'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 the masses after education, health and law and order. "In fact government has failed at every front," he alleged.
Mughal reminded the rulers that shortage of flour and increase in prices during the last days of Pervez Elahi government was the main reason behind his failure in the elections and now same drama was once again being staged. Agri Forum Pakistan (AFP) Chairman warned that if prices of flour are not brought down to Rs 30 per kilogram it might cause political demise of the present government.
He also suggested that minimum wages of the labour should be fixed at Rs 15,000 per month and salaries of government and private sector employees should be increased by 50 per cent to enable them to resolve the hardships they are facing due to prevailing price hike. 

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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, 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 were in the last three decades.

On one project sponsored by Field to Market, General Mills Inc worked with 25 wheat growers in Idaho to learn how to maximize the use of fertilizer and other products used in farming, such as seed, insecticides and herbicides.

Wal-Mart is seeking to eliminate 20 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions from its global supply chain by the end of 2015. Last year, the company said it turned 1.2 million pounds of cooking oil recovered from its stores into biodiesel, soap and a supplement for cattle feed.

Other members of the alliance include Bunge Ltd, Coca-Cola Co and the National Corn Growers Association.

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(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 were in the last three decades.

On one project sponsored by Field to Market, General Mills Inc worked with 25 wheat growers in Idaho to learn how to maximize the use of fertilizer and other products used in farming, such as seed, insecticides and herbicides.

Wal-Mart is seeking to eliminate 20 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions from its global supply chain by the end of 2015. Last year, the company said it turned 1.2 million pounds of cooking oil recovered from its stores into biodiesel, soap and a supplement for cattle feed.

Other members of the alliance include Bunge Ltd, Coca-Cola Co and the National Corn Growers Association.

 Original Article Here

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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 it failed to break at the close the previous day.
Traders and analyst pointed to a strong euro against the dollar and tight world supplies as supporting elements but noted that poor economic outlook could weigh on demand and prices. In Chicago soybean futures fell for the second day on Tuesday as traders locked in profits from the summer rally on hopes that forecasts for rain could provide a boost to diminished crop expectations, traders said. Corn and wheat futures also fell 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.
German prices were slightly firmer as Paris rose, while signs increased that Germany has gathered a good harvest despite earlier concern about summer rain. Standard milling wheat for September delivery in Hamburg was offered for sale up one euro at 266 euros a tonne with buyers at around 264 euros.
"The international markets are not providing a price lead today so some players are hesitant," one German trader said. "Attention remains on the weather in the US and the outcome of the Russian meeting on Friday." Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, who co-ordinates farm policy, will discuss prospects for Russia's drought-hit grain harvest with Agriculture Minister Nikolai Fyodorov on Friday.
A sharply reduced Russian 2012 grain crop forecast, which the government recently cut to 75 million tonnes, has sparked concerns Moscow might ban exports, stoking a rally in global prices. "The German wheat harvest is now in the very last stages with only a few minor areas in the north still to be harvested," the trader said.
Germany's own harvest outlook changed greatly after a burst of sunshine in past weeks enabled very fast progress to be made after repeated rain had delayed the harvest start. Germany will harvest 22.8 million tonnes of wheat this year, slightly up on the 2011 crop of 22.7 million tonnes, Germany's leading grain trading house Toepfer International said on Thursday.

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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 Agriculture and Food Minister Stephane Le Foll told BFM TV.
The decision to wait 
for the USDA report was taken at a conference call between senior officials of France,
the United |States and G20 president Mexico on Monday. Representatives from the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the World Bank, the OECD and the International Food and Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) were also on the call.
The call was organised
in the framework of the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS), created by the G20 last year.
France, which currently presides over the G20 agriculture body had initially said a decision would be based on an AMIS report also due in mid-September.
Officials in the call, held via video conference, discussed the drought in the United States that lead to a surge in corn and soybean prices and a drought in the former Soviet Union that slashed wheat crops, but they stressed that rice prices remained stable as opposed to 2008 when food price spikes triggered unrest in poorer countries, the ministry said.
“The current market situation is thus worrying,” the French said in a statement, immediately adding however that “no threat is hanging over world food security.”
The head of the FAO called the G20 on Monday for coordinated action to ease worries about food prices. reuters

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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 30cm below the soil surface in a small chamber.
• After three to four weeks adults hatch and remain in the soil to overwinter.
• Adults emerge in summer to mate.
• When overturned, click beetles propel themselves into the air by arching their back and snapping their head back. This action makes a clicking sound.

Treatment

Chemical

Products containing the following chemical ingredients are all effective on Wireworm

• There are no effective chemicals available for wireworm control.

Note: It is important to read manufacturer's instructions for use and the associated safety data information before applying chemical treatments.

Organic

• Regularly cultivate soil in spring and summer.
• Early lifting of susceptible crops will minimise damage.
• Encourage insectivorous birds by hanging feeders and bird boxes.

Prevention

• Inspect compost heaps for wireworms and remove any you find.
• Do not plant susceptible crops in known infested areas.
• Thoroughly turn soil in autumn to expose wireworms to predators.

• 
  

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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 30cm below the soil surface in a small chamber.

After three to four weeks adults hatch and remain in the soil to overwinter.

Adults emerge in summer to mate.

When overturned, click beetles propel themselves into the air by arching their back and snapping their head back. This action makes a clicking sound.

Treatment

Chemical

Products containing the following chemical ingredients are all effective on Wireworm

There are no effective chemicals available for wireworm control.

Organic

Regularly cultivate soil in spring and summer.

Early lifting of susceptible crops will minimise damage.

Encourage insectivorous birds by hanging feeders and bird boxes.

Prevention

Inspect compost heaps for wireworms and remove any you find.

Do not plant susceptible crops in known infested areas.

Thoroughly turn soil in autumn to expose wireworms to predators.

Read more »