Security by a hair's breadth
Modern forensic science is being used successfully to convict cattle rustlers and other livestock thieves thanks to LIDCAT, a system developed by the Department of Animal Genetics at the ARC Animal Improvement Institute in South Africa. For a small fee, owners can register their livestock. All that is required is the completion of an encoded card, a description of the animal, and twenty to forty hairs, with roots, from the animal. In case of dispute, DNA tests can be done to establish ownership.
Lobsters can no longer hide their age
The usual way to assess the age of a lobster is by its size but this is a very unreliable method. One lobster may be ten years older than another of the same size. And yet age is an essential factor if growth rates and mortality are to be accurately assessed and management improved. A new technique developed by Matt Sheehy, a research fellow in the department of biology at Leicester University in the UK, should help fisheries' experts improve their stock assessment. The technique involves measuring the accumulation of a biochemical marker called lipofuscin. The older the lobster, the more lipofuscin in its cells.
Willow power
Farmers in Yorkshire, UK are being recruited to plant 2,000 hectares of willow within 50 miles of a new power station. The 10 megawatt pilot scheme has won a £10 million EU grant as part of the European Union's drive to find sources of "green" power generation.
Basmati rice - the right to the name continues
Indian authorities, who are already contesting a patent granted to a US commodities company for the name 'basmati', face a new threat to the name they consider to be their own. A French foods company has sought to register two trademarks containing the name basmati for selling long-grain aromatic rice in the European Union. India fears this will disrupt their own market and that farmers will suffer.
Seed power
The world's largest seed company has been formed as a result of Monsanto's purchase of Cargill's international seed operations in Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Monsanto has also purchased Delta & Pine, the US company which registered a patent on the so-called "terminator" gene. Monsanto has said that the Cargill purchase will give them quicker access to international seed markets.
Waste not, want not
Farmers in Britain are being encouraged by to take up vermiculture - the cultivation of worms. It seems that a ton of the Californian worm, dendrabaena, can turn a ton of organic household rubbish into compost in a single day. The company involved, VermiTech, says worms could provide one answer to the problem of household and industrial waste disposal. Farmers could earn useful supplementary income from worm beds which require well-drained sites that are reasonably well protected from severe weather. Meanwhile, in Norway, a fisheries biologist has put forward an idea for using farmed mussels to process the municipal waste of a coastal resort at a fraction of the cost of a new treatment plant.
