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Each year a million cows in Africa die from East Coast fever. The disease is spread by tick bites. Young cows are most at risk; they can die within days. Farmers and herders can lose up to half or more of their calves to East Coast fever. The disease is widespread in eleven countries. And experts say it now threatens ten million more animals in new areas including southern Sudan. Researchers first developed an experimental vaccine against East Coast fever thirty years ago. The vaccine works by a process called «infection and treatment.» The animals are infected with whole parasites... 

Alternate bearing is a widespread problem for growers of citrus and other fruit trees. It can affect a large area or just individual trees or even part of a tree. No, it is not a disease. Alternate bearing is when a tree produces a heavy crop one year, called an «on-crop,» followed by an «off-crop» the next year. On-crop trees produce a large number of small fruit with little value. Off-crop trees produce no fruit or a small number of large fruit that often have thick, unappealing skins. Citrus growers know that the number of fruit in their current crop has an inverse effect... 

For the past year, the World Food Program has operated a project to prevent hunger in twenty-one countries in Africa. In the project, the United Nations agency works with small farmers to grow more and better produce. The World Food Program buys the produce through local cooperative associations. Then it distributes the products within the country or area. The project works mainly with women. Sheila Sisulu from the World Food Program says the project aims to break a cycle that keeps people hungry. The situation is when farmers have to sell their produce at low prices after harvest, when supplies... 

Years ago, a young forester took an unusual new job. Earl Cooley became one of the first smokejumpers. Smokejumpers parachute from airplanes. They fight fires that crews cannot reach quickly or easily from the ground. Earl Cooley worked for the United States Forest Service, an agency of the Agriculture Department. The Forest Service had a plane that it wanted to use to drop water bombs onto wildfires. But that idea failed. So the agency decided to use the plane for what was then a new practice: smokejumping. The first fire jump in the United States took place on July twelfth, nineteen forty,... 

Rice hulls, or husks, are the protective coverings on grains of rice. Rice with just its hull removed is brown rice. Rice without its hull or bran is white rice. Once rice is harvested, the hulls are out of a job. They may be taken to landfills or burned. Sometimes they are used to absorb waste in chicken houses. Other times they are used to amend soil. But a chemist in Texas has another idea. Rajan Vempati led a group that developed a new process to make rice hulls into ash. The idea is to replace some of the portland cement traditionally used in making concrete. Portland cement is a material... 

Some pirates catch fish instead of ships. The problem is known as illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. Such fishing harms the productivity of fisheries, and hurts developing countries especially. The fish pirates can easily land in ports that are not well controlled. Then they sell their catch at prices too low for the local fishing industry to compete. The catch may enter international markets, yet rob communities of needed food and raise the risk of fishery collapse. In November, the governing conference of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization approved a new treaty.... 

Last week our subject was illegal fishing. Now we report on two cases where fish are both the victims and the offenders. The first involves two kinds of Asian carp, bighead and silver. They can grow more than a meter long and weigh up to forty-five kilos. They eat huge amounts of plankton that other fish need to survive. Silver carp can also jump high and hit people in boats. Asian carp were brought to the United States in the nineteen seventies as a solution. They were imported to eat algae and other microscopic organisms. They were put to work as cleaners at fish farms along the Mississippi... 

Today we discuss the greenhouse effect. Farmers and gardeners have long used greenhouses to extend the growing season in cold weather. Now, hoop houses are gaining popularity. Hoop houses are sometimes called temporary greenhouses or passive solar greenhouses. A hoop house is basically a metal frame covered with plastic or other all-weather material. A common design looks like a high tunnel. Unlike a greenhouse, which uses a heating system, a hoop house is heated by the warmth of the sun. Now, the United States Department of Agriculture has announced a program to help farmers who want to build... 

American farmers traditionally keep their animals and equipment in barns that are rectangular. But there are hundreds of barns in the Midwest and other parts of the country that are different. They are not longer than they are wide. Or wider than they are long. These buildings are round. Round barns have a long history in America. George Washington, the nation's first president, had a round barn in the seventeen hundreds. The Shaker religious community at Hancock, Massachusetts, built one in the eighteen twenties. But the idea did not become popular until years later. Then, in the early... 

Experts say that agriculture provides fourteen percent of the worlds greenhouse gas emissions each year. The gases released include carbon dioxide, a major cause of global warming. Twenty-one nations around the world recently joined forces to better understand and prevent greenhouse gas emissions from farms. The Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases was launched at the United Nations conference on climate change. The meeting took place in Copenhagen, Denmark in December. Agricultural experts blame a number of farm activities for producing greenhouse gases. For example, animal... 

Florida, in the southeastern United States, is called the Sunshine State. It grows more oranges than anyplace except Brazil. But in January, extremely cold air damaged some Florida oranges and strawberries and killed fish at tropical fish farms. The unusually long period of cold weather has shown how even warm climates can sometimes freeze over. But protecting plants and trees in the garden may not be too difficult if you follow a few suggestions. Sudden cold can be the biggest threat, especially after a warm period. Plants have not had a chance to harden their defenses. Those that are actively... 

rasslands need time to rest when cattle and other animals feed on them. Moving animals from one area of pasture to another can provide the time needed for new growth. This is called rotational grazing. Experts say rotational grazing is good for the land and the animals, and it can save money. This form of grazing can reduce the need for pesticide treatments by reducing the growth of weeds. And it can limit the need for chemical fertilizers by letting animal waste do the job of natural fertilizer. Rotational grazing can even help prevent wildfires by keeping grasslands in good condition. Letting... 

Scientists have discovered more details about how plants use water. Their findings could help to engineer plants that grow better and more effectively in conditions with higher levels of carbon dioxide. Plants naturally take in carbon dioxide they need for photosynthesis, the process of changing light energy to chemical energy. The carbon dioxide enters the plants through tiny holes or pores on the surface of leaves. However, each time a plant takes in one molecule of carbon dioxide gas, it loses hundreds of water molecules. Scientists say plants lose ninety-five percent of the water they take... 

Soybeans are eaten by people and fed to animals. Some farmers grow them to replace lost nitrogen in the soil. Soybeans were first grown in Asia thousands of years ago. Now scientists have a full genetic map of the soybean. This is the first genome completed for a member of the legume family. The genome will make it easier to target different qualities and develop improved crops. Sequencing the genes, organizing all of them in order, will save many hours of searching. It will make it easier to search for what each gene is responsible for. A report on the genome appeared in the journal Nature.... 

Farmers may not be able to prevent natural disasters, but they can at least try their best to reduce losses. For example, they can plant crops that are more likely to survive extreme weather. In north-central Vietnam, people with small farms do not plant rice between September and December. Seasonal rains might destroy the rice. So instead, they plant lotus seeds on raised beds. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says the lotus seeds bring a good price in local markets. Farmers in the Philippines are showing new interest in crops like winged beans, string beans, arrowroot and... 

A burro is a small donkey. The name comes from Spanish and, before that, from a Latin term for a small horse. Donkeys are related to horses. Both are part of the equine family. Burros reach an average height of more than one meter. They can weigh more than two hundred twenty-five kilograms. The long-eared animals are often gray with white noses, jaws and undersides. But they can also have coats of red or blue. Burros are known for their sure footing on mountains while carrying heavy loads. Americans know about them mainly from a history of use as pack animals in Arizona and other areas of the... 

Official snowfall records for Washington date back to eighteen eighty-four. By early February, this winter had already broken them with one hundred forty-two centimeters of snow measured. But the storms that buried the city broke more than seasonal records. Heavy snow and high winds damaged some of Washington's famous cherry trees. In the spring, crowds expect a beautiful show as the trees blossom along the edge of the Tidal Basin next to the Jefferson Memorial. Workers picked up broken branches, some as thick as fifteen centimeters. A few trees have lost their canopies. Peak blooming,... 

People might think that beets are always dark red. But this tasty root vegetable also comes in other colors. There are pink, yellow and white beets, and beets with circles of red and white inside. These 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 do not require much work to grow. They like cool temperatures,... 

Some people say broccoli looks like small trees, and cauliflower like gathered clouds. They think broccoli is only green and cauliflower is only white. But these nutritious vegetables also come in more colorful versions. One kind of cauliflower, for example, is orange, and broccoli can be purple. Broccoli and cauliflower are among the most nutritious vegetables. They are high in Vitamin C, fiber and other nutrients. And they contain substances that are believed to fight cancer. They belong to the cabbage or cole family. Other members include cabbage, collards, Brussels sprouts, kale and kohlrabi. Agriculture... 

Call it «recession gardening» or a product of the local foods movement. But, whatever the reason, more Americans are growing some of their own food. Or at least they are trying to. Many need advice from experts like the master gardeners at the University of Maryland Extension service. The extension service has launched «Grow It Eat It.» This campaign is a response to what they call «the huge new demand» for information and help with home gardens. Master gardeners from throughout the state are helping less experienced people learn how to work the land. Food gardeners...