Australia - Trials hope to salvage some stored grain

27.11.2015 78 views
TRIALS have begun to see if some of the heat-damaged and smoke-tainted grain stored on fire-ravaged farms across the Esperance zone, can be salvaged. Much of the on-farm stored grain was in plastic silo bags and may not be recoverable and may also not be covered by farmers' crop insurance. CBH Group representatives began visiting farms north of Cascade and across to Scaddan, Grass Patch and Salmon Gums on Friday, as soon as it was deemed safe to enter the fire zone. However, the full extent of the impact of the fires on what was shaping as a bumper harvest in the Esperance zone, may not be known for three weeks, a CBH spokesperson said. "Farmers are the best judge of their crops and it may take that long before they can assess the damage and get back to us," the spokesperson said. Assessing whether some of the on-farm stored grain could be salvaged would be a farm-by-farm proposition. So far this season 1,279,950 tonnes has been delivered to CBH sites in the Esperance zone, out of a total of 6,740,570t delivered across all zones. On the Friday before the fires the Esperance terminal broke a daily receivals record and across the zone CBH took 350,000t over four days before movement bans mid-morning on the Tuesday of the fires brought harvest to a halt. Chief executive officer Andy Crane said more than 100,000 hectares of cropping land had been burnt and the loss of standing crop and stored grain could run to more than 100,000t. "It's hard to tell, but the loss will be significant in the zone - particularly as they were looking at some good yields - three tonnes a hectare and even four, five and 6t/ha in some places, so it's a real loss," Dr Crane said. "A lot of grain stored on farm has been damaged or destroyed and that's an additional impact on our growers, particularly when they've gone to all the effort of harvesting it and they've lost it before it's been delivered to CBH. "We want to see if we can recover as much of that as possible. "There's been a lot of silo bags on farms, so we'll have to go and see what has been the impact there. "We are doing our trials and it may be that a surface of grain is damaged but what's in the middle may be salvageable." Dr Crane said CBH was looking to introduce new off-grade segregations for damaged grain. It would help growers with assessing and sale of on-farm stored grain, he said. He predicted the fires will also have a long-term impact on productivity. "It's not just the grain and the crop that has been lost, but of course the tragic loss of life, property and machinery that has been lost," Dr Crane said. Dr Crane said no CBH sites were damaged by the fires. He confirmed Kym 'Fred' Curnow, the farmer who lost his life while trying to warn others of the fire, was a CBH grower. "As a grower co-operative that's owned and run by farmers, we are intrinsically connected to the communities in which we operate," Dr Crane said. Some farmers who have crop fire cover with Elders Insurance may be able to claim for loss of grain stored in silo bags. Elders Insurance general manager Jon Fox confirmed on Monday that "where a client has insured against fire under an Elders Insurance broadacre insurance policy, there is some limited cover available for harvested grain damaged by fire and stored in silo bags". "We encourage all Elders Insurance clients to contact their local agent to discuss their insurance covers," Mr Fox said. Source - http://www.farmweekly.com.au
28.03.2024

Canada - How Sask.'s new budget does and doesn't address climate change

The world is facing record heat from human-caused climate change brought on by carbon dioxide and methane emissions, but the words "climate change" don't appear once in Saskatchewan's newly released 75-page 2024-25 budget.

28.03.2024

Kenya - How crop insurance is transforming agriculture

Kenyan farmers continue to face challenges due to unpredictable weather conditions. As a result, they are turning to insurance coverage for their crops and livestock. Insurance experts have reported that most farmers who are insuring their crops are smallholders who rely on rain-fed agriculture and use low-technology farming methods.

28.03.2024

USA - How spring temperature fluctuations, early blooms are impacting Centre County fruit farmers

Plenty of people in Centre County got outside to enjoy temperatures in the 60s and 70s earlier this month, but spring weather fluctuations continue to cause concern for local fruit farmers.

28.03.2024

USA - Farmers use helicopters to warm crops amid spring freezes

An early spring this year means more work for farmers as early blooms face freezing temperatures. Les Dozier's Sta-N-Step Farms has served Northwest Arkansas since 1989. His farm is one of many facing freezing temperatures that could ruin crops.

28.03.2024

Ireland - Potato will be scarce by June, farmers praying for rain to stop

Farmers have to "watch, hope and pray" for a "sweet spot" of dry weather in the coming weeks or many will have to debate whether to plant at all this year. As continuous rainfall adds to already saturated ground, many big and small potato farmers are warning that the Irish favourite variety of Rooster may be in scarce supply by June.

28.03.2024

USA - Several metro Atlanta counties declared natural disaster zones after severe drought

More than 30 Georgia counties — including 10 in metro Atlanta — have been designated “primary natural disaster areas” by the United States Department of Agriculture, the agency announced Thursday.

27.03.2024

Turkey - Climate change may affect grape cultivation

A recent study has highlighted the impact of the climate crisis on viticulture in Turkey, predicting that the expected rise in temperatures and reduced rainfall could shift the suitability of vineyard regions for grape production over the next three decades.

27.03.2024

Crop crisis reveals El Niño’s toll on Southern Africa

New findings from the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (Enso) reference group highlight the significant impact of the 2023/24 El Niño event on various aspects of climate and agriculture in Southern Africa.

istanbul escort şişli escort tbilisi escort şişli escort şişli escort maslak escort istanbul escort beşiktaş escort taksim escort izmir escort ümraniye escort mecidiyeköy escort şişli escort taksim escort ümraniye escort kartal escort şirinevler escort maltepe escort istanbul escort ümraniye escort kadıköy escort vip escort mersin escort istanbul escorts ataköy escort avcılar escort beylikdüzü escort okmeydanı escort şişli escort tuzla escort işitme cihazı sex shop sex shop sex shop sex shop sex shop sex shop sex shop sex shop