Saturday, August 22, 2015

21st August (Friday),2015 Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

China produces less early rice in 2015


Aug 22,2015
BEIJING, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- China produced slightly less rice in the first harvest period of the year compared to 2014 due to a shrinking planting area, but the yield per hectare increased, official data showed on Friday.The country produced 33.69 million tonnes of "early rice," that planted in spring and harvested in early summer. This was a decrease of 320,000 tonnes, or 0.9 percent from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.China's early rice planting area for this year stood at 5.72 million hectares, 1.4 percent less than last year, with yield per hectare rising 0.4 percent to 5.89 tonnes.


Senior NBS statistician Hou Rui attributed the increase in yield to favorable weather and local authorities' support to farmers in seeds, pest control and other fields.Early rice is mainly planted in eight central and southern provincial regions: Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong and Guangxi.Rice is a staple food in China, and its total grain output consists of three parts -- early rice, summer grain and autumn production. Autumn grain crops, which include corn and middle- and late-season rice, account for the bulk of the grain production.

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=299094

Area under kharif crops rises just 1% till Aug 21

Areas under various summer-sown crops were just 1% higher than a year before until Friday, almost bridging a 63% year-on-year lead recorded up to July 17, according to the latest agriculture ministry data.


By: FE Bureau | New Delhi | August 22, 2015 12:21 AM

Areas under various summer-sown crops were just 1% higher than a year before until Friday, almost bridging a 63% year-on-year lead recorded up to July 17, according to the latest agriculture ministry data. The coverage of oilseeds recorded a fall — albeit marginal — for the first time this season, having risen by 1.8% until August 14 from a year earlier.This is partly due to the fact that after initial dry spells in 2014, farmers ramped up sowing activity significantly from mid-July due to a pick-up in monsoon showers.

The seasonal rainfall so far has dropped from the benchmark long-period average (LPA) by 9%, having worsened from a 5% deficit recorded by the end of July. The slowdown in the intensity of monsoon rains, particularly since early July, has resulted in the country’s water reserves staying lower than a year earlier for a third straight week through August 20.In a research report this week, Crisil said four states (Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh) and five crops (jowar, soyabean, tur, maize and cotton) are likely to be hit the hardest in case the country receives deficient monsoon rains for a second straight year in 2015, as has been forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The four states that are feared to suffer the most this season make up for 34% of the country’s grain output, while jowar, soyabean, tur and maize account for 26% of the total grain and oilseed production. Even a state like Punjab, where almost all farm land is irrigated, is facing pressure after a huge deficit in rainfall last year.The government has maintained that it is taking a series of steps to contain any damaging impact of erratic weather — the latest being the santion of an additional Rs 300 crore earlier this month towards various subsidies to save crops in drought-prone areas.The area under paddy — the most important summer-sown crop — rose just 0.5% until Friday from a year earlier. Up to August 14, the paddy coverage was as high as 4.3% from a year earlier. Moreover, the paddy crop has been severaly damaged due to floods in many parts of the biggest producing state of West Bengal.

Areas under pulses, coarse cereals and cane were up 10.1%, 3.3% and 3.5%, respectively, until August 21 from a year earlier. Cotton, however, has witnessed a 7.2% drop in acreage.The IMD this month retained its earlier forecast of a deficient monsoon season for 2015, with rainfall at 88% of the LPA. It predicted rainfall to be 84% of the benchmark average in the second half of the June-September season, compared with the actual showers of 95% of the LPA in the first two months of the season.Not just the quantum, even the geographical spread of monsoon doesn’t seem to be good. According to the IMD, only 20 of the country’s 36 weather sub-divisions have witnessed normal showers so far. As many as 13 sub-divisions have received deficient rainfall, while 3 have seen excess shower.
First Published on August 22, 2015 12:21 am

Bay ‘low’ crucial as lone rain surplus over North-West evaporates

VINSON KURIAN


THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, AUGUST 21:

 Monsoon deficit stayed put at nine per cent on Friday after rains battered East and North-East India during the 24 hours ending in the morning with Cherrapunji in Meghalaya coming in yet again for special treatment.But the monsoon appeared to be losing ground elsewhere with the lone surplus over North-West India evaporating causing it to fall into a deficit.

DEFICIT SPREADS
While East and North-East India dramatically reduced the deficit overnight from double-digits to six per cent on Friday, North-West fell into the red with a deficit of two per cent.The respective deficits over South Peninsula and Central India stay at 20 per cent and 11 per cent. It is in this context that prospects of a rain-driving low-pressure area brighten up in the Bay of Bengal.But it has to look back on its shoulder to the northwest Pacific where twin typhoons Atsani and Goni are in the process of negotiating a U-turn to race away into Central Pacific.It will be at least a couple of days more until their pull power lessens the combined grip over the Indian monsoon and leaves it on its own.

NOT ‘PROMISING’
This would give the window for the ‘low’ to take proper shape in the Bay. Still the latter owes it to the typhoons for having racheted up the cross-flows which would in turn initiate the ‘low.’The India Met Department expects the ‘low’ to materialise as early as Monday but the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts refuses to be that optimistic.The latter is now delaying the formation by at least two days to Wednesday and is also indicating that, contrary to expectations the ‘low’ may not gain any significant traction.This would tell on its capacity to generate rain over the mainland. An experimental tracker featured by the US Centre suggested that the ‘low’ could track closer to the foothills of the Himalayas.This would mean that heavy rains would mostly be confined to East and North-East India and parts of North-West India.
(This article was published on August 21, 2015)

Weak rains drag Kharif acreage; area under oilseeds, cotton down

OUR BUREAU


NEW DELHI, AUGUST 21:  
The weakening of monsoon rainfall in recent weeks across several parts of the country has slowed down the pace of kharif plantings.After the cotton area slid over the last month from last year’s sowing figures, oilseeds coverage has also declined vis-à-vis the corresponding 2014-15 acreage for the first time this week, according to the latest data released by the Agriculture Ministry on Friday.Overall acreage under Kharif crops, such as rice, soyabean, cotton and a variety of pulses, stands at 938.4 lakh hectares (lh), around 1 per cent higher than at the same time last year when 929.48 lh had been covered.

Reservoir levels
Around 89 per cent of planting for the season has been completed, serviced by the South-West monsoon which, as on Friday, was estimated to have provided 9 per cent deficit rainfall, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).Each major region is estimated to have received sub-normal rainfall, says IMD’s daily monsoon report. The situation is most acute in the South Peninsula (20 per cent deficiency) and the Central region (11 per cent). Out of 36 sub-divisions, 13 have recorded deficient rainfall. Marathwada, North interior Karnataka, Central Maharashtra, East and West Uttar Pradesh and Kerala are the most stressed in terms of poor precipitation.Water levels in 91 important reservoirs in the country, as of August 20, stood at 91.04 billion cubic metres (bcm), about 58 per cent of the total capacity of 157.79 bcm, according to the Central Water Commission.The figure is 88 per cent of the storage during the corresponding period last year and 92 per cent of the 10-year average.

Crop-wise data
Oilseeds acreage has slipped mainly on lower coverage by groundnut in Karnataka and castor in Gujarat, which has slipped by nearly 5 per cent and 32 per cent, respectively.Sesamum acreage is up nearly 7 per cent, led by higher sowing in Uttar Pradesh (UP).Area under soyabean, the most widely cultivated Kharif oilseed, stands at 112.75 lh, around 3 per cent higher than during the same period last year.The marginally higher acreage is largely on account of increased sowing of pulses in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and UP.While area under arhar (tur) is up only marginally by 0.54 per cent, sowing of urad and moong has continued to surpass 2014-15 figures by 14 per cent and nearly 18 per cent. Higher urad sowing has been recorded in Madhya Pradesh and UP, where acreages stand at 9.19 lh and 6.52 lh, respectively, about 7.5 per cent and 27 per cent higher than at the same time last year.Increased area under moong has been reported in Rajasthan (10.5 lh) and Maharashtra (3.51 lh). The figures are higher by 20 per cent and 38.2 per cent in the respective States.

Coarse cereals up

Sowing of coarse cereals, such as jowar and bajra, are up 3.3 per cent over last year, led by more area brought under these crops in Rajasthan, Haryana and Maharashtra.Cotton area slipped for the fifth straight week and stands at 110.23 lh, more than 7 per cent lower than at the same time in 2014-15 with Gujarat and Maharashtra – the two largest growing States – reporting decreased sowing.Area under rice, the main Kharif foodgrain, has touched 333.65 lh, marginally higher than the corresponding figure from last year, while cane acreage is also up 3.5 per cent.Jute and mesta coverage continued to stagnate at 7.8 lh, around 4 per cent lower than last year.
(This article was published on August 21, 2015)



Yet another land mine for GMO Golden Rice

 Nathanael Johnson 
Good God, what a mess: That’s what I kept thinking as, face in palm, I read the latest updates on an evolving controversy over Golden Rice. I was alerted to it by a recent piece in the Boston Globe, but Retraction Watch had the story first. Here’s their summary:
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition is retracting a paper that showed genetically engineered rice serves as an effective vitamin A supplement after a Massachusetts judge denied the first author’s motion for an injunction against the publisher.The journal announced plans to retract the paper last year following allegations that the paper contained ethical mis-steps, such as not getting informed consent from the parents of children eating the rice, and faking ethics approval documents.Last July, first author Guangwen Tang at Tufts University filed a complaint and motion for preliminary injunction against the journal’s publisher, the American Society for Nutrition, to stop the retraction.According to the ASN, on July 17, a Massachusetts Superior Court “cleared the way” for the publisher to retract the paper. So they have, as of July 29.Basically, the study gave some kids Golden Rice, some kids vitamin A supplements, and some kids spinach. The study found that Golden Rice worked as well as the vitamins, and the spinach wasn’t as good. And those findings seem to be valid, despite the retraction. Here’s what Tufts University told Retraction Watch:

The journal indicated that its retraction was based on the fact that the authors were unable to provide sufficient evidence that the study had been reviewed and approved by a local ethics committee in China and that parents and children involved in the study had been provided the full informed consent form as well as eligibility issues identified in regard to two subjects in the study. No questions were raised about the integrity of the study data, accuracy of the research results or safety of the research subjects.

Tang isn’t talking, but here’s what I bet happened: She thought she was testing the ability of a totally safe rice to deliver vitamin A, and so she only sought consent for that. I can imagine that many scientists might not even think to mention, or get consent, for the fact that this rice happens to be genetically modified, because to many scientists genetic modification is a non-issue — no more important than the color of the hat the farmer wore when cultivating. But it turned out, it was an issue for people, and that’s important, whether it’s a scientifically valid safety issue or not.

Consider the issue through the lens of a different hypothetical case: Let’s say I’m doing a clinical trial on a drug in gelatin capsules. I’m just testing the drug, and the gel-caps may be perfectly safe from my perspective. But if I’m working with any strict vegetarians, I better be damn sure to tell them that the drugs are delivered in a capsule made from animal products. People’s values matter. And when it comes to GMOs, I bump into a lot of scientists that have a hard time accepting that: They are empiricists — they are interested in facts, not values!

Values can be disgusting and hateful, and I’m not saying anyone should kowtow to cultural ideals they consider wrong. I’m just saying that failing to consider people’s values, no matter how groundless you think they are, is a recipe for failure. If you want someone’s cooperation — so that they might participate in your study, or get a flu shot, or start fighting climate change — you have to understand their values. You can try to convince them they are wrong, but you can’t expect them to simply agree that science has closed off the debate, and start helping you.Scientists are usually best at doing science, and not always the best at doing diplomacy or cross-cultural communication.

We need scientists to inform the decisions we make about handling new technologies, but it can be hard to hear the scientists whose findings don’t fit with our values. Our ability to communicate lags behind our ability to discover.At this point, after 30 years of vitriolic debate over genetic engineering, it seems to me that many of the most empathetic scientists, the people who can understand and speak to the values of their opposition, have retired to the sidelines. The people who keep up the struggle often have great conviction, and little interest in seeing the world with the eyes of their adversaries. Stories like this only speed the vicious cycle.


Heat-resistant gene could help crops cope with global warming, scientists say

 

2015-08-21 11:13China DailyEditor: Si Huan
Shanghai scientists have found a gene that provides crops with a higher resistance to heat, offering a potential boon to farmers coping with reduced yields in the face of global warming.The discovery, made after 10 years of study by the Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, a branch of the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was published on Monday on the website of the scientific journal Nature Biotechnology.

"When the activity of the gene ERECTA is increased, it's like a layer of sunscreen cream applied to the membrane of cells in a plant," said He Zuhua, the team's lead scientist. "Thus the cell membrane will become stronger under heat and the cells are more protected from death.""As cells of a plant become less vulnerable to heat, the plant will grow bigger and turn out a higher yield of seeds," he said.Agricultural experts said the discovery was a breakthrough toward increasing the yield of agricultural crops as Earth warms. The world's grain output has been on a decrease since 1961, according to a 2013 report in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science.

In Shanghai during the summer of 2013, daytime temperatures exceeded 40 C on at least five days, and large quantities of crop were scorched in the municipality and the neighboring provinces.Researchers first made experiments on arabidopsis, a small flowering plant related to cabbage and mustard. The plant usually dries out and dies in 48 hours at 40 C. However, it became more heat-resistant when the activity of the gene was increased, and its yield increased by 30 percent to 45 percent.Scientists later found that the gene treatment also worked for rice and tomatoes, which are likewise vulnerable to heat. It's universally believed that rice yields decline by 10 percent for each increase in temperature of 1 degree C.Usually rice dries out and dies when the ambient temperature reaches 42 C, but rice treated in the experiment had a survival rate of 70 percent.

Field experiments

The theory has also been proved by three years of field experiments in Shanghai and Wuhan in Hubei province, scientists said.The team also found that when the activity of the gene is increased in a crop, it will be more resistant to pests, disease and drought."It brings an important way of thinking to ameliorate the breed of some agricultural food in the world, and the editor's review from Nature Biotechnology recognizes the significance of the findings, because the treatment can be applied to almost all the plants," He said."Cultivating some new varieties may be of strategic importance to our country, since we have 22 percent of the world's population but only 7 percent of the agricultural area," he said.
http://www.ecns.cn/2015/08-21/178162.shtml


Nigerian envoy urges increased bilateral trade
August 21, 2015

LAHORE: Nigerian High Commissioner Dauda Danladi has urged businessmen of Nigeria and Pakistan to make extraordinary efforts to increase the volume of bilateral trade between their two countries.Danladi urged Pakistani entrepreneurs to explore the “huge” untapped business potential of Nigeria. He was speaking at a meeting at Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry on Thursday. LCCI Executive Committee Members were also present on the occasion. The Nigerian high commissioner invited the Pakistani businessmen to enter into joint ventures with their Nigerian counterparts in the fields of agriculture, textile and manufacturing. He said that easing of visa process between the two countries could increase the bilateral trade in shortest possible time.


Speaking on the occasion, the LCCI President Ijaz A Mumtaz said that Pakistan does know the value of strengthening trade and economic relations with Nigeria, keeping in view the big market of Africa. Referring to recently concluded D8 Summit, he said both the sides need to make all-out efforts to increase mutual cooperation. He noted that Pakistan and Nigeria were also members of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and have friendly and strong diplomatic relations. Other than maintaining steady trade relations, Pakistan has been greatly contributing in fulfilling the defence needs of Nigeria.


“Nigeria is one of the major member states of African Union. It is classified as an emerging market, rapidly approaching the middle-income status,” the LCCI president said, adding that Nigerian Stock Exchange is the second largest in Africa and is poised to champion the acceleration of Africa’s economic development. However, this relationship has not been translated into tangible economic ties because Nigeria, unfortunately, does not figure prominently among the trading partners of Pakistan. Mumtaz said that the downward trend in exports of Pakistan to Nigeria and overall downfall in bilateral trade is a matter of concern.


“We need to find reasons of this trend and also take measures to turn around the situation,” he added. Major exports from Pakistan to Nigeria are medicament mixtures, cotton fabrics, woven fabric of synthetic fibber, tractors, garments, and electro-medical apparatus. Imports from Nigeria to Pakistan consist of cotton, raw hides and skins, pharmaceutical products and articles of rubber. The LCCI president said that Pakistan is capable of facilitating Nigerian market with better quality products at competitive rates. Pakistan can export rice, electrical appliances, auto-parts, etc.


He said that there is a dire need to identify more tradable products to enhance mutual trade. Likewise, sharing of expertise in oil and gas sector can also be initiated on priority. Mumtaz said that Pakistan is known around the globe for its textile products, sports goods, surgical instruments, rice, carpets, footwear and so many other things, which still need to be properly introduced in the African markets. 
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/21-Aug-2015/nigerian-envoy-urges-increased-bilateral-trade


Plant doctors get to the root of plant stress in rice
By AgriLife Today (Texas A&M University System) August 20, 2015 | 12:20 pm EDT

In a rice root pruning study, researchers at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Beaumont used time-lapse photography to monitor rice plant growth and development in response to transplanting densit y, root pruning and 1-MCP application.
Photo by Dr. Abdul Razack Mohammed, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Beaumont
Sitting in an air-conditioned office at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Beaumont, it’s obvious: People work better indoors when temperatures outside climb to the 90s while the blazing sun shimmers through waves of humidity on nearby experimental rice plots.The rice plants, however, can’t go inside. So, they stress. And for rice farmers, that means lower yield and quality.Most growers resign themselves to the facts. It’s the summer in Texas. It’s hot.But Dr. Lee Tarpley, AgriLife Research plant physiologist, is studying what specifically affects rice plants under extreme environmental conditions. Knowing that, he believes, could lead to ways of helping plants thrive in the heat and other stressful conditions.“We tend to view these environmental stresses as necessary evils — especially temperature stresses — as if there is little we can do to counter the effect,” he said. “We’re finding that we can use specific knowledge of how the stress affects the plant to design prevention measures.”

Tarpley and Dr. Abdul Razack Mohammed, AgriLife Research assistant scientist, presented their findings at the recent Rice Field Day at the Beaumont center. They’ve studied not only the effect of heat but cold, submergence, salinity, wind and drought on rice crops.One of the specific impacts, they discovered, is high nighttime temperatures, a common phenomena in Texas. “High night temperatures do two things to rice plants,” Tarpley said. “The rice plant increases its production of a plant stress hormone, and an oxidative-stress response occurs, which injures the plant. Both of these ultimately lead to losses in yield and quality.”Because they were able to track the nighttime heat stress to those two factors, he added, they were able to determine potential management strategies.\ “We can spray the crop with a chemical that prevents the stress hormone activity, so that the plant never senses that it is supposed to be in stress,” Tarpley said. “Or we can spray the plants with a sort of vaccination, which is like a small dose of ‘oxidative stress.’ That triggers the plant to build its capacity to be acclimated to future stresses.”

Commercial pre-harvest use of some of the stress hormone chemicals on higher-value crops is occurring, Tarpley said, and it is just a matter of time and acceptance before the vaccination-type products will be used on rice crops in the U.S.Because of their research on the specifics of rice stress, the international company Agrofresh, based in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, asked Tarpley and Mohammed to study transplanting shock, a condition that affects farms mostly in Asian countries where rice is started in a nursery then transported to a field for planting.

“Transplanting shock can decrease growth and development,” Tarpley said. “And one thing we noticed is that a lot of root pruning occurs during the transplanting process. That reduces the production of tillers, which are important since that is where the rice grains develop.”They found that root pruning reduces the net photosynthetic rate.That was key because photosynthesis – the way plants use sunlight to make food and grow – depends on the green pigments called chlorophyll. If there’s not enough chlorophyll, the plant doesn’t grow well. And the connection between low chlorophyll and the presence of ethylene, a natural plant hormone, has been well documented.

Ethylene is what causes bananas, apples and avocados to ripen and get soft, and it is used commercially to ripen some produce such as tomatoes after they are picked.The researchers decided to treat some plants with 1-methylcyclopropene, or 1-MCP, a compound that is used to keep plants and produce fresh because it blocks ethylene perception in plants.The idea was to see if 1-MCP would make the rice plants unaware that the roots were pruned, thus slowing the effect of ethylene and maintaining a healthy level of chlorophyll, Tarpley.“The application of 1-MCP prevented transplanting shock in rice,” he said.

 “The treated plants had more tillers per plant, more root length and greater chlorophyll concentration and net photosynthetic rate.”He said though U.S. rice farmers directly seed their crops rather than transplant, root pruning can also occur due to rice water weevils. So his team plans to test the application of 1-MCP for its ability to mitigate damage from those insects.Tarpley added that his research team continues to explore the physiological effects of various environmental stresses so that when pinpointed, management strategies can be developed.
http://www.agprofessional.com/news/plant-doctors-get-root-plant-stress-rice

Getting to the Root of Plant Stress in Rice


Research could help improve yield and quality of crops

By Kathleen Phillips 
In a rice root pruning study, researchers at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Beaumont used time-lapse photography to monitor rice plant growth and development in response to transplanting density, root pruning and 1-MCP application.PHOTO COURTESY OF DR. ABDUL RAZACK MOHAMMED, TEXAS A&M AGRILIFE RESEARCH AND EXTENSION CENTER IN BEAUMONTBEAUMONT — Sitting in an air-conditioned office at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Beaumont, it’s obvious: People work better indoors when temperatures outside climb to the 90s while the blazing sun shimmers through waves of humidity on nearby experimental rice plots.The rice plants, however, can’t go inside. So, they stress.

And for rice farmers, that means lower yield and quality.Most growers resign themselves to the facts. It’s the summer in Texas. It’s hot.But Dr. Lee Tarpley, AgriLife Research plant physiologist, is studying what specifically affects rice plants under extreme environmental conditions. Knowing that, he believes, could lead to ways of helping plants thrive in the heat and other stressful conditions.“We tend to view these environmental stresses as necessary evils — especially temperature stresses — as if there is little we can do to counter the effect,” he said. “We’re finding that we can use specific knowledge of how the stress affects the plant to design prevention measures.”

Tarpley and Dr. Abdul Razack Mohammed, AgriLife Research assistant scientist, presented their findings at the recent Rice Field Day at the Beaumont center. They’ve studied not only the effect of heat but cold and drought on rice crops.One of the specific impacts, they discovered, is high nighttime temperatures, a common phenomena in Texas.“High night temperatures do two things to rice plants,” Tarpley said. “The rice plant increases its production of a plant stress hormone, and an oxidative-stress response occurs, which injures the plant. Both of these ultimately lead to losses in yield and quality.”Because they were able to track the nighttime heat stress to those two factors, he added, they were able to determine potential management strategies.“We can spray the crop with a chemical that prevents the stress hormone activity, so that the plant never senses that it is supposed to be in stress,” Tarpley said.

 “Or we can spray the plants with a sort of vaccination, which is like a small dose of ‘oxidative stress.’ That triggers the plant to build its capacity to be acclimated to future stresses.”Commercial pre-harvest use of some of the stress hormone chemicals on higher-value crops is occurring, Tarpley said, and it is just a matter of time and acceptance before the vaccination-type products will be used on rice crops in the U.S.Because of their research on the specifics of rice stress, the international company Agrofresh, based in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, asked Tarpley and Mohammed to study transplanting shock, a condition that affects farms mostly in Asian countries where rice is started in a nursery then transported to a field for planting.


“Transplanting shock can decrease growth and development,” Tarpley said. “And one thing we noticed is that a lot of root pruning occurs during the transplanting process. That reduces the production of tillers, which are important since that is where the rice grains develop.”They found that root pruning reduces the net photosynthetic rate.

That was key because photosynthesis – the way plants use sunlight to make food and grow – depends on the green pigments called chlorophyll. If there’s not enough chlorophyll, the plant doesn’t grow well. And the connection between low chlorophyll and the presence of ethylene, a natural plant hormone, has been well documented.Ethylene is what causes bananas, apples and avocados to ripen and get soft, and it is used commercially to ripen some produce such as tomatoes after they are picked.The researchers decided to treat some plants with 1-methylcyclopropene, or 1-MCP, a compound that is used to keep plants and produce fresh because it blocks ethylene perception in plants.The idea was to see if 1-MCP would make the rice plants unaware that the roots were pruned, thus slowing the effect of ethylene and maintaining a healthy level of chlorophyll, Tarpley.

“The application of 1-MCP prevented transplanting shock in rice,” he said. “The treated plants had more tillers per plant, more root length and greater chlorophyll concentration and net photosynthetic rate.”He said though U.S. rice farmers directly seed their crops rather than transplant, root pruning can also occur due to rice water weevils. So his team plans to test the application of 1-MCP for its ability to mitigate damage from those insects.Tarpley added that his research team continues to explore the physiological effects of various environmental stresses so that when pinpointed, management strategies can be developed.

Categories: News

 

Feuding over Rice Importation Drags On

21 Aug 2015

Governor of Central Bank of Nigerian (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele

Senator Iroegbu writes on the raging battle between rice millers and importers, on the one hand, and the importers and supervising government agencies, on the other, over the default on rice quotas.


The rice industry, which provides the number one staple food in Nigeria has come under increasing scrutiny since the Governor of Central Bank of Nigerian (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele warned that the federal government will no longer take it lightly with importers that failed to pay the N23 billion duties for excess importation. This warning was followed up by the swift action of the Nigerian Customs Service (NSC), which sealed off the warehouses of the rice duty defaulters and since then, the Nigerian Rice Millers Association (NRMA) and the industry supervising agencies of the federal government have been at loggerheads over 2014/2015 rice imports levy and duty.

Consequently, the focus on the sector has brought to the fore; the realisation that Nigeria spends over N600 billion yearly on importation of rice and wheat; although experts and researchers insist that the country has the capacity to produce rice to meet local needs and even for export. Researchers at the National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI), Baddegi, in Niger State, confirmed that there are about 62 varieties of high-yielding rice species that can grow in virtually all parts of the country.

Despite this encouraging revelation, it is heart-rending to note that imported rice still dominate our local markets. Going round many markets across the country, imported rice is displayed under various brand names of rice millers, who pretend as if they are offering locally-grown rice. The reality is that consumers are patronising the cheaper 'foreign' rice at the detriment of local rice farmers and investors, who are encouraged by various government policy and measures on national self-sufficiency in rice production. This is no thanks to some unscrupulous rice importers, who have chosen to abuse the government gesture to bridge the shortfall in local production by importing some quantities of foreign rice over a period of time.

Therefore, a seeming war of nerves had been raging between the CBN and NSC on one side and the cartel of rice importers embedded within NRMA on the other side. The disagreement stems from the correct interpretation of the federal government’s new rice policy unfolded by the outgone Dr. Goodluck Jonathan administration. The bone of contention is the levy and duty chargeable on rice imports in 2014/2015. As it were, the final interpretation of the various claims may have to be settled by the court if both parties stick to their claims.It would be apt to recall that during the last quarter of 2014, former President Jonathan approved a new rice policy to promote national self-sufficiency in rice production. The policy, according to the circular issued by the then Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina and obtained by THISDAY, specifies “a preferential levy of 20per cent and duty of 10per cent for existing millers and new investors in rice milling, and a higher levy of 60per cent and duty of 10per cent for other rice importers.”

Akinwumi in the circular had noted that the government set up an inter-ministerial committee to determine the national rice supply gap and the appropriate volume of import quotas to close the gap. He said that rice millers and investors alike were requested to submit individual Domestic Rice Production Plan (DRPP), to enable government draw a criteria for allocation of quotas and the quantum of the national supply gap.Adesina, who is the incumbent President of African Development Bank (ADB), subsequently informed the former Coordinating Minister of Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala that the inter-ministerial committee, working with stakeholders in the rice sector, came up with a supply gap of 1.5 million MT of import-grade rice.

 The committee also recommended the methodology for allocation of the import quotas. Based on submissions from rice millers and new investors, the agric minister disclosed that “a total of 1.3 million MT of rice import quotas was issued to 25 qualifying millers at the preferential levy of 20 per cent and duty of 10per cent. The remainder 0.2 million MT of rice imports will be at the higher levy of 60 per cent and duty of 10 per cent for other rice importers.”Unfortunately, this arrangement as was sanctioned by Akinwumi and Okonjo-Iweala is generating conflict of interpretation among the federal agencies and some industry players.The crux of the matter is that a few companies giving preferential import quotas went ahead to import quantities beyond their allocated quotas. The government argues that ordinarily, this quota violation would have meant higher income for federation at the ports, but these importers are insisting on paying the preferential levy of 20 per cent.

According to government officials, a position, which was captured in advertorial in some national dailies signed by the Public Relations Officer, NCS, Mr. Wale Adeniyi on behalf of the Comptroller-General of Customs, two clear implications for their action. One, Adeniyi noted, they went beyond their quotas, thereby distorting the calculations of government on its new rice policy and the deliberate plan to encourage local production and national self-sufficiency. Second, he said, they are withholding revenue due to government on applicable levy and duty, the money, which has been put at N23.6 billion by the CBN.The CBN governor had recently warned that the government was poised to wield the big stick against the defaulting importers.

 At the just concluded Rice Stakeholders meeting in Abuja, he said: “There was truly an incidence of over import of rice and that appropriate duty was not paid. We know the defaulters and we are going to enforce. We will go to the highest levels to ensure that we enforce the rule and that they must pay. I use this opportunity to appeal to these companies to please go and pay, because they have created a problem for rice that is produced locally.”Also, at the same meeting, the President of Rice Millers, Importers and Distributors’ Association of Nigeria, Mallam Abubakar Mohammed, bemoaned the lack of patronage of local rice and blamed the situation on subsidised rice in the market. Abubakar pointedly accused rice importers, who violated their quotas by excessive importation of foreign rice, crashing the price and creating unfair competition.

He said they were hoping to buy time and appeal for a change of heart by government until officials of the NCS last week sealed off the warehouses of the duty defaulters. The Customs public relations officer, said the action was “a decisive action to recover outstanding duty due to the Federal Government”.  Adeniyi named the defaulting companies as OLAM, Conti Agro, Ebony Agro and Stallion Foods.“The four importers are still indebted to the federal government to the tune of N23,603,479,402.44. Together, they have imported a combined excess of 750,253 metric tons for which we expect payment at the extant duty rates and levies. We are commencing the sealing up of their warehouses and business premises to prevent operation of those facilities and we will not allow discharge of their imports in any of our ports.“The importers and their sister or associated companies have been blocked from the Customs NICIS system, thus denying them access to make declarations.

 All these will be done preparatory to instituting full legal proceedings to compel them to pay what they owe Nigeria, when the courts are back from recess,” the Customs spokesperson said.Nevertheless, the accused companies are fighting back. Penultimate Friday, they presented their case under the aegis of NRMA, in a 14-point newspaper advertorial. The association denied owing the Federal Government of Nigeria any money in form of duty or levy and argued that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development actually “imposed an arbitrary quota and insisted that whatever our members have imported above the arbitrary and retrospective quota will attract a levy of 60 per cent as opposed to 20 per cent upon which the importers’ payments and calculations are made.

”The association described the figure quoted by the Central Bank as “wrong computations” because the imports were guided by a circular issued by the Minister of Finance in May 2014, which stipulated 20 per cent levy for “investors with rice milling capacity and verifiable backward integration programme and 60 per cent levy for “pure rice traders.” They further argued that members of the association “who are investors with rice milling capacity and verifiable backward integration programme imported based on this circular and paid duty at the approved rate.”So who gave the NCS the authority to restrain the importers? Dr. Adesina had also informed the Finance Ministry in December, 2014, that any beneficiary of the preferential import quota “who has already imported rice above these approved quantities will have to pay to treasury the higher levy of 60 per cent and duty of 10 per cent for the excess amount.” The minister made two specific requests.

One, that the Minister of Finance should “inform the CG of Customs of allocations made and that the imports done above allocation should attract the appropriate duties.” Two, “that the CG be asked to enforce the ceiling for the higher levy quota allocations as well as individual ceiling for the preferential levy allocations as approved.”As the controversy rages between government agencies and rice importers, analysts are alarmed at the quantity, and some have raised questions about the nutritional quality of imported rice. Records in possession of the Customs indicate that only four rice importers exceeded their quotas by as much as 750,000 MT. This figure is to say the least, mind-boggling for a nation that has natural endowments to grow rice, and is even striving to reduce overdependence on imported foods.


Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open- Aug 21

Nagpur, Aug 21 Gram prices firmed up in Nagpur Agriculture Produce and Marketing
Committee (APMC) here on increased buying support from local traders amid weak arrival from
producing belts. Fresh rise in Madhya Pradesh soyabean prices, upward trend on NCDEX and
enquiries from South-based plants also jacked up prices, according to sources.

               *            *              *              *

    FOODGRAINS & PULSES
    GRAM
   * Gram Kabuli reported strong in open market here on good festival season demand from
     local traders amid thin overseas arrival.

     TUAR
   * Tuar varieties ruled steady in open market here matching the demand and supply
     position.

   * Major wheat varieties reported higher in open market on renewed seasonal demand from
     local traders amid thin supply from producing regions like Punjab and Haryana.       
                                                                                    
   * In Akola, Tuar - 8,800-9,100, Tuar dal - 12,800-13,000, Udid at 9,400-9,700,
     Udid Mogar (clean) - 11,300-11,700, Moong - 7,600-7,800, Moong Mogar
    (clean) 9,200-9,800, Gram - 4,200-4,400, Gram Super best bold - 5,800-6,000
     for 100 kg.

   * Rice and other commodities remained steady in open market in thin trading activity
     because of heavy rains, according to sources.
      
 Nagpur foodgrains APMC auction/open-market prices in rupees for 100 kg

     FOODGRAINS                 Available prices     Previous close  
     Gram Auction                   4,000-5,000         3,900-4,940
     Gram Pink Auction            n.a.           2,100-2,600
     Tuar Auction                n.a.                7,300-8,150
     Moong Auction                n.a.                6,000-6,400
     Udid Auction                n.a.           4,300-4,500
     Masoor Auction                n.a.              2,600-2,800
     Gram Super Best Bold            6,000-6,200        6,000-6,200
     Gram Super Best            n.a.               
     Gram Medium Best            5,600-5,800        5,600-5,800
     Gram Dal Medium            n.a.            n.a.
     Gram Mill Quality            5,500-5,700        5,400-5,700
     Desi gram Raw                4,800-4,850         4,800-4,850
     Gram Filter new            6,000-6,200        6,000-6,200
     Gram Kabuli                6,400-7,500        6,200-7,500
     Gram Pink                6,800-7,000        6,800-7,000
     Tuar Fataka Best             13,000-13,500        13,000-13,500
     Tuar Fataka Medium             12,000-12,500        12,000-12,500
     Tuar Dal Best Phod            11,500-11,800        11,500-11,800
     Tuar Dal Medium phod            11,000-11,400        11,000-11,400
     Tuar Gavarani New             9,650-9,750        9,600-9,700
     Tuar Karnataka             10,200-10,500        10,200-10,500
     Tuar Black                 12,400-12,800           12,400-12,800
     Masoor dal best            8,600-8,800        8,600-8,800
     Masoor dal medium            8,150-8,450        8,150-8,400
     Masoor                    n.a.            n.a.
     Moong Mogar bold               9,600-9,800         9,600-9,800
     Moong Mogar Medium best        8,200-8,800        8,200-8,800
     Moong dal Chilka            8,500-8,800        8,500-8,800
     Moong Mill quality            n.a.            n.a.
     Moong Chamki best            9,700-10,000        9,700-10,000
     Udid Mogar Super best (100 INR/KG)    11,700-12,000       11,700-12,000
     Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG)    10,600-11,000        10,600-11,000
     Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG)        9,400-9,800        9,400-9,800
     Batri dal (100 INR/KG)        4,800-5,500        4,800-5,500
     Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg)           3,300-3,450         3,300-3,450
     Watana Dal (100 INR/KG)        3,150-3,350        3,150-3,350
     Watana White (100 INR/KG)        3,100-3,200         3,100-3,200
     Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG)    3,300-3,900        3,300-3,900
     Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG)        1,400-1,500        1,400-1,500
     Wheat Mill quality(100 INR/KG)    1,590-1,700        1,550-1,700
     Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG)        1,350-1,550           1,300-1,500
     Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG)    2,250-2,400        2,200-2,400
     Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG)    1,950-2,100        1,900-2,100
     Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG)    n.a.            n.a.
     MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG)    3,400-3,700        3,300-3,700
     MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG)    2,750-2,900        2,650-2,850       
     Rice BPT New(100 INR/KG)        2,800-3,000        2,800-3,000
     Rice BPT (100 INR/KG)               3,050-3,300        3,050-3,300
     Rice Parmal (100 INR/KG)        1,700-1,900        1,700-1,900
     Rice Swarna new (100 INR/KG)      2,300-2,500        2,300-2,500
     Rice Swarna old (100 INR/KG)      2,600-2,800        2,600-2,800
     Rice HMT new(100 INR/KG)        3,400-3,800        3,400-3,800
     Rice HMT (100 INR/KG)               3,900-4,300        3,900-4,300
     Rice HMT Shriram New(100 INR/KG)    4,300-4,500        4,300-4,500
     Rice HMT Shriram old (100 INR/KG)    4,600-5,100        4,600-5,100    
     Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG)    8,000-10,000        8,000-10,000
     Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG)    7,000-7,500        7,000-7,500
     Rice Chinnor new (100 INR/KG)    4,500-4,800        4,500-4,800
     Rice Chinnor (100 INR/KG)        5,200-5,600        5,200-5,600
     Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG)        2,100-2,350        2,100-2,350
     Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG)        2,400-2,500        2,400-2,500

WEATHER (NAGPUR) 
Maximum temp. 32.5 degree Celsius (90.5 degree Fahrenheit), minimum temp.
24.4 degree Celsius (75.9 degree Fahrenheit)
Humidity: Highest - n.a., lowest - n.a.
Rainfall : 1.8 mm
FORECAST: Generally cloudy sky. Rains or thunder-showers likely. Maximum and minimum temperature
would be around and 34 and 25 degree Celsius respectively.

Note: n.a.--not available

(For oils, transport costs are excluded from plant delivery prices, but included in market prices.)

Kharif sowing completed in 89% area so far

Sowing of crops is only marginally higher than last year’s 92.9 million hectares due to a weakening monsoon
Sowing of rice so far is 86% of the seasonal (normal) area of 38.8 million hectares. Photo: Mint
New Delhi: Sowing of monsoon-dependent kharif crops has been completed in nearly 94 million hectares, or 89% of the normal area, shows data released by the agriculture ministry on Friday.

However, sowing of kharif crops is only marginally higher than last year’s 92.9 million hectares, due to a weakening monsoon, the data show.Till Friday, the south-west monsoon, which irrigates more than half of India’s farm land, recorded a deficit of 9% of the long-period average. India Meteorological Department, the government forecaster, has predicted a 16% deficit for the second half of the monsoon, spanning across August and September.Overall, the June-September monsoon season will see a 12% deficit, according to the forecast. Till now, the rain deficit is most pronounced in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra—a shortfall of 46%. Also, parts of Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are dealing with deficit showers.

Data from the agriculture ministry shows that rice, the main kharif crop, has been planted in 33.4 million hectares, higher than the 33.2 million hectares sown by this time last year. Sowing of rice so far is 86% of the seasonal (normal) area of 38.8 million hectares.Weakening monsoons have dented hopes of higher area under pulses and oilseeds this year, shows the data. Pulses have been sown in 10.2 million hectares, compared with the 9.2 million hectares sown by this time last year. As on date, the area under pulses is 94% of the normal area of 10.8 million hectares.Similarly, oilseeds have been sown in 16.8 million hectares, over 92% of the normal area of 18.2 million hectares. And coarse cereals have been sown so far in 16.8 million hectares, over 83% of the normal area.Sowing of cotton is nearing completion, but a dip in acreage is likely due to lower prices and poor rainfall in rain-fed cotton-growing areas. So far, the fibre crop has been sown in 11 million hectares, lower than the 11.9 million hectares sown by this time last year.

Four states that produce more than one-third of India’s foodgrain, and five crops that add up to more than a quarter of the production of grains and oilseeds, are vulnerable to this year’s deficit monsoons, Crisil Research said in a report on Wednesday.The report, titled Angsty Farms, analysed rainfall data using a deficient rainfall impact parameter to show that Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and jowar, soyabean, tur, maize and cotton will be hurt most by deficient rains

http://www.livemint.com/Politics/pz88e7caw5zpzeOODgdzPJ/Kharif-sowing-completed-in-89-area-so-far.html
Arkansas Farm Bureau Daily Commodity Report

A comprehensive daily commodity market report for Arkansas agricultural commodities with cash markets, futures and insightful analysis and commentary from Arkansas Farm Bureau commodity analysts.
Noteworthy benchmark price levels of interest to farmers and ranchers, as well as long-term commodity market trends which are developing. Daily fundamental market influences and technical factors are noted and discussed.
Soybeans
High
Low
Cash Bids
937
827
New Crop
927
842


Riceland Foods


Cash Bids
Stuttgart: - - -
Pendleton: - - -
New Crop
Stuttgart: - - -
Pendleton: - - -


Futures:
High
Low
Last
Change
Sep '15
921.00
903.75
905.25
-16.25
Nov '15
907.50
888.75
889.50
-17.75
Jan '16
911.75
893.00
893.50
-18.25
Mar '16
910.75
892.75
893.25
-18.00
May '16
910.50
893.50
894.00
-17.50
Jul '16
911.75
897.25
898.00
-17.25
Aug '16
909.00
896.75
897.00
-17.50
Sep '16
885.50
-15.50
Nov '16
896.75
880.00
880.75
-15.00

Soybean Comment

New crop soybeans post new lows today as the market fell sharply on concern from turmoil in China and weakening U.S. Economy. While the crop tours point to slightly lower yields, these were not as low as were earlier thought and it appears the U.S. will have ample supplies this fall. This combined with large South American supplies will continue to pressure prices and limit gains. One saving factor of this market is strong, domestic demand, however, if China economy continues to weaken slow exports could leave the U.S. with ample soybeans supplies.


Wheat
High
Low
Cash Bids
466
426
New Crop
516
491


Futures:
High
Low
Last
Change
Sep '15
507.00
495.75
499.50
-6.75
Dec '15
512.00
500.00
504.00
-7.25
Mar '16
515.25
503.75
508.00
-7.50
May '16
516.00
506.00
510.50
-7.25
Jul '16
519.25
508.00
512.50
-7.25
Sep '16
528.00
517.50
521.50
-7.00
Dec '16
540.50
531.25
535.25
-5.25
Mar '17
543.75
543.75
545.00
-4.50
May '17
548.00
-4.00

Wheat Comment

Wheat prices weakened today as weakness in outside markets continue to pull prices lower. One positive for wheat remains the fact that prices continue to hold support near $5 and hold onto those gains.


Grain Sorghum
High
Low
Cash Bids
377
334
New Crop
377
333



Corn
High
Low
Cash Bids
363
323
New Crop
391
343


Futures:
High
Low
Last
Change
Sep '15
372.50
364.00
365.25
-5.75
Dec '15
384.25
375.75
377.25
-5.25
Mar '16
395.50
387.00
388.75
-5.00
May '16
401.00
393.25
394.75
-4.75
Jul '16
405.25
397.75
399.00
-4.50
Sep '16
398.50
393.75
395.25
-2.75
Dec '16
404.75
398.50
400.25
-2.75
Mar '17
415.25
408.75
410.50
-2.50
May '17
420.00
420.00
416.75
-2.25

Corn Comment

Corn prices closed lower today. While the crop tour yield estimates provided some support, yields were not off as much as originally thought. This combined with sell off in the U.S. stock market and weakening Chinese economy will keep pressure on prices and likely hold prices under $4 for the foreseeable future, until demand starts to pick up.


Cotton
Futures:
High
Low
Last
Change
Oct '15
67.11
67.02
67.64
-0.02
Dec '15
67
66.27
66.91
-0.02
Mar '16
66.5
65.58
66.35
0.02

Cotton Comment

Cotton traded on either side of unchanged today before ending mostly lower. Tightening supplies in the U.S. are certainly supporting the market and a weaker dollar today was also supportive. Huge world stocks, particularly in China, will limit the upside potential. December continues to find resistance at 67 cents.


Rice
High
Low
Long Grain Cash Bids
- - -
- - -
Long Grain New Crop
- - -
- - -


Futures:
High
Low
Last
Change
Sep '15
1178.5
1150.0
1165.0
+1.5
Nov '15
1207.0
1178.0
1192.5
+1.0
Jan '16
1222.0
1211.5
1221.5
+1.0
Mar '16
1245.5
+1.0
May '16
1270.5
+1.5
Jul '16
1273.0
+3.0
Sep '16
1174.0
+3.0

Rice Comment

Rice futures traded in a wide range today before ending about a penny higher. Weekly export sakes of only 35,000 metric tons added to the negative undertone. The market has been attempting to consolidate after failing at the recent highs of $12.07 for September and $12.34 for November.


Cattle
Futures:
Live Cattle:
High
Low
Last
Change
Aug '15
146.750
144.650
145.000
-1.475
Oct '15
146.300
143.350
143.625
-2.700
Dec '15
148.425
145.700
145.850
-2.625
Feb '16
148.200
145.550
145.800
-2.475
Apr '16
146.875
144.300
144.425
-2.550
Jun '16
138.975
136.375
136.550
-2.550
Aug '16
136.775
134.400
134.725
-2.525
Oct '16
138.300
136.375
136.600
-2.500
Dec '16
139.000
136.975
137.000
-2.450
Feeders:
High
Low
Last
Change
Aug '15
213.050
210.850
211.675
-1.525
Sep '15
206.525
202.325
202.325
-4.500
Oct '15
203.600
199.475
199.475
-4.500
Nov '15
201.725
197.350
197.350
-4.500
Jan '16
195.675
191.225
191.225
-4.500
Mar '16
192.675
188.650
188.750
-4.400
Apr '16
192.725
188.825
188.825
-4.175
May '16
192.000
187.850
187.975
-4.375

Cattle Comment

Livestock markets closed sharply lower today, as feeder cattle were down the limit. While beef prices remain supportive of prices, weakness in the economy and major sell off on the stock market has the market worried about the long term impact to prices. With a looming increase in the dollar, exports remain a point of concern; combine this with weakening cash prices and cattle are going to have difficulty holding recent gains and are likely to trend lower.


Hogs
Futures:
High
Low
Last
Change
Oct '15
64.975
62.625
62.825
-1.925
Dec '15
61.325
58.700
58.875
-2.425
Feb '16
66.250
63.775
64.000
-2.150
Apr '16
71.000
68.875
68.975
-1.875
May '16
75.400
75.325
75.350
-1.300
Jun '16
79.275
77.400
77.400
-1.675
Jul '16
78.050
76.900
76.900
-1.425
Aug '16
76.550
76.325
76.325
-0.975
Oct '16
66.350
66.150
66.150
-0.550

Hog Comment

http://www.arfb.com/ag-markets-statistics/report/


USA Rice Attends 2015 Arkansas RiceTec Field Day & Ag Council of Arkansas          

USA Rice's Ben Mosely at the mic
JONESBORO & MARIANNA, AR -- USA Rice staff traveled to Arkansas this week to participate in rice industry meetings in eastern Arkansas.  USA Rice Government Affairs Vice President Ben Mosely attended both meetings and gave updates on USA Rice's work on key industry issues, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), market access to China, Waters of the United States (WOTUS), and recent tenders in Iraq.  Mosely also talked about USA Rice efforts to educate newly elected members of Congress about issues important to the U.S. rice industry.

 More than 200 growers and industry representatives attended RiceTec's annual Field Day Tuesday outside of Jonesboro.  articipants had the opportunity to go on field tours, meet with vendors, and hear RiceTec representatives talk about current varieties as well as new varieties on the horizon.  Congressman Rick Crawford (R-AR), representing Arkansas' first district, took the stage in Jonesboro to tell attendees about several regulatory issues currently facing the U.S. rice industry, and applaud USA Rice for doing a great job keeping legislators up-to-date on industry's behalf.On Thursday, Mosely addressed members of the Agricultural Council of Arkansas gathered at the University of Arkansas Cotton Research Station in Mariana.  Senator John Boozman (R-AR) was on-hand to discuss the fall agenda for the Senate, and Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge spoke about her involvement in lawsuits challenging the Environmental Protection Agency's controversial WOTUS regulations.  Conservation and sustainability were an important topic of discussion all week.  Mosely reminded farmers in Arkansas to submit Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) applications as part of the National Rice RCPP project.  EQIP applications are due to local Natural Resources Conservation Service offices by October 16. 

Contact:  Chuck Wilson (870) 673-7541



2015 Horizon Ag Field Day Emphasizes Quality        
 
In the field with Horizon Ag

JONESBORO, AR -- Over 100 people attended the 2015 Horizon Ag Field Day yesterday at Mark Wimpy Farms.  The event included a look at current and new Clearfield varieties as well as an update on the harvest in Louisiana. "Today was an opportunity to show the focus Horizon Ag has on providing valuable agronomic information to help rice farmers maximize production and profits, and to show we have heard the message loud and clear for the need to improve quality," said Tim Walker, general manager at Horizon Ag."Not only are we committed to improving production on U.S. rice farms, we are also focused on improving the overall quality of U.S.-grown rice to meet the needs of our export partners," Walker said.  "Our industry was once the unmatched leader in producing high-quality rice grain, but today, there is more competition for that title.  We can separate ourselves again by focusing breeding and development on varieties that bring value at the buyer level and improved production at the farm level."

Contact:  Chuck Wilson (870) 673-7541

National Rice Month Promotional Item of the Week           
 
Grab a cold one!

Order these and other promotional items at the USA Rice Online Store or print and mail the item order form.

Contact: Colleen Klemczewski (703) 236-1446

CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures   


CME Group (Prelim):  Closing Rough Rice Futures for August 21
Month
Price
Net Change

September 2015
$11.650
+ $0.015
November 2015
$11.925
+ $0.010
January 2016
$12.215
+ $0.010
March 2016
$12.455
+ $0.010
May 2016
$12.705
+ $0.015
July 2016
$12.730
+ $0.030
September 2016
$11.740
+ $0.030


Red River flooding causes $7 million damage to Louisiana agriculture

Aug 20, 2015Brandy Orlando, LSU AgCenter | Delta Farm Press

Severe storms and excessive rainfall that resulted in the Red River flooding during the spring and summer caused an estimated $7 million damage to agriculture in northwest Louisiana, but that number will likely go higher at harvest, said LSU AgCenter economist Kurt Guidry.“These estimates are extremely preliminary and likely a conservative estimate of the full impact of the adverse weather experienced in Louisiana,” Guidry said.

These estimates only consider an operation’s gross revenue, he said. They do not include estimates of increased production costs, such as re-planting, land cleanup and tillage as well the costs of moving cattle out of flooded areas, purchasing supplemental feed or hay, and any structural damage to the farm’s infrastructure and equipment.Guidry collected information from LSU AgCenter parish agents about the types and extent of the damage as well as from assessments developed by USDA’s Farm Service Agency.

Guidry’s data showed about 90,000 acres of agricultural land had been affected, including roughly 38,000 acres of cropland and more than 52,000 acres of pasture and hay land.About 18,000 of soybeans and 7,000 acres of both corn and cotton were damaged. Rice and grain sorghum were also reported to have been affected.In addition to the production effects on crops and lost grazing and hay production, Guidry’s assessment also showed minor livestock losses and significant losses to bee hives and honey production.“All combined, the economic impact was estimated at over $7 million,” he said.

Ron Levy, LSU AgCenter soybean specialist, said the environmental conditions this season have been unfavorable for soybeans in the majority of the state. This year’s crop will be reduced from last year because of heavy rainfall early in the season and lack of rain late in the season.“Our average bushel per acre number will be lower this year,” Levy said. “Our average was a record high of 57 bushels per acre last year. This year we are estimating mid- to upper 40s.”Levy said these are just estimates, and he won’t have more precise numbers until harvest is complete.Based on assessments conducted by the Farm Service Agency and the LSU AgCenter, a Presidential Disaster Designation on July 13 declared Bossier, Caddo, Grant, Natchitoches and Red River parishes as primary disaster areas. On July 22, the secretary of agriculture also designated those parishes as primary disaster areas along with Avoyelles, East Feliciana, Franklin, Iberville, Pointe Coupee, Rapides and West Baton Rouge parishes.The Secretarial Disaster Designation was for losses due to the combined effects of excessive rain, flooding, high winds and hail, Guidry said. In addition to the primary disaster areas, 23 parishes were identified as contiguous disaster areas with a total of 35 parishes being designated as either primary or contiguous disaster areas.

Low-interest emergency loans are available to producers in parishes designated as a primary or contiguous disaster area, Guidry said. To be eligible for those emergency loans, producers must be able to prove that they experienced at least 30 percent production losses.In addition to emergency loans, producers who experienced livestock and honeybee losses could receive disaster assistance under the Livestock Indemnity Program or the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program, he said.All three assistance programs are administered by the Farm Service Agency.


APEDA INDIA NEWS
rice on: 20-08-2015
Product
Benchmark Indicators Name
Price
Garlic
1
Chinese first grade granules, CFR NW Europe (USD/t)
2100
2
Chinese Grade A dehydrated flakes, CFR NW Europe (USD/t)
2000
3
Chinese powdered, CFR NW Europe (USD/t)
1800
Ginger
1
Chinese sliced, CIF NW Europe (USD/t)
4600
2
Chinese whole, CIF NW Europe (USD/t)
5100
3
Indian Cochin, CIF NW Europe (USD/t)
3000
Guar Gum Powder
1
Indian 100 mesh 3500 cps, FOB Kandla (USD/t)
4080
2
Indian 200 mesh 3500 cps basis, FOB Kandla (USD/t)
1500
3
Indian 200 mesh 5000 cps, FOB Kandla (USD/t)
2600
Source:agra-net
For more info
Market Watch
Commodity-wise, Market-wise Daily Price on 20-08-2015
Domestic Prices
Unit Price : Rs per Qty
Product
Market Center
Variety
Min Price
Max Price
Rice
1
Jhagadiya (Gujarat)
Other
1925
3090
2
Cachar (Assam)
Other
2000
2500
3
Nilagiri(Orissa)
Other
2300
2500
Wheat
1
Dhing (Assam)
Other
1500
1700
2
Bayad (Gujarat)
Other
1600
1750
3
Bonai (Karnataka)
Other
1450
1600
Mousambi
1
Manjeri (Kerala)
Other
2500
2700
2
Sirhind (Punjab)
Other
2000
2600
3
Mechua (West Bengal)
Other
1800
2400
Brinjal
1
Shillong (Meghalaya)
Other
1600
2000
2
Aroor (Kerala)
Other
2600
2800
3
Banki (Orissa)
Other
2000
2400
Source:agra-net
For more info
Egg
Rs per 100 No
Price on 20-08-2015
Product
Market Center
Price
1
Pune
310
2
Hyderabad
295
3
Mysore
322
Source: e2necc.com
Other International Prices
Unit Price : US$ per package
Price on 19-08-2015
Product
Market Center
Origin
Variety
Low
High
Onions Dry
Package: 40 lb cartons
1
Atlanta
Georgia
Yellow
27
30
2
Baltimore
Peru
Yellow
28
28
3
Chicago
California
Yellow
26
26
Cauliflower
Package: cartons film wrapped
1
Atlanta
Mexico
White
10.50
10.50
2
Dallas
California
White
15
18
3
Detroit
California
White
11
14.50
Apples
Package: cartons tray pack
1
Atlanta
Washington
Red Delicious
18
20
2
Baltimore
Washington 
Red Delicious
20
24
3
Dallas
Washington
Red Delicious
21.50
21.50

Source:USDA
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