New agricultural management practices developed by Florida scientists and taught by extension educators have reduced the amount of phosphorus entering the Everglades by 51 percent over the past three years. Wiley's alive and well in Texas. The scientists wrap oral rabies vaccines in dog food or fish meal and drop it into the coyote habitat from air-planes. The program slashed the number of coyote rabies cases in an affected region from 70 to 2, and research suggests that nearly 90 percent of coyotes have now ingested the vaccine. Dust in the wind.
Soil erosion is a serious problem in production agriculture.
The deep field-tilling techniques used by farmers for years leave topsoil vulnerable to wind and water erosion, depleting this essential resource for future crops. In addition, deep tilling requires equipment, fuel, and labor, and these costs add up. A similar program in Washington uses perennial wheat to reduce erosion on highly vulnerable land. Penn State is using crown vetch and other cover crops as a mulch system to significantly cut the amount of nitrogen fertilizer needed to grow corn and soybeans. Similar results are being seen with tobacco and tomato production in Tennessee, where no-till methods are cutting erosion by 90 percent.