VOASE1203_Agriculture Report

03 December 2007

Want to Grow a Root? Beets Are Hard to Beat
Advice for growing a colorful and nutritious vegetable.

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This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

A Yale student carries beets grown on an organic farm near the university in New Haven, Connecticut

Beets are a tasty root vegetable that do not require much work to grow. People might think beets are always dark red. But they can also be pink, yellow or white. Beets with circles of red and white inside are known as candy cane or candy stripe beets.

Beets are high in nutrients including folate, iron and fiber. They can be eaten fresh or frozen, canned or pickled. And not just the root but also the tops can be eaten. The leaves make good salads when the plants are young, and the greens can be cooked when the plants are older.

Beets like cool temperatures, between sixteen and eighteen degrees Celsius. They grow best in full sun and in loose soil that is not too wet.

Remove stones from the soil while preparing the ground. And test the soil before adding lime and fertilizer. Some experts say the best fertilizers for beets are low in nitrogen. Beets need the acidity level in the soil to be six to seven and a half.

Beet seeds can be planted as soon as the soil is able to be worked at the start of the growing season. Planting them every two or three weeks would provide a continuous harvest into the fall.

Iowa State University horticulture specialist Cindy Haynes suggests planting the seeds one and one-quarter centimeters deep. They should be planted in rows that are spaced thirty to forty-six centimeters apart.

A beet seed is a fruit containing several seeds. Overcrowding the plants will mean that the roots cannot spread out and grow. Thin the beets by removing the smaller ones. These can be used as greens.

Cindy Haynes says little or no fertilizer is needed in fertile soils. But once the seeds are planted, she does suggest covering the soil with a little mulch to protect it during rains and dry periods. She also suggests putting a fence around the plants to keep away rabbits and deer.

She says the only work needed once beets have been thinned is weeding and, when the weather is dry, a weekly watering.

For best results, beets should be picked when the roots are two and one-half centimeters around. Beets much larger than that can be tough and have to be cooked for a long time.

Some people like beets prepared simply in butter. Others like to cook them with cinnamon and ginger.

And that’s the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. For links to more information about growing beets, from the Iowa State University Extension and Ohio State University, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Jim Tedder.

VOASE1126_Agriculture Report

26 November 2007

Not All Carrots Are Orange
Advice about growing one of the world's most popular vegetables.

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This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

An American carrot farmer harvests his crop earlier this year

Carrots are grown on farms and in family gardens throughout the world. Carrots are easy to raise and easy to harvest. They taste good. And they contain a lot of carotene, which the body makes into vitamin A.

When people think of carrots, they usually picture in their mind a vegetable that is long, thin and orange in color. But carrots come in many different sizes and shapes. And not all carrots are orange.

For example, Paris Market carrots are about five centimeters around. Imperator carrots are thin and about twenty-five centimeters long. And Belgian White carrots are, as their name suggests, white.

For the best results, carrots should be grown in sandy soil that does not hold water for a long time. The soil also should have no rocks.

To prepare your carrot garden, dig up the soil, loosen it and turn it over. Then, mix in some plant material or animal fertilizer.

Weather, soil conditions and age will affect the way carrots taste. Experts say warm days, cool nights and a medium soil temperature are the best conditions for growing carrots that taste great.

Carrots need time to develop their full sugar content. This gives them their taste. If they are harvested too early, they will not have enough sugar. But carrots loose their sweetness if you wait too long to pull them from the ground.

The best way to judge if a carrot is ready to be harvested is by its color. Usually, the brighter the color, the better the taste.

Most people do not know that carrots can be grown during the winter months. If the winter is not cold enough to freeze the ground, you can grow and harvest carrots the same way as during the summer months.

If the ground does freeze in your part of the world, simply cover your carrot garden with a thick layer of leaves or straw. This will prevent the ground from freezing. You can remove the ground cover and harvest the carrots as they are needed.

Carrots are prepared and eaten many different ways. They are cut in thin pieces and added to other vegetables. They are cooked by themselves or added to stews. Or, once they are washed, they are eaten just as they come out of the ground.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report. For more agricultural advice, along with transcripts and archives of our reports, go to voaspecialenglish.com. And our e-mail address is special@voanews.com. I'm Steve Ember.

VOASE1119_Agriculture Report

19 November 2007

Turkey Production Costs Are Up; Not Good News at Thanksgiving
High corn prices mean farmers are paying more for feed.

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This Thursday is Thanksgiving, the most popular holiday for Americans to eat turkey. But people may have to pay a little more for their holiday bird this year. How much more will depend on competition between stores.

Production costs are up. Turkeys are fed mainly corn and soybean meal. Corn was an average of two dollars a bushel last year. This year it was three dollars, and prices topped four dollars at times. Not only that, soybean production is down from last year's record high.

Many farmers are growing corn to make fuel. The Department of Agriculture says one-fourth of the record corn crop expected this year could become ethanol. Also, higher oil prices mean higher transportation costs -- another reason for costlier corn.

Rising food prices might be one thing on the minds of Thanksgiving Day meal planners this year. But some things never change.

A turkey can be a little tricky to cook. The breast meat cooks faster than the leg meat, so it can get dried out. Countless turkey suggestions are on the Internet. We found a recipe called "The World's Best Turkey." It calls for butter, two apples, a tablespoon of garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste.

Oh, and it also calls for two-thirds of a seven hundred fifty milliliter bottle of Champagne. For the turkey. The Champagne is poured over the inside and outside of the bird in a roasting bag.

However the turkey is cooked, someone has to cut it. Advice about carving turkeys like a professional is also available online. The University of Illinois Extension service, for example, suggests practicing on a chicken during the off-season.

For people who do not eat meat, there are products like Tofurky made of tofu, which comes from soybeans.

Turkey producers in the United States are expected to raise two hundred seventy-two million birds this year. That estimate is four percent higher than last year. Two-thirds of the turkeys are expected to come from Minnesota, North Carolina, Arkansas, Virginia, Missouri and California.

The Census Bureau says the United States imported ten million dollars worth of live turkeys during the first half of the year. Almost all came from Canada. During that period the United States had a five million dollar trade deficit in live turkeys. But it had a nine million dollar surplus in cranberries. And it had a fifteen million dollar surplus in sweet potatoes, another popular food at Thanksgiving.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. I’m Steve Ember.

VOASE1112_Agriculture Report

12 November 2007

Study Points to Risk in Common Method of Enriching Soil
An Illinois team warns that too much nitrogen fertilizer can reduce organic carbon instead of building it.

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For more than half a century, many farmers worldwide have added nitrogen fertilizer to their soil. They do this to increase the supply of organic carbon for the long-term health of the soil.

Corn needs a lot of nitrogen fertilizer

But four scientists from the University of Illinois say too much synthetic nitrogen may instead reduce the organic carbon. They report their findings in the current Journal of Environmental Quality.

The team led by Saeed Khan studied soil taken from the Morrow Plots. These experimental farm fields near the University of Illinois have been used for more than one hundred years.

The researchers studied one area where corn is continuously grown. They compared it with another area where corn is planted in turn with oats and hay.

Over a period of more than fifty years, the area where only corn was grown got more chemical nitrogen fertilizer than the other area. But production in the continuous corn area was twenty percent lower compared to the other area. And the scientists found that both areas had reduced levels of organic carbon.

The researchers also studied field reports from around the world. They say they kept finding evidence of organic carbon reductions for synthetically fertilized soils.

Team member Richard Mulvaney says organic carbon is extremely important for healthy soil. For example, it helps provide air for root growth and increases the soil’s ability to store water.

Farmers traditionally made nitrogen with animal waste. They would also plant corn one season and a crop like alfalfa the next season. But many farmers changed their growing methods when synthetic nitrogen became widely available in the nineteen fifties. Before then, the chemical had been used mostly for weapons production for the two world wars.

Corn production and profits rose. But the researchers say over-fertilization often resulted because farmers underestimated the amount of nitrogen already in the soil. Too much fertilization reduces profits and is bad for the environment.

The scientists say they do not question the importance of nitrogen fertilizers for crop production. What their research shows, they say, is the importance of testing the soil before adding them.

Saeed Khan and Richard Mulvaney have created what they call the Illinois Soil Nitrogen Test. Some agriculture experts have praised it. Others, though, have questioned its effectiveness.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report. This report was written by Jerilyn Watson.

VOASE1105_Agriculture Report

05 November 2007

Farming Marginal Lands
It is possible to reclaim poor quality land for agriculture, but care is needed.

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An Australian farmer stands on land damaged by lack of rain last year

To call land "marginal" means it is not very good. Farmers have their own way to describe it. Marginal land is the last to be planted under good conditions and the first to be avoided when situations are bad.

Low quality soil is not the only reason why land could be considered marginal. The land might be in an area where rainfall is limited. Or it might be on a hillside that rises too sharply.

Yet there are uses for marginal land. Most often it is used as grassland. Grasses provide excellent feed for grazing animals like cattle, sheep and goats.

A farmer might use native grasses or non-native seed. Either way, it is important to establish good ground cover to avoid the loss of soil through erosion.

Forage crops like clover and alfalfa could be planted. These members of the legume family provide high protein food for grazing animals. They also improve the quality of the soil.

Most plants use up nitrogen. But legumes put nitrogen back into the soil. Forage crops also help limit erosion.

But using marginal land for grazing is not as simple as it might sound. There is a risk of overgrazing. Cattle can damage forage crops by eating down to the roots. Also, the animals crush the soil with their weight. That can make the ground too hard for growing.

A way to reduce the damage is to move animals from one field to another. This method is known as rotational grazing. Agricultural experts say rotational grazing is extremely important for marginal land.

Another use for marginal land is for tree crops. Studies have shown that the white pine and loblolly pine are two kinds of trees that grow well on such land. They grow fast and provide good quality wood. Another kind to consider is the poplar. And there are slower-growing trees like the black walnut that provide wood as well as a nut crop.

Trees help support the soil. They reduce the damaging effects of wind and rain. And they can provide grazing animals with shade from the sun.

Marginal lands need care to protect them. Failing to take that care might only make a bad situation worse. But good planning can turn a marginal resource into a highly productive one.

This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Mario Ritter. Transcripts and MP3 files of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com. If you have a question about agriculture, send it to special@voanews.com. Please tell us your name and where you are from. We might be able to answer your question on our program. I'm Bob Doughty.

VOASE1029_Agriculture Report

29 October 2007

Growing a Big Pumpkin. A Really Big Pumpkin
Joe Jutras of Rhode Island grew this year's world record-setter, at seven hundred sixty kilograms.

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Joe Jutras lives in a small state, Rhode Island, but he thinks big. This year he grew a pumpkin weighing seven hundred sixty kilograms.

Joe Jutras and his winner

His pumpkin broke the world record set in two thousand six. Another Rhode Islander, Ron Wallace, grew last year's champion. That one weighed six hundred eighty-one kilograms.

Huge pumpkins like these can sell for ten thousand dollars. Some people are willing to pay hundreds of dollars for a single seed.

Sue Jutras explained to us how her husband grew his record pumpkin and a few smaller but still really big ones.

He started the seeds indoors in April. When the third leaf appeared, he planted them outdoors under a temporary shelter. He removed the shelter once the root system began to push against it.

He buried the vines so the root system could continue to grow. He fed the plant a mixture containing fish and seaweed. He worked with his record-breaker twenty to thirty hours each week during the main growing season in July and August.

He needed a forklift truck to carry it to the official weighing. The competition took place a few weeks ago at a fair in Topsfield, Rhode Island.

By the way, Joe Jutras is not a farmer. He operates a woodworking business -- that is, when he is not taking care of his pumpkins.

When Americans, especially children, think of pumpkins, they usually think of Halloween on October thirty-first. Pumpkins are a traditional part of the celebration. People like to cut funny or scary faces into pumpkins and put a candle inside.

Fresh pumpkins might end up as jack-o-lanterns at Halloween. But canned pumpkin meat is popular in pies, breads and other baked goods, and pumpkin seeds are eaten as snacks.

Five states produced more than one hundred million dollars worth of pumpkin last year. The top producers by value were Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois and California.

And that’s the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. Transcripts and MP3 files of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com. We leave you with a song by John McCutcheon called "Pumpkin Man."

VOASE1022_Agriculture Report

22 October 2007

World Bank Urges More Farm Aid; Is Criticized on Own Africa Record
Lender uses its latest World Development Report to call for more investment in agriculture in developing countries. Earlier, the bank faced criticism from its Independent Evaluation Group.

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This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

The fall meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund just took place in Washington. Earlier, the bank used its latest World Development Report to call for more investment in agriculture in developing countries.

World Bank Group Chief Economist Francois Bourguignon and Kathy Sierra, vice president of sustainable development, release the World Development Report

The World Bank says agriculture must be at the center of development issues if international goals are to be met. These goals are to cut extreme poverty and hunger in half by two thousand fifteen.

The report says agricultural and rural areas have suffered from underinvestment over the past twenty years. Seventy-five percent of the world’s poor live in rural areas. But the bank says only four percent of official development assistance goes to agriculture in developing countries.

Africa south of the Sahara depends on agriculture for economic growth. The World Bank says public spending there for farming is also just four percent of total government spending and taxes are high.

Recently the World Bank has faced criticism of its assistance to agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. That criticism comes in a new report from the bank's own Independent Evaluation Group.

In the nineteen eighties and nineties African governments faced severe financial problems. As a result, the bank urged them to reduce their support for agriculture.

The idea was that market forces would push agricultural growth. But the report says private business failed to replace government support for agriculture. The result? High fertilizer prices, reduced credit and lack of improved seeds.

The report compares agricultural performance between nineteen eighty-seven and two thousand one with levels in South Asia and Latin America. Cereal production in South Asia, for example, increased while poverty levels decreased. But cereal production and poverty levels in southern Africa were unchanged. Cereal production was only one-third the level of Latin America.

In many sub-Saharan nations, more than sixty percent of the people work in agriculture. Yet slow agricultural growth combined with fast population growth means that most countries are still trying to get enough food.

World Bank officials differed with some of the observations in the report. But they say the bank is already investing more in agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. For links to the report and the management response, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Steve Ember.

VOASE1015_Agriculture Report

15 October 2007

As Some Animal Diseases Spread, One May Be Near an End
Vaccines have sped progress against the rinderpest virus, and some experts are hopeful about a goal to end the disease by 2010.

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This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Rinderpest, foot-and-mouth disease and bluetongue disease are all animal viruses that can ruin a farmer.

An outbreak of one disease is bad enough. Britain has been dealing with foot-and-mouth -- and now its first cases of bluetongue. United Nations officials see the recent arrival of that virus in the United Kingdom as another sign of a bigger problem.

The Food and Agriculture Organization says animal diseases once limited to warm, tropical climates are on the rise around the world. It says countries need to invest more to control them. It says things like the globalization of trade, the movement of people and goods and probably also climate change may only further their spread.

Sheep can be affected by bluetongue disease

Bluetongue can kill sheep and cattle and other ruminant animals like goats and deer. It does not affect humans. The virus is spread by small biting flies called midges.

It was first discovered in South Africa. It spread widely and by the end of the nineteen nineties had crossed the Mediterranean. Since last year, bluetongue has been found in several countries in northern Europe.

There are safe vaccines against forms of the southern virus, but not yet for the northern one.

But there is better news about one of the deadliest of all animal diseases: rinderpest. Some experts are hopeful that the world can be declared free of it by two thousand ten. This is the goal of the Global Rinderpest Eradication Program. Vaccines have helped speed the progress.

Rinderpest can lead to starvation in areas where people depend on cattle and buffalo for food and work. In the eighteen hundreds, it killed eighty to ninety percent of cattle in southern Africa. After another epidemic in the nineteen eighties, thirty-four African nations combined their efforts to fight the disease.

Rinderpest has also struck hard in central Asia, where it started. There have still been some outbreaks in recent years.

But the World Organization for Animal Health has declared most nations in the world free of rinderpest. They have not reported a case for at least five years.

Some other nations have declared themselves free of it for at least two years. But they still need official recognition for trade purposes.

Other animals affected by include yaks, sheep, goats and some pigs. It can spread through the air. It can also spread through water infected with waste from sick animals. Some animals die after just a day or two.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. I’m Steve Ember.

VOASE1008_Agriculture Report

08 October 2007

Coyotes Eyeing the Sheep? Employ a Guard Llama
Some US farmers use the big South American animals to protect their flocks.

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(SOUND)

When Americans think of where coyotes live, they probably think of desert states in the Southwest like Arizona. But over time, these wild dogs have spread all the way to the East Coast.

Some farmers have guards to protect their sheep from coyotes. These guards are llamas. Llamas are South American animals usually raised in the United States for their fiber or for show or as pets.

But farmers and ranchers noticed that llamas get along well with sheep. They also noticed that over time, coyotes were killing fewer sheep. So they chose llamas for guard duty.

Llamas do not need any training. Farmers usually place only one with a group of sheep. Llamas are social animals. Two llamas together will not pay attention to the sheep. A lone llama has no choice.

In the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, farmer Leo Tammi has several hundred sheep. His dogs help him control and protect the flock of sheep. But the dogs are not always available. So he uses llamas.

Whenever anything enters the fields, they know about it. He says their natural interest, and willingness to face almost anything that comes near, is enough to scare away a shy animal like a coyote.

A well-groomed llama being shown at a county fair

Their size also helps. Llamas can weigh as much as one hundred thirty-six kilograms. And they look something like a small horse -- a funny looking horse with a lot of fine, soft fur.

Llamas are not vicious animals. However, if they are not around people at a very young age, they will not like to be touched. In many ways a llama is just as defenseless as a sheep. But llamas have a secret weapon. They spit.

When they get angry, they spit out the contents of their stomachs. The result looks and smells terrible.

Llamas really know how to make a statement. In fact, you can find examples of llama sounds on the Internet -- just remember that llama is spelled with two Ls, L-L-A-M-A. If they sense a threat, they make an alarm sound. This is what a male sounds like:

(SOUND)

And this is a female alarm call.

(SOUND)

Llamas are New World camelids along with alpacas, vicunas and guanacos. Camelids are a family of animals that also include the camels and dromedaries of Africa and Asia.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report. To see a video report about llamas, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

---

Sound credits

Llamas: http://personal.smartt.com/~brianp/allsounds.html
Coyotes: http://www.naturesongs.com/otheranimals.html

VOASE1001_Agriculture Report

01 October 2007

Jatropha Plant Raises Hopes for Fuel and Poor Farmers
Supporters say it does not compete with food crops or harm the environment. But while the future seems to hold promise, there are no guarantees.

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Biodiesel is made from plant oils or animal fats. Producers of this renewable fuel often use oils like soybean or palm oil. But a wild plant called Jatropha curcas (JAT-ruh-fuh KUR-kas) is getting a lot of attention lately.

Jatropha plants at the Indian Oil Corporation research and development center at Faridabad in 2006

Some people see it as a better way to make biodiesel -- and a way to make a better life in some of the world's poorest countries.

For example, the New York Times recently described projects in Mali to supply electricity to rural villages with generators that can use the fuel.

The Portuguese are thought to have spread jatropha from Central America to other parts of the world centuries ago during their explorations.

Jatropha grows all year. It does not need much water and it can grow in poor soil where other crops fail. Some African farmers use it as borders for their crops. It helps protect the soil and keeps animals away from food crops like a fence. The seeds are poisonous, although in many parts of West Africa the plant has been used to make traditional medicines.

The Royal Tropical Institute in the Netherlands says Mali has more than twenty thousand kilometers of jatropha. A company called Mali Biocarburant processes the nuts into oil for fuel. The project is financed by the Dutch government and private investors.

Internationally, there are concerns about higher food prices and reduced supply as food crops compete with fuel crops. Such concerns are often raised about corn or sugar cane grown for ethanol. Supporters of jatropha say it does not compete with food crops for good agricultural land or harm the environment.

Still, South Africa's agriculture department says it is being careful in studying jatropha. This is what a spokeswoman told the Mail and Guardian newspaper: "Too many lessons have been learned at high cost when plants that promised to be solutions turned into environmental and social disasters for South Africa."

In June, two British companies formed a joint effort to grow more jatropha in southeast Asia, southern Africa, central and south America and India. BP and biodiesel producer D1 Oils say their new company could become the world’s largest producer of the oil by two thousand eleven.

But while the future seems to hold promise, there are no guarantees. Right now, some jatropha farmers are said to be having problems finding buyers for the seeds.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. I'm Jim Tedder.

VOASE0924_Agriculture Report

24 September 2007

Demand for Goat Meat Grows in US
Experts suggest some things to consider before starting production.

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American farmers are raising more goats for meat these days. The Department of Agriculture says the United States had about three million meat goats in July. That was a five percent increase from July of last year.

Goat meat is high in protein and lower in unhealthy, saturated fat than many other meats. Even so, the industry is small compared to chicken, beef and pork. But immigration has brought more of a taste for goat to America from all over the world.

In some cases, people who are not even Muslim buy goat at halal markets because other local stores might not sell it.

Experts from the University of Illinois offer some questions for people to consider if they are thinking about raising goats.

First of all, do you understand that goats are like other farm animals -- there always has to be someone to care for them?

How much land do you have available? And how good is it? The experts say poor ground may support two to four goats on half a hectare. Better grassland can support six to eight.

If goats and cattle share the land, one or two goats can be added for each cow. The goats will eat weeds and other plants that cattle do not like.

Do you have buildings for the number of female goats you plan to keep during winter? Each doe will need about two square meters of space. The experts say an open, cold barn that is dry is better than a closed, warm barn where the air is wet.

Do you have the equipment to clean barns and to harvest hay to feed your goats? Or will you get someone else to do it, or buy the hay?

Do you have the right fences and all the other equipment needed to care for goats?

The experts at the University of Illinois say a profitable business in goat meat may take three to five years to establish. And, of course, there are no guarantees.

American farmers commonly raise Boer goats, native to South Africa. They also raise wild goats from Australia and New Zealand. Some raise Nubians, which provide both milk and meat, or Pygmy goats, which are small.

Spanish goats are raised mostly in central Texas. And then there is the Tennessee wooden-leg goat, one of several names for an unusual animal. When frightened, the goat may fall over as if its legs were suddenly made of wood. The attack usually lasts for less than thirty seconds and then the goat gets back on its feet.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. To learn more about goats, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Faith Lapidus.

VOASE0917_Agriculture Report

17 September 2007

Study Links Virus to Bee Disorder in US, but Questions Remain
Scientists find evidence of Israeli acute paralysis virus in damaged colonies, but say it may not be the only cause of losses.

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American beekeeping operations have been hit hard by what scientists call colony collapse disorder. Almost half of their worker bees have disappeared during the past season. C.C.D. has also been reported in Israel, Europe and South America. Bees fly away from the hive and never return. Sometimes they are found dead; other times they are never found. Many crops and trees depend on pollination by bees to help them grow.

A new report says a virus may be at least partly responsible for the disorder in honey bee colonies in the United States. This virus is called Israeli acute paralysis virus. It was first identified in Israel in two thousand four.

Ian Lipkin at Columbia University in New York and a team reported the new findings in Science magazine. Doctor Lipkin says the virus may not be the only cause. He says it may work with other causes to produce the collapse disorder.

The team found the virus in colonies with the help of a map of honey bee genes that was published last year. They examined thirty colonies affected by the disorder. They found evidence of the virus in twenty-five of them, and in one healthy colony. The next step is further testing of healthy hives.

The researchers suggested that the United States may have imported the disorder in bees from Australia. They say the bees may carry the virus but not be affected.

The idea is that unlike many American bees, the ability of Australian bees to fight disease has not been hurt by the varroa mite. This insect attacks honey bees, which could make the disorder more likely to affect a hive. Australian bee producers reject these suspicions.

And some researchers suspect that bee production in the United States is down mainly because of the weather. Honey bees gather nectar from flowers and trees. The sweet liquid gives them food and material to make honey.

But cold weather this spring in the Midwest reduced the flow of nectar in many flowers. Many bees may have starved. Dry conditions in areas of the country could also be playing a part.

Wayne Esaias is a NASA space agency scientist who keeps bees in his free time. He lives in central Maryland, where he has found that flowers are blooming a month earlier than they did in nineteen seventy. Wayne Esaias is organizing a group of beekeepers to document nectar flow around the country.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. I’m Steve Ember.

VOASE0910_Agriculture Report

10 September 2007

Strip Cropping as a Way to Increase Cowpea Production
Farmers in northern Nigeria learn a method used in many countries to provide bigger crops and protect soil.

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Strip cropping

Nigeria is the world's largest cowpea producer. Cowpeas are also called black-eyed peas. But there is always room for improvement.

Recently, before the start of another farming season, some farmers in northern Nigeria received training in ways to increase production.

The Institute for International and Tropical Agriculture organized the training in Kano. Extension agents also attended. So did representatives of the United States Agency for International Development and the Kano State Agricultural Development Authority.

The program included training in strip cropping. This means repeatedly planting two rows of cereals followed by four rows of cowpeas.

Strip cropping is generally done on slopes, or hilly areas. Farmers in many countries use this traditional method with a number of crops. Experts say it can provide bigger crops and protect soil from damage by wind and water.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization suggests using strip cropping with the alternating of crops. That is, not growing the same crop again and again. The F.A.O. says combining these methods can reduce insect pests and fungi.

Farmers in the Americas also use strip cropping to reduce erosion. One example is on Prince Edward Island, a province of Canada in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Colorful rows of crops look like an artist designed them. Agricultural specialists on the island say the strip-cropping method works well with potatoes. They say it can reduce erosion rates over hilly areas far better than simply changing crops.

At their training in Kano, the farmers also learned about a method called triple bagging to store cowpeas. The system uses three fifty kilogram plastic bags. The cowpeas are placed in the first one, which is then put inside the other two. Insects are not likely to get through all three bags. Cowpeas can be stored this way for five months without the need to use preservatives.

The farmers also learned how to use the sun to kill insects that invade cowpeas before storage. The cowpeas are placed on a black plastic sheet under the heat of the sun. Later, the produce is moved into metal cans without any air inside.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. You can learn more about agricultural methods at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.