Agroinsurance

USA - Livestock producers affected by severe weather urged to keep good records

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2014 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Juan M. Garcia, today repeated his appeal to livestock producers affected by natural disasters such as the drought in the West and the unexpected winter storm in the upper Midwest to keep thorough records. This includes livestock and feed losses, and any additional expenses that are a result of losses to purchased forage or feed stuff."The 2014 Farm Bill provides a strong farm safety net to help ranchers during these difficult times,” said Garcia. “We’ll provide producers with information on new program requirements, updates and signups as the information becomes available. In the meantime, I urge producers to keep thorough records. We know these disasters have caused serious economic hardships for our livestock producers. We’ll do all we can to assist in their recovery.”In addition to western drought and the early-winter snowstorms, there are a variety of disasters from floods to storms to unexpected freezes. Each event causes economic consequences for farmers and ranchers throughout the United States. FSA recommends that owners and producers record all pertinent information of natural disaster consequences.Source - http://www.minnesotafarmguide.com/

Philippine govt makes banana grower insurance payment

The Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) has paid PHP7.5 million (US$168,690) as part of a partial insurance payment to growers in the Compostela Valley municipality of Nabunturan, website Sunstar.com.ph reported. shutterstock_164363249 banana peels sqThe story reported checks were given to 58 growers, through the DA’s Philippine Crop Insurance Corp (PCIC) and the Land Bank of Philippines (LBP).A further PHP13 million (US$292,396) in indemnity checks is expected to be given to 90 growers this week, PCIC regional manager Bonifacio Pales told the publication.“This is the help of the DA Secretary to those who are hardly hit by Typhoon Agaton early this year,” Pales was quoted as saying.The story reported Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said crop insurance would be prioritized in the 2015 budget.Source - http://www.freshfruitportal.com/

India - No respite for farmers, unseasonal rains to continue for 2 more days

Inclement weather conditions continue to wreak havoc across the country. Unseasonal rains have destroyed crops worth Rs 13,000 crore in Madhya Pradesh so far.In Maharashtra, 8 lakh hectares of crops have been hit in the Marathwada region alone by hailstorms and similar conditions are likely to prevail in the state over the next two days as well. Twelve people have been killed and crops spread over one lakh hectares damaged in Andhra Pradesh as well.Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Karnataka have also seen considerable crop damage. Onion prices have risen in Maharashtra already.There is no respite for farmers as weather conditions are likely to worsen across the country. The Met department has predicted snowfall and hailstorms in parts of Jammu and Kashmir for the next 24 hours.Hailstorms are also likely to continue in parts of Central Maharashtra, Vidarbha and Marathwada region as well. The Met department has also predicted rain and thundershowers in Punjab, Haryana and New Delhi for the next 24 hours.Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan will also see rainfall in the next 48 hours.Source - http://ibnlive.in.com/

USA - Texas crop, weather: Most peaches, other fruits, probably not damaged by freeze

COLLEGE STATION – The buds of many peach and other fruit trees were not open enough to be damaged by the latest cold front that stormed through Texas, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert.Though he doesn’t expect wholesale damage, it’s still too early after the last bout of freezing weather to say for certain what the damage was, if any, said Dr. Larry Stein, AgriLife Extension horticulturist, Uvalde.“It got a lot colder than most people thought it was going to get,” Stein said. “Unfortunately, we did have trees starting to bloom. We had some peaches that were bloomed out, but most things were just starting to bloom, so we’re optimistic that we had enough buds that were tight enough that they will still develop and set a crop. Also, the bud set on most trees was excessive due to the low or no crop the year before, so some thinning was indeed needed.”The problem is not the cold weather per se, but the warm periods in between, he said. If the weather stays cool, even though fruit trees like peaches, apricots, pears and plums have enough cold hours to bloom, they won’t — unless there are at least three to five days of spring-like warm weather.What was interesting about this cold spell was that it seemed to travel more easterly through Texas, sparing some of the more southern fruitgrowing areas like the strawberries around Poteet, Stein said.“We kind of dodged the bullet in that regards,” he said.Also, it’s good news that a lot of fruit and nut crops still have tight buds, such as blackberries, pecans and apples, so they were not likely to be damaged by the cold spell, Stein said.“If we get another one of these in seven to 10 days, it’s not going to be good,” he said. “But by the same token, if it stays cool from now to another freeze, then it’s going to slow down the development of buds and shoots, lessening the chance of damage.”Source - http://www.leoncountytoday.com/

India - Bumper crop hopes hit, pain pours on onion growers in Maharashtra

Maharashtra's hopes for a bumper onion crop this year have been put to rest after erratic rain and hailstorm hit several onion-growing belts in Nashik.The rainfall has badly impacted onion arrivals at Lasalgaon, the country's largest market for the crop. According to data available with the National Horticulture Research and Development Foundation ( NHRDF), onion arrivals on Monday reduced to 7,600 quintals as against 18,465 quintals on March 4 and 14,235 quintals on March 5.Average modal prices have been ranging between Rs 775 to Rs 950 over the week but officials predict a price rise by next week if the weather continues like this.Senior officials at the Lasalgaon market committee said the assessment of the extent of the impact could take a week, adding that initial damage estimates to the crop could be to the tune of 30-40%.Last week, the Maharashtra's agriculture department said untimely rains had damaged crops such as grapes, onions, pomegranate and wheat in 6,000 hectares, causing losses worth around Rs 100 crore. According to Nashik district collector Vilas Patil, due to the model code of conduct, the government could provide financial aid to affected farmers only after seeking proper permission from the CEC.According to BY Holkar, secretary, Lasalgaon APMC, farmers were expecting a bumper crop this year as they had planted more onion in anticipation of a good price.However, the rains have caused damage to the rabi crop and if the water seeps into the fields where the onion crop is standing , the size could also be impacted. The total onion production has been estimated around 192 lakh mt this year against 168 lakh mt last year. The rabi crop is expected to be about 25% higher than the previous year.However, RP Gupta, director, NHRDF, said as of today, the damage could be 5-10% since only 15-20% of the late kharif crop was remaining to be harvested.Source - http://www.financialexpress.com/

Australia - Canola harbours root disease

According to the Grain Industry Association of WA, growers set a new state record last year planting more than a million hectares of canola.However, canola crops have been found to support larger populations of the root disease pythium, making the disease a major consideration for WA growers in the coming year.Pythium is a major root disease that is widespread but often goes undetected.Given favourable conditions, it can attack seedlings early and cause setbacks from which the crop never recovers.Dandaragan farmer Peter Negus, planted 400 hectares of canola last year and is taking measures to ensure pythium doesn't affect this year's wheat crop."Two thirds of our program will be wheat this year, so following canola we're taking measures to make sure the seed is protected from pythium," Mr Negus said."All the wheat is treated with Vibrance at full label rates by Hannaford Seed Grading."The move to Vibrance comes following pale patches developing and some plant death in a June-sown Mace wheat paddock last year, after it initially looked good.Mr Negus said he considered re-sowing but wanted to identify the problem first.Not thinking initially of root disease, he investigated possible waterlogging or herbicide damage."We checked all the herbicide rates and those were fine. The area wasn't waterlogged and we were running out of options."Susie Mason from Elders came out with Brett Beard from Summit and we tested for root disease, and the results came back positive for pythium."The cause could be attributed to a change in seed treatments implemented for the first time last season."We'd always used Dividend but decided to try Evergol. What we hadn't considered was that Dividend is registered for pythium and we lost that protection."We'd pretty well never heard of pythium and we really didn't consider it was an issue for us until we got the pythium damage in the Mace."What we like about Vibrance is that it gives us protection against smuts and bunts and pythium, as well as controlling rhizoctonia."Vibrance can be used in wheat, barley, oats and triticale. It also controls loose smut, bunts, flag smut and seed borne net blotch.Source - http://www.centraladvocate.com.au/

UK - Flooding insurance claims 'to run into hundreds of millions'

As the flooding covering huge areas of farmland in the south of England and elsewhere caused by the record rainfall over the winter months recedes, farmers are counting the cost in terms of damage to crops, stock machinery and buildings, infrastructure such as damaged flood defences, riverbanks, fences, gates and so on.Insurance claims from the flooding are expected to run into hundreds of millions of pounds. David McGeachy, VAT specialist at Saffery Champness, said: "It is important to remember that even though insurance claim settlements are not subject to VAT, the farm or estate is likely to incur VAT on repair works to put right damage or to replace damaged stock for example and this VAT paid is recoverable from HMRC subject to the normal VAT rules. "Similarly, VAT on any legal services that may be required where policies provide cover for such costs may also be subject to the same rules."Where farm or estate businesses are VAT registered they should bring this to the attention of their insurer where they intend to make a claim. They will need to ascertain whether they may be able to recover all of the VAT incurred in connection either with repairs or reimbursement for damage, stock or other property from HMRC. Insurance policies may allow non-VAT registered farmers to make claims for VAT that are not recoverable from HMRC, or in situations where a VAT registered farming business is partially VAT exempt. In these circumstances all of the options should be explored as appropriate to ensure the farming business is not left out of pocket on VAT.Source - http://www.farminguk.com/

India - Half of Kesar mango produce lost

The recent unseasonal rain has caused heavy damage to Kesar mango crops in Marathwada region, growers have estimated that almost 50% of the fruit has been lost and it will affect their export target. The summer delight may not even be seen in large numbers in the local markets.Experts said that the Kesar mango was originally cultivated in Junagadh in Gujarat. It was brought to Marathwada a decade ago and has since succeeded in dominating the traditional mango market in the region. Aurangabad, Jalna, Beed, Osmanabad, Latur and some parts of Nanded have emerged as the Kesar growing hubs.Farmer Harish Jakete said, "The areas affected by rain will witness a 50% dip in annual mango production, while those affected by hailstones will lose their entire crop. Kesar mango-growing areas in Paithan and Sillod in Aurangabad district are the worst-affected by the rough weather."D P Waskar, director of research, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krushi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani said, "The unseasonal rain affects the crops in two ways. It damages the trees leading to crumbling of flowers and rise in humidity levels can cause 'powdery mildew' disease in the plants. Mangoes need sunny climate at this time. The wet conditions that persist for some time after rainfall can cause spotting on the fruit. The newly-formed fruits can suffer great damage because of fungal infection."Since late February, heavy rain and hailstorms have been reported in many parts of the state. Mango farmers said that the rain accompanied by hail and gusty winds has damaged the new fruit and flowers already. Traders at the city fruit markets predicted that short supplies would increase the use of carbide to ripen the fruit."Normally, the fruit should remain on the tree for at least 60 days. If the weather conditions do not improve, the plucking of some varieties like Totapuri could start early," said Mohd Akhtar, who owns around 500 mango trees in his farm situated on Aurangabad-Nashik road. "Use of artificial ripening methods may go up before sending the fruit out to the retail market," he added.Vasantrao Deshmukh, joint secretary, Aurangabad Mango Growers' Association (MGA) said, "This year has been particularly bad for the farmers. It all began with the prolonged winter that delayed flowering in mango trees by 20-25 days. When the crop was in fruit-bearing stage, rain accompanied with hailstorm and gusty winds have caused damage to a large extent. This year, we cannot expect any mango being exported and it will hardly be available in the local market," he said.Exporters said that the Kesar mango is treated as an alternative to the more expensive Alphonso variety by US and European countries.It is preferred due to its unique sweet taste, aroma, keeping quality and is characterised by its golden colour with green overtone. Food safety and hygiene are important aspects for exporting mangoes to Japan and America.The Japanese government has issued special guidelines regarding the examination of infestation of fruit fly.Deputy manager of the state agriculture marketing board (Aurangabad division) Santosh Alse said that the Jalna export facility was started in 2005. It has the capacity of two cold storages each of 25 MT and 5 MT capacity pre-cooling unit."The Kesar mangoes are largely exported to the US for the past three years. The fruit is also exported to China, Hong Kong, England, Japan, Netherland and the Gulf countries," he said.Shashikant Kamble, Jalna export facility in-charge, said that the total area of mango crop cultivation is about 10,000 hectares, of which Kesar is grown on more than 75% area.The farmers from Marathwada had exported about 46 metric tonnes of Kesar mangoes in 2008-09, while the figure dipped to 1.3 mt in 2012-13 due to the prevailing drought conditions.Source - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

USA - Farmers ponder freeze damage in winter wheat

Excessive cold and the prospects of freeze-thaw issues in the southern Plains are adding to wheat market uncertainty heading into the spring.Jim Peterson, marketing director of the North Dakota Wheat Commission in Bismarck, says the market has been fickle on whether the possible freeze damage is a concern.“It’s really hard to get a handle on it,” he says.Freeze damage is possible in western North Dakota, with insufficient snow cover and frost depth at 7 feet into the ground, affecting water lines on farms, Peterson says. North Dakota winter wheat can’t be insured until spring, to prove that it could be a viable stand. If the wheat doesn’t survive, farmers can shift to a spring wheat crop or something else.Joel Ransom, North Dakota State University Extension Service specialist for small grains, says North Dakota planted 720,000 acres of winter wheat last fall, almost a record. It got off to a good start so has some vigor, but much of it hasn’t had snow cover, unless it was planted into wheat stubble and caught snow.Uncertainty“I would say 50 percent is at risk of being killed or significantly damaged with the cold weather we’ve had,” Ransom says. “I haven’t heard of anybody doing any sampling, so there’s nothing definitive.”The issue is bigger in the southern wheat belt of Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma, where snow cover can melt, then freeze and damage crops. Joseph Glauger, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief economist, says a slow thaw is crucial in preventing more damage.“We have had snow cover over a lot of the regions and to a degree that has protected things, but the concern is that when you have a bit of warm weather and wheat popping out of dormancy,” he says, referring to the risk that short-lived warmer weather could melt snows and could encourage growth that could be damaged by further cold snaps.Mike Krueger, founder and president of The Money Farm, a grain marketing advisory service based in Fargo, N.D., says “everyone thinks there’s been some freeze damage” in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, because temperatures have been 20 degrees below normal and it’s dry, but no one knows.Myron Eberts of South Heart, N.D., who operates a family custom combining business, says he’s about to head to Oklahoma to start an annual road trip to visit customers and study crop conditions.“The crop is still dormant for the most part,” Eberts says. “They were pretty concerned because they had a lot of wind with their cold weather.”He says 2013 was the poorest wheat crop his company has ever cut, running through Nebraska, South Dakota, Kansas and Oklahoma. “We’re hoping for a lot better crop this year, but I don’t know,” he says.Hoping for betterFarmers in the Southern Plains states have fewer options for replanting failed winter wheat than farmers on the Northern Plains, including the Dakotas and Minnesota. Historically, if they have excessive winter damage, the excessive heat and lack of rain in the mid-summer means they don’t replant a spring crop. That’s changing with better corn hybrids and soybean varieties.“I think if we get into April or late March and that crop is affected down there, it could affect their decisions to plant more wheat” in the Dakotas, Krueger says.Source - http://www.agweek.com/

Indications of La Nina

Iowa State University Extension climatologist Elwynn Taylor is forecasting a 166 bushel per acre national average corn yield for 2014, but in the coming months that could change.Taylor, who spoke at last week's Hawkeye Farm Show at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, watches the El Nino-Southern Oscillation, which measures changes in ocean temperature off the coast of South America.Sea surface temperatures that are warmer than normal indicate an El Nino condition that Taylor calls "the friend of the Midwest farmer." El Nino generally brings mild growing conditions with a 70 percent change of an above trend line yield. When the ocean temperatures cool, it brings a La Nina condition with harsher Midwest winters and summers. During La Nina, there is a 70 percent chance of a below-trend line yield and a stronger chance of drought. Current conditions are neutral — meaning there is a 50 percent chance of an above or below trend line yield.But Taylor has observed signs that La Nina may be trying to establish itself."I hear people on the news talking about an El Nino, but I don't see the signs," Taylor said. "I keep track of the anomalies in ocean temperature off the west coast of South America, especially along the equator. It's colder now than in February and that was colder than January. That is not a good sign. This indicates it is moving toward La Nina."Taylor won't know if a La Nina condition has established itself until around April 15."If it goes the way I'm suspecting and La Nina is established, my yield forecast will drop to below 160 bushels per acre which is the trend line," Taylor said.Another signal that dry weather may be coming is an area of cold water in the Gulf of Alaska. When warm water forms there, low pressure sends growing season storms across the Yukon instead of into the United States. The last time the water was as warm as it is now was during the 1988 drought when there were no significant storms in a line from north and east of Kansas City to the East Coast.Last year brought an amazingly wet spring which wiped out the 2012 drought, Taylor said. In July the rain quit with conditions switching to very dry. What saved the corn crop for many farmers was temperatures five degrees cooler than usual through the rest of the growing season. Illinois and states to the east all recorded record high yields. West of Illinois yields were lower than average but were saved from disaster.If La Nina dominates in the coming weeks, there is a 70 percent chance of a 149-bushel national average corn yield and a $4.55 per bushel price on the December contract at harvest. If there is an El Nino, there is an 80 percent chance corn will be cheaper than $4.55 and a 75 percent chance with normal weather. Taylor's current forecast of 166 bushels would bring a $3.80 price on the December contract at harvest.Taylor told farmers that they should track growing degree days, rainfall and heat stress for their farm and at other locations across the Corn Belt and compare this year to what happened in good, average and bad years."We are in a time when management of risk is increasingly important," Taylor said. "The profits are there for those who do."The initial risk for the 2014 crop is that soil moisture, measured in late fall, is 40 percent of normal across Iowa.This winter's ample snowfall will contribute to replenishing soil moisture where the snow is at least one foot deep, Taylor said."That provides enough insulation," he said. "The soil is a constant 55 degrees at seven feet and it works its way up melting snow from the bottom. With less snow, the ground freezes deeper and the snow melts from the top and runs off."Source - http://www.postbulletin.com/

Brazil - São Paulo's mango production down 50%

São Paulo's mango growers are facing difficult times as they are having serious productivity problems because of the weather. Additionally, the low production has also affected prices.According to Canal Rural, the intense cold weather and last year’s rains affected production, so producers might have losses of up to 50%.Joseph Arthur, mango producer from Aguaí, within São Paulo, said this year's harvest would be much lower than the last one. The last harvest amounted to 500 tons of mango, while this year's production is not expected to exceed 250 tons.Nevertheless, the drought affecting much of São Paulo hasn't really damaged the region's mango production, even though they still need the rain to achieve the harvest of the second half of the year. Thus, agronomist Julian Convert warns, unless the weather conditions improve, the next crop might also be affected."This drought didn't affect production, because the plants bloomed in August-September, when there was rain and it was cold. So it depends on the weather. We might have another low harvest if it is rainy and cold between August and September. It's a climate issue, concluded Convert.With 200 hectares of crops, Aguaí is the 13th largest producing area in the state. Producers from this area are facing a low production and high prices."The price will definitely be higher. If you look at the supermarket shelves, prices are already higher, but this increase in prices doesn't reach us," said Arthur to Canal Rural.Meanwhile, Convert sees no way to change the producers' reality, as they are in the harvest season. However, he estimated, it is possible to change prices."We must try to increase income and see if we can improve prices from today, March 10. Otherwise, they won't be able to avoid losses. They have to raise the price to make a profit," Convert said.Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/

India - Hailstorm, unseasonal rains damage crops in Aurangabad District

Unseasonal rains and intense hailstorm along with stormy winds destroyed ready to harvest crop in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, bringing misery to farmers.The storm comes as a setback especially to the farmers whose hard work has been ruined as most of the ready to harvest crops including rabbi, wheat, jawar, gram has completely been destroyed."Our rabbi crop production, our horticulture, our fruit production which include sweet lemon, grapes and Marathwada's kesar mango that was being exported to Japan and the world has been totally damaged, along with that wheat, jawar production has been damaged, everything has been ruined due to the hailstorms and the rains that have been taking place in the last 10 days," Jai, a member of farmer's committee said.Farmers committee said the state government had issued notice claiming to repay loans taken by framers.Atleast 12 persons have lost their lives and several others were injured, also most of the domestic animals are dying since last two weeks due to unfavourable weather conditions.Stormy winds, unseasonal rains and hailstorms lashed out the areas of Marathwada region. The administrative divisions of Sillod, Phulambri, Vaijapur, Gangapur and Khuldabad and the districts of Beed, Nanded, Latur, Osmanabad, and Parbhani have been affected.Atleast four hundred thousand hectors of land in the eight districts is estimated to be affected, according to division commission office.Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has been on Marathwada tour to take stock of the situation. Source- http://www.aninews.in/

USA - Kansas battle to reduce feral hog population seems to be working

COWLEY COUNTY — Tom Berding remembers when crop damage by feral hogs was a dominant conversation in rural Cowley County.A few years ago, one farmer had to re-plant 40 acres of corn after wild pigs ate the seed. Another lost acres of soybeans to ravenous herds. The damage totaled thousands of dollars per farmer.No more. Berding has gone from having herds in his driveway to not seeing even a track for more than a year.“That’s all good news,” he said. “They’re no longer a topic of conversation in the coffee shops.”That’s because Kansas continues to be one of the nation’s most aggressive states at eradicating feral swine, which can also carry diseases that have been transferred to livestock, pets and humans. To insure parts of the state stays feral pig-free, Kansas-based biologists are also hammering wild hog populations just south of the Oklahoma border.“I knew where they were coming from,” Curran Salter, a U.S. Department of Agriculture biologist said of Cowley County’s pig problem. “I approached my supervisor and said we could wait to get overrun, or we could take the fight to them in Oklahoma.”So far, the fight seems one-sided.Last year Salter, head of a multi-agency group working on feral hog eradication, and crews killed about 90 in Cowley County via trapping, night shooting and aerial gunning from helicopters. Last month in the same area they killed just one, and Salter said it was the first he’d seen in the region for a year.He credits that to killing 180 feral hogs just below the Oklahoma border last year. The tally is much higher already in 2014.Last month, after killing that lone boar in Kansas, the helicopter crew shotgunned about 125 pigs in about three hours in Oklahoma. Most were within six miles of the border. Salter said some of those pigs, or their hundreds of offspring that would have come within a few months, could have ended up in Kansas.Biologists in other states applaud Kansas’ actions.Now is the time“If you don’t take those aggressive steps, in 30 years you’ll look like us, and this thing is out of control, “ said Mike Bodenchuk, a Texas-based USDA biologist in charge of combating the state’s estimated 2.6 million feral pigs. “We’re a shining example of what can go wrong.”By some models, Texas’ feral swine cause more than $500 million in damages to the state’s agriculture.Bodenchuk, widely seen as one of America’s top feral swine experts, says Kansas isn’t alone in dealing with the expansion of wild hogs.The original product of domestic herds gone wild over the centuries, he said America’s feral hog range has expanded from about 17 states 20 years ago to about 40 states currently. Most of the spread has more to do with highways than hooves.Both biologists blame hunters wanting to establish feral hog populations near their homes for the spread. Live-trapped wild pigs can be purchased in Texas and other places.“That’s why you often see populations suddenly jump up on public hunting areas,” Salter said. “The guys who release them know they’ll always have easy access to the pigs.”Kansas threw a wrench into that concept about seven years ago, when USDA biologists and the Kansas Department of Agriculture urged the state to make it illegal to transport feral hogs in Kansas. They also banned all but landowners from sport hunting wild swine, too. Bodenchuk said they’re smart moves.“You can’t barbecue your way out of the problem, “ he said of sport hunting pigs. Salter said there’s no proof sport hunting has successfully managed a feral hog population.Over about the past 15 years, Salter said 11 significant feral hog populations have popped up in Kansas. One of the first was on Fort Riley. That’s about when feral swine started in the Red Hills region, near Medicine Lodge.Without hunters scattering the pigs, Salter and other biologists were eventually able to remove large numbers with baited traps. Many more were killed with specially trained helicopter crews. About 1,000 were killed in the Red Hills.“It took us four or five years to get that one cleaned up because they were really widespread,” Salter said. “But for all practical purposes that population is gone. Except for a couple of lone boars, people down there haven’t seen a pig in several years.”Other populations, scattered from border to border have been eliminated. Salter said the lone exception is in a Bourbon County in southeast Kansas, where some landowners desire feral pigs so they can hunt them with dogs. They won’t allow trapping or aerial gunning on those lands.“As long as that’s going on the pigs are always going to have a refuge,” Salter said. “All we can do is work the pigs around the refuge area to keep it from getting totally out of control.”Outside that area, he credits nearly 100-percent landowner cooperation for helping the Kansas project kill about 4,000 feral swine in the past several years.With about 250 pigs, he thinks the Bourbon County herd is the only significant breeding population left in Kansas. Had it not been for the aggressive measures, Bodenchuk and Salter think the Kansas population would noq total more than 10,000 feral swine, and double every few years.Pigs from neighboring statesSalter said the war on feral swine in Kansas will probably never be over.A few river and creek areas leading from Oklahoma and Missouri into southeast Kansas are already on his radar as places where more pigs could arrive. About 15 were trapped this winter near the Little Caney River in Montgomery County, tight against the Oklahoma border.Salter is proud of how things have gone in Cowley County, and across the border in Kay County, Okla. It’s a cooperative effort of USDA staff and wildlife departments from both states, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and many landowners and volunteers, like Berding, who has been helping run traps that have caught up to 42 pigs at a time.Along with the recent trapping, the late February aerial gunning in the region killed about 300 feral pigs in Oklahoma. About 80 were shot in one pasture about six miles south of the border. Many were near where an Oklahoma farmer lost about 20 acres of wheat in a single night this winter.Many of the pigs were on the public hunting area of Kaw Reservoir where hunters in Oklahoma, which still allows sport hunting, had pushed pigs into Kansas in the past.For years on a tight annual budget of about $200,000, paid for by USDA, Kansas and some livestock groups, Salter recently learned his agency could be putting significantly more funding into controlling feral swine. That could mean added personnel afield and considerable more helicopter time, which could help locate, and eradicate, new populations while they are still small.Spencer Grace, an Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation game warden who has been deeply involved with the project, is optimistic the program is working.He said the local herd appears to be an isolated population that ends about eight miles into Oklahoma, meaning eradication could be possible. Grace estimates recent trapping and flights killed a high percentage of swine in the area.“They had a big hog hunting competition last weekend and they had a total of one pig killed in Kay County,” he said “I know we’re putting a pretty good hurting on them.”Source - http://www.kansas.com/

USA - Possible Freeze Damage To Wheat, Corn

Officials with the Hill County AgriLife Extension Service were looking last week to see if any of the early planted corn or winter wheat was damaged by last week’s freezing weather.Some corn had been in the ground over a week when high temperatures went from the upper 70s to the mid 20s in just 24 hours. The cold blast was accompanied by a blanket of sleet and ice across much of the county.Extension Agent Ryan Collett said that temperatures in the teens, and holding below freezing for over 24 hours, raised the question of whether there might be freeze damage to crops. “Even though there was no emerged corn in the area, there is still some concern about planted acreage,” he said. The main concern with any freeze event shortly after planting is the impact on stand establishment. Plant stand or population is a major component when determining corn yield potential. Significant reduction in plant stands below optimum levels would justify replanting.Collett added, “The stage of development will determine the potential and type of injury to newly planted or emerged corn plants.“The impact on newly planted (germinating seeds) and emerged plants should be discussed separately.”For newly planted corn, the seeds will be in some stage of the germination process, depending on planting date, soil conditions and environmental factors. Freezing temperatures are unlikely to reach seeds planted deeper than two inches, so officials were assuming that most planted seeds were not reached by lethal cold temperatures below 28 degrees.However, soil temperatures below 50 degrees can damage germinating corn seedlings, which is known as imbibitional chilling injury. As corn seeds imbibe or absorb water, the seed swells as the development process begins. Cell tissues that are cold because of absorbing cold water are less elastic and could rupture. Symptoms of chilling injury include swollen kernels with slow growth of the root (radicle) or shoot (coleoptile) or seeds that fail to germinate at all. Chilling injury shortly after germination could result in stunting or death of the root system, deformed elongation of the mesocotyl (known as corkscrew), delayed emergence or even complete failure to emerge. Deeper plantings should buffer the seed from cold temperatures but given the severity of the freeze event, the degree of damage is uncertain, according to Collett. For emerged corn plants, the key is the growing point. Damage to the growing point due to freezing temperatures will kill the plant and result in stand loss. The growing point is below the soil surface until about the six-leaf stage, which protects it from minor frost/freeze events. Even though the growing point is currently below the surface, the freeze could damage young seedlings, Collett pointed out.For newly planted or recently emerged corn plants, time will be needed to access the extent of damage. “Given the severity of this freeze event, stand loss is certainly a con-cern and replanting may be justified for fields with poor stands,” Collett added.As for the winter wheat crop, which was planted in October and November, the verdict is still out.Officials were looking closer at the early planted fields that might have advanced to the joint or reproductive stage. Those plants are more susceptible to freezing weather.Most of the later planted wheat hasn’t advanced to that stage due to the cold weather experienced over the winter.It was noted by the official that the cold weather discolored many of the wheat plants, but that doesn’t necessarily mean there is freeze damage.Collett estimated it will be a week to 10 days after the freeze event before true damage assessments on the wheat crop can be conducted.A late freeze in 2013 had producers north of the Hillsboro area baling their wheat crop, while other farmers left the crop in the field, which produced above average yields in many cases.Source - http://hillsbororeporter.com/

Australia - Producers forced to sell cattle

More than 3,700 head of cattle were yarded at Toowoomba today, the biggest offering in seven years.Elders agent Darren Hartwig says the dry conditions are forcing producers to offload stock as they just can't afford to feed them. Mr Hartwig says prices are holding up quite well, despite the numbers on offer."Export cattle held up quite well, trade cattle are holding up quite well, but the younger cattle and the plainer types, that are showing the weather conditions, are starting to struggle," he said. "Most of the major export operators are in the market, the restocker market is very selective, probably, with feedlotters the main buyers. Obviously, for the lesser types, it is very difficult going for them."I think we have got 187 vendors, which is probably the most we have had for ten or 12 years."Source - http://www.abc.net.au/