A new tomato is ideal for urban gardens (and space) Tomatoes resemble a bouquet whose roses have been replaced by ripe cherry tomatoes PUBLISHED ON December 29, 2019

 When three specific genetic mutations are combined and tuned just right, scientists can turn tomato plants into extremely compact bushes ideal for urban agriculture. Just two of these mutations (insert, left) shortens the normally vine-like plants to grow in a field, but all three (insert, right) causes their fruits to bunch like grapes. Researchers cut away the plant’s leaves for a clearer view of the new tomatoes. (Photo Credit: Lippman lab/CSHL, 2019)


COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y. — Farmers could soon be growing tomatoes bunched like grapes in a storage unit, on the roof of a skyscraper, or even in space. That’s if a clutch of new gene-edited crops prove as fruitful as the first batch.
The primary goal of this new research is to engineer a wider variety of crops that can be grown in urban environments or other places not suitable for plant growth, said Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Professor and HHMI Investigator Zach Lippman, who leads the lab that designed the ‘urban agriculture tomatoes.’
These new gene-edited tomato plants look nothing like the long vines you might find growing in a backyard garden or in agricultural fields. The most notable feature is their bunched, compact fruit. They resemble a bouquet whose roses have been replaced by ripe cherry tomatoes. They also mature quickly, producing ripe fruit that’s ready for harvest in under 40 days. And you can eat them.
“They have a great small shape and size, they taste good, but of course that all depends on personal preference,” Lippman said.
Most importantly, they’re eco-friendly.
“This demonstrates how we can produce crops in new ways, without having to tear up the land as much or add excessive fertilizer that runs off into rivers and streams,” Lippman said. “Here’s a complementary approach to help feed people, locally and with a reduced carbon footprint.”
The catch is that urban setups call for compact plants that can be slotted or stacked into tight spaces, such as converted storage containers. To make up for crop yield constrained by limited space, urban farms also operate year-round to produce crops that can be quickly harvested again and again.
In a paper recently published in Nature Biotechnology, Lippman and his colleagues detail how they introduced three distinct mutations into tomatoes to create these new types of plants.
Lippman’s lab revealed in 2014 that fine tuning the SELF PRUNING (SP) and SP5G genes can cause a plant to stop growing and flower and fruit earlier, creating a compact plant that can be harvested quickly.
However, tuning SP-SP5G alone did not make tomato plants compact enough, and tuning SP too much resulted in tomatoes that weren’t tasty. Searching for a third player, Lippman’s team recently discovered the gene SIER. Modifying SIER with the CRISPR gene editing tool and combining it with the other tuned genes created these extremely compact plants.
By making crops and harvests shorter, Lippman believes that agriculture can reach new heights.
“I can tell you that NASA scientists have expressed some interest in our new tomatoes,” he said.
About Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Founded in 1890, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has shaped contemporary biomedical research and education with programs in cancer, neuroscience, plant biology and quantitative biology. Home to eight Nobel Prize winners, the private, not-for-profit Laboratory employs 1,100 people including 600 scientists, students and technicians. For more information, visit http://www.cshl.edu

–Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
via PRNewswire

Wild Pigs Increase Their Urban & Suburban Area Sprawls - As wild pig territory expands into city limits, public health and safety concerns increase –Adam Russell Texas A&M AgriLife Extension San Angelo

 

THRALL, Texas — Whether you call them wild pigs or feral hogs, they are no longer just a rural problem, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert.
Wild pigs cause more than $52 million in agricultural damage in Texas annually, said John Tomecek, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension wildlife specialist, Thrall. But it’s their encroachment into increasingly urbanized areas that is becoming a burgeoning problem for landowners and municipalities.
Texas’ wild pig population was 2.6 million according to a 2012 study. Now experts estimate their numbers have reached at least 3 million. Damage from the pest has been reported in nearly all 254 Texas counties.
Tomecek said wild pigs entering more populated areas is a growing topic of conversation. As human and wild pig populations continue to increase in Texas, he said interactions in urban-suburban areas will likely continue.
“It’s a subject that’s come up several times in the past six months,” he said. “Everyone knows about the rural problems and how they affect ag producers, but I’m getting more and more questions about pigs in the city.”
Tomecek said wild pigs’ growing confidence to enter more populated areas raises public health and safety concerns. Encounters with humans and pets and contamination of riparian areas or disease exposure are becoming more likely as wild pig numbers continue to grow and sounders range into urban-suburban areas.
“Wild pigs are becoming more brazen and ranging into populated areas,” he said. “They realize we are not going to do anything about them.”

Human interactions with wild pigs

Tomecek said people should give wild pigs a wide berth. Instances of people being injured by wild pigs is relatively low in the U.S. Most instances occurred when hunters approached the animal. But the first unprovoked human death caused by wild pigs recently occurred in Texas.
“If a person is walking and comes across wild pigs, don’t make them feel cornered,” he said. “You won’t outrun them, but they typically will give up the chase if they don’t perceive a threat. But if a person is threatened or pigs become aggressive, get off the ground. Climb a tree or a car, do anything to get elevated. If that isn’t an option, try to get away, but in that instance stay on your feet at all costs.”
Pets should avoid engaging with wild pigs, Tomecek said. He is not aware of any attacks on domesticated animals, but said that pets should avoid contact with wild pigs.
“Dogs are usually on a leash in the areas we are talking about, and that is the best solution,” he said. “You don’t want your pet near them, but if they do engage them somehow, don’t try to get in the middle of the fight.”

Property damage/Public health concerns with wild pigs

Wild pigs on urban-suburban roadways is a major property and public safety concern, Tomecek said. Vehicle versus pig accidents cost Texas drivers more than $1,100 per accident, according to an AgriLife Extension report. Human injuries were reported in 6% of those accidents.
Tomecek said damage to lawns, as wild pigs search for food resources, is another growing problem in developing areas.
Golf courses have experienced substantial damages to turfgrass by wild pigs, Tomecek said.
“When pigs access golf courses and root around trees or root up a golf green, it can get into the tens of thousands of dollars quickly,” he said. “We get calls about that type of situation frequently.”
Wild pigs are also responsible for damaging ecosystems and spreading diseases, including E. coli, to public water supplies and recreational waterways, Tomecek said. They are known to carry a disease – swine brucellosis – that is transferable to humans. Instances have been limited to situations such as hunters with an exposed open wound cleaning a wild pig carcass.
“You can still cook the meat to normal safety standards to kill anything they may carry,” he said. “But anyone handling a carcass should wear gloves and cover their mouth and eyes.”
Ecological damage beyond water quality is another concern, Tomecek said. 
“People who live in town may think that pigs don’t hurt anything, but they can contaminate water systems with bacteria and fecal matter or increase erosion and sedimentation in riparian areas.”
Wild pigs consume resources like acorns and flora that would otherwise be consumed by native species like white-tailed deer and turkeys, he said. They also have been known to prey on white-tailed deer fawns and quail eggs.
They also spread invasive plant species like tallow tree, Tomecek said. Seeds get caked in mud on their bodies as they root around. The seeds are then transferred to other locations.
“There’s no strong deterrent to make hogs wary of entering more populated areas,” he said. “When they feel humans aren’t a threat, they’ll keep ranging into these areas and causing problems.”

Be proactive with wild pigs, but be a good neighbor

Tomecek said the best way to deal with wild pigs is effective trapping. This is especially true in areas where they cannot be hunted and dispatched with firearms.
“Landowners with larger tracts of land, such as on golf courses, have been very willing to trap or cooperate with cities to curb their numbers,” Tomecek said. “But the complications of dealing with pigs comes in areas with multiple landowners, HOA rules and conflicting opinions about how to deal with the issue.”
Tomecek said landowners and cities should take proactive stances against wild pigs where possible. They should focus on public lands and right-of-ways adjacent to or near bottomlands, creeks and heavily covered areas. Wild pigs are also mostly nocturnal, which means homeowners will likely see the damage they cause before seeing the animals.
“Hogs spend a lot of time in bottomlands, but they venture out in search of food,” he said. “A lot of creeks and low-lying areas with good cover are like wild pig superhighways, so those areas, especially if there are signs of pigs, are good areas to set up a trap.”
Tomecek reiterated that “effective trapping” is important. Pigs are extremely intelligent, and trapping entire sounders is vital. Any animal that escapes is likely to avoid future attempts with similar methods.
Landowners should contact local chambers of commerce to inquire about reputable local trappers. Some trappers and trapping stations sell wild pigs at regional markets.
“Removal is the best method, especially for this urban-rural interface,” he said. “We also recommend landowners check with municipalities or state agencies when trapping inside jurisdictions or along public right-of-way. We hope all Texans will join the fight against wild pigs, but we also want them to be good neighbors while doing it.”

Survey seeks input on agritourism Farmers throughout the country are being asked to participate in a short survey PUBLISHED ON December 9, 2019

 

 The data will be used by cooperative extension and research personnel to develop resources to help increase the success of small- and medium-sized farms that offer on-farm direct sales, education, hospitality, recreation, entertainment and other types of agritourism. (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Public Domain)

 BURLINGTON, Vt. — Interest in pursuing agritourism opportunities is increasing among farmers and value-added producers in Vermont and other states as a means of enhancing farm viability and profits.

Many manage farm stands and pick-your-own operations. Others host on-farm suppers, farm stays, school field trips, public tours, outdoor recreation and harvest events, among other experiences.

To gauge the scope and impact of the industry nationwide, farmers throughout the country are being asked to participate in a short survey for a study led by the University of Vermont. The data will be used by cooperative extension and research personnel to develop resources to help increase the success of small- and medium-sized farms that offer on-farm direct sales, education, hospitality, recreation, entertainment and other types of agritourism.

The survey, which will take about 10-15 minutes to complete, is available online at go.uvm.edu/agritourismsurvey. All responses will be kept confidential, and participants may opt out of answering survey questions at any time.

In addition to demographic and farm information, the survey will collect data on direct sales and agritourism experiences offered, visitor numbers and goals, successes, challenges and future plans for agritourism. Farmers also will be able to provide input on the types of support needed to achieve success with agritourism including on-farm direct sales.

This multi-state survey and research project is being coordinated by Extension Professor Lisa Chase and Associate Professor David Conner, both with the University of Vermont, and funded through a Critical Agriculture Research and Extension grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Collaborators include research and cooperative extension faculty in California, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon and West Virginia.

For questions regarding the survey, contact Lisa Chase at lisa.chase@uvm.edu or (802) 257-7967, ext. 311.

–UVM Extension

USDA suspends timeline for transition to electronic ID Where does official ID go from here? PUBLISHED ON December 3, 2019 Texas Animal Health Commission

USDA is reviewing agency policy to determine how they will proceed with the timeline. (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Public Domain)

WASHINGTON — Last April, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced they would transition from metal identification tags to electronic identification tags in beef cattle, dairy cattle and bison.The previously announced transition dates are suspended. The USDA is reviewing agency policy to determine how they will proceed with the timeline associated with the transition of visual to electronic official ID for cattle and bison. For USDAs full statement click here.
What do you need to know about official ID?

• Questions about the rollout should be directed to: traceability@aphis.usda.gov
• Official identification requirements for cattle and bison in Texas or entering Texas remain unchanged.
• The USDA is allowing tag companies to continue manufacturing and selling metal NUES tags until further notice.
• To prepare for any future tag requirement decisions, producers should make sure they have a Premises Identification Number (PIN) or Location Identification Number (LID). You can obtain a PIN or LID by contacting the TAHC Animal Disease Traceability team at animal_id@tahc.texas.gov or 512-719-0733.
• Metal NUES Brucellosis vaccination tags for accredited veterinarians are still available from the USDA.

The Texas Animal Health Commission will keep producers and veterinarians updated when any decisions are made by the USDA.

–Texas Animal Health Commission