Adventure Ausrama Blog

It is said that ancient humans settled down because they wanted to turn grain  (they did not use barley then)  into beer. This is unlikely: How did they know how to make beer before they had the bread and learned how yeast worked? Note that the original beer did not have hops. This beer was not that fizzy. it was like a soup. The euphoric feeling you get from drinking alcohol led to it being included in ritual and worship of prehistoric people. Moreover, we all know how imbibing improves social interaction. Ancient societies liked it so much that it became embedded in their culture. Identifying when the first beer was made is difficult. The remains of prehistoric malted grain can be identified by thinning of aleurone cell walls Grains from five sites were obtained. Researchers simulated the preservation process of ancient beer. They malted barley grain by charring. This was compared with the ancient grains. Findings were evaluated for more than a year. Fin...

It is said that ancient humans settled down because they wanted to turn grain  (they did not use barley then)  into beer. This is unlikely: How did they know how to make beer before they had the bread and learned how yeast worked? Note that the original beer did not have hops. This beer was not that fizzy. it was like a soup. The euphoric feeling you get from drinking alcohol led to it being included in ritual and worship of prehistoric people. Moreover, we all know how imbibing improves social interaction. Ancient societies liked it so much that it became embedded in their culture. Identifying when the first beer was made is difficult. The remains of prehistoric malted grain can be identified by thinning of aleurone cell walls Grains from five sites were obtained. Researchers simulated the preservation process of ancient beer. They malted barley grain by charring. This was compared with the ancient grains. Findings were evaluated for more than a year. Fin...

The whole world is getting richer.  Many people don't just eat beef anymore. They consumer premium quality and high priced Wagyu. It can cost as much as $200 a kilogram.  Over valued? Perhaps so.  I don't buy it.  Then I am just too ordinary to care about. It is the fastest growing breed.  With cattlemen tripping over each other to get their hands on some young ones.  It seems they are on to a good thing.  The future looks really good with growing demand.  Even meat from part bloods is fetching a solid price. Trade descriptors of Wagyu are complex.  Fifty percent with a Wagyu and another breed is termed F1.  There are grades for quarter, eights and so on.  A genome test is on its way to clearly define part Wagyu.  This will end suspect claims by some growers of their partials. Demand is greatly exceeding supply at present.  Supply will rapidly rise in the next few years, however.  It is the high price th...

Animal genetics in Australia is going strong. Exports of genetic material is growing particularly in Columbia, Chile and Mexico. The world generally is its oyster.  Semen is the primary export product. Chile imports bovine semen while sheep and goat semen is purchased by Columbia. Latin America is the main market. Australia has a way to go to reach the U.S. and Canada. However, it is quickly catching up. The quality of Australian beef is high and breeds suit the climate of South America. Sheep and goats are highly regarded. Surprisingly, even canine semen is exported to SA. Embryos are also sent there. ◆ Genetics by Ty Buchanan   ◆ Adventure Australia Funny Animal Photos Funny Weird Things Articles News Reviews ● Vista Computer Solutions Blog                Australian Blog   ★   Adventure Australia ALL BLOG ARTICLES · ──► ( BLOG HOME PAGE) . . . . . . . . . . . . ....

No longer will Australian farmers waste their time working land that has no future. Satellite technology has improved to the point where moisture level of farmland can be determined. Waiting for rain that will make no difference is info that farmers can now 'bank' on. Measuring moisture level is now something done by computer, from aerial surveys. The labor-intensive, time-consuming chore is a thing of the past. Soil that has potential rejuvenation can be targetted. The cost is out of the reach of individual farmers at present but the price is falling. It is possible, if use of the new technology becomes widespread, that the output of certain crops can be estimated. Potential shortages will be foreseen and action taken in future plantings. When weather predictions are included the position of markets months ahead will be known. ✴ Technology by Ty Buchanan ✴ http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://advent...

About the only way for a business to succeed in this day and age is to improve productivity by developing new technology not by breaking employees' backs. Increasing productivity by making people work harder has never worked. It is only successful in the short term. The Costa Group which exports high quality citrus fruit to Japan has installed an infrared Brix sensor system to improve the selection of the best for export. There will be no rejection by customers because the Brix scale shows how sweet an orange is for example. There is also higher sales of blemished fruit that are very sweet according to the scale. It seems odd that the Brix system is not shown to domestic customers. There is a down side: minerals and trace elements are not measured. However, there is no doubt that Australian consumers would like the Brix scale placed on the sales price ticket of fruit. Like keeping out New Zealand apples, Australian growers will go to extremes to sell low quality produce....

Australia is one the world's major producers of wheat. If climate change reduces national output there will be widespread consequences. The economy will suffer with the need to import wheat. Internationally, a wheat shortage will put prices up and many poor people will have to go without. On the positive side some regions of Australia will get more rain. People will still be able to "fatten up" on sugar and rice, despite research showing that sugar contains no nourishment whatsoever for the human body. Two centuries ago a group of British sailors was shipwrecked on the west coast of Africa. The ship was beached. Even though the ship had a full load of West Indian sugar they all died of malnutrition. Getting back to the main point. There will be competition for arable land pushing land prices up. There is also a link between the land and sea. Climate change will reduce the fish catch. Living in the bush will become impossible with farming failing to prop...

The age of entitlement is over for Australia - unless of course you vote for the Coalition. This is the the message of the A$324 million drought package comes across to Australians living in cities. The motor industry got not support, neither did SPC. Eighty per cent of Queensland is suffering drought. It is a serious crisis. However, a government must be seen to be consistent. Taking the hammer to trade unions is to be expected from a conservative government. The Liberal-National Government is not in the center politically in Australia. It is definitely conservative: plainly an anachronism that we have to live with. The National Party would bring back tariffs if they had the power, but they will remain Liberal Party lap dogs forever. Of course, other countries put up barriers against agricultural imports, so Australia should do the same. However, how can a government say one thing and act in a contrary manner. It cannot be taken seriously. A turn here, a flip there ...

There is always conflict between industry and the natural ecosystem. With the arrival of extraction and even mass agriculture comes pollution detrimental to the flora and fauna. This is no different in Aboriginal regions as in urbanized cities. Dean Mathews is a Yawuru Aboriginal and Project Officer for the Nyamba Buru Yawuru Aboriginal Corporation. He monitors the impact on groundwater by agriculture and mining. He has made a video. It is significant that the location he tested did not have any visible industry there, so it would be expected that the water was still pure. Test the water adjacent to mining activity and the results would be quite different. Much has been made of Aboriginal cooperation with industry - too much for my liking. One has the feeling that local Aboriginal have been duped. The mining industry employs people whose sole motivation is to change public opinion to accept the "job-creating" mining companies. The problem is of course that f...

It seems that we have pushed the peak oil period further forward by obtaining coal seam gas from just about everywhere we look. Fracking does damage the environment and the current freedom for the gas companies could be curtailed. When peak oil is reached the impact on Australia's rural areas will be significant. Supplies of oil will fall and prices for the scarce commodity will rise. Farmers use advanced machinery to sow, plant and harvest food crops. If governments set priorities then agriculture will have to be given precedence over private use. Transport will be next in line. There are two aspects of transport. Movement of food is very important, but as people will not be able to freely use their cars they will opt for public transport to get to their places of employment. People will have to live with limited mobility as they did in the days of the horse and buggy. A day out will be a luxury. Economies will go into recession as trade slows down. Perhaps people will ...

It may be hard to believe, but Tasmania has a thriving truffle industry.  Perigord, the company that began truffle growing in Australia, has a trained team of dogs to search out the valuable product. Something is damaging the crop.  A beetle related to the European truffle beetle has appeared.  Truffle beetles have not been studied to a great extent.  Until now the fungus has been pest free.  In Europe they are also destroyed by flies, gnats, and larvae.  Because the European truffle has only been here for about thirty years, growing them was easy.  The pests have found them and are attacking.  It seems the local beetle likes them too.  Moreover, the European snail has inadvertently been imported. There is a problem in doing research to identify the culprits.  Truffles must be dug up to be examined before they ripen.  Once brought into the light at this early stage they are no good for the market. Using pesticides as is done in Eu...

Enjoy "cheap" food prices now, because they are going to rise and stay high long into the future. The world population is increasing and developing countries are developing Western tastes. Meat demand is increasing, particularly beef. When drought hits, like in Russia, the US, Ukraine and Kazakhstan at present, high demand pushes food prices up. Farmers reap the benefit. South Australian farmers are getting 30 per cent more for grain. Though Australia relies on the export of minerals for income, it is hoped that this country will be one of the world's future food baskets. Everyone concentrates on the mineral industry. Note that SA's agricultural income rose by at third from 2009-10 to 2010-11. This is a result of food being at record high prices over the last two months. When the US cannot supply Australia jumps in as provider. This has always been the case. The reverse is also true. Another factor in rising prices is that local consumers are moving to ch...

The war over genetic manipulation of crops and the human body has not yet been won be either side. Recently Greenpeace destroyed a crop of modified wheat that had been genetically altered to raise fiber content which was intended to reduce bowel cancer. Cross contamination of non-modified crops on farms adjacent to land where GM food is grown was given as the reason for the attack. There are many dangers with gene replacement technology: Possible birth defects Anti-biotic resistance Control of patented GM seeds Vertical control of food chain Changes to soil balance Horizontal gene change to related crops Both sides of Australian politics support gene manipulation. Just why this is the case is a big question. Many Australians are troubled by GM use, though not so much by gene treatment in medicine. Like the nuclear power disaster in Japan, one gene related "accident" may end the optimism. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ ...

Air passengers have been crying fowl because of the volcanic ash problems in Europe and South America. It is not only humans who are suffering. Sheep and cattle have no grass to eat because ash on the ground has turned to sludge. The provinces of Rio Negro, Chubut and Neuquen in Argentina are in dire straits. Farmers have to put sheep in pens and feed them. There is no clean pasture to move them to. Many farmers from the Atlantic Ocean to Chile have nothing to give their sheep and there is a shortage of pens. There are fears that sheep and cows could go blind if they eat the poisonous sludge. Cows and horses are trying to separate clean grass with their hooves but sheep cannot remove the ash so easily. The volcanic ash is a phenomenon farmers have never faced before. Local deer are blindly stumbling around. Cows have already lost a quarter of their weight. Argentina is one of the world's major beef exporters. If the volcano remains active meat prices could soon rise. htt...