Latest news with #Emmer
Scroll.in
01-08-2025
- Health
- Scroll.in
Could this wheat grain from the past help Indian farmers climate-proof their future?
Under the golden sun of Maharashtra's Khandesh region, farmers in Jalgaon are reviving an ancient grain – Emmer wheat, locally known as Khapli gehu. Once a staple for their ancestors, this heirloom variety is making a steady comeback in the region's fertile soils. Valued for its climate resilience and health benefits, it is drawing interest from both seasoned cultivators and a new generation of growers. The crop has reconnected Jalgaon's farming families to their roots while offering a path towards sustainable agriculture and improved livelihoods. From ancient settlements to modern farms, Khapli wheat (Triticum dicoccon Schrank) has retained its relevance thanks to its genetic hardiness and nutritional value – qualities that in recent years are inspiring a renewed wave of cultivation across Maharashtra. Jalgaon district, in northwestern Maharashtra, receives an average annual rainfall of around 690 mm, most of which falls during the southwest monsoon season from June to September. The region often grapples with climatic challenges such as droughts, heatwaves, and erratic rainfall, all of which directly impact agricultural productivity. Cotton and banana are the district's primary crops. Wheat, however, holds an important place in the local agricultural landscape. Inspired by the health benefits of Emmer wheat, Vaishali Patil, a farmer from Jalgaon, obtained a few seeds from the Agharkar Research Institute's agricultural farm in Baramati in December 2018. She initially planted them on two acres to provide nutrition to her mother who was battling leukaemia. But within three years, she says, she expanded the cultivation to 20 acres. As word spread through a krishi mela (farmers fair) and local media coverage, enterprising farmers started showing interest. 'I have so far produced around 400 quintals, most of them sold as seeds to farmers in Jalgaon and others.' Reviving an ancient grain Khapli wheat was among the earliest cereals domesticated in the Fertile Crescent, a fertile region in present day West Asia where early agriculture and some of the first human civilisations began. The crop traces its cultivation back to the Neolithic site of Mehrgarh (6000-5000 before common era). It reached India through multiple migration routes and is currently cultivated primarily in Karnataka, Maharashtra, coastal Gujarat (Saurashtra), Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh. The earliest documented cultivation of Emmer wheat in India is concentrated in Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Karnataka, with some presence in parts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. According to a report published by AB Damania, Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, 'Archaeological findings from Kunal in Haryana, Kanishkapura in Kashmir, Harappan settlement of Rohira in Punjab also show evidence of Khapli cultivation.' The report speculates that Khapli wheat came to Kashmir from the Middle East through Persia and Afghanistan and to southern India by sea from northeastern Africa. Today Khapli wheat is estimated to be only 1% of all wheat grown in India. India's first systematic collection of Emmer wheat landraces began in the early 1950s at Rishi Valley in Andhra Pradesh and the Indian Agricultural Research Institute's regional station in Wellington in Tamil Nadu. Prominent tall varieties selected during this period were named NP-200, NP-201, and NP-202. These varieties, however, were prone to lodging (bending or breaking) due to their height. Significant progress was made in 1997 when the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, developed DDK1001, the world's first semi-dwarf dicoccum wheat variety. By the late 1960s, several semi-dwarf dicoccum wheat varieties, introduced under the All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on wheat and barley, began replacing the traditional tall Indian dicoccum varieties. 'The DDK [Dharwad Dryland Kharif] varieties, namely 1025, 1029, and 1063, are semi-dwarf, are resistant to black and brown rust with hard elongated and red-coloured grains. It's grown in parts of northern Karnataka, southern Maharashtra, coastal villages of Gujarat, small areas of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh,' says Suma S Biradar, principal scientist (Genetics & Plant Breeding) and head, AICRP on Wheat MARS (Main Agricultural Research Station), University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad. 'In Karnataka, Khapli is barely 2% of the total wheat area. It's mainly used for making roti/chappati, bhakri, khakra, porridge, breads, cakes, and even traditional sweets like laddoos.' Following the development of the Dharwad Dryland Kharif series of Khapli wheat varieties, the Agharkar Research Institute, Pune, a key centre for wheat research and breeding in India, introduced its own range of improved wheat cultivars under the MACS designation. The MACS varieties have been bred for improved yield, disease resistance, nutritional quality, and adaptability, building on the legacy of earlier Khapli wheat improvements. The most recent Khapli variety cultivated by farmers in Rahuri taluka of Ahilyanagar (formerly Ahmednagar) district is Nilgiri Khapli (HW 1098), a semi-dwarf dicoccum wheat variety known for its high yield and disease resistance. A healthy grain Emmer wheat offers significant nutritional benefits, primarily due to its high fibre content, antioxidant compounds, easily digestible protein, and resistant starch, along with its slow carbohydrate digestion. Its health benefits are motivating local farmers to grow it not only for personal consumption but also for niche markets seeking traditional and healthy grains. According to Kurban Tadavai, District Superintendent Agricultural Officer and Project Director of the Agricultural Technology Management Agency, Jalgaon has emerged as a hub for Khapli wheat cultivation. The grain is now grown on approximately 1,500 acres across the talukas of Raver, Chopda, Parola, Dharangaon, Muktainagar, and Yaval in the district. 'Khapli wheat seeds are available at 12 centres in the district. The agriculture department has made arrangements to ensure the availability of quality seeds. Farmers are encouraged to use certified seeds for better yield and disease resistance,' he says. While farmers like Vaishali Patil began cultivating Khapli wheat motivated by its health benefits, a growing number of cultivators, such as 45-year-old Milind Shah, are recognising its economic and ecological promise. A resident of Chahardi village in Jalgaon's Chopda taluk, Shah began growing Khapli in 2020, sourcing seeds from a pioneering farmer in nearby Raver. He has continued ever since. 'I harvest a formidable 12 to 15 quintals per acre,' he says. 'Khapli is the food of the elite, priced at Rs 80 per kg, compared to bread wheat at Rs 30.' Scooping up a handful of soil, he adds, 'When cultivated using entirely organic methods, Khapli has a remarkable ability to enrich the soil's carbon content.' Despite its rising demand and health appeal, Khapli wheat faces a key bottleneck: processing. Its labour-intensive threshing has long deterred wider adoption. 'Unlike free-threshing varieties like durum or common wheat, where the outer layers separate easily, Khapli's spikelets remain intact. Threshing requires greater force and additional steps like hand threshing, flailing, or soaking to loosen the grains,' explains Vijendra Baviskar, a wheat agronomist with the ICAR-AICRP on Wheat at the Agharkar Research Institute in Pune. With its climate resilience, nutritional value, and soil-building capacity, Khapli wheat offers more than heritage – it offers a path to sustainable farming. Realising this potential, however, will require targeted efforts in seed accessibility, farmer incentives, and widespread awareness.
Axios
23-07-2025
- Business
- Axios
Exclusive: Emmer confident Senate will pass crypto market structure bill
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) said at an Axios News Shapers event Wednesday that he's confident the Senate will take up a sweeping market structure bill. Why it matters: Emmer has been one of the most vocal advocates in Congress for the crypto industry and has been pushing the Senate to take up House-passed crypto bills. "This is a non-partisan issue," Emmer told Axios' Hans Nichols. Catch up quick: The House passed three major cryptocurrency bills as part of "Crypto Week" earlier this month, including Emmer's Anti- CBDC bill. The Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday released its own draft version of the crypto market structure bill, the CLARITY Act, that also passed the House this month. What's next: Emmer said he leaves it up to Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) on how the Senate will pass the CLARITY Act, but he sees "no reason" why the bill can't pass on it's own.
22-07-2025
- Politics
Exclusive: Inside the GOP's mission to deliver Trump's megabill
Washington, DC -- Just after midnight on July 3, a day before the GOP's self-imposed deadline to pass President Donald Trump's megabill, full of a laundry list of campaign promises, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer was reminded that just about anything can happen on the House floor. Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie, a fiscal conservative and frequent thorn in the side of Trump and his Republican colleagues, marched up to Emmer. After a brief exchange observed by ABC News reporters and confirmed by GOP lawmakers, Massie walked to the well of the chamber and changed his vote from "yes" to "no" on a key procedural step to advance Trump's bill to the floor -- bucking GOP leadership. The effort to pass Trump's signature bill pulled back the curtain on internal divisions in the House Republican conference and exposed wounds that could spell trouble ahead for other high-profile fights, like the effort to fund the government and avert a shutdown in September. ABC News conducted multiple interviews, delving into the yearlong effort by Emmer and other Republican leaders to lock down support for the president's megabill, culminating in two dramatic, sleepless nights early this month. A massive challenge It was now the wee hours of the morning of July 3 and passing the signature legislation of Trump's second term was getting harder -- not easier. There was a very real chance the bill could fail. And this wasn't even the final vote, but rather a critical procedural hurdle that could trip up Republicans from crossing the finish line. With a 220-212 majority over Democrats, Speaker Mike Johnson could afford to lose just three Republican votes before a fourth defection spelled disaster. Flipping the dozen or so holdout members would be a massive challenge. But there was another, more immediate problem: Several Republican holdouts were huddled somewhere in the sprawling Capitol complex, refusing to come to the chamber to cast their votes. And GOP leaders couldn't find them. "My attitude is always, we will succeed. We will win," Emmer, R-Minn., told ABC News in an exclusive interview. "This is what 77 million people elected this president to do. He is honoring his promises, and by the way, so are we." "It was getting people to that realization at the end of the day that it was bigger than the individual," he added. For Johnson and the Republican leadership team, passing the bill was a culmination of hundreds of meetings, phone calls and side conversations on the House floor and in the halls of Congress. They had to push through at least two all-nighters. Emmer, the man responsible for counting and "whipping" Republican votes, estimates his team stretched more than 40 hours without sleep in the days before the bill survived its final showdown in the House. "It's bringing everybody into the process, because if you feel like you've been involved in the process, you're more likely to support the final outcome," Emmer said about his whip operation. "And that's why I think these people, even the ones who didn't get everything they want or wanted more in it, that's why they were so euphoric after it passed." Backroom deals and a Trump charm offensive But this legislative saga ultimately came down to backroom deals largely struck not with House Republican leadership, but between the White House and hard-line GOP holdouts. On the night of the procedural vote, as House Republican leadership sent emissaries to find that missing group of holdouts, many were secretly gathered in Texas Congressman Chip Roy's office. As Speaker Johnson held the vote open, the holdouts knew some of their Republican colleagues were looking for them. But despite the mounting pressure inside the Capitol, conservatives were losing interest in negotiating with party leadership anymore, several told us. They wanted to talk to the White House. After a delay of more than six hours and continued strategizing, the group decided to walk over to the Capitol only after they felt the White House met some of their demands -- and after one of their colleagues, Rep. Scott Perry, drove back from his home in Pennsylvania having left the Capitol in a huff over the bill. Privately most of the holdouts said they didn't want to amend the language of the bill -- fearing if the bill were to be sent back to the Senate, Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski would leverage her critical vote in that chamber to extract even more carveouts for her home state. "She had more leverage, and she would get goodies, as they call it, for Alaska and God knows what else," Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told ABC News. But it wasn't just fears of Senate moderates that swayed House Republican hard-liners. Many softened their resolve after a charm offensive from Trump, several told us. It was a campaign blessed by Johnson, Emmer and other Republican leaders, who told the president which holdouts to entertain and which to ignore. "I talked to [President Trump] a couple days earlier, and I gave him the names of the people that were going to be key to this," Emmer said. "This literally is showing the American people that we can perform on Donald J. Trump's promises, and by the way, the same promises that we made on the campaign trail." Trump "was the nicest guy" In an Oval Office meeting the day of that key procedural vote, Trump doled out compliments to members of the House Freedom Caucus and signed merchandise and photos. "The president had a different tone. Sometimes he can be abrupt," one House Republican member who spoke on the condition of anonymity told ABC News. "That day he was the nicest guy." But promises were made, too, some of the holdouts say. To earn his vote on that key procedural hurdle, Massie asked that Trump stop personally attacking him on social media, multiple sources with knowledge told ABC News. A spokesman for Massie declined to comment but one Republican lawmaker described Massie's move to ABC News as "brilliant" because they believe the congressman always wanted to vote for the procedural hurdle anyway. Massie ultimately changed his vote back once again from "no" to "yes" to advance the bill, but then voted against it on final passage. "It wasn't beautiful enough for me to vote for it," Massie told ABC News as he hurried to his car after the vote. To pick up the support of a band of deficit hawks in the House Freedom Caucus, the White House agreed to a series of executive orders and other administrative actions, five members told ABC News. Wary that the administration would go back on its word, several members took notes of the concessions the White House made, some of which ABC News has reviewed. The hard-liners ABC News spoke to shared only scant details of the exact terms and timing of their deals with the White House, concerned the Trump administration would renege if the agreements were made public. But, the topics include an effort to balance the federal budget, a push to rescind Biden-era green-energy tax credits faster than the president's megabill calls for, and action on conservative social issues. Ultimately, all of the holdouts -- even Roy and Harris -- voted for the bill. "I told a certain group that made it a very arduous process, 'You know, I hate you guys, but you are also the greatest negotiators I have ever worked with. You are like a dog on a bloody bone. You will not let go until the absolute last minute,'" Emmer said. Asked what deals he was aware of, Emmer sidestepped -- contending that the face time with the president and hearing him give his word was enough to sway their votes. "They were part of the process in getting to yes, their concerns were listened to," he said. "Their concerns were heard. They understand that the top guy in this country, our leader, the party leader, the country's leader, the world leader, Donald J. Trump, heard me and heard my concerns and heard what I envisioned for the future." Hard-liners argue the concessions were far more tangible than that, even as some moderates in their party continue to privately taunt them for caving. "That's just not right. We did the best we can do up here," Norman said. "You make it better. You use every legislative tool you have, time wise. And is that caving? No, it's getting the best you can get people represented." As Republicans try to sell the new law to constituents, they face serious political headwinds. "This bill is being attacked by the media and by the left. This is their whole thing. Lies, lies, lies, lies. What you're going to see a year from now is people are going to recognize that this bill delivered on the promises that Donald Trump made," Emmer said. Making an end run around House leadership While Republicans plan to run on the bill in the upcoming 2026 midterms -- and have to contend with its impacts -- there is one more immediate political challenge: this legislation has shaken how some feel about House leadership. Some conservatives told us they'd prefer to simply deal directly White House in the future, and make an end run around Johnson, Emmer and other GOP leaders. But other hard-liners feel strongly that they want to work on improving their relationship with leadership and appreciate their attention over the last few months. Emmer, for his part, says he isn't concerned about the challenging dynamics in his party. "The divisions, as you define them, are differences of opinion," he said. "That's not division. That's America. We're not all the same. You've got to put this melting pot together, and the beauty of our party is that we are allowed to disagree with one another." But as Emmer spoke with ABC News on Wednesday and recounted the triumph of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act two weeks earlier, another revolt was brewing that would again challenge his whip operation. A familiar group of hard-liners had once again drawn another line in the sand during Crypto Week -- refusing to advance legislation without additional concessions -- a day after Trump had claimed he'd struck a deal with GOP holdouts. With Republicans falling short on the floor, Johnson again kept the vote open -- pulling holdouts together behind closed doors near the House chamber. Negotiations dragged on for hours as aides dragged multiple carts of food, wine, beer and hard seltzer into the office. "Sometimes it takes longer than others" Nine hours later, House Republicans broke another record for the longest recorded vote in congressional history. Sixteen members ultimately flipped their votes after receiving assurances from GOP House leaders that anti-central bank digital currency legislation would be attached to the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act later this year. "We just, you know, work through everybody's concerns and found a solution, and we build consensus," Johnson told ABC News. "I mean, sometimes it takes longer than others, and they told me, we set another record last night for the open vote or something. But it never concerns me how long a vote is open. We just have to have the right results. So it worked out." Even after that hurdle was cleared, Republicans were onto their next intraparty showdown to meet the president's request to claw back $9 billion from the federal budget after holdouts struck another deal related to a non-binding resolution calling for the release of "certain" Jeffrey Epstein files. That whack-a-mole approach may not always produce the anticipated result, but it represents a hardening dynamic where the certainty of frantic negotiations down to the wire is the only guarantee on Capitol Hill -- and one that threatens a government shutdown this fall. Despite that unpredictability, Emmer says there are no surprises on the road to success. "You may not hear about us as much, but what we're doing with all of our members is you got to believe. You got to be inspired to want to do something that nobody thinks you can achieve," Emmer said as he explained his approach. "And as long as that just starts building, it builds with the first thing that you pass with two extra votes, and that muscle memory keeps building." "People have their disagreements leading into these votes, but once they're over, I mean, it's euphoric. It's like you just won the seventh game of a seven-game playoff series," Emmer said. "That feeling is something that they remember. They'll be right back to debating and disputing and bumping into each other, but that is why we do it."
Globe and Mail
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Globe and Mail
U.S. Congress members urge Canada to deal with wildfire smoke ruining their summer
The United States is complaining about another Canadian export: wildfire smoke ruining summer in their neck of the woods. Six members of the U.S. Congress have penned a public letter to Canada's ambassador in Washington demanding their Northern neighbour do better at mitigating wildfires, which have led to thousands of evacuations in this country and sent smoke billowing across the border into Midwestern states. 'We write to you today on behalf of our constituents who have had to deal with suffocating Canadian wildfire smoke filling the air,' reads the letter signed by Republican House representatives Brad Finstad, Pete Stauber, Michelle Fischbach and Tom Emmer of Minnesota, along with Tom Tiffany and Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin. 'While we know a key driver of this issue has been a lack of active forest management, we've also seen things like arson as another way multiple large wildfires have ignited in Canada.' Congress members said Midwestern states are struggling to enjoy their summer because of hazardous fumes that have extended beyond Canada's border. 'Our constituents have been limited in their ability to go outside and safely breathe due to the dangerous air quality,' the Wisconsin and Minnesota representatives wrote in their letter questioning Canada's lack of action. 'In our neck of the woods, summer months are the best time of the year to spend time outdoors recreating, enjoying time with family, and creating new memories, but this wildfire smoke makes it difficult to do all those things.' Wildfire smoke is affecting air quality across the country. Here's what you need to know In a short statement to The Globe and Mail on Wednesday, Canadian Ambassador Kirsten Hillman defended the government's response to wildfires. 'Canada takes the prevention, response, and mitigation of wildfires very seriously,' wrote Ms. Hillman's spokesperson, Tarryn Elliott. 'We can confirm that the letter has been received and has been shared with the relevant Canadian agencies. We will respond in due course.' Several regions in Canada have experienced an early and active wildfire season this year. Both Manitoba and Saskatchewan declared simultaneous provincewide states of emergency, as dozens of other large fires also spread in northwestern Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. More than 40,000 people in Canada had been ordered to evacuate from their communities this year. Although the vast majority have now returned home, thousands of people remain displaced. Smoke from Canadian wildfires has drifted not only to parts of the U.S., but also as far as Europe. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued air-quality warnings for several states, including Minnesota, New York and Florida, while Europe's Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service said the smoke has travelled eastward to Greece.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Lawmakers Push for Osprey Safety Report to Be Added to Annual Defense Funding Bill
House lawmakers want a safety report about the V-22 Osprey to be included in the annual defense appropriations bill after several deadly crashes killed troops and raised questions about the aircraft's continued use by the military. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Wis., wrote a letter to the leadership of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense on Friday, asking for language to be added to the fiscal 2026 appropriations bill that would shed more light on historic mechanical failures with the aircraft. "These servicemembers are heroes, and their legacy should reflect their decorated careers, bravery and service to this nation," the letter says. "There is no question that our service members deserve better than to be protecting our country in an aircraft with known mechanical issues." Read Next: Pentagon Diverts $1 Billion from Army Barracks to Fund Border Mission Emmer and Grothman's letter follows a deadly Air Force Special Operations Command Osprey crash in November 2023 in Japan that killed eight airmen during a training mission. exclusively reported last year, after reviewing privileged safety information, that the crash was caused by issues in the tilt-rotor aircraft's gearbox -- specifically a fractured single high-speed planetary pinion gear. That internal Safety Investigation Board report detailed that other failures in the gearbox were first flagged back in 2013, a decade prior to the deadly crash, and concerns were raised at the Pentagon. Additionally, the company that made the part that failed has been plagued with a history of manufacturing issues. Emmer and Grothman's letter cited past reporting and specifically asks for language to be included that will examine past safety reports that probed failures, including that gear from the Japan crash. The letter asks the defense appropriator subcommittee to request "a report that includes the results of any safety investigation pertaining to any crash of the CV-22 Osprey since the introduction of the aircraft or other mishap involving the failure of the single high-speed planetary pinion gear." The language would require the defense secretary to submit the safety information within 30 days of the passage of the appropriations bill. Jason Gagnon, a spokesperson for Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., the chair of the defense appropriations subcommittee, said the congressman would be working with other lawmakers on Osprey safety. "Chairman Calvert looks forward to working with Majority Whip Emmer and other colleagues on this issue," Gagnon said in an emailed statement. "The safety of our service members remains one of the top priorities of the Defense Subcommittee." Notably, almost a year ago, Grothman led a House Committee on Oversight and Reform subcommittee hearing into the safety record of the V-22 Osprey. reported earlier this month that the investigation had stalled with the Republican-led committee, which angered Gold Star families who lost loved ones in the crash and are still hoping for answers. "I'm beyond disappointed, to say the least, that these oversight efforts seem to have stalled or disappeared," Amber Sax, the wife of John Sax, a Marine Corps pilot who died in a 2022 Osprey crash, told earlier this month. Grothman blamed the previous administration for a lack of transparency. He signed the letter alongside Emmer, calling for safety reports two weeks after reporting pointing out the lack of progress. Air Force Special Operations Command spokesperson Lt. Col. Rebecca Heyse told in an emailed statement that they "continue to welcome congressional interest and oversight" on the Osprey program. "We maintain close coordination with the V-22 Joint Program Office to ensure resourcing and funding are prioritized to maximize readiness and safety of the CV-22, like we do for all our aircraft," Heyse said. Related: Osprey Safety Investigation Stalls in Congress, Angering Gold Star Families
