MAX FACTS
growing tips, news and trivia
Important Plant Inventory
A new reference book should prove to be an invaluable resource for researchers,
plant breeders, librarians or anyone who wants basic, accurate information about
important plants. World Economic Plants: A Standard Reference took more than
two years to complete and was reviewed by more than 150 experts. Authors John
Wiersema, a botanist with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, and Blanca León,
a University of Texas taxonomist, link the list of scientific names of 12,235 plants
with their geographic origins and uses. They also provide more than 50,000
common names for those plants in 27 languages. The book is an update of an
edition published in 1999 that inventoried 9,500 plants. Along with including
25% more plants, the new version indicates more use classes, such as
whether a plant is a food source or has been used medicinally.
(Source: ars.usda.gov)
Victory for Vidalia Onion Farmer
A judge has ruled in favor of a Georgian onion farmer from Tattnall
County who challenged new rules that would have prohibited Vidalia
onion growers from packing and shipping their products to market before
the end of April. Superior Court Judge Cynthia Wright ruled that the State
Agriculture Department had overstepped its authority in what amounted
to an effort to rewrite existing law. If left standing, Wright's order means
Delbert Bland of Bland Farms can continue to pack and ship his onions
when he determines they are ready, even if that date is before the official
ship date announced each year by the agriculture commissioner, as long
the onions have been inspected and labelled No. 1 grade by the USDA.
(Source: dailyreportonline.com)
Farmers as Environmental Advocates
Organic farmers in Ohio face many struggles, including the impacts of agricultural policies, urban sprawl and pollution on
their land. But one expert in the field says as stewards of soil and water, organic farmers can be powerful advocates for
the environment. Atina Diffley ran one of the Midwest’s first certified-organic produce farms and led a successful legal and
citizen action campaign to reroute a crude-oil pipeline to protect organic farmland in Minnesota. “We ended up not only
accomplishing all our goals, but the judge understood organic systems well enough, and the Department of Agriculture then
understood organic systems well enough that they made recommendations that supported organic farms and non-organic
farms beyond what we had even asked
for,” she explains. Atina says organic
farmers have a responsibility to protect
the land, and it’s crucial for them to
stand together and work on policy
matters that can create social change.
(Source: publicnewsservice.org)
30
Maximum Yield USA | May 2014