Texas researchers seek new traits from wild cotton
Texas A&M scientists are delving into wild cotton seed collections from the U.S., Russia and France, looking for new traits that might widen the crop's gene pool.
Click here for a report.
Friday, May 04, 2007
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Bill Bryson, Iowan, plans to clean up the English countryside
Bill Bryson, one of my favorite authors, is ready to clean up the English countryside, which seems odd on the face of it, since Bryson was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa.
"I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to."
So begins his loving, funny travelogue of America, The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America, which recounts a trip he made through the country after years living and working in England as a journalist.
Bryson, 55, has lived in England off and on since 1973, and I read a report today that he had just been named head of "the quintessentially English Campaign to Protect Rural England."
According to the account by Jeremy Lovell of Reuters, Bryson said that being a foreigner would be an asset, not an impediment.
"I grew up in an industrial farming state. If you suggested to people they should go out for a walk they would think you were mad," he said in the report. "Here, the countryside is so beautiful but you are in danger of taking it for granted."
Lovell explained that the CPRE -- formerly the Council for the Protection of Rural England -- "describes itself as a charity promoting the beauty, tranquility and diversity of the countryside with 60,000 supporters and a branch in every county."
Bryson said the first focus of his presidency would be to fight "the relentless spread of litter across the English countryside."
He's a good man for the job, I suspect. Bryson's gift as a writer has always been to see the beauty in common, small and out-of-the-way places and recognize the magic in what seem to be the most mundane of things.
If you plan to travel to Australia, make it a point to read his In a Sunburned Country
His look at the history of modern science - A Short History of Nearly Everything - delves into the large and small of the universe and leaves you with a deep appreciation of both what we have learned and what we have yet to discover.
The only thing more fun than reading one of Bryson's books is listening to him read it. If you can find a copy of any of his books on tape or as an audio download, take him on a long cross-country trip. He travels well.
Congress may refocus rural internet funding
For the last couple of years, I've questioned the efficiency and maybe even the propriety of the way the USDA has handled programs that were intended to spread broadband internet access to more rural areas. Too much of the money seemed to be going to either far-flung Indian reservations or suburban areas.
The vast heartland - where farmers and ranchers actually need broadband service - were passed over. Or, USDA made programs so restrictive or complicated that small business people couldn't readily gain the kind of support needed to build viable systems, like wireless networks.
This week, members of a U.S. House committee charged that a 5-year, $1.2 billion program to expand broadband internet services to rural communities has missed many unserved areas while channeling hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidized loans to companies in places where service already exists.
"If you don't fix this, I guarantee you this committee will," House Ag Committee Chairman Collin C. Peterson (D-Minn.) told James M. Andrew, administrator of the Rural Utilities Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "I don't know why it should be this hard."
Thank you, Congressman Peterson.
The quote from was an article in the Washington Post, which recently has delved into the workings of USDA rural development programs, including the mandate to expand rural internet service.
"In September 2005, USDA's inspector general reported that the broadband program "has not maintained its focus on rural communities" that are without service, according to the Post.
Anybody reading this on a dial-up connection would probably agree.
Click here to read the full story, posted on the Ag Observatory web site.
Still Getting Drier: Georgia Drought Severe
With record to near-record high temperatures and little to no rain, northwest and south Georgia enter May in extreme drought conditions. Little if any widespread, sustained relief from the drought is anticipated. The long-term outlook is for the drought to continue to intensify.
Click here for more information.
Reniform nematodes in cotton: simple organisms, but complicated solutions
Mississippi State University is evaluating a biological control agent - a fungicide - for controlling reniform nematodes in cotton. This is the first time this particular fungus has been tested in the U.S. Early tests showed positive results.
Click here for a report sent to us by Mississippi State.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
