By Ashok Gulati
India was in the grip of a food crisis in the mid-'60s. It was indeed a situation of a ship-to-mouth food economy. With domestic production of wheat hovering around 12 million tonnes, another 10 million tonnes were imported annually from the US under the infamous Public Law 480 during 1965-66 and 1966-67. The US administration often used this leverage of a life-saving handout to squeeze India. Besides, things looked so bleak that the Paddock brothers, William and Paul, declared India as an incurable case of a nation heading for a severe famine by 1975, which could claim as many as 10 million lives.
They had a point. Efforts were being made in India to raise foodgrain production since the early 1950s, but without any major success. In March 1963, Norman Borlaug visited India and sent in 100 kg of seed for each of the four high-yield varieties (HYV) of wheat for trials. Lerma Rojo and Sonora 64 performed best. But these were experiments, and like many such experiments, there were several ifs and buts with research and policy.
With the demise of Jawaharlal Nehru in May 1964, Lal Bahadur Shastri became the prime minister. C. Subramaniam, the minister for steel, mines and heavy engineering in Nehru's cabinet, was now given agriculture, a sector which was weak and under severe pressure because of low-yielding varieties of seeds and an exploding population. Subramaniam began to systematically set the stage for an overhaul of the way foodgrain was grown, sold and distributed. He started off with a remunerative price policy for farmers, which gave birth to the Agricultural Prices Commission and Food Corporation of India in 1965.
An officer, Ralph Cummings from Rockefeller Foundation met Subramaniam and told him about dwarf HYVS of wheat, but also conveyed that Indian scientists and bureaucracy were going very slow on these. So Subramaniam decided to reorganise agricultural research -- in other words, free it from bureaucracy -- and appointed Dr B.P. Pal, a renowned scientist, as director-general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), got pay scales of scientists improved, and went in for targeted and time-bound research.
In 1965, 250 tonnes of Sonora 64 and Lerma Rojo were imported for seed multiplication, a technique that is standard practice, which yielded about 5,000 tonnes of seed. Subramaniam was now ready for his Big Bang.
But to play his final stroke, he wanted a greater quantity of these seeds than he had from domestic seed multiplication. He wanted to import a large quantity of these HYV seeds from Mexico to give the effort a single, massive boost. But there was severe opposition to his idea of importing these new varieties in Parliament as well as in public fora, especially from the Left parties, socio-logists, some economists and bureaucrats. And here lies the contribution of this man -- he steered through the political hurdles, the bureaucratic wrangles, and public debates, first with the support of Shastri and later with Indira Gandhi.
Finally, 18,000 tonnes of HYV wheat seeds were imported in 1966 -- and about a thousand national demonstrations were held all over India over that year and the next. It all dissipated as quickly; the result was a miracle. The new varieties had more than doubled the existing yields. Farmers in Punjab lapped up the new seeds. There was such a scramble for seeds that in some places, farmers are said to have paid Rs 10 for a single seed. When they did not get the seeds, some even tried to steal them.
India harvested 17 million tonnes of wheat in 1967-68, five million tonnes more than the previous best of 12 million tonnes. There was no place to store this sudden burst of grain. Schools in rural Punjab were closed down to store the new harvest in classrooms. A green revolution was ushered in.
Indian scientists quickly got down to the job of indigenising these Mexican varieties, especially their colour and baking qualities. M.S. Swaminathan, G.S. Athwal, S.P. Kohli, V.S. Mathur, to name a few, took a lead in this daunting task. Athwal and his team in Punjab Agricultural University brought out a cross called Kalyan, named after Athwal's village. At the same time, the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in Delhi, under the leadership of Swaminathan and Kohli, brought out Sona. Incidentally, Kalyan and Sona were from the same breeding material and therefore it was decided to release them together as KalyanSona. Sonalika was another wonder variety developed by Indian scientists from Mexican seeds. The rest is history, the present and the future. Today India harvests more than 70 million tonnes of wheat every year.
Whom do we acknowledge for this wonder on the food front? There is no doubt that Subramaniam's vision, dynamism and design to launch what is now called the new agricultural strategy was unique. Alas, his contribution was acknowledged only 30 years later when he was honoured with a Bharat Ratna. Swaminathan is perhaps the only scientist who has been honoured with a number of awards, including the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan. This nation is yet to salute other scientists like Athwal, Kohli, Mathur and the like, who contributed in no less measure to this revolution that made India self-sufficient in food.
But the real unsung heroes of this green revolution, as Subramaniam himself puts it, were Punjabi farmers. He said, "They were the pioneers in this technology and, but for them, I am convinced we would not have made a success of it ... They had developed into a very hardy lot of enterprising people ... And therefore when this new technology was offered to them they took to it like fish to water. Everybody vied with one another to demonstrate that he was best able to utilise the new technology." These are the real people behind the Green Revolution.
Ashok Gulati is professor (NABARD chair), Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi.
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A novel RNA interference mechanism dictates plant response to external stress
With RNA being the core carrier of genetic information in life, understanding how RNA and small interfering RNA (siRNA) transmits responses to external stress may be better understood following new research led by Southern University of Science and Technology.
Chair Professor Hongwei Guo (Biology) led a multinational research effort to improve the understanding of how RNA interference works in conjunction with the stress response. Their research on this matter, as it related to plant RNA, was published in the high impact academic journal Nature (IF = 43.07), under the title, “Plant 22-nucleotide siRNAs mediate translational repression and stress adaptation.”
RNA interference regulates the target RNA gene through small pieces of RNA that tend to be between 21-24 nucleotides (nt) long. Small RNAs, such as miRNAs and siRNAs, are essential for animal and plant growth. Each plant’s small RNA has a different length, with the length determining the biological function.
The paper identified a large number of endogenous 22nt siRNAs in mutants, which revealed an essential biological function in the model plant, Arabidopsis. It measured stress adaptability and translation inhibition, representing a breakthrough in small RNA in plants. It is an advance on their previous work published in Science in 2015.
The research team in their 2020 paper found that when the model plants lack a specific RNA degradation pathway and do not have DCL4, one of the four Dicer-like (DCL) proteins, there are severe growth and development defects. They could also determine that the production of 22nt siRNAs is dependent on RNA-dependent polymerase 6 (RDR6) and DCL2.
Figure 1. The ein5 dcl4 and ski2 dcl4 double mutants produce large amounts of 22nt siRNA and mediate translational inhibition.
The team also found that the 22nt siRNAs produced by two nitrate reductase genes (NIA1 and NIA2) involved in nitrogen metabolism account for about half the 22nt siRNAs. However, most of the genes that produce 22nt siRNA did not show significantly reduced mRNA expression.
The findings of this research are significantly different from 21nt siRNA from the previous work, so it is believed that 22nt siRNA could have a different mode of action. By performing a combination of biochemical and genetic assays, they found, for the first time, that after 22nt siRNA binds to the AGO1 protein, it leads to the translation inhibition of their cognate mRNAs. Meanwhile, the AGO1-associated 22nt siRNA induces the secondary amplification of small RNA, increasing the amount of 22nt siRNA when DCL4 activity is lacking.
Figure 2: 22nt siRNA is involved in nitrogen stress response and its working model.
The research team examined the biological function of 22nt siRNA under natural conditions. They found that when nitrogen nutrition is limited, plants exhibited growth-inhibiting phenotypes, and accumulated a large amount of 22nt siRNAs, including those from NIA1/2. They also found that plant translation generally decreased under nitrogen deficiency.
The research team hypothesized that plants respond to the stress of extreme nitrogen deficiency by reducing protein use and increasing 22nt siRNA production. This response reduces the level of NIA proteins, which is responsible for reducing nitric acid to nitrous acid. Nitrous acid is further reduced to ammonium ions, which are essential raw materials for the synthesis of amino acids.
The research team concluded that the rarely studied 22nt siRNA provides a new mechanism for dealing with external environmental stresses. Plants can reduce the efficiency of protein translation and reduce energy consumption by temporarily inhibiting their growth state. The activation of their stress response ensures their survival. The translation regulation mechanism of the proteins could involve their response to different environmental stresses and may be vital regulatory nodes.
SUSTech is the first communication unit, with Hongwei Guo is the correspondent author. Visiting student from Peking University (PKU) Huihui Wu and Research Assistant Professor Bosheng Li are the co-first authors. Additional contributions came from the University of Tokyo, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Beijing Forestry University, and Northeast Forestry University.
This work was strongly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the National Key R & D Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Guangdong Innovation and Entrepreneurship Team Fund, and the Shenzhen Science and Technology Commission Fund.


Driving through the country, you often see many different signs, but do you know what all these different signs mean? In this edition of Farming 101, we will shed a little light on what all of these different signs are, and why farmers display them.
Many of you have probably seen the signs at the end of a field, but how many of you have ever wondered what they represent? These signs tell the farmer which variety of seed they have planted in that row, or field. It is a way for the farmer to remember months later what is planted where. This is the same concept many people use in their home gardens of putting the seed package on a stick in front of its respective section. These signs are important for farmers because some seeds may do better than others throughout the year, and it’s important to know which varieties performed better throughout the year.
Forestry is the second- largest agricultural industry in Mississippi, with a production value of $1.04 billion in 2011. This sign signifies that the landowner is part of the voluntary Tree Farm Program, and has met all the requirements to become certified. This program requires farmers to manage their tree farms for sustainability. They must meet and keep records proving they meet the following eight requirements:
- Commitment to Practicing Sustainable Forestry: Forest owner demonstrates commitment to forest vitality by developing and implementing a sustainable forest management plan.
- Compliance with Laws: Forest management activities comply with all relevant federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and ordinances.
- Reforestation and Afforestation: Forest owner completes timely restocking of desired species of trees on harvested sites and non-stocked areas where tree growing is consistent with land use practices and the forest owner’s management objectives.
- Air, Water, and Soil Protection: Forest management practices maintain or enhance the environment and ecosystems, including air, water, soil, and site quality.
- Fish, Wildlife, and Biodiversity Forest Management: Activities contribute to the conservation of biodiversity.
- Forest Aesthetics: Forest management plans and management activities recognize the value of forest aesthetics.
- Protect Special Sites: Special sites are managed in ways that recognize their unique historical, archeological, cultural, geological, biological, or ecological characteristics.
- Forest Product Harvests and Other Activities: Forest product harvests and other management activities are conducted in accordance with the management plan and consider other forest values.
These signs send a very clear message. They are in place to stop the spread of disease but to whom? These signs indicate that this farm practices strict biosecurity procedures to protect their ANIMALS! All farmers are concerned about the health and wellbeing of their animals, and farms that have biosecurity procedures in place do so to protect their animals and animals on other farms. They are actively trying to decrease or stop the transmission of disease transmitting germs that may be brought in on other people, animals, or farm equipment. As the sign states, you must check with the farm owners or management before proceeding to ensure you are not in violation of their procedures.


About Fruit and Vegetables Fragrances
Experience walking through a fresh vegetable garden with fruity berries and fresh apples, you will be quickly transported for a walk in the orchard where you will enjoy these realistic aromas coming to life.
A strong, sweet aroma of a freshly sliced green apple.
A sweet, subtle aroma of the red apple.
The scent of freshly picked blackberries.
A strong yet sweet scent of blackcurrant berries.
This aroma gives the pungent scent of boiled and chilled cabbage.
This sweet and earthy scent has the mixture of the vegetable freshly pulled from the ground.
This aroma is the smell of freshly chopped celery.
Sweet and fresh scent of the raw fruit.
A zesty, bitter sweet scent with citrus under notes.
Sharp fragrance with subtle undertones. Perfect with Gin!
This not so well known Asian fruit has a sweet and sharp scent.
The scent of honeydew melon, fresh and fruity.
This is a very strong aroma of onions, which is more towards boiled onions than fresh.
A juicy aroma with subtle citrus notes.
A tangy and sweet aroma like a freshly cut pineapple.
A mellow tone very close to the raw fruit.
Bitter and sweet aroma just like the real thing.
A subtle and easily recognisable fruity aroma.
A scent of the green plant rather than the fruit. Similar to the scent of Grandad’s green house.
A blend of exotic fruits like a tropical juice.
A mouth-watering sweet summer time fragrance.
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The flower it’s on is Solanum crispum. In the garden stores they call it Chilean potato vine, which is fine (it is related to potatoes), but I prefer Chilean nightshade (for the same reason.) Like most nightshades, it keeps its pollen rolled into a tiny packet in the middle of the blossom. In order to get the pollen out, a pollinator has to shake the packet at something close to its mechanical resonant frequency, a musical habit called “buzz pollination”. In the Pacific Northwest, the only bees large enough to pull off buzz pollination are bumblebees.
If you look at what this bee is doing, she has wedged two of her legs inside the pollen packet, and is using them as levers to break the packet open. The packet isn’t letting go – you don’t see the “puff” of pollen that is characteristic of successful buzz pollination – but she is able to pull some pollen out.
Now, I have no idea whether or not this approach to pollen gathering can actually fertilize the flowers. The vine is not self-fertile, and I haven’t seen any others in the area. Even if there were viable pollen in the neighborhood, this may just be an unusual case of “pollen robbing”. (Nectar robbing is much more common.)
Still, it’s pretty cool. As far as I know, until I brought this photo in, no one knew that the local mining bees could do this.


Do you have a green thumb? Do you love planting? Do you want to grow plants in the comfort of your home? If you answered yes to these questions, you should give organic gardening a shot!
Organic gardens allow you to enjoy your fruits and vegetables without worrying about space and messing with soil. You also don’t need garden equipment to plant your saplings and seedlings. It’s totally possible for you to grow your plants even if you live in a condominium!
You can grow ornamental plants, healthy veggies and fruits and root crops with just minimal amount of water and totally soil-less! Through the process of hydroponics, your plants will definitely grow and before you know it, you can enjoy eating a delicious salad using your own fresh plants!
If you need help to start your organic garden, here are a few tips to help you out:
The first tip is to make a game plan. You should take time in thinking about what you want your organic garden to be. What would it look like? Would you plant it in your backyard or inside your home? What plants will you have? It’s important to answer these questions to set your expectations and come up with the best organic garden to suit your needs.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7018236


213.76+/- Acre Farmland For Sale
FM 234 Farmland For Sale
The 213.76 +/- acre farmland is located in Jackson County 10 miles west of Edna. The property is rectangular in shape and has 3,280+/- ft. of frontage on paved CR 234 and 2,880+/- ft. of frontage on gravel road – FM 108. Current usage is farmland. Property in the surrounding area is in farmland or rural residential acreage. Soils consist of approx. 55% Dacosta sandy clay loam and 16% Laewest clay – both considered prime farmland, and the remaining 29% is Telferner fine sandy loam. Surface only.
From US 59 in Edna, take Hwy 59 south for approximately 6.5 miles to FM 234. Turn right on FM 234 – farmland is approx. 3.5 miles on the right.
Address: FM 234
213.76+/- Acre Farmland - FM 234 - Jackson Co.
CLICK LINK BELOW FOR FULL BROCHURE


When we think of agriculture and farming many remember the horror stories of foreclosures that brought a slew of Hollywood movies and Willie Nelson’s Farm Aid concerts. While there is no doubt farming had become unpopular and increasing more difficult for small operators, it will always play an integral part in our economy and politics.
We eat, we wear clothes, we smoke, we fish and we love sending and receiving flowers. In 2015, farms added $137 billion to US GDP while all agriculture added $992 billion. Still, until recently, we couldn’t keep them down on the farm.
Millennials Getting Hands Dirty
The good news is farming is becoming cool and appreciated like it hasn’t been in more than a century. Part of this cultural shift has been driven by the restaurant industry and another part by consumer education about nutrients and the benefits of farm freshness.
As a result, there has been an increase in farmers under the age of 35. After 100 years of complaining about keeping them down on the farm, millennials are coming back. Some states including California, Nebraska and South Dakota have reported 20% increase in beginning farmers.
Moreover, 69% of these millennial farmers have college degrees...
|Be careful how you interpret these reports as there are two very distinct categories of younger and/or increasing numbers of individuals farming. There are (usually family) members returning to production agriculture on generational farms efficiently producing large amounts of grain and livestock to feed the ever increasing world population. Then there are the "green" types who aspire to save the world with tiny plots of vegetables and a few free roaming chickens totally ignoring the reality that abandoning production agriculture would also mean having to decide which 50% of the world's population will have to starve.|
Jim Johnson on 12/4/2017 2:42:08 PM
|Good point Jim...I know the farm to table movement sees a lot of that kind tiny plot stuff but I'm hopeful the trend will grew into something more substantive. CP|
Charles Payne on 12/4/2017 3:22:09 PM
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I did a search online and here are some farms that sells black raspberries. It's possible that some of these farms will offer u-pick on black raspberries. I am lucky to have black raspberries near me in Michigan.
This is the most cold-hardy of the five black raspberry cultivars we sell. Canes are winter hardy in USDA zone 3, allowing even more northern locations in the U.S. to have a good crop of blackcaps. Ripens after Blackhawk, so Mac Black extends the harvest season of black raspberries, as it is one of the latest to ripen its crop. Medium to large sized berries are sweet and firm.USDA Hardiness Zones 3-8
Our certified organic premium black raspberry powder is indulgent in its flavor. Our black raspberries are grown and packed on our family-owned, fourth-generation farm. In the heart of the Willamette Valley in Oregon. After being harvested at the peak of the season, they are frozen and processed into powder one batch at a time as we need them. This ensures the end product is flavorful, and fresh for our customers. Each batch is processed to perfection without any additives, or perseverates. Our berries are grown with biological farming practices that remineralize the soil and make our berries more nutrient-dense.
We only offer products that are certified organic, wildcrafted in their natural habitat, or grown using organic practices in cases where organic certification is unavailable or impractical. We rely on our relationships with the distiller/supplier and knowledge of their good practices to ensure that the product is free from pesticides and adulteration.
Zevia Organic Black Tea Raspberry combines fragrant Fair Trade Certified black tea leaves with a delicious hit of fresh raspberries. We sweeten our teas with organic stevia leaf instead of sugar, so they're always zero calorie, sugar free, and the healthier choice. Naturally sweeted and created with clean ingredients, Zevia Organic Teas are a boldly better choice.
Black raspberries are an all-American superfruit full of antioxidant polyphenols and anthocyanins to help you stay healthy.* BerriHealth has been carefully crafting black raspberry products for over 7 years for researchers, clinical studies, and also directly for customers. Each bag of powder is made from about 500 whole black raspberries, grown by our partner family farms in Oregon, and has no added sugars, flavors, orpreservatives.
We stand behind our black raspberries because we are involved in every step. This picture of black raspberries? We took it ourselves, on our partner farm, right before harvest. These same berries go into our black raspberry powder. With all the issues with supplements these days, you will always know where our berries come from, and that they are genuine black raspberries.
Our partner farm has been ecologically farming black raspberries for over 70 years, up on a plateau next to the beautiful Columbia Gorge here in Oregon. They work with local government sustainability programs to study everything from native Oregon bees to keeping healthy soil conditions.
Our freeze-dried black raspberries have been used in clinical trials at multiple top research universities here in the United States. Our berries are used because of their high quality and levels of beneficial nutrients, as well as our strict approach to quality control and product testing.
Our black raspberry powder makes for a great addition to any smoothies, like this one with purple kale, dates, and banana. Because black raspberries are so rich in anthocyanins, they will give any smoothie a rich purple color
Each serving is 4 grams, or around 1 rounded teaspoon and contains 20 of our authentic Oregon-grown black raspberries. Add this powder to a drink, cereal, oatmeal, or a smoothie. Take the powder with water or some other liquid. Try out our Berry Calculator to get equivalent servings for various black raspberry products.
Our creamy Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip Gelato combines black raspberries from a father-daughter run raspberry farm in Oregon with rich chocolatey chips, blending together the best of both tart and sweet.
Black raspberries are one of the earliest fruits of the season, ripening in early-mid June (in KY), coinciding with mulberries and early blackberries. Black raspberries have over 3x the antioxidant power of blueberries!
Blackberries are another member of the Rubus genus or subfamily, so they are like cousins to black raspberries. They grow in many parts of the world, including the United States, Mexico, and Chile, so you should be able to find them as fresh fruit year-round (3).
Blackberries and black raspberries are often confused with each other because they look similar. The best way to tell them apart is to check the stem side of the fruit. Black raspberries have a hollow core, tiny hairs, and a sweeter flavor than blackberries.
Regardless of which you pick up at the market, both blackberries and black raspberries are very nutritious. Here is the nutrition data for a 1-cup (140-gram) serving of blackberries and black raspberries, respectively (4, 5):
Anthocyanins are a type of polyphenol that gives blackberries and black raspberries their inky-black color. Both fruits have impressive amounts of anthocyanins, which are linked to healthier blood vessels and may protect cells from mutating and becoming cancerous (3, 6, 8).
Fresh blackberries and black raspberries are highly perishable, so store them in the refrigerator and use them within a few days. Tasty ways to use these berries include adding them to salads, smoothies, and sauces, or using them to make jam.
Although black and purple raspberries do not send up new primocanes outside the hill, they can spread. The long, vigorous canes often arch down to the soil surface, where they may take root. It's important to keep the canes controlled and supported to prevent this.
The Fruit Gardener's Bible by Lewis Hill and Leonard PerryA Complete Guide to Growing Fruits and Nuts in the Home GardenEnjoy bushels of crispy apples and baskets of juicy blueberries from your own backyard. Authors Lewis Hill and Leonard Perry provide everything you need to know to successfully grow delicious organic fruit at home, with tips on cultivating strawberries, raspberries, grapes, pears, peaches, and more. 320 pagesSee More Details
Imported from Netherlands, these old fashioned red and black gummy raspberries are unique, chewy and tasty. Gummy raspberries make an uncommon, eye-catching candy favor for weddings and other events. Get gummy red and black raspberries in bulk. We guarantee freshness in every bag.
River Ridge Black is a fruited dark ale that aged in French oak for over a year with our house-mixed culture of yeast and bacteria. The beer then conditioned on top of organic black raspberries with black currants. River Ridge Black was bottle conditioned and has an ABV of 8%.
The limited release serves as a part of our Locally Grown Series (a series we use to showcase local ingredients) as we sourced the black raspberries used in the beer from a southeastern farm, River Ridge Organics.
Our appreciation of Old World wine and nuanced flavors inspired the crafting of the beer. Fauxjolais is a fruited blend of saisons from our wine barrel cellar and was made using the spent fruit used in River Ridge Black. The blend conditioned on top of second use organic black raspberries and black currants. The beer was bottle conditioned and has an ABV of 6.9%.
Add the flavor of juicy, ripe black raspberries to your coffee, iced teas, lemonades, cocktails, sodas, and other beverages with our Monin Black Raspberry Syrup. These rare berries, ripe and ready for picking just one month out of the year, are prized for their sweet floral and vanilla flavor. Made with all-natural ingredients, this gourmet syrup contains no artificial flavors, colors, or sweeteners our Monin Black Raspberry is a delicious way to enjoy this special flavor.
Freshly picked straight from our farms near Mahabaleshwar, our black raspberries have a unique flavor unlike other berries - these berries are sweeter and not as tart as blackberries. In addition to having a bright, fruity taste, these berries are also considered one of the healthiest berries on the planet. You can toss them into your salad or you can use them to make a healthy jam.
Black raspberries grow just aboutanywhere, even in hot southern climates, but they do best in cooler,mild climates.They are not a common crop, even among raspberry growers, since manyconsumers are unfamiliar with them. Black raspberries, like allraspberries, do not last long after being picked; a few days in thefridge, at best. Of course, those from the grocery store maylast a week, but then, they're coated in fungicides, so good luckwith that!
The Cumberland Black Raspberry is a berry bush which is very similar to red raspberries, except that the fruits are black in color, larger than raspberries and have a sweet and unique flavor that is close to that of blackberries. The fruit is high in healthy antioxidants and this sturdy plant will produce a big crop of berries every year with just a little care. It is hardy and can be grown in most parts of the country. For eating fresh, turning into baked goods, or making preserves, this easily grown berry will be a real winner with all your family.
Berries are always a favorite in every household and kids especially love the juicy sweetness of berries. Cumberland Black Raspberries will soon become a favorite in your house too, because they produce big, juicy berries that are richer in flavor and sweeter than regular red raspberries. They are just as easy to grow and are sturdy, vigorous plants that produce bumper crops with just a little care. They are hardy and thrive in cooler, damp climates where fruits like peaches and nectarines will not be so successful.
This berry bush will grow in zones 5 to 8, so it can be grown everywhere except for the hottest and coldest parts of America. It is a vigorous plant that will grow in most types of soil, but gives the biggest crops in soil that is well-drained and rich in organic material. Black raspberries are not prone to many pests or diseases. Deer will normally not eat the canes. Plants should not be allowed to become too dry and during the fruiting season you should give your black raspberries plenty of water. That was you will get lots of large, juicy berries. 041b061a72
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There is an article in the news from the Institute of Food Research (UK)
about a new “super broccoli” that has been developed to contain more of the nutrients that are supposed to fight cancer. The new product contains 3.4 times as much sulforaphane as broccoli normally does. Is this a triumph for genetic engineering? No. According to the article the broccoli was developed using traditional plant breeding methods. Hooray for Nature, and for the scientists who honored her.
, genetic engineering


Y Pulyka Ltd. is the foundering member of our corporate group; it has been operating on the market since the 1st of October 1991. Its main activity is livestock wholesale, specifically contract turkey farming and buying turkey. Our company is in contract with 45 farmers in 11 counties. As a wholesale buyer for contract farming, we continuously provide our partners baby poult (age 1-10 days) and young poult (age up to 21 days). We also provide weaner farmers with good quality young poultry, following high ethical standards. We also provide weaner farmers with good quality young poultry, following high ethical standards. Throughout the process we supply our starter and weaner partners with nutritious feed until the poult is fully grown. Our experts also provide them with expert advice via regular personal consultation.
We sell turkey grown by ourselves and at the premises of our farmers to turkey slaughterhouses that meet European Union regulations. Thanks to our long-existence of more than quarter of a century and to our committed, consistent and successful work, our national market share reaches the 22-25% (1.500.000 turkey). We are also present on the international market. In 1995 we expanded our activity to distributing veterinary drugs, vitamins and disinfectants, in order to provide our farmers with all the necessary vitamins, supplies and other products they need for turkey farming.


We are 10 days in, at least in the Butler household, being in work from home mode. And we certainly had the ante raised today when the Governor issued the official stay home order. As he said, it was a recommendation to this point now it is a directive. While it will be challenging, it is the right thing to do. It actually helped Kelsey and I, as we had decided yesterday that we were shutting Charlotte down from leaving the yard. To this point we were letting her play with a neighborhood kid or two, but we just cannot risk it anymore.
Which led us to numerous new activities to help keep them entertained. I built a raised bed for us to plant a small garden. The kids and I have already started the seedlings, and we will hopefully plant soon.
We spent the weekend at two different parks, which wore the kids slam out. Getting outdoors is going to be one of the few outlets we have for them.
Charlotte has also been very helpful in the kitchen. She has helped me cook the last two dinners. Chicken parm and chicken noodle soup
Kelsey and I also decided to make a purchase for the kids to help with outdoor activities. You will have to tune in later this week to find out.
That was most of the our last few days. Luckily, having Kelsey home these last few days has been super helpful. I was able to take several work calls this morning and plan a few new projects. Hopefully you will see these soon too!


How to Grow Lavender: Planting and Care
Marie Iannotti is a life-long gardener and a veteran Master Gardener with nearly three decades of experience. She’s also an author of three gardening books, a plant photographer, public speaker, and a former Cornell Cooperative Extension Horticulture Educator. Marie’s garden writing has been featured in newspapers and magazines nationwide and she has been interviewed for Martha Stewart Radio, National Public Radio, and numerous articles.
Updated on 07/29/22
Mary Marlowe Leverette is one of the industry’s most highly-regarded housekeeping and fabric care experts, sharing her knowledge on efficient housekeeping, laundry, and textile conservation. She is also a Master Gardener with over 40 years’ experience; writing for over 20 years.
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Lavender (Lavendula spp.) is a well-known and fragrant perennial plant that will come back every year with gray-green foliage, upright flower spikes, and a compact shrub form. Planting lavender is best in the spring after the risk of frost has passed and the soil has warmed up. It will grow at a moderate pace, often adding a few inches to its size each year. Lavender can be toxic to pets like dogs and cats.
Click Play to Learn How to Care for Lavender Plants
Lavender plants grown in full sunlight is the best way to guarantee a lot of buds and big, full bushes.
Lean soil (soil without a lot of organic matter mixed in) will encourage a higher concentration of oils (and good smells), so go easy on the organic matter and fertilizer. Lavender plants prefer well-drained soil that is on the drier side, so if you’re using a traditional potting mix, be sure to add in some sand for drainage. An alkaline or especially chalky soil will enhance your lavender’s fragrance, while any pH below about 6.5 will likely cause lavender plants to be very short-lived.
Lavender is a resilient plant that is extremely drought-tolerant once established. When first starting your lavender plants, keep them regularly watered during their first growing season. After that, they can handle extended periods of drought—in fact, too much water can lead to fungal disease and root rot.
Temperature and Humidity
Lavender can withstand a range of temperatures, and it’s usually dampness more than the cold that’s responsible for killing lavender plants. Dampness can come in the form of wet roots during the winter months or high humidity in the summer. If humidity is a problem, make sure you have plenty of space between your plants for airflow, and always plant your bushes in a sunny location. Protect lavender plants from harsh winter winds by planting them next to a stone or brick wall to provide additional heat and protection. If you live in an area where the ground routinely freezes and thaws throughout the winter, your lavender plants will benefit from a layer of mulch applied after the ground initially freezes to protect the roots.
It’s a good idea to add a handful of compost into the hole when you are first starting lavender plants. Beyond that, feeding is not needed with these plants and can detract from the overall potency of your lavender.
Types of Lavender
There are many varieties of lavender, each boasting benefits and perks. Some of the most popular include:
- English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia): A varietal that’s available in several cultivars, including: ‘Munstead,’ an old-fashioned standard with blue-purple flowers; ‘Hidcote,’ a version favored for its dark purple flowers; ‘Jean Davis,’ a unique blend that produces pale pink flower spikes.
- Lavandin (Lavandula x intermedia): A varietal with several cultivars including: ‘Provence,’ which is particularly popular for drying; ‘Grosso,’ a highly disease-resistant and fragrant standard.
- Fringed lavender(Lavandula dentata): A bushy, spreading shrub varietal that produces dense purple-blue flower spikes that are only mildly fragrant.
- French lavender(Lavandula stoechas): A beautiful Mediterranean varietal that is compact and bushy with fragrant, dark purple flowers.
Although lavender plants get regularly pruned simply by harvesting the flowers, a bit of spring pruning is recommended to keep your plant well-shaped and to encourage new growth. Taller lavender varieties can be cut back by approximately one-third of their height, while lower-growing varieties can either be pruned back by a couple of inches or cut down to new growth.
If you live in an area where lavender suffers winter die-back, don’t prune your plants until you see new green growth at the base of the plant. If you disturb the plants too soon in the season, they’re unlikely to develop new growth.
Watch Now: How to Prune Lavender Plants
A major reason lavender is so prized is that its flowers keep their fragrance once dried. For best drying results, harvest the flowers as the buds first begin to open. Hang them in small bunches upside-down in a warm spot with good air circulation until dried. Besides being beautiful and aromatic, lavender flowers are also edible. They can be used raw in salads, added to soups and stews, used as a seasoning, baked into cookies, and brewed into tea. Use sparingly; a little lavender flavor goes a long way.
Lavender plants are best propagated by either softwood cuttings (the soft, flexible tips of shoots) or hardwood cuttings (segments of shoots with woody stems). Softwood cuttings are available in the spring; hardwood cuttings are available in the fall. Both processes can be done relatively the same—here’s how:
- Use a sterilized, sharp knife to cut a 3-inch segment of a healthy shoot from the plant. Hardwood cuttings should be severed just below a bump that identifies a leaf node. Remove the leaves from the bottom 2 inches of the stem and scrape off the skin from the bottom of the stem along one side.
- Fill a small pot with a seed-starting mix that has been moistened with a bit of water.
- Dip the stripped side of the cutting in rooting hormone. Bury it into the seed-starting mix.
- Cover the pot with plastic and place somewhere warm with ample filtered light. Softwood cuttings take two to four weeks to begin rooting; hardwood cuttings take a bit longer.
- When you’ve noticed that roots are established, remove the plastic covering and place the pot back in a sunny location.
- Feed the plant once a week with a liquid plant fertilizer diluted to 25 percent strength.
- After two or three weeks, the plant can be transplanted outdoors or into a larger pot with standard potting soil—commercial potting soil has enough nutrients to nourish the plant without any more feeding.
Potting and Repotting Lavender
Where outdoor planting is not practical, growing lavender in a ceramic, clay, or terra-cotta pot and moving it around to follow the sun or even bringing it indoors for the winter, will be most efficient. Lavender prefers to grow in a tight space. A pot that can accommodate the root ball with a couple of inches to spare is a good choice; a pot that is too large will encourage excessive dampness.
Ensure that your container has plenty of holes at its base for drainage—root rot is one of the few problems experienced by lavender plants. Additionally, you can plant lavender in a clay or terracotta pot to help wick moisture away from the soil and keep it from getting too wet. Use a loose, soilless mix for planting, and remember that container-grown lavender will require more water than garden-grown plants. A good rule of thumb is to water when the soil (not the plant) appears dry, watering at the base of the plant to limit dampness on the foliage.
Common Pests & Plant Diseases
Lavender plants are not afflicted by many diseases. They may develop phytophthora, which is a soil-borne fungal disease that causes root and stem rot. Lavender can also succumb to septoria leaf spot, which is caused by a fungus and is also commonly found on tomato plants.
However, many common pests are attracted to lavender, including whiteflies, spider mites, leafhoppers, and spittlebugs (which do little damage). Water spray, insecticidal soaps, and neem oil can be helpful to eliminate pests. The four-lined plant bug (FLPB) is another pest that can be found sucking on lavender plant leaves and can be controlled by pesticides.
How to Get Lavender to Bloom
When you’re growing a plant as prized for its blooms as lavender, try to do all you can to get it to flower profusely. If you’re having a difficult time getting your lavender plants to bloom, there are a few issues that could be to blame.
Soil that is too fertile can result in fewer blooms. Highly fertile soil promotes a lot of green growth at the expense of bud production. You can either relocate your plants or amend the soil with sand or gravel to aerate it and make it less nutrient-dense.
You should also make sure that your lavender plants are getting at least six to eight hours of sunlight daily, which will result in the most productive blooming. If your plant isn’t getting that much light in its current location, you can cut back nearby foliage that may be overshadowing it, or replant your lavender in containers so you can move them around and "chase" the light.
Lastly, pruning your plant each spring—even if the size is suitable for your space—can result in more frequent (and fuller) blooming. The reason: Lavender sets buds on new growth, so stimulating that process is a helpful signal to the plant that it should get growing.
Common Problems With Lavender
Lavender plants are fairly trouble-free, but problems can occur. Here are common issues you may encounter when growing lavender indoors or outdoors.
Leaves Turning Yellow
Leaves turn yellow if the soil is too wet. If the lower leaves are yellow, that definitely means you are overwatering the plant. Many lavender plants will perish if their soil gets too wet over the winter months.
Plant Smells Bad
You have probably overwatered your lavender plant. The plant may have root rot. If you have a potted lavender plant that you think has root rot, prune the dead or affected roots with a sharp and sterilized cutting tool and repot the plant to see if it’s salvageable.
You have probably underwatered your lavender plant. In addition, the soil will feel parched.
Soil Is Always Wet
You have overwatered your lavender plant. See if you can remove any root rot and replant the lavender in new soil.
Are lavender plants easy to care for?
Yes. Lavender plants are beloved for their ease of care—they thrive on a bit of neglect, so if you sometimes forget to water your garden, this could be the plant for you.
How long can lavender plants live?
Lavender plants can live upwards of 10 years, but they will experience a decrease in quality and growth as time goes on. Maintain your collection through propagation so you can get rid of older plants.
How fast does lavender grow?
Lavender grows rather quickly, and it can add several inches of height per year. That being said, new lavender plants will not bloom until their second or third season.
Can you grow lavender indoors?
It’s possible, but the only issue you’ll probably have is not giving your plant enough light. Lavender loves warmth and you will need to give your lavender plant as much direct sunlight as you possibly can. Use a quick-drying clay pot with well-draining soil and plenty of drainage holes. It’s best to plant a compact plant indoors, like French lavender.
The Spruce uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
- Lavender. ASPCA.
- Fourlined Plant Bugs. University of Minnesota Extension.


There is nothing I love more in the summer than some fresh produce, especially corn. Altobelli Family Farm in Kinderhook, NY seriously has the best corn in town. Their farm stand is my go-to spot in the summer to pick some up as well as other delicious vegetables for dinners and BBQ’s. While their corn is my personal favorite, they also have a wide variety of other crops they harvest from Spring to Fall that you can enjoy. Not to mention, the owners, John and Becky, are the nicest people who truly love what they do. So, let’s learn more about Altobelli Family Farm and the hard working family behind it!
Farm Name: Altobelli Family Farm
Owners: John and Becky Altobelli
Established Year: originally 1956 – Dominick Altobelli
Farm Location: 1202 Old Post Rd, Kinderhook NY
Retail Location: Kinderhook, NY
Tell us more about how your farm was established and how it’s evolved into what it is today.
John’s grandfather, Dominick Altobelli and His wife Dominica purchased the farm in 1956.
It was apples, pears, and small vegetables. He also owned Pelham Produce in Pelham, NY and would sell the fresh produce there. John’s father and mother ran that business and John came up to Kinderhook to help his grandfather. After he passed away, John expanded the farm in to more vegetable than fruit, clearing apples to make room for corn, tomatoes, squash, peppers, cukes, eggplant, winter squash, and pumpkins.
What does your farm specialize in and what is it that you harvest and sell?
Our main crops are corn and tomatoes. We plant corn in stages, several varieties, so the harvest is staggered through the season lasting into fall. Early varieties are covered with Row Cover that allows sunlight in, rain and air, but keeps damaging frost off. We aslo plant what’s called bare ground, which is planting without the row cover. We usually plant 120 to 140 acres of corn and sell it wholesale to Fresh Direct in NYC, Dave’s Market in Rhode Island, and at our stand.
Tomatoes are seeded in our greenhouses, germinated, transplanted, and then planted on black plastic that has a drip line for irrigation close to the roots. All tomatoes are planted, staked, suckered and tied three times for maximum growth. Each plant supplies about 30 lbs of tomatoes. We do 2 plantings of tomatoes as well as 900 plants in our greenhouse. Our other vegetables are also planted on the black plastic with drip tape irrigation. – squash, cukes, peppers, eggplant. Winter squash and pumpkins are bare ground planted. We have three pond that we irrigate all crops with.
The fact that we rotate crops all over the 240 acres of the farm, using organic compost, and cover crop such as rye, enriches the soil and gives back vital nutrients that crops need. After harvest, the ground is turned over, seeded with rye and in the spring, it is harvested for fellow farmers’ use for feed, then the roots of the rye are disced back into the soil and then planted. “Take care of the land, and it will take care of you”.
When is your busy season and where can people find and buy your products? What is your top seller?
We begin in March for flowers and also start our seedlings. Planting starts in May and by the 3rd week of June we begin harvest of summer squash, corn follows in July with tomatoes and peppers. Our stand opens for produce around the 12th of July and goes thru Labor Day.
What do you love most about running a farm? What do you think is the hardest part?
John knew when he was very young he wanted to be a farmer. His weekends and summers were spent at the farm. He learned a lot from his grandfather, but also from Henry Brosen who he worked with for many years. Honestly, the hardest part of farming is employees. Its hard work, long hours, and demanding. We use the H2A program which is a government program for immigrant contracted workers from outside the USA.
Criterias have to be met and approved by the labor department and wages are set. But We have a wonderful crew that knows this farm as well as we do and take pride in their work. Its hot and hard work, but our crew, 6 men and 2 women make our lives a little easier.
What has been one of the most rewarding things about owning and operating your own farm? Is there a memorable experience or opportunity that stands out to you?
I think the recognition of the quality of our product is the most rewarding. We set the bar high. We have been working with Cornell for corn and tomato trials and over the years we’ve weeded out (no pun) the higher yield and quality of selections. The biggest experience for our farm was whe Sonny Perdue, Secretary of Agriculture paid a visit to our farm in 2018. He was on a tour of Columbia County Farms and we were invited to be part of the tour by US Republican John Faso.
It was such an honor. When his team had visited a few days before, we offered them raw corn to eat – not knowing it doesn’t have to be cooked. They must have said something to Sonny, so when he arrived and got out of the car, he asked me if I expected him to eat the raw ear of corn he had his driver stop and pick on the way in. He and John were like two old friends, eating corn, and swapping stories. It truly was a memorable day.
In your opinion, why are farms so important and what is one misconception that you think people have about them?
Farming has been the way of life to sustain life. Food is the fuel for our existence. Seasonal food was either dried, salted, canned, or put in root cellars. Then we were able to evolve to freezing and refrigerating. Preservatives came along and also trade and importing. The hardest part of farming is pricing, middlemen, and actually marketing. People don’t realize that photoshopped picture isn’t real. Consumers have no idea of the hidden costs that go into farming. That pump that irrigates those tomatoes runs on diesel. That cover crop of rye is a farmer’s expense. Insurances, equipment, packaging, and its all a disaster if you have crop failure from either hail, drought, too much rain, insects, or plant disease.
What do you envision for your farm in 10 years from now and how can people continue to support you?
10 years from now? We’ll still be doing what we’re doing, maybe on a smaller scale, but once a farmer always a farmer in some form. Nothing is better that that golden goodness of a kernel of corn or that first tomato sandwich fresh from the garden, the sunrise in the morning, the warm summer breeze and that breathtaking sunset in the evening.
One thought on “Altobelli Family Farm”
So much hard work for all.
So blessed to love what they do. A lesson for all to appreciate all the good we have in our lives.
Peace to all!!


Lhoosk’uz Community Garden Project
Lhoosk’uz Dené Nation community members in the past few years have shown an increase in interest, knowledge and awareness for food security and agriculture in the community. There is also an interest in doing this in a way that still connects the traditional practices of gathering food and acknowledging the natural characteristics of the land. Our vision of this project is to return to being a more food self sufficient community, while also acknowledging natural processes and assets. Our vision is also to be able to grow fruit and vegetables to supply the entire community, while being pesticide free. Click here to be directed to our Community Garden Tribute Poem.
**Click on the photo below to view our Garden Gallery!**


Buy Big Bud Automatic Seeds
Big Bud Automatic is a Super auto flowering variety with massive yields. It was achieved by crossing Big Bud with another high yielding auto strain. The result is an incredible yielding auto ideal for sea of green and any commercial garden.
As well as yield Big Bud Auto achieves a sweet fruity skunk taste and strong physical stone. The Plant will get much larger than standard autos and buds will be tight and compact. The strain will resist disease and pests well. Allow 9-11 weeks from seed. May be of medical interest.
Although Big Bud should be all about size there is no reason to lose out if you want to grow an auto. The taste is maintained as a classic skunk mixed with earthy wet forest floor. The ruderalis line that is crossed to the big bud have deepened the body stone a little, but otherwise has done little to negatively effect the photo period original.
Northern Light x Big Bud from World of Seeds properties:
- Autoflowering feminized indica
- Genetics: Northern Light Auto x Big Bud Auto x Ruderalis
- Indoor Production: up to 600g/m2
- Outdoor Production: up to 70g/plant
- THC: 22%
World of Seeds presents one of its new AutoFem strains, a mix of two of the best motherplants of WOS’ genepool, Northern Lights and Big Bud marihuana, which they then crossed with a Ruderalis line. Large in size, it yields up to 70g/plant in 60 days.
To get the individual with the best features, they have crossed the first hybrid with a Ruderalis genetics, and then performed 4 more generations, selecting the best plants of every offspring.
Its structure is columnar, with some secondary branches, but not excessively, and quite symmetrical. It also presents a great resistance to fungus and pests.Buy Big Bud Automatic Seeds
It can be harvested after 50-60 days, time that it uses to produce up to 70g/plant with big, dense buds, which can acquire purple tones at the end of flowering, if the temperature drops.
Plants are stable and homogeneous, being able to grow them either indoors – using rowing tents – or outdoors, reaching maximum heights of 1.70m.
Resin production is awesome, covering everything with sparkling crystals, emanating a smell that mixes sweet citrus notes with pineapple and tangerine reminiscences.Buy Big Bud Automatic Seeds
Its effect has a high medicinal potential compared with the existing AutoFem, being very relaxing and intense.


Benzoxaborole Protecting Groups for the Agri Industry
Fortune Business Insights reports that the global fungicide market size was valued at $17.1 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.93% to $25.81 billion by 2028. With the expansion of the global fungicide market, which includes manufacturing benzoxaboroles in large quantities, Dr. Tomsho’s protecting group invention will enable more efficient syntheses in this market.
The versatile benzoxaborole protecting groups discovered at St. Joseph’s University (formerly the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia) can mask undesired reactivity and reduce the limitations imposed by current modes of synthesis which require late-stage incorporation of boron.
The Tomsho team has reported the design, synthesis, and evaluation of two families of compounds that form divalent, zwitterionic complexes with benzoxaboroles. These compounds efficiently and reversibly protect the benzoxaborole functionality through one or more chemical steps that are incompatible with the unprotected benzoxaborole. The chemical robustness of these protecting groups has been characterized, and investigators determined that these protecting groups offered improved reaction scope diversity when compared with the previous state of the art. Additionally, compound solubility in organic solvents is generally improved thus facilitating reactions where the unprotected substrate was not soluble.


Rocca di Montegrossi (Italy)
Rocca di Montegrossi is located in the heart of Chianti Classico - just outside Monti in Chianti, about 7 kilometres from Gaiole. The historic fortress (la Rocca) was built during the Longobard period (600-800 AD) by Geremia, ancestor of the Ricasoli-Firidolfi family. It dominates the surrounding countryside as far as the Arno river valley.
The estate covers 60 hectares (148 acres), of which 18 are occupied by vineyards, 10 by olive groves, and the remainder by woods. The vineyards are situated on gently sloping hills that are calcareous - or limestone - in origin, with soils of medium consistency.
With exposures to the south and southwest, the estate is positioned at altitudes of between 300 and 450 meters (985 to 1,475 feet). If, as one would expect, Sangiovese represents the major grape variety, the estate also cultivates smaller quantities of Canaiolo, Colorino, Malvasia of Chianti, Pugnitello, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Find more information at www.roccadimontegrossi.it


Quite Light / Moderately Dry / Acidic
Pineapple / Peach / Grapefruit
Pork / Chinese Food / Mild Curries / Liver Pâté
The grapes were sourced from vineyards across the Western Cape. The viticulturist works hand-in-hand with the grape growers in managing each vineyard block to ensure the best quality fruit for this wine. The different micro-climates and soil types associated with each vineyard add to the complexity of the wine.
Chenin Blanc: Beginners Guide to Wine
Chenin Blanc is full of vast contradictions — from fresh and lively varieties to those bland and boring. What it becomes begins with the care it receives in the vineyard and winery.
South Africa / Western Cape


During January and February of 1998 I visited several non-governmental development organisations in Ghana on behalf of the British charities Future In Our Hands (FIOH/UK) and Plant A Tree In Africa (PATIA). The purpose of the visit was to view and assess the activities of these NGOs and report back to FIOH/UK and PATIA.
The organisations I visited were:
Future In Our Hands, Ghana. Based in and operating in and around Accra.
The Namalteng Integrated Development Programme (NIDEP). Based and operating in the rural area southeast of Bolgatanga, Upper Eastern Region.
The Atuba-Agumishe Community Livestock and Crop Farmers Association. Based in Bawku, Upper Eastern Region and operating in and around the villages of Atuba and Agumishe a few miles outside Bawku.
The Mustard Seed Foundation, headquartered in Accra, but operating in the village of Bamboi, Northern Region.
Future In Our Hands, Ghana, is currently involved in two projects:
FIOH/Teshie Baptist Technical Institute
Dress Making Class
FIOH in conjunction with the Baptist church in Teshie is running a vocational technical training institute. The institute runs courses in dress making, tailoring, secretarial skills, accountancy, carpentry and masonry. These are four year courses and end in examinations giving nationally recognised qualifications.
The institute aims to provide practical training to young people to enable them to learn a skill that will later provide them with an income. It targets people from the poorest areas of Accra in order to give them the means to escape illegal, unsavoury, or menial forms of earning a living.
Many of the young women there had resorted to part time prostitution in order to make ends meet before joining the institute.
FIOH Model & Demonstration Farm
FIOH has acquired 50 acres of land near a village a few miles outside of Accra. The intention is to create a model & demonstration farm on this land, using and teaching the concepts of bio-intensive gardening and permaculture. This is being done to teach Ghanaians better methods of agriculture than the shifting cultivation ("slash and burn") used in most of the country today.
FIOH also plans a number of sub-projects for the farm including:
- milking goats for milk, butter, and cheese,
- raising bees for honey and wax for candle production,
- starting a tree nursery,
- encouraging tree planting.
The area to the southeast of Bolgatanga, the regional capital of the Upper Eastern Region of Ghana, is the home of the Tallensi people. The Tallensi Traditional Area is mostly open savanna, characterised by a large tree every two or three hundred metres with the land almost totally in use for the subsistence farming of grains. The Tallensi people live in "compound houses" dotted around the savanna. These are a collection of round, straw thatched, mud huts with their outer walls joined together to form an enclosing compound.
Inside a compound
Each nuclear family in the compound house will farm about one or two acres, typically planted with cereals. The farming (wet) season runs for about four months of the year. During this period they will, hopefully, grow enough to get two or three large sacks of grain. One will be sold for typically ¢50,000 (~£13.30, $21.80) and the rest eaten during the remaining eight months of the year when it is too dry to grow anything.
During the dry season they have a pretty easy time, labour wise, with only the animals (mostly goats and chickens) to take care of and occasional house maintenance to occupy them.
This four months on eight months off sounds pretty idyllic, but as the year continues they enter what is called the "lean season", when the food stores from the last harvest run low and they have to go down to one meal a day or less.
The Namalteng Integrated Development Programme (NIDEP) is a local non-governmental organisation, founded and run by Tallensi, that works to improve the situation of the people of the area. NIDEP concentrates on two development areas: tree planting and education.
NIDEP Tree Planting Projects
NIDEP has tree planting projects at many villages in the area. NIDEP has a "formula" which it uses in starting these projects. The formula is, briefly:
- one year education programme on the benefits of trees,
- getting the community to donate land, typically 2 hectares (5 acres),
- motivating the community to work voluntarily on the plantation,
- providing seedlings and tools,
The Tallensi have no tradition of planting trees. This is due in part to a lack of historical need, as the area was forested a couple of generations ago and forests renewed naturally, obviating the need to plant trees. There is also much superstition and taboo against the idea of planting trees, as local beliefs state that trees represent spirits and it would be bad to interfere with the natural course of the spiritual world.
Workers at a teak plantation
NIDEP tries to overcome these beliefs and general environmental ignorance by constantly visiting and giving educational presentations to targeted villages.
Once the villagers are converted the next step is to get land allocated. This is usually given by the chief of the village, or occasionally by an elderly farmer, on a "community use" basis. The community is then organised to create and maintain the plantation. The work of planting and taking care of the trees is almost always done by the women, who work voluntarily. NIDEP will try, if money is available, to provide tools for the planting process, and it organises the provision of seedlings.
After planting NIDEP provides no further assistance, other than advise. The community will water, weed, prune, keep off animals, and otherwise take care of the trees on their own. The entire project is done on a community-works-community-benefits basis. The community provides the land and the workers, and the benefits of harvesting, or profits for cash crops, are shared by the community.
NIDEP promotes the planting of "economic" trees. I.e. trees that will help the community economically as well as environmentally. Most of the plantations I saw were either of Cassiaw albesia or Teak. NIDEP is also promoting the planting of Cashew, Mango, Guava, Papaya (Pawpaw), Dowa-dowa and Shea.
Other NIDEP Projects
NIDEP has facilitated a number of other projects. These include:
- a boarding school for 40 deaf and/or dumb children,
- three kindergardens and primary schools, totaling 400-500 children,
- a junior secondary school (ages 11-15) with 130 children,
- promoting tree planting at schools,
- promoting vegetable gardens,
A local infants school
The situation in the area with infants and primary schools is particularly dire. The educational facilities, where existent, are crude and basic. In particular some infants and primary schools are held in a grass hut or under a grass canopy constructed in the shade of a tree with a single blackboard being the only educational equipment.
NIDEP is working to replace these with proper school buildings.
NIDEP is also promoting tree planting around schools. Children are allocated a tree each and given prizes or "points" if their tree does well. There are several motivations for this: getting children into tree planting at an early age, providing shade around the schools, and, later, giving the school an income when the fruits or trees themselves are harvested. NIDEP is also encouraging children to start vegetable gardens.
The twin villages of Atuba and Agumishe are in a rural area about 20 miles outside of Bawku. The Atuba-Agumishe Community Livestock and Crop Farmers Association was started as an agricultural cooperative and continues to function as one.
Women working on the plantation
It's main purpose is that of a farming credit union, making loans in seeds and livestock. Members pay dues which are used to purchase seeds and animals which are then loaned out. Repayment is in kind or in cash. When the association lends out seeds -- typically millet, groundnut, rice, or soy bean -- it asks for the loan to be repaid in seeds when the harvest is in. When it lends out livestock (goats and cattle) for breeding repayment consists of the return of the animal plus one chicken!
The association is also involved in tree planting. It has two nurseries and two plantations in the Atuba-Agumishe area, one of 3 acres, one of 5 acres. About 11,000 trees, consisting of Teak, Neem, Cassiaw albesia, and Mango, have been planted on these plots over the last 3 years, at an increasing rate. These plots are community land and the women that plant and take care of the trees work voluntarily on the understanding that they will reap the benefits.
The nurseries have produced a total of 24,000 seedlings in the last two years. Many of these have been used for the association's own plantations, but many have also been given out to schools and other community groups, to promote tree planting activities in a much larger area.
Mr. Nuhoho, Mustard Seed co-founder, tending a cashew tree
The Mustard Seed Foundation is an NGO whose prime objective is the building and running of orphanages and schools for orphans and other deprived children. It plans to build at least one orphanage and school with a vocational training centre in each of Ghana's ten regions by 2020. Additionally, it plans to provide medical, food, and clothing assistance to other needy children, and to build and run youth oriented community centres. Mustard Seed also wants to promote aforestation and environmental awareness.
At the moment the Mustard Seed is sponsoring 16 orphaned or deserted children. Having placed them with foster families it is providing financial support for their basic needs. In September it will be starting the construction of a community centre on the site of the first planned school/orphanage in Bamboi.
The Mustard Seed wishes to be self sufficient and independent of donations for its long term goals. In order to achieve financial freedom it has chosen to plant Cashew trees to provide it with a long term and ongoing income. To achieve this it has started a cashew plantation just outside Bamboi.
The Mustard Seed has been given 48 hectares (120 acres) of land near Bamboi by the paramount chief of the area for the cashew farm. It has also been given a plot of land in the village for the community centre/school/orphanage. The Mustard Seed has already planted 8 hectares (20 acres) and plans to plant 1000 trees (10 hectares, 25 acres) a year for the next four years (including 1998).
The Mustard Seed Foundation has correctly understood that, while getting any funding is difficult, it is relatively easier to get one-off capital funding (e.g. to build a school or orphanage) and much more difficult to get year- in-year-out ongoing expense funding (e.g. pay the staff, feed the children, etc.).
So, in order not to be dependent on any charity in future, they have resisted the temptation of raising money for buildings, instead deciding to use what capital contributions they can get now to provide the foundation with an income for many years to come in order to fund their community development activities. Additionally their chosen method will help Bamboi, and the other areas they operate in in future, not only socially, but also environmentally and economically.
Both Future In Our Hands, UK (Charity Commision Number: 1047953),
and Plant A Tree In Africa (CCN: 295731) can be contacted at:


The Department of Crop/Soil Science undertakes both Undergraduate and Post Graduate Degree Programmes.
The Undergraduate programme offers Bachelor of Agriculture (B. Agric) degree in Crop Science or Soil Science
while the Post Graduate Programme offers Post graduate Diploma (PGD), Master of Science (MSc.), Master of
Pedo-Environmental Technology (MPET), Master of Pedo-Environmental Management Science (MPEMS) and Doctor of
Philosophy degrees in Crop Science, Soil Science, Environmental Crop Science, Pedo-Environmental Technology and
Post Graduate Students who major in Crop Science specialize in any of the following Areas of specialization,
Crop Production, Crop Physiology, Farming Systems, Crop Breeding, Crop Protection and Environmental Crop
Science, while those of Soil Science specialize in Soil Chemistry, Soil Physics, Soil Fertility and
Environmental Pollution and Control, Soil Microbiology and Biochemistry, Soil Mineralogy, Soil Genesis,
Morphology and Classification, Pedo-Environmental Technology and Pedo-Environmental Management.
Each of the programmes (undergraduate or Postgraduate) involves a research activity concluded with a project or
a thesis. All graduate degree programmes are individualized to suit students’ interests, background and goals
but are closely supervised by a Major supervisor in students’ area of concentration and other members
representing other minor fields who determines course requirements based on the students’ initial training and
The Philosophy of the Department is to train high level manpower who will be equipped in the challenges of a
changing Nigeria in the application of Science and Technology for the welfare of the citizenry and in the
ability to sustain self in the environment.
The objectives of the Department are to produce trained manpower to effectively mobilize the rural communities
for increased agricultural productivity, engage in research, that would provide relevant and appropriate
solutions to the country’s agricultural and rural development problems and improve agricultural productivity.
Produce manpower to take up employment as Technologists, Consultants, Teachers anywhere in the world and
particularly Nigeria in any aspect of Agriculture and related areas in natural conservation, Environmental
issues, water pollution control and recycling/waste management and pedo-environmental research.
Produce agriculturists who can profitably put their skills into operation by establishing and operating their
own farming enterprises, and also relevant in Environmental matters.
Students who will acquire the principles practices and understanding of crop production and Agriculture in
general and the soil as a natural body for the growth and production of crops.
Candidates seeking admission in any of the programmes must meet the University’s general admission requirement
and also the Departmental requirements.
An applicant for (B. Agric) Crop or Soil Science option must have passed
UME and PUME Entry Requirement
WASCE/GCE O’ Level/NECO with five credits obtained in not more than two sittings in English Language, Chemistry,
Biology/Agric Science, Mathematics or Physic and any other subject.
At least a pass in Physics and credit pass in Agric Science must be backed up by a pass in Biology.
(A) Admission into year one requires:
(1) Matriculation requirement plus two (2) ‘A’ Level passes in Chemistry and Biology.
(2) OND/ND/UD (UPPER CREDITS) In Related Discipline plus matriculation requirements.
(B) Admission into year two (2) requires:
(1) NCE in related discipline plus matriculation requirements
(2) HND in related discipline plus matriculation requirements
(C) Admission into year three (3) requires:
(2) BS.c degree in any Science discipline plus matriculation requirements
POST GRADUATE ADMISSIONS
(A) POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA
Candidates should possess either of the following:
(1) 2nd Class (Lower Division) Bachelor Degree in a non-Agricultural based discipline.
(2) A Third Class Degree in Crop or Soil Science
(3) HND/NND (Lower Credit) or equivalent qualification in relevant fields like Botany, Biology, Biochemistry
(B) MASTERS DEGREE (MSc., MPET, MPEMS)
(1) 2nd Class (Lower Division) Bachelor Degree in Agriculture
(2) A PGD in Crop Science, Soil Science, Environmental Crop Science and Pedo-Environmental Science with at least
a ‘B’ grade average pass.
(C) DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (PhD)
Candidate must possess MSc ., M. Phil degree of this or any other University.
Matriculation requirements are 5 Credits passes in WASCE/GCE O’ Level/NECO as listed for UME students.


Rio San Juan Farm Land 95 Acres
Rio San Juan
Almost 100 acres of farm land
- 3 Rivers and Fruit Trees
- Type: Farm and Ranch
- Style: Ranch
- Lot Size: 380000 sq. m.
- MLS #: LL06-Finca500
Stunning farmland only 10 minutes to beach and main highway. This property has 3 small rivers that run through the farm and one is originating on the farm, multiple fruit trees, mangos, cacao, lechosas etc Nice road was made throughout the farm. This property has ocean views and is currently used to raise animals.
Information is deemed to be correct but not guaranteed.
Each office is independently owned and operated


Hello FFF Friends, we are excited to welcome the Full Harvest Moon this weekend.
The Full Harvest Moon (also known as Barley Moon or Corn Moon) marks the point when the full moon is closest to the Autumn Equinox. A moonlight that we can enjoy from ‘dusk-till-dawn’ all weekend starting tonight. Look for the round and bright moon as it rises from the east at sunset time.
Why is the Full Harvest Moon important?
For hundreds of years, the Full Harvest Moon has helped farmers in the Northern Hemisphere harvest the abundant summer-grown crops. In September’s full moonlight nights, like the ones we will experience throughout the weekend, farmers would spend full nights harvesting corn, pumpkins, beans, wild rice, and other crops. The big harvest of September was followed by rituals of gratitude to Mother Earth, and harvest community celebrations.
As we welcome the arrival of the Full Harvest Moon, let’s take a moment to remember our ancestors working the land, as well as the critical role that nature and farmers continue to play today in bringing healthy food to our tables. Let's recognize the urgent climate and social challenges of our time, and rise to the occasion by committing ourselves to take individual actions that help regenerate our local natural ecosystems and farming communities so future generations can enjoy many healthy and bountiful harvests.
The Future Fit Foods Team
Future Fit Foods 'Full Harvest Moon' Events This Weekend:
FFF Booth at Artwalk Event, Longmont, CO, Sept 10th 4-8PM
Farmers’ Market, Nederland, CO, Sept 11, 10AM-2PM
Online Sale- Sept 10-12th- Full Harvest Moon SUPPAS Seven Seas Mega Sale


Syngenta Products list in Pakistan and all over the world is a world-leading company with over 25000 employees dedicated to our cause in over 90 countries. Steady – marching towards success.
Not only is it distributing through our network, but Syngenta also adds to its world-leading portfolio of safe, effective crop protection products that include fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and seed treatments.
Syngenta has a wide range of fungicides, herbicides, insecticides.
Syngenta is a leading science-based tech company. They help millions of farmers around the world grow safe and nutritious food while caring for the planet. By improving crop productivity and making farming more efficient, they enable growers to provide healthy, high-quality food safely and sustainably.
Naya Savera Syngenta is Pakistan’s exclusive franchise network responsible for distributing crop protection products across Pakistan. With more than 800 outlets across Pakistan, Naya Savera alongside its group helps ranchers/cultivators to settle on the most ideal decision for their harvests.
Best Syngenta Products List in Pakistan
Here is a Syngenta Products list in Pakistan.
- Syngenta Insecticide (POLO)
- Syngenta Herbicides
- Syngenta fungicide
- Syngenta Hybrid Seeds
- Syngenta Hybrid Corn
- Syngenta Hybrid Wheat
- Syngenta Hybrid Rice Seeds
- Syngenta Hybrid Barely
- Syngenta Bio Stimulant
So let’s start to learn it in detail…
Syngenta Insecticide (POLO): Reduce Crop Yield
Insect pests on your crop can significantly reduce crop yield and product quality through your feeding during critical crop stages. Syngenta gives exceptional and a-list insect sprays for the control of such extreme and hard-to-oversee bugs in the scope of yields.
Syngenta Herbicides: Minimizes Cultivation
Syngenta herbicides can forestall or dispense weeds to supplant or decrease manual or mechanical weed evacuation. This minimizes cultivation, which can help prevent soil erosion and water loss.
Syngenta fungicide: Mechanical Weed
Syngenta fungicides can forestall or fix sicknesses to diminish unfavorable consequences for crop yield and by and large quality. The fungicide portfolio includes fruits, vegetables, cereals, and rice.
Syngenta Hybrid Seeds: More Useful Yield
Excellent seeds guarantee a superior and more useful yield, which is the reason ranchers put resources into them. Further developed seeds assist with diminishing dangers like illness and dry season and permit ranchers to develop food utilizing less land, less water, and fewer sources of info.
Syngenta Products list of Pakistan (List of Pharmaceutical Companies in Pakistan) is the main designer and maker of seeds. They bring ranchers more incredible, solid, safe plants, including inventive cross-breeds and biotech crops that can flourish even in testing developing conditions
Syngenta Hybrid Corn: Simpler and Quicker to Develop
Hybrid seeds enjoy a few benefits: they are simpler and quicker to develop, they are better adjusted to pressure, and they produce plants with bigger organic products, more significant returns, sickness obstruction, and longer shelf life than heirlooms. We do.
Syngenta Hybrid Wheat: Painstakingly Chosen
Hybrid wheat is a cross between two, painstakingly chosen, unadulterated lines. Therefore, each hybrid variety contains the genes of both parent varieties. The hybrid vigor or heterogeneity obtained by crossing two different varieties is expressed as the plant grows. Common advantages of hybrid varieties of wheat include even plant establishment.
Syngenta Hybrid Rice Seeds
Hybrid rice is delivered when eggs are treated by dust from a rice plant of an alternate assortment or line. To deliver hybrid seeds in enormous amounts, two sorts of parental lines are required, a seed parent that is normally male sterile, and a dust parent.
Syngenta Hybrid Barely: Different Parent Plants
Hybrid barley seed is produced by crossing genetically different parent plants together, resulting in hybrid vigor, which in turn is associated with more resilient and competitive growth and higher grain production.
Syngenta Bio Stimulant: Natural Processes
Biostimulants are products that are applied to plants, seeds, or the root environment to stimulate the natural processes of plants to improve nutrient use efficiency, and crop quality, or to tolerate abiotic stresses such as extreme cold or heat in the environment.
Conclusion Syngenta Products list
Above I have listed all Syngenta Products list in Pakistan, must read it. Syngenta assumes a fundamental part in empowering the evolved way of life to securely take care of the world and care for our planet.
They desire to be the most agreeable and confided in the group in horticulture, giving spearheading seed and harvest security developments to improve the thriving of ranchers, any place they are.
Syngenta revolves around addressing the challenges faced by growers to contribute to sustainable agricultural development and subsequently provide greater food security.


Who wants to keep a dirty and messy garden? Of course! You must be looking forward to having the most amazing garden outside your home and this can only happen if you will take help of the best quality of leaf stakes. Leaves from little plants and trees can ruin the look garden after they fall down. Piles of leaves can also invite pests in your garden and that’s why you need to find out the best way to fight those harmful bacteria.
Before buying a rake for your garden, you need to make sure which kind of material do you want. Either you can buy metal leaf rake or you can purchase plastic rake. It your choice but you need to make the decision by considering your own requirements. So, here are some arguments over buying plastic or metal rake. After reading these tips, you can take the decision without any difficulty.
Plastic Rakes always break down to little pieces with the passage of time and due to extreme sunlight or cold weather, these rakes can get damaged. So, if you are looking for a durable and sturdy option, then you should purchase the metal rakes which would last for a long time.
If you don’t want to spend much money on buying leaf rakes, then you get the plastic one but if you are looking for a strong rake, then you should purchase metal rake which would last for a long time. So, the metal rake can provide long term benefits and it would also be recyclable.
The quality of metal rake is better as compared to the plastic one. The plastic rake can get broken easily but the metal rake won’t get affected with the changing weather conditions or won’t break even if hit by a rock.
These are some things which can help you to decide which rake would be perfect for your garden. Make sure that you take the right decision by choosing the best leaf rake which is affordable and durable for your garden. You should get the rake from a trusted online store so that there won’t be any chances of getting the duplicate item for the collection of leaves in the garden.
You can also get both the rakes in your garden as you can assign different tasks to both of the rakes. If the lawn has wet leaves, then you can get the plastic rake and for the lighter leaves, you can opt for the metal rake. Not only plastic and metal rakes but you can also decide to get the bamboo rake for your garden. It is totally bio-degradable and the handle of it can be used or the metal rake.


Week 12: The Joy of Gardening
When we arrived at The Center Community Garden, the winds were blowing and the Sun was shining bright. Marilyn, the garden coordinator, already had dirt under her fingernails and was eager to get started with collecting the bags of leaves and showing the kids how to prepare them to make leaf mold. They had to use the pitchforks to poke holes in them.
[su_image_carousel source=”media: 12267,12255,12257,12256,12254″] This would allow air to circulate through the bags. Then they were moved to a storage area behind the big hedge that we have a picture of the kids climbing. We counted up the total number of bags that everyone had raked and brought to donate to the center. Our group total was 13 bags.
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About Green Valley Pecan Co.
Located in Sahuarita, Arizona, we are one of the worlds largest growers and processors of pecans as well as the biggest exporter of pecans to Europe. The Pecan Store offers many pecan gift items and other gourmet food items.
The Green Valley Pecan Company has been growing pecans in the Santa Cruz River Valley since 1965. Our store has been providing locals and tourist quailty gift items, pecan pies and pecan goodies for over 20 years.
Located on 7,000 acres in the Santa Cruz River Valley in southern Arizona. Not far from Tucson. Green Valley Pecan Company is the largest irrigated/integrated pecan orchard in the world. These fresh and delicious pecans are perfect for pecan pie recipes and available directly from our farm to your table.


Fall used to be my favorite season, but the older I get, I think that Spring might be inching up on the meter! My poor little apple tree is trying to bloom....YAY! But, let me explain....I have never gotten an apple from this tree! It was left to me when I bought this house...sitting in a 5 gallon bucket. I planted it the next year, and I have shown it lots of love. Two years ago, I had one apple that disappeared about the time it should have been ripe. Last year, I had 3 apples. Two disappeared....and the third one had a big ole bite taken out of it.
There is some hope for this year........
My favorite cherry tree finally gave up the ghost last fall, and left the sour cherry tree as queen bee of the front yard. It has put on a lovely show this season. I usually let the birds have the cherries on this tree. I might have to rethink that this summer if I have time to make some jelly.
I used the hay from my hay bale experiment in the bottom of the pallets. I filled in with leaf compost and some of Tina's rich goat compost. Potting soil was added to the top. So far, so good.
I'm ready to plant beans and okra after April 15th!
There's just something about planting seeds.....
My daughter's wallet-purse has gone on the back burner while I got my taxes ready for the accountant. I went this morning, and while I did owe some additional $$, it wasn't too bad.
One of the things I discovered as I was working on her purse is that my inkle bands are NOT long enough for a cross body bag! Boo!!!! I think I've worked out a band to weave on the Pup. But, I also need to warp the inkle to take to the Museum tomorrow...so my to-do list just got longer!
This box of 8/4 is the thread I pulled for the placemat warp on the Rocker Beater loom at the Museum of Appalachia. I wanted to do some mats for my Fiesta dishes, and I'm going to do stripes in these 7 colors. Carl and I brainstormed a way to rough sley the reed so that I don't have to take a raddle with me to the Museum. I'll get the threads wound, and then I'll see if I can accomplish sleying the reed. (BTW, I'm using some navy cotton fabric for the weft for these mats.)
Ah, well.....life is good. I have plants that are growing, and honest work to keep my hands busy. It also keeps my mind busy....that's a good thing.


By Jennifer M. Latzke
It’s wheat harvest in southwest Nebraska and Dan Hughes is a bit concerned.
The winter wheat on his family’s farm near Venango, Nebraska, is some of the best he’s seen in years. But, with a hard rainstorm the night before, he may not be able to get equipment into the field this morning. And he knows every second of delay piles up at the scales.
“Half of our wheat is cut and we still have another half to cut,” Hughes said. “The weeds are starting to come on because of the extreme rains we’ve had.”
But Hughes has been farming long enough that he knows the sun will come out, the ground will dry up and harvest will be completed when Mother Nature chooses to cooperate. You just have to have patience and a Plan B...
To read more of the article, click here.


A oreoz strain to the Cookies strain family, oreoz is a tasty cannabis variety that offers balance between cerebral and physical effects. The resulting high is both stimulating and relaxing, offering an all-around pleasant cannabis experience that’s ideal for recreational users and medical marijuana patients alike.
This delicious cultivar is the result of masterful breeding from 3rd Coast Genetics, with oreoz’ parentage consisting of Cookies & Cream and Secret Weapon. This hybrid epitomizes the advanced breeding techniques that allow for the cultivation of strains with complex terpene profiles and robust cannabinoid content.
“Indulge Your Senses: The Sweet Story Behind the Oreoz Cannabis Strain
Upon inhalation, oreoz elicits a burst of sweet vanilla and creamy cookie flavors that are reminiscent of its namesake. This sweetness quickly transitions into earthy undertones that add depth to the aroma. The smoke or vape is smooth and enjoyable, allowing consumers to enjoy oreoz for extended sessions.
The uplifting and mood-enhancing effects of oreoz may help to relieve symptoms of anxiety, stress, depression, and insomnia. The calming and restorative effects of this cultivar may also assist with appetite loss, chronic pain, and muscle tension.
This cannabis strain is suitable for novice and experienced growers alike. With proper care and attention, oreoz can produce generous yields of delicious buds with an impressive THC content. For optimal results, gardeners should employ plant training techniques such as low-stress training (LST) and pruning to control the height and shape of oreoz plants while promoting proper airflow. This will enhance the quality of the trichomes and encourage the development of flavorful buds.


Darryl and I arranged a meeting with 6 of the 10 farmers today. We already met with the Bawku expert and the first local farmer, but given time constraints, we needed a group meeting in order to get to the rest of the participants in time. The group included 4 of the farmers from the previous farm as well as 2 new individuals. We started with some basic questions. We asked the farmers why they originally joined the system and what they hoped to gain. The general consensus was that they knew they could make more money (needed to pay for food, medical expenses, and school fees for their children) from farming in the dry-season. They also emphasized that they knew people in America had given us the funds for the pumps and pipes, so they did not want to disappoint them.
Next , we moved to more specific questions. We asked the farmers to give us the step-by-step details on the dry-season process last year. They explained to us how they went from initially clearing the land all the way to transplanting and watering the seeds and gave us the respective durations for each step. Then we started prying into what they felt went wrong. Various reasons were given but we tried to identify the main issues (too late of a start, shortage of seeds, distractions like the death of the Chief, etc). However, they clearly stated that they understood that most new and worthwhile things in life take time, so they felt that they could surely create a better yield this year. We also promised to make sure we’d do our part to help them with whatever improvements they needed.
From there, we started discussing the loan structure. We explained that the pumps and the pipe system were not free and to use them, they would eventually have to pay back so we could buy supplies for more community members and other communities. The farmers all agreed. From there, Darryl and I told the group that we would be taking steps to determine the cost inputs for the total system and the cost of the loan. We then encouraged the farmers to discuss amongst themselves to create a constitution on how they would pay back the loan, save money for reinvesting in the farm, and split the remaining profits. After the plan was laid out, we agreed to meet again later in the week to finalize the agreement. This was another huge step for Phase 2.


We care about the world.
In 2015, the United Nations approved the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGs). These goals continue and strengthen the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and must guide the work of the United Nations for the next 15 years to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all.
Our company is proud to be able to contribute to a better future by achieving 14 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Future is fair - Fairtrade
Global Coffee Industries wants to contribute to building a better and fair future, we offer and encourage customers to consider sustainable criteria through the using of the Fairtrade seal.
Fairtrade is the hallmark of fair trade for the sustainability of people and the planet. Under this seal it is guaranteed:
- Minimum price, to cover the costs of sustainable production
- Premium: extra funding for community projects
- Prohibition of forced and child labor
- Fight against climate change
- The non-use of chemical pesticides
Under the Fairtrade seal we position ourselves as a sustainable company, since they directly have 8 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
Cooperation for development
DONKERBOS PRIMARY SCHOOL & HOSTEL
Pupils that live in Donkerbos Primary School & Hostel had to walked 6 kilometers to the nearest bore hole for water supply. They were rationed to two glasses of water a day and they bathed in rain water in a plastic tub.
These conditions affected their health, and some had to attend to a hospital for illness. Toilets and showers were built years ago in Donkerbos Primary School & hsotel, but they couldn’t use it as there was no water supply. At Kalahari coffee we wanted to help improve that situation, that’s why we are grateful to contribute to building a solar bore hole (one near the school and the second 450 meters into the bush) that produce more than 15800 liters of water per hour.
PROVISION OF A SOLAR POWERED BORE HOLE
The bore hole will be very helpful to the community, it will supply water to the school, dormitory, and surrounding residents of the settlement.
With a good working water irrigation system, the garden can provide sufficient vegetables that can be used in the hostel kitchen to provide additional nutrition in the children’s meals.
Global Coffee Industries is also member of Sedex, one of the world’s leading ethical trade membership organisation, working with businesses to improve working conditions in global supply chains.
It is a globally recognized, innovative and effective supply chain management solution that helps reduce risk, protect company reputations, and improve supply chain practices.


Samut Sakhon Province prides itself on the exceptional quality of its fruit and if you talk to the people of Krathum Baen District, they will claim to have the best coconuts in the country.Ban Phaeo District is noted for excellent guavas while Samutsakorn District, which borders the coastline, boasts a long history in the production of table grapes.
In recent times, the planting of grapes has increased because of the development of the Thai wine industry. Siam Winery has its modern production plant here and is the largest single grape buyer in the area.
The intriguingly titled "Floating Vineyards" are to be found only in this province, which is about 60 kms from Bangkok on the Chao Phraya Delta. They are planted between the Tha Chin and Mae Klong Rivers. Looking from above they appear to be normal vineyards.
When you look down however, you'll be surprised to see boats floating in the water underneath the vines!
A closer inspection will show that the vines are actually planted on narrow strips of land between evenly spaced canals.
This makes working in these vineyards an interesting experience, both for pruning and harvesting.
Malaga Blanc grapes are the predominant variety grown here for the production of white wine.
If you go with us to visit the Floating Vineyards, please remember that this is an viticultural business which makes no special allowances for visitors. Thus you might find the 'doorway' a little challenging but there will always be a helping hand ready to assist you.
The soil is rich and fertile but every year during the rainy season the banks need to be reinforced to make sure they do not collapse, thereby destroying the vines.
The harvest picking takes place early in the morning and provides welcome employment for local people. Pics were taken in the afternoon, hence no pickers!
The plastic containers for harvesting are distributed and collected by boat.
The local variety of red grape is Pokdum which has a rich plum taste when eaten fresh.
There are about 56,000 rai or 9,000 ha of vineyards producing grapes for Siam Winery.
You can buy freshly harvested grapes to take home at the exhorbitant price of 20 baht per kg.
Siam Winery is 35 kms from the Floating Vineyards, down a series of twisting country lanes.
Once you pass the security at the front gate you'll wend your way around the whole property before arriving at the impressive visitor centre which includes shaded parking for your car.
They have a token patch of vineyards here just so visitors can see what grape vines look like.
The winery is huge and even though this photo is a little dark it is included to give you an idea of the size of the plant. Bear in mind that there are three rows of tanks on each side.
Some of their wines are aged in oak barrels imported from France - the barrels are imported not the wine - and you can reserve your own barrel for the paltry sum of 100,000 baht.
No wine tour would be complete without the prerequisite wine tasting and this is one you will be sure to enjoy. The tasting is done with full-sized wine glasses and the quality of the wines will surprise you, while the prices will encourage you to buy more than you intended.
Book your Floating Vineyards Trip with Bangkok Day Tours