A researcher at the University of Nevada has developed what she called revolutionary sorghum varieties for dairy cows and gluten-free foods.
Melinda Jerk, Assistant Professor of Agriculture at the University, said the Western US faces an accelerated pace of climate change and land change, emphasizing the need for sustainable alternatives. It added traditional cultures grown in Nevada, such as Alfalfa, to feed beef cows and maize for dairy cows struggle to continue.
Sorghum Yerka varieties and her team have now developed can now allow farmers in the region and worldwide to be better prepared in front of a more hot and dried climate.
“Sorgo is a very good alternative grain crop for different applications,” Jerk explained. “It is mainly used as food for animals in the United States, but it is also a good alternative culture to replace corn, such as in milk silks.”
Yerka noted that the milk silage is fermented fodder, curated for dairy cows, which in turn provides them with the necessary energy and nutrition for milk production. Jerk pointed that more than 200 varieties that she and her team have developed not only less water, but are more cheaper and give higher yields.
Yerka reports that field studies confirm that its seeds are best performed at 20-25 inches of water per year, significantly less than 30-40 inches of maize and alfalfa require. She added that she had received significant correspondence from farmers from all over the country who were interested in her varieties. He eventually made her find a jerk seeds in 2023 in an attempt to fulfill the development and commercialization of her sorghum varieties.
“This puts me in a situation where I have to scale my business very quickly to respond to demand and this is a special challenge,” Jerk admitted. “This is a good challenge, but it is a big challenge right now.”
Jerk would like to license its highly effective varieties of varieties to offer them to companies capable of producing commercial quantities. Later this year, the yerrka will organize an event where bakers, mills, brewery, chefs and farmers can learn more about its different varieties.
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If Minnesota wants a strong network of current farmers, including those who want to deal with a healthier land, the state can help them become skilled to business, according to supporters of the bill to increase the financing of AG education.
A measure of houses in Minnesota would increase the budget for the initiative to finance instructors who run beginner farmers on the financial side of farm management.
Those who testified in support said, unlike previous generations, young adults who grow up in an agricultural family do not teach all aspects of work before deciding to follow in the footsteps of their parents.
Hannah Bernhard, owner of Medicine Creek Farm in Pine County, said this was the case for her.
“When I started my farm, I knew how to rotate and take care of livestock and also felt confident in marketing,” Bernhard said. “But I never even watched QuickBooks, let alone I applied for a business loan.”
Scholarship allowed her to train under the farm business management program, easeing her concerns about her cash. Medicine Creek emphasizes sustainable agricultural practices and protection groups have said more operations such as hers are needed to oppose the emergence of industrial agriculture. The funding of the program will increase by $ 1.5 million, but it is not clear how far the bill will go.
Federal data show that the number of farms in Minnesota has decreased by 20% since 2002 and the average farm size has increased.
Hunter Pederson, a public policy specialist for the Minnesota Farm Bureau, suggest that the Faculty of Program has many on their plate in working with smaller producers who are trying to compete in a difficult market.
“Increased funding for this program will help ensure that these instructors have a reasonable load,” Person said. “And keep the FBM program strong and keep more family farms in Minnesota.”
The land management project said small farms tend to be more aware of the protection of natural resources and more community. The Council for the Leadership of Agricultural Education in Minnesota allocates the financing of colleges in the Community, which offer training for farm management. The measure has bilateral support, but the legislature is ready for this session to limit costs.
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More than 130 farmers, ranch and defenders gathered on the Capitol Hill last week, calling for action on the freezing bill and the Federal Finance Farm. Missouri, home to over 95,000, ranks second in the country for the number of farms – many rely on federal assistance to survive. The National Coalition for Sustainable Agriculture or N-SAC, a non-profit purpose that is advocated for sustainable farming, organizes the collection of the Capitol hill.
Mike Lavender, Director of N-SAC policy, says frozen protection funds are injuring farmers across the country, limiting support for things like soil health and water protection.
“Farmers do not receive their payments, despite the legally signed USDA contracts,” he said. “If they have to use their savings to cover the costs that their conservation contract cannot cover, they may not have enough savings for their mortgage payment or to pay off their loan.”
Lavender said the N-SAC calls on a congress to adopt a two-party bill for the farm, which not only enhances the protection but also the safety programs of farm and maintains sustainable food and farm systems.
He pointed out that this farm bill, signed nearly seven years ago, was designed for an extremely different agricultural landscape – emphasizing the need for significant updates.
“Of course, we have experienced the collective pandemic Covid -19 and the lessons learned. We see the increasing effects of climate change – and we know there is a lot of work to improve justice and access to the Ministry of Agriculture, so we serve all farmers “He continued.
Lavender warned that stagnant funding has widespread consequences and added that organizations fire workers, cancel programs and stop critical services that help to eat the needy and support farmers.
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The winter in Pennsylvania carries not only snow and freezing temperatures, but also stricter fertilizer distribution provisions to minimize water pollution.
The placement of manure on agricultural fields is discouraged during the winter months or when the land is covered with snowy or frozen at least four inches.
Robert Meinen, Assistant Professor of Research and Expansion Specialist at the State University of Pennsylvania, said manure fertilizer could provide essential nutrients for crops and reduce fertilizer costs, but nutrients should remain in the fields to increase maximum value and do not run into the waterways.
“One of the disadvantages is that the compromise is that we have to be careful, because we also have a risk of the environment-more special nitrogen and phosphorus-if they enter surface waters or groundwater, can cause pollution,” Mennen explains.
Meinen pointed out in Pennsylvania, farms fall into different categories, including concentrated animal feeding operations that the Environmental Protection Agency determines on the basis of the number of animals and the production of manure. Large-scale operations face more severe federal supervision, but the laws of winter fertilizer in the country are applied to all farms.
Meinen noted that farmers who apply manure in the winter should follow strict instructions, including the requirements for manure management plans. He added that winter applications require more conservative measures than in a larger time, than a lower percentage of application to the slope restrictions.
“The slope restrictions that you can continue so that a steep slope should be avoided,” Meinen stressed. “Requirements for ground coating, which means that we cannot have a naked soil surface to which manure is applied during the winter time. It must have some roof crop, or a thick ground cover of crop residues.”
He emphasized Pennsylvania and other states have tightened their rules for the placement of manure on the agricultural fields in the winter. The state defines winter as in mid -December to the end of February, although the rules are applied when the land is frozen or covered with snowy.
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By james art 