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Vermont has new endangered species, such as plants and animals. All of which are listed in the following link.

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Vermont Center for Ecostudies | Uniting People & Science for Conservation

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In February, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department announced changes to the current list of Vermont Threatened and Endangered Species. Seven species and three habitats received updated designations.

There was cause for celebration with the delisting of the Bald Eagle and a plant called Canada Black Snakeroot ( Sanicula canadensis canadensis). As these and previous delistings demonstrate, we can recover our treasured natural heritage when conservation plans are put into action.

It took banning DDT, a chemical that caused harm to many bird species, and decades of intensive conservation work before the first Bald Eagle nest was found in Vermont in 2002 after a 60-year absence. But it wasn't until 2008 when the first eaglet successfully left its nest. By 2020, the number of fledgling eagles had risen to 64, leading to its removal from the list. Meanwhile, recent surveys by botanists found that there are now at least 14 populations of Canada Black Snakeroot, with some growing on well-protected conservation lands. Long-styled Snakeroot ( Sanicula canadensis grandis) remains listed as Threatened. Monitoring of both the eagle and snakeroot populations will continue following the delisting.

We now have a challenge ahead of us to help recover the other 53 listed animals and 164 listed plants that remain, as well as the five new species and the three new designated critical habitats now joining them.

Meet the New Additions

A species at risk of becoming locally extinct in Vermont is designated as Endangered, and those at risk of becoming Endangered without timely intervention are designated as Threatened. Learn more about each species by clicking on the scientific name and visiting the species profile on the Vermont Atlas of Life.

This flowering plant is a perennial member of the buttercup family. In Vermont, it is found in south-facing forests growing on calcareous bedrock that are hot, dry, and rocky. There are just two known populations in Vermont with less than 100 plants, and these can easily be disturbed.

This plant is only known from a single location in Vermont, where it grows in dry, sandy soils, typically in forest openings and edges or disturbed areas.

Brook Floater (Alasmidonta varicose) - Upgraded from Threatened to Endangered

Surveys indicate this freshwater mussel has experienced a severe population decline in Vermont. This species is only known to occur in the West River in Vermont. It requires clear, free-flowing waters of moderate velocity and riverbeds with a mixture of sand and gravel. The Brook Floater is one of the most endangered freshwater mussels in northeastern North America. This species is not abundant in streams anywhere it occurs, and populations are often fragmented and isolated. Declining populations have been reported in at least 12 of the 16 states where it occurs. A survey in 2021 found just one Brook Floater, but high water flows hindered surveys, and we hope results are better this year.

This was once a common bumblebee in the Northeast, but it is now rare. Once a common species in the Champlain Valley, it has not been found since a UVM student's unwitting discovery in 2000. It occupies grasslands where it nests on the ground among tufts of long grasses. VCE's Bumble Bee Atlas gathered thousands of historical records from across the state and, with the help of community scientists, surveyed the entire state from 2012-2014. There were few records before 1960, but the available data suggested a mid-century increase in American Bumblebee relative abundance, followed by a significant population decline beginning by the 1980s. Despite our survey efforts over the last decade, we have not confirmed a population yet, but recent records from New York give us hope. The results of our Vermont Bumblebee Atlas also provided the information necessary to list three other bumblebee species in 2015, and we continue to monitor bumblebees throughout the state.

Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna) - Threatened

Like the American Bumblebee, this species also relies on grasslands. The annual North American Breeding Bird Survey estimates annual North American Breeding Bird Survey estimate that they are undergoing an 8.7% annual population decline in Vermont, 8.8% in New Hampshire, and 2.5% across the continent. The 2nd Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas found a significant decrease of 55% from the first atlas. Its range changed markedly in the past half-century; the first bird atlas found that 27% of Vermont's Eastern Meadowlark population resided in the Champlain Valley, compared to over 50% during the second atlas as populations elsewhere disappeared. The primary threats to the species in Vermont are thought to be loss of agricultural habitat and increased management intensity on the remaining hay and pastureland.

Last year as part of VCE's Eastern Meadowlark Blitz, volunteers took to hayfields, binoculars in hand, to catch a glimpse of this striking bird or hear a wisp of its song, and determine their breeding status. They recorded their findings on our Vermont eBird site, where VCE biologist Kevin Tolan could see the results. Over 250 observers reported more than 800 Eastern Meadowlark observations. Based on those reports, it appears that the population is now almost entirely located in the Champlain Valley and Bennington County. Two previously unknown sites were found outside the Champlain Valley in Richford and Danville.

New Critical Habitat Designations

Places essential to populations of Endangered or Threatened species can be listed as critical habitats in Vermont. This year, the first sites were added to the list: three Common Tern Nesting islands, four Spiny Softshell nesting areas, and a bat hibernaculum.

Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) nesting islands in Lake Champlain

Common Terns were listed as endangered in Vermont in 1989 due to declining populations and low reproductive success. Breeding numbers have since rebounded due in part to the availability of these islands for nesting and their management. These islands are a mosaic of gravel, bare rock, grasses, and shrubs. Common Terns are a colonial nesting species that nest on the ground and use the bare gravel and rock surfaces for nesting. Terns have been documented nesting on the islands in Lake Champlain since the late 1800s. Green Mountain Audubon owns the islands and supported designation as critical habitat.

Bat hibernaculum in southern Vermont

This cave has been recognized as a bat hibernaculum since the mid-1900s. It is the largest hibernaculum in New England, attracting thousands of bats from all over the Northeast. It contains several Endangered bats, including a large number of Little Brown Bats (Myotis lucifugus). The area designated covers a 125-yard radius of critical habitat surrounding the cave entrance, and overlays the underground cavern. The cave is owned by The Nature Conservancy, which supported the designation.

Spiny Softshell Turtle (Apalone spinifera) nesting beaches

These four Lake Champlain nesting beaches for the Threatened turtle are managed by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department and were selected based on multiple years of monitoring. Each site supports an average of at least five nests annually. The four sites collectively account for a large proportion of all nesting activity in Vermont. Three beaches are state-owned. The fourth is privately owned, and the designation has landowner support.

VCE biologists are working every day to help understand which species and habitats are Endangered and help with their recovery. They serve on expert advisory groups for the Vermont Endangered Species Committee, author Threatened and Endangered Species Status Assessments and recovery plans, and help to actively manage some of these species. You can help by joining us as a community scientist and volunteer. By helping us build and deploy a loon raft, completing a wildlife survey for one of our projects, or helping us with annual population monitoring, there's a lot we all can do to help protect and restore our natural heritage.
View and explore information about all of Vermont's Threatened and Endangered Animals and Plants at the Vermont Atlas of Life Data Explorer.

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Meet Vermont's Newest Endangered Species | Vermont Center for Ecostudies

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The latest Vermont Endangered and Threatened species list celebrated the recovery of Bald Eagles and the Canada Black Snakeroot, while five new species and three critical habitats were added. Learn about the newest members of the list that will need our help for their recovery.

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How to make sure your houseplants are sustainable.

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The rise in demand for exotic houseplants is damaging the environment. We need to make sure our gardening is green, writes Beronda L. Montgomery

OVER dinner with friends, one half of a couple proudly declared that his resourcefulness in finding local, sustainably caught fish had allowed a watershed for him, a carnivore, and his partner, a vegetarian-leaning pescatarian. Sustainable fishing is of critical importance, because demand for seafood has caused populations of fish and shellfish around the world to become endangered, as well as leading to habitat destruction.

When I mentioned that discussions of sustainable practices for harvesting plants and gardening are also increasingly recognised, and likewise hotly debated, my friends seemed surprised. However, gardening practices and the growing of houseplants can have significant sustainability issues.

A surge in interest in gardening occurred during the pandemic. In response, many people began to sound the alarm about myriad unsustainable ways that coveted, and sometimes exotic, houseplants were being obtained, from the energetic costs of commercial glasshouses and transport to the destruction of plant communities and ecosystems due to poaching.

Recent accounts of plant poaching abound. Plants targeted include in-demand Californian succulents, carnivorous pitcher plants found in the Philippines and endangered species such as succulent button plants and lithops in South Africa.

Since 2010, the slipper orchid has been rapidly depleted; less than 1 per cent of its original population remains, threatening it with extinction. And habitats are often damaged or destroyed by those illegally harvesting plants.

While the economic benefits for the poachers are driving much of the illegal trade, the long-term economic implications have yet to be fully counted by most.

The removal of plants by poachers isn't always a careful operation and it can result in physical damage to ecosystems and disruption to the soil. The roots of plants are important for maintaining soil structure and contributing to soil health. When roots are disturbed, soil erosion is accelerated.

The plants that are removed are also members of communities and their departure means the entire community is disrupted. This leads to a decrease in plant diversity.

The impact spans far beyond the immediate loss of plants. Plant removal affects the insect and bird populations that pollinate the plants and rely on them for food and habitation. And soil erosion, coupled with the reduction and potential extinction of plants that sequester carbon, can ultimately accelerate climate change.

What can you do to contribute to sustainable practices and still engage in a love for plants? My favourite option is to propagate plants through cuttings obtained from fellow plant lovers.

Many plants can regrow roots from a cutting - sometimes simply by placing the cutting in water and waiting. So if there is a rare plant I love, such as my prized variegated Monstera, I try to find someone willing to share a cutting rather than buying a specimen, especially if I can't determine whether the seller obtains their plants sustainably.

Another option is to buy locally, and to choose plant varieties endemic to the area. I have a sentimental attachment to the fragranced, bright red and orange trumpet-shaped flowers of the cross vines ( Bignonia capreolata) grown by my grandmother and mother in Arkansas, where I was born and raised. But living in Michigan, some of the species that hark back to my youth can't be sustainably grown, as they need more water and fertiliser, or may be invasive.

Instead, I grow clematis varieties with large, beautiful flowers that are red, pink or wine-coloured, which are more ecologically friendly yet still strongly remind me of the beautiful blooms of my youth.

I also pay close attention to whether plants will require me to enrich my soil with peat - a major unsustainable gardening product that is found in almost every gardening centre - or if I will be able to use more sustainable compost.

Peat is derived from wetlands - moss-rich areas in some cases, or decomposed leaves and tree parts in tropical areas. It is often harvested faster than it can be organically replaced, thus leading to significant habitat erosion or destruction. Peatlands function as carbon sinks, so their destruction or overharvesting contributes significantly to climate change.

If our love for plants accelerates damage to, rather than honouring and protecting, the ecological niches in which they reside and thrive, then we need to question the roots of our love. We should cultivate a needed reciprocity, in which we care sustainably for the environments from which our beloved plants are derived.

Beronda's week
What I'm reading
The Cooking Gene: A journey through African American culinary history in the Old South by Michael W. Twitty
What I'm watching
At my sister's prompting, I have been watching the brave kids on Old Enough!
What I'm working on I'm editing a thesis and dissertation for graduating students - a time to celebrate all they have accomplished!

Up next week: Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

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How to make sure your houseplants are sustainable

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The rise in demand for exotic houseplants is damaging the environment. We need to make sure our gardening is green, writes Beronda L. Montgomery OVER dinner with friends, one half of a couple proudly declared that his resourcefulness in finding local, sustainably caught fish had allowed a watershed for him, a carnivore, and his partner, a vegetarian-leaning pescatarian.

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Lost or extinct? Study finds the existence of more than 500 animal species remains uncertain.

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Slot BTV168 | Situs Judi Slot Gacor & Slot88 Maxwin Terpercaya

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BTV168 adalah situs judi slot online paling gacor di indonesia, jadi tunggu apa lagi? Ayo bermain dan raih jackpot sekarang juga.

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Jellyfish's stinging cells hold clues to biodiversity.

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Chimpanzees combine calls to form numerous vocal sequences.

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3M fine $2.8 million for hazardous waste violations.

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Des Moines tries cooperation to reduce farm runoff.

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A Des Moines utility has for years engaged in a bitter struggle to clean up drinking water that comes from rivers teeming with agricultural pollutants, filing lawsuits, proposing legislation and even public shaming to try to force farmers to reduce runoff from their fields.

None of it has worked, so Des Moines Water Works is trying a less combative approach - inviting farmers to learn the latest techniques for reducing pollution at riverfront plots of corn and soybeans in the sprawling park where the utility filters the city's drinking water.

"I think it's great to have the farmers out here and show what can be done," said Jessica Barnett, who oversees management of the 1,500-acre (2.3-square mile) park little more than a mile from downtown.

It's a surprising turn in a long-running dispute between the state's dominant industry and a utility that supplies drinking water to 600,000 customers in Iowa's largest metro area.

Des Moines Water Works has complained for years that nitrates and phosphorous from farm fertilizers pour off fields, leaving rivers so polluted that the utility fears even its sophisticated and costly equipment can't purify the water. The utility's efforts to hold some upstream counties legally liable for the pollution have failed, and Republicans who control the legislature and governor's office have repeatedly rejected regulation, instead supporting voluntary programs too limited to result in real improvements.

That history makes the deal between Landus, the state's largest farmer-owned grain cooperative, and Water Works all the more surprising. Or as Matt Carstens, the president and CEO of Landus, put it: "This is an unlikely partnership."

In some ways, Carstens and Water Works CEO Ted Corrigan said the new initiative is possible only because the earlier, more confrontational approaches failed.

"Whatever we've tried in the past hasn't been as successful as this could be," Carstens said.

Under the plan, Landus has planted corn, soybeans and a cover crop of rye and red clover on three plots totaling about 12,000 square feet (1,100 square meters) near a bend in the Raccoon River that, along with the Des Moines River, meets the city's water needs.

Landus plans to bring in about 500 farmers through the summer to examine the plots and learn how they can confidently scale back their use of fertilizer, with more advanced monitoring and by planting cover crops that grow alongside the main crop and naturally infuse the soil with nitrate.

Dan Bjorkland, a soil expert at Landus, said he's especially hopeful the company's efforts will encourage more planting of cover crops, now used by less than 10% of Iowa farmers despite the clear benefits in preventing erosion and creating healthy soil. Some farmers might be more willing to consider planting cover crops because fertilizer prices have reached record highs due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which disrupted supply chains.

"We have the technology today in agriculture to apply exactly what you need," Bjorkland said. "I call it the Goldilocks method of nutrient management. You don't want too much but you have to have enough to get the production you need."

Jeff Frank, a corn and soybean farmer from northwest Iowa who attended a presentation on the new effort last week, said farmers used to be encouraged to apply more fertilizer than needed to ensure they had enough.

"We were coached that way, to put down a little extra, to have a little in the bank," Frank said. "The technology has come a long way and that isn't the case anymore."

Corrigan, of Water Works, said he's hopeful the demonstration plots along with other efforts by local governments to build streamside buffer zones will pay off in cleaner water. Corrigan also credited Landus for acknowledging that large-scale agriculture needs to take a lead in cleaning up Iowa's waterways.

But Corrigan said he still believes some form of increased regulation is needed to significantly reduce runoff from the state's roughly 85,000 farms.

"I don't think it can be done without some sort of legislative action that sets minimum expectations and what we're doing now is to show it can be done. Ag and clean waterways can coexist," he said. "And maybe someday the Legislature will see it can be done and say, everyone needs to do it."

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Follow Scott McFetridge on Twitter: https://twitter.com/smcfetridge

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Des Moines tries cooperation to reduce farm runoff

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A Des Moines utility has for years engaged in a bitter struggle to clean up drinking water that comes from rivers teeming with agricultural pollutants, filing lawsuits, proposing legislation and even public shaming to try to force farmers to reduce runoff from their fields.

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One farmer's seaweed discovery could help slow methane emissions - and change the world.

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/ CBS News

As the effects of climate change accelerate, the U.N. says the strongest lever we have to reduce global warming is to curb the emissions of the greenhouse gas: methane. But emissions continue to accelerate.

There may, however, be a game-changing method to slow methane emissions. On Prince Edward Island in Canada, farmer Joe Dorgan's unlikely discovery has the potential to change the world.

Dorgan, who founded North Atlantics Organics, which produces and distributes organic seaweed, stumbled upon what is nothing short of a climate miracle - the seeds of which were planted through five generations of family farming along the shores of Prince Edward Island. Back then, farmers harvested seaweed for feed and fertilizer.

So while beachgoers may consider seaweed nuisance, Dorgan knew from experience it was teeming with potential, CBS News meteorologist and climate specialist Jeff Berardelli reported for "CBS Saturday Morning." He sent samples of it to Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia to test for organic certification. Through that, it was discovered that the high uptake of natural vitamins and minerals in seaweed drove up reproduction and milk production in cows.

Dorgan knew instinctively that seaweed would be healthy for cows, but research revealed an unintended consequence: seaweed made cows less gassy.

Globally, methane is responsible for 30% of global warming. Of that, livestock, such as cattle, account for about one-third of all methane emissions.

"They [researchers] found out that feeding seaweed to cattle would reduce greenhouse gases by as high as 40%," Dorgan said.

Digesting roughage requires extra digestion from cows and causes cows to burp more. Those burps emit methane, a heat-trapping greenhouse gas that's 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

In a year, a cow emits as much greenhouse gas as a small car. Because animal numbers have skyrocketed to help feed a growing human population, livestock now accounts for 15% of global emissions.

The increase motivated chief scientist at Futurefeed, Rob Kinley, who worked with Dorgan on his organic certification 15 years ago, to find a seaweed species with even more methane-reducing power.

"We started testing seaweeds from coastal Australia, and it wasn't long before the Asparagopsis species showed up, and it showed up in a big way. So big that we didn't even believe what we were seeing," Kinley said. "It took multiple runs of testing this before we believed what we were seeing, which was we couldn't find methane anymore."

Kinley's research showed Asparagopsis, a common type of red seaweed, has the potential to virtually eliminate methane emissions from livestock. But there are some obstacles to overcome - it's not easy to harvest from the ocean, so scientists are experimenting with farming it.

Kinely's team, along with others like Josh Goldman, project leader at Greener Grazing, are getting much closer to perfecting the techniques.

"The way that it shifts the ruminant function in the cow also makes the animal more energy efficient," Goldman said.

Goldman is encouraged by the seaweed's versatility. He said cultivation only takes about 90 days, allowing for multiple cycles per year, and it can be grown by aquaculture operations almost anywhere if the climate is suitable.

Feeding the 1.5 billion cows in the world, however, is a big lift.

"There are a lot of mouths to feed. But the good news is we only need to feed those cows 0.2% of their daily ration," said Goldman.

Still, there's the challenge of encouraging cow owners to use the seaweed supplement.

For that, Goldman says there's an incentive: adding seaweed to a cow's diet means they consume less food. And, he says, dairy farmers and cattle ranchers will likely be able to cash in, selling carbon credits for the emissions they reduce.

Eliminating almost all methane from almost all cow's on Earth "would have a tremendous impact, roughly equivalent to eliminating all the emissions from the U.S., or the equivalent of taking every car off the road globally," Goldman said.

That's a long way off, but then again, Kinley's work has come a long way since his initial discovery 15 years ago.

"This will be a much bigger story even 12 months, 18 months from now. ... I am optimistic," Kinely said.

While there's lots of optimism for this seaweed product, critics say it hasn't yet been proven at scale. It's clear that methane reduction from seaweed is effective in the short-term, but there's some fear that its effects may diminish over time as the cow's digestive systems adapt.

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One farmer's seaweed discovery could help slow methane emissions - and change the world

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CBS News As the effects of climate change accelerate, the U.N. says the strongest lever we have to reduce global warming is to curb the emissions of the greenhouse gas: methane. But emissions continue to accelerate. There may, however, be a game-changing method to slow methane emissions.

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New Zealand on verge of wiping out painful cattle disease.

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WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - New Zealand is on the verge of eradicating a painful disease from its herd of 10 million cattle after a four-year campaign that has cost hundreds of millions of dollars and resulted in more than 175,000 cows being killed.

Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor said Thursday that 271 farms had been cleared of Mycoplasma bovis and only a single farm in the country still had the bacterial disease. New Zealand would be the first country that has managed to wipe it out completely.

In an interview with The Associated Press, O'Connor said it had been a traumatic process for affected farmers. If an infection was found on a farm, even healthy cows were killed to ensure the disease was stamped out.

"I'd say every farmer was very unhappy about having to see their herd be culled," O'Connor said. "These are people who have strong connections, commitment and investment in their animals."

Farming is the nation's biggest export earner and vital to its economy. When Mycoplasma bovis was first discovered in New Zealand in 2017, it prompted a huge response from the government, which concluded there was a one-off opportunity to wipe out the disease before it spread widely.

Found in cattle in the U.S. and Europe, Mycoplasma bovis is a bacteria that can cause cows to develop mastitis, pneumonia, arthritis and other painful conditions. The bacteria is not considered a threat to food safety, but the resulting diseases in cows can cause distress and result in lower milk and beef yields.

O'Connor said the final farm with the disease was a feed yard where cattle came to be fattened before slaughter. He said the farm would be cleaned of the disease later this year, and it would take several more months of monitoring around the country after that to declare victory.

He said the New Zealand campaign was groundbreaking.

"It is hugely significant, and I think there are other countries that have M. bovis that will be seeking to find out more about their options to eradicate as well," O'Connor said.

He said the final cost for the eradication program will likely come in slightly under the budgeted 886 million New Zealand dollars ($580 million), money that has gone toward operations, surveillance and compensation. The government is picking up most of the tab, with farmers and the cattle industry also contributing.

It's unclear how the disease first entered New Zealand, which has strict biosecurity controls. One theory is it arrived in imported bull semen.

Fiona Doolan-Noble, a senior research fellow at the University of Otago who studied the eradication program, said government officials at first could have done a better job listening to the expertise of local veterinarians and farmers, but she thought communications had improved over time.

She said there was a chance the disease could re-enter New Zealand, although the country's experience not only with the disease but also with COVID-19 had raised awareness for the need of more stringent biosecurity measures.

New Zealand has 6.3 million dairy cows and 4 million beef cattle, making its total herd twice the size of its human population. Milk products represent the country's largest single export, with much of it sold to China where it is used in infant formula.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the government's partnership with those in the farming industry had been crucial to the success of the program.

"When we took our one shot to eradicate we did so to protect our national herd from a painful disease, our economy from a sharp shock, and our rural communities from widespread anxiety," Ardern said.

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New Zealand on verge of wiping out painful cattle disease

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WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - New Zealand is on the verge of eradicating a painful disease from its herd of 10 million cattle after a four-year campaign that has cost hundreds of millions of dollars and resulted in more than 175,000 cows being killed.

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State asks live poultry sales to end because of bird flu.

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Severe water shortages strain wheat harvest in Iraq.

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BAGHDAD (AP) - Salah Chelab crushed a husk of wheat plucked from his sprawling farmland south of Baghdad and inspected its seeds in the palm of one hand. They were several grams lighter than he hoped.

"It's because of the water shortages," he said, the farm machine roaring behind him, cutting and gathering his year's wheat harvest.

Chelab had planted most of his 10 acres (4 hectares) of land, but he was only able to irrigate a quarter of it after the Agriculture Ministry introduced strict water quotas during the growing season, he said. The produce he was growing on the rest of it, he fears, "will die without water."

At a time when worldwide prices for wheat have soared due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Iraqi farmers say they are paying the price for a government decision to cut irrigation for agricultural areas by 50%.

The government took the step in the face of severe water shortages arising from high temperatures and drought - believed to be fueled by climate change - and ongoing water extraction by neighboring countries from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. All those factors have heavily strained wheat production.

Wrestling with the water shortage, Iraq's government has been unable to tackle other long-neglected issues.

Desertification has been blamed as a factor behind this year's relentless spate of sandstorms. At least 10 have hit the country in the past few months, covering cities with a thick blanket of orange dust, grounding flights and sending thousands to hospitals.

"We need water to solve the problem of desertification, but we also need water to secure our food supplies," said Essa Fayadh, a senior official at the Environment Ministry. "We don't have enough for both."

Iraq relies on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers for nearly all of its water needs. Both flow into Iraq from Turkey and Iran. Those countries have constructed dams that have either blocked or diverted water, creating major shortages in Iraq.

Water Resources Minister Mahdi Rasheed told The Associated Press that river levels were down 60% compared to last year.

For Chelab, less water has meant a smaller grain size and lower crop yields.

In 2021, Chelab produced 30,000 tons of wheat, the year before that 32,000, receipts from Trade Ministry silos show. This year, he expects no more than 10,000.

His crops are both rain-fed and irrigated via a channel from the Euphrates. Due to low precipitation levels, he has had to rely on the river water during the growing season, he said.

Government officials say change is necessary.

The current system has been inefficient and unsustainable for decades. Water scarcity is leaving them no choice but to push to modernize antiquated and wasteful farming techniques.

"We have a strategic plan to face drought considering the lack of rain, global warming, and the lack of irrigation coming from neighboring countries as we did not get our share of water entitlements," said Hamid al-Naif, spokesman at the Agriculture Ministry.

The ministry took measures to devise new types of drought-resistant wheat and introduce methods to increase crop yields.

"We are still dealing with irrigation systems of the 1950s. It has nothing to do with the farmers," he said. "The state must make it efficient, we must force the farmer to accept it."

Iraqi farmers have historically been heavily dependent on the state in the production of food, a reliance that policymakers and experts said drains government funds.

The Agriculture Ministry supports farmers by providing everything from harvesting tools, seeds, fertilizers and pesticides at a subsidized rate or for free. Water diverted from rivers for irrigation is given at no cost. The Trade Ministry then stores or buys produce from farmers and distributes it to markets.

Wheat is a key strategic crop, accounting for 70% of total cereal production in the country.

Planting starts in October and harvest typically begins in April and extends to June in some areas. Last year, the Agriculture Ministry slashed subsidies for fertilizers, seeds and pesticides, a move that has angered farmers.

Local demand for the staple is between 5-6 million tons a year. But local production is shrinking with each passing year. In 2021, Iraq produced 4.2 million tons of wheat, according to the Agriculture Ministry. In 2020, it was 6.2 million tons.

"Today we might get 2.5 million tons at best," said al-Naif. That would require Iraq to drive up imports.

Most of the wheat harvest is usually sold to the Trade Ministry. In a sign of the low harvest, so far there are currently only 373,000 tons of wheat available in Trade Ministry storehouses, al-Naif said.

To meet demands amid the recent global crisis in the grain market, the government recently changed a policy to allow all Iraqi farmers to sell their produce to the Trade Ministry silos. Previously, this was limited to farmers who operated within the government plan.

Back in Chelab's farm, the wheat is ready to be transported to the silo.

"It's true we need to develop ourselves," he said. "But the change should be gradual, not immediate."

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Severe water shortages strain wheat harvest in Iraq

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BAGHDAD (AP) - Salah Chelab crushed a husk of wheat plucked from his sprawling farmland south of Baghdad and inspected its seeds in the palm of one hand. They were several grams lighter than he hoped. "It's because of the water shortages," he said, the farm machine roaring behind him, cutting and gathering his year's wheat harvest.

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Management changes could lower feed bill.

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Producers may be tempted to look for alternative feedstuffs when grain prices are high, but there are other options to decrease that feed bill.

At the top of the list could be better management.

"Reducing feed waste is really an easy percentage of feed costs that you can recover," says Dan Loy, Iowa State University Extension beef specialist and director of the Iowa Beef Center.

He says bunk management should always be a priority. Make sure feed isn't being dumped on the ground and that bunks are in good shape.

Storage can also impact feed costs. Loy says to keep big round bales out of the dirt, or perhaps construct a commodity shed to store distillers and other corn co-products.

"There are many things you can do to reduce spoilage," he says.

Cattle could also move through the feedlot more quickly. Loy says that could include backgrounding.

"Nationally, the supply of hay and forage is tight, but locally we are in better shape," he says. "Backgrounding could be a possibility before finishing them."

Loy says using implants can also move animals through the feedlot more quickly. He says using beta agonists can add weight without increasing feed consumption.

Most feeders already use some type of ethanol co-product, says Alfredo DiCostanzo, Extension beef educator with the University of Nebraska. He says distillers have generally tracked favorably with corn, but says prices may be higher than many like at the moment.

With feed costs so high, DiCostanzo says now might be a good time to evaluate your entire system.

"We can look at how good we are at storing feed," he says. "Are we having problems with pests and water? How much of the feed is blowing away or lying on the ground?

"Just by making a few adjustments, you could recover 3 to 10% of what you lost and in years like this one, that's extremely important."

Storing hay may also need to be addressed.

"If it was stored wet last fall, you may have issues with mold and mycotoxins," DiCostanzo says. "What sounds a little expensive could end up being really expensive."

Loy says feed costs are not likely to come down substantially any time soon. He says keeping a close eye on the cattle could help save dollars.

"Things as simple as making sure those bunks are slick and that feed is finding its way into the bunk can really pay off," he says. "When prices are high like they are right now, every ounce of feed is important."

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Management changes could lower feed bill

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Producers may be tempted to look for alternative feedstuffs when grain prices are high, but there are other options to decrease that feed bill. At the top of the list could be better management. "Reducing feed waste is really an easy percentage of feed costs that you can recover," says Dan Loy, Iowa State University Extension beef specialist and director of the Iowa Beef Center.

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