places other tourists have never been... Thanks for the trip of a lifetime..."


Our communal village orchard is heavy with wonderful produce right now. The plums, mulberries and greengages are over, but now the apples, pears, quince and medlars now have their chance to shine. Even the hedgerows enclosing the old orchard are bearing blackberries and nuts to gather.
With my basket laden, I set about baking something to use the village bounty. The nuts are, as yet, too young and fresh to grind down to a useful flour, so I used ground almonds – but if you have your own hazelnuts, do use once they’re dried. Just grind them down to a fine meal. The young cob nuts will be fine for the crumble topping.
Eat with pleasure. You have spent time making a thing of beauty from things you have foraged. Take your time to savour. Enjoy.
Our workshops are run by award-winning sourdough baker Helen Underwood.


Taking our support of the specialty coffee industry one step farther, DaVinci Gourmet is proud to be one of the largest sponsors of Coffee Kids. This non-profit organization is devoted to improving the lives of children and families in coffee growing regions around the world. We’ve helped fund several projects, including a nutritional and environmental education program promoting the benefits of fresh, locally produced foods without the use of synthetic chemicals and aiding in local economic development. In addition, a portion of the sale of each and every bottle of DaVinci Gourmet is donated to this worthy and respected organization. That’s why DaVinci Gourmet can honestly say that Every Flavor Shot Counts™.
Coffee Kids was started to address the plight of the small-scale coffee farmer. Unlike many non-profit organizations, Coffee Kids does not seek to tell those in need how to improve their lives. With the exception of during times of natural disaster recovery, Coffee Kids does not provide direct aid in the form of goods or donations. Instead Coffee Kids works with the members of coffee communities and assists them in seeing their local vision transformed into reality.
Visit coffeekids.org to learn more.


ABOUT THIS PODCAST
The landscape of agriculture continues to change. From policy challenges to the headwinds of production agriculture today, it’s powerful women in agriculture leading some of the charges to create change that matters to not only farmers and ranchers, but also hits the heart of rural America. Join U.S. Farm Report Host Tyne Morgan as she highlights some of the women making a difference in agriculture. Not only will she highlight the grit it takes to make the changes happen, but also help paint an accurate picture of not only the obstacles agriculture faces, but also the opportunity. It’s a podcast about women, empowering other women… to succeed in what’s historically been a male-dominated industry. It’s these women who are the fabric of farming, ranching and rural living… and the women who are creating a better future for agriculture. The podcast is fun, informative while inspiring, as each woman is asked the same final question: “What advice do you have for other women in agriculture?”
since May 8, 2018
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BATON ROUGE — August is a transitional time in the vegetable garden.
Plant propagation is fun and provides you with extra plants for your landscape or to share with friends.
Proper watering can make the difference between life and death to newly planted lawns, trees, shrubs, flower and vegetable transplants, and ground covers during summer.
BATON ROUGE — Hurricane season started June 1, and while Louisiana doesn’t often see storms this early in the season, it is important to be prepared before a storm strikes.
BATON ROUGE — Visitors will have the opportunity to sample fruits and vegetables fresh from the garden along with creations from local food companies at the annual Garden Fest on June 17 at the LSU