crops archives - planet forward - 克罗地亚vs加拿大让球 //www.getitdoneaz.com/tag/crops/ inspiring stories to 2022年卡塔尔世界杯官网 tue, 07 mar 2023 19:39:47 +0000 en-us hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2 ‘making food a focus’: small farms take strides against food insecurity //www.getitdoneaz.com/story/making-food-a-focus-small-farms-take-strides-against-food-insecurity/ wed, 26 oct 2022 15:36:19 +0000 http://dpetrov.2create.studio/planet/wordpress/making-food-a-focus-small-farms-take-strides-against-food-insecurity/ food security is a growing issue, but small-scale agriculture can be a catalyst to aid in large-scale food movements.

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on a cool october morning in the heart of south st. petersburg, florida, robin clemmons is nowhere to be found inside daystar life center. a line of people accrues outside – people wait for their turn at the front table of the food pantry. once they’re up, they can tell the volunteer about any health conditions they have that may eliminate certain food options for them. 

clemmons isn’t in the pantry, either. she isn’t among the shelves of donated food items, diapers, feminine hygiene products, paper products, and dog food, nor between the racks of clothing. other volunteers hurry through the donation area, picking out the items requested. next month, they are hopeful they can return to their pre-covid model: allowing the people to come into the building themselves and pick out what they want. 

through the backdoor, past the parking lot, clemmons is shoveling compost with one of her thursday volunteers. it’s an essential part of their closed loop, regenerative farming practice. the approximately 1,000 square feet of soil in daystar’s edible garden is made entirely of the compost. the city donates seagrass scraped off of boat ramps, and coffee grounds and shrimp shells are donated from local companies, all for the compost. 

down the line of crops, you can find papayas, okra, mustard greens, basil, and more. at the end of the line are juvenile avocado trees and a jamaican cherry tree. clemmons searches the whole tree for one cherry, which tastes exactly like cotton candy. once the avocado trees are fully-grown, clemmons hopes they can provide adequate shade for the bus stop that a majority of their visitors take to travel to daystar. for some, it’s an all-day affair just to get here, since the bus comes by so infrequently, according to clemmons. 

robin clemmons walks past a row of crops at daystar life center.
robin clemmons, who spearheaded the edible garden at daystar, walks along some of the crops. among the plants to her left are some okra. she recommends slicing okra horizontally and frying them in a pan – or, just eating them right off of the plant. (carter weinhofer/eckerd college)

the edge of the farm, marked by the avocado trees, sits directly next to a major road, across from an on-ramp of interstate 275, one of the largest in florida. daystar sits in the heart of south st. petersburg – a food desert or, as clemmons describes it, “a services and food desert.” 

scarcity and supply

“food desert” is a complicated term, but the fao defines food deserts as “geographic areas where residents’ access to food is restricted or non-existent due to the absence or low density of ‘food-entry points’ within a practical traveling distance.” 

this plays a significant role in the ongoing issue of food insecurity, a complicated and multi-faceted problem. according to feeding tampa bay, approximately 194,514 people in pinellas county, fla., are unable to reliably purchase nutritious food. given that nearly 1 million people live in pinellas county, this means close to 20% of people within the county are food insecure. 

on a national scale, about 10.2% of people in the united states were food insecure in 2021, according to the u.s. department of agriculture

studying these issues are people like david himmelfarb, instructor and internship coordinator at eckerd college. he teaches classes such as food movements and food & sustainability and holds a position on the farm advisory committee for the college’s community farm. 

himmelfarb said he became interested in food at a young age, noting that it always seemed to be the central bond among his family. 

“food brings people together,” himmelfarb said. 

this interest developed in a greater appreciation for cultural and biological diversity, leading to a career in anthropology. research in places such as papua new guinea has led himmelfarb to even more insights about food movements. 

“i started really thinking about the ways that people establish communities and strengthen their communities through the exchange of food,” himmelfarb said. 

but food security is a complex issue, and this is something on which himmelfarb and clemmons both agree. according to himmelfarb, you can’t just put grocery stores into food deserts. 

“that perspective is leaving a lot of things out,” he said. “that doesn’t address the fundamental issues of wage stagnation and lack of economic opportunities that make it such that even if the food is around the street from you, you can’t access it because you can’t afford it.”

the cultural, social, and economic aspects of the issue of food security are all intertwined – leaving out or focusing on only one will inevitably have consequences. you can’t address one without the other, according to himmelfarb. 

but, he said, a more conscious effort in making food a focus in our daily lives can help raise awareness. 

“i think it’s important for people to understand and get more involved in the production side of things,” he said. “you don’t need to go out and be a farmer, but if you come out to the farm and help out and see how things grow, you start to understand the choices that farmers are making.”

providing “the good stuff”

large organizations and long-term food social movements are key in creating a more just and adequate food system. but, small-scale, community-based farms like the eckerd college community farm or the edible garden at daystar life center can help support institutional sustainability over the long term. these small steps help drive the social movements or larger organizations necessary in enacting change. 

“food justice is a whole big wheel and i’m just on one spoke of it,” clemmons said. 

clemmons and the volunteers at daystar life center make these strides towards educating people about the importance of food. 

“what you eat is everything,” clemmons said. 

during peak growing seasons, the center hosts practical cooking classes to show people who are receiving goods what they can do with the produce. they explain the health benefits of crops such as collard greens, mustard greens and swiss chard, and then demonstrate easy-to-make meals, some that can be made with just a hot plate. 

they hand out infographics about spices and herbs, and label the crops. as people in need line up to receive donations, they can see the crops growing in the raised beds along the sidewalk and, with these recipes and classes, can get an idea of what to actually use them for.

janine duffy, who has been a regular volunteer with clemmons for just over a year and a half, emphasized the practical cooking classes as something that sets daystar apart from other organizations. 

duffy also described how the garden at daystar provides fresh produce that can be essential to people’s lives. she recalled how impactful these fresh greens can be to people’s lives, especially people with chronic illnesses. according to her, people have come in to receive okra as a staple in their diet for diabetes and have used greens for juices during cancer treatment. 

“people line up when it’s harvest season,” duffy said. “we will bag pounds and pounds of greens that people can utilize instead of eating processed foods.” 

a white pick up truck is parked at the farm, with a decal on the side describing daystar as, "a food pantry farm."
(carter weinhofer/eckerd college)

the edible garden at daystar has only been in production for three years. the first year produced 600 pounds of vegetables, the second year 1,400 pounds. as of october 2022, the garden has produced around 1,700 pounds. clemmons said she hoped to hit the milestone of producing an actual ton of vegetables, or 2,000 pounds. 

for clemmons, it’s more than just the numbers, though. 

“i wanted to focus on getting the best food to food pantries, because they always get second-best,” clemmons said. “i want to grow the good stuff for the people who may not have access.”

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sustainable milpa farming: preserving an ancient maya tradition //www.getitdoneaz.com/story/yucatan_milpa_agriculture_climate/ mon, 16 sep 2019 20:29:06 +0000 http://dpetrov.2create.studio/planet/wordpress/sustainable-milpa-farming-preserving-an-ancient-maya-tradition/ milpa is a type of sustainable farming historically practiced by the maya in the yucatán and other parts of mesoamerica. the milpas, planted with numerous crops for local consumption, are facing challenges from climate change.

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(editor’s note: interviews translated by alberto gutiérrez.)

around 60 million years ago, a large asteroid called chicxulub made impact with the earth along the coast of the yucatán peninsula of present-day mexico. the asteroid’s impact resulted in dissemination of geologically young, thin soil across the peninsula and formation of a massive underground system of freshwater cenotes, which are natural sinkholes exposing groundwater. over a thousand years ago, the maya built their main ceremonial city, chichén itzá, along the edge of chicxulub’s crater. the soil was thin, but freshwater was plentiful. to sustain chichén itzá’s large population, the maya cultivated crops through an agricultural method known as milpa.

milpa is a type of sustainable farming historically practiced by the maya in the yucatán and other parts of mesoamerica. the polyculture milpas are planted with numerous crops, such as beans, corn, peppers, and gourds, for local community consumption rather than supporting a single crop for economic value like modern monoculture commercial farms. milpa agriculture requires no agrochemicals, thus keeping groundwater clean. the ancient maya empire survived on milpa farming. some 60% of the population on the yucatán peninsula today are of maya descent, and numerous modern mayan communities practice milpa.

adolfo rodriguez, a professor at the autonomous university of chapingo, is a milpa farmer in the maya community of maxcanú. dressed in a traditional straw hat and white, long-sleeved guayabera, rodriguez proudly recounted the history of his farm. back in the 1800s, the farm was a large plantation growing henequen, an agave plant used to make twine and ropes for ships and other fiber-based products. most of the global supply of henequen, also known as yucatán sisal, came from the yucatán peninsula. demand for henequen eventually decreased due to the rise of synthetic fiber, thus the plantation converted to milpa farming.  

professor adolfo rodriguez
professor adolfo rodriguez, a milpa farmer in the maya community of maxcanú, shows pitaya, or dragonfruit, grown on his farm. (evan barnard/university of georgia)

rodriguez walked past bright magenta pitaya, or dragonfruit, growing on small cactus-like trees between rows of short, spiky agave plants. in typical milpa formation, there were rows of different crops interspersed within rows of other crops, with ramón trees sprinkled throughout the landscape. ramón trees, whose use dates back to the beginning of the maya empire, are well adapted to the climate and distributed throughout the yucatán. rodriguez explained the strong link between the maya religion and milpa farming, which “has been the base of the culture of the maya, of the religion of the maya, of the (preservation) of the maya. (to work) in the forest, you need to ask for permission (of) the owners of the forest. you need to ask to the gods for the rain, and when the people harvest, they need to say thank you with the special rituals to the gods.”

modern maya face challenges to their milpa system. irregular weather patterns due to accelerated climate change have made predicting rainfall prior to the planting season increasingly difficult. seasonal changes to rain cycles affect crop choices and planting schedules. “the maya have different strategies to these changes,” rodriguez said. “they have different species, different seeds, for the different seasons.” however, this adapted methodology might not succeed in modern polyculture milpas. farmers determine when to plant one variety of corn based on the date of the first summer rain, and then plant other crops accordingly. delays in the initial planting due to late seasonal rains result in changes to the rest of the crops for that season.

more problematic for 21st century maya is generational loss of knowledge of milpa farming. “now the youngest people are not working in the milpa, (and) there are generational breaks in which the parents don’t want to know about the milpa,” rodriguez said. “the (grandchildren) want to know it but the parents don’t know how to manage the land, so all of this knowledge is (being lost) and the people nowadays cannot manage the land (the) way that the old people (did).” a new program teaches younger maya about milpa farming techniques and continues to pass down generational knowledge.

farmers are taking actions to make milpa farming more sustainable for the future. in traditional milpa farming, an area of forest is cleared, planted for two years, then allowed to lie fallow for eight years as secondary-growth vegetation before being replanted. by repeating this process continuously, land can be used for crops almost indefinitely. some maya farmers no longer clear new land and let their land recover for 10 to 15 years instead of eight to increase the fertility of the land for the next crop cycles. “i’m working with another 15 farmers and i am trying to figure out better ways to cultivate my crops, but (it is) very difficult because we are many farmers and not all of us want to conserve this jungle,” said don francisco puuc, a farmer and leader in his maya community of yaxunah. his goal is to adopt more organic methods and cut as little of the forest as he can.

modern milpa farmers plant domesticated varieties of native jungle species. the germplasm bank is a seed bank in the mexican state of mérida that stores massive collections of seeds and other viable plant samples, including historical collections of seeds of crops the maya have planted for generations. “if you can’t preserve the whole areas with the forest, you can preserve the seeds,” said dr. maria pulido-salas, co-director of the germplasm bank at the yucatecan scientific investigation center. the seed bank created a partnership between local farmers and the scientific team to give seeds of certain species to local farmers for planting to keep those species resilient and adapted to current climatic conditions in the yucatán. if seeds cannot be saved from harvests due to drought or other conditions, then the seed bank stock can be used for crop restoration.

milpa farming sustained the ancient maya for centuries. as modern maya adapt their ancestral farming practices to counter accelerating effects of climate change, they seek not only to preserve their traditional farms and crops, but to maintain their way of life and culture for generations to come.

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the versatile shrub willow is a crop for the future //www.getitdoneaz.com/story/the-versatile-shrub-willow-is-a-crop-for-the-future/ thu, 11 may 2017 12:38:47 +0000 http://dpetrov.2create.studio/planet/wordpress/the-versatile-shrub-willow-is-a-crop-for-the-future/ the many-specied, woody, short rotation crop goes beyond use as a renewable biomass.

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in 1986, dr. larry abrahamson and dr. ed white of the suny college of environmental science and forestry planted a half-acre experimental plot of shrub willow. it was the first academic investigation of willow biomass as a potential renewable energy source in the united states.

over the past three decades, esf’s willow project has picked up a tremendous amount of steam. its numerous collaborators range from the u.s. department of agriculture to academic institutions to local businesses, and its research scope covers everything from science to economics.

if all goes well, shrub willow could become a key part of rural landscapes and economies, as well as a source of heat, and, looking further ahead, biofuels – all while being completely carbon neutral.

why willow?

shrub willow is a short rotation woody crop used to produce biomass. on a basic level, the plant stores energy from the sun. after harvest, this energy is harnessed by simple burning or conversion into other types of fuel. the fact that it’s a “short rotation” crop means that it can be harvested every three years or so, and can re-sprout from the roots upward of seven times before it requires replanting.

according to this informational video on the project’s website, one acre of a typical harvest contains enough energy to power the average home for a year: 

the willow plant’s consumption of carbon dioxide offsets any emissions put into the atmosphere during planting, processing and transport, making this a truly carbon neutral energy source. because 175 different species of shrub willow are available, mixing varieties in the same field provides resilience to different weather patterns and pests. willow is generally well-suited for the climate in the northern u.s., and is ideal to fill up marginal agricultural land – fields that aren’t high quality enough to be reserved for most food crops.

as esf researchers began to uncover the huge potential willow has for biomass in the region, other invaluable uses for the plant came to light, current project director timothy volk told planet forward. shrub willow can be used as an ecological engineering tool; for example, it makes an excellent roadside snow barrier and can be planted along stream banks to prevent erosion. it also has been shown to support diverse wildlife and an estimated 55 species of important pollinating insects.

in solvay, new york, just down the road from esf’s syracuse campus, willow has proven its value as a bioremediation agent. on the site of an old soda ash factory, hundreds of acres of chemical byproduct had been held in settling basins, causing harmful salts to leach into the local watershed. planting shrub willow on the site has eliminated the problem almost completely: today, the plants absorb most rainwater, and the salts, without water to carry them, stay put. the northeast, volk pointed out, has no shortage of post-industrial sites like these in need of remediation.  

looking ahead

currently, there are about 12,000 acres of shrub willow planted in northern new york, and two wood-fired power plants that utilize it in combination with other plant matter.

still, this energy source has a long way to go to reach its true potential. economically speaking, it’s hard for any source or renewable energy to compete with the low price of fossil fuels. in recent years, this issue has been somewhat alleviated by the usda’s biomass crop assistance program (bcap) which has allowed many farmers to grow shrub willow by partially subsidizing their efforts. this has allowed willow to begin establishing a presence on the rural landscape and in the energy production field.

while shrub willow doesn’t rival the price point of fossil fuels, it does offer one tantalizing advantage: the potential for energy independence and job growth in rural areas. this prospect has been one of the major drivers of funding for the research.

“you’re in essence buying your energy source from your neighbor down the road as opposed to paying someone from another state or country for your source of energy,” volk said.

on a community level, the most feasible place to start using willow biomass is simply burning it to heat community centers, schools, campuses, and the like. but to see willow as a truly lucrative part of the economy on a larger scale, we must extend our gaze a bit farther into the future.

“to make the economics work, we need to get away from making a single product – just heat, or just electricity, or just biofuels – out of any biomass,” volk said.

in addition to energy, wood contains various chemicals, which, if isolated, could be sold at significant value. by breaking the willow down into its components and extracting these chemicals, and then converting the remaining bulk into biofuels, much more monetary value can be gained from the same crop. this process has been completed extensively in lab settings, but industrial-scale facilities, known as “biorefineries,” are only just breaking free of the conceptual stage and are not yet common in the energy industry.

it may seem a distant vision, but with 31 years of study and research already under its belts, suny-esf’s willow biomass team is keeping its sight set firmly on a sustainable future.   

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the future of farming is moneyball //www.getitdoneaz.com/story/the-future-of-farming-is-moneyball/ mon, 26 sep 2016 07:36:34 +0000 http://dpetrov.2create.studio/planet/wordpress/the-future-of-farming-is-moneyball/ rising temperatures are turning farming into a high-wire tightrope act. in a hotter, drier, more volatile world, growers have little room to make mistakes, and agricultural know-how is quickly becoming a prized commodity.

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rising temperatures are turning farming into a high-wire tightrope act. in a hotter, drier, more volatile world, growers have little room to make mistakes, and agricultural know-how is quickly becoming a prized commodity.

for farmers, the challenge is clear. crops thrive in a placid climate. weather can’t be too hot or too cold, too wet or too dry. like goldilocks, a tomato plant needs everything to be just right. carbon pollution is shrinking the number of acres and the number of days with the ideal set of conditions.

searing heat will desiccate soil and wither crops. torrential rains will drown seedlings. hotter weather will spur the spread of pests and disease. rising concentrations of carbon dioxide will fuel the growth of weeds, and scorching summers will shorten the time plants have to grow and mature. the climate is changing faster than crops can adapt, threatening to take a heavy toll on farmers, particularly in the warmest parts of the planet.

a healthy agriculture is not just about the crops, but also the choices farmers make to manage them.”

according to the national climate assessment, u.s. farmers will be able to keep up with the rising temperatures in the near-term with small changes, like diversifying crops, improving irrigation and integrating livestock to improve the health and sustainability of farms. in the long-term, authors write, “existing adaptive technologies will likely not be sufficient to buffer the impacts of climate change without significant impacts to domestic producers, consumers, or both.” farmers will need to get smarter.

“no matter what comes of climate policy, we’ve locked in climate change over the next 20 to 30 years. the weather farmers face will be different from what’s come before,” said avery cohn, director of the agriculture, forests, & biodiversity program at tufts university. “a healthy agriculture is not just about the crops, but also the choices farmers make to manage them.”

experts say farmers need reliable information about crops, pests and precipitation to understand where to farm, when to plant and how much to diversify their crops.

i think farming definitely does become riskier because changes in weather become more difficult to predict.”

meha jain, a postdoctoral researcher at stanford university, said farmers in india look to early indicators of the coming monsoon season for guidance, planting water-thrifty crops if they expect less rainfall. climate change will make weather more variable and make decisions about planting more challenging. facing limited resources — extended drought and meager supplies of groundwater — small growers may choose to lay down their plowshares.

“i think farming definitely does become riskier because changes in weather become more difficult to predict,” said jain. “it might be that farmers decide to not even pursue agriculture in the long-term.”

experts say our food will increasingly come from bigger farms armed with the latest tech. agriculture is already becoming more knowledge-intensive as farmers look to conserve resources and take advantage of shifting weather patterns. farms are growing bigger and more specialized. supply chains are getting longer.

so how does the farmers’ day to day routine differ in 2040? i would guess that decisions will trend towards moneyball and away from gut reaction.”

“what does this mean for the day to day farm operations? my guess is that you will see a continued trend towards larger farms, which may have more power to invest in increasingly sophisticated machinery and analytics,” said peter richards, an economic advisor for the bureau of food security at usaid. “i’m not expecting that tractors will all be driving themselves in 30 years, but i do expect that smart agricultural practices will continue to develop and be honed and lead to a new generation of yield increases.”

richards explained that while fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides have multiplied crop yields in recent years, the next great agricultural advance won’t come in a can. it will come in a computer. data analytics could give farmers an edge in a changing climate.

“so how does the farmers’ day to day routine differ in 2040? i would guess that decisions will trend towards moneyball and away from gut reaction,” said richards. “what i think will be more interesting, is the extent to which farm decisions will essentially be set pre-planting, then run through an autopilot system… or whether farm decisions will become increasingly dynamic and flexible, with tremendous capacity to adjust strategies even within the planting season.”

what is certain is that a little knowledge goes a long way. facing an increasingly volatile climate, a farmer’s most valuable tool may be her brain.

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jeremy deaton writes about climate and energy for nexus media. tweet him your questions at @deaton_jeremy.

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swing low, sweet tractor //www.getitdoneaz.com/story/swing-low-sweet-tractor/ mon, 04 mar 2013 12:01:24 +0000 http://dpetrov.2create.studio/planet/wordpress/swing-low-sweet-tractor/ the dragon is an electric vehicle to serve as a personal tractor for farm workers doing hand work in the field. it provides a low seating position on a special seat to enable comfortable access to low growing crops. it is narrow such that it fits in a row space wide enough for a human worker. it is stabilized by the effects of a wide hard wheel that provides a stabilizing wide stance, while the wide and large wheel provides a large footprint that enables highly efficient operation in soft dirt. this is an ideal electric vehicle application where inexpensive lead acid batteries are sufficient for its low speed operation.

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dragon multipurpose farm vehicle //www.getitdoneaz.com/story/dragon-multipurpose-farm-vehicle/ sat, 11 aug 2012 07:00:57 +0000 http://dpetrov.2create.studio/planet/wordpress/dragon-multipurpose-farm-vehicle/ the dragon tractor is a farm vehicle that has many applications and intends to provide easier access to crops as well as more comfort for the operator. the dragon can perform farming tasks including planting, cultivating, inspecting, pruning, and harvesting. in addition, the tractor can handle a variety of crops thanks to extra tools and adapters that would attach to the tractor depending on the crop. one key advantage of the dragon is its low, thin profile, allowing the operator to move the tractor in between closely-planted crops. now, farmers can access their crops like never before for higher-quality tending and growing.

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salt-free farming //www.getitdoneaz.com/story/salt-free-farming/ mon, 19 mar 2012 17:03:41 +0000 http://dpetrov.2create.studio/planet/wordpress/salt-free-farming/ unsw’s associate professor greg leslie has developed new technology that could offer new hope to farmers in drought-affected and marginal areas by enabling crops to grow using salty water.

the new technology uses reverse osmosis membranes to filter salty water and direct the water directly to the plants’ roots without damaging the crops.

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