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Principal Authors: Tim Dixon, Míriam Juan-Torres
In many European countries, vigorous debates about national identity issues—including those concerning immigrants, refugees, cultural values, national traditions, and the control of borders—are increasingly prominent. Social media has played an important role in the
elevation of these debates, and extreme right groups have become adept at using social media insert their narratives into the mainstream and reach target audiences who are most susceptible to their narratives. The extent to which democracies endure and societies remain cohesive will depend on European countries’ capacity to navigate widening social fractures, growing threats from extremist groups and deepening polarisation of attitudes around profound issues of identity and belonging.
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The Drug Wars: Apologies to Mexico
Who are the biggest losers in the drug wars and the war on drugs?
<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&searchterm=drug+mexico&search_group=&orient=&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&commercial_ok=&color=&show_color_wheel=1#id=26302837&src=50728330fdb623e610a5215a8458b643-1-1">Frontpage</a>/Shutterstock
This story first appeared on the TomDispatch website.
Dear Mexico,
I apologize. There are so many things I could apologize for, from the way the US biotech corporation Monsanto has contaminated your corn to the way Arizona and Alabama are persecuting your citizens, but right now I’d like to apologize for the drug war, the 10,000 waking nightmares that make the news and the rest that don’t.
You’ve heard the stories about the five severed heads rolled onto the floor of a Michoacan nightclub in 2006, the 300 bodies dissolved in acid by a servant of one drug lord, the 49 mutilated bodies found in plastic bags by the side of the road in Monterrey in May, the nine bodies found hanging from an overpass in Nuevo Laredo just last month, the Zeta Cartel’s videotaped beheadings just two weeks ago, the carnage that has taken tens of thousands of Mexican lives in the last decade and has terrorized a whole nation. I’ve read them and so many more. I am sorry 50,000 times over.
The drug war is fueled by many things, and maybe the worst drug of all is money, to which so many are so addicted that they can never get enough. It’s a drug for which they will kill, destroying communities and ecologies, even societies, whether for the sake of making drones, Wall Street profits, or massive heroin sales. Then there are the actual drugs, to which so many others turn for numbness.
There is variety in the range of drugs. I know that marijuana mostly just makes you like patio furniture, while heroin renders you ethereally indifferent and a little reptilian, and cocaine pumps you up with your own imaginary fabulousness before throwing you down into your own trashiness. And then there’s meth, which seems to have the same general effect as rabies, except that the victims crave it desperately.
Whatever their differences, these drugs, when used consistently, constantly, destructively, are all anesthesia from pain. The Mexican drug cartels crave money, but they make that money from the way Yankees across the border crave numbness. They sell unfeeling. We buy it. We spend tens of billions of dollars a year doing so, and by some estimates about a third to a half of that money goes back to Mexico.
The Price of Numbness
We want not to feel what’s happening to us, and then we do stuff that makes worse things happen—to us and others. We pay for it, too, in a million ways, from outright drug-overdose deaths (which now exceed traffic fatalities, and of which the United States has the highest rate of any nation except tiny Iceland, amounting to more than 37,000 deaths here in 2009 alone) to the violence of drug-dealing on the street, the violence of people on some of those drugs, and the violence inflicted on children who are neglected, abandoned, and abused because of them—and that’s just for starters. The stuff people do for money when they’re desperate for drugs generates more violence and more crazy greed for the money to buy the next round. And drug use is connected to the spread of HIV and various strains of hepatitis.
Then there’s our futile “war on drugs” that has created so much pain of its own. It’s done so by locking up mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters and children for insanely long prison sentences and offering no treatment. It does so by costing so much it’s warping the economies of states that have huge numbers of nonviolent offenders in prison and not enough money for education or healthcare. It does so by branding as felons and pariahs those who have done time in the drug-war prison complex. It was always aimed most directly at African-Americans, and the toll it’s taken would require a week of telling.
No border divides the pain caused by drugs from the pain brought about in Latin America by the drug business and the narcotraficantes. It’s one big continent of pain—and in the last several years the narcos have begun selling drugs in earnest in their own countries, creating new cultures of addiction and misery. (And yes, Mexico, your extravagantly corrupt government, military, and police have everything to do with the drug war now, but file that under greed, as usual, about which your pretty new president is unlikely to do anything much.)
Imagine that the demand ceased tomorrow; the profitable business of supply would have to wither away as well. Many talk about legalizing drugs, and there’s something to be said for changing the economic arrangements. But what about reducing their use by developing and promoting more interesting and productive ways of dealing with suffering? Or even getting directly at the causes of that suffering?
Some drug use is, of course, purely recreational, but even recreational drug use stimulates these economies of carnage. And then there are the overdoses of the famous and the unsung on prescription and illicit drugs. Tragic, but those dismembered and mutilated bodies the drug gangs deposit around Mexico are not just tragic, they’re terrifying.
GNP: Gross National Pain and the Pain Export Economy
Mexico, my near neighbor, I have been trying to imagine the export economy of pain. What does it look like? I think it might look like air-conditioning. This is how an air conditioner works: it sucks the heat out of the room and pumps it into the air outside. You could say that air-conditioners don’t really cool things down so much as they relocate the heat. The way the transnational drug economy works is a little like that: people in the US are not reducing the amount of pain in the world; they’re exporting it to Mexico and the rest of Latin America as surely as those places are exporting drugs to us.
In economics, we talk about “externalized costs”: this means the way that you and I pick up the real cost of oil production with local and global ecological degradation or wars fought on behalf of the oil corporations. Or the way Walmart turns its employees into paupers, and we pick up the tab for their food stamps and medical care.
With the drug economy, there are externalized traumas. I imagine them moving in a huge circulatory system, like the Gulf Stream, or old trade routes. We give you money and guns, lots and lots of money. You give us drugs. The guns destroy. The money destroys. The drugs destroy. The pain migrates, a phantom presence crossing the border the other way from the crossings we hear so much about.
The drugs are supposed to numb people out, but that momentary numbing effect causes so much pain elsewhere. There’s a pain economy, a suffering economy, a fear economy, and drugs fuel all of them rather than making them go away. Think of it as another kind of GNP—gross national pain—though I don’t know how you’d quantify it.
A friend of mine who’s lived in Latin America for large parts of the last decade says that she’s appalled to see people doing cocaine at parties she goes to in this country. I mentioned that to an anthropologist who was even bleaker in describing the cocaine migration routes out of the Andes and all the dead babies and exploited women she’d seen along the way.
We’ve had movements to get people to stop buying clothes and shoes made in sweatshops, grapes picked by exploited farmworkers, fish species that are endangered, but no one’s thought to start a similar movement to get people to stop consuming the drugs that cause so much destruction abroad.
Picture middle-class people here stuffing the blood of campesinos up their noses. Picture poor people injecting the tears of other poor people into their veins. Picture them all smoking children’s anguish. And imagine if we called it by name.
America, #1 in Pain
I don’t know why my country seems to produce so much misery and so much desire to cover it up under a haze of drugs, but I can imagine a million reasons. A lot of us just never put down roots or adapted to a society that’s changing fast under us or got downsized or evicted or foreclosed or rejected or just move around a lot. This country is a place where so many people don’t have a place, literally or psychologically. When you don’t have anywhere to go with your troubles, you can conveniently go nowhere—into, that is, the limbo of drugs and the dead-end that represents.
But there’s something else front and center to our particular brand of misery. We are a nation of miserable optimists. We believe everything is possible and if you don’t have it all, from the perfect body to profound wealth, the fault is yours. When people suffer in this country—from, say, foreclosures and bankruptcies due to the destruction of our economy by the forces of greed—the shame is overwhelming. It’s seen as a personal failure, not the failure of our institutions. Taking drugs to numb your shame also keeps you from connecting the dots and opposing what’s taken you down.
So when you’re miserable here, you’re miserable twice: once because you actually lost your home/job/savings/spouse/girlish figure and all over again because it’s not supposed to be like that (and maybe thrice because our mainstream society doesn’t suggest any possibility of changing the circumstances that produced your misery or even how arbitrary those circumstances are). I suspect that all those drugs are particularly about numbing a deep American sense of failure or of smashed expectations.
The Mexican drug cartels crave money, but they make that money from the way Yankees across the border crave numbness.
Really, when you think of the rise of crack cocaine during the Reagan era, wasn’t it an exact corollary to the fall of African-American opportunity and the disintegration of the social safety net? The government produced failure and insecurity, and crack buffered the results (and proved a boon to a burgeoning prison-industrial complex). Likewise, the drug-taking that exploded in the 1960s helped undermine the radical movements of that era. Drugs aren’t a goad to action, but a deadening alternative to it. Maybe all those zombies everywhere in popular culture nowadays are trying to say something about that.
Here in the United States, there’s no room for sadness, but there are plenty of drugs for it, and now when people feel sad, even many doctors think they should take drugs. We undergo losses and ordeals and live in circumstances that would make any sane person sad, and then we say: the fault was yours and if you feel sad, you’re crazy or sick and should be medicated. Of course, now ever more Americans are addicted to prescription drugs, and there’s always the old anesthetic of choice, alcohol, but there is one difference: the economics of those substances are not causing mass decapitations in Mexico.
Roads to Destruction and the Palace of the Dead
When I think about the drug wars and the drug culture here, I think about a young man I knew long ago. He was gay, from Texas, disconnected from his family, talented but not so good at finding a place in the world for that talent or for himself. He was also a fan of the beat novelist and intermittent junkie William Burroughs, and he believed that line about how “the road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom.” Maybe it was fine when William Blake said it in the 1790s, since Blake wasn’t a crackhead. But my friend got from Burroughs—a man with family money and apparently an iron constitution—the idea that derangement of the senses was a great creative strategy.
This was all part of our youth in a culture that constantly reinforced how cool drugs were, though back then another beat writer, the poet David Meltzer, told me methamphetamine was a form of demonic possession. The young man becamepossessed in this way and lost his mind. He became homeless and deranged, gone to someplace he couldn’t find his way back from, and I would see him walking our boulevards barefoot and filthy, ranting to himself.
Then I heard he had jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge. He wasn’t yet 30; he was just a sweet boy. I could tell four or five more stories like his about people I knew who died young of drugs. The meth that helped him down his road of no return was probably a domestic product then, but now vast quantities of it are made in Mexico for us—15 tons of it were found earlier this year in Guadalajara, enough for 13 million doses, worth about $4 billion retail.
When I think about the drug wars, I also think about my visit to Santa Muerte (Saint Death) in Mexico City in 2007. A young friend with me there insisted on going. It was perilous for outsiders like us even to travel through Tepito, the black-marketeers’ barrio, let alone go to the shrine where imposing, somber men were praying and lighting candles to the skeleton goddess who is the narcotraficantes‘ patron saint. They worship death; they’re intimate with her; they tattoo her on their flesh, and there she was in person—in bones without flesh, surrounded by candles, by gifts, by cigarettes and gold, an Aztec goddess gone commercial.
My companion wanted to take pictures. I wanted to live and managed to convince him that thugs’ devotional moments were not for our cameras. When it came time to leave, the warm patroness of the shrine locked up the stand in which she sold votive candles and medallions, took each of us by an arm—as if nothing less than bodily contact with death’s caretaker would keep us safe—and walked us to the subway. We survived that little moment of direct contact with the drug war. So many others have not.
Mexico, I am sorry. I want to see it all change, for your sake and ours. I want to call pain by name and numbness by name and fear by name. I want people to connect the dots from the junk in their brain to the bullet holes in others’ heads. I want people to find better strategies for responding to pain and sadness. I want them to rebel against those parts of their unhappiness that are political, not metaphysical, and not run in fear from the metaphysical parts either.
I want the narcotraficantes to repent and give their billions to the poor. I want the fear to end. A hundred years ago, your dictatorial president Porfiro Diaz supposedly remarked, “Poor Mexico, so far from God and so close to the United States,” which nowadays could be revised to, “Painful Mexico, so far from peace and so close to the numbness of the United States.”
Rebecca Solnit lived through the inner-city crack wars in the 1980s and tried most drugs a very long time ago. A TomDispatch regular, she is the author of thirteen books, including, most recently, Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas, which maps, among other things, the 99 murders in her city in 2008, most of them of poor young men caught up in the usual, and the lives of undocumented laborers in San Francisco. Follow TomDispatch on Twitter @TomDispatch and join us on Facebook, and check out the latest TD book, Terminator Planet: The First History of Drone Warfare, 2001-2050.
GOP Votes for Contempt as “Fast and Furious” Blows Up in Its Face
A Victory Against the War on Drugs
Erik Kain
Pot Legalization Foe Getting Rich off the Drug War
Josh Harkinson
ICE Started Its Immigration Raids—But Its Agents Got Turned Away
Jamilah King
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In The Vault: Kairos 10 The Pearl House
Kairos 10 is fighting Malaria by selling jewelry created by impoverished African artisans.
The idea for Kairos 10 began in September 2010 when on medical mission trips, children with fevers in excess of 104 degrees were seen clinic after clinic, year after year. Malaria is a serious disease caused by a parasite that commonly infects a certain type of mosquito which feeds on humans. The World Health Organization reports most deaths occur among children living in Africa where a child every minute from malaria. This disease is preventable and curable. A mosquito net is the solution! A net can be bought in America for about $25 but costs a Ghanaian one week’s wages. If a product could be sold, then the proceeds could be used to buy mosquito nets to be sent to an underdeveloped country. Thus the idea was birthed and Kairos 10 jewelry would be the vehicle.
In a partnership with Ghanaians, beads produced from recycled glass, vinyl, and plastic are purchased from bead merchants. Kairos 10 then pays Ghanaian women four times the minimum daily wage to make the jewelry. African fabric is purchased and a local woman is paid to sew gift bags for the jewelry. The result is sustainable income for women in West Africa. Shop for beads that bless at our pop up in The Vault or online at https://kairos10.org/.
Pound Fitness Class
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Sprint / News
Series updates 2010 schedule
Jan 24, 2010, 8:11 PM
Lucas Oil Sprint Cars -- The Dates Keep Coming! TULSA, Okla. (January 21, 2010) -- In what is already shaping up as another banner year for the Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters, several dates have been added to the 2010 ...
Lucas Oil Sprint Cars -- The Dates Keep Coming!
TULSA, Okla. (January 21, 2010) -- In what is already shaping up as another banner year for the Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters, several dates have been added to the 2010 slate in recent weeks since the preliminary schedule was announced last month.
Among the added dates are a pair of premier weekend doubles to close out the season in November as well as a return to Oklahoma's Outlaw Motor Speedway and Kilgore's Lone Star Speedway in the early portion of the 2010 campaign.
It was announced today that the series will return to Outlaw Motor Speedway near Muskogee, OK, for the first time since 2003, where reigning Lucas Oil Sprint Car champion Shane Stewart won the third of his 18 career series feature events.
The series will return to the semi-banked, 3/8-mile Outlaw Motor Speedway clay oval on Friday, June 4, setting up a weekend double that wraps up the following night at Little Rock's I-30 Speedway.
The event originally slated for June 4 at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, IL, has been reset for August 27.
The Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series will also return to the high-banked, 0x00bd-mile Lone Star Speedway dirt oval in Kilgore, TX, for the first time since 2002 on Friday night, April 9, leading the way into the first series event of the year at I-30 Speedway the following night.
Also added in recent weeks are November weekend doubles at both Las Cruces' Southern New Mexico Speedway and Nevada's Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Following I-30 Speedway's $15,000-to-win Short Track Nationals on October 28-30 and the event rain date for the following weekend, the Lucas Oil Sprint Cars travel to the southwest to put the finishing touches on the season.
On Friday and Saturday, November 12 and 13, the Lucas Oil Sprint Cars tackle the high-banked, 5/16-mile Southern New Mexico Speedway clay oval in Las Cruces, NM, for the first time since Chris Ikard posted his lone series win in February of 1997.
Then, following the 43rd Annual Western World Championships at Tucson's USA Raceway on November 18-20, the Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters closes out the year with the Lucas Oil National Sprint Car Championships atop the semi-banked, 0x00bd-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway clay oval on November 26-27, with the series annual banquet to follow the next night.
The Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters is currently slated for 38 nights of competition at 18 different tracks throughout 14 different states, pending the outcome of tomorrow's expected ruling in Oklahoma City that will determine the immediate fate of the long-standing tradition revolving about the State Fair Speedway's grandstand and the governmentally-perceived safety thereof.
The Lucas Oil Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters will once again vie for a staggering $250,000 point fund with $60,000 earmarked for the series champion. The standard purse for one-night events and the final night of two-night stands includes a $6,000 winner's share and $500 minimum to start the main event, with a healthy tow money package in effect for the top 15 in series points.
Bixby, Oklahoma's Shane Stewart captured his first Lucas Oil National Sprint Car championship in 2009 aboard California car owner Paul Silva's Wesmar-powered No. 57 A.R.T. Chassis, edging 2008 champ Jason Johnson by just 25 markers for the crown.
Stewart kicks off his title defense at the 37th Annual Devil's Bowl Speedway Spring Nationals on March 19-20, taking on a full assemblage of full-time Lucas Oil Sprint Car competitors along with a strong contingent of invaders atop the famed Mesquite, TX, clay oval and each ensuing stop along the way.
-source: ascs
Series 2009 season review 2009-12-26
Series schedule update, news 2010-01-25
Series Sprint
Drivers Shane Stewart , Jason Johnson
Be first to get
Wrongful death lawsuit against Tony Stewart officially dismissed
Donny Schatz beats Kyle Larson for tenth Knoxville Nationals win
Kyle Larson picks up sprint car win in Canada
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Sport and Aquatic Centre Membership
Sport and Aquatic Centre
1. What are the hours of operation for the Centre?
Macquarie University Sport & Aquatic Centre is open from 5:30am until 10:00pm on weekdays and from 6:00am to 7:00pm on weekends and public holidays.
2. Where is the Macquarie University Sport & Aquatic Centre located?
Visit our Contact Us page for our address and a map of our location.
3. As a member, why do I need to have my photo taken at the Customer Service Desk?
We ask that you have your photo taken when you sign up for membership as a security measure, in order to ensure that someone else is not using your card in the event that it is lost or stolen.
4. Can I loan my card to my spouse, partner, friend, or other relative?
No, membership at Macquarie University Sport & Aquatic Centre is not transferrable.
5. How can I book in for Group Fitness classes?
You can book in for Group Fitness classes up to two hours before the start of the class. There are three ways to book in:
Online via Warrior Web Member Portal
At one of our self-serve kiosks located in the foyer at the Sport & Aquatic Centre
At the Customer Service Desk
Please be aware that all Group Fitness classes are capped with a maximum attendance number and that all classes close within five minutes of the start time.
6. I've purchased a ten- or twenty-visit pass. When does it expire?
Ten visit passes expire three months from the date of purchase. Twenty visit passes expire six months from the date of purchase. The possibility of extension is available only when a medical certificate is provided. To view your visit pass expiry date login into our member portal, Warrior Web.
7. What are the conditions of entry for the Health Club?
Minors (under age sixteen) are not permitted entry to the Health Club for any reason. Towel usage is a condition of entry for the Health Club. There are limited towels for hire ($3 each) at the Customer Service Desk or towels can be purchased from our retail range. Patrons must wear clothing appropriate for training (in particular, closed shoes designed for athletic purposes).
8. Can I bring non-Members to the Centre for a game of squash or badminton?
Yes, a casual entrance fee will apply. For more information visit our Court Hire page.
9. Are lockers available?
Yes, lockers are available to patrons. MQU Sport does not guarantee the availability of lockers at any given time. The Centre does not accept responsibility for items which are lost or stolen from the lockers or other areas of the Centre and its surrounds.
10. How can I submit a complaint?
You may submit a complaint verbally to any staff member in the Centre. You may also submit a written complaint by completing a feedback form. Forms are located at Crunch Cafe, the entrance to the 25-metre pool, the Health Club, and just outside of the Sports Hall. If you provide your name and contact details, a staff member will be in contact with you within two business days. Alternatively you can submit your feedback online.
11. What parking facilities are available for patrons of the Centre?
Patrons of Macquarie University Sport & Aquatic Centre are entitled to two hours of free parking in the N3 car park. MQU Sport does not accept responsibility for any parking fines received by patrons.
12. If I'm bringing my children to the Centre for a pool visit, what are the protocols?
Children under age thirteen must be accompanied by a parent or guardian (aged eighteen years or older) at all times whilst in the Centre. For young children aged 0-5 years and/or non-swimmers, a parent or guardian must be in the water within arm's reach of the child. For children aged 5-12 years, a parent must closely supervise the child and remain in the aquatic area.
13. Is there a creche available for young children?
Yes. Our MiniMac Kidz Club is available for Members with children aged six months to five years old. Our Mini Mac Kidz Club is open from 8:45am-11:45am Monday to Friday.
14. How can I freeze my membership?
Suspensions allow you to freeze your gym membership when you can't attend.
Suspensions are available for Direct Debit Memberships and Term Memberships of four (4) months or more.
Suspension requests must be made for a minimum seven (7) day period. Suspension requests may take up to five (5) business days to be processed.
Suspension requests cannot be back dated.
Members can suspend their membership for up to twelve (12) weeks within a calendar year. The first twenty eight (28) days are free of charge. Subsequent Suspensions will incur a 0.36c per day administration fee.
For more information please visit our Membership Suspensions page.
15. How can I cancel my membership?
Cancellations must be completed in person at the Customer Service Desk at the Macquarie University Sport & Aquatic Centre. To discuss your membership cancellation please contact our Customer Service Team on (02) 9850 7636.
Cancellations can also be completed online.
16. How do I book a court?
Customers can book courts three ways:
Online via Warrior Web Member Portal (Members Only)
Over the phone with our Customer Service Team at (02) 9850 7636
Court Hire remains subject to availability. For more information visit our Court Hire webpage.
17. When does my Direct Debit membership expire?
All direct debit memberships are continuous. The responsibility to cancel is with the Member.
18. Can I get a Health Fund Receipt?
Members with Health Insurance may be eligible to claim a rebate for their gym membership from their insurer. Click here to apply for a Health Fund Receipt.
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Kieran Cooper - Kieran Cooper Newsletter Interview
22 Mar 2012 // An interview by Shade
Thanks to Kieran for answering these questions:
What can we expect to see from you over the next year?
I'm taking some time out after my album release to work on new material and really fine tune my set. Then I'll be starting a nationwide tour, probably around August/September. I'm hoping to play anywhere and everywhere to get my music to as many people as possible, like in the good old days. I'm really looking forward to gigging and/or busking everyday! Once that's over I'll hit the studio to record my third album. I already have around 30 demos underway for it.
Who are your favourite NZ musicians/bands, and why?
When I started finding out about more and more local artists/bands and started listening to Kiwi FM a lot I was really surprised to find out just how much was out there. And a lot of it is really great stuff.
At the moment I'm enjoying and getting influence from Fleur Jack, Tiny Ruins, the Verlaines, White Rabbit Black Monkey, Princess Chelsea, Fear Of The Dark, Decortica, The Headless Chickens, Ryan Kershaw, Jackal, Die! Die! Die!, El Bajo, The Nowhere Effect. And loads more I can't think of right now!
Oh and David Kilgour. His Sugar Mouth album is stunning. A big favourite at the moment.
What will your next release be?
I'll release another album. Probably in the same acoustic, organic style of Yes, No, Sincerely. I'm a big fan of albums. The music industry is very singles orientated at the moment and I find that very limited. You get your hit product and then move on to the next thing.
Singles are good if it's a really good song but they should leave you wanting more, wanting to hear all the work around that track. I'm hoping to appeal to people who identify with that.
How do you believe you fit into the NZ music industry?
I fit into the DIY independent musician category. And I'm proud of that because the most exciting music is often underground. Musicians can do exactly what they want, absolute creativity!
I'm not saying that being signed is bad! There are a lot of great labels like Arch Hill, Lil Chief, Flying Nun etc who release fantastic music. I just don't think it's the be all and end all when you can do it yourself in a smaller country like NZ. If you have the time and dedication!
How do you describe your music?
Alternative Singer-Songwriter. It's not truly alternative but with the narrowing mainstream scope you could say it is 'different'. My first release In Search Of Reason was written over a long period of time and has emphasis on alternative rock and almost industrial drum machines and synths.
Yes, No, Sincerely is my move into an acoustic singer-songwriter style. It feels most natural for me. There's just something about one person, an acoustic guitar and vocals. It can be so expressive and genuine.
What is the best part of being a musician?
I'm a musician for the sole purpose of writing and performing the best music I can. I don't want to be a rockstar or anything like that. So when I write music I'm proud of I feel like I'm doing the right thing. The bonus is people letting you know that they enjoy that music and get their own experience from it. The complete artistic process.
What is your most embarrassing on tour/gig moment?
I'll let you know when I get back from my tour :)
What inspired you to become a musician?
Everything. I can't switch it off. I tried to walk away from it once and I got really depressed. I need to express myself musically to feel complete.
About Kieran Cooper
From his soon to be released single and EP, expect rich vocal harmonies and guitar work reminiscent of Elliott Smith, Kristin Hersh and Iron & Wine.
Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Kieran Cooper
Sticks & Stones
Type: Album
Type: EP
Yes, No, Sincerely
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Owlet Nightjar is a new soul/dub/blues project from Newtown Rocksteady guitarist Tim Key. They recently released their debut album The Regenerative Principle, which was described as being "a wonderful fusion of genres, appealing to a range of music lovers and enthusiasts.
Killing Bear Newsletter Interview
27 Oct 2017 // by Shade
Killing Bear is a band which has been kicking around the Wellington Music scene since 2010 and over the years has had a steady flow of hit songs and historic shows. Those who are connoisseurs of the psychedelic pop rock realm will remember hits of the band such as Love is Like a Skateboard, Wild Robots Roaming Free and Ride the White Rhino.
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Fledgling Ruislip Manor food company gets national recognition
The company produces all sorts of Mediterranean food
Hannah Raven
The company was named in a Best Brand magazine
RUISLIP Manor food company My Olive Branch has won a top award.
The Mediterranean food firm, owned by partners Kamil Shah and Maria Koinaki, of Linden Avenue, has become the youngest company to be crowned a winner in the The Guild of Fine Food’s Best Brand survey.
The company was named as the top retailer in the oil and vinegar category, despite only being formed in August 2011.
Mr Shah said: “When we launched our business and our first pallet arrived, quite honestly, we didn’t know what to do, but nevertheless we began to promote our olive oil at food and farmer markets and we were overwhelmed with the positive feedback we received from the public.
“This gave us a boost of confidence and we have never looked back.
“Since day one, we have made it our mission to bring the people of Britain a great quality olive oil at an affordable price and we have worked really hard to communicate what makes good quality olive oil and the importance of selecting a hand-made oil.
“This award means so much to us, especially since we are the youngest ever category winner.”
The company supplies their goods to the speciality retail sector, which includes delicatessens, farm shops and food halls and regularly has a stall at the Duck Pond Market, held in the Great Barn, Ruislip.
Ruislip Manor
MaryleboneLive updates as firefighters seen in 'breathing apparatus' outside Marylebone schoolA cordon is in place
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FashionA £39 Zara dress has gone viral and it even has its own Instagram accountIt's *that* polka-dot dress you've seen around town
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What's On NewsAn 'immersive' Wolf of Wall Street experience is coming to London - here's how to get ticketsTickets to the 'attraction' are available soon with bookings through to January 2020
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President Barack Obama said he was "thrilled" to have Sebelius in his administration.
"We wanted to swear her in right away because we've got a lot of health challenges," he said. "We need all hands on deck. I expect her to hit the ground running. She is the right person at the right time for the job."
The approval of Sebelius, a Democrat, drew quick praise from key players in that effort, including the insurance and pharmaceutical industries. Both were vocal opponents when the Clinton administration tried to tackle health care in the 1990s.
"Governor Sebelius is the right person for the job," said Democratic Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, the chairman of the Finance Committee. "She has political experience, determination and a bipartisan work ethic to get the job done. She knows the nuts and bolts of the health care system and she's been a governor so she knows how to work with Democrats and Republicans."
Among Sebelius' Republican backers were her two home-state senators, Pat Roberts, a longtime family friend, and Sam Brownback, who plans to run for Kansas governor next year.
Brownback, an ardent opponent of abortion, stuck to his pledge to support Sebelius, who favors abortion rights, even after she vetoed a bill last week that would've restricted late-term abortions.
In a statement after the vote, Brownback cited a "long tradition of bipartisanship" on home-state nominees. He also said that while they "fundamentally disagree" on some issues, it was important to have someone leading the agency in light of the swine flu outbreak.
Sebelius' nomination ran into some bumpy spots since President Barack Obama named her nine weeks ago. It came to light that she owed nearly $8,000 in back taxes and also received political contributions from a doctor who performs late-term abortions.
While conservative activists outside Capitol Hill tried to drum up opposition, her hearings produced no fireworks, and the outcome of her nomination never really seemed to be in doubt.
She drew bipartisan support for her grasp of the complexities of reforming healthcare, stemming from her two terms as Kansas insurance commissioner.
"This secretary is going to be charged with fulfilling this president's idea that all Americans should have health coverage," said Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana.
Critics objected to her pro-abortion rights views and her association with George Tiller, who operates an abortion clinic in Wichita that performs late-term abortions. He was also a political contributor.
"That's a nonstarter with me, not because I dislike her," said Oklahoma Republican Sen. Tom Coburn, a doctor. "I think she's a wonderful lady, but I think she lacks part of the moral clarity that is required to lead this nation into the future. I have no doubt that she will be approved today, so I mark it as another sign on our way to oblivion as a nation."
Opponents also were concerned that Obama administration policies could lead to health care rationing. They also cited her support for a government-run option to provide competition for the private insurance market.
"How in the world can the private market compete when the federal government comes in and sets prices?" asked Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas.
Sebelius fills the last vacancy in Obama's cabinet. She was his second choice after former Sen. Tom Daschle withdrew over tax problems.
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West Nile Virus found in mosquitoes in 2 Richland County communities
Fifth Clemson student dies in three months after being hit by car, university says
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Progress Toward Standardised Measurement Protocols for Perovskite Solar Cells
Christopher Fell a, Blago Mihailov a, Duck Benjamin a, Gregory Wilson a
a CSIRO Energy Centre, Australia
Proceedings of International Conference on Perovskite and Organic Photovoltaics and Optoelectronics (IPEROP19)
Kyōto-shi, Japan, 2019 January 27th - 29th
Organizers: Hideo Ohkita, Atsushi Wakamiya and Mohammad Nazeeruddin
Poster, Christopher Fell, 113
Publication date: 23rd October 2018
Diagnostic current-voltage (I‑V) measurements on perovskite solar cells are challenging due to an inherent electrical polarisation that occurs under voltage bias [1]. This polarisation means the electrical behaviour of the device is usually dependent on either the exposure history of the device, the parameters of the measurement, or both. Measurements of perovskite cell efficiency using standard practices are therefore fraught with very high uncertainty, even when the I‑V data appear repeatable. This issue is entirely separate to the issue of device stability (degradation) which further complicates the measurement for many devices.
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) publishes the internationally accepted standard method (IEC 60904) for measuring solar PV device output, and this standard is in the process of being updated. To that end, significant effort by a large group of stakeholders has been invested in understanding the perovskite polarisation issue, such that the 60904 or related standards might accommodate the issue. With support of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), CSIRO has studied the perovskite measurement issue extensively and is contributing strongly to the IEC standardisation effort.
In 2017, CSIRO published results from the first part of the project, including a world-first perovskite cell measurement round-robin including all eight Australian PV research labs plus a major international test lab) [2] and a novel approach to dealing with device polarisation during I‑V curve measurement. In 2018, the remaining project work will be presented, including:
- Improvements in perovskite solar cell performance
- A second major round-robin experiment
- Development of a 3D-printable standard device package compliant with the World PV Scale-
- Development of a IEC Technical Report on measurement protocols for emerging PV technologies as part of an international project team. That document is designed to pave the way for a Technical Specification and ultimately a dedicated standard
- Follow-on work on tandem cells with perovskite layers will be introduced.
[1] The Influence of the Relaxation Time on the Dynamic Hysteresis in Perovskite Solar Cells, Alexandra Palici, George Alexandru Nemnes, Cristina Besleaga, Lucian Pintilie, Dragos-Victor Anghel, Ioana Pintilie and Andrei Manolescu, EPJ Web of Conferences 173, 03017 (2018), Mathematical Modeling and Computational Physics 2017.
[2] How reliable are efficiency measurements of perovskite solar cells? The first inter-comparison, between two accredited and eight non-accredited laboratories; Ricky B. Dunbar, Benjamin C. Duck, Tom Moriarty, Kenrick F. Anderson, Noel W. Duffy, Christopher J. Fell, Jincheol Kim, Anita Ho-Baillie, Doojin Vak, The Duong, YiLiang Wu, Klaus Weber, Alex Pascoe, Yi-Bing Cheng, Qianqian Lin, Paul L. Burn, Ripon Bhattacharjee, Hongxia Wang and Gregory J. Wilson; J. Mater. Chem. A, 2017, 5, 22542
This work was supported by ARENA, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
© 2019 Fundació Scito - Legal notice - Data privacy - Cookies policy - IPEROP19 terms & conditions
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Showing 1 - 10 of 443 results. Order by:
A review of collaborative procurement across the public sector
The National Audit Office and the Audit Commission have today called for public bodies to work together much more effectively than they currently do to maximise savings from procurement activities.
Sector(s): Government, efficiency and transparency
Performance Improvement area(s): Commercial capability and contract management
Academy Schools Sector in England Consolidated Accounts 2015-16
This is the first year in which the Department for Education (the Department) has produced Academy Sector Accounts which consolidate the results of the 3,013 academy trusts that were open during the year ended 31 August 2016.
Academy Schools Sector in England Consolidated annual report and accounts 2016/17
The Comptroller and Auditor General has qualified his audit opinion on these accounts.
Accommodation services for the Department for Work and Pensions: Transfer of property to the private sector
“The Department got what it required at a good price. Where public bodies can show that a non-competitive negotiation is the best option, the approach used for the expansion of the PRIME contract provides a number of lessons on how to achieve good value for money – which should applied in future.”
Sector(s): Private Finance
Achieving Innovation in Central Government Organisations
“Much work has been done to drive forward operational innovations within the civil service. But harnessing a new culture isn’t easy. We have found many examples of new and worthwhile changes but strong barriers to innovation remain.
Senior managers are providing leadership to change, but implementing structural changes will not be achieved by dropping initiatives from on high, but rather by creating a supportive environment where all staff are encouraged to make suggestions for change.”
Sector(s): Education and skills, Government, efficiency and transparency
Action to Improve Passenger Rail Services
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told Parliament today that the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority (SSRA) and its predecessor organisation, the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising (OPRAF), had taken action where possible to remedy underperformance by passenger train operators but that the present franchise arrangements could be improved to secure better performance. … Read more
Sector(s): Infrastructure, Regulation, consumers and competition, Transport
Adult apprenticeships
Apprenticeships for adults offer a good return for the public money spent on them overall. However, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills could improve value for money significantly by targeting resources on areas where the greatest economic returns can be achieved.
Sector(s): Business and enterprise, Education and skills
Adult social care in England: overview
The provision of adequate adult social care poses a significant public service challenge. Demand for care is rising while public spending is falling.
Sector(s): Health and social care, Local services, Welfare, Pensions and Employment
Allocation and management of risk in Ministry of Defence PFI projects
“Most of the private finance projects in its portfolio of more than 50 have been delivered successfully by the Ministry of Defence. But the Department needs to be more alert to the risks that can emerge once the project is up and running, such as inaccurate performance reporting. It could also reduce procurement times by speeding up its decision-making, and by collecting better information at the outset on current and prospective use of the service and the condition of assets.”
Sector(s): National security, Private Finance
Assessing the value for money of OGCbuying.solutions
“Public sector organisations are being challenged now to gain greater value for money from their procurement activities. OGCbuying.solutions has made good progress in enabling public sector organisations to achieve good value for money in the procurement of goods and services. But it could do much more by improving its performance. This would be helped by greater co-ordination of the many public sector bodies carrying out procurement activities.”
Sector(s): Central Finance and Treasury, Government, efficiency and transparency
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ACE-ing Product Stability with Space Station Research
[image-51]
Extending the shelf life of everyday items such as shampoo, laundry detergent and toothpaste is a complex process, and one with potentially significant impacts to commercial products and to the family pocketbook. Using microgravity to study the exceptionally small particles, known as colloids, which make up these types of liquid products, researchers can gain more insight into the characteristics of these particles. This may ultimately aid research efforts in improving health, beauty and household care products.
The Advanced Colloids Experiment-M-1 (ACE-M-1) is the first set of tests in a series of microscopic imaging investigations of materials which contain small colloidal particles. These particles have the specific characteristic of remaining evenly dispersed and distributed within the material. The ACE-M-1 investigation uses the microgravity environment on the International Space Station to minimize the process of sedimentation in materials containing pinhead, or smaller-sized, colloidal particles. This keeps the particles evenly dispersed within the materials for longer periods of time. On Earth, gravity influences those particles to settle out of the liquid over time, decreasing the quality of a product.
“Really, what we’re hoping to learn is basically the fundamental roles that govern the formation of these structures, how those structures change over time, and by doing so, we can make a much better directed experiment and more rational design of our products,” says Matthew Lynch, Ph.D., Earth-based principal investigator of ACE-M-1 who is also a principal scientist at the Procter and Gamble Company.
Gaining a better understanding of the physical processes of particles obtained through ACE-M-1 samples may greatly impact the quality, production and longevity of commercial products. Buying a product that lasts longer and is of higher quality will provide more bang for the buck, which makes for a satisfied consumer.
Watch the full Space Station Live broadcast weekdays on NASA TV at 10 a.m. CDT at http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.
Laura Niles
International Space Station Program Science Office and Public Affairs Office
NASA’s Johnson Space Center
Youtube Override:
iyyBbv3wkkI
Image Token:
A view of a particle sample from the Preliminary Advanced Colloids Experiment before insertion into the Fluids Integrated Rack / Fluids Combustion Facility.
NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg works on the Advanced Colloids Experiment-M-1 at the Light Microscopy Module in the Fluids Integrated Rack / Fluids Combustion Facility during Expedition 36 aboard the International Space Station.
Page Last Updated: November 15th, 2013
Page Editor: Kristine Rainey
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877-CALL NJH (877.225.5654)
Contact 877-CALL NJH
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National Jewish Health Appoints New Medical Leadership at Colorado Acute Long Term Hospital
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DENVER, CO — Two National Jewish Health physicians have been appointed to the medical leadership team at Colorado Acute Long Term Hospital. Matthew D. Cohn, MD, is now serving as Medical Director at Colorado Acute. Howard Saft, MD, is now the Director of the 10-bed intensive care unit at Colorado Acute.
National Jewish Health and Colorado Acute Long Term Hospital have a relationship that stems from a mutual goal of providing the highest level of critical care and acute inpatient care to patients with respiratory disease and other complex medical illnesses. National Jewish Health pulmonologists bring their leadership and clinical expertise in respiratory medicine and critical care to patients at Colorado Acute, caring for hospitalized patients daily. Indeed, the majority of Colorado Acute patients need some form of specialized respiratory care.
“Dr. Cohn and Dr. Saft bring the training, experience and temperaments that will make them excellent leaders for the team at Colorado Acute Long Term Hospital,” said Ken Lyn-Kew, MD, section head of critical care at National Jewish Health.
Dr. Cohn, assistant professor of medicine at National Jewish Health, is board certified in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine and critical care. He received his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine. He completed his residency in internal medicine and fellowship in pulmonary and critical care at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.
Dr. Saft, assistant professor of medicine at National Jewish Health, is board certified in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine and critical care. He received his medical degree from the University of Florida, and did his residency and fellowship in pulmonary and critical care at Georgetown University Hospital. He also completed a fellowship in Health Services Research at the University of California, Los Angeles, which focused on improving health care delivery.
“We are thrilled to have Drs. Cohn and Saft leading the National Jewish Health team at Colorado Acute,” said Craig Bailey, CEO of Colorado Acute Long Term Hospital. “Their experience and expertise are exactly what we were seeking in our collaboration with National Jewish Health. They help us provide superior care for our patients.”
National Jewish Health is the leading respiratory hospital in the nation. Founded 118 years ago as a nonprofit hospital, National Jewish Health today is the only facility in the world dedicated exclusively to groundbreaking medical research and treatment of patients with respiratory, cardiac, immune and related disorders. Patients and families come to National Jewish Health from around the world to receive cutting-edge, comprehensive, coordinated care. To learn more, visit the media resources page.
Colorado Acute Long Term Hospital is a 63-bed specialty hospital in Denver, Colorado, providing high acuity care for medically complex patients requiring intensive medical, nursing, respiratory and therapy services. We focus on meeting the needs of all our partners in care, including the physician, patient and the patient's family. To learn more, visit www.lifecarehealthpartners.com
We have many faculty members, from bench scientists to clinicians, who can speak on almost any aspect of respiratory, immune, cardiac and gastrointestinal disease as well as lung cancer and basic immunology.
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Detroit Mom Mitchelle Blair Gets Life Sentence for Putting Children in Freezer
'Freezer Mom' Sentenced to Life In Prison
July 17, 201504:42
July 17, 2015, 3:22 PM UTC / Updated July 17, 2015, 3:47 PM UTC
By Erik Ortiz
The apparently remorseless Detroit mother who admitted to killing two of her children and hiding their bodies in a deep freezer was sentenced Friday morning to life in prison without parole.
Mitchelle Blair, 36, was allowed to address the Wayne County courtroom and displayed the same anger she has previously shown since her arrest in March in the horrific case.
Related: Detroit Mother Pleads Guilty to Killing Two Kids Found in Freezer
"As horrendous as everyone thinks I am, that’s fine. But I'm the only one not lying about anything," said Blair, who used her time blasting the fathers of her dead children for being absent in their lives.
Blair was initially charged with two counts of felony murder, two counts of premeditated murder and one count of torture in the deaths of her children, Stoni Ann Blair, 13, and Stephen Gage Berry, 9.
In court last month, Blair confessed to abusing and killing Stephen in 2012 and Stoni Ann in 2013, and claimed that she did so because they were sexually assaulting her now-8-year-old son.
Mom Pleads Guilty to Killing Kids, Putting Bodies in Freezer
Judge Dana Hathaway, in sentencing Blair, told her that the "greatest tragedy" was that she took away her children's chance at a better life.
"They lived in terrible fear of you, and I find that so sad in this case," Hathaway said. "After all is said and done, you imposed the death penalty on your own children."
Blair, who remained stone-faced, responded: "I did."
First outburst from #MitchelleBlair at sentencing. Judge threatens to take her out. #Local4 pic.twitter.com/JEKDx5XDNo
— Jason Colthorp (@JasonColthorp) July 17, 2015
Still undecided are what will happen to Blair's two other children — the 8-year-old son and a 17-year-old daughter. Those children's fathers also fathered Stephen and Stoni Ann, respectively.
They are each trying to win back custody of their children — whom Blair had been taking care of — in court. A decision could be made later this month.
Erik Ortiz
Erik Ortiz is an NBC News staff writer focusing on racial injustice and social inequality.
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The Neuroscience Of Addictive Television
By Phil Pruitt
and Chance Seales
In the age of the short social media exchanges, we have a hunger for longer narratives.
Good TV can be downright addictive. The heart leaps as "The West Wing's" music soars and C.J. Cregg sweeps into the Oval. That special surge, anticipating an almighty clash between Kyle and LVP in "Beverly Hills." Other TV shows, it's take it or leave it.
What makes certain shows so addictive to certain people? Chemically speaking: dopamine. That’s the "feel-good hormone," a neurotransmitter linked to bliss and euphoria.
When you watch something on TV that you enjoy, your brain produces dopamine. Repeated production of dopamine — like during a weekend of binge-watching — can result in a "drug-like high."
"It is the brain's signal that communicates to the body, 'This feels good. You should keep doing this!'" That's the way Dr. Renee Carr, a clinical psychologist, put it to NBC. Carr calls it a "pseudo addiction."
Oh, and one more thing about dopamine: If you feel euphoric right before sitting down to watch your favorite show, it's because the initial burst of dopamine occurs in anticipation of the reward. It sort of primes you for more to come — magnifying the feeling. In a world of responsibilities, the tube sucks you in. It's a great escape. Nielsen reports that adults spend four hours and 10 minutes a day watching live TV.
Binge-watching is a whole other beast, especially in the streaming era, and these marathons point to some secret ingredients of can't-turn-it-off TV. Researchers have found that:
In the age of the short social media exchanges, we have a hunger for longer narratives. We see ourselves in characters. That's called "identification." There's also "wishful identification," where you wish you were the character. Or "parasocial interaction" — that's when you feel a connection to a character.
We use TV to break free of the day-to-day slog — work, commute, relationships, life. Binge-watching creates a virtual world where those real world stresses don't exist.
Hot shows become communal when everyone's talking about them — a shared experience.
Too much TV viewing can result in too few social connections, and that can be detrimental because it's in our nature to need real live human connections. As is true with so many feel-good activities, moderation and self-control are still important.
That might mean a self-imposed cap on the number of episodes to binge. But watch out for the cliff-hangers. They make it tempting to stick around for just one more episode. And then just one more.
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Navajo-Hopi Observer
nhonews.com
Winslow News
Candidates running for chairman: Herman Honanie
Photo by Loretta Yerian.
Herman Honanie.
By Navajo-Hopi Observer
Originally Published: August 29, 2017 12:41 p.m.
Herman Honanie is from the village of Kykotsmovi.
Why do you feel you’re a qualified candidate to run for chairman of the Hopi tribe?
I had four years as vice chairman and I’ve been the chairman for the last four years. The chairman and vice chairman experience have both prepared me for the position. I know it’s the difference between being a chairman and vice chairman, but once you become a chairman, you assume a much greater role and responsibility. My experience being a chairman, I believe qualifies me pretty well to be able to continue in this position. I feel I’m qualified — I’m experienced. I’ve carried out the role of being chairman to the best of my capabilities and been exposed to all facets of being in that office. That means locally, county wise, state wise and national levels and my relationship with other tribes throughout the state.
In your opinion what are the two biggest issues facing the Hopi Tribe?
Right now our revenue is declining because of the Navajo Generating Station (NGS) issue. That’s obviously a big issue that we need to deal with. The closure is slated for 2019, which then puts the stress and pressure on us to then come up with ways of filling that void in respect to revenue. Economic development and bringing in revenue is really a big challenge.
Right now we’re entertaining proposals in regard to what can be done with our coal. We have vast amounts of coal, which need to be looked at, and how we can be able to extract other ways of energy. I think we need to be able to determine if there is going to be buyers out there and how we can transport that. There are certain elements within the Hopi people that really need to be discussed. There is a big challenge of what’s going to be the best use of our coal and then what steps we take to get to that point. That’s just looking at coal only. There could be other areas we need to look at … there’s always this picture of gaming. We have not come to the point to really actively pursue gaming. We are up against the stigma with regard to gaming and its effect or impact on Hopi beliefs and culture. We need to really fully vet that out and see if gaming is going to be a viable form of bringing in revenue as well.
The second issue is right now we’ve been having a lot of discussions on the education picture for Hopi. We have seven elementary schools and one high school on the reservation. There’s various perspectives on the state of our education system here on Hopi, so obviously we need to have a lot of discussion and work to pull everybody together and come up with a system that’s going to be sound and effective in a sense that everybody’s on the same page. Then, of course, having our high school ascend to a level that can really, really prepare our kids for post high school educational pursuits.
If elected, what are two specific objectives you want to focus on during your time in office and why?
That would have to be the economic development matter, the challenge of being able to see how we can bring in the revenue and a combination of various topics that I want to devote and put a lot of focus and attention to — education, health, justice services … there’s a plethora of activities on the plate that we need to focus on —domestic violence, drug use, youth enhancement, social services, a lot of things. When asked what two things … it makes me realize, gosh, there’s various activities that qualify for that question. There are a lot of issues on the table.
Personal comments
I’ve been here for four years and four years is a really short amount of time to accomplish many things. In these four years I’ve been exposed to many challenges and continue to represent the Hopi people and work on behalf of them. I feel another four years is justified for me to be in this position to continue my work and carry out and accomplish these things. Whether I accomplish them or not, I’d like to feel that I can be able to carry out and further these issues and these goals/objectives toward fruition or completion. I’m going to need to depend on everyone — the council, government and the people to be able to accomplish these things. It’s always been that I am trying to represent the people in the best way possible. It has been an honor to serve my people in this capacity. I really thank the people who have given me this confidence and knowing what to do to carry it out. I would certainly like to see them re-elect me to this post to have me continue to represent them.
Candidates running for chairman: David Talayumptewa
Candidates running for vice chairman: Clark Tenakhonga
Candidates running for chairman: Alfred Lomahquahu Jr.
Candidates running for vice chairman: Lamar Keevama
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Navajo Arts and Crafts Enterprise grand opening highlights job growth, economic development, and growing Navajo dollar
Hopi graduation message: 'We're alive to fulfill our life's purpose by making a difference'
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Footage reveals shocking abuse on Northamptonshire farms supplying chicken to Nando’s, Lidl and Asda
Carly Roberts
Published: 14:00
Shocking footage shows chickens on three Northamptonshire farms supplying Nando’s, Lidl and Asda being subjected to extreme suffering, abuse and cannibalism.
Dozens of birds collapsed under the weight of their unnaturally large bodies and were left unable to stand as a result of such ill treatment.
Dead birds were left to rot among the living, leading to cannibalism on at least one of three farms in Northamptonshire (Photo: Animal Equality).
Chickens were filmed being deliberately kicked and stepped on in the harrowing footage, with workers caught callously breaking their necks and leaving them to convulse amid the flock.
Workers were also shown to be throwing dying birds onto a pile where they were left to suffer for hours as they cleared the shed for slaughter.
Dead birds were left to rot among the living, leading to cannibalism on at least one of three farms in Northamptonshire, which rear chickens for Faccenda, one of the UK’s largest chicken companies, and a supplier for major outlets including Nando’s, Lidl and Asda.
The farms, at Pimlico, and Helmdon and Evenley near Brackley, are all certified by Red Tractor, which claims that “animal health and welfare is at the heart” of its standards.
Chickens were filmed being deliberately kicked and stepped on in the harrowing footage (Photo: Animal Equality).
However, in the footage released by animal protection organisation Animal Equality, some of the birds could be seen to be struggling aged just seven days old.
Investigators made multiple visits to the farms between January and March 2019, after receiving a tip-off about poor conditions. On every visit, they found chickens unable to stand dead birds left to rot inside the overcrowded sheds.
After discovering bin bags full of dead birds inside one shed at Evenley Farm, they installed a hidden camera to record how long the carcasses were left among the living.
Footage captured workers subjecting the birds to horrendous cruelty, including breaking their necks and stepping on them.
Animal Equality’s UK director, Dr Toni Vernelli, said, “Sensationalist headlines about American chlorinated chicken would have us believe that British birds live a life of luxury, but these harrowing scenes reveal the truth.
“Crammed inside crowded sheds and bred to grow so unnaturally large that their joints and hearts can’t cope with the strain, chickens on British farms suffer every minute of their lives.”
All of the footage has been passed to the RSPCA, Red Tractor and Defra’s Animal and Plant Health Agency.
New campaign to fund Wellingborough A&E facility
A spokesman for Nando’s said: “Animal welfare is as important to us as it is to customers, which is why all of our chickens are barn-reared in the UK to Read Tractor standards.
“We expect all our suppliers to operate to high standards and we are disappointed with the footage.
"We will be working with the supplier to get to the bottom of these allegations.”
A spokesman for the British Retail Consortium, on behalf of Lidl and Asda, said: “Our members take their responsibilities to animal welfare very seriously and work closely with trusted suppliers so that high welfare standards are upheld.
"They have strict processes in place and will thoroughly investigate any evidence of non-conformity to ensure that any problems are immediately addressed.”
This article originally appeared on our sister site, The Sheffield Star.
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All Plants :: All Perennial :: All Hypericum
Hypericum calycinum
Aaron's beard, St. John's wort
A widely used and attractive evergreen groundcover which is dense, but not invasive. Deep green, oval leaves and 2" gold flowers with pincushion-like, center-clustered stamens in late spring and early summer. One of the nicest groundcovers when in bloom. Most content in cooler areas away from drying winter winds, although quite tough once established.
Hypericum calycinum - 72 per flat Availability
15-18 Inches
Aaron's beard, St. John's wort Interesting Notes
Hypericum translates as "above a picture", referring to the fact that in ancient cultures, cuttings from members of the genus were hung above pictures to ward off evil spirits. Calycinum translates as "with a conspicuous calyx", referring to the portion of the corolla structure that lies beneath the yellow petals. - OSU Pocket Gardener
A stoloniferous subshrub or shrublet, typically growing 12" (less frequently to 18") high and 24" wide, which is frequently planted as a ground cover. Features large, rose-like, 5-petaled, yellow flowers (2-3" diameter) having numerous, bushy stamens with reddish anthers. Flowers appear singly or in groups of 2-3 and cover the plant in summer. Oval to oblong, distinctively net-veined (from beneath) leaves (to 4" long) are rich green in sun but are a lighter, yellowish green in shade. Four-angled stems are both procumbent and ascending. Sometimes commonly called Aaron's beard or creeping St. John's wort. Plants of the genus Hypericum (some species have been used since ancient times in the treatment of wounds) were apparently gathered and burned to ward off evil spirits on the eve of St. John's Day, thus giving rise to the genus common name of St. John's wort. - Missouri Botanical Garden
Hypericum calycinum Growing and Maintenance Tips
Prefers loose, well-drained soils in full to partial sun. Tolerant of many types of soils. Variegation and flowers are more prolific in full sun, but will tolerate part shade. May be propagated by seed, division or terminal cuttings. Cut back late winter to promote new flush of colorful leaf color. Easy to grow and low maintenance. Best used as a groundcover or in mass plantings.
• Vegetative
• Ornamental Foliage
• Moist Sun
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KL Gold mine rescue team preparing for Provincials
By Northern News
More from By Northern News
Published on: May 29, 2018 | Last Updated: May 29, 2018 6:12 AM EDT
Kirkland Lake Gold, Holt and Taylor Mines’ rescue team will compete against teams from across the province at Alamos Gold’s Young-Davidson Mine during the 69th annual Ontario Mine Rescue Provincial Competition in Matachewan, Wednesday and Thursday, June 6 and 7.
The KL Gold team won the Kirkland Lake District competition earlier this month in Timmins.
According to a press release "Alamos Gold will host the underground emergency simulation portion of the competition organized by Ontario Mine Rescue, a part of Workplace Safety North. The competition will test the teams’ mining emergency response knowledge, firefighting skills, first aid response, use of emergency equipment and decision-making ability under stress during a simulated emergency.
"A designated viewing area at the Young-Davidson site will permit family, friends and the media to watch the competition via livestreaming video. Admission is free. The competition will start at 7 a.m. each day. Media and spectators are not permitted to share competition details, photos or videos with other teams or on social media until the competition ends Friday, June 8 at noon."
Thr release goes on to state, "Mine Rescue competitions, which started in 1950, are as much intensive learning opportunities as a chance to test emergency response capabilities. The competitions ensure that mine rescue volunteers across the province are trained to the same high standards.
Mine rescue team members, the backbone of Ontario Mine Rescue, are volunteer mine workers trained by Mine Rescue Officers to respond to all types of mine emergencies including fires, explosions and the entrapment of miners.
Under the authority of the Occupational Health and Safety Act and headquartered in Sudbury, Ontario Mine Rescue staffs, equips and maintains a network of mine rescue stations across the province that ensure mines within a specified geographic area have adequate emergency response capability.
The 2018 Ontario Mine Rescue Provincial Competition is hosted by Alamos Gold, Young- Davidson Mine. Major sponsors are Drager Safety; Technica Mining; Hard-Line Solutions; T’NT Work and Rescue; and North American Palladium.
Workplace Safety North provides products and services to promote workplace health and safety in the mining, forestry, and paper, printing and converting industries, as well as workplaces across Ontario."
kl garden tour
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IN PICTURES: Nine best plants for outdoor scent
Wisteria, honeysuckle and gardenia have been named as some of the best plants to use for a sweet-smelling garden.
Saturday 13 April 2019 10:34
Sue Wilkinson
Horticulture experts at online garden centre GardeningExpress.co.uk have revealed their favourite and best smelling plants for a fragrant backyard through spring and into summer.
1. Honeysuckle
Honeysuckle comes in many varieties that thrive everywhere, and as such is a very popular flower among those who love fragrant plants. ''The honeysuckle vine can reach an impressive height of up to 40 feet, and its cluster of tiny flowers boast comforting smells similar to vanilla and honey.
2. Jasmine
The rich, sweet fragrance of white or yellow jasmine has made it incredibly popular around the world, prized for its brilliant green leaves as well as its soft, delicate and sweetly scented flowers. ''There are more than 200 different species of jasmine, and its essential oils are used in perfumes and aromatherapy for both relaxing and aphrodisiac effects.
3. Lavendar
Lavender is known across the globe for its unforgettable fragrance and gorgeous purple flowers. ''Great for borders and better still, when the flowers are over, cut them and bring them indoors to carry on enjoying them.
4. Lily of the Valley
Lily of the valley is known for its pleasant smell and delicate beauty, featuring nodding bell-shaped flowers.''As a sweet-smelling flower, lily of the valley is use in the production of perfumes and as a herb for burning and for fever.
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Yorkshire Show tickets on sale
Janet Harrison
Tickets have gone on sale for the 161st Great Yorkshire Show.
The famous event showcases the best of British farming, food and the countryside as well as first class entertainment.
Launching ticket sales were Show Director Charles Mills, sporting Soprano Lizzie Jones and sculptor Emma Stothard who brought a sneak preview of a giant installation which will be unveiled on the President’s Lawn.
Charles said: “We very much look forward to hearing Lizzie Jones who was so popular with visitors last year, we are thrilled that she will perform every day in the Main Ring again this year.
“And Emma Stothard will be bringing a taste of Fodder to the President’s Lawn as our farm shop and café Fodder, celebrates its 10th birthday this year.
“Look out for the big reveal at this year’s Great Yorkshire Show!”
The Great Yorkshire Show, from Tuesday July 9 to Thursday July 11, will this year host three national cattle breed shows; including the Longhorn Cattle Society’s National Show, UK Beef Shorthorn Championships and National Charolais Show.
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Norway in Nigeria Royal Norwegian Embassy in Abuja
Reiseinformasjon for Nigeria
Norway and Nigeria
Old banknotes taken out of circulation
The old an new 100 Norwegian krone banknote.
The old series of Norway’s 100-krone and 200-krone notes are no longer legal tender after 30 May 2018. However, old banknotes can be exchanged. Here is how to proceed.
Keeping one step ahead is important. On 30 May 2017, Norges Bank, Norway’s central bank, issued the two first denominations of a new banknote series that is significantly more secure than the previous one. One year after the new 100-krone and 200-krone notes were launched, the old versions were taken out of circulation.
While some banks and retailers continue to accept the old notes throughout 2018, only Norges Bank is legally obliged to accept them for at least ten years after the withdrawal date. The old 100-krone and 200-krone banknotes can be exchanged free of charge through 30 May 2028.
Photo:Norway’s central bank
The new 50-krone and 500-krone will be launched on 18 Octob
er 2018, while the 1000-krone will be launched in the fourth quarter of 2019. The old versions will no longer be legal tender one year after the new versions are put into circulation.
If you possess old banknotes that you would like to exchange, there are two options:
You can have them deposited in a bank:
Fill out the banknote exchange form.
Send the form with banknotes enclosed to:
Norges Bank, Cashier's Department, PO Box 1179, Sentrum, 0107 Oslo.
You can also deliver the form and banknotes in person at our main office at Bankplassen 2 in Oslo (see map).
Norges Bank will transfer funds equal to the value of exchanged notes to the account indicated on the form.
You can exchange old 100-krone and 200-krone banknotes for new ones at Norges Bank's depots in Tromsø, Trondheim, Bergen, Stavanger or Oslo Monday to Friday 9 AM - 3 PM. Please note that old banknotes in an amount exceeding NOK 10 000 will not be exchanged for new banknotes, but can be submitted as specified above and the amount will be transferred to your account.
For more information on the withdrawal of old banknotes and introduction of new banknotes, please visit our webpage New banknote series.
Royal Norwegian Embassy in Abuja
54 T.Y. Danjuma Street, Asokoro, Abuja, Nigeria
Postal address: PMB 5136, Wuse, Abuja, Nigeria
Telephone: 0813 989 0050 (from abroad: +234 813 989 0050 )
From Norway: +47 239 59 602 .
The Embassy phone is available only during opening hours
E-mail enquiries (except visa): emb.abuja@mfa.no
Monday-Thursday 8h00 - 16h00
Friday 8h00 - 13h30
The Norwegian Embassy in Accra, Ghana handles all visa applications.
Visa and immigration related questions should be addressed to VFS Global.
VFS Helpline
Telephone: +234 (0)815 018 8800,
Email: info.nrng@vfshelpline.com
VFS opening hours: 8am - 3pm Monday to Friday
The embassy on facebook
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Rudy Mulligan
Acting Local: Community Board Workshop
At our January Membership Meeting, Community Board member and 25 year carpenter Tammy Rivera taught us the value of community boards for tradespeople: have a powerful influence over the kind of construction projects and conditions for workers in your neighborhood, while growing your public speaking skills, getting comfortable with local politicians and politics, and being a change maker your union. If you’re interested in applying to your community board, go here to find a link to your borough’s application. And when you apply, Tweet us up! @NYCCWC
Bylaws Adopted and New Executive Board Elected
“In July, following our election process (as outlined in our Bylaws), we elected 10 members to our Executive Board.”
NYC CWC Inaugural Elections
NYC Coalition for Women in Construction members and new members can join us on Monday, July 9th, for our first-ever elections, held at:
Consortium for Worker Education
275 Seventh Avenue, 18th FL
Membership dues are $108 for journey level tradeswomen and $49 for apprentices. No one shall be turned away for inability to pay.
We Doers: May Membership Meeting
Inagural Elections for Executive Board in June
Preparations are being made to hold the CWC's first elections for Executive Board members at the June 11th, 2018 Membership Meeting. Since its inception, the CWC has been guided by a panel of tradeswomen and longstanding allies who have pressed forward the creation of its bylaws, establishment of official record-keeping, and organization of meetings, training events, expert speakers, and assistance with sending over 100 women to the Women Build Nations Conference in 2017.
An elected Executive Board will further cement the foundation of the organization and lead to fundraising opportunities and expansion of trainings and leadership development opportunities for NYC tradeswomen. Articles 3 & 4 of the proposed NYCCWC Bylaws cover the Officer positions available.
If you're not already a member, you can join at the upcoming meeting or fill out a Membership Form.
April Meeting: P.P.E. for Women training
April 9th 4:30-6:00 at NYCOSH
50 Broadway, 28th FL
Ever wish you had PPE made for your frame?
Unfortunately, "standard" sizes are made for 'average male' body frames: 5' 10" height and a corresponding bone structure, and most foremen order PPE for their average worker- more than likely a larger person than you.
Come learn about smaller-fit PPE from NYCOSH Industrial Hygienist Marina Jabsky.
At this training, you can expect to:
*learn the importance of close-fitting PPE
*have PPE for women's bodies available for us to try on
*review the legal requirements of employers to provide these items (& bathroom access)
*be provided with PPE supply lists to give to your foremen to encourage them to do the right thing
Kids are welcome to attend with their mother. No refreshments will be served, but kitchen amenities are available to heat up your own food or water for tea.
RSVP on our Facebook event page
In lieu of our regularly scheduled monthly meeting, this month we hosted a Women's History Month Celebration event: Stories of Persistence on March 8th.
We will resume our monthly meetings on April 9th (second Monday of the month). Stay tuned for meeting location and scheduled training.
Stories of Persistence: A Celebration of Women's History Month
The theme of 2018's Women's History Month is "persistence in the face of all forms of discrimination against women." To honor everyday heroes who've persisted in the workplace, the NYC Coalition for Women in Construction, Nontraditional Employment for Women, and LaGuardia Community College are celebrating the women and national pivotal moments that shifted the landscape for America’s working women.
***Learn powerful storytelling tips from experts and be inspired by influential women with compelling stories to tell.
***Speakers announced soon!
***Leave your own story of persistence on an art installation.
***Brief presentations by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the NYC Human Rights Commission.
Catered reception begins at 4.
Door prizes sponsored by Timberland Pro & Moxie and Moss!
Facebook event page
Tagged: events, women's history month, storytelling, experts, community
Mar 8: TradesWomen's History Month Celebration!
February Membership Meeting: Special Film Screening with Filmmaker Dawn Jones Redstone
We're also having a training on the new New York state Paid Family Leave benefit, which applies to all construction workers with new babies, sick family members, or medical leave for veterans and military personnel.
Text 917-409-6984 to RSVP for the
location of the meeting
Tradeswomen on Front Lines of #CountMeIn Rallies Against Related's 'Open Sweat Shop' Hudson Yards Project
Every Thursday morning at 6am you can find hundreds of tradeunionists pacing the corner of 10th Avenue and 34th Street, demanding fair wages, working conditions and benefits for the workers at 50 & 55 Hudson Yards. Their dedication, particularly in this arctic, rainy, snowy weather, is an inspiration! Hundreds and thousands of tradeunionists have been there to demand better from these greedy developers.
Rallies continue to happen every week. Check the United NYC Building Trades facebook page for updates.
NEW & Coalition Co-Host Movie Night January 29th @4pm @ NEW
NEW's January social meet-up is happening on January 29th- with a special screening of the documentary The Coal Minority (30 mins), about coal mining women. Hot-chocolate and popcorn served. Bring a sister with you. Check's NEW's facebook page for more details as they become available.
Community Boards Need More Tradeswomen!
Brooklyn Community Board applications are due Feb 15th. Follow the links below to learn when your community board application period opens and ends:
Find out which Community Board you live in and here's a peek at what a Manhattan Community Board Committee Meeting agenda looks like, if you're curious. And you thought Coalition meetings were a slog!
Solidarity Action ALERT
Join the Women's Building supporters in speaking out in support for formerly incarcerated women. From our allies at the Women's Building: "Hope House, a transitional home in the Bronx for women coming home from incarceration, is facing opposition that prevents the project from opening its doors. Founded and run by formerly incarcerated women, Hope House embodies so many of the values The Women's Building stands for--sisterhood, healing, transformation, and love. Local residents have raised objections to the project, but at an upcoming Community Board meeting there will be an opportunity for allies to speak up and share their support."
Speaking of the Women's Building...
If you don't know about it, haven't joined the mailing list to find out when they're ready to hire tradeswomen, or told at least three tradeswomen about it, you're missing out on a great opportunity! They've all but finished their State Street project (and succeeded at having 35%+ tradeswomen on it!!! Coalition members Scout and T worked together on it!) and are moving on to rehabilitate and renovate the former Bayview Correctional Facility for Women (19th Street & the West Side Highway) in 2018.
Join their mailing list to find out when they're breaking ground and looking for your trade.
Tools & Tiaras Starting NYC's First Construction Skills for Girls Summer Camp in 2018
Passion project of Judaline Cassidy and her dedicated instructors (Nkosa Barret pictured above) have been hosting hands-on workshops for girls and young women (ages 6-19) on topics ranging from carpentry, electrical, plumbing and auto mechanics since the Fall. In the summer, Tools & Tiaras will be launching it's first Construction Skills for Girls Summer Camp, a week-long intensive free for girls ages 6-19.
Get Involved: Volunteer to teach a workshop, buy her fantastically-designed, American made swag, make a donation, or ask your local to support this organization.
Paid Family Leave is Here for Construction Workers
Family Leave Law has arrived for New York State workers. The law guarantees workers time off to bond with a new child (including adopted and foster children); care for a seriously ill family member (child, parent, parent-in-law, spouse, domestic partner, grandchild, or grandparent); or address certain military family needs. If you’re employed outside the government in New York State, either full-time or part-time, you’re probably covered under the law, regardless of how many people work for your employer. The law applies regardless of immigration or citizenship status. In 2018, you will be able to take up to eight weeks of family leave. Each year after that, the number of weeks available will be increased. In 2018, you will receive half (50%) of your average weekly pay, up to about $650 per week. Each year after that, you’ll be eligible to receive a greater percentage of your pay while on leave. If you’ve worked for your employer for at least six months, you can start receiving benefits on January 1, 2018. Otherwise, you may start receiving benefits six months after your start date. If you work less than 20 hours per week, you may need to work for slightly longer (175 days) to qualify.
We'll have someone come to a Coalition Topic Meeting in the next few months to answer questions and talk about this new benefit. In the meantime, it comes out as a payroll tax so your employer will be responsible for collecting the tax. Go here to learn about using these benefits.
CLUW Holding Elections in March
The Coalition for Labor Union Women (national website) had it's most recent meeting January 18th at 6pm @ 70 West 36th Street, 16th Fl, NY NY 10018. The NYC chapter CLUW needs tradeswomen!! CLUW gets a vote in the NYC Central Labor Council body, which informs policy about all trades in NYC, so having a tradeswoman's voice there can be critical to pressing our needs at a powerful leadership level. You must be a member in good standing of a union or other collective bargaining organization and be a national member of CLUW to join a Local CLUW Chapter. The fee to join the national CLUW is $35 annually (or $15 for an unemployed worker.) Join CLUW, and let's find ways to link up with them.
Women at Work: Labor Activism Film Festival at BAM in March
From Brooklyn Academy of Music's website:
MAR 2—8 Women at Work: Labor Activism Women at Work: Labor Activism is the first part a new series exploring the complex subject of women’s work from a variety of perspectives. This inaugural installment focuses specifically on cinematic portrayals of women’s pioneering roles in labor movements through history. It includes bracing documentaries of front-line action in Madeline Anderson’s short film I Am Somebody (1969) and Barbara Kopple’s Harlan County, U.S.A. (1976), galvanizing portraits of influential women like Union Maids (Klein, Mogulescu, Reichert, 1976), and classic dramas inspired by pioneering real-life figures with Mike Nichols Silkwood (1983) and Sally Field’s Oscar-winner Norma Rae (Ritt, 1979). The series also includes Sally Potter’s The Gold Diggers (1983), Herbert Biberman’s Salt of the Earth screening with A Crime to Fit the Punishment (Mack & Moss, 1982) about the political atmosphere surrounding the production of Salt of the Earth, and the documentaries The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter (Field, 1980) and With Babies and Banners: Story of the Women’s Emergency Brigade (Gray, 1979). Closing the series is a new 35mm restoration of Lizzie Borden’s Born in Flames (1983).
Coming up in February
Our next meeting is February 12th at 4:30pm.
We're working on adopting bylaws and an organizational structure. Election of Officer positions held in June. Stay tuned to the website for committee information and officer positions.
Please email nyccwc@gmail.com or call/text 917-409-6984 if you plan to attend so we can add your name to the security list.
Women's Building Block Party 9/23!
Join us at the Women's Building Block Party!
The Women's Building (and, notably, Gary LaBarbara of the NYC BCTC) is committed to staffing 40% tradeswomen in this construction project! You can sign up to work on the project through the Women's Building website.
Bring yours kids out to show them how their mom is building NYC!
OSHA/EEOC Panel Event 9/18
The NYC Coalition for Women in Construction is hosting a panel presentation of representatives from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Adminstration (OSHA).
OSHA will present information about standards for sanitary conditions in the workplace, personal protective equipment, and information that may be helpful regarding pregnancy accommodations.
EEOC will discuss harassment on the job and discrimination.
They will both cover how to make complaints, and would like to hear questions from the audience about issues you care about, as they would like to prepare future presentations that might be of use for the coalition.
RSVP is mandatory by Tuesday, September 12th. If you think you might go, please RSVP by that date.
Details and Registration to RSVP at our EventBrite page.
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Millionaire Jeffrey Epstein charged with sex trafficking, kept nude pics of underage girls: prosecutors
By Stephen Rex Brown
Jul 08, 2019 | 9:32 AM
Jeffrey Epstein in a 2004 photo. (Rick Friedman/Corbis via Getty Images)
Multimillionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein kept nude photos of underage girls in his Upper East Side townhouse of horrors, Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor revealed Monday while announcing sex trafficking charges against the politically-connected perv.
Despite having been on law enforcement’s radar since at least 2006, the freaky financier stashed perverted pictures in a safe that also contained CDs with handwritten labels like “Misc nudes 1,” and “Girl pics nude,” prosecutors wrote in court papers. One label in the E. 71nd St. townhouse worth $77 million featured an alleged victim’s name preceded by the word “young,” papers charged.
Epstein was charged in a bombshell 13-page indictment in Manhattan Federal Court with conspiracy and sex trafficking charges that carry a maximum sentence of 45 years in prison. Between 2002 and 2005 he allegedly sexually abused dozens of minors as young as 14 years old at his Manhattan mansion and Palm Beach estate by enticing them to give him nude or partially-nude massages. He also paid “victim-recruiters” to lure new, young victims for him to abuse, the indictment charged.
In this courtroom artist's sketch, defendant Jeffrey Epstein, center, sits with attorneys Martin Weinberg, left, and Marc Fernich during his arraignment in New York federal court on Monday. Epstein pleaded not guilty to federal sex trafficking charges. The 66-year-old is accused of creating and maintaining a network that allowed him to sexually exploit and abuse dozens of underage girls from 2002 to 2005. (Elizabeth Williams/AP)
“The defendant, a registered sex offender, is not reformed, he is not chastened, he is not repentant,” prosecutors wrote.
Epstein, sporting a blue jail uniform and appearing exhausted, pleaded not guilty. Two of his accusers, Michelle Licata and Courtney Wild, were present in court.
Former south Florida U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta notoriously gave Epstein a lenient plea deal in 2007 that allowed him to plead guilty to two state charges of soliciting a minor for prostitution and serve 13 months in a Palm Beach County jail.
The decision by Acosta — who is now President Trump’s secretary of labor — to sign that non-prosecution agreement will be central to Epstein’s defense.
Epstein attorney Reid Weingarten said his client had been charged a second time with the same crimes, raising the constitutional issue of double jeopardy.
“This indictment is essentially a do-over. This is old stuff,” Weingarten said. “We’re talking about ancient conduct.”
Video shows damage to the front door of Jeffrey Epstein's residence in Manhattan.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said his office was not bound by the plea deal with federal prosecutors in southern Florida.
Some of Epstein’s alleged conduct in the new case overlapped with the Florida investigation closed 11 years ago, prosecutors acknowledged. But the charge of sex trafficking focused on the 66-year-old’s alleged abuse of minors at his seven-story townhouse in Manhattan. When the FBI raided the home on Saturday they found a massage table and “sex paraphernalia,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Rossmiller said.
“The massage room was still set up the same way it was 15 years ago,” he said. “This is not an individual who has left his past behind.”
Authorities were still sorting through possibly thousands of nude photos of possibly underage women. Weingarten said the photos were old and likely depicted adult women who consented to erotic photographs.
Epstein will remain in custody until at least Monday, when his attorneys will propose a bail package.
“Jeffrey Epstein abused underage girls for years, operating a scheme in which girls he victimized would recruit others for Epstein to exploit and abuse. Epstein exploited girls who were vulnerable to abuse, enticed them with cash payments, and escalated his conduct to include sex acts," Berman said.
“While the charged conduct is from a number of years ago, the victims — then children and now young women — are no less entitled to their day in court.”
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman sums up the charges against Jeffrey Epstein. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/for New York Daily News)
The Epstein case has been the subject of speculation for years because of his famous friends. Epstein once palled around with the likes of President Trump, Kevin Spacey, Woody Allen, former President Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew.
[More New York] Tekashi69’s former manager pleads guilty in restaurant shooting case »
“He’s a lot of fun to be with,” Trump told New York Magazine in 2002. “It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”
The feds had no imminent plans to charge other individuals in the Epstein case, Rossmiller said.
The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered that records in a civil case involving Epstein be unsealed. Those court papers contain allegations against prominent public figures associated with the wealthy perv.
[More New York] NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau investigating ex-cop’s rape claims: attorney »
FBI Assistant Director in Charge William Sweeney vowed that investigators would pursue the case "regardless of the predator’s wealth, power or perceived connections.”
Epstein “created a vast network of underage victims for him to sexually exploit in locations including New York and Palm Beach," the indictment charged.
Epstein gradually escalated the sexual nature of his massages by underage victims, prosecutors said. During the encounters Epstein would pleasure himself, molest victims with his hands or sex toys and ask the underage girls to touch him, according to the indictment.
U S v Jeffrey Epstein Indictment (PDF)
U S v Jeffrey Epstein Indictment (Text)
His wealth allegedly helped him maintain a steady stream of victims.
“When a victim-recruiter accompanied a new minor victim to the New York residence, both the victim-recruiter and the new minor victim were paid hundreds of dollars by Epstein for each encounter,” the indictment read.
[More New York] Chew on your vote for the greatest Riverside Park goat »
The charges reference three employees who helped Epstein arrange encounters with victims “upon arrival” in New York or at his Palm Beach estate estimated to be worth $12 million.
Prosecutors argued that Epstein should remain in custody until his trial because he is a flight risk. They cited evidence of his extraordinary wealth. Epstein has at least six homes, including residences in Paris, New Mexico and two homes in the U.S. Virgin Islands. He has 15 vehicles.
The indictment indicates the feds will try to seize the Upper East Side mansion. Epstein is often described as a billionaire, but his net worth remains unclear.
Jeffrey Epstein's residence on E. 71st Street in Manhattan, New York is pictured on Monday. (Danielle Hyams/New York Daily News)
Weingarten insisted that Epstein had complied for over a decade with the terms of his “high-risk” sex offender status.
Attorney David Boies, who represents some Epstein accusers, said that they were “extremely gratified the charges have finally been brought.”
Michelle Licata, left, and Courtney Wild, alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein, are pictured outside Manhattan Federal Court on Monday after a hearing. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/for New York Daily News)
“The news of my abuser’s arrest today is a step in the right direction to finally hold Epstein accountable for his crimes and restores my faith that money and power cannot triumph over justice,” another Epstein accuser, Sarah Ransome, said.
“It is time for Jeffrey Epstein and those who participated and enabled his sex crimes to be brought to true justice,” Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre said in a statement.
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Promotion and relegation places at stake in final round of County Hurling League
Thursday, 20th June, 2019 11:58am
Story by Shane Brophy
With Tipperary guaranteed to be playing in the championship up until mid July, the club championships are unlikely to resume until August at the earliest so the County Leagues will fill the void with the final round of group games in hurling taking place next weekend with the semi-finals and finals to be played in July. Here's how things stand ahead of the final round:
In group 1, Roscrea are through to the semi-finals and will be joined by Nenagh Eire Og if they get the better of Portroe. If they slip up, Eire Og Annacarty can catch them if they defeat Killenaule who need a win themselves and coupled with a defeat for Portroe would see the North men relegated.
In group 2, there is a four way battle for the two semi-finals spots. The top 2 Upperchurch and Borris-Ileigh clash in Borrisoleigh with the winner progressing to the last four. Drom & Inch will take on Burgess and Thurles Sarsfields facing Kilruane hoping wins might be enough to slip into the top two. At the bottom, Burgess need to beat Drom to have any chance of avoiding been relegated.
In group 1, Clonakenny and Carrick Swans meet in the final round with the winner set to be promoted and progressing to the final as there are no semi-finals in this division. At the bottom, Borrisokane have already been relegated.
In group 2, Lorrha will finish top if they beat third placed Mullinahone in Moatfield on Sunday, they themselves who can still finish top if second place JK Brackens slip up away to Shannon Rovers. At the bottom, Ballingarry need to beat Ballina to avoid being relegated while Golden face Newport
In group 1, Drom & Inch are already through to the final as while they are two points ahead of second placed Boherlahan, Drom would pip them on head to head if they lost their final game against Ballinahinch and Boherlahan were to defeat Kiladangan. Ballybacon/Grange are relegated having conceded two walkovers
In group 2, Knockavilla Kickhams have won six from six so far but they can still be caught at the top as the take on an in form Moneygall in Dundrum , while Gortnahoe/Glengoole are also still in the hunt in a group that might come down to score difference. At the bottom, Moyle Rovers are relegated having conceded two walkovers.
In group 1, Arravale Rovers have been promoted and will play Carrick Davins in the final who top group 2, Father Sheehys and Skeheenarinky are relegated.
Newcastle are through to the final and are guaranteed promotion and will be joined by either Cappawhite or Ballylooby/Castlegrace who meet this weekend
All roads lead to Borrisoleigh for annual 5k
20 Jun 2019Athletes of all standards will gather in Borrisoleigh on Tuesday next, 25th June, for the sixth annual running of the Borrisoleigh 5km
New single from Nenagh entertainer
20 Jun 2019The latest single from Martin Grace is very much a labour of love for the Nenagh-based songwriter and full-time entertainer.
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Let’s Limit Spending
By Walter E. Williams | February 7, 2018 11:24 PM EST
Some people have called for a balanced budget amendment to our Constitution as a means of reining in a big-spending Congress. That's a misguided vision, for the simple reason that in any real economic sense, as opposed to an accounting sense, the federal budget is always balanced. The value of what we produced in 2017 -- our gross domestic product -- totaled about $19 trillion.
Lefty Writer: The Country’s in Trouble Because So Many GOP Congressmen Believe ‘Garbage Conservative Media’
By Tom Johnson | April 7, 2017 5:01 PM EDT
Fusion’s Alex Pareene seems to think that America’s biggest problem isn’t any of the usual suspects (e.g., deindustrialization, terrorism, health-care costs) but rather the popularity of conservative media among conservative politicians. For a long time, contended Pareene in a Wednesday piece, “the conservative movement peddled one set of talking points to the rabble, while its elites consumed a more grounded and reality-based media.” Then, however, “Congressional Republicans went from people who were able to turn their bullshit-hose on their constituents, in order to rile them up, to people who pointed it directly at themselves, mouths open.”
Panicky NY Times Sees 'Deep Fear' Among Liberal NEA Fans Under Trump Budget
By Clay Waters | March 18, 2017 7:37 PM EDT
President Trump’s first proposed budget resulted in a patchwork of short, dire stories dominated two pages of the print edition Friday. The headlines provide the tone for the ideologically loaded stories: “Researchers Bristle at Extent of Cuts” at the National Institute of Health and Department of Energy. Meanwhile, the Department of Housing and Urban Development was “‘Hurt and Upset’ Over Potential Losses,” and “States Would Lose Help in Emergencies” because of cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency.” Let’s focus on perceived Trump attacks on two liberal playpens in particular: public broadcasting, and the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment of the Humanities.
Lefty Pundits on Giuliani: ‘Unhinged…He's Lost His Balance and Maybe His Mind’
By Tom Johnson | July 20, 2016 1:08 PM EDT
There’s the entertaining kind of irascible old guy (e.g., Grampa Simpson) and there’s the scary kind, which several liberal pundits thought they beheld Monday night as they watched Rudy Giuliani speak at the Republican convention. Talking Points Memo editor and publisher Josh Marshall remarked that “ever since the late and great Molly Ivins quipped that she thought Pat Buchanan's speech at the 1992 GOP convention sounded better in the original German it's been sort of a parlor trick to compare a 'hot' Republican speech to one from this or that fascist dictator. But this speech was really febrile and unhinged." Fred Kaplan of Slate claimed that Giuliani “spew[ed]…rank nonsense” and “delved into the shallowest realm of Trump’s attack on Obama’s (or Obama-Clinton’s) counterterrorism policies—the refusal to call our enemy by their name."
VIDEO Clarence Page Likens Bathroom Issue to Willie Horton, Laughs Off Danger
By Brad Wilmouth | May 1, 2016 11:17 PM EDT
As this weekend's syndicated The McLaughlin Group discussed the issue of the North Carolina bathroom law which limits people from using public restrooms in state buildings that do not correspond to the gender listed on their birth certificates, Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune compared the issue to Willie Horton from the 1988 presidential campaign.
He ended up dismissively laughing when conservative columnist Pat Buchanan predicted that a crime against a child would someday occur if men are allowed to use women's restrooms, as the liberal columnist smugly cracked, "I'm waiting for it to happen, Pat. If it were going to happen, it would have happened already."
NYT Sunday Front Page Likens Trump to Fellow 'Demagogues' McCarthy, Wallace, Pat Buchanan
By Clay Waters | December 7, 2015 11:55 AM EST
Reporters Patrick Healy and Maggie Haberman made Sunday's New York Times front page with a deep and deeply fear-mongering analysis of “demagogue” Donald Trump’s stump speeches: "95,000 Words, Many of Them Ominous, From Trump’s Tongue." But things that two Times reporters find “ominous” may not scare a more moderate reader, such as pointing out that ISIS chops off the heads of their victims.
Eleanor Clift Shockingly Claims Ambassador Stevens 'Was Not Murdered'
By Geoffrey Dickens | May 12, 2014 1:13 PM EDT
Eleanor Clift stunned the McLaughlin Group panel over the weekend when she shockingly claimed that Ambassador Chris Stevens “was not murdered” in the Benghazi terrorist attacks.
The Daily Beast contributor, in full White House spin control mode, gallingly spewed: “ I would like to point out that Ambassador [Chris] Stevens was not murdered. He died of smoke-inhalation in the safe room in that CIA installation.”
Fellow panelists Susan Ferrechio and Pat Buchanan, not surprisingly, let Clift have it.
Buchanan: ‘There Is an Inherent Conflict of Interest Between Journalists and Whistleblowers’
By Noel Sheppard | January 4, 2014 1:21 PM EST
On Thursday, the New York Times called for the Obama administration to enter into a plea bargain or offer clemency to National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden in order to bring him back to the United States.
On PBS’s McLaughlin Group Friday, syndicated columnist Pat Buchanan observed during a discussion about this issue, “There is an inherent conflict of interest between journalists and so-called whistleblowers” (video follows with transcript and commentary):
Pat Buchanan: ‘Paul Ryan’s Presidential Prospects Have Been Hurt Very Badly’
By Noel Sheppard | December 14, 2013 4:54 PM EST
Syndicated columnist Pat Buchanan is not pleased with the budget deal that passed the House last week.
Appearing on PBS’s McLaughlin Group Friday, Buchanan said, “I think Paul Ryan’s presidential prospects have been hurt very badly.”
Buchanan: If ObamaCare Cancels 76 Million Plans ‘There’s Going to be Guillotines in Farragut Square'
By Noel Sheppard | November 9, 2013 5:38 PM EST
“If there’s anything like 76 million healthcare plans voided, not only is ObamaCare dead, there’s going to be guillotines set up at Farragut Square.”
So said syndicated columnist Pat Buchanan on PBS’s McLaughlin Group Friday.
Pat Buchanan Smacks Down Eleanor Clift: Obama Using ‘A Sinister and Sadistic Tactic’
By Noel Sheppard | October 5, 2013 5:50 PM EDT
Syndicated columnist Pat Buchanan and the Daily Beast’s Eleanor Clift got into quite a heated debate about the government shutdown on PBS’s McLaughlin Group Friday.
At one point, Buchanan said Obama “wants to maximize the pain in order to maximize his political gain…It is a sinister and sadistic tactic” (video follows with transcript and commentary):
Buchanan: Putin Op-Ed Appeals To the Half of America Obama Appeals To
By Noel Sheppard | September 14, 2013 7:15 PM EDT
Syndicated columnist Pat Buchanan had a rather shocking observation about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s comments about American exceptionalism in his New York Times op-ed last week.
Appearing on PBS’s McLaughlin Group Friday, Buchanan said, “He’s not only appealing to the people of the world. He’s appealing to that half of the United States to whom Barack Obama himself was appealing.”
Norah at Night: Incoming CBS Evening News Anchor's Most Lib Moments
NBC, CBS Ignore Antifa's Attempt to Burn Down Migrant Detention Center
Deutsch Wants Hot Talk of 'Fascist' Trump, Makes a Claim That's an LOL
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CBS Somehow DOESN’T Call Tom Steyer Progressive or Liberal
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Published on NewsBusters (https://www.newsbusters.org)
Home > Obsessed ABC Frets Over Morality of Performing at Super Bowl
Obsessed ABC Frets Over Morality of Performing at Super Bowl
By Scott Whitlock | January 14, 2019 1:15 PM EST
ABC is still obsessed with potential boycotts at the Super Bowl and the treatment of Colin Kaepernick. The day after the NFL officially announced that Maroon 5 and others would be performing, Good Morning America offered a full report, hyping opposition by liberal actress Amy Schumer. In contrast, CBS allowed just 30 seconds on the topic and NBC focused simply on this past weekend’s results.
GMA reporter Janai Norman began, “Headlining the Super Bowl was thought to be a huge honor. But it's been a tough spot to fill. Many artists distancing themselves from the big show in support of Colin Kaepernick and other players taking a knee to protest racial injustice.”
She underlined, “Maroon 5 had been the unofficial pick for months, but reportedly struggled to find guest performers partly due to backlash over the NFL's handling of Colin Kaepernick and players' right to protest.”
Norman reminded that far-left actress Schumer “[called] out Maroon 5 in an Instagram post saying, ‘I think it would be cool if Maroon 5 backed out of Super Bowl. Stand up for your brothers and sisters of color.’”
This is bordering on obsession for ABC. On December 17, GMA reporter T. J. Holmes echoed Norman, needling, “Amy Schumer even refused to do a Super Bowl ad citing the Colin Kaepernick controversy. And also, keep in mind, guys, that the artists don't get paid to perform at the Super Bowl.”
On October 21, GMA’s Eva Pilgrim hyped, “Amy Schumer is sidelining her jokes and getting serious. The comedian saying she won't profit by appearing in any Super Bowl commercials this year and she takes aim at the NFL.”
Okay, we get it. Amy Schumer is against this. Does America care?
CBS This Morning on Monday mentioned briefly the half time issue, but gave it only 30 seconds. Co-host Norah O’Donnell explained, “Several other artists declined to preform, saying they support Colin Kaepernick and others who have protested racial injustice during the national anthem.” The Today show focused on the results of Sunday’s divisional round games.
The Super Bowl will be on CBS this year.
A transcript of the GMA segment is below. Click “expand” to read more:
7:15:01 to 7:16:55
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: And we’re also learning who will take the stage for the half time show in the Super Bowl, Maroon 5. Two other performers as well. Janai Norman here with all the details. And Janai, this half time show wasn’t easy to pull together.
JANAI NORMAN: Right. Good morning. So, headlining the Super Bowl was thought to be a huge honor. But it's been a tough spot to fill. Many artists distancing themselves from the big show in support of Colin Kaepernick and other players taking a knee to protest racial injustice.
It’s official. This year’s Super Bowl half time show has finally found a headliner. Maroon 5 had been the unofficial pick for months, but reportedly struggled to find guest performers partly due to backlash over the NFL's handling of Colin Kaepernick and players' right to protest. Rihanna reportedly turned down the offer to perform, deciding to stand in solidarity with the former 49ers quarterback turned free agent. Comedian Amy Schumer announced she wouldn't appear in any Super Bowl ads this year.
AMY SCHUMER: [Clip from her last ad]: My fellow Americans, they say we are a nation divided.
NORMAN: And in October, even calling out Maroon 5 in an Instagram post saying, “I think it would be cool if Maroon 5 backed out of Super Bowl. Stand up for your brothers and sisters of color.’ Overnight, NFL posting this promo on Instagram, announcing rappers Travis Scott and Big Boi will join Adam Levine company on stage. And even with those acts announced, the NAACP is asking those performers to reconsider participating. Travis Scott reportedly only agreed to participate if the NFL agreed to donate to a social justice fighting —
ROBIN ROBERTS: Dreamcore.
NORMAN: Yes, Dreamcore. So, it seems like he found kind of a happy medium there.
NBDaily Super Bowl ABC Good Morning America Video NFL
Scott Whitlock
Scott Whitlock is the associate editor for the Media Research Center's NewsBusters.org site.
Source URL: https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/scott-whitlock/2019/01/14/obsessed-abc-frets-over-morality-performing-super-bowl
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The Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife began receiving calls about people feeding the bear at the popular lake June 4, the Statesman Journal reported.
They also started seeing selfies with the bear, a 2- to 3-year-old male weighing about 100 pounds, on social media, according to the publication.
On Wednesday, Washington County deputies wrote on Twitter they were trying to move the bear back into the woods and asked people to stay away. But he just kept coming back.
Deputies are working to get this bear cub near Hagg Lake to go back into the woods... please stay away from the area near Boat Ramp A. pic.twitter.com/tI8m5yTbyk
— WCSO Oregon (@WCSOOregon) June 13, 2019
On Thursday, state wildlife biologists trying to trap the bear for relocation found him eating piles of trail mix, sunflower seeds, cracked corn and other food left by visitors, KGW reported.
“We got within 20 feet of the bear,” Licence said, according to the station. “It showed no reaction to us, no reaction (to) the passing cars we were within, and it’s just unnatural behavior to be (that) close to people.”
The bear had become too habituated to humans to safely move because of the risk of future dangerous contacts with people, The Oregonian reported.
“Black bears are eating machines and develop bad habits quickly,” said Doug Cottam, a district biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Statesman-Journal reported. “It’s in their best interest for people to make them feel unwelcome.”
It is against Oregon state law to feed wildlife, KGW reported.
“We’re sad it ended this way,” said Deputy Brian van Kleef of the Washington County Sheriff’s office, the Statesman Journal reported. “Obviously no one wants to see a bear get killed, especially its many human fans. But I think it was the human interaction that ultimately led to its tragic end.”
Oregon has 25,000 to 30,000 black bears, according to The Oregonian.
Heading out on a hike? An Idaho Fish and Game officials provides tips for identifying black and grizzly bears and what to do when you encounter each.
Related stories from Raleigh News & Observer
Bear attacks man who kicked it to save his dog near Los Angeles, officials say
‘Aggressive’ doe attacks 85-year-old woman walking dog in Colorado, officials say
Don Sweeney
Don Sweeney has been a newspaper reporter and editor in California for more than 25 years. He has been a real-time reporter based at The Sacramento Bee since 2016.
Dramatic video shows Coast Guard capturing mini sub suspected of drug smuggling
Aerial view of explosion site in Florida where multiple injuries were reported
Among 10 Things to Know: Democratic congresswomen targeted in Trump tweets fire back; Facebook's new currency plan under scrutiny in Congress; Top Iran diplomat says talks on ballistic missiles possible.
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Just Kush State-of-the-art Facility Buildout Nears Completion
Liberty Leaf Holdings
Jul 05, 2018, 09:00 ET
VANCOUVER, July 5, 2018 /CNW/ - Liberty Leaf Holdings Ltd. (CSE: LIB) (OTCQB: LIBFF) (FSE: HN3P) (the "Company) is pleased to announce that work at Just Kush is nearly complete on their "Phase I" cultivation production facility, situated on 13 acres in the Okanagan Valley of BC.
"The work will be finished in time for an Affirmation of Readiness ("AOR") evidence package submission to Health Canada by mid-August and is a major step towards obtaining an ACMPR "license to produce" (pending Cannabis Act "Cultivation License") status by Just Kush," says Will Rascan, President and CEO of Liberty Leaf Holdings Ltd.
The AOR means the Just Kush facility complies with all Health Canada requirements for medicinal cannabis cultivation and will trigger a review by Health Canada as the final step before granting a Cultivation License. To ensure the AOR proceeds efficiently, the Company has contracted the entire phase to Cannabis Compliance Inc. ("CCI") to liaise directly with Health Canada on its behalf.
Production Facility Buildout Includes State-of-the-Art Security, Aeroponic Grow Systems, and More
According to Quality Manager of the facility, Robert Jackman, a key part of the buildout is the installation of a new security system by Paladin Security.
"We chose Paladin because of their excellent reputation," says Jackman. "They are putting in high-tech quality components, and will be providing us with comprehensive, ongoing service and support.
"Something else we are doing is implementing an enterprise-wide quality management system that complements our ability to conduct thorough tracking and compliance reporting – right down to every single seed or clone Just Kush grows and harvests."
Another advanced feature being installed by Just Kush is a state-of-the-art, proprietary aeroponic grow system. This system has numerous advantages over other cultivation methods, including:
cleaner and more sanitary growing conditions
a faster cultivation cycle from seed/clone to harvest
healthier crops with fewer losses from diseases and pests
easier maintenance and more efficient harvesting
The Just Kush facility will also deploy full-spectrum LED lights that use 40+% less energy than conventional grow lights. As well, use of tissue culture technology will enable Just Kush to preserve the genetic purity, quality and consistency of newly developed or acquired strains of cannabis through to finished products that meet the highest-standard medicinal use specifications.
Jackman adds: "We are tremendously excited by the advanced features being implemented by Just Kush, as these will allow us to achieve industry-leading production efficiencies and production of the highest quality cannabis products for our customers."
South Okanagan Offers Exceptional Growing Conditions
The Just Kush facility sits on 13 acres of prime land and is situated in the heart of British Columbia's famed wine country in the South Okanagan Valley.
"The property offers the ideal combination of climate and soil for growing cannabis outdoors," says Jackman. "And that's important for us because Health Canada has announced that it will allow outdoor cannabis cultivation."
Rascan notes: "This investment perfectly illustrates Liberty Leaf's mission and purpose in the cannabis space. Our objective from the beginning has been to be a vertically integrated, seed-to-sale enterprise and leader in the cannabis industry. Completion of the state-of-the-art Just Kush facility buildout is just the beginning for us."
"We find businesses with revenue-generating potential and accelerate their growth by providing the management, marketing and technological expertise and investment they need to flourish."
About Liberty Leaf
Liberty Leaf Holdings Ltd. is a Canadian-based, public company whose focus is to build and support a diversified portfolio of cannabis-sector businesses, including cultivation, processing, value-added CBD/THC pet products and supply-chain products within this dynamic and fast-growing sector.
Liberty Leaf's late-stage ACMPR portfolio consists of a 60% interest in Just Kush and 100% of North Road Ventures.
Will Rascan, President & CEO
Liberty Leaf Holdings Ltd.
Toll Free: 1-833-LIB-LEAF (542-5323)
Twitter: @LibertyLeafCSE
Facebook: LibertyLeafCSE
Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on assumptions and judgments of management regarding future events or results. Such statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to revise or update such statements.
SOURCE Liberty Leaf Holdings
For further information: on the Company please visit http://www.libleaf.com or email info@libleaf.com.
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Janhvi Kapoor looks like a star in the making on the cover of Grazia! See pics
Published on: 1 September 2018 12:50 PM
Janhvi Kapoor new photos: Janhvi Kapoor, who made her debut with Shashank Khaitan's film Dhadak opposite Ishaan Khatter, is on a hit run even before the film hit the screens. After the success of the film, Janhvi has featured on the cover of leading fashion magazine Grazia. On the cover, Janhvi looks like a million bucks as she makes a fashion statement in a Louis Vuitton outfit.
The next-gen star Janhvi Kapoor has been in the spotlight even before she made her big Bollywood debut. As she rides high after the success of her debut film Dhadak opposite Ishaan Khatter, the diva is looking picture-perfect on the cover of leading magazine Grazia. Looking like a million bucks, Janhvi made a style statement in a signature embroidered bustier, tuxedo trousers and minimal earrings, all by Louis Vuitton. As soon as the cover photo was made public, it went viral in no time and took the social media with a massive storm.
Just a day before the cover launch, Janhvi posted a photo of a pink and green Louis Vuitton bracelet to lend her support to children in urgent need. However, she was trolled for the same as her followers noted that contradiction between talking about charity and promoting a luxury brand like Louis Vuitton. One of the followers commented on the post that everyone can lend support by donating directly or by doing some social work but there is no need to buy an LV bracelet for the same.
Also Read: Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas spend quality time in Mexico, see latest photos
Workwise, Janhvi will be seen in upcoming film Takht alongside Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Vicky Kaushal, Bhumi Pednekar and Anil Kapoor.
Check out other sizzling photos of Janhvi Kapoor:
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Russia beat Spain in the FIFA World Cup 2018 game that led to a nail-biting finish on Sunday. After no result in 90 minutes of the play, the Spanish fate was decided via penalty shootouts. During the penalty shootout, Russia won 4-3 after two acrobatic saves by goalkeeper Igor Akinfee, that helped the team enter the quarter-finals.
2nd July 2018,
Russia beat Spain 4-3 in penalty shootout
In a goal fest on Sunday, Russia pushed out Spain 4-3 in an exciting battle for a spot in the quarters of the FIFA World Cup 2018. The hosts defeated the La Roja and entered the quarter-finals. Both the teams played equally well but Russia won the game by a nose in the penalty shootout. In the 90-minutes of play, Russia and Spain were tied 1-1 and then the officials decided to go for a penalty shootout to get the match result.
The Spanish players started the game in an aggressive manner and were all around the field with the ball under their feet. But a watertight Russian defence avoided the opponent to put the ball in their nets.
The first goal of the match came in the 12th minute as Sergei Ignashevich scored a self-goal while grappling with Sergio Ramos. But the Russian side levelled the score in the 41st minute, when striker Artem Dzyuba scored a goal in the bottom corner of the goal post.
The 90-minute play resulted in a 1-1 draw and it was during the penalty shootout that Russia knocked down Spain by 4-3. The penalty shoot was full of drama, where both the teams and their fans were up on their toes to witness the result of the crucial game.
The biggest knockout-stage upset in World Cup history is complete!@IanWright0 and @AlexiLalas react to Russia's incredible win over Spain. pic.twitter.com/7yRJ2A7yWl
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 1, 2018
Akinfeev comes up HUGE for Russia!
He saves Aspas' penalty to complete the biggest knockout-round upset in FIFA World Cup history. pic.twitter.com/CGBDb75GGT
The first goal of the shootout was scored by Andres Iniesta for Spain. Jersey number 10, Fyodoe Smolov put the ball in the nets for Russia. Defender Gerard Pique scored the second one, while Sergei Ignashevish levelled it 2-2 for the hosts.
The climax came into the story when midfielder Koke missed the 3rd stroke and Aleksandr Golovin provided a lead to Russia.
However, Spanish skipper Sergio Ramos levelled the scores with the 4th shot. But a single mistake from the visitors handed over the driving seat to the hosts as Denis Cheryshev’s strike kept the home side in the lead. The last chance for Spain to stay in the game was missed by Lago Aspas, which resulted in a victory for Russia.
Russia’s long-serving goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev was the hero of the match, who saved 2 goals and led his team into the quarter-finals of FIFA World Cup 2018.
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Archives|PUBLIC LIVES; Dressing Carrie, Right Down to Those Manolos
PUBLIC LIVES; Dressing Carrie, Right Down to Those Manolos
By JAN HOFFMAN AUG. 13, 2003
HERE we are this morning in the cavernous wardrobe room of HBO's ''Sex and the City'' at Silvercup Studios in Long Island City, Queens: walls of clothes grouped not by size but by character -- ''Samantha,'' ''Miranda,'' ''Charlotte,'' ''Carrie.'' A mournful yip of longing rumbles in the throat. Racks of -- sob -- exquisite, impossible shoes. Over there? Ah, the ecstasy of accessories!
But abruptly, the gaze is compelled elsewhere. She Who Cannot Be Ignored has made her entrance. Who else but Patricia Field, the show's Emmy-winning costume designer, venerable duchess of the demimonde, a fashion industry bad girl and heroine? At 10 a.m., she is wearing a see-through lime-green top, an emerald-green bra, a vintage leopard print skirt and a diamond Mud Flap girl necklace (the Samantha original, celebrating the truckers' pinup). The shade of her shoulder-length hair lies at the crayon crossroads between cherry and flame.
''Depends on the chemical reaction,'' explains Ms. Field, lighting up the first of many cigarettes. ''I went gray in my mid-30's. Since then, my hair has been chartreuse, purple, pink, orange. It's not natural. But I'd rather see color than fading things.'' In February, Ms. Field turned 61.
And while filming of the hit show's first batch of final episodes concludes today, nothing about Ms. Field, again nominated for an Emmy, so much as suggests fading. She is the costume designer for ABC's new show ''Hope and Faith,'' with Kelly Ripa -- ''I have another Barbie doll to dress!'' she chortles -- and oversees the House of Field, a clothing line she describes as ''to the left of Samantha,'' the publicist, ''and to the right of Carrie,'' the sex columnist.
With Sarah Jessica Parker's Carrie Bradshaw as her muse, Ms. Field, first known for showcasing designers to downtown nightclubbers from her Eighth Street store, has introduced millions to nameplate necklaces and Manolo Blahnik stilettos. Selecting up to 50 outfits for each episode, she has championed a provocative, pugnacious, body-hugging sensuality. As with her own get-ups, reasonable people will disagree about her taste, but even reasonable people can't stop staring.
And just about everyone in the fashion industry wants to kiss her toes in gratitude. ''I did the ultimate thing in a world that only accepted me on the fringe, as the little stepdaughter,'' says Ms. Field, luxuriating in the thought. ''I gave them business.''
CERTAINLY Ms. Field has long lived commensurately with the outsize manner in which she dresses. In the 80's, her store (now folded into her SoHo store), was hailed as a nightclub in the daytime, with artists, transvestites, students and other fringe-seekers flocking there to meet, mate and shop for wild outfits, wigs and makeup, continuing the carnival into the evening. Partying right along with them was Ms. Field, who still steps out at night, surrounded by younger people. She has the renewed fervor of a woman, who, having had a string of long relationships, is passionately enjoying singlehood.
''Primarily women, but not exclusively,'' she notes. ''On a long-term basis, women, but on the short term, that could change.'' She waves a cigarette, reflecting. ''I have always been loved and been around women. That's just simply who I live with and trust, the gender I feel comfortable with. A man is a little foreign to me.''
Though her appearance, her partying and her asides -- she derides child car seats as ''straitjackets'' -- seem to sum her up as an artsy flake, the impression Ms. Field in fact conveys is that of a hard-headed, hard-working businesswoman, with, of course, an unquenchable thirst for the idiosyncratic. As she explains it, her pleasure principle has always been complementary with her business sense.
Those two themes resonated throughout a Queens girlhood surrounded by strong women. From her Greek grandmother, Sultana Yimoyines, and a clutch of aunts, she learned confidence and celebration. ''I grew up in a partying household,'' she recalls. ''There wasn't a lot of supervision.'' At 13, she was hitting Manhattan jazz clubs, smoking cigarettes, drinking cocktails, wearing continental-cut pants by Sir for Her.
From her mother, who buried two husbands by the time Ms. Field was 12 and who worked in dry-cleaning shops, she learned about wool gabardine and industriousness. Ms. Field, who gets by on four hours' sleep, seems to have never not worked, still graduating from New York University at 19, having studied political science and languages. After apprenticing in department stores, she opened her shop in 1966 because ''I felt I could do this and enjoy it and make money: it wasn't because I had a fashion philosophy.''
Sound like a familiar fictional acquaintance? ''I'm most like Samantha,'' allows Ms. Field, referring to the ''Sex and the City'' character who owns her own business and lives her own life, quite fully. ''But because of her independence, not her promiscuity. She doesn't have too much self-doubt. She's like a horse with blinders; she just goes. She doesn't fret and she doesn't have angst. That's why she's popular.''
Dreams? She's got the store, the clothing line, the notoriety and international influence, and a new show to costume. ''I want to say politics,'' she says, ''but I don't know if I want to wake up every day and deal with those people.''
She would, however, like to costume a certain politician: ''Hillary Clinton!'' says Ms. Field, who also costumes Miranda, the elegant lawyer. ''She could really use my help.''
A version of this article appears in print on August 13, 2003, on Page B00002 of the National edition with the headline: PUBLIC LIVES; Dressing Carrie, Right Down to Those Manolos. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe
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Health|The Claim: Microwave Ovens Kill Nutrients in Food
Health | Really?
The Claim: Microwave Ovens Kill Nutrients in Food
By ANAHAD O’CONNOR OCT. 17, 2006
THE FACTS They are a staple in kitchens everywhere, but for about as long as microwave ovens have been around, people have suspected that the radiation they emit can destroy nutrients in food and vegetables.
According to most studies, however, the reality is quite the opposite. Every cooking method can destroy vitamins and other nutrients in food. The factors that determine the extent are how long the food is cooked, how much liquid is used and the cooking temperature.
Credit Leif Parsons
Since microwave ovens often use less heat than conventional methods and involve shorter cooking times, they generally have the least destructive effects. The most heat-sensitive nutrients are water-soluble vitamins, like folic acid and vitamins B and C, which are common in vegetables.
In studies at Cornell University, scientists looked at the effects of cooking on water-soluble vitamins in vegetables and found that spinach retained nearly all its folate when cooked in a microwave, but lost about 77 percent when cooked on a stove. They also found that bacon cooked by microwave has significantly lower levels of cancer-causing nitrosamines than conventionally cooked bacon.
When it comes to vegetables, adding water can greatly accelerate the loss of nutrients. One study published in The Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture in 2003 found that broccoli cooked by microwave — and immersed in water — loses about 74 percent to 97 percent of its antioxidants. When steamed or cooked without water, the broccoli retained most of its nutrients.
THE BOTTOM LINE Microwave ovens generally do not destroy nutrients in food.
scitimes@nytimes.com
A version of this article appears in print on , on Page F5 of the New York edition. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe
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Tax Justice Aotearoa launch in support of Capital Gains Tax
Bloodstains, faeces and double-bunking: Ex-patient queries ward conditions
8 Apr, 2019 3:55pm 4 minutes to read
Supreme Court judge Sir William Young to lead Royal Commission of Inquiry into Christchurch mosque attacks
8 Apr, 2019 3:50pm
Ardern said it would a "new approach" to the Budget.
By: Lucy Bennett
Lucy Bennett is a political reporter for the New Zealand Herald
lucy.bennett@nzme.co.nz @lucybennett99
Supreme Court judge Sir William Young will lead the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Christchurch mosque terror attacks.
The Royal Commission will also look at which areas of surveillance the country's spy agencies were putting resources into.
The details were announced today, along with the full terms of reference for the inquiry, by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at her weekly post-Cabinet press conference.
"The Government will ensure no stone is left unturned as we examine as quickly as possible how the March 15 attack happened, what could have been done to stop it and how we can keep New Zealanders safe," Ardern told reporters.
"The Royal Commission plays a critical role in our ongoing response to fully understand what happened in the lead up to the attack and to ensure such an attack never happens again."
The Commission will look at:
The alleged gunman's activities before the attack, including:
• Relevant information from his time in Australia.
• His arrival and residence in New Zealand.
• His travel within New Zealand and internationally.
'It's intuitive': PM on her response to terror attacks
7 Apr, 2019 10:07am
Police want fewer Anzac Day events in interests of public safety
When the call came: Inside Jacinda Ardern's 72 hours after mosque attacks
6 Apr, 2019 5:00am
MPs consider public submissions on the Government's gun law reforms
• How he obtained a gun licence, weapons and ammunition.
• His use of social media and other online media.
• His connections with others in New Zealand and internationally.
• What relevant state sector agencies knew about him and his activities before this attack; what actions, if any, they took in light of that knowledge; and whether there were any additional measures the agencies could have taken to prevent the attack.
• Whether there were any impediments to relevant state sector agencies gathering or sharing information relevant to the attack, or acting upon such information, including legislative impediments.
• Whether there was any inappropriate concentration or priority setting of counter-terrorism resources by relevant state sector agencies prior to the attack.
"Justice Young, who is a sitting Judge of the Supreme Court of New Zealand, New Zealand's highest court, has the extensive experience and skills required to lead the inquiry," Ardern said.
"I am confident that in his nearly nine years as a judge on our highest bench, Justice Young has the judgement, clarity and care to do the job, with a sound understanding of intelligence issues and experience working in the public eye."
Ardern said the fact that Young was a Supreme Court judge would help him navigate the inquiry while an active court case was under way.
One further member will be appointed to the commission, which has been allocated a budget of $8.2 million, by the end of April.
It will also engage with the Muslim community, and people will be appointed to help do that.
The inquiry is expected to begin considering evidence from May 13 and report back to Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy by December 10.
Ardern announced late last month that a Royal Commission would be set up to investigate how the March 15 attack in which 50 people were killed was able to happen.
The SIS, GCSB, Police, Customs, Immigration and any other relevant agencies will come under scrutiny.
Ardern said questions had been raised about spy agencies surveiling only one area prior to the attack and the terms of reference would address that question.
While the inquiry will look at events leading up to the attack, it will not look at the immediate response.
Ardern said the work of first responders would be looked at in a separate review.
Changes to firearms laws are being rushed through following the shootings. The bill was introduced last week and the finance and expenditure committee is expected to report back later today following a truncated submission process.
Ardern vowed to clear the country of military-style semi-automatic weapons and large capacity magazines following the attacks.
Ardern said details of a gun buyback already announced by the Government were still being worked through but she said it was difficult to know how much it would cost because it was not known how many guns were in circulation.
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Interviews and Discussions with Theatrical Artists from Broadway to Your Community
From Broadway Debut to NYU: Catching up With Emerson Steele
At only 14 years old, Emerson Steele had accomplished what most musical theatre actors only dream of: she made her Broadway debut in an award-winning musical, shared the stage with her idol, recorded a cast album, performed at the Tony Awards, and even won a 2014 Theatre World Award playing the younger version of Sutton Foster’s character in the acclaimed Jeanine Tesori/Brian Crawley musical Violet. She hit the jackpot of show biz success, but this ambitious Georgia native was just getting started.
Emerson Steele, Aly Leia Wein
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THE NOVAS - AND IT'S TIME
THE NOVAS - "William Junior" / "And It's Time" (STAR 001) September 1966
For lovers of folk-rock janglers and in my eyes one of the singles of thee Century... released September 1966. "And It's Time" is quite clearly inspired by The Hollies "Look Through Any Window" but I don't care about such things when such heights of beauty are reached. The other side "William Junior" also also jangle heaven.
***one of my most beloved singles***
THE LORDS - DEATH BELLS AT DAWN
THE LORDS - "Death Bells At Dawn" / "Light Rain" (Aldrich ALD 1001) December 1966
This is quite a stupendous disc, both sides are great but I would say "Death Bells At Dawn" is an absolute classic. It's a most beautiful haunting lysergic ballad with trippy organ, reverb guitar, subtle drums and mysterious vocals giving the song an almost other worldly sound.
Not a great deal is known about the Lords and I have seen no band shot although I believe they were a popular combo in New Jersey. According to 'Teenbeat Mayhem' they hailed from Morris Plains.
If anyone knows anything about them please get in touch because I'd love to know more.
The other side "Light Rain" is less immediate but still holds my interest and it's worth repeated plays. It's another languid performance but with some jangle, organ and pleasant vocals. Hearing these two songs it's obvious that the Lords were talented and it's such a shame that only …
THE YARDBIRDS - GLIMPSES
THE YARDBIRDS - "Glimpses" (Epic BN 26313) July 1967
It's always been a mystery to me why EMI decided not to release the album "Little Games" by The Yardbirds. I have read that it was a likely move because recent singles had all flopped and their popularity in Britain was ebbing away. This explanation seems a little harsh and ultimately British fans were oblivious to some quite brilliant and awe inspiring moments like "Glimpses".
With this number The Yardbirds attain some serious third-eye territory with a mesmerizing mind-blower. Listen out for way-out guitar, effects, sitar, other worldly recitation and all meshed together with a psychedelic gregorian chant.
"Energy radiates from the source
The life around us is but a reflection of our own."
"THEE ŒARLY DAYZE OF HYGHE KNYGHTES" - THEE TREASURE IN THEE TOWER
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Galway V Limerick: Best Walking Trails in Each County
With the All Ireland Hurling Final upon us, the eyes of the nation are pointed westward. Fans, pundits and journalists, east and west of Shannon, are currently theorising who’ll bring home Liam MacCarthy.
We’ve decided to take a closer look at the two counties and showcase the best walking trails, hikes and family-friendly walks in each county.
Read on to discover, or rediscover, some of Galway and Limerick’s best walks!
Forest Walks and Trails
When it comes to picture-perfect forest walks, which county claims the top spot?
Portumna Forest Park
Portumna, Co Galway
Famously the hometown of Galway All Star and all-round hurling legend, Joe Canning, Portumna is also known for its rich history, ancient castle and gardens and its enchanting forest walk.
Portumna Forest Park is found on the western-side of the village, near Portumna Castle & Gardens, and is the ideal location for an autumnal walk. The forest trail is suitable for both solo walkers and families looking to enjoy a relaxing Sunday walk.
Within the forest you’ll find the ruins of an ancient abbey, which is now under the protection of the Office of Public Works. The woodland is mostly populated by ash, beech and silver birch trees, with isolated groupings of yew and juniper also found making it the perfect home for the park’s native fallow deer.
Visitors have a choice of four walking or hiking trails of varying levels and distances, while cyclists can choose between two mountain bike trails. There’s also a buggy-friendly route which leaves the car park and follows a designated route down to Castle Harbour and towards Portumna.
Clare Glens
Murroe, Co. Limerick
Situated on the border between Tipperary and Limerick, but named after the Banner county, it’s difficult to know where Clare Glens’ loyalty lies. However, we’re confident it’s a firm Limerick supporter being only 6km from Murroe village and 25 km from the Treaty City.
Clare Glens is a picturesque sandstone gorge, through which the River Annagh flows. The charming area boasts a number of waterfalls and is surrounded by atmospheric woodlands.
Visitors to the Glens can walk along a sign-posted loop walk, which begins at the Limerick side of the Clare Glens. Travelling from Murroe on the R506, follow the signs for Clare Glens and drive north for approximately 5 km before reaching the designated car park.
The loop trail head starts and finishes at the car park and is fully signposted from start to finish. Walkers will walk across footbridges, climb uphill and hike through forest terrain to reach the beautiful Clare Glens waterfall, before crossing another bridge and looping back to the start.
While the trail isn’t buggy-friendly, it’s definitely a fun family activity, which showcases the best of Limerick’s stunning countryside.
It’s a tough one! Both forest trails offer adventure and something unique, but we’ll have to give this one to Portumna Forest Park as it is buggy-friendly.
Buy the maps below to see the area in accurate detail. See this diagram of OSi Discovery map sheet coverage.
Sh 73 Portumna Sh 59 Murroe
Sh 65 Murroe Sh 66 Murroe
City Walks
Both bustling cities on the water’s edge, but which one offers its residents the best city centre walks?
Riverbank Walk
From Guinness Bridge, Limerick City to UL Boat House, Castletroy, Co. Limerick
Riverbank Walk is one of Limerick City’s most popular walks and is used as both a walkway and cycle path. The 3.25 km fully-paved route weaves its way through a conservation area along the River Shannon, before reaching the University of Limerick’s campus.
After reaching UL’s campus, walkers can continue their walk past the boathouse and enjoy a sheltered riverside walk through the campus.
The walkway is child-friendly and boasts a range of outdoor fitness equipment for young and old to enjoy. In addition, the Riverbank Walk is fully lit and so can be walked during those dark winter evenings.
Salthill Promenade
Salthill, Galway City
The Tribal City boasts a wealth of attractions for visitors to enjoy, from the city’s bustling foodie scene to its cultural heritage there’s lots to see and do. However, if you’re looking for a recommendation for something to do, why not walk the Salthill promenade?
The promenade is found on the northern inner shore of Galway Bay and is one of the most beautiful and relaxing places in the city. On a clear day, the Aran Islands and the hills of Clare can be seen across the bay.
Stretching over 3 km, the promenade attracts thousands of walkers, joggers, and even rollerbladers each day. One of Salthill’s biggest attractions is the Blackrock diving tower, which is found at the end of the promenade.
If you’re feeling brave enough, you can dive into the icy Atlantic waters from a height of 10 metres. Alternatively, you can grab a coffee and watch the fun from afar.
Galway and the wonderful Salthill promenade! As it stands it’s Limerick 0 Galway 2, can the Treaty City bring it back to beat its western neighbour? Read on to find out.
Sh 58 Castletroy Sh 59 Castletroy
Sh 65 Castletroy Sh 45 Salthill
Family Friendly Trails
When the weather is on your side, there’s no better family activity then an outdoor adventure. Check out our top picks for family friendly trails in Galway and Limerick.
Curraghchase Forest Park
Kilcornan, Co. Limerick
Curraghchase Forest Park is the ideal location for a family outing. The park encompasses 300 hectares of rolling Limerick countryside and boasts a range of historical sites, including the turrets and towers of a 19th century castle built by the Earl of Limerick.
Originally home to the De Vere family, the estate has a man-made lake, which is said to be haunted by the “Lady of the Lake”, and acres of natural forestry to explore. Today, the park has over 8 km of multi-purpose waymarked trails for visitors to enjoy, some of which are suitable for wheelchairs and buggies.
Families visiting the park can also take advantage of the park’s dedicated picnic and barbeque areas, while the kids can play in one of two playgrounds.
Rinville Park
Oranmore, Co. Galway
Situated between Oranmore and Aughrim, you’ll find the picturesque Rinville Park. The western and northern parts of the forest park back onto the banks of Galway Bay. In this part of the park, you’ll find a number of boats and vessels docked and sheltered from the harsh Atlantic waves.
Rinville Park is a fantastic amenity used by families living locally and further afield. The park,its castle ruin and vacant manor were once home to some of the most prestigious Galway families. Today, the historic walled garden is fitted with a playground and barbeque area, perfect for families who want to enjoy a relaxing picnic.
Nature enthusiasts, both big and small, should keep an eye out for ravens, grey herons and otters which all live, and hunt, in the park!
Curraghchase! Limerick’s premier forest park is a wonderful amenity for families and boasts acres of space for little ones to roam free and explore safely.
Sh 65 Kilcornan Sh 46 Oranmore
What better way to escape the hustle and bustle of city life, by getting off the beaten track and exploring some of Ireland’s most remote walks and trails.
Letterfrack, Co. Galway
Connemara National Park covers nearly 3,000 hectares of scenic mountains, heaths, boglands, grasslands and woodlands. The jewel in the crown of the west, the park is an oasis of calm and outstanding natural beauty.
With so much to explore, it can be hard to know where to begin. Walkers and hikers should first visit the park’s visitor centre, where they can learn more about the park and carefully plan their preferred route.
Visitors have a wealth of walking and hiking trails available to them. From hiking Ben Baun to a leisurely stroll through Kylemore Abbey’s walled gardens, there’s a trail to suit everyone, no matter what fitness level.
If you’re planning a visit the park, make sure to pack appropriate footwear and weather-resistant clothes, as the Galway weather can be unpredictable at times.
Ballyhoura Trail
Ardpatrick, Co. Limerick
Ballyhoura Trail is renowned as one of the top mountain biking destinations in the country. However, it’s also a popular walking destination, thanks to its scenic views and moderate mountainous terrain.
Starting from the main trailhead, at the Ballyhoura Trail Centre, walkers can choose from three different looped trails. The Nature Trail is the shortest of the trails, being only 2 km long, and generally takes about 40 minutes to complete, making it ideal for walkers with children.
The Greenwood Trail is 4.8 km in length and includes a delightful trek through the native forest, while hikers traverse local streams. The final, and most strenuous, walk is the Blackrock Loop, which is over 11 km long and general takes 4 to 5 hours to complete.
The loops combine forest and mountain walking with some spectacular views of the surrounding, lush Golden Vale landscape.
Ballyhoura Trail! While there’s no doubting the beauty of Connemara National Park, there’s something magical about the Ballyhoura Trail. This hidden gem in found in the depths of Limerick’s countryside is not to be missed.
Sh 37 Letterfrack Sh 73 Ballyhoura
Final Score!
Galway 2 : 2 Limerick
It’s a draw! It looks like we’ll have to leave to the hurlers to puck the winning point.
Have we missed your favourite walk? Comment below and tell us about your favourite hike or trail!
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The Cold and the Rust
Emily Van Kley
Winner of the 2016 Lexi Rudnitsky First Book Prize in Poetry
A tender portrait of a queer girlhood on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. In this lyrical and unflinching debut, a landscape of staggering beauty abuts industrial towns in the throes of economic decay. Emily Van Kley explores notions of home, estrangement, isolation, and longing against a backdrop of crystalline winters, Lake Superior’s mythic tempers, and forests as vast as they are close.
“Van Kley imbues her sharp debut collection with the complex, wistful nostalgia an outsider feels for her hometown. She alternates moments of humor with instances of darkness and melancholy, writing of deer hunts, menstrual cramps, and even an aquarium of fish left to freeze in a home without heat. Van Kley precisely captures the deathly pall of a Midwestern winter in this remarkably vivid exploration of how it feels to leave home and then return.”
Emily Van Kley was raised in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula but now lives with her partner in Olympia, Washington, where she writes, works at a cooperative grocery, and teaches and perform aerial acrobatics. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in numerous publications and anthologies, including The Iowa Review, Prairie Schooner, The Mississippi Review, Best New Poets 2013, and Best American Poetry 2017.
Paperback / $15.95 (Can. $21.95) / ISBN 978-0-89255-488-1 / 78 pages / Poetry
⤖Read more about our poetry imprint.
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Home » Magazine » International » The Black Will To Power
The Black Will To Power
Not many liked this US envoy, but who can deny that he had a spot for India
Seema Sirohi, V. Sudarshan ON | 05 May 2003
illustration by Sandeep Adhwaryu
Seema Sirohi, V. Sudarshan May 05, 2003 00:00 IST The Black Will To Power
When the US ambassador to India, Robert D. Blackwill, and Union minister for external affairs Yashwant Sinha met in January this year, few thought the meeting had the potential of generating shockwaves all the way to Washington. Blackwill thought otherwise. In a cable to the headquarters, he said Sinha—and consequently India—was convinced it had missed an opportunity to attack Pakistan post-Parliament attack, December 13, 2001, and that were a terrorist incident of such magnitude to occur again, it would be difficult to stop India from responding militarily.
For the Bush administration engrossed in orchestrating the Iraq invasion, Blackwill's cable was alarming. An Indo-Pak sideshow was just the kind of distraction it didn't want. So, when foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal visited Washington in early February, deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage and assistant secretary of state Christina Rocca together cited Blackwill's cable to express their anxiety. A surprised Sibal said the text of the cable wasn't precisely what Sinha had said.
Last week, as Blackwill announced his decision to return to the US and pursue academics at the prestigious Harvard University, some cited his January cable to claim that his "misleading account" persuaded the state department to show him the door. (Obviously, done politely by asking him to leave on his own.) Too ambitious and extremely keen to remain in the spotlight, it was alleged his exaggerated account was a ruse to ensure that he wasn't forgotten amidst the hype over Iraq.
Diplomatic sources, however, dismiss the cable controversy as having been the cause of his departure, claiming such disagreements between the headquarters and its missions are not uncommon. They say 10 out of about 20 US ambassadors who have served in India left at the end of two years. In other words, Blackwill's tenure is pretty much par for the course.
Yet, career diplomats are known to seethe at Blackwill's imperious ways. "No one can stand his know-it-all attitude," says a former US administration official. Secretary of state Colin Powell reportedly even questioned the ambassador on his abrasive manners. Subsequently, inspector general Clark Ervin found truth of this in a slew of complaints US embassy officials in Delhi lodged with him last year, as also in the rock-bottom morale among them. Stung, Blackwill wrote a 26-page rebuttal and was rumoured to have put in his papers.
"His resignation would have been accepted earlier if not for Condoleezza Rice," said a source. Rice, a fellow "Vulcan"—the name foreign policy advisors to then presidential candidate George Bush gave themselves—was Blackwill's junior in the National Security Council of Bush Senior. And it is because of Rice that Blackwill enjoyed favours normally not extended. For instance, Blackwill was sworn in at the White House, not at the regular Ben Franklin room of the state department. And every time he came down to Washington, he was invited to the Oval Office, a privilege only a few ambassadors enjoy.
His stature was his problem. Considered close to Bush, and a prominent member of his policy team during the election campaign, Blackwill had perhaps hoped for a high-profile assignment in Washington. Among the options he had left was an ambassadorship to NATO. Blackwill preferred India, believing he could inject substance into the Indo-US relations.
He came to Delhi bursting with energy and ideas and a rare evangelical fervour. Among the first things he did in Delhi was to order a round table that could sit 16 and fit into the dining hall of the Roosevelt House, his official residence. Here he held court, sometimes three times a week, inviting senior bureaucrats and politicians to discuss the pressing issues of the day.But it was around this table that he ironically alienated many, through his hectoring style, often coming across as a person who mistook his guests for students in a Harvard classroom. Graceless as a hammer, Blackwill's condescending manner is now stuff of urban legend in Delhi, his small-town-boy insecurities against the more urbane East Coast establishment too transparent. Freud may redefine the EGO as it exists in Blackwill.
No wonder Blackwill has few institutional supporters. He showed little courtesy to Rocca who technically outranks him but is in reality many years junior to him. He reportedly often went over her head, pronouncing policy positions on Pakistan that created diplomatic minefields for the department. "He made too many statements, which were not his to make, putting her in an awkward position vis-a-vis the Indians," says a well informed source.
Yet, this was only an aspect of the man. He used his Washington connections to advantage, plugging in the Indian establishment to DC in a manner never seen before. Diplomatic sources say in his departure the big loser is India whose cause he mastered, articulated and dinned into a White House grappling with a post-9/11 world. Many in Washington accused him of suffering from "localitis", suggesting he often acted like India's ambassador to the US rather than the other way around. Indeed, he didn't allow India to fall off the agenda and assiduously reminded top US policymakers of the need to push the relationship forward. Among his major accomplishments was pushing for easing curbs on high-tech trade to India, increasing both the quality and quantity of senior US visitors, enhancing the military relationship and organising an Indo-US strategy group at the respected Aspen Institute where the likes of Henry Kissinger ruminate about the world.
But it was on Kashmir that Blackwill showed how different he could be from others who inhabited the Roosevelt House. He did not give the Hurriyat the political attention they craved for, refusing to meet them on his two visits to Kashmir. He cancelled his only scheduled meeting with them the minute they established an 'election commission' to monitor the poll in the state. Sources in Srinagar say Blackwill even interrupted a briefing at the 15 Corps Headquarters when the word 'militants' was used, declaring, "There is no such thing as militants. They are plain and simple terrorists."
His weak point was economics, demonstrating interest in it only through his grandiloquent speeches. He failed to push US exports to India, even though Indian exports to the US registered a 20 per cent rise. And he compounded this by repeating that Indo-US trade is "flat as a chapati", to the chagrin of Indian businessmen.
Ultimately, Blackwill chose to bow out at the time his tenure in India was reaching the point of diminishing returns. The increasing assertiveness of the South Asia bureau left its indelible imprint on several issues: the American demarche that told New Delhi to back off on Afghanistan was done mainly to humour Pakistan; the non-proliferation lobby sought to put brakes on the Trinity issues (civilian nuclear, high-tech transfers, space) on which the transformed relationship between India and the US is not reflected; the state department's recent tendency to de-emphasise the need for Pakistan to fulfil its commitment on cross-border terrorism; and the increased emphasis on dialogue. Indeed, top officials visiting India have admitted that the bureaucracy is the obstruction in realising Bush's goal of fundamentally transforming relations with India. Even Armitage alluded to this at a cii function last August.
More than anything else, in another few months, the US administration will be in election mode, as will be India.With the US preoccupied by West Asia and North Korea, Blackwill probably concluded that further achievements would prove elusive. Perhaps he thought it would be better to join the presidential campaign early on to play for bigger stakes.
V. Sudarshan In New Delhi And Seema Sirohi In Washington
Seema Sirohi V. Sudarshan Robert D. Blackwill International Profiles
Next Story : His Own Man
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That's the face of America that its ambassador Robert Blackwill showed us here
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Home » Magazine » Business » The Trishul Dilemma
The Trishul Dilemma
Pulled by realeconomik and pushed by realpolitik, North Block may be forced to balance its act and opt for the middle path
Arijit Barman 13 January 2003
T.Narayan
Arijit Barman January 13, 2003 00:00 IST The Trishul Dilemma
On the face of it, everyone within the BJP seems gung-ho about the future. The dramatic and clear victory in the Gujarat elections has provided a political stimulus the party badly needed. And, according to the business community, the decisive win will allow Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee and his deputy L.K. Advani to push through critical reforms initiatives that had been put on the backburner. But read between the lines, analyse the nuances in statements made by BJP leaders and you will notice that the discord between them on economic issues has only increased.
That was probably one reason for the BJP not passing an economic resolution at its recently-concluded national executive. Finance minister Jaswant Singh is already grappling with Budget 2003; he has to balance between the need to take hard decisions and incorporate the pro-middle class demands of ideologue organisations like the RSS. Even disinvestment minister Arun Shourie, who thinks the privatisation process is back on track after serious disagreements between his cabinet colleagues delayed the sale of oil PSUs, is being a bit careful.
Just a few days after the Gujarat victory, he said aluminium PSU NALCO would be sold by the end of next year, after the two oil PSUs' sale. Remember that the biggest critic of the NALCO sale is none other minister for coal and mines Uma Bharati, an important voice of the BJP's Hindutva plank. Therein lies the key. Narendra Modi's political rise in Gujarat has provided a fillip to the pro-Hindutva elements within the BJP and the Sangh parivar. And they are likely to use this opportunity to armtwist the Centre into pursuing pro-people policies.
Nothing epitomises this better than the war of words between the Planning Commission, headed by K.C. Pant, and the finance ministry over the future direction of economic reforms. These differences, which set in a few months ago, are likely to take centrestage after the Modi sweep. In fact, in the last two weeks, the contours of the battle have sharpened considerably. In the commission, Pant has former agriculture minister Som Pal on his side while ministers like George Fernandes, Uma Bharati and Ananth Kumar are supportive of his cause. The RSS and S. Gurumurthy of the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM) are backing this camp.
The pro-reformers on the FM's side include Shourie and the commission's N.K. Singh, who was earlier in the pmo. While Vajpayee is willing to hardsell liberalisation as the government's major achievement and, therefore, support the reformers, Advani is still unsure about what line to take. While the deputy PM is not keen on giving up reforms totally, he is of late deeply influenced by Joseph Stiglitz's book Liberalisation and Its Discontents, which criticises untramelled privatisation and free markets.
Over the next few months, as Advani's views get concretised, one will witness a lot of friction on issues like disinvestment, policies to woo back the middle class, Budget '03 and decisions to revive stockmarket sentiments. Possibly the fiercest battle will be about what to do in Budget '03. Listen to a senior Sangh functionary, and you might get an idea of the possible confrontation: "We have sacrificed enough for this regime. There is a limit to our tolerance and our ties may well snap if the government continues with its anti-people economic programme." And the sjm has made it clear that if the next budget is anti-people, it will organise mass movements against such policies.
Jaswant is under pressure to listen to such demands, especially when one considers that the Sangh parivar will play a major role in the five assembly elections in 2003. Now that the BJP executive too has taken the decision to fight these elections on the issue of "cultural nationalism" and to repeat the Gujarat experiment in other states, the role of the RSS will be crucial.Even Vajpayee realises the problems, as is clear from his recent comment in Shimla: "There is disagreement in the party and the Sangh over reforms. We need to find a solution."
That will not be easy, if one considers the strong stance taken by Pant and his adversary, Jaswant. Recently, the Planning Commission's deputy chairman wrote a confidential letter to the PM criticising the finance ministry's functioning. While warning about the dire consequences of adopting reforms that were "anti-people", the letter highlighted the dismal economic scenario. In such a climate, asked Pant, what was the point of pursuing reforms that don't address key problems like poverty alleviation or increasing unemployment?
In reply, Jaswant wrote saying there was little room for debate on reforms initiatives. In fact, he seemed clear that the Centre should push for labour reforms, opposed by many within the BJP, and abolish the Public Provident Fund (PPF) for government servants in a phased manner. That's not all. Finance secretary S. Narayanan too got into the act and shot off a six-page missive echoing these sentiments. The note categorically stated that the government can't dislodge its disinvestment programme or move away from the reforms path. It added that fdi can flow in only if there was clarity on reforms being the right way out.
It was actually these disagreements that led Vajpayee to ask Advani to step in to iron out the differences. On December 3, Advani called for a meeting at his residence that was attended by Jaswant, Gurumurthy and BJP president Venkaiah Naidu. This was the same meeting where the decks were cleared for a future cabinet sanction of the sale of two oil PSUs, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (B{BPCL). Prior to this meeting, Advani had a surprise visitor at his home. It was N.K. Singh, who had come to brief him about the duel between Pant and the FM. (This was a surprise as NK and Advani were believed to be in opposite camps.)
Unfortunately, the Pant-Jaswant imbroglio continues. In the run-up to Budget '03, one expects heated debates about the liberal recommendations on taxation made by the Kelkar Committee, labour reforms and interest rate cuts on small savings. All three are quite sensitive as Kelkar has asked for abolishing all incentives and concessions for both individual and corporate taxpayers, any change in labour policies could anger the BJP's trade union Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, and interest cuts could adversely affect the middle class.
Already, there are reports that the Kelkar recommendations will be toned down quite a bit. Officially, a panel has been set up under ex-UP chief minister Rajnath Singh, to look into its key findings. BJP sources say Rajnath and fellow panel members V.K. Malhotra and the party's economic advisor Jagadish Shettigar have torn apart the Kelkar report". It is the recipe for electoral disaster. Reforms do not mean adding to the misery of the middle class, our traditional votebank," says a member of the panel.
Such opposition is good news for Indian corporates, which too were unhappy with Kelkar's proposals. They now hope the government will take "a more pragmatic approach" on the report. Obviously, as a senior economist in one of the industry associations, says, "The government will follow a market-oriented economic agenda with a Hindu face. In that, the fingerprints would be seen in next year's budget." But in the same breath, the economist hopes all future reforms won't be put on hold: "The government should realise that while Hindutva provides votes, it can't create jobs or bring growth." Adds Rushabh Seth, portfolio manager, ask Raymond James, "The government must ensure its announcements are taken to their logical conclusion."
One area where the private sector thinks the government should not back off at all is the ongoing disinvestment process. Now that the impasse on the oil PSUs's sale has been resolved, Shourie and his team should be able to go ahead with their plans. But there are snags here too. In the near future, the Cabinet Committee on Disinvestment will seek to clarify issues like whether other PSUs can bid for the strategic sale of HPCL, and whether the government should sell a 26 per cent stake, as proposed by Shourie, or 20-23 per cent, as demanded by the petroleum minister Ram Naik, in HPCL.
At the same time, there will be opposition to Shourie's plans from other ministers like Bharati. Given the election fervour that will grip all political parties through 2003, one is not too sure of what the disinvestment ministry can actually achieve. A few sections in the BJP compare the current debate with the one that divided the Congress after it lost the last state elections in Andhra Pradesh. "Even the Congress, which initiated liberalisation, was forced to introspect its pitfalls the moment it faced poll drubbings," says a BJP functionary. In fact, Congress leaders settled on "a middle path", as is reflected by its current opposition to the NDA's liberal policies.
If such statements signify the current mood among most BJP leaders, the Vajpayee-Jaswant-Shourie trio has its task cut out. Apart from problems with the coming budget and the sell-off process, they will need to take measures to restore confidence among investors and revive market sentiments. At present, small investors are clearly shying away from the markets and even big ones like foreign institutional investors have been net sellers. The Sensex has moved within a band with no significant upward or downward movements.
Now that the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC on the Ketan Parekh scam has given its report, it's up to the finance ministry to implement some of its key recommendations. At the same time, Jaswant has to do something about revamping the various schemes of Unit Trust of India (UTI), where the middle class lost huge sums. Finally, there are systemic problems with financial institutions like IDBI and IFCI that need to be solved. All this will require bailout packages that will be difficult given the state of the country's finances.
So, what can one expect in the near future, say the next 8-10 months? To begin with, the Kelkar recommendations will be implemented partially, and some of the existing tax-saving incentives will continue. For example, the tax benefits of investments in the housing sector and higher interest rate on PPF are likely to continue. Two, Shourie may go ahead with the sale of two oil PSUs, albeit in fits and starts. He will have to give in on a few issues. Also, there will be a few boosters for the stockmarkets in next year's budget. Finally, expect high political tensions, verbal wars, and hectic lobbying to influence economic decisions.
Arijit Barman Business
Next Story : Go-Go Cola Item No. 1 to 10
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All Lines Busy
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Shourie's Crosses
Issues he will need to resolve
Restoring Confidence
How the FM can woo small investors
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Business Records Hearsay Exception
July 18, 2013 Mikki JohnsonTed Babbitt Articles
The Courts regularly allow into evidence records kept in the ordinary course of business under an exception to the hearsay rule contained within Fla. Stat. 90.803. Judges and lawyers are sometimes under the misapprehension that just because business records fall under this exception, everything within them is admissible even though it would be rank hearsay. That is not true. In fact, the business records exception is quite narrow and requires a meticulous analysis of whether the record meets the test necessary in order to be admitted as a business record.
That issue arose in the recent case of M.S. v. Dept. of Children & Families, 34 Fla. L. Weekly D679 (Fla. 4th DCA, April 1, 2009). There a father appealed a judgment adjudicating his daughter a dependent where the DCF felt the father was ineffective in protecting the child against her mother’s erratic behavior. The trial court, over an objection, admitted into evidence certain records of the Maryland Social Services Network. The trial court’s order adjudicating the child as a dependent relied heavily on those records and the Fourth District reversed finding that most of those records were inadmissible hearsay.
The test for the admissibility vel non of a business record is set forth in Brooks v. State, 918 So. 2d 181 (Fla. 2005). There the Court reversed a trial judge’s admission of a note taken by an internal revenue agent from a woman who was subsequently murdered and, therefore, unavailable to testify. The trial court admitted the note through Fla. Stat. 90.803(8), the statutory hearsay exception for public records and reports. In that case, at 193, the Supreme Court held:
“To be admissible as a business record, it must
shown that the record was (1) made at or near
the time of the event recorded; (2) by or from
information transmitted by a person with
knowledge; (3) kept in the course of a regularly
conducted business activity; and (4) that it was
the regular practice of that business to make
such a record. See Quinn v. State, 662 So.
2d 947, 953 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995); sec. 90.803(6)(a),
Fla. Stat. (2002). To the extent the individual
making the record does not have personal
knowledge of the information contained therein,
the second prong of the predicate requires
the information to have been supplied by an
individual who does have personal knowledge
of the information and who was acting in the
course of a regularly conducted business
activity. See Quinn, 662 So. 2d at 953;
Van Zant v. State, 372 So. 2d 502, 503 (Fla.
1st DCA 1979). If this predicate is not satisfied,
then the information contained in the record is
inadmissible hearsay, unless it falls within
another exception to the hearsay rule. See
Quinn, 662 So. 2d at 953-54; see also Hill
v. State, 549 So. 2d 179, 181 (Fla. 1989);
Johnson v. Dep’t of Health & Rehab. Servs.,
546 So. 2d 741, 743 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989);
Harris v. Game & Fresh Water Fish Comm’n,
495 So. 2d 806, 809 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986).
(‘The general rule is that a hearsay statement
which includes another hearsay statement
is admissible only when both statements
conform to the requirements of a hearsay
exception.”); Van Zant, 372 So. 2d at 503.”
In Reichenberg v. Davis, 846 So. 2d 1233 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003), records very similar to the records in question in the M.S. v. Dept. of Children & Families case were held to be inadmissible because the notations in the records were not within the personal knowledge of the agency employee.
In reversing the trial court’s admission of this child’s Maryland Social Services records and the ultimate judgment finding her to be dependent, the appellate court held that the trial court could not rely upon what amounts to hearsay within hearsay. While Fla. Stat. 90.803 does permit the introduction of business records even though they would otherwise be considered hearsay, that admissibility is predicated upon meeting the prerequisites contained within Brooks v. State, supra. The person making the business record must be identifiable and the actual person with the knowledge of the event portrayed within the record. Rank hearsay of unknown individuals not within the knowledge of the person making the business record remains rank hearsay and is inadmissible.
Originally published in June 2009
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Seeking “good jobs” in the oil patch
Illustration by Alisha Davidson
Fast Facts: Income Security to End Poverty in Manitoba
Income security programs in Manitoba and Canada are not keeping pace with the growing problem of poverty. Change is needed to ensure low income and vulnerable people and families do not become entrapped in a lifetime of poverty.
Addressing challenges facing British Columbians a strong start in new government’s first budget update
(VICTORIA) BC’s new government has made a strong start in addressing crucial issues for British Columbians in its first budget update, which is a welcome change in direction from the last 16 years, says the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives BC Office.
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If all goes according to plan, by July 2018 several provinces and territories will have a new securities regulator. Currently, each province and territory operates its own regulator that is responsible for administrating each province’s unique laws. The provincial and territorial regulators are part of an umbrella organization, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA).
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This paper examines 15 years of income inequality for families raising children in Ontario (2000 to 2015), comparing it with national data for context, and finds several disturbing trends.
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TORONTO – Ontario is becoming more polarized as the bottom half of Ontario families see their share of the income pie shrinking while the top half takes home even more, says a new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). The bottom half of families raising children in Ontario saw its share of earnings fall to 19 per cent of total labour market income between 2000 and 2015—down three percentage points—while the top half of families increased its share of the income pie by three percentage points, earning 81 per cent of the total income pie.
Media advisory: Economic experts available to comment on positive impact of minimum wage raise
TORONTO, ONTARIO – With a business lobby-led economic impact assessment on Ontario’s Bill 148, Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, due out this August, economic experts are available to discuss the findings upon release, as well as the decades of research on the impacts of raising the minimum wage.
Demanding a Fair Share
In this paper, Fay Faraday explores how to provide workers in the on-demand service economy protection under the Employment Standards and Labour Relations Acts. Ontario’s Bill 148 – the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 – should provide protections to workers in precarious employment in the 21st century labour market. Workers in the on-demand service sector are at the forefront of both precarity and technological change. This paper provides guidance on how Bill 148 could be amended to extend protections to these workers.
Ontario Needs a Raise
The Ontario government has committed to raise its minimum wage to $14 on January 1, 2018 then to $15 on January 1, 2019. This paper examines who in the province will get a "raise" from the $15 minimum wage, and finds it will largely benefit the province’s most marginalized—a broad and diverse swath of workers including contract, seasonal, and casual workers, part-time workers, women, and immigrants.
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What would make a good Policymakr Project?
Donald Jenkins
Policymakr regularly publishes articles by guest speakers, and editorials by its own team. To receive them you can subscribe to the RSS feed or to the Newsletter.
In the days since Policymakr launched, the subject people have asked us most about has been precisely what form Projects would take.
Some of the most insistent questions have focused on how we would handle Projects that touched on sensitive issues: the environment, which features prominently among the examples on the Policymakr landing page, is one of them; but many have also wondered what added value Policymakr could bring to especially contentious debates, such as the ongoing, and seemingly intractable, British withdrawal from the European Union.
What would be suitable material for Projects, as it happens, is something to which we’ve given a great deal of thought. We certainly don’t believe all subjects are equally suited to becoming Policymakr Projects. This is because we aim to make real progress, perhaps even to break new ground and end stalemates. We want to focus on areas where known facts provide a basis on which a solution can be found that can be shown to be better, in the long term, for the greatest number the planet’s inhabitants. Our conviction is that while the social, political and economic structures that used to make political consensus on thorny subjects possible have been smashed to pieces by the onslaught of the Information Age, there is nothing irreversible about this. We can put today’s technology to good, just as the tools available for the Internet were put to good by people of widely different backgrounds, nationalities and political beliefs, when the superior common interest was at stake.
The environment provides a good example of this. In the 1980s—before the Information Age had properly begun—the New York Times recently published a remarkable article, The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change, in which it stressed the bipartisan character of a battle that was very nearly won:
Nor can the Republican Party be blamed. Today, only 42 percent of Republicans know that “most scientists believe global warming is occurring,” and that percentage is falling. But during the 1980s, many prominent Republicans joined Democrats in judging the climate problem to be a rare political winner: nonpartisan and of the highest possible stakes. Among those who called for urgent, immediate and far-reaching climate policy were Senators John Chafee, Robert Stafford and David Durenberger; the E.P.A. administrator, William K. Reilly; and, during his campaign for president, George H.W. Bush.
In today’s world, the facts that were universally acknowledged thirty years ago have become bogged down in an intractable factional battle, with incivility, closed minds and unwillingness to compromise being shown at both ends of the political spectrum.
The environment, or rather a set of various individual environmental issues, is thus a prime candidate for inclusion in Policymakr’s projects, because it is a sector where there is absolute urgency as well as—still—some prospect of limiting the damage if the world’s citizens are capable, as we propose, to work constructively with elected policy makers, taking expert advice where needed.
The current US government shutdown, while hugely inconvenient for everyone, is pretty much the exact opposite: a subject which the members of Policymakr would achieve nothing by working on in a Project. While there is, of course, a heavily technical dimension to public budget construction, the debate around the shutdown has been about as non-technical as it could get: it has entirely revolved around a heavily political question, namely the unwillingness of the Democratic Party to finance the border wall called for by the president of the United States.
Policymakr won’t invest in subjects that are so heavily political in nature that there is nothing to be gained from giving them the finely tuned, tripartite (Citizens, Policy Makers and Experts) examination which will be our signature method. This is what will set us apart from the overwhelming majority of platforms that have sprung up about politics and policy issues on the Internet.
Unlike us, these platforms, discussion groups and think tanks, sometimes mere fronts for pressure groups or for political parties, invariably fall into two types of trap.
Some mostly focus on short-term debate, taking no serious steps to shield their work from partisan quarrels that stay at the surface of things
Others remain ivory towers, whose very existence is most often unknown to the world’s citizens: serious, academic and technical platforms devoted to policy matters don’t exist; but these expert in practice fail to touch the world’s citizens, who alone have political legitimacy the give the endorsement that sound public policy, in a representative democracy, needs to be accepted.
This is why our unique methodology makes Policymakr a revolutionary platform, that will bring the world’s citizens what has never been seriously offered to them since the dissolution of the policy context that prevailed before the Information Age, and that very nearly succeeded in preventing the man-made environmental disaster that now threatens to destroy life on earth.
We hope you will want to be a part of our adventure as we start preparing to launch this unique, truly revolutionary platform: become a Founder Member of Policymakr now.
Policymakr's rules make it a place for long-term reflection, free from the distraction of chatter and endless debate. But you're welcome to share this article outside of the site if you want.
Read about what makes Policymakr different from other sites on politics
Learn why there is no news wall of any kind available on Policymakr. Note that sharing of the content of Policymakr's Projects on social networks is discouraged—but for articles such as this one, which are public, it's perfectly fine.
Donald Jenkins read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Magdalen College, Oxford. He also attended École nationale d'administration. He's a Co-Founder of Policymakr.
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Rejoice! Shia LaBeouf Brings Back His Louis Stevens Curls in Cannes
Shia LaBeouf at Cannes Film Festival 2016 Pictures
17 May, 2016 by Britt Stephens
Shia LaBeouf had us doing a double take when he popped up at the Cannes Film Festival this week. After previously sporting a braided mullet and going completely bald, Shia returned to his roots — literally — and let his natural curls grow out. The best part? He looks just like he did back in the early 2000s when he starred as Louis Stevens on the Disney channel sitcom Even Stevens. We're loving this look!
Shia attended a Cannes photocall and red carpet premiere for his new film, American Honey, which he stars in with Riley Keough, Sasha Lane, and McCaul Lombardi. The 29-year-old seemed to be having a blast while posing for photos, as he cracked up with his co-stars and busted out a few dance moves before making his way up the famed staircase. For some extra context: the last time Shia was in Cannes, he was wearing a paper bag on his head and storming out of a press conference, so this is all definitely a step up. If you're not on Team Shia yet, this is probably a good time to get on board.
Cannes Film FestivalRed CarpetShia LaBeouf
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Hire a Tribute Band in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire
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Available in Milton Keynes from £275.00
Recent review: "5/5 Superb entertainment and what a lovely guy! He went out of his way to ensure the birthday boy had a great time...and by letting the whole family join in Loads of comments about what a great time everyone had, would recommend highly!"
Kyle Newman
Recent review: I cannot thank Kyle enough. She performed beautifully to a huge range age and completely won them all over. I have today (the day after she performed) been inundated for her contact details. One again if your after someone who can sing anything..... look no further.
The All New Blues and Soul Revue
About: The All New Blues and Soul Revue (new working title) is a show not to be missed! Much more than just a tribute show, The boys make sure each and every performance is different, in order to personalise each show and tailor it to your requirements! Formed by Dave Wiggins in 2002, the show is availabl
Just Whitney
Available in Milton Keynes
About: I would like to introduce a new upcoming band with over 30+ years’ of experience and musicianship. Members of this band have had the privilege of touring all around the world playing and singing backing vocals for artists like Idris Elba, Joss Stone, Mary Wilson, Winston Reedy, Carol Thompson, Su
One & Only Adele by Katie Markham
About: Katie Markham’s Adele Tribute Act has seen her chosen by the real Adele for her Graham Norton BBC show. She was luckily enough able to sing with the Queen of pop Adele and spend some time talking to her. Described by critics as the “Number 1 Adele tribute Act worldwide” the One and Only Tribute show
Ginny Abbott Vocalist
About: Incredibly talented female vocalist Ginny has performed throughout the UK and abroad offering her versatile vocals and performance to any given occasion. Her impressive range of vocal ability along with a wide variety of genres enables her to create a performance to suit a diverse audience from Rock
U2Baby
Available in Milton Keynes from £1600
About: U2baby are a U2 covers act, playing tribute to the music of U2 from the 80s to the present day. A full four piece band with drums, U2baby entertain audiences at pubs, clubs, parties, and more commonly at large festivals with the best known and most loved songs of U2 throughout the years. U2baby
About: we are registering as new user from beginner
Ian Coulson as ELVIS
Recent review: "I was keen to ensure that we secured the right Elvis tribute as my dad is a massive fan! I needn't have worried because Ian was absolutely amazing and was the ultimate showman at my Mum and Dad's recent Diamond Wedding Anniversary Party. He was easy to make arrangements with over the phone and came
The Jazz Woman
Recent review: Annelise was the perfect accompaniment to our wedding day. She was polite and respectful and could always be heard but not overpowering. Just what we needed for the afternoon tea. Annelise also didn't mind taking the time to learn a new song for us with her own spin on it for our first dance. I woul
About: A LIVE MUSIC COVERS BAND FOR YOUR OCCASION A covers band backed by nearly a decade of experience playing rock and pop music for weddings, function events and parties in Bucks, Northants, the Home Counties and across the UK, let The Band take care of entertainment for your special occasion. Combinin
The UK Pink Floyd Tribute Show
Recent review: To us, me and my wife, you are the best we have ever seen, heard and experienced. Amazing set, superb lighting, excellent sound and you breathe passion into what you do. Stunningly focused and brilliantly talented! We are very eager to welcome you back soon.
Blonde & Beyond
About: Typically perform over 2 x 1 hour sets. I tell the story of Blondie's rise to international mega-stardom, through the first set featuring well-known and iconic Blondie tracks from the late 70's through to today. In the second set I feature songs from other well-known artists and bands with blo
Abba STARS UK
Recent review: The girls were great for my wife’s 50 th birthday party. She loves ABBA and ABBA Stars didn’t fail to deliver brilliant songs and great interaction with the party guests. They also provided music in between their sets. They contacted us before the party to see if there was any special requests fo
David Boakes
Recent review: "I can't put into words how amazing David is!!! He got everybody involved and was so very kind and professional. A week later and everybody is still talking about him the main comment I've had back from everyone is ""it was like our own private concert in the garden"" truly amazing entertainer met a
Recent review: Antony came to perform his Voices of Vegas Show here last Friday evening. It was an absolute pleasure to work with Antony and also Nikki. Our guests absolutely loved the performance and thoroughly enjoyed listening to Antony's amazing voice. Thank you to both Antony and Nikki for coming all the w
Recent review: Had these guys play at our wedding last Saturday – absolutely superb, Very tight as a band, classy & professional and had the whole place moving. All of them were top notch musicians and Kevin is an absolute gent to deal with. Thanks for a great night guys – we loved being able to get up a play a co
Chrissie Cadillac - 50's & 60's Act Plus Disco
Recent review: Very impressed with my booking. Chrissie has an amazing voice and covers a wide range of artists. The stage was decorated and photo projector service saved me a small fortune. Had so many compliments from my guests.
Available in Milton Keynes from £500-1500"
Recent review: Abba Rebjorn were the perfect band to help celebrate my wife's special birthday Sam was a joy to correspond with leading up to the event, quick to respond to my communications and helpful in setting up the arrangements for the day Chris, the sound engineer, was helpful and obliging in all the prac
Local Results for Tribute Band
Stokenchurch, Gerrards Cross, Haddenham, Iver, Beaconsfield, Denham, Marlow Bottom, Aston Clinton, Bourne End, Newport Pagnell, Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, Great Missenden, Chalfont St. Giles, Iver Heath, Wendover, Amersham, Princes Risborough, Olney, Buckingham, Aylesbury, Winslow, Chesham, Marlow, High Wycombe
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Killer app: Tayprint hits the streets for homelessness charity
By Rhys Handley, Monday 18 December 2017
While Christmas is the best time of year for many, for some it is the worst. During the festive season, the UK’s homeless population are left out in the cold, surrounded by reminders of the reveries of the more fortunate.
As part of a campaign to draw attention to the issue of homelessness among the young, Tayprint worked with End Youth Homelessness.
What did you produce?
Tayprint output a run of pastel-toned posters, which were distributed to 164 UK sites covering cities such as London, Bristol, Cardiff and Edinburgh, to promote the charity’s ‘Sleep Out’ campaign, which will see a targeted 2,300 participants sleep rough to raise awareness and aim to raise more than £1m to help the UK’s 83,000 young homeless people.
What did the job entail?
Posters were provided to marketing agency WCRS by OOH specialist Jack, which commissioned Tayprint in Dundee to print the job. With an HP Scitex TurboJet four-colour printer, solvent inks were printed onto blueback paper stock. The stock was cut up to four-sheet poster size and solvent inks were used for their increased resistance to outdoor elements like wind and rain, making them suitable for an out-of-home campaign.
What challenges were overcome?
Putting the job together for a charitable cause meant it was important to Tayprint that costings were kept low, according to sales manager Chris Harris.
“We are very sensitive about the nature of campaigns like this,” he said. “Many factors allow us to do this, such as a digital press allowing us a shorter set-up time and the job can be sent through at greater speed.
“Even with that in mind, we always do our best to add a little more value and a personal touch, which is possible as we are a smaller company. There is little back-and-forth, we are trusted by customers to do our job.”
What was the feedback?
WCRS creative director Orlando Warner said: “When you make an ad to get young people off the streets, it has to count. People have to notice. But more importantly they have to care. This campaign forces people to engage with the kinds of decisions young people on the streets have to make every day.”
Do you have a Killer App? We are interested in special, difficult or simply fabulous print jobs. Contact Rhys handley on 020 7501 6388 or rhys.handley@markallengroup.com.
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Fauna Raises $25M in Series A Funding, Led by Point72 Ventures
Investment will accelerate product development and scale sales
Fauna, Inc.
Sep 14, 2017, 08:17 ET
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Fauna, Inc., the company behind FaunaDB, an adaptive operational database, today announced the close of $25M in Series A funding. The round was led by Daniel Gwak at Point72 Ventures, with participation from GV (formerly Google Ventures), Costanoa Ventures, Afore Capital, and others. Existing investors also participated in the round, including CRV, Data Collective, Quest Venture Partners, the Webb Investment Network, and Ulu Ventures.
Created in 2012 by software engineers from Twitter, FaunaDB is a transactional, globally distributed database that lets digital businesses meet the requirements of modern cloud applications without sacrificing correctness, availability, security, or speed.
"FaunaDB advances the state of the art in operational database management systems while remaining firmly grounded in proven industrial and academic research," said Evan Weaver, Fauna's co-founder and CEO. "We are excited to work with Point72. This investment gives our customers confidence that Fauna is building a product and company to last."
"With its impressive and diverse team from Twitter, Couchbase, Oracle, Amazon, and Google, Fauna is uniquely positioned to revolutionize data infrastructure," said Neill Occhiogrosso, Partner at Costanoa Ventures. "Fauna's customers are already proving that the market needs a better database—one that can meet the toughest enterprise requirements and is built for the modern, multi-cloud world."
"When we designed FaunaDB, we knew the combination of strong consistency and global availability would be critical for industries like financial services and ecommerce," said Matt Freels, Fauna's co-founder and CTO. "We're excited to see its rapid adoption by enterprises in other verticals as well, including IoT, gaming, and social media."
"Traditional data infrastructure can't serve the modern-day needs of global enterprises, especially companies in regulated industries," said Anamitra Banerji, Managing Director at Afore Capital. "At Twitter, the Fauna team faced those problems from the outset, and had to invent a new data infrastructure from the ground up. Now, they're making that technology available to help any enterprise. We're psyched to be investing in support of that mission."
FaunaDB is available as a service as FaunaDB Serverless Cloud, and on-premises as FaunaDB Enterprise. For more information, please visit www.fauna.com.
About Fauna
Fauna is the company behind FaunaDB, a transactional, globally distributed database. Built by the team that scaled Twitter, FaunaDB is the only enterprise-class database designed around modern development practices instead of legacy SQL. FaunaDB is offered as a serverless cloud product spanning AWS, GCP, and soon Azure, as well as an on-premises/hybrid-cloud package for the enterprise. For more information, please visit www.fauna.com.
SOURCE Fauna, Inc.
http://www.fauna.com
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Professor of Rock
Discover the Story Behind the Music
Pop Fix
“Sail” by Awolnation
Before the formation of the band Awolnation, lead singer and frontman, Aaron Bruno was financially strapped, trying to figure out how he could make a living making music. His previous group Under the … [Read more...] about “Sail” by Awolnation
Here Come the Runts by Awolnation
In this two part series, Aaron Bruno tells the story behind Awolnation's new record "Here Come the Runts." Part two is down below. Enjoy. … [Read more...] about Here Come the Runts by Awolnation
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Route 9W reopened following overturned truck, fuel spill
An overturned truck on Route 9W in Milton resulted in a fuel spill and the road being closed, according to the Department of Transportation.
Route 9W reopened following overturned truck, fuel spill An overturned truck on Route 9W in Milton resulted in a fuel spill and the road being closed, according to the Department of Transportation. Check out this story on poughkeepsiejournal.com: https://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/local/2019/07/10/overturned-truck-closes-9-w-milton-results-fuel-spill/1694053001/
Geoffrey Wilson, Poughkeepsie Journal Published 1:27 p.m. ET July 10, 2019 | Updated 7:04 p.m. ET July 10, 2019
A fuel oil truck rolled over on Route 9W in Milton and spilled its contents causing a road closure. Patrick Oehler, Poughkeepsie Journal
An overturned truck and fuel spill on Route 9W in Milton resulted in multiple injuries and a road closure that stretched into the night.
The fuel truck was traveling northbound on Route 9W when it overturned just after noon, according to Marlborough Police Chief Gerald Cocozza, who said it slid about 200 yards before coming to a stop.
According to Cocozza a group of employees from the Marlboro Highway Department witnessed the accident as they were heading into their garage. Pulling up to the scene moments after the incident was called in, Cocozza watched as a mechanic climbed up onto the truck to pull the driver to safety.
The Highway department used the basket of a construction loader to bring the driver, who suffered a serious leg injury, away from the fuel oil truck, Cocozza said.
Overturned Fuel Oil Truck Closes Route 9 W in Milton
First responders respond to overturned fuel oil truck on Route 9 W in Milton on July 10, 2019. Patrick Oehler/Poughkeepsie Journal
An overturned fuel oil truck closed Route 9 W in Milton on July 10, 2019. The truck came to a rest adjacent to the Marlborough Highway Department who's workers sprang into action and created a gravel and sand dam to prevent the fuel oil from spilling into a nearby creek. Patrick Oehler/Poughkeepsie Journal
From left Harry Freeborn and Jerry Murtagh of the Town of Marlborough Highway Department responded to the scene of an overturned fuel oil truck on Route 9 W in Milton on July 10, 2019. The truck came to a rest adjacent to the Marlborough Highway Department who's workers sprang into action and created a gravel and sand dam to prevent the fuel oil from spilling into a nearby creek. Patrick Oehler/Poughkeepsie Journal
Truck drives who were stuck on Route 9W in Milton look on as first responders manage the scene of an overturned fuel oil truck on July 10, 2019. Patrick Oehler/Poughkeepsie Journal
First responders rigged up a system to seal an overturned fuel oil truck on Route 9 W in Milton on July 10, 2019. Patrick Oehler/Poughkeepsie Journal
Route 9W closed in both directions in Milton due to an overturned fuel oil truck on July 10, 2019. Patrick Oehler/Poughkeepsie Journal
An overturned truck on Route 9W in Milton resulted in a fuel spill and the road being closed, according to the Department of Transportation. Patrick Oehler/Poughkeepsie Journal
The road closure, between Lyons Road and Old Indian Road, began at 12:21 p.m., Cocozza said. Both lanes of the road in both directions were closed until around 6:30 p.m., as agencies from the Department of Environmental Conservation and Ulster County worked to clean the spill.
A major concern for first responders was keeping the spill from spreading into a nearby stream, Cocozza said. The Marlborough Fire District and the highway department filled the side of the road with sand bags that, according to the chief, successfully collected the fuel. Roughly 2,500 gallons of fuel were in the truck.
The truck itself could not be flipped back onto its wheels until around 5:30 p.m., as it had to be drained of its fuel before it could be moved. The fuel and sand were expected to be removed after the truck was towed.
An overturned fuel oil truck closed Route 9 W in Milton on July 10, 2019. The truck came to a rest adjacent to the Marlborough Highway Department who's workers sprang into action and created a gravel and sand dam to prevent the fuel oil from spilling into a nearby creek. (Photo: Patrick Oehler/Poughkeepsie Journal)
Agencies from Orange and Dutchess counties, in addition to Ulster, were called to respond through the course of the incident.
Heat was the biggest challenge in responding, Cocozza said, with crews being rotated to remain cool. One firefighter from New Paltz suffered heat exhaustion and was sent to Vassar Brothers Medical Center. The driver of the truck was sent to MidHudson Regional Hospital.
Geoffrey Wilson: gwilson@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4882; Twitter: @GeoffWilson_. Katelyn Cordero: kcordero@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4870; Twitter: @KatelynCordero
Firefighters respond to Orchard Place home in city
Bow Tie Cinemas moves forward with Poughkeepsie planning, aims to solve parking question
Take 5 Deli, a Poughkeepsie institution for nearly four decades, announces closure
Read or Share this story: https://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/local/2019/07/10/overturned-truck-closes-9-w-milton-results-fuel-spill/1694053001/
Route 9W closed for overturned truck, fuel spill; firefighter, driver injured
Bow Tie Cinemas moves forward in Poughkeepsie; eyes August proposal
Woodstock 50 denied? Application rejected, organizers dispute town
Man charged with forgery after allegedly stealing from J.C. Penney: Police
3-car crash cleared from Mid-Hudson Bridge, expect delays
Man indicted in 2017 Poughkeepsie homicide in prison for violent spree
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About Racism
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Home> About Racism> Cyber racism> Laws around cyber racism
Laws around cyber racism
What is cyber racism? : What the research says : Case studies : Laws around cyber racism : Cyber safety resources
The Australian state and federal laws which relate to cyber racism are the same Australian laws which apply to racism in general. The information in the section below describes how the individual laws apply may apply to cases of cyber racism.
Serious instances of racism on the Internet may be dealt with under the Commonwealth Criminal Code. However, such cases can be difficult to prosecute, as they require strong proof that there has been an obvious intent to incite violence.
Cyber racism is classified as an act of racism under the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (RDA). The Australian Human Rights Commission administers the RDA. The major objectives of the RDA are to:
promote equality before the law for all persons, regardless of their race, colour or national or ethnic origin
make discrimination against people on the basis of their race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin unlawful
The Racial Hatred Act 1995 (Cth) amended the RDA by making racially motivated offensive behaviour unlawful. Details of the Racial Hatred Act are at section 18C of the RDA.
Racial hatred or vilification is behaviour using speech, images or writing in public. For example:
offensive racist comments or drawings in a newspaper, leaflet, website or other publication
making racist comments on e-forums, blogs, social networking sites
writing racist graffiti in a public place
making racist speeches at a public rally or assemblies
placing racist posters or stickers in a public place
making racist comments at sporting events to players, spectators, coaches or officials
making a racially abusive comment, joke, song or gesture in a public place — including shops, workplaces, parks, public transport, and schools.
For a (cyber) racist action to be considered against the law, the action would be considered under section 18C and must:
have taken place in a public place (the internet provides public and private spaces, depending on the particular medium used)
have racial content (referring to a person’s race, ethnicity, colour or origin)
be likely to offend (considered hurtful)
If however, the action has been taken in good faith, as part of public debates and/ or artistic endeavours, then the law may not apply (according to the principles of the Freedom of Information Act), refer to Section 18D.
State and Territory legislation
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Discrimination Act 1991 [PDF] was most recently amended in April 2010.
Cyber racism is unlawful in the ACT. The Discrimination Act makes all acts of racial discrimination unlawful, with exceptions around genuine occupational employment and Club membership (section 42 and 43).
For an act of cyber racism to be considered unlawful it must be demonstrated that the act was; in a public space, carried out with the intent to cause offence or harm, and racially motivated.
Racial discrimination that occurs in areas of public life is defined by the Act at sections 7 and 8. Vilification specifics are at sections 65 – 67 and acts relating to victimisation are at section 68 of the Act.
The Human Rights Commission Act 2005 provides information about the Discrimination Act and complaint processes available at the ACT Human Rights Commission. Further information about discrimination or making a discrimination complaint can be obtained at the Human Rights Commission.
The New South Wales (NSW) Anti Discrimination Act 1977 was most recently amended in June 2010.
An act of cyber racism could be considered unlawful under this NSW Act, providing it:
takes place in a public area (section 20B)
is identified as discriminatory conduct
is considered a serious incitement of violence or offence towards a racial group (sections 20C, 20D)
The New South Wales Anti Discrimination Board conciliates complaints under this Act.
The Northern Territory Anti-Discrimination Act 1992 was most recently amended in 2009. Under the Act, race is defined as:
the nationality, ethnic or national origin, colour, descent or ancestry of a person; and
that a person is or has been an immigrant.
Race is classified as a ground for discrimination under section 20 of the Act.
There is no ground of racial vilification within the Anti-Discrimination Act 1992 and therefore an act of cyber racism could not be unlawful discrimination in this Act. Complaints would therefore need to be considered under the Federal Race Discrimination Act by the Australian Human Rights Commission.
The Queensland Anti Discrimination Act 1991 promotes equality of opportunity for everyone by safeguarding against unfair discrimination in certain areas of activities.
The Queensland Act defines vilification (section 131A) as:
…different from discrimination. While discrimination involves unfair treatment, vilification is a public act that incites others to hate you or your group (or have serious contempt for, or severely ridicule you) because of your race or religion.
This sort of hatred can show up in a number of ways including hate speeches, leaflets, graffiti, websites, public abuse or media remarks.
Cyber racism would be classified as vilification under section 131A and is therefore illegal so long as:
the offence occurs in a public space
it encourages others to threaten/ hate or strongly react against the abused
Racial vilification is behaviour in a public place that incites hatred, serious contempt or ridicule of a person or group of people, because of their race. A person’s race includes their colour, country of birth, ancestry, ethnic origin or nationality.
It is unlawful under the Racial Vilification Act 1996 (SA) [RTF] to vilify people because of their race by threatening to harm them or their property, or urging others to do so. Fines apply.
People who believe they have been vilified can report to police or sue for damages under the Civil Liability Act 1936 (SA), meaning that it is possible to take cases directly to court (unlike other jurisdictions).
Private remarks, light-hearted jokes, artistic works, or fair reports on racial conduct, are not unlawful racial vilification. For racial vilification to be unlawful, it must occur in public.
Under the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Act 1998 (the Act) cyber racism could be covered by:
Inciting hatred section 19(a)
A person, by a public act, must not incite hatred towards, serious contempt for, or severe ridicule of, a person or a group of persons on the ground of race. Public act is defined in s3 to include any form of communication to the public, any conduct observable by the public, or the distribution or dissemination of any matter to the public.If a person or a member of a group of people believes that a website or other online material is inciting hatred towards, serious contempt for or severe ridicule of them on the ground of race they can lodge a complaint.
Discrimination on the basis of race in the area of the provision of facilities, goods and services section 14
A person must not treat another person on the basis of a prescribed attribute less favourably than a person without the prescribed attribute. Race is a prescribed attribute defined at section 16(a) of the Act.
The Act requires that discrimination occur in a particular area of activity covered by section 22, one is the provision of facilities, goods and services [s22(1)(c)]. If a person felt they had been treated less favourably while engaged in an activity in connection with the provision of facilities, goods and services online, they can lodge a complaint to Equal Opportunity Tasmania, the office of the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner.
Racial Vilification in Victoria is covered by the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001. The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission investigates complaints under this Act.
Under the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 an act of cyber racism could be considered racial vilification if:
it is in the public domain (unless an exception under S. 11 is established that the conduct was engaged in reasonably and in good faith; S 12 – private conduct)
considered racial vilification as defined by the Act (S.7 also specifically includes the use of the internet or email to publish or transmit statement or other material and may occur in or outside Victoria)
motive is irrelevant (S. 9)
If the cyber racism occurs in the areas of employment, provision of goods and services, education, accommodation, disposal of land, clubs, sport or local government it may be grounds for a complaint of unlawful discrimination based on race under the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act 2010 [PDF]:
in an area of public life protected
because of race (S. 6 (i))
It is unlawful under the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 to harass a person because of their race.
Under the Equal Opportunity Act race includes colour, descent, ethnic or national origin or nationality and may comprise two or more distinct races.
The Act makes it unlawful to racially harass a person in certain areas of public life and these areas include:
Employment – it is unlawful to racially harass an employee, a co-worker, a potential employee or employer, commission agent or contract worker.
Education – it is unlawful for an employee of an educational institution to racially harass a student or potential student of that institution
Accommodation – it is unlawful for a person who, as principal or agent, has control over accommodation or the letting of that accommodation, to racially harass a person.
There is no ground of racial vilification within the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 and therefore an act of cyber racism could not be unlawful discrimination in this West Australian Act. Complaints would therefore need to be considered under the Federal Race Discrimination Act by the Australian Human Rights Commission.
Cyber racism – What is cyber racism? : What the research says : Case studies : Laws around cyber racism : Cyber safety resources
The Racism. No way project
Goal and principles
Roads to Refuge
Living in Harmony
Australian Human Rights Commission
Kids Helpline – 1800 55 1800
Copyright © Department of Education 2015. All Rights Reserved.
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You are here: Home / News / Featured Story / Warren County announces plans for a casino
Warren County announces plans for a casino
February 20, 2013 By Dar Danielson
Another county is going to take a chance that it can win a new gambling license and build a casino. A Warren County development group announced plans today for a $125-million casino and entertainment complex to be built in the northwest corner of the county near Highway five.
Warren County Economic Development Corporation executive director, Jason White, says they have selected Wild Rose Entertainment as the operator/developer for the project.
Wild Rose already runs state-licensed casinos in Emmetsburg and Clinton, and earlier had floated the idea of a new casino near Ankeny. Warren County sits straight south of Polk County and now has a major roadway that connects it to Des Moines. White says the casino would first bring jobs to the county.
“But beyond that, about 80-percent of our population is on the road every day going to work in another county. So we lose a lot of dollars from the county every day,” White says. “And a county a fast growing as ours and as large as it is — almost 50,000 people — we need to do something to bring dollars into our county. And we think this is a great opportunity not just to bring a casino, but also to bring a hotel, upscale restaurant, a convention center, bowling center, a lot of different things such as that.”
Planning a casino is literally a gamble for the county, as they must first pass a referendum approving gambling, and then White and others would have to convince the Racing and Gaming Commission to grant them a license. “Well, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Right now we’re just focused internally and trying to engage the people of Warren County about this project and what it’s potential is for everybody (who) lives here,” Smith says.
He says the next step in the plan is to collect signatures to seek a county referendum on gambling for May 7th. “It’s kind of like peeling an onion, there’s a lot layers to this. And so we want as many people to understand all the aspects of this project and its potential before we take it any further,” Smith says.
The Racing and Gaming Commission last issued a new gambling license for a casino which began operating in Lyon County northwest Iowa in June of 2011. But a group in Cedar Rapids has a proposal for a casino there and Linn County will vote on a referendum to approve gambling on March 5th.
Current casino operators in Waterloo and Riverside have chipped in to fight against the casino in Cedar Rapids. Officials at the state-licensed horse-track and casino in Altoona are expected to fight against the Warren County proposal.
Filed Under: Featured Story, News, Recreation / Entertainment Tagged With: Gambling, Racing and Gaming Commission
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By Tiiu-Imbi Miller | Ultimas Noticias No. 50 March 2014
We depend on our small but wonderful band of supporters for money, whether through donations or fund raising efforts. Thank you very much to all of you who have helped. We could not function without you.
Our latest fund raising efforts have been a raffle before Christmas, and the Loony Dook. The raffle raised £679.60, not at all bad for our small group. Thank you very much to all our raffle sellers, and donors. Patrick, our treasurer, went round the neighbourhood and got £404. People are getting to know him, and he’s even been asked in for a coffee.
If any of you could make use of the last remaining wine tasting voucher that we had as prizes to raise funds for us please drop me a line. It would make a nice prize for a pub quiz for example.
Once more our intrepid Sharon, accompanied again by the gallant Tony, braved the Scottish climate and participated in the Loony Dook. A ‘dook’ is a ducking, a dipping, swimming. ‘Loony’ means lunatic, crazy mad. And crazy it is, for this ‘dook’ is done on the first of January in the sea. It’s a Scottish New Year custom. Scotland in January is bitterly cold, something that these of you who are from warmer countries can hardly imagine. As you can see from the photos below there were many participants, but of course only our Sharon collected sponsor money for us. A million thanks to both Sharon and Tony.
Tony and Sharon about to go in, and feeling the cold –in fact, turning blue in places, but cheerful nonetheless. Photo Cliff Hunter.
You can see Sharon and Tony going in. near the middle of the photo. There’s a rescue boat in the background. Photo Cliff Hunter.
Sharon coming out. She claimed she enjoyed it. Believe that if you will. If you have any ideas of less drastic things she could do please let me know. Photo Cliff Hunter.
Is that a smile? To say it’s not so cold after all? Well… Photo Cliff Hunter.
Many thanks to Cliff Hunter for again taking these great photos.
If you live in one of the richer countries of the world please make a donation, or do some fund-raising for us if you can. Our work cannot continue without your support. We help some of the poorest people to make a better, independent living, while taking pressure off the precious rainforests that we all need. And if you live in one of these tropical countries and are wondering if we might help you too to take up Inga alley cropping, appreciate that we put a lot of effort into trying to raise the money that could make that possible, even if you think we are crazy!
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No. 60A. March-April 2015 Expanding horizons with new friends in Cameroon
By Tiiu-Imbi Miller | Ultimas Noticias No. 60A March-April 2015
The Cameroon Inga Project, ably led by Gaston Bityo Delor, with whom Rainforest Saver has now worked for six years, aims to spread the valuable Inga alley cropping technique widely over Cameroon (and beyond if possible). We want this to replace destructive slash and burn for the benefit of the farmers, and eventually to save rainforests.
Rainforest Saver, and Gaston’s Volunteers Serving Development are very small organisations. So to achieve such a grand aim it is vital that we work with other organisations. Therefore we are delighted to add new contacts in Bamenda/Bafut, and also in nearby Bambui, to the other Cameroon NGOs/communities that we already collaborate with.
Meeting at Bamenda in August 2014 with people interested in the Inga system.
Gaston first visited Better World Cameroon in Bamenda in August last year, and told them about the Inga system. Five women farmers there were keen to start Inga plots, and it was decided that he would go back with some seedlings for them, and to start a demonstration plot at the Better World Cameroon eco-village.
Bamenda is a long way from Yaoundé, the road is not that good, and the truck is old and in need of constant repair. It is not an easy trip, and meant that Gaston and his co-driver were away from home for a week. When they arrived at their hotel in the evening they found the door to their room did not lock properly. That’s quite a worry, but they weren’t able to change hotels till the next day. Spreading the Inga technology is not an easy task.
Francois, the co-driver, looking to see what’s gone wrong with the ancient (but priceless to the Inga project) truck.
The Inga seedlings are generally grown in black plastic bags, one little tree per bag, which makes it possible to transport them. But the Cameroon government is clamping down on the use of plastic bags. So Gaston did not dare take anything like as many as the truck could carry, lest he got in trouble with the police. There are regular toll checks on the roads.
Unloading the precious seedlings that Gaston and Francois brought nearly 400 km from Yaoundé to Bamenda. New regulations about not using plastic bags limited how many Gaston dared take.
Not using plastic bags sounds like a good rule, but for the Cameroon Inga Project it presents a serious problem. If any of you reading this have a suggestion as to how these seedlings can be grown and carried long distances without plastic bags please do click ‘Reply’ and tell us. Bare root cultivation and transport is OK if it’s from your nursery to your own field beside it, but not over 400 km.
Gaston showing a meter spacing, and the women planting out the demonstration plot at the Better World Cameroon eco-village.
The trip however was successful, in spite of all the problems. A small demonstration plot of Inga alleys has been planted at the Better World Cameroon eco-village, and all (mostly women) who wanted Inga were given a few seedlings to grow as seed trees for planting their own Inga alleys in the future. Of course it would have
The Inga plot is part of a larger field where many things are grown and demonstrated at the eco-village
been good if it had been possible to supply them with enough seedlings to also start small alley plots at once, but in the longer term it is essential anyway that they all have their own seed trees. They will need to exchange seed from these to increase genetic diversity in their plantations.
Gaston giving a training session at Bamenda to the women and others who are interested in the Inga.
Unloading seedlings, and giving Muma Peter from Bambui his precious seedlings.
Muma Peter is an NGO leader from a village near Bamenda. He contacted us quite some time ago, and was very regretful that Gaston did not manage to meet up with him last August. Communications within Cameroon can be very difficult. However, this time they managed to contact him and he came to Bamenda, and to the training session, and was give a few seedlings to grow to provide seed for future plantings.
From left to right Muma Peter, Gaston and Sonita Mbah. In the left hand picture Sonita Mbah, the Better World Cameroon’s administrator.
Sonita Mbah is the Better World Cameroon’s administrator and the Bafut office coordinator. She is our contact person at Bamenda.
Better World Cameroon want to sign a co-operation agreement between themselves, Rainforest Saver and Volunteer Serving Development (Gaston Bityo’s NGO). We hope to have more contact with them and help them to spread our valuable Inga technology, and maybe learn from them too.
Better World Cameroon demonstrate many useful techniques, and work to support women and youth groups.
It is now necessary to train other community leaders, and some of the farmers, to have a fuller understanding of the Inga system and also of where it fits into the bigger picture of saving the environment that both they and we need. They could then become effective promoters of this system in their own regions.
There are other good initiatives too in tropical agriculture, but the Inga has definite advantages, and, in Cameroon, has particularly benefited from the persistence, vision and sheer dogged hard work of Gaston Bityo Delor, without whom the substantial progress that has been made would not have been possible. It is not enough to show a farmer how he can farm better. He needs given the means to do it, the understanding of how and why, and support and encouragement. It is human beings that we are working with. Bringing this better technique to them, sometimes in very remote places, is one of the hardest ways to promote development, but a very essential task.
Sorry this newsletter is late. Some of you sold raffle tickets to make this long trip to Bamenda possible so I wanted to give you feedback, and had hoped to have done so sooner, but in the end the trip wasn’t managed until late April.
No.65 El uso de teléfonos móviles
No.64 Cultivar en Callejones Inga y la Permacultura
No. 63 Estamos trabajando bien; y la carta informativa enviada por la Sra. Mendo.
No. 62 ¿Para qué sirve el cultivar en callejones Inga?
No.67A Happy Christmas. Happy Holidays.
No.67 Can you make a Christmas donation to Rainforest Saver?
No.66 Can you support us by giving a charity Christmas gift?
No 59B Agroforestería Sostenible en FunaVid
No. 61 Please support our Crowd Funding!
No. 60B The rest of the best in Cameroon
No. 59A Cameroon: sowing seeds
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Zachary Taylor Coin Old Zach
Jason Taylor is only 42 years old but he has already completed his life’s signature. share time with former teammate Zach Thomas and former Dolphins running back Mercury Morris, schmooze a park.
. Zachary Taylor it says one one side 12th President USA 1849 18 50 other side it says rough and ready a soldier in war of 1812 plus more also says old Zach.
I promised my mother-in-law that I’d make a cobbler (my first) for her visit to our home; there will be twelve of us at this dinner. The only thing is that I tried hers once, a peach cobbler, and she dropped dough bits in the fruit mixture, which gave everything a raw mushy texture.
Heraldry on the Internet, Coats of Arms, Family Crests. Heraldic research on the Internet. Related topics: heraldic research, charges, dictionary of heraldry ,The art of heraldry. Heraldry Links.
SHARON —Harry Hall II died peacefully in his sleep on May 7, 2019. He was 92 years old. Born in Mount Kisco, N.Y., to Elizabeth (Hubbard) and Perciful Arden Hall, he grew up in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. Harry was raised on a farm with fond memories which he carried into his.
A full character profile of the Black Ranger (Zack Taylor) during the first 2. Real Name: Zachary “Zack” Taylor. Zack must hold aloft his Power-Morpher (which contains his “Power Coin”) and utter the command “Mastodon.”. never gets old.
Antique Allis Chalmers Tractor: AC G [Allis Chalmers G Parts] [Return to the Shed] This little tractor was a radical departure from the rest of the AC production line.
10 items. 2009 P Presidential Dollar Zachary Taylor: Coin Value Prices, Price Chart, Coin Photos, Mintage Figures, Coin Melt Value, Metal Composition, Mint.
Obituaries. Stack, Marian (Wagner) Age 79 of Town of McCandless on Monday, May 13, 2019. Beloved wife for 56 years of Morrie Stack; Loving mother of Karen Howell (Matt), Brian Stack (Robin) and Dan Stack (Suzanne).
Abraham Lincoln High School (san Jose) Following graduation from North Chicago High. San Jose, CA; three nephews; and one niece. He was preceded by his parents. Funeral Services and Military Honors for John Arthur Jackson were held in. Abraham Lincoln High School, usually referred to simply as Lincoln High School, is a secondary school located in the Lincoln Heights district of
Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was the 12th president of the United States. During this period Taylor opposed the courtship of his 17-year- old daughter Sarah Knox Taylor with Lieutenant. Presidential dollar coin, 2009. Wikimedia Commons photo of Zach Taylor Hall, accessed April 15, 2012.
Dmitrij Jaskin, the 20-year-old with 28 points in 39 AHL games this season. Depth: With so many players graduating to the majors, pickings are slim. That Zach Phillips, the disappointing 2011 first.
Obituaries | Cityview Funeral Home and Cemetery. Margret lost her battle with diabetes and heart disease on the evening of March 24, 2019, at her home in Salem at the age of 67.
Liberty Bell Moving Group Reviews 2 reviews for Liberty Bell Moving Group. Sort by. Your trust is our top concern, so businesses can’t pay to alter or remove their reviews. × Start your review of Liberty Bell Moving Group. Select rating. He volunteers with Special Olympics, the Football Food Drive, the Palmerton Veteran’s Day Parade, the Veteran’s "Moving Wall", a
They all wanted coin. So the circular went to the public signed by old Zach. only. since asserted in Dick Taylor's (Gen'l Rich'd Taylor, son of President [ Zachary] Taylor) book just out [Destruction and Reconstruction: Personal Experiences.
Part Two Tight Tearing Trollopbr After seeing the fragrant Satine sucking my cock with gusto it was difficult to imagine that only weeks ago she was on her bended knees in front of the Pontiff Anyway all that pent up repression had turned Satine into a sex crazed monster amp the first thing she did was to tear her tights to shreds to allow me easy access to her sodden pussy Perhaps her.
Earn a Kelley Moment Coin. Register. Submit. Approve. Giver: Zachary Amann. X. Recipient Nominated:. Giver: Ben Taylor. X. Recipient Nominated:.
Ruth V. Sherman, age 89 of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, formerly of Riverside, RI, passed away on December 3, 2017. She was the wife of the late Charles E. Sherman and daughter to the late George and Ruther (Anderson) Walker.
Thursday, December 29, 2005 Happy New Year to everyone. May 2006 be a very good year for all of us. Hello and hallelujah to Puppet DiTullio.Let’s not let any old bugs get you down, Pup!
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Zachary Taylor 1849-1850 "OLD ZACH" Hero of Mexican War Medal/Coin at the best online.
I WAS 11 years old in 1997 when ‘MMMBop’ was released and it’s fair to say it was love at first listen. I couldn’t get enough of the floppy-haired pop rock trio — made up of US brothers Isaac, Taylor.
The Department of Nursing recognized Taylor Verna, of West Chester. Second row, Fiona Zinck, Camryn Dorish, Zachary Harvey, Jude Casella, Aubree Weaver, Amelia Nesgoda, Jaida Estrada, Aiden Gudoski.
2009 Presidential Dollar Coin Zachary Taylor Uncirculated Obverse. in the Mexican-American War, which earned him the nickname “Old Rough and Ready. ”.
An Outline Of American History Liberty Bell Moving Group Reviews 2 reviews for Liberty Bell Moving Group. Sort by. Your trust is our top concern, so businesses can’t pay to alter or remove their reviews. × Start your review of Liberty Bell Moving Group. Select rating. He volunteers with Special Olympics, the Football Food Drive, the Palmerton Veteran’s Day Parade,
American Numismatic Rarities, Dec 6-7, 2005, 21, Old Colony Collection. Brand collection); outstanding plated world coins; Zachary Taylor 1859 cent struck over. Schulman Coin & Mint, Oct 10-13, 1972, 90, Harding, Dr. Zack, 4.00, 152.
Zachary Boland, 18, was convulsing uncontrollably in his. according to documents obtained by The Washington Post through the Freedom of Information Act. Boland, of Madison, Ala., died due to.
Windy City Times. town," Taylor said. "You have your parks where people stay out and talk. You talk to your neighbors and you have a drink with people on the block. It’s just a homey little town.".
Griffin Parriott, Purdue dec. Zach Hartman, Bucknell, 7-4. Ke-Shawn Hayes, Ohio State dec. Zac Carson, Ohio, 7-1. Kaleb Young, Iowa tf. Dan Reed, Columbia, 16-1 3:47. Larry Early, Old Dominion md.
How Much Tea Was In The Boston Tea Party The Boston Tea Party was a protest of the lowering of the cost of the British tea by the government and the East India tea company who had gotten a bail out from the crown in 1773. Sep 27, 2011 · The Boston Tea Party took place on the night of December 16, 1773. What Caused
Called by the soldiers “Old Hickory”, who considered him physi- cally very tough.. Rx. GENERAL — ZACHARY TAYLOR — BORN — IN ORANGE COUNTY, ZACH. TAY- LOR. Rx. FORT HARRISON — etc in 6 lines. B. WM and Pewter.
Zachary, 9 p.m. LAROUGE: Club Coozan, 9 p.m. PAPERCHASE: The Edge Bar at L’Auberge, 9 p.m. RUSTY YATES TRIO: Churchill’s, 9 p.m. TAYLOR NAUTA ACOUSTIC: Boudreaux & Thibodeaux’s, 9 p.m. RON ETHERIDGE:.
Ann has 177 coins (pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters). How old will John be the next time when his birthday fell on Friday?. From Taylor:. Zachary wanted to run the shore-to shore marathon next month, a 26 mile. From Zach:
The 31-year-old Nebraska alum has made 27 career Web.com Tour starts. GC site were Andre Metzger (64), Jacob Bergeron (65), Rob Oppenheim (66), Zachary Olsen (66) and Zach Edmondson (66). The.
Lisa Baker’s Office,m The Medicine Shoppe, They Grow So Fast, Thomas’ Family Markets (2 locations), Tim Faneck Golf Center, Tom Ochman Coins & Jewelry. The Department of Nursing recognized Taylor.
The marquee below includes the names of 16779 people whose lives are acknowledged on this memorial wall. Their names scroll on the screen 24 hours a day 7 days a week 52 weeks a year.
What Did George Washington Really Look Like “We don’t know,” Wang said over dinner a few floors below his institute, when asked what Chinese great power will look like. “Anything but America. a professor at George Washington University and. The media claim that North Korea is trying to obtain and use weapons of mass destruction. Yet the United States, which opposes this
Results 1 – 24 of 798. 2009-S Zachary Taylor Dollar PCGS Proof-70 Deep Cameo. 2009 P PRESIDENTIAL DOLLAR COIN SET 4 COINS PHILADELPHIA MINT.
Facts About Zachary Taylor Educaiton Zachary Taylor: His Life and Homes By John T. Marck Colonel Richard and Sarah Dabney Taylor were very prominent and wealthy landowners who lived at Hare Forest, a plantation in Orange County, Virginia, near Culpepper. Zachary Taylor: His Life and Homes By John T. Marck Colonel Richard and Sarah Dabney Taylor were very prominent and
Apr 6, 2014. What I hope to highlight here, however, is the other side of the coin. Zachary Taylor's 1848 presidential campaign provides a revealing case study. says “ Matty is at his old tricks again and going in for the Spoils old Zach,
May 22, 2013. Zach Galifianakis saved an 87-year-old woman from homelessness. to Star magazine, met Mimi in 1994 at the Fox Coin Laundry, in Santa.
Zach Kaminski of Elkton, who won a 4-mile race in Bel. His nearest challengers were 16-year-old twins Zachary and Daron Taylor of Joppa, who finished in 17:35 and 17:36. Samantha Barczak of.
Welcome to Pajiba. The ‘Veep’ Finale Was Hilarious, Vicious, Depressing as Hell and Absolutely Perfect
Michael McGee, Old Dominion. Ryan Preisch, Lehigh dec. Taylor Venz, Nebraska, 4-3. Maxwell Dean, Cornell dec. Cash Wilcke, Iowa, 6-4 SV. Nino Bonaccorsi, Pittsburgh dec. Emery Parker, Illinois, 9-7.
With a sketch of the history of coins and coinage, instructions for young. That old land-first in arts and sciences, far in advance of all the world in. Zach. Taylor; reverse, "A little more Grape, Capt. Bragg," and names of battles w. m. 20 1.81 5. Zachary Taylor; reverse, Taylor and Filmore, shell b. and silvered 16.50 11.
Old Zachary, hero of Mexican war coin. Is it worth. It says 12th president, u.s.a. 1849-1850 Zachary Taylor. How much is my Zachary Taylor $1 gold coin worth ?. I have a 1849 1850 gold coin it says old Zach hero of the Mexican War on th.
Please let me know how much my 1849-1850 one dollar Zach Taylor coin is worth? Share. reply. avatar. #18. Old Zachary, hero of Mexican war coin. Is it worth.
Dec 05, 2015 · Hell is not a Biblical concept. Much of the Bible is debatable. Much of the Bible is open to numerous interpretations. There are many theological stances that can be.
and Zachary and Matt will be working together in teams. I would say this must be great for the former contestants’ egos, but then Zach (who quickly is becoming the best with sound bites) says, “Oh,
Jason Taylor knew the whole time Sunday. He knew when he arrived in the locker room, knew when he approached midfield for the coin toss, knew from the first. "I’d like to introduce my dad," his.
Zachary “Zack” Taylor is the G.O.A.T. of Power Rangers. With the upcoming live-action Power Rangers movie approaching in March I recently decided to revisit the old series and relive all of its.
5231 Ne Martin Luther King Blvd Portland Or 97212
Abraham Lincoln Once Said If You Re A Racist
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The Threat of a Nuclear Iran
By Newt Gingrich
(Note: The following are remarks delivered by Newt Gingrich at the 7th Herzliya Conference in Israel last week.)
Israel is facing the greatest danger for its survival since the 1967 victory. Israel maintained its dominance since 1967 even after the 1973 failure. In 1984 I wrote that WMD and terrorism would pose a threat for US national security. If two or three cities are destroyed because of terrorism both the US and Israel's democracy will be eroded and both will become greater dictatorial societies.
Three nuclear weapons constitute a second Holocaust. Enemies are explicit in their desire to destroy us. We are sleepwalking through this as if diplomatic engagement will create a fiesta where we will all love one another. The terrorist threats are larger and more formidable than the political system in Israel or the US can cope with. We need a grand strategy similar to the Kenan telegram which formed US policy for the duration of the Cold War, and the 68 plan developed by Nitze in 1950.
We lack the language and goals to address the new environment along with the speed and intensity to counter the contemporary threats. If we have no strategy we will need to be intellectually honest to consider the next step once two cities have been destroyed. My grandchildren are in greater danger than I was throughout the Cold War. What stages are you in Israel going to take if tomorrow morning Jerusalem, Haifa and Tel Aviv would be destroyed? Similarly the US needs to consider what policies it would advance if in twenty four hours, Atlanta, Boston and San Francisco were destroyed. These threats will become even more imminent in two or five years time.
Science is spreading rapidly and thus enemies have greater capabilities to break out. China's satellites are indicative of this.
The US should have as an explicit goal, regime change in Iran, as its constitution makes them a revolutionary regime. In 2006 even the Department of State which seeks to deny the nature of reality, noted that Iran is a leading sponsor of terror. What I need is something that will be similar to Reagan's Replacement strategy in Iran. The current unrest in Iran will facilitate this.
The US, Israel and the West have not developed technologies to command urban spaces similar to the sophisticated technologies applied to air and sea-power. Urban technologies have not developed extensively since the 1940's, unlike that of air and sea. Similarly intelligence capabilities must be advanced and sufficiently integrated to contribute to bettering our urban capabilities.
It is important for Israel to discriminate between those who are willing to live with us and those that are not. Those who are not willing to live with one another will either die or live in prison. We should take our enemies at their word. Ahmadinajed is most explicit regarding his intentions as is Hamas when speaking to the New York Times. To those who are willing to live with us, we need to arouse, organize, defend and enrich them.
A Palestinian state with Hamas at its helm will seek to destroy Israel. In conflict one side wins and another loses. If I have to choose between surviving and being killed, I will choose to kill the enemy and to survive. Peace comes as a result for victory and not as a substitute for victory. The number one requirement for long-term peace is the growth of organizations for peace. This would include a Lebanese government willing to take over Southern Lebanon from Hezbollah, an Iraqi government that would be willing to take over factions. The US and Israel have both underestimated this challenge intellectually, as it will take a long period of time with tremendous investment of resources to achieve this desirable end.
The Department of Homeland Security should conduct two nuclear exercises and one biological exercise in major cities such as Philadelphia or Dallas to determine how many causalities would occur and whether hospitals could accommodate the casualties. Last year in Long Beach, California an exercise was conducted to measure the potential effects of the ramifications of a nuclear weapon being set off.
From 1947-1950, while there was an under funding of defense, there was a simultaneous coming to terms intellectually with the threat of Communism. To those that advance a withdraw of troops in Iraq; the onus is on them to explicate the consequences of defeat. In 1979 the US looked weak in the Middle East with the hostage crises and embassies coming under attack. I have been told that there are not enough marine detachments to protect embassies for when they potentially will be under the threat of attack. It is not the Bush doctrine that is at stake, but our very lives. Thus national security should be advanced rather than mere utopianism.
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Moonglow: Limited Edition 36-Page Digibook CD with signed insert
Release Date 15 February 2019
NB4531-0.sig
Avantasia, the all-star rock opera spaceship piloted by Edguy singer, songwriter and producer Tobias Sammet, release their eighth full-length album, ‘Moonglow’, via Nuclear Blast Records on February 1st 2019. Since its beginning in 1999, past Avantasia releases have featured such galactic heavyweights as Alice Cooper, Klaus Meine and Rudolf Schenker (Scorpions), Bruce Kulick and Eric Singer (Kiss), Eric Martin (Mr Big), Saxon’s Biff Byford, ex-Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider and many more.
This new 11-song record sees Sammet, among the most talented and popular names in German hard rock and metal, reunited with some familiar faces from previous Avantasia albums. These include original Queensrÿche lead singer Geoff Tate, Pretty Maids frontman Ronnie Atkins, Michael Kiske of Helloween, Jørn Lande (Masterplan/Millennium), Eric Martin (Mr Big) and Magnum’s Bob Catley. ‘Moonglow’ also introduces new collaborators Hansi Kürsch of Blind Guardian, Kreator’s Mille Petrozza and Blackmore’s Night frontwoman Candice Night in truly spectacular fashion.
Sammet began work on ‘Moonglow’ two years ago, following the completion of the previous Avantasia tour. A constant collector of musical ideas, Tobias used the time offered by a blank schedule to expand upon those existing kernels of songs and build upon them, allowing the music to really percolate.
“For the foreseeable future none of my bands were scheduled to do anything but an anniversary celebration of Edguy,” he recalls. “For the first time I had no deadline or contract… nothing. I was completely free. The plan was to take a break, but the freedom I found presented me with more and more ideas. The material had time to grow. It was a very relaxed way of working, especially because with the help of Sascha Paeth [co-producer and long-time Avantasia cohort] I had built my own studio which helped me to work at my own pace whenever I came home from creative breaks in England, which I found to be extremely inspiring.”
1 Ghost In The Moon (lead vocals Tobias Sammet)
2 Book Of Shallows (lead vocals Hansi Kursch,Ronnie Atkins,Jorn Lande, Mille Petrozza, Tobias Sammet)
3 Moonglow (lead vocals Candice Night, Tobias Sammet)
4 The Raven Child (lead vocals Hansi Kursch, Jorn Lande, Tobias Sammet)
5 Starlight (lead vocals Ronnie Atkins, Tobias Sammet)
6 Invincible (lead vocals Geoff Tate, Tobias Sammet)
7 Alchemy (lead vocals Geoff Tate, Tobias Sammet)
8 The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (lead vocals Ronnie Atkins, Jorn Lande,Eric Martin, Bob Catley, Geoff Tate, Tobias Sammet)
9 Lavender (lead vocals Bob Catley, Tobias Sammet)
10 Requiem For A Dream (lead vocals Michael Kiske, Tobias Sammet)
11 Maniac (lead vocals Eric Martin, Tobias Sammet)
12 Heart (bonus track) (lead vocals Tobias Sammet)
More products from Avantasia
Ghostlights
Double Vinyl LP
Moonglow: Limited Edition 64-Page 2CD Artbook with signed insert
Moonglow: Limited Gatefold Double Vinyl Picture Disc with signed insert
Moonglow: Limited Gatefold Double Vinyl with signed insert
Moonglow: CD with signed insert
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Burberry Moves On With Riccardo Tisci
Burberry Names Riccardo Tisci As Christopher Bailey's Successor
Alice Casely-Hayford
Photo: Sam Deitch/BFA/REX/Shutterstock.
Since news broke last October that Christopher Bailey was stepping down from the helm of Burberry after 17 years, rumors have circulated about who might succeed him. Would it be Phoebe Philo, who announced her departure from Céline in December? Would it be Kim Jones, the former creative director of menswear at Louis Vuitton?
On Thursday morning, to much of the industry's shock, the British fashion house announced that Riccardo Tisci, the former creative director of Givenchy (from 2005-2017), will direct all Burberry collections and present his first for the brand in September. Effective March 12, Tisci will be based at Burberry’s headquarters in London.
In a press statement, the Italian designer reflected on his new venture: “I am honored and delighted to be joining Burberry as its new Chief Creative Officer and reuniting with Marco Gobbetti. I have an enormous respect for Burberry’s British heritage and global appeal and I am excited about the potential of this exceptional brand.”
Gobbetti, who was appointed CEO at Burberry in July 2017 — and was previously president and CEO of Givenchy from 2004-2008 — added: “I am delighted that Riccardo is joining Burberry as Chief Creative Officer. Riccardo is one of the most talented designers of our time. His designs have an elegance that is contemporary and his skill in blending streetwear with high fashion is highly relevant to today’s luxury consumer. Riccardo’s creative vision will reinforce the ambitions we have for Burberry and position the brand firmly in luxury.”
With over a decade's experience designing everything from haute couture to streetwear-inspired womenswear and menswear collections, as well as leather goods and accessories, the industry and Tisci's cult following will eagerly await the new direction and vision he plans to bring to the quintessentially British brand. And, of course, whether or not the Kardashians will have a spot in its star-studded front row.
For the past 17 years, Burberry has been intrinsically linked with music, with artists such as Tom Odell, Benjamin Clementine, and James Bay performing live at its fashion shows. But Tisci, on the other hand, has collaborated with some of the world's flashiest of artists, including Jay-Z, Kanye West, Rihanna, and Madonna.
Though Burberry's sales have been on the decline, which saw the company's shift to bags and basics to make up for the deficits, it may take more than pomp and circumstance to revive a house that's over 150 years old. And so, the countdown to September begins, when a whole new Burberry will be unveiled.
Riccardo Tisci Named Chief Creative Officer At Burberry
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written by Alice Casely-Hayford
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Ubuntu and ways of being in the world: Listening to my colleagues describe Southern African disability history and theory
By Maria Berghs
I am not a historian but I got curious about neglected histories linked to African theory and models of disability when I was working with my colleagues from Zimbabwe - Dr. Tsitsi Chataika and the disabled disability rights activists Kudzai Shava and Abraham Mateta. We were collaborating on a book chapter for an edited collection entitled Advocacy in Conflict: Critical Perspectives on Transnational Advocacy.1 As a group, we were trying to elucidate some of the transnational and national struggles we had seen in our own work in Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe around advocacy for disability rights. While we were writing together, my colleagues stated that they had an understanding of disability rights linked to South African understandings of Ubuntu. Ubuntu embodies a Southern African humanist and collective ethical philosophy. It states that our way of being human is connected to the humanness of other people. My colleagues also located this philosophy within their own histories of decolonisation and disability activism as a practice. I had come across the concept of ubuntu in terms of South African transitional justice and reconciliation but I had no idea what they meant when correlating it to ‘disability’ or ‘rights’.
In order to engage in a more respectful cross-cultural dialogue and collaboration, I thought I should learn about what ubuntu means philosophically, especially in terms of epistemology and ontology of disability.2 An engagement with disability studies already requires concepts and frameworks that are relegated by mainstream academia. Additionally, there is also the work of understanding what decolonisation now implies and rethinking (dis)ableism through collaborative but accessible work. Thinking about why decolonisation has become so pertinent again, especially when it comes to Southern theory and the turn to the South,3 working through the real world implications of such ideas is usually where discourses around disability tend to stop and academics (usually working alone) cite ‘cultural model’. I think ‘culture’ now functions as a way to silence or put ‘disability‘ in particular academic boxes on paper. For instance, there is almost a tick-box way of writing anthropologically where you sprinkle your essay with some descriptive concepts, definitions of impairment or proverbs linked to disability and then call it ‘indigenous’ or ‘cultural’. I am guilty of this too. Yet, what is often referred to as ‘cultural’ is a specific way of presently being in the world that is informed by a past. Often those ‘cultural’ models also stop at our Western understandings of what ‘disability’ physically embodies because most of our work uses Western philosophy.
South African social rights activist and Anglican bishop Desmond Tutu explains Ubuntu (English).
Ubuntu is not a ‘cultural model’ but a social ethics which describes how a person is a person through their relationships with other people. I am through the humanness and diversity of the other. The expression people use in the South African Zulu language is akin to: I am because we are. In South Africa, what it means to be human and our relatedness to others also encompasses the spiritual relationships to the ancestors and land. The concept of diversity is thus wider than just biological and becomes correlated to relationship between the spiritual and ecological. This has repercussions for understanding impairment as not just biologically located but as cognitive, sensory, mental, physical and (eco) spiritual.
Yet, ubuntu is also a ‘normative claim’4 about how we should live and thus tells us something about the way in which disablement occurs because of lack of respect for the diversity of what it means to be human. Impairment can also be reactionary to a history of colonisation and violence. That’s why I think some of the most exciting work currently, especially using ethnographic methods, is being done by historians - almost excavating this history.5 Thus, in a second step, I wondered how you would view disability as linked to ubuntu in terms of restorative ethical practices to ensure the diversity of what means to be human. How did people understand a struggle for this shared humanity in terms of history of decolonisation? How does it link to history of activism in South Africa and other African countries? What is the link to the history of advocacy around disability? Do we have to think about ubuntu as an African model of disability?
Let’s be clear. I am not an activist either but I am interested in the sociology of disability and rights. The connections between the different theories or models and the practices they engender. During my PhD in sociology and social policy, I was very lucky that one of my supervisors was the British academic and disability activist Professor Colin Barnes, quite a few of my international colleagues who I studied with at the University of Leeds6 consider themselves activists and many of my research participants engage in advocacy around disability issues but don’t call themselves activists.
One of Colin Barnes’ heroes was Vic Finkelstein and so I read about his life history. That’s how I learned about the South African anti-apartheid connection to the origins of British activism around disability. I thus also started reading about differing forms of African activism. What’s nice about Vic Finkelstein’s work is that he doesn’t take ‘models’ too seriously7 and understands that they are linked to particular histories, people and places. For an activist like Finkelstein, you can call the model what you want, as long as it ensures future societal emancipation. His life and work in the diaspora also call into question how Western imaginaries construct notions such as ‘global south’ and ‘disability’. Thus working backwards, it makes sense to ask how and if our past societal emancipations or activisms are linked to particular African philosophies and how those affect models of disability.
Despite having undertaken such research to understand the importance of ubuntu to my colleagues, I had to write a paper about it in my spare time. More and more, the rigid rules of academia mean if you want to climb the career ladder, you are advised to stop publishing in places like African Journal of Disability and on topics that are marginalised. This is the complete opposite message you get within disability studies where increasing diversity, collaborating with your disabled colleagues, contributing to knowledge and ensuring accessibility of your research, especially in African context, is applauded. Moreover, researching and critically questioning why some theories and histories are being neglected is to be prioritised, especially if those insights come from people we work with. Those are also active processes of decolonisation that we need to engage in and shifts in our thinking about whose voices and perspectives matter.
Recommended Citation:
Maria Berghs (2017): Ubuntu and ways of being in the world: Listening to my colleagues describe Southern African disability history and theory. In: Public Disability History 2 (2017) 3.
[1] Chataika, T., Berghs, M., Mateta, A. & Shava, K. 2015. ‘From whose perspective anyway? The quest for African disability rights activism’, in A. De Waal (ed.), Reclaiming activism: Western advocacy in contention, pp. 187–211, Zed Books, London.↩
[2] Berghs, M. (2017). Practices and discourses of ubuntu: Implications for an African model of disability?. African Journal of Disability, 6, 8.↩
[3] Comaroff, J., & Comaroff, J. L. (2015). Theory from the South: Or, how Euro-America is evolving toward Africa. London and New York: Routledge.↩
[4] Van der Merwe, W.L. (1996) Philosophy and the multi-cultural context of (post) apartheid South Africa. Ethical Perspectives. 3(2): 1-15.↩
[5] See: Hunt, N. R. (2015). A Nervous State: Violence, Remedies, and Reverie in Colonial Congo. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.↩
[6] For example, that’s how I met Kudzai Shava.↩
[7] Finkelstein, V. 1996. “Modelling Disability.” Available at: http://disability-studies.leeds.ac.uk/files/library/finkelstein-modelling-disability.pdf (Accessed on 21st February 2017) ↩
Africa Model of Disability Theory Ubuntu
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HERE COMES THE GROOMS
At 72, Rep. Barney Frank Finally Ties The Knot
By Dan Avery July 8, 2012 at 10:07pm · 16 comments
He may be retiring, but for Democratic Rep. Barney Frank a new life is just beginning: On Saturday, Frank wed longtime boyfriend, James Ready, in a ceremony presided over by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.
In attendance were a number of Democratic powerhouses, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate hopeful Elizabeth Warren. Rep Al Green (D-TX) told MSNBC:
“Barney was beaming,” said Green, who attended the ceremony. He added that Frank, a champion of gay rights and the sweeping reform of Wall Street, shed a tear during the ceremony.
After exchanging their vows, Frank and Ready embraced each other, Green said. “It was no different than any other wedding I’ve attended when you have two people who are in love with each other,” Green said.
The ceremony, at the Marriott in Newton, MA, makes Frank, 72, the first sitting congressman to enter into a same-sex marriage. He was also one of the first members of Congress to come out, publicly discussing his sexuality in the mid-1980s after a scandal involving his aide and an escort ring.
Widely respected on both sides of the aisle, Frank has served as a chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and passionate about financial reform, fishing rights and LGBT equality. In 2004, his home state of Massachusetts became the first state to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry.
Barney Frank Congress Gay Marriage James Ready Marriage Equality Massachusetts
Subscribe to Queerty for a daily dose of #barneyfrank #congress #gaymarriage stories and more
1equalityUSA
Congratulations on your marriage. I wish you the best of health, peace, and happiness.
July 8, 2012 at 11:07pm
@Aquarelle: Right, so you’d better start looking for a place for your own…eventually you’ll get to be old….that is unless you die of an STD
July 9, 2012 at 12:07am
@Aquarelle: oh look! an internet troll! how terribly, terribly original.
Go hide under your bridge.
July 9, 2012 at 1:07am
GOProudest
@MikeE: Oh look, a tired Queerty queen substituting sarcasm for actual wit, and snark for actual substance. Yeah, you’re not a cliché at all.
mainiacbill
Congratulations Barney and James. May you have a long and HAPPY life together
Mike , I was always told “If you can’t say something nice, then hold your tongue”.
Awwww…and it only took 72 years. How inspirational? Get that money James! Not mad at it. LOL
Just wait the other Greg will chime in and claim how Barney Frank is a Sugar Daddy and his partner/husband is “Kept”.
@Matt: Why wouldn’t it be true? It’s the same with Elton and his partner.
July 9, 2012 at 2:07pm
@mainiacbill: did you see the comment I was referring to? You wouldn’t be attacking ME if you had read it.
That “Aquarelle” person is despicable.
@GOProudest: oh look a self-hating republican tossing irrelevant “insults” at people he doesn’t know, with no idea of what the situation is either. how typical.
Robert Giannini
Sarcastic bitches exist for the internet, where they can hide and be anonymous.
Congratulations to Mr. Frank and James Ready on their wedding. One day this will no longer be a “news” event but a generally accepted one. Many happy days ahead of you.
UsualPlayers
@MikeE: Word to the wise, MikeE: GOProudest and Aquarelle are the same person. He (it?) also posts under the name “Colin.”
@Usual Players-That guy also posts under the name “the other Greg”.
Shadeaux
Congrats Barney… YOU DAMN COUGAR!!!!
Congratulations Barney and James! My partner and I have been together 50 years and married 8 years in Massachusetts. I also am a Navy Vet and we are both retired.
Now if we can just get the illogical DOMA law repealed we can have FED equality! :>)
Eric Osterberg and George Patty
Articles you'll enjoy
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February 15, 2011 1:25PM ET
Artist to Watch: La Sera’s Sweet, Dreamy Pop
Listen to Vivian Girl member Katy Goodman’s pristine production and lovesick melodies on her solo debut
Matthew Perpetua
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Click to listen to La Sera’s “La Sera”
Who: La Sera is the solo project of Katy Goodman, the bassist and backing vocalist for the Brooklyn garage rock trio the Vivian Girls. While her regular band filters the romantic sound of Sixties girl-group pop through the aesthetics of loud, lo-fi punk rock, Goodman’s La Sera tunes embrace pristine production values and pure angelic sweetness. Her songs are simple but effortlessly pretty, and touch on dark, adult themes while evoking a sound closely associated with the innocence of early adolescence. The tone of the album is best summed up by “Hold,” a dreamy ballad sung in a breathy, girlish voice about a couple whose loving embrace gradually becomes a suffocating death-grip.
With A Little Help From Her Friend: Goodman is a veteran of several punk bands including the Vivian Girls, but La Sera is the first record she wrote entirely by herself, though all the instruments on the record are played by her collaborator Brady Hall. After writing all the songs during a two-week break between Vivian Girls tours, Goodman sent her demos along to Hall, who volunteered to rerecord them at his home studio in Seattle. “Brady is an old friend of mine,” she says. “He has made music videos for Vivian Girls before and I really trust his opinion on things, so when he offered to do the record with me, I was stoked.”
First Timer: Though Goodman’s tunes are remarkably confident for a novice, she’s still nervous about performing the songs live. “Tonight on stage, in Malmö [Sweden], I played guitar in front of people for the first time ever,” she says. “I bought my first guitar a year ago, the day I started writing all of the La Sera songs. I haven’t practiced nearly as much as I’ve wanted to, but I’m getting better slowly.” Despite the stage fright, things went well with the Swedish audience. “I did tell the crowd that was my first time ever playing guitar on stage. I think they were into it.”
Oldies Inspiration: The sparkling reverb and earnest, lovesick tone of the La Sera album is mainly inspired by all the oldies radio Goodman absorbed when she was a young girl. “My mom got me into older music when I was a child,” she says. “I remember the first concert that I told my mom I wanted to go to was the Drifters.”
LAST WEEK: London’s Yuck Revive the Sound of Nineties Indie Rock
In This Article: Vivian Girls
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Samizdata quote of the day
Perry de Havilland (London) · Privacy & Panopticon · Science & Technology · Slogans & Quotations
In a recent interview, PayPal founder Peter Thiel spoke of a ‘totalitarian’ streak that exists in many of the tech titans. Evidence suggests he might be right. If so, are we closer to China’s ‘Social Credit System‘ than we realize?
– Jonathan Miltimore
April 5th, 2018 |
9 comments to Samizdata quote of the day
the other rob
The article cites a “scholar from Germany” as writing “… if properly implemented the system can have positive impacts—especially when used to keep government officials and business owners accountable.” My emphasis.
Why does this shit always boil down to liquidating the Kulaks? Every fucking time? Big corporations have diffuse ownership and are managed by what Stross calls the beige dictatorship. Typically, the only businesses with readily identifiable owners are small ones. Owned by Kulaks, like me.
bobby b
I thought that the new Chinese idea of social credit was just a way of copying our social-media system of shunning wrong-thought. Chinese leaders must have been watching Facebook and drooling over the control implications.
Nicholas (Unlicenced Joker) Gray
Never mind all that- England are leading the Commonwealth Games in gold medals- despite Brexit! Think how much bigger the lead could have been, without brexit…
Aetius
These people are ‘progressives’, so of course they have a totalitarian streak.
George Atkisson
We are not yet as close as the ‘Tech Titans’ want to be, but that is clearly the goal. Closing down conservative accounts, demonetization of YouTube accounts with no explanation, and no response to inquiries about what the guidelines being used for decisions actually are, are the current portents of the desired future of social media.
Tech giants are frat houses run by superannuated college kids.
The Bay Area has always (since the 1930s) had far more than its fair share of Stalinists and their hangers on. That the area’s greatest industry should find itself under commie influence should not surprise anyone.
Yes – the tech giants are dominated by people with a certain view of the world, a leftist view of the world. that they were taught in school and university (even though many of them dropped out – they still absorbed this view of the world, perhaps all the MORE so because they did not really study and think about it, they were too busy creating their business enterprises and thus just bought their philosophical and political opinions off-the-peg).
But it will run into reality.
California does not work – and that is where most of the tech giants are based. Eventually the high taxes and endless regulations will hit even the “pet” tech companies.
For example California is thinking of increasing Corporation Tax – to “take up the slack” of the cut in the Federal Corporation Tax. Shareholders will start asking the obvious question “why is the company still here?”
DarthLaurel
The only winning move is not to play.
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Home » Crime & Violence » Police News » Police Report
« Older: Shooting victims hurt while trying to assist police in their investigation
Newer: » San Pedro Police statistics register slight increase in Crime
On Saturday, April 12th, Belize City Police Officers responded to reports of a shooting at Mike’s Club on Regent Street West in Belize City. At the scene, police observed 27-year-old Darrington Louriano on the floor, suffering from apparent multiple gunshot wounds. Louriano was immediately rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH) where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Initial investigation revealed that Louriano was socializing in the club, when at around 6:40PM a male person entered the establishment and opened fire on him. Medical reports stated that the shots sustained by Louriano were fatal wounds, and medical treatment would not have prevented his death. Police have no suspects as yet, but are searching for possible culprits.
(Editor’s Note: The deceased Darrington Louriano is not the same Darrington Louriano that was reportedly shot in San Juan, San Pedro Town on March 11, 2014)
On Sunday, April 13th at around 2AM, Police Constable Andre Almendarez and Officer in Command of Police Luis Castellanos were conducting foot patrols on Barrier Reef Drive when their attention was drawn to a man driving a black motorcycle travelling from north to south at a high speed. The cyclist was driving in a reckless fashion swerving from side to side, and almost hit PC Almendarez. PC Almendarez then proceeded to the Central Park where he saw the driver of the motorcycle beside his cycle, bearing license plate number M-SP-0530. PC Almendarez approached the driver, informed him of his offence and escorted him to San Pedro Police Station. The driver was identified as 21-year-old Andy Mejia. Mejia was arrested and charged for Reckless Driving.
Shooting victims hurt while trying to assist police in their investigation
More on Crime & Violence
San Pedro police officers Coye and Mardrill blameless for shooting incident at Central Park
Investigation into Coye/Madrill case dismissal still pending
The verdict is official: Reyes acted in “Self Defense”
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Product + Tech, Style & Design September 16, 2018 December 18, 2018
Introducing The New Apple iPhone Xs and Xr
Discovering The New Apple iPhone XS
Comparing The New Apple iPhone XS Models
The New Apple XS For Augmented Reality
Available In A (Product) Red Colourway
The New Apple XS In Detail
Previous articleThe Plumen 001 LED Of Curious Distinction
Next articleSingle Seated Infiniti 10 New-Era Speedster
"...Introducing the iPhone Xs, iPhone Xs Max and iPhone Xr, these new models do in fact feature many similar features to the previous iPhone X..."
There is always a variety of emotions felt by fans and observers alike when Apple launches any new mobile phone model; some entirely eager to learn of any new device’s technology whilst others reminisce of times when Apple’s mobile handsets were cheaper. Before exploring the new Apple release, it is probably safe to comment that some of the more recent launches have certainly been met with more disappointment than any instant rush to purchase. Are times changing for Apple in that other brands are truly catching up with technology and ‘coolness’? The SATORI & SCOUT studio might be lined with Apple iMacs, but here’s a little secret: none of us are Apple iPhone users.
All updates of the iPhone X, Apple’s new release includes three brand new models, one of which is a larger screen version and another, a cheaper version all-round – maybe they do listen to consumer feedback after all? Released exactly a year after the predecessor iPhone X, Jonathan Ive of Apple explains “…the iPhone X described our vision for the smartphone [and] today we’re extending that vision across three new products.”
Introducing the iPhone Xs, iPhone Xs Max and iPhone Xr, these new models do in fact feature many similar features to the previous iPhone X, and suchlike list includes Apple’s now-signature ‘true-depth’ camera system, edge-to-edge screen dimensions, facial recognition et al. However, adding to such technology feats are now even better photography and video, as well as a truly awe-inspiring upgrade to all of it’s gaming and related augmented reality technology.
With the standard Xs version featuring a 5.8-inch screen and the Xs Max having a whopping 6.5-inch display – the same size as the iPhone 8Plus – all of this is complemented with a never-seen-before 3.3 million-pixel screen that covers the handset’s frontage. Such a super retina display is definitely unrivalled against all Apple’s competitors and doesn’t the product shots in the above slideshow look so amazing?
Arguably more of a technology upgrade, however, is the device’s internal chip which has been titled ‘A12 Bionic’, offering machine-learning capabilities in real-time to enable better performance and more power efficiency. Processing 5 trillion operations per second, Philip W Schiller of Apple explains, “…it is without question the smartest and most powerful chip ever in a smartphone.” Wow.
It isn’t just the software which has seen some radical upgrades with the external body being manufactured from surgical-grade steel and the glass being it’s most durable ever (as they say) so that the iPhone Xs can be submerged underwater to a depth of 2 metres for up to 30 minutes. SATORI & SCOUT are quite tempted to test this theory by going as deep as 2.1 metres or being underwater for 30 minutes and 1 second, however, a price tag of over £900 per device might put an end to such silliness.
Featuring absolute-zero shutter lag on the camera to enable multiple shots to be taken at once to combine in creating a final image, as well as a new feature to adjust the depth of field after taking the image (yes, after), Apple really are pushing every boundary possible; and with an inbuilt 512GB worth of storage, feel free to take as many photos as you’d like! Literally, what is stopping you? Technology isn’t.
There is no doubt that such phones are mightily impressive, and SATORI & SCOUT are certainly glad to see Apple releasing a cheaper model version, but how much are you tempted to upgrade?
Discover more about the brand online at: Apple.com
Combining Colour And Technology
A slightly cheaper alternative is that of the iPhone Xr and such a model features aerospace-grade aluminium in its casing to allow for an injection of colour, namely white, black, blue, yellow, coral and red. Which is your favourite? We're quite tempted to renew our interest in Apple's mobile phones...
(Photography Credit : Apple)
10 Innovation
8 Usability
Apple, Future Age, Mobile Phone, New Technology, Refined Design, Smartphone
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Council Actions
International & Trade
Management & Regulation
Fishing Terms Glossary
Extended: Voluntary Vessel Speed Restriction Zone South of Nantucket to Protect Right Whales
April 10, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
The voluntary vessel speed restriction zone (Dynamic Management Area – DMA) previously established south of Nantucket has been extended to protect an aggregation of 15 right whales sighted in this area on April 7.
This DMA is in effect through April 23, 2019.
Mariners are requested to route around this area or transit through it at 10 knots or less. Whales were spotted in or near shipping lanes so please be especially vigilant when traveling in these areas.
Nantucket DMA coordinates:
41 12 N
070 36 W
ACTIVE SEASONAL MANAGEMENT AREAS (SMAs)
Mandatory speed restrictions of 10 knots or less (50 CFR 224.105) are in effect in the following areas:
Cape Cod Bay SMA — in effect through May 15
Off Race Point SMA– in effect through April 30
Mid-Atlantic U.S. SMAs (includes Block Island) — in effect through April 30
Southeast U.S. SMA — in effect through April 15
More info on Seasonal Management Areas
Right Whales Are Migrating
North Atlantic right whales are on the move along the Atlantic coast of the U.S. With an unprecedented 20 right whale deaths documented in 2017 and 2018, NOAA is cautioning boaters to give these endangered whales plenty of room. We are also asking commercial fishermen to be vigilant when maneuvering to avoid accidental collisions with whales, remove unused gear from the ocean to help avoid entanglements, and use vertical lines with required markings, weak links, and breaking strengths.
Right Whales in Trouble
North Atlantic right whales are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Scientists estimate there are slightly more than 400 remaining, making them one of the rarest marine mammals in the world.
In August 2017, NOAA Fisheries declared the increase in right whale mortalities an “Unusual Mortality Event,” which helps the agency direct additional scientific and financial resources to investigating, understanding, and reducing the mortalities in partnership with the Marine Mammal Stranding Network, Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and outside experts from the scientific research community.
Recent right whale sightings
Find out more about our right whale conservation efforts and the researchers behind those efforts.
Download the Whale Alert app for iPad and iPhone
Acoustic detections in Cape Cod Bay and the Boston TSS
Send a blank message to receive a return email listing all current U.S. DMAs and SMAs.
Details and graphics of all ship strike management zones currently in effect.
Reminder: Approaching a right whale closer than 500 yards is a violation of federal and state law.
Questions? Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, at 978-281-9175
February 6, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
The voluntary vessel speed restriction zone (Dynamic Management Area – DMA) established south of Nantucket on January 15 has been extended to protect an aggregation of 11 right whales sighted in this area on February 4.
This DMA is in effect through February 20, 2019.
Mariners are requested to route around this area or transit through it at 10 knots or less.
Cape Cod Bay SMA — in effect through May 15, 2019
Mid-Atlantic U.S. SMAs — in effect through April 30, 2019
Southeast U.S. SMA — in effect through April 15, 2019
North Atlantic right whales are on the move along the Atlantic coast of the U.S. With an unprecedented 20 right whale deaths documented in 2017 and 2018, NOAA is cautioning boaters to give these endangered whales plenty of room as they migrate south. We are also asking commercial fishermen to be vigilant when maneuvering to avoid accidental collisions with whales, remove unused gear from the ocean to help avoid entanglements, and use vertical lines with required markings, weak links, and breaking strengths.
Questions? Contact Allison Ferreira, Regional Office, at 978-281-9103
NOAA Fisheries is Investigating Report of Dead Entangled Right Whale off Virginia and Has Declared New Voluntary Slow Speed Zone for Right Whales in Mid-Atlantic
January 25, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
Dead North Atlantic Right Whale
We are investigating a report of a dead North Atlantic right whale off the coast of Virginia/North Carolina on Monday, January 22.
The Virginia Aquarium Stranding Response Program received notification of the whale, along with a photo of the carcass, on the evening of Wednesday, January 24. The whale has been positively identified as a North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), and appears to be wrapped in line in a manner that, based on past observations of entanglements, suggests the whale was alive and swimming when it encountered the line.
NOAA Fisheries requested a drift analysis from the Coast Guard to determine where the carcass might be, and to determine whether the whale can be towed to shore and necropsied. At this point, we are not able to confirm the whale’s sex or match its identity with the photo-id catalog of known individuals that scientists maintain for the population.
This is the first reported mortality of a North Atlantic right whale in 2018.
New Dynamic Management Area
Shortly after receiving the report of the dead right whale, we were alerted to the presence of four live right whales in the same general area, prompting the establishment of a voluntary vessel speed restriction zone (Dynamic Management Area or DMA). The DMA has been established 86 nm east-southeast of Virginia Beach, VA to protect the aggregation of right whales sighted in this area by a U.S. military ship on January 23, 2018.
This DMA is in effect immediately through February 7.
East-Southeast of Virginia Beach, Virginia DMA — in effect through February 7, 2018
074 47W
2017 Was a Devastating Year for Right Whales
The year 2017 was devastating for North Atlantic right whales, which suffered a loss of 17 whales–about 4 percent of their population–an alarming number for such a critically endangered species with a population currently estimated at about 450 animals.
Of the 17 dead whales, 12 were found in Canadian waters and 5 were found in U.S. waters. The whales in Canada were discovered in the Gulf of St. Lawrence between June and September. Canadian officials performed necropsies on seven of these whales, and found that five died to blunt force trauma (often associated with vessel strikes) and two died due to entanglements from fishing gear.
Of the five dead right whales found in U.S. waters in 2017, all were found in waters off the coast of Massachusetts. One (a young calf) was confirmed to have died of blunt force trauma. We were unable to determine a cause of death for the other four (all adults) because they were in advanced states of decomposition.
There are currently only about 100 females of breeding age in the population and more females seem to be dying than males. Births have also been declining in recent years, and to date, no new calves have been spotted in the calving grounds off Florida this year.
Taking Action to Protect Right Whales
While the North Atlantic right whale population has increased since we began our recovery efforts more than two decades ago, this most recent decline and the large number of recent mortalities are a serious concern, and reminds us that we still have a long way to go to recover this species.
Read more about our Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan, our Large Whale Disentanglement Program and our Ship Strike Reduction program, which has helped reduce serious injuries and mortalities caused by vessel strikes. Find out about the actions we are currently taking to help right whales.
Next month, the first meetings of two Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team subgroups investigating the feasibility of ropeless gear and whale-release rope and gear marking will be convened. John Bullard’s (former Regional Administrator for the Greater Atlantic Region) guest column, which begins on page three of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association January Newsletter, provides context on the challenges and urgency surrounding this and our other efforts.
On Tuesday, Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced four measures for the snow crab fishery in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence to protect North Atlantic right whales from entanglement. These measures complement several measures in place in the U.S., including gear marking for trap/pot gear and reducing the amount of floating rope on the water’s surface.
Report a Stranded Marine Mammal
If you see or have any information about a stranded marine mammal, please report it to our stranding hotline 866-755-NOAA (6622) or to your local stranding response organization.
Learn more about NOAA Fisheries’ Great Atlantic Region by visiting their site here.
NOAA: New Voluntary Right Whale Speed Restriction Zone South of Nantucket
In effect through February 5
NOAA Fisheries announces that a voluntary vessel speed restriction zone (Dynamic Management Area or DMA) has been established 30 nautical miles south of Nantucket, MA to protect an aggregation of 22 right whales sighted in this area on January 23, 2018. This DMA is in effect immediately.
South of Nantucket, MA DMA January 23-February 5
Mandatory speed restrictions of 10 knots or less are in effect in the following areas:
Cape Cod Bay — in effect through May 15, 2018
Block Island — in effect through April 30, 2018
New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk — through April 30, 2018
Send a blank message to receive a return email listing all current U.S. DMAs adn SMAs.
Reminder: Approaching a right whale closer than 500 yards in a violation of federal and state law.
Learn more about NOAA by visiting their site here.
MAINE: Governor pushes back at feds on protection for rare whales
JOHN SACKTON: Alaska’s Fisheries No Longer the Gold Standard, as Budget Fiasco Threatens Research and Management
Maine delegation asks for help easing tariff impact on lobster industry
How lobster went from the ‘poor man’s protein’ to the delicacy we eat today
VINEYARD WIND: Notice to Mariners and Fishermen No. 15
Vineyard Wind Dealt Setbacks By Local, U.S. Regulators
7 Gray Whales Found Dead In Alaska Over Holiday Weekend, Pushing Toll To 22
Alaska ASMFC Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Barack Obama California Canada Cape Cod Climate change Cod Donald Trump Florida Gloucester groundfish Gulf of Maine Gulf of Mexico Illegal fishing IUU fishing Lobster Magnuson-Stevens Act Maine Massachusetts Mid-Atlantic National Marine Fisheries Service National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NEFMC New Bedford New England New England Fishery Management Council New Jersey New York NMFS NOAA NOAA Fisheries North Carolina North Pacific Offshore wind Pacific Red snapper Rhode Island Salmon Scallops South Atlantic Tuna Western Pacific Whales
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On Television: North Dakota Can't Afford To Slow Down The Oil Boom
Rob Port - April 24, 2014 - Featured, North Dakota
Normally I do my weekly “Say Anything Segment” on Chris Berg’s Valley News Live show on Mondays, but due to Berg taking some time off for the holiday we did it last night instead. We talked about affirmative action, including my post yesterday about how that sort of policy is applied here in North Dakota,…
Tags: affirmative action, Chris Berg, north dakota, oil, University of North Dakota
Affirmative Action In North Dakota: NDSU Uses Racial Point System That's Totally Not Discriminatory
Rob Port - April 23, 2014 - Featured, National
Yesterday a Supreme Court decision upheld a Michigan law banning affirmative action. Seven other states have similar laws on the books. North Dakota is not one of them. While thinking about the issue, I was reminded of a post I wrote back in 2011 about a SAB reader of Icelandic and Norwegian descent (read: white) who…
Tags: affirmative action, north dakota state university, north dakota university system
Supreme Court Upholds Michigan Law Banning Affirmative Action
The Supreme Court ruled today that a law that bans the use of affirmative action policies in admissions at a public university is constitutional. “This case is not about how the debate about racial preferences should be resolved,” Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in one of the three opinions upholding the law. “It is about who may…
Tags: affirmative action
"A Sprinkling Of Minorities Floating In A Sea Of Young White People"
Rob Port - June 24, 2013 - National
The yearly gathering of left-wing activists called Netroots Nation is on, but according to one of the attendees who writes for LA Progressive the event was a little too white despite a mandate from organizers that panels be diverse. That’s right. Mandated diversity. Although Netroots touts itself as being an incubator for ideas that challenge…
Tags: affirmative action, Although Netroots, diversity, Jim Treacher, netroots nation, racial quotas, racism
Supreme Court Vacates Lower Courts Ruling Upholding Affirmative Action
The Supreme Court’s decision today on an affirmative action case out of Texas doesn’t change much. The lower courts had granted the university summary judgment, but the Supreme Court today vacated the lower court decision ruling that the court did not apply a strict enough standard to the case which is now remanded back to…
Tags: affirmative action, anthony kennedy, antonin scalia, clarence thomas, courts, discrimination, District Court, diversity, Equal Protection Clause, Fourteenth Amendment, government, Justice Ginsburg, Justice Kagan, Justice Scalia, Justice Thomas, opinion, Oral Arg, Supreme Court
Movie Review: How Capitalism Ended Racial Segregation In Baseball
Last night my wife and I went to see 42, the Jackie Robinson story. It was an enjoyable enough movie (as they said in Moneyball , it’s hard not to be romantic about baseball), though the story was more fairy tale than reality. But what do you expect when a movie about real people doing…
Tags: affirmative action, baseball, bigotry, Branch Rickey, Brooklyn Dodgers, capitalism, discrimination, diversity, entitlement, free markets, government, Harrison Ford, Jackie Robinson, major league baseball, movie reviews, Negro National League, profits, racism, regulations, sexism
White House: Mandated Diversity For You, But Not For Us
Rob Port - January 9, 2013 - Uncategorized
Responding to criticism of cabinet picks that have been male-heavy, White House mouthpiece Jay Carney said that while the White House likes the concept of diversity in their pool of potential candidates, ultimately they decide based on who the best candidate is: DAN LOTHIAN, CNN: I know you touched on this a little bit yesterday,…
Tags: affirmative action, African Americans, Barack Obama, County Road, DBE, Disadvantaged Business Enterprise, diversity, DOT, government, infrastructure, jay carney, John Brennan, Kern Tabery Inc, native americans, Secretary Hagel, Senator Hagel, small business, white house
Obama's Own Personal War On Women
For someone quick to accuse his political enemies of sexism, President Obama sure doesn’t have a lot of women working for him. Obama, who made women’s issues a core of his reelection bid, has nominated men to serve in three of his most prominent national security positions, including secretary of state, where Sen. John F.…
Tags: affirmative action, Barack Obama, Chuck Hagel, cia, Hillary Rodham Clinton, john kerry, national security, obama, opinion, President Obama, Secretary Carney, secretary of state, security, sexism, war on women, white house
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AS Middle East FZE has established its Automotive Aftermarket office in April 2005 with a total of three (3) employees led by Mr. Ousama Abu Khader.
In December 2006, AS Middle East FZE shifted to an office / warehouse in Jebel-Ali Free Zone South area and started its trading activity by raising the first Invoice.
In August 2007, the company was officially renamed from AS Middle East FZE to Schaeffler Middle East FZE. The decision was made in order to include the Industrial activities of INA & FAG in the Middle East.
Three Members of the Management Board were appointed, Mr. Ioannis Marios Vrantzoglou as Managing Director, Mr. Uwe Schindler as Director Finance and Mr. Ousama Abu Khader as Sales and Marketing Director for Automotive Aftermarket.
The number of multinational / multilingual employees with local expertise has increased significantly. Currently, our team under German management can be contacted in several languages: Arabic, Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Tagalog, English, Farsi, Greek and German.
Our workforce has increased and so our clients. Thus, the construction of the new building has been decided.
SME has expanded its product offering such as KBC bearings for many applications, ATE Products and Ruville Products.
The year when invoice number 1000 is raised.
In December 9, 2009, we have unveiled the New SME Facility located in Plot S10125 along the Jebel-Ali Free Zone, South Area (a few meters away from the Dubai Metro station). Prominent delegations from Germany, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Yemen, Iran, UAE and others witnessed the grand opening ceremony led by Mr. Siegfried Kronmüller, Mr. Ioannis Marios Vrantzoglou and Mr. Ousama Abu Khader.
The new facility complies to one of Schaeffler Group’s core, Environmental Protection through LEED Green Building.
ATE / VDO / ContiTech Air Springs were all added to Schaeffler Middle East FZE portfolio.
Schaeffler Middle East FZE received GOLD certificate in an internationally recognized certification system LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for green building.
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Inversions and Reversals: Leaders and Laggards May Be Changing Places
By Jeffrey Kleintop
Yield curve inversions may signal opportunity, not just risk, for stock market investors.
Historically, reversals in the long-term relative performance of growth and value stocks, large and small cap stocks, and U.S. and international stocks have been marked by yield curve inversions.
Investors often focus on what had been leading and eliminate what had been lagging in their portfolios—resisting that emotional response may benefit investors when trends begin to reverse.
The yield curve is said to invert when the yield on the 3-month Treasury exceeds the yield on the 10-year Treasury. Many investors focus on this historically negative signal for the overall stock market, as inversions typically precede economic recessions. But, the opportunities signaled by a yield curve inversion deserve just as much attention. Inversions often mark a reversal in long-term market performance trends as leaders and laggards change places. Examining the relative performance of growth and value stocks, large and small cap stocks, and U.S. and international stocks we can see that reversals in long-term trends were often marked by inversions in the U.S. yield curve.
Growth and value
The chart below depicts long-term relative performance trends of growth and value stocks. When the blue line is rising, growth is outperforming value and when the orange line is rising, value is outperforming growth. The shaded areas are periods of when the U.S. yield curve was inverted.
Changes in growth and value performance trends around yield curve inversions
Shaded areas mark periods when the U.S. yield curve was inverted (3 month to 10 year)
Source: Charles Schwab, Factset data as of 3/30/2019.
Notice that the periods when the yield curve was inverted fell very close to the reversals in the longer-term trend of relative performance between growth and value stocks.
In July 2000, the yield curve began to invert about four months after the March 2000 peak in the long-term trend of growth outperformance as value began to outperform.
At about the mid-point of the yield curve inversion that began in August 2006, the reversal began in the long-term trend of relative performance as growth stocks started to outperform value stocks beginning in January 2007.
Large and small
The reversal in long-term relative performance around yield curve inversions can be seen in large and small cap stocks composing the MSCI EAFE Index. When the blue line is rising, large capitalization stocks are outperforming small capitalization stocks and when the orange line is rising, small caps are outperforming. Here again, the shaded areas are periods when the U.S. yield curve was inverted.
Changes in large and small cap performance trends around yield curve inversions
The periods of inversion in the yield curve fell very close to the reversals in the longer-term trend of relative performance between large and small cap international developed stocks.
In July 2000, the yield curve began to invert about six months after the long-term trend in relative outperformance by large cap stocks ended in December 1999 as small cap stocks began to outperform over the following six years.
In August 2006, the yield curve inverted about four months after the reversal in the long-term trend of relative performance as large cap stocks began to outperform small cap stocks. That outperformance trend continued until August 2008 when small caps resumed their trend of outperformance (perhaps signaled by the re-inversion of the yield curve in August 2007 after temporarily becoming upward sloping).
U.S. and international
For the reversal of long-term relative performance around yield curve inversions for U.S. and international stocks, we look at the MSCI USA and MSCI EAFE Indexes. When the blue line is rising, international stocks are outperforming U.S. stocks. When the orange line is rising, U.S. stocks are outperforming international stocks. Again, the shaded areas are periods when the U.S. yield curve was inverted.
Changes in U.S. and international performance trends around yield curve inversions
The periods of inversion fell near the reversals in the longer-term trend of relative performance between U.S. and international stocks.
In July 2000, the yield curve began to invert as the momentum was shifting away from U.S. stocks toward international stocks, although the definitive change in trend didn’t happen until January 2002.
In October 2007, the yield curve inversion that began in August 2006 came to an end and appeared to mark the reversal of the long-term trend of relative performance with U.S. stocks starting to outperform international stocks.
In each of the above three charts the shading shows that the yield curve again inverted during the past month. Past performance is certainly no guarantee of future results but it is possible the long-term trends in relative performance are again nearing a reversal, potentially signaling shifts to outperformance by value, large cap, and international stocks.
A longer term view
Focusing on the past 25 years of inversions and reversals reveals a period of dramatic shifts in relative performance around the periods of imbalance in the global economy marked by inversions of the U.S. yield curve. But, the time period only accounts for two inversions of the U.S. yield curve (prior to the current period). A look back even further, at the past 50 years, reveals a similar pattern for the prior seven yield curve inversions. However, some of the inversions signaled only intermediate-term reversals that lasted just few years before resuming the prior longer-term trend in relative performance. We can examine this using the MSCI EAFE and USA Indexes which both go back almost 50 years (to the index inception in December 1969).
50 years of changes in U.S. and international stock performance and yield curve inversions
Examining international and U.S. stock performance in the 50 year chart above, the inversion in 1989 signaled a large reversal in relative performance just as it began, similar to the previously discussed inversions in 2006 and 2000. The 1970 inversion also preceded the reversal that took place at the start of 1971. But, the start of the inversion in 1973 signaled only an intermediate-term reversal in international outperformance that lasted about three years (from mid-1973 to November 1976). Similarly, the two back-to-back inversions of the late 1970s and early 1980s again marked an intermediate-term reversal in international outperformance lasting four years (October 1978 to October 1982).
In general, the long history of yield curve inversions suggests that they consistently signaled reversals in long-term performance trends—but sometimes those new trends were established for only a few years.
Fight the emotion
The track record of the inversion of the yield curve as a signal of a potential bear market and recession on the horizon has some investors focused on preparing for a more difficult market environment. When markets get difficult, investors often instinctively seek to concentrate their portfolio on what had been leading and eliminate what had been lagging. But, that instinct might limit investors from seeing opportunity as the yield curve inverts and signals the potential for a reversal in the leaders and laggards.
Resisting the emotional response to difficult markets by maintaining exposure to the laggards through portfolio rebalancing may offer the opportunity to benefit from the potential for a reversal in relative performance trends in addition to greater diversification.
Follow Jeffrey Kleintop on Twitter: @JeffreyKleintop
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International Investing
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A Schwab Financial Consultant can help you achieve your goals.
At Charles Schwab, we encourage everyone to take ownership of their financial life by asking questions and demanding transparency.
Our Insights & Ideas bring you information that fosters that ownership, because we believe that the best outcomes in life come from being fully engaged.
Want to know more? Talk with your Schwab Financial Consultant or call 800-355-2162.
The information provided here is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered an individualized recommendation or personalized investment advice. The investment strategies mentioned here may not be suitable for everyone. Each investor needs to review an investment strategy for his or her own particular situation before making any investment decision.
All expressions of opinion are subject to change without notice in reaction to shifting market or economic conditions. Data contained herein from third party providers is obtained from what are considered reliable sources. However, its accuracy, completeness or reliability cannot be guaranteed.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results and the opinions presented cannot be viewed as an indicator of future performance.
International investments involve additional risks, which include differences in financial accounting standards, currency fluctuations, geopolitical risk, foreign taxes and regulations, and the potential for illiquid markets. Investing in emerging markets may accentuate these risks.
The MSCI World Index captures large and mid-cap representation across 23 Developed Markets countries. With 1,632 constituents, the index covers approximately 85% of the free float-adjusted market capitalization in each country.
The MSCI World Growth Index captures large and mid cap securities exhibiting overall growth style characteristics across 23 Developed Markets countries. The growth investment style characteristics for index construction are defined using five variables: long-term forward EPS growth rate, short-term forward EPS growth rate, current internal growth rate and long-term historical EPS growth trend and long-term historical sales per share growth trend.
The MSCI World Value Index captures large and mid cap securities exhibiting overall value style characteristics across 23 Developed Markets countries. The value investment style characteristics for index construction are defined using three variables: book value to price, 12-month forward earnings to price and dividend yield. The MSCI EAFE Index is an equity index which captures large and mid cap representation across Developed Markets countries around the world, excluding the US and Canada. With 928 constituents, the index covers approximately 85% of the free float-adjusted market capitalization in each country.
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Spice Hunting: Vadouvan, A Curry Powder for Every Pantry
Spice Hunting
Your guide to the world of herbs and spices—how to spot them, where to get them, and how to cook with them
Max Falkowitz
10 Printer-Friendly Version
Published: January 13, 2011 Last Updated: August 10, 2018
[Photograph: Max Falkowitz]
Get the Recipe
Vadouvan Crusted Lamb Chops with Toasted Garlic Yogurt Sauce
Curry powder gets a lot of knocks from people, often deservedly so. It's frequently a stale, forgotten member of the pantry, pulled out to add some inarticulate interest to a dish without much thought to what's in it or what it does to food. Through the efforts of mega-merchants who want to make it everything to everyone who wants to cook "ethnic," it stretches itself far too thin. It masks rather than enhances, a gritty flavor bomb without rhyme or reason.
It's not that curry powders are bad per se. I like to have a few well-crafted spice blends on hand: They're convenient, and when made by a skilled spice blender, really delicious.
The problem with most curry powder is how much it has going on. Its stink of cumin is at war with black pepper's kapow. The preponderance of bland turmeric in most blends makes the unplaceable heat almost suspicious. It's stuff I may stir into mayonnaise or toss onto cauliflower for a casual dinner, but it doesn't satisfy me either as an all-purpose spice or a targeted seasoning for any serious cooking.
Enter Vadouvan
That's where vadouvan comes in. It's a French-ified curry powder that's enjoyed a burst of publicity the last couple of years from chefs, eaters, and Top Chef audiences. Though blenders can play fast and loose with the ingredients, vadouvan is calculated and orderly in comparison to most "Madras" curry powders. Its French influences set its base firmly in granulated or pulsed shallots, onions, and sometimes garlic, the effect of which is difficult to overstate. Bittersweet fenugreek is almost as essential, and curry leaves make frequent appearances.
Vadouvan's ingredient list can run epically long, but its flavor is blissfully streamlined. It's a sexy, super-savory blast of spice, just exotic enough, that enhances, rather than masks food. And unlike its mass-produced cousins, it's a curry powder you really can add to most anything.
Beyond its savory, allium-centric character, vadouvan is sweet and just a tad smoky (the result of careful toasting of spices before blending). Its aroma is that of entering a spice market, complex but welcoming. Encumbered by pepper, chile, cumin, and most aromatic sweet spices, vadouvan skips lightly from meat of all kinds to white and root vegetables, soups (especially puréed) to sauces (both rich creams and thin intense jus). I like my vadouvan with a little fennel seed for an extra sweet dimension, but that's just me. You can always add other spices to your vadouvan as you go, but keep in mind that its restraint is its virtue.
How to Use Vadouvan
Vadouvan can tread anywhere that old curry powder can, and usually better. Because it's still a relatively rare product with gourmet caché the quality of its components are higher than most blends. Its simpler flavors come through sharper, especially when played off starchy vegetables, grains, dairy, and meat. Vadouvan is bold enough to stand up to flavors like lamb (or goat!) and tangy yogurts, but delicate enough to play nice with demure chicken and winter squash. The longer it cooks—especially when fried in some fat—the more its rich, roasted qualities come to the fore. I love it this way, though I sprinkle some extra on just before serving to refresh its lighter flavors.
More than anything else, vadouvan rewards creativity. Think popcorn, dip for chips, vinaigrettes, and endless meat rubs destined for grilling. Heck, a dash in or on ice cream (especially chocolate) would be great. Many blends have no heat or salt at all, so it's much more difficult to overwhelm whatever you're cooking. This is a spice to have fun with, foodie fuss aside. And once you get to know it better, it'll be a pantry staple before you know it.
Where to Find Vadouvan
Low demand means vadouvan is relatively expensive, and individual merchants have their own recipes. I'm especially partial to the blend from Kalustyan's ($10 for 3 ounces) because of its inclusion of fennel seed. The Spice House sells a streamlined version ($6 for 4 ounces) while Savory Spice Shop sells a more complicated blend reminiscent of curry powder (but done right, at $8 for 4 ounces). Check the ingredient list before you buy to know what you're getting. Or go hardcore and make your own, which earns you endless street cred as far as I'm concerned.
View Recipe »
Max Falkowitz Editor Emeritus
Max Falkowitz used to work here. These days, he’s a food and travel writer for The New York Times, Saveur, Food & Wine, New York magazine’s Grub Street, GQ, and elsewhere. He’s also the coauthor of The Dumpling Galaxy Cookbook with Helen You.
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Editorial: Comey book and memos show consistency, credibility
Opinion // Editorials
Chronicle Editorial Board April 21, 2018 Updated: April 21, 2018 10:31 p.m.
President Trump, left, and former FBI Director James Comey.
Photo: Photos by Associated Press
Former FBI Director James Comey’s book and publicity tour and now the release of his memos have prompted the predictable retreat into tribal loyalties. President Trump and his surrogates have claimed vindication; his critics have cited damning evidence of his misconduct.
But there is one unmistakable takeaway in the war of narratives between the president and the FBI director he fired: Only one man has been consistent and detailed in his account of the disputed events.
That is James Comey.
The release of the memos Comey wrote after meeting with the president in the early days of the administration add extra layers of detail to the story that he has told all along, including under oath to the U.S. Senate: They describe a president asking for loyalty, pressing for leniency on a national security adviser under criminal investigation, urging the jailing of journalists who refuse to reveal confidential sources, and obsessed with the unsubstantiated portion of a dossier that suggested Russians had evidence of him cavorting with prostitutes in a Moscow hotel room.
The descriptions of Trump are unflattering, but they are neither surprising nor inconsistent with the mercurial, self-absorbed and often petty persona he has shown on Twitter and in his public appearances.
Comey has said he made those contemporaneous notes out of a concern that they would be necessary in case the day would come when it would be his word against Trump’s.
His instincts have been validated.
Trump has tweeted that the memos “show clearly that there was NO COLLUSION and NO OBSTRUCTION.” Actually, they show nothing of the sort. Allegations that the Trump campaign colluded with Russians were not addressed in the memo.
As for the issue of obstruction of justice, the most significant point in question — whether the very reason Trump fired Comey was to stifle the investigation — came after those meetings. And, remember, Trump himself has given contradictory accounts of why he acted against Comey. The White House line on the day of the firing was almost laughably improbable: that it was because Comey was unfair to Hillary Clinton in going public about her case during the 2016 election.
Trump later acknowledged in an NBC News interview just days later that “this Russia thing with Trump” was on his mind when he fired Comey. He also told a Russian delegation in the Oval office that firing the “real nut job” Comey helped relieve the “great pressure” he was facing from the investigation.
In both his demeanor and attention to detail, Comey is exuding confidence and credibility. It doesn’t settle the question of whether the president or his campaign team broke the law, but it shows the president with a slippery association with the truth is facing a formidable witness.
This commentary is from The Chronicle’s editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters.
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Homepage About Works Glossary
Thesaurus Starting Points Search Advanced Search Login | New account
If you are looking for a word and it doesn't appear in the Glossary, this will be because it has the same sense in Modern English, and can be found in any general dictionary. We only include words that no longer exist in Modern English, have changed their meaning since Shakespeare's day, or have an encyclopedic or specialized sense that would make them unfamiliar to many modern readers. Under this last heading, we include all the proper names (such as figures in classical mythology and local place-names) listed in our Themes and Topics (see Starting Points above).
DivResults
betimes (adv.)
early in the morning, at an early hour
Headword location(s)
SHAKESPEARE'S WORDS © 2018 DAVID CRYSTAL & BEN CRYSTAL
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"Their Handsome Father, Ned Wakefield"
Jun 26 Public post 40
With her trim, youthful good looks, Alice Wakefield could almost have passed for the twins’ older sister. “Mom,” Elizabeth called out cheerfully from the Wakefield’s sun-drenched kitchen with Mexican tiling, “don’t forget your trim, youthful good looks on your way to work!”
Alice Wakefield walked back into the kitchen, laughter sparkling in her blue-green eyes. “I can’t believe I almost forgot it,” she said. “I’ll forget my own head next!”
Elizabeth faltered. “…Jessica?”
They both had one hand on Alice’s trim, youthful good lucks. Their identical blue-green eyes met.
“…Elizabeth?” Alice said.
“Yes,” Elizabeth said, nodding. “Did I inherit my sunshine-blond hair from you? Or is your sunshine-blond hair a copy of mine?”
“I’m standing in the kitchen,” Alice said. “I’m an interior designer. Last night I prepared duck a l’orange, creamed asparagus, and a chilled parfait. My daughters are carbon copies of me. My son is a younger version of Ned Wakefield. In this house there are rules. In this house there are protections. In this house there are prayers to keep a mother safe from her son’s bed, to keep a daughter safe from her father’s bed. Do we keep house like Lot and his daughters?”
“We break no bread of theirs,” Elizabeth recited automatically. “Their ways are not our ways, we keep no faith and hold no trust with them. For Alice, the kitchen. For Ned, the study. For Jessica and Elizabeth, the bedroom. For Steven, the university.”
“Keep Steven contained,” Alice murmured.
“Keep Steven contained,” Elizabeth repeated. “Keep his dark athleticism, his tall good looks, his six feet of height, his slim build, his warm brown eyes out of doors, out of mind, out of body. Keep Steven’s body from my body; guard the Wakefields from the Wakefields. Swear to me that you are not my sister?”
“I swear to you,” Alice Wakefield said, “I am no sister. Are you my mother?”
“I cannot recall having the mothering of you,” Elizabeth said. “I cannot recall. I look sixteen – am I sixteen? Or am I thirty-six but look sixteen? Have I the secret of twenty hidden years in my body, or no? Am I a woman, or a woman’s copy?”
A man entered the kitchen. A man with dark good looks, tall athleticism, a brown-eyed build, with six feet of body and more, entered the kitchen.
“Man,” Alice said, “brown-headed man and brown-eyed, what are you to us?”
The man froze. He had a cup of coffee in his hand. “I hold the coffee cup,” he said slowly. “A man’s drink, to prepare for a man’s work. This makes me Ned. This coffee will take me to a law office, makes me a lawyer. Husband to Alice, who looks sixteen. Father to twins, who look like my wife. Twins who match each other in all ways, twins who match my wife in all ways but one. Alice looks like the twins but is not forbidden to me. The twins look like Alice but must never be touched. I am not Steven, their brother, who lives in exile.”
“Steven-who-lives-in-exile,” Alice and Elizabeth chanted in unison. “Steven who is cast out. Steven who has no twin but his father. Steven whose body is a single copy, whose body has no counterpart, Steven whose body is a threat.”
“I have a dimple in my left cheek when I smile,” Elizabeth says. “I know this for three reasons: My twin has a dimple in her left cheek when she smiles. The mirror tells me I match her in every way. The third reason is that the people around me are telling me the truth. I trust in the truth of the mirror of the family; no Wakefield can lie to another Wakefield. If a Wakefield breaks trust in the matter of a mirror, that Wakefield can no longer lay claim to the name, and is cast out. I am not cast out. I can tell only the truth. My twin and I guard three doors in a locked room. My twin can only tell lies. My twin’s lies are consistent and reliable, and therefore are as solid and real as the truth. Jessica’s lies are the truth. Tell me, is Jessica in this kitchen with me? Am I facing my sister in safety, or my mother in peril? Who gave me my blond beauty? And when will they ask for its return?”
“Brown-eyed man,” Alice said urgently, “three of the women in this house have blue-green eyes, sunshine-blond hair, and a tanned, youthful figure. One of those women is available for your body. Two of those women are forbidden. Two of these women are in this kitchen with you. Which of us is forbidden?”
“Blonde beauty,” the man said, “have you forgotten who you are forbidden to?”
“I cannot remember,” Alice cried. “Did I inherit my forbidden beauty from my mother? Or did I grant it to my daughters? Which rights do you claim of me, Wakefield man – a husband’s? Or a brother’s? Or a father’s? Are you Ned-forbidden-to-Jessica-and-Elizabeth? Or Steven-forbidden-to-everyone?”
“My friends all have crushes on your six feet of height, your athletic eyes, your dark build, your brown hair,” Elizabeth said. “Do they have father-crushes or brother-crushes on you? Tell the truth and never lie.”
“The boy is the copy,” the man said. “I am the man and not the boy. Last night for supper I had duck a l’orange, creamed asparagus, and a chilled parfait. My wife made it, my wife Alice, who keeps me from my daughters’ beds.”
“When my son was born he looked like his father,” Alice said. “When my daughters were born they looked like their mother. Every moment since, this family has stood in dead peril, but we have not fallen yet.”
“None of us have fallen yet,” Elizabeth said. “None of us have brought mother-guilt into the house. None of us have smeared the Wakefield name with wrong-bedding or brother-mistake. My friends want Steven. My friends want my father. My friends long for my brother, who wears my father’s face, and my friends long for my father in my brother’s body. My boyfriend Todd has brown hair and sufficient father-distance for wholesome coupling. I take my body and my body’s needs out of the house. My daughtering is pure. I am a perfect size six. The perfection of my size is six and always divisible by itself. Do I stand in the kitchen with my mother and my father, with my mother and my brother, with my sister and my father, or with my sister and my brother?”
“I can prove myself Ned,” the man said. “I can prove myself to be Ned, and not Steven the castaway.”
“I cannot prove myself,” Alice said. “No one touch me. No one approach me. I have no memory before this morning – I have never seen a duck, I think.”
“There are footsteps on the stairs,” Elizabeth whispered. “Are they my brother’s? Are they my sister’s?”
“Who comes down the stairs?” Alice shouted. “Who approaches the family Wakefield?”
No one answered. No one moved. They all looked exactly alike. They are standing there this very moment, uncertain of what is forbidden to them, and in what quantities. They all have sunshine-brown hair and dimpled green eyes. None of them are smiling. The smile they are not smiling is identical.
Subscriber comments
TEJun 27
This is the best horror fiction I have read this year, please sir I want some more
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jessicavirginiaJun 26
oh god oh god oh god
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#MeToo: MJ Akbar Cross-examination, “I Don’t Remember”
Canada’s Education Minister Tweets Picture With Malala. Gets Slammed
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Legendary NASA Astronaut Peggy Whitson Retires
American biochemist and NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who holds the US record for most cumulative time spent in space for any astronaut — male or female — is retiring from the agency.
“Peggy Whitson is a testament to the American spirit,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. “Her determination, strength of mind, character, and dedication to science, exploration, and discovery are an inspiration to NASA and America. We owe her a great debt for her service and she will be missed. We thank her for her service to our agency and country.”
The legendary astronaut Whitson spent 655 days in space, the second-most amount holder being Jeff Williams, who has spent 534 days in space
Of the many firsts added to her cap, Whitson, last November, also became the oldest woman astronaut in space at the age of 56. She is also the only female astronaut to have commanded the International Space Station twice. Whiston has set the record for the most cumulative spacewalking time — 53 hours and 22 minutes.
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Read Also: 6 Things To Know About Peggy Whitson On Her Birthday
Whitson, a native of Beaconsfield, Iowa, first joined NASA in 1986 as a National Research Council Resident Research Associate at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Among many scientific roles she served during her tenure at NASA, the most notable ones were when she included in the Shuttle-Mir Program and co-chaired the US-Russian Mission Science Working Group, before her selection to the astronaut corps in 1996.
“It has been the utmost honor to have Peggy Whitson represent our entire NASA Flight Operations team,” said Brian Kelly, director of Flight Operations at Johnson. “She set the highest standards for human spaceflight operations, as well as being an outstanding role model for women and men in America and across the globe. Godspeed, Peg.”
Read Also: Peggy Whitson harvests Chinese Cabbage in Space
This badass woman’s most recent mission was spanning Expeditions 50, 51 and 52 from November 2016 to September 2017. Whitson became the first woman to command the space station twice (Expedition 51). She has reportedly made history by breaking the record for the most spacewalks by a woman — a record was previously held by Sunita L. Williams who had performed seven spacewalks by logging 50 hours and 40 minutes. Whitson has been in orbit since November 2016 for her Expedition 50/51. This is her third space station stint.
Pat Forrester, current chief of the Astronaut Office, said, “Along with her record setting career, she leaves behind a legacy of her passion for space.”
She was also bestowed the honour of leading the astronaut corps from 2009 to 2012 as a chief, becoming both the first woman to hold the position and the first non-military astronaut corps chief.
Also Read: 56 year Old Peggy Whitson To Be Oldest Woman In Space
Feature Image Credit- The Financial Express
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Man City boss Pep Guardiola explains Liverpool's evolution under Jurgen Klopp
Watch Man City vs Liverpool live on Sky Sports Premier League from 7pm
By Michael Kelleher
Pep Guardiola explains how Liverpool have evolved into 'maybe the best team in Europe or the world right now' under Jurgen Klopp.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes Liverpool have evolved into a team capable of dominating all phases of the game under Jurgen Klopp.
The Reds travel to the Etihad on Thursday night, live on Sky Sports, with a seven-point lead over City at the top of the Premier League, following a difficult December for Guardiola's side which saw them lose three league games.
Liverpool, by contrast, have been in imperious form and remain undefeated in the Premier League.
The additions of Virgil van Dijk, Alisson, Naby Keita, Fabinho and Xherdan Shaqiri over the past 12 months are paying dividends for Liverpool, and have prompted Guardiola to concede Liverpool are "maybe the best team in Europe or the world right now".
Jurgen Klopp is wary of the threat Kevin De Bruyne will pose to Liverpool if he returns for Manchester City in Thursday's match.
Asked to explain that belief, Guardiola told Sky Sports: "They are solid in behind. In the positional game when the opponents defend deep they had problems attacking them but now they are able to attack them really well.
"In the transition as always, they are so good. In the set-pieces they are a massive, tall team.
"So it is a team that can control all areas. That is why I am saying what I am saying.
"In front they play the same players, but in the middle they have changed a little and especially at the back. They have changed a lot of players at the back.
"And they know each other better. They have had four or five seasons together."
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has called on his players to be brave against 'the best team in the world' when they play Manchester City on Thursday night.
The respect between the sides appears to be mutual with Klopp saying on Wednesday that City are "still the best in the world", though Guardiola is taking that statement with a pinch of salt.
"I don't know if [Klopp] believes that. I am pretty sure when I say they are. I don't know if he is saying that, with what is happening this season, just to be kind to us," Guardiola said.
Man City vs Liverpool
See Man City and Liverpool go head to head on Sky Sports Premier League.
City shook off consecutive defeats to get their title challenge back on track with a 3-1 win against Southampton at St Mary's on Super Sunday.
Afterwards Guardiola claimed nothing a less than a victory against Liverpool on Thursday would keep his side in the title race.
Vincent Kompany believes Kevin De Bruyne's long-term fitness is more important than his possible return against Liverpool.
But the Spaniard has cautioned his side against focusing on Liverpool rather than themselves, as they adapt to being the hunter, rather than the hunted.
"What you have to do is control yourselves," Guardiola continued.
"The problem when you are behind, which in my career I was many times, is you just think about what is happening to the people in front of you and forget what you have to do.
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"That is a huge mistake. Once that happens, you cannot pick them up. It will be impossible. On Thursday we have an opportunity to win three points and not allow them to do it.
"But after, if you think 'they have to lose in that game' and you go against any team and do not do your job, then you are over."
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Sat 12th January
West Ham 1 0 Arsenal FT
Brighton 0 1 Liverpool FT
Burnley 2 1 Fulham FT
Cardiff 0 0 Huddsf'ld FT
C Palace 1 2 Watford FT
Leicester 1 2 So'ton FT
Chelsea 2 1 Newcastle FT
Results January 2019
West Ham United vs Arsenal
12:30pm Saturday 12th January
London Stadium (Att: 59946)
Watch with Sky Sports Pass
Upgrade to Sky Sports
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West Ham 1
D Rice (48)
West Ham vs Arsenal
Premier League 12:30pm Saturday 12th January London Stadium (Att: 59946)
Ron Walker
Digital Football Journalist @ronnabe
West Ham 1-0 Arsenal: Declan Rice's first Hammers goal secures victory
Report and highlights as West Ham see off Arsenal
Highlights from West Ham's 1-0 win over Arsenal in the Premier League.
Declan Rice scored the only goal as West Ham beat Arsenal, while Marko Arnautovic appeared to bid farewell to the London Stadium.
Rice picked a good time to grab his first West Ham goal, powering the ball beyond Bernd Leno from 12 yards three minutes after half-time in a game of few clear-cut chances.
The main talking point came when Arnautovic seemed to wave goodbye to the home fans when he was substituted with 71 minutes played, days after West Ham rejected a £35m bid for the Austrian from an unnamed Chinese club.
Home Team: Fabianski (7), Zabaleta (7), Ogbonna (7), Diop (7), Cresswell (7), Noble (6), Rice (8), Antonio (6), Nasri (7), Anderson (6), Arnautovic (7).
Subs: Carroll (6), Snodgrass (6), Obiang (n/a)
Arsenal: Leno (6), Mustafi (6), Sokratis (6), Koscielny (6), Maitland-Niles (5), Xhaka (5), Guendouzi (6), Kolasinac (5), Iwobi (5), Lacazette (6), Aubameyang (6).
Subs: Ramsey (5), Torreira (6), Bellerin (5)
Man of the match: Declan Rice
Arsenal managed just two shots on target across the whole 90 minutes as their wretched away form continued, leaving them with one win on their travels in their last seven Premier League games.
Unai Emery's side had shown the greater intent before half-time but lacked the invention to regularly find a way through the home defence, with Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang onlookers for long spells of the first half.
Arnautovic appeared to wave goodbye to the home fans when he was substituted
Both sides exchanged cursory efforts early on but Arsenal did carve out the first real opportunity when Lacazette held off Pablo Zabaleta and powered into the box. Lukasz Fabianski saved his first effort from 12 yards, and he skied the rebound over.
Emery has lost back-to-back away games for the first time as Arsenal boss
But with the restored Arnautovic looking untroubled by the speculation around him at the tip of West Ham's attack, the hosts always had a focal point they could play off and he held the ball up for Samir Nasri, only for the Frenchman to strike the side netting from a tight angle.
Felipe Anderson also came close when Nasri waited for his run and laid the ball into his path 25 yards out, before Matteo Guendouzi rounded off an even, but uninspiring first half by going close from a similar distance.
West Ham made five changes from their FA Cup win over Birmingham, including a return for Marko Arnautovic and a Premier League return for Samir Nasri.
Unai Emery reverted to the Arsenal line-up which beat Fulham in their last league game, with Ainsley Maitland-Niles on the right of midfield in a 3-4-3.
The second half sprang into life within five minutes of the restart with Nasri, who had been busy before half-time, teeing up Rice after a poor Granit Xhaka header to blast the ball beyond a rooted Leno from 12 yards.
Aubameyang was put off his stride by Aaron Cresswell's sliding challenge in the box and Alex Iwobi just missed the far post when played in on the left as Arsenal pressed, but they still did not work Fabianski enough.
The arrival of Aaron Ramsey and Lucas Torreira and even the pace of Hector Bellerin off the bench failed to ignite the Gunners' usual second-half charge, which has seen them pick up eight points in the last 10 minutes of games alone, as the hosts saw out a first victory over Arsenal on home soil since 2006.
West Ham registered only their third home Premier League win against Arsenal and their first since November 2006, ending a run of 10 home games without victory against the Gunners (D3 L7).
Arsenal have taken just two points from their last five away Premier League games (W0 D2 L3) - they won 13 in the five away games prior to this run (W4 D1 L0).
Declan Rice became the 10th teenager to score a Premier League goal for West Ham, and the first since Junior Stanislas in November 2009.
Samir Nasri played his first Premier League game for West Ham and registered his first assist in the competition since April 2016, when he assisted Sergio Aguero for Man City against Chelsea.
Arsenal are one of three Premier League teams yet to lead at half-time in an away Premier League match this season, along with Burnley and Cardiff City.
Arsenal have won just three of their last 15 away Premier League London derbies (W3 D5 L7).
Manuel Pellegrini remains unbeaten in home matches against Unai Emery in all competitions during his managerial career (P7 W5 D2 L0).
West Ham have won six of their last nine Premier League games (D1 L2) - their previous six wins came over a period of 24 matches.
Manuel Pellegrini says he will wait and see what happens with Marko Arnautovic but insists they must do what is right for the club.
Manuel Pellegrini: "I was pleased with the balance and consistence of the team. We did not allow Arsenal any chances despite their quality of players. We played with a mentality of a big team, always going for the second goal."
Unai Emery says his since created more chances but were not clinical enough in their Premier League defeat to West Ham.
Unai Emery: "It's a bad results for us. It's concerning because we need to be competitive at home and away. At home we feel good but away we are not getting the results we want. Today we had to do more to impose our ideas. If we could have been more competitive with more quality we could have done better."
Man of the match - Declan Rice
Besides scoring the winner, Rice did a brilliant job anchoring the West Ham midfield, often doing the legwork of both himself and Mark Noble, who struggled to keep up with the pace of the game on the few occasions Arsenal got going.
Rice celebrated his goal passionately with his team-mates
He won the ball back more times (10) than anyone else on the pitch, but he never shied away from the ball either, scoring the only goal of the game and of his team-mates only Noble and Anderson had more touches over the 90 minutes.
"I'm trying to think of a defensive midfielder in the Premier League who does it better than him," said Sky Sports guest and West Ham midfielder Jack Wilshere.
"I'm not saying he's the best in the league because he's got a long way to go, but he's on the right track. His reading of the game, his maturity and today I saw a bit more - he wanted to go forward more and he can bring that to his game."
West Ham travel to Bournemouth next Saturday at 3pm, shortly before Arsenal face another London derby with Chelsea at the Emirates at 5.30pm.
2 A Villa 0 0 0
3 B'mouth 0 0 0
4 Brighton 0 0 0
7 C Palace 0 0 0
8 Everton 0 0 0
9 Leicester 0 0 0
10 Liverpool 0 0 0
11 Man City 0 0 0
12 Man Utd 0 0 0
13 Newcastle 0 0 0
14 Norwich 0 0 0
15 Sheff Utd 0 0 0
16 So'ton 0 0 0
17 Tottenham 0 0 0
18 Watford 0 0 0
19 West Ham 0 0 0
20 Wolves 0 0 0
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>> Education
Dueling lawsuits by local, state teachers unions head to trial
The suits over dues and representation filed by the Clark County Education Association and the Nevada State Education Association both survived motions to dismiss in separate hearings on Tuesday.
By Meghin Delaney Las Vegas Review-Journal
Updated January 16, 2018 - 5:41 pm
John Vellardita, Clark County Education Association executive director, during an editorial board meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2016 in Las Vegas. (David Guzman/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
State and local teachers union leaders both found reasons to celebrate Tuesday after judges allowed their opposing lawsuits over dues and representation to proceed.
At the heart of both lawsuits, which were filed in September, are dues paid by Clark County teachers for services provided by the unions.
The local union sued first, alleging the state union was violating its contract by not providing information about how local dues are spent. The state union countersued, claiming the local union was violating the same contract by illegally withholding dues.
In separate hearings Tuesdays, two different judges denied parts of motions to dismiss filed by the defendants and allowed the cases to proceed to trial.
Both sides focused on the positive.
“We’re feeling good. We’re feeling really good,” said Clark County Education Association head John Vellardita. “We want it in the courts. The courts will shine light in this dispute. We’ll find justice in the courts.”
The head of state union was feeling good, too.
“Nothing was detrimental to keeping our case on track to make sure we address the illegal withholding of members dues,” said Ruben Murillo, president of the Nevada State Education Association. “This is a huge victory for our members.”
Tensions boiling
The legal dispute between the Clark County Education Association, which is an affiliate of the NSEA, and the state organization is focused on dues. But tensions between the organizations flared during the 2017 legislative session, when they came down on opposite sides of a few high-profile education issues, including teacher evaluations and Education Savings Accounts.
The dues dispute landed in the courts when the organizations filed their dueling lawsuits in September.
In late November, the state union sent a letter warning that local teachers would lose state benefits, certain training and insurance because of the local union’s failure to submit dues.
The local union called it a scare tactic and pledged members would not lose any benefits.
Murillo, a former Clark County teacher and local union leader, also says his health insurance has been stripped because of the ongoing fights. In a Jan. 12 complaint filed with the Employee-Management Relations Board, Murillo attributed the move to the ongoing litigation.
“It’s kind of a low blow but I’m not surprised by what they did,” he said.
A spokeswoman for the local union said she could not comment on the complaint, because she had not seen a copy.
A hearing date for the complaint before the labor board has not yet been scheduled.
Contact Meghin Delaney at 702-383-0281 or mdelaney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @MeghinDelaney on Twitter.
Posted on: Clark County, Education, Henderson, Local, Local Las Vegas, News, North Las Vegas, Politics and Government
Judge urged to OK Art Institute of Las Vegas sale to faculty group
A court appointed receiver has asked a judge to OK the sale of The Art Institute of Las Vegas to a group of professors who have been negotiating to buy it since January.
Clark County superintendent Jara to look at options to cutting deans
The Clark County School Board discussed publicly Thursday a plan to eliminate 170 dean positions from the district and reassign those administrators to teaching roles.
Tour shows damage to University of Nevada, Reno, dorm
By Bill Dentzer / RJ
A tour of blast-damaged dorms at the University of Nevada, Reno, revealed extensive damage that took place when a boiler malfunction prompted a natural gas explosion.
Chancellor of Nevada college system to leave post in 2020
July 10, 2019 - 11:47 am July 10, 2019 - 5:43 pm
Nevada System of Higher Education Chancellor Thom Reilly will not seek an extension after his three-year term ends in 2020, an aide announced Wednesday.
UNR explosion caused by malfunctioning boiler, officials say
By Colton Lochhead / RJ
July 9, 2019 - 3:23 pm July 9, 2019 - 3:54 pm
It could be up to two years before the dormitories damaged in an explosion last week could be ready to house students again, UNR officials said.
Parents in Las Vegas want answers on UNR blast’s impact on students
While students impacted by Friday’s explosion on the University of Nevada, Reno, campus, parents say they’ve heard nothing about whether they’ll be compensated for losses.
UNLV amasses more than 100 interviews of Latinx residents
By Rachel Spacek / RJ
The oral history project aimed at sharing the stories of the Latinx population in the valley was created in September after UNLV University Libraries was awarded a grant.
‘Shark Tank’ winner returns to Las Vegas to pitch test prep firm
July 8, 2019 - 12:25 am July 8, 2019 - 12:25 am
Shaan Patel has parlayed his academic success — degrees from USC and Yale and a dermatology residency — into a successful college admissions test preparation company.
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Jan McLoughlin of the PDSA
PUBLISHED: 12:58 25 January 2011 | UPDATED: 20:33 20 February 2013
Jan McLoughlin, from Ludlow, is director general for veterinary charity PDSA, which treats the sick and injured pets of people in need
Fit for 2011 and a marathon fundraiser
Jan McLoughlin, from Ludlow, is director general for veterinary charity PDSA, which treats the sick and injured pets of people in need. She recently gave a home to a lively labradoodle called Bobby.
Jan ran her first marathon last year, raising an incredible 18,500 for PDSA. She has really caught the running bug, and has decided to take on the challenge yet again. Jan, who will run the Virgin London Marathon on Sunday, April 17, hopes to complete the race in under five hours, and raise even more money the second time around. This is the story of the challenge that has improved her health and the charitys bank balance
Iran my first ever marathon in London last April, and what an experience it was. Nothing prepares you for the unbelievable atmosphere of joining 36,000 runners on the streets of the capital. Initially, I took up running to get fitter. Id always wondered about running a marathon. I knew it would be a huge commitment, and in the back of my mind I was unsure if I could run 26.2 miles.
But I did it and in a respectable five hours and eight minutes. It was gruelling, but well worth the months of arduous training, early starts, and aches and pains. I must have found it fairly enjoyable because Ive decided to do it all over again.
In these difficult economic times, it is important to lead by example. Taking on a marathon challenge to raise money for PDSA is a great way to inspire our staff, volunteers and supporters to raise funds too.
PDSA receives no funding from HM Government or the National Lottery, but relies entirely on the generosity of the public to finance its vital veterinary work. We have lots of dedicated supporters across the UK, who are passionate about animals and tirelessly fundraise for the cause.
Just before Christmas a group of animal-lovers braved the winter weather to do an abseil dressed as Santa Claus, raising 5,000, and we had a fearless group who were sponsored to walk on fire. Some of our veterinary staff even did a parachute jump in aid of PDSA. Its amazing what people do to raise funds for our charity and were so grateful for their enthusiastic support. In 2010 our marathon team raised 47,000 we hope to beat this figure this year.
This year is particularly important for the charity, as weve launched our biggest fundraising initiative the Pet Hospital Appeal. The recent economic situation means more households are eligible for our charitable support. Nearly 400,000 pets were treated by PDSA in 2010, at a cost of over 52 million. This represents a staggering 50 per cent rise over the last five years. As a result, some older PDSA PetAid hospitals are struggling to meet present-day demands. This has prompted our largest ever appeal to raise 6 million to build and equip three new pet hospitals in Cardiff, Plymouth and Birmingham. These will replace existing sites, boosting capacity and improving the facilities. Were determined to do it, and if my marathon sponsorship can help towards this target, even just a small amount, then Ill be very proud.
Now Im running ten to 15 miles each week, with longer runs at the weekend. Shropshire is a beautiful place to run as its so picturesque. I love jogging around Ludlow itself, as well as the quiet country lanes around Caynham, Tenbury and Little Hereford.
Joining my local running club, The Ludlow Runners, was a great decision. Ive met some truly inspirational people who have given me plenty of sound advice and training tips. Before Christmas I ran in the Birmingham Half Marathon and I plan to do more races before April. Half marathons are a good training distance because you get to practise your race pace, and they get you motivated for the big day.
So, Im on track with my training plan. I think its extremely important to start early because its vital to train your mind, as well as your body. I worked hard for my first marathon, and was still surprised by just how punishing running 26.2 miles was on my body. I twisted my ankle at 16 miles and I tried to run through it, but it was really painful. There was a lot of pressure on my hips and I started to struggle mentally. Just how tough the race is was clear, as some people around me needed oxygen and were lying on stretchers. My training saw me through those final 10 miles and thats why Im taking my training this year very seriously.
Im supplementing my runs with other exercise too, including Nordic walking and fitness training. Core strength and stamina is vital for the gruelling course. But easily the most enjoyable exercise is to take my new dog Bobby on long walks. Not only is he good at road running, he loves our treks across Mortimer Forest and off-road work is good for me too. Its great for burning the calories and training my legs!
I adopted Bobby, a gorgeous labradoodle, four months ago. Hes nearly four years old and a bit of a handful. Sadly, we lost our old dog Mickey last year. Wed had him for 14 years and I really missed having him around, so when I found out about Bobby I jumped at the chance to give him a good home. Hes extremely playful, very energetic and a bit naughty. He has definitely brought a new energy to our home.
These cold winter runs have been tough. Not losing heart if you have a bad day, and maintaining the support of family and friends has helped me through. And of course, my goal of raising money for the three new pet hospitals has kept me motivated.
Running has other benefits too. Leading one of the biggest charities in the country is always demanding, but never dull. PDSA is a fantastic charity to work for, weve just celebrated our 93rd anniversary, and were still going strong. I love my job, but it can be challenging at times. Running has given me so much more energy, and has helped me a great deal in my working life. Going for a run provides good thinking time, helping me to reflect on the days events. Jogging also enables me to de-stress and switch off from work. I really do feel its put some balance back into my working life.
Ive also lost over three stone since taking up running. Although this wasnt my main aim its definitely a bonus and I felt brilliant in my Christmas party outfit. Running really has given me a new lease of life.
I hope my story inspires other people in the county to take up a challenge for charity. Were still looking for runners who have their own ballot place in this years Virgin London Marathon to join our team and help raise vital funds for sick and injured pets. To join, call 01952 204 791 or email marathon@pdsa.org.uk
To donate to our Pet Hospital Appeal, please visit www.pdsa.org.uk/build or call free on 0800 0199 004.
With preparation and putting your heart and soul into something, you can do anything.
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Profile of Lord Lieutenant Algernon Heber-Percy
Latest from the Shropshire Life
An A to Z of everything great about the Cotswolds
14 pictures that capture the beauty of the Cotswolds in the spring
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Spurs Set to Open Contract Talks With Belgian Midfielder Following Wonderful Form
Tottenham will open contract talks with Mousa Dembele this summer, with the 30-year-old's current deal running out at the end of next season.
Clive Rose/GettyImages
According to The Sun, Mauricio Pochettino does not want to lose his midfield enforcer and is prepared to begin discussions on a long-term contract. With the Belgian in sterling form this season, he could demand an increased wage packet and will only put pen to paper if his demands are met.
Dembele has made 34 appearances so far this season, and his involvement in their continued push for the top four could see him ask for wages towards £100,000-a-week, which will be a push for Daniel Levy in the stringent Spurs wage structure.
GLYN KIRK/GettyImages
It is believed that Pochettino's admiration of the player will force his chairman to fork out and keep him at White Hart Lane next season and beyond. The midfielder has earned many plaudits this season, with Paul Scholes dryly remarking that he realised he needed to retire after facing Tottenham and having to chase the sturdy Belgian for 90 minutes.
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Society's Child
With Roundup on the rocks, Monsanto hatches plan for replacement with drift-prone crop destroying dicamba
Whitney Webb
Mint Press News
Fri, 03 Nov 2017 00:00 UTC
© Kade McBroom via EcoWatch
An aerial photo showing drift damage on a non-dicamba resistant soybean field next to a dicamba resistant soybean field.
So far, this year has not been very kind to Monsanto. First, collusion between Monsanto and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was revealed, whereby the company worked in tandem with the federal agency to discredit independent research conducted by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The IARC, in 2015, found that glyphosate - the key ingredient in Monsanto's best-known product, Roundup - most likely causes cancer, a reality that Monsanto had secretly known for decades. Furthermore, Monsanto's own head toxicologist, Donna Farmer, admitted that she "cannot say that Roundup does not cause cancer" as "we [Monsanto] have not done the carcinogenicity studies with Roundup."
With their lobbyists now banned from the EU parliament amid the body's deliberations over whether to ban glyphosate entirely, Monsanto seems to be betting on the chemical it hopes will solve its glyphosate troubles - a herbicide known as dicamba. While dicamba has existed for decades, Monsanto has been busy retooling the herbicide, hoping to use it to replace glyphosate - not in response to concerns about glyphosate's dangerous effects on human health but in order to tackle the development of widespread resistance to glyphosate among weeds in the United States and elsewhere.
Monsanto has aggressively marketed its genetically modified, dicamba-tolerant seeds along with its associated herbicide, hoping to capture half of the entire U.S. soybean market by 2019. Monsanto even began pushing dicamba-tolerant seeds on farmers before its new dicamba herbicide was approved by the U.S. government, forcing farmers who bought the seeds to use older and illegal dicamba-based herbicides. Growing dicamba-tolerant seeds would preclude farmers from using any other but the dicamba-based herbicide during growing season, and create the risk of having their crops overrun by weeds, including so-called "superweeds."
Many farmers who bought the dicamba-tolerant seeds, however, were unaware that the herbicide's use was illegal or problematic - as Monsanto, in addition to other aggressive marketing tactics, only offered a warning regarding dicamba's use slipped in well below its advertisement for dicamba-tolerant seeds.
These out-of-date herbicides were banned years ago for use during the growing season due to their propensity to "drift," or contaminate areas miles away from where they are sprayed. Given that dicamba is highly toxic to all plant life, the result was widespread crop damage. Last year, in Missouri alone, over 40,000 acres of farmland were damaged by dicamba drift. Despite the obvious problem, Monsanto's newly reformulated dicamba herbicide was approved by the EPA last year, as the new product was ostensibly not as drift-prone as its predecessors. However, due to lingering concern over the drift, the EPA's approval is set to expire in November of next year, when it will be subject to reapproval.
Dicamba-drift, mounting crop damage, and overflowing gov't complaint boxes
Less than a year in, however, Monsanto's promises of a "drift-free" dicamba have failed to materialize, as complaints have flooded into state agricultural departments across the country. So far this year, regulators in major soybean-growing states in the U.S. have received nearly four years' worth of complaints regarding dicamba-related crop damage. The issue has been especially pronounced in Arkansas, where 985 complaints have been filed over dicamba-related damage, representing the vast majority of the approximately 1,200 total cases currently being handled by the state.
The situation is so bad that Arkansas and Missouri, another hard-hit state, agreed on a 120-day ban on dicamba use within each state earlier this year in July. Arkansas is currently considering banning the herbicide entirely, effective April of next year. Monsanto, of course, is fighting back against the proposed ban.
Though the most drastically affected, Arkansas is hardly alone. As of mid-October, the number of state investigations nationwide examining dicamba-related complaints totaled 2,708.
Many state agricultural agencies are unable to cope with the increased load and have delayed other functions in attempts to address as many complaints as possible. "We don't have the staff to be able to handle 400 investigations in a year plus do all the other required work," Paul Bailey, director of the Plant Industries division of the Missouri Department of Agriculture, told Reuters.
Despite the clear problem presented by the herbicide, Monsanto's net sales have suffered no decline - climbing 8 percent, or $1.1 billion, in 2017, in part due to increased sales of dicamba products. However, Monsanto has failed to address the issue, only hazily acknowledging the existence of farmer complaints. "With significant adoption and a lot of interest in this new technology, we recognize that many states have received a number of reports of potential off-target application of dicamba in 2017," Monsanto spokeswoman Charla Lord said last month, according to Reuters.
© AP / Andrew DeMillo
East Arkansas soybean farmer Reed Storey looks at his field in Marvell, Ark. Storey said half of his soybean crop has shown damage from dicamba, an herbicide that has drifted onto unprotected fields and spawned hundreds of complaints from farmers.
Monsanto bet big on paired herbicide and seeds
Given Monsanto's lack of response to the growing problem of dicamba drift, and its aggressive marketing approach prior to the herbicide's approval, critics have asserted that Monsanto likely released the dicamba-tolerant seeds ahead of time in order to increase the chances of the herbicide's approval by artificially creating an urgent need for the weed killer.
Monsanto's $1 billion investment in dicamba production before it was federally approved has also been cited as further evidence that the corporation sought to create dependency on its newest herbicide. Indeed now, with dicamba drift a major problem following the herbicide's approval, some soybean farmers have chosen to purchase the dicamba-tolerant seeds from Monsanto as opposed to facing the risk of losing their entire crop to dicamba drift.
Monsanto is gambling on dicamba for several reasons, partly because there exists little scientific evidence linking it to adverse health effects in humans, though weak correlations between its use and increased incidence of lung and colon cancer have been found. While it is set to replace the now increasingly ineffective and controversial glyphosate, the massive amount of damage dicamba has allegedly caused in just its first year may present an even greater problem to Monsanto's profits than glyphosate ever did. It is already drastically affecting the bottom line of the national agricultural industry and pushing state regulators to their limits. Yet, if history is any indication, Monsanto will not part ways with its newly approved product without a fight.
Comment: Dicamba is not a benign pesticide - in addition to posing posing serious threats to non-target crops, the herbicide can be highly mobile in soil and easily contaminate water. While only tentative links to cancer have so far been found - there are other health risks as well. From a report by the Center for Food Safety:
Potential health impacts from dicamba
Epidemiology studies have tentatively linked exposure to dicamba to increased incidence of colon, lung and immune system cancers in pesticide applicators. Other pesticide applicators exposed to dicamba exhibited a 20% inhibition of an enzyme critical to brain function. Children who ingest residues of other pesticides that have this effect exhibit higher rates of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Pregnant mice that ingested water spiked with low doses of a commercial herbicide mix that includes dicamba had smaller litters, suggesting developmental toxicity. Dicamba has been found to damage DNA at high rates, and to be transformed by sprayed plants into forms that are mutagenic in standard assays. Vastly increased use of dicamba in the context of MON 87708 can only exacerbate any adverse impacts it may have on human health.
More on Dicamba:
More Dicamba devastation: 'Miracle' weed killer that was supposed to save farms is killing them instead
Monsanto celebrates approval of deadly herbicide "Dicamba", continues to suppress cancer research
Dicamba devastation: Farmers in 10 states sue Monsanto
Ragnar · 2017-11-05T22:20:03Z
I hope these farmers affected are suing Monstersanto. I imagine a class action suit would be easier than an individual hired lawyer when facing Monstersanto's herd or corporate lawyers.
rocky · 2017-11-05T22:39:51Z
Sue them it doesn't matter they just come out with something that will be more lethal . All the years Monsanto has been selling Roundup they have more money then God they don't care. Pay the fine and carry on . We're your friends we love you just like your government so trust us with your food and your life.
jordifs · 2017-11-06T13:38:23Z
I believe something related to this subject is on the James Bond film: On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). There is plot being shared by the evil character. He indicates bio engineering is taking place to produce a collapse in agriculture. So the evil organization has the cure. I don't remember film exact details (let's assume pesticides and the modified seed to be resistant). So the entire planet will be subject to blackmail. Those that do not pay will suffer the consequences. It was a fiction story. But nowadays if there is a plan to control the planet and the overpopulation problem. Controlling the food supply, and taxing via copyrights for gene modification does not seem fiction anymore. The toxicity in pesticides and gene modification could be not a problem: for as long as you consider that as part of a solution to depopulate and growth control through endless suffering (which feeds the medical care business).
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What new video technologies can help overcome privacy concerns?
Editor Introduction
There is no expectation of privacy in a public space. That’s the premise on which most video surveillance applications are justified. But new concerns about privacy, specifically the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe, are changing expectations. And what if a camera must be positioned where a private area happens to be within its range? Fortunately, there are technology approaches to solving these dilemmas, as our Expert Panellists explain. We asked: What new technologies are helping video systems overcome concerns about privacy?
Francis Lachance Genetec, Inc.
Many privacy concerns regarding video systems have to do with basic concepts that, in our view, should be offered as standard with any video management platform. These include authorisation, authentication and strong encryption to ensure that users can implement processes that protect individuals’ data and make it available only when necessary. Under the European privacy legislation, GDPR, an individual has the right to their own data and to be forgotten. So, video systems must provide a way to provide and delete data on demand, given the right authorisation. Furthermore, additional tools can help to comply to GDPR. New technologies can now anonymise or blur a person to hide their identity in a video feed. Only authorised users can access the original video on demand, which remains highly encrypted. Further, redaction tools provide a way to export data with all faces blurred, while preserving the image of the person of interest.
John Davies TDSi
Tightening of legislation, such as the EU’s GDPR, has seen the storage and use of CCTV footage coming under closer scrutiny as individuals are given greater protection for their privacy. A key way to protect the individual’s “right to be forgotten” is the use of blocking pixels technology to hide their identity in footage. This technology has been around for some time, but naturally it has come to the fore with the enforcement of GDPR and similar legislation. With the liability firmly on organisations that capture CCTV, and substantial fines in place for breaking the rules, it’s never been more important to embrace this technology. Greater use of AI systems in the future will make it easier and more convenient for security operators to monitor facilities and maintain safety and security, identifying suspicious activity or criminal suspects, whilst ensuring the privacy of the individual is fully respected.
Joe Oliveri Johnson Controls, Inc.
Advanced CCTV capabilities and IP-based solutions allow building and facility owners to gather an unprecedented amount of data and video footage. The challenges of finding a secure way to aggregate, process and store this abundance of data remain. To help protect these valuable assets and mitigate potential risks, it’s important for organisations to invest in appropriate technologies, which means investing in the right security partner is as equally as important. Their expertise can help offer CCTV platforms with end-to-end data encryption – for both inbound and outbound data – and ensure GDPR compliance through routine audits and data processing controls. A skilled security partner can then integrate access control solutions to only allow access to the data to those with permission. In addition, they can make sure stored data is masked, so people who need access to the data can be prevented from also obtaining any personally identifiable information (PII).
Stuart Rawling Pelco by Schneider Electric
CCTV cameras and systems have included technologies such as window blanking for decades where the operator manually indicates where windows were and to blank them out for monitoring or recording. Whilst this protects view into a private domicile, newer privacy push is about protecting individual privacy out in public spaces as well. This can be achieved by blurring license plates or faces with an applied algorithm which police and other similar bodies can selectively unblur as required and approved by the policy of procedures set up. This application of intelligent video content analysis can mean windows, license plates and faces can now be recognised automatically without the need for complex configuration steps.
Editor Summary
GDPR is changing the rules on privacy, and video manufacturers are responding with new approaches to ensure privacy concerns are addressed. Technology to blur certain areas in an image have been around for decades, but privacy approaches today must be broader and more flexible to meet changing industry needs and public expectations.
How to reinforce your cybersecurity strategy
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TED Books Box Set
by Zak Ebrahim, Hannah Fry, Pico Iyer, Marc Kushner, Margaret Heffernan, Chip Kidd, Stephen Petranek, Barry Schwartz, Siddhartha Mukherjee, Rob Knight, Brendan Buhler
This wide-ranging boxed set of ten TED Books titles covers everything from architecture to business, space travel to love: The Terrorist’s Son, The Mathematics of Love, The Art of Stillness, The Future of Architecture in 100 Buildings, Beyond Measure, Judge This, How We’ll Live on Mars, Why We Work, The Laws of Medicine, and Follow Your Gut.
Provocative, intelligent, and forward-thinking, the first ten TED Books is perfect for any curious reader interested in technology, design, and creative thinking.
The Terrorist’s Son is the story of the man who planned the 1993 World Trade Center bombing—and the son who chose a different path.
The Mathematics of Love is a must-have for anyone who wants to better understand the patterns of their love life.
In The Art of Stillness, travel writer Pico Iyer reveals a counterintuitive truth: The more ways we have to connect, the more we seem desperate to unplug.
The Future of Architecture in 100 Buildings captures the thoughtful intelligence and the sheer whimsy of the world’s most inspired and future-looking buildings.
Beyond Measure reveals how organizations can make huge changes with surprisingly small steps and ultimately transform their company culture.
Chip Kidd’s Judge This is a playful look at the importance of first impressions—in design and in life—exposing the often invisible beauty and betrayal in simple design choices ones most of us never even think to notice.
In How We’ll Live on Mars award-winning journalist Stephen Petranek makes the case that living on Mars is an essential back-up plan for humanity and will happen far sooner than we imagine.
In the groundbreaking Why We Work Barry Schwartz dispels a deeply ingrained myth: The reason we work is primarily to get a paycheck.
Pulitzer Prize–winning author Siddhartha Mukherjee reveals an urgent philosophy in The Laws of Medicine on the little-known principles that govern medicine.
In Follow Your Gut scientist Rob Knight and journalist Brendan Buhler explain why the microscopic life inside us matters to everyone.
Associated Gift Guides: Science Nerds, Future Thinkers
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How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World
by Steven Johnson
Fictitious Dishes: An Album of Literature's Most Memorable Meals
by Dinah Fried
In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette
by Hampton Sides
Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War
by Karen Abbott
Chris Stein / Negative: Me, Blondie, and the Advent of Punk
by Chris Stein
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Men Without Women
3.68 22 5 Kirjailija: Ernest Hemingway Lukija: Stacy Keach
Saatavilla e-kirjana.
First published in 1927, Men Without Women represents some of Hemingway's most important and compelling early writing. In these fourteen stories, Hemingway begins to examine the themes that would occupy his later works: the casualties of war, the often uneasy relationship between men and women, sport and sportsmanship. In “Banal Story,” Hemingway offers a lasting tribute to the famed matador Maera. “In Another Country” tells of an Italian major recovering from war wounds as he mourns the untimely death of his wife. “The Killers” is the hard-edged story about two Chicago gunmen and their potential victim. Nick Adams makes an appearance in “Ten Indians,” in which he is presumably betrayed by his Indian girlfriend, Prudence. And “Hills Like White Elephants” is a young couple's subtle, heart-wrenching discussion of abortion. Pared down, gritty, and subtly expressive, these stories show the young Hemingway emerging as America's finest short story writer.
Kieli: Englanti Kategoria: Klassikot Kääntäjä:
Julkaisija: Simon & Schuster Audio
Pituus: 4T 7M
Lisätietoa e-kirjasta:
Julkaisija: Scribner
Death in the Afternoon
Winner Take Nothing
To Have and Have Not
The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway
True At First Light: A Fictional Memoir
Across the River and Into the Trees
In Our Time
Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold
The Nick Adams Stories
Green Hills of Africa
Byline: Ernest Hemingway
Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway
Hemingway Stories
A Moveable Feast: The Restored Edition
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How do they make “punch” sounds in movies?
In movies, when someone lands a punch there's this nifty slappy sound that real punches just don't make. What is that sound?
Adam S., New Haven, Connecticut
Welcome to the world of “Foley artists,” the unsung geniuses who create the larger-than-life sound effects that make a flick come alive. For a good face punch, a Foley artist might hit a piece of raw meat with his fist, maybe wearing a tight leather glove for enhanced smackiness. I’m told rib cuts are particularly good because they have bones to give a crunchy effect. Then again, maybe the Foley artist will just punch himself, hard. The beauty of Foley — named after Jack Foley, chief sound effects guru at Universal for many years — is that nobody’s telling you exactly what you have to do. All that counts is that it work on-screen.
Foley art is made necessary by the fact that (1) you need “action noise” (i.e., more than just the actors talking) to make a movie scene seem real, and (2) miking the entire stage or location during shooting just isn’t practical. Even if it were, real-life sounds often don’t have the oomph the big screen demands. In addition, dubs for foreign markets often require that a sound track be created completely from scratch. So Foley artists add sound in postproduction. The most basic type of Foley consists of one or more people walking around in a well-miked “Foley pit” filled with gravel, sand, loose audio tape (to mimic the sound of crunching leaves), etc., to re-create the sounds of the actors in motion. They do this while watching the movie with the sound off, synchronizing their movements with the action on the screen. This requires a good sense of timing and rhythm, and maybe for that reason a lot of Foley artists are also musicians.
Some Foley effects have been around since the dawn of the talkies — for example, walking on cornstarch in a burlap bag to create the sound of crunching snow. Another time-tested technique is drawing a paddle full of nails across a piece of glass to create the sound of branches scratching on a windowpane.
Other sound effects are of more recent vintage. Foley artist Greg Mauer told us he was recently working on a vampire flick that had a scene in which a character’s guts get pulled out. Greg used raw chicken, which he likes because you get a nice moist sound he describes as “slimy.” For a simple broken bone there’s nothing like the crisp sound of snapping a stalk of celery or a chicken bone.
Not all Foley is fake. If a scene calls for somebody falling, a lot of Foley artists figure there’s no substitute for actually falling. Same with walking on sand. But if you need the sound of 150 people running around, no way you’re actually going to cram 150 people into the Foley pit. Instead you have maybe three Foley artists laying down a half dozen tracks. Mix ’em together and voila — crowd noise.
As you might surmise in this age of high-tech special effects, cinema sound can involve lots of fancy enhancements you’d need a degree in computer science to understand. But it’s good to know there’s still a place in the movie business for guts and red meat.
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Bulls And Bears
China market panic spreads to Asian bourses
Aug 19, 2015, 5:00 am SGT
http://str.sg/Zh2E
Traders retreat on fears that the Beijing govt will let yuan depreciate further
Jacqueline Woo
tsjwoo@sph.com.sg
Asian bourses were again knocked back yesterday as panic returned to the Chinese markets on the back of a weakening yuan.
Traders retreated on fears that Beijing will allow further depreciation in the currency despite the central bank, which devalued the yuan by about 2 per cent in a shock move last Tuesday, saying it sees no reason for a further slide.
The uncertainty sent Shanghai shares plunging 6.15 per cent - its biggest single-day drop since July 27.
The mood wasn't helped by last Friday's announcement by China's securities regulator that the state agency tasked with supporting share prices will reduce buying as the market stabilises.
"Investors ran for the exit when the government failed to step in to support the market," Mr Steve Wang, chief China economist at Reorient Financial Markets in Hong Kong, told Reuters. "The (agency) has become a main player in this market so everyone is watching it. People panic when it stops buying."
The fears in China spilt over into other bourses in the region, which failed to find support from the positive sentiment in Wall Street, which edged up 0.39 per cent overnight.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell 1.43 per cent to its lowest in six weeks, while the Nikkei 225 Index lost 0.32 per cent.
The Straits Times Index dropped 17.7 points, or 0.58 per cent, to 3,049.65.
The day's losses were led by Noble Group, the largest commodity trader in Asia, which slumped four cents, or 8.79 per cent, to 41.5 cents, amid a down-swing in the commodities market.
It was also the most active counter with 99.4 million shares traded.
The new low - a level not seen since 2008 - comes after its chief executive told an investors' meeting on Monday that the company was open to selling its core businesses.
Rigbuilders Keppel Corporation and Sembcorp Marine also took a beating as oil prices continued to stay down. KepCorp sank 12 cents, or 1.65 per cent, to $7.15, while SembMarine slid three cents, or 1.17 per cent, to $2.53.
The ongoing political uncertainty in Brazil, where President Dilma Rousseff is facing the threat of impeachment, appears to have put a dampener on the companies' performance as well.
The companies have contracts with state oil company Petrobras.
Offshore services provider Ezion Holdings logged another day of heavy losses, plummeting six cents, or 9.09 per cent, to 60 cents - its lowest since January 2012.
On the other side of the ledger, agri-business Olam International led the day's gains, rising three cents, or 1.67 per cent, to $1.83.
Telco SingTel climbed two cents, or 0.5 per cent, to $4.03.
Overall trade on the exchange totalled $1.17 billion, with 1.53 billion shares changing hands.
Straits Times Index
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 19, 2015, with the headline 'China market panic spreads to Asian bourses'. Print Edition | Subscribe
BULLS & BEARS
SINGAPORE COMPANIES
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Mr Mohammad Waseem
Orthopaedic Surgeon
BSc, MB ChB, FRCS (Eng), FRCS (Tr & Orth)
Hand and wrist surgery
Monday: 8.30am - 11.50am
Wednesday: 6pm - 8.30pm
An initial consultation with Mr Mohammad Waseem is from £200.
Some of the principal treatments carried out by Mr Mohammad Waseem at Spire include:
Carpal tunnel syndrome surgery
Dupuytren's contracture
Ganglion removal surgery
Joint manipulation treatment
Trigger finger release
My practice provides a comprehensive upper limb and trauma service. I've been fellowship trained in trauma and upper limb surgery. I was trained in three regions, Manchester, Yorkshire and Wessex. The fellowships included an upper limb fellowship in Wrightington and 14 months as an upper limb registrar in Southampton. The trauma year was spent in Leeds and Hull. There were two overseas fellowships during this period; a travelling fellowship to University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland for training in micro-vascular hand surgery; and a trauma travelling fellowship by AO in Germany.
I'm a keen teacher. I lecture nationally and internationally on trauma and upper limb surgery. I have been a member of the Court of examiners for the Royal College of Surgeons of England examining in the UK and overseas.
Arthroscopic surgery including :- Hand surgery - including Dupuytren's contracture surgical and non-surgical procedures, elbow surgery, shoulder surgery, wrist fractures and scaphoid
Consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon, Macclesfield District General Hospital
Being a keen sportsman, I have played a number of sports to a fairly high level. However, a number of personal injuries have led to my interest into sports injuries and rehabilitation.
I play cricket and write children's books.
I also speak several languages including English, Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi and Spanish. I am also learning Serbian and French.
Financial interests
Holds less than 0.1% of the shares in Spire Healthcare Group plc. Owns 100% of the M-Turbo Ultrasound used at the hospital.
Website http://mohammadwaseem.co.uk
Private secretary Helen
Private secretary fax 01625 501 800
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swerve's profile
Nunya Bidness
swerve has posted 0 links and 35 comments to SportsFilter and 0 links and 0 comments to the Locker Room.
SportsFilter: The Tuesday Huddle
A drone filming a World Cup slalom race crashed just behind skier Marcel Hirscher. Hirscher later tweeted "Heavy air traffic in Italy." Vine of the incident.
posted by swerve at 09:05 PM on December 22, 2015
Josh Lueke and the Ways of Anger
Lueke says it was a "freak accident kind of thing"? Speechless.
posted by swerve at 02:07 PM on November 23, 2014
SportsFilter: The Wednesday Huddle
I've been out of town and unable to contribute, so while I recognize that this is late, I wanted to explain, as a serious gymnastics fan, why we were so ready to crown McKayla Maroney before she actually competed in vault finals.
I had never seen Maroney fall while vaulting in competition. I fully expected her to do what she always did: land her two vaults and win. It never occurred to any of my gymnastics friends that she might fall, because they'd never seen it either. Neither had the dopes at NBC, who had also seen her land safely in meet after meet. I think the last time she fell was as a junior.
Someone estimated that her fall broke a streak of 33 vaults landed safely (in other words, 33 "hit" vaults in a row in competition). Broken down per meet, she generally does two vaults in team preliminaries (to qualify for vault finals), one in team finals, and two in vault finals, for a total of five vaults per competition if the meet includes a team event (not all meets do). That's a very long run of successful vaults over multiple meets.
Maroney has cleaner form and better execution than any other current vaulters. I've never seen anyone argue about this; it's treated as fact. You can hear the difference when her hands hit the vaulting table; her "block" (propulsion off the table) is louder and results in more height, which gives her more time to complete the twists and flips. She gets more height from her block than the men's all-around winner, Kohei Uchimura. Her legs stay straight and together and don't cross as she twists; she doesn't bend her knees or her hips in the air; her toes are pointed (crossed legs, bent knees/hips, unpointed toes: all form errors = deductions). She's the best current vaulter in the world. For what it's worth, I would say the same if she weren't an American; gym fans have much more affection for foreign gymnasts than the media seems to think.
Let's go to the video: Maroney's slow-motion Amanar (2.5 twist) vault from team finals (YouTube). The only deductions I could find, and only in slow motion, were a slight leg separation during the back handspring onto the vault table and, near the apex of the vault, a slight knee and hip bend in her right leg.
Comparison: bronze medalist Maria Paseka's (RUS) first vault is the Amanar (NBC Olympics video). Paseka's form is not terrible, but she has significant leg separation in her back handspring and up into the air, then loose legs, knees, and hips, slight leg cross, and not enough air time to complete her twists before landing. (I couldn't find a YouTube of her Amanar with slow motion.)
Obviously I'm not arguing with the results. It may have been unthinkable, but Maroney fell. I'm fond of Sandra Izbasa and I'm happy for her. But I wanted to explain why we expected Maroney to win. It wasn't just because she's good or because we like her. It's because she always has before, over and over, and none of us could have imagined what actually happened.
posted by swerve at 05:08 PM on August 08, 2012
SportsFilter: The Thursday Huddle
I've watched a fair amount of Nadal and I've never actually noticed him shrieking.
posted by swerve at 09:34 PM on July 05, 2012
Shrieking != grunting. I can't watch women's tennis anymore. I don't believe that extended howling is necessary or uncontrollable. It's gamesmanship and it's obnoxious.
Do Sports Build Character, or Damage It?
For a number of reasons, chief among them my inability to run*, I participated mostly in individual sports like skiing and horseback riding. Like with wrestling, I had only myself to rely on when competing, despite training and attending competitions with friends. I think it helped me believe in my ability to learn, solve problems without help, and trust myself in a crisis. That confidence made me a more confident kid in other areas of my life, and eventually a reasonably confident adult.
I've often wondered if I would be more of a team player if I'd had more opportunities to play on a team, or whether my somewhat solitary nature was fixed from the start. Either way, I learned great lessons from years of sports, I loved what I did, and I'm grateful for the experiences I had.
* I could and did run laps on a track, carefully. I couldn't run on a field or while doing anything else, like watching a ball, or my ankles would collapse and I would fall. During my one year of youth soccer, I ended up in goal because I couldn't run. I avoided running sports after that. It was eventually found to be a medical problem.
posted by swerve at 12:44 AM on January 23, 2012
It's actually Friday, but there isn't a thread. Still feels like Thursday, anyway.
Veteran alpine skier Sarah Schleper of the USA took her final race today (Thursday) wearing a dress and, for half the route, carrying her toddler son. Nothing's better than the video, but here's some background. Congratulations on an inspiring career, Sarah.
posted by swerve at 03:19 AM on December 30, 2011
The Physical Toll of Being a Goon
Wow, Atheist. Hockey play doesn't cause blunt force trauma and concussions without fighting? Who knew? And the two-line pass has been legal since the lockout. Have you watched hockey in the last decade?
It's very frustrating to discuss hockey's problems with people who don't actually watch hockey regularly.
Luke Scott talks Nugent, hunting and Obama origin
Scott should stick to talking about baseball.
Catcher Bengie 'I Am the Slowest' Molina Hits for the Cycle
It was hilarious and awesome and reminded me of why I love baseball. The Boston announcers were just stunned. I instant-messaged my BF about it and he wrote back, "What happened? Did an outfielder die?"
Heal fast, Bengie.
(Why are backslashes inserting themselves into my text? Only on preview?)
posted by swerve at 11:14 AM on July 17, 2010
When is enough "enough"?
Katerina Thanou has been banned from the Olympics without a failed drug test. The IOC felt that she had "[brought] the Olympic Games into disrepute."
The IOC said the move to use this power signalled the strength of its feeling against Thanou's behaviour that was of "very serious prejudice to the Olympic Movement" and raise "significant moral considerations".
I follow gymnastics regularly. The first time I saw He Kexin was at 2007 Chinese Nationals. The information available said that she had a 1994 birthdate and would not be eligible for Beijing. Imagine my surprise when she showed up on the Olympic training team.
If this much circumstancial evidence piled up around an athlete suspected of doping, the IOC would disqualify him or her immediately. This shouldn't be different.
The Red Sox and Oakland open the season in Japan with Dice-K returning home to start.
"According to Francona, the coaching staffs of previous MLB trips to Japan all were paid the same stipend as the players. The Sox manager was scheduled to join the Oakland A�s coaching staff in its team�s trip to Japan in 2003 and said it was agreed on that the coaches were to be paid. The trip was ultimately cancelled." Boston Herald I'm proud of the Sox for standing up for the staff, and I'm baffled as to why MLB thought it could get away with this.
posted by swerve at 12:50 PM on March 19, 2008
THX, from what I've heard, and I admit I'm guessing here, is that in these international endeavors that MLB has taken before (other sports too?), the coaches and staff for all teams involved have never been paid before now. I'm told that all coaches and staff were paid on the Yankees/Devil Rays trip to Japan in 2004. I'm looking for a source.
Jets Fans Gather Each Halftime For 'Show Us Your Tits!' Ritual
I don't think men have the right to decide what is or isn't intimidating to women.
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Arriving soon: bunny-shaped vitamins from Playboy?
by Joel Rothman | Aug 5, 2009 | NutriSupLaw | 1 comment
Playboy Enterprises likes to put its name and trademark bunny-head logo on products. Get ready for a supplement on which you can nibble the ears. At its second-quarter earnings call on Aug. 4, the president of the licensing division told investors, “Before year-end, we expect to add yet another new product category, nutriceuticals [sic]. We recently signed a deal for a nutriceutical [sic] product which we expect to see in the market before year-end.”
Alex L. Vaickus told analysts on the conference call that Playboy had recently labeled an energy drink via a licensing agreement. That product was being rolled out in the United States and introduced to other countries. That followed the launch of Codi, a branded fragrance for which a body spray is coming.
What vitamins does Hugh Hefner want to promote? None of the analysts on the phone with Playboy execs asked that question. The analysts were more concerned with a possible takeover, the company’s long-term viability, and video on demand. No one asked about the energy drinks, either. CirTran Beverage Corp. makes the beverages in regular and sugar-free flavors in 8- and 16-ounce sizes. According to the Playboy drink site, the “proprietary formula contains ginseng root, guarana extract and damiana leaf, ingredients that are believed to stimulate energy levels.”
Details on the Playboy nutraceutical are harder to come by. The licensing division reported that second quarter income fell 22 percent from the same quarter a year before, due largely due to the global recession. The earnings news release did not specify a new product, but said that the company was developing new product categories. Vaickus came to Playboy from ConAgra Refrigerated Foods and before that was with Sara Lee.
Cornelius on August 7, 2009 at 4:01 am
I really like your blog and i respect your work. I’ll be a frequent visitor.
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Terms & Conditions & Disclaimer
Why Talkshop?
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ARTICLE 1 - Definitions
ARTICLE 2 - Identity of the entrepreneur
ARTICLE 3 - Applicability
ARTICLE 4 - The offer
ARTICLE 5 - The contract
ARTICLE 6 - Right of withdrawal
ARTICLE 7 - Costs in case of revocation
ARTICLE 8 - Exclusion of right of withdrawal
ARTICLE 9 - The price
ARTICLE 10 - Conformity and Guarantee
ARTICLE 11 - Delivery and execution
ARTICLE 12 - Duration transactions
ARTICLE 13 - Payment
ARTICLE 14 - Complaints procedure
In these conditions:
Entrepreneur: the natural or legal person who offers products and/or services to consumers at a distance;
Consumer: the natural person who does not act in the exercise of profession or business and enters into a distance contract with the entrepreneur;
Distance contract: an agreement whereby, within the framework of a system organized by the entrepreneur for distance selling of products and/or services, up to and including the conclusion of the agreement only one or more techniques for distance communication are used;
Technology for distance communication: means that can be used for concluding an agreement, without the consumer and trader being in the same room at the same time;
Cooling-off period: the period within which the consumer can make use of his right of withdrawal;
The right of withdrawal: the possibility for the consumer to withdraw from the distance contract within the cooling-off period;
Day: calendar day;
Transaction duration: a distance contract with regard to a series of products and/or services, the supply and/or purchase obligation is spread over time;
Durable data carrier: any means that enables the consumer or entrepreneur to store information that is addressed to him personally in a way that makes future consultation and unaltered reproduction of the stored information possible.
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These general terms and conditions apply to every offer made by the entrepreneur and to every distance contract that has been concluded between the entrepreneur and the consumer.
Before the distance contract is concluded, the text of these General Terms and Conditions is made available to the consumer. If this is not reasonably possible, before the distance contract is concluded, it will be indicated that the general terms and conditions can be viewed by the entrepreneur and they will be sent free of charge as soon as possible at the request of the consumer.
If the distance contract is concluded electronically, by way of derogation from the previous paragraph and before the distance contract is concluded, the text of these general terms and conditions can be made available electronically to the consumer in such a way that the consumer can a simple way can be stored on a durable data carrier. If this is not reasonably possible, before the distance contract is concluded, it will be indicated where the general terms and conditions can be consulted electronically and that at the request of the consumer they will be sent free of charge by electronic means or otherwise.
In the event that specific product or service conditions apply in addition to these general terms and conditions, the second and third paragraphs shall apply mutatis mutandis and the consumer may in the event of conflicting general terms and conditions always invoke the applicable provision that is most favorable to him.
If an offer has a limited period of validity or is made subject to conditions, this will be explicitly stated in the offer.
The offer contains a complete and accurate description of the offered products and/or services. The description is sufficiently detailed to allow a proper assessment of the offer by the consumer. If the entrepreneur uses images, these are a true reflection of the offered products and/or services. Obvious mistakes or errors in the offer do not bind the entrepreneur.
Each offer contains such information that it is clear to the consumer what rights and obligations are attached to the acceptance of the offer.
This concerns in particular:
- the price including taxes;
- the possible costs of delivery;
- the manner in which the contract will be concluded and which actions are necessary for this;
- whether or not to apply the right of withdrawal;
- the method of payment, delivery or execution of the agreement;
- the period for accepting the offer or the period for adhering to the price;
- the level of the tariff for distance communication if the costs of using the technique for distance communication are calculated on a basis other than the basic rate;
- if the agreement is filed after the conclusion, how this can be consulted for the consumer;
- the way in which the consumer can obtain information about the undesirable actions he or she wishes to take before concluding the contract, as well as the way in which he can rectify these before the contract is concluded;
- the languages in which, in addition to Dutch, the contract can be concluded;
- the codes of conduct to which the trader is subject and the way in which the consumer can consult these codes of conduct electronically;
- the minimum duration of the distance contract in case of an agreement that extends to the continuous or periodic delivery of products or services.
The agreement is, subject to the provisions of paragraph 4, concluded at the moment of acceptance by the consumer of the offer and the fulfillment of the corresponding conditions.
If the consumer has accepted the offer electronically, the entrepreneur will immediately electronically confirm the receipt of the acceptance of the offer. As long as the receipt of this acceptance has not been confirmed, the consumer can dissolve the agreement.
If the agreement is created electronically, the entrepreneur will take appropriate technical and organizational measures to secure the electronic transfer of data and he will ensure a secure web environment. If the consumer can pay electronically, the entrepreneur will observe appropriate security measures.
The entrepreneur can - within legal frameworks - inform whether the consumer can meet his payment obligations, as well as all those facts and factors that are important for a responsible conclusion of the distance contract. If the entrepreneur based on this investigation has good reasons not to enter into the agreement, he is entitled to refuse an order or request, motivated or to attach special conditions to the execution.
With the product or service the entrepreneur will send the following information, in writing or in such a way that it can be stored by the consumer in an accessible manner on a durable medium:
the visiting address of the business location of the entrepreneur where the consumer can go with complaints;
the conditions under which and the manner in which the consumer can exercise the right of withdrawal, or a clear statement regarding the exclusion of the right of withdrawal;
the information about the existing service after purchase and guarantees;
the information included in article 4 paragraph 3 of these conditions unless the entrepreneur has already provided this information to the consumer before the execution of the agreement;
the requirements for terminating the agreement if the agreement has a duration of more than one year or is indefinite.
If the entrepreneur has committed himself to supply a series of products or services, the provision in the previous paragraph applies only to the first delivery.
When delivering products:
When purchasing products, the consumer has the option to terminate the contract without giving any reason for 14 calendar days. This period starts on the day after receipt of the product by or on behalf of the consumer.
During this period, the consumer will handle the product and packaging carefully. He will only unpack or use the product to the extent that is necessary to assess whether he wishes to keep the product. If he makes use of his right of withdrawal, he will return the product with all accessories and - if reasonably possible - in the original condition and packaging to the entrepreneur, in accordance with the reasonable and clear instructions provided by the entrepreneur.
When delivering services:
When providing services, the consumer has the option to terminate the contract without giving any reason for at least 7 working days, starting on the day of entering into the agreement.
In order to make use of his right of withdrawal, the consumer will focus on the reasonable and clear instructions provided by the entrepreneur with the offer and/or at the latest on delivery.
If the consumer exercises his right of withdrawal, the costs of returning the goods are at the most.
If the consumer has paid an amount, the entrepreneur will refund this amount as soon as possible but no later than 30 days after the return or cancellation.
If the consumer does not have a right of withdrawal, this can only be excluded by the entrepreneur if the entrepreneur has clearly stated this in the offer, at least in time for the conclusion of the contract.
Exclusion of the right of withdrawal is only possible for products:
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Africa Urged To Remove Barriers To Regional Trade
by Robert Lee, Tax-News.com, London
African nations are failing to fully recognize the role that freer trade can play in fostering entrepreneurial activity and improving food security, a new report from the World Bank says.
The report warns that trade in food between African nations has consistently declined over the past forty years to record lows, strangled by prohibitive government policies. The report noted that small African farms that export their goods typically receive less than 20% of the consumer price of their products, with the rest eaten away by transaction costs and post-harvest losses. Improving trading conditions could bring development gains, with food accounting for 60-70% of the household expenditure of the region's urban poor, and 45-55% on average outside this demographic, the report says.
The World Bank observed that the fall in cross-border activity had come despite significant headway achieved by these nations in cutting tax barriers to food trade in recent years. The World Bank urged African leaders to re-evaluate their policies to untangle the "web of rules, fees and expensive transportation costs" being faced by traders, highlighting that an extra USD20bn in yearly earnings could be achieved if African leaders can agree to dismantle trade barriers that blunt more regional dynamism.
According to the World Bank's research, traders encounter numerous issues when trading across borders, including: outdated regulations, that particularly inhibit seed trade; lack of competition in the transportation market and poor services; export bans; unnecessary permits and licenses; costly documentation requirements; and standards that rather than facilitating trade often instead create a barrier for small producers.
"Africa has the ability to grow and deliver good quality food to put on the dinner tables of the continent's families," said Makhtar Diop, World Bank Vice President for Africa. "However, this potential is not being realized because farmers face more trade barriers in getting their food to market than anywhere else in the world. Too often borders get in the way of getting food to homes and communities which are struggling with too little to eat."
The report follows recognition from the World Bank that South Africa made the most significant progress globally during 2011/12 in easing the process of trading across borders, as measured by the World Bank's recently released Doing Business report. The World Bank highlighted that improvements in South Africa have had positive effects throughout southern Africa, since overseas goods to and from Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Zimbabwe transit through the nation.
Meanwhile, the report highlights the competitive disadvantage being created by other African nations' burdensome policies. The report identified that a total of 17 documents are needed in the Central African Republic (CAR) to import goods, closely followed by 12 in Cameroon and Niger, and 11 in Chad. Importing goods takes on average 101 days in Chad, 73 in Zimbabwe and 64 in Niger.
Meanwhile, exporters in Congo are required to file 11 documents, while exporters in Cameroon are required to file 10. Exporting in Chad takes 75 days, 59 days in Niger, 54 days in CAR and 53 days in Zimbabwe, substantially pushing up the cost per container of exported goods to untenable levels.
TAGS: Chad | South Africa | compliance | tax | business | tax compliance | Niger | Nigeria | Swaziland | Zimbabwe | tariffs | Ethiopia | Lesotho | fees | food | Botswana | Cameroon | standards | regulation | trade | Europe | Africa
To see today's news, click here.
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Future University
New OnLive to rehire at least 50% of employees, company says
By Michelle Fitzsimmons 2012-08-20T17:09:00.232Z World of tech
Acquisition details surface
OnLive lives on
New details are emerging about what's exactly going down at OnLive, thanks largely to the company's revelation of details about its acquisition and restructuring.
According to a company statement issued Sunday, the cloud-streaming video game service went through Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors, a type of bankruptcy, and restructuring in the face of "difficult financial decisions."
A new company has formed under the OnLive name and will continue to offer its services uninterrupted, the statement said.
The new company has offered nearly half of OnLive's employees new positions after everyone, including CEO and founder Steve Perlman, were laid off, losing their company stakes in the process.
No title or contract were offered to Perlman, according to Gary Lauder, managing partner of the venture capital firm Lauder Partners, the company that offered initial funding to the newly restructured company.
However, Lauder said he's confident Perlman will remain CEO, though his status took a back seat to figuring out how to keep employees, Lauder said
Perlman, who an employee said many blame for failing to sell the company at various junctures, hasn't received compensation for OnLive's assets or compensation from the new company, either, OnLive said.
The nearly 50 percent rehire figure falls in line with a report from an OnLive employee Friday that at least half the staff would be let go.
However, according to OnLive, the new company has offered many of the employees who weren't offered positions contract work in return for stock options.
The new company plans to hire more OnLive employees as well as hire outside workers as additional funding comes in, the company's statement said.
OnLive spokeswoman Jane Anderson said that while Lauder Partners is so far the new company's sole investor, they expect new investors to come aboard soon.
In their statement, OnLive also said company executives have had their pay cut "to allow the company to hire as many employees as possible within the current budget."
ABC filing
HTC, one of OnLive's major investors, bluntly explained what led to OnLive's restructuring and its own $40 million (£25.5) lose.
"Due to lack of operating cash and an inability to raise new capital, OnLive had completed asset restructuring over the weekend," HTC's filing with the Tawain stock exchange said.
Though the details of why the company had to file for Assignment for Benefit of Creditors, or ABC, are still unclear, what the filing means for the company on a legal level is known.
ABC operates under state law and allowed OnLive to assign its assets to an entity of its choosing, rather than one picked by a bankruptcy court.
It then falls on the assignee's shoulders to pay back the insolvent company's creditors with money raised through the sale of the company's assets to a third party, in this case the new OnLive.
With OnLive's ABC, all its technology, intellectual property and other assets are part of the sale. Lauder reportedly wouldn't disclose how much the assets sold for or how much his firm has invested in OnLive.
Though Lauder said the new company has more than enough funding to last until more investors are found, HTC isn't the only investor to cut a lose from OnLive's acquisition.
UK-based BT said it's "highly likely" it'll need to write off its 2.6 percent stake in the company.
Via San Jose Mercury News
See more World of tech news
The best cheap laptop deals on Amazon Prime Day 2019: prices start at just $129
TechRadar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
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Organic Vegetable Gardening: A Guide
Uploaded by School Vegetable Gardening
Organic Vegetable Production: A Guide to Convert to Organic Production
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Organic Vegetable Production
A guide to convert to organic production
2007 Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation All rights reserved ISBN 1 74151 533 5 ISSN 1440-6845 Going Organic Organic Vegetable Production A conversion package Publication no. 07/137 Project no. DAN-188A The information contained in this publication is intended for general use to assist public knowledge and discussion and to help improve the development of sustainable regions. You must not rely on any information contained in this publication without taking specialist advice relevant to your particular circumstances. While reasonable care has been taken in preparing this publication to ensure that information is true and correct, the Commonwealth of Australia gives no assurance as to the accuracy of any information in this publication. The Commonwealth of Australia, the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), the authors or contributors expressly disclaim, to the maximum extent permitted by law, all responsibility and liability to any person, arising directly or indirectly from any act or omission, or for any consequences of any such act or omission, made in reliance on the contents of this publication, whether or not caused by any negligence on the part of the Commonwealth of Australia, RIRDC, the authors or contributors. The Commonwealth of Australia does not necessarily endorse the views in this publication. This publication is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, all other rights are reserved. However, wide dissemination is encouraged. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the RIRDC Publications Manager on phone 02 6272 3186.
Agdex disclaimer
The information contained in this publication is based on knowledge and understanding at the time of writing. Because of advances in knowledge, however, users are reminded of the need to ensure that information on which they rely is up to date and to check the currency of the information with the appropriate officer of the NSW Department of Primary Industries or the users independent adviser.
Researcher contact details
Robyn Neeson NSW Department of Primary Industries, Yanco PMB Yanco NSW 2703 Phone: 02 6951 2611 Fax: 02 6951 2620
Dr. Sandra McDougall and Andrew Watson from NSW Department of Primary Industries National Vegetable Industry Centre, Joseph Ekman, from NSW Department of Primary Industries National Centre for Greenhouse Horticulture, Genevieve Carruthers, NSW Department of Primary Industries Wollongbar Agricultural Institute, Jim Murison, at time of contribution NSW Department of Primary Industries Agsell, Sydney. Catriona MacMillan, Heaven and Earth Systems Pty Ltd, Tamarama NSW. Ruth Lovisolo, at time of contribution Manager, Food Standards Policy, Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, nowx Manager, Codex Australia, AFFA, Canberra.
RIRDC contact details
Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation Level 2, 15 National Circuit BARTON ACT 2600 PO Box 4776 KINGSTON ACT 2604 Phone: 02 6272 4819 Fax: 02 6272 5877 Email: rirdc@rirdc.gov.au. Web: http://www.rirdc.gov.au Funded by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation and the NSW Department of Primary Industries with assistance from Biological Farmers of Australia Co-op Ltd and National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia Ltd Publication designed and published by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation In submitting this report, the researcher has agreed to RIRDC publishing the material in its edited form. Published in November 2007
Front cover: Organic farmers use a range of innovative techniques to manage weeds. Pictured is a tractor-mounted hot-air weed steamer. Photo: R Neeson.
by Robyn Neeson NSW Department of Primary Industries, Yanco
RIRDC Publication Number 07/137
Despite increased demand for organic products, particularly in export markets, farm conversion to organic agricultural systems in Australia is slow. An important impediment to conversion is lack of relevant information. This document offers a comprehensive view of organic farming and the paddock-to-plate requirements for successful organic vegetable production. It is one of three guides developed for organic agricultural systemsone each for vegetables, rice and soybeans, and rangeland livestock production. The guides arose as a result of a larger project that was coordinated by the NSW Department of Primary Industries and jointly sponsored by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation. A series of workshops for NSW Department of Primary Industries staff and organic industry specialists underpinned the guides development. During these workshops the similarities and differences between conventional and organic systems were discussed and, where possible, ways of overcoming any perceived impediments to conversion were identified. This formed the framework for the draft publications. Stage two of the project involved presentation of the drafts to organic and conventional producers at additional workshops across regional New South Wales and a final review by organic certifying organisations. This publication does not aim to be prescriptive; rather, it provides a framework for organic conversion and pathways towards conversion. In addition to general organic principles, each guide describes possible methods of organic production for the commodity in question, the market potential, possible marketing strategies, the economics of production, processing requirements, and quality assurance. True evaluation of the publication lies with practitioners. The authors hope the information provided will help make the transition to organic production a smooth one. The project was funded from RIRDC core funds, which are provided by the Australian Government. This report, an addition to RIRDCs diverse range of over 1700 research publications, forms part of the Organic Systems R&D Program, which aims to deliver R&D to facilitate the organic industrys capacity to meet rapidly increasing demanddomestically and globally. Most of RIRDCs publications are available for viewing, downloading or purchasing online through the RIRDC website: downloads at www.rirdc.gov.au/fullreports/index.html purchases at www.rirdc.gov.au/eshop
Peter OBrien Managing Director Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation
Foreword Executive summary 1. Introduction to organic farming
1.1 Industry size and structure
1.1.1 The world scene 1.1.2 The Australian scene
v ix 1
1.2 Market potential for organic vegetables
Organic production principles: an overview
2.1 Soil management and crop nutrition 2.2 Livestock management
2.2.1 Livestock nutrition 2.2.2 Soil management for nutritious pastures 2.2.3 Breeding 2.2.4 Livestock welfare 2.2.5 Livestock health
2.3 Plant pest and disease management 2.4 Weed management
Gaining organic certification
3.1 A self-assessment test 3.2 Beginning the conversion 3.3 Conversion and certification
3.3.1 Conversion planning 3.3.2 Developing an organic management plan 3.3.3 Certification
4.1 Farm selection and establishment
4.1.1 Soil and crop nutrition 4.1.2 Pests, diseases and weeds 4.1.3 Water 4.1.4 Proximity to non-organic neighbours 4.1.5 Transport 4.1.6 Labour 4.1.7 Equipment 4.1.8 Monitoring performance 4.2.1 The rotation sequence 4.2.2 Rotation rules 4.2.3 Spatial design considerations 4.3.1 Market suitability 4.3.2 Environmental suitability 4.3.3 Pest, disease and weed resilience 4.3.4 Seed and seedling availability
4.2 Designing the rotation
4.3 Variety and crop selection
4.4 Soil fertility and crop nutrition
4.4.1 Organic soil conversion 4.4.2 Improvements to soil structure 4.4.3 Correcting deficiencies organically 4.4.4 Livestock and soil nutrition 4.4.5 Determining crop nutrient requirements 4.4.6 Seasonal nutrient requirements 4.5.1 Ground preparation 4.5.2 Pre-irrigation 4.5.3 Planting 4.5.4 Post-planting operations
4.5 Soil preparation and planting
4.6 Irrigation 4.7 Weeds 32
4.8 Managing pests
4.7.1 Planning a weed management program 4.7.2 Reducing the bank of weed seed 4.7.3 Management practices 4.7.4 Managing problematic weeds 4.8.1 Planning an organic pest management program 4.9.1 Causes of plant disease 4.9.2 Diagnosis 4.9.3 Reducing plant diseases organically
4.9 Disease management
4.10 Economics
Organic vegetable case studies
5.1 Organic production of asparagus 5.2 Organic production of pumpkin 5.3 Organic production of processing tomatoes
Post-harvest management and marketing
6.1 Quality assurance 6.2 Environmental management systems 6.3 Marketing
6.3.1 Marketing alliances 6.3.2 Defining production and supply pathways 6.3.3 Supply chain management: the key to successful marketing 6.1.2 Quality
6.4 Product promotion, packaging and presentation 6.5 Export help 6.6 Processing requirements
7. Regulatory considerations
7.1 Export requirements 7.2 Permitted inputs 7.3 Other regulatory considerations
7.3.1 Chemical application permits 7.3.2 Phytosanitary requirements
Appendix A Sources of information and other contacts Appendix B Farming inputs
Market signals, both domestic and international, indicate significant demand for organically produced product. By the year 2015 it is predicted that the world trade in organic products will be US$100 billion. Australia has an opportunity to capture a proportion of this market. However, whilst demand for organic products is high, particularly in export markets, the rate of farm conversion to organic agricultural systems is relatively slow. Currently only about one percent of Australian producers are involved in organic production and the area devoted to such production is only about 0.8 percent of total area farmed. requirements are described, as are the central features of developing effective marketing alliances. Although organic farming essentially excludes the use of substances to provide crop nutrition and to treat weeds, pests and diseases, the organic standards do permit limited use of some substances. Soil health and crop pest, disease and weed management are discussed and a reference guide to the substances permitted under organic standards is provided. Of course, being organic does not relieve a farmer of the need to comply with state or territory and federal laws. Some of the regulatory requirements an organic vegetable producer might encounter are also discussed. Finally, there is a comprehensive bibliography and a list of contacts for people keen to further explore the intricacies of organic agriculture and to help them with their farming and marketing activities. During these workshops the similarities and differences between conventional and organic systems were discussed and, where possible, ways of overcoming any perceived impediments to conversion were identified. This formed the framework for the draft publications. Stage two of the project involved presentation of the drafts to organic and conventional producers at additional workshops across regional New South Wales and a final review by organic certifying organisations.
Results and Recommendations
The report draws together the information gathered from the workshops and other sources into a guide for producers of organic vegetables. It identifies the principles of organic farming and the requirements a producer needs to gain certification, including the relevant industry bodies and organisations. It discusses the range of on-farm and post-production aspects which influence the ability of a producer to meet standards for organic production and allow the delivery of the product to the most appropriate markets. The case studies provide examples of the organic production requirements for three different vegetable crops.
What is the report about?
Fundamental to marketing an organic product is being able to prove to the consumer the organic integrity of the product from paddock to plate. The publication offers readers a step-by-step guide through the organic conversion and certification process for a vegetable enterprise. Topics such as farm selection and establishment; weed, pest and disease management; soil and crop nutrition; variety selection; rotation design; and irrigation management are discussed. Case studies provide information about organic production of processing tomatoes, asparagus and pumpkins, and economic gross margins are given for rockmelons, sweet corn and pumpkins. Organic vegetables are marketed through supermarkets, direct to restaurants, through organic retailers and wholesalers, via home delivery services, at farmers markets, and as exports. Marketing methods, promotional activities, and packaging and labelling
This publication does not aim to be prescriptive; rather, it provides a framework for organic conversion and pathways towards conversion within the field of organic vegetable production. It details general production principles for organic vegetables, as well as their production methods, market potential, possible marketing strategies, economics of production, processing requirements, and means of quality assurance.
Export Potential for Organics opportunities and barriers
A series of workshops for NSW Department of Primary Industries staff and organic industry specialists underpinned this publications development.
RIRDC
Innovation for rural Australia
Export Potential for Organics opportunities and barriers, No. 06/061.
1. Introduction to organic farming
This chapter provides an overview of the organic industry, the market potential for organic products, and the basic principles of organic production. Some of the production practices discussed here do not apply to rangeland producers, but the concept of creating and maintaining a holistic, dynamic farming system with emphasis on soil health and biological diversity does apply, no matter where the farm and what the products.
Organic farming workshop
1.1 Industry size and structure 1.1.1 The world scene
Organic farming is practised in approximately 100 countries of the world. The total area of organically managed land worldwide is around 23million hectares. Worldwide there are approximately 398804 organic farms. (International Federation of Agriculture Movements 2003). The retail value of the organic industry worldwide in 2005 was valued at US$30 billion. In 2005 organic retail sales accounted for US$13billion in Europe, US$13billion in the United States, and US$450million in Japan. By the year 2015 it is predicted that the world trade in organic products will be US$100 billion. (International Federation of Agriculture Movements 2005). The organic sector is reported to be growing at between 20 and 25percent a year. If the growth rate experienced in Europe in the past 10 years continues, it is expected that, by 2010, 30percent of food consumed will be organic. Some countries, such as the United Kingdom, have reported consistent growth in the consumption of
organic foods (at 40percent a year), with the increase in production (25percent a year) failing to keep pace with demand. The New Zealand organic industry has enjoyed spectacular growth in recent years: exports increased from $1.1million in 1990 to over $60million in 2003. Europe, Japan and the United States are important markets for New Zealand organic produce: exports to Europe amounted to $28.7million in 2003 and are expected to grow to over $100million by 2008. The International Federation of Agriculture Movements, a private organisation, is the peak world body for organic agriculture. It has about 700 member organisations from around the world and runs an international accreditation program. The Codex Alimentarius Commission (created in 1963 by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization) works to encourage all countries to harmonise standards and import controls for organic produce. Australia has played a central role in Codexs Organic Program, acting as chair for a number of years and regularly participating in negotiations to put forward the case for the Australian organic industry.
1.1.2 The Australian scene
It is estimated that there are about 2100 certified organic farming operations in Australia, farming about 10million hectares. The number of organic farmers has increased by 10 to 15percent in each of the past two years (Australian Certified Organic 2003). About 310 certified organic farms are located in New South Wales. Estimates of the value of Australian organic produce vary. Australian Certified Organics 2003 Organic Food and Farming Report estimated the farm-gate value for such produce in 2002 at A$90million and exports (possibly reduced as a result of drought) at A$40million. Australia-wide, in 2002 there were an estimated 500 certified processors and manufacturers of organic produce, contributing to an industry worth about A$300million annually at retail level; this represents an increase of A$222million since 1990. The Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry estimates that retail sales of organic produce in Australia increased from A$28million in 1990 to nearly A$200million in 2003 (press release, 21 August 2003). Wynen (2003) reports the retail value of
Australian organic produce to be A$165million. RIRDC (2007) estimates the retail value for organic produce is worth between A$250 A$400 million. The Organic Food and Farming Report suggests that growth is continuing at between 10 and 30percent a year, depending on the sector. Beef, milk and horticulture were of particular note. Almost 20years ago pioneers of the organic industry asked the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service for assistance in developing an export program and a national standard for organic production. In 1992 AQIS, in conjunction with the Organic Producers Advisory Committee (now the Organic Industry Export Consultative Committee), released the National Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Produce, which sets out the minimum requirements for organic products exported from Australia. AQIS is responsible for accrediting organic industry organisations seeking to become an AQISapproved certifying organisation.
CODEX (International) National Organic Standard
An audit of the organisation and its documented system is conducted against the requirements of the National Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Produce, the Export Control (Organic Produce Certification) Orders 1997, and importing country requirements. Once the organisation is approved, AQIS issues a Quality Management Certificate. At the time of writing seven organic certifying organisations were operating in Australia: Australian Certified Organic AUS-QUAL the Bio-Dynamic Research Institute NASAAthe National Association of Sustainable Agriculture Australia Ltd Organic Food Chain Tasmanian Organic Dynamic Producers Safe Food Production Queensland. AppendixA provides contact details for these organisations. The role of the certifying
AQIS
organisations is to ensure that products marketed under their logo are produced according to specific standards. Each organisation has its own standards in addition to the national standard. Figure1.1 describes the certification framework for the Australian organic industry. NASAA and Australian Certified Organic are the only Australian certifiers accredited by International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). They are also accredited with the United States Department of Agriculture National Organic Program (USDA NOP); also the Japanese Agriculture Standards ( JAS) administered by the Japan Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), this recognition provides market access to these countries for Australian certified products, which have been accredited by these respective systems. Sections 3.3 and 6.1 provide more information about obtaining organic certification and the organic Export Control Program.
Organic Certifiers
Organic Inspectors
Domestic Consumers
Distributors and Exporters
Processors and Manufacturers
Farmer Producers
Export Consumers ORGANIC SUPPLY CHAIN
Figure 1.1 C ertification framework for the Australian organic industry.
Source: May and Monk (2001)
Horticultural produce leads the domestic market in terms of growth in organic products. In 1995 the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation valued Australian organic vegetable and herb retail sales at $28.06 million. Wynen (2003) put the retail value of horticultural products at abut A$48 million in 200001, with vegetables accounting for 13 percent of national organic production (see Table 1.1). Target markets see Australia as having great potential to supply both fresh and processed vegetable products, largely to meet outof-season needs. At present an undersupply of organic produce is limiting Australias ability to meet export demand, and temporary shortfalls have occurred in the domestic market as product is redirected to export markets. McCoy and Parlevliet (2000), from Agriculture WA, identified a range
of organic products as having a high priority for further development (see Table 1.2). Compared with the United States, Europe and Japan, in Australia the domestic market for organic vegetables is expanding slowly. Relatively few wholesalers, located in the larger cities, receive the majority of fresh vegetables, distributing to specialty and health food stores, home delivery services and, increasingly, the big supermarket chains Coles Myer and Woolworths. Producers supplying these outlets report mixed experiences. Oversupply seems to occur relatively easily for most lines during peak production times, suggesting that the market is in the main a small one. Producers that can supply seasonal niches (early or late season), novelty vegetables (such as minivegetables) or difficult-to-grow vegetables have little difficulty selling their products, usually for a significant premium. Wholesalers
report mixed quality but say that product quality and presentation are generally improving. Excessive price premiumsaveraging 30 percent but sometimes much greatercould be restricting sales and hampering the industrys expansion. Farmers markets are becoming an increasingly popular way for producers to sell their produce. Large farmers markets operate in the major capital cities on most weekends. Regional markets are also growing: some regional centres are using them as a way of promoting local produce and increasing tourism. Fresh and value-added produce such as chutneys and jams are the most commonly sold items. Domestic processors are producing a range of organic vegetable products, among them canned asparagus and sweet corn, pasta sauces, potato crisps and baby food. Heinz Watties is producing frozen vegetable and baby food lines but is currently obtaining the ingredients from organic producers in New Zealand.
Retail price $000 25 148 8 889 4 915 7 464 659 999 48 075
Table 1.1 National values of horticultural organic produce: farm-gate and retail prices, 200001
Product Vegetables Fruit General Citrus Grapes Dried fruit Nuts Total
Source: Adapted from Wynen (2003).
$000 11 509 4 070 2 249 3 416 348 544 22 136
Farm-gate price % of national organic production 13 5 3 4 0 1 25
Table 1.2 Organic products for further development
Priority Beef Carrots Citrus Wheat Wine Likely Apples Asparagus Bananas Canola Dairy products Honey Oats Rice Soybeans Safflower Sugar Onions Possible Broccoli Eggs Fish Grapes Herbs Nectarines Pears Plums Poultry Potatoes Sunflower
Source: McCoy and Parlevliet (2000).
In 2003 Smith reported that Australian exported about 16000 tonnes of organic product in 2002, about three-quarters of this being grain. The main destinations for the exports were the United Kingdom and Europe, and fruit and fruit products accounted for about 8 percent. Between 2000 and 2002 the main areas of growth were in exports of certified organic meats and in oils and fats; exports of certified organic vegetables fell sharply (Smith 2003). Of the top 10 export destinations for Australian organic produce in 2001, six were in Europethe United Kingdom, Italy, Switzerland, France, the Netherlands and Germanyand accounted for over 70 percent of all Australian organic exports. Other important markets in 2001 were Japan (12 percent), Singapore (5.5 percent), the United States (5 percent) and New Zealand (2 percent) (Smith 2003). At present about 40 percent of Australian organic production is destined for the export market. There is a distinct and growing market for fresh and frozen organic vegetables in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan. Among the factors promoting this demand are food safety, genetically modified organisms, and environmental concerns. Estimates suggest that in the United Kingdom 70% of organic fruit and vegetables and 50percent of organic cereal products are imported. In 1996 the market for organic vegetables in Europe was worth US$200 million a year, and it was predicted that this would reach US$510 million by 2003. Other destinations offering export potential are Japan, the United States, Singapore, Korea and Malaysia. Holmes and Kreidl (2003) reported that market opportunities for
Australian organic products would open up if phytosanitary restrictions to importing countries were relaxed. They referred specifically to opportunities for organic fruit and vegetables in Japan (lemons, limes, grapes, olives, cucumbers, marrow, pumpkin, squash, zucchini, beans and eggplant), South Korea (lemons and limes), Taiwan (lemons, limes, grapes, olives, cucumbers, rockmelons, honeydew melons, watermelons, pumpkin, squash, zucchini, beans and eggplant), the United States (lemons, limes, grapes, cucumbers, pumpkin, squash, zucchini, eggplant and blueberries), and the European Union (navel oranges, apples, pears and table grapes). They noted that development of alternative disinfestation methods for asparagus was a high priority. Import replacement is another market sector that warrants consideration. A large range of imported organic products are currently sold in supermarkets and health food outlets. Shepherd, Gunner, and Brown. (2003) reported that pureed vegetables for baby food offer import replacement opportunities in the Australian domestic market. The estimated value of organic products imported into Australia in 2003 was A$13 million (Organic Monitor 2004, in DAFF 2004). In relation to imports, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry reported: Over half of imported organic products are processed foods, such as biscuits, breakfast cereals, muesli, chocolate, pasta, soups, coffee, tea and other beverages. Most global organic food processing occurs in North America and the European Union and it is these two regions that supply the majority of organic processed food imported into Australia.
Other organic imports include herbs, spices, grains, pulses, nuts, dried fruits, rice, honey, sunflower oil and olive oil. Organic fruit and vegetables are mainly imported from New Zealand to meet shortfalls in domestic supply. Apart from organic food and drinks, an increasing number of organic personal care products such as skin care products, hair care products, deodorants and soaps are imported into Australia. It is not clear whether imports are replacing shortfalls in Australian production or competing with domestic products. Certainly some products similar to those imported are produced in Australia and even exported. (DAFF 2004, pp. 323) On this basis, it seems likely that there is the potential for an increase in the domestic production of certain organic products to replace similar imported products. The current situation for organic products in Australia is perhaps best summarised by Hallam: The market for organic food is still small and therefore susceptible to oversupply, at least at particular times and locations. While many countries report strong growth in demand for organic meat and dairy products, for example, a number of instances can be cited where supply has exceeded demand. This has resulted in either a severe reduction in the price difference between organic and conventional products or organic products being sold as conventional products. (2003, p.17)
2. Organic production principles: an overview
Organic agriculture is defined worldwide as farming without the addition of artificial chemicals. An artificial chemical is one that has been manufactured or processed chemically. For example, rock phosphate is acceptable on an organic farm but superphosphate is not. The difference is that superphosphate is rock phosphate with a manufactured chemical (sulphuric acid) added to make more of the phosphate soluble. The definition includes the word addition because organic farming is not necessarily chemical-free farming. The reason for this is that we live in a world where there are artificial chemicals in the soil, the water and the air. Like many other words, organic has several meanings. In the context of agriculture it refers to wholefarm managementthe farm being treated as a living organism. Traditionally, organic farms aim for optimal production rather than yield maximisation. They seek to operate as closed systems, using renewable resources wherever possible and with, as far as practicable, reduced reliance on outside (off-farm) inputs. Organic farms can be managerially more complex, but they are less dependent on external inputs. Organic systems are essentially biological systemsboth above and below the soil. Pest, disease and weed control must, in the first instance, encourage and maintain natural biological processes so as to balance disease and pest problems. Management strategies based on an understanding of biological cycles and other interactions are the main tools replacing reliance on synthetic inputs such as artificial herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, animal
Management strategies based on an understanding of biological cycles and other interactions are the main tools for replacing reliance on synthetic inputs such as artificial herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, drenches, superphosphate and urea.
drenches, superphosphate and urea. Biodynamic agriculture is a type of organic farming. It developed from a series of eight lectures on agriculture given in 1924 by Austrian Rudolf Steiner (1861 1925), founder of the spiritual system known as anthroposophy. The lectures were a response to farmers observations that soils were becoming depleted and there was a deterioration in the health and quality of crops and livestock following the introduction of chemical fertilisers at the turn of the century. Steiner believed a renewal in agriculture was necessary in order to find a way to re-invigorate the earth. Biodynamic agriculture sees the farm as a living organism interacting with its environment to build healthy soil and nutritious food that sustains plants, animals and hence humankind. Emphasis is placed on the integration of crops and livestock, the recycling of nutrients, and the health and wellbeing of crops and animals. The farmer, too, is part of the
whole. These interactions within the farm ecosystem lead to a range of management practices that take account of the environmental, social and financial aspects of the farm as a whole. Although biodynamics parallels organic farming in many ways especially in connection with cultural and biological farming practicesit stands apart from other organic agriculture systems by virtue of its association with the spiritual science of anthroposophy. Steiner identified energies working in nature and so proposed practices that would deploy those energies. He emphasised farming practices designed to achieve balance between the physical and higher, non-physical realms, that acknowledge the influence of cosmic and terrestrial forces, and that aim to imbue the farm, its products and its inhabitants with life energy.1 Biodynamic farmers aim to develop a soil rich in humus; this is facilitated by practices involving careful use of plants, animals,
1. The higher, non-physical, realms are the etheric, the astral and the ego. The terminology and the complex underlying concepts of anthroposophy can make biodynamics hard to grasp. Biodynamic farmers believe there are forces beyond gravity, chemistry and physics that influence biological systems.
machinery and special preparations. Humusdecomposed organic matter made up principally of waterassists in binding soil particles and holding on to soil nutrients. It binds with clay particles to form a clayhumus complex. Among biodynamic humusbuilding practices are the following: use of special preparations to stimulate biological activity application of composts containing special preparations use of cover crops and green manure crop rotations and companion planting appropriate tillage addition of rock dusts, lime and rock phosphate as required. A distinguishing feature of biodynamic farming is the use of nine preparations designed to improve soil quality and stimulate plant life. The preparations consist of mineral, plant or animal manure extracts, usually fermented and applied in small proportions to compost, manures, the soil or plants after dilution and specialised stirring. The intention is to moderate and regulate biological processes as well as strengthen the life (etheric) forces on the farm. The preparations are used in homeopathic quantitiesthat is, in extremely diluted amounts. They are numbered BD500 to BD508.
improving biological cycles in farming systems maintaining and increasing soil fertility working as far as practicable within a closed system avoiding pollution resulting from agriculture minimising the use of nonrenewable resources co-existing with and protecting the environment (OIECC 2002). This is achieved through: management practices that create soils of enhanced biological activity such that plants are fed through the soil ecosystem and not primarily through soluble fertilisers added to the soil Organic farming systems rely to the maximum extent feasible upon crop rotations, crop residues, animal manures, legumes, green manures, mechanical cultivation, approved mineralbearing rocks to maintain soil productivity and tilth and to supply plant nutrients (AQIS 2002) Initially, conversion from a conventional fertiliser regime to an organic soil-building process involves eliminating the use
of artificial chemicals in the farming system. Fertilisers such as superphosphate and ammonium nitrate are thus excluded and are replaced by practices that foster the cyclic renewal of nutrients to maintain crop health. Organic matter content, microbial activity and general soil health are taken as measures of soil fertility. An analysis of organic farming systems in Europe (Stolze et al. 2000) found that organic farming increased microbial activity by 30 to 100 per cent and microbial biomass by 20 to 30 per cent. A comparative study of organic, conventional and integrated apple production systems in Washington State from 1994 to 1999 found that the organic and integrated systems had higher soil quality and potentially lower negative environmental impacts than the conventional system. The data showed that the organic system ranked first in environmental and economic sustainability, the integrated system second and the conventional system last (Reganold et al. 2001). Research into the sustainability of organic farming systems in Australia has been limited. The work that has been done has
2.1 Soil management and crop nutrition
There is worldwide agreement in organic standards that organic farming systems should maintain or increase soil fertility on a long-term basis. Australias organic standard, the National Standard for Organic and BioDynamic Produce states that the primary aims of organic agriculture are as follows: producing food of high nutritional value
those producing vegetables. In fact, some certifiers might demand that livestock (such as poultry) or livestock by-products (such as composted manures) be used as part of the organic vegetable rotation. Nitrogen fixed by legumes and other nutrients consumed by livestock during grazing are returned to soil in manure and urine. Managed carefully, livestock and manure can play an important role in nutrient cycling on an organic farm. Composting of livestock manure is generally required, particularly if sourced externally to the organic farm. Livestock are used extensively for weed control on organic farms. For example, they can graze down weeds before a crop is sown or they can be used after crop establishment for weed control and to improve tillering. Crops can sometimes be chosen so that livestock selectively graze out weeds, leaving behind the less palatable crop. Chinese weeder geese are often used in organic vegetable and fruit production to selectively remove grasses and some broad-leaf weeds from crops. Livestock can also help with preparing the ground for planting by grazing and trampling crop stubble and reducing the length of a pasture sward. The pasture phase in a mixed croppinglivestock system builds critical fertility and structure into rotations and reduces potential for the build-up of insects and disease.
2.2.1 Livestock nutrition
In organic farming, animal husbandry aims to provide a diet that livestock are best adapted to; the aim is not to maximise weight gain at the expense of animal health and contentment. Although good nutrition seeks to produce adequate yields, it has an enormous effect on animal health and is therefore very important in disease prevention. Dietary diversity is the key. A balanced diet helps to meet the animals physiological needs. Lampkin (1990) points out that cows with high production levels as a result of emphasis on concentrates in their diet have a shorter productive life. In organic systems crop rotation and a variety of plant species in the pasture help to achieve diet diversity. A mixture of deep-rooted and shallow-rooted species increases the potential for nutrients to be available and helps eliminate nutrient deficiencies. Herbs such as chicory, plantain, yarrow and caraway are often added. Deep-rooted native species can recycle and make available nutrients that otherwise remain unavailable, deep in the soil. Legumes such as lucerne can supply organic nitrogen to the grass component of pastures and help recycle deep nutrients. Nutrient imbalances are less likely to occur in organically raised livestock when plant nutrients are provided through the balancing of soil fertility and the soils biological activity, rather than when watersoluble nutrients are provided. The long-term aim of organic systems is to remedy soil deficiencies. Under the organic standards, any mineral supplements used should be from natural sources. For example, additives such as urea and synthetic amino acids are not permitted, whereas seaweed and seaweed extracts, which contain a range of minerals, are. Nutrients can
Organic farming starts with the soil. Photo source: Should I Convert to Organic Farming by Viv Burnett, Robyn Neeson and Els Wynen. RIRDC Publication No. 05/084
tended to focus on comparative studies in broad-acre, or extensive, cropping and livestock systems, which are characterised by their low use of external inputs. Rock phosphate, lime, dolomite, legume rotations, incorporation of green manures and crop refuse, manure application during livestock grazing, and the application of microbial preparations can be used for building soil fertility. Studies by Penfold (1995), Derrick (1996), Deria et al. (1996) and Schwarz (1999) suggest a trend towards deficiencies in phosphorous, nitrogen and sometimes sulphur under current organic management regimes in broad-acre cropping and livestock systems. The limited studies of intensive organic farming systems in Australia have generally shown an increase in soil health compared with conventional practice (Wells & Chan 1996; Huxley & Littlejohn 1997; Stevenson & Tabart 1998). This could largely be a reflection of the cost-effectiveness of larger applications of commercial organic fertilisers and compost and incorporation of green manures for high-value crops such as fruit, vegetables and herbs.
2.2 Livestock management
Livestock play an important part in organic farming systems, including
Organic principles encourage the natural behaviour of livestock
area for three weeks. Once the farm is fully organic, external purchases are confined to breeding stock only: all other livestock should be bred on the property. Replacement breeders may be introduced at an annual rate of 1020per cent (depending on the certification organisation) of the existing breeding stock. A limited provision does, however, exist in the standards for taking on agisted stock.
Organic beef. Photo: Andy Monk
also be provided in mineral licks and fodder mixes or by drenching. Exceptions are made for potassiumbased fertilisers. The National Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Produce requires that all food for organic livestock be produced organicallyeither as purchased input or, preferably, produced on the farm. Special conditions exist in relation to feeding supplements and rations and feeding during drought. The national standard and certifiers standards should be consulted in this regard.
is more commonly the practice in organic farming. While the aim of conventional livestock production is for high, early productivity, the aim with organic livestock is to increase the animals productive life, and this is often associated with resistance to disease (Boehncke 1990). Developing longevity in the herd offers a number of advantages: A long growth period means a long youth, and a long immature stage has been shown to be a precondition for a longer life. The farmer has the opportunity to get to know the herd, which makes handling easier and allows for a thorough knowledge of the herds disease history. The herd establishes a stable social order and a stable health state. Stress factors become adapted to conditions over a longer period. The quality and quantity of colostrum in older cows is greater. Breeding should be within the genetic capacity of the species concerned. For example, breeding for high feed conversion can lead to arthritis and breeding for large hindquarters can lead to birthing difficulties. During conversion to organic production, livestock bought externally must be organic or, if conventional, placed in a quarantine
Livestock produced by artificial insemination are allowed by most certification organisations if natural behaviour is not practical or new genetic material is required. Embryo transplant is not permitted since this technique usually necessitates hormone injection to synchronise breeding cycles and tends to lead to decreased diversity in the herd. Livestock produced using genetic engineering are not permitted.
2.2.4 Livestock welfare
Organic farmers aim to minimise physical and psychological stress in their livestock in order to promote wellbeing and reduce the incidence of disease. Having nonstressed livestock also helps reduce veterinary bills and maintain meat tenderness. The national standard states, Livestock husbandry practices that reflect the behavioural needs and ethical treatment and welfare management of livestock are also of fundamental importance where animals are kept on the farm and, in relation to stress caused by practices such as castrating, marking and mulesing, Pain inflicted by surgical treatments must be kept to a minimum level and duration. For example, NASAA prohibits practices such as detailing of cows, although dehorning and castration are allowed when carried out as humanely as possible and within specific age limits. Use of anaesthetics is permitted: it does
2.2.2 Soil management for nutritious pastures
Slow, organic remediation of soils through improved biological activity provides balanced plant nutrition and growth and hence improved nutrition for livestock. The aim is to build soil fertility through practices such as incorporating green manure and cultivating in such a way as to improve soil aeration.
2.2.3 Breeding
In conventional livestock systems the genetic emphasis is on high production. The organic farmer selects livestock for a wider range of qualities, among them pest (parasite) and disease tolerance or resistance (for example, Brahman tick tolerance) and mothering ability. Breeding for lifetime yield
not result in loss of organic or biodynamic status. Management aims to minimise stress during potentially stressful periods. After shearing, for example, stress can be reduced by providing good pasture with low or no parasitic infection. Reducing noise and not rushing stock through gateways can also help minimise stress during handling. Animals experience added stress when being transported to market and during slaughter. The NASAA standards state, Slaughter will be carried out quickly and without undue stress animals may not be held or herded in an area where the killing of other livestock is visible. The benefits of shade and shelter for livestock are well documented. Organic animal husbandry requires that sufficient protection be provided against excessive sunlight, temperature, wind, rain and other harsh climatic conditions. This can be achieved through the provision of windbreaks and sheltered paddocks. Livestock such as geese should be protected from predators such as foxes and dogs.
Organic farmers rely instead on treatments such as herbs, vitamins and minerals, homoeopathy, acupuncture, and dietary additives such as pro-biotics. There is, however, not always a satisfactory organic treatment for health problems, and when an organic treatment is not effective there is no doubt that conventional treatment must be used: the welfare of the animal is paramount. Where an animal is treated with a non-permitted substance it: must be identified and quarantined from other stock from the time of treatment for at least three times the withholding period or three weeks, whichever is the greater, specified for the treatment under relevant laws For a period of at least 12 months after quarantine, such areas shall only be used for livestock production. Crops labelled as organic or biodynamic intended for human consumption can be grown on the area after this period. (AQIS 2002) Therapeutic treatment with allopathic veterinary drugs or antibiotics is permitted. Following such treatment, however, livestock may not be sold as organic or biodynamic. Their products and/or
progeny may be sold as organic or biodynamic after a minimum management period, as outlined in the standard. Where a law requires the treatment of diseases or pests, this overrules the organic standards. Selection of stock on the basis of disease tolerance and resistance is an important tool of the organic farmer. Recurrent health problems point to something amiss in the system. If individual stock exhibit recurrent problems they should be culled.
Internal parasites
Organic farmers are not permitted to use conventional anti-worm preparations. Drenching is done only when necessary, as routine use is not permitted and could lead to the development of resistance. If permitted substances or practices do not satisfactorily treat an animal, the animals welfare takes priority over organic status. Among the organic treatments used are drenches made from a mixture of natural products such as garlic, molasses, vegetable oil and cider vinegar. Copper sulphate in minute doses is also favoured by some organic farmers. Others use aloe vera, clay products, diatomaceous earth, other vegetable and tree products, and Nutrimol. Homoeopathic remedies are widely
2.2.5 Livestock health
The organic approach to animal health care focuses on prevention of disease through diet, shelter, breeding and husbandry practices, rather than treatment. It is not possible to eliminate all animal disease, but when disease does occur a healthy animal is in a better position to cope with it. For many organic farmers, good observation is an important part of disease management. A producer who keeps daily or frequent records will be in a better position to identify the possible origins of a disease or injury. Organic standards exclude the routine use of veterinary drugs such as antibiotics and some vaccinations.
Grazing management is an important tool in managing parasites.
used, with reported excellent results. Some substances listed as permissible are not registered as veterinary treatments, and the Organic Industry Export Consultative Committee, which is responsible for approving changes to the National Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Produce, has been asked to explore the legality of using these unregistered substances. Alternative management practices aim to disrupt a parasites life cycle. Temperature and moisture favour the development of internal parasites, so after rainfall or irrigation livestock are moved to a clean pasture; alternatively, pastures can be harrowed following grazing to expose the eggs and larvae to sunlight and heat. The New Zealand Agroecology Program found pastures such as chicory and lucerne to be least conducive to parasite larvae intake. Resistance to internal parasites increases with age because immunity develops through previous exposure. Sheep reach a higher level of resistance at about nine months, whereas cattle reach this stage at about 18 months. Late pregnancy, lambing and weaning are critical periods for infection because resistance drops with increased stress and as feed intake increases, so it is critical to provide clean pasture at these times. Good nutrition and grazing rotations assist in developing and maintaining resistance. Grazing management is very important in managing parasites. Spelling paddocks can control worm populations, as can alternate grazing. This latter method can involve older, less susceptible stock grazing wormier pastures before young stock or having a higher number of less susceptible stock together with young stock. Another form of alternate grazing is to graze
alternately with different species for example, cattle before sheep because cross-infection does not occur to any great extentor with different species together. This also offers benefits in terms of weeds: different grazing habits will prevent the domination of a particular weed species. Strip grazing involves back-fencing stock to match larvae development so that the stock do not contaminate their pasture. Most organic farmers prefer low stocking rates and relatively intensive rotations. Cultivation and intermediate cropping allow for a break in the build-up of insects, parasites and disease and therefore a clean pasture. Sowing mustard and ploughing it in as a green manure has been shown to clean a pasture (Belstead & Belstead 1992). In summary, maintaining good health and reducing the risk of parasites involves the following: maintaining a high plane of nutrition and minimum stress grazing management that reduces exposure to parasites eliminating herd drenching and drenching individual stock only when infection is sightedclose observation is crucial here after the system is established, culling of animals that show signs of heavy infestation.
a vigorous and healthy crop through the adoption of sound cultural practices, plants are better able to withstand attack from pests and disease. Predicting potential problems and developing strategies to prevent the problems from occurring is the key to successful organic pest and disease management. Organic farmers take an integrated pest and disease management approach. Such an approach is sometimes called ecological pest management in the case of organic farming, to differentiate it from integrated pest and disease management in conventional farming, which includes the use of pesticides. Pesticides are generally not available to organic farmers, although some substances that are derived naturally are allowed for restricted usefor example, natural pyrethrum and Bacillus thuringiensis). In organic systems integrated pest and disease management makes use of a range of non-chemical techniques: cultural controls such as crop rotation, cultivation and crop manipulationfor example, varying the crop spacing and the planting timeand crop hygiene manipulation of species diversityfor example, increasing the number of plant
2.3 Plant pest and disease management
Organic systems are designed to re-create natural systems, which support several competing species, so that no single species has a consistent advantage. This is contrary to the main objective of modern agricultural systems, where the enterprise must maintain permanent control in order to be viable. Organic producers also believe that, by maintaining
Biological pest control is encouraged in organic systems. Predatory shield bug parasitises Heliothis caterpillar in a pigeon pea trap crop. Photo: R Neeson
species that act as a barrier to a pest or that provide an alternative (preferred) host crop resistance or other physical attributes of the cropsuch as spines or hairsthat deter pests natural and biological controls for example, encouraging the natural enemies (parasites, predators and disease organisms) of a pest species by providing a favourable habitat or food source mechanical controls to trap or kill pests or physically prevent them from gaining access to crops modification of the physical environmentfor example, using light traps and sticky traps (to trap and monitor insect pests), laying down clear plastic to control weeds (solarisation), planting a crop such as canola that inhibits certain pest species
(known as bio-fumigation), or planting antagonistic species (known as allelopathy) for weed control use of livestockfor example, using ducks and geese to reduce populations of snails and maintain hygiene by consuming crop refuse.
species might dominate or a noxious weed (one that, by law, must be controlled) might be present and this situation must be managed. Whereas most conventional farmers see a weed as something that grows where it is not wanted, organic farmers see it as a sign that something in the farming system needs attention. Weeds are also seen as having an important ecological role: for example, some deep-rooted species will recycle nutrients from deep down in the soil profile, making them available to shallowrooted species. In order to develop an integrated strategy for suppressing weeds without using chemicals, organic farmers need to have a good understanding of weeds behaviour, their growth characteristics, and the conditions that favour their
2.4 Weed management
Economic weed controlwithout the assistance of synthetic herbicidesremains one of the most difficult aspects of successful organic production. A well-managed organic system should not develop a significant weed problem. A primary objective for organic farming is to change the composition of the weed community, so that the farming system gains maximum benefit. Sometimes, however, one weed
Organic farmers use a range of innovative techniques to manage weeds. Pictured is a tractor-mounted hot-air weed steamer. Photo: R Neeson.
3. Gaining organic certification
Conversion to organic farming is a dynamic process: it involves conceptualising, then action and observation, and finally reflection and refinement. It is a cyclical and continuous process. Figure3.1 illustrates the concept. and your thinking. You must be committed to strictly following organic principles, yet be flexible enough to work with the ever-changing face of nature. Information is not readily available through conventional sources, so be prepared to spend many hours researching and testing new techniques. The self-assessment test shown in Figure3.2 is designed to help aspiring organic farmers decide how far along the conversion pathway they are. some certification organisations do, however, provide a database of suppliers of certified organic inputs. Livestock can play an important role in the future soil fertility program, so it is also necessary to investigate how stock can be managed organically. Paying increased attention to pest monitoring and determining ways of reducing pesticide applications form another area that should receive high priority during the early stages of conversion. It is worth considering employing a crop-check consultant to help with pest and predator identification and the development of strategies to predict and manage pest incursions. Noxious weeds and other difficultto-control weeds (such as perennials or weeds with rhizomes) should be targeted before organic practices are introduced. It is important to remember, though, that weeds are commonly an indication of a soil fertility imbalance or a structural problem in the soil: these problems must be remedied if their recurrence is to be prevented. The first stage in the planning process involves information collection. Armed with as much information as possible, a farmer will be in a better position to make informed decisions and plan the conversion strategy. Information can be obtained from a variety of sources: successful organic (and conventional) farmers extension and research staff employed by government departments state organic organisations and the Organic Federation of Australia
4. Reflect 3. Observe 2. Act 4. Reflect 3. Observe 2. Act 1. Plan 1. Plan
3.2 Beginning the conversion
John Melville, from Bioterm Consulting Pty Ltd, has a message for aspiring organic farmers: A problem is a positive opportunity for development. This is how the farm conversion process should be considered; failures should not be seen as problems but rather as a way of moving forward and developing and improving your organic system step by step. Conversion begins by making small changes that will have the biggest impact on the farming system. It is best to change small aspects of management that can be implemented without excessive cost or loss of crop yield or quality. Avoid trying to change to total organic management immediately. Changes to soil fertility and soil management should be considered early in the process. This will involve conducting soil analyses, determining how to substitute nonorganic fertiliser inputs with organic inputs and crop rotation practices (for example, green manuring) and assessing current cultivation practices. Locating organic inputs can be time-consuming and costly;
Figure 3.1 An action learning model. Source: Kolb (1984)
Observation and reflection are particularly important because organic systems are, by their nature, holistic. A change to one component of the system will affect other components. Monitoring and recording the consequences of implementing a change are crucial to success. Planning is an essential requirement of any businessnot least an organic enterprise. To put it simply, if there is no planning the venture will almost undoubtedly fail.
3.1 A self-assessment test
Organic conversion starts with personal conversionfor you
Do I understand what organic means?
Obtain NO copies of the National Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Produce and certifiers standards. Contact local organic groups, organic farmers and agriculture departments and attend field days. Read, search the internet. Investigate organic training courses with a HACCP component.
Contact organic certifiers, wholesalers, exporters, processors, the NSW Department of Primary NO Industries, Primex, Austrade and the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service. If value-adding, processing facilities may require certification.
Does my soil management conform to organic standards? Have I identified
Have I investigated markets for my produce and what their requirements are?
Do I keep thorough records of crop rotations and any inputs used? Do I have a
non-chemical methods to manage pest and disease problems and methods to supply crops nutritional requirements without the use of artificial fertilisers?
Does my management conform to organic standards?
dumps? Are my storage areas free of chemical residues?
non-certified area to contain treated or non-organic stock?
Have I located and isolated sources of contamination such as old chemical Do I require specialised farming equipment, for example, for weed control? Have I identified potential sources of certified organic inputs?
You need to deal with these things and incorporate strategies in your organic management plan before applying for organic inspection.
Do I have an organic management plan in operation?
Prepare an organic management plan that outlines your strategies for ensuring ongoing adherence to organic standards and include the following:
If you can answer Yes to all these questions you are in a position to apply for an organic certification inspection
certifier organic management plan template, if available audit and maps of farm resourcesphysical, financial and natural farm and paddock history details of past, current and future farm management, how it complies with organic standards, any inadequacies, and strategies for achieving compliance documentation of hazards to organic production or food safety and development of a HACCP-based plan to resolve these difficulties.
Note: HACCP denotes hazard analysis critical control points.
Figure 3.2 How far away am I from being ready to apply for organic certification?
certification organisations organic consultants organic (and conventional) producer groups books and other publications crop and market forecasts organic wholesalers, retailers and exporters short courses and workshops for example, Integrated Pest Management courses run by the NSW Department of Primary Industries agricultural research and development organisationsfor example, the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation the internet universities, agriculture colleges and TAFE collegesespecially their libraries organic (and conventional) farmers newslettersfor example, NSW DPIs Vegiebites Newsletter and journals and papers such as Acres Australia and Good Fruit and Vegetables field days, agricultural trade shows, conferences and workshops. This list is by no means conclusive, but it offers a good starting point. When seeking information, people planning to convert to organics should not limit themselves to organic networks. Much of the information available to conventional farmers is equally relevant to organic practitioners (and vice versa), particularly as conventional agriculture investigates ways of reducing reliance on chemicals. Important information to have is a copy of the organic production standards. Each certifier has its own standard, which is available on-request. Some certifiers standards are on their website. The standard adopted will depend on
the certifying organisation. The certifiers standards are based on the National Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Produce, which sets out the minimum requirements for production, processing and labelling of organic produce. The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service administers the national standard and audits each approved certifying organisation to ensure it complies with the requirements of the national standard, the Export Control (Organic Produce Certification) Orders 1997 and importing countries requirements. The national standard can be viewed on the AQIS website.
3.3 Conversion and certification
Conversion refers to the physical and biological changes the farmer and the farming system must make in order to comply with organic standards. Certification refers to the formal process of assessment designed to lead to accreditation of the farming system as compliant with organic standards. Before going down the conversion path, farmers should ask themselves the questions posed in Figure3.2.
Should I Convert to Organic Farming? Information to support your decision. By Viv Burnett, Robyn Neeson & Dr Els Wynen Provides information on organic production to broadacre grain farmers to help them with the organic conversion process. Discusses the inadequate provision of information to farmers on organic production, and the relative isolation (geographic, information support) of farmers who wish to convert their farms. RIRDC Pub. No. 05/084. $16
conversion process calls for a high level of commitment and often entails financial risk. Furthermore, there is little in the way of detailed information and advice about how to embark on the venture. Basically, the conversion process begins with personal conversion attitude and approach. It is then important to develop a planning framework. Often called an organic management plan, the framework accommodates changes in production methods and the potential financial consequences and outlines strategies for continued adherence to organic standards. It should also set out the steps to be followed during conversion and a time scale over which the conversion will occur. Preparation of such a plan is an essential precertification activity.
3.3.1 Conversion planning
Converting to organic farming is not a short-term project, and there are no fixed methods for doing it. Each farm unit is a unique system, and successful conversion requires careful assessment of the resources available and the interactions between components of the system. A degraded resource base and economic pressures resulting from previous land use can constitute the biggest constraints to successful conversion, and more specialised and intensive farms will generally take longer to convert. These systems require more time and effort to reintroduce diversity. The
3.3.2 Developing an organic management plan
When developing an organic
management plan, the following questions should be borne in mind: How much, and over what time frame, will I convert? It is a good idea to initially use only part of the farm to trial organic methods. A drawback is, however, that this might not allow for suitable rotations or provide the scale required for necessary adjustments in techniques and machinery. On the other hand, converting only part of the farm might allow for better financial stability if yields become depressed. Perhaps, too, it is worth trying organic production of just one commodity grown on the farm, although this could entail more workfor example, segregating organic and conventional produce. Under organic standards, the growing of organic and conventional produce on the same farm is referred to as parallel production. The standards prohibit production of the same crops (or livestock) organically and non-organically on the same farm where the crop (or livestock) products are not visibly different. For example, it is not permitted to grow an organic crop of Rosella wheat and a conventional crop of Janz wheat on the same farm, but it is permitted to grow organic Rosella and conventional oats, provided all sources of contamination have been considered. What are the potential sources of contamination and how will I overcome them? Organic standards require that the producers implement a process for documenting and monitoring the potential for contamination from substances and practices that are not permitted and that strategies be introduced to avoid these risks.
A system similar to HACCP hazard analysis critical control pointsshould be considered. Any risk assessment requires asking, at each point in the production process, four further questions: What are the potential sources of contamination during the production, harvesting, storage, transporting and processing of the crop or livestock? Which of these contamination risks is significant and likely to occur if not properly managed? What must be done to keep these risks at an acceptable level? What records or evidence will I need to demonstrate that I have controlled the hazard? If parallel production is practised then harvesting, sowing, transport and processing equipment must be thoroughly cleaned before organic produce is handled. Storages for organic and conventional produce must be separate, and there must be a strong system of traceability. Additionally, external sources of contaminationsuch as over-spray from adjoining properties and contamination of watercourses running through the organic landshould be identified. The use and sources of external inputs such as seed, fertiliser and livestock feed, even if they are organic, must also be recorded. What rotations should I implement? When making decisions about rotations, it is important to consider the implications of each crop for subsequent crops in the rotation. The potential for pests and diseases, weed management, fertility management and
livestock requirements must also be taken into account and be balanced against what will be profitable for the farming business. Production decisions must be viewed against the goal of optimising the economic return. Rotations must be flexible, too. One organic producer has said he would select a crop for a rotation only if it offered at least three benefitsfor example, an economic return, soil structure (or nutrition) improvement, and a pest and disease break (Whittacker, pers. comm., November 1997). Is my farm layout suitable? Now is the time to consider the appropriateness of the farms layout and how it will facilitate organic conversion. Paddock size, fencing, irrigation layout, the location of watercourses and wetlands, the presence of windbreaks, topography and soil types are all relevant. Do I have suitable equipment and farm structures? Conversion to organic management could necessitate modification or replacement of existing farm equipment and structures. Specialised sowing and weed management equipment might be needed; sealed storages might have to be built to allow for carbon dioxide disinfestation of produce; refrigeration units could be required to control post-harvest insect pests and diseases. Do I have a recording and monitoring system? Keeping records of crop production, cropping history, soil tests, livestock movements, pest and disease management and crop sales will facilitate monitoring of the impact of management practices and the changes that have occurred during conversion. Certifiers will ask for some
informationsuch as details of crop yields and salesas part of the certification contract. What financial factors should be considered? The capital investment required for changes must be taken into account; this could include, for example, livestock housing, machinery, storage facilities such as coolrooms, and facilities for processing, packaging and marketing of produce. A viable marketing strategy should be established before proceeding with the organic management plan. Marketing options including the availability of markets, the premiums offered (generally none for in-conversion produce) and marketing alliancesand valueadding potential all need to be assessed. How do I start? Start slowly. Gain experience with new crops and techniques and the potential output of the system. Start with a couple of paddocks entering the rotation for a couple of seasons. Then other paddocks can be brought in and the original paddocks can progress to later stages of the rotation. In this way the original paddocks are always a couple of years ahead, and mistakes learnt will not be repeated. Most importantly, record observations and redesign the conversion plan each year to take into account experiences with each paddock.
The certification process involves having the farm and the farming methods examined in order to confirm that they meet the certifiers standards for organic farming. The certifiers standards cover all the requirements of the National Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Produce. Since January 1993 exports of organic produce have been required to meet the national standard, which sets out the minimum requirements for production, processing and labelling of organic produce and requires that all exporters, as well as producers and processors, be certified with an accredited industry organisation. Seven organisations are currently accredited by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service to inspect and certify organic producers. (They are listed, along with their contact details, at the beginning of AppendixA.) Each certifier has standards that must be complied with in order to meet the requirements of the national standard. Certification ensures the integrity of the organic product from paddock to plate, providing a guarantee to consumers. It also protects the interests of genuine organic producers in maintaining and increasing their market share. Trade practices law imposes severe penalties for passing off nonorganic produce as organic. There appears to be considerable potential for exporting Australian organic produce. Producers and exporters need to be aware that a certification program must cover any treatment, preparation and packaging of the organic product before export. All exporters must be approved for this purpose. Domestically, the market for organic produce has expanded. The National Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Produce does not have
legal standing within the Australian domestic market. Following a request from Australias organic industry peak body, the Organic Federation of Australia, Standards Australia, Australias peak standards body, has agreed to proceed with the development of a new Australian Standard for organic produce. The current National Organic (export) Standard is being considered as a basis for the development of the Australian Standard.
Levels in the certification process
Full certification is generally granted following three consecutive years of organic management. Some certifiers standards refer to three levels in the certification process pre-certification (also known as pre-conversion), in-conversion and organic. Organic standards must be adhered to during all levels, each level usually being a reflection of the amount of time or degree to which an organic system has been implemented. Producers must be involved in an accredited organic inspection system for a minimum of 12months before receiving any formal acknowledgment that their product is produced using organic principles. The 12-month pre-certification period does not begin until a formal application to the certifier has been made and a statutory declaration and farm questionnaire have been completed and submitted. Following the 12-month precertification periodprovided organic standards are adhered to the certifier will issue the producer with a contract and a certificate of certification. This allows the producer to label and market products as in-conversion. The inconversion period generally lasts for a further two years, after which full organic status (with label) is issued.
3.3.3 Certification
Consumers now recognise a certified organic product as their best guarantee that the product was in fact produced using organic practices. This is particularly important to consumers with health concerns. Organic retailers and wholesalers generally will not buy uncertified produce.
No label is issued during the precertification period. If the decision is made to proceed with certification, a completed application form, along with the required fee, should be sent to the certifying organisation. The certifier then asks for the completed statutory declaration and questionnaire describing the products for which certification is sought and the management practices currently used on the farm.
Following pre-certification, another inspection takes place, and if the requirements of the organic standard are met a certificate of certification is granted. The farmer is then required to enter into a licensing agreement with the certifier. From application to certification takes 12months. At this point, the in-conversion level is achieved, after which a further two years in- conversion is generally required before organic status is granted by the certifier. Once a farm is certified, it will be re-inspected each year. Unscheduled inspections are also carried out as part of the certifiers obligation to meet the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service requirements.
at a reduced rate. The typical fee per producer is around $800 precertification, with annual fees of around $400 once label use is approved. Some certifiers also employ multiskilled auditors, who can carry out other audits such as HACCP (hazard analysis critical control points) for clients.
How to stay certified
To comply with and retain organic accreditation, farmers must uphold the national standard. Any breach of the standardsuch as use of a prohibited substancewill result in temporary or, for continued non-compliance, permanent decertification. Under the national standard inputs such as fertilisers and substances for pest and disease control are classified as permitted, restricted, or non-allowable. Regardless of the type of input, its use must be recorded in the farm diary. If for any reason a nonallowable input is used, this use must be recorded and the certifier notified immediately. Only after the certifier is satisfied that organic management has been re-applied will it be possible to sell the produce in question as organic. Continuing certification calls for good record-keeping. During inspections the inspector will want to see these records. This helps verify that management has been in accordance with the standard. Although it is not compulsory, adoption of a system for monitoring risksuch as HACCPis recommended.
Once the application has been made and the certifier determines that an organic system is possible based on the information provided in the statutory declaration and questionnaire responsesan inspector contacts the applicant to arrange an inspection time. The inspection usually takes two to four hours but can take longer, especially on larger properties. The inspector goes through the application and statutory declaration with the farmer and asks questions. Farmer and inspector together examine the farm, the machinery and the livestock. The inspector might take soil or product samples to test for chemical residues; problem areas could be old chemical storages or chemical disposal areas and old spray application equipment. The inspector then makes an overall assessment of the property and its management. A certification review committee considers the inspectors report and recommendation. The farmer might be asked for more information, or further inspections and tests for chemical residues might be called for. If successful, the farm will be approved for pre-certification, the phase that demonstrates to the certifier the farmers ability to manage the enterprise organically.
The cost of certification
A number of fees are associated with becoming certified. The amount and type of fees imposed can depend on the certification organisation and on the sales turnover of the producer. In general, however, around $1300 should be allowed during the pre-certification period for the application fee, inspections (2 during precertification), and soil and produce residue tests. Once certified for label use, ongoing annual fees are payable which includes the costs associated with annual reinspection. These are generally around $600. In addition, some certifiers place a levy (around 1%) on gross sale of organic produce when sales exceed a minimum amount. Additional fees may be payable under certain circumstances such as for fast tracking applications, adding new acreage and / or new products, and for residue testing. Some certifiers offer a scheme for small growers, where local producer groups can apply for certification
An organic management plan has been developed and is being implemented. Formal application is made to the certification organisation for pre-certification inspection.
Producers must be under an accredited certification system for a minimum of 12 months before receiving any certification level.
The producer completes a questionnaire and statutory declaration and returns them to the certifier.
The certifier evaluates the application and, if it is approved, notifies the producer of a date for inspection.
The 12-month pre-certification period begins when the certifier approves the application, receives the statutory declaration and questionnaire, and the fees are paid. The inspection covers evaluation of organic management and pesticide and heavy metal residue tests of soils and/or plant tissue, as well as inspection of produce storage and processing areas.
The property inspection takes place.
The inspector prepares an inspection report and submits it to the certification organisations certification review committee.
From application to certification will take about 12 months.
The certification review committee evaluates the inspectors report and the application for pre-certification. A contract is not offered. Changes to management or more information are required before the application can be reconsidered.
A contract is offered, enabling use of the certifiers logo under strict guidelines and within an agreed organic management plan.
Organic certification is ongoing and involves adherence to the organic management plan and annual re-inspections.
In conversion is usually the stage following the precertification period. If there is no prior recognition for organic management the farm will remain at this level for two years.
Organic status is usually offered following inconversion level after three years of organic management.
Figure 3.3 The certification process 18
4. Organic vegetable production
Successful production of organic vegetables can be very dependent on site selection. Apart from all the obvious reasons for choosing a sitesuitable soils and climate, a plentiful supply of good-quality water, access to labour, transport and markets, and so onthe site should be relatively free of the pests and diseases of the crops the producer hopes to grow. For example, there may be greater risks associated with growing organic vegetables in an area where large monocultures of similar crops are grown or in higher rainfall areas, where pests and disease may be more prevalent. If processing is an option, then access to a certified processor would be a consideration. Starting small is usually a good idea. This helps to minimise risks and allows for developing the requisite skills. Successful organic vegetable production relies on establishing a sound rotation plan; this might mean reducing the scale of the area under commercial production and putting land aside for green manure cropping. This land is then brought into production in a subsequent rotation. Rotation planning and design are discussed in Section4.2
Field days highlight research findings and enable organic farmers to gather new information. Organic spelt field day at NSW DPIs Organic Research Site, Yanco.
be tested for pesticide residues and heavy metal contamination: unacceptable levels could exclude produce from organic certification or could exclude the growing of particular crops, such as root vegetables. See Section4.4 for information about optimising soil fertility for organic vegetable production. Compost is an essential nutritional input for an organic vegetable farm, so it would be an advantage to have access to a local source of compostable material. This could include animal manures and crop waste from other agricultural enterprises, but these materials would have to be free of excessive pesticide and heavy metal residues. Most certifiers prefer that on-site composting facilities be developed. An area of the farm should be set aside for compost productionwell away from watercourses and dams to avoid pollution.
rotation strategies in order to avoid or reduce the risk of losses resulting from pests, diseases or weeds. If a crop is known to be susceptible, planting into a site that has a known pest or disease history should be avoided. Similarly, weedy areas near crops, which can act as reservoirs for disease-carrying pathogens and crop pests, should be managed or avoided. Other environmental factors, such as local climatic conditions, should be also considered; for example, a site a few kilometres inland may be at less risk of infection from fungal disease than one in a higher rainfall or more humid area. Starting production with a relatively weed free site is a distinct advantage. Sites that are heavily infested with problem weeds particularly perennials such as couch grass, kikuyu and nut grassshould be avoided or the weed thoroughly controlled before planting. Some weeds are indicators of soil problems such as poor drainage or an imbalance of nutrients and can be brought under control over time by modifying the soil condition.
4.1.1 Soil and crop nutrition
Most vegetables prefer a welldrained loam or clayloam soil with a pH of about 6.0 to 6.5. A thorough mapping of soils on the site should be done in order to determine if soil nutrition or the soil structure needs attention. Some adjustment will most probably be necessary before planting, in keeping with the crops nutritional requirements. The soil should also
4.1.2 Pests, diseases and weeds
Before planting, it is essential to carefully develop planting and crop
Control of noxious weeds is a legal requirement. Local councils and state and territory agriculture departments can provide details of weeds that are declared noxious. Similarly, if a producer intends to grow vegetables in a fruit-fly exclusion zone, strategies must be developed for dealing with a possible fruit-fly outbreak.
contamination of their produce occurs. The New South Wales Pesticides Act 1999 offers some legal protection against pesticide contamination. If there is potential for contamination, organic producers are required to incorporate noncertified buffer zones between the certified area and adjoining properties. Buffer zones can consist of windbreaks, wildlife and insectary corridors, or uncertified cropping areas. Properly selected and located, zones of vegetation add to the biodiversity on a farm and attract birds and other beneficial species that help control pests.
mixed organic vegetable enterprise. Access to additional labour should, however, be considered, especially during peak harvest periods and for any extensive hand-weeding operations. If on-farm value-adding is done, extra labour will almost certainly be needed.
4.1.7 Equipment
Many successful larger organic vegetable enterprises use a range of specialised equipment to help with farm operations. The equipment needed depends largely on individual situations. Most producers grow vegetables on raised beds (1.5-metre centres are common), so tractors require high clearance and a wheel spacing that suits the bed size. An extensive range of farm equipment is available to market gardeners, although some of itparticularly equipment used in weed managementis expensive or hard to obtain in Australia. The good news, however, is that more is being imported or manufactured locally by entrepreneurial dealers and growers. Although it might be possible to modify existing equipment, some purchases should nevertheless be budgeted for. Among the specialist equipment currently in use in Australia are flame and steam weeders and brush weeders. Some of the most useful tools for organic farmers are hand operated. Such tools often allow for greater flexibility and accuracy under a greater range of conditions. For larger vegetable enterprises, an excellent reading resource is Steel in the Field: a farmers guide to weed management tools (Bowman 1997), which provides case studies of a number of organic vegetable producers and describes, among other things, their choice of equipment, the equipments uses, its compatibility with other equipment, and the suppliers. AppendixA lists a number of equipment suppliers.
A large, reliable water supply must be available, and it is essential to ensure access to it by confirming this with the relevant authority. The water should be tested to determine its suitability for irrigation; it should also be tested for chemical contamination, particularly if the source comes via an adjoining (nonorganic) propertyfor example, from a creek, river or irrigation channel.
4.1.5 Transport
Access to reliable transport is essential for moving fresh produce to market. The transport might need to be refrigerated if highly perishable crops are grown, and transport operators should be made aware that the produce is organic and that it must be isolated from conventional produce to minimise the risk of contamination.
4.1.4 Proximity to nonorganic neighbours
Although proximity to nonorganic neighbours is not the deciding factor when choosing the site of an organic vegetable growing enterprise, it is important to determine the potential for chemical contamination from those neighbours. It is advisable that organic producers approach their neighbours and explain that they are organic growers and that they risk de-certification if chemical
4.1.6 Labour
Vegetable production is usually a labour-intensive enterpriseand particularly so for an organic vegetable enterprise. Some estimates suggest that one person can efficiently operate a 1-hectare
A large, reliable water supply must be available
4.1.8 Monitoring performance
Record keeping is essential and is a requirement of certification compliance. Ideally, all growing beds should be numbered, and records should be kept of crops grown, weed, pest and disease incidence and control measures used, successes and failures, soil analysis results, green manures, fertilisers and other inputs applied, and weather data. Information should be recorded immediately after an operation is completed.
Organic crop agronomy differs according to the growth cycle of the crop species in question. These species can be broadly classified into three production groups: perennialpermanent planting, often with a dormant nongrowth period. An example is asparagus broadacre annualannual growth cycle; extensive longer rotation; may include legumes and/or green manures, cereals and livestock in the rotation. Examples are pumpkin, potatoes, beets, and carrots intensive annualseasonal growth cycle; intensive rotation; usually includes planting of intermittent green manure crops. Examples are leaf vegetables (for example, lettuce and Chinese greens), tomatoes and brassicas (for example, broccoli). Organic vegetable systems are by no means limited to these three systems. For example, perennial species such as asparagus can be interplanted with annual vegetables or herbs. These systems are further influenced by the system design. A number of aspects of design need to be considered:
the rotation sequence (temporal), where crop choice and the timing of operations are considered the layout within a rotation (spatial), where row spacing, sowing density and intercrop spacing are considered to afford optimum resilience to pests, diseases and weeds and to facilitate operations such as harvesting and cultivation. the relationship of the crop to other natural features on the farm. For example, location and design of shelter belts and insectaries to encourage the build-up of natural predators. These design considerations greatly affect a producers ability to effectively manage pests, weeds and diseases organically.
central consideration: there is no point sticking to a planned rotation if, for example, the market for a particular crop has slumped. When choosing crops for a rotation it is a good idea to have a number of uses in mindsay, processed or fresh and in such a situation careful choice of variety is crucial. Organic certifiers might stipulate that in any three-year period at least one year should include a green manure crop, leguminous crop or pasture phase. This might not be required if compost is regularly applied for primary fertility building or where livestock are incorporated in the system. Generally, however, the following rules should be applied: Avoid repeat cropping with the same species. For crop rotation to be effective, vegetables belonging to the same plant family should not be planted in the same location for two or three years, or perhaps even longer if soil borne diseases are known to exist. This avoids the potential for pest and disease build-up. Knowledge of which insects, diseases and weeds may cause problems, their life cycles, and the conditions that favour their development is essential, to help plan the rotation and to develop management strategies to avoid or overcome problems. Crop rotation and weed control. Some crops and cropping conditions seem to encourage particular weed problems. These problems can occur in the current crop or in the next seasons crop. It is important to note and record these weeds, particularly during the early planning stages, so that it is possible to plan their control when those conditions recur in the rotation. Some crops and weeds can affect the growth of subsequent crops or
4.2.1 The rotation sequence
Perhaps the most crucial management decision for an organic vegetable farmer is the design of the cropping rotation, which should meet the farmers production and financial needs while also implementing sustainable agricultural practices. The choice of vegetable crops and their relationship with one another, with fertility building and with pest and diseasebreaking crops such as pastures and green manures are all factors that must be considered when deciding on the rotation design. Other factors that should be taken into account are the market for the chosen crops, the available resources (for example, labour and equipment), the economics of the rotation and, if they are to be a part of the rotation, the role of livestock.
4.2.2 Rotation rules
Although there are a number of rules that should be followed when designing a rotation, flexibility is a
weeds by exuding a chemical, a phenomenon known as allelopathy. Allelopathic influences can be both an advantage (if they affect weeds) or a disadvantage (if they affect the crop). Precede soil-depleting crops with soil-replenishing crops. A rotation should generally consist of soildepleting and soil-replenishing crops. Legumes can provide nitrogen for subsequent crops. Other crops, such as those with deep tap roots, have the ability to exploit a greater area of the soil nutritive reserve. Turning in refuse from these crops will help recycle deep nutrients for use by shallow-rooted crops. Crops with fibrous root systems are also important for nutrient exploration. Some crops are chosen on the basis of their ability to add to soil organic matter. With green manure crops, the aim should be to have a range of species that fulfil all of these requirements. The composition and timing of incorporating a green manure crop can be designed either to supply essential nutrients (if ploughed under when young or, for legumes, at early flowering) or to boost organic matter and improve soil structure (if allowed to produce maximum crop biomass before being ploughed in). Table4.1 shows two possible green manure mixes, their cost, and their biomass contribution. Crops having higher nitrogen
requirements should follow green manure crops. These include crops such as lettuce and sweet corn, which have a shallow, fibrous root system. These would then be followed in the rotation by flowering crops such as broccoli and cauliflower, which have lower nutritional requirements, and then by a deeper rooted fruiting vegetable such as pumpkin. The final crop in the rotation would be a root vegetable: these have the greatest ability to exploit the soil profile for remaining nutrients. This could then be followed by two green manure cropsone to increase soil organic matter (for example, an oat-based crop) and the other legume basedto precede the start of the next vegetable rotation. Alternatively, a single green manure crop and compost could be applied. Incorporation of a green manure crop in the rotation does not preclude supplying additional nutrients before or during a vegetable crops growth. Soil and leaf analysis will help to determine these requirements. Section4.4 discusses crops nutritional requirements in greater detail. Use the root physiology of crops to help improve soil structure. Some crop speciessuch as sunflowershave extensive and penetrating root systems. These can also be incorporated in the rotation, reducing the need for primary tillage.
4.2.3 Spatial design considerations
Row and inter-row spacing, the number of crop rows per bed, and interplanting with other species to act as insectaries or trap crops are some of the spatial design considerations when planning a cropping phase.
Weeds grow best where there is minimal competitionfor example, where there are gaps in a crop stand. Because weeds are better competitors, they will occupy these sites rapidly. Several practices can reduce the potential for weeds to invade a site: decreasing the inter-row spacingthat is, increasing the crop sowing rate decreasing the distance between rows or beds increasing the number of crop rows on a bed growing a competitive crop or a crop that is readily cultivated for example, pumpkin and potatoes. The aim is to close the crop canopy as quickly as possible. In the case of crops that never establish a competitive canopysuch as onions and, to a lesser extent, carrotsother strategies are needed. Of course, any strategy that changes crop or row spacing must be compatible with the available machinery and equipment. Experimentation might be needed in order to determine the optimum spacing for each crop. Increasing the sowing rate can affect the total yield and the size of the productfor example, the head size of cauliflowers and the bulb size of onions.
Table 4.1 T wo possible green manure mixes: cost and biomass contribution
Field pea mix 50kg/ha field pea (Dundale) 20kg/ha oats (echidna) 1.4kg/ha fodder mustard (Winfried) 60kg/ha faba beans (mixed) Biomass yield/ha: 48.450 tonnes Sowing rate: 131.4kg/ha (total mix) Cost of mix: $159.0/ha Vetch mix 30kg/ha vetch (Popany) 20kg/ha oats (echidna) 1.4kg/ha fodder mustard (Winfried) 30kg/ha faba beans (mixed) Biomass yield/ha: 39.967 tonnes Sowing rate: 81.4kg/ha (total mix) Cost of mix: $94.3/ha
The crop spacing and its relationship with other crops
can influence the occurrence and dispersal of pests and their predators. Insectaries (to provide food sources and thus encourage beneficial predatory insects) and trap crops (to provide a preferred food source for the pest) are often interplanted in strips or planted as a border surrounding the main crop. Research in the United States has shown that substantial numbers of beneficial insects can move up to 113 metres from insectary hedgerows into adjacent vegetable crops. Research into spatial design for insectaries and trap crops is increasing, but there is as yet little information available about optimal design for the management of specific pest and predator species. Understanding a pests ecology and dispersal characteristics will help when designing cropping layouts. For example, to limit the spread of aphid-transmitted virus, crops planted later can be planted upwind of fields planted beforehand. In New Zealand beetle banks have been successfully used around crops to prevent pests moving into the crops. Some planting layouts can also confuse pests and thus reduce egg laying or dispersal.
Market research is essential for determining which vegetables are popular with consumers. (Organic products in a Woolworths supermarket.)
in order to smother weeds. Some varieties have featuresfor example, hairs or a rough surfacethat make them unattractive to pests.
4.3.1 Market suitability
Market research is essential for determining which vegetables are popular with consumers. Contact organic wholesalers, retailers and exporters and find out what is required and when it is required. Some types of vegetables might be undersupplied at particular times of the year, and it might be possible to fill that seasonal gap. Restaurants or caterers might want specialty vegetablesfor example, mini vegetables. Local markets or farm-gate sales might be a possibility, in which case growing a broad range of popular lines could be the best option. A vegetable processor is another possibility: organic baby food is being marketed by a number of processors in Australia and elsewhere. A study by the Queensland Department of Primary Industries found that there is an export market for frozen organic vegetables (Lakin & Shannon 1999). Generally, there are preferred cultivars for processing and for the
fresh-food market; this should be researched. Processors will probably have their own requirements, which could include variety, timing and quantity of supply, shape, or specific composition requirements such as the percentage of soluble solids in the product.
4.3.2 Environmental suitability
Once the decision has been made about what to grow, the next step is to choose a suitable cultivar. Do some local research: contact the local agriculture department, producers and home gardeners to find out what performs well in the area. Soil type and seasonal characteristics such as day length and temperature range all influence what cultivars can be grown and when they can be grown. It may be possible to modify environmental factors to protect or change the maturity date of crops: crop (or row) covers and glasshouse production can achieve this.
Market suitability, physiological characteristics, pest and disease resistance, seed or seedling availability, and environmental suitability are all considerations when determining what variety of crop to plant. Since 31 December 2003 it has been a requirement of the National Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Produce that the chosen variety be obtained from organically certified seed or seedlings. The variety should also be popular in the marketplace, be high yielding, have good pest and disease resistance, and have good seedling vigour and canopy development
4.3.3 Pest, disease and weed resilience
Among the variety features that will give an organic crop an advantage are inherited disease and pest
system converts from a chemical to a biological one and is starved of its regular fix of readily available, chemical fertilisers. The length of this preliminary soilbuilding process depends largely on the soils pre-existing condition and fertiliser history. The phase involves increasing biological activity by providing optimal soil conditions. The challenge for organic farmers is to develop and adopt a costeffective strategy that encourages and builds biological processes in the soil while maintaining optimal plant nutrition. In addition to standard organic practicessuch as planting legumes and green manure crops and applying compost and rock dustscommercial organic fertilisers, seaweed, fish emulsion, sugar solutions and microbial preparations are applied to stimulate soil biological activity and supplement plant health.
Green manure crops of oats, faba bean and vetch, NSW Department of Primary Industries organic demonstration site, Yanco. Photo: NSW Department of Primary Industries. resistance, seedling vigour, broad 4.4 Soil fertility and crop leaves (to shade out weeds) and nutrition hairy fruit (as in some types of Organic farming starts with the squash) to deter pests. Varieties soil. The organic farmers primary selected on the basis of their aim should be to provide crop and maturity date can be planted to animal nutrition by implementing avoid periods of high pest and practices that nurture the soil, disease incidence. stimulate soil life, and conserve 4.3.4 Seed and seedling nutrients. This involves developing both long-term and short-term availability strategies to improve soil health and Organic certification standards require that first preference be given to supply crop nutrition. to planting organically raised seeds or seedlings.
The comfort phase
The comfort phase coincides with an increase in biological activity and a corresponding release of previously locked-up, or unavailable, nutrients. It is during this phase that optimal crop yields are reached. Organic farmers need to be careful not to over-fertilise during this phase. This is more likely to occur in intensive horticulture systems, where application of compost and green manuring are common practice. Over-fertilisation usually manifests itself through crop physiological problems and an increased incidence of pests and diseases. Farmers should also be aware that a running down of the nutrient reserve can also occur if the soil system is not being monitored properly. Usually, organic farmers regularly monitor soil nutrient levels. Soil and plant tissue testing allows nutrient requirements to be tracked, thus avoiding overfeeding or underfeeding the soil system.
Since 1January 2004 this has been a requirement of the National Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Produce. An industry database of producers and suppliers of organic seed and seedlings is being developed. Open-pollinated and non-hybrid varieties are also preferred but are not essential. Genetically modified (transgenic) cultivars are not permitted in organic systems. Care should be taken to ensure that the seed has acceptable germination. A few seeds planted in a pot before sowing will give an indication of the germination percentage. Seed must not be treated with pre-sowing chemicals.
4.4.1 Organic soil conversion
Organic conversion is not just about replacing a highchemical input system with a no-input, or every alternative input, system. The organic soil-building process goes through three critical stages, which can be referred to as the adjustment phase, the comfort phase and the maintenance phase.
The adjustment phase
The adjustment phase involves developing a system that reduces the crops reliance on artificial chemicals. This could be likened to going cold turkey for farming systems that are heavily dependent on chemical inputs. During this phase some farmers have observed that crop yields can decline as the
The maintenance phase
Research has shown that some organic systems have, over a relatively long period, experienced a decline in soil nutrient reserves (Small et al. 1994; Penfold et al. 1995). This could be attributed to long-term drawing down of nutrients during harvesting of crop or (less so) livestock products and through natural processes such as leaching. In Australia this has been particularly evident in broad-acre cropping and livestock enterprises where a phosphorous deficiency has been found. This has implications for cereal and legume crops: phosphorous deficiency in legumes adversely affects the plants ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen in root nodules; nitrogen fixed by legumes is an essential nutrient in subsequent crops in the cropping rotation. Preparing a nutrient budget by reconciling inputs and outputs and correlating this with regular soil tests and crop performance can help organic producers track the performance of the annual soil nutrient cycle. Increasing biological activity Organic conversion begins with a process that encourages increased activity by microbes and arthropods in the soil. The elemental composition, structure and organic matter content of the soil need to be favourable if biological activity is to be increased. Biological activity in the soil begins with the breakdown of organic matter. During the decomposition process the organic molecules in organic matter are either broken down into simpler organic molecules that require further decomposition or converted into mineralised nutrients. Organic farmers supply organic matter through incorporation of green manure crops and crop refuse and the addition of compost.
Lucerne is undersown eight weeks after the emergence of sweet corn. Following the corn harvest, the lucerne growth accelerates rapidly. NSW Department of Primary Industries organic demonstration site, Yanco. Photo: NSW Department of Primary Industries. The use of bio-indicators is hectare) that is released to the soil becoming increasingly important upon cultivation. The same crop, as a way of assessing soil health. when allowed to mature, contributes Pankhurst et al. (1997) review how more organic matter but less soil organisms and biotic processes available nitrogen. If a soil is low in can be used as indicators of soil organic matter, a green manure crop health. A variety of techniques can that increases organic matter (for be used for assessing biological example, oats) is desirable. activity, among them measurement of soil microbial activity based on Green manures can also act as the soils carbon dioxide respiration, break crops to reduce the carryover DNA testing to determine the of pests and diseases in subsequent diversity and abundance of microcrops in the rotation. They are an organisms present, and an in-situ essential component in intensive technique based on measuring the organic annual cropping rotations. tensile strength of a cotton strip that has been buried in the soil. Nitrate leaching following the Commercial laboratories offering incorporation of a green manure services to assess soils for microbial crop can occur when rainfall status are now becoming more exceeds evaporation, resulting in net common in Australia. drainage. There is some evidence that nitrate leaching might be less Green manuring under an organic system than under Green manure crops are grown a conventional system (Lampkin specifically for cultivation back 1990). Nitrate leached below the into the soil in order to build up root zone is effectively lost from organic matter and nutrients and the system. Rotation design within to stimulate biological activity. The the organic system must take into type of green manure crop and account the need to minimise large the stage at which it is turned in nitrogen losses following ploughing determine the amount of organic in of the green manure crop. Early matter or nutrients returned to establishment of a cereal crop the soil. A lush, actively growing immediately after incorporating the legume sward (of vetch, faba beans green manure has been shown to or lupins, for example) contains be one of the most effective ways of large amounts of nitrogen (50140 kilograms of nitrogen gain per reducing nitrate leaching.
Some organic farmers apply foliar sprays of sugar, molasses or compost teas to green manure crops prior to turning the crop in. This is thought to provide additional energy for micro-organisms, enabling a more rapid breakdown of green matter prior to planting the next crop. Undersowing crops Undersowing cropsfor example, barley with the grass or clover pasture that will follow in the rotation in the succeeding year or almost any leguminous cropis central to organic systems. The practice has been shown to have beneficial effects on the diversity and abundance of insect species (Vickermann 1978). Other benefits are the potential for higher protein content in cereals undersown with a legume as a result of a small net nitrogen gain, improved weed suppression, improved pest and disease control, and establishment of that very important clover-based pasture (Lampkin 1990). Permanent swards and pastures In both livestock and cropping enterprises legume-based pastures provide the systems main nitrogen input and livestock largely recycle other nutrients. In orchards, permanent swards, or sods, are sometimes planted between the rows and are the preferred
method of inter-row management because the soil ecosystem remains undisturbed. This favours the development of plant roots, soil microfauna and flora, worms and mycorrhiza and helps retain good soil structure. A mixture of deep-rooted and shallow-rooted species increases the potential for gaining access to soil nutrients; for example, in organic pastures herbs such as chicory, plantain, yarrow and caraway are often added. Ideally, an orchard sod consists of a range of perennial plant species. Grasses such as ryegrass and fescue are efficient in obtaining potassium from the soil and are able to make use of excess organic nitrogen. Legumes such as clover and lucerne can contribute 40140 kilograms per hectare per year of nitrogen to the soil reservoir. Herbs such as plantain and chicory often have a higher mineral content and have deep roots capable of bringing up leached elements that would otherwise be unavailable to the crop. Compost Compost is a primary source of nutrients and organic matter in intensive organic farming systems and an invaluable food source for soil micro-organisms. Compost is not widely used in Australian broad-acre organic cropping
systems because sources of compost material are limited and, when available, often costly. Animal manures and crop refuse are the main ingredients of compost. Organic standards require that imported manure intended for application be composted before use. The primary benefits of compost are that it is a more stable form of organic matter than raw waste and weed seeds and diseases are destroyed during the composting process. When manure is composted, it is easier to spread, and losses to the environment are minimised. Rock dusts and clay added to compost in small quantities can help reduce nitrogen losses from the heap by absorbing ammonia (Lampkin 1990). Many recipes and techniques are advocated for composting. The Australian Standard for Composts, Soil Conditioners and Mulches (AS 4454-1999) defines composting as the process whereby organic materials are pasteurised and microbiologically transformed under aerobic and thermophilic conditions for a period of not less than 6 weeks. The pasteurisation process is described as having the whole mass of constantly moist material subject to at least three consecutive days at a minimum temperature of 55C. The principal aim of composting is to produce a stable humic compound. This is achieved by mixing main ingredients together in quantities that achieve a suitable carbonnitrogen ratio. The ideal ratio lies between 25:1 and 35:1 (Lampkin 1990). Moisture content is also important and ideally should be about 55 to 70 per cent. Compost heaps should be designed to allow sufficient air access. Microbial activity quickly raises the temperature of the heap to 55C, where it stays for a
Having a mix of deep-rooted, shallow-rooted, fibrous-rooted and nitrogen-fixing species in green manure crops increases the potential for gaining access to soil nutrients and improving soil structure. Pictured here are, from left to right, oat, faba bean and fodder rape roots. Photo: NSW Department of Primary Industries.
mounted bucket for loading and turning and a manure spreader for application. Rock dusts and re-mineralisation Many Australian soils are leached of elements essential for plant growth. Moreover, many years of farming with an emphasis on supplying a nitrogenphosphoruspotassium fertiliser regime, at the expense of minor elements, might have resulted in further mining of some trace elements. This theory has some support: evidence suggests a gradual decline in the elemental composition of fresh fruit and vegetables since the 1940s (McCance & Widdowson 1992). Soils with higher biological activity play an important part in increasing the availability of micronutrients. Much research has been done into the symbiotic roles of arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi in increasing phosphorus availability in plants and rhizobium bacteria and their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen for plant use. There has, however, been little research into the role of other soil micro-organisms in improving micronutrient uptake by plants. The re-mineralisation of Australian farming soils is a strategy more recently proposed by some soil health experts. Various techniques for re-mineralisation are gaining an increased following among farmers; they are largely based on balancing soils cation exchange capacity and achieving a satisfactory calcium magnesium ratio (Albrecht 1975). The effectiveness of the techniques is yet to be scientifically evaluated under Australian conditions. Re-mineralisation involves the addition of various rock-based materials, among them reactive and colloidal rock phosphate, dolomite, limestone and rock dusts (from silicate rocks, including basalt and bentonite), as well as some
commercial organic blends. Rock dusts can be added directly to the soil or to compost heaps. Whatever the method of application, the release of nutrients from the rock dusts is accelerated by moist conditions, high temperatures and high biological activityfor example, during a green manure stage or composting. Finer particle size of the rock dust is preferred as this provides a greater surface area for micro-organisms to act on and hence a more rapid availability of nutrients to plants. Where soils have good biological activity and are subject to irrigation, the effectiveness of the mineral products can be further improved. Rock phosphate becomes available more quickly under acidic soil conditions (a pH less than 5.5) and where rainfall exceeds 600 millimetres. Because the benefits of rock dusts are not available immediately to a crop, the dusts should be applied a few seasons before cropping. Consistent, small applications throughout the rotation should be considered. For growers buying mineral rock dusts, it is important to note that unacceptably high levels of heavy metals have been found in some commercial products. Unlike other commercial fertilisers, rock dusts are at present not required to undergo testing or to be registered under the Fertiliser Act 1998. Each batch bought should be tested, or a written declaration should be obtained from the manufacturer or supplier, in order to determine whether impurities are present.
Composta primary source of organic matter and nutrients in intensive organic farming systems. Compost production at NSWDepartment of Primary Industries organic demonstration site, Yanco. Photo: NSW Department of Primary Industries.
minimum of three days before the compost heap is then turned (ASA standards specify a minimum of three turns) to allow for thorough mixing and a further heating of any undecomposed material. Compost is usually applied at a rate of 5 to 20 tonnes a hectarethe higher rate on sandier soils. Some certifiers put limitations on compost rates above 20 tonnes a hectare. Soil analysis and crop requirements will help determine application rates. Organic farmers should aim to establish on-farm composting and handling facilities, which should be sited well away from watercourses and dams. Efforts should be made to avoid run-off and nutrient lossfor example, by covering the compost windrow. A grassed buffer area downslope of the windrow will help absorb nutrient run-off. If a certified source of compost is available locally, this could be a preferred option, provided it is cost effective (include the transport costs). Suitable equipment is needed for handling, turning and spreading the compost. This might include a front-end loader or tractor-
4.4.2 Improvements to soil structure
Improvements in the biological activity and cation exchange capacity of soils will generally lead to an improvement in soil structure, but this needs to be supported by
suitable cultural practices. Use of suitable machinery at the correct soil moisture, incorporation of soil organic matter, and improvement of soils using differing types of crop root physiology are techniques organic farmers use in order to develop soil structure. Lampkin (1990) describes cultivation practices as having the greatest impact on the soil of any agricultural activity. He summarises the organic approach to soil cultivation as one that seeks to maintain soil structure and allow the soil to have vegetative cover for as long as possible within the rotation. Shallow cultivations, where only the surface layers of the soil are mixed, are an important element of this approach. Deep cultivation of dry soil is practised to loosen and aerate soil, avoiding inversion of the lower layers. Green manures or cereal crops are sown as soon as practicable following cultivation: their roots help stabilise loosened soil and minimise nitrate leaching.
<http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/ PDF/foliar.pdf>.
4.4.4 Livestock and soil nutrition
Livestock play an important part in organic farming. Crop nutrition is improved when a pasture or grazing phase is incorporated in the cropping rotation. This is common practice in broad-acre systems and in some annual vegetable production systems. Among the nutritional benefits offered by a pasture phase are nitrogen fixation through the legume component and the recycling of organic matter and nutrients via livestock manure. The pasture phase can also help to suppress pests, disease and weeds by providing a break in the disease cycle. If well managed, poultry such as chickens, geese and ducks can provide valuable nutrient inputs as well as contributing to pest, disease and weed control. Section2.2 provides more information about managing livestock.
improvement and crop nutrition programs. Soil samples should be collected from all representative soils on the farm, with care being taken to map out the location and depth of sampling. A good sampling procedure is described on the NSW Department of Primary Industries website <http://www. agric.nsw.gov.au/reader/6701>. Ideally, samples should be taken in the same area and during the same environmental (temperature, soil moisture) conditions each time. The samples should be sent to an independent, accredited soil laboratory. It is best to verify the sampling and packaging technique with the laboratory before dispatching the samples. Various levels of detail (and cost) are available with the analysis. A full analytical assessment (including an assessment of biological activity) costs from $80 to $150. AppendixA lists some accredited analytical laboratories.
4.4.3 Correcting deficiencies organically
Unseasonal weather, such as a prolonged dry spell or excessive moisture, or simply a miscalculation of crop nutrient requirements, can result in a nutrient deficiency in the crop. If this happens during a critical crop growth period, plant health can decline, predisposing the crop to pest and disease attack. A permanent yield loss could result, so it is necessary to correct any deficiency quickly. Leaf analysis is the most commonly used method of detecting deficiencies during the crop-growing period. Organic farmers use foliar sprays (such as fish and seaweed extracts) molasses, compost teas and trace elements to correct temporary deficiencies. Guidelines for foliar feeding of plants can be found on the website of the US National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
4.4.6 Seasonal nutrient requirements
During conversion to organic production and during a crops growth period additional nutrients might need to be supplied. It is important that crop growth does not falter during the growing season, and in this instance sap or tissue tests on the crop offer a method of rapidly checking crop nutrient status. Nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and calcium are the elements most often required by crops. Nitrogen Nitrogen is required in reasonable quantities by most vegetables. Unlike many elements, it is relatively mobile in the soil nutrient pool. As nitrate, nitrogen is water soluble and can be rapidly leached from the crop root zone. When large amounts of organic carbon are presentfor example, when straw
4.4.5 Determining crop nutrient requirements
The availability of nutrients in the soil and the growth stage of the crop will determine a crops nutrient requirements. Augmentation of nutrients in the soil reservoir necessitates a long-term fertility building program. Increasing biological activity and organic matter (and thus humus formation) and balancing other essential elements (for example, the calcium magnesium balance) should be based on site-specific information collected through regular soil analysis. Soil tests are the first step to planning a soil management program. Soil tests should be conducted regularlyparticularly during the early stages of conversionto help track the effectiveness of soil
or crops rich in organic matter are turned into the soilnitrogen can become temporarily unavailable as soil microbes use the nitrogen to help them digest the carbon. Nitrogen can also be lost in gaseous form, through the processes of denitrification and volatilisation. Before planting, nitrogen is supplied through incorporation in the soil of legume-based green manures, compost, blood and bone (usually applied as an ingredient during composting) and commercial organic fertilisers. Note that in the case of leeks, chives and shallots organic animal products such as blood and bone1 should not be applied immediately before planting because they attract the corn seed fly whose larvae will attack the planted cloves or germinating seed. Although nitrogen mineralisation can be highup to 900 grams a daythis might be inadequate for a rapidly growing vegetable crop. Short-season crops such as radishes and beets will most probably be able to obtain all their nitrogen requirements from a green manure crop, compost or organic fertiliser that has been applied before planting. Crops with a growing season beyond six to eight weeks will probably need additional nitrogen, applied as a side-dressing or foliar spray or, if used, by means of drip irrigation. Commonly used substances are fish emulsion, worm juice and compost teas (made from stinging nettle, for example). Phosphorous Although soil tests might show there is sufficient phosphorus in the soil, the phosphorus might be in a form that is not readily available. Cold, wet soils, which can limit root growth, restrict phosphorus availability. In addition, organic sources of phosphorus are less soluble than conventional forms such as superphosphate, which
is treated with sulphuric acid to increase its solubility, so there is a time lag before phosphorus becomes available for the crop. Increasing biological activity improves availability, but additional phosphorus applied in small, regular doses will ensure that a reliable supply is available for crop growth. Rock phosphate, guano, fish meal and bone meal1 (usually added as an ingredient during composting) all contain moderate levels of phosphorus and are commonly applied in organic systems. Phosphorus should be applied at least a year before cropping. Potassium The element potassium is needed for flower and fruit development and to improve storage quality; it is particularly important for crops such as tomatoes. Among the organic sources of potassium are compost, seaweed, basic slag, wood ash, sulphate of potash, and green sand (langbeinite). Numerous commercial organic fertiliser blends containing potassium are available. Calcium Calcium is needed for plant cell strength, pest and disease resistance, and post-harvest quality. The Albrecht theory of plant nutrition holds that calcium and its relationship (ratio) with cations, particularly magnesium, are critical for soil-building processes and crop growth. Like phosphorus, calcium must be applied well before planting, with regular, small doses beneficial to sustain soil levels. Limestone (naturally mined), dolomite and gypsum are sources of calcium. Dolomite is also a source of magnesium, and gypsum also contains sulphur. Other elements Other minor elements essential for crop growth might be lacking in the soil. Commercial organic fertilisers, compost and foliar applications
of seaweed, worm liquid and compost teas can be used to remedy deficiencies.
Cultural management of soil in vegetable production systems is a matter of achieving a balance between the primary goal of maintaining or augmenting the level of organic matter and that of achieving an acceptable soil condition through the tillage that is required for crop growth and weed management. Conventional intensive tillage systems generally have long-term negative effects on organic carbon levels in the soil. Conservation tillage techniques, while minimising soil disturbance and carbon loss, generally leave crop residues on the soil surface. This creates problems for organic producers who rely on tillage to manage weeds, incorporate crop residues, and aerate the soil.
4.5.1 Ground preparation
Following any preliminary soil remediation works, the soil should be cultivated to a depth that will encourage root growth and drainage. On clay soils this might entail deep ripping or deep aeration with an implement such as the Agroplow. Growing a deep-rooted crop such as sunflower might help break up hard pans and improve drainage. Adding gypsum can also improve drainage in some soils. Vegetables are generally grown in rows or beds, and ripping should follow this layout. Primary tillage usually involves developing a deep, friable soil, which is then formed into hills; if beds are to be used, a number of hills are combined into a bed. Further information on farming on raised beds can be obtained in the NSW Department
Precautions should be taken that the uptake of such products by livestock as part of their diet is avoided.
of Primary Industries Agfact, Cropping on Raised Beds in Southern NSW, see: < http://www.agric.nsw. gov.au/reader/soil-types-structure/ p1-2-1.pdf?MIvalObj=17733&doct ype=document&MItypeObj=applic ation/pdf&name=/p1-2-1.pdf> Slowly available and soil-building substances such as compost, rock phosphate and lime are best applied before forming the beds. It is extremely important that the beds or rows be straight and the correct distance apart: otherwise, postplanting cultural operations such as inter-row weeding will be difficult. If well made, beds should last a couple of seasons before needing to be re-formed. If subsurface drip irrigation is to be used, it must be installed after bed-forming and before sowing the crop. Green manure should be incorporated well before the crop is planted. Organic matter (in this case, the green manure crop) must first be digested by micro-organisms before any nutritional benefits become available to subsequent crops. Nitrogen is used by microorganisms as they consume and break down organic matter, and if a vegetable crop is planted when undecomposed organic matter is still present a temporary nitrogen deficiency can occur. Some organic practitioners spray molasses, compost teas, sugar or microbial solutions on the green manure crop before incorporation, to facilitate its breakdown. Incorporation of the green manure should be shallow, while still burying crop refuse. A bulky green manure might need to be slashed or mulched before incorporation, to facilitate breakdown. A rotary mulcher can be used very effectively to break up large amounts of crop refuse and can be adjusted to operate in the top 5 centimetres of soil.
The timing of incorporating green manures also needs careful consideration. Rapidly growing, immature green manures break down more rapidly than green manures that are allowed to mature. In legumes, once flowering begins, the vegetative growth slows, and nitrogen that has been fixed by the plant begins to be used for seed production. This is lost nitrogen in terms of the vegetable rotation, so incorporation should occur before or during early flowering of the green manure. If a mixture of species is used in the green manure, it might be necessary to forfeit some nitrogen benefit in order to ensure that there is sufficient time for the organic matter to decompose before the vegetable crop is planted. Low soil moisture can also slow the rate of decomposition. Green manures should never be allowed to go to seed (unless the seed is to be saved for future planting) since this can cause weed problems in subsequent crops. Primary tillage can be very destructive of soil organic matter. The benefits of a green manure crop grown and incorporated before preliminary ground preparation and bed-forming can be quickly lost by excessive cultivation, or by cultivating at inappropriate soil moisture levels. Once the beds are formed, a green manure crop can be grown in situ, then mulched, and shallowly incorporated before the vegetable crop is planted. This cultivation can damage beds, so it is sometimes necessary to reshape the bed following incorporation of the green manure. Another green manuring technique uses the residues of crops such as vetch grown in the previous season. The vegetable crop is planted into the residual surface mulch of the cover crop. The technique relies on the senescence of growth in the cover crop. The crop is then
mulched down to form a surface mulch. The technique relies, however, on the cover crop dying off before the vegetable crop is planted. The growth cycle of the cover crop must be completed in time for that crop to be mowed before the vegetable crop is planted. Provided dry conditions prevail, this can be achieved for a winter-grown cover crop to be followed by latespring planted vegetables. Late spring rains can, however, cause unacceptable delays to cover crop senescence and crop sowing. In addition, planting into the cover crop residue calls for specialist equipment. Despite these problems, researching suitable cover crops and their management as surface mulches in organic vegetable production systems is worthwhile.
4.5.2 Pre-irrigation
Pre-irrigation or rainfall before planting is advantageous: it helps germinate weed seedlings and provides a moist seedbed into which the crop can be sown. The weeds are usually cultivated out before sowing: in this case, the cultivation should be shallow and should avoid soil inversion since this would promote further germination of weeds. An effective implement is one that slices under the soil, lifting and removing young weeds. It is important to avoid cultivating if rain is imminent because the weeds will be transplanted. Flame, steam and brush weeders can also be used to control young weeds. If pre-irrigation is not possible, planting should avoid soil disturbance as much as possible. Some post-planting weed control will nevertheless be required.
4.5.3 Planting
Before planting, soil tests should be done in order to determine whether additional fertiliser is needed, given the crops known requirements. Organic fertilisers or compost can be surface applied or
banded in the crop row. The time of planting should take into account the requirements of the variety to be grown, the market window and if, by delaying planting or planting earlier, potential weed, pest or disease problems might be avoided. Since 1 January 2004 it has been mandatory to use organically produced planting material. If such material is not available, formal application must be made to the certifier for an exemption. Exemptions are granted only if it can be demonstrated that the variety in question is not available or the quality is not acceptable. It should still be possible for a commercial organic nursery to supply transplants, provided it receives plenty of notice (about 15weeks) in order to obtain the variety and prepare the order. Germination tests should be carried out before seed is sown. This can be done by placing a few seeds in a pot or between damp (not wet) tissue paper for a few days and recording the germination percentage. The sowing rate can be increased to compensate for reduced germination. Some seed sources are very unreliable, so it is advisable to obtain a written guarantee of the seed germination percentage and the seeds freshness. Seed not used immediately should be placed in an airtight container and refrigerated. Transplants should be checked for pests and any that are found should be removed before planting. A strong jet of water will physically dislodge some pests. Alternatively, they can be sprayed with an organically acceptable pesticide. The transplants should then be hardened off outdoors for a few days before being planted in the field. Seeds or transplants? Vegetables such as carrots do not transplant well, so seeds are the only option for planting. Transplanted
(as opposed to direct-seeded) crops have an advantage in that they will be ahead of any weeds that germinate after planting and, if growing vigorously, will quickly shade out the weeds. Direct seeding tends to disturb the soil surface, encouraging weed germination. Irrigation can be crucial, especially for small-seeded species because they are not sown as deeply as largeseeded species. The soil surface must remain moist for longer to ensure good germination. Shallowplanted seeds are also more likely to be eaten by ants and birds. Another consideration is seedling vigour. Some speciesfor example, onionshave extremely slow early growth, particularly in cold and wet conditions. Weeds, on the other hand, are better adapted to these conditions and will quickly smother struggling vegetable seedlings. In general, small-seeded species are best transplantedunless, like carrots, they do not like root disturbancewhile larger seeded species such as pumpkin can be direct seeded. When seeding or transplanting, it is important that rows are uniform and straight, so that inter-row operations such as weeding can be carried out accurately. Plant spacing The sowing rate between and within rows is generally higher in organic systems compared with conventional systems. Higher sowing rates mean that gaps between the crop plants will be quickly filled, which discourages weed competition. Care is needed, however, to avoid compromising crop quality. A higher sowing rate also increases inter-crop competition and can result in a reduced overall yield or smaller sizes for produce; for example, onion bulb size and cauliflower head size decrease with increased sowing
density, although this can also be used to advantage if the aim is to produce mini-vegetables.
4.5.4 Post-planting operations
Post-planting cultural operations consist of weed and pest management and, if required, application of organic fertiliser. Accuracy when operating equipment and precision timing of operations are essential. Specially designed inter-row cultivators can remove young weeds from around the crop. One such implement is the WeedFix, which consists of a series of rotating tines mounted either side of crop guards. The tines stir the soil surface, dislodging weeds, while the guards prevent damage to the crop. The tines can be operated in two directionseither throwing soil towards the crop, thus smothering weeds in close proximity to the crop, or throwing soil away from the crop, removing the weeds. Other types of equipment are also available for post-planting cultural operations, among them flame or hot-air weeders, brush weeders, rotating cultivators, and various toolbar attachments such as bean knives and Alabama sweeps. Highly recommended reading is Steel in the Field: a farmers guide to weed management tools (Bowman 1997), which documents farmers experiences in this regard. See: < http://www.sare.org/publications/ steel/steel.pdf>
4.6 Irrigation
Organic standards require that irrigation monitoring and scheduling techniques be used and that irrigation practices minimise disturbances to the environment and natural ecosystems. The best possible yields are obtained by maintaining uniform
soil moisture in the root zone during the growing season. This requires a thorough knowledge of the crops water requirements and the soils water-holding capacity. Applying only the amount of water required by the crop leads to savings on pumping, fertigation (irrigation incorporating nutrients) and water costs and limits run-off problems. Information about good irrigation management practice is available on the NSW Department of Primary Industries website <http://www. agric.nsw.gov.au/reader/8054>. Also available from the department are publications providing guidelines for irrigation of processing tomatoes, onions and carrots, and melons. Drip irrigation is the most efficient form of irrigation. It provides water directly to the plant, rather than wetting the entire soil surface, which can encourage additional weed growth. It has the further advantage that nutrients can be supplied by fertigation to the crop during the growing season. Cultural operations can, however, be made more difficult if the drip lines are laid on the beds surface. Drip lines can be installed beneath the surface to facilitate cultural operations, although roots can grow into the lines and cause blockages. Most subsurface drip is impregnated with a herbicide to prevent root intrusion, so organic producers need to inform manufacturers that they require herbicide-free drip line. Seasonal flushing of lineswith an organically approved substance should be carried out to ensure that the lines are kept free of blockages. Furrow irrigation is another form of irrigation commonly used in vegetable production, but it is becoming less popular because of increased water costs and environmental awareness. Furrow irrigation of row crops
The WeedFix cultivator has been used successfully to control a range of weed species in row crops at the NSW Department of Primary Industries organic demonstration site, Yanco. Photo: NSW Department of Primary Industries.
usually results in considerable tail drainage, and this should be collected into a drainage recycling system. The recycling saves water, reduces nutrient loading in offfarm waterways, and provides an opportunity to increase biodiversity through wetland construction. The NSW Department of Primary Industries publication Managing Wetlands on Farms (1995) is a useful guide to planning and establishing on-farm wetlands. The NSW DPI Agnote: Managing waste water from intensive horticulture: a wetland system, can be viewed at: < http://www.agric.nsw.gov.au/reader/ horticulture-wastewater/dpi381. pdf?MIvalObj=10076&doctype=do cument&MItypeObj=application/ pdf&name=/dpi381.pdf> Irrigation management is also a valuable tool for controlling weeds. Strategic scheduling of irrigation can be used to germinate weeds so that control action can be taken before the main crop is planted. Producers should consider undertaking an irrigation management course such as Water Wise on the Farm. These are offered by state agriculture departments and in some cases can be a prerequisite to obtaining an irrigation licence.
4.7 Weeds
The use of synthetic herbicides is prohibited under organic standards, and many organic producers say that effective weed management is one of the greatest impediments to conversion and successful organic vegetable production.
4.7.1 Planning a weed management program
The following principles should be considered when planning a weed management program: Learn to identify weeds. Learn about weed lifecycles and growth habitsincluding the time of emergence, growth rates, the method of dispersion, and the time of seed setand why the weeds are filling that ecological niche. Maintain a longer term outlook, rather than focusing only on the current or coming season. It is necessary to determine how weeds can be managed throughout the rotation. Seed bank reduction can take a number of years. Take an integrated approach to weed management. Avoid relying on a limited number of methods. Be innovative with equipment, tillage and rotations.
Planning should aim to prevent weed outbreaks. Once there, weed problems are much harder to manage. Observe and record changes to weed populations in each field. Introduce changes to the lowest risk crops in the rotation. Identify the soil characteristics or management practices that favour specific weeds. The presence of a particular weed species might be an indication of a soil fertility or soil structural problem. A slight change in pH or improvements to irrigation management or drainage can change the conditions that were prompting growth and the spread of the weed. Build weed management strategies into whole-farm planning. For example, design a fence layout and paddock size that allow for strategic grazing (for example, with goats), grow less competitive crops in paddocks where weeds are not a problem, leave uncultivated areas to host potential biological control agents (for example, Pattersons curse weevil), and choose crops that are able to compete effectively with weeds. It is important to also remember that weeds can be beneficial. Among the possible benefits to the farming system are erosion control, habitats for insects, capturing soil nutrients and moisture at depth, and food or medicinal value for livestock (provided of course they are not toxic).
by preventing weeds going to seed during the season and following up with off-season control measures. Planting short-season crops such as lettuce provides more opportunities for weed suppression; competitive cover crops can smother weeds. Cultivation plus grazing and mowing weeds can prevent weed seed set. If the weeds do manage to set seed, baling the weeds into hay and removing them from the paddock before seed dispersal is an option. The hay could then be used in compost production. Proper composting makes seeds non-viable.
erosion. Among the organic materials used are hay, paper and cardboard, compost and sawdust. Organic standards prohibit the use of solid non-woven plastic or synthetic material sheets as mulches. Sometimes, woven plastic or synthetic materials are approved, provided they are completely removed from the paddock following harvest. To be effective, organic mulches should be applied and regularly maintained to a depth of 100 millimetres. A green-manuring technique that uses the residues of crops (such as vetch) grown in the preceding season can also provide a mulch against weeds. The main crop is then planted into the residual surface mulch of the cover crop. The cover crop is also referred to as living mulch or smother crop, and the technique relies on the senescence of growth in that crop, which is then broken down to form a surface mulch. Cowpeas and coldsensitive clovers have been used with success. Tillage For tillage, Steel in the Field: a farmers guide to weed management tools (Bowman 1997) is essential reading. Primary cultivation practices such as deep ripping can improve drainage and alter the weed species composition in a field. Primary cultivations, in combination with other control measures such as green manuring, should aim to reduce the weed burden before planting the crop. The final primary cultivation before planting should be carried out after optimum weed germination. Secondary cultivationsthose performed during seed-bed preparation or after planting should be shallow and should aim to remove weed seedlings while minimising soil inversion or soil
4.7.3 Management practices
Surveys of organic growers reveal that the most frequently used weed management tactics are manual and mechanical tillage, rotations including vigorous cover crops, slashing, and numerous cultural practices (Kristiansen et al. 2001). An integrated approach to weed management relies on planning long-term remediation strategies such as soil improvements or the use of biological controlsbacked up by short-term management practices. Hand weeding Perhaps the single most valuable tool in organic weed management is hand weeding, which can involve chipping or digging using a handheld implement or pulling out weeds by hand. One weed allowed to seed could become an outbreak in a few seasons. Successful organic farmers never walk past a potential weed problem. Hand weeding is often useful in inaccessible areas or for a final clean-up after relying on other methods. Mulching Organic farmers use mulches to help reduce weed competition, conserve soil moisture, lower soil temperatures, and prevent
4.7.2 Reducing the bank of weed seed
Preventing weeds going to seed can greatly reduce weed pressure. Most soils contain a significant weed seed population, and each time soil is disturbed some of the seeds will germinate. It is possible, however, to gradually reduce this population
mixing, to prevent a new weed seed bank from establishing at the soil surface. Other techniques such as flaming avoid soil disturbance and, if properly timed, can be an effective alternative to cultivation. Such techniques are based on the idea that weed seeds require exposure to light to germinate. The seedbed is formed about two to three weeks before the crop is planted. After seven to ten days of good growing conditions (moist soil and warm temperatures), there is a flush of weeds, which can be killed with flame weeders or cultivation. Assuming all the weeds are killed and the soil on the bed is undisturbed (except for the minimal soil disturbance from seeding or transplanting the crop), fewer weeds should germinate during the season to compete with the crop. There is some evidence that, because of this need for exposure to light, night cultivation can also drastically reduce the germination of certain weed seeds. In row-cropping situations, good weed control is facilitated by creating and maintaining evenly spaced, straight hills or beds. Mechanical weed control between crop rows, using implements such as rotary tillers (for example, the WeedFix), should be carried out when the weeds are small and the crop is at the two- to three-leaf stage and, if necessary, again at the five-leaf stage or while it is still feasible without damaging the crop. Once the crop canopy has closed, competition from weeds should be minimal. The most difficult place to manage weeds is within the crop row, and hand weeding is probably the most common method here. Having crop guards around tillage implements will allow weeding to be done as close as possible without damaging the crop.
To ensure a good weed kill, cultivations should be avoided if rain is imminent and should be timed for the earlier part of the day during hot, dry and windy conditions. Avoid cultivating wet soil: it will become compacted and drainage will be impeded. The choice of tillage equipment depends on the job at hand, budget, and the equipments commercial availability. Many vegetable growers use rolling cultivators because these allow shallow cultivation and can be adjusted for different row spacings and crop configurations. Mouldboard ploughing during primary tillage operations is the most effective way of reducing weed populations because it buries seeds deeply enough to reduce germination and establishment. Mouldboard ploughing is, however, considered more destructive of soil structure than chisel ploughing. Any form of prolonged tillage will affect the soil structure and increase compaction, as well as predisposing the paddock to erosion and fertility loss. In summary, the following practices for mechanical cultivation should be adopted: Adjust equipment accurately for each cultivation. Establish straight rows and beds far enough apart to avoid injuring crop plants during between-row cultivations. Withhold irrigation after cultivation or avoid cultivating weeds if rain is imminent, to prevent the weeds from reestablishing. Establish traffic rows to avoid compaction throughout the field. Hand-hoeing might also be practical on some crops. To avoid adverse effects from root damage to the crop, hoeing should be done before the crop
and weeds are large. Narrow the row spacings or increase the planting density. Narrow row spacings will produce faster canopy cover, shading out weeds. Water management Effective water management is a central ingredient of weed management in organic production. Pre-planting irrigation or rainfall stimulates weed emergence, after which weeds should be killed by shallow cultivation or by flaming. Planting of the main crop should occur shortly afterwards to avoid further weed germination as a result of rainfall. Burying drip irrigation lines below the bed surface provides water to the crop but restricts the waters availability to weeds closer to the soil surface, particularly if rainfall does not occur. Post-planting operations are also be greatly facilitated if the drip line is buried. Crop physiology Vigorous crops often out-compete weeds. Fast-growing crops can quickly cover beds and fill gaps in the crop stand that weeds might otherwise occupy. Species with large leaves can shade out competing weeds. Biological weed control Various biological agents are available to facilitate weed management. Among them are insects (for example, crown root weevil for control of Pattersons curse), fungi and bacteria (for example, rusts formulated into biological herbicides known as myco-herbicides) and plant derivatives (for example, corn gluten meal, some vegetable oils and plant root exudates such as those from oilseed rape). Some of these agents have been formulated into commercial products known as bio-
herbicides. The certifiers approval should be obtained before any treatment is used. Some biological agents are effective over a longer period and rely on establishing and maintaining a colony of organisms. The organisms persistenceand hence long-term weed controlis dependent on the presence of a sustainable food source as well as suitable habitat, so it is desirable to set aside an area where there is a low level of the host weed or there is an alternative food source. These areas are usually uncultivated bordersfor example, in windbreaksadjacent to cropping areas. Researchers often look for unsprayed or uncultivated sites in which to release biologicals, so an opportunity may arise to collaborate in trial work to evaluate the new control agents. Of course, genetically modified organisms are not permitted as biological controls in organic systems. Flame weeding Flame weeding can be used to control weeds before and after germination of the crop. Effective pre-emergent flaming calls for good timing. The operation must be done after a flush of young weeds appears but ahead of significant crop emergence. The most effective time to kill weeds is before the three- to four-leaf stage. Indicator seeds can be sown with the crop: they can be timed to emerge just before the crop in order to determine when it is safe to flame. Post-emergent flaming is accomplished either by crossflaming or by parallel-flaming. In cross-flaming, burners are set on either side of the crop row, in a staggered pattern, the burners being placed perpendicular to the row, so that the combined flames cover the
entire drill area. In parallel-flaming, the burners are again set on either side of the row, but the flames are placed parallel to the row. Ideally, beds should be smooth, with minimal clods: protruding clods or uneven terrain can shield small weeds or deflect the flame into the plant canopy. For energy-efficient flaming it is desirable to travel as fast as possible, using the lowest gas pressure and thus the least fuel. Although there will be little immediate effect visible, the weeds will droop and wilt within a few hours. A quick way of testing whether the flaming has been effective is to firmly squeeze a plant leaf between thumb and forefinger, then let go. If there is a fingerprint where the leaf was squeezed, the heat has burst the cell walls and the leaf will wither. For flaming to be successful, operations need to be carefully timed. When weed pressure and planting schedules allow, delay the final flaming until just before planting. This gives the crop the least weed competition during its most vulnerable stage. Flaming is best done in the heat of the day, when it is hot and dry with little or no wind.
Flaming has differing impacts on pests and their predators, so it is important to carefully monitor populations to see how they are being affected. For example, US researchers have found that ladybird beetles survive higher temperatures better than do tarnished plant bugs, a serious cotton pest. The ladybird preys on the pests in both their larval and adult stages; further, the tarnished plant bug appears at about the same time that cotton plants can first tolerate flaming. Crops differ in their susceptibility to damage from flaming. Onions are flamed at around two weeks after the transplants are established. Corn, however, can be flamed at any time, although many flame users do not flame from the 1225 centimetre growth stage, to avoid stressing the plants while their root system is developing. Green beans, on the other hand, cannot handle exposure to the flame, so flaming is used only before emergence, to deal with the initial flush of weeds. With sensitive plants such as beans, plant parts can be protected from the flame by a wall of mist. Spraying a thin layer of water over the plants with flat-fan nozzles helps to protect them.
Flame weeding in corn. Source: Nova Scotia Agricultural College, <www.nsac.ns.ca/eng/staff/ nri/ flameweeding.htm>.
For some crops that send up early leaves before their growing point emerges, early post-emergence flaming can be used. Even if the young leaves are singed, the crops will recover provided the growing point survives. Once the growing point emerges, allow substantial growth before flaming the stalks. Two types of flaming equipment are generally available. One is a handheld propane flamer connected to a backpack-supported fuel tank. This manual method allows for greater selectivity and accuracy in applying the flame and is generally used in inaccessible areas or for small weed outbreaks. The other type of equipment involves propane burners that can be either individually mounted or attached to a tworow, rear-mounted tractor-drawn cultivator. These can be four- or six-row flamers, depending on the size of the operation. This method is generally used for large areas and, if the burners are attached to a cultivator, allows flame weeding and mechanical cultivation to be done in one pass. The burners need to be adjusted in order to work efficiently with a cultivator because the soil the shovels throw can interfere with the flame hitting the target weeds. For flaming between rows of emerged crops, accuracy and the safe use of equipment are essential. The following are considerations in this regard: The burners height and angle (vertical and horizontal) should be carefully adjusted, and fuel pressure, tractor speed and regulator setting checked frequently. Young crops should be carefully checked for flame damage to stems, buds or leaves. Flaming should be restricted to calm weather, and attention should be paid to the speed and direction of any air movement.
The burners should be adjusted to a pilot setting when turning at the end of rows. Burner nozzles should be cleaned out each year to remove the carbon and rust that can flake off the inside of the steel pipe that leads to the burners. A bluish centre flame should be visible during peak operation. Operators need to be familiar with, and practise, the safety rules for proper inspection, filling and use of propane tanks and equipment. It is advisable to gain approval from local fire authorities before flaming. Never flame during a total fire ban. Sanitation Good sanitation can help to prevent new infestations and the spread of weeds. It involves the use of well-graded seed, removal of crop refuse, thoroughly composting manures and green waste, as well as cleaning down machinery between operations and before moving from one field to another. Livestock can act as weed carriers if they have been grazing on weed seed in infested pastures or have been hand fed on grain. Mulch applied to crops should be free of weed seeds. As noted, proper composting of crop refuse destroys weed seeds. Solarisation Solarisation, a technique used to kill weeds (as well as some pathogens and nematodes), involves placing clear plastic film over moist soil. The plastic is applied during the hottest part of the year for four to six weeks. The soil temperature should reach 60C at a depth of 5.08 centimetres and 39C at a depth of 45.7 centimetres. The main difficulty with soil solarisation is finding a time between crops when temperatures under the plastic are high enough for long enough to be effective. Once solarisation is completed, the plastic film used
can be recycled for future use or disposed of in an environmentally acceptable manner. Weeds vary in their susceptibility to solarisation. Winter annual grasses, barnyard grass, black nightshade, chickweed, field bindweed seedlings, hairy nightshade, prickly lettuce, red-root pigweed, and shepherds purse have been reported to be controlled by solarisation. In contrast, Johnson grass, nut grass, purslane and established field bindweed are only slightly affected. Experience in the United States suggests the following general guidelines when applying soil solarisation: Solarisation is most likely to be effective during long days of high temperatures and no wind. Clear 1-millimetre-thick plastic should be adequate and is not expensive, but in windy areas thicker (1.5 to 2 millimetres) plastic might be necessary to prevent tearing. If the plastic is to be used as a mulch with the following crop, it must have UV inhibitors. Otherwise, sunlight and high temperatures will start to break the plastic down after four to six weeks. The soilplastic contact should be as tight as possible in order to raise the soil temperature as much as possible and as deep as possible. Thus, the area to be solarised must be levelled and free of weeds and large clods of soil that could lift the plastic off the ground. Moist heat is more damaging to pathogens than dry heat. Irrigating with drip lines placed under the plastic is usually the most effective method. Plastic must completely cover the soil surface. There is an edge effect of up to 60centimetres in which temperatures will be cooler and solarisation less
effective, so solarisation in narrow strips is not likely to be effective. The plastic must be left in situ for four to six weeks. Deep cultivation should be avoided before planting the next crop, to avoid bringing non-solarised weed seeds to the surface. Organic sprays A number of organic sprays are approved for weed control under the National Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Produce. Among them are essential oil sprays, homeopathic products and biodynamic peppering. The efficacy of these substances is yet to be scientifically evaluated. A pine oil derivative is approved for use by some certifiers; some preliminary trials with this product have shown minimal efficacy. Scientists from the US Department of Agricultures Agricultural Research Service in Beltsville, Maryland, have demonstrated effective control of a common range of broadleaf weeds by spraying vinegar on plants. Five and 10 per cent concentrations killed the weeds during their first two weeks after emergence; at higher concentrations, the vinegar had an 85 to 100 per cent kill rate at all growth stages. The vinegar used was made from fruit or grains, to conform to organic farming standards. Grazing animals and birds Goats, pigs, sheep, and other animals will eat weeds but will also root out or graze any crop plants present in the field. Pigs are sometimes useful to root out tubers of nut grass and Johnson grass before a crop is planted. Sheep can be used to crash graze paddocks to prevent seed set. Goats and some breeds of sheep (such as dorpers) are foragers and will often
eat plants that are less palatable to other species. Grazing by goats is a very useful weed control strategy, but owners need to be aware of potential toxicity risks. The RIRDC publication The Palatability and Potential Toxicity of Australian Weeds to Goats (Simmonds et al. 2000) provides suggestions for control strategies and outlines the health and production problems that may result.
least six weeks old are the best feeders. Because of their light body weight, they do little damage to crops if they step on them. If a larger goose for processing is required, Toulouse or Embden would be suitable. Some consider African weeder geese to be even better than the Chinese breed. The geese should be grazed at rates of seven to twelve geese per hectare, depending on the weed population. In some crops and climates where weed growth is extreme in the early spring, more geese may be needed. It is crucial to start with enough geese and then remove (or sell) them as weed growth permits (usually when 75 to 90 per cent of their preferred food is gone); otherwise, they might begin eating the crop. Geese generally prefer the tender young shoots of grasses and sedges over broadleaf vegetables. They need a constant supply of fresh water, so placing their water near weedier areas can help with weed management. When an area is weeded the water containers can then be moved into an area that is weedier. When checking on the geese, it is a good idea to carry a hoe to remove the weeds the geese find unpalatable. Geese must have access to shade and be fenced in and protected from predators. Movable shelters
Geese are one of the few animals that can be used once the vegetable crop emerges. In 1960, 175000 geese were used as weeders in the United States, mainly to remove grasses from broadleaf crops such as cotton. Geese eat Johnson grass, sedge and nut grass, clover, chickweed and many other weeds. White Chinese weeder geese at
Chinese weeder geese (background) and ducks help with weed and pest management in organic vegetable production systems. Source: <http://www.fbts.com/animals.htm>.
can be useful. Strip-grazing geese concentrates their efforts on areas most in need of attention. This can be done using electric net fencing. Electric netting is available from Gundaroo Tiller in New South Wales (see AppendixA). Geese can be conditioned to eat weeds they normally do not eat if the undesirable weeds are fed to them when they are goslings. Geese and sheep can be grazed together. The sheep eat many of the broadleaf weeds the geese find unpalatable. Since geese are vegetarian, a small number of ducks (such as Khaki Campbells) can be kept with the geese to help control insects, slugs and snails. Information on raising geese is available on the NSW Department of Primary Industries website < http://www.dpi.nsw.gov. au/agriculture/livestock/poultry/ species/geese-raising >.
and bulb types are often the most problematic. Difficult-to-manage annuals are controlled by preventing the conditions that encourage seed germination and by stopping further seed set. Merfield (2000) provides some useful management strategies for weeds of this kind. Noxious weeds Farming organically does not exclude anyone from adhering to laws imposed by the Commonwealth or the states and territories. Under the New South Wales Noxious Weeds Act 1993, for example, producers are required to control certain weeds. The Act does not specify chemical control, but it does specify that the noxious weed be either fully and continuously suppressed and destroyed (for W1 and W2 category weeds) or be prevented from spreading and its numbers and distribution reduced (W3 category weeds). For a W4 noxious weed, the action specified in the declaration must be taken. The Act can be viewed online < http://www.legislation. nsw.gov.au/viewtop/inforce/ act+11+1993+FIRST+0+N > and details of weeds declared in New South Wales can be viewed online at < http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/ agriculture/noxweed >.
on synthetic insecticides with allowable organic insecticides. Under the standards a more holistic approach needs to be adopted, which essentially comes down to an integrated pest management strategy. Integrated pest management uses all suitable (and allowable) techniques to manage pest populations below levels that cause economic damage. It is now best practice in conventional agriculture. An organic grower has fewer tools and techniques available, but the approach is the same. It is possible to produce highquality, relatively blemish free food, but to do so without resorting to agricultural chemicals calls for a higher level of management and a greater understanding of the whole system.
4.8.1 Planning an organic pest management program
Instead of using synthetic pesticides, organic farmers adopt cultural practices that encourage healthy plant growth and other practices that encourage predators of pests. Three conditions must pertain if a pest problem is to develop: The pest must be present. The crop must be a suitable and susceptible host. The environmental conditions must be favourable. These conditions can be thought of as the pest triangle.
4.7.4 Managing problematic weeds
Weeds that organic growers commonly report as problematic examples are couch, dock, kikuyu and sorreltend to have underground parts that are less vulnerable to the usual forms of non-chemical weed control such as tillage and mulch or are heavily seeding annuals (Kristiansen et al. 2001). Some annual weeds have very long-lived seeds and can survive for more than 40 years before germinating. The primary approach to controlling perennials with cultivation is to separate the aboveground and underground parts and then exhaust the food reserves in the underground part. Tap-rooted and shallow-creeping perennials are generally easier to control; the deep-creeping and tuber, corm
Organic standards prohibit the use of synthetic insecticides and discourage a pest management strategy that substitutes reliance
Pest Triangle
Pests present
Crop suitable and susceptible
Favourable environmental conditions
The first step in an integrated pest management system lies in knowing what pests are likely to, or might possibly, attack the crop, the pests life cycles, what conditions favour their survival, and what conditions or natural enemies might control the populations. The second step is to pre-plan the cropping system to minimise the potential for pests to become a problem. The third step is to monitor the conditions that might favour a pest outbreak. If all the conditions of the pest triangle are favourable to a pest outbreak, the fourth step is to intervene, to modify those conditions in order to reduce the risk or severity of damage. Figure4.1 illustrates this.
russet mite on tomatoes or pumpkin beetle on cucurbits. Lists of likely or possible pests and a number of crop guides for most agricultural crops are readily available from state departments of agriculture. In many cases the types of pestsfor example, aphids, leafhoppers and Heliothis caterpillarsattacking a particular crop are similar species and, in some cases, the same species across different regions and countries, which is helpful when seeking information about potential management strategies. Pest biology and life cycles Knowledge of a pests biology and life cycle is essential for finding out where it is most vulnerable and how it is most likely to be managed. The more one knows about them the more likely it is one will find ways to thwart their successful development. The native Heliothis (Helicoverpa armigera) is a good example. The moths emerge from over-wintering in late spring; they are active from early evening and need to mate before the females can deposit single eggs. Male moths find females by tracking (smelling) a sex pheromone the females emit.
Heliothis (Helicoverpa armigera)
Step 1: Knowledge
Key pests Less than 1 per cent of all insects are pests. But agricultural production creates conditions that favour the build-up of a small number of insects to pest levels. Key pests tend to be insects that are likely to cause serious damage if left unmanaged. They can be regular pests, as Heliothis is on tomatoes and many agricultural crops, or they can be irregular but potentially devastating, such as
STEP 1 KNOWLEDGE Key pests Pest life cycles Natural enemies
The females deposit up to 1000 eggs in their lifetime. The moths live primarily on the fat stored since they were caterpillars and only need to drink water or, if possible, nectar. Depending on temperatures, the eggs can take from four to 30 days to hatch. The warmer the temperature, the sooner the eggs hatch; for example, over a fairly typical temperature cycle in a temperate summer, when daytime temperatures are in the mid-30s and night temperatures drop down below 20C, a Heliothis egg can take seven days to hatch. After the egg has hatched the newly emerged larvae immediately start feeding, initially just grazing the leaf or fruit surface. Heliothis caterpillars like to be in protected situations, so they will also seek shelter inside developing fruit or in the heart of leafy plants such as lettuce. The larvae or caterpillars are feeding machines, and as they grow too big for their skins they moult into the
STEP 2 PREVENTION Indirect methods Site selection Choice of crop Choice of variety Timing of planting Water and nutrition management Sanitation Habitat management Trap crops Insectary crops Inter-cropping STEP 3 OBSERVATION Crop monitoring Pest prediction models
STEP 4 INTERVENTION Direct methods Mechanical controls Biological controls Chemical controls
Figure 4.1 An integrated pest management system. Source: Adapted by S McDougall (2001). 39
and Davidson (1992) give the example of 1000 ibis consuming nearly one-quarter of a million pests during a day. Populations of specific natural enemies can build up in the presence of the pest. If natural enemies are to thrive they need the beneficial equivalent of the pest triangle:
Davidson and Davidson (1992) give the example of 1000 ibis consuming nearly a quarter of a million pests during a day.
next instar, or larval, stage. Heliothis have six instars. At the completion of the sixth instar, the caterpillar burrows into the soil to pupate. Most pupae are found in the top 10 centimetres of soil. If pupation takes place during summer, the moth will develop, then crawl to the surface along the tunnel the caterpillar dug and, once emerged, repeat the cycle. In much of temperate Australia Heliothis have three to four generations a year. As autumn progresses an increasing proportion of the pupae will enter a winter diapause and will not complete development until the following spring. There are several things to note from this life cycle: The moths are not active in the day or are not readily observed, but male moths can be caught in pheromone traps. Eggs are exposed from four to 30 days, depending on temperatures. Newly emerged larvae often feed in exposed situations, but later instars tend to be protected. The larvae cause the damage to the crop, and the later instars feed the most. Moths cannot burrow, so any damage to the exit tunnel will prevent moths emerging. The resulting management options are as follows:
monitoring moth flights with pheromones monitoring egg numbers and, if intervention is required, targeting treatment to egg hatch if larvae are missed, the next opportunity for management is to cultivate the soil after pupation to destroy the exit tunnelsknown as pupae busting. Natural enemies In natural environments most organisms populations are kept in check by a range of natural enemies, among them bacterial, viral and microsporidium diseases, nematode infections, parasites or parasitoids, and predators. These natural enemies are called beneficials. Most insect pests have a range of specific and generalist natural enemies that either kill them or limit their ability to cause damage or reproduce. In most agricultural systemsand particularly those that use few, if any, insecticidesthere are a range of generalist predators. Davidson
The beneficial must be present. There must be suitable hosts and, in some cases, a nectar or pollen source. The environmental conditions must be favourable. Shelter, breeding grounds and year-round food sources encourage predators. Nectar-producing species incorporated in pastures and windbreaks attract parasitic wasps, which parasitise scarab species in pastures. On-farm wetlands encourage predatory waders and, if correctly located and properly designed, provide a filter for nutrients in drainage before it leaves the farm. Ideally, there are suitable non-pest hosts for the beneficial populations to increase, so that if a pest arrives it finds itself in a hostile environment.
Step 2: Prevention
Within a pest management system, it is wise to prevent or limit the likelihood of pest populations causing serious damage. A variety of cultural control methods can be used to reduce the likelihood of pest outbreaks.
Beneficial Triangle
Beneficial present
Suitable hosts and alternative food
Site selection Some sites will be more prone to pests than others. For example, growing organic tomatoes next to large plantings of sweet corn or other Heliothis host crops will increase problems with Heliothis. Choose sites that are isolated from sources of pests. Choice of crop Choose a crop that is optimal for the location: a strong, vigorous plant is less susceptible to attack. When growing organically, it is often better not to grow crops that are already grown extensively in the area, unless there are natural barriers that reduce the flow of pests onto the organic land. Cultivar selection Some cultivars are resistant to, repel or are less palatable to pests than other cultivars. In sweet corn, for example, the H5 variety has a tighter throat to the cob, reducing Heliothis caterpillars access. Crop rotations To reduce soil-borne pests and diseases, rotate host with non-host crops. Rotations can also break insect pests life cycles and help control weeds. Material from off-site If using transplants or bringing any materials to the site, assess the risk of bringing pests with them. Insects, and particularly diseases, can easily come from off-site contamination. Timing of planting If possible, choose planting times when pest pressure is likely to be lowest. Early planted crops of processing tomatoes experience less Heliothis pressure than later planted crops. Crop health Plants growing with optimum water and nutrition tend to be less
susceptible to pest attack and might better compensate for damage. Over- or under-provision of water or nutrients will stress the plant and increase its vulnerability. Sanitation Many key pests have many host plants. If those host plants are weeds or old harvested but uncultivated crops, they can contribute to supporting the pest population on the property. Controlling weedsparticularly flowering weedsis crucial for the successful management of, for example, western flower thrips. Mites are often spread through properties or from crop to crop by machinery or on the clothes of people walking through the paddocks. Natural habitats Natural habitats provide a source of beneficials to colonise the farming system. Trap crops In some instances other crops might be the preferred habitat for a particular pest, and if some of the preferred crop is grown it might draw the pest away from the main crop. For example, pigeon peas have been used successfully as a trap crop for Heliothis in soybean production. In some cases a particular crop stage is preferred by the pests, so a small sacrificial planting can be used as a trap crop. Insectary crops Many beneficial insects require nectar or pollen as food sources, and a nearby flowering crop can act as an insectary crop and help increase the number of beneficials working the main crop. Other insectary crops can be crops that host a related non-pest speciesfor example, a species of aphid that can then support the establishment of aphid parasitoids and predators that might move into the main crop if aphids become established there.
Inter-cropping Alternating rows of different crops has been used as a means of reducing pest pressure. Of itself, inter-cropping does not reduce pest pressure, but some combinations of crops work well together and result in less pest pressure. Inter-cropping is not widely used in highly mechanised or extensive agricultural systems: it is most typically used in labour intensive systems such as market or home gardens.
Step 3: Observation
Once the basic system for reducing pest incursions and build-ups and maximising the effects of beneficials is in effect, the next step is monitoring. Agricultural environments are complex systems, and changes in weather or the arrival of a key pest can rapidly change a pest situation. Regular observation of the factors in the pest and beneficial triangles can warn of a potential problem while there is still time to respond. Crop monitoring Systematically checking crops for the key pest stages (for example, eggs for Heliothis) and using available traps (for example, pheromone traps or sticky traps) to help monitoring are fundamental to developing an ability to respond to an emerging problem. Weekly checks are recommended for most crops, with more frequent checking during periods of high vulnerability or high pressure. In some areas commercial scouts monitor crops for a fee. Pest identif ication Whilst in the process of learning about the pests and beneficials that visit crops, it is important to have insects or diseased plants identified by an expert. Most state agricultural departments offer diagnostic services. Some insects, such as thrips, are hard to identify in the field and, although many different
species of thrips often visit a single crop, the presence of western flower thrips can radically alter a pest management strategy. Thrips are often most easily monitored by using sticky traps, which can be sent to the NSW Department of Primary Industries Insect Diagnostic Laboratory (take them to the nearest department office or send them to Orange Agricultural Institute, Forest Road, Orange NSW 2800), the Beneficial Bug Company, or another commercial group to check for the presence of western flower thrips. Pest prediction models Insects and diseases tend to respond predictably to temperature and/or moisture levels, so models can be developed. In some cases the models can be developed into prediction models, and for some cropping systems, such as cotton, there is crop management software that can help predict pest problems with the input of a range of data. At present there are no such models for vegetable crops in Australia. A Heliothis development model can be downloaded from the web <http://www.uq.edu.au/~uqwroche/ gentime/> and, with the input of temperature information or using historical records for the area, it can predict the period of each life stage.
Step 4: Intervention
If observations of the crop or cropping situation suggest a need for action to reduce a likely or current pest build-up, the available tools fall into three categoriesmechanical, biological and chemical controls. Mechanical control Mechanical controls are methods that can physically remove pests or physically prevent them moving into the crop. Light or bait traps. Moths and some beetles are attracted to black light and so can be caught
in a light trap. These traps are not very selective, which means that a large number of non-pest, and possibly beneficial, insects might also be trapped. In Western Australia some lettuce growers use large light traps to help manage Heliothis. Some insects such as fruit fly are attracted to fermenting yeast or other baits and can be trapped this way. Pestspecific pheromones can greatly increase a traps attractiveness to the target pest. Bug vacs or suction devices. In the United States large vacuum cleanerlike machines are used to suck up all the bugs in a crop. Strawberry growers have been the most successful users of this technique. It is not very specific, however, and beneficials are as likely, if not more likely, to be sucked up. In some cases a modified leaf-blower is used to collect beneficials from insectary crops or areas where their numbers are plentiful; they are then released in a crop where their numbers need to be increased. Covers and barriers. For highvalue crops, row covers or fully enclosed net houses can prevent pests reaching the crop. The size of the holes in the covers or net determines which insects can be excluded. Smaller holes usually mean less water penetration. The disadvantage is that, once a pest has found a way into the plants, its numbers might increase more rapidly in the absence of predators or it might be more difficult to physically control. Row covers and net houses do, however, offer other potential benefits such as providing a warmer environment and increasing the rate of plant growth; on the other hand, they can also increase humidity and the likelihood of fungal diseases developing. Row cover materials can be purchased from
various horticultural suppliers, including Gundaroo Tiller (see AppendixA). Soil solarisation. Soil pests and some soil-borne diseases can be controlled by soil solarisation, which involves using sealed or overlapping clear plastic to heat the soil beneath to high temperatures, thus sterilising the top few centimetres of soil. Proper laying of the plastic and enough sun exposure to raise the soil temperature to a lethal level to the required depth are crucial. This technique has the advantage of sterilising the soil without fumigants but, like fumigation, it kills most living things (including beneficial soil organisms) and leaves the now-sterile soil open to colonisation by invasive and often pestiferous species. Pupae busting. Pupae busting means cultivating the soil to destroy the exit holes for Heliothis (Helicoverpa armigera) moths after pupation. Normally it is done after harvest and before the overwintering larvae or pupae are due to emerge as moths. Cultivation to a depth of 10centimetres is sufficient. Although some pupae can be physically destroyed, the main purpose is to destroy the exit tunnels. Pupae busting is essential to keep the number of spring-emerging Heliothis to a minimum. Populations of Heliothisparticularly the tomato budworm or sweet corn earwormgrow exponentially with each subsequent generation, so reducing the initial numbers can make a big difference to the pressure in late summer or early autumn. Removal of pests. Sometimes only a small number of pests are in the crop and the crop area is relatively small. In this situation hand removal of pests is an option. Hosing plants down with water can also dislodge some pests and, if they are not very
RIRDC Pub. No. 07/153; $15.
mobile, prevent them from reinfesting the crop. Again, this is only possible in small intensive crop areas. Biological control Biological control uses beneficials, habitat manipulation and/or products derived from natural organisms to control pests. Natural enemies (beneficials) are organisms that feed on or otherwise kill the target pest. They can be predatory insects (including spiders and mites), parasitoids, fungi, bacteria, viruses, nematodes or animals (for example, insect-feeding birds). Biological control is often best used as a preventive method, but some components of biological control are useful as direct intervention. Introduced beneficials. Predators or parasitoids of a specific pest can be released into the problem area. Perhaps they are absent because they do not naturally occur in the area, for some reason they have been killed, or their populations are not sufficiently high to adequately control the pest. Some predator and parasitoid species are available from commercial insectaries to release into a crop to control a specific pest outbreak (see AppendixA). Habitat manipulation. Although this is normally a preventive
method, slashing neighbouring insectary crops can encourage beneficials to move across into the target crop and perhaps control the pest. Yeast sprays can encourage lacewings and some other predatory bugs into a crop area to control a specific pest. Autocidal control. Autocidal control involves using massreared pest insects that are released after having been sterilised by radiation or chemosterilants. When the sterilised males mate with wild females no progeny is produced. The success of this strategy is dependent on releasing enough sterile males into the natural population to outcompete or outnumber the natural or wild males and prevent the females reproducing. This is a tool being used in fruit fly control. Semiochemical control. Semiochemical control uses synthetically produced chemicals that imitate sex or aggregation (grouping) pheromones to disrupt the pests behaviour. Both sex and aggregation pheromones can lure pests into a sticky or pesticide trap. Sex pheromones are also used to disrupt or prevent mating and reduce the number of pest offspring. This technique is commonly used in orchards and is more effective as a preventative method. Biocidal control. Biocidal control uses natural products or
Inorganics Common synthetics Sulfura Organochlorines Copper sulphatea Organophosphates Arsenicals Biologicals Rotenonea Ryaniaa
organisms that have a toxic or lethal effect on the target pest. Among such agents are products derived from plants (such as neem and natural pyrethrum), pathogens, bacteria, viruses, protozoa, fungi, nematodes and animals. In general, biocidal control can be used only as a direct control method once pest numbers have reached damaging levels since the kill rate is usually high but the carryover effect is low. Chemical control Chemical control is usually associated with synthetically derived poisons, which are not allowed under organic standards. Some chemicals are, however, permitted under organic standards, and these tend to be biologically derived or inorganic products or minerals. Some of the new generation insecticides are not clearly biologicals or synthetics and might be accepted under organic standards in the future. t should be noted that even if the I product is acceptable under organic standards it may not be legal to use it. As just noted, any insecticide, biologically based or not, is regulated by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) and each pestcrop insecticide combination must be approved. Approved uses are clearly written on the insecticide label and any use contrary to those instructions is illegal. Table4.2 lists examples of the common insecticide groups.
Others Petroleum spray oilsb Vegetable spray oilsafor example, Eco Oilc Soapsa Diatomaceous eartha Transgenics
Table 4.2 Common insecticide groups: some examples
Carbamates Natural pyrethrum (non-selective) a Pyrethroids Neema Insect growth regulators Bacillus thuringiensisa Insect viruses (non-GM)a
. Permitted in organic standards. . Some permitted in organic standards. Petroleum oils are not permitted for use on organic products exported to Japan. c. Available from Organic Crop Protectants Pty Ltd (see AppendixA). Source: S McDougall (2001).
4.9 Disease management 4.9.1 Causes of plant disease
Various members of the four major biological groupsfungi, bacteria, viruses and nematodescause plant diseases. The pest triangle (see Section4.8) also relates to diseases. The pathogen, environment and host interact in disease expression. It is worth remembering, however, that symptoms resembling disease are often expressed but are the result of other factors such as nutrient effects.
is the collective term for a disease that affects a wide variety of plants, but separate species infect different plant groups. The downy mildew that affects grapes does not affect lettuce, for example. Many soil-borne fungi are important in breaking down plant material and are an important part of soil biology.
4.9.2 Diagnosis
Different diseases require different treatments. Publications on plant diseases might help with diagnosis; otherwise, there are plant disease diagnostic services in each state (see AppendixA). Control recommendations cannot be made unless the problem has been accurately diagnosed. Disease control will not be successful if the disease has not been correctly identified. The various diagnostic services available might charge a fee, but using them can save time and money: unnecessary sprays will be avoided and the right spray for the disease can be chosen.
The bacteria that cause diseases in lettuce are single-celled organisms and do not form more complex structures such as those developed by fungi. There are no multi-celled hyphae or hard-walled resting spores (sclerotia), so the bacteria need other entry points. Bacteria can be secondary invaders of plant tissue when they invade damaged tissue. The initial damage can be caused by insects, other pathogens, frost, herbicide or hail. Other entry points for bacteria are stomates and lenticels, natural openings found on the leaf surface. Unlike fungi, which have spores that can be spread by the wind, bacteria must be transported by other meansfor example rain, insects, pruning and cutting implements, machinery, moving soil and water. In lettuce production bacteria can be spread from one head to another during harvest.
Viruses are micro-organisms that can infect plants and animals. Many viruses affect plants, and all of them need external agents, or vectors, for their transmission. Examples of vectors are insects, mites, nematodes and fungi; examples of insect vectors are thrips, aphids and leafhoppers. Some viruses have specific vectorsperhaps a certain type of aphid or fungus. There are no chemical treatments for viruses, which means the vector must be controlled if possible. Identifying viruses from plant symptoms is quite difficult, so if there are serious problems it is important that the virus be identified at a diagnostic laboratory.
4.9.3 Reducing plant diseases organically
It is important to have a complete picture of what diseases occur in a particular region. Some regions may not have a serious disease: for example, white rot of onions does not occur in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, whereas it is a serious disease in other growing areas. The proposed cropping site should not have a history of any serious soil-borne diseases. Ask the district horticulturist what diseases could cause trouble for the proposed crop.
Nematodes are very small wormlike animals, too small to be seen with the naked eye. Some types are pathogenic; others are beneficial and consume pathogenic fungi; yet others contribute to soil biological activity. Pathogenic-type nematodes have a mouthpart that pierces plant cells for feeding. As a consequence of this feeding, the plants can become stunted and die. Nematodes are usually associated with plant roots, but some species affect other plant parts. Nematodes tend to be more of a problem in light-textured soils such as sand.
Fungi are microscopic organisms but have structures that can be seen with the naked eye. They produce hyphae, or strands, that can be seen on plant material. Their fruiting structures are visible with a hand lens or microscope, and their spores can be carried by wind or spread through water. These spores usually require moisturerain, dew or high humidityto germinate and infect plants. Some fungi have a narrow host range; others have a wide host range. Downy mildew
Variety selection
When choosing the correct variety for the area, account should be taken not only of optimising yield but also of maximising disease control. There are two ways a variety can help disease management: varietal resistance and tolerance the physical shape or habit of the plant. A variety can have genetic resistance to a disease; that is, it has been bred to be resistant to the disease. For example, resistance to downy mildew has been bred into some
lettuce varieties. Varieties can also show reduced or increased disease levels as a result of their physical characteristics. Plants might not be completely resistant to a disease but can be tolerant.
Changing the crops grown has long been a way of reducing diseases. It can be important in controlling many soil-borne diseases, but it will not have an effect on soil-borne diseases that produce inoculum that can survive in the soil for many years. Fungi that produce sclerotia (hard-bodied survival structures of some soil-borne fungi) are an example of this. Rotation will be successful if the disease in question survives only on host material and does not survive when all residue of that host is absent. For example, in a rotation with lettuce it is important not to have a crop that is also a host of Sclerotinia minor.
make sure that plants dry out as quickly as possiblefor example, by avoiding watering in the evening, so that foliage does not remain wet overnight. Trickle irrigation is the best option for reducing plant disease. Flooding can, however, be used to limit some diseases (such as sclerotia) before planting a susceptible crop. Over-irrigation can cause serious problems by favouring soil-borne diseases.
Pathogen-free seed or vegetative propagation material
Many viruses are seed borne. Potatoes are a good example of vegetative material capable of carrying pathogens. Make sure any planting material is free of diseases. Always keep a small amount of the material for reference in case problems are found after planting.
Soil solarisation
Solarisation is discussed in Section4.7.
Many plant diseases are affected by environmental conditions. High rainfallor, more specifically, high leaf wetnesscan promote infection with many of the fungal diseases, such as downy mildews and rusts. Reducing the plant density can increase the air flow through the crop, although this could compromise weed management.
Improving soil health through increasing biological activity can reduce the chance of soil-borne pathogens being a problem. Addition of compost and incorporation of green manure crops can help reduce soil-borne diseases by increasing the biological activity of beneficial species in the soil. Careful selection of the green manure is important, to ensure that it, too, is not a host to the pathogen.
Roguing
Roguing means physical removal of any diseased plants. The practice can reduce both the spread of the disease and the carryover of the disease. It can be labour intensive, though, so might be of benefit only in high-value crops. Using lettuce as an example, removing plants that sclerotia have developed on will help to reduce the overall amount of sclerotia that could end up in the soil for future infection.
Weed control is important for many plant diseases because often the weeds are also the hosts of the diseases. Many weeds and ornamental plants are hosts of tomato spotted wilt, which is a virus affecting tomatoes. The virus is transmitted by thrips.
Ploughing
Ploughing can be useful for burying sclerotia and subsequently increasing the biological breakdown of the survival structures.
Removal of crop residue
Removal of crop residue is very important if overlapping of plantings occurs. In lettuce production, lettuce is planted in overlapping plantings so that a continual supply is available. Once a block is harvested, plant material should be ploughed in. As a last resort, burning the plant material something not favoured in organic standardscan help reduce the carryover of disease. Grazing livestock such as poultry can help to remove crop residue.
Research into biological control is expanding rapidly, and growing numbers of micro-organisms for biological control of soil-borne diseases are being developed. Trichoderma (acommon soil-borne genus of fungi) species have been developed to control soil-borne plant diseases.
Irrigation management
A number of organically acceptable chemicals are available if disease control is necessary
Overhead irrigation can contribute to plant foliar diseases. If it is used,
Industries organic demonstration site at Yanco, some indicative gross margin budgets have been developed; these are shown in Tables4.3 to 4.6. When interpreting these budgets, several important points need to be taken into consideration: The data are site specific. The yields obtained and management practices used are appropriate only for the Yanco organic demonstration site; data should be modified to reflect different management regimes and sites. Returns for produce are those quoted by an organic wholesaler for certified organic produce at the time of sale. Prices will vary from season to season and will generally depend on supply at that particular time and in that particular market. Gross margin budgets are only an indication of potential costs and returns for an enterprise in any particular year. Factors such as climactic variability, management expertise and market fluctuations will vary the budget.
Zuchini leaves with powdery mildew
(see AppendixB). Among them are copper, lime sulphur, sodium bicarbonate, sulphur and vegetable oils. These products are effective only against foliar plant pathogens. Copper is useful against downy mildews and bacterial diseases; sulphur is effective against powdery mildews. Note that both copper and sulphur are currently under review for use in organic systems, and using alternatives to them might become necessary. A review of alternatives to copper for disease control in organic systems has been undertaken by Van Zwieten et al. (2004).
SSE, a product of Organic Crop Protectants Pty Ltd (see AppendixA).
When determining the economics of organic vegetable production it is necessary to take into account not only the profitability of growing the particular crop but also the profitability of the entire rotation. As a result of trials conducted at the NSW Department of Primary
Other organic sprays
Among other possibilities for disease control are products still under evaluation, such as compost teas and milk. Evidence suggests that both these products are efficacious for certain diseases. Milk has shown some effectiveness against powdery mildew. Many organic farmers believe that, by stimulating the natural defence mechanisms in plants and animals, resistance to disease can be strengthened. Some commercial products are marketed on this principle; examples are seaweed extracts such as Acadian
Prices will vary from season to season and will generally depend on supply at that particular time and in that particular market
Table 4.3 I ndicative gross margin budget: organic rockmelons
Standard budget ($/ha) Income Yield 1600 cartons @ $13/carton Total income Operation Land preparation Rip Disc (2) Grade Broadcast Bed form Incorporate Fertiliser Compost (8 t/ha) Rock phosphate Green manure (grow and incorporate) Planting Sowing Seed Growing Mechanical cultivation (2) Boomspray (foliar 4) Fertiliser BD500 Foliar biological spray (3) Weed control Casual labour (hoe) 35 hrs Irrigation (drip) Harvesting Contract pick, sort and load Trailer use Casual labour Bins hire Grade, pack Cartons Machine operation Total variable costs Gross margin/ha Gross margin/mL
Source: NSW Department of Primary Industries
Table 4.4 I ndicative gross margin budget: organic sweet corn
Standard budget ($/ha) Income Yield 11.3 tonnes/ha @ $143/tonne Total income Operation Land preparation Incorporate green manure Deep rip Scarify (2) Hill up Bed form Fertiliser Apply and spread compost 16 tonne/ha Gypsum 0.5 tonne/ha Lime 0.3 tonne/ha RPR 100 kg/ha Spreading BD500 Foliar (3) Biological spray Planting Seed 15kg/ha Sowing Seed treatment Weed control Interrow cultivation * 2 Pest control Gemstar (permit required) 0.8l/ha @ $60/l Aerial spray (Gemstar) $12/ha Irrigation 8 mL/ha @ 17.36/mL Harvest Contractor 11.3 tonne @ $16/tonne Hire of two bin trailer Total variable costs Gross margin/ha
20 800.00 20 800.00
1 615.90 1 615.90
55.00 27.50 11.00 7.00 20.63 27.50 120.00 45.50 283.50 20.63 450.00 68.76 27.5 2.00 39.42 420.00 90.44 2 450.00 137.50 120.00 352.80 1 425.00 3 287.00 87.50 9 576.18 11 223.82 1 603.40
16.07 17.31 24.72 12.36 12.36 255.00 23.00 13.50 25.00 7.50 6.95 67.05 14.95 240.00 12.36 3.20 61.88 48.00 12.00 148.00 180.80 48.80 1 250.81 365.09
Table 4.5 I ndicative gross margin budget: organic pumpkin, Jarrahdale
Standard budget ($/ha) Income Yield 30 tonnes/ha @ $400/tonne Total income Operation Land preparation Rip Disc (2) Grade Direct drill Bed form Fertiliser Compost Rock phosphate Green manure (grow and incorporate) Planting Sowing Seed Growing Mechanical cultivation (WeedFix 2) Rehill Boomspray (3 foliar) Fertiliser BD500 Foliar biological spray (3) Weed control Casual labour (hoe) 35hrs Irrigation Harvesting Contract pick, sort and load Bins (large) Freight (Sydney) Total variable costs Gross margin/ha Gross margin/mL
Source: NSW Department of Primary Industries.
Table 4.6 Indicative gross margin budget: organic pumpkin, butternut
Standard budget ($/ha) Income Yield 1050 cartons/ha @ $16 /carton Total income Operation Land preparation Rip Disc (2) Grade Direct drill Bed form Fertiliser Compost Rock phosphate Green manure (grow and incorporate) Planting Sowing Seed Growing Mechanical cultivation (WeedFix 2) Rehill Boomspray (4 foliar) Fertiliser BD500 Foliar biological spray (3) Weed control Casual labour (hoe) 35 hrs Irrigation Harvesting Contract picking Wash, grade, pack Cartons Freight (Sydney) Total variable costs Gross margin/ha (A B) Gross margin/mL
27.50 27.50 12.14 6.88 20.63 120.00 45.50 283.50 20.63 60.00 61.88 13.75 20.63 2.00 39.42 420.00 77.52 1,375.00 990.00 2 420.00 6 044.48 5 955.52 992.58
27.50 27.50 11.00 7.00 20.63 120.00 45.50 283.50 20.63 150.00 82.50 20.63 27.50 2.00 39.42 420.00 90.44 1 666.75 1 440.00 1 995.00 1 155.00 7 652.50 9 147.50 1 306.79
5. Organic vegetable case studies
The case studies that follow have previously been published as part of the NSW Agriculture Agfact series. They provide examples of the organic production requirements for a range of vegetables. The crops chosen reflect the growth patterns of three production systemsperennial (asparagus), broadacre annual (pumpkin) and intensive annual (tomatoes). Many of the organic practices used in the production of these crops are applicable to other vegetable and herb crops.
5.1 Organic production of asparagus Introduction
Asparagus has few pest or disease problems and can be grown without artificial pesticides, making it a relatively easy crop to grow organically. Good weed management, particularly during establishment, is essential to promote healthy growth and satisfactory yield and quality. Organic asparagus production, like other vegetable production systems, involves developing a functional system that provides adequate fertility while maintaining effective weed management. A well managed asparagus stand may stay productive for 15 years or more. An understanding of the annual growth habit will help in planning an organic management program.
Asparagus can be a relatively easy crop to grow organically
Asparagus is a perennial plant. It produces dark green fern-like foliage during summer and in cooler climates becomes dormant over winter months. Asparagus spears begin as leaf buds below the soil surface, elongating to form the spears above ground as temperatures warm in the spring. These are then cut during harvest, making way for new spears to initiate from buds on the crown below the soil. Harvesting of the spears continues until spear quality deteriorates (during hot weather) or market prices fall. When harvesting ceases, the spear is allowed to develop into its fully expanded leaf, or fern. During this stage the plant photosynthesises and replenishes its nutrient reserves in the crown for the next years harvest. In colder districts, the asparagus fern will die off during winter in similar fashion to a deciduous tree.
The fern is then mulched into the soil or removed in preparation for harvest of the new asparagus spears in spring. The fern is not removed until completely dead so that the asparagus root or crown is replenished as nutrients are reabsorbed from the stem and foliage. This step is followed by a shallow cultivation prior to spear emergence to incorporate the trash, clean up weeds and provide a clear surface for harvesting.
Select varieties that have been bred for disease resistance, specifically Fusarium sp. and Phytopthera sp. resistance.
Pre-planting and establishment
Establishment is the critical growth stage for asparagus. Seedling transplants are common, although these are relatively slow to establish and full production can not be expected for at least three years. Crowns are more reliable and may yield earlier depending on crown size. The young crowns are usually planted in a shallow trench which is gradually filled in as the crown matures. This leaves the asparagus growing on a low mound (the mound is higher for white asparagus).
Potential growers will need to source an asparagus variety that has market acceptability, is suited to your local climate and, ideally, and if possible, is raised organically (this is a requirement of the National Standard for Organic and BioDynamic Produce). Some varieties will be more suited to processing; others to the fresh market. Will you grow green or white asparagus? Many European varieties are unsuitable for warmer inland and northern districts as the spears tend to lose quality as the leaf bracts open prematurely in the hotter weather. Research has shown that certain Californian varieties are best suited under these conditions.
Crop nutrition and soil management
Asparagus grows in a wide variety of soils but grows best in a light well-drained soil with a high nutrient content. Deep alluvial soils provide optimum conditions for growth. However, these soils can be prone to erosion, low in organic matter and may be leached of essential nutrients.
The soil should be analysed for its nutrient status well before planting to determine pre-planting nutrient requirements and a fertility program should be implemented at least 2 years before planting. If a green manure crop is to be grown as part of the fertility program it will require incorporation well before planting so that organic residues are properly decomposed. Compost is an excellent soil amendment and should be considered an essential addition preplanting, with annual applications for the established asparagus stand. Fertiliser recommendations vary with soils and growing conditions, but as a general guide NSW asparagus producers apply 150 kg actual nitrogen (N), 50 kg actual phosphorus (P) and 50kg actual potassium (K) per hectare per year to asparagus. An incorporated green manure crop can supply from 80 to 150 kg actual N per year, while composted cow manure (analysed at 2% N on a non-dry weight basis), applied at 6 tonne / hectare / annum, could supply 120 kg actual N. Because of variability between batches of compost each should be separately analysed for nutrient content. If externally sourced, you should also test for heavy metals. Phosphorus should be applied as Reactive Phosphate Rock (RPR) a season prior to planting as well as under the plants at planting and in each year of production. RPR should be checked for cadmium. Levels should not exceed 20 ppm mg/kg in fertilisers or manures. Potassium can be supplied organically through composts and seaweed extracts. Commercial organic fertilisers that can supply most nutrients are available, but these must be carefully
Compost is an important addition to an organic soil management program. Loading compost for spreading at the Yanco organic demonstration site. Source: NSW Department of Primary Industries
evaluated for cost and effectiveness. Some organic certification organisations have approved a range of commercial organic fertilisers. Reliance on these, as opposed to good soil management practices (green manuring and use of compost) is discouraged. Annual fertiliser applications should be applied prior to the pre-harvest cultivation. Research has shown that N, P, and K extraction by crops is in the vicinity of 34, 6 and 18 kg/Ha, respectively, so you should aim to replace these amounts annually. Allowances should also be made for other losses to the system such as
those from leaching, surface run-off and volatilisation evaporation) of nutrients. Research has also shown that asparagus seedlings are particularly sensitive to deficiencies in magnesium, calcium, copper and sulfur. A nutrient budget can help you to assess your crops nutritional requirements a couple of seasons in advance, and helps to identify potential losses and gains of nutrients to the system. Table 1 gives an example of a possible budget for nitrogen inputs in asparagus production.
Table 1. Estimated annual nitrogen budget for 1 Ha asparagus, green manured and fertilised with composted cow manure
Input / Losses I. Inputs a) Gains that remain in the soil and in crop residues: N in green manure crop (clover/vetch) N in rain N2 fixation (non-symbiotic) b) Gains in composted cow manure applied @ 6 tonnes / ha (analysed at 2% N on dry weight basis) Total input II. Losses in the field sale of spears (yld 8t/ha, untrimmed) fern removal composted manure leaching, surface run-off and volatilisation Total Losses III. Net accumulation of N in soil kg actual N /ha / year
140b 8c 5c subtotal 153 120 d subtotal 120 Total gains 273 34 e negligible as most nutrients returned to crowne e 2b 200 c Total losses 236 Net +37kg N/Ha
Sources: a Alenson, 1989; b Lampkin, 1990; c Kaffka and Koepf, 1989; d Analysis Rockdale Feedlot Pty Ltd. Based on 2% N on dry weight basis.1993; e Prior, L. Nutrition of Asparagus. Paper presented at Asparagus Growers Seminar, 1988. Wagga Wagga, NSW. Dept of Agriculture, NSWandVic. Dept.of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
Weed control is critical during asparagus establishment and is best started well before planting. This involves selecting an area with few weeds and using cultivation and sowing activities to encourage preplanting germination of weed seeds. Green manure and cereal crops planted prior to asparagus will help to out-compete weeds as well as adding to soil organic matter and fertility levels. Difficult to control weeds may need to be removed by hand. Weed management following planting can be difficult as the young asparagus plant lacks vigour and the competitiveness of a mature stand. Mulch can be applied around seedlings. Research has shown that mulches such as straw, sawdust and bark spread at 100mm depth can provide adequate to good control of weeds. In cooler districts, mulching may delay the emergence of spears in spring and prolong harvest later in the season due to its cooling effect on the soil. This may be advantageous if a later harvest gives you a market niche, or disadvantageous if there is a market glut. Mulch may also increase the risk of frost damage to emerging spears. Weed control during harvest (particularly self-sown asparagus) needs to be achieved. Flaming weeds is an option prior to spear emergence. A clean-up during harvest could also be achieved by removing all spears protruding above the ground and then flaming the weeds. Note that flamers are most effective on newly emerged weeds. Grazing animals while the asparagus is dormant will also help to control weeds and provide additional nutrient benefits in the form of manure. Sheep and weeder geese
Properly timed, gas flaming can be an effective weed management tool in an organic growing system. Photo: R. Neeson
can be used effectively, while ducks as well as eating weeds will also consume snails and insects.
Intercropping
An asparagus crop will not reach full productivity for at least three years, so returns will be relatively low during the establishment years. The delay in economic return could be partially offset by intercropping between the asparagus rows with other vegetables or herbs. Planting an intercrop also helps reduce weed problems in the inter-row area. Any intercrop requires good nutrition and water management to reduce competition with the asparagus, and care is needed to ensure the crop does not host pests or diseases of asparagus. Intercropping of asparagus with a low-growing leguminous cover crop can be effective in reducing inter-row weeds, providing nutrition to the asparagus and improving soil structure. Research has shown that there may be a competitive effect from cover crops during the
establishment year and the first few years following transplanting the asparagus. Supplying ample nutrition and water to the cover crop may reduce this impact. Two potential cover cropping systems could be adopted. The first type involves planting a lowgrowing perennial cover crop, such as clover, that is mulched or slashed regularly for optimum benefit. A side-throw mulcher, slasher, or alternatively a forage harvester could be used, with the cuttings directed around the asparagus plants. This provides a nutrition and mulch benefit to the asparagus plants. If using this system, sufficient distance must be retained between the asparagus rows to allow for machinery operations such as slashing of the asparagus fern in winter, cultivation of weeds and harvest preparations. Cultivation over the crop row should be shallow or avoided altogether to avoid damaging the crowns. Soil may need to be hilled up over rows to increase depth.
A green manure crop ready for incorporating. This crop is oats, faba bean field peas and mustard. Photo: R. Neeson
An alternative cover cropping system involves sowing an annual cover crop following removal of the fern in winter and incorporating it as a green manure or slashing / mulching it prior to spear emergence in the spring. Regardless of the system decided upon, it is imperative to have the cutting zone free of weeds and trash during harvest.
The Rutherglen bug usually breeds in the seed heads of weeds and from here they move to agricultural crops. In some years they may reach plague numbers in spring and summer. Management is best achieved by removing host weeds such as Patersons curse from areas surrounding the crop. Minor damage due to red legged earth mite and two-spotted mite has been reported. Removing or slashing green manures prior to harvest may worsen mite problems as they could migrate onto the asparagus. Snails and slugs can occasionally damage spears. Ducks introduced into the system consume these and some weeds, but are less likely to eat the asparagus. Fusarium sp. and Phytopthera sp. are two fungal diseases commonly reported in conventional asparagus production. With good soil and irrigation management, the use of resistant varieties and the use of well-grown nursery stock, these are less likely to be a problem. Stemphylium sp is the fungus that causes fern spot of asparagus. It commonly occurs in showery weather or where overhead irrigation is used. Symptoms include purple spots on ferns and spears. Removing old ferns will help to reduce the level of this disease. Three new diseases have recently been recorded on asparagus in Australia. Asparagus stem blight (Phomopsis asparagi) has been found in Queensland and Victoria. Stem blight causes defoliation and loss of production and is a very difficult disease to manage. Asparagus rust (Puccinia asparagi) has only been found in Queensland. The rust weakens plants and reduces marketable yield. Anthracnose (Colletotrichum gloeosproioides) can be a devastating disease and has been found in Queensland and the
Northern Territory. Anthracnose produces large lesions on the fern stems.
The harvest season for asparagus extends from August in warmer districts through to December in cooler districts. Harvesting has been extended using crop manipulation techniques such as mother fern culture. In this system, one spear is permitted to proceed to fern, while other spears in the crown continue to be harvested. The mother fern provides some supplementary nutrition, slightly prolonging the harvest. This method of extending the harvest, however, may affect crown longevity and, thus, the total productive potential of the asparagus stand. Harvesting is performed during the early morning when it is cool. Spears are cut just below the ground when 200mm or greater of the spear is protruding above the soil surface. Spears are later trimmed to 180mm. Spears are then collected and kept in the shade until removed from the field.
Asparagus has few pest and disease problems. The most significant insect pests are thrips and Rutherglen bug (Nysius vinitor; Lygaeidae). Both are difficult to predict and control, usually appearing overnight in swarms. Thrips are very tiny, slender insects that may feed on developing spears, causing distortion. The onion thrips (Thrips tabaci) is the most common. Thrips are most likely to migrate to asparagus when plants they have been feeding on have matured or dried out. A large number of weeds and ornamentals (particularly perennials) are known to host thrips, and whilst removal of host weeds will reduce the chance that thrips may become a problem, this may not be a practical solution. Anecdotal evidence suggests basil may help to repel thrips. Releasing predatory insects may reduce thrips numbers. Effective predators include predatory mites (Amblyseius) and green lacewing (Mallada signata). Releases should begin early in the season and may need to be made several times. Pest and predator populations should be monitored regularly. A number of organic sprays can be used successfully to control thrips including soap, natural pyrethrum (will also kill beneficial species) and horticultural mineral oils.
Post-harvest management
Asparagus spears deteriorate rapidly and must be cooled as soon as possible after harvest. Once in the packing shed, field heat should be removed. This should occur immediately if the spears are not being graded and packed straight away.
Bio-dynamic asparagus packaged for market. Photo: R. Neeson
Hydro-cooling is the usual method used to pre-cool spears to remove
be investigated as an organically acceptable alternative to calcium hypochlorite. Bundled spears should be packed in fully waxed, paper-lined cartons. If already pre-cooled, spears should be packed as quickly as possible and cartons placed into a coolroom set at 2C. Refrigerated transport should be used to ship asparagus to market. Transport operators should be made aware that your produce is organic to avoid the possibility of contamination.
Vegetable pathology NSW Department of Primary Industries Research Pathologist, Vegetables Yanco Agricultural Institute Phone (02) 6951 2611
Organic Industry Export Consultative Committee (OIECC) 2003, The National Standard for Organic and Bio-Dynamic Produce, AQIS, Canberra. Brinton, W.F. and Trnkner, A., Investigations into liquid compost extracts (teas) for the control of plant pathogenic fungi, (extract from Biocycle Paper presented in Phoenix, US). Found at: http:// www.woodsend.org/compost_tea. pdf Broadley, R and Thomas, M. 1995, The Good Bug Book, published by Australasian Biological Control, Queensland DPI and RIRDC, ISBN 0 646 247948. Cherry, J.P. 1999, Improving the Safety of Fresh Produce with Antimicrobials, Foodtechnology, Vol. 53, No. 11. Diver, S., Compost Teas for Plant Disease Control, pest management technical note, Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA) http:// www.attra. org/attra-pub/comptea.html Coleman, E., 1989, 1995, The New Organic Grower A Masters Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener, Chelsea Green Publishing Company, ISBN 0-930031-75-X. Kuepper, G. & Thomas, R., 2001, Organic Asparagus Production, ATTRA web site, http://attra.ncat. org/attra-pub/PDF/asparagus.pdf McMaugh, J. 1985, What Garden Pest or Disease is That? Organic and Chemical Solutions for Every Garden Problem, Lansdowne Publishing Pty Ltd 1985, 1994, ISBN 1 86302 623 1.
If spears are dirty they should be washed, preferably with chilled water, prior to packing
field heat. This involves spraying, flooding or immersing the spears in chilled water (3C-5C). The spears are then placed directly into a cool room. Length of time to leave the spears in the hydro-cooler depends on the temperature and flow rate of the cooling water, the initial temperature of the spears and whether the spears are loose or packaged. Hydro-cooling usually involves recirculation of water and this may cause an accumulation of micro-organisms. In conventional production systems active chlorine at a rate of 200 400 mg.l-1 is usually added to the holding tank. However, organic standards do not permit the use of chlorine above 5ppm. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), another effective disinfectant, is permitted in organic standards. Research has shown that 5% H2O2 is a reasonably effective antimicrobial agent. However, further research is necessary to determine the usefulness of H2O2 treatment. If spears are dirty they should be washed, preferably with chilled water, prior to packing. Spears will need to be trimmed, graded and bundled according to the requirements of your markets. Conventionally, it is common practice to dip the butts immediately after cutting and bundling into a solution of calcium hypochlorite to prevent bacterial soft rot, but this is not permitted in organic production systems. The use of hydrogen peroxide should
The market possibilities for asparagus producers include fresh or processed, local or export, white or green, spears or tips. Quality and continuity of supply are the keys to success. Fresh asparagus is most likely to fall victim to oversupply. While the harvest period can be extended or manipulated through various cutting strategies, the only other opportunity to avoid peak supply times arises if your particular climate favours slightly out-ofseason production. Check with wholesalers to determine when periods of undersupply and oversupply occur. New Zealand organic asparagus is available from October through to January.
Vegetable agronomy NSW Department of Primary Industries District Horticulturist Dareton Agricultural Research & Advisory Station Phone (03) 5027 4409 Vegetable entomology NSW Department of Primary Industries Technical Specialist Vegetables Yanco Agricultural Institute Phone (02) 6951 2611
5.2 Organic production of pumpkin Introduction
Pumpkins are a good choice for the grower who is considering organic vegetable production, as they may be included early in rotations or in a conversion plan. Other vegetables in this category include squash, gourds, cucumbers, rockmelons and watermelons. Given favourable growing conditions, organic pumpkins will yield around 40 tonnes to the hectare, are relatively easy to store, handle and transport and, if markets are not over-supplied, can provide a good return for producers. The organic market should be well researched as oversupply is a danger.
Pumpkins can provide a good return for producers
Markets should be assessed prior to planting to determine consumer preference. Butternuts, Jarrahdale and Jap pumpkins are commonly grown. Organic markets may prefer some of the older varieties, while processors may be quite specific in their requirements. If oversupply occurs, you may have to sell your produce on the conventional market. With this in mind, you may wish to consider growing varieties such as Japanese hybrids that sell well in conventional markets. Varieties will differ in their yielding ability, vigour and pest and disease resistance so it is advisable to investigate how the variety selected performs in your region. The growth characteristics of the variety will also determine cultural aspects such as planting distance. Production of pumpkins is usually from seed sown directly in the field. The National Standard for Organic and Bio-Dynamic Produce requires seed to be organically produced, unless suitable quantity and quality is unavailable, so a
reputable supplier will need to be found. Records proving that an effort has been made to source organic seed must be provided to the organic certifier. If an openpollinated variety is grown it will produce seed that will breed true to type provided cross-pollination with other pumpkin or squash varieties does not occur) so, alternatively, you could raise and collect your own seed.
family, or similar characteristic be planted for more than 2 years out of 5 within the rotation. Furthermore, the standards require that a green manure, annual legume or pasture ley phase be grown at least one year in three, except where soil fertility and structural characteristics are entirely met by the importation of composted manures or other permitted varieties of organic matter.
Rotation design
Pumpkins prefer a high nutrition regime that would generally follow a green manure (legumes and grasses) or an intensive composting program. Pumpkins spreading growth habit and leaf size gives it a competitive advantage over weeds, and provides an opportunity as a cleaning crop to precede a less competitive vegetable such as onions in the rotation. Potatoes are another excellent cleaning crop and if grown back-to-back with pumpkins in a rotation can provide a good preceding rotation for root crops, which are among the most difficult of vegetables to keep weed free To minimise the risk of disease carryover, pumpkins ideally should not be grown where another member of the cucurbit family e.g., watermelons, cucumber, zucchini, has been grown in the previous year. Organic standards require that no annual crop of the same species,
Ground preparation and planting
Like other vegetables, good seedbed preparation is essential for pumpkin production. The seedbed should be weed free and reasonably clod free. Pumpkins are generally grown on well-formed beds. Following green manure incorporation and scarifying, the field is hilled and, if compost is to be applied, it is deposited between a series of hills, which are later combined to form a bed. This places the compost directly below the planting row, allowing the pumpkin immediate access to the compost as it grows into it. Alternatively, compost application could be split, with half applied and incorporated during primary tillage, thus facilitating decomposition of the green manure, and the remainder applied during bed forming or surface-applied following planting.
Seed is normally sown direct, when the risk of late frosts is well past and when soil temperatures have warmed (a minimum of 15C). In inland New South Wales sowing begins in early October. When planted in continuous rows the seeds are sown rather thickly, and when the pumpkin plants are at the 3 to 4 leaf stage, they are thinned to 0.8 1.3 metres apart within the row.
deficiencies. A foliar application of fish emulsion, seaweed or garlic extract may also help to repel certain pests.
generally tolerate a larger pest load. Crops attractive to pests should not be grown adjacent to the pumpkin crop and should be avoided prior to the pumpkin crop being planted. Removing host weeds also helps to reduce problems. Alternatively, some plants may be more attractive to these pests and these may be strategically planted to act as a trap crop to draw the pests from the commercial crop. Established organic producers often suggest that plants that are attacked by pests are suffering some form of stress. This could be moisture stress or a nutritional deficiency. Irrigation should be monitored to avoid moisture stress, while a leaf sap or tissue analysis can determine the nutritional status of the growing crop. Some naturally derived pesticides are permitted for use in organic standards. However, this use should not be the primary form of control. Care should be taken when using these products as some may be toxic to non-target species and may also affect human health.
The most critical period for effective weed management is prior to crop establishment. Pre-irrigation or rainfall will germinate weeds, after which a shallow cultivation or flaming will remove weeds prior to sowing. Weeds need to be kept in check until the pumpkin vines have covered the beds. This can be achieved either by removing weeds by tillage with an implement such as the WeedFix (see photo) hand weeding or mulching the entire bed. Mulching can provide additional benefits including moisture retention and can provide a clean barrier between fruit and the bare soil, thus preventing staining of the underside of the pumpkin. Hand weeding during early crop establishment is the usual method of intercrop (between plants within a row) weed management, since weeds are difficult to control with cultivating implements without damaging the crop. Thinning time provides an opportunity to remove weeds that have grown within the crop row.
An organic pumpkin crop at NSW Agricultures organic demonstration site at Yanco. Pumpkins are a good choice to include in an organic rotation, early in the conversion phase. (R. Neeson)
Achieving good yields of a quality product will depend on achieving a balance of soil elements, good organic matter and a biologically active soil. Pumpkins will tolerate slightly acid conditions but prefer soils that are high in organic matter. Compost applications of around 10 tonnes / ha are commonly incorporated with green manure prior to cropping. A soil test should be carried out following green manure incorporation and prior to planting to determine the crop requirements. Pumpkins are relatively heavy nitrogen feeders and since N in compost is slowly available, an additional application of a commercial organic fertiliser may be required at planting. Foliar applications or fertigation (applied through a micro-drip irrigation system) with approved organic products can be used to correct temporary nutritional
Powdery mildew The most common disease affecting pumpkins in inland areas is powdery mildew (Oidiumsp.). Powdery mildew generally does not require moist conditions to establish and grow, and normally does well under warm conditions; thus they are more prevalent than many other leafinfecting diseases in the dry summer conditions of inland NSW.
Significant pests of pumpkin include the 28-spotted ladybird (Epilachna spp.) and the pumpkin beetle (Aulacophora hilarus). Both these pests have a migratory habit, often flying in to a crop in large numbers from weeds or other nearby crops. They are most likely to be a problem during establishment when plants are small (during this stage they may skeletonise a young plant) and during flowering when fruit set may be affected. Older plants can
Powdery mildew first appears as white powdery spots that may form on both surfaces of leaves, on shoots and sometimes on flowers and fruit. These spots gradually spread over a large area of the leaves and stems. Leaves infected with powdery mildew may gradually turn completely yellow, die and fall off, exposing fruit to sunburn. Severely infected plants may have reduced yields, shortened production and fruit with little flavour.
The web site http://www.attra.ncat. org/attra-pub/PDF/downymil.pdf provides organic control options for powdery mildew in cucurbits.
amounts of nitrogen in the soil. Bee hives can be hired for the season from bee keepers: 2 3 hives /ha is needed to ensure good pollination.
Harvesting and marketing
Following hand removal (cutting) of the vines, pumpkins may be field cured or cut from the vines and cured in well-aerated bins in storage. A light frost will kill off vines and facilitate harvest by exposing the fruit. There is some anecdotal evidence to suggest that allowing the vines to be frosted may also improve the flavour of the fruit. Heavy frost, on the other hand, may damage the pumpkin skin, especially thin types such as butternuts, leading to fruit breakdown.
Downy mildew in cucmber crop
An oat crop that has been slashed to form a mulch over beds prior to sowing at Yanco. Photo: R. Neeson
Failure of pumpkins to set fruit is usually as a result of inadequate pollination and / or excessive
Planting varieties that are least susceptible to powdery mildew is the primary method of control. Varieties differ in their susceptibility and seed companies should be able to provide you with a resistance rating for your chosen variety. Old crops that are infected should be ploughed under as soon as possible following harvest. Crops should be rotated every 3 to 4 years and growers should avoid planting a new crop right next to an older, diseased crop. Seed should only be saved from healthy fruit. Downy mildew In coastal districts downy mildew (Pseudoperonospora cubensis) is more common and is favoured by cool, wet weather. Symptoms are yellow leaf spots that soon turn brown. Faint purple spore growth develops on the lower leaf surface and if the spots are numerous, the leaf shrivels and dies. Control is usually achieved organically with copper sprays (note that under the national organic standards this is restricted use).
Pollination is needed to set the pumpkin fruit
A field elevator will assist in lifting fruit from the field and into field bins. Bins should allow for adequate aeration and should be removed to the packing shed as soon as possible.
Once cured, the pumpkins should be graded and packed according to market requirements. Wholesalers usually prefer fruit packed into bulk cardboard bins. Boxes or cartons should be labelled with your name, certification number, the certifiers logo, date packed, batch number (if selling in batches), variety and grade. Pumpkins will store up to three months, depending on variety and storage conditions. Only sound fruit should be stored and these should be checked regularly and any rotting fruit removed. Butternuts should not be stored under cold conditions.
Pumpkins are also processed into frozen, pureed for baby food and pie fillings, made into jams and used in dried products. Valueadding pumpkins could be done on-farm (facilities will need to be inspected by the certifier and will need to meet health standards) or by a certified processor. If supplying a processor, their requirements (such as variety, size and maturity at delivery) should be determined prior to planting. The economics of organic pumpkin production will depend on costs of inputs (labour, fertiliser) the yield, quality, the type of market you target (fresh or processed) and supply and demand for your product.
Further Reading Organic Produce Export Committee (OPEC), now known as Organic Industry Export Consultative Committee (OIECC), 2002, The National Standard for Organic and Bio-Dynamic Produce, c/o AQIS. See also the web site www. aqis.gov.au/organic Brinton, W.F. and Trnkner, A., Investigations into liquid compost extracts (teas) for the control of plant pathogenic fungi; (extract from Biocycle Paper presented in Phoenix, AZ). See: http://www. woodsend.org/compost_tea.pdf Broadley, R and Thomas, M. 1995, The Good Bug Book, Published by Australasian Biological Control, Queensland DPI and RIRDC, ISBN 0 646 247948. Diver, S. Compost Teas for Plant Disease Control, Pest Management Technical Note, Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA), see http://www. attra.org/attra-pub/comptea.html Coleman, E. 1989, 1995, The New Organic Grower. A Masters Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener, Chelsea Green Publishing Co, ISBN 0-930031-75-X. Kuepper, G. 2003, Downy Mildew Control in Cucurbits, Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA), see http:// www. attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/PDF/ downymil.pdf McMaugh, J. 1985, 1994 What Garden Pest or Disease is That? Organic and Chemical Solutions for Every Garden Problem, Lansdowne Publishing Pty Ltd, ISBN 1 86302 623 1.
Marketing considerations
Storage will allow marketing over a period of time. This may help to avoid market oversupply. If other growers are supplying the market at the same time, it may be worthwhile coming to an agreement whereby supplies of produce into the market are alternated between growers. By doing this, all growers may receive better market prices.
Contacts and futher reading
Vegetable Agronomy District Horticulturist NSW Department of Primary Industries Yanco Agricultural Institute YANCO NSW 2703 Vegetable Entomology Technical Specialist Vegetables, Yanco Vegetable Pathology Research Pathologist Vegetables, Yanco
Organic baby food is among the products made from organic pumpkins. Source: <http:// www. GoodnessDirect.co.uk.>
5.3 Organic production of processing tomatoes Introduction
Processing tomatoes differ from those grown for the fresh market. They tend to be thicker skinned and less acidic and have a lower water content and higher pulp content than fresh market types. They are grown un-staked on beds, often in double rows. Large-scale monoculture production is a feature of conventional processing tomato operations. Processing tomatoes are mechanically harvested and transported in bulk carriers to processors.
Tomatoes belong to the botanical family Solanaceae
in the family include eggplant, capsicum and potatoes. Rotation design should avoid preceding tomatoes with other solanaceous species, thus reducing the potential for pest, disease and weed carryover. Rotation to non-solanaceous crops for three years is usually recommended to avoid pest problems common to this group of vegetables. If an intensive market garden regime is practised or where long rotations are impractical, green manuring should be implemented. This practice will help to increase organic matter, biological activity and nutrient reserves prior to cropping and will also favour the suppression of soil-borne diseases. A green manure grown prior to planting should be well incorporated, with minimal crop residue apparent before planting the tomatoes. Ideally, a green manure should consist of a range of deep and shallow rooted herb, legume and grass species. Sod crops preceding tomatoessuch as grass pasture and small grains cropsmay result in heavy cutworm and/or wireworm damage to tomatoes. Some producers practice long rotations where the tomato crop is preceded by a 3-year legumebased pasture or lucerne crop. In this instance, nitrogen requirements of the tomato crop should be met by ploughing down the
pasture or lucerne well before planting, allowing adequate time for decomposition and ground preparation. Tomatoes have a relatively shallow root system, extending down to around 30cm. It may be good practice to follow the rotation with a deeper-rooted species able to extract nutrients from deeper in the soil profile. Paddock layout could include tomatoes inter-planted with insectary species. This practice involves Inter-planting the main crop with species they are more attractive to pests than the main crop (also known as trap cropping) or that provides a food source (such as nectar) for beneficial species, which migrate into the main crop and predate on pests. Trials in cotton have shown pest control benefits from inter-planting cotton with 20m x 1m rows of lucerne (totalling 4% of the area planted). Research investigating layout of chickpeas as a trap crop for Heliothis armigera in cotton has shown that blocks of chickpeas are more effective than strips or patches. More research needs to be undertaken on suitable species for inter-planting in tomatoes and on the ratio of main crop to insectary crop for optimum benefit.
Organic production on the same scale is unlikely to be successful. However, careful field layout involving intercropping with other species or staggering plantings could increase the scale of operations and extend the harvest period. Organic producers sell directly to wholesalers or processors or carry out some form of on-farm valueadding. A large range of processed organic tomato products is produced. This includes pasta sauces, salsas, juices, ketchup, baby food, tinned whole and pieces, dried tomatoes and pastes. Most of the organic processed tomato products currently on the Australian market are imported.
Tomatoes belong to the botanical family Solanaceae. Other members
Choice of variety will depend on market demand, regional adaptability, disease resistance and the end use of the product. For example, the Roma type is the market preference for drying, while tomato paste processors require a product with high total soluble solids (TSS). The crux of successful organic production of processing tomatoes can often be resistance or tolerance to disease. Some diseases may be more of a problem than others in your district, so you should ensure that the variety you choose has been bred for tolerance or resistance to these diseases. Seed supply companies will be able to provide this information.
Tomatoes prefer a soil with a pH of 6.0 6.8. Soil pH below this can be adjusted by adding natural lime to green manures or pastures before they are incorporated. If magnesium is found to be lacking, dolomitic lime should be applied. Tomatoes require moderate to high levels of phosphorus and potassium. Advanced applications of rock phosphate should be made based on soil test results. The availability of rock phosphate in less acidic soils (>5.5 pH) in low rainfall areas can be improved by applying the colloidal form. The addition of elemental sulfur has also been shown to improve solubility; although this will also cause a moderate increase in soil acidity. The crops potassium and sulfur requirements can be met with applications of mined sulfate potash. Compost and seaweed fertilisers are other organic sources of potassium.
for the first time. If soils are poorly drained, adding naturally mined gypsum prior to ripping may be beneficial. Follow-up cultivations should be slow and shallow, and should avoid bringing subsoil to the surface. This will minimise the germination of weeds. The aim should be to produce straight, evenly spaced beds to facilitate cultural (particularly weed management) and harvest operations. Bed width will most likely be determined by machinery wheel spacing. Once formed, beds should be irrigated if rainfall is insufficient prior to sowing to stimulate weed emergence. A final slow and shallow cultivation to remove weed seedlings usually then precedes planting. Transplants are the most common method of planting. Transplants are preferred over seeds as they have a competitive advantage over weeds. Transplants should be raised organically. This is a requirement of the National Standard for Organic and Bio-Dynamic Produce. If organic seedlings are not available you must provide evidence to your certifier that you have made every effort to source organic material. These should be pre-ordered (if
Nutritional requirements of processing tomatoes are met organically by a range of practices such as green manuring, cover crops, livestock manures and composts, lime, mineral rock dusts, commercial organic fertilisers and foliar sprays. Many organic sources of nutrients may take a number of seasons to become fully available, so soils should be assessed for their nutrient status a few seasons before planting the tomatoes. This is particularly the case with rock phosphate and mineral dusts. These can be added to composts.
Primary cultivation should aim to turn under green manures or cover crops well before planting to allow for adequate decomposition. Initially, soils should be worked deeply to ensure adequate soil depth for bed forming. Deep-ripping is advised if beds are being formed
Organic fertiliser
Selecting crops to include in a green manure it is important to use a range of root systems that can explore, work and enrich the soil. Shown here, from left, are oats, faba beans and fodder rape. Source: NSW Department of Primary Industries
not growing your own) at least 6 months prior to planting to ensure that suppliers can supply the variety and quantities you require. Check transplants upon arrival to ensure they are pest and disease free. If pests or disease are present, treat with an organically acceptable pesticide prior to planting. Transplants should be hardened-off after delivery and pre-watered prior to planting. Transplants are generally planted by machine, although hand planting may be considered for smaller areas. To avoid stimulating weed germination, aim for minimum soil disturbance during planting. Plants should be placed 40cm apart in straight, evenly spaced double rows. Tomatoes should be wateredin as soon as possible after planting. Planting in double rows makes efficient use of soil nutrients and encourages rapid coverage of the bed surface thus providing competition (shade, moisture and nutrients) against potential weed invasion. However, weed control can be more difficult between the two rows. Alternatively, the tomatoes could be planted in single rows and undersown with a leguminous green manure crop. Suitable species could include dwarf red and white clover. Undersowing is best done 4 weeks after planting tomatoes to ensure they are well established. You will need to flame or cultivate any weeds that emerge in this intervening period. The clover should be sown in a weed-free seedbed. Careful water and nutrient management will be needed to ensure competition between the cover crop and tomatoes does not occur.
Weed management begins well before planting. If planting in a previously uncropped field, you should select one that is relatively weed-free. This is particularly important with difficult to manage weeds such as nightshade or weeds with persistent seed banks such as Bathurst burr. If the tomatoes are part of an ongoing rotation, weed cleaning crops such as short season vegetables or green manures should precede the tomato crop. Weeds in areas bordering the field should be controlled, particularly if they are hosts for thrips or aphids as these may transmit diseases to the crop. Irrigation as a weed control method Beds should be pre-irrigated or have received rainfall prior to planting to stimulate weed germination. Germinating weeds are then controlled by shallow cultivation or flaming prior to planting. Sub-surface drip irrigation can minimise weed competition. The drip line should be buried at, or just below, rooting depth. You may need to compromise slightly with the depth as the drip line will remain in the soil for a number of seasons and crops following tomatoes in the rotation may have a different root depth. Soil type will also dictate the depth at which the drip line should be laid. Crop type and soil type will also dictate the distance between in-line emitters in the drip line. If unsure, you should seek advice from the drip line supplier or a NSW Department of Primary Industries Irrigation Officer. NOTE: Some drip line is impregnated with herbicide, so be sure to specify when purchasing that this is not required.
Post-planting weed control
The critical period for weed management occurs during crop establishment and until the tomato crop canopy closes over the bed. Following planting, emerging weeds can be flamed or interrow cultivated. Weeds emerging within the plant row may require hand removal (chipping) at least until the crop canopy closes. Once the crop canopy closes over the bed, littleif anyweed management is usually required. Weeds in the furrows between beds may be mechanically cultivated or flamed. The application of surface mulch may also be considered to suppress weeds and to conserve moisture. Non-synthetic woven or processed materials or organic mulches such as straw, hay, sawdust and rice hulls are suitable. Equipment is available to mechanically lay some commercial mulch. These should be laid prior to transplanting. Organic mulches should be maintained in a layer 10cm or deeper, and are generally applied after planting so not to interfere with equipment. If surface mulch is applied, drip irrigation can be placed under the mulch on the bed surface.
Insect pest management
Effective pest management can only be achieved through monitoring and correct identification of the pest and predatory species. An understanding of the pests (and predators) lifecycle will help you to plan and design an integrated pest management strategy. Monitoring for the presence of pests and predators should start before plantingin surrounding fields, on weeds and in the soil. The presence of pests that live in the soil (such as wireworms) can
be determined by soil sampling. Sticky traps, baits and light traps located around the field will help to monitor the presence of flying insects. Crop monitoring should be done at least weekly. Beneficial insects are very susceptible to insecticides, so care must be taken to reduce drift from neighbouring properties. Some organic farmers plant windbreaks or arrange with their neighbours to sow crop buffers such as sorghum along the boundary. Casuarina spp. is very effective at reducing spray drift by trapping spray droplets. Windbreaks also add to the biodiversity of the farm by providing shelter for smaller birds and other potential pest predators.
then collected and inspected 46 days later to determine the level of parasitism from wasps such as Trichogramma or Telenomis. If the eggs turn black, they have been parasitised by the wasp. This enables you to determine if an organically acceptable spray is required to further reduce pest numbers. The threshold for spraying Heliothis in tomatoes is five viable eggs on 30 leaves or 2 larvae on 30 leaves. See Table 1 for beneficial insect and spider ratings as reported by the Department of Primary Industries, Queensland.1 Biological control Mass-reared beneficial insects including Trichogramma wasps are available for biological control of Heliothis. These wasps are egg parasites of Heliothis. Commercially reared Heliothis eggs parasitised by Trichogramma pretiosum may be released to control Heliothis and loopers, although this is an expensive operation, costing around $100 per ha. Eggs can be released in a water solution through a backpack at a rate of 8 ha / hour or over larger areas with a specially built machine, or on egg cards that are placed throughout the field. The most important consideration
with Trichogramma release is timing. Farmers have found it is normally necessary to make two releases approximately 57 days apart. Monitoring is essential to determine the best time for release. Cultural controls It is possible to reduce the risk of Heliothis damage through a number of cultural practices. Plant early. Early season crops (harvest late January / early March) are generally less prone to damage from Heliothis. Avoid planting late season crops in NSW. Cultivar selection. Different tomato varieties may be able to tolerate different levels of insect damage. More research is required in this area. Crop sanitation. Thoroughly cultivating the field after harvest will destroy pupation chambers (this known as pupae busting). This will reduce the population of the next generation of Heliothis. Insectaries and strip cropping Strip or trap cropping is growing two or more crops simultaneously in different strips, wide enough to permit independent cultivation, but narrow enough for the crops to interact agronomically (Francis,
Major insect pests of tomatoes
Helicoverpa spp (Heliothis). Heliothis punctigera, and H. armigera are the two most common species that damage tomatoes. While Heliothis larva will feed on buds and flowers of tomato plants and may also bore into the stems, it prefers fruit. Fruits that are damaged when young are most likely to rot before harvest.
Monitoring for Heliothis
All processing tomato producers monitor crops on a twice-weekly basis from planting until about two weeks before harvest. Regular monitoring for pest presence will let you know if the beneficial insects are present and if they are keeping Heliothis at a satisfactory level of control. Pheromone and light traps are used to monitor moth numbers, species and flight patterns. Monitoring pest/predator buildup involves collecting random leaf samples to determine the level of Heliothis eggs present. The eggs are
Effective biological control requires an effective system design. A Heliothis caterpillar is parasitised by a predatory shield bug in a pigeon pea trap crop. Photo: R. Neeson
Deuter, P, et. al. (2000), Heliothis in Sweet Corn, Queensland Horticulture Institute, Gatton Research Station.
C.A., Multiple cropping systems, 1986, MacMillan). Strip crops, or insectaries, can be the breeding grounds for beneficial insects that migrate, are forced (for example, by cutting) or transferred (by DVacTM suction collection) to nearby commercial crops. In trials conducted at NSW Department of Primary Industries Yanco Agricultural Institutes organic demonstration site, pigeon pea has been shown to be a very effective trap crop for Heliothis when planted in soybeans. Sweet corn has also shown some effectiveness as a trap crop. The egg-laying moths prefer corn to beans, tomatoes and other crops, Common name
so borders or strips of corn planted around or within the crop may reduce Heliothis armigera densities on the less-preferred crops. This approach is likely to only be effective if the corn is silking at the same time as the tomatoes, or other crops are setting pods or fruit. Staggered plantings would be required to ensure silking is continuous. Organically acceptable pesticides These include naturally occurring bacterial and viral insecticides. They can provide significant control of Heliothis in tomatoes if applications are well timed and frequent. Note: All products must be registered for their designated use. Minor use offlabel permits may be obtained by Beneficial rating* +++++ +++++ ++++ +++ +++ ++++ +++++ +++++ ++ ++ + + +++ ++++ +++ ++ +++ +++ ++ ++ + ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ +
contacting the Australian Pesticide and Veterinary Medicine Authority.
The sap-suckers
Aphids, leafhoppers and thrips are sap-suckers that reduce crop vigour, fruit quality and yield. Some may act as vectors, or carriers, of viral diseases in tomatoes and other plants. Thrips Thrips are very tiny, slender insects that feed primarily in flowers and developing fruit. Thrips transmit the tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), causing tomato spotted wilt. Not all species of thrips are capable of transmitting the virus. The onion thrips (Thrips tabaci) is the most common vector of TSWV in Australia. The thrips acquire the virus as they feed on tomatoes and other host plants, including weeds. Thrips are most likely to migrate to tomatoes when plants they have been feeding on have matured or dried out. A large number of weeds and ornamentals (particularly perennials) are known to host thrips, and while removal of host weeds or those known to be susceptible to spotted wilt will reduce the risk of disease transmission, this may not be a practical solution. Anecdotal evidence suggests basil interplanted in tomatoes may help to repel thrips. When monitoring for thrips, sampling should be done at the same time as Heliothis sampling. Select one tomato flower from each of the plants sampled (5 plants per location in the field). The flowers are then placed in jar with alcohol and after a few minutes the thrips will sink to bottom of the jar where they can be counted. Tapping flowers into the palm of the hand is another quicker method.
Table 1. Beneficial insect and spider ratings (sweet corn)
Wasps and ants: Trichogramma Black ants Microplitis Telinomus Bugs: Black mirid Pirate bug Apple dimpling bug Brown smudge bug Bigeyed bug Damsel bug Spiders: Foliage dwellers (e.g., jumping spider) Soil dwellers(e.g., wolf spider) Web builders (e.g., orb weaver) Beetles: Ladybirds Carab beetle Red and blue beetle Green soldier beetle Lacewings: Green Lacewing Brown Lacewing Flies: Tachinid flies Hover flies
Scientific name Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae Iridomyrmex sp. Microplitus demolitor Telinominae Hemiptera: Tytthus chinenis Orius sp. Campylomma liebknechti Deraeocoris signatus Geocoris lubra Nabis kinbergii Araneae: Salticidae Lycosidae Araneidae Coleoptera: Coccinellidae Carabidae Dicranolaius bellilus Chauliognathus pulchellus Neuroptera: Mallada sp. Micromus tasmaniae Diptera: Tachinidae Syrphidae
* Level of pest management in sweet corn = Low (+); Moderate (+++); High (+++++).
An organic spray is recommended if an average of one thrips per flower is found (5 thrips in a jar with 5 flowers). Soap, natural pyrethrum and horticultural mineral oils can be used successfully. The common brown leafhopper (Orosius arentatus) This is a brown speckled insect about 3mm long that is responsible for the spread of the mycoplasmic disease Big Bud. Host weeds in and around the crop should be destroyed. High tomato plant populations can reduce losses due to the disease within the crop. Aphids These feed on the underside of leaves, causing curling and reduced growth potential. The feeding of large numbers of aphids results in excretion of honeydew that supports the growth of secondary fungal diseases. Aphids may also act as vectors of certain virus diseases of tomato. Virus transmission has been observed when lucerne is interplanted to attract beneficials. Research has shown that reflective polyethylene mulch placed on beds before transplanting significantly reduces the rate of colonisation by winged aphids and whiteflies, and can delay the build-up of damaging numbers of aphids by 4 to 6 weeks. Control of aphids Common natural predators of aphids are lady beetles and their larvae, lacewing larvae, and syrphid fly larvae. Aphid parasitoids, Aphidius spp, can occur naturally in the field, but often only when aphids are in large numbers. Aphidius spp are commercially reared in New Zealand, while green lacewings Mallada signata are commercially available in Australia. Organically acceptable pesticides to control aphids are sprays of insecticidal soap or natural
The Green Vegetable Bug (Nezara viridula) is one of the more difficult pests to organically control. Photo: R. Neeson
pyrethrum. Pyrethrum is harmful to beneficials so treatment should aim to avoid their peak activity, but still contact aphids. Organic farmers have reported good control of aphids with spray applications of garlic oil, when it is combined with mineral oil and pure soap. Green vegetable bug (Nezara viridula) The green vegetable bug (Nezara viridula), or GVB, also damages fruit through the sucking and piercing feeding action, although there are no reports of disease transmission through this activity. Tomato fruit that is attacked develops mottled areas. Organic control of GVB is difficult. Release of predatory wasps and natural predation are the common control methods relied upon by organic producers. A
parasitoid wasp (Trissolcusspp.) and parasitic fly (Trichopoda spp.) are two predators of GVB. The CSIRO has conducted trials aimed at establishing the South American parasitoid, Trichopoda giacomellii, at sites in south-eastern QLD and northern NSW. Results indicate that T. giacomellii has successfully established in these regions and is now impacting on the abundance of GVB at sites in northern NSW. Ants are also known to be effective predators of GVB. Crop nutrition. Some organic farmers apply foliar sprays when the plant is under insect attack, believing this improves plant health and renders the crop less attractive to pests. Two of the most common foliar sprays are kelp and fish emulsion.
Organically acceptable insecticides. Natural pyrethrum is a pesticide used by organic farmers to limit GVB damage. However, in trials conducted at Yanco organic demonstration site, pyrethrum did not give a satisfactory level of control against GVB. Trap cropping. It may be possible to plant species that are more attractive than tomatoes to GVB. This attracts the GVB away from the crop, where they can be destroyed eg by cultivation, rolling or mulching. Suitable crops include sunflowers, soybeans and Amaranthus. Cultural control. Some of the crops that are effective trap crops can also host GVB, for example, Amaranthus. You will need to weigh up whether your aim is to use these plants in a trap situation or try to control them in the area instead. If you do not wish to use trap cropping, then plants and weeds in areas immediately surrounding the tomato crop that are known to host GVB should be controlled. Weeds known to support development of GVB include castor oil, yellow-vine (caltrop), privet and Amaranthus. GVB has also been observed on silver leaf nightshade.
two-spotted mite. A small, shiny black ladybird (Stethorus spp.), often occurs naturally in the field and is also an effective predator. Predators that are commercially reared and released in the crop will require a non-crop plant on which to overwinter once the commercial crop is harvested. Otherwise, annual releases will be required. Windbreaks containing a variety of species and weedy borders (that dont host pests or diseases) act as suitable overwintering sites. Monitoring of pest and predator populations is essential to track their movement into the crop, their numbers and hence effectiveness. Chemical control. Wettable sulfur and sulfur dusts are organically acceptable compounds are available that will control mite pests. Horticultural mineral oils can also be used successfully at rates between 0.5 1.0% volume of oil / vol water. Sprays should not be applied when temperatures are above 35C and caution should be taken to avoid spraying when predators are most active.
(Note that Japanese organic standards have recently been amended to disallow use of these, so producers intending to supply this market need to be aware of this when considering this type of control).
Compost teas could prove beneficial in control of certain bacterial and fungal diseases.
Viral and mycoplasmic diseases
Big bud Big bud is a mycoplasmic disease that may not develop until six weeks after infection by the brown leafhopper (Orosius argentatus). It is more common in dry inland regions from October, particularly after hot weather forces leafhoppers from weeds and on to crops. Symptoms appear as a thickening of stems, and a proliferation of small stiff shoots with short internodes. Roots may develop high on the stem and splitting may occur. Flower buds are greatly enlarged and do not develop properly. Control. Weeds in and around the crop that host the brown leaf-hopper should be destroyed. Increasing tomato plant populations can help to reduce losses. Spotted wilt Spotted wilt is a viral disease that can cause heavy losses in spring and early summer crops. The disease is spread by the onion thrips (Thrips tabaci), a small yellowish brown / grey flying insect about 1mm long, and by Western Flower Thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis). It breeds on weeds and migrates on to tomatoes as weeds dry out. Dandelion, lambs tongue, nightshade and thornapple are favoured weed hosts. Many ornamental plants also host spotted wilt. Symptoms first appear 7 to 20 days after infection. Small areas of bronzing appear on the upper side of young leaves in top growth, and on older leaves as bronze spots or rings between the veins. As the disease develops the spots blacken and shrivel.
Mite pests
Two-spotted mite (Tetranychus urticae) and tomato russet mite (Aculops lycopersici) feed on the underside of leaves. Tomato russet mite also feed on the stems and on fruit. Damage is usually greater in hot, dry weather. Both mites are extremely small, best seen with a hand lens or magnifying glass. Biological control. The predatory mites, Phytoseiulus persimilis and Typhlodromus occidentalis, and the fungus gnat, Hypoaspis spp are commercially available to control
Diseases and nutritional disorders
Organic producers should aim to select tomato varieties that are bred for resistance to disease. Long rotations with non-related crops and improving soil biological activity through incorporation of green manures and compost will have a positive impact on reducing the incidence of soil borne diseases. Crop sanitation, by removal and composting or ploughing under of crop residues, will help to prevent disease carryover.
Affected fruit show irregular or circular blotches as they ripen, often shrivelling and falling off. Control. Weeds and ornamentals that may host thrips near the crop should be destroyed. Tomatoes should not be planted near flower crops. Increasing tomato plant populations can help to reduce losses. Soap, natural pyrethrum and horticultural mineral oils can be used successfully to control thrips.
At the time of writing, use of copper hydroxide is an organically acceptable chemical control method. However, the use of copper as an allowed organic treatment for disease is currently under review. The National Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Produce (2003) states that the annual application of copper should not exceed 8 kg/ha/ annum and that producers should have a staged reduction strategy in place. Producers should check for any changes to the National Standard by looking on the web site www. aqis.gov.au/organic.
Nutritional Disorders
Blossom End Rot Blossom-end rot appears as brown to black spots on the underside (blossom-end) of the fruit of tomatoes. As the fruit grows, half or more of the fruit may be affected the fruits ripen earlier and may be prone to secondary infections. Causes. This is primarily a nutritional disorder is caused by a deficiency in calcium, a watersoluble element. Any factors affecting water and calcium availability, or movement, into the plant will therefore contribute to the problem. Environmental and cultural factors that contribute to the occurrence of blossom end rot include: poorly drained soil improper soil preparation and planting inadequate or excessive watering soil pH levels below 5.5 inadequate calcium in the soil applying too much nitrogen excessive root disturbance use of plastic mulch instead of an organic mulch, high soil and air temperatures and low humidity. Control. Contrary to past belief the direct application of calcium as a spray is ineffective. A soil test should be conducted to help determine nutrient levels. Excess levels of ammonium, magnesium, potassium and sodium have been reported to reduce the availability of calcium. The addition of limestone, gypsum or dolomite to the soil well before transplanting is recommended to overcome the soil calcium deficiency. Liming is recommended in areas with low pH (below 5.5) soils.
Bacterial diseases commonly affecting processing tomatoes include bacterial canker (Corynebacterium michiganense), bacterial speck (Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato) and bacterial spot (Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria). Sources of infection include seeds, contaminated soil (can survive in soil for up to 3 years and, in the case of bacterial speck, on plant debris for 30 weeks), and weeds (particularly blackberry nightshade, Solanum nigrum and thornapples, Datura spp.). Control. A 45 year rotation between tomato crops is desirable. Seeds saved from healthy plants should be planted. If the disease status of seed is unknown it should be treated in hot water. Host weeds in and around the crop should be destroyed. Sanitation should involve removing and burning diseased plants as they appear. Hands and tools should be washed in warm soapy water after touching diseased plants. Overhead irrigation should be avoided. Crop refuse should be deeply buried or removed for composting.
Fungal diseases commonly affecting processing tomatoes include anthracnose (Colletotrichum spp.), and Phytophthora spp. Spread of anthracnose is favoured by warm, humid conditions with temperatures above 26C and relative humidity above 93%. Phytophthora commonly occurs where extremes in soil moisture occur and where drainage is poor. Control. Anthracnose is controlled by hot water treatment of seeds, crop rotation and sanitation measures. Anthracnose is principally a disease of ripening fruit, so harvesting mature green fruit can reduce incidence. Copper hydroxide sprays may (at the time of writing) be used when fruit begins to ripen. However, producers should check before use to ensure this is still permitted. Phytophthora incidence can be minimised by good irrigation management and adequate drainage. Maintaining high organic matter and biological activity in the soil will also assist in control of Phytopthera.
Maintaining the proper balance of potassium, phosphorus and other soil nutrients and avoiding excessive growth due to over-fertilisation with nitrogen is recommended. Having a uniform and adequate soil moisture content is critical to preventing blossom-end rot. Irrigation scheduling with the aid of soil moisture probes and mulching can help to maintain optimum soil moisture for plant growth.
appear to be potential for import replacement of processed tomato products. Heinz Watties currently contracts New Zealand organic producers to produce processing tomatoes for their organic baby food lines. Cedenco Foods Ltd, New Zealand, is developing a number of processed organic vegetable lines. Australia has a climate more suitable for processing tomato production, so potential exists for Australian organic producers to become the preferred supplier should reliable supplies become available. Growers should investigate these opportunities. Smaller producers could consider on-farm value-adding or supplying unprocessed product to farmers markets, health food and restaurant outlets. Consumers often prefer the egg or Roma type processing variety. The Sydney based wholesaler and exporter, Eco Farms, has indicated interest in receiving processing tomatoes to supply smaller clients. If processing is carried out onfarm you will need to have these operations inspected by your certifier. Your processing operation must also comply with State and Territory health regulations. The development and implementation of a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan will help you to achieve compliance with organic standards and health regulations.
significantly greater. So, returns will largely depend on how much effort, time and initial resources you are prepared to outlay. Returns will also depend on costs of inputs (labour, fertiliser), yield, quality, the type of market you target (fresh or processed) and supply and demand for your product.
Conventional processing tomatoes are harvested mechanically to supply large processors. Vines are lifted from the field, the fruit removed mechanically and then conveyed along a sorting platform, where it is graded by field workers. Fruit is graded according to whether it is rotten or badly blemished (rejects), mature green and red ripe. The degree of acceptable blemish will depend on your end market. For example, a higher degree of blemish will be acceptable for fruit that is to be pulped than for whole peel or dried tomato products. Some tomato growers invite hand picking for the local market prior to machine harvesting.
Organic whole peeled canned tomatoes one of the processed tomato product opportunities available to Australian organic producers.. Source: <http:// www.goodnessdirect.co.uk/detail/340456b.jpg>
Australian Processing Tomato Research Council Industry Development Manager PO Box 2293 Shepparton Vic 3632 Phone: (03) 5825 4633 Fax (03) 5825 5029 Vegetable Agronomy NSW Department of Primary Industries District Horticulturist Yanco Agricultural Institute Phone (02) 6951 2611 Vegetable Entomology NSW Department of Primary Industries Technical Specialist, Vegetables Yanco Agricultural Institute Phone (02) 6951 2611 Vegetable Pathology NSW Department of Primary Industries Research Pathologist, Vegetables Yanco Agricultural Institute Phone (02) 6951 2611
A large range of processed organic tomato products is currently produced. These include pasta sauces, salsa, juices, ketchup, baby food, tinned whole and pieces, dried and pastes. Most of these lines are currently imported into Australia. Contracts for processing tomatoes are difficult to obtain unless you are an established producer. Contracts are issued before the season begins. Organic processed tomatoes are a niche product, not yet being sourced in Australia by the larger tomato processors. However, there does
The economics of organic processing tomato production will largely depend on the market you are targeting. On-farm valueadded products will return more than unprocessed tomatoes sold to a processor. However, the labour and infrastructure requirements for on-farm value-adding will be
Organic Industry Export Consultative Committee (OIECC) 2003, The National Standard for Organic and Bio-Dynamic Produce, c/o AQIS. See the website www.aqis.gov.au/organic. A useful information source on pest management for processing tomato growers is the UC pest management guidelines tomato, published on the web by the University of California. Broadley, R and Thomas, M. 1995, The Good Bug Book, published by Australasian Biological Control, Queensland DPI and RIRDC, ISBN 0 646 247948. Brown, E. 2001, Chickpea trap cropping, in Cotton Tales, NSW Agriculture 200102, 2, August 20, 2001.
Cherry, J.P. 1999, Improving the Safety of Fresh Produce with Antimicrobials, Foodtechnology, 53:11, pp 5459. Diver, S, Compost Teas for Plant Disease Control, Pest Management Technical Note, Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA), http:// www.attra. org/attra-pub/comptea.html Coleman, E. 1989, 1995, The New Organic Grower. A Masters Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener, Chelsea Green Publishing Company, ISBN 0-930031-75-X. Deuter, P., Nolan, B., Grundy, T. and Walsh, B. 2000, Heliothis in Sweet Corn, Queensland Horticulture Institute, Gatton Research Station, File No: H0159, January 2000.
Kuepper, G and Thomas, R 2002, Powdery Mildew Control in Cucurbits, Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA), http:// www.attra.ncat.org/attrapub/PDF/powdmildew.pdf McMaugh, J. 1985, What Garden Pest or Disease is That? Organic and Chemical Solutions for Every Garden Problem, Lansdowne Publishing, ISBN 1 86302 623 1. Mensah, R.K. 1999, Habitat diversity: implications for the conservation and use of predatory insects of Helicoverpa spp. in cotton systems in Australia, International Journal of Pest Management, 45 91100.
6. Post-harvest management and marketing
Post-harvest management must ensure that the quality and the organic integrity of the product are retainedfrom paddock to plate. Vegetable producers must ensure that harvested product does not become contaminated after it leaves the paddock. Harvest bins and transportparticularly if provided by contractorsneed to be thoroughly cleaned to remove potential contaminants. Since few chemicals for prolonging postharvest storage of the product are permitted, optimum hygiene and storage conditions must be provided. Certifiers will require that freight transporters be inspected or that information about postharvest storage and disinfestation procedures be provided. Storage and packaging facilities will probably also have to be inspected. Any processing of organic vegetables must be certified. Certification is sometimes a deterrent to processors, particularly if only a small quantity of organic produce is to be processed. Producers could consider forming processing cooperatives.
Organic farmers selling their produce at Lismores Rainbow Region Farmers Market. Farmers markets offer producers a personal approach to selling their produce. Photo: R. Lines-Kelly
failure to meet specifications may see the loss of these markets. This is just as relevant for organic produce as it is for conventional produce. Consumers demand quality particularly for fresh fruit and vegetablesand, since most people buy with their eyes, farmers should be rigorous throughout the grading process. Supplying blemished or damaged produce is not acceptable. Poor quality reflects on the industry as a whole. Damaged (provided it is not breaking down) or blemished produce need not be discarded, however. Consider value-adding to second-grade product by processing it into purees or juices or packing it as pieces. Organic producers wishing to receive training in quality management can do an accredited quality management course. Two such courses are the regularly conducted National Organic Auditor Training workshops and
the Independent Organic Inspector Association Organic Training workshops. Quality assurance of organic products is crucial to ensure that there is no contamination by products excluded from the standard. Among the potential risks are pesticide and microbial contamination and contamination with genetically modified or conventional product. An important aim of any quality assurance program is to eliminate problems before they occur and, if possible, to reduce reliance on end-point inspection (quality control).
6.1 Quality assurance
Quality assurance of products entering the marketplace is becoming increasingly important. Consumers of agricultural produce need to be assured that the products they buy meet their expectations for safe and wholesome food. Large supermarket chains and export markets are starting to demand that goods be produced in conjunction with a system that offers full traceability. As Australia develops new export markets, it must be remembered that many of the countries that import our produce now enforce quality specifications more rigidly than ever before, and
6.1.2 Quality
[This section is reproduced from Marketing Organic and Biodynamic Products: conference proceedings (NSW Agriculture 1997). Joseph Ekman, Extension Horticulturist, Quality Assurance, NSW Department of Primary Industries, contributed what follows.]
Quality is no accident. Climatic conditions may vary from season to season but product quality is essentially the end result of investment of money, time and labour. Quality can only be achieved consistently and efficiently through managing the activities and inputs that affect quality from the field through to the customer. Consistently achieving the right result requires planing and implementing a quality system. Quality assurance can be defined as all the planned and systematic actions necessary to provide adequate confidence that a product or service will satisfy given requirements for quality. Quality assurance requires the planning and implementation of a quality management system. Every producer has some kind of informal quality system in place. More often than not this information is stored in the managers head. A formal, auditable quality system requires production and post-harvest operations to be planned, documented, implemented, verified and certified to a recognised standard. Management to satisfy a standard is familiar
territory for organic and biodynamic producers certified to the National Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Produce or respective group standards. However, there are numerous other quality system standards in operation, all of which are based on similar principles. Figure6.1 illustrates the principles generic to most quality systems. Why develop a quality system? Agriculture in Australia has been changing rapidly in recent years and the pace of change continues to accelerate. These changes include:
c hanges in consumer
what their customers really wanted. Australia has earned a poor reputation in overseas markets because of variations in product quality, poor or patchy market service history, and a poor understanding of marketspecific requirements. Changes on the domestic marketing scene are also putting greater pressure on producers to supply products of consistent quality. Chain stores (supermarkets) continue to capture market share in fresh produce retailing, and they prefer to supply of long lines of consistent quality product. As their market share grows, chain stores are demanding rigid standards for the products they buy. They want to know that the products they sell meet their consumers expectations, in order to gain consumer loyalty and repeat purchases. Purchasing long lines of consistent quality products can also simplify their handling and distribution logistics, reduce wastage and reduce operating costs. Rising production costs are also putting pressure on growers to improve their quality consistency to remain competitive. The threat of an industry collapse from oversupply is forcing producers in many industries to look overseas for new markets. There is no doubt that successful penetration of export markets will require close attention to the needs and expectations of customers. The major challenge for the future of Australian producers is being able to supply consistent quality products and service to markets.
i ncreased production and
preferences for products
geographical spread of many crops g overnment retreat from enforcing product quality standards and the push to market self-determination on quality i ncreased competition from imports.
These forces are changing the way Australian producers market their crop. Many of the problems facing producers can be tracked down to a failure to research and understand
Organic produce in a Woolworths supermarket
Forces driving change in agricultural industries Group marketing:
s trength in group marketing d emand for long lines and
l ess consumer time to shop
quality foods
continuous supply b rand establishment product differentiation
aroundone-stop shopping d irect sourcing of produce from farmscontract growing/alliances u se of product specifications
international) and declining global market share
Retailing c onsumers and health authorities demanding safe,
International trade d ecreasing tariff and trade barriers (WTO) o pening of new markets c ompetition (domestic and
Business environment n eed for profitability/ efficiency gains i ncreases in production and market saturation q uality replacing price as the competitive advantage g overnment deregulation of industries
Define quality expectations of customers Determine business and personal priorities
Monitor and improve the performance of the quality system Develop process specifications Implement these strategies to manage people, product, activities and services
Develop product specifications, production and marketing strategies
Figure 6.1 The quality system cycle. Source: Adpated from Ekman 1997 71
Quality costs Quality costs! However, the costs of quality and getting it right must be assessed relative to the costs of quality failure. All quality systems are a balance between the cost of getting it right and quality failure. The three categories of quality costs are:
p revention coststhe costs
Quality system benef its The following are some of the main benefits of failure prevention achieved through quality management:
i mprovement in product i mproved competitiveness
feature of specifications is that they objectively define the requirements of a product, thereby avoiding confusion. They also provide a means of objectively monitoring performance in meeting the specifications. Management and staff. Improvements can be achieved only if management and staff are working toward similar goals. A successful business with a reputation for quality provides better job security and job satisfaction for employees. When the whole organisation runs smoothly and everyone is involved the success helps build confidence and teamwork. Management must ensure staff have a clear understanding of what is required of them. Many managers often underestimate the contribution staff can make to the business when given the opportunity. Being part of the quality system from the beginning lowers staff resistance to any improvements or changes to be made and often improves morale. Customers and suppliers. Customers and suppliers are other links in the production, delivery and marketing supply chain. It is important that suppliers know what their customers want if they are to reliably supply products of the quality expected. Often it is the supplier who must ask the customers what they require and seek feedback on how well the requirements are being met. Most unhappy customers dont complainthey simply dont come back. In the same way that a business needs to understand what its customers requirements are, the business must also define the qualities of products it uses and
of preventing quality failure, including the planning and maintenance of a quality management system and certification a ppraisal coststhe quality control costs of ongoing monitoring of products and services such as product testing and inspection from production to marketing f ailure coststhe cost of final products or services that do not satisfy customer requirements. Failures detected before the product reaches the consumer are termed internal failure costs. Failures that result in dissatisfied customers are external failure costs.
and ability to adjust to market change e nhanced reputation in the market r eduction in liability risks r educed wastage and rework of products p rocess efficiency gains d ecrease in labour and material costs i mproved employee involvement and morale i mproved return on investment.
Quality costing provides a basis to assess the value of a quality system to an organisation and to assist management to identify opportunities for efficiency gains and cost reductions. The key to improving quality and profitability is failure prevention. A quality management system increases the prevention costs in a business but, when the system is implemented effectively, the cost is more than compensated for by reduced failure costs, operational efficiency gains and increased competitive potential in the market.
Quality systems are a tool businesses can use to provide the assurance customers want. By focusing on managing activities that affect safety and quality, the quality system helps organise the way things are done and provides organisational confidence in the ability to consistently provide the goods and services customers require. Elements of quality management systems Quality plans. A quality plan (manual) sets out the policies, resources, practices and responsibilities for the business to meet its customers requirements for products and service. Appropriate quality system plans can make the difference between an easy-touse system and one that sits on the shelf. Product specifications. Specifications are a tool for improving customersupplier relationships. The important
communicate its expectations of quality to its suppliers via specifications. Documentation. Documentation can help make decisions, assist in running the business, and help staff do their job. More paperwork does not, however, mean better systems. One of the aims of a quality system is to reduce wastage, so it is important not to create excessive paperwork. People drive a quality systemnot paperwork. One of the main functions of documentation is to help improve communication. This overcomes problems of poor verbal communication and memory failures. Documents are valuable tools in that they record what has to be done and what has been done. Quality system standards There are a number of quality, food safety and environmental management systems that affect Australian agricultural industries. Key established and emerging standards and codes of practice include:
I SO 9000:2000 and S afe Quality Food 2000 and W oolworths Vendor Quality C ATTLEcare/FlockCare,
Organic bread found in Woolworths supermarkets.
to include regulatory authorities in regard to food safety and phytosanitary requirements. Food Standards Australia New Zealand (previously known as the Australian and New Zealand Food Authority) is implementing new national food standards in the food service and processing sectors. It is also developing a framework for the establishment of Primary Production Standards. HACCP Food safety plans are conventionally developed in food industries using the HACCP technique. HACCP stands for the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point method of food safety management. It is a step-by-step risk analysis and control technique used in food industries worldwide to analyse processes and so identify food safety risks. It is a pro-active management technique for preventing hazards from occurring and reaching consumers, rather than reactive (fire-fighting) management methods of damage control. HACCP requires an objective assessment of all biological, chemical and physical hazards to human health throughout a businesss operations and the
development of appropriate control, monitoring and data recording strategies. As a risk management tool, HACCP can also be used to assess risks to product quality and environmental risks. The HACCP technique applies the following seven principles:
C onduct a hazard analysis
ISO14001 1000
Management Standard
Freshcare, Graincare, and so onHACCP-based codes of practice E UREPGAPfor suppliers to European retailers m any other industry-specific standards and approved supplier programs.
The systems implemented by a business will need to satisfy the requirements of its customers. Businesses need to expand their definition of satisfied customers
identify all biological, chemical, physical and quality hazards. D etermine the critical control pointsthe points in the process where risks are likely to occur. E stablish critical limits boundaries/tolerances for safe operation at the critical control points. E stablish a system to monitor control of the critical control points. E stablish the corrective action(s) to be taken when monitoring indicates that a particular critical control point is not under control. E stablish procedures for verification to confirm that the HACCP system is working effectively. E stablish documentation concerning all procedures and records appropriate to these principles and their application.
A HACCP plan essentially requires asking at each point in the process:
W hat safety or quality
hazards are associated with this process? W hich of these hazards are significant and likely to occur if not controlled? W hat must be done to control these hazards to an acceptable level? W hat records or evidence are needed to demonstrate that the hazards have been controlled?
on, which may be the source of problems. Hazard control measures may potentially introduce new hazards of their own and must also be considered. When a significant hazard is identified in a specific operation, control measures must be established that prevent, eliminate or reduce the hazard to an acceptable level. The critical limits (tolerances or safe operating limits) for that operation must be established to maintain control of the hazard, and an appropriate monitoring and recording procedure must be developed to confirm that hazard control is achieved. Sometimes the monitoring may indicate that hazard control was not effectivethat is, the operation exceeded critical limits for safety or qualityand corrective actions are required. Corrective actions are planned responses to a breach of safety or quality limits and the response must:
i dentify the affected product
d etermine what is to be done
with affected product after assessing the severity of the problem d etermine the origin of the problem t ake the necessary action to prevent the problem from occurring again.
Implementation of HACCP is guided by scientific evidence of the risks. The intent of HACCP is to focus control at critical control points. The individual operations within a business are identified, and HACCP principles are applied to each specific operation separately. Consideration must also be given to raw material inputs such as water, fertilisers, packaging materials, and so
The intent of HACCP is to systematically build safety and quality into a food operation to minimise the chances of unsafe product entering the market. HACCP plans are fully compatible with quality management standards in food businesses for control of production requirements. HACCP plans can work in combination with other support programs such as:
g ood manufacturing practices p est control programs s taff training
c leaning and sanitation c alibration programs
procedures programs
p reventative maintenance d ocument and record control
They can also constitute a businesss Food Safety Plan.
Development of a HACCP plan will identify the requirements of a business to implement these support programs. The food standards will require all food production and handling businesses to develop an auditable food safety plan. The degree of complexity required in a food safety plan will reflect the complexity of business operations and the type of product and its associated risks; that is, the food safety plan for a small grower may be far simpler than that for a larger, more complex operation, although the same principles apply.
organisational structure, responsibilities, practices, procedures, processes and resources for determining and implementing environmental policy. This definition, describing British Standard 7750 (which has now been withdrawn with the ratification of ISO 14000), is similar to that which could be applied to the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) and to Canadian and Irish environmental management standards and guidelines. All these schemes follow the total quality management loop approachthat of plan, do, check and act. A feature of the ISO 14000 standards is the requirement to achieve continual improvement of the system and therefore in the environmental management overall. Whereas quality control and assurance programs have focused mainly on the production of consistent goods and services, environmental management schemes have a broader focusthat of examination of the whole process of production of goods and services and the effect of that production on the environment. That is, not only will goods be produced according to the same set of standard procedures, but the effects of producing that product, be they pollution, use of resources, or transport of the completed object or delivery of the service, are also taken into account. In agriculture, the growing of beef cattle is an example. Not only does (or should) the farmer want to be able to produce a consistently high quality
Potential markets exist for organic vegetable seed and seedling production.
In summary, changes in the expectations and buying behaviour of consumers are affecting agricultural producers. Globalisation of the food supply and the changing structure of fresh produce retailing in response to consumer trends are creating new challenges and dilemmas throughout the food supply chain. Research indicates that buyers are becoming more discerning about quality from the health and eating perspectives, and food safety is increasingly the primary concern. Opportunities exist for organic and biodynamic producers to capitalise on these market trends through their clean and green image with consumers. But close attention to customer requirements for quality and consistency, coupled with the need to satisfy food regulatory authorities in relation to food safety management, is required to realise this potential. Quality systems cost time and money, but these costs must be weighed against the substantial financial and potential legal costs of getting it wrong. Quality management is pro-active. Use of HACCP-based quality systems can accommodate food safety, quality and environmental business objectives.
The pace of implementation of quality management systems for quality assurance in agricultural industries is rapidly increasing. Quality assurance does not guarantee market premiums, but it will increasingly determine market accessibility. Quality management is rapidly becoming an essential management tool for producers in all food industries who want to do business better and remain competitive.
6.2 Environmental management systems
[This section is reproduced from Marketing Organic and Biodynamic Products: conference proceedings (NSW Agriculture, 1997). Genevieve Carruthers, Environmental Management Systems Specialist, NSW Department of Primary Industries, contributed what follows.] Environmental management systems (EMSs) are based (in general) on the principles of total quality management (Netherwood 1996). The British Standards Institute (1994, cited in Netherwood 1996) defines an environmental management system as the
product, but s/he should also consider the way in which the cattle are treated during the production period, the effect they have on the soil, water and air quality on and off the farm, ways in which the cattle are transported, the potential impact other farm activities might have on the cattle (use of pesticides, for example), packing of beef produced, and so on. In their development, environmental management systems all follow much the same path. In the case of ISO14000, there are five steps to developing and using an EMS:
C ommitment and policy. Here Environmental Management Systems in Agriculture (Part 1 and 2)Case Studies from Australian and New Zealand farmers by Genevieve Carruthers. RIRDC publication numbers 03/121 and 05/032.
commitment is developed at all levels of the business or enterprise, from management down to the most junior levels. The policy is defined and developed. P lanning. This is where the policy is translated into things to be done. A number of steps are usually involved, from a review of the environmental aspects and impacts of the business, the identification of legal requirements for compliance and the setting of objectives and targets through to establishing the environmental management program. I mplementation. This is the doing of the plan. This phase requires the provision of resources and support mechanisms to ensure that the environmental management plan is achieved and may include staff training programs to ensure that the objectives of the policy and plan can be met. M easuring and evaluation. This phase checks to see if the objectives and targets
previously established are being met. Such methods as environmental performance evaluation, laboratory analyses of emissions, financial records examination and staff understanding of training programs may be used to assess whether the environmental plan is being met. R eview and improvement. Here the data gathered in the previous phase are put to use. Were targets met? If not, why not? What can be improved? What worked well and why? ISO 14000 specifies that continuous improvement of the management system note: not the environmental performanceis required.
In the case of an organic farmer, the required specifications would be one of the AQISaccredited organic certifying organisations standards, in addition to any current legislation (federal or state), as well as industry codes of practices to suit the particular enterprise. Use of EMSs and organic farming to achieve environmental health The use of EMSs is one tool in a range of methods designed to facilitate the management of agricultural land, using a system-based approach rather than focusing on crisis management. Organic farming is also a way of examining the whole system of farm operations, starting with soil health and its overall effects on farm components through to all facets of production. The difference really is one of degree: use of an EMS is not prescriptive in terms of what can be used on the farm but does specify that all operations and processes used on the farm need to be considered in the light of their potential impact on the environmentthe socalled cradle-to-grave approach. Organic farming may look at
The various environmental management systems differ in how prescriptive they are with regard to the ways to achieve improved environmental management. ISO 14000 does not specify particular environmental targets; these are set by the person/company/ business setting up the EMS. However, all schemes do require that the EMS developed must use as minimum standards legislated requirements and/or (if available) industry codes of practice or best management practice.
all those elements but, to gain organic certification, there are a number of products and farming practices that cannot be used. This does not mean that use of an EMS cannot be made effective on an organic farm, but it does mean that using ISO 14000 as a guide will not result in an organic approach, unless that is the stated intention of the system in the first place and actions are matched to the chosen organic standard. Authors note A Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation report, Green Marketing and EMS (RIRDC publication number 04/175), states: A key finding is that the meaning of the labels sustainably produced and, to a lesser extent, environmentally friendly are confused and, in contrast to organic, not widely agreed by the industry or consumers. This confusion, and the assessment that currently there is relatively insignificant demand for sustainably produced food, will result in considerable delay in the ecolabelling of food products The findings of this study concur with international experience that there is little clarity regarding what green, sustainable, or environmentally friendly production systems mean and what benefits these systems deliver to the consumer. This suggests a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for progress in green food marketing is that clear protocols, guidelines and accreditation processes must be established if generic labelling is to be adopted to communicate the benefits to consumers
and facilitate the market development for sustainably produced food products. (Cary et al. 2004, p.vi), It is clear from these comments that organically certified products are well accepted in the marketplace and that the market advantages of adopting an environmental management system are yet to be recognised.
6.3.1 Marketing alliances
Producers can benefit from developing marketing alliances. Such alliances allow producers to work together to research, locate and gain access to markets. Production alliances give purchasers of organic products access to a range of products through one avenue and the potential for a year-round supply. Two types of marketing alliances appear to dominate organic production: Diverse product alliances. This involves producers in forming regional alliances based on promoting the regionality of specialty products. These alliances are characterised by production of diverse commodities and may entail a high degree of value-adding. Such groups generally target local, gourmet and specialty markets. Parallel product alliances. This involves producers who produce like products (for example, potatoes and carrots) in marketing to a central distributor or processor. These alliances might involve minimal on-farm value-adding of a bulk commodity. One example of a parallel product alliance is Heinz Watties Australasia, which pioneered largescale commercial organic vegetable cropping in New Zealand and is acclaimed as an industry leader. At present, the organisation processes organic peas, carrots, sweet corn, green beans, broad beans, potatoes, squash and onions. Its organic products are marketed in New Zealand, Australia, Japan, South Africa, Europe, Canada and the United States.
6.3 Marketing
Organic producers use a variety of marketing techniques. The market destinations are domestic (local and interstate) and export sales. The following are among the domestic distribution channels for organic produce: direct farm sales local, regional and city farmers markets wholesale and retail processors home delivery internet sales mail order. Some producers add value to their farm produce on the farm. Others tend to do little on-farm valueadding. Some farmers cooperatively sell their produce to processors, who then add value by processing (snap freezing, for example) and packaging the product. Quality, continuity of supply, product range and service are central concerns for purchasers of organic products. Many consumers bemoan the fact that a regular, yearround supply of consistent-quality product is often unobtainable. Gibson (1995) puts forward 50 farm marketing tips that should be compulsory reading for marketers. They can be found at the Australian New Crops website: <http://www. newcrops.uq.edu.au/newslett/ ncnl1112.htm>.
All suppliers and processing facilities are certified as meeting the production standards of BIO-GRO NZ, an independent certifying agency, and the organic products carry the BIO-GRO trademark. Heinz Watties Australasia supplies technical advice and assistance. New growers are helped through the BIO-GRO certification process. Newsletters, field days and discussion groups keep growers up to date with the latest information. Heinz Watties Australasia started its organic program in 1990, with a 7-hectare crop of peas in Canterbury, New Zealand, and production has been growing steadily ever since. The company now has about 60 BIO-GROcertified suppliers in New Zealand, most of whom have converted from conventional cropping practices. Now over 2500 hectares are available for organic crops. The organisation expected to process about 6000 tonnes of various organic crops in the 200001 season. The first step in successful marketing is for producers to define their production and supply pathways; then they must introduce effective supply chain management.
Tweed Richmond Organic Producers Organisation member Dave Robey proudly displays promotional material for the newly created Rainbow Region Organic Market at Lismore. Photo: R Lines-Kelly
Focus on pathways Consumers are the focus of production pathways. Consumer protection is paramount. Pathways need to be defined. This includes onfarm practices. The direction of pathways needs to be determined, and guidelines and specifications need to be developed to meet these requirements. Communications Communications/ documentation must be developed to facilitate the marketing process. The origin of the product needs to be verifiable, so a system of full traceability is essential. Organic producers need to be able to prove the organic history of the product in order for consumers to have confidence in the product. Accreditation and certification will achieve this. Marketing and promotion of the product should be undertaken by the producer or supplier. Use personalised logos on labelling; tell your story.
Substitution Substitution is occurring in the marketplacenon-organic meat being sold as organic, mislabelling of cuts, and so on. Producers must have confidence they can prove their accreditation and the authenticity of their product. Truth in labelling and the correct naming of the product are essential. Processing specif ications Processing specifications for a product involve establishing guidelines at key points in the production pathway. These include the farm, transport, slaughter, boning room, during any further processing, packaging, distribution, at the retailer or purchaser, and during the display of your product. Feedback sheets provide an opportunity to gauge consumers response to the product but can also be included at other key points in the pathway. Maintaining awareness of how the product is performing at all key points is essential.
6.3.2 Defining production and supply pathways
Producers considering selling any product first need to define who the consumer is, what product is to be sold, where the consumers are, and how the product will be transported and processed. What follows is from a presentation by Barry MacDonald, formerly Market Development Officer, NSW Department of Primary Industries, to the Organic Production Workshop (Rangeland Livestock), Hay, September 2002:
Further processing (valueadding) As a producer, you need to determine if you will produce traditional market cuts and/or value-add to product cuts. Value-added products include prepared meals, heat-andserve cuts, pan-ready cuts, and oven-prepared and gourmet (for example, pate) products. If the product contains other ingredients, such as herbs, and is being marketed as organic, proof of the other ingredients organic certification is also required. The consumer Consumers must be willing to pay for the organic product. This will tend to limit markets to health-conscious, middle and upper class consumers. It is important to identify where the greatest demand isfor example, affluent city suburbs and what type of product will be in demand. The product needs to have purchasing appeal (good presentation, and so on) and it is important to instil in purchasers confidence in the product. Information such as cooking methods can accompany the product. A consumer who is happy with your product will come back for more. In summary, pathways between the producer and consumer need to be defined. Market specifications, codes of practice and quality assurance need to be implemented. Credibility in the marketplace must be gained. Marketing alliances allow for supplying year round, but will only be successful if participants work together to develop the market pathway, become involved, and stay aware of the program. Communication is essential throughout all the supply chain.
6.3.3 Supply chain management: the key to successful marketing
The key to successful marketing, whether as an individual or as a group, is effective supply chain management. The individual or group must be active and maintain communications and interest in the entire marketing process. Successful producer alliances follow their product throughout the marketing pathway to track its performance all the way to the consumerand are prepared to diversify. Figure6.2 illustrates a supply chain model for organic products. Supply chain management can be defined as a business strategy that sees the whole chain as the competitive unit, not the individual firms within that chain. This strategy depends on the firms within the chain learning to work together. Working together builds better relationships between firms and is a way of creating more value for others in the chain, especially consumers (AFFA 2003, p.3). The following are important considerations for organic producer alliances seeking to export: organic credibility year-round supply selection of a processor sympathetic to their aims selection of suitable trading partners.
recognised by the country where or the customer to whom the product will be sold. Clear and precise documentation will assist with marketing the product, and the group will be able to demonstrate to potential customers full traceability of the organic product. Specific standards might need to be developed for transporting and handling, these then being endorsed by the organic certifier. It is advisable to conduct trial runs with the product in order to expose any potential problems that could call its organic status into question. Full documentation that clearly alerts produce handlers to the organic status of the product is also necessary.
Year-round supply
Consumers are unlikely to be interested in a product for which year-round supply cannot be guaranteed. Cooperation between members in a producer alliance is the key to obtaining a year-round supply of quality product. Harvesting and marketing of crops needs to be scheduled within the capacity of each individual property: people will manage their operations to grow and finish within the capability of their resource base. This might, however, vary from season to season and locality to locality. In order to have a year-round supply, year-round production data for each property should be thoroughly assessed and all options should be investigated.
Organic credibility
Producers must understand and implement an organic certification scheme that meets their requirements as well as those of their customers. Ideally, a single certifier should certify each property in the producer alliance. Not all importing countries or customers recognise the standards of each Australian certification organisation, so it is important to choose a certifier whose standards are
Choosing a processor
The processor chosen must understand the requirements of the group and the product. They need to be innovative and accept that the producers want to be involved throughout the entire supply chain. They also need to agree to
Specific organic production and individual property organic management plan
Organic producer
Specific organic transport and handling standard
Tight organic product specifications
S pecific organic processing standards
Fully traceable labelled certified organic product
Customer (for example, exporters, retail)
Single processor with high technology, enabling full traceback to property
Extent of organic producer group alliance involvement
Source: Adapted from Pahl (2000).
Figure 6.2 The supply chain model concept for organic products
be certified to process the organic product and have the requisite export clearances for the markets the group is targeting. If not already certified to process organic products, the processor should establish procedures and standards that ensure the segregation of the organic product throughout the processing plant, including packaging and storage for shipment. Full traceability to each farm, and even paddock, will need to be demonstrated. (NSW Agriculture 1997). Catriona Macmillan, Heaven & Earth Systems P/L, contributed what follows.] Key elements in selling organic products are promotion, packaging and presentation. Organic products generally command a premium in the marketplace. Consumers paying a premium price expect a quality product that looks well packaged and presented. Further, the consumer needs to be educated about why they are buying a premium product promotion. Consider a number of promotional ideas:
T he product being sold is
6.4 P roduct promotion, packaging and presentation
[This section is reproduced from Marketing Organic and Biodynamic Products: conference proceedings
organic, so put the word organic on the label. Research has
shown that 12per cent of Australian consumers are interested in organics. It is up to you to harness that interest into profitability. The competition is tough, a world of multinational companies who can and do spend millions trying to convince the consumer their product is what our product really is environmentally responsible, natural, clean and green. Organic is unique product and needs to be promoted as such. P articipate in joint promotional opportunities. Organic farmers have regularly participated in and promoted their produce at the Royal Easter Show in Sydney, which over 1.7 million people visit each
year. Your participation not only gives your products and produce exposure but educates the consumer. T ell your story; this is what makes your product interesting. Consumers love to hear your story. The consumer wants to be able to say, I made this little dish out of organic rice. The rice farmer doesnt burn the stubble, just allows it to build soil fertility, and so on. Remember you are selling your product/produce to processors, exporters, wholesalers and the consumer, whether it is a brochure, a label or your letterhead, the consumer wants a story. Why do you grow? Why do you care? How do you grow? You dont have to reveal all. A graphic and a few words can say a lot. P romote your farm using farm tours, open days and school tours. Excellent examples of farm tours are Montrose farms, Kiwi Down Under and Glenbye. Montrose farms offers pick up your own berries in picking season, tour of the charming 1860s homestead and bed and breakfast; they also offer afternoon teas, with hot country-style scones and homemade berry jam and you can hold your wedding reception on the lawns. Kiwi Down Under has won numerous tourist awards, and 12000 people go through a year. It has a tea house, organic food market, informative farm tours, animal feeding and nature walks. Another highly innovative farm, Glenbye offers Glenbye Getaway Tours, a package including air fares for parties of ten. Riverina organic rice farms regularly host tours for
Japanese farmers and overseas trade delegations. P romote your farm and produce. Send brochures or newsletters to your local library, schools and tourist office. Advertise with your state tourist board and holiday magazines. Develop a mailing list, including everyone who has visited your farm in the past, and post a newsletter to inform people of new products or dates for the next pick-yourown weekend. You could include some other local events or sights in your area. Investigate any ecotourism projects in your area. Do you have any features that the Eco Tourism Association of Australia would endorse? Hold open days and field days: organise your own or look for opportunities, for example, in 2001 ABC open farm schemes held their annual farm open day with four Victorian organic farms. Let the local paper know of any special events, attach a brochure or newsletter to a very brief and simple press release. Start a school farming project to encourage visits. M ail order delivery. In the United States and the United Kingdom a great deal of trading in organics is done by mail order. Producers advertise in the major health and gourmet magazines. P romote yourself on the world wide web. American and European companies have mail order, home delivery and promotions on the web. If you have a website, you could include your web address on your label. In Australia some trading and information sites are being developed.
What product? Identify the trends, choose the market for your product, and package and present your product in a way that will sell it. In other words, are you planning the right product, and are you growing produce that will sell next season? Note what organic products Australia is importingfor example, organic cornflakes from the United States and the United Kingdom. We also import tomato sauces salsas, olive oil and Californian dates, and we pay a premium for them. Note how these products are presented. Why will a consumer pay $6.50 for imported organic cornflakes? The packaging and quality account for a lot. Remember, fads and fashions change. Investigate, look at conventional models: pasta sauces hardly existed on supermarket shelves in the early 1990s, but look in the supermarket now. Chilled, and particularly prepared, dishes are filling the shelves. Consumers even want to buy salad dressing ready to pour. As Reg Clairs, CEO of Woolworths, said, Meal solutions will be the single most important revolution for supermarkets over the next five years. People want dinner on the plate, not the ingredients in the shop. As organic producers, are you investigating organic meal solutions, frozen meals, frozen vegetables, salad mixes, dips, deserts, pasta meals, chilled vegeburgers, as well as the more traditional deli ranges of chutneys, jams, sauces and pickles? What about frozen juices, fruit juices, muesli bars and cornflakes?
If you are investing in labour and machinery, invest in research and advice too. Include packaging and marketing in your costing. Farmer and consumer need to get together: look for every opportunity to find out what the consumer buys. Ask your friends, everyone you meet; ask them why they buy. Visit the city. What supermarkets need Recently a spokesman for Coles Myer Ltd said they were now working closely with smaller food companies in a bid to offer a wider range of products, particularly at the gourmet fresh food end of the market. Unlike the big brand names, which offer special marketing deals to the supermarkets to claim the best shelf positions for their products, organic businesses have not spent millions on advertising and promotion. Some supermarkets will expect you to give in-store demonstrations and food tastings. Supermarkets usually trial a line for a season to see if it sells: if not, it is out. They also have specific packaging needsfor example, barcodes and particular sizes and shapes for stacking. A reliable and regular supply In Britain the success of fresh organic fruit and vegetables in supermarket chains was the result of a wholesaler checking what the supermarkets needed. The wholesaler packaged the produce so that it could be easily identified as organic and stacked easily and also provided efficient and reliable delivery system. Sainsburys, a UK supermarket chain,
Organic meal solutions: heat and serve, a trend for the future? Photo: MacDonald (2002).
has sponsored major organic industry events and has a program in operation to encourage conventional farmers to convert. When Sainsburys advertises nationally it simply lets consumers know it sells organic as part of its range. It also sponsors the organic industry to promote and educate the public on the value of organics. What department stores need Packaging, shelf life and presentation are just as important to department stores. David Jones is very interested in a line of organic flour that comes in calico bags. It thought the calico look outweighed the problem of stacking and shop soilingthat is, the bag looking grubby from dustalthough the top-stitching has to be sewn straight and parallel to the edge. The buyers for David Jones have said they would order more organic products if the labelling and packaging were improved. Grace Bros preferred packaging for Glenbyes organic wool quilts is a firm, transparent plastic case rather than a calico
case. Why? Plastic will not become shop soiled, it can be dusted, it can stay neatly stacked, and it can be handled and still look bright and shiny over time. Using plastic rather than calico may seem an environmental contradiction, but shop soiled means selling at a discount. What small shops need Customers like variety. They come in to be entertained: a fruit and vegetable shop is like a theatre with live daily performancesthe display. What is needed is a constant supply of quality staples plus something new and seasonal. Find ways to have your produce tasted. Brochures, newsletters and logos Prepare a simple but professional-looking brochure explaining what your farm sells, plus your story and who you are certified by. Use it like a business card. Or send a leaflet providing recipes out with consignments. Newsletters could be posted, perhaps quarterly. Tell readers about the harvest, any new products, what is in season,
field days, and so on. Select dates for farm tours, explain why you dug in your lettuces, as opposed to spraying after a bug invasion; and why there were no carrots last month. Do you do mail order? Include your latest product list with your newsletter. Macro Wholefoods is a large Sydney wholefood store; its newsletter acted as a brochure and contained a recipe, some Christmas shopping ideas, the businesss mission statement, and a map showing the businesss location. A newsletter can cost less than a glossy brochure, especially if printed in one colour, and can be more readable, with new ideas presented in each issue. Logos can be a powerful tool for recognition. Note that, when selling to different cultures, a healthy green image or name could translate into an inauspicious image. It is also possible to label individual pieces of fruit, to distinguish them from conventional produce. The environmental predicament When it comes to packaging and presentation, there are conflicts between organic principals and retail demands.
C onsumers have
what does the polystyrene do for the environment? The consumer wants fresh-tasting and -looking broccoli. S ome consumers want environmentally friendly claimssuch as dolphin safe, chemical free, phosphate free and recycled paper because these claims inundate retailers shelves already.
Labelling Labelling is an important component of packaging. Labelling should be informative and legally correct. Following are a few pointers:
O ften the label is built into
We need to find ways of responsibly managing these conflicts when labelling and packaging. Seasonality Some organic food is not available year round. In both Europe and the US being in season has become a selling point. Extending supply could include processing the product or specialised storage. The Earth Food store in Sydney sells an organic apple pie. As soon as the new apples are in season the regular customers start anticipating the arrival of these freshly baked pies. Consumers need to understand why product is not always available, so it is important to communicate with the retailer.
the packaging, as opposed to being stuck on. A lways identify your certified ingredients as certified organic. L abels need to be attractive: bring in a designer. S ell the positives, not the negativesfor example, we build soil fertility. E very label tells a story: let your label tell your story. I nclude free range when applicable. The customer often assumes that free range is as good as organic, so explain what your organic poultry and livestock are fedfor example, organic grain on an organic farm. Another misconception is that tree ripened and sundried mean organic-type harvesting and no chemical preservatives. T ake pride in your product. Label and box your produce,
high expectations and unrealistically want perfectlooking produce. C onsumers assume that if it looks hygienic it must be healthy that sterility equates with goodness, and that soil on potatoes and lettuces means germs and work to clean. Fear of food contamination is also a great concern for retailers and consumers. O rganic broccoli travels better in ice and polystyrene, but
Logos can be a powerful tool for recognition. Personalise them and they can leave a lasting impression.
and each time your name and product are displayed check the standard. T ry out a label and package and gauge the responses in the real marketin Bondi, not Bourke. Ask your friends in the city. C heck packaging and labelling laws in your state. The New South Wales Department of Fair Trading can direct you to the relevant government departments and statutory bodies.
If you are exporting, some countries might require additional nutritional information, and the label might need to be in a language other than English. Promotion and the media If a story about your organic produce and how healthy it is is published nationally, suddenly consumers want organic. When promoting nationally, promote realistically. Australia has a small population spread over a large land, so how can we promote a relatively small industry nationally when it is spread over such an expanse? Industry promotion such as an organic harvest provides an opportunity to promote locally and nationally. Its main purpose is to educate consumers. The organic harvest is a national event where the focus is on promotional events at the local level. Activities are held over a month and can include everyone, no matter how small. Publicity for such events can be generated through networking, coordinated media releases, using celebrities and linking with other promotions.
product to satisfy the market if you become successful? Can you obtain more product from others if you are not able to meet the requirements yourself? These questions must be part of your evaluation. Having evaluated your position and decided to proceed, the next step is to select the markets you are interested in and find out if they are interested in you and your product. There may be no demand for what you produce if it is not part of that nations culture. You also need to determine if the importing country recognises your certifiers logo or if it requires you to carry its logo, in which case there will need to be an agreed equivalence with your certification organisation. Austrade can provide general informationfor example, information on price, packaging, suitability and trendson the market in locations throughout the world. The information is provided on a fee-for-service basis If you have difficulty in meeting this initial cost, exporting is most likely out of your range of options. Once the market needs are known it is time to inspect the chosen market personally. Taking samples of your product is suggested if it is possible. Business cards and a brochure in the local language are needed. Introductions to businesses that are interested in your product can be made by Austrade and, in some areas, by the Department of State and Regional Development, as well as Agsell. Another way of meeting people who could be interested in buying your product is to exhibit at a trade fair. Many
Legally you are required to provide certain details on the label. State or territory and federal laws, as well as the laws of importing countries if you intend to export your product, apply. In New South Wales, the New South Wales Food Authority can provide information on correct labelling (see AppendixA). The National Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Produce describes the requirements for labelling organic products destined for export and those for imported organic products. The following is a basic checklist for labelling packaged food:
n ame of the food t he ingredients, in order of
6.5 Export help
[This section is reproduced from Marketing Organic and Biodynamic Products: conference proceedings, (NSW Agriculture 1997). Jim Murison, Previously Manager, Agsell1, NSW Agriculture, contributed what follows.] When thinking about export, the first step is to examine the reason for exporting. What are you going to achieve by exporting rather than selling in Australia? Do you have goals you wish to achieve, and within what timeframe do you plan to achieve them? Do you have the funds and time to devote to this project and, importantly, enough
volume t he name and address of the maker, packer, vendor or importer t he country of origin t he batch code t he sell-by date or a date stamp s ugar-free, low-fat, and so on, nutritional contentkeep claims and information simple, realistic and relevant c laims that can be verified a notice to refrigerate after opening where relevant
Agsell is now known as Primex
are held throughout the world each year. There are often stateorganised displays at these fairs, and this can offset the costs involved in mounting a display by yourself. Agsell has organised such displays at selected trade fairs in Japan and Korea, with success for the participants. Once the contacts have been made the difficult part begins. It involves trial shipments, altering the packaging, changing the size and a number of ingredients, and many other incidentals. A freight forwarder conversant with the rules of your chosen market is essential for forwarding samples and product to your overseas representative. It will be invaluable in handling problems of customs, quarantine and officials involved in gaining entry to a market. The fee is well worth the service provided. Before agreeing on final orders, a number of trips by both parties to each others business is essential. Then the real price of each unit can be negotiated. Often Australians give a price on a take-it, leave-it basis, while Asians will ask for alterations on the assumption that the price offered will cover the alterations. It is also important to keep your brand on a product for as long as possible, so there is no confusion about the products origins. Followup information is highly recommended to keep final sellers informed that it is your product they are selling. Vital for any producer is a quality assurance scheme that will guarantee to the purchaser of your product that it is safe and of the best quality. It also assures the buyer that what they are buying is the same as the last purchase, since success
is based on people returning to buy more. New exporters often fear not being paid. Your bank can help in this regard by nominating a number of ways to ensure that you get your money. There is a charge involved, but it is one way to be confident about being paid when you first start exporting. Methods of guaranteeing payment range from letters of credit secured against your consignment to cash transfers, insurance coverage, and even banks paying you the agreed price and then recovering the money from the buyer. Being paid is not usually a problem in most Asian markets. Agsell is the marketing arm of the NSW Department of Primary Industries. Agsells role in the export business is to assist exporters and buyers. It can introduce an Asian buyer
to a producer of a product such as organic pasta and assist in overcoming problems with exporting that product. Many overseas groups like to deal with government agencies as a first step in contacting suppliers. Agsell is that first port of call for intending buyers of New South Wales produce. The same conditions apply to organic products for export as for any other product for export. There must be a market for the product and the price must be high enough for the exporter to make a profit from the sale. To avoid health problems with a range of foods, consumers in Europe and Japan are buying organic food in the belief that it will overcome food contamination. But organic production cannot guarantee that protection. A quality assurance scheme is required.
Display of organic products in an Asian supermarket
The Japanese market is going through an organic phase. Japanese purchasers will want only certified organic products. Suppliers in Japan do not meet the high standards set in Australia. The price offered will often not reflect the fact that the product is certified organic by a recognised Australian organisation. Japan is the largest market for organic produce. There is a limited market in Singapore and Hong Kong, but the rest of Asia is still coming to terms with supermarkets and year-round fresh food. European markets are large and, because of the wealth and number of consumers, there is demand for organic products during the northern winter. Competitors would be Mediterranean and African countries that are close to the cities of Germany, Holland and the United Kingdom. Many of these producing countries have preferred entry to the European Union, so competing on an equal basis might not be possible. Agsell is often asked to seek a source of product that is not grown in New South Wales. There could be a need to import planting material and work closely with research staff to develop the product to meet the buyers requirement. The intending buyer might also contribute to the research work to help speed up the process of developing a crop. Export is not for everyone, and a strong domestic base is almost essential before moving to export. Most exporters use the export market for their top-grade product, seeking a higher price than the domestic market. Export can also be used to reduce an oversupply
on the home market and establish price stability in the home market. Sending product to export markets on an infrequent, or spot, basis rarely pays in the long term, and it does very little to develop a long-term profitable business domestically or overseas.
must be inspected and are required to provide a quality management manual for the operation. Processing and food preservation techniques must comply with organic standards. The use of additives and processing aids is restricted to situations of demonstrated technological need, where food safety might be compromised or where the aids are essential in order to prepare, preserve, or minimise physical or mechanical effects to a product. Sometimes Commonwealth and state or territory law requires the use of such additives.
6.6 Processing requirements
The processing, packaging and labelling of organic product must conform to organic standards. Commonwealth and state or territory health and food safety laws must also be adhered to. The national standard states that, in order to be sold as organic, products produced organically must be handled in a manner which would prevent contamination or substitution with substances or products not compatible with this Standard. This means that processing facilities must be pre-cleaned of substances not compatible with the standard prior to processing of organic products and that storage areas for organic and non-organic products must be segregated. Careful identification is also required to ensure that mixing of organic and non-organic products does not occur. To assist with this, the national standard states, An operator should have in place a quality management system as an integral part of the organic production system and this should be compatible with Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles. The national standard requires that off-farm processing facilities be inspected and certified. Processors must apply for and undergo an inspection before processing an organic product. On-farm processors of organic products
7.1 Export requirements
[This section is reproduced from Marketing Organic and Biodynamic Products, Conference proceedings (NSW Agriculture 1997). It was contributed by Ruth Lovisolo, then Manager, Food Standards Policy, Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service.] The potential for exports of organic produce has increased from a niche market in Europe to wide interest from consumers among a number of Australias trading partners. To ensure that the integrity of organic produce is not compromised and to meet the requirements of importing countries, the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service requires that all organic certification organisations be accredited for the purpose. A national standard and legislation underpin the third-party accreditation program and provide the mechanism for approved certification organisations to issue certificates to accompany organic produce to importing countries. The stimulus for introducing an export facilitation program in Australia was created by the increasing world demand for organic produce and the need to provide assurances about the integrity of the product. European Commission regulations for the import of organic produce into countries of the European Union require the competent authority in the exporting country to oversee the organic industry. By 1990 Australia had gained a niche market in the European Union for organic produce. While this market has continued to grow, since then other markets have also opened up for organic produce. Among them are Switzerland, Japan, the United States, Singapore and Hong Kong. All countries are being encouraged to harmonise their respective import controls for organic produce through the work of the FAOWHO Codex Alimentarius Commission. Any producer intending to export food or fibre that claims to be organic or biodynamic needs to know the following. The National Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Produce The Federal Minister for Primary Industries introduced the National Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Produce on 10 February 1992. The 3rd edition of the standard is currently available in draft form. The standard sets out the minimum requirements for production, processing and labelling of organic produce. It also establishes the minimum requirements for inspection of individuals producing organic products and the minimum requirements for certifying such operators. Any producer or processor who wants to export produce that is labelled organic or biodynamic must demonstrate compliance with at least the requirements of the standard. This is achieved by being certified by one of the AQIS-accredited organisations. AQIS accreditation The national standard sets out requirements for industry organisations seeking to become approved certifying organisations. This is achieved through a system of thirdparty accreditation. The basic approach to the audit program has been developed by AQIS in conjunction with the industry. The Administrative
http://www.daff.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/126261/National_Standard_Edition_3_3_1st_July_2007.pdf
Arrangements describe how certifying organisations apply to AQIS for accreditation. Each certifying organisation is audited annually, as required by the European Union. The audit process involves a number of steps to ensure that the organisation and its members meet the requirements of the national standard. Individuals may be involved in one of these steps when AQIS verifies the inspection reports of an organisation on the farm or in the processing plant. By 2004 AQIS had accredited seven organisations to provide inspection and certification services for a range of organic or biodynamic commodities and production practices. Certifying organisations that are accredited by AQIS are listed in AppendixA. Legislation The Export Control (Organic Certification) Orders give prescribed goods status to organic produce under the Export Control Act 1982. Any person producing organic goods for export is required to have a quality management system that is audited by AQIS as part of a third-party arrangement with certifying organisations. All product leaving Australia that is identified by the trade description organic or biodynamic, or with words of similar intent, such as biological, must be accompanied by an Organic Produce Certificate. The Orders provide the necessary authority for AQIS to delegate the issue of certificates to accredited organisations. Certifiers issue export certificates to the exporter of the organic product.
Cost recovery Government policy requires that AQIS fully recover its operational costs. These costs are met by the certifying organisations. AQIS recognises the impact of such charges on the industry and has undertaken to minimise such costs wherever possible. More information Further information about the export facilitation program for organic produce can be obtained from AQIS (phone 026271 6638).
7.3 Other regulatory considerations
As is to be expected, organic farmers are subject to the same legal requirements as other farmers. State, territory and federal laws relating to things such as health and food safety, noxious weed control, fruit fly, feral animal control, exotic pest and disease outbreaks, and pesticide use must all be obeyed. In some instances the use of chemical controls might be the only option for an organic producer. If a non-permitted chemical must be applied, the certifier must be notified immediately and, although certification will be withdrawn, it might occur for a limited time only or apply only to a specific part of the farm. In some instances the certifier might be able to negotiate with the statutory body responsible for administering the law to find a solution to the problem. Sometimes a non-chemical solution is possible. This needs to be clearly explained to the responsible statutory body, and a winwin outcome will have to be demonstrated.
7.2 Permitted inputs
Although organic production standards promote non-reliance on external inputs, they do acknowledge that some intervention might be required at certain times during production. This could particularly occur during the conversion phase. The national standard provides lists of permissible substances for correcting soil fertility, for combatting pests and diseases, for sanitation, storage and handling, and as processing aids. Requirements for use of inputs are defined in the standard. Inputs are classified as permitted without restrictions on use or permitted providing specific conditions of use are met. AppendixB lists the permitted inputs. Various commercial products containing the permitted substances have been developed, and certifying organisations have approved the use of some of these substances. All inputs must be recorded in the farm diary, and it is advisable to have any input approved in writing by the certifying organisation before usingit.
7.3.1 Chemical application permits
All chemicals used for pest and disease control must be assessed and registered by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (formerly the National Registration Authority). The authority evaluates all agricultural and veterinary chemical products and registers them for sale in Australia. Registered products can be used only in accordance with the instructions on the label.
circumstancesthat is, aerial application of a chemical registered only for ground application because local wet conditions do not allow ground application. Emergency use. This refers to a situation calling for a rapid response. The most common example is when it is necessary to control a new or exotic pest or disease for which there are no registered control products.
Applying for a permit
All chemicals used for pest and disease control must be assessed and registered by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority
(for example, quota and tariff ) requirements. Phytosanitary barriers relate to the possible presence of insects that are absent or of restricted occurrence in the importing country (Holmes & Kriedl 2003). Among the specified control measures are monitoring to establish area freedom status, pesticide programs, pre-shipment treatment with chemical and non-chemical agents, in-transit cold treatment, inspection, and/or fumigation on arrival. Chemical treatments are becoming less common, but they are still relied on in order to gain access to some markets for some products. Chemical disinfestation of an organic product destined for export nullifies the organic status of the product, and this has limited the ability to export many Australian organic products, particularly fruit and vegetables. A report published by Victorias Department of Primary Industries collates the phytosanitary requirements for Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the United States, identifies export market opportunities for organic fruit and vegetables, and recommends disinfestation methods and other phytosanitary controls that could satisfy export markets while maintaining the organic integrity of products (Holmes & Kreidl 2003). The report recommends further investigation of a range of organic export market opportunities based on current market signals, market size and ease of access. These include navel oranges, apples, pears and table grapes to the European Union. Furthermore, the report encourages discussion between Australian and overseas authorities on the Queensland fruit fly host status of many products. Negotiation on these could realise opportunities in a number of areas:
Off-label and minor use permits
Many minor crops, although significant in total value, are too small for agrochemical companies to accept the high cost of registering crop protection products. At times it also becomes necessary to use agricultural chemicals for a use not specified on the label. To use registered or unregistered products in an off-label manner, an off-label permit must be obtained. The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority recognises two categories of justification for offlabel permits: Minor use. This refers to one or more of the following: a specialty crop produced only on a small scalethat is, production of less than 500 hectares or $500000 a year a small percentage of a major cropthat is, less than 2 per cent of such a crop a minor or infrequent pest or disease on either a minor or a major crop when the method of application differs from what is described on the label because of unique local
The Office of Minor Use, under a company called Crop Protection Approvals Ltd, has been set up to process and assemble off-label and emergency-use permit applications on behalf of AUSVEG-levied crops such as lettuce. CPA can be contacted by phone (0383710001), fax (0383757552) or email (Cpa@cpaltd.com.au). Otherwise, applications for offlabel permits can be made directly on the approved application form and submitted to the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority. General information and application forms can be obtained from the APVMA website <http:// www.nra.gov.au> or by contacting the permit evaluator <http://www. apvma.gov.au/about_us/contact. shtml>. The majority of off-label permits take between three and 12 months to be assessed by the APVMA. Genuine emergency uses are usually assessed in five to 10 days. No fee is charged for any applications received from primary producers.
7.3.2 Phytosanitary requirements
Access to export markets depends on a products ability to meet the importing countrys often stringent phytosanitary (quarantine), sanitary (for example, microbial contamination) and non-quarantine
Japanfor lemons, limes, grapes, olives, cucumbers, marrow, pumpkin, squash, zucchini, beans and eggplant Taiwanfor lemons, limes, grapes, olives, cucumbers, rockmelons, honeydew melons, watermelons, pumpkin, squash, zucchini, beans and eggplant Koreafor lemons and limes the United Statesfor lemons, limes, grapes, cucumbers, pumpkin, squash, zucchini, eggplant and blueberries. Approved organic disinfestation methods include heat and cold treatments and controlled atmosphere.
Market access for Australian horticultural produce is negotiated by the Horticultural Market Access Committee, made up of representatives of Horticulture Australia Limited (which manages the group), Biosecurity Australia, the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Australian Horticultural Exporters Association, the Horticultural Export Consultative Committee, and the National Horticultural Research Network. The Horticultural Market Access Committee assesses identified horticultural products for their market access priority status into an
identified market. Growers or other members of the supply chain can make applications for market access consideration. Applicants should complete a market access proposal form, available on the Horticulture Australia website <http://www. horticulture.com.au> or from the National Horticultural Market Access Coordinator.
Appendix A Sources of information and other contacts A.1 AQIS-approved certifying organisations
Australian Certified Organic Post Office Box 530 L1 766 Gympie Rd Chermside Qld 4032 Phone: 07 3350 5716 Fax: 07 3350 5996 Email: info@bfa.com.au Web: http://www.australianorganic. com.au/ AUS-QUAL Post Office Box 3175 9 Buchanan Street South Brisbane Qld 4101 Phone: 0 7 3361 9200 Free Call: 1800 630 890 Fax: 0 7 3361 9222 Email: ausqual@ausqual.com.au Web: http://www.ausqual.com.au Bio-Dynamic Research Institute Post Office Powelltown Vic 3797 Phone: 03 5966 7333 Fax: 03 5966 7433 National Association for Sustainable Agriculture (Australia) Ltd PO Box 768 Stirling SA 5152 Phone: 08 8370 8455 Fax: 08 8370 8381 Email: enquiries@nasaa.com.au Web: http://www.nasaa.com.au Organic Food Chain PO Box 2390 Toowoomba Qld 4350 Phone: 07 4637 2600 Fax: 07 4696 7689 Email: organicfoodchain@hotmail. com Web: http://www.organicfoodchain. com.au/ Tasmanian Organic Dynamic Producers Phone: 03 6363 5162 PO Box 434 Fax: 03 6363 5162 Mowbray Heights Tas 7248 Email: juliepage001@yahoo.com.au Safe Food Production Queensland Spring Hill Qld 4004 55 McLachlan St Fortitude Valley Qld 4004 Contact: Phil Pond Phone: 07 3253 9800 Free Call: 1800 300 815 Fax: 07 3253 9824 Email: info@safefood.qld.gov.au Web: http://www.safefood.qld.gov. au/home.html Bio-Dynamic Agriculture Australia PO Box 54 Bellingen NSW 2454 Phone: 02 6655 0566 Natural Produce Network c/- Sam Statham Rosnay Organic Farms Canowindra NSW 2804 Phone: 02 6344 3215 Tweed Richmond Organic Producers Organisation PO Box 5076 East Lismore NSW 2480 Phone: 02 6663 5224 Northern Rivers Biodynamic Group Ambrosia Farm Lot 6 Englishs Road Upper Coopers Creek NSW 2480 Phone: 02 6688 2003 Sapphire Coast Producers Association PO Box 1054 Bega NSW 2550 Phone: 02 6492 0161 Riverina Organic Farmers Organisation c/- Judy Brennan Clifton Brocklesby NSW 2642 Phone: 02 6029 4237 Floodplains Organic Growers Group c/- Frank Old Balranald NSW 2715 Phone: 03 5020 1770 Hunter Organic Growers Group and the Hunter Biodynamic Group 39 A Dunns ck Rd Dunns Ck NSW 2320 Phone: 02 4938 5308
A.2 Australian organic industry
Organic Federation of Australia P.O.Box 369, Bellingen NSW 2454 Andre Leu, Chair Phone: 07 4098 7610 Mobile: 0400 075 869 Email: chair@ofa.org.au Website: http://www.ofa.org.au/
A.3 Export requirements
Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service Program Management and Operations Phone: 02 6271 6638 Policy and Market Access Phone: 02 6272 3509 Fax: 02 6272 3238 Email organic@aqis.gov.au
A.4 NSW and ACT organic and biodynamic groups
Henry Doubleday Research Association of Australia PO Box 442 Richmond NSW 2753 Phone: 02 4567 8424
Canberra Organic Growers Society Inc. Elizabeth Palmer PO Box 347 Dickson ACT 2602 Phone: 02 6248 8004 Coffs Regional Organic Producers Organisation PO Box 363 Coffs Harbour NSW 2450 (02) 6651 1770 Regional groups in other States and Territories are listed on the Web at: < http://www.organicfooddirectory. com.au/reg-grow-grps.php>
John Melville Bioterm Mobile: 0417 662 709 Email: johnwm@bigpond.net.au Adam Willson Soil Systems 267 Oxley Road Graceville Qld 4075 Phone: 07 3716 0688 Fax: 07 3716 0677 Janie McClure Organics for Rural Australia Phone: 03 9819 2224 Website: http://www.ruralorg.com. au
Relevant courses offered: Master of Sustainable Agriculture Graduate Diploma in Sustainable Agriculture Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture Bachelor of Land Management (Ecological Agriculture) Advanced Diploma of Land Management (Ecological Agriculture) Murrumbidgee Rural Studies Centre Yanco Agricultural Institute Yanco NSW 2703 Phone: 02 6951 2696 and CB Alexander Agricultural College Tocal Paterson NSW 2421 Phone: 02 4939 8888 Relevant courses offered: organic and biodynamic courses in conjunction with local groups
A.5 Diagnostic and analytical services
NSW Department of Primary Industries diagnostic and analytical laboratories are located at Lismore, Wollongbar, Menangle, Orange and Wagga Wagga, supporting the departments research and extension programs. The laboratories also provide commercial services to industry and the public, including tests for agricultural water, animal disease, soil fertility, plant nutrition, chemical residues, and insect and plant pathogen identification. For further details, see <http://www. agric.nsw.gov.au/reader/daslaboratory>. For soil biological assessment, the following organisation also provides services: Soil Foodweb Institute Pty Ltd 1 Crawford Rd East Lismore NSW 2480 Phone: 02 6622 5150 Fax: 02 6622 5170 Email: info@soilfoodweb.com Web: http://www.soilfoodweb.com
NASAA consultants
Steven David Organic Farming Systems PO Box 419 Cottesloe WA 6911 Phone: 08 9384 3789 Fax: 08 9384 3379 Email: admin@organicfarming. com.au Web: http://www.organicfarming. com.au Kenneth Scott Piber Pastoral Company Piber Roma Qld 4455 Phone/Fax: 07 4623 0213 Email: piber@ripmet.com.au Web: http://www.maranoa.org. au/kenscott
TAFE NSW Web: http://www.tafensw. edu.au
Relevant courses offered: Organic Farming nos. 652 and 653 NSW Department of Primary Industries: Robyn Neeson, Yanco Agricultural Institute Phone: 0269512611 Karen OMalley, Bathurst Agricultural Research Station Phone: 0263301200 Scott Seaman, Bathurst Agricultural Research Station Phone: 02 6330 1209
A.7 Institutional support Government
Universities, colleges and TAFE offering courses relevant to organic agriculture
A.6 Consultants
Tim Marshall PO Box 207 Stirling SA 5152 Phone/fax: 08 83391250 Mobile: 0412473230 Email: timmar@box.net.au
Charles Sturt University Leeds Parade PO Box 883 Orange NSW 2800 Phone: 1800 334 733 Email: inquiry@csu.edu.au Website: www.csu.edu.au/campus/ orange
Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Victoria: Viv Burnett Agriculture Victoria, Rutherglen Phone: 02 6030 4500 Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries and Water (DPIW) Louise Mills, PO Box 44 HOBART TAS 7001 Phone: 03 6233 4038 Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries Phone: 13 25 23 Primary Industries and Resources South Australia http://www.safoodcentre.com/ industry/pages/sector/ Northern Territory Department of Business, Industry and Resource Management http://www.primaryindustry. nt.gov.au/ Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry http://www.affa.gov. au/content/output. cfm?ObjectID=D2C48F86BA1A-11A1A2200060A1B01861 Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service Ian Lyall, Manager, Organic and Biodynamic Programphone 0262716638 or 0417667040
Primex Primex is the international export marketing arm of NSW Department of Primary Industries, providing international access to the highest quality commodities of New South Wales. Primex works closely with local producers and international buyers to encouragepartnerships in a broad range ofcommodities. Primex, NSW Department of Primary Industries PO Box K220 Haymarket NSW 1240 Phone: 02 8289 3999 Email: agsell@agric.nsw.gov.au
To find out more about TradeStart and what the export advisors and Austrades international network offer, go to < http://www.austrade. gov.au/Home3618/default.aspx >.
Farmer information group
Kondinin Group 8 Fitzhardinge St Wagga Wagga NSW 2650 Phone: 02 6921 4047 Web: http://www.kondinin.com.au
A.8 Journals and newsletters
Acres Australia. The national newspaper of sustainable agriculture. Published monthly. Free Call: 1800 801 467. Available through newsagents. Web: < http:// www.acresaustralia.com.au/index. php?page=home> Acres USA. Subscribe by email <info@acresusa.com>.n Web: < http://www.acresusa.com/ magazines/magazine.htm> Going Organic. Official newsletter of the Tweed Richmond Organic Producers Organisation. Phone the editor, Wendy Seabrook02 6682 8148. News Leaf. Journal of the Biodynamic Agriculture Australia. Phone : 02 6655 0566. Canberra Organic. Quarterly publication of the Canberra Organic Growers Society. Phone: 02 6258 2811 NASAA Bulletin. Official Journal of the National Association of Sustainable Agriculture Australia. Phone NASAA08 8370 8455. Australian Organic Journal. Produced by Biological Farmers of Australia. Contact BFA0733505716. The Producer. Official journal of the Sapphire Coast Producers Association (bi-monthly) 0264920161.
The New Industries Development Program and Agribiz The New Industries Development Program helps people in the agricultural, processed food, fisheries and forestry industries turn innovative business ideas into competitive, profitable and sustainable commercial ventures. Agribiz encourages and supports Australian agribusinesses as they commercialise new products, services and technologies. For more information check the website < http://www.daff.gov.au/agriculturefood/nidp-agribiz >. Austrade and TradeStart Austrade and TradeStart offer a package of free services designed to help small and medium-sized Australian companies develop their business overseas and make their first export sale. The TradeStart program gives Australian businesses the best possible start to exporting, providing a wide range of free services to new exporters, including advice and information about getting into exporting, export coaching, and assistance on the ground in foreign markets.
NSW government assistance
Department of State and Regional Development Website: <http://www.business.nsw. gov.au/> Office locations: <http://www. business.nsw.gov.au/help. asp?cid=251>
A.9 Useful websites
http://www.attra.org http://www.goodbugs.org.au http://www.anbp.org http://ipmwww.ncsu.edu/ biocontrol/biocontrol.html http://www.biocontrol.ucr.edu/ http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/ biocontrol/ http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ recommends/ http://www.bioresources.com.au http://www.bugsforbugs.com.au http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ http://www.IPMnet.org http://www.IPM.ucdavis.edu http://ipmworld.umn.edu http://www.nysipm.cornell.edu http://vegedge.umn.edu/
Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisherieshttp://www.daff. gov.au/
indexIE.htm http://www.organicherbs.org/Main. html http://www.mda.state.mn.us/esap/ organic/default.htm http://www.organicstandard.com/ http://www.farmersmarkets.org.au/ http://www.cogs.asn.au/ http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/ AFSIC_pubs/findinfo.htm
Agriculture Network Information Centre (US site)http://www. agnic.org/ Avcare, National Association for Crop Protection & Animal Healthhttp://www.avcare.org.au Bureau of Meteorologyhttp:// www.bom.gov.au/ Horticulture Australiahttp:// www.horticulture.com.au Heliothis development model http://www.uq.edu.au/~uqwroche/ gentime/ Markets, Brisbanehttp://www. brisbanemarkets.com.au/ Markets, Melbournehttp://www. melbournemarkets.com.au/ Markets, Sydneyhttp://www. sydneymarkets.com.au/ Vegetable Research and Information, University of Californiahttp://www.vric. ucdavis.edu/ http://afsic.nal.usda.gov/ nal_display/index.php?info_ center=2&tax_level=1 http://www.fao.org/organicag/ http://www.organic-research.com/ http://www.ofa.org.au http://www.bfa.com.au http://www.nasaa.com.au http://www.soilfoodweb.com/ http://www.ofrf.org/ http://www.soilassociation.org/web/ sa/saweb.nsf/home/index.html http://www.newcrops.uq.edu.au/ newslett/ncnl1112.htm http://www.farmerfred.com/plants_ that_attract_benefi.html http://www.organic-europe.net/ http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/
A.10 Other contacts
Australian Entomological Supplies Supplier of hand lenses, sticky traps, and other equipment Phone: 02 6684 7650 Web: http://www.entosupplies.com. au
Commercial insectaries
Australasian Biological Control (Association of Commercial Insectaries) http://www.goodbugs.org.au Beneficial Bug Co. PO Box 436 Richmond NSW 2753 Phone: 02 4570 1331 Fax: 02 4578 3979 Email: Info@beneficialbugs.com.au Web: http://www.beneficialbugs. com.au (predatory mites, Phytoseiulus persimillis) Bugs for Bugs Bowen St Mundubbera Qld 4626 Phone: 07 4165 4663 Fax: 07 4165 4626 Email: info@bugsforbugs.com.au Web: http://www.bugsforbugs.com. au (Aphytis spp., Chilocorus beetles, Cryptolemus beetles, green lacewings, trichogramma wasps) Bio-Protection PO Box 384 Kilmore Vic 3764
Australian government websites
NSW Department of Primary Industries http://www.dpi.nsw. gov.au/ Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries http:// www.dpi.qld.gov.au/cps/rde/xchg/ dpi/hs.xsl/home_ENA_HTML.htm Victorian Department of Natural resources and Environment http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/dpi/ index.htm Agriculture Western Australia http://www.agric.wa.gov.au/ Northern Territory Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries http://www.nt.gov.au/dpifm/ Primary_Industry/ Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries http:// www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/ Home/1?Open South Australian Department of Primary Industries and Resources http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/agwine
Phone: 03 5781 0033 Fax: 03 5781 0044 Email: rcoy@hyperlink.com.au (predatory mitesPhytoseiulus persimillis) BioResources PO Box 578 Samford Qld 4520 Phone: 07 3289 4919 Fax: 07 3289 4918 Email: richard@bioresources.com. au Web: http://www.bioresources.com. au (Orgilus lepidus and trichogramma) Biological Services PO Box 501 Loxton SA 5333 Phone: 08 8584 6977 Fax: 08 8584 5057 Email: fruitdrs@sa.ozland.net.au Web: http://www.biologicalservices. com.au/ (Aphytis spp., Encarsia formosa, Hypoaspis miles, Typhlodromus occidentalis) BioWorks Pty Ltd PO Box 203 Nambucca Heads NSW 2448 Phone: (02) 6568 3555 E-mail: bioworks@optusnet.com.au (Phytoseiulus persimilis) Ecogrow Australia Pty Ltd P.O. Box 7657 BondiBeach NSW 2026 Phone: 0417 242 222 Fax: 02 9327 4610 Email: info@ecogrow.com.au Web: http://www.ecogrow.com.au (entomopathogenic nematodes) Horticultural Crop Monitoring P.O. Box 3725 Caloundra Qld 4662. Phone: (07) 5439 6077 Fax: (07) 5439 6088 Email: pjones@hotkey.net.au Web: http:// www.biomites.com.au (predatory mitesPhytoseiulus persimillis)
IPM Technologies PO Box 560 Hurstbridge Vic 3099 Phone: 03 9710 1554 Fax: 03 9710 1354 Email: ipmtechnologies@bigpond. com Web: http:// www.ipmtechnologies. com.au (Orgilus lepidus) Manchil IPM Services 1/17 Batavia Place Kallaroo Western Australia 6025 Mobile: 0403 727 252 email: lachlanchilman@hotmail. com web: http://www. manchilipmservices.com.au (Phytoseiulus persimilis) BioForce Ltd PO Box 81 Pukekohe, NZ Phone: 64 9 294 8973 Fax: 64 9 294 8978 Email: john.thompson@xtra.co.nz (Aphidius colemani, Bomus terrestris, Encarsia formosa, Neoseilus cucumeris, Phytoseiulus persimillis)
Fax: 07 3211 3293 Email: infopest@dpi.qld.gov.au Web: http://www.dpi.qld.gov. au/cps/rde/xchg/dpi/hs.xsl/4790_ 4885_ENA_HTML.htm PestChem manuals Centre for Pesticide and Application Safety University of Queensland Gatton College Gatton Qld 4343 Phone: 07 5460 1293 Crop Protection Approvals Ltd Suite 5, Moonee Ponds Business Centre 5 Everage Street Moonee Ponds Vic 3039 Phone: 03 8371 0001 Fax: 03 8375 7552 Email: Cpa@cpaltd.com.au
Input and equipment suppliers
Organically certif ied pest and disease control products Organic Crop Protectants 42 Halloran St Lillyfield NSW 2040 Contact: Gary Leeson Free Call: 1800 634 204 Web: http://www.ocp.com.au Composted cow manure Rivcow Environmental Pty Ltd PO Box 135 Yanco NSW 2703 Phone: 02 6953 5985 Mobile: 0419 748 269 Fax: 02 6953 5986 Email: sales@rivcow.com.au Web: http://www.rivcow.com.au/ Default.asp Small farm hand tools and electric net (livestock and poultry) fencing Gundaroo Tiller Joyce Wilkie and Michael Plane Allsun Farm Gundaroo NSW 2620 Phone: 02 6236 8173 Fax: 02 9383 8894 Email: GT@allsun.com.au Web: http://www.allsun.com.au/
Dunluce International Michael MacQuillan PO Box 922 St Ives NSW 2075 Phone/Fax: 02 9983 1776 (Helicoverpa armigera and H. punctigera lures and Agrisense funnel traps)
Pesticide registration information
Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authorityhttp://www. APVMA.gov.au INFO Pest CD Animal and Plant Health Service Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries GPO Box 46 Brisbane Qld 4001 Phone: 07 3239 3967
Weed cultivation and soil management equipment WeedFix cultivator Fix Engineering Wheeles Hill Rd RMB 4801 Daylesford Vic 3460 Phone: 03 5348 2669 Mobile: 0418 508 573 Sustainable Agricultural Machinery Developments Pty. Ltd 3 Bradford Street, Wodonga, Victoria 3690. Australia. Phone: (02) 6056 2844 Fax: (02) 6056 2994 Email: samsales@samd.com.au Postal: P.O. BOX 1321 Wodonga, Victoria 3689.
National Centre for Greenhouse Horticulture Locked Bag 26 Gosford NSW 2250 Phone: 02 4348 1900 Marketing advice and promotions Primex Level 6, 201 Elizabeth Street Sydney NSW 2000 Phone: 02 8289 3999 Catriona Macmillan Heaven & Earth Systems Pty Ltd PO Box 3335 Tamarama NSW 2026 Phone: 02 9365 7668 Fax: 02 9365 7828 Packaging and labelling laws NSW Office of Fair Trading PO Box 972 Parramatta 2124 Local Call: 13 32 20 Fax: 02 9758 2691 Web: http://www.fairtrading.nsw. gov.au/default.html NSW Food Authority PO Box 6682 Silverwater NSW 1811 Local Call: 1300 552 406 Fax: 02 9647 0026 Email: contact@foodauthority.nsw. gov.au Web: http://www.foodauthority. nsw.gov.au Trade Marks Office PO Box 200 Woden ACT 2606 Phone: 1300 651 010 Web: http://www.ipaustralia.gov. au/about/index.shtml
A.11 Other contacts, by chapter
Murrumbidgee Rural Studies Centre Yanco NSW 2703 Phone: 02 6951 2611 National Organic Auditor training workshops Biological Farmers of Australia Phone: 07 3350 5716 Fax: 07 3350 5996 Email: info@bfa.com.au Independent Organic Inspector Association Organic Training workshops Contact NASAA office Phone: 08 8370 8455 Genevieve Carruthers Environmental Management Systems Specialist NSW Department of Primary Industries Wollongbar Agricultural Institute Wollongbar NSW 2477 Phone: 02 6626 1237 Joseph Ekman Extension Horticulturist, Quality Assurance NSW Department of Primary Industries
Appendix B Farming inputs
The following information comes from the National Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Produce (Edition 3.3, 1 July 2007. AQIS, Canberra.) Requirements for use General principles i. Where inputs are required they should be used with care and with the knowledge that even permitted inputs can be subject to misuse and may alter the soil and/or water ecosystems or the farming environment. ii. Use of any product has the potential to introduce unwanted residues and contaminants. Standards 1. A developed organic or biodynamic farm must operate within a closed input system to the maximum extent possible. 2. External farming inputs must be kept to a minimum and applied only on an as needs basis. 3. Inputs must not be used as a permanent measure to support a poorly designed or badly managed system. Non-essential use of inputs is counter to organic and biodynamic farming principles. The approved certifying organisation must give approval for their ongoing use. 4. The following lists are subject to review, and inclusion of a material does not imply that it is safe in all circumstances. Any additions or changes to the lists will be made where it can be demonstrated that they satisfy the requirements of this Standard. 5. Liquid preparations, including products of the sea must be used with care as some preparations can be easily applied in concentrated forms and in high quantities. 6. The use of trace elements must be on the basis of a demonstrated deficiency. 7. Use of any input must be based on an assessment of need and with knowledge of the origin and/or analyses of the material for contaminants. 8. The use of any materials/inputs will be recorded in the farm diary or logbook and repeated use must be justifiable. 9. Federal, state/territory and local laws must be adhered to at all times
Permitted materials for soil fertilising and conditioning
Substances Animal manures Specific conditions/ restrictions
Permitted materials for plant pest and disease control
Where wetting agents are required, caution needs to be exercised with commercial formulations as these may contain substances prohibited under this Standard. Acceptable wetting agents include some seaweed products, plant products (including oils) and natural soaps. Plant pest control
Substances Ayurvedic preparations Baits for fruit fly Boric acid Biological controls Diatomaceous earth and naturally occurring chitin products Essential oils, plant oils and extracts Homeopathic preparations Hydrogen Peroxide Iron (III) phosphate Light mineral oils, such as paraffin Lime Natural acids (e.g. vinegar) Natural plant extracts excluding tobacco Pheromones Potassium permanganate Pyrethrum Quassia Rotenone Ryania Seaweed, seaweed meal, seaweed extracts Sea salts and salty water Sodium bicarbonate Sterilised insect males Specific conditions/ restrictions None Substances as required by regulation. Baits must be fully enclosed within traps. None Naturally occurring cultured organisms (e.g. Bacillus thuringiensis) None None None None None None None None Obtained by infusion and made by the farmer without additional concentration None None Extracted from Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium Extracted from Quassia armara Extracted from Derris elliptica Extracted from Ryania speciosa None None None Need recognised by certification organisation where other controls are not available. None None
Application must be composted or followed by at least two green manure crops in cropping system. Blood and bone, fish meal, hoof and horn Following application, uptake of such meal, or other waste products from livestock products by livestock does not form part of processing the animals diet. Compost Should be produced in accordance with Australian Standard 4454-1999 or recognised equivalent system. Minerals and trace elements from natural Must not be chemically treated to promote sources, including: water solubility calcium (dolomite, gypsum, lime) clay (bentonite, kaolin, attapulgite) magnesium phosphate (rock phosphate, phosphatic guano) potash (rock and sulphate potash) elemental sulphur Epson saltmagnesium sulphate) None Microbiological, biological and botanical Products derived from genetic modification preparations technology are prohibited Mined carbon-based products Peat to be used for plant propagation only Naturally occurring biological organisms None (e.g. worms) and their by-products Plant by-products From chemically untreated sources only Perlite For potting/seedling mixes only Sawdust, bark and wood waste From chemically untreated sources only Seaweed or algae preparations None Straw From chemically untreated sources only Trace elements and natural chelates, (e.g. Not synthetically chelated elements ligno) sulphonates and those using the natural chelating agents (e.g. citric, maleic and other di-/tri-acids) Vermiculite For use in potting/seedling mixes only Wood ash From chemically untreated sources only Zeolites None
Stone meal Vegetable oils
Plant disease control
Substances Ayurvedic preparations Biological controls Copper (e.g. Bordeaux and Burgundy mixture) Essential oils, plant oils and extracts Granulose virus preparations Homeopathic preparations Light mineral oils (such as paraffin) Lime Lime-sulphur Natural plant extracts excluding tobacco Potassium permanganate Potassium soap (soft soap) Propolis Seaweed, seaweed meal, seaweed extracts Sea salts and salty water Skim milk or skim milk powder Sodium bicarbonate Sodium silicate (water-glass) Sulphur Vegetable oils Vinegar Specific conditions/ restrictions None Naturally occurring cultured organisms only Hydroxide is the preferred form, Bordeaux only on dormant tissue. Annual copper application must be less than 8kg/ha. None Need recognised by certification organisation. None None None None Obtained by infusion and/or made by the farmer without additional concentration None None None None None None None None In wettable or dry form only None None
Permitted materials for livestock pest and disease control Where wetting agents are required, caution needs to be exercised with commercial formulations as these may contain substances prohibited under this Standard. Acceptable wetting agents include some seaweed products, plant products (including oils) and natural soaps. Livestock pest control
Ayurvedic preparations Biological controls Boric acid Clay Diatomaceous earth Essential oils, plant oils and extracts Garlic oil, garlic extract or crushed garlic Homeopathic preparations Hydrogen peroxide Natural plant extracts obtained by infusion Magnesium sulphate (Epsom salts) Methylated spirits Monosodium fluorosilicate Potassium permanganate Pyrethrum Quassia Rotenone Sea salts and salty water Seaweed, seaweed meal, seaweed extracts Sodium Bicarbonate Sulphur Vinegar (e.g. cider) Specific conditions/restrictions None Naturally occurring organisms and cultured organisms None None None None None None None Excluding tobacco None None None None Extracted from Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium Extracted from Quassia armara Extracted from Derris elliptica None None None None
Livestock disease control
Substances Ayurvedic preparations Calcium salts Charcoal Clay Copper sulphate Diatomaceous earth and naturally occurring chitin products Essential oils, plant oils and extracts Homeopathic preparations Hydrogen peroxide Natural plant extracts obtained by infusion Magnesium sulphate (Epsom salts) Methylated spirits Potassium permanganate Sea salts and salty water Seaweed, seaweed meal, seaweed extracts Sodium bicarbonate Trace elements Vaccines Specific conditions/ restrictions None None None None None None None None None Excluding tobacco None None None None None None To correct identified deficiencies only May be used only for a specific disease, which is known to exist on the organic farm or neighbouring farms and which threatens livestock health and which cannot be effectively controlled by other management practices. Vaccines must not contain genetically modified ingredients or by-products. Natural sources only None None
- Lye - Natural acids (e.g. vinegar, lactic, phosphoric) - Potassium permanganate (not to exceed 1% solution) - Soaps - Sodium bicarbonate - Sodium borate - Isopropyl alcohol 4. The use of any of the above substances will be followed by a thorough rinse of the area/equipment using potable water. 5. Cleaning and sanitising chemicals will be used and stored in such a manner so as to avoid crosscontamination to organic and bio-dynamic produce. Substances permitted as post-harvest/storage treatments
Treatments Controlled atmosphere Substances/conditions Carbon dioxide Oxygen Nitrogen Ozone Approval for use required Ripening of bananas only) Physical barriers Temperature control Diatomaceous earth Rodenticides* Sticky boards Biological controls Electric barriers or grids Sound Light Export onlyusing natural wax
Peracetic acid Ethylene gas Pest control
Vitamins Vinegar (e.g. cider) Zinc sulphate
Substances permitted for sanitation, storage and handling
1. Operators will select cleaners, sanitisers, and disinfectants based on avoidance of residual contamination, rapid biodegradability, low toxicity, worker safety, and a life-cycle impact of their manufacture, use, and disposal. 2. Endocrine disrupting, ozone depleting, and trihalomethane-forming compounds used in sanitation chemicals are prohibited. 3. Substances Permitted as Sanitation treatments include: - Alkali carbonates - Bleach (not to exceed 10% solution) - Biodegradable detergents (e.g. low in phosphate and rapidly degradable) - Caustic potash and caustic soda - Ethyl alcohol - Hydrogen peroxide - Iodine (non-elemental, not to exceed 5% solution e.g. iodophors) - Lime
Waxing of citrus fruit
* Must be enclosed outside processing area and used only where other methods have proved ineffective. Containers must be positioned so that there is no potential for contamination with products complying with this Standard. Containers must be inspected regularly and dead rodents removed. The operator must maintain records on volume and use of rodenticides.
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Pfeiffer, E 1983, Soil Fertility, Renewal and Preservation. The Lanthorn Press, Sussex, UK. Pike, BA & Brown EH 1996, The Cotton Pest and Beneficial Guide, Cotton Research and Development Corporation & CTPM, Narrabri, NSW. Podolinsky, A 1985, Biodynamic Agriculture: introductory lectures, vols I & II, Gavemer, Sydney. Price, WA 1945, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration: a comparison of primitive and modern diets and their effects, Price-Pottinger Nutrition Foundation, La Mesa, CA. Rayner, MC 1927, Mycorrhiza: an account of non-pathogenic infection by fungi in vascular plants and bryophytes, Weldon-Wesley, London. Reganold, JP, Glover, JD, Andrews, PK, & Hinman, HR 2001, Sustainability of three apple production systems, Nature, pp. 410, 92630, <http://www.nature.com/nature/focus/organicfarming>. Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation 2001, Inaugural OFA National Conference 2001: record of proceedings, Pub. no. 01/121, RIRDC, Canberra. Russell, EW 1973, Soil Conditions and Plant Growth, 10th edn, Longman, London. Salvestrin, G 1998, Australian Vegetable Growers Handbook, Scope Publishing, Victoria. Savoury, A 1988, Holistic Resource Management, Island Press, Washington, DC. Scaiff, A & Turner, M 1983, Diagnosis of Mineral Disorders in Plants. 2vegetables, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food & Agriculture Research Council, London. Schwarz, J, Graham, R, McDonald, G & Shepherd, K 1999, Organically vs Conventionally Grown Wheat: grain mineral content, University of Adelaide, Adelaide. Senn, A, Dougherty, W, Hollinger, E & Wells, T 2000, Runoff: money down the drainsoil and fertiliser losses from vegetable farms in the Hawkesbury district, Agnote DPI-326, July, NSW Agriculture, Orange, NSW Sherf, A & MacNab, A 1986, Vegetable Diseases and their Control, 2nd edn, Wiley-Interscience, Hoboken, NJ. Shepherd,K., Gunner,E.,Brown,H. 2003, The Market Opportunity for Organic Products in South Australia, Department of Primary Industries and Resources SA, Adelaide. <http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/ pdf_file/0019/42364/the_market_opportunity_for_organic_products___report_and_appendices.pdf> Viewed 2007. Simmonds, H, Holst, P & Bourke, C 2000, The Palatability and Potential Toxicity of Australian Weeds to Goats, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Canberra. Small, D, McDonald, J & Wales, B 1994, Alternative Farming Practices Applicable to the Dairy Industry, Victorian Department of Agriculture (Kyabram) & Dairy Research and Development Corporation, Melbourne. Smith, D, Beattie, GAC & Broadley, R 1997, Citrus Pests and their Natural Enemies: integrated pest management in Australia, Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Brisbane. Smith, P 2003, Organic food: an Australian perspective, in ABARE 2003, Australian Food Statistics 2003, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Canberra, pp. 2023. Spray Sense, Information leaflets, NSW Agriculture, Orange, NSW, <http://www.agric.nsw.gov.au/reader/spraysense>. Stevenson, G & Tabart, T 1998, Tasmanian Organic Farm Monitoring Project (19951998), National Landcare Program, Tasmanian OrganicDynamic Producers Cooperative Ltd, Hobart. Stolze, M, Piorr, A, Haring, A, & Dabbert, S 2000, The environmental impacts of organic farming in Europe, in SDabbert, N Lampkin, J Michelsen, H Nieberg & R Zanoli (eds), Organic Farming in Europe: economics and policy, vol. 6, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany. Swaine, G, Ironside, D & Corcoran, R 1992, Insect Pests of Fruit and Vegetables, Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Brisbane. US Department of Agriculture 1939, Soils and Men: the yearbook of agriculture, US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.
US Department of Agriculture 1980, Report and Recommendations on Organic Farming, US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. van Zwieten, M, Stovol, G & van Zwieten, L 2004, Literature Review and Inventory of Alternatives to Copper: for disease control in the Australian organic industry, Report to the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, NSW Agriculture, Orange, NSW. Vickermann, P 1978, The arthropod fauna of undersown grass and cereal fields, Scientific Proceedings of the Royal Dublin Society, vol.3, pp. 27383. Vogtmann, H 1984, Socio-economic aspects of biological agriculture, in D Knorr & TWatkins (eds), Alterations in Food Production, Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., Melbourne, pp. 1140. Waksman, SA 1936, Humus: origin, chemical composition, and importance in nature, Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore. Walters, C 1991, 1996, Weed Control Without Poisons, Acres USA, Raytown, Missouri. Walters, C 1996, Eco-Farm, Acres USA, Raytown, Missouri. Weir, R & Cresswell, G 1993, Plant Nutrition Disorders. 3vegetable crops, NSW Agriculture & Inkata Press, Melbourne. Wells, T & Chan, K 1996, Environmental Impact of Alternative Horticultural Production Systems in the Hawkesbury Nepean Catchment, NSW Agriculture, Orange, NSW. Wheeler, P 1998, The Non-toxic Farming Handbook, Acres USA, Raytown, Missouri. White, D & Eamens, R 2000, Chemical Application Reference Manual, NSW Agriculture, Orange, NSW. Wilding, JL, Barnett, AG & Amor, RL 1986, Crop Weeds, Department of Natural Resources and Environment & Inkata Press, Melbourne. Wilson, G 2002, Finding opportunities in wildlife tourism, Paper presented to Organic Rangeland Livestock Production Workshop, Hay. Wrench, GT 1938, The Wheel of Health: a study of very healthy people, CW Daniel Co. Ltd, London. Wynen, E 2003, Organic Agriculture in Australialevies and expenditures, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Canberra. Zimmer, G 2003, The Biological Farmer, Acres USA, Raytown, Missouri.
A conversion package
By Robyn Neeson Publication no. 07/137. Project no. DAN-188A
This information is for producers wishing to convert to organic production and for producers already involved in organic production but keen to diversify their production. It provides a framework for organic conversion and diversification and suggests possible strategies and pathways for moving forward. This valuable information will help make the transition to organic production or to diversified organic production a smooth one. Organic products are the fastest growing food sector worldwide. Growth of new farms, products and consumers has been steadily increasing over the last 20 years. In the last 10 years the rate of growth has consistently increased in all of the advanced economies. Market analysts forecast annual growth rates between 10% and 30% around the world. The United States Department of Agriculture expects the organic industry to be worth US$100 billion by 2010 in America, Europe and Japan.
Major international food corporations are developing organic product lines. The Australian organic sector is worth between $250 - $400 million per annum at retail level and demand outstrips supply. Domestic production is increasing at between 6 -15% per annum and consumption is growing at between 25-40%the balance is imported. Australia is one of the worlds leading grain exporters but organic grain is imported to meet the shortfall in production. Rising domestic and overseas demand for Australian organic products is prompting more conventional farmers and processors to consider and adopt organic systems. Our business is about new products and services and better ways of producing them. Most of the information we produce can be downloaded for free from our website: www. rirdc.gov.au. IRDC books can be purchased by R phoning 02 6271 4100 or online at: www.rirdc.gov.au/eshop.
Contact RIRDC: Level 2 15 National Circuit Barton ACT 2600 PO Box 4776 Kingston ACT 2604 Ph: 02 6271 4100 Fax: 02 6271 4199 Email: rirdc@rirdc.gov.au web: www.rirdc.gov.au
www.rirdc.gov.au/eshop
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Home > SDNY Blog > Video Game Maker Argues “Fair Use” of Images of NBA Player Tattoos
Video Game Maker Argues “Fair Use” of Images of NBA Player Tattoos
By Charles Michael on August 10, 2017 Posted in SDNY Blog
Take-Two, the maker of the video game NBA 2K, argues in a motion filed yesterday that its display of certain player tattoos in the game is transformative “fair use,” and therefore does not violate the rights of a licensee, plaintiff Solid Oak:
Take-Two is not a rival tattooist that has replicated a creative design and inked it on a new person. Rather, its use is completely different in a massive, highly creative video game featuring a virtual world that only uses player tattoos to realistically capture how the players actually look.
Take-Two also argues that it would set a dangerous precedent to grant copyright protection in this case:
Here, Solid Oak admits that “NBA players appear in the telecasts of NBA games,” are “photographed and recorded playing basketball,” and “appear in advertisements for different products.” Moreover, it admits that images and videos of Messrs. Bledsoe, James, and Martin have been shown by “[s]ports news outlets,” as well as taken by “[s]ports photographers” and paparazzi (sometimes for inclusion in commercial publications). [LeBron] James, in particular, has appeared in “various advertisements,” “commercials,” and the “covers of magazines.”
If Take-Two’s motion is denied, Solid Oak will be able to use that decision to shakedown each of the publications and television programs in which those players have appeared, as well as any other video game publisher that depicts the Tattoos. . . . We know of no case reaching such a result. Doing so here would set a bad precedent affecting all bearers of tattoos and the companies that creatively depict them.
Our coverage of the original complaint is here, and our coverage of the dismissal of an earlier version of the complaint is here.
Tags: 16 Civ. 00724, Copyright, Judge Swain
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The subject of how to EQ the higher frequencies of a speaker would need a long article unto itself, so I shall have to confine myself to a few summary remarks. First of all, since the ear/ brain is editing for direct arrival, one should eschew narrow-band ups and downs to get rid of the small room effects that arise from reflected sound. In essence, one should correct the speaker (in the higher frequencies) anechoically. Few of us have an anechoic chamber handy. But you can get quite accurate results by measuring near the speaker. As noted above, you can use the full-range sweep measurement of the DualCore for this.
Second, you should not correct things that are highly unstable with respect to variation of position. Spatially stable effects need corrections; unstable ones do not. And other things being equal, extremely narrow-band corrections are seldom needed with good speakers.
Again, experimenting is recommended, and again you have the opportunity to save “profiles” for quick comparisons.
The DualCore really opens up a world of possibilities. It can be up and running and correcting bass in just a few minutes. But you can also explore more of the possibilities. And even once you have made your system sound what to your ears is ideal, the Quicktone feature can be used in addition—on the fly, as it were—as a set of tone controls of a very effective sort. And none of this does any signal damage! Properly done digital EQ is penalty free, and properly done it is here.
To explore absolutely as far as one can go, it is a help to have the outboard viewing program, where one can pull the small screen pictures the unit itself shows you up on a computer screen. This will be available as a downloadable program from DSPeaker shortly, though at present it does not seem to be on the Web site.
Limitations Relative to Subwoofers
The DualCore is pre-eminently a device to correct a stereo system as a unit. While in principle one can drive a system with two main speakers and powered subwoofers using the two analog outputs, in practice one cannot set delays and high- and low-pass filters separately, as one would want to do for subwoofering in its ideal form. The DualCore as it stands will EQ a subwoofered system to be flat. But to use it as a crossover and time-delay device, it appears that one would need two of the units, as things now stand.
And even then, there would be the difficulty of changing the volumes of the two channels in a unified way. I understand from Tim Ryan, the USA distributor for DSPeaker, that plans are afoot for a double unit with a master/slave connection to gang the volume controls and thus offer full subwoofer flexibility. For the moment, be aware that while the DualCore will do an admirable job of flattening your overall subwoofered system, it will not really enable you to do the kind of high-pass and lowpass filtering with time delays that most subwoofer users would like to see in a DSP unit—not yet anyway! But stay tuned.
This review has so far been about theory and measurement and history. But of course the real reason for using a device like the DualCore is musical. High-end audio has long been obsessed with mids and lower treble, with “female vocals” being the standard test material. And of course the midrange is the heart of music. But bass counts and lower midrange counts, too. For too long, audio people have put up with the lower frequencies being wrong, and they have adjusted to this wrongness. The first time one hears the bass reproduced correctly is a revelation. Of course you might have had this revelation long ago, but in case you have not, let me describe what happens.
There is a simultaneous gain in both strength and precision of the lower midrange, upper bass, and on down into the depths. Organ music, as in, say, the Reference Recordings Rutter Requiem organ part, becomes a well-defined, pitch-accurate, and yet still powerful part of the music. Plucked string bass notes in, say, The Paul Desmond Quartet Live (Horizon/A&M) or Opus 3’s Tiden Bar Gaar begin to sound really like a string bass, with the combination of definition and impact of live bass pizzicatos.
Orchestral music gets its real foundational sound, impact, and definition combined. (Try my old stand-by, Dvorák’s New World on Delos). The change is profound in all music where bass really counts, even in something that does not seem bass-oriented, such as the string orchestra version of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, arrangement by Sitkovetsky.
The change here is so pervasive—so nearly universally does improving the bass radically improve music and increase both its realism and its musicality—that citing specific examples seem almost a diversion. Everything is better if there is bass in it at all.
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Combined Rating
Music theatre fans in Sydney have waited a long time for Once. Winner of eight Tony Awards, the show had its Australian premiere at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre in late 2014 (led by original Broadway director, John Tiffany) for a limited but critically-acclaimed season. Now, in a brand-new production presented by Darlinghurst Theatre Company, Sydney finally gets its opportunity to experience the smash-hit musical, which has won audiences over across the globe.
With a book by Enda Walsh and music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, Once is based on the 2007 John Carney film of the same name. It is a moving, romantic musical urging all of us not to give up on our dreams or on love. At the centre of the story is ‘Guy’ (Toby Francis), a Dubliner who’s long aspired to make a living as a musician. A singer and guitar player, most of his music was written for his ex-girlfriend, who recently moved to New York City. The end of that relationship has dampened Guy’s ambitions for his music and his days are spent working as a vacuum cleaner repairman with his father (Cameron Daddo).
The cast of Darlinghurst Theatre Company’s Once – The Musical
(Photo by Robert Catto)
But while busking on the streets of Dublin, Guy meets a young Czech immigrant, ‘Girl’ (Stefanie Caccamo), who also harbours a passion for music and plays piano. She needs her vacuum cleaner fixed (it “does not suck”, we’re told). That interaction becomes the beginning of a friendship that will see Guy’s interest in music revitalised, as well as a new-found determination to chase his chance at love.
It’s a simple story and it’s delightfully told here through a collection of gorgeous, intensely romantic and soulful songs that run the gamut, from the exuberant and celebratory to the plaintive and penitent. Hansard’s and Irglová’s score is the integral ingredient of a piece that is likely to appeal to audiences considerably wider than usual music theatre fans.
Once is also unusual in that it tasks its cast with providing all of the musical accompaniment. Led by an immensely talented musical director, Victoria Falconer-Pritchard, all 11 cast members play an instrument (and some play multiple) and their skills result in a rich wall of sound filling the Eternity Playhouse, doing absolute justice to the show’s wonderfully-crafted songs. Movement director Amy Campbell (recently recognised for her outstanding choreographic work on In The Heights) has performers threading through the space, instruments in hand, and succeeds in ensuring it’s never cluttered or awkward or at odds with the integrity of the music playing itself.
Hugh O’Connor’s set evokes a tremendous sense of a ‘seen better times’ Irish pub, and there’s great attention to detail on display. The set is beautifully-scaled to this space and has front row audience members so close to the action that they’re almost patrons. Similarly, Peter Rubie’s lighting is incredibly evocative, particularly noteworthy for its effective role in creating moments of stillness, of contemplation and of pain.
But this production of Once is also triumphant in large part because of its excellent cast. Francis delivers a strong performance as Guy, portraying the worn out by love leading man with authentic emotion. His Guy is melancholic and sensitive, believably wounded by his breakup – and, perhaps, by life. Francis also has the vocal chops required here, especially impressing when singing in his full throttle higher register.
In her first principal role on the professional stage, Caccamo is exceptional. As Girl, she is self-assured and pragmatic but also ardent and benevolent. In short, it’s a perfectly-judged characterisation and it’s equalled by Caccamo’s performance in song, which gives us a number of the evening’s vocal highlights. Her vocals on ‘If you want me’, an early insight into Girl’s emerging feelings for Guy, is a mesmerising Act 1 standout. Later on, ‘The Hill’, Girl’s plea to Guy to see the woman standing in front of him, is a further showcase of Caccamo’s remarkable voice.
Stefanie Caccamo and Toby Francis in Darlinghurst Theatre Company’s Once- The Musical
Drew Livingston is a scene stealer late in the first act, playing the bank manager approached for a loan to facilitate Guy’s pursuit of his musical aspirations. His comedic timing is terrific and he’s in good voice. Elsewhere, Rupert Reid’s own comedic skills are an asset to his performance as music shop owner Billy, and Daddo is convincingly paternal as Guy’s father. The ensemble cast (which includes Joe Accaria, Conrad Hamill, Abe Mitchell, Alec Steedman and Joanna Weinberg) lends depth to the musical numbers and energy in the pub scenes.
It may have taken time to get here, but Once has certainly been well worth the wait. Under the direction of Richard Carroll, this is an affecting, entertaining, distinctive and unforgettable experience, ideally housed in the intimate, 200-seat Eternity Playhouse. If you’re a fan of the film, it’s a must. If you’re not, it’s a night of musical entertainment unlikely to resemble anything else you’ll attend this year. Highly recommended.
ONCE – THE MUSICAL – SEASON DETAILS
Season: Playing now until 21 July 2019
Where: Darlinghurst Theatre Company’s Eternity Playhouse (39 Burton Street, Darlinghurst)
Times: Tuesdays – Saturdays 7:30pm, Sundays 5pm
Wednesday matinees on 10 and 17 July at 2pm
Saturday matinees on 13 and 20 July at 2pm
Prices: $58 – $76
Bookings: (02) 8356 9987 or www.darlinghursttheatre.com/whats-on/once
Tags: Darlinghurst Theatre CompanyOnce
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Cast prepares for Sydney premiere of Once
Tim Garratt, June 23, 2019
Small Mouth Sounds set for Australian premiere in Sydney
Tim Garratt, May 7, 2019
Cast announced for Darlinghurst Theatre Company’s Once
Theatre People Newsroom, March 29, 2019
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Browse "Singers & Songwriters"
DIG DEEPER Jazz Baritones Popular Soul/R&B Contraltos Classical Basses Hip Hop Blues Country Folk Countertenors Mezzo Sopranos Tenors Sopranos FILTER BY CONTENT TYPEArticlesTimelinesCollectionsEducation GuidesQuizzesPrimary SourcesVideos
AGLAÉ (b Jocelyne Deslongchamps). Singer, actress, b L'Épiphanie, near Montreal, 13 May 1933, d Montreal 19 Apr 1984. She began her career at 16 in Montreal nightclubs (eg, the Au Faisan doré) under the name Josette France.
Adrianne Pieczonka
Adrianne Pieczonka. Soprano, b Poughkeepsie, NY, 2 Mar 1963; B MUS (Western Ontario) 1985, M MUS (Toronto) 1988. Adrianne Pieczonka and her family moved to Burlington, Ont., when she was 2 years old. She was encouraged to take piano lessons at an early age.
Adrienne Labelle
Adrienne Labelle. Soprano, teacher, b Montreal, fl 1904-10. She studied voice with her father, Charles, and Céline Marier and piano with Alexis Contant and Émery Lavigne. She completed her voice studies in 1903 with Auguste-Jean Dubulle in Paris.
Adrienne Roy-Vilandré
Adrienne ('Yohadio') Roy-Vilandré (b Roy, m Vilandré). Soprano, folklorist, b Lévis, near Quebec City, Que, 13 Feb 1893, d Montreal 23 Oct 1978. After taking voice lessons in Quebec City with Isa Jeynevald-Mercier, Victor Occelier, and Berthe Roy she made her debut at the Club musical de Québec.
Al-Hajj Sayyd Abdul Al-Khabyyr
Al-Hajj Sayyd Abdul Al-Khabyyr (né Russell Linwood Thomas), soprano, alto and tenor saxophonist, clarinetist, flutist, composer (born 22 March 1935 in New York, New York; died 15 February 2017 in Montréal, QC).
Alain Lamontagne
Alain Lamontagne. Harmonica player, composer, singer, storyteller, actor, b Verdun (Montreal) 14 Jul 1952. He began playing harmonica in his teens.
Alan Crofoot
Alan (Paul) Crofoot. Tenor, actor, b Toronto 2 Jun 1929, d Dayton, Ohio, 5 Mar 1979; MA psychology (Toronto) 1953.
Alan Mills
Albert Miller (Alan Mills), CM, opera singer, folksinger, actor, writer (born 7 September 1912, possibly 1913, in Lachine, QC; died 14 June 1977 in Montréal, QC).
Alan Mills began a successful career as a folksinger on CBC radio in 1947; he sang until 1959 on 'Folk Songs for Young Folks' and 1952-5 on 'Songs de Chez Nous,' the latter with Hélène Baillargeon and the Art Morrow Singers. He was often accompanied by the guitarist Gilbert 'Buck' Lacombe (b St.
Alanis Nadine Morissette, singer, songwriter, producer, actor, activist (born 1 June 1974 in Ottawa, ON).
Alanis Morissette (Profile 1999)
Well, if you're Alanis Morissette, that's exactly what you do. The Canadian pop star had been organizing a visit to Mother Teresa's hospital in India, but she still wonders what prompted her to dial Calcutta on the night of Sept. 4, 1997.
TEN YEARS AGO, Alanis MORISSETTE arrived on the music scene (for the second time) with serious rocker hair, a banshee voice and bitter lyrics about oral sex. This year, that anniversary can be celebrated by anyone waiting in line to buy a Starbucks biscotti and cappuccino.
Alannah Myles (born Byles), singer, songwriter (born 25 December 1958 in Toronto, Ontario). Alannah Myles cut an aggressive and confident, leather-clad figure in Canadian pop.
Albert Clerk-Jeannotte
Albert Clerk-Jeannotte. Tenor, teacher, administrator, b St-Hilaire (now Mont-St-Hilaire), near Montreal, 15 Jan 1881, d New York 21 Jul 1945. He began music study with his uncle, Alexandre-M. Clerk, and with Achille Fortier.
Albert Cornellier
Albert (Joseph) Cornellier. Baritone, teacher, born St-Rémi-de-Napierville, near Montreal, 28 Mar 1900, died 2000; premier prix, light opera, (Paris Cons).
Albert Greer
Albert Greer. Tenor, choir conductor, teacher, b Toronto 23 Feb 1937; BA (Toronto) 1960, ARCT Gold Medal 1964. He studied with Aksel Schiøtz at the University of Toronto and was a member 1956-60 and 1964-7 of the Festival Singers.
Albert Roberval
Roberval, Albert. Conductor, stage director, tenor, teacher, actor, b Florence 23 Oct 1869, naturalized Canadian 1923, d Montreal 4 Oct 1941.
Albert Viau
Albert Viau. Baritone, folksinger, teacher, composer, b Montreal 6 Nov 1910, d 27 Jun 2001; B MUS (Montreal) 1966, teaching certificate (Quebec Ministry of Education) 1966. He studied piano with Arthur Caron, but at 17 decided to study voice.
Albertine Morin-Labrecque
Albertine (Rosalie Odile) Morin-Labrecque (b Labrecque, m Morin, also known as Labrecque-Morin). Pianist, soprano, educator, composer, b Montreal 8 Jun 1886 or 1890, d there 22 or 25 Sep 1957; honorary D MUS (Montreal) 1935.
Alexander Gray
Alexander Reid Gray, operatic baritone, teacher, administrator (born 31 March 1929 in Lachine, QC; died 6 October 1998 in Victoria, BC).
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AGENCY FUND FAQs
What is the minimum our nonprofit needs to open a fund?
For a nonprofit agency to establish either an endowed or non-endowed fund at The Community Foundation (TCF) the minimum investment needed is $10,000.
An agency endowment is a type of designated fund established by a charity at a community foundation for the charity's own benefit or the benefit of a related entity. That is, the donor or resource provider and the beneficiary or recipient organization is the same entity. For example, an art museum transfers funds to a community foundation to establish a fund that will provide annual distributions to the art museum for its own use. The instrument of transfer used to establish an agency endowment references the variance power and transfers legal ownership over the assets to the community foundation.
The transfer of legal ownership of the assets is necessary because the money must come to the community foundation in the form of a completed gift. An incomplete gift may lead to the conclusion that the community foundation is managing somebody else's funds. Since TCF is not a financial institution we cannot legally hold assets for other entities; doing so would jeopardize our status as a 501c3 nonprofit.
The agency's board must make the decision regarding whether transferring legal ownership of the funds to establish an agency endowment is consistent with its fiduciary duties. An agency's board may decide that such a transfer is prudent and consistent with its fiduciary responsibility to the organization because of the benefits provided as a result of the relationship with the community foundation. For example, the agency may benefit from the expertise of the community foundation in long-term management of assets, the flexibility the community foundation may provide by accepting types of non-cash contributions not accepted by the agency, or the protection that the transfer will provide by establishing an endowment at a separate organization.
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The current spending policy of TCF is to make available for disbursement 4% of the endowment principal market value from all endowed funds. The distributable amount for each fund is determined using a twelve-quarter moving average. This determination is made based on each fund's principal market value as of September 30 of the preceding year for all funds. TCF has increased the spending policy for Agency funds to 5%. The increase must be requested in writing.
What planned giving support will a nonprofit receive when they establish an Endowed or Non-Endowed Fund at TCF?
The following support services are offered to agencies and organizations that establish a Fund at TCF:
Training on Donor Cultivation and Planned Giving for Executive Director, Senior Management Staff, Board of Directors, and/or other advisory groups or Task Forces.
Assist with the identification and cultivation of prospective donors.
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Does our fund have to be an endowment?
No, it can be a non-endowed fund. The primary difference between an endowed fund and non-endowed is that an endowed fund is invested with the Foundations pooled funds and earns a higher investment return and the principal is subject to risk.
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Administrative Fees*
‹ $500,000 Fund Balance
$500,000 - $1M Fund Balance
$1M - $5M Fund Balance
$5M - $10M Fund Balance
› $10M
175 basis points 1.50%
100 basis points .50%
50 basis points .25%
25 basis points
Investment Consultant Fee
Estimated 0.13%
13 Basis Points (bps)
*Administrative fees may be higher for funds with complex gifts or grants programs.
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Administrative Fee
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News / Local / Angus & The Mearns
Scotland’s Tea Festival brews up interest in Mearns adventurer
by Richard Watt
August 23 2014, 10.01am Updated: April 20 2016, 7.06am
At the birthplace of James Taylor are Frances Humphreys, Jenny Thomson, Prof Angela McCarthy and Tom and Anne Lawson, who own the property.
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The life of an adventurous Scot who saved another country’s economy in the 19th Century is being celebrated at an inaugural festival in his name.
Mearns man James Taylor brought commercial tea production to Sri Lanka, then Ceylon, in the mid-1800s.
Despite being known as the “father of tea” in that country, his contribution to global drinking habits has been merely a footnote in British history.
Hoping to rectify this, organisers of the three-day Scotland’s Tea Festival has welcomed an array of guests. These included East India Company “tea master” Lalith Lenadora, New Zealand professor of Scottish and Irish history Angela McCarthy from Otago University, Japanese tea essayist Takeshi Isibushi and one of Taylor’s descendants, Fife woman Frances Humphreys.
Guests at the opening ceremony saw a plaque unveiled at Taylor’s home of Mossbank outside Auchenblae.
Ms Humphreys had until recently kept a silver tea set given to Taylor by an appreciative Planters’ Association of Ceylon in 1890. Mrs Humphreys, great granddaughter of his sister Margaret, said: “The tea set has been in my family since Margaret.
“It had been in the attic along with a journal and I thought I had to do something with it, so I offered it to the National Museum Scotland.
“They were just about to have an exhibition about pioneering Scots and they used that as one of their central exhibits.”
Prof McCarthy said Taylor may have had many reasons for leaving the Mearns for the other side of the world and that he has the peculiar honour of featuring as an extra in the Barbara Cartland novel Moon over Eden.
She said: “He certainly had family connections in the coffee economy there.
“Apparently he had a turbulent relationship with his stepmother and also his letters reveal he may have been trying to avoid a possible planned marriage.”
Today, Professor McCarthy gives a talk on Taylor’s life at the Auchenblae Hall from 10am and historian Sir Tom Devine will discuss “why Scots did so well in the Eastern Empire” at Laurencekirk Church of Scotland from noon to 12.30pm.
Visit www.scotlandteasfest.co.ukfor more information or call 01561 376 896 or 377501.
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Drug policy reform urged as Scotland records biggest ever deaths total
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10 Interesting Facts about Back Dimples
10 Amazing Women Innovators and Their Inventions
5 Truths about the Tallest Tower in the World
Your Kid’s Baby Teeth: Why Should You Preserve Them?
Sushi can be found almost everywhere, from grocery store aisles to five star restaurants and food connoisseurs can go on and on about how each piece is unique. The simple Japanese delicacy has come a long way and is now available across the globe. But it is still shrouded in mystery. There is a misconception that sushi is raw fish. It’s not. Sushi literally means cooked rice seasoned with vinegar, salt, sugar with fillings of vegetables and seafood. Check out more of these surprising facts about sushi.
#1. 6 types of sushi
Sushi mainly falls in six major categories- Chirashizushi (scattered sushi), Inarizushi ( no fish inside), Makizushi (rolled sushi), Narezushi (matured sushi), Nigrizushi (hand-pressed sushi) and Oshizushi (pressed/boxed sushi).
#2. Not exactly Japanese
Though the modern day sushi is synonymous with Japan but the initial idea came from outside the country. Nare-zushi, a kind of dish with fermented fish wrapped in sour rice was already eaten in southeast Asia before it made its way to Japan and China. However, the sushi we know of today was made by Hanaya Yohei in Japan in 1800s.
#3. Eat it fresh
Sushi is a food that is supposed to be immediately consumed after its made or bought. If it is stored in freezer for too long, it starts to lose its flavor and turns sour.
#4. Such a healthy option
Sushi, like many other Japanese delicacies is full of health benefits. It is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids which are fats your heart needs. The seaweed present in it also provides plenty of iodine. Moreover, it is full of vitamin A which keeps your skin looking good and immune system working well.
#5. Chopsticks or hands
Just because it is Japanese food does not mean you are supposed to struggle with chopsticks to eat sushi. It is acceptable to eat sushi with hands. In fact, traditionally it was eaten with hands. The chopsticks are used to eat sashimi or the raw slices of fish.
#6. The costliest sushi
One of the most expensive sushi delicacies is the bluefin tuna. In fact, a 500lb fish sold for $1.8 million in 2013. But it wasn’t always like that and bluefin was a fish to be avoided before 1950s as it could easily tear through the fishing net. Things changed when nylon netting made it possible for them to be caught.
#7. Not always expensive
Today it might be an exotic delicacy but once upon a time it was a cheap fast food. It was once a quick snack that could be enjoyed while watching a theater performance.
#8. An earthquake changed its fate
The devastating earthquake of 1923 changed how sushi would be seen after that. As real estate prices dropped after the quake, sushi chefs could afford brick-and-mortar stores and after that sushi was no longer just a cheap snack.
#9. The rice wasn’t always eaten
By English: Cpl. Eric C. Schwartz [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
In the early days, the sushi rice was a sour fermenting rice that was wrapped around the fish to create a distinct sour taste in the fish. It also acted as barrier to keep flies away and preserve the fish. After fermenting the fish, the rice was thrown out and only the fish was eaten.
#10. Different knives
Japanese knives are different from Western knives as they are sharpened only on one side. But sushi knives are even more interesting. They are believed to be descendants of samurai swords and thus should be sharpened everyday to cut the fish.
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Technimatic - Through The Hours Tour - AKL
Friday, 26 July 2019, 10:00pm . Pointers Bar & Grill,
Type of Ticket Early Bird 1st Release 2nd Release Final Release
Quantity Requested 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
2nd Release
Final Release
NZ$33.00 (incl. Fees)
Get 1 Ticket
Alice S
Tane K
Hayden E
Aaron S
Cara B
Kaya H
Cass K
Davo S
DropBassNZ and The Liquid Lowdown present Technimatic (UK) - Through The Hours LP Tour - Auckland Show
Friday July 26th @ Pointers - 2 Lower Hobson street
Support TBA
Technimatic:
Since joining forces in 2007 Technimatic’s discography has spanned the cream of the drum & bass scene, with releases on the likes of Technique, Viper, Critical, Hospital and Spearhead; in 2012 they signed exclusively to DJ Friction and K-Tee’s Shogun Audio label. Since then they have become one of the go-to acts for rich, emotive, musical d&b, epitomised perfectly by their bestselling debut album ‘Desire Paths’. This widely acclaimed long player was one of Mixmag’s Top 10 dance albums of 2014 and won ‘Best Album’ at the National Drum & Bass Awards.
Both talented DJs in their own right, Pete and Andy have played throughout the world, from the USA to Australia. Their energetic sets feature music from right across the d&b spectrum, and reflect a deep passion and knowledge of the scene.
In 2015 Technimatic are back in the studio hard at work and already have a large portfolio of new music scheduled for release as they continue to cement their reputation as one of the brightest and most exciting duos in drum & bass.
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Patterson named the SWAC’s Player of the Week | TigerFans | Texas Southern University Tigers Athletics Fans | TSU Football, Basketball, Baseball, Softball, Volleyball, Bowling, Track & Field
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Patterson named the SWAC’s Player of the Week
Posted on on January 3, 2019
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Texas Southern University guard Jalyn Patterson has been named the Southwestern Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week. The league made the announcement Tuesday morning.
Patterson, a 6-foot-1 graduate transfer from Atlanta, Ga., scored a team-best 20 points along with five rebounds and five assists to lead Texas Southern to an 88-73 victory over Texas A&M on Dec. 29. Patterson, who shot 8-of-14 from the field and connected on 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, was particularly effective in helping to close out the Aggies as he scored 14 points in the second half to help preserve the win.
Patterson currently sits third in the league in scoring at 15.1 points per night, a mark that is tops for the SWAC’s highest-scoring offense. He is also third in the conference in terms of three-pointers made per game (2.7) and is tied for the league lead in assists per game (4.4).
Courtesy: TSUSports.com
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TigerFans was established in 1997 and expanded to the web in 2012 to serve the Texas Southern University Tigers Athletics Fans. We cover all things TSU including TSU Football, Basketball, Baseball, Softball, Volleyball, Bowling, & Track & Field.
TSU Football Individual Game Tickets Now on Sale
TEXAS SOUTHERN vs. PRAIRIE VIEW LABOR DAY CLASSIC LUNCHEON
Texas Southern falls to Southern on the road
Balanced offensive attack leads AAMU to 42-21 win over TSU
Lady Tigers conclude play at Longhorn Invitational
Kassandra Rivera Wins 5th Tournament of the Season
Strong, Sturdivant, Penn, Clayborn Named To All-SWAC Teams
Williams Named SWAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week
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