Kern farmers may have suffered close to $1 billion in crop losses when unseasonable rain hit the local vineyards and almond orchards in August, according to a new assessment being used to support the county's bid for federal disaster assistance.
Farmers always worry about the weather impacting their crops, from drought and heat to flooding, hail, and high winds. However, there’s another aspect of nature that is also a source of damage and loss for agricultural crops – wildlife.
Cheryl Nunes, co-founder of River Green Queens, was hoping the farm would be able to include lettuce, which is “a big draw,” in its farm shares and at farmers markets this year. Instead, after an unusually hot and dry summer, the farm lost thousands of dollars of lettuce and has to rely on other leafy greens, like arugula, to serve customers.
In its latest crop status report, the Plant Health Service of the Region of Murcia confirmed the presence of the orchid thrips (Chaetanaphothrips orchidii). "Based on a warning from a grapefruit producer in the Campotejar area (Molina de Segura), staff from the Plant Health Service checked out the fruit for damage and tried to confirm which pest was affecting it.
A violent storm hit Morocco over the weekend, accompanied by strong sand-laden winds reaching 106 km/h in some areas. The storms are attributed to "Storm Bernard", which is hitting the Atlantic coast.
Farms and crofts across Scotland have been battered by 70mph winds, heavy rain and major flooding. Arable farmer Amy Geddes, of Wester Braikie Farms, near Arbroath, Angus, said the reports on NFU Scotland’s eastern Scotland WhatsApp group were ‘awful’ and ‘heartbreaking’: “Farmers knew Storm Babet was coming.
The downward revision of the yield forecasts for grain maize (-2%) and sunflowers (-5%) at EU level is mainly due to a worsened outlook for summer crops in Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece.
Financially, farmers are dealing with a lot right now. Farming is getting more expensive as crop prices are dropping. And lately, farmers in Georgia and other agricultural states have been raising the alarm about white-tailed deer, which can cause millions of dollars' worth of damage.
Farming is the main source of income for most of northern Syria, indigenous and displaced (IDPs). Crop and animal farming have always been a major part of the Syrian economy. Before the war, Syria had achieved a high level of food security and was able to provide essential produce for its population.
The recent rains have caused a loss of crores in crop and vegetable cultivation, the state government has been informed through the district administration from departmental office.
Insects worldwide are facing a variety of environmental stresses, which have led to precipitous declines in their numbers. That poses threats not only to the insects themselves but to biodiversity andfood securitytoo.
The rural Karamoja region in northeastern Uganda is facing a severe drought that directly affects the population’s food supplies and livelihoods. Communities in this area rely on small-scale subsistence farming, and productivity is closely coupled with rainfall.
The pink bollworm (PBW) pest has decimated BtCotton crops in the northern cotton zone of Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab this year. Many farmers have reported being unable to complete even one harvest.
Paddy farmers in north Andra districts are facing the brunt of deficit rainfall, with substantial investments of Rs 20,000 per acre for fertilizers and other inputs. Both undivided Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts, along with certain areas of Visakhapatnam, are experiencing below-average rainfall.
From staple crops like potatoes and maize, to cash crops for wealthier customers like cocoa and coffee, climate change is having a widespread impact on global agricultural production.
Hard squash and watermelon supply out of Mexico have gotten a late start this fall. “Our fall season on these items is about two weeks behind normal,” says Lesley Sykes of The Sykes Co. “That’s mostly due to the high winds brought by Tropical Storm Hilary this summer.”