Since compost is made of plant refuses, all nutrients needed by plants are made available to plants, when compost is added to soils. Application of chemical fertilisers makes the soil fertile and increases productivity of plants, but also has an adverse effect on soil and environment. Farmyard manure: The farmyard manure is a mixture of solid and liquid excreta of farm animals along with litter and left over material from cattle fodder. Future strategies for increasing agricultural...

Rick Martinez, Correspondent Congress has begun marking up the 2007 Farm Bill, and you can bet your last bushel of beans that the one question that should be asked, won't be asked: Does American agriculture really need taxpayer help to the tune of $25 billion a year?By any objective measure, the answer is no. Rick Martinez, Correspondent Congress has begun marking up the 2007 Farm Bill, and you can bet your last bushel of beans that the one question that should be asked, won't be asked:...

Of course, one reason cigarettes purchased over the Internet are so cheap is because the companies that sell them generally don't collect various state taxes on the sales. The woman, who I will simply call Diane, told me that in 2004 she ordered more than $100 worth of dirt-cheap generic menthol cigarettes over the Internet from an out of state company. But what many such cigarette buyers don't know or don't care about is that even though the cigs are purchased from out of state,...

Then why is the information and broadcasting ministry coy about using the sign on tobacco product packages? In countries where the issue is taken seriously to safeguard public health, graphic health warnings are accompanied by statements like: 'Smoking can cause a slow, painful death' and 'Tobacco smoke can kill babies', covering 40-90 per cent of surface area of the package. Then why is the information and broadcasting ministry coy about using the sign on tobacco product packages? In...

Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to hold a vote over the proposed 61-cents-per-pack increase on cigarettes and the possibility of a 156% increase on other tobacco products, such as cigars, pipe tobacco and smokeless products. According to Reynolds, the tax would unleash a downward spiral in the industry, affecting everyone from customers to retailers to tobacco farmers. The tobacco industry would also be hurt, with Reynolds predicting that more than 12,000 jobs in the industry would...