Search results for 'Boston'

Interesting - Town To Table To Increase Production By 500% in Boston Area

https://igrownews.com/town-to-table-to-increase-production-by-500-in-boston-area/

#AgHistory

Did you ever wonder about fertilizer? Why was it developed, why it is used, and which is best (organic vs. conventional')? This is an aspect of agriculture with a significant amount of history, as well as myth, which needs to be understood if policy that doesn't repeat itself is to be developed. First, as a historian, one must consider WHY the search for a better means of fertilizing our crops. A great deal of debate exists in scientific circles about claims made from organic marketing, and these claims are at the center of this very question. It is crucial to accurately compare what we call organic methods with non-organic methods to understand why our ancestors shifted. One of the first papers I have come across and which I recommend reading: Seufert, V., Ramankutty, N. & Foley, J. Comparing the yields of organic and conventional agriculture. Nature 485, 229-232 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11069. In it, you will see that "...The performance of organic systems varies substantially across crop types and species... For example, yields of organic fruits and oilseed crops show a small (3% and 11% respectively), but not statistically significant, difference to conventional crops, whereas organic cereals and vegetables have significantly lower yields than conventional crops (26% and 33% respectively)." While the researchers note that this subject needs further research, it does correspond with centuries of study that led to the development of chemical fertilizer in the first place. While space is limited in this format, we can still travel back in time to George Ville, who in the 1860's, scientifically studied this very subject in a manner we are familiar with. It is interesting to note that the Experimental Farm' of George Ville in France conducted many of the same types of research we would expect from our Cooperative Extension Experimental Stations' to this very day. Mr. Ville noted in his book ‘Chemical Manures' (3rd edition 1871) that natural manure composition varies (as we might expect depending on livestock health and pasture variations amongst the livestock). In short, chemical fertilizers were less expensive and produced better yields than manuring alone. Prior to the development of ‘chemical fertilizers', our own agricultural history has periods of attempting to find a better method than traditional manuring alone. Use of lime as a soil supplement for example, predates the Revolutionary War in the Susquehanna Valley, and Plaster of Paris (gypsum and sulphate of lime) shipped primarily from Nova Scotia until about 1815. Bat guano was shipped to Boston as early as 1830. In the early 1700's, farmers along Long Island sowed white fish in immense quantities, as much as 10,000 fish per acre (a glaring example of how ‘organic' and ‘sustainable' are not necessarily synonymous). There is much more to be said on this subject, and factual history must be understood as we look to feed future generations.

#AgHistory; Folks, this post is primarily in response to a question I received from farmer @Metin Ozsavran regarding pre-WWII pesticides. It is something each farmer should be able to discuss at a basic level but is not common knowledge. I assure you misperceptions about pre-WWII pesticides are currently being taught at the collegiate level (the implication in many current textbooks being that pre-WWII methods were safer for people than post-WWII). I ran across these misperceptions myself in two different Ag texts (in my classes) and these will continue to affect Ag policies in the future, since many environmental policy advisors and aides will also have read these same books. I do think you will find it interesting since I previously posted that pesticides date back thousands of years. Fast-forward to the 1800's in the United States and Europe: In the 1860's, the potato beetle was moving westward and decimating crops. During this time, someone began using 'Paris green', an arsenic based chemical used to color paint and textiles. Later, 'London purple' was used (another arsenical compound). A friend who is an expert in traditional textile making had mentioned these compounds were eventually banned in the textile industry after being identified as the cause of several deaths. I have not had time to find the source information on this but have no reason to doubt its veracity. These arsenical compounds were used to combat a variety of chewing insects, and kerosene-soap emulsions for sucking insects during this timeframe.Lead arsenate was used in 1892 to combat the the gypsy moth in New England, leading to powdered lead arsenate for the boll weevil on cotton, leading to calcium arsenate as a more effective version against the boll weevil in 1916. Hydrocyanic acid gas was used on citrus in 1886, and naphthalene on grapes in 1882. As populations grew, the greater intensity of agriculture drew greater pests resulting in heavier applications. Western pears were banned in Boston in 1919 due to excessive residues, and a few years later, Britain would not accept apple shipments from the United States for the same reason. The USDA eventually set up arsenic residue tolerances in 1927, and these were adjusted to lower levels than previously set in 1932 (to 0.01 grains/pound). DDT was invented in 1874 by German chemist Othman Zeidler, and became famous when Swiss chemist Paul Muller discovered its insecticidal value around 1939. I will post more as time and research permits, but the take-away is to always ask 'WHY' civilization adopted certain pesticides, and ensure we do not assume that reverting back to previous methods will somehow result in improvement. The best place to validate the above information (and much more) in one source is the 1962 USDA Agricultural Yearbook celebrating 100 years in agricultural innovation. Will share more as time (and AgFuse number counts) permits.

https://www.boston.com/jobs/jobs-news/2016/07/29/meet-indigo-boston-based-startup-changing-face-agtech

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