Drought affects agriculture department

Northwest’s Agriculture Department is feeling the toll this summer’s drought has taken. “The drought didn’t really get bad until after the planting season, so it was hard to predict,” crop science professor, Tom Zweifel, said. “We started the year with low subsoil moisture which didn’t help, so we were affected by that, but just a prolonged period of heat and no rain.” The University farm houses beef cattle, dairy cattle, hogs, sheep and pygmy goats. “The amount of feeding has not changed a lot, but the prices have gone up tremendously,” Kaitlin Hogarth, Northwest dairy assistant, said. “Some of the cows have had to be cut so there can...

Read more »

New alliance for food security would accelerate agricultural development – Namoale

The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, an initiative to lift 50 million people out of poverty over the next 10 years through sustained agricultural growth, was on Wednesday launched in Accra. Initiated by the G-8 nations, African countries and the Private sector, the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition is a response to many African Countries strong commitment to the promotion and protection of food security and nutrition articulated in multiple settings since 2003. Nii Amansa Namoale, Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, on behalf of the Minister, Mr. Kwasi Awhoi, launched the project and said the initiative had been designed to accelerate the implementation of programmes started by African countries themselves to urgently address the twin problems of food security...

Read more »

Deyu Agriculture Corp. Subsidiary Detian Yu Receives Awards From China National Association of Grain Sector By Deyu Agriculture Corp. Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/08/28/4763465/deyu-agriculture-corp-subsidiary.html#storylink=cpy

BEIJING, Aug. 28, 2012 -- /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- Deyu Agriculture Corp. (OTCBB: DEYU) (the "Company"), a Beijing, China based vertically integrated producer, processor, marketer and distributor of organic and other agricultural products made from corn and grains, today announced that the China National Association of Grain Sector awarded Deyu's wholly-owned subsidiary, Detian Yu Biotechnology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. ("Detian Yu"), the "AAA Grade Credit Rating" as well as the title of "Integrity Cereals and Oil Enterprise." Detian Yu, which was elected a member of the China Food Industry Association in July 2012, is engaged in the wholesale and retail distribution of simple processed and deep processed packaged and unpackaged food products.  The China Grain Sector National...

Read more »

Agriculture Leaders Announced as Rally Emcees

WASHINGTON, D.C., August 29, 2012 – American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman and Roger Johnson, president of the National Farmers Union, have been announced as the masters of ceremony for the upcoming “Farm Bill Now” rally. The event, hosted by AFBF, NFU and a coalition of other agricultural organizations, will take place on Sept. 12 at 11 a.m. in Washington, D.C., at Union Square by the Capitol Reflecting Pool. AFBF and NFU represent the two largest general farm groups in the United States. “We appreciate all of the work done to date by Congress and look forward to working with the House to get a farm bill passed and into conference...

Read more »

NDRRMC: 'Igme' left P4.087-M damage in agriculture

At least P4.087 million in agriculture was damaged in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Igme (Tembin), the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Thursday.  In its 6 a.m. update, the NDRRMC also said it remains on blue alert even after Igme had exited the Philippine Area of Responsibility earlier this week.  NDRRMC head Benito Ramos earlier said a blue alert entails at least 50 percent of government forces should be at their posts at any time. The NDRRMC said that as of Thursday, the damage to agriculture stood at P4,087,533.91. It said this included P3,894,230.31 in damage to rice crops, P181,533.60 to...

Read more »

Thomas P. DiNapoli: Agriculture big business in NY

ALBANY — New York state continues to be a leading agricultural state with 36,300 farms producing $4.7 billion in products annually, according to a report released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. New York ranks among the largest producers in the nation for some goods, including ranking second in wine production. “While farming in New York is mainly a small, family business, its economic impact is widespread,” DiNapoli said. “Farming supports thousands of New Yorkers in a variety of industries and services, such as food processing, trucking and tourism. Farms also protect open space and improve public health by meeting the rising...

Read more »

More rainfall in September, to help rice crop: Ashish Bahuguna, Agriculture Secretary

NEW DELHI: Rainfall next month is expected to be better as monsoon is unlikely to be influenced by El Nino weather pattern, helping rice and other kharif crop,Agriculture Secretary Ashish Bahuguna said today. El Nino refers to abnormal warming of surface ocean waters in the Pacific that disrupts weather pattern causing drought and floods in many regions of the world. "I don't think the September rains will be impacted due to El Nino. Even if El Nino temperature do increase, I do not think, it will impact our monsoon. It may affect other parts of the world," Bahuguna said on the sidelines of a CII event. So...

Read more »

Israel to work with Bihar in agriculture, solar and insurance sectors

PATNA: Isreal will step up cooperation with Bihar in sectors of agriculture, solar energy, water harnessing and health insurance. Cooperation would be increased in agriculture sector with thrust on promotion of horticulture, dairy, fishery besides green vigitables and water area, the Ambassador of Israel Alon Ushpiz said today after an hour-long meeting with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. "We'll have two centres of excellance in agriculture sector," he told PTI. The cooperation in energy sector between Bihar and Israel with the support of the union government would also be extended particularly in the field of solar energy, he said. "We...

Read more »

Rage for revenge: a tragic dead end

"Is an eye for an eye. I want those mothers of them men who kill my son to cry like how I crying." So said Keyzec Monroe, the grieving mother of 11-year-old Kareem Alphonso, who was murdered by gunmen last Saturday. The boy's killing does not appear to have been so-called "collateral damage", but a deliberate execution. Ms Monroe's rage for revenge is understandable. There are few parents who, if they had the opportunity, would not kill anyone who harmed their children — and probably did so in the most painful manner possible. But this is precisely why people cannot be allowed to take personal revenge for wrongs done to them. That is a blueprint for barbarism. Ms Monroe's wish for vengeance underlies the cycle of violence that makes murder a way of life in the hotspot neighbourhood she...

Read more »

Issues in the demise of agriculture

John Spence "Is an eye for an eye. I want those mothers of them men who kill my son to cry like how I crying." So said Keyzec Monroe, the grieving mother of 11-year-old Kareem Alphonso, who was murdered by gunmen last Saturday. The boy's killing does not appear to have been so-called "collateral damage", but a deliberate execution. Ms Monroe's rage for revenge is understandable. There are few parents who, if they had the opportunity, would not kill anyone who harmed their children — and probably did so in the most painful manner possible. But this is precisely why people cannot be allowed to take personal revenge for wrongs done to them....

Read more »

Stanislaus County agriculture made record $3 billion last year Bee Staff Reports Read more here: http://www.modbee.com/2012/08/28/2348063/stanislaus-county-ag-made-3b-last.html#storylink=cpy

The farmers of Stanislaus County topped $3 billion in gross income for the first time last year, according to a report presented Tuesday. Almonds and walnuts had an outstanding 2011, while prices improved for milk, still the top-grossing product, Agricultural Commissioner Gary Caseri told the Board of Supervisors. The $3.07 billion total is 18 percent more than the record $2.57 billion for 2010 and more than double the 2003 figure. Caseri cautioned, as usual, that the report does not reflect production costs, notably the high feed costs that have squeezed dairy profit margins. But the report notes how the income ripples through the economy. Farmers spend money on tractors, pesticides, labor and other needs. People process crops, haul the goods and do other work related to producing food. "The...

Read more »

Agriculture, aquaculture debated in land use case

Amanda Kerr YORK — What is an animal and is aquaculture a form of agriculture? Those were two key questions a judge must determine in a land use case between York County and a Seaford resident who asserts he can have a commercial oyster farm at his home without permission from the county. After more than an hour of testimony and arguments Wednesday in York-Poquoson Circuit Court, Judge Alfred Swersky deferred ruling to review case law as well as state and local laws. Seaford resident Anthony Bavuso filed his appeal in February after both York County Zoning Administrator Mark Carter and the York County Board of Zoning Appeals said Bavuso could not operate a commercial oyster farm at his home in the York Point subdivision without a special use permit. Carter along...

Read more »

Farm income may set a record, despite and due to drought

The worst U.S. drought in more than five decades is forecast to raise farm profits, not diminish them, to a record $122.2 billion this year, as higher prices and crop insurance payments outweigh crop losses and livestock production distress, the Department of Agriculture said Tuesday. "It is a wild configuration," concluded Bruce Johnson, agricultural economist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. But he's not sure what looks on paper like a surprisingly good tradeoff will apply so much to Nebraska. "It remains to be seen," Johnson said. "This is a national projection and to carry back to states means it will rattle through a lot of...

Read more »

Enhancing agriculture productivity: scientists urged to develop farmer-friendly packages

 Fertilisers worth $1400.71 million are being dumped annually in cultivated lands of Punjab province due to in-efficient use, which could be minimised through newly designed and introduced precision of fertiliser prediction models by the scientists of UAF, said speakers at a stakeholders conference on "Potential and Prospects of Data Generation for Improving the Precision of Fertiliser Prediction Models" on Saturday at old senate hall University of Agriculture (UAF) Faisalabad. The inaugural session was chaired by Professor Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan, VC University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (UAF) where as Dr Anjum Ali Buttur, Director General...

Read more »

Rural youths can apply till 31st

LAHORE - Lahore Division Commissioner Jawad Rafique Malik has said that applications from rural youths in connection with transparent balloting for Green Tractor Scheme would be scrutinised purely on merit basis. He said that Green Tractor Scheme is an exemplary project by the government which has been launched for the welfare of the rural youths. He expressed these views while presiding over a meeting regarding implementation of Green Tractor Scheme for rural youths at Commissioner’s Office, here Tuesday. The meeting was also attended by DCOs of Kasur, Sheikhupura, Nankana Sahib, EDO Agriculture, Additional Commissioner General, DOC, Assistant...

Read more »