19.10.2016

Philippines - Typhoon Karen destroys nearly P2.97 billion worth of crops

As of October 18, the DA said a total of 215,716 metric tons (MT) of crops planted in 260,002 hectares of agricultural lands in Regions 1, 3, 4A and 5 were affected by the typhoon. The DA said the rice sector suffered the brunt of Karen as it registered a production loss of 205,870 MT, valued at P2.81 billion. The typhoon also destroyed 5,195 MT of high-value crops with an estimated value of P106.43 million. Corn crops damaged by the typhoon reached 4,651 MT, worth P60.34 million. The DA said rice farmers in Region 3, or Central Luzon—considered the rice granary of the Philippines—incurred the biggest loss. The typhoon destroyed a total of 167,869 MT of rice, valued at P2.21 billion, planted in Region 3. Rice farmers in Tarlac were hardest hit, as they lost P1.04 billion worth of crops. Data from the DA showed that Region 5, or the Bicol region, recorded crop damages amounting to P465.12 million. Also hit were Regions 1 and 4A, which posted losses reaching P172.93 and P13.97 million, respectively. However, the DA expressed confidence that crops planted in more than 98 percent of affected areas have chances of recovery. The agency is currently conducting field validation of the data it collected. Typhoon Karen exited the Philippine area of responsibility on Monday. But another typhoon, which is stronger than Karen, is expected to hit the country this week. In a memorandum, the DA directed its regional offices that are in the pathway of Typhoon Lawin (international code name Haima) to take the necessary precautionary measures. “Activate immediately your respective quick-response center and prepare and secure seed buffer stocks,” the memo addressed to DA-Regional Field Office (RFO) heads in Regions 1, 2, 3, 4A, 5, and the Cordillera Administrative Region read. The memo, signed by Roy Abaya, OIC undersecretary for Operations, asked RFOs to coordinate with affected neighboring regions to determine and provide their needed assistance. The RFOs were also directed to closely monitor updates from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), secure their respective personnel and properties, and relocate livestock in their jurisdiction to safer places. “Submit regular updates to the Office of Secretary and Office of the OIC Undersecretary for Operations daily every 9 a.m., including holidays,” the memorandum read. The Pagasa said Lawin is expected to make a landfall over Cagayan on Thursday and could even become a supertyphoon. Source - http://www.businessmirror.com.ph

19.10.2016

Canada - Crop Hail Claims Above Normal in Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan has an interesting situation with a larger number of total claims----but a lower average payout per claim. The Canadian Crop Hail Association indicates losses tracked above the five-year average at 11,001 claims. An average year is usually closer to 8,000. "Our adjustors were really taxed," says Rodney Schoettler, chief executive officer with Saskatchewan Municipal Hail Insurance. "It hailed every day in July and August this year. July is normal to have hail everyday, but not August. Since harvest was delayed, we also had more claims than usual in September." Schoettler says crop hail claims were filed in 280 of the 297 rural municipalities in Saskatchewan. Total payouts amounted to just over $124 million, resulting in a 70.8 per cent loss ratio. The number is close to the long-term average, but well below the 45.6 per cent loss ratio in 2015. "We had a lot of small events, more localized hail storms. You would have the pocket in the middle where it was heavy and then it would be real light on the outside. It (usually) was just small areas that were hit." Some areas---including Kindersley, Moose Jaw and Frontier had multiple hail events during the growing season. Manitoba had the worst year for hail in Western Canada with a loss ratio of 142.6 per cent. Total losses were reported at $67 million, which is a sharp increase over last year's total of $46 million. Alberta reported crop hail payouts of $64 million compared to $50 million last year. The loss ratio was 81.8 per cent. Based on these numbers, farmers in Manitoba can expect to pay more for crop hail insurance next year. Some Alberta customers could see increases as well, while Schoettler anticipates Saskatchewan will be ''relatively flat." Source - http://www.saskatoonhomepage.ca

19.10.2016

Australia - Frost Appeal to support affected growers

THE CBH Group has launched an appeal to support grain growers affected by recent frosts. The appeal invites growers to donate grain to be sold after harvest. CBH Grower and External Relations general manager Brianna Peake said proceeds from grain donations would be distributed to growers who were not able to recover enough seed for planting next year's crop. "While the extent of damage caused by the frosts remains unclear, we're aware that some growers have lost a significant amount of their crop for this season," Ms Peake said. "The frost appeal is just one measure we are putting in place to assist these growers." Other measures include segregations offered at certain sites to take frost damaged grain. CBH's operations team will endeavour to maximise the value of this grain that growers have left to deliver. Growers will need to consult with CBH representatives at their local receival sites to assess the service requirements. Growers who have concerns about contract commitments with CBH marketing and trading or Pre-Pay Advantage contracts are advised to contact their business relationship manager. CBH is also working to support growers at a grassroots level with funds allocated for community-focused events. "Over the coming weeks our country-based managers will be holding barbecues or beer and pizza nights in local communities to give growers an opportunity to support one another," Ms Peake said. "We understand there is a lot of pressure on those that have been impacted by frost and peer support is incredibly important." CBH is also working with its mental health partner The Black Dog Institute to communicate support services and resources to growers at a local level. Source - http://www.farmweekly.com.au

18.10.2016

India - Farmers may have shifted to high risk farming due to crop insurance

The rapid transformation of farming and food systems to cope with a warmer world, such as adopting climate-smart practices, particularly to curb greenhouse gas emissions, is critical for hunger and poverty reduction, the United Nations agriculture agency said in a report. The State of Food and Agriculture 2016 (SOFA): Climate change, agriculture and food security said that under the worst-case scenario, much of the forecast increase in the number of poor occurs in Africa (43 million) and South Asia (62 million). Reduced income in the agricultural sector explains the largest share of increased poverty as a result of climate change. This is because the most severe reductions in food production and increases in food prices occur in Africa and India, which account for a large share of the world’s poor. The second most important factor leading to increased poverty is health impacts, followed by the impacts of higher temperatures on labour productivity. The report stated that index-based insurance, which pays out benefits on the basis of indices such as rainfall, area-average yields and vegetation conditions measured by satellites, is being tested as a risk-mitigation tool in several countries. When an index exceeds a predetermined threshold, farmers receive a quick pay-out, delivered in some cases via mobile phones. However, index-based insurance by itself does not provide a full solution to climate-related risk. “For example, India’s Weather-Based Crop Insurance Scheme may have prompted a shift among participants towards more profitable but higher risk farm production systems, thanks to subsidized premiums. Uptake of index-based insurance has been generally limited because it usually involves high transaction costs. Another problem is a lack of trust in insurance institutions.” The report went on to say that multiple stressors greatly affect animal production, reproduction and immune status. “Research in India found that a combination of climate-related stresses on sheep – for example, excessive heat and lower nutritional intake – had severe impacts on the animals’ biological coping mechanisms.” “There is no doubt climate change affects food security,” said the director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), José Graziano da Silva. “What climate change does is to bring back uncertainties from the time we were all hunter gatherers. We cannot assure any more that we will have the harvest we have planted,” he added. That uncertainty also translates into volatile food prices. “Everybody is paying for that, not only those suffering from droughts,” Mr. Graziano da Silva said. It is agriculture, including forestry, fisheries and livestock production, which is contributing to a warmer world by generating around a fifth of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, agriculture must both contribute more to combating climate change while bracing to overcome its impacts, the report said. Without action, agriculture will continue to be a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. But by adopting climate-smart practices and increasing the capacity of soils and forests to sequester carbon, emissions can be reduced while stepping up food production to feed the world’s growing population, the report added. The report provides evidence that adoption of climate-smart practices, such as the use of nitrogen-efficient and heat-tolerant crop varieties, zero-tillage and integrated soil fertility management would boost productivity and farmers’ incomes. Widespread adoption of nitrogen-efficient practices alone would reduce the number of people at risk of undernourishment by more than 100 million, the report estimates. “2016 should be about putting commitments into action,” urged Mr. Graziano da Silva, noting the international community last year agreed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement on climate change, which is expect to come into force early next month. Agriculture will be high on the agenda at the 22nd Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), known as  COP 22, in Morocco starting on November 7. Source - http://www.governancenow.com

18.10.2016

Australia - Sept storms cost farmers hundreds of crops

Recent storms have inundated and demolished the crops in low-lying farms in Condobolin and Forbes in central-west NSW, but have largely left houses and buildings undamaged, it has been reported. Neil Fettell of the NSW Farmers Association told AAP that wheat, barley, and canola farms were worst hit by the storms, with some farms “completely wiped out,” while local stock farmers were able to save most of their sheep and cattle. "The overall production will still be pretty good but for individual farmers it means heavy financial loss," he said. "It's very tough, not just financially but emotionally." The inundated farms are expected to remain flooded for some five more weeks until water level in the Lachlan River gradually subsides, AAP said. Meanwhile, most houses and buildings around Condobolin and Forbes escaped damage from the floods. Insurance claims reached less than $10 million, with insurers receiving about 750 claims from the Forbes region, mostly from low-level storm damage, AAP reported. Road transport in the region is expected to improve after a section of the Newell Highway between Jerilderie and Narrandera was reopened on Thursday. Fettell said the residents were able to prepare better for the floods thanks to the internet and social media. Source - http://www.insurancebusinessonline.com.au

18.10.2016

USA - Pecan orchards hit hard by Hurricane Matthew

Damage, lost production to have big economic impact across the state Hurricane Matthew toppled thousands of mature pecan trees in South Georgia, while damaging cotton and peanut crops to a lesser degree, and farmers are working hard to assess damage from the storm and determine if they will be eligible for federal assistance. Damage varies from place to place, but, “I haven’t been by a single (pecan) orchard that doesn’t have some big trees down,” said Bill Tyson, Bulloch County extension agent. Some orchards might have only a few trees down and some might have 50 percent down, he said. Wade Plantation, in northern Screven County, lost 1,000 mature pecan trees, or about 75 acres worth of trees, according to property owner William S. “Billy” Morris III. Morris also owns Morris Publishing Group, which operates the Augusta, Sylvania and Savannah newspapers among others. He estimated damage from the storm will reduce pecan production this year by 25 percent to 30 percent. Extension agent Ray Hicks said commercial producers lost 2,000 pecan trees valued at $1 million in Screven County alone. That doesn’t include trees in small groups on farms or in people’s backyards. John Emory Pryor, who harvests pecans in Effingham, Chatham, Screven, Bulloch and Jenkins counties, said he lost 400 trees over 700 acres. Pryor also said the cotton crop took a hit. Cotton plants also were “blown down real bad,” he said. Pryor said he isn’t sure how much damage the peanut crops will suffer. The ground has to dry before the remaining peanuts can be harvested, and by then they may have begun sprouting or have fallen off the plant. “We just got our fingers crossed,” Pryor said. Overall the damage from the storm was not as bad as it could have been, but was worse than expected, said Julie McPeake, spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Agriculture. “Our pecan growers were some of the hardest hit, with some losing one-third of their trees,” she said. “That is a monumental loss when you consider the investment each tree requires.” Pecan trees take 15 years to grow enough to produce a decent crop. She said cotton farmers had as much as 50 percent of their lint blown to the ground, and what is still standing will be downgraded for the quality because of the saturation and wind damage. Farmers also lost a few cattle that were hit by trees, she said. Morris said six pregnant cows were killed by falling trees on his property in South Carolina. McPeake said that federal assistance for farmers must go through Gov. Nathan Deal, who will have to ask for a disaster declaration from the Secretary of Agriculture. The money would come through the USDA. Hicks said some farmers do have private insurance that covers their crops and orchards. U.S. Rep. Rick Allen toured farms in Screven County last week along with Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black and Georgia Farm Bureau President Gerald Long. Allen urged farmers to keep detailed records for federal disaster applications. “Local pecan farmers … asked me, ‘How do you harvest with trees down all around the pecan trees?’ People are hurting.” Allen said. Some farmers are hiring workers to pick up pecans from the ground by hand. “It’s very expensive and there’s a labor shortage,” Long said. He said a wet spring followed by a dry summer and then a hurricane caused a lot of problems in one year’s time. “It’s been an extremely, extremely difficult year for farmers,” Long said. Source - http://savannahnow.com

18.10.2016

New Zealand - Sudden hailstorm hits fruit growers

In Motueka, New Zealand, a sudden heavy hailstorm has come at a terrible time for kiwifruit growers. A Caltex Motueka employee said the heavy hailstorm started at about 3.15pm on Friday 14 Oct., and lasted for "a good 20 minutes".  It's still too early to tell how apple orchards will fare but it's not looking promising for kiwifruit growers still assessing the damage from another hailstorm which hit the region just last week. Motueka Fruit Growers Association chairman, Simon Easton, said growers would be impacted as the storm was where "it's kiwifruit country". It looked like Motueka and part of Redwoods Valley had been badly hit, he said, with hail "white, thick on the ground and pea sized". As for the other fruit growers, Easton said it could come to nothing, or it could be "a bloody disaster". "Two major storms this early is very unusual." Mainland Kiwi Growers Entity director, Evan Heywood, who grows apples and kiwifruit in the Motueka area, said it was unlikely the hail had done much damage to the kiwifruit. "What's happened is the hail's gone through the leaves and shredded the leaves a little bit and broken some shoots as well. It probably won't have done a lot of damage to the fruit." He said it was too early to tell how the apples would be affected. "You won't know until the fruit grows a bit." Source - http://www.freshplaza.com

18.10.2016

Pakistan - Mobilink’s mobile-based agricultural service launched to for Farmers

Mobilink is targeting the agriculture sector of Pakistan with the launch of its new value added service (VAS), ‘Ba Khabbar Kisaan’. The App based service utilizing interactive voice response technology will provide farmers information and services related to agriculture  such as optimized cultivation methods, modern farming techniques, health education for farmers, health precautions for plants, 24/7 helpline with trainings, weather information, crop insurance, market-related information and a platform for sales. The launch of ‘Ba Khabbar Kisan’ was held in Dera Sardar Sarfraz Khan, Attock, where more than a 1000 local farmers were present to witness Dr. Syed Ismail Shah, Chairman – Pakistan Telecommunications Authority and Aamir Ibrahim, CEO – Mobilink and Warid Pakistan provide a breakdown of the service’s benefits to the farming community. With the launch of this service, Mobilink is looking to harness the strength of its extensive telecommunications network to connect farmers, agribusinesses and rural communities, in a bid to drive productivity, profitability and innovation. “With the launch of our ‘Ba Khabbar Kisaan’ service, Mobilink is showcasing that mobile operators can offer much more than just basic communication facilities,” said Aamir Ibrahim. “This service is in line with the direction we took by re-introducing Jazz, as we now want to offer our subscribers freedom of choice, digital empowerment and the power to do more with less; ultimately becoming the first Telco to reach out and reshape all echelons of society.” “We believe this service will play an integral role in ensuring farmers get their due reward for playing an important role in the society by transforming their ability to increase crop yields, improve efficiency and grow incomes,” he further added. Dr. Syed Ismail Shah said, “The government is continuously making all necessary arrangements to ensure farmers are provided support against problems climate change and urbanization bring. Also, we still believe a lot more can be done if the telecom sector plays its due role. In relation to this, we have held various seminars on successful telecom – agricultural models from around the world to stress on the fact that more mobile-based applications are needed for better usage of telecom in agriculture.” “Thus, it gives me immense pleasure that Mobilink decided to launch a mAgri service in line with international standards with the core objective of increasing agricultural productivity and income. And PTA will continue encouraging the development of local content based applications and is willing to extend all sort of support to help farmers through the provision of reliable and timely information, automation of certain agriculture processes using specialized applications, and connecting the buyers and sellers in the market place,” he further added. The free of cost service has been developed after understanding the needs of local farmers. It focuses on three pain points of the agricultural sector – productivity losses, supply chain inefficiencies, and financial exclusion – by offering relevant & timely information, supply chain related services, and mobile financial services. Source - https://www.techjuice.pk

18.10.2016

USA - Nov. 9 crop insurance workshop to focus on risk management strategies

Professionals, including growers and ranchers, who wish to enhance their knowledge of risk management and their ability to design an appropriate risk management plan are encouraged to register for a crop insurance workshop hosted by Nebraska Extension on Nov. 9 at the Heartland Events Center, 700 E. Stolley Park Rd., Grand Island.  This year’s workshop will focus on farm survival, outlook and risk management strategies. Topics discussed during the workshop include where to consider cutting costs, whole-farm crop insurance, current crop insurance policy issues, and a market outlook provided by Jeff Stolle of the Nebraska Cattlemen and Cory Walters of the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.  In addition, the workshop will feature a panel on decision making in the current financial condition of agriculture. The panel will include: Roy Smith, retired producer and grain marketer, will discuss how to survive economic downturns Tina Barrett, director of Nebraska Farm Business Inc., will provide an up to date Nebraska producer financial picture and survival strategies Jerry Catlett, senior vice president of Bruning State Bank, will talk about how to handle unfortunate financial news Matt Habrock, assistant director of the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, will discuss the Nebraska Farm Financial Health Survey “We feel that the content in this years workshop will be quite useful to farmers and lenders, in addition to crop insurance agents,” said Nebraska Extension Specialist, Cory Walters. “The workshop will help improve participants understanding of how to navigate  the current economic environment.” The workshop is held in conjunction with workshops hosted by Colorado State University Extension, Kansas State University Research and Extension and Oklahoma State University Extension.  Continuing education credits have been applied for in Nebraska.

17.10.2016

USA - Hurricane Matthew Devastates Georgia Pecan, Cotton Crops

Georgia’s top agriculture official says Hurricane Matthew hit the state’s pecan and cotton farmers hard. Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black says he toured farms in three counties this week following the storm that raked Georgia’s coast last weekend. Black says many pecan farmers lost up to one-third of their trees, including trees older than 100 years. Black says it takes at least seven years for a new tree to start producing pecans. High winds also damaged the cotton crop by driving fiber into the ground or tangling it. Rain also harms the quality of cotton, lowering its sale price. Officials say the hurricane also damaged some seed beds for Vidalia onions. Black says the damage is difficult to quantify. Source - http://www.insurancejournal.com

17.10.2016

India - KC(M) flays govt. move on crop insurance scheme

Kerala Congress(M) general secretary Joseph M. Puthussery has called upon the government to take immediate steps to include the districts of Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta in the Prime Minister’s crop insurance scheme Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) without any further delay. Mr. Puthussery was inaugurating a farmers’ march and dharna in protest against the alleged anti-farmer policies of the government in Thiruvalla on Saturday. He alleged that the government, in its order issued on July 21 implementing the PMFBY in the State, had excluded the two districts from the ambit of the crop insurance scheme. The very purpose of the crop insurance scheme would be defeated by excluding the paddy bowls of Kuttanad and Upper Kuttanad from its ambit, he alleged. Mr. Puthusserry further alleged that the exclusion of the two districts was part of a dubious design to help the corporate majors that have participated in the tender process. The Centre had announced the crop insurance scheme in January earlier, in an effort to reduce recurrence of agricultural distress without having to effect hefty hikes in the Minimum Support Prices (MSP). Mr. Puthussery said the KC(M) would continue its struggle for the cause of farmers. Cherian Polachirackal, KC(M) general secretary; Saji Alex, convener; Varghese Mammen, Sam Eapen, Thomas Mathew, Ambika Mohan, Biju Lankagiri, Thampi Kunukandathil, and Joe Elanjimoottil, all party secretariat members also spoke.  Source - http://www.thehindu.com

17.10.2016

Panama and Taiwan resume cooperation to tackle HLB disease

Taiwan has resumed its technical cooperation program with Panama, interrupted in 2012, allocating one million dollars for the prevention of the HLB disease, a pest in Central America which has decimated the citrus production and was detected in February in the Panama province of Bocas del Toro. Taiwan's ambassador in Panama, José María Liu, told Acan-Efe that "the technical cooperation program has successfully been restarted with the collaboration of some of the best specialists in the control of the citrus disease HLB (Huanglongbing)." Since 2012, the pest has been fought in Central America by the International Regional Organization for Agricultural Health (OIRSA) together with the authorities of each country and financial support, also from Taiwan. Only El Salvador is excluded from the program, because the HLB has not been detected there. The diplomat specified that "the new strategy for technical cooperation should include knowledge transfer, so that after the completion of the task by Taiwan, Panama can continue the work with trained staff." The last detection in Panama took place in February 2016 and was detected thanks to the project's monitoring routines. "According to data from the Comptroller General of the Republic, Panama cultivates citrus (oranges, mandarins, lemons and grapefruits) on 14,662 hectares, and its production and industrialization generate 8,550 direct jobs and 15,300 indirect jobs. "Panama is one of our main allies and we want to share our knowledge and progress, especially to help the neediest, and to facilitate the country's development," noted Liu. Source - http://www.freshplaza.com

17.10.2016

India - Farmers may not be able to claim crop insurance as yield assessment slow

Paddy growers who are busy harvesting their crop fear that they may not be able to make claims for compensation from crop insurance company under Pradhanmantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) as the district administration is yet to compile this year's figures of average paddy production per hectare. The task is not expected to be completed till the end of the current kharf season. According to officials at the district statistics department, "crop cutting" is a technical system under which average of agricultural produce in a district in hectare as a unit is assessed. Under this process, the crop is harvested at four different places in randomly selected village panchayats in a triangular area of 43.30 square metres and the average level of agricultural production of each major crop in the district is assessed on the basis of the harvested produce. An official of this department said for assessing present paddy crop, as many as 900 villages have been randomly selected in the district for crop cutting this year of which the process of assessment has been completed only in three villages — Mangatpur in Marauri block, Aimi in Lalaurikhera block and Udaikaranpur in Puranpur block. The database of all the districts is compiled at the state capital headquarters and sent to the central government. An official, Anupam Chandra, said key role in crop cutting process was vested with lekhpals but the several posts in the district are yet to be filled up. Additional district magistrate AK Saini said the district had 216 lekhpals against 396 approved posts. According to deputy director of agriculture AK Singh, the farmers can claim reparation from the crop insurance company under PMFBY in case their average produce declines in comparison to the average production level of the district technically assessed on the basis of crop cutting method. But harvesting of paddy in the entire district, according to farmers, is expected to end within the next 15 or 20 days and that is why paddy growers would have no chance to file their claims for compensation to the insurance company on the basis of the crop cutting method. Yogesh Singh and Brajendra Singh from Mathotanda told TOI that they have finished harvesting in their eight and 10 acre farmlands, respectively. Another farmer, Indrajeet Singh of village Gairatpur Japti, said he had six acres of paddy of which he had harvested five acres while Reet Ram Mishra of village Sapha had also concluded harvesting his 9 acres. These farmers belonged to Puranpur block, the biggest in the entire country. Source - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

17.10.2016

Canada - Snow disrupts harvest and damages crops

It’s snowing out there, and farmers say that’s made this year’s slow harvest even worse. About five to 10 centimetres of snow and/or freezing rain were set to fall on the Edmonton region as of Friday, said Environment Canada. It was the second big dump of the white stuff this month, and another in a long string of precipitation events stretching back two months. All this wet meant that just 72 per cent of the crops in Alberta were in the bin as of Friday, compared to about 90 per cent in most years, said James Wright, risk analyst with the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (the Crown corporation that runs Alberta’s crop insurance). “We’ve just had terrible weather,” he explained, with frequent rains meaning frequent stops and starts to crop collection. “It’s been a real herky-jerky sort of fall.” This most recent snowstorm was one of several storm systems that have blown in from B.C. on the jet stream this week, said Brian Proctor, an Environment Canada meteorologist based in Edmonton. “We’re right on the edge of the baroclinic (temperature transition) zone for this kind of storm,” he added, which means we get bursts of wet snow as the zone moves instead of a single dump followed by drying winds. Walter Tappauf said he’d typically be done collecting from his 18,000 acres at this point, but because of the weather, he still had 5,500 left. He estimated that about a third of this region’s crops had yet to be collected, about 40 per cent of which was canola. “You get three days of good weather and then you get another dump,” said the St. Albert-area farmer. “You can’t get anything done.” Bad for quality Farmers report that about 25 per cent of farms in Region Four (which includes Edmonton and St. Albert) had excessive moisture as of this week, Wright said. “It’s going to be a real issue,” he said. Not only will those fields take longer to dry out enough to support farm equipment, but any crops in them will be at greater risk of germination, disease, and rot, all of which will degrade their quality. Most malt barley in the west has already been downgraded to feed in this region due to the slow harvest, Tappauf said, with similar drops seen in durum wheat down south due to fusarium disease. “Instead of going for noodles, which is a fairly high quality product, it’s basically worthless.” Snow means that any crop that’s still standing will likely be pounded into the ground, making it tougher to harvest, Wright said. He expects that some farmers may have to abandon their fields entirely, which will mean more delays next year as they have to clear those fields before reseeding them. Tappauf guessed that this was probably one of the five worst falls he’d seen in his 45 years as a farmer, and predicted a no-profit year for most farmers. Proctor didn’t have much good news for farmers weather-wise. Another storm was set to blow into Edmonton Sunday, which, depending on where it landed, could mean either more snow or freezing rain. “It’s a really unsettled weekend.” He said we could get out from under this storm track next week, but he doubted it, as he wasn’t seeing the ridge of high pressure needed to push the clouds away. “I still think we’re looking at very unstable conditions over the next week to two weeks.” Still, Wright said this was only Oct. 15, and this was not the worst fall he’d seen in his 40 years on the job. He predicted a year of decent yields but poor quality for most farmers, which would mean higher insurance payouts. While this week’s snow would mean at least a week’s delay, Tappauf said that all most farmers needed was two clear weeks to finish this year’s harvest. “You can’t say it’s over till it’s over.” Source - http://www.stalbertgazette.com

17.10.2016

India - Centre working on portal to get farm insurance data in real time

Efforts are on to make the collection of data on insurance coverage for farmers under the Prime Minister’s Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) become more efficient and timely from the upcoming rabi season. The Agriculture Ministry is working on a portal where banks can directly enter details on insurance sold to farmers during the two cropping seasons. This will help the Centre in accessing information on insurance coverage on real time basis in various States and take timely corrective action wherever required. “We have already had several rounds of meetings with senior officials, including General Managers of all commercial banks, and also discussed various alternatives to make the portal user-friendly,” an Agriculture Ministry official told BusinessLine. Commercial banks are responsible for a large part of insurance sold to farmers as the PMFBY mandates that all banks have to mandatorily cover farmers who take loans from them in the period the insurance is sold. Since banks take their time to give details on the number of farmers they have provided insurance cover to, the Centre gets delayed information on the spread of the scheme. “Once we start getting data on a real-time basis from banks, we will know exactly how the scheme is doing and if steps like more publicity or extending the deadline for issuing insurance need to be taken,” the official said. The Agriculture Ministry hopes to have the portal in place by the time insurance for the rabi season starts being offered to farmers next month, he added. The PMFBY, which replaced the older National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) and the modified NAIS, seeks to provide comprehensive insurance to farmers against the vagaries of nature at very low premia of 2 per cent of the insured value for the kharif crop and 1.5 per cent for the rabi season. Deadline extended The deadline for the insurance scheme for the kharif season was extended from July 30 to August 10 this year for most States and from August 15 to August 31 for Bihar as several States were late in notifying the new scheme. According to Agriculture Ministry’s rough estimates, this kharif season insurance coverage this year at 3.15 crore farmers have been insured this kharif season as opposed to 3.08 crore last year. Source - http://www.thehindubusinessline.com

13.10.2016

Australia - Farmers lose hundreds of crops in floods

Farmers in central west NSW are still counting the cost from recent storms which have destroyed hundreds of crops and left whole farms inundated in floodwaters. As water around Condobolin and Forbes slowly recedes, many low-lying farms remain underwater with crops demolished. On the flipside, farms removed from the flood plains will produce bumper crops after the heavy September rainfall. "There's a whole range of people who live away from the river who are probably going to harvest some of their best crops ever," NSW Farmers Association's Neil Fettell told AAP. "That's one extreme; there are other people whose farms are completely wiped out." Mr Fettell, an agronomist and farmer in Condobolin, said local stock farmers were largely able to save their sheep and cattle while wheat, barley and canola farms were hit hardest. "The overall production will still be pretty good but for individual farmers it means heavy financial loss," he said. "It's very tough, not just financially but emotionally." Road transport in the region will begin to improve after a section of the Newell Highway was reopened on Thursday. The highway, which has been closed due to flooding, has been reopened between Jerilderie and Narrandera. Houses and buildings around Condobolin and Forbes mostly escaped the floods unscathed, with insurance claims reaching less than $10 million. Insurers received about 750 claims from the Forbes region, most for low-level storm damage, Insurance Council of Australia said. Mr Fettell said the internet and social media enabled residents to better prepare for the floods. Sodden crops are expected to remain underwater for up to five more weeks as the Lachlan River gradually goes down. Source - http://www.news.com.au/