Epidemiologic studies of farmers have linked pesticides with certain cancers. Information on exposures from many of these studies was obtained by interview of farmers or their next-of-kin. The reliability and validity of data on pesticide use obtained by recall, often years after the event, have been questioned. Pesticide use, however, is an integral component in most agricultural operations, a...

Most cropland in the United States is characterized by large monocultures, whose productivity is maintained through a strong reliance on costly tillage, external fertilizers, and pesticides (Schipanski et al., 2016). Despite this, farmers have developed a regenerative model of farm production that promotes soil health and biodiversity, while producing nutrient-dense farm products profitably. Li...

Interviews with Missouri corn and soybean farmers reveal what farmers consider are important ethical challenges in agriculture. In contrast to the literature, which characterizes ethical challenges in term of philosophical debates about soil conservation, the use of pesticides and genetically modified seeds, and the treatment of animals, for instance, this research finds that farmers perceive e...

Attaining high-quality corn silage is a critical aspect of profitability for corn and animal productivity. Biotechnology traits that reduce stress likely have more potential yield benefits for silage growers than even grain farmers. The corn genomes have been sequenced. We’ve put in thousands of markers that let us tag individual genes. Breeders have tools unlike anything they’ve had in the his...

agricultural risks affect farmers’ livelihood and income, and exert detrimental influence on the environment leading farmers and rural labor to poverty. hence, farmers should try to manage the risks. the purpose of this descriptive correlational study was to address the determinants of risk management strategies applied by corn growers in kermanshah township. the statistical population of the s...

Wisconsin dairy farmers produce more corn (Zea mays L.) silage than any other state in the U.S. A University of Wisconsin corn silage research consortium evaluated corn hybrids and found that the range for NDF and digestibility among commercial hybrids is narrow, but more importantly, yield and quality differences among corn hybrids were repeatable (Coors, 1996). In 1995, an extension program w...

A 242 VOLUME 116 | NUMBER 6 | June 2008 • Environmental Health Perspectives The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 calls for the production of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2022, including 15 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol, a tripling of current production that would require a similar increase in corn production. Yet scientists are coming to understand that biofuels,...

This paper examines the relationship between various types of corn research and development (R&D) and corn prices in the United States through a fixed effects panel data model. This research explores R&D investment from both nonprofit and for-profit institutions and the effect these have corn prices. In addition, we look at the effect that corresponding exogenous changes in corn prices have on ...

Corn ethanol production is central in the United States' agrofuels initiatives. In this paper I discuss corn ethanol production in Iowa, USA and examine several dynamics: farmers' positions in agrofuel supply chains; struggles around the construction and operation of agrofuel refineries; the politics of ethanol production and regulation; and the ecological consequences of increased corn product...

The European Corn Borer (ECB), Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner), is a major corn insect pest. Estimates of damage in the United States due to ECB range between $1-$2 billion per year from yield loss and control costs (Russnogle). A common rule of thumb suggests that one borer per plant can cause a 5% yield loss if the attack occurs during the corn’s critical early development stages (see sidebar). T...