#natural way of farming

[wachinyeya]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced today an investment of $70 million in seven creative and visionary agricultural projects to transform the U.S. food and agricultural system and sustainably increase agricultural production in ways that also reduce its environmental footprint.

This Fiscal Year 2023 investment is part of the Sustainable Agricultural Systems program area of NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, the nation’s leading and largest competitive grants program for agricultural sciences.

The innovative program focuses on a broad range of needed research, education and Extension solutions – from addressing agricultural workforce challenges and promoting land stewardship to addressing climate change impacts in agriculture and filling critical needs in food and nutrition.

“Agriculture is facing a multitude of complex challenges,” said Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young, USDA Chief Scientist and Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics. “We need all hands on deck developing creative, sustainable and strategic ways to feed, clothe and fuel future generations.”

The $10 million awards are for coordinated agricultural projects (CAPs), which are larger-scale and longer-term investments that integrate research, education and Extension efforts. These projects promote collaboration, open communication, information exchange and reduce duplication efforts by coordinating activities among individuals, institutions, states and regions.

“These research investments support exciting projects that integrate innovative systems-based thinking, methods and technologies to establish robust, resilient, and climate-smart food and agricultural systems,” said NIFA Director Dr. Manjit Misra. “These visionary projects will improve the local and regional supply of affordable, safe, nutritious and accessible food and agricultural products, while fostering economic development and rural prosperity in America.”

Explore the seven projects, which include the following:

At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dr. Erin Silva is leading a collaboration with the Great Lakes Intertribal Food Coalition, the Wisconsin Tribal Conservation Advisory Council, and the Menominee Nation on a transdisciplinary project that aims to scale up traditional Indigenous food production practices — practices that for generations have already been climate-smart and sustainable — by expanding production, processing, storage, and distribution systems, as well as education and Extension programs, that are needed to support integrated crop-livestock systems, cover crops, and rotationally-grazed cattle and pastured chickens.

At the University of Maine, Dr. Hemant Pendse is leading an integrated research, education and Extension effort to advance the bioeconomy by developing biorefinery technologies that will make the millions of tons of available low-grade woody biomass – which currently has a very limited market – more commercially viable in both the sustainable aviation fuel and fish feed sectors.

At Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Dr. Muthu Bagavathiannan is leading a project that seeks to transform cotton production in the southern United States into a more sustainable, climate-smart enterprise by applying improved precision management practices to increase carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions; enhance pest control, and nutrient and water management; and address labor challenges while creating new market opportunities.

AFRI, which also makes grants in the Foundational and Applied Sciences and Education and Workforce Development program areas, is designed to improve plant and animal production and sustainability, and human and environmental health. Grants are available to eligible colleges, universities, and other research organizations.

[sainz100]

idk how to explain it, but I feel this small bubble of hope. as if some good news is right around the corner 🫧🌅 not yet, but maybe soon, I'll always feel that hope that the next chapter will be better than the last

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Quiver trees and Shooting Star

The Milky Way shines over quiver trees at Bet-El Farm in the Northern Cape of South Africa. The photographer used diffused LED lights to illuminate the trees rivalling the glow from the star above.

Photographer: Ivan van Neikirk

[wraithsoutlaws]

rattus rattus au Dagger is a Dagger whose parents were never brutally murdered and mutilated in front of him but that means he spent much longer living with an abusive father so he's really not anymore well adjusted but I guess he kills people less

[roosterbox]

Me: y’know, I haven’t played Stardew Valley in a while. Maybe I should just… *peeks*

*hours later*

Me: *plotting out my farm and greenhouse layout on actual physical graph paper* I MUST HAVE OPTIMAL CROP ARRANGEMENT.

(side note: I really want to write a Stardew Valley AU one of these days. In any fandom.)

[freakinator]

its been 7 hours in the poll so far and i saw the who ppl want to win coming but i wasnt expecting the who they think will win ngl, like i was expecting it to be a little more even but nope lol

[incendiorum]

dragon io is, as I've mentioned, just... stupidly, ridiculously territorial and their valley certainly falls under that in its entirety. there have been many, many settlements over the centuries, and each have succumbed to various fates (usually dragon-related). currently, there's two villages that io currently allows to inhabit their valley, but they are always, always watching them with a critical eye. the moment they get too into the idea of growth is when io will rid the valley of both and call it a day. they do the work to make sure both villages properly understand the relationship: so long as they are quiet, make no moves against the dragon living above them, and don't start tearing up the valley for crops or homes, then their local watchful super-predator will (mostly) leave them alone. every movement into and out of the valley is tracked, and the presence of groups of armed people is something that they will not stand - said groups get chased out or straight-up attacked depending on the mood for the day. the presence of other dragons always results in the latter of those two options. the villages are... sometimes liable to get caught in the crossfire, though. an attack on io is nothing short of encouragement to make themself known as dangerous and pissed, and they will burn great swathes of their valley and the villages, too, just to make that point. mostly, though, io really isn't inclined to mess with them much and the two (three) live in relatively tense peace. there's also the fact of the matter that io is lonely, and can pass through both villages in their most human of forms as disguise and fulfill social requirements (be an asshole, buy some fruit, etc.)

[arolesbianism]

Ive been waiting for ages in oni for my future industrial block to be vacuumed out so I decided to doodle some furry women while I waited (it’s still not done)

[weaselle]

i think a very telling point about modern western society is

we have an industry that people pay to spread poison and torture devices around to kill mice and cockroaches and rats and snakes and things and we also have an industry that people pay to breed and sell mice and cockroaches and rats and snakes and things

and you will find both of these businesses in the same town

[the-smell-of-fuuurl]

I'm just gonna say it, Beast Boy being vegan makes NO sense

[lightthewaybackhome]

[pyrriax]

no shaders for these screenshots because my poor laptop was having a terrible time just trying to play on the server today (i think part of it was because because there were people out exploring the end, since that just opened up yesterday) but there's the mostly finished bedroom and the beginnings of the actual house! i have it divided into two sections: the main "cozy" house part and the library tower which i'm still trying to decide how i want to look. dont mind the chests and crafting stations those are just There because i didn't want to take them down yet lol

bonus screenshots of whatever the hell happened to me. because i think i got cursed for going to the end to help somebody

the grey particles are kind of hard to see but i have. actually no idea where they came from?? i don't usually have particle effects unless i just healed myself/another player. soooo...... server lore things :)

[bronzebtch]

when rhea really likes someone, she would almost always ask them to go on a hunt with her. but like. its always an excuse so she could hunt for you and gut the game in front of you and clean it for you and prepare it for you and—

[fellamorte]

[superchemistryclasses]

Toxic Harvest: How Insecticides and Pesticides Contaminate Our Fruits and Vegetables

Introduction Toxic Harvest: Fruits and vegetables are essential to a nutritious diet, but are they as healthy as we assume? The extensive use of insecticides and pesticides in farming raises concerns about food safety. While these chemicals help control pests and diseases, they often leave behind harmful residues on the very produce we consume daily. In this article, we’ll dive into how…