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Cash Crops And
Cash Cows
Arizona
researchers discovered cancer-fighting compounds in native desert
plants. Cultivating these plants will open new  economic opportunities
for growers. Alaska researchers on the Muskox Task Force are
helping producers enter emerging markets for exotic meats, and knitted
products from qiviut, the long silky hairs of muskoxen. At Colorado
State, scientists found that three unusual fiber crops may hold an
answer to the projected lumber shortage. Kenaf, sunn hemp and sesbania
can be transformed into particleboard, paper and even lumber. With the
pulp industry running at near capacity, these new fiber sources could
help meet future demand for paper and wood products, now growing at
six percent each year. At Utah State, researchers found a bee
species whose life coincides with the time fruit trees need
pollinating. One grower, using the blue orchard bees, increased his
yield of cherries from 6,000 pounds to more than 37,000 pounds per
year.
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