Black farmers/farms: The search for equity

Black farmers are still Black farmers, yet now are considered a part of minority or small or limited resource farmers/ranchers (SLRF/R) by the Department of Agriculture. Except for a few Southern states, their numbers have fallen from a remnant to a fragment in recent years. They continue to leave agriculture at a faster rate than whites. What few programs the Department has for this category of producers (SLRF/R) show genuine promise, provided they are pursued diligently by the Congress and the Department. Also vigorous enforcement of civil rights laws and directives of the Secretary and the new initiatives by the Office of Civil Rights Enforcement (OCRE) have to be sustained.     

Blood vitamin and choline concentrations in healthy domestic cats, dogs, and horses

Blood concentrations of thiamin, biotin, nicotinates, pantothenates, folates, riboflavin, vitamins A, B6, B12, C, E, beta-carotene and choline were analyzed in healthy animals (23 horses, 25 dogs, and 29 cats). B-Complex vitamins and choline also were analyzed in the liver of the dogs and cats. Vitamin concentrations in the blood and livers of dogs were similar; however, blood vitamin A and beta-carotene concentrations were lower in the cat than in the dog. Horses had a higher B12 blood concentration than did the dogs and cats. These data can be useful for detecting overt and hidden vitamin deficits in these species due to various conditions.     

Book reviews

Paul Thompson is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M University. He is currently conducting research under a grant from the National Science Foundation, Ethics and Value Studies program on the role of ethics and values in the planning of agricultural research activities, and completing a textbook entitledEthics, Public Policy and Agiculture with Eileen Olsen VanRavenswaay and Robert Matthews slated for publication by Macmillan in 1990.