Monday, January 27, 2020

Requirements for Hemp Production

Requirements for Hemp Production Hemp was first cultivated in Canada in 1998, and currently you must apply to grow hemp through Manitoba Health for a yearly permit and follow their guidelines. The regulations require you to get the hemp tested for THC levels to ensure they are under 0.3% on the plant and less than 10ppm residue in products derived from the hemp. (Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance, n.d.)If you register and can comply with the regulations, farming hemp can be very successful. Per MAFRD the average input costs are $388.85/ac, with market price of $0.68/lb, equating to a gross revenue of $518/acre (at a production rate of 575 lb/ac) (Crop Production Costs 2016, n.d.) Hemp grows best on well drained, loamy soils within a pH of 6.0-7.5 requiring 300-400mm of rain, half of which is needed in the flowering stage, meanwhile saturated soils reduce early growth. Seeding is preferably done with a press drill at a depth of 2-3cm, at a rate of 100-120 plants/m2 in rows 6-7 apart. Certified seed is required, and planting should begin as early as ground travel permits, because hemp is day-length sensitive requiring specific hours of daylight to achieve the full height and yields desired. (Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, n.d.) In season, there are no pesticides registered for hemp, therefore a long crop rotation with the avoidance of similar disease pathogens is necessary. The main disease of hemp is Sclerotinia, transmitted from planting after canola, soybeans, edible beans, and sunflowers. Hemp grows best after a forage because of the weed suppression and different disease pressures and cycles. Hemp will germinate and grow quickly, reaching 90% ground cover at 4 weeks of growth, out competing weeds. By practicing good agronomic practices for disease, pests and weeds, hemp can readily be grown. However, birds are the biggest pest of hemp, as the plant matures, birds will eat the mature seeds, and can even devour an entire field. This is one way to know your field is ready to harvest. (Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, n.d.) Due to its young history in Canada, not a lot of research has been done, and fertility is an area that little is known. The rule of thumb in Manitoba is to fertilize for spring wheat, and has shown to be sensitive to fertilizer placement so side-banded or mid-row banded is recommended. Statistics show, harvesting the seeds and stalk will remove 200kg/ac N, 47kg/ac P, 211kg/ac K, and 14kg/ac S, however for seed production it is recommended to apply the same amount as spring wheat. (Manitoba Agriculture, n.d.) In Manitoba, we produce hemp for seed, and harvest grain at 22-30% moisture, then dry the seeds down to 8-10% for storage up to 3 years. Harvest date is dependant on the variety, but most varieties mature between 100-120 days. (Manitoba Agriculture, n.d.) Hemp has a very tough stalk and can cause a lot of damage to equipment from the fibrous material getting caught in bearings or moving parts, so to reduce the risk of breaking down we can raise the header as high as it will go and straight cut. This harvest can be anywhere from 100-1200lbs/ac but averages are 760lbs/ac. (Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, n.d.) When you decide to grow hemp a production contract is necessary based on customer demand, and there are few locations that accept hemp seed. If the demand were to rise suddenly it could possibly take more than one crop year to meet those needs based on todays cropping acres. The price of hemp seed has been stable at $0.68/lb. The market is expanding as people become aware of the high Omega-3 and 6 and amino acid content, being used for lactose free milk, salad dressing, protein powder, nutrient bars, pasta and more. (Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance, n.d.) Hemp requires good agronomic practices to be successful, and it is recommended to have a plan for implementing hemp into your rotation and follow that plan with determination. If we can inform the public of the health benefits of hemp, the demand will go up, and so will the required acres. Growing hemp will benefit both farmers and consumers. References Alberta Agriculture and Forestry . (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex126 Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.hemptrade.ca/grow-hemp Crop Production Costs 2016. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/business-and-economics/financial-management/pubs/cop_crop_production.pdf Manitoba Agriculture . (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/production/hemp-production.html Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs . (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/00-067.htm

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Eulogy for Grandfather :: Eulogies Eulogy

Eulogy for Grandfather One of my earliest memories of Grandpa begins with us driving to the Monmouth Park Racetrack. We sure did love to go to the track and root for Julie Krone or one of our other favorite jockeys. He loved challenges, and he especially loved the challenge of picking the ponies. He would read the race programs in the Asbury Park Press and usually pre-pick most of the day's favorite horses before ever leaving the house. Still, on arrival, we always bought the program and maybe a race sheet or two before entering the track grandstand. After picking up a couple of seats right around the finish line or maybe a little past it, back to figuring he'd go. As he went, grandpa would always point out the horses that had won recently or looked like they were due. "I have a feeling about this one" he'd say. We were always there in time for the first race and even the "correction call" that came over the speakers with changes to the program; He'd make each and every one of the changes to our program; Scratch #3 and #7, add two pounds to #5 and note #9 is on Lacix. Then a trip to the men's room of course, to drop a quarter in the dish and see what the picks sheet the janitor kept had to say. And after all of that, as if he ever had any luck picking just 1 horse, he always had to have two or more in any race. Of course, he never did win very much and never hit the big trifecta that none of us ever do. That didn't change how much he loved to go or the fun we had when we were there; rooting all the way to the finish, standing and shaking our programs at the horses and their jockeys on the last leg. After most races he'd say "2, 5. Do you see that? I looked at that stupid 5 horse and changed my mind" ... And while he may have won more often with just 1 horse, I know it was the challenge he loved... not the winning. Of course, I wouldn't be doing him any justice if I didn't mention his collection of hats from the big stakes, yearly race known as the Haskell. Dating back to the mid-eighties, it is the largest collection known to exist. Eulogy for Grandfather :: Eulogies Eulogy Eulogy for Grandfather One of my earliest memories of Grandpa begins with us driving to the Monmouth Park Racetrack. We sure did love to go to the track and root for Julie Krone or one of our other favorite jockeys. He loved challenges, and he especially loved the challenge of picking the ponies. He would read the race programs in the Asbury Park Press and usually pre-pick most of the day's favorite horses before ever leaving the house. Still, on arrival, we always bought the program and maybe a race sheet or two before entering the track grandstand. After picking up a couple of seats right around the finish line or maybe a little past it, back to figuring he'd go. As he went, grandpa would always point out the horses that had won recently or looked like they were due. "I have a feeling about this one" he'd say. We were always there in time for the first race and even the "correction call" that came over the speakers with changes to the program; He'd make each and every one of the changes to our program; Scratch #3 and #7, add two pounds to #5 and note #9 is on Lacix. Then a trip to the men's room of course, to drop a quarter in the dish and see what the picks sheet the janitor kept had to say. And after all of that, as if he ever had any luck picking just 1 horse, he always had to have two or more in any race. Of course, he never did win very much and never hit the big trifecta that none of us ever do. That didn't change how much he loved to go or the fun we had when we were there; rooting all the way to the finish, standing and shaking our programs at the horses and their jockeys on the last leg. After most races he'd say "2, 5. Do you see that? I looked at that stupid 5 horse and changed my mind" ... And while he may have won more often with just 1 horse, I know it was the challenge he loved... not the winning. Of course, I wouldn't be doing him any justice if I didn't mention his collection of hats from the big stakes, yearly race known as the Haskell. Dating back to the mid-eighties, it is the largest collection known to exist.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Ambassadors in Pinstripes

Review of Ambassadors in Pinstripes: The Spalding World Baseball Tour and the Birth of the American Empire Thomas Zeiler, the author of Ambassadors in Pinstripes: the Spalding World Baseball Tour and the Birth of the American Empire, entertains and enlightens the reader through a descriptive journey of Albert Spalding’s efforts to introduce a World Baseball Tour. The bulk of Zeiler’s book is based off of periodicals, newspapers, magazines, and guides; which serves as the groundwork for his book.Albert Spalding is known as a leader; a manager of the Chicago White Stockings, a very successful manufacturer of sporting goods, and predominantly as an organizer of tours designed to popularize America’s â€Å"national game† abroad. Spalding’s world tour mission was to send two teams of professional well known players to Australia, Ceylon, Egypt, Europe, and the surrounding areas. His marketing techniques and goals for his all American team to play worldwid e was a model for many industries seeking to establish abroad relations.Sports participation also provides a common ground and is a way to unite without discrimination, such as the warring people of South Africa during the Apartheid. Through this successful tour, Spalding established the pattern of baseball’s close connection with globalization and to let the world know of America’s increasingly ambitious exceptionalism in the world. Sports as a tool of diplomacy came of age in the post-World War I world when it caught the attention of politicians and governments as a channel through which to conduct international relations.Across the globe sports have personified the ideologies of political policies in the 20th century and as we enter the 21st century, sports are becoming an essential part of the toolbox of a country’s public diplomacy. Sport events that host numerous foreign visitors have impacts on a country’s relationship with foreign publics. It†™s why organizations and governments seek to attach themselves to popular figures, teams, and events that enhance their standings in the eyes of others.The Olympics for example serves as a way to bring world nations together through international sports competitions and encourages further engagement, often in the form of economic benefits through participation and hosting. London is currently hosting the Olympics this year and in preparation back in 2009 the event was predicted to â€Å"provide economic gold at a time of economic need,† however hosting the Olympics is an extremely costly business with the upgrades, new sports facilities, and security that it will cost much, much more than expected.Spalding’s World Baseball Tour laid the roots of the new empire and exemplified the United States onto the world stage. It highlighted our country’s economic growth, the search for overseas markets, improvements in communication and transportation, and the rising cul tural interactions. Thomas Zeiler’s main emphasis is on the baseball players and their entourage as â€Å"tourists† who helped disperse American culture abroad and brought global influences back to their homelands.Thomas Zeiler concluded that because of the immense impact of the World Tour, it was the process of globalization of baseball that laid the structure of the growing American identity. Baseball was used to sell and export the American way. The game associated itself with the values of the American dream. In America’s foreign diplomacy, baseball was used to promote patriotism and nationalism. Sports have shown it has the power to heal old wounds. Sport in South Africa during the Apartheid, kept the multiple races and cultures that make up South Africa apart for nearly a century.Apartheid was a system of racial segregation enforced by white Afrikaners, who were the minority, over the indigenous majority. Rugby was the sport that took a mental toll on all South Africans and played a larger part in the victory of the anti-apartheid movement. The Rugby World Cup was one of the key moments that shaped the world’s impression of the new South Africa. The Rugby World Cup contributed significantly to the return of foreign investment in South Africa and strengthening of trade and other economic links that had been destroyed through the policies of apartheid and the subsequent boycotts and restrictions.The development of the industrialization and the use of resources from across the world created a gateway for Americans. Spalding’s initial mission paved the way for global integration opened the door to the sensational play of foreign participants in America’s national pastime. The mass appeal of sports like baseball provides the United States with a social â€Å"olive branch. † Baseball diplomacy helps break the ice between nations that are separated by cultural differences, monetary discrepancies and educational v ariances.Sports are relevant to the study of foreign relations because it is fundamentally concerned with power, and our sports culture that is driven by the media, boasted by advertising, bankrolled by industrialists, that it’s reflective of American society. It has played a huge role in projecting American influence abroad. Sports purpose is no longer limitied to entertainment; it is often intermingling with trade, business, and politics. Hopefully sports will continue as a feature of modern life that connects people and continents together.

Friday, January 3, 2020

Ethics in accounting the consequences of the enron scandal Free Essay Example, 3750 words

Although industry analysts and some of the Enron employees raised some doubts about the suspicious accounting practices of the corporation, Skilling and his colleagues verbally attacked those persons to defend the allegations. The company could continue to attract new investors until its share prices plummeted from $US90 per share in mid-2000 to less than $1 by the end of the 2001. This drastic drop in stock prices caused investors losing an amount worth $11 billion. Although Enron’s competitor Dynegy proposed a deal to take over the organization, it did not succeed, and therefore Enron Corporation filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11. The United States Federal government passed a number of laws such as Sarbanes-Oxley Act after the Enron scandal with intent to improve corporate governance policies and to prevent such huge corporate failures in future. Today US companies pay specific attention to corporate governance laws and implement improved internal check system s to detect accounting irregularities and other illegal/unethical business practices. Problem Statement Unscrupulous accounting practices by Enron CEO Jaffrey Skilling and other top managerial person including CFO Andrew Fastow to inflate the profits of the organization resulted in Enron scandal, which was identified as the biggest corporate failures at that time. We will write a custom essay sample on Ethics in accounting the consequences of the enron scandal or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Although Enron collapse was the biggest in the history and had far reaching dreadful effects, modern organizations have a range of lessons to learn from this corporate failure. This paper will analyze the history of the Enron scandal and the role unethical accounting practices played in this collapse. The paper will also put forward some valuable recommendations for modern organizations in the light of Enron scandal. History of the Issues The merger between Houston Natural Gas and Omaha-based InterNorth led to the formation Enron in 1985 and it began operations as an interstate pipeline company. Kenneth Lay, the former CEO of the Houston Natural Gas, was appointed as the CEO of Enron and he subsequently won the post of chairman in the next year. Over the next years, the company achieved terrific growth in its sales and spread its business beyond the pipeline sector. Industry analysts praised this unbelievable growth of Enron because many contemporary organizations were struggling to survive during that period and such positive expert reviews greatly assisted the company to attract more potential investments. Jeffrey Skilling, a previous consultant for Enron, impressed the company’s former CEO Lay in his capacity as an industry analyst, and consequently Skilling was hired by Lay as chairman and CEO of Enron Finance Corp.