New Agriculture in Oregon US Reading Answers

Dec 21, 2022

New Agriculture in Oregon US Reading Answers contains 13 questions that need to be answered in 20 minutes. The IELTS topic New Agriculture in Oregon US Reading Answers consists of two types of questions including- Match the people with opinions, and Select YES, NO, NOT GIVEN. It is important for the candidates to read the passage of New Agriculture in Oregon US Reading Answers before answering the questions. IELTS Reading increases the understanding and the capability of students in reading and understanding a passage. This topic has been taken from the book: Reading for the IELTS. Similar topics like New Agriculture in Oregon US Reading Answers are available for candidates online. They can also refer to IELTS Reading practice papers.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

New Agriculture in Oregon US Reading Answers

Onion growers in eastern Oregon are adopting a system that saves water and keeps topsoil in place while producing the highest quality “super-colossal” onions. Pear growers in southern Oregon have reduced their use of some of the most toxic pesticides by up to two-thirds, and are still producing top-quality pear. Range managers throughout the state have controlled the poisonous weed tansy ragwort with insect predators and saved the Oregon livestock industry up to $4.8 million a year.
These are some of the results Oregon growers have achieved in collaboration with Oregon State University (OSU) researchers as they test new farming methods including integrated pest management (IPM). Nationwide, however, IPM has not delivered results comparable to those in Oregon. A recent U.S General Accounting Office (GAO) report indicates that while integrated pest management can result in dramatically reduced pesticide use, the federal government has been lacking in effectively promoting that goal and implementing IPM. Farmers also blame the government for not making the new options of pest management attractive. “Wholesale changes in the way that farmers control the pests on their farms is an expensive business.” Tony Brown, of the National Farmers Association, says. “If the farmers are given tax breaks to offset the expenditure, then they would willingly accept the new practices.” The report goes on to note that even though the use of the riskiest pesticides has declined nationwide, they still make up more than 40 percent of all pesticides used today; and national pesticide use has risen by 40 million kilograms since 1992. “Our food supply remains the safest and highest quality on Earth but we continue to overdose our farmland with powerful and toxic pesticides and to under-use the safe and effective alternatives,” charged Patrick Leahy, who commissioned the report. Green action groups disagree about the safety issue. “There is no way that habitual consumption of foodstuffs grown using toxic chemical of the nature found on today’s farms can be healthy for consumers,” noted Bill Bowler, spokesman for Green Action, one of many lobbyists interested in this issue.
The GAO report singles out Oregon’s apple and pear producers who have used the new IPM techniques with growing success. Although Oregon is clearly ahead of the nation, scientists at OSU are taking the Government Accounting Office criticisms seriously. “We must continue to develop effective alternative practices that will reduce environmental hazards and produce high-quality products,” said Paul Jepson, a professor of entomology at OSU and new director of
OSU’s Integrated Plant Protection Centre (IPPC). The IPPC brings together scientists from OSU’s Agricultural Experiment Station, OSU Extension service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Oregon farmers to help develop agricultural systems that will save water and soil, and reduce pesticides. In response to the GAO report, the Centre is putting even more emphasis on integrating research and farming practices to improve Oregon agriculture environmentally and economically.
“The GAO report criticizes agencies for not clearly communicating the goals of IPM,” said Jepson. “Our challenge is to greatly improve the communication to and from growers, to learn what works and what doesn’t. the work coming from OSU researchers must be adopted in the field and not simply languish in scientific journals.”
In Oregon, growers and scientists are working together to instigate new practices. For example, a few years ago scientists at OSU’s Malheur Experiment Station began testing a new drip irrigation system to replace old ditches that wasted water and washed soil and fertilizer into streams. The new system cut water and fertilizer use by half kept topsoil in place and protected water quality.
In addition, the new system produced crops of very large onions, rated “super-colossal” and highly valued by the restaurant industry and food processors. Art Pimms, one of the researchers at Malheur comments: “Growers are finding that when they adopt more environmentally benign practices, they can have excellent results. The new practices benefit the environment and give the growers their success.”
OSU researcher in Malheur next tested straw mulch and found that it successfully held soil in place and kept the ground moist with less irrigation. In addition, and unexpectedly, the scientists found that the mulched soil created a home for beneficial beetles and spiders that prey on onion thrips – a notorious pest in commercial onion fields – a discovery that could reduce the need for pesticides. “I would never have believed that we could replace the artificial pest controls that we had before and still keep our good results,” commented Steve Black, a commercial onion farmer in Oregon, “but instead we have actually surpassed expectations.”
OSU researchers throughout the state have been working to reduce dependence on broad-spectrum chemical spays that are toxic to many kinds of organisms, including humans. “Consumers are rightly putting more and more pressure on the industry to change its reliance on chemical pesticides, but they still want a picture-perfect product,” said Rick Hilton, an entomologist at OSU’s Southern Oregon Research and Extension Centre, where researches help pear growers reduce the need for highly toxic pesticides. Picture perfect pears are an important product in Oregon and traditionally they have required lots of chemicals. In recent years, the industry has faced stiff competition from overseas producers, so any new methods that growers adopt must make sense economically as well as environmentally. Hilton is testing a growth regulator that interferes with the molting of codling moth larvae. Another study used pheromone dispensers to disrupt codling moth mating. These and other methods of integrated pest management have allowed pear growers to reduce their use of organophosphates by two-thirds and reduce all other synthetic pesticides by even more and still produce top-quality pears. These and other studies around the state are part of the effort of the IPPC to find alternative farming practices that benefit both the economy and the environment.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation
Questions 1-8
Use the information in the passage to match the people (listed A-G) with opinions or deeds below. Write the appropriate letters A-G in boxes 1-8 on your answer sheet.
NB you may use any letter more than once

Tony Brown
Patrick Leahy
Bill Bowler
Paul Jepson
Art Pimms
Steve Black
Rick Hilton

Question 1: There is a double-advantage to the new techniques.

Answer: E
Supporting Statement: The new practices benefit the environment and give the growers their success.
Keywords: benefit the environment, and give growers their success.
Keyword Location: Paragraph G, line 4
Explanation: As per Art Pimms’s comment, the new techniques have benefitted both the environment and the growers. The author states that new technique is environmentally suitable, and the growers are getting their worthful return by using them. Hence Art Pimms is the correct answer.

Question 2: The work on developing these alternative techniques is not finished.

Answer: D
Supporting Statement: “We must continue to develop effective alternative practices that will reduce environmental hazards and produce high-quality products,”
Keywords: Continuing
Keyword Location: Paragraph C, line 5
Explanation: The supporting sentence was said by Paul Jepson. He said that the work of developing effective practices of reducing environmental hazards and producing high-quality products. Hence, Paul Jepson is the correct answer.

Question 3: Eating food that has had chemicals used in its production is dangerous to our health.

Answer: C
Supporting Statement: “There is no way that habitual consumption of foodstuffs grown using toxic chemicals of the nature found on today’s farms can be healthy for consumers,” noted Bill Bowler”
Keywords: toxic chemicals
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, last line
Explanation: The author states that Bill Bowler had noted that the foodstuffs, that have been grown using toxic chemicals are safe and healthy for consumers. This is in sync with the question. Hence, Bill Bowler is the correct answer.

Question 4: Changing current farming methods into a new one is not a cheap process.

Answer: A
Supporting Statement: “if the farmers are given tax breaks to offset the expenditure, then they would willingly accept the new practices”
Keywords: offset the expenditure
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, line 14
Explanation: In the passage, we see that Tony Brown commented that the new farming method is not cost-efficient for the farmers. It is cheaper. This makes Tony Brown the correct answer.

Question 5: Results have exceeded the anticipated goal.

Answer: F
Supporting Statement: “I would never have believed that we could replace the artificial pest controls that we had before and still keep our good results,” commented Steve Black, a commercial onion farmer in Oregon, “but instead we have actually surpassed expectations.”
Keywords: surpassed expectations
Keyword Location: Paragraph H, last line
Explanation: The supporting sentence directly answers the question. Steve Black said that the mulched soil was successful in replacing the artificial pest controls. The result of the mulched soil has exceeded the anticipated goal. This makes Steve Black the correct answer.

Question 6: The research done should be translated into practical projects.

Answer: D
Supporting Statement: “Our challenge is to greatly improve the communication to and from growers, to learn what works and what doesn’t”
Keywords: to learn what works and what doesn’t
Keyword Location: Para E, line 2
Explanation: Paul Jepson advised that the research done should be used in practical life in order to understand which works and which doesn’t. This means that it should be translated into practical life.

Question 7: The U.S. produces the best food in the world nowadays.

Answer: B
Supporting Statement: “Our food supply remains the safest and highest quality on Earth but we continue to overdose our farmland with powerful and toxic pesticides and to under-use the safe and effective alternatives,” charged Patrick Leahy, who commissioned the report”
Keywords: safest, highest quality
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, line 17
Explanation: As per Patrick Leahy, the food supplied by the US is the safest and healthiest on Earth. Hence Patrick Leahy is the correct answer.

Question 8: Expectations of end-users of agricultural products affect the products.

Answer: G
Supporting Statement: “Consumers are rightly putting more and more pressure on the industry to change its reliance on chemical pesticides, but they still want a picture-perfect product,”
Keywords: rightly putting pressure
Keyword Location: Paragraph I, line 4
Explanation: The author says that Rick Hilton says that the population is pressurizing the food industry to change its reliance on chemical pesticides. However, they still want to grab a pure organic product. Hence, Rick Hilton is correct.

Questions 9-13
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage? In boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet, write

YES if the statement is true
NO if the statement is false
NOT GIVEN if the formation is not given to the passage

Question 9: Integrated Pest Management has generally been regarded as a success across the US.

Answer: No
Supporting Statement: “Accounting Office (GAO) report indicates that while integrated pest management can result in dramatically reduced pesticide use, the federal government has been lacking in effectively promoting that goal and implementing IPM”
Keywords: lacking ineffectively
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, line 7
Explanation: As per the supporting sentence, we can determine that Integrated Pest Management is not considered to be a success in the US. It can result in dramatically reduced pesticide use. Hence, the answer is No.

Question 10: Oregon farmers of apples and pears have been promoted as successful examples of Integrated Pest Management.

Answer: Yes
Supporting Statement: “The GAO report singles out Oregon’s apple and pear producers who have used the new IPM techniques with growing success. ”
Keywords: IPM techniques, growing success, apple, and pears
Keyword Location: Paragraph C, line 1
Explanation: The author in paragraph C mentions that the huge growth of apples and pears is an example of the effectiveness of Integrated Pest management. hence, the answer is yes.

Question 11: The IPPC uses scientists from different organizations globally

Answer: NO
Supporting Statement: “ The IPPC brings together scientists from OSU’s Agricultural Experiment Station, OSU Extension service, the u.s. Department of Agriculture and Oregon farmers to help develop agricultural systems that will save water and soil, and reduce pesticides”
Keywords: OSU’s Agricultural Experiment Station, OSU Extension service, the u.s. Department of Agriculture and Oregon farmers
Keyword Location: Paragraph D, line 1
Explanation: The IPPC brought scientists from OSU’s Agricultural Experiment Station, OSU Extension service, the u.s. Department of Agriculture and Oregon farmers together. They did not bring different organizations globally. Hence, the answer is No.

Question 12: Shaw mulch experiments produced unplanned benefits.

Answer: Yes
Supporting Statement: “I would never have believed that we could replace the artificial pest controls that we had before and still keep our good results,” commented Steve Black, a commercial onion farmer in Oregon, “but instead we have surpassed expectations.”
Keywords: surpassed expectation
Keyword Location: Paragraph H, last line
Explanation: As per Steve Black, the mulched experiments have given results above the expectation of the scientists. Hence, experiments produced unplanned benefits is correct.

Question 13: The apple industry is now facing a lot of competition from abroad

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: There is no such information in the passgae. Hence, the answer is Not Given.

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