Maasai manure helps Kenya’s drought-hit herders fight hunger.
“Prolonged drought is making it hard to find pasture and food,” he explained, estimating a third of his cattle have starved this year.
“Selling manure helps me buy food and pay hospital bills for my family.” Demand for manure collected from Kenya’s rangelands for use as fertilizer is on the rise.
Wanjiru has been farming her one-eighth of an acre using both manure collected from Maasai land and composted manure from her own cow penned on a corner of her land.
But finding enough good-quality fertilizer is becoming “a challenge”, she noted.
Much of this highland area has been planted with cash crops such as tea, crowding out staple crops, she said.
But for enterprising herders like Sankare, the manure trade offers a new source of income that is helping compensate for losses caused by drought.
That is enough to fertilize 1.5 acres (0.6 hectares) of tea plantation in central Kenya, said James Njuguna, a farmers’ field assistant working in the area.
“When manure from Maasai land is applied on the tea farms, the production is higher than expected,” said Njuguna.
ICIPE’s Karanja sees big potential in the manure trade because more Kenyans are investing in agriculture.

Solomon Islands edge wins over Papua New Guinea to reach OFC play-off The Solomons will feature in their first play-off final for 12 years The results end the Russia 2018 campaigns for both PNG and Tahiti Two tense victories over Papua New Guinea have lifted Solomon Islands into the Oceanian play-off final for the first time in 12 years.
After breakthrough results on the road to Germany 2006, the Bonitos are now set for the second appearance in the continental play-off.
FULL TIME | Solomon Islands are through to the #Stage3 #WCQ final after beating PNG 2-1 in Port Moresby pic.twitter.com/Ok7dgOtEE8 — OFC Oceania Football (@OFCfootball) June 13, 2017 The contest Four points from two matches was the equation faced by PNG and the Solomons ahead of the final outings.
PNG rallied for a brave comeback as captain Michael Foster and Patrick Aisa both netted, however that merely set the stage for Solomons star forward Micah Lea’Alafa to score a much-heralded winner.
PNG needed to win the return by a large margin to progress and they opened brightly with a goal from prolific striker Raymond Gunemba.
However, the mood was dampened almost immediately as defender Felix Komolong was dismissed for handball, and Henry Fa’Arodo equalised from the resultant penalty.
Despite the result, the campaign has seen PNG enjoy unprecedented success, highlighted by a spot in last year’s OFC Nations Cup final.
Meanwhile in Group A, Fiji and New Caledonia met home and away where only pride was on the line, with New Zealand having already shored up top spot.
But it was a goal from Krishna that ensured the two teams played out a 2-2 draw in Fiji after New Caledonia blew a two-goal advantage.
Fa’Arodo has previously stated this will be his final World Cup campaign, and ironically his equaliser in Port Moresby was crucial in keeping Solo’s campaign alive.

The drought may have made you forget, but June snow in California is a thing.
While it’s not necessarily unheard of to see thunder, rain and even snow in June, years of drought may have made people forget the past, Kochasic said.
“In recent memory, it’s been so dry that it seems even more rare,” he said.
Lassen Peak was expected to get up to 12 inches of snow, and the storm has some wondering whether the opening of the park’s road at the summit will be pushed off.
(Photo: Greg Barnette/Record Searchlight) Apparently plowed snow could be seen on the side of the road before the blockade Monday, and the owner of nearby JJ’s Café in Old Station said there was only some generally stormy weather there and snow in the hills, but not at lower elevations.
The road to the park is currently closed form Sulphur Creek to Devastated Area, according to map on the park’s website.
“Weather is the single biggest factor in our business,” he said.
“I mean, I close down for, you know, five weeks around the first of the year, because nobody’s up here.” Despite the blustery weather last weekend, Woodman said the restaurant was jam-packed.
He believes people are just ready for it to be summer.
“I’m just glad that … the weather forecast is supposed to clear up and be beautiful for the foreseeable future.”

Drought could affect pheasant season in North Dakota.
BISAMRCK, N.D. – Without much rain, pheasant nesting habitat could be in danger, which means populations could take a hit.
With peak hatching season just about a week away, mother pheasants could really use some rain.
The pop of a shotgun is a sound pheasant hunters love to hear.
"Families are brought back together that maybe have spread throughout the United States or elsewhere in North Dakota.
But with rain refusing to fall on pheasant habitats in the state… "We’re in for trouble," said Howard.
Howard says the biggest hit to his business would come in ammunition.
With fewer birds, hunters would need fewer cartridges to shoot them.
Williams says it’s unclear if the pheasant population has dropped yet, but these next few weeks are critical.
"Getting a chick raised to adult stage sometimes can be challenging enough, if you throw dry conditions on top of that, generally you’re going to be reducing the amount of cover and habitat out there that protects those birds," said Williams.

Drought continues to impact N.D. farmers and ranchers.
Even with the possibility of precipitation Monday night, those in the agriculture industry say the damage may already be done to the 2017 crop.
"There’s not much nutrition left in that, and they’re not going to like it.
"You need to have precip in the spring.
Without adequate grass, cow herds will struggle.
"They won’t stay in the shape they should be.
Probably won’t breed as good, won’t milk as good, you know calves will probably be light in the fall," said Kvamme.
"Plant some sedan sorghum, some sorghum out here, some millets.
Something to get some grass get some feed for this winter," said Goehring.
But Goehring says crops may not be released until Aug. 1.

Pittsburgh can end that drought by winning either Game 6 or Game 7 of this Stanley Cup Final.
___ 8:58 p.m. Big saves and a quick whistle that negated a goal has left the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators scoreless after two periods of a tense Game 6 in the Stanley Cup Final.
Nashville’s goal drought is now at 103 minutes and 23 seconds since Filip Forsberg scored into an open net in 4-1 win in Game 4.
Despite several chances and a fast-paced style, the Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins have played the first scoreless first period of this year’s Stanley Cup Final.
The Penguins lead the series 3-2, and seeking to become the NHL’s first team to win consecutive Stanley Cup championships since Detroit won in 1997 and ’98.
Coming off a 6-0 loss in Game 5, the Predators haven’t scored in 63 minutes and 23 seconds since Filip Forsberg’s empty-netter in a 4-1 win in Game 4.
___ 7:06 p.m. Nashville defenseman Ryan Ellis is playing and in the starting lineup for Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Ellis played only 10:44 of Nashville’s 6-0 loss on Thursday night in Pittsburgh.
Thousands of country music and hockey fans have packed into downtown Nashville as two of the city’s biggest events converged – the CMA Music Festival and the Stanley Cup Final.
___ 4 p.m. Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins are a win from becoming the NHL’s first team to win consecutive Stanley Cup titles in nearly two decades.

Fred McPherson approached some cow-calf pairs in a pasture near the family’s ranch home north of Sturgis last week and stepped across land parched by the lack of rain.
The U.S. Drought Monitor shows that most of the Dakotas are experiencing drought conditions that experts say are harming many farmers and cattle producers.
About 87 percent of North Dakota is in drought, while just more than half of South Dakota is experiencing drought conditions, according to updated monitoring information released late last week.
The parched conditions have expanded and deteriorated compared to last week, and roughly 700,000 people across both states are living in drought areas.
Selling calves now that would get a good price this fall means producers will likely take a hit on the animals’ value, said Silvia Christen, executive director of the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association.
"Our producers, our families out there on these ranches are at the mercy of the weather," Christen said.
"We’ve seen that over the last few years.
McPherson, of Sturgis, said area ranchers ended last year with a deficit of about 2-3 inches of moisture and the new year has provided little relief.
The lack of any measurable moisture has rendered the ever-popular swimming hole at Rainbow Bible Ranch unusable.
Eagan said the area has been stuck under a dome of warm weather with occasional chances of thunderstorms that bring spotty precipitation.

Slam drought done, Nadal heads to grass.
And I’m going to try to keep working hard to try to enjoy more beautiful weeks.” Wawrinka had fewer qualms about assessing Nadal, who leads the tour with four titles and 43 match wins this season, including a 24-1 record on clay.
“He’s playing the best he’s ever played.
But not only here,” said Wawrinka, a three-time major champion, including at the 2015 French Open.
… His level of play is unbelievable.” There’s no rest for the weary: Play begins at the next major, Wimbledon, just three weeks from Monday.
Novak Djokovic will try to get back on track after going through four Grand Slam tournaments without successfully defending any of the titles he won a year prior.
And Nadal?
“When Rafael is good with his knees,” Toni said, “he can play well on the grass.” Nadal won Wimbledon twice, in 2008 and 2010.
A reporter wanted to know whether, during that time, Nadal harbored any doubts about returning to the heights of his sport.
During that three years, I had doubts.

Turkey vows to help drought-hit Horn of Africa.
Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmet Yıldız was briefed Monday on the drought situation in Horn of Africa region during his visit to the capital of Ethiopia Addis Ababa.
Yıldız, who is leading a delegation of Organization of Islamic Conference, said his meetings with Ethiopian officials were pivotal for coordinating assistance in the region.
Ethiopia has been hit by severe drought over the decades that has affected 7.8 million people; last week it appealed for international emergency food aid which it said would run out in July.
"We have got necessary information from our discussion and we are here to look into how to coordinate priorities of assistance and implementation," he added.
The Turkish deputy foreign minister also held talks with Ethiopian Foreign Minister Workineh Gebeyehu.
We have "excellent relations" with Turkey over various fields, Gebeyehu said.
Yıldız said Turkey’s ties with Africa were based on long-term and strategic partnership.
"We will help our African brothers in every possible way," he said.
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CRYSTAL, N.D. — Drought is rearing its ugly head across much of Agweek Country.
The 2016 crop season in Crystal and much of the rest of northeast North Dakota was ravaged by storms that brought hail, high winds and heavy and frequent precipitation.
The difficult growing season also created extra stress and frustration for farmers and other agriculturalists.
But all the 2016 precipitation left many fields with plentiful subsoil moisture, which will help crops withstand hot, windy stretches this growing season.
Having subsoil moisture doesn’t eliminate the need for summer rains, but it provides some cushion.
Diverse crops Farmers in the Crystal area grow many crops.
Corn, soybeans, wheat, sugar beets, potatoes and dry edible beans are most common; other crops, including canola and sunflowers are raised, too.
Though Crystal, population about 150, struggled in 2016, the community enjoyed a wave of new construction in 2010-11.
Though the subsoil moisture will help with that, rain will be needed, too.
Ganssle says that applies this growing season in his area.