Agriculture News

Farmers Enlist Chickens And Bugs To Battle Against Pests

In an effort to turn away from chemical pesticides, which have the potential to damage the environment, some farmers are looking in a new direction in the age-old struggle against pests. They're warding off intruding insects and noxious weeds with bugs and chickens.

Gary Wenig and his wife bought 40 acres in central Missouri to grow organic vegetables. He planted what are known as "trap crops," sacrificial plants not raised for harvest but that are extra tasty for pesky insects like squash bugs.Once the patches of planted trap were grown, Wenig rolled out a chicken tractor — basically a large, mobile coop on wheels with a mesh-wire bottom — and let several chickens in there feast on the bugs from above.

While the trap crop and chicken system has worked for the Wenigs' small farm, it might not be feasible on a larger, conventional farm. That's why university researchers, along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, are looking at ways to combat pests by introducing predatory bugs.

Even organic farmers sacrifice sustainability

I visited a family farm recently. It was small, and local, and certified organic. In theory, it was everything an eco-conscious foodie could want. And yet, it wasn’t. Like every farm family, the couple who runs the farm is constrained by economic factors. Unfortunately, the measures they’ve taken to make their finances work have made their farm less environmentally sustainable. Their biggest expense is labor, so they do everything they can to reduce the amount of labor they need, including employing machines. A lot of machines. Machines that run on fossil fuels. They use tractors to plow, plant, and weed the fields. They frequently disturb the soil this way, because herbicides aren’t organic, and hand weeding is too expensive.They get a few extra weeks of productivity and added income from extending their growing season by lining the ground with plastic to heat the soil. Then they throw the plastic away.

W.Va. Farm Bureau expresses beef with state Agriculture Department

The West Virginia Farm Bureau and the state Department of Agriculture are in a fight over cows and potatoes. Their argument spans genetics, market economies and state pride. It also crosses into politics.  In the upcoming Agriculture Commissioner race, the Farm Bureau has endorsed Republican Kent Leonhardt over incumbent Democrat Walt Helmick, just as it did in 2012. In the current spat, the Farm Bureau claims the Agriculture Department’s purchase of four breeding cows from Oklahoma for $33,000 presents unfair competition for West Virginia’s existing beef cattle farmers. The bureau also argues that the department’s efforts to promote more potato farmers has resulted in unnecessary expenses and more unfair competition.

Drone operators seek permission to fly out of direct sight

 As thousands of commercial drones take to the skies under new Federal Aviation Administration rules, some small operators are pursuing a coveted exemption that would allow them to fly their drones where they can't be seen by the pilot.  The companies who want them say the so-called line-of-sight exemptions are essential to someday use drones for such tasks as cleanup and repair after storm damage and monitoring widespread crop conditions.  But thus far, the FAA has only given exemptions to three companies that participated in a year-long FAA pilot program: CNN, BNSF Railway and the drone data company PrecisionHawk. Although some small commercial drone operators say the new rules are too restrictive, the agency says it drafted them in a way that will save lives, minimize damage on the ground and address the concerns of commercial airline pilots.  Matt Dunlevy, whose Grand Forks-based SkySkopes is pursuing an exemption to help provide services such as infrastructure inspections, said it's "extremely important" to expand the waiver program.