Genetically Modified Organism

What is a Genetically Modified Organism (GMO)?

By definition genetically modified organisms are organisms whose genome has been engineered in the laboratory in order to favor the expression of desired physiological traits or the productions or the production of desired biological products. Genetic engineering has been going on long before the GMO's arrived from the laboratory.
 In the example of animal breeding, livestock production, and crop farming it has been practiced to select the best genes of species in hopes to produce offspring with desirable traits. Now with genetic engineering becoming so precise in the ability to alter a specific recombination DNA at a micro level, it allows alterations to create the perfect traits to be expresses.

GMO's Good or Bad?

Genetically modified crops have the potential to change how food is produced around the world. With the ability to change and alter genomes to produce higher yields, resistant varieties, salt tolerant plants, more nutritious foods and many more, I believe that this should be pursued. Although farmers have been practicing this for hundreds of years, the ability to genetically modify plants in the lab is a fairly new process and there will obviously be some concerning issues.  I believe that these issues are not something to be blown off, but I do believe that the positive effects of GMO's are worth pursuing, but extreme caution and safety measures need to be met.  

Concerning Issues with GMO's 

As I mentioned earlier there will be issues with the production of GMO's.  Some of these issues include, food safety, environmental safety, economic stability, even religious morals.  The issue of food safety is obviously a major issue, nobody wants to be eating unsafe foods.  I can see how this is an issue, but through testing, we have not found any major evidence suggesting that GMO food products are dangerous.  I do however believe that more testing needs to be done to ensure the people eating this food that these foods are safe to eat.  

The environment is another issue that is brought up when speaking about GMO's.  Many people believe that GMO's are bad for our environment, but the reality is that, with all the herbicide and insecticide varieties available, less chemicals are needed for the control of weeds and insects. I believe that these issues bring up a valid point but with testing and the proper safety measures, these issues can be resolved. 

Benefits of Using GMO Crops

There are many benefits to GMO crops.  These benefits would include, resistant varieties (resistant to herbicides and insects), drought resistance, more nutritious plants, stronger plants and disease resistance.  All of these factors play a role in allowing crops to reach maximum yields. With the number of people in the world constantly growing, we are constantly at war with the fight of producing more food with less available crop land.  We absolutely need to reach maximum yield in every crop to properly feed the world.  We do this through GMO's.  When we have plants that are resistant to many of the factors that hurt our yields, we are able to reduce the amount of crop loss each year, allowing for more readily available food at a lower cost.    

In recent years there has been research to produce what is known as Golden Rice. This rice was genetically modified to have a high level of pro-vitamin A. This research came about because many countries and citizens within are unable to consume a balanced diet, which leads to vitamin deficiencies. Many of these countries food source that is accessible is rice.With the idea of having a vitamin enriched corp like Golden Rice they have the ability to combat and one day rid themselves of vitamin deficiencies. 

Conclusion

The idea behind GMO's is to create crops with the the best traits quickly and preciscly. there has to be further research into this feild otherwise we will run out of food to supply the world adaquetly. Without food to feed everyone there will be bigger problems then genetically modifying crops.

Weeds Becoming Immune to Herbicides

What are Weeds?

Weeds are one of farmer’s biggest enemies, and to combat them is getting tougher every day. In defining what a weed is it is simple plants whose undesirable qualities outweigh their good points.With this in mind the ultimate goal is to have a weed free field which would produce higher yields and better profit for the farmer. weeds compete with already planted crops for water, nutrients and space. Weeds are able to grow rapidly and spread quickly throughout fields if not treated. Farmer’s best chance at fighting weed invasion is by spraying chemicals that will get rid of the pervasive plants or weeds.

I was recently reading an article on the web that had a story on herbicide-resistant weeds written by Jason Koebler, a writer for U.S. News, called Herbicide -Resistant 'Super Weeds' Increasingly Plaguing Farmers. This article can be found at USNEWS.COM. The author talked about how farmers today are facing some hard time with battling weeds that are now resistant to the chemical which killed them in the past years. They are called super weeds. Having weeds that are herbicide-resistant causes huge problems for farmers. The author interviewed a farmer who said, "I have weeds that are now eight feet tall , they're the diameter of my wrist, and they can stop a combine in its tracks." Most farmers use roundup ready corps, aka glyphosate, which means the crop is resistant to the herbicide, but he weeds around should be killed when exposed. 

Glyphosate or Roundup

Glyphosate is effective in killing a wide variety of plants including grasses, board-leaf, and woody plants but at the same time being one of the most environmentally safe herbicide. Glyphosate inhibits a certain enzyme called EPSP synthase that causes production of essential proteins for growth. With out the ability to produce these proteins the plant will yellow and die. By volume, it is the most widely used herbicide. Now after 24 years some weeds have evolved and become resistant. This means farmers have had to return to some herbicides which are less environmentally safe that were given up many years ago.

Effects on Farmers

The author stated, "Farmers are turning to more traditional methods of weed management, such as using cover crops, crop rotations, and physically pulling weeds to lessen their reliance on Roundup. But those solutions are time consuming and expensive," I agree with this statement, some of these weed management practices could be effective but most are not practical solutions for most large scale farmers. It would require unsubstantial amounts of man/woman power on a large farm to go out and physically pull weeds, and would be ineffective in the long run.

Another problem that was mentioned in the article was other chemicals being used to fight the weed war, and how they are more potent than Roundup. In the article Jason mentions, "As Roundup loses effectiveness, farmers are turning to 2, 4-D, and older herbicide that some say is more dangerous to humans and has been shown to cause birth defects in animals exposed to the chemical." With trying to control these super weeds, farmers are faced with choices that can possibly not only affect themselves but other humans and environment around them. There is always going to be an ongoing battle in research and development for chemicals that will replace and actually work on certain chemical resistant weeds, but this also take time to create.

How can we obtain new chemicals to control these weeds?

There are a few herbicides that will kill weeds that roundup is used for.  However, for the weeds that are unable to be killed by anything on the market today, there is research being done everyday to try to stay one step ahead of the game in the effort to control weeds.  The only problem that researchers are having is that, from start to finish, getting a new herbicide on the consumer market can cost up to and possible more than 50 million and take anywhere from eight to ten years.

Precision Farming

What is Precision Farming?

As the Earth's population continues to climb steadily producers need to use all the tools available to maximize yields to supply our needs as human beings. As the population climes, the land available for producers to use is going down. This causes a dilemma, we need to produce more food with less farmable acres.  This is where the role of new farming technology comes into play.  This new technology is called precision farming. There are many different variables that are included in precision farming.  These different variables include, GPS, AIM command, crop prescriptions and many more. GPA is the main topic of precision farming that I will be writing on today.

Global Positioning System (GPS)

When most of us see the word GPS, we would probably assume that this is the little device that is on the dash of our car. Many of you may be wondering where GPS fits into the agriculture business. As a producer, there are many variables that go into producing a good crop.  One of them that is important, is accuracy.  You may be wondering what I mean by this. When a farmer is seeding or spraying, it is important to be accurate, or drive straight.  Its is important because when seeding, there is a certain number of seeds per acre that provide the field with maximum yield.  

If a producer is not driving straight or he is overlapping land that has already been seeded there is a chance for yield loss which leads to money loss. Driving straight is also important to a producer when he is applying herbicides or fungicides.  There is a certain amount of gallons per acre that are required for proper functioning of the applied chemical, when products are overlapped or land is not adequately applied there is a chance for chemical burn (too much applied) or there is a chance for plants to be overtaken by weeds (skipped application). Applying to much or too little chemical is also important to the farmer because it economically affects the farmer                                                                                           with reduced yield losses.

How does GPS work?

There are are a few different types of GPS (offered by Case IH) that offer three different types of accuracy.  Some examples of these GPS types include  Egnos, OmniSTAR, and RTK.  These GPS systems are listed in order from least accurate to most accurate.  The Egnos guidance system is standard with most new pieces of equipment.  This offers accuracy within 20 cm.  Next is the OmniSTAR which offers accuracy within 10-12 cm.  Finally the last guidance system offered is RTK, which offers accuracy within 2cm.  

The difference between these GPS systems and the reasons for the different accuracy is due to how they obtain their signals.  The first two mentioned, Egnos and OmniSTAR, receive their signals direct from a satellite.  RTK, however receives its signal from a tower located at a "home" station that is located within ten miles.  The signal from the satellite is sent to the RTK tower, which is then sent to the tractor or piece of machinery that is being used.  The main use for RTK is for its superb accuracy.  This guidance system is used mainly in crops that are row crops.  RTK can be used with any piece of machinery set up with this program but it does require a year to year prescription.

Summary

GPS is a system used for producers to overall help them save money.  This system is used for seeding, spraying, spreading and harvesting with supreme accuracy. This system takes away some of the mental stress that naturally occurs with farming.  With one less thing to think about, farmers are able to do their absolute best.  

Agronomists in Agronomy

In the 1930's aka (The Dirty 30's) was some of the hardest times for agriculture production in the United States. For 8 years a drought hit the mid west and southern plains were it was nothing but a dust bowl. Simple acts of life were no longer simple, and farmers watched helplessly as their crops blew away. By the end of 1934, roughly 35 million acres of farmland were ruined.

A drought is one the farmers biggest fears but with the help of agronomists individuals that grow crops can better prepare themselves for the worst. Agronomists deal with interactions between plants, soils, and their environment. With the help of highly sophisticated techniques and research tools new crops are developed with more varieties that will allow better efficiency in growth. With better efficiency in growth it becomes beneficial to society.

If you eat, wear clothes, live in a house or even drive a car, your life has been influenced by an agronomist. Agronomists play an important role in the agricultural, food and clothing industries. Agronomists work with plants such as cotton, corn, sorghum, wheat, pecan trees, peanuts and more. Many agronomists work in research. Some develop new breeds of cotton, creating plants that are stronger and more resistant. Some agronomists work with corn, developing hybrids that produce more yields per acre. Often times their work is done right in the middle of the field. Currently, some agronomists are working with peanuts, trying to create a peanut that will not cause a allergic reaction to people who are allergic to them.

Agronomists study the science and practice that looks at agriculture from a unified, aggregated perspective. In agronomy it is important to know how soil interacts with the growing crop. With the thought of  a growing crop it is vital to know what nutrients (fertilizers) is needed, and when and how to use apply. Along the same lines understanding the ways that corps grow, how environmental and climate factors affect crops, and how to best control weeds, insects, and fungi that can ultimately damage and ruin a crop.

Agronomist are also professional practitioners, educators,a and advisers who work directly along side farmers, companies, and other agricultural communities. They will incorporate the latest techniques and instruments for the profit and sustainability of growing crops. The idea of a agronomist and agronomy to most usually ends in the field or the farm, but that is not the case. Agronomists play a critical role in issues of global concern. This includes water and food security, air quality and climate change, and soil degradation.

With over 317 million people in the United States and 7 billion world wide, agronomists play an important roles in advising and influencing agricultural providers with information that will benefit the next crop yield. Without new advancements provided by agronomists the carrying capacity of the world would not be met and would result in a food shortage world wide.