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Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.) is one of the primary perennial forages in the southeastern USA. Newer hybrid cultivars have superior production and nutritive value compared to common ecotypes. However, there are many challenges facing bermudagrass production in the region. First, the bermudagrass stem maggot (BSM; Atherigona reversura Villeneuve) has severely damaged bermudagrass throughout the region. Strategically timed pyrethroid applications significantly reduce adult BSM populations, but efforts are needed to develop integrated pest management plans. Second, an increasing number of producers are noting challenges with green‐up following winter dormancy. This may be attributed to disease, unbalanced soil fertility, and weed pressure. Perhaps one of the most limiting factors for continued production is the deficit of sprigs and trained personnel to sprig hybrid bermudagrasses. This research is critically important as the need for cold‐tolerant bermudagrass is increasing as tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) S. J. Darbyshire) is declining due to changes in temperature and precipitation throughout the northern parts of the region. Plant breeders are investigating hybrid bermudagrass at latitudes >35° with respect to freeze or cold tolerance. Despite the many challenges facing hybrid bermudagrass in the southeastern USA, researchers are working to ensure its persistence, productivity, and availability for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For nearly 40 years, the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has implemented practices to reduce soil erosion, improve water quality, and provide habitat for wildlife and pollinators on highly erodible cropland in the United States. However, an approximately 40,470 ha (10 million acres) decline in enrolled CRP land over the last decade has greatly reduced the program's environmental benefits. We sought to assess the program's enduring benefits in the central and western United States by (1) determining the proportion of fields that persist in CRP cover after contracts expired, (2) identifying the type of agricultural production that CRP fields shift to after contract expiration, (3) comparing the vegetation characteristics of expired CRP fields that are persisting in CRP‐type cover with enrolled CRP fields, and (4) identifying differences in management activities (e.g., haying, grazing) between expired and enrolled CRP fields. We conducted edge‐of‐field vegetation cover surveys in 1092 CRP fields with contracts that expired ≥3 years prior and 1786 currently enrolled CRP fields in 14 states. We found that 41% of expired CRP fields retained at least half of their area in CRP‐type cover, with significant variation in persistence among regions ranging from 19% to 84%. When expired fields retained CRP vegetation, bare ground was low in all regions and grass cover was somewhat greater than in fields with current CRP contracts, but at the expense of forb cover in some regions. Evidence of more frequent management in expired CRP fields may explain differences between active and expired CRP fields. Overall, there is clear evidence that CRP‐type cover frequently persists and provides benefits for more than three years after contract expiration. Retaining CRP‐type cover, post‐contract, is an under‐recognized program benefit that persists across the central and western United States long after the initial retirement from cropland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sentinel-2 Level 2 Prototype Processor (SL2P) is made available to users for the retrieval of vegetation biophysical variables including leaf area index (LAI) from Multispectral Instrument (MSI) data within the Sentinel Application Platform (SNAP). A limited number of validation exercises have indicated SL2P LAI retrievals frequently meet user requirements over agricultural environments, but perform comparatively poorly over heterogeneous canopies such as forests. Recently, a modified version of SL2P was developed, using the directional area scattering factor (DASF) to constrain retrievals as an alternative to regularisation (SL2P-D). Whilst SL2P makes use of prior information on expected canopy conditions, SL2P-D is trained using uniform distributions of input parameters to define radiative transfer model (RTM) simulations. Using in situ measurements available through the Copernicus Ground Based Observations for Validation (GBOV) service, we performed an extensive validation of SL2P and SL2P-D LAI retrievals over 19 sites throughout the United States. For effective LAI (LAI e), SL2P demonstrated good overall performance (RMSD = 0.50, NRMSD = 31%, bias = −0.10), with all LAI retrievals meeting the Sentinels for Science (SEN4SCI) uncertainty requirements over homogeneous canopies (cultivated crops, grasslands, pasture/hay and shrub/scrub), whilst underestimation occurred over heterogeneous canopies (deciduous forest, evergreen forest, mixed forest, and woody wetlands). SL2P-D retrievals demonstrated reduced bias, slightly improving overall performance when compared with SL2P (RMSD = 0.48, NRMSD = 30%, bias = −0.05), indicating its retrieval approach appears to offer some advantages over regularisation using prior information, especially at LAI e > 3. Additionally, SL2P-D resulted in 32% more valid retrievals than SL2P, with the largest differences observed at LAI e < 1. Validation against in situ measurements of LAI as opposed to LAI e yielded similar patterns but poorer performance (RMSD = 1.08 to 1.13, NRMSD = 49% to 52%, bias = −0.64 to −0.68) because the RTM used by SL2P and SL2P-D does not account for foliage clumping. In addition to the retrievals themselves, we examined the relationship between predicted uncertainties and observed differences in retrieved and in situ LAI. With respect to LAI e , SL2P's predicted uncertainties were conservative, underestimating observed differences in only 35% of cases, whilst those for LAI were unbiased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Racial disparities in environmental exposures and infection rates were linked. • Population-weighted analysis based on fine-grained race and landcover maps. • Among green spaces, forests outside park may be most beneficial. • Among developed spaces, low developed spaces may be most beneficial. • Environmental exposures within the 400 m buffer distance may be most beneficial. The COVID-19 pandemic has cast a spotlight on the intersection of socio-economic, demographic, and environmental factors with public health, particularly in the context of SARS-CoV-2 infection rates. A gap remains in understanding how racial disparities in environmental exposure correlate with racial disparities in infection rates. This study bridges this gap by analyzing infection data for black and white populations across 1,416 counties in the contiguous United States, utilizing high-resolution land cover data and racial population maps to assess environmental exposure disparities. We found significant connections between racial disparities in environmental exposure and SARS-CoV-2 infection rates, even after accounting for population density, socio-economic status, and demographic factors. Disparities among black and white population's access to green spaces, such as non-park forests and pasture/hay areas, as well as to developed areas of varying intensities, closely mirror racial disparities in infection rates. Crucially, we found that smaller differences in environmental exposure between races are associated with smaller differences in infection rates. This relationship is most pronounced within a 400-meter radius, underscoring the critical role of proximity in the design of urban and landscape environments to promote public health equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought affects societies world-wide in many different ways. It is a natural hazard that is complex and not well understood and as a result, its impacts are often poorly documented. The purpose of this research is to quantify (in dollars) the impacts of drought on Kentucky's beef and forage (hay) production. Observations suggest that the most important droughts in Kentucky occurred in 1930–31, 1940–42, 1952–55, 1987–88, 1999–2000 and 2007. The total state revenue for these commodities were analyzed during these severe drought years and non-drought years. The research estimated revenue deficit from these severe droughts in Kentucky for these (beef and hay) agricultural commodities. This study is important to the general public as well as planners and policy makers. Proper documentation of drought impacts should help identify drought vulnerabilities and result in better risk management and mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Teff (Eragrostis tef) is a productive warm season annual grass. Because teff is relatively new to the horse industry in the United States, horses unaccustomed to teff hay were used in two sets of two-choice preference tests comparing teff with alfalfa hay or teff with timothy hay. A second experiment used mature mares to compare voluntary dry matter intake (VDMI) of teff hay and timothy hay. In the two-choice preference tests, horses preferred alfalfa hay and timothy hay to teff hay (P < .05). Horses preferred teff hay that was cut at an earlier stage of maturity and had lower concentrations of neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber than teff hay cut at a later stage of maturity. In the VDMI experiment, four mares were fed teff hay and four mares were fed timothy hay for 17 days. Both hays had been harvested in the head stage of maturity. VDMI was measured during the last 10 days and was not different between the two groups of horses (P > .05). It was concluded that horses that are unfamiliar with teff may discriminate against it when it is offered simultaneously with alfalfa or timothy; however, if not given a choice, horses will consume approximately the same amount of mature teff as mature timothy. Additional studies are needed to compare VDMI of early maturity teff hay with other common hays. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Hay mixed with manure and urine residues at sites where hay has been provided as supplemental winter feed for cattle provide an excellent substrate for the development of immature stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.). Such sites are primary sources of early summer stable flies in the central United States and no effective measures are currently available to control fly development in them. A single application of granular cyromazine in May provided 97% reduction in the number of adult stable flies emerging from hay feeding sites. Stable fly control did not decline during the 12 wk season. A small decline in control was observed relative to anthomyiid, sarcophagid, and syrphid flies developing in the hay feeding sites. However, none of those flies are considered to be pests and ≥50% control of those flies was maintained for 65 d after application. Cyromazine offers a safe and affordable option for the control of immature stable flies developing in winter hay feeding sites. Controlling those flies should reduce the estimated $2 billion per year of lost production in U.S. cattle industries attributable to stable flies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Seasonal and diurnal changes in water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC) and ethanol-soluble carbohydrates (ESC), as well as in chromatographic profiles of the sugars comprising these categories, were studied in orchardgrass pastures at one location in the Piedmont region of Virginia. Grass from four experimental plots was sampled weekly in the morning and afternoon over an 8-week period (early to late spring). Tissue was air-dried to simulate hay, or frozen to preserve the sugar profiles of fresh pasture. WSC and ESC were assayed colorimetrically. To profile sugars, boiled-water extracts were separated by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to pulsed amperometric detection. Fructan, glucose, fructose, and sucrose were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography. All sugar concentrations were highest in the early spring in both fresh and dried tissue. Fructan chain length was highest in early spring as well. Significant diurnal differences were observed for WSC and fructan, on some dates (P < .0001 and P = .024, respectively), and for ESC, glucose, and sucrose averaged over the entire period (P = .0002, .004, and <.0001, respectively). Sucrose was barely detectable in fresh tissue but reached 1.6% to 12% dry matter in dried tissue. These results demonstrate changes in orchardgrass carbohydrates over a season, within a day, and between dried and fresh herbage. Understanding these changes may be helpful in the management of horses with a history of insulin resistance and laminitis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Market and policy incentives that encourage agricultural intensification, such as incentives for bioenergy, may contribute to biodiversity decline when they encourage a large-scale conversion of native and semi-natural ecosystems to production fields. In order to appreciate the impact of these incentives on biodiversity, it is imperative to better understand how native and semi-natural ecosystems contribute to plant diversity and composition. We studied the five most common types of managed grasslands in Northeastern Kansas, a region undergoing agricultural intensification. We analyzed plant community data recorded at three spatial scales in 98 managed grassland sites, and examined patterns of diversity and composition of plant species and functional groups; and spatial turnover of species and functional groups measured at different spatial scales. We found reduced soil quality and plant diversity as well as a lack of scale-dependent community patterns on sites that were historically cultivated. Forage management practices (haying or grazing) altered plant diversity and composition in native grassland remnants but not in non-native grasslands. We identified several opportunities where changes to existing management practices could benefit both conservation and bioenergy production objectives. Recommendations to conserve biodiversity include increasing the use of hay management or other biomass collection on native grassland remnants and improving the Conservation Reserve Program by increasing enrollment, adding more native species to seed mixes, and incorporating a periodic biomass collection. We also found that using measures of spatial turnover in community composition added important insights in understanding the effects of management decisions on biodiversity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flugge) is an important perennial forage grass for the south- eastern United States, being well adapted to conditions such as sandy or poorly drained soils, drought, and heavy continuous grazing. Current bahiagrass cultivars germinate over an extended period of time and the slow emergence produces incomplete stands, allowing weeds to compete and delaying grazing or first cutting for hay. A recurrent restricted phenotypic selection (RRPS) program began in 1996 and continued for four cycles for improving the emergence and establishment rates within Tifton 9 bahiagrass (Pensacola' type). The resulting cycle-4 (C4) rapid-emergence 'TifQuik' was then increased and tested for seedling emergence, vigor, and establishment. TifQuik had a fourfold improvement of emergence compared to Tifton 9 after 1 wk in greenhouse trials. Emergence rates after 1 and 2 wk were significantly greater for TifQuik compared to Tifton 9 in replicated field trials. Plant heights after 3 wk from planting were 0.12 m for TifQuik versus 0.08 m for Tifton 9. The first- harvest dry-matter yield of TifQuik was 3128 kg ha-1 compared with 1539 kg ha-1 for Tifton 9 and the total establishment year dry-matter yields were 9230 kg ha-1 and 7466 kg ha-1 for TifQuik and Tifton 9, respectively. TifQuik had greater first-clipping yields than Tifton 9 at Ona, FL, in 2005. The accelerated emergence and establishment of TifQuik will be useful in sod-based rotation systems with cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) and peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Non-native plant species pose a serious ecological and economic threat to managed and natural ecosystems; therefore, there is a great need to identify sources for the introduction of non-native species and develop management plans to reduce or eliminate their introduction. Horses have been suggested to be an important source for the introduction of non-native plant species along trails, but the conclusions were based on anecdotal evidence. In this study, horse hay, manure, and hoof debris samples were collected from 12 to 24 horses at five endurance ride events in North Carolina, Kentucky, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan. One sub-sample of each material from each horse was sown in pots and grown under ideal conditions to determine if horse hay, manure, and hoof debris samples contained seeds from non-native species. A second sub-sample of each material from each horse was placed back on their respective trail to determine what plants would germinate and establish on the trail. Vegetation surveys were also conducted along 50m transects perpendicular to horse and hiking (horses not permitted) trails at three of the five sites to compare species composition of native and non-native plant species. On average, non-native plant species germinated in 5.2% of the hay samples in the pots, but non-native species did not germinate from the manure or hoof debris samples. Only 3 of the 288 (≈1% of total samples) hay, manure, and hoof debris plots established on horse trails at the five sites contained plants, all of which were native plants, at the end of the first growing season and no plants were observed at the end of the second growing season. Non-native species composition and percent of total plants species did not differ significantly (p =0.56) between horse and non-horse trails, and non-native plant species were only found within 2m of the trail. The results of this and another study [Campbell, J.E., Gibson, D.J., 2001. The effect of seeds of exotic species transported vie horse dung on vegetation along trail corridors. Plant Ecology 157, 23–35] demonstrate that horse hay and manure does contain seeds of non-native plant species, but native and non-native plant species rarely become established on horse trails because of the harsh environmental conditions. Management and policy implication of this study are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Infection with gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN), particularly Haemonchus contortus, is the biggest constraint to profitable goat production in the United States (US). Due to widespread prevalence of anthelmintic resistance in goat GIN, alternative, non-chemical control methodologies are needed to increase profitability of small ruminant industries. A study was designed to test the efficacy of a high condensed tannin (CT) legume, sericea lespedeza [SL, Lespedeza cuneata (Dum.-Cours. G. Don)] against GIN of goats fed in confinement. The goats were given a trickle infection of 500 H. contortus larvae/animal three times per week during the trial to simulate natural infection. Twenty Boer bucks (6–8 months old) were fed bermudagrass [BG, Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] hay plus concentrate for 5 weeks in confinement and then 10 animals were switched to SL hay for an additional 7 weeks. Throughout the trial, feces and blood were collected weekly from individual animals to determine fecal egg count (FEC) and blood packed cell volume (PCV). Fecal cultures were made weekly from pooled samples to determine treatment effects on GIN larval development. All goats were slaughtered at the end of the trial, with adult worms in the abomasum and small intestine of each goat recovered, counted, and identified to species. Feeding SL hay to goats significantly (P <0.01) reduced FEC and increased PCV compared with BG hay. In addition, a lower percentage of ova in feces from SL-fed goats developed into infective (L3) larvae. There was a direct effect of SL hay on adult worms, with significantly (P <0.01) lower numbers of both abomasal (H. contortus, Teladorsagia circumcincta) and small intestinal (Trichostrongylus colubriformis) nematodes compared with goats fed BG hay. Feeding SL hay to goats is an effective means of controlling parasitic nematodes and may be a potential supplement/replacement for chemical anthelmintics. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

John Hay began his involvement in the diplomatic relations of the United States and Spain during a time of political instability. In Madrid as Secretary at the United States Legation, Hay recorded his thoughts and observations about his host country in Castilian Days, a popular travel book published in 1871. This book helped Hay, an upcoming statesman, to present his political, religious and cultural views to the American public. Three decades later, Secretary of State Hay released a new version of Castilian Days, this time with images. Joseph Pennell's illustrations, carefully composed and artfully drawn, soothed Hay's chauvanistic tone and provided a major policy maker with a new voice for addressing the public. Castilian Days no longer stood as an overt platform for imperialistic ambition; now it also appeared to be an apolitical work of art. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stable fly, Stomoxys calcitraris (L.), historically has been a pest of livestock in confined operations but seldom of animals on pastures or rangelands. In the past two decades, however, S. calcitrans has become a major pest of cattle and horses on pastures in the midwestern United States. Although there usually is an overabundance of diverse stable fly and house fly, Musca domestica L., larval habitats in confined livestock operations, no larval habitat for stable flies has been clearly identified in the pasture-range environment. Because the winter feeding of hay in round bales results in significant amounts of hay wastage that when mixed with manure, might develop into suitable larval habitats, this study evaluated these areas as developmental sites for the abundant stable flies in pastures. There was a trend for fly traps placed in the vicinity of hay feeding sites to catch more stable flies than those placed distant from these sites. Estimates of stable flies emerging from these sites ranged from 102 to 1225 flies per core sample (25 by 25 cm). The mean number of adult stable flies during May and June 2001 through 2004 correlated negatively with the average minimum temperatures during the preceding winter (November-February) but not with rainfall or temperatures during the spring. These results support the hypothesis that winter feeding sites of hay in round bales are the main source of stable flies in pastures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which tested the suitability of subsurface drip irrigation for alfalfa in Kansas. Effectiveness of drip irrigation; Analysis of hay quality; Economic implications of the study.

Describes three incidents that were reported to the Minnesota Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation program (MN FACE) during 1994-1996, which summarizes national surveillance for bale associated death during 1980-1995. Information on MN FACE; Recommendations for the prevention of fatalities associated with large bales.

Discusses a study that compared methods of forecasting monthly alfalfa hay prices in California. Evaluation of predictive accuracy of nine forecasting procedures.

Meeting the growing food production needs of a society, while simultaneously maintaining or improving water quality, is a challenge facing many watersheds around the world. Across many nations, the agricultural norm is for farmers to dictate what, when and where to plant based on market demand and the most economically efficient use of land resources for the individual farm enterprise. As an alternative, the European Union (EU) has explored the potential of a soil-based, land use framework to achieve economic and environmental targets in agriculturally dominated watersheds; however, this framework has not been explored in the United States (US). We investigated the potential for an EU style soil-based, land use framework to improve water quality, while maintaining crop yields, in a sub-watershed of the Chesapeake Bay. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was utilized to model crop growth, and losses of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP) and sediment for an 8-year period (2010 - 2017). Based on SWAT model results, an algorithm was developed to spatially reallocate crop rotations within existing agricultural land to reduce TN, TP, and sediment losses based on soil properties while maintaining a similar production area of each rotation. Hay was reallocated onto landscapes most vulnerable to erosion and nutrient loss, whereas corn-soybean rotations were reallocated onto less vulnerable areas. In the reallocated scenario, 28% of agricultural lands retained the same crop rotation as the baseline scenario while 72% were reassigned. In a SWAT simulation of the reallocated scenario, TN, TP and sediment losses were reduced by 15%, 14% and 39%, respectively at an average annual scale. These results suggest that simply redistributing crop rotations within an impaired watershed can make significant water quality improvements even without additional structural best management practices. Although watershed-scale benefits were evaluated here, future research is needed to understand how this approach affects farm-level factors, as implementation may require some farmers to change the type of crops they grow. Unlabelled Image • Ecosystem services (ES) of an agricultural watershed were quantified using SWAT model. • Crop pattern optimization framework based on ES values was low-cost and effective. • Optimized crop pattern maximized ES, reduced pollution and maintained crop yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complete and accurate burned area map data are needed to document spatial and temporal patterns of fires, to quantify their drivers, and to assess the impacts on human and natural systems. In this study, we developed the Landsat Burned Area (BA) algorithm, an update from the Landsat Burned Area Essential Climate Variable (BAECV) algorithm. Here, we present the BA algorithm and products, changes relative to the BAECV algorithm and products, and updated validation metrics. We also present spatial and temporal patterns of burned area across the conterminous U.S., how burned area varies in relation to the number of operational Landsat sensors, and a comparison with other burned area datasets, including the BAECV, Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS), GeoMAC, and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) MCD64A1.006 data. The BA algorithm identifies burned areas in analysis ready data (ARD) time-series of Landsat imagery from 1984 through 2018 using machine learning, thresholding, and image segmentation. Validation with reference data from high-resolution commercial satellite imagery resulted in omission and commission error rates averaging 19% and 41%, respectively. In comparison, validation with Landsat reference data had omission and commission error rates averaging 40% and 28%, respectively when burned areas in cultivated crops and pasture/hay land-cover types were excluded. Both validation tests documented lower commission error rates relative to the BAECV products. The amount of burned area detected varies not only in response to climate but also with the number of operational sensors and scenes collected. The combined amount of burned area detected by multiple sensors was larger than from any individual sensor, but there was no significant difference between individual sensors. Therefore, we used BA products from individual sensors to assess trends over time and all available sensors to compare with other existing BA products. From 1984 through 2018, annual burned area averaged 30,000 km2, ranged between 14,000 km2 in 1991 and 46,500 km2 in 2012, and increased over time at a rate of 356 km2/year. Compared to existing burned area products, the new Landsat BA products identified 29% more burned area than the BAECV products (1984–2015), 183% more than the MTBS/GeoMAC products (1984–2018), and 56% more than the MCD64A1.006 products (2003–2018). The products had similar patterns of year-to-year variability; the R2 values of linear regressions between annual burned area were >0.70 with the BAECV products and the MTBS/GeoMAC products, but somewhat lower for the MCD64A1.006 product (R2 = 0.66). The BA products are routinely produced as new Landsat data are collected and provide a unique data source to monitor and assess the spatial and temporal patterns and the impacts of fire. Unlabelled Image • We describe the Landsat Burned Area (BA) algorithm and products for CONUS. • The algorithm operationalizes Landsat TM, ETM+, and OLI burned area products. • Commission error for wildland fires improved over the Landsat BAECV products. • Omission and commission error rates were lower than coarse-resolution BA products. • Burned area products can be consistently generated from the Landsat archive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents information on the 2005 Craftsman/NSTA Young Inventors Awards Program in the U.S. A new tool or adaptations made to an existing tool designed by students of grades three through eight are showcased in this award program. The first-place awardee of $10,000 in the third- through fifth-grade division was Austin Stacy, a third-grade student from Brighton, Iowa, who attends Pence Elementary School in Fairfield, Iowa. Austin invented the "Bale Buddy" to assist him in moving bales of hay to the family's livestock. The "Bale Buddy" pokes rods into the bale of hay, clamps the bale into place, and allows Austin to wheel, rather than carry, the bale of hay to the designated livestock. The tool reduces the weight of the bale by one-half and allows easy movement of the bale. The awardee of $10,000 in the sixth- to eighth-grade category was Katie Cox, who attends Oliver Middle School in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. She designed a tool to use the very last drop of liquid in a spray bottle. She made a spray bottle that uses flexible tubing. By attaching a weight to the end of flexible tubing in a non-aerosol spray bottle, Katie found a way to use all the liquid with the bottle tilted in any position-upside down, sideways, straight up, or at a diagonal.

This study investigates the consequences of agricultural technological progress, biofuel policy, and agricultural demand growth on crop, livestock, and bioenergy markets, as well as resource usage and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, over data in the United States. We formed scenarios for future technological progress, demand growth, and biofuel policy and carried out a dynamic simulation. The major findings are: (1) Increasing technological progress reduces cropland for biofuel and cropland pasture for livestock but increases cropland for crop production; (2) Reducing corn ethanol requirements causes more cropland to move from cropping to pasture uses for livestock, however, lowering ethanol from corn residue has minor effects on cropland use; (3) Lowering the requirement of ethanol from corn lowers the price for most of the field crops and meat commodities, especially corn, hay, sorghum, and non-fed beef; (4) Technological progress and biofuel policy have significant effects of on GHG emissions. Increasing technical progress reduces overall GHG emissions. A lower corn ethanol level results in much larger GHG emissions as compared with the control case. This implies producing corn ethanol is effective in reducing emissions; and (5) Technological improvement is a key factor in meeting growing global demand for food and energy and reducing emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In their correspondence, Hays et al. raise two main critiques of our recently published article entitled "Use of the KDQOL-36™ for assessment of health-related quality of life among dialysis patients in the United States." First, Hays et al. expressed concerns regarding the comparison of mean scores on five Kidney Disease Quality of Life (KDQOL) subscales, given that the Physical Component Summary (PCS) and Mental Component Summary (MCS) are scored on a different numeric scale compared to the other three subscales. Second, Hays et al. note that the correlations reported in our manuscript between the general health perceptions item ("In general, would you say your health is excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor") and the 5 KDQOL subscales were inconsistent with findings derived from other KDQOL datasets. Here, we respond to these two critiques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Longer retention of forages with increased fiber concentrations may be a compensatory digestive strategy in horses. We investigated the digestive characteristics of bermudagrass hay, a prominent warm-season grass in the southeast United States that has greater fiber concentrations than other common forages fed to horses. The morphological structure and photosynthetic pathway of warm-season grasses differ from cool-season grasses and legumes which may have important impacts on equine digestion and digesta transit through the gastrointestinal tract. The retention time of Coastal bermudagrass was longer than alfalfa or orchardgrass hay. The digestibility of Coastal bermudagrass decreased with increasing maturity, but the fiber digestibility of alfalfa and orchardgrass was similar to the earliest maturity of Coastal bermudagrass hay. The chemical composition of the plant cell wall influences diet digestibility and is a major difference between warm-season and cool-season forages. The increased retention time of Coastal bermudagrass allows for microbial fermentation to occur longer, adapting to more difficult-to-digest plant cell walls in warm-season forages. The decrease in diet digestibility when horses consume warm-season forages can be reduced by feeding early maturity forage, by harvesting hay at an earlier stage of growth or managing pastures in a vegetative state. Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) and other warm-season grasses are known for their increased fiber concentrations and reduced digestibility relative to cool-season grasses and legumes. This study investigated the digestive characteristics and passage kinetics of three maturities of Coastal bermudagrass hay. A 5 × 5 Latin square design experiment was used to compare the digestion of five hays: alfalfa (Medicago sativa, ALF), orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata, ORCH), and Coastal bermudagrass harvested at 4 (CB 4), 6 (CB 6), and 8 weeks of regrowth (CB 8). Horses were fed cobalt-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (Co-EDTA) and ytterbium (Yb) labeled neutral detergent fiber (NDF) before an 84-h total fecal collection to determine digesta retention time. Dry matter digestibility was greatest for ALF (62.1%) and least for CB 6 (36.0%) and CB 8 diets (36.8%, SEM = 2.1; p < 0.05). Mean retention time was longer (p < 0.05) for Coastal bermudagrass (particulate 31.3 h, liquid 25.3 h) compared with ORCH and ALF (28.0 h, SEM = 0.88 h; 20.7 h, SEM = 0.70 h). Further evaluation of digesta passage kinetics through mathematical modeling indicated ALF had distinct parameters compared to the other diets. Differences in digestive variables between forage types are likely a consequence of fiber physiochemical properties, warranting further investigation on forage fiber and digestive health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]