NASA already understands that growing food on Mars presents significant issues. First, Mars has half the sunlight Earth does and supplying the additional light will need a substantial power source. Mars also has lower atmospheric pressure than Earth, so NASA is studying whether plants can grow and survive in a reduced atmospheric pressure environment.

There’s also that little issue of radiation. Mars doesn’t have the atmospheric protection Earth does, so space particles can reach its surface quite easily. So, some sort of shielding mechanism will be required to protect the inhabitants and vegetation.

These challenges, however, don’t deter scientists from firmly believing that farming on Mars is possible. In the article linked below, Robert Ferl, director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research at the University of Florida, cites agriculture as an essential component of any successful human migration.

“Every great migration in history happened because we took our agriculture with us,” Ferl said. “When you learn to take your plants with you, you can not only go to visit, you can go there to stay and live.”

Farming on Mars: NASA ponders food supply for 2030s mission

By Clara Moscowitz, SPACE.com

The first humans to live on Mars might not identify as astronauts, but farmers. To establish a sustainable settlement on Earth’s solar system neighbor, space travelers will have to learn how to grow food on Mars — a job that could turn out to be one of the most vital, challenging and labor-intensive tasks at hand, experts say.

There are a couple of issues, however, that make the depleting water situation look rather bleak. As James Workman outlines in his terrific series of essays on water scarcity, urban water saving methods and technologies may be ineffective, and he also questions whether municipalities, from an economic standpoint, truly want their citizens to conserve water. In addition, as the authors point out in the study, farmers and ranchers won’t, typically, implement water conservation measures unless there are financial incentives for them to do so.

So, what can be done? In the interview linked below, Brian Richter, a freshwater scientist with The Nature Conservancy argues for the creation of urban-rural partnerships where farmers and ranchers are rewarded by municipalities for the water they conserve. For instance, Richter mentions water markets that have been established in Australia and the Edwards Aquifer in Texas. In this scenario, farmers and ranchers would “sell any ‘saved’ water to other farmers, cities, or environmental interests as long as it does not harm other water users or the environment.”

A similar, incentives-based approach, is being utilized by Sand County Foundation in the Midwest through its Agricultural Incentives program, which offers Midwestern farmers financial incentives to implement water conservation practices that keep water, and its nitrogen and phosphorous content, on the land and out of waterways. As part of this program, the Foundation has entered into a partnership, called Yahara WINs, with several municipalities, landowners, and other organizations to help reduce phosphorous and nitrogen runoff from agricultural lands into waterways in the Madison, Wisconsin area. Sand County Foundation also launched a program, Water As A Crop™, now operating a pilot program in Texas, which pays financial incentives to landowners who implement water conservation practices.

Water scarcity, obviously, is not something to be taken lightly, but it’s fairly clear that the agricultural community plays an integral role in the issue. So, these incentive-based urban-rural and private-public partnerships are a step in the right direction.

Will cities ever get smart about water use?

By Robert Lalasz, Grist

If the definition of insanity is making the same mistakes over and over, then many cities have taken a certifiable approach to securing their water supplies — and they need some radical therapy before taking the big economic, ecological, and human hits that come with a permanent state of thirst.

That’s the conclusion from a new study in the journal Water Policy, whose authors compared the water supply histories of four cities — San Diego, Phoenix, San Antonio, and Adelaide, Australia. Among the lessons learned? Urban water conservation, recycling, and desalination aren’t silver bullets. In fact, the best solution may lie upstream with farmers — saving just 5-10 percent of agricultural irrigation in upstream watersheds could satisfy a city’s entire water needs.

But the time to act is now, argues Brian Richter, a senior freshwater scientist at The Nature Conservancy and the study’s lead author — he says a global urban water crisis is already here. Below, Richter tells us more about what cities need to do to say on the right side of dry. Read more …

The timeworn water tower that stands in front of the Giacomazzi Dairy in Kings County is a hallmark of the farm’s endurance. It proclaims, “Since 1893.”

Dino Giacomazzi, the fourth generation to run the operation, said cows have been producing milk and the land producing feed every single day of the ensuing 120 years.

In order to maintain the family business in times of mounting environmental pressures and tightening economics, Giacomazzi became a leader in developing completely new production paradigms for dairy industry feed production in the San Joaquin Valley.

Last year, he received the prestigious Leopold Conservation Award for California, and last week he hosted a luncheon at his rural Kings County dairy to raise awareness of efforts being made around the San Joaquin Valley to boost agricultural sustainability.

“I want this to be about all the work being done here. I am accepting this award on behalf of a whole industry of people,” Giacomazzi said. “Every farmer I know is a conservation agriculturist. That’s just called doing business.”

In California, the Leopold Conservation Award is presented by the Sand County Foundation, California Farm Bureau Federation, and Sustainable Conservation. The recognition, said Karen Sweet of the Sand County Foundation, “honors ethical and scientifically sound practices that benefit us all, and inspires other landowners as an example.”

Giacomazzi, a founding member of UC’s Conservation Agriculture Systems Innovation (CASI) Center, for years has evaluated equipment, planting configurations and fertilization approaches in silage production. He worked closely with other dairy operators to build a reservoir of knowledge and experience that is accelerating the development and implementation of conservation tillage practices, said Jeff Mitchell, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis and chair of CASI.

“Dino’s a person of tremendous vision for seeing a better way and for, as he is fond of quoting Abraham Lincoln, ‘thinking anew and acting anew,’” Mitchell said. “He’s a rather unique example of someone who has had the courage to disenthrall himself of dogma and create something new.”

In the spring of 2005, Giacomazzi initiated a demonstration evaluation of strip-till corn planting in a 28-acre field as part of an Environmental Quality Incentives Program contract he had received from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. In 2006, he hosted a public field day to share what he learned about strip-till implements, planters and configurations, an event Mitchell considers the best public field day of his Extension career. Giacomazzi has traveled to Davis to address agriculture students, accepted speaking engagements -such as the keynote address at the launch of CASI last year – and hosted numerous agricultural tours on his farm.

“Dino is a leader,” Mitchell said. “He has opened a lot of eyes to what can be, to how agricultural systems can be improved, to both make money and to be good for the environment.”

During the celebration, Giacomazzi took to the podium to turn the spotlight on Mitchell. Giacomazzi praised Mitchell’s personal commitment to sharing conservation agriculture practices.

Recognizing Mitchell’s distinct character and energy, Giacomazzi said he could think of no more fitting way to honor him than with a customized “Jeff Mitchell Award,” which he said Mitchell would hold “in perpetuity.”

Another founding member of CASI, Ron Harben, former field officer for the California Association of Resource Conservation Districts, also spoke at the event.

“Jeff’s enthusiasm is contagious,” Harben said, “but it’s solidly backed up with knowledge, experience and the real desire to bring sustainability – both economic and environmental – to agriculture.”

Mitchell travels in the Valley extensively, visits farms from Kern County to as far north as the Intermountain area on the border with Oregon, and takes two or three trips from his Fresno County headquarters to Davis each week for meetings, teaching classes and working with graduate students.

“His Toyota Prius has nearly half a million miles on it,” Harben said.

During his presentation at the celebration, Mitchell also called attention to the Giacomazzi Dairy’s weathered water tower.

“Think about that. There is something quite profound here,” he said. “There is no better example of sustainability. This is where sustainability is happening. This is the real thing.”

Sand County Foundation, its major partners, California Farm Bureau Federation and Sustainable Conservation, and its other sponsors, S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, and The Nature Conservancy are accepting nominations for the 2013 Leopold Conservation Award until July 12. Nominations of agriculturalists and foresters may be submitted at the Leopold Conservation Award website, http://www.leopoldconservationaward.org.

Original blog post can be found on Conservation Agriculture

Photo © Paolo Vescia

Producers input information about a given field, such as slope and soil characteristics. They can also enter their tillage, nutrient and pest management, and conservation practices. The combination gives them a single number that indicates their water quality level. Producers can also make adjustments to elements, such as conservation variables, to gauge what kind of impact certain practices will have on their operation.

WQIag presents a simplicity and accessibility to this information that wasn’t available before. It’s a 10-point system that’s less expensive and easier to interpret than the data that are collected from in-stream and edge of field water quality monitoring systems.

NRCS continues to improve the system, which is still in a pilot phase, and plans to launch a smartphone app at some point.

Water quality index for ag runoff streamlined

By Spencer Miller, NRCS

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service has developed a new web-based tool to help producers easily calculate the quality of water flowing off their fields.

It’s called the Water Quality Index for Agricultural Runoff, or WQIag for short, and this is how it works: Producers input variables about their field, such as slope, soil characteristics, nutrient and pest management, tillage practices, and, finally, conservation practices.

Then, as NRCS National Water Quality and Quantity team leader Shaun McKinney explains, “The WQIag takes the complex scientific information of these variables and synthesizes them into a single number.”

Though some variables – such as slope and soil – won’t change, producers can adjust others for a quick estimate of how conservation impacts water quality. A few clicks calculate the consequences, in terms of water quality, of using less tillage, less fertilizer, natural pest management techniques and other conservation practices.

“Water quality is complex,” says McKinney. In the past, “experts have usually focused on one aspect of water quality – such as temperature, nutrients or pesticide content –instead of thinking about a more complete picture.” Read more …

According to the article linked below, there are two ways to go about de-extinction. The first option is cloning, which involves the capture of a living cell from an extinct species, which could be re-programmed into an embryonic cell and implanted in a surrogate mother. An attempt was made to bring back the bucardo, using this method, but it has failed thus far. The second option, because living cells from these species are so difficult to find, is to take remnants of a cell and try to fill in the missing pieces. Researchers are planning to use this method for passenger pigeon recovery.

It’s exciting stuff, to be sure, but a major question in all of this is, if we have the means to bring back extinct species, should we? That’s a question that scientists and policymakers must weigh very carefully before this process moves forward.

As Stan Temple, an emeritus professor of wildlife ecology at UW-Madison and a recent keynote speaker at a National Geographic meeting on de-extinction, says in the article:

“Think very carefully about this before the saber-toothed tiger is out of the bag.”

New science poised to bring back lost species

By Ron Seely, Wisconsin State Journal

In 2014, Wisconsin and the rest of the nation will observe a sad anniversary — the 100th year of a world without passenger pigeons.

Preparations are already under way in the state to properly note the passing of a bird that once turned daylight to darkness with its numbers. From books and conferences to buffing and rededicating the famous memorial monument at Wyalusing State Park, it will be a year spent pondering the meaning of the loss.

But, as opposed to other such anniversaries since the bird’s passing, this one will be marked also by a curious and perhaps momentous new twist.

Why not, some are asking, bring the passenger pigeon back? Read more …

It’s not all wine and bluebonnets, however. Given the fact that 92 percent of Texas soil is privately owned, a great deal of the bluebonnet worship is accompanied by trespassing violations and even folks risking personal safety to get that perfect greeting card-type photo. People are often seen marching into fields of bluebonnets without regard for property ownership or dangers such as snakes, scorpions, fire ants, and/or bull nettle. The issue is certain to be heightened this year due to the drought limiting the amount of quality bluebonnet fields.

But, not all landowners are troubled by the intrusion. Some are proud to show off their bluebonnets to folks who wish to admire them. Either way, the bluebonnet season isn’t very long, so the flower worshipping will cease in relatively short order … until this time next year.

Photo: Texas Parks & Wildlife Department

Breaking laws and fighting fire ants in a rush to the bluebonnet fields

By Kate Murphy, The New York Times

It is bluebonnet season in Texas, when hayfields and grazing pastures are transformed into seas of indigo bloom. And while Vermonters take pride in their fall foliage and Washingtonians love their cherry blossoms, Texans can be near fanatical about bluebonnets, sometimes ignoring property laws and personal safety to wade into their fragrant midst.

“It’s like a feeding frenzy every spring,” said Damon Waitt, a botanist and senior director at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin. “Every parent in Texas must have at least one picture of their kids in the bluebonnets, so you’ll see dotting the hillsides little baby butt prints where the flowers have been smooshed down.”

And because 92 percent of the land in Texas is privately owned, bluebonnet season is also trespassing season. “It’s weird when you drive down the road and see all these people jumping over fences,” said George Dillingham, a real estate broker in Brenham, which is about halfway between Houston and Austin. “It’s amazing — people feel like they have some sort of legal access just because there are bluebonnets.” Read more …

The award, which is presented by Nebraska Cattlemen, Cargill, and Wisconsin-based Sand County Foundation, recognizes outstanding, positive contributions to natural resources by agricultural families.

Third generation ranchers Frank, Henry, and Adam and their wives, Jennifer, Mary, and Jenny operate the nearly 22,000-acre ranch located in north-central Nebraska. Carrying on a tradition of conservation begun by their ancestors, the Beel brothers and their families, among other efforts, implement practices that improve wildlife habitat and water quality and quantity, which has helped them withstand the second driest season on record.

Congratulations to the Beel family!

Photo courtesy of Omaha World-Herald

Johnstown family receives conservation award

By Martha Stoddard, Omaha World-Herald

Nebraska ranch family that has handed down an ethic of conservation from father to son was honored Friday for its stewardship.

Gov. Dave Heineman announced the Beel family of Johnstown as the recipients of the 2013 Leopold Conservation Award.

The award, named in honor of world-renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, is presented to agricultural families in Nebraska who practice responsible land stewardship and management.

“Conservation on private land is something Nebraskans do very well,” the governor said.

The Beel brothers, Frank, Henry and Adam, along with wives Jennifer, Mary and Jenny, operate a nearly 22,000-acre cattle operation along the border between Brown and Cherry Counties. Read more …

Snow and rainfall are helping Great Plains states such as Nebraska, Kansas, and South Dakota slowly climb out of severe drought. For instance, 86 percent of South Dakota was classified to be in moderate to severe drought last week but that figure has dropped to 70 percent this week.

States like Colorado and Texas, however, have not been as fortunate. Colorado’s drought has continued to persist and Texas has seen a slight increase in drought conditions from last week.

Is the western Corn Belt drought finally breaking?

April showers brought improved drought conditions to a large swatch of the nation’s midsection and helped drop drought levels across the contiguous United States below 50 percent for the first time in 10 months.

The latest Drought Monitor, released on Thursday, showed that 47.82 percent of the country is in moderate or worse drought. This is 3 percentage points below last week’s report and 13 percentage points below levles reported on Jan. 1.  Read more …

This is nothing new, however, and, given the fact that most land in the United States is privately owned, it is vital to our nation’s environmental health. Landowners across the country are making an effort to enhance natural resources, so high quality land, water, and wildlife will endure for future generations. These efforts are evident through recognition programs such as the Leopold Conservation Award and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s Environmental Stewardship Award, which identify hundreds of farmers, ranchers, and foresters who are worthy candidates for the awards. These landowners “do the right thing,” not out of obligation, but out of passion for the natural resources they care for as an integral part of their successful agricultural operations.

Conservation on local farms is highly underestimated

Star Democrat

According to a study by soil conservation experts released in March, farmers in Queen Anne’s, Kent and Howard counties have been implementing environmentally conscious practices on their own to the extent that the Watershed Implementation Plan will need to be re-evaluated.

Conservation on Maryland farms in general, may be underestimated by 40 to 50 percent according to the data.

Most of these undocumented practices were installed by farmers without technical or financial assistance from state or federal agencies, because it’s the right thing to do, the farmers said. Read more …

The problem comes from larger plastic items such as plastic bags and bottles, but a bigger concern might be the plastics that aren’t easily seen. Not only do these small plastic particles, most of which are smaller than two-tenths of an inch, affect water quality, they are also often mistaken for food by fish, birds, and other wildlife. Fish contamination, obviously, directly affects human health.

Great Lakes pollution is so severe that it may be surpassing oceanic pollution levels. In a study cited in the article below, researchers found the ”number of microparticles to be 24 percent higher in the Great Lakes than in samples they collected in the Southern Atlantic Ocean.”

A ‘great garbage patch’ grows in the Great Lakes

By Melissa Breyer, Mother Nature Network

In 1988, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration first described the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” an area in the North Pacific Ocean where currents have concentrated plastic debris into a mucky toxic soup estimated by some to be twice the size of Texas.

And now, scientists are reporting that the same fate is befalling the Great Lakes, the largest groups of fresh water lakes in the world. Lorena M. Rios Mendoza, Ph.D., reported on the latest findings at the Great Lakes meeting of the American Chemical Society.

“The massive production of plastic and inadequate disposal has made plastic debris an important and constant pollutant on beaches and in oceans around the world, and the Great Lakes are not an exception,” said Rios in a press release for the study.

The amount of plastic produced has increased a stunning 500 percent in the last 30 years, and plastics are now responsible for 80 to 90 percent of ocean pollution, according to Rios. It comes from plastic bags, bottles and other trash, fishing lines, household products, synthetic fibers shed by clothes in the washing machine, and other sources — as well as plastic pellets, the raw material which is melted down and molded into an array of commercial and industrial components. Read more …