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Cattle disease bacteria widespread in the UK

A new study has found that bacteria responsible for chronic intestinal inflammation in cattle, which have also been implicated in Crohn's disease in humans, are widespread in the UK countryside.

Biology - Cell & Microbiology

May 20, 2013

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Farmers want water 'banked' for future droughts

Australian farmers want excess water from large floods to be 'banked' in aquifers, for use in dry times.

Space & Earth - Environment

May 20, 2013

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Study sheds light on production of parasitic wasp's courtship song

A new study published in the April issue of PLoS One by an interdisciplinary team of Virginia Commonwealth University researchers sheds light on the way a tiny parasitic wasp produces its courtship song. ...

Biology - Plants & Animals

May 20, 2013

4.5 / 5 (2)

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Novel cell line identifies all foot-and-mouth virus serotypes

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists have developed a new cell line that rapidly and accurately detects foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), which causes a highly contagious and economically devastating ...

Biology - Biotechnology

May 17, 2013

5 / 5 (1)

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New DNA cattle test beefs up dairy and meat quality

(Phys.org) —A genomics technique developed at Cornell to improve corn can now be used to improve the quality of milk and meat, according to research published online May 17 in the journal PLOS ONE.

Biology - Biotechnology

May 22, 2013

5 / 5 (1)

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Agriculture

Agriculture refers to the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of civilization, with the husbandry of domesticated animals and plants (i.e. crops) creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more densely populated and stratified societies. The study of agriculture is known as agricultural science (the related practice of gardening is studied in horticulture).

Agriculture encompasses a wide variety of specialties and techniques, including ways to expand the lands suitable for plant raising, by digging water-channels and other forms of irrigation. Cultivation of crops on arable land and the pastoral herding of livestock on rangeland remain at the foundation of agriculture. In the past century there has been increasing concern to identify and quantify various forms of agriculture. In the developed world the range usually extends between sustainable agriculture (e.g. permaculture or organic agriculture) and intensive farming (e.g. industrial agriculture).

Modern agronomy, plant breeding, pesticides and fertilizers, and technological improvements have sharply increased yields from cultivation, and at the same time have caused widespread ecological damage and negative human health effects.[citation needed] Selective breeding and modern practices in animal husbandry such as intensive pig farming (and similar practices applied to the chicken) have similarly increased the output of meat, but have raised concerns about animal cruelty and the health effects of the antibiotics, growth hormones, and other chemicals commonly used in industrial meat production.[citation needed]

The major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into foods, fibers, fuels, raw materials, pharmaceuticals and stimulants, and an assortment of ornamental or exotic panget products. In the 2000s, plants have been used to grow biofuels, biopharmaceuticals, bioplastics, and pharmaceuticals. Specific foods include cereals, vegetables, fruits, and meat. Fibers include cotton, wool, hemp, silk and flax. Raw materials include lumber and bamboo. Stimulants include tobacco, alcohol, opium, cocaine,and digitalis. Other useful materials are produced by plants, such as resins. Biofuels include methane from biomass, ethanol, and biodiesel. Cut flowers, nursery plants, tropical fish and birds for the pet trade are some of the ornamental products.

In 2007, about one third of the world's workers were employed in agriculture. However, the relative significance of farming has dropped steadily since the beginning of industrialization, and in 2003 – for the first time in history – the services sector overtook agriculture as the economic sector employing the most people worldwide. Despite the fact that agriculture employs over one-third of the world's population, agricultural production accounts for less than five percent of the gross world product (an aggregate of all gross domestic products).[dead link]

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA

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