Agroinsurance

USA - New USDA program helps farmers affected by severe weather

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced program details related to a new Farm Bill initiative that will provide relief to farmers affected by severe weather, including drought. Information made available today includes eligible crops, crop years, and counties where producers are eligible to exclude certain yields under the Actual Production History (APH) Yield Exclusion, a fact sheet, and a list of frequently asked questions.The APH Yield Exclusion will be available in the actuarial documents beginning in the 2015 crop year for spring planted corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, grain sorghum, rice, barley, canola, sunflowers, peanuts, and popcorn. It will allow eligible producers who have been hit with severe weather to receive a higher approved yield on their insurance policies through the federal crop insurance program.“APH Yield Exclusion will provide additional options to producers who have suffered from devastating natural disasters,” said RMA Administrator Brandon Willis. “The resources made available today will help eligible producers get the most benefit out of the new protections created in the 2014 Farm Bill.”Under the new Farm Bill program, yields can be excluded from farm actual production history when the actuarial documents provide that the county average yield for that crop year is at least 50 percent below the 10 previous consecutive crop years’ average yield.The APH Yield Exclusion allows farmers to exclude yields in exceptionally bad years (such as a year in which a natural disaster or other extreme weather occur) from their production history when calculating yields used to establish their crop insurance coverage. The amount of insurance available to a farmer is based on the farmer’s average historical yields. In the past, a year of particularly low yields that occurred due to severe weather beyond the farmer’s control would reduce the amount of insurance available to the farmer in future years. By excluding unusually bad years, farmers will not have to worry that a natural disaster will reduce their amount of insurance for years to come.Source - http://wwlp.com/

India - Untimely showers damaged crops on 59,000 hectares

The recent spells of heavy rain damaged crops on 59,000 hectares in Maharashtra, including 33,000 hectares of field crops and 26,000 hectares of fruit crops. The state has lost onion crop on 14,000 hectares in just two days in December, followed by grapes, pomegranates, and rabi jowar, said a preliminary survey by the agricultural department.Officials from the department said the crop loss wouldn't impact the prices immediately. However, it may lead to shortage of fruits and vegetables in the market early next year. "Close to 80% of grapes were destroyed in Nashik because of untimely heavy rain. Production of crops such as grapes, pomegranate and onions are expected to be affected by about 60%. However, the clear picture of the quantum of loss will be visible in a month's time," an official said.The department is currently collecting data on the total losses, after which a final report will be prepared. Another official said a deficient rainfall at the beginning of the monsoon this year affected production. "The recent heavy rain will not only affect production of some major crops but also their quality," he said.Officials at the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) said the arrival of vegetables or fruits in the marker has not been impacted so far. "However, the impact would be visible after a couple of months. Loss of onion crop will be seen only after January or February. Same is the case with other vegetables like tomatoes, coriander, among others. Besides, much of the damage was done in north Maharashtra, whereas produce in Pune's APMC comes from surrounding regions," he added.Meanwhile, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) recently suggested contingency measures for hail-hit horticultural crops in the state during the first fortnight of December. A report by ICAR said damage to agricultural and horticultural crops due to hail storm was believed to be severe in some villages like Ruee, Satana, Chandwad and Wadner Bhairav. "Crops like grapes, pomegranate, onion, maize, vegetables and wheat in these areas were damaged and the extent of damage is being assessed. Apart from Nashik district, some areas in Dhule and Jalgaon districts were also affected. Leaf shedding, damages to fruits, branches, flower, fruit drop were the type of damages that the hail storm brought. The initial report had stated that 38,000 hectare of area was affected by the hail strom," the report said.Source - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

USA - Drought has long been part of Texas climate and will continue

No one knows better than Texas farmers and ranchers how damaging drought can be.Even a drought of short duration — just during one growing season, for instance — can knock a hole in farm income and, in some cases, put the farmstead in jeopardy.Longer dry spells, such as the one currently going on across much of the Southwest, can wipe out years of profitability and may result in losing a farm or ranch.Regardless of the advances in technology — more efficient irrigation systems, improved production methods, and varieties that perform better under dry conditions — crops won’t grow without water. When drought settles in for several years, farm income suffers, and the shock waves of lost revenue rip across communities, counties, even regions.Prolonged drought, says Travis Miller, interim associate director-state operations for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in College Station, has caused mass migrations as residents of drought-stricken areas looked elsewhere to find better places to make their living.“The ‘30s Dust Bowl resulted in the migration of 3.5 million people from the Great Plains,” he said during the opening session of the Texas Plant Protection Association’s 26th annual conference. “It centered on Texas and Oklahoma, but impacted farmers north to Kansas and east through Missouri, with a large number moving to California.”And not all of those displaced persons came off farms and ranches. “Only 43 percent were estimated to be agricultural workers,” he says. “More than a third were white collar workers. Some regions estimated topsoil loss at 75 percent, rendering high quality agricultural lands worthless for crop production.”Losing that agriculture base also ripped the fabric of rural communities and the towns that supported them.Source - http://southwestfarmpress.com/

India - Bacteria destroys potato in Jalpaiguri

More than 500 hectares of land from the total 1500 hectares used to grow Kuphri and Pokhraj types of potato by farmers in Jalpaiguri District have been destroyed by bacteria.Informing about the issue, District Agriculture Department officials informed that the farmers had brought the potato seeds from another state. Raiganj, Dhoopguri, Mainaguri, Jalpaiguri Sadar and Mal in Jalpaiguri District along with Kumargram and Alipurduwar Block in Alipurduwar District are the places where the potato plants have been affected by the bacteria.A team of pest control specialist from the department visited the places and took stock of the situation. The team also educated the farmers on the ways to control the bacteria and also made aware about other diseases prone to potato plants.Notably, the farmers had planted the Kuphri and Pokhraj variety of potato seeds before Durga puja and were to be harvested before the advent of the winter season. However, more than 500 hectares of land of the total 1,500 hectares have been destroyed by the bacteria already, raising concerns among the farmers.According to the farmers, the potatoes are harvested after 70 days of plantation, but the plants this year died off within 30-35 days. Meanwhile, the potatoes harvested are getting bad due to the bacteria within 24 hours, while the ones saved have lower weight than usual. Almost the entire production of the Kuphri and Pokhraj potatoes planted across the district has been destroyed in the same way.District Agriculture Department’s crop protection head Tapan Sarkar said experts from Pundibari Agriculture University in Coochbehar and departmental officials visited the various affected places in Jalpaiguri District and investigated the issue. “It was found out that the particular species of potato was being affected by bacteria due to which the plant was dying off early and the harvested potatoes were going bad within a day,” he added. There was no other information provided by the department about the compensation for the losses incurred by the farmers.Source - http://echoofindia.com/

USA - Whole-farm revenue insurance available

New farm revenue insurance that covers multiple crops and livestock is now available for 2015.Whole-farm revenue protection allows producers to insure between 50 to 85 percent of their whole farm revenue, and allows growers to insure a variety of crops at once instead of one commodity at a time. That gives them the option of embracing more crop diversity and helps support the production of a wider variety of foods.The 2014 Farm Bill allowed USDA’s Risk Management Agency to create the whole-farm crop insurance policy.Whole-farm revenue protection is tailored for any farm with up to $8.5 million in insured revenue, including farms with specialty or organic commodities (both crops and livestock), or those marketing to local, regional, farm-identity preserved, specialty, or direct markets.Source - http://marionrecord.com/

Spain - High temperatures lead to Seville oranges 25% drop

According to the Technical Services of Asaja-Seville, orange production in the province of Seville for the 2014-2015 citrus season will decrease by 25 percent over the last season because the high temperatures in the moths of April and May harmed the orange' flowering, which especially affected the later varieties.Asaja-Sevilla forecast that the production of the Navel variety would decrease by 20%, the Salustiana variety would decrease around 15 percent, the powell navel variety would drop between 30 and 35 percent, and the late varieties, including the Valencia variety, would fall between 40 and 50 percent.Despite the data, Seville remains the first producing province of Andalusia, with 34.37 percent of the total citrus harvest and some 24,000 acres of orange, followed by Huelva.Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/

Volumes South African litchi down 30%

Harvesting of litchis began mid November in South Africa, the growing season was good but a lack of rain and cold units has led to a drop in volume.Gavin Hardy, Chairman of South African Litchi Grower's Association said the climatic conditions has led to 30% less production than last year. "This will not have a great effect on the export volumes, it will most likely be the domestic market which will be left short. Although volumes are down, the quality of the fruit is excellent."Most of the South African litchis go to the European market and Hardy said the prices there are looking ok, similar to last year. "We can't really tell until the fruit arrives on the market though."Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/

Bird flu virus hits Japan, 4000 chicken culled

Authorities in Japan have ordered the slaughter of some 4000 chicken after confirming bird flu virus at a farm in the southwest region of the country. DNA tests confirmed the H5 strain of the virus at a farm in Miyazaki after its owner reported more than 20 sudden deaths among his poultry. “We confirmed at least three of the chicken tested positive for the virus. The Miyazaki government has already started culling all the chicken at the farm,” a ministry official said.This is first confirmed outbreak of bird flu at a Japanese poultry farm since April. Some wild birds that were found dead in southwestern Japan tested positive last month. Authorities in Miyazaki prefecture, on Kyushu island, have locked down the affected farm and nearby farms, with the movement of chickens banned while the areas are being sanitised.Source - http://www.blackseagrain.net/

USA - Almond crops damaged in big storm

In last week's big storm, thousands of almond trees were knocked down from the heavy winds. "Whenever we have a storm like this, where the wind comes out of the southeast, we can always expect to find more damage, especially in the older orchards," Clinton Shick, a farmer in the McFarland area, said Monday.Shick said he lost about 60 trees in a 35-acre block. He knows other farmers who lost anywhere between 200 to 500 trees. While this might seem like a large number, Clinton said it only comes out to about a .5 percent to 2 percent loss."It's not the catastrophic kind of loss that we have had in years past. If it was earlier in the year and during the growing season, it could cause more problems. If it's going to happen, this was a good time for it to happen," said Clinton.Ag Commissioner Ruben Arroyo said they are still trying to get a better estimate of the damage."Right now, we're looking at anywhere between .05 to 5 percent damage, depending on where you were in the county. Overall, it's not a significant number depending on where you were and if it's your own orchard," said Arroyo.Farmers who had trees blow over are now cleaning up the damage."When they're estimating the loss, they're estimating the loss in the nuts they were going to produce on top of the replacement of the trees. So, depending on how many acres they loss, it could potentially lead into some numbers that are substantial," said Arroyo.Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/

Nepal - Govt insurance subsidy scheme attracting more farmers

Government´s subsidy scheme for livestock and crop insurance has become popular among farmers.Following increment in the subsidy in insurance premium for livestock and crops from 50 percent to 75 percent this year, more farmers have started joined the insurance scheme and applied for subsidy, according to the Ministry of Agricultural Development. The govenrment had introduced 50 percent subsidy in insurance premium for livestock and crops last fiscal year 2012/13 and increased it to 75 percent this year.Figures of the first three months [mid-July to mid-October] of the current fiscal year compiled by the ministry show that farmers have insured their livestock worth Rs 295.76 million (94 percent) while the total insured sum stands at 312.44 million.Sunil Kumar Singh, section officer at MoAD, said that the farmers are more attracted to livestock insurance due to higher risks involved compared to crops.Singh said, "The insured livestock includes mostly of cows. Also, the insurance policy is very cheap and subsidy is huge, so more farmers have insured their cattle."Farmers can insure their cow worth Rs 100,000 by just paying Rs 1250 per year and they get another 15 percent discount in insurance premium if the insurance policy is bought through cooperatives.The government has already paid Rs 16.2 million for to finance the subsidy in the first three months. The government has earmarked Rs 60 million for the purpose.During the last fiscal year when the subsidy for farmers was just 50 percent, and the farmers´ response was poor as the govenrment paid just Rs 6.2 million in subsidy although the amount earmarked for the year was Rs 130 million.From this year, the government also lifted cap of Rs 10 million maximum in the insured crops and livestock making the scheme open even for large scale investments.Farmers can insure their crops and livestock in the local non-life insurance company at subsidized rate and the government reimburses the fund to the insurance companies.Binod Kaji Sherstha, deputy general manager of Lumbini General Insurance Company, said that farmers are getting encouraged after the subsidy amount was increased to 75 percent. "Mostly firms and group- managed enterprises rearing cattle have insured their cattle in our company," said Shrestha. A total of 17 non-life insurance firms have offered crops and livestock insurance across the country.Source - http://www.myrepublica.com/

Mexico - Frost affects 300 producers

According to Jorge Ortiz Hernandez, a businessman from the Agro-food Park Las Moras, the fields of Mexquitic de Carmona are agonizing as a result of the lack of support from the state and federal government. Ortiz Hernandez stated that 300 producers from more than three communities had lost all of their production, i.e. more than 400 acres, to the low temperatures in recent weeks.The businessman said the State Government needed to pay an urgent visit to the producers who lost production in the area. "Three months ago, the people form the SEDARH told us they would give us support after hail fell in the ejido of Moras. But this aid never came, its still hasn’t arrived," he stated.Ortiz Hernandez said that the low temperatures in recent days had affected more than three communities belonging to Carmona."It’s a new meteorological disaster, there were 3 frosts last week. This was devastating for the fields in Mexquitic. There were total losses in Loma de San Francisco, San Francisco, Ejido de Moras, Barbechos, Guadalupe and Pollitos," he said.He said the drop in temperatures had affected different products, including those that were resistant to the cold weather. Thus, more than 300 producers in the municipality had had considerable economic losses."The cabbage was destroyed, the chard was destroyed, the pumpkins, peas, peaches. Everything destroyed, this frost hit us very hard," he said.Jorge Ortiz Hernandez asked the candidates running for mayor in the different municipalities to commit so that the producers could surpass the crisis in which they are immersed.Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/

India - Government ropes in private players to offer crop insurance

The government today informed Parliament that it has roped in 10 private insurance companies along with state-run AIC to bring more farmers under crop insurance schemes and create competition.So far, the state-run Agriculture Insurance Company of India (AIC) has been offering yield-based and weather-based crop insurance programs."Ten private general insurance companies are empanelled for implementation of crop insurance schemes," Minister of State for Agriculture Mohanbhai Kundaria said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.Of total coverage of farmers in the 2013-14 kharif (summer) season, AIC's share was 77 per cent, while the rest was by private companies. However, during the rabi (winter) season, public and private players had equal share in coverage of farmers under crop insurance schemes, the Minister said.Private players have been roped in alongiwth AIC for implementation of the National Crop Insurance programme ( NCIP) to increase the coverage of farmers/area and also to create competition in crop insurance sector, he added.At present, about 65 crops are covered under the scheme and more than 25 per cent of the cropped area is insured.To a separate question on bogus beneficiaries under crop insurance scheme, Kundaria said that "some discrepancies have been reported in implementation of Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS) in Rajasthan".He added: "Two cases relating to irregularities in coverage of non-loanee farmers during rabi season of 2010-11 in Hanumangarh and Sriganganagar districts were reported to the Department."The concerned insurance company - ICICI-Lombard General Insurance Company - after investigations and at the direction of the state government has settled the admissible claims to the concerned farmers."WBCIS, which is optional for states to implement the scheme, is being implemented in 19 States in one or more seasons, he added.Source - http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

India - Maharashtra announces compensation for hailstorm-hit farmers

Maharashtra Government today announced that farmers affected by the recent hailstorm and untimely rains would be given compensation ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000 per hectare.During a discussion in the Legislative Council, Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse said horticulture crops like grapes, mango, and banana cultivated on 60,000 hectares land were completely damaged due to rains and hailstorm in November-December."This is very critical time for the farmers and therefore the government has decided to provide assistance of Rs 25,000 per hectare to the affected horticulture farmers; Rs 15,000 per hectare for affected irrigated land and Rs 10,000 per hectare for non-irrigated land. The cash would be credited to farmer's bank accounts directly," Khadse said.The minister said the kin of those who lost their life due to hailstorm would be paid a compensation of Rs 2.5 lakh, which includes Rs one lakh from the Chief Minister's funds."The government will also provide compensation ranging from Rs 5,000 to 25,000 for the loss of livestock, as per the category of the animal."Financial help would also be given for the land and houses damaged due to hailstorm. This help varies between 25,000 to Rs 70,000 as per the category of the house. Special help of Rs 25,000 would be given to the agriculture land affected due to land slides and help of Rs 20,000 for land repair work," he added.He said some MLAs have suggested diverting the MLA funds collectively worth around Rs 700 crore towards relief work in drought-affected regions."Though Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis will take the final call on the issue, many legislators have supported this proposal," Khadse said.The Government is also considering to provide Rs 5 lakh compensation to the family of debt-ridden farmers who committed suicide, Khadse said, adding that talks are being held with insurance companies on this issue.The NCP legislators said they were not satisfied with the relief measures announced by the government and staged a walkout.Source - http://www.outlookindia.com/

USA - Bitter season for sugarcane growers

Last year’s drought is having a major impact on the Rio Grande Valley's sugarcane industry, experts said.This year, sugar production will be 25 percent lower than previous years, experts said."We're the only sugar-producing region in the state of Texas,” said Sam Sparks III, with SRS Farms.Sparks and his family have been growing sugarcane in the Valley since the 1950s.“I feel very privileged to be a part of this heritage that we have,” Sparks said.SRS Farms is one of 126 sugarcane growers in the Valley. More than 160,000 tons of raw sugar are produced in the in the region every year. Sparks said this year’s output will be lower.“Yields are off a little bit, but production itself is down because the number of acres to be harvested is down,” he said.He said the recent drought made it tough to grow sugarcane.“A lot of growers have had to make the shift to other crops or even leave land idle because of the lack of irrigation waters,” Sparks said.Growers who didn't shift their crops faced other challenges.“Our insurance companies would not allow us to grow the sugar without having water to supply to the cane,” he Sparks said.Sparks said some growers were forced out of the business.“We need to have somewhere around 45,000 acres here in the Rio Grande Valley to supply sugar going through our sugar mill. Right now, we're somewhere around 33,000 to 34,000 harvestable acres,” he said.“Our production, as a whole, will be down for the next couple of years until we can get that acreage number back up,” Sparks said.Sparks said sugar prices are expected to go up in the next couple of years. He said that is bad news for consumers, but it's great for sugarcane growers.“With the outlook of sugar coming up, we should be able to get some more growers to plant more cane in order to protect the future of the Rio Grande Valley Sugar Mill,” he said.He said recent rains also are attracting growers back to the fields.Source - http://www.krgv.com/

USA - Storm-damaged California orchards tied to two culprits

High winds from last week’s storm caused damage to orchards throughout California. Trees were blown over, uprooted from the strong winds, which will impact crop yields and orchard stand.This damage usually can be categorized into two categories – trees that have blown over from a failed root system or from heart rot disease.Failed root systemsDamage to almond trees from failed root systems tends to occur in younger orchards and is characterized by leaning trees within saturated soils. These trees ‘lean’ because lateral structure roots are broken.In the worse cases, trees may completely blow over – in which soil is still attached to the root system in an anvil shape.Most farmers often will pull these trees back into place and stake. This practice has variable results and it is important to consider why the tree has blown over compared to the surrounding trees.If there are structural issues with the root system, which include “J-rooting” from plantings, or disease, the tree should be replaced. Older trees most likely will have to be replaced.Heart rot diseaseThis disease is one of the primary diseases affecting orchard decline. It is characterized by ‘dry rotted’ or ‘cork-like’ wood found in the center of the tree. These trees tend to be in their teens (13 years or older) and have incidence of crown gall or other trunk issues including shaker damage, previous Phytophthora canker, or broken scaffolds.After the wound occurs, a very large group of heart rot fungi, which typically degrade lignin, invade the heartwood of the tree which breaks down the plant’s tissues. Once enough of the tissue has been broken down, the tree loses structural integrity and falls over when enough force is received.It is thought that the initial infection of this group of diseases occurs relatively early in the tree’s life, but will take five or more years for the tree to blow over.More research needs to be conducted, but current recommended management practices must be in use throughout the entirety of the orchard’s life – with an emphasis on the younger years.To prevent wind-throw and delay the tree losses to heart rot, practices must be applied at the layout and planting of the orchard.1 - Avoid planting high on berms perpendicular to prevailing winds. Orient strong roots in the direction of the prevailing wind, and design the irrigation system to ensure a wetting pattern that will favor good root distribution.2 - Avoid heading cuts on trees, which can favor a top-heavy tree as it creates multiple branching points.3 - Select varieties that are less upright, and plan to defoliate the trees with zinc sulfate prior to any winter storms to reduce wind resistance.4 - Avoid damaging tree trunks with tools and plant crown gall resistant rootstocks. Not much is known about crown gall resistant rootstocks at this time.Since this was the first major storm in a few years, tree loss was higher than normally expected. The impact of production will be dependent upon how many trees were lost.Source - http://westernfarmpress.com/