18.04.2014

USA - Maryland Farmers Assessing Damage After Recent Cold Snap

Our recent cold snap might be measured in days, but it could linger for farmers.Alex DeMetrick reports fruit growers are especially at risk when crops and cold combine.A few days ago, it looked like February was back again in Maryland. And after it stopped snowing, it got even colder. That cold snap had an impact.“Did you have fun this morning? We made a big fire and roasted marshmallows with our 500 foot stick,” Dwight Baugher said.Baugher taught his children fire can help save a fruit crop in freezing weather, and so can wind machines if conditions are just right.Peach trees are a major crop at Baugher’s farm in Carroll County–most are ablaze with blossoms. The trees all seemed to bloom at once last weekend.“But that 80 degree temperature, I never seen apples and stuff jump so fast, ready to go,” Baugher said.And suddenly vulnerable to the return of cold weather.“If we lose a crop in the land of tree fruit, you don’t get to go back and do it again. They’re not going to re-bloom,” said Baugher.And so he reads the flowers for signs of damage.“That’s a peach, but it’s not going to be–27, 26 degrees and the wind blowing–it froze that thing,” he said.A certain amount of loss is expected, even helpful, by thinning excess fruit.“So, if Mother Nature wants to take some off for me for free, that’s good. But it’s a fine line between a little and taking them all,” Baugher said.Growers like Dwight Baugher say it will take a few days yet to assess the level of damage.Source - http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/

18.04.2014

UK - Crown rust disease threat to forward silage crops

Forward silage areas are at increased risk from yield-sapping crown rust this spring with early reports of the disease affecting silage areas as far north as North Yorkshire.Crown rust is a disease caused by the fungus puccinia coronata and can prove costly to farmers, with severe attacks reducing grass yields by as much as 25%.However, while the warm weather means some Italian ryegrass and Westerwolds silage crops may be ready for cutting three weeks ahead of schedule, it also raises the threat from this pathogen.“Crown rust is favoured by high temperatures and is usually an end-of-season problem,” says Rod Bonshor, general manager for Oliver Seeds.“But most of the fields I walked at the end of last week across the Midlands had significant infestations on the lower leaves. Severe attacks can reduce grass yields by as much as 25% and are no longer restricted to the south of England. Cases have been reported in North Yorkshire and beyond.”Too late to sprayAffected crops can be sprayed with a propiconozole fungicide, but on rotational grassland, it requires a 28-day interval from application to harvest. So it may be too late to spray the most forward crops.“The only answer for some fields will be to harvest the crop as soon as conditions allow, and use an additive to restrict the growth of moulds on the conserved material,” suggests Mr Bonshor.“Farmers should leave a longish stubble – around 10cm, which will allow the grass to return to vegetative growth as quickly as possible, and apply nitrogen fertiliser promptly. This should resolve the disease issue in the subsequent crop. However, new growth should be checked to spot any signs of reinfestation.”Source - http://www.fwi.co.uk/

18.04.2014

India - Freaky weather conditions continue in Kashmir

Rains lashed many parts of Kashmir on Thursday including plains and higher reaches. Continued bad weather this season has, according to experts, caused an estimated Rs 18 crore loss to agriculture sector.Meteorological department here warned of light to moderate rains with thundershowers in both the plains and higher reaches at many places during the next 24 hours.“Rains with thundershowers are possible on Friday and Saturday while on April 20 and 23 skies would remain partly cloudy. However, clear sky is possible on April 21 and 22,” said MeT official.“Srinagar received 5.2 mm rain while Pahalgam recorded 4.8 mm, Banihal 1.5 mm and Kupwara 1.9 mm,” said a MeT official.He said no reports of snowfall were received till from any part of Kashmir till late evening.Maximum and minimum temperature recorded in Srinagar was 14.5 degrees Celsius and 7.8 degrees Celsius respectively. Maximum and minimum temperature recorded in Jammu was 29.2 degrees Celsius and 17.2 degrees Celsius respectively while it remained 12.8 degrees Celsius and minus 0.8 degrees Celsius respectively in Ladakh.AGRICULTURE AFFECTEDA report prepared by Agriculture Department reveals that inclement weather this season has resulted in an estimated Rs 18.75 crore crop loss in 10 districts of Kashmir."We compiled the assessment report and submitted it to Divisional Kashmir for further action," Director Agriculture Kashmir Mushtaq Peerzada told Greater Kashmir.He said inclement weather conditions could be harmful as the flowering season is approaching.Source - http://www.greaterkashmir.com/

17.04.2014

USA - Apple crop hurt by freeze

Below freezing temperatures on the Brushy Mountains Tuesday night and Wednesday morning heavily damaged this year’s apple crop, but orchardists don’t yet know the full extent of their losses.Orchardist Ty Lowe of the Pores Knob community said he realized late Wednesday morning that the damage wasn’t as complete as he thought earlier today, but he said it’s still severe.Lowe said it looked like possibly as many as 20 percent of the buds on apple trees in most of his orchards survived, but that it would be at least three weeks before he really knew.An apple tree can produce a full crop with only 10 percent of its fruit buds, but Lowe said having so few buds at this point in the season greatly reduced the likelihood of a substantial crop.Most of Lowe’s orchards are at elevations more than 2,000 feet above sea level. In those areas, he said, the temperature dropped below freezing about 11 p.m. Tuesday and was still below freezing at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. It reached a low of 27 degrees.Lowe said orchards at lower elevations appeared to have had less severe damage because it wasn’t below freezing for as long there.Lindsey Deal, with orchards at lower elevations mostly in the Sugarloaf community of northern Alexander County, said the temperature wasn’t below freezing more than two hours in his orchards, which was from about 5-7 a.m. Wednesday. The low was 28 degrees.“I’m sure we had some damage, but the jury is still out on just how much,” said Deal.“We’ve got a late bloom and I’m too old and have seen it too many times where it appeared the damage was bad but we ended up with apples,” he said, adding that having a late bloom helped. He said he thinks he still will have apples and peaches this year.Nearly all apple varieties on the Brushies were either in or just past full bloom.Most of the orchards in Alexander are at elevations below 2,000, which often is too low for them to have the “thermal belt” of warm air that often settles over much of the Brushy Mountains and protects orchards from freeze and frost.Deal said orchards in Alexander are often shielded from the wind by being on the south side of the Brushies, which he said was the case Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.The thermal belt wasn’t present at higher elevations Tuesday night and Wednesday morning because of the wind, with gusts as strong as 40 mph.Glenn Weston of AH&W Farms in the Little Rock section of Boomer, a diverse operation that includes apples at elevations below those of Lowe and Faw, said he’s sure he had damage but added that it’s too early to say how much.Gray Faw, an orchardist in the Brushy Mountain community, said rain Tuesday made matters worse because fruit buds absorbed the water, which led to damage when the water froze. Continuous rain (or irrigation) during a freeze is needed for water to insulate buds.Peaches are a substantial part of Faw’s operation and he said there was no question his peach crop was completely wiped out.The last time Brushy Mountain orchardists had severe damage from cold was from the “Easter freeze” in 2007. “We were in full bloom then and it got down to 19 degrees and didn’t get above freezing for 30 hours,” said Lowe.Faw said it could be as much as a month before the full extent of the damage to the apple crop is known because some fruit buds develop later than others on the same trees.Orchardists determine the extent of damage by examining buds. The pistil, which is the stem growing out of the center of the flower, should be green. If it’s brown or black, the bud is dead and won’t develop into fruit.Considering 2007 was the last year with major damage to the Brushy Mountain apple crop, said Faw, “we’ve had a good run.” He said he expected to still produce and sell pumpkins and tomatoes this year.Faw, Deal and Lowe are among orchardists with crop insurance. They said the insurance is expensive, but it helps get them through years when most or all of their crops are lost due to weather.Faw said that if he’s going to lose a crop, he’d rather lose it early in the season instead of later after he’s already spent a large amount of money on spraying and other work involved with producing a crop of apples.Even in a year without a crop, he added, a certain amount of spraying and other work is needed to maintain apple trees for crops in coming years.Source - http://www.journalpatriot.com/

17.04.2014

USA - Freeze Could Hit Hard Red Winter Wheat Fields

The condition of the hard red winter wheat crop in the states of Oklahoma and Kansas is precarious after temperatures dropped below freezing April 14-15. July Hard Red Winter wheat futures settled up 23 cents at the Chicago Board of Trade on April 15, due in part to weather concerns in the Hard Red Winter wheat region.In Oklahoma, much of the state had overnight temperatures below 32 degrees, for as many as several hours along the northern border of the state. In his blog, “World of Wheat,” Oklahoma State University small grains specialist Jeff Edwards writes, “While temperatures in the wheat canopy might have remained slightly higher than reported air temperatures, they were still probably low enough to result in significant injury to wheat.”Kansas State University research indicates that at the boot stage, severe damage can occur to wheat when it is below 30 degrees for more than two hours. In the jointing stage, wheat will exhibit moderate to severe damage when temperatures drop below 24 degrees for more than two hours.Edwards notes that over the next few days, the state’s wheat farmers will need to scout fields closely to see whether freeze injury is present. Healthy wheat heads will remain turgid with a green color. Damaged wheat heads will be bleached, yellow, or brown and will easily break when pushed against. "I anticipate that we will not have any partial 'blanking' of wheat heads and that most wheat heads will either be OK or a complete loss. Symptoms may start to appear later this week and will likely be clearly identifiable by early next week,” he writes.Already, 53% of Oklahoma’s wheat crop is rated poor to very poor by the National Agricultural Statistics Service in its April 14 Crop Progress Report.In Kansas, about two-thirds of the crop had reached the pivotal jointing stage of growth when many areas were hit by the freeze. It’s too early to tell what – if any – effect the cold will have on the crop, but Jim Shroyer, Kansas State University Extension wheat specialist, says jointing wheat can usually tolerate temperatures in the mid- to upper 20s with no significant injury. “However, if temperatures fall into the low 20s or even lower for several hours, the lower stems, leaves, or developing head can sustain injury.”Daryl Strouts, president of the Kansas Wheat Alliance, says the state’s crop is from one to two weeks behind, perhaps saving it from serious freeze damage.Strouts visited farms in south-central Kansas on April 15 to assess the Kansas wheat crop to date.“I expect we’ll have an average crop,” says Strouts. That pegs the state’s wheat production at 35 bushels per acre on 9 million acres. The state’s crop is rated 30% poor to very poor in the April 14 Crop Progress Report.Winfield, Kansas, farmer Bruce Ehmke says while temperatures plummeted to 22 degrees for a short time April 14-15, he is more concerned about dryness than the freeze.“If it will rain within a week, we will have an average crop,” Ehmke says.Scott Van Allen, who farms near Clearwater in Sumner County, Kansas, says the temperature dropped to 27 degrees for a few hours. That could have a moderate effect on the wheat crop, but Van Allen, too, is most concerned with precipitation.“We are in decent shape. There’s not an abundance, but we have picked up little showers here and there,” Van Allen says.“There is some very nice wheat in the area, but there is some tough wheat, too. We have the potential for a crop of about 40 bushels per acre or so if we have enough moisture,” he says.Other observations from farmers belonging to the grower organization, Kansas Wheat:In southwest Kansas, overnight lows of 22 degrees had little impact on the drought-stricken wheat crop, which is two to three weeks behind normal schedule and has not jointed yet. Drought remains the biggest concern.In northwest Kansas, precipitation of 0.05 inch to 0.25 inch was well-received. The area is still very dry due to long-term drought, and freezing temperatures had little effect on the wheat.In central Kansas, wheat that had jointed may suffer from 19-degree temperatures; however, much of the wheat in the area is further behind and will probably escape freeze damage.Source - http://www.agriculture.com/

17.04.2014

USA - Carolinas fruit crops face freeze threat

Fruit growers across the Carolinas ran irrigation systems, covered rows of strawberry plants and mostly watched anxiously Wednesday morning as temperatures dropped near the freezing mark, threatening to deal their crops a devastating blow.At 7 a.m., temperatures across the region were mostly around 32 to 33 degrees in the immediate Charlotte area and about 30 to 31 degrees in some of the prime fruit-growing areas of Lincoln, Cleveland, Henderson and Cherokee (S.C.) counties.A freeze warning is in effect until 10 a.m. Wednesday, and another freeze watch is posted for Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Temperatures on Thursday morning are forecast to be about as cold as this morning.“We’ve done what we can,” said Sam Hall, of Bush-n-vine Farm in York, S.C. “Everything else is in the Lord’s hand.”The cold air surge has caused frost and freeze warnings across a vast portion of the United States, stretching from Texas and Oklahoma to the East Coast.Agriculture officials said apple, peach and strawberry crops in the Carolinas are at risk of damage from the cold weather Wednesday and Thursday mornings. The cold also would damage any tender vegetation planted in home gardens, forecasters said.The record low Wednesday in Charlotte is 29 degrees, set in 2008. The coldest so far this morning at Charlotte Douglas International Airport has been a reading of 33 degrees.Fruit growers said 28 degrees is usually a key point, with temperatures at or below that level for a few hours can cause damage. A check of automated weather stations across the region at 7 a.m. showed only a handful of locations with temperatures in that range. Those included 29 degrees in Shelby, 28 in Lincolnton and 27 at a station near Cherryville.Forecasters had predicted breezy conditions overnight, but Tuesday evening’s gusty winds abated. For much of the night, conditions were relatively calm.“Windborne freeze can be a real problem,” said Jeff Crotts, who grows apples, peaches and strawberries at Knob Creek Farms, about 15 miles west of Lincolnton. “The wind and the cold can do a lot of damage.”Hall, Crotts and Lauren Anderson at Spring Farm in Fort Mill each said their strawberry plants can be protected against the cold. But buffering buds and developing fruit on trees is a different story.“Right now, we’ve got a full crop of peaches developing,” Hall said. “If it stays at 31 or 32 degrees, we should be all right. If it drops below that, well ... “Dr. E. Barclay Poling of N.C. State University said Tuesday that temperatures of 28 degrees or colder for a few hours can damage blossoms and developing fruit.“With minimums of 30 (degrees), we can count on getting by,” Poling said. “But the concern now is that it could get down to 28 and cooler in some areas of the Piedmont.”Despite sunshine, Charlotte will only see high temperatures Wednesday in the middle to upper 50s – about 15 degrees below average. A slow, gradual warming trend is forecast for the rest of the week.Source - http://www.charlotteobserver.com/

17.04.2014

Japan - Yamanashi grape crop resilient after snow

Grape growers in the city of Yamanashi, hit hard by record snowfalls in February, harvested the year’s first crop of Delaware grapes Wednesday.The farmers, located in the nation’s biggest grape-producing prefecture of Yamanashi, plan to deliver the freshly harvested Delaware grapes mainly to the Kanto and Kansai regions for use as seasonal gifts.According to prefectural officials and the Yamanashi branch of the National Federation of Agricultural Co-operative Associations, about 80 percent of all greenhouses in the region collapsed under snow in February. They said that many vines were broken by the weight of the snow.Prefectural authorities predict that this season is likely to see about a 30 to 40 percent drop in shipment volume compared to the average, pushing up prices.Fortunately, however, the heavy snow did not significantly damage open fields in the prefecture, where about 97 percent of its grapes are grown, the sources said. They also said that local grape growers will start their annual harvest around July, as usual.“Our concern is that consumers may think that Yamanashi grapes are so damaged they are not available this season, and may seek to buy grapes from other areas,” said a JA federation official. “We will continue supporting farmers who are dealing with damage, and will do our best to deliver tasty grapes to consumers.”Yoshihide Ogawa, 63, a grape grower in the city of Yamanashi’s Kamiiwashita district, said his farms did not suffer any major damage, thanks to his efforts to keep excess weight off the greenhouse roofs. Ogawa said that about 10,000 juicy grape clusters with 20 percent sugar content successfully ripened in his greenhouses.“These precious fruits overcame the harsh conditions (of the heavy snowfall),” Ogawa said. “I hope many people will enjoy them.”Source - http://www.japantimes.co.jp/

17.04.2014

USA - Cold snap adding to woes for peach growers

A cold snap gripping the U.S. East Coast today is bad news for farmers whose peaches and other spring crops are already suffering the effects of bad weather.Consumers, too, may feel the impact of poor growing conditions in states such as California, the biggest fruit and vegetable producer, and South Carolina.“Prices are going to be up in May and June,” said Chalmers Carr, president of Titan Farms LLC, a 5,000-acre farm in Ridge Spring, South Carolina, that sells peaches in the eastern U.S. through Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Kroger Co. and other grocers. “Finding southern peaches on a store shelf is going to be a challenge.”Fresh fruit and vegetable prices already increased 1.5 percent so far in the first three months of this year, according to the Labor Department. A lack of rain in California, crop disease among Florida oranges and other disruptions have pushed costs up faster than overall inflation, with orange-juice futures traded in New York at a two-year high last week.Excessive rain and cold prompted the U.S. Department of Agriculture to declare disasters this year in New York and North Carolina. Florida is the nation’s third-biggest fruit and vegetable producer after California and Washington, while Georgia is fourth in vegetables and sixth in fruit. New York is the fifth-biggest U.S. grower of fruit and sixth in vegetables.The U.S. last month recorded its lowest average temperature for March since 2002, according to government data. Losses from a late-March frost in southeastern states won’t be known for about a week, said Martin Eubanks, South Carolina’s assistant agriculture commissioner.“We had some impact on a lot of crops across the board,” with effects varying depending on where each was in the growing cycle, Eubanks said. “We’re just walking through it, trying to see where we are.’”South Carolina is the nation’s No. 2 peach producer, behind California. Georgia, where license plates show a picture of a peach, is a distant No. 3, followed by New Jersey.Only 9 percent of South Carolina’s peach crop was rated “good” or “excellent” in the week ended April 13, according to USDA data, while 74 percent of the rye crop and 80 percent of winter wheat, two of the state’s other spring products, earned similar ratings.Source- http://www.freshplaza.com/

17.04.2014

USA - Missouri dairy farmers could be helped by new bill

A new bill making its way to the Missouri Senate could help Missouri Dairy Farmers.The Missouri Dairy Revitalization Act of 2014, would help dairy farmers pay for catastrophic insurance. The insurance would protect them if they lost their crops. In 2011, and 2012 drought caused many farms in The Ozarks to close.If passed, the act would be funded by a portion of the taxes paid on dairy products in Missouri. This would not be a new tax - it would instead take money currently going into the general revenue fund, and redirect it.Farmers in the Ozarks say the revitalization act is important to keeping thousands of jobs."We have a lot of people that depend on us," explained dairy farmer Marilyn Calvin. "For instance: my farm supports 4 families, just my small farm. But we have milk haulers, we have people that sell us grain, supplies. Not only that, we have people that work in our plants that have good jobs in this area that depend on us for those jobs."The revitalization act also funds a scholarship program for students majoring in agriculture.Calvin says young people are vital to the future of farming in Missouri."The general population of farmer's is aging in our country. And it's not just here, it's not in the dairy industry, it's in the entire agriculture industry, and we've got to get these young people into agriculture and into the dairy industry in order to sustain our agriculture in the United States," said Calvin.The Missouri House of Representatives has already passed the bill by a vote of 137-4. The bill is now being heard by The Missouri Senate.Source - http://www.kspr.com/

15.04.2014

Australia - Growers suffer effects of Cyclone Ita

Northern Queensland is clearing up after Cyclone Ita brought winds of up to 230km/h (140mph) to north-eastern Australia.Some communities have been left without power, with damage to some buildings, but no casualties have been reported.The cyclone made landfall at Cape Flattery but weakened as it travelled inland, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said.It is the strongest storm to hit since Cyclone Yasi, which struck in 2011.Previously classed as a category-five storm, Ita was later downgraded by the BOM to category one.Insurance companies are already expecting damage bill claims from Cyclone Ita could reach $1 billion in North Queensland after it ravaged sugarcane and banana plantations over the weekend. More than 6000 homes and businesses still have yet to get reconnected to the power supply as of Monday.Cooktown, Townsville, Ingham, Mackay and Cairns were just some of the affected areas.Peak horticulture organisation, Growcom, completed an initial assessment of damage to horticulture production and infrastructure in the State following the destructive path of Tropical Cyclone Ita along the Queensland coast over the weekend.Mr Livingstone said that at this stage it looked like about 50 per cent of vegetable production in the Bowen region had been wiped out by severe flooding associated with the cyclone.“Growers with crops such as tomatoes, capsicums, beans, chillis and eggplants have had a bitter setback,” Mr Livingstone said.“Growers must start from scratch to prepare their properties for re-planting This will involve laser levelling where flood waters have caused bad erosion, rebuilding trellises and soil conditioning. Growers will have no income from their current crop to pay for the necessary work needed to be done to set themselves up for the next harvest and in some cases won’t receive any income for 12 months,” he said.Flooding in the Bowen area is reportedly the worst it has been in more than 40 years.Initial damage reports indicate there have been minimal banana crop losses on an industry-wide basis from Queensland's Tropical Cyclone Ita, but some isolated cases of heavier and severe losses.Australian Banana Growers’ Council (ABGC) Chairman Doug Phillips said that on an industry-wide basis, the current estimate of losses of bunch-carrying banana trees in north Queensland growing regions was now less than five per cent.However there were instances of severe or total loss of bunched trees.The north Queensland growing regions produce about 95 per cent of Australia’s bananas and the Australian industry has an annual production value of $500 million.Other parts of Queensland had been more fortunate with wind losing intensity rapidly in the Mareeba area. Potato crops suffered minimal damage while avocado, pawpaw and mango trees remain standing.However, there were individuals in pockets of the North Queensland region with severe damage across all commodities, and avocado crops, for example, would need to be inspected for wind damage to fruit on trees.“In the main, tree crops and pawpaw and banana production in the Tully region which was so massively damaged in Tropical Cyclone Yasi missed a bullet this time around,” said Mr Livingstone. “Growers estimate only around 5 per cent damage to pawpaw production overall, although some individuals have reported losing around 30 per cent of their crop.”Mr Livingstone said it would be a couple of weeks before a full assessment could be done since flood waters still impeded growers in some regions from inspecting their properties. In addition, the time spent by crops and trees under flood waters would ultimately affect their survival rate.“Overall, the cyclone has brought much needed rain to some regions, little infrastructure damage apart from some irrigation lines/sprinklers and while there are currently power outages and road closures it is to be hoped that water will get away swiftly so that there is no threat of fungal diseases causing problems in coming days,” said Mr Livingstone.“Growers who we were able to speak to us today were in the main highly relieved by the turn of events after expecting a Category 5 cyclone similar to Yasi on Friday night,” he said.Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/

15.04.2014

China to boost crop insurance

China will intensify its efforts to promote crop insurance, with insured farm produce to cover 60 percent of the country's cultivated land by 2020, the country's top insurance regulator said.The country will improve its crop insurance mechanism, especially services for the animal husbandry and planting sector, in a bid to guarantee food security, said Wang Zuji, deputy head of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.Insurers will be encouraged to cover farm produce prices, rural houses and infrastructure, according to Wang.The bureau is also mulling subsidies for insurers to promote agriculture-related business, he said.China had 1.11 billion mu (74 million hectare) of crops insured last year, accounting for 45 percent of the country's seeded area. A total of 33.67 million rural households received combined compensation worth 20.9 billion yuan (3.4 billion U.S. dollars).Source - http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/

15.04.2014

USA - Cold could damage wheat

The overnight freeze could have a significant impact on Oklahoma’s wheat crop, which already is suffering from the prolonged drought.The western half of the state — the main wheat-producing area — was in a hard freeze warning issued by National Weather Service from 1 to 9 a.m. today.“At this point, I’m not very optimistic,” said Tim Bartram, executive director of Oklahoma Wheat Growers Association. “There is some ability to recover, but with the moisture where we’re at, the possibility of significant damage is pretty possible.”What damage is suffered by the crop from the freeze probably won’t be apparent for another week to 10 days, Bartram said.Jeff Bedwell, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service ag educator for Major County, said the area’s wheat crop already has lost a “considerable amount of yield potential” because of the lack of rain.A report from U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service bears that out. NASS listed only 14 percent of Oklahoma’s wheat crop in good condition in its report released Monday. Another 32 percent was listed in fair condition, while the remaining 54 percent was listed in poor or very poor condition.“Southwest Oklahoma, it doesn’t matter,” Bartram said about the affects of the freeze on the wheat crop there. “It was finished by the 90 degree heat and the 30-40 mph winds this weekend.”The freeze is “just another nail in the coffin down there,” he said.Late freezes damaging the wheat crop are nothing new to area farmers. Last year, a freeze in mid-April reduced the crop, while the crop in 2009 “was decimated,” Bedwell said. Last year’s crop was helped by more favorable weather after the freeze — mainly rain and mild temperatures — which helped minimize the damage, he said.Much of this year’s wheat crop, though, already is thin because of the drought, Bedwell said, and conditions get worse as you go farther west.The freeze also could have an impact on canola, another major crop in northwest Oklahoma.Statewide, the canola crop also is suffering from the drought. According to NASS, only 7 percent of the crop was in good condition, while 24 percent was in fair shape. The other 69 percent was listed in poor or very poor condition, according to NASS.As with the wheat crop, the freeze damage that could be suffered by canola in the area will just add to the issues already caused by the drought, Bedwell said.The drought has impacted the growth of the canola plants, which don’t have as many blooms as they normally would, he said. The freeze could kill those blooms, which means the plants then won’t produce pods, which in turn is where the canola seeds are produced.Source - http://www.enidnews.com/

15.04.2014

USA - Cold temps in April could hurt peach crop in Porter

Just a matter of a few degrees can make or break the peach crop in Porter.But they’re taking to the sky in hopes they can prevent any damage these temperatures could leave behind.It doesn’t take much to damage Kent Livesay’s peach crop. He said 28 degrees would just cause some minor damage to about 10 percent of the crop but, “if it was to drop to 25 that might kill 90 percent of the peaches,” said Livesay.That could kill a lot of his profit.He relies on Mesonet towers placed around his farm to tell him what the weather is doing so he’ll know how to react.“We’re taking some preparations,” he said.Those preparations are happening from above. Livesay said if the wind dies down Monday evening that will create steady conditions that will allow for the air to be warm just above the ground.“We’ll have helicopters flying tonight to try to push some of that warm air down,” he said.It is an age old farmer's trick that that can keep the weather warm enough at the farm.He said he thinks they’ll be able to make it through tonight. But this Oklahoma weather is known for its surprises.“Hopefully we won’t have any more cold weather till November,” he said.Those helicopters will start flying around 3 in the morning. Right now he said the crop is looking to be late this year, but he said it’ll still be a good one.Source - http://www.fox23.com/

15.04.2014

FAO urges countries to combat banana disease

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is urging countries to step up their monitoring, reporting and prevention of one of the world’s most destructive banana diseases, Fusarium wilt TR4, which recently spread from Asia to Africa and the Middle East. 

The disease, also known as Panama disease, has the potential to spread to Latin America and poses a serious threat to the global production and export of the fruit, the FAO said in a statement. 



“The spread of Fusarium wilt banana disease could have a significant impact on growers, traders and families who depend on the banana industry,” Fazil Dusunceli, a plant pathologist at FAO, said. “Countries need to act now if we are to avoid the worst-case scenario, which is massive destruction of much of the world’s banana crop."In its statement, the FAO recommends banana-growing countries implement the following measures:• Awareness raising at all levels and adoption of appropriate risk assessment, surveillance and early warning systems;• Implementation of phytosanitary measures to prevent the spread of the disease through agricultural practices, irrigation and drainage systems, transportation, vehicles, containers, tools or visitors;• Preventive measures, including quarantines, the use of disease-free planting materials, prevention of movement of infected soil and planting materials into and out of farms, and disinfection of vehicles;• Capacity building in National Plant Protection Organizations (NPPO) in planning, extension and research, including the use of rapid and accurate diagnostic tools;• Training of technical officers, producers and farm workers in disease identification, prevention and management under field conditions, and appropriate instructions to visitors.TR4 has caused significant losses in banana plantations in South East Asia over the last two decades, and has recently been reported in Mozambique and Jordan, the FAO said. 

TR4 infects the Cavendish banana varieties, which dominate global trade, as well as other susceptible varieties used for local consumption and markets.Once the disease is present in a field, it cannot be fully controlled by currently available practices and fungicides.

“We need to raise awareness of this threat, coordinate efforts among countries and institutions for effective implementation of appropriate quarantine measures, and also work with banana producers, traders, plantation employees and smallholder farmers to help to minimise the spread of the disease,” Dusunceli said.He also highlighted the importance of research in better understanding the disease and developing alternative varieties that are disease resistant. 

Source - http://www.fruitnet.com/

14.04.2014

Philippines - PHL expands crop insurance after ‘Yolanda’

The aftermath of Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan) in the Philippines has added urgency to finding a solution to a long-standing problem: Less than 10 percent of farmers have crop insurance, and while its advantages are widely understood, few can afford it.Raymundo de la Vina, an 81-year-old farmer in Laguna province near Manila, likened raising crops to betting in a lottery: You go against so many odds, including pests and an average of 20 typhoons that pummel the country each year, flooding small rice paddies like his.The country’s 10.8 million farmers are in the second-poorest industry after fishermen. Many are tenant tillers who share their harvest with landowners and go into debt to pay for seeds, fertilizer and pest control. Crop insurance is the least of priorities when there is often not even enough money for food.But the government wants to change that.Officials and international aid groups are discussing ways to boost resilience to disasters after Yolanda, one of the strongest typhoons on record, killed more than 6,200 people and flattened towns in the central Philippines on November 8, 2013. Better protections are vital for the poor who often end up deeper in poverty with every calamity.A World Bank report estimated that natural calamities cut 0.8 percentage point from the country’s economic growth rate each year on average. The proportion of people living in poverty in 2013 may have risen to 26.4 percent from 25.2 percent the previous year despite economic growth of more than 7 percent, according to a government report.Government subsidized insurance that covers P30,000 ($668) of a farmer’s production cost per hectare each cropping season is a big help, de la Vina said.Jovy Bernabe, president of government-owned insurer Philippine Crop Insurance Corp., said the program is being expanded this year, with free policies to be given to 800,000 farmers in the 20 poorest provinces, plus six provinces directly hit by Yolanda.Last year the agency enrolled for free 224,000 poor farmers who had become landowners under agrarian reform, raising the number insured to 750,000.Expansion of the crop-insurance program, private micro-insurance against calamites for families, and a proposed disaster-risk insurance for towns pegged to measurable factors like rainfall volume are among mechanisms being implemented or studied to brace for future catastrophes.In de la Vina’s case, the crop-insurance corporation subsidizes half of his premium. He pays about a third of the cost, or P1,108 ($25) per hectare, through a farmers’ cooperative, while state-run Land Bank of the Philippines takes care of the balance.About 12 percent of subsistence rice farmers now have crop insurance, a leap from 2 percent in 2009, Bernabe said. Numbers are lower for farmers planting other crops.He said 750,000 enrollees is a “good number” compared with previous years. Bernabe said the national government wants local government to jointly subsidize policies to bring down cost in areas where they are not free. It also wants private insurance companies, farmers’ cooperatives and rural banks to get involved.“Without insurance, you just leave everything to God because there are always disasters and your expected harvest could be totally wiped out,” said de la Vina. It brings down risks, especially for tenant tillers who fall deeper into debt when they fail to harvest, the sprightly octogenarian said.His 4-hectare (9.9-acre) farm near the rim of Laguna Lake had been under water since August last year, when another typhoon, Trami, coupled with heavy southwest monsoon rains and lake siltation, caused severe flooding in Manila and nearby provinces. His insurance indemnified about a third of his P400,000 ($9,000) losses. It’s enough capital to plant again.Last month the flooding finally dried up after six months, and a young farm helper was guiding a water buffalo as it pulled a plow around de la Vina’s farm to prepare for planting the next day. It was over two months late for December’s cropping season.In provinces on Yolanda’s path including Samar, Eastern Samar and Leyte, however, coconut farmers will take longer to recover.An estimated 33 million coconut trees were damaged or destroyed by the super typhoon’s ferocious winds and tsunami-like storm surge, practically all of them uninsured. It will take at least six years for the coconut farms to return to full production.Budget Secretary Butch B. Abad has said there will be substantial funds for crop insurance, microcredit and guarantees under the 2015 budget as part of moves to boost resilience to disasters. For Anselmo Gecolea, a 73-year-old tenant farmer also from Laguna, insurance helps, but is not enough. High costs and shrinking earnings are making farmers like him desperate, he said.The grandfather of 12 said his 1.5-hectare (3.7-acre) rice farm and vegetable plot are all he relies on for a living and almost nothing is left of earnings after deducting land rent, fertilizer cost and debt payment.“So when I do not harvest when there is a typhoon, I really sink in debt,” he said with a somber look on his weather-beaten face.Source - Business Mirror

14.04.2014

ADB, JAPAN SUPPORT AFFORDABLE CROP INSURANCE FOR BANGLADESH FARMERS ADB, JAPAN support affordable crop insurance for Bangladesh farmers

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Bangladesh today signed a grant agreement of $2 million to develop innovative new crop insurance products that will give small-holder farmers in Bangladesh income protection from increasingly severe storms and natural disasters. The Government of Japan is providing the grant through the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction. ADB will administer the fund, and provide technical support for implementing the Weather Index-Based Crop Insurance Project. The Government of Bangladesh is providing in-kind support of $420,000.Saifuddin Ahmed, Joint Secretary, Economic Relations Division (ERD) signed the agreement on behalf of Bangladesh government while Oleg Tonkonojenkov, Officer-in-Charge and Deputy Country Director of ADB’s Bangladesh Resident Mission signed the agreement for ADB at a ceremony at ERD, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka. Takayuki Kawakami, First Secretary, Embassy of Japan in Dhaka, among others, also attended the ceremony. The project will design and pilot crop insurance products over a three year period in selected districts, with the goal of providing coverage to at least 12,000 farm households.“Small scale farmers with few resources are typically unable to insure their crops against extreme weather events and can lose their entire income every time a storm hits,” said Oleg Tonkonojenkov. “Extreme weather events are on the rise and the goal of the project is to develop and pilot a new affordable type of insurance product which will allow and encourage more farmers to protect their livelihoods.” Bangladesh is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world due to its geography, and there are estimates that agricultural gross domestic product from 2005 to 2050 will be 3.1% lower each year as a result of climate change. Despite the increasing demand, no crop insurance has been available in Bangladesh recently due to huge financial losses incurred in the traditional agricultural insurance. Weather index-based crop insurance, which incorporates historical weather and crop production data, is considered to be more cost-effective and efficient than traditional agriculture insurance as it reduces farm-level monitoring and transaction costs. Several countries in Asia, including India, Indonesia, Mongolia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, have begun piloting or providing these products but this is the first time they are being trialed in Bangladesh. High transaction costs and poor outreach networks can make it costly to distribute insurance in rural areas—up to 40% of premium costs in some cases. This makes traditional crop insurance less affordable. This project will collaborate with different partners such as agricultural banks, multilateral financial institutions, and farmer cooperatives to develop and pilot new models of distribution that reduce transaction costs and make the business sustainable. To improve the accuracy of weather data, the use of space technology through remote sensing will be explored in collaboration with the Japan Aerospace Agency. The project will also upgrade at least 20 weather stations, and provide training and education on weather-indexed insurance to at least 400 staff from government and meteorological agencies, insurance companies, agricultural institutions, and civil society groups. Along with reduced premiums and improved distribution, the planned insurance scheme will provide other benefits to farmers, such as income support during lean periods, access to credit, and a buffer against loan defaults. Insurance literacy and climate risk awareness seminars will be provided to at least 6,000 small and marginal farmers. The project will also support the development of a regulatory and legal framework to accommodate the new ‘untraditional’ insurance products. The pilot project has been linked to the ADB-assisted Second Crop Diversification Project with the new products to be bundled with microcredit supplied by microfinance institutions to farmers shifting into higher value-added crops. ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members – 48 from the region.