AcSIR-Act-2011 - The Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research Act, 2011

Independent Thought v Union of India and Ors. (2017)

Governor Jack Markell, DNREC Secretary Collin O’Mara and Delaware Department of Agriculture Secretary Ed Kee joined Delmarva Wellnet Foundation-EDEN Delmarva members to celebrate the success of the foundation’s food recycling project REPLENISH.

Delaware residents should ask pesticide contractors for their state pesticide business license information before hiring them, state agricultural officials advise. "Spring and summer are a busy season for pesticide applicators, as many people get their lawns spruced up," said Dave Pyne, pesticides administrator for the Department of Agriculture. "We want homeowners to know that all pesticide applicators in Delaware should be licensed and certified, which ensures everyone is working by approved standards."

American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) is a native tree that can be affected by a fungal disease known as anthracnose. Several factors such as wet weather and lower average temperatures have combined to make this a more severe year for this condition. While many of the trees in the sycamore family are showing signs of stress, experts at the Delaware Forest Service believe that the majority of these will recover and leaf out normally as temperatures warm toward summer.

The long-term battle to restore the Chesapeake Bay is quietly being waged on the Deep Creek Tract of Redden State Forest in Georgetown.

PolyTech High School in Woodside placed first among six Delaware high school FFA chapters in the annual “Forestry Career Development Event (CDE)," a challenging test of tree identification skills, forestry tools and knowledge, and math-related abilities held at Brecknock County Park in Camden this week. Led by instructor Susan Wujtewicz, PolyTech also fielded the event's individual overall winner, Jacob Dickey. The event was held in cooperation with the Delaware Department of Agriculture Forest Service.

Owners of farm markets, produce stands, garden centers, agritourism businesses, riding stables, farms offering hay sales, and other agricultural retail operations are being sought to be featured in the latest edition of the Delaware Agricultural Directory.

A crew of 20 wildland firefighters from the Delaware Forest Service that departed on Friday, July 5 has joined over 680 personnel working on the 65,000-acre Stuart Creek 2 fire, located 25 miles east of North Pole, Alaska. The blaze is only 5 percent contained and burning through a mix of hardwoods and black spruce. The crew is assigned to a "remote spike camp" and is making the adjustment to long hours of daylight typical of an Alaskan summer. The first operational day for the crew was Monday, July 8.

A new nuisance plant pest that can consume certain row and vegetable crops - including lima beans and soybeans - has been confirmed in Delaware. The kudzu bug was recently found on pole lima beans on a Sussex County farm. Delaware Secretary of Agriculture Ed Kee said growers should be on the alert and report any suspected infestations, while noting there are pesticides that can be used to protect crops.

July 9, 2013: Update on the crew of 20 Delaware wildland firefighters in Alaska The crew of 20 firefighters from Delaware are now part of over 730 personnel assigned to the Stuart Creek 2 Fire – a wildfire located about 25 miles east of the town of North Pole, Alaska which has grown to 82,274 […]

Visitors to the Delaware State Fair can learn how to cook Japanese foods, carve a chicken, eat healthy on a budget and make a watermelon banana split – all in one place, at the Department of Agriculture’s Education Building. Starting Friday, July 19, DDA and its partners will offer a lineup of free food and cooking demonstrations every day of the fair.

Fire officials say that a team of 20 Delaware wildland firefighters who have spent almost two weeks battling the Stuart Creek 2 Fire – an 85,000-acre blaze burning near North Pole, Alaska – are tentatively scheduled to return to the First State by Monday, July 22. According to the latest update from the Eastern Area […]

Highlighting two paths to the future for Delaware agriculture, Governor Jack Markell and Secretary of Agriculture Ed Kee welcomed a group of young Wilmington urban farmers and an international trade delegation to the Delaware State Fair.

A strong Delaware watermelon season is now under way, with First State melons now reaching customers in grocery stores and markets along the East Coast, from New England to Florida. This season is featuring good yields and excellent quality for Delaware watermelon growers, said Secretary of Agriculture Ed Kee. The First State produces both seeded and seedless watermelon.

In response to increased fire activity in the West, the Delaware Forest Service has sent a 20-person crew of wildland firefighters to Utah. The crew will be "pre-positioned" there before a likely assignment to Eastern Great Basin region. This is the second crew from Delaware this summer - the first battled an 85,000-acre blaze near North Pole, Alaska in July. The crew departed Sunday, August 11, from Blackbird State Forest near Smyrna to board a flight to Salt Lake City, Utah from Harrisburg, PA on Monday, August 12.

A team of wildland firefighters from Delaware is now assigned to the Patch Springs Fire – a 14,000-acre blaze located two miles northwest of Terra, UT that is only 20 percent contained. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, the blaze is characterized by active fire behavior in timber with group tree torching and long-range spotting. Structures are threatened and evacuations in effect. The Delaware firefighters are working on Division Z, where they are assisting with burn-out operations, line prep and patrolling. There are four crews assigned to the blaze, part of almost 150 personnel assigned to the incident. Estimated containment date: August 22.

A team of Delaware volunteer firefighters who have been battling a blaze in Utah for the past week are now headed to a new assignment in the Payette National Forest near McCall, Idaho. According to Delaware state forester Michael Valenti of Dover, who is traveling with the team, Delaware's crew will be traveling over 500 miles from Utah to Idaho on August 20, and then begin its first operational period on August 21.

Governor Markell signed House Bill 160 to permit shellfish aquaculture in Delaware's Inland Bays, allowing the state to reap the economic benefits of a multimillion dollar industry while improving water quality in the bays.

As part of National Fire Prevention Month in October, Smokey Bear will be visiting classrooms with the Delaware Forest Service's yearly fire prevention education programs targeted to first-grade students in the state's private, public, and charter schools. Ashley Peebles coordinates the successful effort that reaches around 9,000 students annually.

535 kindergarten students at McIlvaine Early Childhood Center in Magnolia learned fire safety from Smokey Bear as part of the Delaware Forest Service's annual education program. Located in the Caesar Rodney School District, McIlvaine is the largest kindergarten program in the First State.

Five marketing and research projects supporting Delaware crops will receive nearly $230,000 in funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, Delaware Secretary of Agriculture Ed Kee announced today.

Delaware jockeys are continuing their support of a nutrition program to help improve jockey health and safety on the state’s racetracks with a recent donation.

The Delaware Forest Service funded a streetscape project in Georgetown, highlighted by the planting of 18 new cherry and lilac trees along East Market Street near the Sussex County Courthouse. Total cost was estimated at $37,000.

Delaware’s farming future and long agricultural heritage were both recognized today in a ceremony honoring the newest participants in the state’s Young Farmers Program and the latest inductees into the Century Farm Program, with the announcement that 10 young farmers would be receiving no-interest loans from the First State’s new innovative assistance program, now in its second year.

The Delaware Department of Agriculture's marketing team has been honored by the Delaware Food Industry Council for its work connecting farmers and grocers.

The public is invited to a free tree-lighting celebration Wednesday, December 11, in the Planting Hope for Delaware Garden at the Delaware Health and Social Services Herman Holloway Campus, 1901 N. DuPont Highway, New Castle.

More than 30 Delaware farmers have Christmas trees available for First State merrymakers this holiday season, with firs, spruces and pines in abundance – and easy to find and buy with the Delaware Fresh mobile app. The app and a related website, de.gov/christmastrees, feature locations, hours and other shopping information.

The Delaware Forest Service is seeking qualified and interested individuals for its upcoming series of wildfire training classes at the Delaware State Fire School. Ideal candidates should be: at least 18 years of age, physically and mentally fit, motivated to learn, and willing to travel for two weeks or more for out-of-state assignments.

"Invading Your Forest," a workshop on managing invasive species in Delaware woodlands, will be held on Friday, January 17 from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the ACE building-Delaware State Fairgrounds, Harrington.

Photos are available for media use on Flickr. DOVER – Delaware’s community farmers’ markets set a new sales record in 2013, with shoppers buying more than $2.1 million in fresh produce and other goods, the Department of Agriculture said Tuesday. Gov. Jack Markell and Secretary of Agriculture Ed Kee announced the news at an annual […]

Forty-four new farms totaling more than 4,300 acres have been selected for permanent easements to add to the Delaware Farmland Preservation Program, the Delaware Agricultural Lands Preservation Foundation has announced.

The 2014 Delaware Arborist and Tree Care Seminar will be held on March 4 and 5 at Baywood Greens in Long Neck, Sussex County. Cost is $80 with lunch included. Register at delawaretrees.com.

Delaware farmers produced a record $1.2 billion worth of crops and livestock in 2012, according to Census of Agriculture data released Thursday, showing how First State agriculture is thriving and succeeding despite economic challenges, state leaders said.

The Delaware Forest Service's 2014 Arbor Day Poster Contest is now open to all Delaware students in grades K to 5. Public, private and home schools are encouraged to participate as well as after-school groups and youth organizations. Posters are due by April 4th, 2013. This year's poster contest theme - "Trees are Terrific…In Cities and Towns!" - is dedicated to the important role that trees play in our communities and schoolyards.

The Delaware Forestry Association (DFA) will present its 2014 Tree Farmer of the Year Award at its annual meeting on Thursday, March 27, 2014 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at the Bridgeville Fire Hall, 311 Market St., Bridgeville, DE 19933. Tickets are $27 for adults and $12.50 for children ages 6 to 12. DFA is a nonprofit organization established in 1982 to promote the sustainable practice of forestry on the Delmarva Peninsula. Info at delawareforest.com.

Brian Michalski was honored as the 2014 Delaware Tree Farmer of the Year at the annual meeting of the Delaware Forestry Association in Bridgeville recently. Michalski is a four-time chair of the state Tree Farm Committee and has operated his 59-acre tree farm near Greenwood, Sussex County since it was first certified in 1997. He has also been DFA’s president for four years.

Delaware growers are the first on the East Coast able to take advantage of a new online tool that helps protect sensitive crops from pesticides that may drift due to wind or weather. Delaware is the newest participant in the DriftWatch program, which allows growers of certain crops or commercial beekeepers to alert pesticide applicators of sensitive areas before they spray.

With farm stands opening their doors and farmers' market seasons kicking off this month, it's now easier than ever for Delawareans to buy their farm-fresh items directly from growers.

The Delaware Forest Service will hold its 19th annual Fire Camp at Redden State Forest near Georgetown on Saturday, April 26 from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. The intensive one-day seminar provides hands-on training to volunteer wildland firefighters and, weather permitting, will feature a "live burn" exercise in which crew members battle an actual wildfire.

Irrigation can increase grain production and profitability even in a near-ideal growing season, a new survey of Delaware cropland shows.

More than $336,000 in federal grant funding is now available for projects to help produce, market or access Delaware-grown fruit, vegetables and certain other crops.

The acting executive director of the Delaware Harness Racing Commission has been named to the post permanently. Mark Davis, the Delaware Department of Agriculture’s deputy principal assistant and policy advisor, had been acting director since September 2013 after previously serving as a liaison to the harness racing industry.

Delaware farmers are among the most productive and efficient in the nation, with the First State remaining first in the nation in the value of agricultural products sold per acre, according to U.S. Census of Agriculture data released Friday.

Governor Jack Markell celebrated Arbor Day by joining over 500 kindergarten students at McIlvaine Early Childhood Center for a ribbon-cutting to unveil the school's new "Tree Walk & Talk Arboretum." Gov. Markell also honored winners of the Delaware Forest Service's annual Arbor School Poster Contest and joined in commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the adoption of the American holly as Delaware's state tree in 1939.

The public is invited to attend a garden fair on Saturday, June 21, to celebrate the dedication of the Planting Hope in Delaware garden on the Herman Holloway Campus near New Castle. The free event, from 9 a.m. to noon, will include tours of the Planting Hope sensory, community and market gardens; a honey tasting from the Delaware Beekeepers Association in celebration of National Pollinator Week; story time with PAWS for People dogs; and a meditative labyrinth for walking.

Delaware hog owners, veterinarians and laboratories are now required to report suspected cases of two rapidly spreading swine diseases to the Delaware Department of Agriculture. Delaware has had no cases of either disease reported to date.

Middletown High School FFA students won the 2014 “Forestry Career Development Event (CDE),” a challenging test of tree identification skills, forestry tools and knowledge, and math-related abilities. Sussex Central High School's FFA team placed second. Each team consisted of four students who answered both individual and team-based questions. Middletown will now represent Delaware at the National FFA Convention and Expo in Louisville, Kentucky that begins on October 29, 2014.

HARRINGTON — Visitors to the Delaware State Fair can learn about farming, explore the fair and win prizes this year with the Delaware Department of Agriculture’s new Fair Scavenger Hunt. Families can search for answers in the fair’s animal barns, on equipment row, and in the DDA buildings, gaining a deeper understanding of the importance […]

In response to increased wildfire activity in the western United States, the Delaware Forest Service (DFS) dispatched a crew of volunteer wildland firefighters from Blackbird State Forest in Smyrna on Saturday, July 19 that traveled to Redmond, Oregon. The team is getting in position to fight a wildfire in that region and should receive its assignment in the next 24 hours. The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho recently upped its National Fire Preparedness Level to 3 on a 5-point scale. However in the Northwest, the regional level is currently at the maximum 5 on a 5-point scale due to the incidence of 17 new fires and 24 large uncontained blazes.