VOA慢速英语-Agriculture Report - Special Feed for Swine May Help

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
　
Hogs¹ at an Ohio farm

Research shows that waste from pigs that are fed a special kind of corn may help a farmer's crops. And it also may help the environment. Any farmer who raises swine knows that pigs produce a lot of waste. This has both good and bad effects. Swine waste has nutrients² like nitrogen that can help fertilize³ crops when it is placed on the fields. But the manure⁴ contents may not be what a crop needs. And removing too much manure can be a big job.

Soil scientist Brian Wienhold said most of the phosphorus in traditional corn fed to pigs is in the substance phytate. Pigs lack a chemical in their bodies to break down phytate. Most of the phosphorus in traditional corn feed passes through the animal without processing. It is expelled⁵ in the manure.

Placing the usual swine manure in the fields can increase the phosphorus content of the ground. And when rains cause the phosphorus to wash away, it can harm the environment.

But science may be able to solve the problem. A report on the subject recently appeared in the publication Soil Science Society of America Journal. The researchers are from the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. They tested fields not far from the Nebraska cities of Lincoln and Hastings. They put three different substances on the fields: chemical fertilizer, manure from swine fed traditional corn diets and manure from swine fed low-phytate corn diets.

The scientists then compared how much nitrogen and phosphorus were available in the soil. They found that using slurry from swine fed low-phytate corn diets resulted in slower build-up of phosphorus in the soil. At the same time, it did not reduce the availability of the phosphorus to the crops.

Other scientists also have worked with low-phytate feed in recent years. For example, in research reported in two thousand four, University of Kentucky researchers gave pigs and chicks low-phytate feed. The substance phytase was added to the feed. The researchers said it helped break down the phytates.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. To learn more about agriculture, go to voaspecialenglish.com for transcripts⁶ and MP3 archives of our reports.

 

1 hogs   

n.（尤指喂肥供食用的）猪( hog的名词复数 )；（供食用的）阉公猪；彻底地做某事；自私的或贪婪的人

参考例句：

• 'sounds like -- like hogs grunting. “像——像是猪发出的声音。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• I hate the way he hogs down his food. 我讨厌他那副狼吞虎咽的吃相。 来自辞典例句

2 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 fertilize   

v.使受精，施肥于，使肥沃

参考例句：

• Fertilizer is a substance put on land to fertilize it.肥料是施在地里使之肥沃的物质。
• Reading will fertilize his vocabulary.阅读会丰富他的词汇。

4 manure   

n.粪，肥，肥粒；vt.施肥

参考例句：

• The farmers were distributing manure over the field.农民们正在田间施肥。
• The farmers used manure to keep up the fertility of their land.农夫们用粪保持其土质的肥沃。

5 expelled   

驱逐( expel的过去式和过去分词 )； 赶走； 把…除名； 排出

参考例句：

• She was expelled from school at 15. 她15岁时被学校开除了。
• After the outbreak of fighting,all foreign journalists were expelled. 战斗开始后，所有的外国记者都被驱逐出境。

6 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句