02.05.2014

UK - Wet fields impact Cornwall area farmers

Local farmers are wistfully looking out their back window as stubbornly wet fields prevent them from hopping on the tractor to start planting their crops.Planting the first set of crops -- cereal grains such as barley -- is already two weeks past the usual starting period of mid-April.Farmers weren't too concerned with the amount of snow still left on the ground in early April, as a normal few weeks would still allow them to plant during the third week.But cool days and intermittent rain has largely kept the heavy machinery in the yards."If the drying out lasts another seven days, it could have a bit of impact on yield," said Stephen Mellon, a South Mountain dairy farmer, who wants to plant 60 acres of barley.Mellon said he might have to forego or limit barley planting if he hasn't started that crop by May 15.But that will mean extra costs for feeding and taking care of his cow herd."I'd have to start looking to buy straw somewhere," he said.Barley is not just used as a feed supplement, but the plant stalk is baled into straw, which dairy farmers use as bedding for cattle when they're inside the barn.At about $50-$60 per bale, it would end up costing him about $9,000.If conditions are right for corn by next week, he would rather put off barley in favour of corn.Morrisburg area cash cropper Arden Schneckenburger is still not as concerned, as he doesn't plant cereal grain, only corn and soybeans."There has been a few fields 'scratched'," Schneckenburger said, of the very limited planting on fields that have the best drainage and soils.Corn planting usually begins around May 5, but with the heavy rain on Wednesday and into Thursday, it's unlikely that date will be kept.He said the spring thaw went faster than expected despite one of the coldest winters in decades.He said the early snowfall insulated the ground and the snow pack was "more crystalized" or less condensed than normal."It evaporated very fast."Agriculture ministry crop specialist Gilles Quesnel said the lateness in cereal grain planting is already affecting harvest yield.He said farmers start losing yield for each day after April 25.The loss increases for every day after May 1 to one bushel per acre per day. The price per bushel for top quality (human consumption wheat) is about $7. The average bushel per acre yield is about 50-55 bushels."So, it's costly," Quesnel said.Livestock farmers are also getting behind in emptying their manure lagoons, which have filled up since last fall, by spreading it on fields.Another potential crop victim is alfalfa seeding, which farmers undertake to replenish hayfields that may suffer damage over the winter.Quesnel said it's important to seed alfalfa sooner than later in order for the new plants to get established or risk getting crowded out by weeds.Despite the slow start to spring planting, normal to better growing conditions through spring and summer can overcome a late start.The spring of 2011 was one of the soggiest ever, with some corn and soybeans planting finished off in early June.But a warm summer sped along the growth and by fall harvest, most farmers were getting close to average yields.Source - http://www.standard-freeholder.com/

01.05.2014

USA - East, west, north and south: Drought's impact extends beyond farmers

Little rain and a late freeze have created a grim situation for area farmers this spring.“It’s so sad. I’ve never seen a year that it’s so widespread. It’s east, west, north and south. The only people that are probably going to have any kind of a crop at all (are) going to be east of I-35,” Brenda Sidwell, of Sidwell Insurance Agency in Goltry, said. “I’ve been doing 34 years of crop insurance and I actually have to say, this is the worst I have seen.”There already are farmers turning in crop insurance claims, she said.“It’s everywhere, and it’s just going to really affect everybody. When the farmers don’t have the crop, then it affects the elevators. They aren’t going to have bushels (at the elevators), and they can’t obtain any insurance. And then you’ve got the implement dealers and ... the retailers. It just trickles down to the entire economy of Oklahoma,” Sidwell said. “It’s really going to be devastating to the state.”Jeff Boedeker, who farms west of Waukomis, shares a similar outlook on this year’s crops.He planted 1,500 acres of wheat north of the Imo elevator and said he may have a 70 to 80 percent loss so far, “between the freeze and the drought.”“I’d say 90 percent of the county, I mean, we’re going to be in a total devastation as far as the crops are concerned,” he said. “There’s a lot of the fields that are just completely, 100 percent gone already, as far as wheat’s concerned.”Boedeker said there has been minimal rain since January.Rick Nelson, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service ag educator for Garfield County, said it needs to rain.The wheat is in “early heading” and moisture usage is around a quarter of an inch per day during that time period, he said.“If the moisture isn’t available ... it will dry up,” Nelson said. “So, what we’re getting into now is critical because, without that amount of moisture per day, it’s just not going to develop any grain.”Canola is probably a little better off than wheat right now, he said.“It has a deeper taproot. It’s been able to draw moisture from further down in the ground. So it’s a little better right now, but it’s not, by (any) means, an average crop at this point in time. It’s still going to be lacking,” Nelson said.The weather forecast is not promising, he said.According to Sidwell, some of the wheat is holding on, but she thinks the 90-degree temperatures forecast for next week are going “to devastate even what’s left, which isn’t much.”Farmers who make an insurance claim on a crop may turn the crop into hay or put cattle on it to graze once it is released by the insurance adjuster, Sidwell said. Claimed crops cannot be harvested or the insurance appraisal will be void.“But the hay is so short that unless they have their own machinery, they’re just not going to be able to do it,” she said, adding it would not be cost effective for a farmer to hire someone to bale the hay.Boedeker said farmers typically cut hay by the first or second week of May, but plants currently are just 5 or 6 inches tall.He said after four or five years of drought, there was a shortage of hay until last summer.“This last summer kind of just barely got everybody caught back up again, and now it’s all going to go back south again. We’re going to be short again,” he said.Boedeker said he typically runs around 250 to 300 head of cattle on grass. Numbers were down on the wheat pasture last year, and he ran a third of the cattle last year on the pasture.“That’s affected bottom line several hundred thousand dollars,” he said.The loss of this crop will affect him further.“It’s probably going to cost me around $400,000,” Boedeker said, adding that insurance does not cover the entire loss.This week, farmers were encouraged by the president of Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts requesting use of cultivation methods other than plowing, to reduce the risk of blowing dust.“I’d want to leave as much crop residue intact on the soil surface as possible right now, because there’s not going to be enough moisture to get a crop up,” Nelson said. “That tillage, if it can be delayed as long as possible, will be advantageous, I suspect. There’s been a lot of soil blown.”Source - http://www.enidnews.com/

01.05.2014

Australia - Ominous threat of mice plague

Mice have started to cause problems in paddocks throughout the Esperance region.While they're not at plague proportions yet, Esperance-based Precision Agronomics Australia agronomist Quenten Knight said hotspots had been detected at Salmon Gums and on the sand-gravel-type soils of the coastal plains.He said despite the problem not being anywhere near as bad as it had been in previous years (namely 2012 when mice were in plague proportions), many growers were assessing how to tackle the situation before getting seriously stuck into their 2014/15 seeding programs this week.He said given their experience in the past, growers had become a lot more vigilant with some having already started baiting programs.Others would wait to bait behind their air seeders come seeding time."A lot of the mice activity is taking place in paddocks and regions where barley head loss was rife during the 2013/14 harvest," Mr Knight said."A significant percentage of barley crops in parts of the Esperance zone lost half a tonne to a tonne a hectare of seed last harvest."That's a fair seed source and with the lack of summer rain this year, that food source has remained on the ground."Department of Agriculture and Food entomologist Svetlana Micic said baiting behind a seeding rig would prove to be effective if done correctly.She said bare patches and chewed plants at plant establishment and white plant heads which were scattered or in patches during the spring (both in the vicinity of mouse holes) were a dead giveaway of further mouse activity.She said the continual monitoring of plants was also imperative."Poor germination and chewed seeds or leaves of young plants is also evidence of mouse activity," Ms Micic said."Stems which have been gnawed just above the node causing the plant to die and seed which has been chewed in the head also means mice."She said mice were always present in crops in low numbers but populations could increase rapidly if there was prolonged availability of high-quality feed, high crop yields and poor harvesting efficiency, early autumn rains which produce early seed-set of winter weeds, late spring or early summer rains which damage mature crops and produce a flush of summer weeds, favourable burrowing conditions such as cracking or light soils or heavy crop residues.Ms Micic said in-crop baiting when damage occurred was the most obvious management strategy for the eradication of mice populations but minimising spilled grain or harvester grain loss in paddocks during the summer months was also an important tool."Heavy grazing can help clean up high harvest grain losses but sufficient ground cover should be left to minimise erosion potential," she said."Growers should clean up any concentrated spills of grain around field bins, augers and other grain storage and remove or reduce cover, including plant material, rubbish and general clutter around buildings, silos and fodder storage."She said the purposeful control of weeds and volunteers along fence lines, crop margins and contour banks in autumn and before seed-set needed to be carried out to minimise sources of food and shelter for mice.Ms Micic recommended sowing as evenly and as early as possible for each crop to achieve rapid establishment of strong plants, though warned against dry sowing."Slightly increased seeding rates and deep sowing are preferential if mouse numbers are elevated at seeding," she said."If possible, the cross-harrowing or rolling of a paddock after sowing would be beneficial to ensure good seed coverage and the removal of sowing lines."South Australia continues to be the epicentre of an autumn mouse plague, with farmers continuing to report large numbers in many areas.However, sowing continued with the official recommendation for farmers to bait for mice behind their air seeders rather than delay planting.In June 2012 farmers throughout the Wheatbelt counted their losses after mice caused substantial crop damage over a number of weeks.At the time experts couldn't pinpoint just one reason for the large mouse presence or put a monetary figure on how much crop had been lost up to that point but it was widely recognised as being a significant problem from Northampton to Esperance.By the end of the month more than 100,000 hectares of WA farmland had already been treated, mainly in the Esperance and Geraldton port zones.Source - http://www.farmweekly.com.au/

01.05.2014

Southern Hemisphere to produce 6% less citrus

Citrus production volumes in the main producing regions of the Southern Hemisphere could fall by around 6% this year; however, initial estimates forecast a mere 1% drop.The prediction was made during a meeting held last week between the Association of Fresh Fruit Exporters of the Southern Hemisphere (SHAFFE) and the European Fresh Produce Association (Freshfel), published in a newsletter by the Association of Citrus Producers of South Africa.The forecast applies to fresh citrus, with figures provided by representatives of SHAFFE in Argentina, Uruguay, South Africa, Peru, Chile and Australia.According to the information reported, the expected drop is mainly due to a 25% reduction in lemon harvest volumes, caused essentially by the weather conditions that affected the world's largest fruit exporter: Argentina. It is expected that the country's export volumes will fall from 275,000 tonnes in 2013 to 200,000 tonnes in 2014.In neighbouring Uruguay, lemon and orange exports may increase by more than 40%, together with a 30% rise in easy peeler shipments. Overall, the nation expects to increase its total citrus exports by 38%.The report highlights an expected milestone for Peru's citrus industry, which is on track to surpass the 100,000 tonnes exported for the first time; a 10% annual increase.The report also mentions that Chilean producers expected drops affecting Navel oranges, which have so far amounted to close to 10% in terms of production and export volumes. The Andean country also expects a 5% reduction in the export of easy peelers.A definite confirmation is still needed in Australia's forecasts, while South Africa's estimates have not been included in the report.In general, most citrus crops in the Southern Hemisphere have shown to be quite stable, despite the expected reduction in lemon (-9%) and grapefruit (-6%) exports. Easy peeler exports could increase by up to 9% and orange shipments will remain stable.The situation in the Northern HemisphereThe teleconference meeting was also attended by representatives of the U.S., Turkey and Spain, and the secretariat also received information from Italy.The document mentions that feedback in the European market during the recent citrus season has been tough, with plenty of small oranges of "uncertain quality." It also notes that the extreme weather conditions, with high temperatures and hail storms, have had an impact on both supply and demand."There was still a lot of fruit in the warehouses and there were concerns regarding the fruits' shelf life. Prices have been low throughout the season," said the report.Turkey's competition in Russia led to an increase in Spanish Fino lemon exports to EU countries; meanwhile, the country's Verna lemons could register a 20% annual increase, with availability until late July.The bulletin also notes that Italy obtained large volumes of smaller oranges, which were difficult to market."Many of these oranges were not harvested due to the poor situation of the domestic market. For lemons, the domestic market did better than in previous years and was considered stable," says the report."Turkey has large volumes of citrus for export. Soft citrus grew by 30%; oranges, by 40%; grapefruit, 15%; and lemons, another 15%," he affirms.The report also highlights the impact of citrus greening and low temperatures on the U.S. crop, as well as the current droughts in California."In terms of the transition to fruit from the southern hemisphere, there are interesting market dynamics that will create gaps in supply in May and June," states the document."The gaps in soft citrus supply should appear as we enter May, as California has limited supplies of late mandarins and the quality is uncertain.""The Navel harvest will be affected by frost damages, and we expect traders to wait for new crops in the Southern Hemisphere," concludes the document.Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/

01.05.2014

Ukrainian farmers look to IMF as credit becomes tight

Ukrainian farmers hope for help from the International Monetary Fund as the country’s financial and political crisis has toughened lending conditions during the key spring sowing campaign, farmers and bankers say.Some farmers have been forced to use cheaper seeds or cut the amount of fertilizer they can purchase while others have struggled to get loans to replace old equipment.“No matter who I’ve asked — nobody grants loans,” says Mykola Strigak, a farmer with 70 hectares of land in Kirovohrad in central Ukraine. “They don’t say they would not grant (the loan), but they set conditions that could not be fulfilled.”Strigak, who wanted a loan to buy new machinery, says banks asked for collateral worth more than twice the loan’s value.The IMF Board of Governors will meet on April 30 to consider an aid package for Ukraine, one the world’s key grain exporters.“Once aid comes and the banking sector stabilises, the agriculture sector will be the first to receive financing because it’s showing a sustainable growth,” says Elena Voloshina, head of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) — the World Bank’s private sector financing arm — in Ukraine.The IMF tentatively agreed in late March to provide a $14 billion to $18 billion two-year aid package to help Ukraine recover from months of political and economic turmoil.IFC’s Voloshina says local currency depreciation has significantly affected banks. “They have problems now: credit resources are short, limited and more expensive,” she says.Ukrainian banks are also having their own problems with liquidity, said Vadim Bodaev, vice-president of the large agricultural holding company AgroGeneration.“We’ve applied to many banks and they say: ‘Political instability — let’s wait’,” Bodaev says. “This process can last until Ukraine starts to receive Western finance, when the hope for stabilisation would appear.”Strigak says his creditors were offering loans with an annual rate of about 18 percent, which reaches 33 percent when insurance and other costs are taken into account. This exceeds his usual margin on crops of 30 percent.Raiffeisen Bank Aval in Ukraine says farmers were mainly getting one-year loans in local currency with an annual rate of between 20 and 25 percent.Unsown lands, shared risksAccording to the IFC’s Voloshina, middle-sized companies were the worst hit so far, while large companies were able to raise loans and small farms continue to use their own cash.“The amount of these accumulated resources looks adequate for 2014. Critical may be the year of 2015, when the reserves will be close to exhaustion,” analysts at UkrAgroConsult say.Voloshina sayd it appeared some land remained unsown because of the financial problems farmers were facing.Ukrainian analysts said in March farmers might leave about 20 percent of arable land unsown this spring as a result of a lack of funds. They says a smaller area could reduce Ukraine’s 2014 grain output by around 11 million metric tons.Ukrainian farms have sown 4.7 million hectares of spring grain as of April 28, or 56 percent of the expected sowing area, the agriculture ministry says.Most analysts expect the 2014 grain crop to be between 55 million and 59 million metric tons, down from an all-time-high harvest of 63 million metric tons in 2013.The IFC, which has invested around $800 million in Ukraine’s agricultural sector since 2004, runs an advisory program aimed at increasing access to finance for Ukrainian farmers.Participants in this sector — mainly farmers, banks and suppliers of inputs like seeds, fertilizers — should seek risk-sharing structures now, Voloshina says.IFC together with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development are also promoting use of warehouse and crop receipts in the sector, which would guarantee that a farmer repays the loan in cash or product, she adds.Source - http://www.agweek.com/

01.05.2014

Canada - Ontario Providing Assistance to Rebuild Bee Colonies

Ontario is helping beekeepers rebuild their colonies and maintain the essential role honeybees play in the pollination of agricultural crops.Due to harsh winter conditions this year and other pollinator health issues, the province's bee colonies are expected to experience higher than normal mortality rates. To help offset these losses, Ontario is providing one-time financial assistance of $105 per hive to beekeepers who have 10 hives or more and lose over 40 per cent of their colonies between Jan. 1, 2014, and Oct. 31, 2014.Registered beekeepers representing over 90 per cent of the hives in Ontario and the majority of pollination services offered by the industry will benefit from the program. The province is also exploring options to provide bee mortality insurance over the longer term.Source - http://news.ontario.ca/

01.05.2014

USA - Drought continues to plague wheat crop

As the Kansas wheat tour hits the home stretch, the talk from the ag analysts and experts about the crop is not good.“I had some expectations of a disappointing crop when I came out here, just based on crop condition ratings from the USDA,” Dan Manternach, on the tour representing Doane Advisory Services out of St. Louis, said. “But what I found is even worse conditions than I expected.”Early unofficial estimates show the wheat crop yielding the lowest number of bushels in 13 years, with the state’s drought the obvious culprit.“It’s typical of the wheat we’ve seen on the tour,” Justin Gilpin, CEO of Kansas Wheat, said as his group examined a wheat field near Goddard. “Really drought-stressed, you can see cracks in the ground, dry powder, thin stands, really short wheat.”The worst performance remains in southwest Kansas, where the drought is at its worst. In south central Kansas, the fields are generally better, but lack of moisture is still a big problem.“Mother Nature is forcing it to head out early,” Manternach said. “Basically, it’s Mother Nature’s way of saying there’s not enough moisture here to get to your normal height, and it better head out now.”Growers are optimistic there is still time for improvement, but it can also get worse if the dry conditions continue.“I’ve never seen wheat head out that’s eight inches tall, but I saw it this year, and there’s cracks in the ground you could drop a yardstick into and it goes out of sight,” Ben Handcock, of the Wheat Quality Council, said. “It’s just been too dry.”The tour concludes with teams taking different routes from Wichita to Kansas City on Thursday, when the tour’s forecast will be released.Source - http://ksn.com/

30.04.2014

USA - Unknowns remain with farm bill

Farmers finally saw a new $1 trillion farm bill signed into law on Feb. 7. Almost 3 years of legislative negotiations had mired producers in uncertainty as they tried to plan for the unknown.While the new 5-year bill brings a certain degree of stability, the uncertainty hasn't been eliminated. Because the bill was passed so close to planting season, many questions remain about how the new programs and initiatives will be implemented.The timing of the farm bill has several ag agencies deviating from business as usual."They are still working on the farm bill, so we just want to put people in a position to utilize a program if it becomes available," said Jerry Quinton, executive director at the Lee County Farm Service Agency.The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in the past 20 years, has merged several other programs from other federal agencies into the FSA. The agency is tasked with carrying out farm programs and regulations at the local level.Signups for federal ag programs have been delayed because of the late passage of the farm bill."This is the first time in the 27 years I've been here where we've had so little office traffic," Quinton said. "The lion's share of farm bill programs we handle are still being written. We have to write policies on what Congress gives us."The farm bill implementation process began in mid-February. Even after the new programs and policies are put in writing for the agency, more work remains. There are handbooks to be published and software to be developed.Some programs have been fast-tracked, Quinton said. A pressing need for disaster relief has pushed some of those to the forefront."Livestock has been the first priority after the blizzards," Quinton said.An early-October blizzard killed up to 100,000 cattle in South Dakota last fall. The absence of a new farm bill made it even more difficult for ranchers to deal with their losses.Locally, the Farm Service Agency is getting the word out that claims can still be filed for damage to crops planted in the fall, especially winter wheat.In northern Illinois, the final reporting date for fall-seeded wheat had been Dec. 15. Normally, fall seeded crops reported after the deadline would be subject to a late filing fee plus a field inspection to verify the crop damage. But because the 2014 farm bill wasn't passed until February of this year, the Department of Agriculture waived the fee.Although not a great deal of acreage is devoted to those crops here, the harsh winter winter has destroyed much of what had been planted, FSA says."This past winter was very hard on the winter wheat and rye in the area," Quinton said. "In Lee County, anything planted in the fall was totally exposed."Lee County farmer Jim Schielein lost all of his wheat to winter kill. He said the ensuing process went pretty smoothly for him."I had insured my wheat, so I met with the insurance company and recorded it," Schielein said. "It all seemed pretty seamless."Resolving the unknowns from the farm bill will become more pressing after spring crops are in the ground, Schielein said."We're still uncertain on how regulations are going to fall," Schielein said. "We have to do our homework and make some decisions by fall."The weather has farmers falling behind as they wait for the ground temperature probes to give them better news."My probe said 46 degrees yesterday," Schielein said. "Our anxiety now comes from looking at the calendar and knowing very little has been planted here."Crops planted after May 10 start to lose some of their potential, and after May 20, prospects drop off rapidly, Schielein said. For crop insurance purposes, June 10 is considered late planting.While different farm bills tend to have a different focus, this one is clearly about risk management, Schielein said."This one is different in that there are no direct subsidies," Schielein said. "This is all about making decisions on individual risk factors, and the government realized there's no cookie-cutter answer."Source - http://insurancenewsnet.com/

30.04.2014

USA - Rainy Season Impacts Farmers on Delmarva

More rain is headed to Delmarva and some farmers are not looking forward to it because they cannot plant their crops.It is planting season for corn, and growing season for wheat. According to some farmers in Somerset County, too much moisture can cause corn seeds to rot or mold underground. The rain can also cause fungus to grow on the wheat.Brian Johnson and his father, Eddie Johnson, spent the afternoon inside their shop next to their wheat farm in Westover. They wanted to spend the day planting corn seeds, but did not want to take the risk.“It [corn seeds] can rot in the ground, and then some of it will never germinate if it’s too cold or wet,” Brian said. “It will just rot in a row before it even gets out the ground.”Rotting is not the only issue. If the pair decided to get corn seeds in the ground now, a lot of money would be lost if it gets ruined.“You’re probably looking at an average of $300 a bag for seed corn,” Brian said. “With our planting population, it will do two-and-a-half acres a bag.”The Johnsons own a total of 285 acres across different areas. Eddie said the rain has been tough on the crop.“Right now, we don’t need any rain, we need to get the corn in the ground and the ground to warm up,” Eddie said. “Wheat will do better with no rain than it will with a lot of rain.”He said too much rain could affect the amount of wheat when the time comes to sell it.“80 percent of your yield is determined by the condition of the flag leaf,” Eddie said.Jared Miller is an agricultural educator with the University of Maryland Extension for the Lower Shore. He said spring can be tough on farmers and the regional economy.“They’re paying for groceries, food and gas, so they are helping everyone,” Miller said.The Johnsons hope to plant their seed corn Monday, when the weather dries up.Source - http://www.wboc.com/

30.04.2014

India - Erratic weather to trim 2014 tea output

Tea output in India's top-producing Assam state is likely to fall by 10 percent in 2014 due to scanty rainfall and a sharp rise in temperatures, hitting exports of premium grade leaf from the world's biggest black tea producer, industry officials said.A drop in India's production and exports could push up global prices and boost shipments from competing countries like Kenya, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.India's north-eastern Assam state produced 618 million kg tea in 2013, more-than half of the country's total production of 1,200 million kg."We have lost production since the start of the year due to extreme dry weather. There could be a 10 percent drop in production this year," Rajib Barooah, chairman of Assam Tea Planters' Association, told Reuters."Higher temperatures are hitting the growth of tea bushes. There is a concern of pest infestation due to erratic weather."In Assam and West Bengal, the country's second-biggest tea producer, temperatures were hovering 2 to 5 degrees Celsius above normal, the weather department said on Tuesday."Tea plantations badly need rainfall. Further dryness will increase crop damage," said Sujit Patra, joint secretary at the Indian Tea Association.Tea production in West Bengal, centred on Darjeeeling tea gardens known for their superior quality, could drop if adverse weather conditions prevail for next few weeks, Patra said.From March 1 to April 23, Assam received 69 percent less rainfall than normal, while rainfall in West Bengal was 63 percent below average. The two states accounted for nearly 80 percent of the tea production last year.Rainfall in March and April determines production in May and June, when Indian tea gardens produce their premier second flush crop."Quality-wise second flush is the best and most sought by exporters. If its production and quality goes down, then obviously it will have a negative impact on exports," Barooah said.India's tea exports rose 2 percent to 212 million kg in 2013 due to higher purchases from Iran.India exports CTC (crush-tear-curl) tea mainly to Egypt, Pakistan and the UK, and orthodox variety to Iraq, Iran and Russia."Early onset of the monsoon and average rainfall could limit the crop damage. But if the monsoon remains patchy as forecast by weather department, then production would suffer in the second half of the year," said a researcher at Tea Research Association.India usually produces the bulk of its tea in the second half of the year. The country is likely to receive below-average rainfall in 2014, the government's weather office said on Thursday, citing a risk to the June-September monsoon rain season from the El Nino weather pattern.Source - http://in.reuters.com/

30.04.2014

Spain - 50% of Lorca's almond harvest lost

Droughts have already caused the loss of more than 50% of the almond harvest in Lorca and trees' condition is "dire," according to the president of the Coordinator of Grower and Farmer Organisations (COAG) of Murcia, Miguel Padilla, who reminded that 21,000 hectares of this crop in the region are very severely affected by the water shortages.The lack of rainfall has already "destroyed" over 5,000 hectares of almonds in the Region of Murcia, a large portion of them concentrated in the northern districts of Lorca, and the situation keeps getting worse "with each day that trees are left without water." Growers and the regional Government have already requested help to the Segura Water Authority.The extent of the damages is such that COAG is already working on the development of a series of measures "to be urgently introduced" for the recovery of the losses, including "a conversion plan."Replanting all affected trees and aiding the agricultural sectorThe plan entails the replanting of all dry trees and will thus make it necessary to regulate what to do with growers benefiting from agricultural subsidies, who "could suffer negative consequences, given the absence of produce."In this regard, Padilla said that the issue will have to be raised to the European authorities, as the losses were caused by extreme weather conditions, so that aid to producers must be maintained despite the lack of produce.The President of COAG reminded that almond trees must undergo a seven year maturing process before becoming productive, "a very long period in which measures should be sought to ensure that growers can continue making a proper living."Padilla pointed out that, according to statistics, the current drought is one of the worst registered in the area in the past seventy years.Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/

25.04.2014

USA - Growing season stalled by snow, rain, mud

Winter won’t let go of Wisconsin, hammering the state with another round of snow, cold and rain that stalled farmers for yet another week.Northern Wisconsin was belted with a vigorous storm that dropped up to 20 inches of snow. The wintry precipitation partnered with freezing overnight temperatures, which gave way to warmer temperatures and widespread rain over the weekend.The snow cover melted rapidly with the rain, leaving standing water, many fields too muddy to support machinery and farmers wondering when the growing season would really begin.“It still looks and acts like the middle of March, instead of the latter part of April. There’s no activity, other than watching the snow,” the reporter from Langlade County said in the “Wisconsin Crop Progress & Condition Report” released April 21. The document is created with input from farm reporters and county ag agents across the state.Average reported temperatures for the week were 4 to 7 degrees below normal, with highs averaging between 46 and 52 degrees. La Crosse broke 70 degrees and Madison hit 67, but Green Bay maxed out at 55 degrees and Milwaukee at 56. “It’s wet, cold, slow to change,” the reporter from Kenosha concluded.Average low temperatures ranged from 26 to 31 degrees, with Madison dropping to 18 degrees, Green Bay to 19 and Eau Claire to 20. Precipitation totals ranged from 0.41 inches in Eau Claire to 3 inches in Madison. Dane County reported 3.4 inches of rain and, finally, most of the frost out of the ground.Burnett County reported over 12 inches of snow on Thursday, while Washburn County received between 14 and 20 inches on Wednesday and Thursday. Ashland and Iron County got between 6 to 12 inches of new snow, pushing coverage back to 100%.Over a foot of snow fell in Oneida County , as well as a half inch of rain. “The majority the cranberry beds here still have ice on them, and we put a surface flood of water on those vines that were exposed,” that reporter shared.Six inches of snow came down in Portage County, while Monroe County got 5 inches. In Waupaca County, the 4 inches that fell on Monday had melted by the weekend. “The cold, wet weather has delayed farming activities by three weeks,” the reporter observed. “It’s still too early to determine winter kill since alfalfa and winter wheat have not broken dormancy.”In Door and Monroe Counties, some frost lingered in the ground.The week ending April 20 offered 1.5 days suitable for fieldwork. Wherever possible, manure spreading and fertilizer applications continued. Some farmers were able to harvest corn left standing last fall, the report said, while others were chopping or disking stalks to clear last year’s cornfields.Manure hauling and some stalk chopping were getting done in Jackson County, while manure was hauled in Waukesha both weekend days.Even though it seems slow, farmers are ahead of last year in at least two areas. As of April 20, 2 percent of the state’s oat crop had been planted, up from 0 percent last year, although it seriously lags the five-year average of 35 percent.Spring tillage was also up from last year. As of April 20, 3 percent had been completed statewide, compared to 1 percent last year.However, the five-year average is 23 percent of tillage complete by April 20, and the 10 year average is 20 percent. A review of the past decade shows a descending slope of averages for five years, followed by wild swings for the remainder.In 2004, 30 percent of the state’s spring tillage had been completed on April 20. The average dropped to 28 percent in 2005, 20 percent in 2006, 9 percent in 2007 and 3 percent in 2008. The figure jumped to 23 percent in 2009 and 45 percent in 2010, plummeted to 7 percent in 2011 and soared again to 41 percent in 2012 before crashing to 1 percent last year and 3 percent this year.The report put the state’s topsoil moisture level at 34 percent surplus for the second week, compared to last year’s mark of 38 percent.Hay, pasture, winter wheat and winter rye were greening up slowly, although it remains too early to make an accurate assessment of winterkill.In Dane County, the alfalfa and wheat are greening up, but they’re not out of dormancy yet. “It’s too cold at night, especially for alfalfa,” the reporter said. Because of the cold air temperatures and the soil remaining too cold deep down, the fruit trees aren’t doing much either, he added.Across the state, pasture conditions improved to 48 percent in poor to very poor, up from 60 percent the previous week.In Portage County, potato planting had begun. In the far North, maple sap was still running, although reporters said trees in most areas had begun to bud, bringing the sugaring season to an end.Source - http://www.wisfarmer.com/

25.04.2014

Brazil - Coffee Crop Prayers for Rain Met With Threat of a Deluge

Brazil’s drought made arabica coffee this year’s best-performing commodity. Now, farmers are facing a downpour that is once more threatening crops.An unprecedented three months with almost no moisture eroded crop prospects for the world’s largest grower, signaling the first global shortages in five years, according to Marex Spectron, a brokerage. As farmers harvest the bulk of the crop from May through July, forecaster Somar Meteorologia predicts an El Nino weather pattern will drop enough moisture in the South American country to cause more damage.Hugo Villas-Boas estimates trees on 400 acres he owns near Guaxupe, in the state of Minas Gerais, will yield as much as 30 percent less because of the dry spell. The 64-year-old farmer said mid-year rains will mean “worse losses.” Prices that almost doubled this year to a 26-month high may surge 18 percent further by the end of December to $2.54 a pound, a Bloomberg survey of 19 analysts showed, boosting costs for buyers including Nestle SA.“Given the weather challenges, we will see a bullish-price movement for a while longer,” said Paul Christopher, the St. Louis-based chief international strategist at Wells Fargo Advisors, which manages $1.4 trillion.Arabica coffee has surged 94 percent this year to $2.148 on ICE Futures U.S. in New York, the most among 24 commodities tracked by the Standard & Poor’s GSCI Spot Index, which gained 4.6 percent. The MSCI All-Country World index of equities rose 1.1 percent since the end of December, while the Bloomberg Treasury Bond Index gained 2.2 percent.Fewer BeansThe harvest in Brazil, which accounts for more than a third of world output, will drop more than expected in the 2014-2015 season to 49 million bags, “with the risk towards a lower number,” London-based Marex Spectron said in an April 10 report, down from a January forecast of 55 million and last year’s crop of 53.3 million.That decline will leave global production 7.1 million bags below demand, Marex Spectron said. That would be the biggest deficit since the 2009-2010 season, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show. Volcafe, a unit of commodity trader ED&F Man Holdings Ltd., said in an April 22 report that Brazil will collect 45.5 million bags, leaving the output gap even bigger, at 11 million bags. Each bag weighs 60 kilograms, or 132 pounds.“Nobody is absolutely sure about how big the deficit will be this year,” said Rodrigo Costa, the director of the coffee desk at Newedge Group in New York. “The supply outlook definitely looks tighter than it seemed three months ago. The situation has deteriorated.”El Nino RainsOdds are increasing for an El Nino, which would bring unusually heavy rain to South America in the middle of the year without continuing through Brazil’s summer, Sao Paulo-based Somar Meteorologia said. Storms during the harvest mean more beans fall from trees prematurely and the quality of those picked can suffer.The chances of an El Nino have increased to 65 percent from 52 percent, the U.S. Climate Prediction Center said on April 10. Gaithersburg, Maryland-based MDA Weather Services put the chances at 70 percent by June, and that heavy rains arriving in some areas of Brazil by September will erode the quality of next year’s harvest.The weather pattern “would skew risk to our soft-commodity price forecasts to the upside,” including coffee, sugar, cocoa and oranges grown in Brazil, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said in a report dated April 13.“The last thing we want now in the harvest is rain,” said Mauricio Miarelli, a 60-year-old grower from Campos Gerais, in southern Minas Gerais, where some of his beans already are only good for making instant coffee. “If we get El Nino and rain, the quality and output will drop significantly.”Previous SurplusWhile output is declining, stockpiles have been bolstered by four years of surplus global production, USDA data show. Farmers expanded harvests to take advantage of prices that reached a 14-year high of $3.089 in May 2011. Colombia, the second-biggest grower of arabicas, may harvest the most since 2007, a farmer group said.“There’s still plenty of old-crop supplies,” said Boyd Cruel, senior commodity analyst for Vision Financial Markets LLC in Chicago. “We could see more producer selling, which could limit the gains going forward.”The cumulative surpluses of the past two seasons equaled 9.65 million bags, exceeding this year’s expected deficit, according to Marex Spectron. Prices tumbled 54 percent in the three years through December, before rallying in 2014.El Nino forecasts at this time of year aren’t always accurate, Goldman Sachs said in its report. Even if the pattern emerges as predicted, the weather impact can vary.Bullish BetsMoney managers are betting prices will keep rising, with a net-long position of 38,143 futures and options contracts as of April 15, more than double the holding of two months earlier, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. Speculators turned bullish in early February, ending 18 straight months of bearish bets.While inventories are sufficient now, the rally is being fueled by concern the drought damage will last longer than this year, with further losses in the 2015-2016 crop cycle, Marex Spectron said. The dry spell from December to March stunted the growth of branches this year as much as beans, which will prevent trees from rebounding with bigger harvests next year, which is the norm after a drought, the broker said.“Even under the most-optimistic scenario for the 2015-16 Brazil crop, we expect a second consecutive coffee-market deficit,” Volcafe said.Arabica-RobustaMost of the damage is to arabica crops, which account for 57 percent of global supply in the most-recent season and produce the premium beans favored by coffee-house chain Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) Volcafe estimated the arabica harvest in Brazil will shrink 18 percent to 28.4 million bags, down from a January forecast of 34.6 million. Lower-grade robusta beans used in instant coffee were unaffected.In 2011, when frost damage in Brazil sent arabica coffee to a 14-year high, many roasters added cheaper robusta to their blends to limit the increase in bean costs. Switching this time may be more expensive. Robusta futures on NYSE Liffe in London are up 29 percent this year to $2,166 a metric ton, and inventories monitored by the exchange are the smallest since at least 2002.Robusta futures dropped today to a discount of $1.1655 a pound to arabica, the most in 22 months, which “incentivizes the roasting industry to use as much robusta as they can, which may well create tightness in robusta supply later in the year,” said Steve Pollard, a broker at Marex Spectron.Retail PricesThe increased cost of wholesale beans may mean higher prices for consumers, who show few signs of cutting back on purchases. While Seattle-based Starbucks said last month the company has all the coffee it needs this year and about 40 percent for 2015, leaving it in no hurry to raise prices, retailers have historically passed along higher costs.“With commodities going up in the second half, we do expect some pricing pickup for the balance of the year,” Wan Ling Martello, the chief financial officer at Vevey-, Switzerland-based Nestle, maker of Nespresso coffee, said in an April 15 earnings call. In Europe, “we should expect some ability to price, especially with commodity price increases in categories like coffee,” he said.J.M. Smucker Co. (SJM), maker of Folgers, the best-selling U.S. brand, said on Feb. 14 that it had favorable costs for coffee purchases this year. Since then, arabica futures are up 50 percent. In an e-mail, the Orville, Ohio-based company declined to comment on possible price changes, as did Northfield, Illinois-based Kraft Foods Group Inc. (KRFT), maker of No. 2 brand Maxwell House.Weather PrayersIn Brazil, farmers who were praying for rain earlier this year are now hoping the weather remains dry.“The price spike is not going to be enough to help growers that lost output,” said Carlos Alberto Paulino da Costa, head of Cooperativa Regional de Cafeicultores em Guaxupe Ltda., known as Cooxupe, which is Brazil’s biggest coffee-grower cooperative. “If we get rain in May, June and July, the losses could be worse.”Villas-Boas, the Guaxupe farmer, said he is hoping to get 3,000 bags of coffee from his trees, compared with the 4,000 he expected before the drought.“We can only tell for sure the magnitude of losses after harvest,” said Miarelli, the Campos Gerais grower. “But it is going to be huge.”Source - http://www.bloomberg.com/

25.04.2014

An Unprecedented Plague Has Hit Oranges And Another Has Hit Bananas

What is causing all of these plagues to hit our food supply? Have you heard of citrus greening disease? Probably not, but it has already gotten so bad that it is being projected that Florida’s orange harvest will be the smallest in 30 years.Have you heard of TR4?Probably not, but it has become such a nightmare that some analysts believe that it could eventually wipe out the entire global supply of the type of bananas that Americans eat.In addition, another major plague is killing millions of our pigs, and a crippling drought that never seems to end is absolutely devastating agricultural production in the state of California. Are we just having bad luck, or is there something else to all of this?Citrus greening disease has been a steadily growing problem that has reached epidemic levels this year. Because of this disease, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is projecting that orange production in the U.S. this year will be down 18 percent compared to last year. Here is more on this horrible plague…A citrus disease spread by a tiny insect has devastated Florida’s orange crop, which is expected to be the worst in nearly 30 years, and sent juice prices soaring on New York markets.The culprit? The gnat-sized Asian citrus psyllid, which is infecting citrus trees across the Sunshine State with huanglongbing, or citrus greening disease, which causes fruit to taste bitter and fall from trees too soon.“It feels we are losing the fight,” said Ellis Hunt, the head of a family-run citrus farm spread over about 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares) in the central Florida town of Lake Wales.Another horrifying disease is threatening the global supply of bananas. In fact, the kind of bananas that we eat today could eventually be totally eliminated by the TR4 fungus…Banana lovers take note: The world’s supply of the fruit is under attack from a fungus strain that could wipe out the popular variety that Americans eat.“It’s a very serious situation,” said Randy Ploetz, a professor of plant pathology at the University of Florida who in 1989 originally discovered a strain of Panama disease, called TR4, that may be growing into a serious threat to U.S. supplies of the fruit and Latin American producers.“There’s nothing at this point that really keeps the fungus from spreading,” he said.While there are nearly 1,000 varieties of bananas, the most popular is the Cavendish, which accounts for 45 percent of the fruit’s global crop and the one Americans mostly find in their supermarkets.Another plague that is affecting our food supply is a virus known as porcine epidemic diarrhea. It has already spread to 27 different U.S. states and has already killed up to 6 million pigs since first being spotted in the U.S. last May.As a result of this virus, pork production is going to be down substantially this year, and it is being estimated that Americans could pay up to 20 percent more for pork by the end of the year.And of course perhaps the worst plague of all that we are experiencing at the moment is the nightmarish drought in California that never seems to end. Conditions are so dry that it is being estimated that California farmers may leave up to 800,000 acres fallow this year. In other words, they are not going to grow anything at all.Needless to say, this is going to result in much smaller overall harvests. Just check out these numbers from the New York Times…A recent report on prospective planting from the federal Department of Agriculture forecast a 20 percent decline in California’s rice crop and a 35 percent decline in cotton this year from last year’s crop.And it isn’t just rice and cotton that we need to be concerned about. In a previous article, I included the following information which shows how dependent the rest of the U.S. is on fruits and vegetables grown in the state of California…The state produces 99 percent of the artichokes grown in the US, 44 percent of asparagus, a fifth of cabbage, two-thirds of carrots, half of bell peppers, 89 percent of cauliflower, 94 percent of broccoli, and 95 percent of celery. Leafy greens? California’s got the market cornered: 90 percent of the leaf lettuce we consume, along with and 83 percent of Romaine lettuce and 83 percent of fresh spinach, come from the big state on the left side of the map. Cali also cranks a third of total fresh tomatoes consumed in the U.S and 95 percent of ones destined for cans and other processing purposes.As for fruit, I get that 86 percent of lemons and a quarter of oranges come from there; its sunny climate makes it perfect for citrus, and lemons store relatively well. Ninety percent of avocados? Fine. But 84 percent of peaches, 88 percent of fresh strawberries, and 97 percent of fresh plums?Come on. Surely the other 49 states can do better.The lack of fresh produce is already being felt in California. Usually, fresh produce accounts for about half of the food handed out at food banks in the state, but these days fresh produce is in short supply…The effects of California’s drought could soon hit the state’s food banks, which serve 2 million of its poorest residents.Fresh produce accounts for more than half the handouts at Bay Area food banks, but with an estimated minimum of 500,000 acres to be fallowed in California, growers will have fewer fruits and vegetables to donate.With less local supply, food prices will spike, increasing as much as 34 percent for a head of lettuce and 18 percent for tomatoes, according to an Arizona State University study released last week. With fewer fields planted, there could be as many as 20,000 unemployed agricultural workers who will need more food handouts, especially in the Central Valley.By themselves, each one of these plagues is very serious.Taken together, they represent an emerging “perfect storm” which could have a dramatic impact on our food supply.Source - http://www.rightsidenews.com/

25.04.2014

Spain - Almost 800 hectares of stone fruit affected by hail storm

Over 500 hectares of apricot, peach, cherry, nectarine and flat peach plantations have been badly affected in the Spanish municipality of Fraga by a rain and hail storm that hit the town last Sunday.Agricultural unions, the UAGA and BDA, reported that the storm has completely destroyed some areas and that there are growers who have yet to report damages to their insurance, as the deadline to do so with Agroseguro has not been reached.Nuria Florenza, of Asaja, pointed out that a number of plantations have been affected by between 80 and even 100% in some specific areas, especially in Fraga and its surroundings.She estimates that between 500-1,000 hectares have been affected by the storm, which started around 9 pm on Sunday and reached precipitation levels of between 20 and 30 litres per square metre in just ten minutes.The UAGA union has also made a preliminary assessment of the damage, which has concentrated in the town of Fraga. Between 600 and 800 hectares of fruit plantations are estimated to have been affected by the storm.The extent of the damage has varied between 20 and 80%, depending on the area and the crops' phenological stage.Insurance technicians will culminate their assessment of the damages in the coming days.Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/

25.04.2014

Canada - Insurance deadline looms for area farmers

Mother Nature has been a little unpredictable the last few years.Heatwaves, mixed in with frequent hail storms, intense wind and periods with unusual amounts of precipitation, have made it tough for agricultural producers to enter any season with certainty.This spring has kept that trend of unpredictability alive, as Sharon Hubbard, area program co-ordinator with the Alberta Financial Services Corporation (AFSC), said area farmers are behind schedule, as the crop-insurance deadline looms.“It is slow. Some areas are still too wet,” said Hubbard, who mentioned the Readymade area as one location where farmers have yet to get out, while she said other parts of southern Alberta have fields dry enough for activity. “There is quite a bit of seeding done in the Vauxhall area, where there’s some lighter, sandier soil.”A couple of sugar beet fields have also been seeded east of Lethbridge, she added, as the hope is southern Alberta’s winds will help things dry up, along with a little sun.“Once it gets started, they get a lot of acres seeded in a hurry,” said Hubbard of how quickly crops can be planted once conditions are right.But the late start to seeding could make things interesting for farmers staring at an April 30 deadline to either apply for crop insurance or change their policy before it is auto-renewed. Growers also have the recommended seeding dates AFSC has in place to consider, as May 31 is the recommended date for seeding wheat, oats, flax, canola and mustard. A June 5 deadline looms for barley, mixed grain, spring rye and spring triticale.Crops seeded after those dates still qualify for insurance, though coverage will be dependant on a number of different factors, while crops seeded before those date will be protected against grade loss in the fall.For specialty crops, the situation is a little different, according to Hubbard, who added a June 7 deadline is in place for beets and a June 10 deadline for potatoes, for example, as crops planted after those dates are not insurable.New this year, AFSC has made changes to hail insurance.“We’ve increased our straight hail insurance on major crops from $150 to $225 per acre on dryland,” said Hubbard, who added the limit on irrigation has been bumped up from $225 to $400 on irrigation.For canola and chickpeas, the limit on dryland has been bumped to $325, and $425 on irrigation. Potato farmers will have an opportunity to max out coverage at $1,900 on dryland and $2,450 on irrigation, up from $450 and $675 respectively.“The farmers have been asking for more dollar coverage for straight hail insurance,” said Hubbard, as to the reasoning behind the changes.Source - http://lethbridgeherald.com/