Archive for December, 2012
Study Identifies Drivers for Sustainable Land Management
Friday, December 21st, 2012A new study by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) identifies financial and environmental concerns as the key drivers influencing the adoption of sustainable farming practices in Australia.
The report, ‘Drivers of practice change in land management in Australian agriculture’, is based on a national survey of over 1300 farm [...]Leia mais
China to Enhance Food, Water Safety
Tuesday, December 18th, 2012In 2012, China published 88 new standards on food safety and expanded the monitoring network on chemical contaminants and pathogenic microorganisms in food from 25 per cent of county-level administrative regions to 47 per cent, according to Vice Minister of Health Chen Xiaohong.
Speaking at a forum on health supervision, Mr Chen pledged that 60 per [...]Leia mais
Dust reducing techniques for pig houses
Wednesday, December 12th, 2012The research, carried out at the Innovation Center (VIC) Sterksel, focused in total on five techniques to reduce dust, investment and annual costs. The techniques made use of different operating principles: Negative ionisation (IC-ionic), photocatalytic oxidation (RCI), treatment with oxygen ions (Airlife), a film of vegetable oil on the pigs’ skins (Oil nipple) and air [...]
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Washington State University Scientists Find New Way for Antibiotic Resistance to Spread
Wednesday, December 12th, 2012Washington State University researchers have found an unlikely recipe for antibiotic resistant bacteria: Mix cow dung and soil, and add urine infused with metabolized antibiotic. The urine will kill off normal E. coli in the dung-soil mixture. But antibiotic-resistant E. coli will survive in the soil to recolonize in a cow’s gut through pasture, forage [...]
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Food Production Accounts for 29 Per Cent of GHG Emissions
Tuesday, December 11th, 2012But while the emissions “footprint” of food production needs to be reduced, a companion policy brief by CCAFS lays out how climate change will require a complete recalibration of where specific crops are grown and livestock are raised.
Together, Climate Change and Food Systems (published in the 2012 Annual Review of Environment and Resources) and Recalibrating [...]Leia mais
Composts and Digestates Not Suitable for Bedding
Tuesday, December 4th, 2012The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) is warning farmers not to use compost and anaerobic digestion residues (digestates) produced at plants approved under the Animal By-Product (ABP) Regulations as bedding materials for livestock.
This follows similar guidance issued in October regarding use of poultry litter as bedding: defra.gov.uk/ahvla/files/info-note-botulism.pdf
Keepers are also advised by the AHVLA [...]Leia mais
Sources of E. coli Are Not Always What They Seem
Tuesday, December 4th, 2012US Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists have identified sources of Escherichia coli bacteria that could help restore the reputation of local livestock. Studies by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist Mark Ibekwe suggest that in some parts of California, pathogens in local waterways are more often carried there via runoff from urban areas, not from animal [...]
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