19.09.2014

Swiss Re assists in development of first Nigeria weather derivative

Reinsurance firm Swiss Re has assisted with the development and launch of the first weather derivative backed microinsurance scheme which aims to protect smallholder farmers in Nigeria from the risk of adverse weather patterns.Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, the firms mid to large-sized corporate insurance solutions division, has worked alongside impact investment firm Doreo Partners and its agricultural franchise Babban Gona to launch a weather-linked solution for local farmers, with the protection terms linked to satellite measured weather conditions.These innovative micro-products often require the backing of a firm with the scale of Swiss Re, as its ability to price and structure solutions backed with weather derivatives enables these low-level insurance products to be facilitated using the latest weather-index technologies while the firm can reinsure or hedge the risk using derivative tools making it possible.In this case the insurance product protects the small holder farmer-members of the Babban Gona agricultural franchise from the risks associated with adverse weather patterns. This allows the farmers to overcome a critical barrier to the adoption of new yield-increasing technologies, such as improved seeds and fertilizer by protecting their livelihoods from the impacts of certain weather extremes.By providing weather risk protection farmers are able to invest in their businesses more, adopting techniques which will provide them with better yield. Before protection was available the confidence to do this was lacking as weather events wiped out farmers crops entirely and no financial injection to enable them to replant and to continue their business.“This is a monumental step for small holder farming in Nigeria. For the first time, a small holder farmer can invest with confidence in their farm, knowing that in the event of increasing risk of drought due to climate change, they are protected by some of the world’s leading insurance companies,” said Kola Masha, Managing Director, Doreo Partners.The weather derivative underlying the insurance protection pays out based on satellite measurements of a rainfall proxy. If the proxy for rainfall hits a certain predefined level, indicating a lack of rainfall, the policies will pay out.“I am very pleased that we are able to offer income protection for farmers in Northern Nigeria. This is a region with high unemployment, and so this work is an important contribution to growth opportunities and stability,” commented Christina Ulardic, Head Market Development Africa, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions.Source - http://www.artemis.bm/

19.09.2014

USA - Crop Insurance focus for cotton in farm program

Cotton producers will have some important decisions to make once sign-up for the farm program begins, and the most important thing to remember is that cotton is not a covered commodity under the 2014 farm bill, according to Craig Brown, vice president of producer affairs for the National Cotton Council.Speaking at the morning session of the 2014 North Carolina Cotton Field Day Sept. 10 in Rocky Mount, Brown said crop insurance is the focus for cotton under the 2014 farm bill. “The farm bill does not have an income support provision for upland cotton, as do the other commodities. We still have the marketing loan for upland cotton which is 50 cents per pound this year. It is in effect for 2014 and the life of this farm bill” Brown said.For cotton producers, deciding what crop insurance option to select will be the most important decision, Brown said. Beginning with the 2015 crop, cotton producers may choose two crop insurance options, either Stacked Income Protection program (STAX) or Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO), which must be selected from a crop insurance agentBrown said cotton producers will need to make their crop insurance decisions soon because it is expected that signup for STAX or SCO will have to be made by the normal sales closing date which is Feb. 28, 2015. Enrollment has not yet begun, but it should start soon, Brown added.STAX is attractive to cotton producers because it is subsidized at 80 percent, the highest level of premium subsidy of any crop insurance product, Brown said. Producers will only pay 20 percent of the premium, which is offered by practice, either dry land or irrigated. “In North Carolina, there is very little irrigated cotton, and the chances are you are not going to have the option to buy an irrigated policy,” Brown added.STAX is exclusive to upland cotton that provides cotton growers a good level of protection, Brown said.“The biggest question on this farm bill that I get hit with the most is this new term ‘generic base.’ So what is generic base? Generic base was what your cotton base was in 2013. It becomes generic base,” Brown explained.Generic base is only applicable to cotton since cotton is not a covered commodity under the farm bill, Brown said. This gives cotton producers a great deal of planting flexibility on what they can do with the cotton base on their farms, he added.“You have the opportunity to make some planting decisions on that generic base that will protect your program eligibility for the covered commodities. If you plant a covered commodity on that generic base that adds to your eligibility for that base for that crop that year,” Brown said.“Obviously you can plant cotton on that land and you’re eligible for STAX or SCO and the marketing loan for cotton, but you have a lot of flexibility on what you plant on that generic base,” Brown said.“The main difference between generic base and the covered commodity base is that generic base is a coupled base, you actually plant the crop to get the credit. The other basis is de-coupled. You don’t have to plant the crop or any crop to be eligible for the payment,” he said.“If you had cotton base in 2013, you have generic base now. If you didn’t have cotton base in 2013, you don’t have generic base no matter how much cotton you planted since 2002. That’s the last time you had a chance to adjust the base on your farm,” he explained.Source - http://southeastfarmpress.com/

19.09.2014

USA - Crop insurance claims are starting to be submitted for damaged wheat

The crop insurance claims have now started to be filed in higher numbers as a result of the wheat that has been damaged by the frosts that have struck several parts of the country, and many agents feel that the numbers will continue to climb.North Dakota was especially affected by the recent frosts. While there have been reports of some crop insurance claims that have been coming in over the last couple of weeks, those numbers have now started to pick up. This is making for a very challenging growing year. Snow that continued into April and May delayed the farmers’ planting and even went so far as to stop it altogether, for certain farms.This weather will lead many farms to have to delay their harvests even longer and could create a serious quality issue. Among the problems affecting the wheat crops in North Dakota due to the weather problems have been sprouted grains, damage to kernels, and even the production of a chemical called Vomitoxin by the plants, making them poisonous to both humans and livestock when they are eaten in large amounts.Beyond wet and cool temperatures, hail has also been causing damage in some areas. As a result of this, some farmers are not able to obtain a price that is high enough for the grain that they have been able to harvest. Some may not be able to sell all of their grain, or may not be able to sell any of it, so their claims are being made to replace lost revenue.While all of the crop insurance claims that have been submitted so far have been filed with quite a bit of wheat that has not yet been harvested. For this reason, many agents feel that there is still a lot of room for more claims to be filed due to the weather that will occur until the time that all of the grain is brought in.Source - http://www.liveinsurancenews.com/

18.09.2014

USA - Emergency loans available to area farmers

A federal natural disaster designation by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture for farmers hit by Hurricane Arthur will allow Pamlico County farmers and those in contiguous counties to apply for emergency loans.Paula Nicholls, farm loan manager for the Farm Services Agency, said Secretary Tom Vilsack made his declaration Sept. 10 and the emergency loan program followed. The information was released by the local FSA office Wednesday.Nicholls said that farmers whose crops had losses as a result of Hurricane Arthur may apply for the FSA emergency loans at the Washington, N.C., Service Center office. The deadline for filing an application is May 11, 2015.Pamlico as the primary disaster county with Craven, Carteret, Beaufort and Hyde counties eligible because of their proximity to Pamlico and the fact that storm damage does not stop at county lines.“By default, surrounding counties are eligible for FSA assistance,” said Mike Carroll, Craven County extension agent. “Primary assistance is a low-interest loan for those that cannot get loans elsewhere.”The primary crop disaster loses in this region were in Pamlico and Carteret counties, said Carroll, primarily to corn and tobacco. Much of Pamlico and several farms near Merrimon and Beaufort in Carteret County saw severe storm damage from Arthur.“I don’t know how much has been lost as a result of water but corn and peanuts have probably experienced the greatest storm loss” that can be covered by the Farm Service Agency Emergency Loan Program, Carroll said.The July 3 hurricane caused excessive rain and winds that hurt those crops but subsequent heavy rainfall has had an equal or greater effect in Craven County and on other crops including tobacco.“Regrettably, the insurance programs today don’t get triggered as much by disaster events as they do by revenue loss but in those cases they have over 80 percent of the crop destroyed,” he said.“Continued frequent rain is not a disaster and that is regrettable too,” he said. “You have to have a definable weather related event.”The six to 15 inches of rain per month since June in Craven County — one grower reported 16 inches in June — won’t be covered by this program, said Carroll.He is talking to producers now who may be covered by crop insurance on the county’s main crops including tobacco, soy beans, corn and cotton.Carroll said Wednesday’s rain is a “perfect example” of what area farmers have had to deal with all season.“A few farmers were able to continue to harvest corn yesterday for the first time in about a week,” he said. “Now with almost another two inches of rainfall, harvest may be delayed for another week — assuming no more rain.“In this case, rainfall on mature corn decreases kernel quality and weight as well as increases the chance of disease establishment within the ear,” Carroll said. “Continued warm weather with these rains will result in germination of the seed within the ear creating an worthless ear.”Still, at an estimated $77 billion annually, agriculture remains North Carolina’s and one of Craven County’s biggest businesses.Carroll said that in Craven County, the about 2,600 acres planted “tobacco leads farm sales with an estimated $10 million to $13 million depending upon harvest of the remaining crop.“Corn and soybeans rank slightly less at about $9 million to $10 million for each crop,” he said, with a general estimate of about 16,000 acres of corn and 25,000 acres of soy beans growing in Craven County fields.“Peanuts, wheat and cotton farm sales are similar generating approximately $2.5 to $3.5 million each,” he said. “Sorghum and sweet potatoes are grown on a limited acres and will contribute approximately $1million combined.”Source - http://www.newbernsj.com/

18.09.2014

USA - Questions on new farm programs answered

Between everything else they have to do this time of year, farmers need to be deciphering the new farm program choices.The new Farm Bill gives producers a one-time chance to elect a crop program through the 2018 crop year. Though the Farm Service Agency (FSA) has not released sign-up dates, sign-up probably will start later this fall or winter and will not end until sometime next year.A trio of Kansas State University economists, Robin Reid, Art Barnaby and Mykel Taylor, tackles some of the questions farmers are asking.Farmers will need to pick between two programs: Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC).If not enrolled in ARC, they also will have the chance to buy a Supplemental Coverage Option (SC) as additional coverage to Risk Protection (PC), Risk Protection-Harvest Price Excluded (RP-HPE) and Yield Protection (YP), all reinsured by the Risk Management Agency (RMA).No longer available are: Direct and countercyclical payments and the Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE).Once farmers sign up for their programs (ARC or PLC), they cannot change their decisions. Farmers will be locked in for 5 years (i.e., until the next Farm Bill).The option to buy SCO along with PLC is an annual decision. PLC and ARC already are in effect for this year’s crops. SCO will not be available until 2015 and then only on select crops and in select counties.A farmer renting ground and his or her landlord need to agree on a program at sign-up. If tenants change during the 5 years of these programs, the land remains in the original program selected at sign-up.If a farmer or farm landlord does not sign up, PLC is the default option, they say, noting that the farmer also will give up any 2014 payment.The PLC guarantee is set in the Farm Bill. This strike or reference price is $3.70 for corn, $8.40 for soybeans, $5.50 for wheat and $3.95 for sorghum.Payment is made if the Marketing Year Average (MYA) price falls below the reference price (multiplied by program yield and 85 percent of base acreage). PLC payments depend on national commodity prices and are not related to yield; planted acres that have no base are not eligible for PLC or ARC payments.The ARC guarantee is set by multiplying the 5-year moving Olympic average MYA price by the 5-year moving Olympic average county yield and then by 86 percent in order to factor in the 14 percent deductible.A producer also has the option of selecting a farm level guarantee instead of the county level, in which case, the average county yield would be replaced by an expected farm yield.If the county level option is selected, the farmer gets a payment if actual county revenue is less than the guarantee.Actual county revenue is determined by the current year’s MYA price multiplied by current year county yield and 85 percent of base acres.If the farm level guarantee is selected, payment is made if farm revenue is below the guarantee. The payment equals the difference between the guarantee and the actual revenue, multiplied by 65 percent of base acres. ARC payments are dependent on price and yield (i.e. revenue).Both ARC-county and ARC individual are subject to a 10 percent stop loss that will cap the payment. In other words, the maximum payment per acre a producer can receive from ARC is 10 percent of the ARC approved gross revenue that is determined before the 14 percent deductible is applied.For instance, if a county’s ARC guarantee is $190, then the gross revenue is $223.53 (86 percent X $223.53 = $190), and the maximum payment is $22.35 (10 percent X $223.53) per acre.One common question is: What is the difference between ARC at the county level versus the farm level?These Kansas State University specialists explain that if a farmer enrolls in ARC at the county level, he or she will get a payment on 85 percent of his or her base acres, determined by the difference in county level revenue and the guarantee.A farmer also can enroll some acreage in ARC and some in PLC. However, if the farmer chooses ARC at the farm level, he or she will only receive payment on 65 percent of base acres, determined by the difference between farm revenue and the guarantee.To choose this option, all crops by FSA farm serial number must be enrolled. If a farmer has multiple farms with multiple FSA serial numbers, all production from all farm serial numbers, by county, enrolled in farm level ARC will count against the guarantee.Benchmark revenue will be established on the farm, and the guarantee will be set at 86 percent multiplied by the benchmark revenue.As noted, there is a Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO).“Signing up for PLC and purchasing crop insurance gives you the option to sign up for SCO,” report these analysts, noting that SCO is not available with ARC. “SCO will help to cover some of the deductible in the crop insurance policy.”SCO covers all planted acres, not just base acres. There is no payment limit, but a farm must be conservation compliant to be eligible. Farmers can talk to their crop insurance agents about buying SCO.Producers might be wondering how Marketing Year Average (MYA) is calculated.For corn, soybeans and sorghum, the Marketing Year starts Sept. 1 and ends Aug. 31 of the next year. For wheat, it starts June 1 and ends May 31 of the following year.MYA is weighted by the percentage of the crop that is marketed each month. The national average price each month is multiplied by the percentage of the crop marketing that month; then these weighted prices are added up to become the MYA.Farmers might be unfamiliar with the term, Olympic average. The five most recent years of MYA prices are used to set the guarantee in ARC using an Olympic average.What this means is that out of the 5 years, the highest and lowest MYAs are dropped, and the remaining 3 years are averaged together.If the MYA price falls below the reference price established in the Farm Bill, that low price year is replaced with the reference price when calculating the Olympic average.A county’s benchmark yield also is determined by a 5-year Olympic average of county yields, which is used for the ARC program.This new Farm Bill puts limits on maximum payments. Both ARC and PLC have a $125,000 per-year limit per individual actively involved in farming, including any marketing loan gains or loan deficiency payments, but a farmer can forfeit the grain under loan.Spouses can collect an additional $125,000. Crop insurance payments and SCO are not subject to payment limits.Further, anybody with a 3-year average Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) more than $900,000, farm and non-farm income combined, cannot receive farm program payments. However, such a farmer would still be eligible to buy federally backed crop insurance so long as the farmer meets conservation requirements.Farmers have a one-time opportunity to reallocate their farm’s base acres, based on 2009-2012 plantings. However, they cannot build base, note these economists.Farmers can, however, update a farm’s payment yields by using a 2008-2012 average yield with a 75 percent yield plug based on county yields. Ninety percent of this adjusted average will become the updated payment yield.Some farmers may benefit from the payment yield update; others may not. Thus it’s important to run the numbers. A farmer may still want to update payment yields even if the PLC is not chosen.These economists emphasize that ARC and PLC are not replacements for crop insurance. ARC insures only about 7 percent of revenue, since it only pays on 85 percent of base acres, has an 86 percent deductible and has a 10 percent stop loss.Finally, the new Farm Bill has made some changes to crop insurance. Farmers must now meet conservation compliance requirements in order to have RMA pay a share of the premium cost (i.e. subsidy).For beginning farmers with less than 5 years of experience, the government will pay an additional 10 percentage points of the premium.Enterprise units may be separated by dry-land versus irrigated acreage of the same crop and different coverage levels selected.If a county suffers a 50 percent yield loss, farmers in that county and contiguous counties are allowed to exclude that year’s low yield from their Actual Production History (APH).If the county trigger is met more than once in the past 10 years, farmers may exclude those years from their APH. This is to help maintain APH during multiple years of catastrophic losses, according to the Kansas State University experts.Source - http://www.minnesotafarmguide.com/

18.09.2014

USA - Spotted wing fruit fly threatens to devastate N.Y. state berry growers

Late-season berries are the bread and butter for many New York farmers. But an invasive species is taking a bite out of their crop and bottom line.Raspberries are ripe for the picking at Wickham’s Fruit Farm on Long Island, but something that lurks in the bushes could spell disaster for berry growers across the state — the spotted wing fruit fly, a new pest and a new problem, CBS 2’s Vanessa Murdock reported Tuesday.“For the first time we have a serious pest that if we’re going to have clean fruit we’re going to have to start spraying them,” farm manager Tom Wickham said.And Wickham has. It’s the first time he’s ever sprayed his raspberries and blackberries to protect them from this invasive species which hails from East Asia.“It just has this ripple effect,” said Dale-Ila Riggs of The Berry Patch in Stephentown who is also the president of the New York State Berry Growers Association. “The strawberry-raspberry-blueberry crop combined was worth $15 million and about $5 million was lost to spotted wing drosophila.”Riggs was talking about 2012, the first year the fly was noted throughout the state.She said she lost 40 percent of her blueberry crop and 20 percent of her raspberries.Cornell entomologist Peter Jentsch said more management means more expenses.“Growers have had to manage their crops much more intensively. They are losing tens of thousands of dollars on a per-farm basis,” Jentsch said. “If the insect becomes so overwhelming to manage growers will just stop growing their crop.”If that happened it would ultimately resulting in fewer berries grown late in the season and fewer berries for you to get your hands on. That said, growers said they will not go down without a fight.With new research and new tactics growers hope to send this pest flying — soon.In addition to berries, the spotted wing fruit fly will also lay its eggs in other late-season, soft-flesh fruits like grapes, cherries, peaches and plums, Murdock reported.Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/

18.09.2014

India - After monsoon dampener for crops, Centre unveils Rabi action plan

After a tough summer due to sub-normal rains that led to deficit in Kharif sowing, the Centre on Wednesday asked states to focus on Rabi (winter) crops so that the possible shortfall can be made up and proposed to provide finance to 5 lakh "joint farming groups" in the current financial year.Though sowing of Kharif crops showed a steady increase last week, it could not made up the June-July deficit. The total sown area as on September 12 stands at 999.18 lakh hectare as compared to 1032.88 lakh hectare at this time last year.Dismissing the fear of a huge drop in area under Kharif crops, the agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh said, "Acreage is down only by 3% so far, despite 11% deficit in monsoon rains. The situation is much better than the drought year of 2009".Measures to be taken up to make up for the Kharif deficit were discussed in the Rabi conference where the agriculture minister promised to come up with a number of farmer friendly measures in coming months.These measures include launching of a new agriculture insurance scheme by the year end, opening up 'Kisan Mandi' in Delhi this month end and distribution of 14 crore 'soil health cards' to farmers across the country by 2016-17.Inaugurating the conference, Singh said finance to 5 lakh 'joint farming groups' of "Bhoomi Heen Kisan" will be provided through NABARD.At present, a very large number of landless farmers are unable to provide land title as guarantee to banks. As a result, institutional finance is denied to them and they become vulnerable to money lenders' usurious lending.It is expected that the 'Kisan Mandi' will help consumers get fruits and vegetables at reasonable prices as the farmers would be able to directly sell their produce to them without intervention of traders and middlemen. Other parts of the country will also have similar 'Mandis' in coming months.Referring to deteriorating soil health that has led to sub-optimal utilisation of farming resources, Singh said, "The government has already formulated a 'Mission' to provide every farmer with Soil Health Card. While 3 crore cards will be issued in the current financial year, 5.50 crore cards will be distributed next financial year and remaining 5.50 crore in 2016-17".He said 100 Mobile Soil Testing Laboratories (MSTLs) will also be set up in year 2014-15.The card will carry crop wise recommendations of nutrientsfertilisers required for farms, making it possible for farmers to improve productivity by wisely using inputs.Expressing the need to promote organic farming, Singh said his ministry has framed guidelines under "Bhartiya Paramparagat Krishi Vikash Pariyojana" to promote organic farming and to develop potential markets for organic products."Aim of the project is to maximize the utilisation of natural resources through eco-friendly cultivation", he said.Source - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

18.09.2014

Australia - Frost hurts wheat but a boon to canola

"Severe" frost has dented prospects for wheat production in South Australia, but improved canola potential by killing disease-carrying insects, officials said, amid a growing seasonal focus on Australia's crop outlook.Farm officials in South Australia cut by 300,000 tonnes to 4.34m tonnes their forecast for the state's wheat production, representing a 13% fall year on year.The downgrade - to a figure some 200,000 tonnes below an estimate from official commodities bureau Abares last week – reflected in part poor August rainfall in some areas, with parts of the Eyre Peninsula receiving record-low precipitation for the month.However, the officials flagged in the main "widespread, severe frosts" which caused "significant damage to crops from Penong in the west to Pinnaroo in the east".'Severely damaged'Losses had appeared worst in the Northern Mallee region, in the north of the state, where losses of 30-40% looked likely."Where frost was very severe, wheat crops have been damaged from early stem elongation to head emergence growth stages," the officials said a report, adding that "early-sown oaten hay, pea and lupin crops have also been severely damaged".Indeed, all types of early-seeded crops, ie those planted before April 20, had also proved particularly vulnerable, "with yield losses of 80%", the officials said a report.Farmers have cut some frost-damage crops for hay, or used it for livestock grazing.'Dramatically reduced'However, for canola, the frost has been a boon, causing "relatively low" frost damage while killing off many of the aphids behind an outbreak of beet western yellows virus which raised alarm earlier in the growing season."Peach green aphid numbers have been dramatically reduced by the cold weather and have not yet built up again in most districts," the report said.The estimate for the South Australia canola crop was upgraded by 66,000 tonnes to 399,400 tonnes, a little above an Abares forecast of 396,000 tonnes.The comments come amid growing market attention on Australian crops, for which harvesting begins next month, after bumper harvests in the northern hemisphere.Source - http://www.agrimoney.com/

18.09.2014

Australia - Virus could be ‘game changer’ for $50m NT watermelon industry

A suspected case of a virus that could decimate the Northern Territory’s $50 million watermelon industry has been detected on a commercial farm south of Katherine.The virus, cucumber green mottle mosaic virus, has the potential to have major impacts on watermelon yields and fruit quality, and can also affect other crops, including cucumber and squash.Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries Biosecurity and Product Integrity Group director Dr Andrew Tomkins said every watermelon farm in the NT was being examined to determine how widespread the problem was.“What we’re trying to do at the moment is to find out how widespread it is,” Dr Tomkins said.“We’re trying to survey all the melon farms in the NT, which span from Darwin to about Ti Tree.“We can only go by reports but there are about five to seven strains of the virus, so different strains can affect different hosts.“We’ve got to clarify which strain we’ve got.”According to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, the NT is the country’s second-largest producer of watermelons, behind Queensland.Dr Tomkins said that, if CGMMV was confirmed and the virus spread across the NT, it could put a big dent in production.“The long and the short of it is that it can have quite a significant impact on yield,” he explained.“You end up with a fruit that breaks down inside, in the case of watermelons, so the two problems are that the yield is down and the fruit is not much good.”The virus can appear as mosaic-like mottling on leaves, with symptoms including rotting, yellowing or dirty red discolouring of the internal fruit.Similar mosaic viruses caused by potyviruses are known to occur in northern Australia.CGMMV can be transmitted via pollen, infected seed, machinery and - according to some reports - water.While all melon producers in the NT have been notified about the suspected detection, Dr Tomkins said anyone coming into contact with crops needed to be “really careful”.“The big thing for people is that, if they’re going near a melon farm, it can be very easily spread mechanically,” he said.NT Farmers chief executive officer Grant Fenton said he believed the suspected detection would have many melon growers “a bit toey”.“The key thing for us is that, if you look at the examples of this disease in China, there’s been a 40 to 50 per cent loss of production when it’s occurred,” he said.“Melons are worth $50m a year to the industry, second behind mangoes.“It’s a game changer to the industry. “Source - http://www.katherinetimes.com.au/

17.09.2014

Hungary - Heavy rainfall may cause problems with many crops

The heavy rainfall in Hungary may cause problems for the autumn harvest, affecting the processes of seeding and soil preparation. The average precipitation has been several times higher than the average of many years, according to a statement from the National Association of Agricultural Economics (NAK) on Monday.The corn, sugar beet and soybean harvests, as well as those of winter crops like wheat or rye, were only just starting, but the potato harvest was at almost 50% and that of sunflowers was at more than 10 percent. The heavy rains can cause great difficulties to continue the process.Furthermore, the moist conditions favour the spread of fungal diseases, which result in the need for increased protection of the plants.The amount of rainfall has also affected the late-ripening apple and pear varieties, and grapes risk being affected by powdery mildew.Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/

17.09.2014

India - Crop loss: Karnataka to seek Rs. 56 cr.

Minister of State for Agriculture Krishna Byre Gowda on Tuesday said the State government would submit a comprehensive report seeking compensation for loss of crops due to rain from the Union government in a few days.Speaking to reporters after chairing a review meeting of the department in the district here, Mr. Gowda said crops worth Rs. 56 crore had been damaged in the State, while the total rain-related loss was about Rs. 426 crore. The State has to get Rs. 266 crore from the Centre through flood damage and national disaster relief funds.Reports from different districts were being consolidated and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah would submit a comprehensive report seeking relief soon, he said. The government had already commenced relief operations.The Minister reiterated the government’s proposal to merge the Watershed Development Department with his department as both were complementary to each other. However, there would be a separate commissioner for that department to continue to get Union funds, he said.The Raita Samparka Kendras in villages would also be equipped to disseminate information on sericulture and horticulture. Farmers should not be have to approach different offices for the required information, he said.Source - http://www.thehindu.com/

17.09.2014

Fruit fly causes havoc across U.S. as it spreads through US, Southern Canada

In 2013 a new fruit fly pest was identified in South Dakota, the spotted wing drosophila or two spotted fruit fly, Drosophila suzukii. It is now commonly thought to be spread across most, if not all, of the U.S. and parts of Canada."These fruit flies differ from the standard vinegar fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster; that we commonly find on overripe fruit," said Mary Roduner, SDSU Extension consumer horticulture field specialist.Roduner explained that vinegar fruit fly females lay eggs on the surface of overripe fruit. They are attracted by the ethylene gas given off during the ripening process. These flies are controlled mainly by removing any infested or overripe fruit."The spotted wing drosophila is another creature all together," she said. "These flies came from Asia and were found in California for the first time during 2008."Since that time, the spotted wing Drosophila have spread throughout most of the United States and southern Canada causing severe financial losses, Roduner said.She said the estimated raspberry and blackberry production loss during 2012 in the states with large production fields was approximately $6.7 million. Strawberry losses exceeded $207 million."Production costs go up because of the need for increased sprays and higher scrutiny during harvest, adding to the loss taken," Roduner said. "They have the potential to do serious damage to fruit and wine production throughout our entire region."This pest does not only affect production fields. Roduner explained that it will attack any soft fruits available. Its favourite fruits include blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, cherries, strawberries, peaches, apricots, tomatoes, apples, crabapples, currants, chokecherries and sand cherries."Which means, homeowners are also at risk of losing their entire crops," she said.Roduner added that June bearing strawberries seem to be affected less than the day neutral types because they ripen very early in the season before the first adult flies emerge.Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/

17.09.2014

Philippines - Fishermen to get free insurance

Thousands of fisherfolk in 42 provinces nationwide may now avail of free full insurance coverage for their calamity-stricken fishing assets, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) announced.The full insurance bundle which covers fishing boats, seaweeds, and aquaculture implements and facilities damaged by a calamity will be provided for by the PCIC, another attached agency of the Department of Agriculture, to some 115, 000 fisherfolk whose names appear both on BFAR’s fisherfolk database and the Department of Budget and Management’s Registry System for Basic Sector in Agriculture (RSBSA).“This is so far only the initial batch of fisherfolk who would be able to get insurance coverage from the PCIC. We are expecting more to benefit from the insurance once the crossmatching of the two registries is already done,” BFAR national director Asis Perez said in a statement.The PCIC regional management, in coordination with BFAR and the local government units in the identified provinces, will schedule insurance application dates for the registered fisherfolk. They will then be given a copy of the insurance policy number as a proof of their coverage.“We can say that we can achieve our goals in providing full subsidised insurance for our fisherfolk. We hope to continue this program in the subsequent years,” PCIC Acting Senior Vice President for Regional Management Group Norman Cajucom said. PCIC has allotted a total of P1.184 billion to cover the insurance for farmers and fisherfolk.Mr Perez, however, clarified that this is only a parcel of the benefits the government has in store for the sector under the national program for municipal fisherfolk registration (FishR). Aside from the RSBSA, the FishR database is also being crossmatched with the National Household Targeting System-Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).Fisherfolk listed on both registries will be automatically given a PhilHealth number. The database also systematically allows the government to deliver concrete interventions and assistance to targeted fisherfolk-beneficiaries, he said.BFAR, in cooperation with the LGUs and partner agencies, implemented the FishR program January of this year. It has since registered a close to 1.2 million fisherfolk nationwide. BFAR is targeting to register 1.6 million fisherfolk before the year ends.Source - http://www.thefishsite.com/

17.09.2014

Pakistan - Cotton, rice and sugarcane damages create apprehension

Pakistan Muttahida Kissan Mahaz (PMKM) claimed cotton crop over 1,600,000 acres of land, rice over 1,400,000 acres and sugarcane crop over approximately 4,500,000 acres of land has been damaged because of the ongoing flood creating apprehensions about severely impacting the exports of Pakistan.PMKM Chief Ayub Khan Mayo in a statement issued here on Tuesday claimed that cotton was sown over an area of 5,813,000 acres of land in the province, out of which 23 percent had been destroyed; river over 4,743,000 acres damaged crop over 27 percent and sugarcane by 23 percent out of the total area of 1,720,000 acres of land under its cultivation.He said maize crop figures were not available as it was in the progress of sowing. However, he said that damage to those cash crops would also hit exports of Pakistan rather Pakistan might had to import sugar and cotton to meet the domestic requirements putting additional pressure on the finance of the country.PMKM Chairman also expressed the fear that as flood water was heading towards Sindh it might double the damage caused to different crops till date. He also criticised the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and commissioner for issuing just political statements. He drew the attention of the government towards the loss caused by the flood and urged to declare flood-affected districts as calamity-hit and waive off Abiana and small agricultural loans of the growers. He also demanded of the government for an immediate compensation to losses suffered by the growers because of flood.Source - http://www.brecorder.com/

17.09.2014

Philippines - Crop damages from Luis reach P400M

Typhoon Luis (international name: Kalmaegi) left the Philippines with more than P400 million in damages, its Department of Agriculture (DA) said, citing field estimates made as of 12 noon on Tuesday.National production losses reached P409.67 million, a DA Undersecretary for Field Operations Emerson U. Palad said, adding that the estimate covers 18 provinces in five regions - Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga and Mountain Province in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR); Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur and Pangasinan in the Ilocos Region; Cagayan and Isabela in the Cagayan Valley; Aurora, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pampanga, and Zambales in Cental Luzon; and Camarines Sur in Bicol.Region II (Cagayan Valley) suffered the most with a production loss of P262.19 million, composed of P136.1 million in rice and P126.06 million in corn.This was followed by Region III (Central Luzon) at P60.50 million, Region I (Ilocos) at P43.13 million, Region V (Bicol) at P24.35 million, and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) at P19.50 million.The initial report does not include fisheries and other sectors yet as field validations and re-validations are ongoing, Mr. Palad said.The DA is also “confident that the losses will have minimal or no impact at all to national production targets,” the department said in a press release.Of the total 51,090 hectares affected by the typhoon nationwide, more than 90% or 50,574 have a chance of recovery. The remaining 516 hectares were totally damaged.The highest damage was recorded in rice which noted a production loss of 15,499 metric tons (MT), valued at P270.28 million. Some 32,184 hectares of rice fields were affected with 31,679 hectares having a chance of recovery and 505 hectares with no chance of recovery.Production losses in corn reached P134.82 million equivalent to 9,888 MT. All 18,747 hectares of corn fields affected have no chance of recovery.For high-value crops, a total of 275 MT were affected equivalent to some P4.44 million. Of the 159 hectares affected, 148 hectares have a chance of recovery. The remaining 11 hectares have no chance of recovery.The livestock sector reported losses of P140,000.The DA has also started to mobilize its resources in affected regions with its Palit-Tanim program which enables calamity stricken farmers to replant at the soonest possible time with the help of buffer stocking of palay seeds.Source - http://www.bworldonline.com/

16.09.2014

USA - Drones find niche in local agriculture

Kyle VanOverbeke logs a flight pattern on a laptop computer and prepares to launch the latest weapon in agricultural production – a fixed-wing drone.Although it doesn’t look any more menacing than a toy remote-controlled airplane, the nearly five-pound, Kevlar-coated unmanned aerial vehicle that VanOverbeke pilots for a new agronomy services business in Renville County is getting a foothold in the ag arsenal in west central Minnesota.It’s the “ooh and the aah” of the business, said Jeff Boersma, one of five partners and consultants at 212 Seed & Ag Inc., which has offices in Bird Island, Olivia and Sacred Heart.The multi-faceted company began operating 212 Sky Solutions this year in a pilot project involving 28 customers who had drones fly over their fields to monitor crop growth.The drones were demonstrated in Bird Island this week when the business hosted the Agri-Business Committee of the Willmar Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce during the committee’s annual ag education tour.The drones, which are equipped with two cameras, are used to help map out fields and serve as another set of eyes to scout for plant growth, weed identification and disease patterns — information that can be overlaid with other precision agricultural data, like past fertilizer application records and harvest yields.During this growing season, the company’s drones covered 10,000 acres of farmland each week, Boersma said.“It’s been an exciting year with some ups and downs with problems with the plane,” he said. “Things aren’t perfect yet.”The fixed-wing drone is powered with a battery that has a 50-minute life. By contrast, the quadcopter drones, which resemble small hovering helicopters, typically have a battery run-time of 15 to 20 minutes, Boersma said.To launch the drone, VanOverbeke hoisted it over his shoulder, took a few running steps into the wind and gave it a toss.It’s kind of like throwing a paper airplane, Boersma said.During the demonstration, the quiet-running drone made numerous loops over a nearby soybean field, where it eventually landed in a gentle belly crash.Vanoverbeke said he’s had a few run-ins with large birds this summer that have tried to attack the drone.He’s also had challenges finding a drone when it lands in waist-high or shoulder-high crops.A locator sends out an audible alarm but only when the locator is in close proximity to the missing drone.As part of the flight plan that VanOverbeke plots for the drone, he also programs a “rally point,” a specific GPS location for return of the drone in case the battery has just 16 percent power left and the pilot has not landed it yet.Under current guidelines, the drone cannot fly above 400 feet and must be three miles away from an airport, Boersma said.The permitting of drones and potential rules will likely be forthcoming from the Federal Aviation Administration as new commercial uses of drones are explored, he said.But based on the company’s pilot project and the data that have been collected, Boersma predicts the commercial use of drone in agriculture will only grow.“It’s changing quickly,” he said.Most customers have seven or eight drone flights over fields each year.Initial field information gleaned from a first drone flight typically includes data used to analyze soils, tillage, tile, drainage and residue, according to company documents.Later flights capture emerged crops, weed observations and nutritional needs of the soil that can be overlaid with other precision agricultural data the farmers may use, like planting data from tractor monitors, fertilizer application, digital tile maps and yields.That information can be used to create prescriptions for chemical applications for farm fields that could affect yields of the current crop and to suggest what can be done the following year to make the next crop better.Many of the images taken by the drone are shot at 200 feet.“We can pick up on any gap that’s out in the field that’s larger than one foot,” Boersma said. “We can actually see bugs on the plants if we really wanted to.”The different imagery of the two types of on-board cameras are “stitched together” to create “one full mosaic” that can tell a story of how well the soil is producing crops.The data are stored online and can be accessed by the customers, Boersma said.Throughout the growing season, drone imagery can record crop maturity and after the crop is harvested, drones can document tillage practices.The drones and analytical software can also be used to observe and calculate weather-related crop damage.Boersma said drones could be especially helpful for crop adjusters, who could get a full look at an entire field following a hail storm, rather than just walking segments of fields. He said drones could eventually eliminate the need for an insurance adjuster because they can “see everything from the air.”Source - http://www.prairiebizmag.com/