EcoFarming Daily
In-depth farming information that is ecological and economical, from the editors of Acres U.S.A. magazine
On the eve of the Federal government shutting the door on ever labeling foods made with genetically modified materials, it’s important to restate the science which shows problems with this grandest-ever of experiments with our health. The engineering of genetic material is not the surgical process we are led to believe. Genetic code is carried […]
Why did you begin farming? I like working in the dirt. I like being outside physically working, and I like the quiet of the field. I began plant breeding because it is a way a person working in the dirt can make a lasting difference and contribute to the quality and diversity of the food […]
U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists have found that a natural seed coating can protect alfalfa against some soilborne diseases. Alfalfa is a $10 billion-a-year crop in the United States, but producing it can be a challenge. Farmers in the Midwest often plant it early in the spring when the soil is cold and damp. That […]
Research has shown that hedgerows of native California flowering shrubs planted along the edge of a crop field help keep crop pests under control by increasing the activity of natural enemies. UC Agriculture and Natural Resources and UC Berkeley researchers analyzing hedgerows in Yolo County have found that not only are farmers diversifying their land […]
Corn farmers, look to the sky at dusk and mutter thanks to the bats swooping over your moth-ridden fields: Those winged mammals put more than $1 billion back into your collective pockets, a new study suggests. The first-of-its-kind research used nets to fully enclose 20-by-20-meter fragments of large corn fields at night, thereby excluding foraging […]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service released the results of the 2014 Organic Survey, which show that 14,093 certified and exempt organic farms in the United States sold a total of $5.5 billion in organic products in 2014, up 72 percent since 2008. The top 10 states in sales accounted for 78 […]