12.11.2014

Canada - Alberta government declares 2014 an agricultural economic hardship because of extreme weather

The Government of Alberta has declared 2014 an agricultural economic hardship as a result of extreme weather.Verlyn Olson, Alberta’s minister of agriculture and rural development, presented an Order in Council that was approved by Cabinet. The order declared that “the agricultural economic hardship resulting from extreme weather conditions with early snowfall and frost damaging crops throughout the province to be a disaster, in accordance with Section 7 of the Fiscal Management Act.”Media reports indicate Alberta’s Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) could need to pay out about $589 million – although the final tally will depend on claims and indemnities – in crop and hail coverage to farmers in the province this year. This is up substantially from the corporation’s earlier expected payout for damage claims of as much as $467 million.Producers have November 15 to file their crop insurance claims.Just a few months ago, at the end of June, AFSC reported the hope was that Alberta would see a quieter hail season following record levels of hail damage over the past two years.“Last year marked the third highest amount of hail damage to crops across Alberta in our 77 years as a provincial hail insurer,” Jackie Sanden, program co-ordinator with AFSC, said at the time. “Our branches reported 522 storm cells last year that pelted crops with hail from Fort Vermilion to the U.S. border. The damage was widespread,” Sanden continued.In all, more than $257 million was paid out on more than 6,400 hail claims across Alberta in 2013 through AFSC’s Straight Hail Insurance program and the Hail Endorsement rider that most farmers add to their crop insurance.The highest claim year was in 2012 when $445.6 million was paid on more than 8,400 claims, the statement notes.In the fall of 2012, the Canadian Crop Hail Association (CCHA) estimated crop hail payments for all three Prairie provinces at $280 million for the year, with the average loss per claim rising substantially in year-over-year comparisons and the total figure based on 21,600 losses.Saskatchewan accounted for the largest portion of payouts, recording payments of $159 million on about 13,500 losses; Alberta farmers received hail claim payouts of almost $90 million on a record-high 5,500 losses; and Manitoba had payments to producers totalling more than $31 million on about 2,500 losses.CCHA reported that in 2012, the estimated losses were considerably higher than in 2011, when approximately $164 million was paid on 15,000 losses. Also, the average loss per claim in 2012 was expected to be $12,963, about $2,000 more than it was in 2011.In 2014, however, there were a number of weather events leading to the declaration of agricultural economic hardship. “Crop quality was significantly affected by the poor harvest weather of early September, which included frost and snow across the western half of the province,” notes the October 21, 2014 edition of the Alberta Crop Report.“Quality is significantly below that of 2012 and 2013, and slightly below the 10-year averages for most crops. Quality appears to be concentrated in the middle of the grade scale with lower quantities of high-quality production, but also only average amounts of low-quality production.”Source - http://www.canadianunderwriter.ca/

11.11.2014

USA - Snow could reduce corn harvest in Upper Midwest

The first snow of the season is never a welcome sight, but it's particularly bad news for farmers in a few states in the Upper Midwest where a significant portion of the corn crop remains in fields.Parts of South Dakota already have received between 4 and 8 inches of snow, while some areas of Minnesota have seen 11 inches. Snow also has fallen in Michigan — 2 to 4 inches.Source - http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/

11.11.2014

Africa - Farmers hiding African swine fever infected pigs in Zambia

Lusaka government says the resurgence of African swine fever (ASF) in Lusaka is due to some farmers hiding their infected pigs during the slaughtering exercise.Lusaka has again been hit by ASF, and so far 162 pigs have been slaughtered to contain the disease.Last year Lusaka was hit by an outbreak of the disease, which prompted Government to restrict the movement and processing of pigs and pig products, and subsequently slaughtered over 15,000 pigs.Government in February this year lifted the pig movement ban in Lusaka after the disease was contained.However, the disease has broken out again in some parts of the district, and this is likely to impose a negative effect on the development of the pig industry.Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Luxon Kazabu has, however, urged farmers to report to Government if they observe any signs of the ASF outbreak on their farms.“The resurgence of African swine fever in Lusaka is due to some farmers hiding their infected pigs during the slaughtering exercise because most farmers did not want all their pigs to be slaughtered and this has caused the disease to reappear,” he said in an interview in Chilanga recently.The other challenge faced by farmers is the lack of bio-safety facilities.Source - http://www.blackseagrain.net/

11.11.2014

New Zealand - Growers facing ruin after hailstorm

A group of pipfruit growers north of Nelson are facing financial ruin after their orchards were wiped out by a violent hailstorm last week.Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy today visited growers in the worst-hit areas of Riwaka and Moutere where visibly emotional orchardist Steve Moriarty told him the damage has been gut-wrenching.Early estimates suggest a $40 million hit to the local economy through the loss of pipfruit, kiwifruit, hops and equipment. But the full extent of the damage to growers, their crops and the wider economy would not be known for some weeks.Orchardist Ian Palmer, who is also Pipfruit New Zealand's co-ordinator for the hail response, said the damage has been massive."Here in Riwaka ... the hail was nearly a foot deep on the ground and that's an unprecedented event. There's estimates that it could be well in excess of a million cartons of apples lost and I think that's reasonably accurate, probably a hit to the district of about $30 to $40 million."Riwaka pipfruit grower Paul Hayward said one orchard in particular has taken a massive hit."They have an absolute 100 percent total write-off of their whole apple crop and also huge damage to their kiwifruit crop. They have a packhouse that will not be operating this year. So in terms of their staff and even permanent staff, there is a real dilemma for them to work through. So they've got a tough year."Many growers had opted not to take out hail insurance on their orchards in a bid to keep costs down.Nathan Guy said it was sobering to see the destroyed netting and fruit."I saw some photos last week where there were wheelbarrows of hail and large balls - so to come and see it now and see the damage there is, is quite depressing. To see the canopy that's been shredded and stripped by the hail will cause quite a bit of heartache for kiwifruit growers, and now we're going to see an apple orchard.It's good to see it firsthand - because pictures can only tell you so much and I think we're talking about sort of 40 local growers and in the last 24 hours -15 of them have filled in the survey that's only just gone - out so they're well-engaged in putting their hand up and saying, 'Hey we need a bit of help here how can you provide some technical advice?'"Good to be on the ground, good to see it firsthand and we'll do what we can to help," the minister said.Source - http://www.radionz.co.nz/

11.11.2014

India - Himachal to cover Rabi crops under NAIS

To cover Rabi crops wheat and barley under insurance, the Himachal Pradesh government would implement centre's National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) for fiscal 2014-2015.The scheme will be applicable to all farmers growing wheat and barley crops in various parts of the state for which the areas have been identified on unit wise basis, including tehsils and sub-tehsils.A government spokesperson in a press statement on Sunday said a state-level coordination committee on crop insurance has decided that the NAIS would be implemented during Rabi - 2014-15 season to cover wheat and barley crops.The scheme would cover crops for natural fire and lighting, storm, hail storm, cyclone, typhoon, hurricane, tornado, drought, dry spells, pests and diseases. The losses arising out of war and nuclear risks, malicious damages and other preventable risks would be excluded under the scheme.The scheme is compulsory to farmers availing seasonal agriculture operation (SAO) loans from the financial institutions, including commercial banks, cooperative banks, regional banks and primary agriculture cooperatives (PACs) for the insured crops within the stipulated period; while its optional for non-loanee farmers.The level of indemnity for wheat and barley crops is kept at 80% of the average yield (threshold yield). In case of loanee farmers, sum insured would be at least equal to amount of loan advanced.For the loanee farmers, in such cases, where amount of crop loan availed comes out to be more than either the value of threshold yield or 150 % of average yield, normal premium rates (lower of flat rate or actuarial rate) will be applicable on the full amount of the loan availed, as the full amount of loan is to be compulsorily insured.The small and marginal farmers are eligible for 50 % government subsidy on total premium as per the decision taken by the state to enhance the subsidy on premium on the insurable crops, including maize, paddy and potato and for ginger under crop insurance scheme from 10% to 50% (45% as state share and 5% as centre share).Source - http://www.hindustantimes.com/

11.11.2014

India - Flood-hit paddy crop grows into nuisance

Flood-hit paddy crop on thousands of kanals at Hamdania Colony, Bemina, Darbal, HMT and several other adjoining areas on Srinagar outskirts has become a nuisance for the people.The crop that was earlier hit by the floods has remained un-harvested and according to veterinarians, it is unfit even for the animal consumption and can spread infectious diseases if not taken care of.According to the farmers, apart from their properties, they have suffered massive loss to the standing crop due to the floods. “We could only watch the destruction unleashed by the Doodhganga water channel when it breached its embankment and flooded our fields,” Ghulam Muhammad of Durbal said.“Every year I would reap 20 to 30 quintal superior quality rice from my fields, but this season the floods took away everything,” he added.“Revenue authorities have not assessed the loss to our crops despite several representations by us,” he said.The farmers could not even reap the crop which was not washed away by the floods. The paddy fields spread over hundreds of kanals at Hajiabad area, Bemina are still full of mud and filth. “How could we harvest the crop when the fields are full of mud,” they said.“Several cattle in the area have fallen ill and some even died after consuming the standing grass. Now we keep our cows tethered so as to prevent them from venturing into the fields and consuming the grass” Nasir Hussain a local said.The standing paddy crop has become a nuisance, the farmers complained. “We tried to burn the paddy crop but it didn’t catch fire as it is still wet and splattered with mud. If it remains so during the winters, we won’t be able to do seed-ploughing next season” the farmers said.Vet Scientist Dr A R Wani said: “Flood touched paddy grasses are not fit for animal consumption as they contain dirt and filth and are prone to bacterial, protozoa and parasitic infections.”He said this grass could not be absorbed properly by the animals. “Flood damaged grass should be kept away from the reach of the animals and immediately burnt or buried under the ground,” he said.“To destroy this grass easily, the fields should be ploughed so that it (the grass) is buried under the soil which can help improve soil fertility,” Wani suggested.Source - http://www.greaterkashmir.com/

11.11.2014

New Zealand - Hailstorms continue to affect kiwifruit orchards

Hailstorms have struck some kiwifruit orchards in New Zealand’s main production region, just a couple of days after similar weather affected crops further south in the country.The adverse weather hit orchards late on Thursday (Nov. 6) afternoon in the northern Bay of Plenty region, which produces more than 80% of the national output.On Tuesday of the same week, severe hailstorms wreaked havoc on some apple and kiwifruit orchards on New Zealand’s South Island.New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc (NZKGI) president Neil Trebilco told although some growers would have likely seen substantial damage, overall the worst of the weather was in isolated locations.“We don’t have final numbers yet but the damage to orchards was confined to a relatively small area,” he said.“Hail was a bit more widespread but most of the hail that fell caused little to no damage. Although there were a few orchards, probably less than 20, which were severely negatively affected.”“We don’t have the data yet, but my estimate would be less than 5% crop loss. So we don’t think it’s significant in terms of the overall industry. For a few of the orchards it could be significant but not hugely from an industry perspective.”Trebilco also emphasized that the hail occurred prior to the flowering of the Hayward variety, and so any damage was far less than what it would have been had the hail struck after fruit set.He also said both hailstorms in the North and South Island were part of the same weather pattern that took a couple of days to work its way up through the country.“It was seen to be a culminating event which affected quite a bit of the country. It started in the South Island, so there was hail damage earlier in the week, and then those weather conditions spread up to the North Island,” Trebilco said.While the NZKGI president said he had not yet seen data relating to crop damage on the South Island, he imagined it was probably less than 20 hectares that had been adversely affected.In a release, Seeka Kiwifruit Industries chief executive Michael Franks said growers and orchard owners would have the company’s full support throughout the remediation process in the wake of the hailstorms.“We understand that growers are vulnerable to extreme weather events and will be making all the necessary resources available to help them through this,” he said.The executive said the overall damage seemed to be less than what was originally feared and would represent a small percentage of supply for Seeka’s upcoming harvest season.The release said the major hail impacts were felt in the Mangatawa/Welcome Bay Road/Kairua Road region and had mostly affected Seeka’s growers; the group itself is the country’s biggest kiwifruit grower with both leased and managed orchards.In terms of the amount of land concerned, around 35 hectares that supply Seeka suffered significant daamge, while another 50-75 hectares were less affected.“We’ve been working with the growers and getting technical and husbandry information to support them,” added Seeka grower services general manager Simon Wells.“We’re coordinating the notification through Zespri for insurance purposes and will meet with insurance assesors and growers today,” Wells said, adding that growers assessed as losing 10% or more of their crop would be entitled to recover damages from insurance.“However, there are a number of growers with damages of less than 10 per cent who could experience significant losses to their fruit canopy.”Source - http://www.freshfruitportal.com/

10.11.2014

USA - Soybean harvest slowed by rare presence of white mold

The harvest of soybeans was better than average this fall for some farmers, but others suffered yield losses because of the rare presence of white mold.Belonging to the latter group was Ellisburg cash-crop farmer Douglas D. Dodge, who said the deadly fungus caught him off guard because it had not affected his fields before. About half of the 350 acres of soybeans harvested in October by the farm — in northwest Oswego County — weren’t affected by white mold. But the other half, planted in the towns of Ellisburg and Watertown, suffered a loss of about one-third because of white mold, which grew in this summer’s warm and moist conditions.“It was in roughly half my beans in Jefferson County,” said Mr. Dodge, who has planted soybeans for 15 years. Those fields drew about 35 bushels per acre, he said, while they ordinarily get 45 to 55 bushels.FIGHTING THE FUNGUSMr. Dodge said he first saw evidence of white mold on his fields in 2008, but it wasn’t enough to affect the harvest. He said farmers plan ahead for the fungus by planting mold-resistant varieties and spraying crops with fungicide, but not many in the north country have done so because it seldom has been a problem.Next season, however, Mr. Dodge said he’ll plant mold-resistant soybeans in rows with wider spaces between them; doing so prevents the spread of the fungus by allowing more air to flow beneath the canopy of plants. The spacing of 7.5 inches used this year between rows probably will be extended to 15 or 30 inches, he said.Initially, the bountiful growth of soybeans in early August made Mr. Dodge think he’d harvest a bumper crop. But the arrival of fungus killed that hope.“When we had all that moisture in August, I thought that was a blessing because it helps the plant grow pods in that reproductive stage,” he said. “It went well for the first couple of weeks in August, but then these browns spots started showing up. If it weren’t for the mold, 50 to 60 bushels per acre could have been attainable.”‘ALL OVER THE BOARD’Mr. Dodge was among farmers across Jefferson County whose soybeans were affected to varying degrees by white mold, according to Michael E. Hunter, crop educator for Cornell Cooperative Extension of Jefferson County, who took samples of soybeans at fields. In some fields, he said, yield losses ranged from marginal to as high as 50 percent.“The soybean crop has been all over the board this year. We’ve had some excellent yields and poor ones,” said Mr. Hunter, who estimated about 10,000 acres of soybeans were planted in the county this season. “At the end of the season, it was more widespread than farmers realized.”Farmers have a challenge combating mold because it’s hard to tell whether it will arrive, Mr. Hunter said. In recent years, white mold had a noticeable impact on fields only in 2008 and 2011.Soybean plants need to be treated with fungicide when they flower in July to prevent the fungus, he said, but there aren’t any detectable signs of its presence until August. And treating fields with fungicide can be expensive — about $30 per acre.“If you’re a grower, you have to decide whether to treat your fields in that time frame” based on the cost and weather conditions, Mr. Hunter said. “It likes to grow in humid, warm and wet conditions.”SOME FARE WELLWhite mold had only a nominal impact on one 50-acre soybean field off County Route 20 in the town of Philadelphia owned by Murrock Farms, owner Darryl T. Murrock said. The fungus didn’t affect the other 800 acres harvested at the farm, on Route 283 in the town of Pamelia.“This was the first year I’ve ever seen it,” Mr. Murrock said, adding that the farm harvested an average of about 48 bushels per acre. “We harvested up to 60 bushels on some fields, and others were only about 40.”The 250-cow farm, which finished harvesting soybeans Thursday, has about 600 of its 1,800 acres of corn to harvest this month. Mr. Murrock said the corn crop, which is almost all harvested for grain, has fared much better than soybeans. An average of about 140 grain bushels per acre has been harvested.Cape Vincent dairy farmer Lyle J. Wood, who co-owns Woods Farm with Scott F. Bourcy, said the soybean harvest was better than average for the 700 acres planted this season. Though traces of white mold were found, he said, the harvest wasn’t affected at all at the 1,150-cow farm.Because of the heavier clay soil, soybean yields are typically lower on farms in northern Jefferson County than in the southern region. Mr. Wood said the farm yielded about 40 bushels per acre this season, up from the 30 to 35 it normally draws.The farm sold soybeans for about $11 per bushel this season, down from $13.75 last year. Mr. Wood attributed the decrease to the record soybean crop harvested across the country.“We made about $100,000 to $125,000 less than last year, and it’s because the market is saturated with soybeans,” he said. “It’s been a record U.S. crop for soybeans and corn.”Source - http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/

10.11.2014

Canada - Alberta declares farm weather disaster; up to $589M in crop hail insurance payouts

Extreme weather has prompted Alberta to declare this year an agricultural economic disaster, paving the way for up to $589 million in crop and hail insurance payments to producers.Cabinet passed an order in council Thursday making the declaration, noting early snow and frost have damaged crops throughout the province.Alberta’s Agriculture Financial Services Corporation had expected to pay out up to $467 million this year in damage claims, but that figure has been increased to $589 million.Nikki Booth, a spokeswoman for the Crown corporation, says there has also been plenty of hail damage in parts of Alberta and the yield and quality of some crops are lower than expected.Producers have until the end of next week to file a crop insurance claim.Booth said this year the corporation collected $605 million in insurance premiums.“Producers have until Nov. 15 to file their crop insurance claims with us, so this number ($589 million) could change either up or down once we have the total number of claims and indemnities in,” she wrote in an email Friday.In 2012, Alberta paid out $451 million to farmers after declaring a similar disaster due to record hail damage.Source - http://globalnews.ca/

10.11.2014

New Zealand - More hail likely this week

Bay of Plenty orchardists will be watching the skies anxiously on Wednesday, when forecasters are predicting yet another hail storm.Last Thursday a localised storm caused damage to kiwifruit orchards in the Welcome Bay area and Neil Trebilco, president of New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc, says more hail is likely later this week.Hail at this time of year is potentially less serious for Hayward green growers as fruit has yet to set, but storms can nonetheless cause significant damage and growers who are affected should contact Zespri to discuss insurance.“Last week kiwifruit and apple growers in the Riwaka region of Nelson were hit with hail,” says Neil.“For some apple growers the storm was catastrophic, but not quite so bad for gold G3 and Hort16A crops which are not as far advanced.”Hail netting is one of the measures growers can take to protect crops but in Nelson the hail was so heavy, it collapsed some of the netting structures.Neil says the concern now for growers is that hail or any damage to vines opens them up to infection by the bacterial diseases Psa.“Growers have to consider what options are open to them to protect their vines,” he adds. “If they haven't started pollination they can apply copper.”Source - http://www.sunlive.co.nz/

10.11.2014

Russia - Kostanay growers are trying to save cereals

About 20% of the wheat crop still remains in the fields of the region.Torrential rains have been alternating with snowfalls in the region for a month now. Wet grain needs drying and it is already evident that wheat of this quality is unsuitable for planting next year.Source - http://www.blackseagrain.net/

10.11.2014

Russia - Experts predict decrease in grain crop

According to various estimates, the Russian grain crop will decrease 1 to 2 million tonnes due to bad weather in Siberia and the Urals. This opinion was expressed by experts and it does not coincide with the view of the Agriculture Ministry of Russia.However, the Russian Agriculture Ministry said the bad weather would not impact Russia’s total crop forecast of 104.2 million tonnes in net weight.Specialists of the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR) have already cut their forecast for Russia’s 2014 grain crop from 104 million tonnes to 102 million tonnes in standard weight.“This forecast will still undergo a reduction due to adverse weather conditions and protracted harvest,” said IKAR grain market analyst Yevgeniy Zaytsev.Source - http://www.blackseagrain.net/

10.11.2014

New Zealand - Kiwifruit casualty from freak hail storm

A freak hail storm which hammered parts of the Bay of Plenty last week have damaged about 10 per cent of local kiwifruit stocks.Bay of Plenty kiwifruit growers have reported about a 10 per cent drop of their crop after losses to their fruit canopy from Thursday's hail storm, which significantly impacted orchards in the Mangatawa, Welcome Bay, Kairua Rd area.Avocado orchards were impacted too.Seeka announced this morning it was working to help a group of growers affected.Chief executive Michael Franks said overall, the damage seemed less severe than was initially feared and represented only a small percentage of Seeka's expected supply for the coming harvest season.It would take some time before the total losses in terms of trays could be estimated and a small number of growers had incurred significant damage, he said.Seeka was also advising growers on how to mitigate any possible Psa-V risk for damaged crops, he said.About 35 hectares of orchards that Seeka supplied have suffered significant damage, with another 50 to 75 hectares that were less affected. The majority of damage was in kiwifruit orchards.Source - http://www.nzherald.co.nz/

07.11.2014

France - Crop damage has yet to be assessed

The heavy rainfall that began on Monday in the South East of France ended on Wednesday morning, but the Saone-et-Loire region still remains under the “alerte orange” warning. According to the ERDF 6,000 homes in the Ardèche region had no electricity on Tuesday. Two campsites near Avignon were evacuated by the fire department on Tuesday night. The rain has now stopped, but in the Ardèche rainfall was measured at 400 litres/m2.A fruit producers in the Rhone-Alpes expressed their relief that they had no field production growing at the moment, although the hail they had only three weeks ago hugely damaged their kiwi production.On one farm in the Saone-et-Loire, the producer says that they were not overly effected by the rainfall as they are on a hill, however the rain makes it, “difficult for working the land and harvesting”. They are currently harvesting cabbage, but as much of their land is on top of a layer of clay they are used to working on water clogged soil. They laugh saying that when it rains “we just buy boots!”.Crop damage has yet to be assessed, but the good weather now expected in France will help the clean up operations and today’s sun will begin to dry out the soil.Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/

07.11.2014

Canada - Producers want greater compensation

Wildlife damage to crops and livestock were the impetus for several resolutions at the Zone 2 meeting of Alberta Beef Producers Oct. 27.
Producers said ABP should lobby the provincial government to extend compensation programs to include livestock harmed by large carnivores, rather than providing it only for confirmed kills.
They also agreed the government should be lobbied to extend insurance programs to cover wildlife damage to fields intended for swath grazing and for stockpiled forage, including pasture intended for livestock grazing.
As well, delegates approved a resolution that called on ABP to lobby government to provide compensation for horses killed by predators.
Resolutions passed at the zone level may be presented at the ABP annual meeting in December.Source - http://www.producer.com/

07.11.2014

USA - Improved crop insurance available for Iowa and Nebraska farmers

Diversified farmers in Iowa and Nebraska will now have access to a improved crop insurance option with USDA’s release Thursday of the new Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) crop insurance policy.This will be the first time that many farmers will have access to affordable crop insurance that provides flexible and comprehensive revenue coverage for their whole farm.WFRP is a new policy called for in the 2014 Farm Bill and developed by the USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) that will allow farmers to insure all of their crops, livestock, and nursery and greenhouse crops for a revenue loss with a single policy rather than using individual crop policies. It is being offered initially as a pilot policy.For many diversified farmers, including sustainable and organic farmers, individual policies and price elections are often not available either for the crops being grown or in the county they are being grow in.Additionally, on highly diversified farms, where only a small amount of some crops or livestock is grown or raised, purchasing several separate polices often doesn’t make financial sense.WFRP will be available in 44 states, more states than either of the two previously available whole farm type policies, Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) or AGR-Lite.Farmers in Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio and South Dakota, will also be able insure their entire farm revenue with one policy.Source - http://www.wowt.com/