" I heard it through the AgLine"

November 16, 2009

 

 

·        The season northeast growers want to forget

·        Midwest farmers wrap up ‘harvest from hell’

·        Water deal no quick fix for struggling farmers

·        Syngenta launches N. American sunflower line

·        World Food Summit may be a ‘waste of time’

 

 

The season northeast growers want to forget

 

(The New York Times) – MANCHESTER, Conn. ON a raw, unseasonably cold mid-October day, Shelly Oechsler pointed to a few half-filled bins of squash behind her farm stand, where produce from Botticello Farms, which her family has owned for more than 30 years, is sold.

 

“Normally at this time of the year what you would be seeing would be triple rows over here,” she said, indicating a row and a half against a greenhouse, then pointing toward an empty space behind the store. “And you’d be seeing double rows over here. It’s way, way down.”

 

Like other farmers throughout the region, Butch Botticello, Ms. Oechsler’s father, considers it a minor miracle that there is any squash at all. Plagued with inclement weather, disease and complications from both, farms throughout Connecticut, New Jersey and New York generally suffered one of the worst, if not the worst, growing season in memory. By the time the heat and sun finally arrived, in August, mid- to late-season fruits, especially blueberries, cranberries and apples, swollen by the rains, were the only crops that benefited. Mr. Botticello estimated his overall crop loss this year at about 45 percent.

 

It takes a 30 percent loss of any single crop in a county to trigger a disaster request from the federal Farm Service Agency office in an affected state. Losses are still being tallied, but most counties in New York and New Jersey have been declared agricultural disaster areas, and Connecticut is awaiting word from the federal government on the same declaration for nearly all of its counties.

 

“This year is one of our exceptionally bad years,” said Marsha Jetté, who has been with the agency for 39 years, becoming Connecticut executive director this year. In 2008 Connecticut’s farm cash receipts totaled $600 million, New York’s were $4.7 billion, and New Jersey’s were $1.1 billion. All are expected to be substantially lower this year.

 

The rain and chilly weather that began in May never let up until mid-July. Rainfall totals reported by the National Weather Service for the region’s airports were generally twice the monthly average, sometimes three times the average — like the more than 11 inches that fell on Bradley airport in Windsor Locks, Conn., in July. Some areas also suffered from hailstorms and the occasional tornado. The effects cascaded so that when the weather finally stabilized, most farms did not have enough time to recover. Even a later-than-usual frost did not help.

 

“You cannot make up the early-season losses,” Ms. Oechsler said. “You can hope the late season will sustain you for a season next year.”

 

At most farms, rain and cold meant late planting; fields too muddy for farm equipment; seed, fertilizer and herbicides that washed away; poor pollination; rampaging weeds; crops like greens so saturated they were prone to rot quickly; and slow crop maturation that led to smaller and later yields and that especially hurt slow-growing vine crops like pumpkins and winter squash. Most troublesome of all was a host of weather-borne diseases and afflictions, most notably late blight. This strain of the same disease responsible for the Irish potato famine of the 19th century devastated the normally high-income tomato crops throughout the Northeast, including those at Botticello Farms, which lost 12,000 plants, more than half of their harvest.

 

At Waldingfield Farm in Washington, Conn., where certified organic tomatoes are Patrick and Quincy Horan’s chief crop, late blight ruined 17,000 plants in what was the final blow after weeks of rain and a hailstorm on June 26 that destroyed 6,500 early tomato plants and all the farm’s midsummer staple crops.

 

“We were just a couple of frogs short of a Bible story,” Patrick Horan said. “It was surreal. It just kept raining and raining and raining.”

 

The tomato loss — about 95 percent of the crop — meant Mr. Horan could not make the bottled sauce he sells for winter income. Like many farmers he is uninsured, having calculated that it was not worth paying the premium because the percentage of loss needed for the insurance to kick in was so high. That means the only compensation for his lost income will come through the disaster declaration in the form of a low-interest federal loan — something that sits poorly with him and many other farmers.

 

“I don’t love having more loans,” said Meredith Compton, who with her husband, Jeremy, owns Peaceful Valley Orchards in Pittstown, N.J. But the Comptons may have no choice. A late July hailstorm that lasted less than a minute shredded their 85 acres of crops. They replanted some vegetables, but their main crop, tree fruit, was gone.

 

“We go into the winter behind the 8 ball as far as income goes,” said Ms. Compton, saying that many farmers borrow money in the spring to finance planting. “This year it will probably be a lot more.”

 

On Long Island, 25 days of rain out of 30 in June ruined Phil Schmitt’s rotation of leafy greens on his 165-acre farm in Riverhead. “It was a mess,” he said. “Hopefully there’ll be a little profit at the end of the year. I think it’s a big hope, to be honest with you.”

 

Having any crop is not enough to guarantee success in 2009. Most growers cited additional costs like spraying more to keep moisture-related diseases at bay. The drop-off in home building, among other factors, meant sod and ornamental plant farmers had fewer sales. Growers could not always raise prices to make up the difference because of the economy, and sometimes they were competing with wholesalers in other regions who were having better summers. And because of the rain, hay farmers could not produce their critical first cutting, which must be dry to sell as top-priced feed instead of low-priced mulch. That also means many dairy farmers now are faced with finding expensive feed for the winter.

 

But the final insult fell on growers who rely on weekend pick-your-own business for their best profits. You got it — rainy weekends.

 

“You only have so many weeks to move this product,” said Rick Macsuga, a marketing representative with the Connecticut Department of Agriculture. “It’s not like Macy’s or something, where you can stock it for next year.”

 

Weather is usually something most farmers take in stride. But those facing near-total losses were sometimes forced far beyond their comfort zones.

 

“It’s stressful,” said Keith Stewart, a certified organic grower in Orange County, N.Y., who has been a fixture at the Union Square Greenmarket in Manhattan for 23 years. After losing his tomatoes to late blight and his shallots and onions to downy mildew, he decided to do something he never does: spray. Not only did he have to buy organic copper spray, he also had to invest in spray equipment.

 

“Spraying is not something you want to do anyway. It’s not the way I like to do things,” said Mr. Stewart, 65. “It’s a tough year and I’m not happy, but I’m not about to go under.”

 

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Midwest farmers wrap up ‘harvest from hell’

 

(Reuters via Yahoo! News) MARENGO, Illinois  – Brothers Steve and Ron Pierce spent most of an hour in a chilly northern Illinois field last week clearing a clog of soybean chaff from the guts of their combine, using a mix of tools and their bare hands.

 

"The beans get tough when they pick up moisture," Steve Pierce said.

 

The clog had idled the $260,000 harvester, another delay in what has been the harvest from hell across the U.S. Midwest corn and soybean belt.

 

The clock is ticking on farmers like the Pierce brothers all across the Midwest as they scramble to bring in the largest U.S. soybean crop on record and the second-largest corn crop before winter arrives.

 

Late-maturing crops and persistent rain throughout October halted fieldwork, making this the slowest start for the U.S. harvest since the 1970s. The delays -- and questions about crop quality -- have kept Chicago Board of Trade grain markets on the boil.

 

"Just look at the price of corn from October to now. The delayed harvest has had a bullish impact on prices," said Terry Reilly, an agricultural analyst with Citigroup.

 

PRICES UP

 

CBOT corn futures are up about 15 percent since October 1. CBOT soybeans, already supported by strong export demand from China, are up about 7 percent.

 

On Thursday, fresh concerns about mold in the corn crop helped bolster prices for CBOT soymeal, an alternative ingredient to corn in livestock feed rations.

 

The United States produces 40 percent of the global corn crop and 35 percent of all soybeans, and is the leading exporter of both commodities.

 

In a normal year, farmers would be nearly finished harvesting the two primary crops, which help feed people across the globe, from Europe to Asia to Africa.

 

By November 1, U.S. farmers had brought in only half the soybean crop and one-quarter of the corn, well below the five-year averages of 87 percent and 71 percent, respectively.

 

Because of the late harvest, some analysts say the true size of the U.S. corn and soybean crops might not be known until well into 2010 -- possibly even after the USDA issues its "final" production numbers in January.

 

"This is the latest harvest we've had in a very long time, so there are lots of questions out there that we would not have normally," said Patrick Westhoff, co-director of the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri.

 

"It's really tough, in a year like this, to get a handle on things."

 

QUALITY PROBLEMS

 

Despite the delays, yields have been strong, and the U.S. Agriculture Department this week projected the largest U.S. soy crop on record, at 3.3 billion bushels, and the second-largest corn crop at 12.9 billion bushels.

 

Livestock producers and other grain end-users may face higher-than-normal costs as the harvest drags on, but U.S. food costs probably won't be affected.

 

"It was probably reassuring from a consumer standpoint that yesterday's USDA reports did not really change the size of the crop from previous estimates," Westhoff said.

 

Still, all the wet weather has caused widespread quality problems including mold and diseases. Also, crops all across the Midwest are higher in moisture than normal, creating harvest glitches like the Pierce brothers' clogged combine.

 

Because high-moisture grain cannot be stored or processed properly, many farmers will pay to have their crops dried at grain elevators -- cutting into their profits and further slowing the harvest.

 

"In some cases, depending on the yield, the drying charges alone are running $100 to $150 an acre, which is more than what some of the (land) rents are," Ron Pierce said.

 

SPARE PARTS

 

The sky finally cleared over the Corn Belt last week and growers have seized the opportunity, running their combines at full tilt. Soybean harvest progress moved up to 75 percent by November 8, USDA said. But the rush has taken a toll on machinery and farmers alike.

 

"I've been doing this for 30 years and I've never seen a year like this," said Ron Waldschmidt, a vice president with farm equipment dealer A.C. McCartney in Wataga, Illinois.

 

"It's not unusual in any given year to have wet conditions, or maybe a variety that tends to mold, or maybe the moisture is a little bit high. But this year, you've got it all," he said.

 

Waldschmidt said his office has tripled orders for combine parts like belts in response to demand from local farmers who are running their equipment hard, taking advantage of the brief harvest window.

 

"This morning before 7 o'clock, we had six belts out the door," he said. "Everybody is having these kind of problems."

 

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Water deal no quick fix for struggling farmers

 

(mercurynews.com) – When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was promoting a complex legislative package to rebuild California's water system, he often appeared alongside farmers who were unable to cultivate their land amid a third year of drought and federal pumping restrictions.

 

Yet agricultural relief from the bills signed into law by Schwarzenegger will not be immediate, meaning the state that grows half the nation's fruit, vegetables and nuts will face a repeat of this year's tough times unless the winter brings epic rain and snowfall.

 

Most of the reforms included in the legislation won't produce measurable results for years, and the projects funded through an $11.1 billion water bond are far from getting started—and that's assuming voters pass the spending measure in November 2010.

 

"We'll be all gone by the time it gets implemented," said Bill Koster, whose family has farmed in the Central Valley for 129 years. "If we have another drought year, we're toast. Forget it, we're done."

 

California farmers this year left about 500,000 acres unplanted in the Central Valley because of the ongoing drought, conditions that are compounded by federal orders to reduce pumping from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as a way to protect a native fish.

 

So little water was available to Koster that he fallowed 600 acres of what would have been a wheat and barley crop. That's nearly two-thirds of his fields in Vernalis, about 70 miles south of Sacramento.

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What little water he did receive kept his almond and walnut trees alive.

 

If passed by voters, the bond part of the legislative water package could lead to the construction of two dams, with some of the water in the new reservoirs destined for farms. It also would launch a major restoration project for the delta, the largest since rescue efforts for the Florida Everglades started in 2000.

 

Policy changes included in other bills mandate statewide conservation for cities, require local water districts to monitor groundwater levels, and change how California manages the delta, the largest estuary on the West Coast and the conduit through which water for two-thirds of the state passes.

 

Some farmers, business leaders and city mayors have praised Schwarzenegger and the Legislature for reaching an agreement to upgrade California's antiquated water system and its policies after decades of inaction.

 

The compromise reached by lawmakers will create a more stable and reliable water supply in the future, said Tom Birmingham, general manager of the Westlands Water District, which covers 600,000 acres of farmland in the Central Valley.

 

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Syngenta launches N. American sunflower line

 

(Wire Services) – Syngenta Seeds, Inc. announced the launch of its North America sunflower business with a portfolio of 16 sunflower hybrids. Syngenta is the global leader in sunflower sales worldwide with more than $200 million in sunflower seed sales during 2008. In August, Syngenta expanded its global leadership in the sunflower industry to North America with the purchase of the Monsanto hybrid sunflower seed business.

 

North American sunflower growers will be able to purchase Syngenta sunflowers from Garst, Golden Harvest and NK® Seeds dealers. Dealers will work with three dedicated sunflower agronomists located in South Dakota, North Dakota and the High Plains to ensure they are providing growers the most up-to-date information regarding the Syngenta sunflower products and impact this crop may have on a grower’s farm.

 

In addition, the Syngenta global research and development group has begun research efforts aimed at breeding and developing new sunflower hybrids for North American growers.

 

“By combining Syngenta and Monsanto germplasm pools in our breeding program, we can develop new top-yielding products with traits growers need,” said Jim Johnson, sunflower marketing and product manager, Syngenta Seeds. “It truly is an exciting time for Syngenta and the sunflower industry as we find ways to provide growers with a more profitable crop through integrated seed and crop protection solutions.”

 

Growers who previously purchased sunflower hybrids under the DeKalb and Garst® brands will now find those products sold as Syngenta sunflower brands. Growers will still be able to easily identify their preferred hybrid as the brand names will maintain the same numeric designation under the Syngenta naming system.

 

 

About Syngenta

Syngenta is one of the world's leading companies with more than 24,000 employees in over 90 countries dedicated to our purpose: Bringing plant potential to life. Through world-class science, global reach and commitment to our customers we help to increase crop productivity, protect the environment and improve health and quality of life. For more information about us please go to www.syngenta.com.

 

NK® and the Syngenta logo are trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company.

 

Garst® is a registered trademark of Garst Seed Company.

 

NK is a business unit of Syngenta Seeds, Inc.

 

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World Food Summit may be a ‘waste of time’

 

(Bloomberg) -- World leaders start a United Nations summit on food security in Rome today that international aid agencies say may be a “waste of time” because it won’t commit donors to provide more money to end world hunger.

 

A draft of the final declaration for the Nov. 16 to Nov. 18 “World Summit on Food Security,” which was obtained by Bloomberg News, promises no new financial commitments. Governments will “reinforce all our efforts” to halve the number of hungry by 2015, it says, and rich nations should reverse the decline of aid dedicated to agriculture, which fell from 19 percent in 1980 to 3.8 percent in 2006.

 

Jacques Diouf, who is hosting the meeting as director general of the Food and Agriculture Organization, has urged governments to invest $44 billion a year to end chronic hunger suffered by 1.02 billion people and achieve “food security.” World hunger has continued to rise even with food prices falling from their peaks of last year, which coincided with FAO’s previous summit where donors pledged $11 billion in aid.

 

The lack of new funding requests prompted two aid agencies, Oxfam and ActionAid, to say on Nov. 12 the summit may be a “waste of time and money,” and that “governments are at risk of throwing away a great chance” to reduce the number of hungry. Francisco Sarmento, ActionAid’s food rights coordinator, called the declaration “just a rehash of old platitudes.”

 

Sixty heads of state and government plan to attend the meeting, which Pope Benedict XVI and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon will address, FAO said.

 

Previous Crisis

 

Last year’s surge in food prices sparked riots in more than a dozen countries from Ivory Coast to Haiti, where the unrest prompted the dismissal of Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis.

 

Prices for wheat, which supplies about 20 percent of food calories consumed in the world, more than doubled between the start of 2007 and a peak in March 2008. Soaring energy prices boosted costs of fertilizer and transport while also lifting demand for grain-based alternative fuels like ethanol.

 

Today’s summit opens as the Rome-based UN agency predicts world cereal stocks will expand by about 4 million metric tons to 509 million tons next year, the highest level since 2002. Saudi Arabia has agreed to pay the $2.5 million cost of the gathering.

 

The Group of Eight nations, at a July summit in L’Aquila, Italy, approved $20 billion in aid over three years to help farmers in developing nations grow and sell food.

 

‘Summit Fatigue’

 

“My biggest concern is that we have to make sure that there is no summit fatigue,” Abdolreza Abbassian, a senior FAO economist, said in an interview. “If FAO felt there was a need for another summit, it is probably because it felt that the previous ones haven’t achieved what they were supposed to.”

 

Ertharin Cousin, U.S. Ambassador to the UN agencies in Rome, says the international community should use the summit as an opportunity to redefine how rich and poor countries work together to boost food production and cut poverty.

 

“When there is an opportunity, you don’t say ‘it is just another summit,’ you say ‘OK we are having this, how do we make it add value,’ and that was our goal,” the ambassador said in a Nov. 10 interview.

 

Developing countries must design their own plans and donor nations must work with them as partners, Cousin said.

 

“For us to suggest at the global level that we can have a patterned answer that is going to resolve all the issues on the entire continent of Africa of 54 countries is far too simplistic and very naïve,” she said.

 

Private Sector Role

 

At a FAO-organized meeting with food and agriculture companies, including Nestle, Unilever, and Bunge Ltd., in Milan on Nov. 12-13, private sector officials pledged to increase investment in farming in poor countries.

 

“We stand ready to invest meaningfully to help build national capacities in applied agriculture and food systems research and technology transfer in developing countries,” the companies said in a statement after the meeting.

 

Foreign direct investment in agriculture tripled to more than $3 billion since 2000, FAO said in report on its Web site.

 

Oxfam and ActionAid say the best way to reduce the number of hungry is to target resources on small farming families, who make up a third of the world’s population, FAO estimates.

 

Hunger Frontline

 

“Smallholder farmers, mostly women, are on the frontline in the fight against world poverty, hunger and climate change and we must not continue to ignore them,” said Frederic Mousseau of Oxfam.

 

While increased cereal production has slowed the rise in global food prices, Abbassian of FAO predicts future shortages and price hikes.

 

“The one certainty is that there will be a food crisis, and the reason is simple: we haven’t done much to prevent such a thing from happening,” he said. “We have talked a lot, we have committed a lot, but we haven’t really acted.”

 

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