A Blueberry Weekend

Ah, the wonderful blueberry. With a wide variety of cultivars, this fruit bearing bush is hearty from the southern United States up through parts of southern Canada. High in vitamin C, vitamin K, fiber and Manganese (from nutritiondata.com) , and easy to grow and store, the blueberry may be very near the most perfect fruit.

Growing form ranges from short, squat bushes to tall, narrow treelike constructs. Whether you have a small back yard or a few thousand acres, a few blueberry bushes are perfect additions to your garden.

Throughout this weekend I will post information and recipes about and with the fabulous blueberry. Stay tuned!

Friday News?

The UK's FSA Publishes Organic Research - from the UK's Food Standards Agency - "An independent review commissioned by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) shows that there are no important differences in the nutrition content, or any additional health benefits, of organic food when compared with conventionally produced food. The focus of the review was the nutritional content of foodstuffs. "

So, what these researchers did was review the results of other researchers from the last fifty years and arrived at the conclusion that there is little nutritional difference between organically grown food and food conventionally grown and processed. Just to make it clear, this was more of an academic mashup than real research. No original research was done. As with sustainable agriculture, one must look for more systemic results rather than simply read others' research on a narrow base of subjects.
-------------------------
Rural Businesses Receive Billions in Assistance - from Farm Futures.com - "Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced that USDA is accepting applications for up to $1.7 billion in funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for projects to help create business activity and economic growth in rural communities. Vilsack said the funds will help businesses get access to the capital they need to launch and expand their businesses and help bring additional jobs to America's small cities and towns."

That's a step in the right direction. Hopefully the money will be well spent and big companies will not get their hands on too much of it.

Tuesday News

Infectious Diseases Study Site Questioned - Tornado Alley May Not Be Safe - from the Washington Post - "The Department of Homeland Security relied on a rushed, flawed study to justify its decision to locate a $700 million research facility for highly infectious pathogens in a tornado-prone section of Kansas, according to a government report."

Now there is a great idea. Place a multi-million dollar infections disease government lab in "tornado alley." But wait... more stupidity... What of the livestock? According to the Government Accountability Office: "Drawing conclusions about relocating research with highly infectious exotic animal pathogens from questionable methodology could result in regrettable consequences."

Give your congressman or senator a call.
---------------------------
20,000 Gallons of Biofuel per Acre per Year - from Technology Review - "A startup based in Cambridge, MA--Joule Biotechnologies--today revealed details of a process that it says can make 20,000 gallons of biofuel per acre per year. If this yield proves realistic, it could make it practical to replace all fossil fuels used for transportation with biofuels. The company also claims that the fuel can be sold for prices competitive with fossil fuels."

High-tech agriculture on the bleeding edge. Joule uses genetically engineered microorganisms, likely a type of algae, to convert Carbon Dioxide and the Sun's energy into a hydrocarbon fuel. It may not be very tsty on the grill, but I wouldn't mind burning it in my truck or tractor.

Some Monday Morning Farm Humor

Given today's economic times and popular society's general dysfunctional, non sustainable insanity, we all need a little good clean humor from time to time. Mark Parisi has a great bunch of funny farm cartoons here on his website: offthemark.com Enjoy!

Today's Reasons for Moving Back to the Country

As a reader of slashdot, I read a lot of nutty stuff there. Here are a few highlights of the craziness that just makes me want to head for the barn.

Scientists Worry Machines May Outsmart Man - From the New York Times: "Impressed and alarmed by advances in artificial intelligence, a group of computer scientists is debating whether there should be limits on research that might lead to loss of human control over computer-based systems that carry a growing share of society’s workload, from waging war to chatting with customers on the phone."

Machines can do a heck of a lot around the farm, but I am NOT going to take orders from my hay baler.
----------------
573,928 Accounts Possibly Compromised in Network Solutions Attack - From The Tech Herald: "Network Solutions issued a Data Security Alert (DSA) on Friday, which reported the discovery of malicious code planted on servers supporting their E-Commerce merchants’ websites. The code, discovered on 4,343 Network Solutions customer sites, might have captured transaction data for almost 574,000 cardholders."

So, if you shop online and/or use credit or debit cards, maybe you should think twice. Just another reason to use cash and shop at your local farmer's market or road side produce stand.
----------------
Electronic Grid Still Very Vulnerable to Electromagnetic Weaponry - From Science News: "Electromagnetic pulse is hardly a household term. But perhaps it should be. Every computer we buy, every system we turn over to computer control, every device that relies on electronic components — all cars, TVs and phones, for instance — makes us more vulnerable to such a high-energy rain of electrons."

Articles like this should make anyone without alternate electrical generation think twice. Not only can EMP weapons cause issues with the power grid, but solar events could and even have caused problems. One doesn't need to completely live off-the-grid, just be prepared. Maybe it is time to check the prices on windmills.
----------------
Reprogrammed Skin Cells to Create Mice - From the Wall Street Journal: "Two teams of Chinese researchers working separately have reprogrammed mature skin cells of mice to an embryonic-like state and used the resulting cells to create live mouse offspring."

Now here is a can of worms. Sure, this is helping forward stem cell research, but what about all the additional cats that will be needed?