‘Big task ahead to achieve food security by 2020’

Eminent experts in agriculture and horticulture on Tuesday cautioned that the country had a challenging task of increasing its food production from the present 240 million tonnes to 300 million tonnes by 2020, if it has to take care of the food security of its increasing population. The task is challenging as the availability of land for agricultural operations is shrinking owing to urbanisation, and the availability of water is also reducing in contrast to the population that has been increasing at a fast pace, the experts noted in a panel discussion on ‘Technology as a driver of growth: ensuring farm prosperity’, organised in Bangalore...

Read more »

Drought-stricken states welcome rain from Isaac Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2012/08/29/4176047/drought-stricken-states-welcome.html#storylink=cpy

JOSH FUNK OMAHA, Neb. -- The remnants of Hurricane Isaac could bring welcome rain to some states in the Mississippi River valley this week, but experts say it's unlikely to break the drought gripping the Midwest. Along with the deluge of rain expected along the Gulf Coast when Isaac makes landfall, the National Weather Service predicts 2 to 6 inches of rain will fall by Sunday morning in eastern Arkansas and southeast Missouri, much of Illinois and Indiana and parts of Ohio. Those areas are among those hard hit by the drought that stretches from the West Coast east into Kentucky and Ohio, with pockets in Georgia and Alabama. The rain...

Read more »

Farm tour highlights Arkansas agriculture

Congressman Rick Crawford This week I traveled our First District and listened to the challenges farm families are facing. Even though the House of Representatives did pass an important drought relief package, at every stop on my Farm Tour producers expressed the need for a five-year Farm Bill to provide security for the future. I will not stop working until a Farm Bill is signed into law. Instead of attending my party’s national convention, I will be in Arkansas advocating for responsible farm policy and ensuring families are getting the help they need in the wake of devastating drought conditions. Agriculture is the number one industry...

Read more »

Horticulture and livestock could fetch billions of dollars: stakeholders

IQBAL MIRZA Horticulture and livestock, the most neglected sectors, if properly upgraded could turn the tables and fetch billions of dollars to meet the foreign exchange requirements, so desperately needed by the country under pressure, according to stakeholders here. Horticulture needs improvement in quality, post harvest care and cold chain infrastructure, while livestock suffers from lack of global food safety standards, cohesive supply chains and marketing system. Stakeholders explained that these two sectors which have unlimited potential need to be addressed as follows: Challenges which are increasing for horticulture, one of the...

Read more »

Soya dips

Soyabeans fell on Monday as investors took profits and unwound bull spreads after the market set a new peak, with traders watching for crop damage as Tropical Storm Isaac churned toward the US Gulf Coast. Corn and wheat futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were also lower, weighed down as new-crop November Soyabeans fell from a contract high of $17.60-1/2 per bushel as US crude oil tumbled 68 cents to settle at $95.47 a barrel. Corn futures were down four straight sessions, but the December contract held around the $8-per-bushel level after setting a record high $8.49 on August 10 as the worst drought in 56 years devastated the crop in...

Read more »

'Mills to earn 35 percent profit'

Agriculture Forum Pakistan (AFP) Chairman Muhammad Ibrahim Mughal on Tuesday alleged that flour millers after fresh increase in flour prices will earn 35 percent profit by putting an additional load of Rs 34 billion on the urban population. Reacting to the increase in flour prices here on Tuesday, Mughal during a chit chat with media claimed that the flour mills had bought wheat from the growers at Rs 25 per kilograms but would sell it at Rs 34 per kilogram to the masses. He said this might lead to hunger in the poor segment of the society and may force the salaried class to commit suicide. Facility of bread has also been snatched away from...

Read more »

Wal-Mart Joins Alliance for More Sustainable Agriculture

The world's largest retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc has joined an alliance of other Fortune 500 companies, including Cargill and Kellogg Co, seeking to make agriculture more sustainable. The Field to Market alliance was started three years ago by the non-profit Keystone Center to improve agricultural productivity and reduce the use of natural resources. It includes farm groups, grain handlers and food makers but Wal-Mart is the first retailer in the group and now its largest member. "We have pretty ambitious goals to sell products that are sustainable and this is directly within that framework," Rob Kaplan, Wal-Mart's senior manager of sustainability,...

Read more »

(Reuters) - The world's largest retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc has joined an alliance of other Fortune 500 companies, including Cargill and Kellogg Co, seeking to make agriculture more sustainable.

 Michael Hirtzer The Field to Market alliance was started three years ago by the non-profit Keystone Center to improve agricultural productivity and reduce the use of natural resources. It includes farm groups, grain handlers and food makers but Wal-Mart is the first retailer in the group and now its largest member. "We have pretty ambitious goals to sell products that are sustainable and this is directly within that framework," Rob Kaplan, Wal-Mart's senior manager of sustainability, said of the new partnership. The group studies major crops and works with farmers to make agriculture more environmentally friendly. A report released earlier this summer highlighted how six crops -- corn, cotton, potatoes, rice, soybeans and wheat -- are now being produced more efficiently than they...

Read more »

European wheat futures edge higher in thin trade

European milling wheat prices edged higher on Tuesday, pulled by a rise on US grains markets, but volumes remained thin on a lack of new fundamental news, traders said. By 1050 GMT benchmark November on Paris-based milling wheat futures was 0.4 percent higher at 261.00 euros a tonne. "The market is moving sideways. It is looking for a trend but if you read the latest news carefully it is rather bullish for grains," one trader said, referring to the latest crop ratings in the United States and concerns over potential damage from Tropical Storm Isaac. One trader also noted that November remained around technical supports at 259/260 euros, which...

Read more »

G20 to wait for US crop report before food price action

PARIS: G20 nations taking stock of the third global food price surge in four years will wait for September’s crop report from the US Department of Agriculture before deciding whether to take joint action on the issue, France’s farm minister said on Tuesday. Senior officials held a conference call on Monday on rising prices after drought in the United States and poor crops from Russia and the Black Sea bread basket stirred new fears about food supply and inflation. “There will be a communication at the end of September. I will wait for the results given by the United States around Sept 12 on the latest estimates for corn supplies,” French...

Read more »

Look for Plants may wilt due to larval root feeding. Underground vegetables and tubers will have small burrowed tunnels. Leaves may have holes at the edges where adults feed. Plants affected Roots of many garden ornamental and vegetable plants are attacked. About Wireworm Wireworms are the larvae of Agriotes and Athous, species of click beetles. Eggs are laid below the soil between May and June. Newly hatched larvae are very small and white. Larvae grow to 3cm in length, and develop a tough, golden brown skin. They have three pairs of short, stout legs. Larvae feed on roots of plants, and burrow into tubers. Potatoes are particularly susceptible. The larval period can last up to four years. Larvae move up and down in the soil depending on moisture levels. Pupation occurs about...

Read more »

Pests and diseases

Look for Plants may wilt due to larval root feeding. Underground vegetables and tubers will have small burrowed tunnels. Leaves may have holes at the edges where adults feed. Plants affected Roots of many garden ornamental and vegetable plants are attacked. About Wireworm Wireworms are the larvae of Agriotes and Athous, species of click beetles. Eggs are laid below the soil between May and June. Newly hatched larvae are very small and white. Larvae grow to 3cm in length, and develop a tough, golden brown skin. They have three pairs of short, stout legs. Larvae feed on roots of plants, and burrow into tubers. Potatoes are particularly susceptible. The larval period can last up to four years. Larvae move up and down in the soil depending on moisture levels. Pupation occurs about...

Read more »