Tag Archives: News

【News】 Give our reliable mates another chance—NPO’s attempt to reintroduce horse plowing (Oct. 5, 2014)

Kotaro Yamada (Tsuru-shi, Yamanashi Prefecture) A non-profit organization (NPO), Tsuru Environment Forum, is trying to reintroduce the tradition of horse plowing in Tsuru-shi, Yamanashi Prefecture. In late September, the NPO held a seminar for local farmers to learn how to work with horses. During the seminar, one person leads a horse while another holds the plow, following the horse. Many of them had difficulties leading horses. They found that it requires skills to work with the horses in perfect harmony and plowing the field straight is not as easy as they thought. However, the reactions of the farmers were quite positive. Miwako Akiyama, 41, found that the horse plowing is … Continue reading

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【News】 Agricultural co-op report focuses on conflicts between US and Europe over food safety rules (Sept. 30, 2014)

  Ongoing negotiations between the United States and the European Union on food safety rules under the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership should be monitored closely, as the outcome of the talks could become the global standard in the future, the Central Union of Agricultural Co-operatives (JA-Zenchu) said in its newsletter published this month. In the September issue of the International Agriculture and Food Letter, JA-Zenchu reports on the TTIP negotiations, in which the U.S. and the EU are at odds over such issues as labeling of genetically modified (GM) foods, distribution of beef farmed with the use of growth hormones and geographical indications (GI). As the Doha round of … Continue reading

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【News】 Corns in mixed feed for pork pigs can be replaced with ground unhulled rice (Sept. 29, 2014)

  Replacing all the corns used in mixed feed for pork pigs with ground unhulled rice was found to have no effect on growth of the pigs, according to the Hyogo Prefectural Technology Center for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Compared to the mixed feed, the feed cost can be reduced by 10 percent, and the amount of lipid like oleic acid also increased. As one pig consumes 300 kilograms of unhulled rice before it is shipped, the center proposes this as effective utilization of rice for animal feed that the government has tried to increase in production. There were some cases in which some of the corns, whose prices remain … Continue reading

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【News】 Japan, U.S. fail to narrow gaps on agriculture, autos in TPP (Sept. 26, 2014)

  Satomi Tamai – Washington Japan and the United States ended the two-day ministerial negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks on Wednesday, Sept. 24, in Washington, failing to narrow the gaps on the automobile sector and tariffs on farm products. Lack of progress by the two countries leading the talks, without any prospects or specific schedule set to resume the negotiations, clouds a goal set by President Barack Obama for the 12 participating countries to reach a broad agreement in November. At the same time, farmers are worried as the Japanese government is considering some compromises regarding tariffs on agricultural products, including key sensitive items. Japan “made a proposal … Continue reading

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【News】 Natural flowers forbidden in more hospitals, causing repercussions in the flower market (Sept. 26, 2014)

  Shunji Kato As more hospitals began to forbid bringing fresh flowers into their facilities in order to prevent epidemics, it was found that recovering of flower demand is called for by taking measures against infections disease, according to the survey conducted by the Japanese Flower Auction Association. Some flower shops were forced to withdraw from the hospitals. As flowers are said to have an effect to heal minds, the Japanese Flower Auction Association took this situations seriously, and began investigating the current state of flower shops and planning improvement measures. The survey concerning bringing natural flowers to hospitals was conducted this spring to the 124 markets nationwide. The replies … Continue reading

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