Super Papaya Enzyme Plus from American Health is a sugar-free chewable containing papaya. The “After Meal” Supplement These are made from 100% natural ingredients: papaya fruit, papain, and protease, alpha-amylase, bromelain, lipase, and cellulose, in a base containing peppermint and chlorophyll (for refreshing taste and sweet breath) sorbitol, mannitol, and acacia. This product is wonderful for getting rid of heartburn and tastes better than other antacids.
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Red Anthurium Hawaiian Volcano Rock Bonsai is beautiful and excellent for the home, office, apartment or dorm room. Blooms year round. Growing on lava rock from the “Big Island” of Hawaii . These bonsai style plants thrive on their rock homes and make excellent house or office plants!

Care Is Easy! Water the whole rock once or twice a week depending on conditions. The rock may be placed in a saucer of water, thereby requiring even less maintainence. They are perfect plant rental units or decorative pieces for homes and watergardens.

Place them in a bright window, and just keep a small amount of water in the saucer. Fertilize monthly with 1/4 strength of a good quality soluble fertilizer found at your local home and garden shop.
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The Flowtron 80-watt electronic insect killer is effective, Environmentally Friendly, Maintenance Free. Attracts and Kills Flying Insect Pests. It utilizes a high-intensity black light bulb to lure and eliminate light-sensitive flying insects and is designed to protect an area of up to 1-1/2 acres. Maintenance free operation features UV light and an electrified grid that eliminates thousands of flying pests for just pennies a day. Two 40-watt, high-intensity, “U” shaped, ultraviolet (black light) bulbs BF-150. Transformer-powered Vertical Rod killing grid system. FREE USDA-tested Octenol mosquito attractant slow release cartridge. Easy bulb replacement – no tools required. Avoids the continuing expense and inconvenience of chemical insecticides. Specifications: UL and CSA listed, Assembled unit size: 11″L x 11″W x 18-1/2″H, Carton size: 11-1/4″L x 11-1/4″W x 19″H.
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Pleasanton, CA (PRWEB) — ScanControl, Inc. today announced the release of an update to the CropTrak™ farm management software that delivers labor and resource tracking capability. New functionality now includes an electronic timesheet system that can be used on mobile computing devices in the field as well as laptop and desktop computers. The CropTrak™ software already includes a multi-language user interface and now a comprehensive timesheet management function allows users to track all resource usage in the field and easily allocate time across acreage with identification of specific task and labor crew details. The new functionality has undergone extensive field trials with several global wine producers and is being deployed as the foundation for activity based cost reporting tools. The timesheet system is available as part of the CropTrak™ software at no additional licensing cost.

“The software updates have measured up well in the multi-cultural working environment we find in California farming operations”, stated Rob Wood, Founder and CEO of ScanControl, Inc. “The data entry forms have greatly reduced timesheet management errors and have, so far, given back two to four hours per week of administrative overhead to vineyard foreman and other staff at our customer sites”, he added.

The timesheet forms allow users to capture full attendance details for each crew member or the whole crew at once. Time is tracked by task and location and the use of any equipment or material can be conveniently quantified at the same time. “One of the universal requirements our customers have is the need to track labor crew time for payroll purposes”, Wood explained. “With the ability to capture crew or individual farming activity assignment, the location where the assignment was completed, the duration of the assignment and the use of any additional resources, we find that we have a complete accounting of farming operations that can support cost analysis, regulatory and environmental certification compliance, traceability assurance, ROI assessment and streamline payroll processing,” he explained.

More information is available on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNNd3cmUnnE

Data from the timesheet function is an integral component of the GIS reporting solutions that ScanControl, Inc. deliver. Near-real-time data from the field is consolidated and displayed automatically on farm maps. The maps provide a precise interpretation mechanism for identifying quality management concerns and tracking farming operations. “The GIS business intelligence reports that we deploy allow our customers to easily compare farming costs, understand the impact of each farming practice and ultimately ensure that acreage is farmed to the intended downstream supply chain needs. This means that wine producers are farming for quantity and quality parameters that are matched exactly to the wine label. When we integrate our farm management software with other supply chain management systems we end up with a complete traceability solution”, added Mr. Wood.

About ScanControl, Inc.: ScanControl, Inc. is based in Pleasanton, California and supports customers around the world. The company has been producing field data management solutions for more than 10 years. The CropTrak™ software is built using the latest Microsoft .NET and SQL Server database technology. The company was founded in 2001 by Rob Wood.

These products are made from partly gelatinized cassava starch obtained by heat treatment of the moist flour in shallow pans. When heated, the wet granules gelatinize, burst, and stick together. The mass is stirred to prevent scorching. They are manufactured in the form of irregular lumps called flakes or of perfectly round beads 16 mm in diameter known as seeds and pearls. The grist is a finer-grained product obtained by milling gelatinized lumps, and siftings and dust are residual products of the manufacture of seeds and pearls.

Preparation of wet flour

The raw material for baked products is the flour scooped up from sedimentation tanks or tables after the supernatant, or excess water, has been drained and the “yellow” flour scraped off. Clearly the use of moist starch, an intermediate stage in the processing of the Dour, is economically advantageous.

Only very white first-quality flour can be used in the manufacture. To obtain this, sulfurous acid is often added in the first sedimentation. This chemical should, however, be washed out as completely as possible by a second sedimentation in clean water; any traces of the acid left in the flour tend to spoil the quality of the end product. It is strongly advised not to use active chlorine preparations in this case, as they influence the agglomeration of the starch into pearls and other forms in an unfavourable way.

The cake of moist flour, containing about 45 percent water, is broken up by a small mill, spades or pressing it through frames strung with steel wire spaced about 10-20 cm apart, after which the lumps are rubbed through a screen of about 20 mesh/inch to produce a coarse-grained moist flour.

At this stage the flour is ready only for gelatinization and the production of flakes; to prepare pearls and seeds, the small aggregates of moist starch should be subjected to a process of building up and consolidation. which gives them the size and cohesive strength desired for the further treatment. The operation is known by the Indonesian name as the gangsor method. A portion of the moist starch is put into a long cylindrical bag of twill cloth which is held at each end by one man. Together. with a rhythmical strong jerking movement, they throw the mass of starch lumps from one end of the hag to the other. After a few minutes of this treatment the irregular lumps have grown into beads of varying size and have gained in firmness. Another portion of the moist flour is added and the gangsoring is continued. the operation being repeated until the heads have grown more or less to the desired size. Depending on the skill of the worker. the size of the starch balls is fairly uniform. Curiously enough, the knack of gangsoring is achieved only by a fraction of all workers, so the operation should be classified as skilled labour.

In Malaysia the flour is fed into open, cylindrical rotating pans about 0.9 m in diameter and 1.2 m deep. During rotation the starch grains are forced to adhere together in the form of small particles or beads. The resulting product depends on the speed and the length of time of rotation.

After gangsoring, beads of the right size are sorted out by screening between plates with circular holes corresponding to the required dimensions.

Gelatinization

In gelatinizing, starch undergoes a radical alteration in molecular arrangement, with a concomitant change in properties. From a practically insoluble product of semicrystalline structure it becomes an amorphous substance, miscible with water in any proportions at sufficiently high temperatures, giving viscous solutions which after cooling set to a semisolid elastic mass: a jelly, or gel.

This process may be brought about by the action of chemicals or by heating in an aqueous medium; only the latter case is of interest here. The onset of gelatinization is characterized by a loss of granular, structure which also promotes swelling; both processes can easily be followed under a microscope. With cassava starch, gelatinization sets in at about 60°C, and the process is completed at about 80°C. The point of gelatinization depends to a certain extent on granule size, the smaller granules being more resistant to swelling.

In the manufacture of baked products, the treatment is kept at a moderate temperature so as to cause gelatinization only in the surface layer of the lumps of moist starch. The product obtained therefore consists of agglomerations of practically raw starch enclosed by a thin layer of the tough and coherent gelatinized form.

For flakes, gelatinization is performed in shallow pans about 60-90 cm in diameter and 20-25 cm deep, having the profile of spherical segments, which are placed in holes on a brick oven and heated on a moderate fire. In order to prevent burning the starch, and perhaps also as an aid in achieving an end product of the desired lustre, the pans are wiped beforehand with a towel soaked in an edible oil or fat. Shorea (tenkawang fat) or Bassia (illipe fat), having properties approaching those of cocoa butter, seem to be preferable for the purpose, but groundout oil is used as well. Furthermore, it is necessary to rake the mass continuously with large forks, both to prevent burning and to ensure uniform gelatinization. From time to time a sample of the flakes is tested for toughness until proper consistency is attained.

The hand-baking process can also be applied in the manufacture of pearls and seeds, but rather irregularly shaped beads are obtained, inferior in colour and in other qualities.

Better mechanical methods for obtaining a first-rate product have long been known. In one of these, gelatinization is performed with the direct application of steam. The starch beads are poured onto plates in a rather thick layer, the plates forming a conveyor belt which is slowly drawn through a tunnel charged with steam. In this way, uniform gelatinization is ensured.

A device widely used in Indonesia (Java), which combines the advantages of several other methods, consists of a hollow cylinder revolving on rollers and driven by motor via a suitable transmission, all resting on a foundation which at the same time serves as a hearth with fire-holes. Flanges on the rollers hold the revolving drum, which is inclined at an angle of about 10°. The raw beads are poured into a gutter at the higher end of the drum at such a rate that they spread into a single layer by the time they reach the hotter parts of the inner surface of the drum. The width of this flow of beads need not exceed 15 cm if the drum has a diameter of 80 cm and revolves at 8-10 rotations per minute. A suitable length for the drum is 4 m. In rolling down, each bead covers the same long, screw-shaped path across the inner drum surface, and in the hotter regions a gradual gelatinization sets in, the rotation of the drum preventing overheating. By the rolling movement, moreover, the surface of each bead is uniformly gelatinized and at the same time becomes perfectly spherical in form.

Drying

The gelatinization process in the hand-worked flakes changes the moisture content of the product by no more than a few percent, and the same applies to the steam-treated pearls and seeds. In the drum described above, drying sets in parallel with the gelatinization and may be promoted by ventilating the drum, but the removal of water here is also incomplete.

Thus, in general, a final drying after gelatinization is necessary in order to bring down the moisture content to the desired level of about 12 percent. Drying in this case is best accomplished in chamber driers of the circulating type. For instance, in a chamber drier for pearls and seeds the initial temperature should not exceed 40″C lest further gelatinization and bursting of the beads set in. Toward the end of the treatment the temperature may be raised to 60-70ºC. With efficient exhausters, drying may be completed in 1 1/2-2 hours. Normally, from 16 tons of moist starch, 10 tons of the dried product are obtained.

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Source: FAO.org

Processing of Black Tea
The processing of black tea goes through several stages. These stages are:

* The tea leaves are air blown to make them wither right after the harvest
* To get the black tea, either of the two methods are made use of. The first method is known as Crush-Tear-Curl or CTC. The second method is known by the name of orthodox. The CTC method helps in extracting the best quality tea products from medium or low quality tea leaves. In the orthodox method, hand processing is done to process high quality teas. This results in a kind of tea, the taste of which is sought by many tea lovers
* The next stage is the oxidation of the tea leaves which is done under controlled temperature and humidity. Various factors determine the quality of tea such as the quality and level of oxidation, the time taken to complete the stage of oxidation right from the stage of rolling of leaves, etc.
* The leaves are then dried to stop the process of oxidation
* The last stage involves grading of leaves according to their size, i.e., as whole leaves, brokens, fannings, dust, etc. The grading of leaves is done with the help of sieving and can be further divided as per certain other criteria

Health Benefits Associated with Black Tea
Black tea contains many health benefits and is therefore, a recommended source of drink. Some of the major health benefits associated with black tea are:

* According to research, it helps in preventing asthma attacks as the presence of caffeine clears the air flow to the lungs
* Black tea also helps in reducing the level cholesterol and works as a perfect antioxidant
* Black tea also helps in curing patients suffering from diabetes. The consumption of black tea has shown a decline on the blood sugar level in diabetic patients and an increase in the insulin level in healthy patients
* It also helps in improving mental alertness and keeping the sneeze clam and composed
* Researchers also hold the belief that black tea might help in avoiding cavities and heart attacks
* The preventions of osteoporosis is also possible in case of older women as it helps in improving their bone density.

Although improving the availability of crops to the majority of people working in other sectors, this transformation is affecting the agricultural sector. It did not eliminate unbalanced and discriminatory market structures and it lowered the costs of commodities, thereby forcing market-oriented farmers to be worse off than subsistence farmers, who are more dependent on environmental conditions.

A strategy to develop sustainable development is a shift toward synergizing the different goals of protecting crops, safeguarding income and developing sustainable agriculture. They should be incorporated in national development goals and agricultural promotion efforts.

First of all, the manufacture of chemical fertilizers and mechanized agriculture as endorsed during the Green Revolution, at least for the short term and the mid term, gave significant results. At the same time it had serious ecological effects, such as the loss of diversity, decreased soil quality and salinization of soils due to irrigation and the decline in soil moisture. It also had social repercussions, such as the marginalization of farmers living around modern factories.

The development of staple foods in many developing countries has shown that significant increase in production can only be achieved by producing fertilizers and seeds in increasingly large quantities over time.

The experience so far has not yet demonstrated a means to ensure food security for the constantly rising populations in developing countries. This is unlike the shift in consumer behaviors witnessed in industrial countries where more and more consumers are turning to vegetables and subsequently shifting from animal husbandry to agriculture.

The conclusion to be drawn from this new trend is that a very important factor in increasing agricultural productivity lies in optimizing farming that is conditional on natural circumstances and the demand for commodities, like the dependence on milk and vegetables in urban areas.

Second, more and more farmers are dependent on money to fulfill their needs no matter how low the living standards of farmers. There is simply never enough for self-subsistence.

This is very similar to the workings of national and global markets. Exports in principle are conditional on import commodity funds. Production oriented toward exports will only be profitable when revenues are high and stable in comparison to domestic production.

In the majority of rural areas in developing countries hunger cannot be alleviated by an increase in the production of foodstuffs, but rather by increasing people’s revenues, while also providing basic goods at affordable prices.

Third, the assumption that diversification of basic goods is the most environmentally friendly means of agricultural production does not always prove true. For example, the planting of tea and coffee on hill slopes prone to erosion is more environmentally friendly than planting seasonal crops.

The agriculture goals of the three dimensions listed above can be expanded upon. Another thing that is often assumed without question is that subsistence crops are the best means of ensuring food security for the entire nation. What one needs to pay close attention to is the fact that dependence is by no means diminished when seeds, chemical fertilizers and equipment are imported for such production.

On the other hand, agricultural policy oriented towards exports by supporting large-scale producers will eventually lead to an imbalance in revenue and as such will impede access by poor citizens to basic needs.

The development of sustainable agriculture requires a reformulation of the recipe applied to date, whether it involves a modernization policy through such programs like the Green Revolution, or alternative solutions to increase subsistence production, self-supporting food policies as well as anti-export campaigns. These improvements need to be ecologically, economically and socially appropriate.

Sustainable agriculture is very dependent on a rural infrastructure that is integrated both regionally and nationally. In accordance with this, several of the following areas play an important role in ensuring such integration.

First, it is the owners’ and producers’ responsibility to distribute revenue.

Second, institutions must secure and determine conditionalities in the equalizing process that help poor farmers and landless farmers by marketing and providing access to credit, agricultural advice and raising the negotiating power of farmers politically.

Third, physical and social infrastructure such as health services, education, transportation and communications should be provided.

Finally, existing agro-industrial economic structures need to be improved as does the availability of employment outside the agricultural sector.

In general, sustainable agriculture must be considered on the condition that a sociocultural transformation ensues that develops traditional knowledge, improves understanding of development and introduces new respect for natural conditions and limitations.

—
The Jakarta Post, Ivan A Hadar

The Twister is small, smooth and light. It slips through your fruit tree like a bird. You open the fruit holders when it gets to the fruit. When you let the fruit holders close on the fruit, your two hands are free for a quick twist. No more struggling through the limbs and twigs as you do with a basket or a bag . The Twister is fast. You or Grandma can pick with the Twister, on average, more beautiful, undamaged fruit in five minutes than you can with a large clumsy bag or basket. And, most importantly, instead of frustration, you will be smiling. The Twister is made of aluminum and plastic in my hobby shop. I guarantee it to please you. The Twister comes complete with picker, rope, and bungee cord. The pole in not included because of shipping costs. If your tree is not over 12 feet tall, a 48 in. broom stick with threads on one end and a hole in the other, will work fine.

Click here to buy ]]> http://www.sellfarmer.com/fruit-picker-make-harvesting-easier.html/feed 0 http://www.sellfarmer.com/tillercultivator-with-border-edger-and-kickstand-from-mantis.html http://www.sellfarmer.com/tillercultivator-with-border-edger-and-kickstand-from-mantis.html#comments Mon, 22 Dec 2008 05:26:46 +0000 Sell Farmer http://www.sellfarmer.com/?p=131

The Mantis 2-cycle tiller has remained the gardener’s best friend for over 25 years. With well over a million units sold, it is the most recognized and accredited roto-tiller in the world and a Consumers Digest Best Buy for 9 consecutive years. The 2-cycle Mantis tills 10 inches deep and 9 inches wide, and its tines are patented and reversible to cultivate and weed up to 3 inches deep. This handy, sleek, lightweight unit can fit into narrow areas with ease and is ideal for raised beds as well. With 9 optional attachments the tiller can also trim hedges, aerate, dethatch, plow, furrow and much, much more.

Weighs only 20 pounds; Easy to handle, fun to use; Patented serpentine tines spin at up to 240 RPM; Easily tills down up to 10″ deep; Cuts through hard sod, compact soil or tangly weeds; Weeds and cultivates even in narrow rows; Convenient 9″ tine width and fold-down handles.
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Soy bean is a complete reservoir of nutrients, especially proteins. It is the phytochemicals in soybean that prevents blood clotting from taking place. It aids in protecting the heart against oxidation. As far as the soy bean nutritional value is concerned, soybean serves as an excellent source of essential fatty acids, calcium, magnesium, lecithin, riboflavin, thiamin, fiber, folate (folic acid), and iron. Soybean contains isoflavones that minimizes the risk of developing certain cancers. Soybean, being a fabulous source of proteins, aids in lowering the cholesterol level. Genistein, an isoflavone in soybean, protects the body from the clutches of plague disease.

Soy for Heart Health

The cholesterol lowering effect of soy milk and its role of heart disease was widely recognized in the mid 90s when the results of a meta-analysis of 38 clinical studies were published. The results demonstrated that a diet with significant soy protein reduces Total Cholesterol, LDL cholesterol (the “Bad” cholesterol) and Triglycerides.

The average consumption in these studies was 47 grams per day of soy protein, which is a considerable amount. One way to include this is to try a soy protein beverage or powder that may add 20 grams preserving. Soy protein was effective even in people who were already following the American Heart Association’s 30 percent-fat diet. Soy protein appears to lower triglyceride levels while preserving HDL cholesterol.

Researchers Erdman & Potter in 1993 reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition a 12 percent drop in cholesterol when 20 to 25 grams of soy protein and fiber were included in the diet. Soy beans contain soluble fiber, which is known to interfere with the absorption and metabolism of cholesterol.

As a result of these findings, in 1999, FDA authorized a health claim about the relationship between soy protein and Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) on labelling of foods containing soy protein.

A few recent studies released in 2005 found that soy only had a modest effect on cholesterol levels. The American Heart Association no longer recommends soy for heart disease. FDA is currently reviewing its policy on soy health claim. So what should you do? Enjoy your soy foods like before. It may not lower cholesterol to an extent we originally thought, but it certainly does not harm our health!

Soy for Healthy Bones

Many soy foods are naturally high in calcium (some fortified with calcium because it is a good source of a particular coagulating agent). In addition, soy also contains magnesium and boron, which are important co-factors of calcium for bone health.

Isoflavones in soy foods may inhibit the breakdown of bones. Daidzein, a type of isoflavone, is actually very similar to the drug ipriflavone, which is used throughout Europe and Asia to treat osteoporosis. One compelling study completed by Erdman in 1993 focused on post-menopausal women who consumed 40 grams of isolated soy protein daily for 6 months. Researchers found that these subjects significantly increased bone mineral density as compared to the controls.

Another study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in September 2005 also found that intake of soy food was associated with a significantly lower risk of fracture, particularly among early post-menopausal women.

Soy for Menopause

In Japan, where soy foods are commonly consumed daily, women are only one-third as likely to report menopausal symptoms as in the United States or Canada. In fact, there is no word in the Japanese language for “hot flashes”.

Current studies showed that soy only helps some women alleviate menopausal symptoms. Indeed, soy is more effective in preventing than alleviating hot flashes. Despite these findings, the North American Menopause Society in 2000 recommended that 40 – 80mg of isoflavones daily may help relieve menopausal symptoms.

Soy for Cancer

Among all cancers, data on soy and prostate cancer seems to be the most promising; many studies support its role in the prevention and possible treatment of prostate cancer.

While some studies showed soy offers a protective effect against breast cancer, a few studies showed the estrogen-like effects in isoflavones may be harmful for women with breast cancer. American Institute for Cancer Research stresses that data on soy and breast cancer are not conclusive, and more work is needed to be done before any dietary recommendations can be made.

What we know at this point is the phytoestrogens in soy foods are “anti-estrogens”. In other words, they may block estrogen from reaching the receptors – therefore potentially protecting women from developing breast cancer. Studies found that pre-menopausal women may benefit from eating soy foods as their natural estrogen levels are high.

However, this may not be true to post-menopausal women. Studies found that soy could become “pro-estrogen” in women with low levels of natural estrogen. In other words, concentrated soy supplements may add estrogen to the body and hence increase breast cancer risk in post-menopausal women. Therefore, post-menopausal women should avoid taking concentrated soy supplements until more is known. Eating soy products, however, is not harmful.