News

USDA to purchase $126 million in fruits, vegetables

The USDA announced that it plans on purchasing up to $126.4 million in fruits and vegetables. The food items will then be distributed to needy families under the agency’s Emergency Food Assistance Program.

Tart cherries, processed apples, cranberries, fresh tomatoes, wild blueberries, and raisins are among the fruits and veggies being purchased. The food will be given to states for distribution to food banks and other local agencies.

“Food distribution programs are a vital part of our Nation’s nutrition safety net, and today’s food purchases will give communities additional means to help those in need,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said.

The purchase is designed to provide high-quality, wholesome, domestically produced foods to low-income families in need of emergency food assistance. Items purchased through the program are paid for with funds appropriated for it, or are procured through the USDA’s market support programs.

For more: http://goo.gl/nDgcKZ
 

Citrus fruit component blocks harmful kidney disease

Research coming out of the United Kingdom has identified that naringenin, a component of citrus fruits, successfully blocks the formation of kidney cysts. 

Polycystic kidney disease, which causes the cysts, is an inherited disorder that leads to the loss of kidney function, high blood pressure, and dialysis. There are few treatment options available. The research team’s discovery could be the next step in a cure.

The discovery was tested using a mammalian kidney cell-line, in which the team triggered the formation of cysts. They were then able to block the cysts by adding naringenin. Ultimately, the research revealed that naringenin could regulate PKD2 levels, the protein responsible for polycystic kidney disease, and successfully block the formation of cysts.

The findings were published in the British Journal of Pharmacology. Research was conducted by a team of scientists from Royal Holloway, St. George’s, University of London and Kingston University London. The research was funded by a SWan (SouthWest London Academic Network) research grant.

For more: http://www.rhul.ac.uk
 

Horticultural Research Institute and AmericanHort to form Partnership

The Horticultural Research Institute  (HRI) and AmericanHort announced the formation of a strategic alliance to support and promote research benefiting all horticulture industries. The collaboration will accelerate research efforts in the areas of industry survival issues, sustainability, marketing, and technology.

The new alliance brings together HRI’s 52-year history as a horticulture industry research and educational foundation and AmericanHort’s vision to unite, promote, and advance the profession. AmericanHort was launched January 1, 2014 through the consolidation of the American Nursery & Landscape Association (ANLA) and OFA - The Association of Horticulture Professionals.

The Horticultural Research Institute’s mission is to direct, fund, promote, and communicate horticulture research.

For more:  www.hriresearch.org; www.americanhort.org
 

Let there be light

A park ib the west Kootenay region of British Columbia will soon feature a glowing public greenhouse thanks to the generous donation of grow lights from Martech Electric and IBEW union local 1003.

The greenhouse is located at Lakeside Park and is operated by SEEDS, the Seniors Economic Development Society. One of SEEDS’s goals is to grow organic greens for community use. The lights arrived at the greenhouse shortly before Christmas and are now fully operational.

“The greenhouse looks like a radiant floating vessel, illuminating the park,” said SEEDS coordinator Lee Reid. “We now have 12 hours of sunshine, daily, which will send us into a level of food production that we never dreamed was possible.”

For more: http://goo.gl/XwhceM
 

Art contest invites kids to draw 'green spaces'

Project Evergreen and Birds & Blooms magazine, a Reader’s Digest publication, announced the fourth annual “Art of Green Spaces Poster Contest.”

The contest asks students in kindergarten through 12th grade to create a poster that exemplifies their artistic skills while describing what “green spaces” mean to them. The 2013 contest had more than 1,300 entries from 40 states.

Participants are divvied into four age groups: kindergarten through second grade, third through sixth grade, seventh through ninth grade, and tenth through twelfth grade. First place winners will receive $100. Second place winners will receive $50 and third place winners will receive $25.Submissions should be sent between Feb. 1 and March 31. Judges will make their determinations in April and winners will be notified in May.

The full list of contest rules, along with last year’s winning entries, can be found at the group’s website, www.projectevergreen.org.

For more:  www.projectevergreen.org/aogs/