Newcastle Disease Killed Chickens

Exotic Newcastle disease is a viral infection that spreads easily among birds. The disease causes breathing problems in birds and often leads to death. Other effects could include loss of muscle control, digestive problems or a drop in egg production. The disease is not known to harm people.

Experts say the only way to fight exotic Newcastle disease is to destroy infected birds. Infected birds must also be kept away from any other birds. Quarantine measures are needed around affected areas in an effort to contain the spread of the virus.

In two thousand three, parts of California, New Mexico and Texas faced quarantines for exotic Newcastle disease. Currently no such quarantines are in place in the United States.

In late May, in Brazil, about five thousand chickens died from a disease on a farm in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. The Associated Press reported that officials in Brazil did not make the news public for several days. The news agency said Brazilian health officials ordered the destruction of seventeen thousand chickens. They also ordered roadblocks around the farm, which is near the town of Jaraguari.

Officials were concerned about the possibility of bird influenza. The h-five-n-one form of bird flu has killed more than fifty people in Asia, including thirty-eight in Vietnam. East Asian countries have had to destroy large numbers of chickens and other farm birds.

On June first, however, a Brazilian official told the Associated Press that the virus is not bird flu. He said testing continued but officials suspect that it may be exotic Newcastle disease.

That disease can come from tropical birds like Amazon parrots. Infected Amazon parrots can carry the virus for up to four hundred days without showing signs of sickness.

The possibility of the spread of disease means it is important to keep farm birds separated from wild birds and pet birds. But, at the same time, officials also say that wild birds should not be destroyed in an effort to protect farm birds.

On May twenty-first, China informed the World Organization for Animal Health about the deaths of five hundred wild birds in Qinghai Province. Chinese officials said the h-five-n-one virus was responsible.

The Buzz About Bees

More than ninety kinds of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seed crops depend on bees for reproduction. Bees pollinate thousands of millions of dollars worth of crops.

The insects gather nectar liquid from flowers. As they do this, pollen sticks to the bees. Pollen is the reproductive material of flowers. As a bee travels from plant to plant, so does the pollen.

Beekeepers transport their colonies by truck to farms where crops need pollination. Pennsylvania State University estimates that the United States has about one hundred fifty thousand beekeepers.

Bees are good pollinators. But most people know them as producers of honey and wax.

In the United States, the Agriculture Department says more than two and one-half million colonies produced honey last year. Production increased one percent, though the number of colonies decreased two percent from two thousand three.

Honey can be stored, so producers can wait to sell when prices are up. But then prices fall as producers flood the market. That happened last year. Prices fell twenty-two percent after a good production year in two thousand three.

Between two and four colonies are needed to pollinate one hectare of most crops. Bees pollinate almost all almond and apple trees. Vegetables like broccoli, carrots, celery and onions require bee pollination.

Experts say even crops that do not require bee pollination can be increased with the help of bees. The quality of many crops depends on the amount of pollination they receive. Crops like apples can grow unevenly if bees do not provide enough pollen for good reproduction.

Honeybees can be killed by chemical poisons. But they also have a lot of natural enemies. In North and South America, Asia and Europe, mites can destroy hives. These tiny creatures suck the blood of bees. Varroa mites are a serious threat to honeybees. Tracheal mites are also a big problem; they live in the breathing tubes of bees.

Wax moths are insects that eat wax in the hive. Bacterial diseases also affect colonies. The bacteria that cause European and American foulbrood attack and destroy young bees.
Raising bees can be difficult. But many people like to keep bees as a business or simply for pleasure.

Cover Crops Are Good for the Soil

Cover crops are an ancient way to help farmers improve their soil, increase their harvests and, these days, save money on chemicals.

Scientists like Aref Abdul-Baki search for new and better cover crops. Mister Abdul-Baki is with the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture. He works at the Sustainable Agricultural Systems Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland.

Mister Abdul-Baki has found some cover crops to resist groundworms that attack the roots of tomatoes.

Sunn hemp, cowpea and velvet bean are good for warm, humid areas. The soil is plowed to plant the cover crops during the summer months. In the fall, the cover crops are turned over in the soil, then the tomatoes are planted.

In states with moderate climates, like Maryland and Virginia, the cover crops are planted in the fall to grow during early spring. Mister Abdul-Baki tells us that good cover crops are hairy vetch and rye.

To avoid soil loss, the seeds are planted without the use of plowing. In May, the cover crops are cut and the remains are left on the surface. The same method can be used for other summer crops like peppers, sweet corn, green beans and some melons.

After the cover crop is cut, the result is a layer of organic material. This will help the new crop grow and suppress unwanted plants. The cover crop provides extra nutrients to the soil. It also keeps the soil from drying out, and helps prevent the loss of soil.

In hot, dry areas, like in Southern California, cover crops help reduce soil temperatures. They also reduce water loss and erosion. Lana vetch is a good cover crop. It is planted in the fall and breaks down without any assistance. It releases its seeds back into the soil.

Mister Abdul-Baki says farmers who use cover crops no longer need to treat their soil with methyl bromide before they plant tomatoes. Methyl bromide kills many kinds of organisms. But Mister Abdul-Baki notes that the poison also damages the environment and is a health danger. The government restricts the use of methyl bromide. And countries have agreed to a treaty to ban it.

Aref Abdul-Baki says farmers who use cover crops produce as many, or more, tomatoes per hectare as compared to no use of cover crops.

Genetically Engineered Rice Cuts Use of Insecticides

A study in China suggests that two kinds of genetically engineered rice can reduce the costs, and dangers, of poison chemicals.

One kind of rice includes a gene found in the bacterium known as Bt. Bt lives in soil and on plants; it is a natural insecticide. It is poisonous to some kinds of insects. Bt maize is commonly planted in the United States. The other kind of rice was engineered to resist insects with a gene from the cowpea plant.

The two-year study involved tests of Bt rice in Hubei province and cowpea rice in Fujian. Scientists collected information from small farms already testing insect-resistant rice without technical aid. Some farmers are growing both insect-resistant and traditional rice.

The scientists found that the Bt rice produced six to nine percent more grain than other kinds of rice. The cowpea rice, based on fewer observations, did not appear to increase productivity.

Still, the findings show that resistance to insects improved for both kinds of rice. The study says farmers used eighty percent less insecticide than usual.

Science magazine published the findings. Jikun Huang led the study. He is director of the Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy, in the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The study notes that no country has yet released a major food grain crop that has been genetically changed. Engineered crops are now used mostly for animal feed and products like cotton.

The Chinese farmers in the study made their own decisions about when to use insecticides. Those with traditional rice crops used chemicals almost four times per growing season on average. But farmers with the insect-resistant rice used insecticides an average of less than once per season.

Less insecticide meant fewer sick farmers. The study says the farmers growing insect-resistant rice did not report any health problems from the use of poisons.

China has not approved genetically engineered rice for market. But a report from Hubei last month said insect-resistant rice appears to have been sold illegally for the last two years. That report came from the environmental group Greenpeace, which oppose genetic engineering. China says it is investigating the Greenpeace report.

Some countries will not import genetically engineered foods. Not everyone is sure that such products are safe for people or the environment.

Central American Free Trade Agreement Unclear

President Bush is urging Congress to pass the Central American Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA. Under CAFTA the United States would join the Dominican Republic and five Central American countries. The five are Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador.

The agreement deals with agriculture and all other trade. It requires the nations to reduce or end import taxes on most products. It also requires them to enforce their own labor and environmental laws.

Support among lawmakers in Washington is mixed. Democrats mostly oppose the agreement. So do a number of Republicans, who control Congress. But the president says Congress needs to pass the agreement to create jobs and strengthen democracy in the Americas.

The Bush administration says the United States has about thirty-two thousand million dollars a year in trade with CAFTA nations. The Office of the Trade Representative in Washington says United States farmers will gain new markets for their goods. And it says many Central American agricultural products like coffee and tropical fruit do not compete with American products.

In two thousand three, CAFTA nations imported about forty-one percent of their agricultural products from the United States. But that was down from fifty-four percent ten years ago.

CAFTA will immediately remove import taxes on grapefruit, apples, almonds and many other fruits and nuts. Other tariffs will be reduced over five, ten or fifteen years.

But CAFTA will not remove all tariffs. Sugar will remain protected in the United States. The agreement establishes sugar export limits for each country. The Trade Representative’s Office says the new limits represent less than two percent of United States sugar production.

The United States sugar industry opposes CAFTA. Other opponents include textile industry groups that worry about the risk of job losses. Labor groups say the free trade agreement does not protect American jobs or labor rights. And environmental groups say the agreement is weak on protecting the environment.

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns praises CAFTA as good for American farmers. He says CAFTA nations can now place high tariffs on goods from the United States, yet escape duties on most of their own products.