What is so disturbing about Jan Smiley's A Thousand Acres?

Jane Smiley's award winning and disturbing novel, A Thousand Acres, invites a critical appraisal of a popular assumption for proponents of sustainable agriculture: that family farming and sustainable agriculture are (at least indirectly) mutually reinforcing. This process begins with a plot that presents an Iowa multigenerational farm family headed by an acutely dominant father. Consequences of this dominance include subjugation of everyone involved with the farming operation, varieties of abuse of the daughters, and primitive non-environmental farming. Also in the novel three structural components of the family farm/rural setting aggravate the nightmarish situation: multigenerational participation in one farming operation, children remaining on the farm, uninterrupted, into adulthood, and the power of community appearances. It is argued that these components contribute not only to the family problems, but also to making the poor farming that emerges in this family not very coincidental. This analysis, if correct, raises many issues about farm structure and farming practices. They include how the younger generation(s) of family farm structures cope with their situations, whether aspects of family farms skew who decides to remain to farm, family farm ownership and transfer structure, how well farmers understand their own farms, and the case for voluntarism regarding environmental issues in farming. One theme throughout the essay is that the novel enables better recognition and appreciation of the subtle relationship between family problems and farming practices.     

Use of butanol-water mixtures for making wheat straw pulp

Summary A central composite design was used to investigate the influence of the cooking conditions (time, temperature and butanol concentration) for wheat straw with butanol-water mixtures on the properties of the pulp obtained (yield and holocellulose, α-cellulose, lignin and ethanol-benzene extractives contents) and the pH of the resulting waste water. A second-order polynomial model consisting of three independent process variables was found to accurately describe the organosolv pulping of wheat straw. The equations derived predict the yield, the holocellulose, α-cellulose, lignin and ethanol-benzene extractives contents of the pulp, and the pH of the waste water with multiple-R, R², adjusted-R² and Snedecor' F values of 0.99, 0.99, 0.99 and 310.33; 0.98, 0.97, 0.95 and 56.63; 0.91, 0.84, 0.74 and 9.14; 0.99, 0.98, 0.96 and 70.52; 0.97, 0.94, 0.92 and 40.42; and 0.98, 0.95, 0.93 and 49.33, respectively. The process variables must be set at low values in order to ensure a high yield and pH. On the other hand, if a high holocellulose content and low lignin and ethanol-benzene extractives contents are to be obtained, then the process variables must be set at high values. Finally, obtaining pulp with a high α-cellulose content entails using a long cooking time and a high temperature, as well as a low butanol concentration. Received 1 July 1996     

Interspecific interactions of ungulates in European forests: an overview

Mammalian herbivores vary in the degree to which they browse, graze and cause physical disturbance, and so vary in the effects they have on the structure and composition of forest ecosystems. To create predictive models of the interactions of forest ecosystems with herbivore communities, an appreciation of the interactions between the species of herbivore themselves is necessary. This paper reviews interspecific interactions of ungulates, methods used in studying them, and seeks to identify areas to which future research should be directed in the context of European forest systems. Methods that have been used to provide information on interactions include: comparative resource studies, niche theory, physiological and anatomical analyses, modeling and foraging theory, and population studies. The most commonly reported types of interactions appear to be competition and facilitation. Behavioural and social interactions between species are potentially important, but evidence for these is scarce and often anecdotal. It is suggested that there may be considerable potential for ungulates to interact in European forests which are often significantly altered from their natural state. Future research should aim at refining the theoretical understanding of interspecific interactions, particularly between ungulates with different feeding ecologies. The roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) has a major impact on forest ecosystems and is increasing its range throughout Europe. However, there is evidence that it may be displaced or out-competed by a number of ungulate species, and it is suggested as being research priority to quantify these effects.     

Seasonal shoot and needle growth of loblolly pine responds to thinning, fertilization, and crown position

The impacts of thinning, fertilization and crown position on seasonal growth of current-year shoots and foliage were studied in a 13-year-old loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantation in the sixth post-treatment year (1994). Length of new flushes, and their needle length, leaf area, and oven-dry weight were measured in the upper and lower crown from March through November. Total shoot length was the cumulative length of all flushes on a given shoot and total leaf area per shoot was the sum of leaf areas of the flushes.

By the end of June, first-flush foliage reached 70% of the November needle length (14.3 cm) and 65% of the final leaf area (15.0 cm²). Cumulative shoot length of first- and second-flush shoots achieved 95% of the annual length (30.3 cm), whereas total leaf area per shoot was 55% of the final value (75.3 dm²). Fertilization consistently stimulated fascicle needle length, dry weight, and leaf area in the upper crown. Mean leaf area of upper-crown shoots was increased by 64% six years after fertilization. A significant thinning effect was found to decrease mean leaf area per shoot in the crown. For most of the growing season, the thinned-fertilized trees produced substantially more leaf area per shoot throughout the crown than the thinned-nonfertilized trees. These thinned-fertilized trees also had greater needle length and dry weight, longer first flush shoots, and more leaf area per flush than trees in the thinned-nonfertilized plots. Needle length and leaf area of first flush shoots between April and July were linearly related to previous-month canopy air temperature (T_a). Total shoot length strongly depended on vertical light gradient (PPFD) within the canopy, whereas shoot leaf area was a function of both PPFD and T_a. Thus, trees produced larger and heavier fascicles, more and longer flush shoots, and more leaf area per shoot in the upper crown than the lower crown. We conclude that thinning, fertilization, and crown position regulate annual leaf area production of current-year shoots largely by affecting the expansion of first flush shoots and their foliage during the first half of the growing season.     

Impact of Caligus treatments on unit costs of heterogeneous salmon farms in Chile

We measure the impact that sanitary treatments that control ectoparasite Caligus rogercresseyi abundance have on unit production costs of Salmo salar farms in Chile. We follow complete production cycles for a sample of farms between 2009 and 2015. We estimate a simultaneous salmon biomass growth and Caligus abundance model. The statistical analysis determines the effect of antiparasitic treatments, location of farms, environmental conditions and Caligus abundance on the salmon growth profile. Using outside cost information, we simulate how unit production costs vary by treatment and farm characteristics. Our results suggest that unit production costs increase on average by $1.4?US/kg with Caligus and treatments. Treatment costs are compensated by higher harvesting levels, and unit production costs are invariant to the situation without treatment. All estimated effects differ depending on farm’s environmental and spatial conditions, suggesting that the design of cost-effective intervention calls for discriminatory regulation under heterogeneous conditions.     

Evaluation of the optimal strong ion difference concentration of an oral electrolyte and buffering solution for the treatment of neonatal calf diarrhea

An observational study was conducted to comparatively assess the efficacy of three different oral rehydration and buffering solutions, differentiated by their strong ion difference (SID) concentration, for treatment of neonatal calves with naturally acquired diarrhea. The SID concentrations tested were 100 mM, 170 mM and 230 mM for treatments SID₁₀₀, SID₁₇₀ and SID₂₃₀, respectively. Clinical assessment and blood gas analysis were completed for 18 diarrheic calves once pre- and twice post- (6 and 24 hr after) oral administration with one of the three treatments. A repeated measure mixed model approach was used to analyze (a) the within-group efficacy of each treatment over time and (b) the between-group comparison at each timepoint. SID₂₃₀ treatment resulted in a significant increase in blood pH, HCO₃⁻, BE, SID and Na⁺ at 6 and 24 hr after treatment, and a significant decrease in AG and K⁺ by 24 hr after treatment. There were no significant changes in any of the blood gas parameters after treatment with SID₁₀₀ and SID₁₇₀. SID₂₃₀ treatment also resulted in blood gas parameter changes that were significantly different to the other two groups. These results suggest that the optimum SID concentration for the treatment of calves with diarrhea is likely to be higher than current recommendations.     

Influence of Manure Type and Bedding Material on Carbon Content of Particulate Organic Matter in Feedlot Amendments Using 13C NMR-DPMAS

Feedlots in southern Alberta apply composted (CM) or stockpiled (SM) manure with straw (ST) or wood-chip (WD) bedding to cropland, but few studies have examined the effect of manure type and bedding material on carbon composition of these feedlot amendments prior to land application using solid-state ¹³C NMR-DPMAS (nuclear magnetic resonance-direct polarization, magic angle spinning). The particulate organic matter fraction was extracted from four amendment treatments (CM-ST, CM-WD, SM-ST, SM-WD) to avoid possible paramagnetic interference from considerable mineral soil in the manure from the unpaved feedlot. The hypothesis was that O-alkyl C of POM should be lower for more decomposed manure types (CM than SM) and bedding materials (ST than WD), and that alkyl C, aromatic C, carboxyl C, aromaticity, and alkyl:O-alkyl (A:O-A) ratio should be greater for the more decomposed amendments. The C composition of all feedlot amendments was dominated by aromatic C (8%–14%) and O-alkyl (7%–14%) C and had considerable less contribution from carboxyl (2%–4%) and alkyl C (1%–3%). The manure type hypothesis was supported for O-alkyl C (but not for the other three C groups), aromaticity, but not the A:O-A ratio. The bedding hypothesis was supported for O-alkyl C, aromaticity, and A:O-A ratio, but not for alkyl C, aromatic C, and carboxyl C. A decrease in O-alkyl C, increase in aromaticity, and increase in A:O-A ratio (bedding only) with more decomposed manure types or bedding materials suggested that these ¹³C NMR parameters may have potential to evaluate the maturity and stability of composted feedlot manures.     

Effect of irradiance on bioremediation capacity of the red algae Chondrus crispus and Palmaria palmata

To investigate the illuminance requirements for the culture of red algae in finfish effluent, both Chondrus crispus and Palmaria palmata were assessed simultaneously at three irradiances. Apical tips, 3.5 cm length, were stocked at 2 g L^?1 in 1-L glass flasks with enriched seawater in two 24-day experiments, at 10 and 14 °C, respectively. Palmaria grew up to 70 % better and up took more nutrients than Chondrus under five of the six experimental conditions, except at 14 °C and low irradiance (daily photon dose of 3.4 mol photon m^?2 day^?1). Specific growth rate of both species at high irradiance, 13.1 and 17.2 mol photon m^?2 day^?1, at each trial, 10 and 14 °C, respectively, was 40 and 20 % better than at medium irradiance, but nutrient uptake was similar at both medium and high irradiance. Chondrus growth rate was higher during Experiment 2 (14 °C and 17.2 mol photon m^?2 day^?1) than during Experiment 1 (10 °C and 13.1 mol photon m^?2 day^?1), while Palmaria growth rate was similar in both trials, but always significantly higher than Chondrus. In the range 10–14 °C, Palmaria is the best candidate for integration with Atlantic halibut juveniles (Hippoglossus hippoglossus).