UMN
study finds climate change is helping some crops, but hurting more
It’s
likely that climate change already is affecting world crop production — hurting
it in some areas, helping it in others, but on balance pushing it lower,
according to a new University of Minnesota-led study.
“There
are winners and losers, and some countries that are already food insecure fare
worse,” said lead author Deepak Ray of the University of Minnesota’s Institute
on the Environment.
The
study, conducted with researchers from the University of Oxford and the
University of Copenhagen, used weather and reported crop data to evaluate the
potential impact of observed climate change on 10 crops: barley, cassava,
maize, oil palm, rapeseed, rice, sorghum, soybean, sugarcane and wheat. The 10
accounted for a combined 83% of all calories produced on cropland.
The
study was published in the Public Library of Science journal, PLOS One. The
peer-reviewed, open-access scientific journal covers primary research in any
branch of science and medicine.
A
key finding of the study is that the effect of climate changes varies among the
10 top crops. They range from a drop of 13.4% for oil palm to an increase of
3.5% for soybean.
Overall,
there’s an average reduction of about 1% of consumable food calories from the
10 top crops, with an average reduction of about 0.5% for all consumable food
calories, according to the report.
Other
findings of the study include:
·
Climate change generally is hurting
food production in Europe, Southern Africa and Australia, generally helping it
in Latin America. Results are mixed in Asia, North America and Central America.
·
Half of all “food-insecure
countries” have experienced declines in crop production because of climate
change, as have some affluent countries in Western Europe.
·
Climate change has increased yields
of some crops and cut into yields of some crops in parts of the Upper Midwest.
·
Overall, U.S. barley, rice and
wheat yields fell, while maize, sorghum, soybean and sugar cane yield rose,
according to the report.
·
The report noted that “crop yields
and production are not only impacted from climate change, but also drive
climate change.”
Here is
how millets can make India’s food basket climate-resilient
Dinesh C
Sharma New Delhi | Updated on July 01, 2019 Published
on July 01, 2019
File
photo
Increasing
temperatures, changing monsoon and more frequent extreme climate events are
posing a threat to food security in India. A new study has found that while
almost all grain crops are sensitive to these changes, adding more coarse
grains or millets in crop production mix may help make food supply withstand
vagaries of climate change.
In
the past 45 years, the overall monsoon rainfall has decreased, there is greater
variability in daily rainfall, temperatures have risen, extreme events have
gone up and so has frequency of droughts. The study quantified the impact of
all these changes on crop yields all over the country during this period (1966
– 2011).
The
analysis revealed that compared to rice, alternative grains (finger millet,
maize, pearl millet and sorghum) are significantly less sensitive to climate
variability and generally experienced smaller decline in yields under climate
extremes. All these are mostly rain dependent crops and grown during the kharif
season. Wheat, grown in the rabi season, was not included in the analysis.
In
general, the yields of alternative grains are lower than rice, but in certain
districts, coarse grains performed better than rice under rainfed conditions.
For example, pearl millet and sorghum in central India and maize in many parts
of the country. This means there is already an opportunity to increase climate
resilience and grain production both by increasing crop area for these grains.
Since
rice yields, compared to all the coarse grains, are more sensitive to
fluctuations in rainfall in both irrigated and rainfed areas, replacing it with
coarse grains will help stabilize grain production across a range of climatic
conditions, the study has said. This, along with other strategies like building
buffer stock to absorb climate shock, developing drought-tolerant varieties and
boosting irrigation could help meet the climate challenge.
At
present, rice accounts for 44 percent of annual grain production and 73 percent
of grain production during the kharif season. The rest 27 percent of grain
production during kharif comes from maize (15%), pearl millet (8%), sorghum
(2.5%) and finger millet (1.5%). The study examined how far these coarse
grains and rice are climate resilient.
District-level
crop production and climate data was taken from various sources and database
such as the ICRISAT Village Dynamics South Asia and the India Meteorological
Department. Climate sensitivity of the five crops for each district was then
determined through modelling. The study findings have been published in journal
Environmental Research Letters.
“This
study shows that yields from grains like millet, sorghum and maize are more
resilient to extreme events like droughts. Their yields vary significantly less
due to year-to-year changes in climate and generally experience smaller
declines during droughts. But yields from rice, India’s main crop, experience
larger declines during extreme weather conditions. This means reliance on a
single crop – rice – during kharif makes India’s food supply potentially
vulnerable to the effects of varying climate,” explained Kyle Frankel Davis of
Columbia University, who led the study, while speaking to India Science Wire.
However,
replacing rice with millets is not going to be an easy affair. “Agriculture is
intimately linked with socio-economic factors and market forces, all of which
affect crop choice. If poorer and subsistence farmers are choosing alternative
crops more than rice farmers, then how can mixing crops to increase stability
at a national level affect crop choices? A better option would be to
incentivise poor farmers to increase their crop diversity to reduce the
sensitivity of rice to rainfall variability,” commented Raghu Murtugudde,
visiting professor of earth system science at IIT Bombay. He is not connected
with the study.
Health
and nutrition benefits of millets could be an additional advantage, according
to researchers. Davis said “our study provides evidence that these crops can
offer benefits to the food system beyond nutrition. In addition, increasing
production of alternative grains helps save water, reduces energy demand and
greenhouse emissions from agriculture. This study shows that diversifying crops
that a country grows can be an effective way to adapt its food production
systems to the growing influence of climate change.”
The
research team included Kyle Frankel Davis (Data Science Institute, Columbia
University); Ashwini Chhatre (Indian School of Business, Hyderabad); Narasimha
D Rao (Yale University); Deepti Singh (Washington State University, Vancouver);
and Ruth DeFries (Columbia University).
(India
Science Wire)
Twitter
handle: @dineshcsharma
BUSINESS
Photo by Nick Nelson / Agweek.
Study: Climate
change affecting crop production
It's likely that climate change
already is affecting world crop production — hurting it in some areas, helping
it in others but on balance pushing it lower, according to a new University of
Minnesota-led study.
"There are winners and
losers, and some countries that are already food insecure fare worse,"
said lead author Deepak Ray of the University of Minnesota's Institute on the
Environment.
The study, conducted with
researchers from the University of Oxford and the University of Copenhagen,
used weather and reported crop data to evaluate the potential impact of
observed climate change on 10 crops: barley, cassava, maize, oil palm,
rapeseed, rice, sorghum, soybean, sugarcane and wheat. The 10 accounted for a
combined 83% of all calories produced on cropland.
The study was published in the
Public Library of Science (PLOS) journal, PLOS One. The peer-reviewed open
access scientific journal covers primary research in any branch of science and
medicine.
A key finding of the study is
that the effect of climate changes varies among the 10 top crops. They range
from a drop of 13.4% for oil palm to an increase of 3.5% for soybean.
Overall, there's an average
reduction of about 1% of consumable food calories from the 10 top crops, with
an average reduction of about 0.5% for all consumable food calories, according
to the report.
Other findings of the study
include:
• Climate change generally is
hurting food production in Europe, Southern Africa and Australia, generally
helping it in Latin America. Results are mixed in Asia, North America and
Central America.
• Half of all "food-insecure
countries" have experienced declines in crop production because of climate
change, as have some affluent countries in Western Europe.
• Climate change has increased
yields of some crops and cut into yields of some crops in parts of the Upper
Midwest.
• Overall, U.S. barley, rice and
wheat yields fell, while maize, sorghum, soybean and sugar cane yield rose,
according to the report.
The report noted that "crop
yields and production are not only impacted from climate change, but also drive
climate change."
Low selling cereals is actually exporting
water
The study observed that increased focus on maize, sorghum and
millets would help ease pressure on groundwater - The Hindu
Shift of focus to maize, sorghum, millets would help: Research
Excessive focus on cereal production and the resulting pressure
on groundwater in some States is no news. But this, a UK-based researcher contends,
means that some States are actually ‘exporting’ their scarce groundwater when
they market the cereals.
A study by a group of researchers from academic and research
institutes from the UK, Germany and India has suggested a shift to maize,
millet and sorghum will help the country reduce its scarce groundwater
consumption.
They gathered data of production and water-use for five cereal
crops (rice, wheat, maize, millet and sorghum), from publicly available sources
from 2005 to 2014, to understand the phenomenon.
“The States that are producing and exporting (to other parts of
the country) dominant cereals such as paddy and wheat are, in fact, technically
‘exporting’ their scarce groundwater to other States,” Francesca Harris, a
researcher with Epidemiology and Population Health of London School of Hygiene
and Tropical Medicine, told BusinessLine.
She said Punjab and Haryana are among the top States that
overexploited groundwater to produce cereals.
Francesca Harris was here to address the Annual Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Health (ANH) Academy Week.
The group published a report ‘More crop per drop - Exploring
India’s cereal water use since 2005’. India’s cereal production went up by 26.4
per cent to 238 million tonnes from 188 mt during the period without additional
water or land use, thanks to higher yields for most crops.
Wheat and rice consumed a lion’s share, 80.6 per cent of total
water used. While Uttar Pradesh accounted for 20 per cent of the country’s
total water consumption, Punjab and Rajasthan consumed 8.4 per cent each.
The researchers found that the cereal area is being shifted to
rabi season. The increase in cereal production was marked by increase in rice
production in kharif and wheat in rabi.
Increased yields
The study found that there is a drop in cereal water footprint,
thanks to improved yields. In the north, yields went up in sorghum and millets
and in rice, maize and wheat in the central part.
Increase in irrigated area and use of fertilisers and pesticides
might also have contributed for higher yields during the period.
Suggestions
The study observed that increased focus on maize, sorghum and
millets would help ease pressure on ground water. “Increase in maize production
will help to sustain cereal production, while minimising water use,” it said.
“On the other hand, sorghum and millets can help reduce the
dependency on freshwater. However, it calls for investments to improve yields
to maintain production levels,” it said.
FY 2018-19: Nepal Rice Imports on the Rise
Despite Bumper Harvest
The country Nepal imported rice worth NPR 278 million within the
first 10 months of the current fiscal compared to NPR 241 in FY 2017-18
In the recent update on Nepal’s
paddy production, the country has recorded the highest paddy production of 5.6
million tons this fiscal year 2018-19.
However, Nepal’s rice import continues to be
steadily on the rise, despite bumper paddy production throughout the last three
years.
The country imported rice worth NPR 278
million within the first 10 months of the current fiscal compared to NPR 241 in
FY 2017-18. Similarly, in 2016-17 Nepal’s rice imports were worth NPR 202 million.
According to Nepal Agriculture and Livestock
Development (MoALD) Ministry, changing habits of consumers were responsible for
the increasing rice imports in the country. Most Nepalis prefer white rice or
refined rice imported from India.
Despite the country’s ability to meet the
rising demand, consumers’ varying taste have forced Nepal to import rice said
MoALD.
According to MoALD, Nepal’s current market
demand for rice stands at around 4 million tons at the moment and its local
production meets only close to 3.4 million tons.
Nepal’s Paddy
Production 2016-19
This current fiscal 2018-19, Nepal
registered a paddy/rice increase by 9.8 percent compared to 5.1 million tons in
the previous fiscal.
Similarly, the country’s paddy productivity
reached 3.8 tons per hectare in the current fiscal, an increase of 8.6 percent
compared to FY 2017-18.
The International Rice Research
Institute – Nepal’s (IRRI-Nepal) five-year work plan along with a few
other places and programs are responsible for the success of Nepal’s increased
paddy productivity, said MoALD Spokesperson Tej Bahadur Subedi.
However, increased productivity and
production have not been able to override Nepal’s increasing rice imports.
This is a matter of concern as rice
contributes to 20 percent of Nepal’s agriculture sector, which has a 27 percent
in Nepal’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Meanwhile on June 30, 2019, Nepal marked the
beginning of the crop plantation season with Ropain – the rice planting
festival.
Here is how millets can make India’s food
basket climate-resilient
Too much dependence on rice can make India vulnerable
By Dinesh C Sharma
Last Updated: Monday 01 July 2019
Increasing temperatures, changing monsoon and more frequent
extreme climate events are posing a threat to food security in India. A new
study has found that while almost all grain crops are sensitive to these
changes, adding more coarse grains or millets in crop production mix may help
make food supply withstand vagaries of climate change.
In the past 45 years, the overall monsoon rainfall has
decreased, there is greater variability in daily rainfall, temperatures have
risen, extreme events have gone up and so has frequency of droughts. The study
quantified the impact of all these changes on crop yields all over the country
during this period (1966-2011).
The analysis revealed that compared to rice, alternative grains
(finger millet, maize, pearl millet and sorghum) are significantly less
sensitive to climate variability and generally experienced smaller decline in
yields under climate extremes. All these are mostly rain dependent crops and
grown during the kharif season. Wheat, grown in the rabi season, was not
included in the analysis.
In general, the yields of alternative grains are lower than
rice, but in certain districts, coarse grains performed better than rice under
rainfed conditions. For example, pearl millet and sorghum in central India and
maize in many parts of the country. This means there is already an opportunity
to increase climate resilience and grain production both by increasing crop
area for these grains.
Since rice yields, compared to all the coarse grains, are more
sensitive to fluctuations in rainfall in both irrigated and rainfed areas,
replacing it with coarse grains will help stabilize grain production across a
range of climatic conditions, the study has said. This, along with other
strategies like building buffer stock to absorb climate shock, developing
drought-tolerant varieties and boosting irrigation could help meet the climate
challenge.
At present, rice accounts for 44 per cent of annual grain
production and 73 per cent of grain production during the kharif season. The
rest 27 per cent of grain production during kharif comes from maize (15 per
cent), pearl millet (8 per cent), sorghum (2.5 per cent) and finger millet (1.5
per cent). The study examined how far these coarse grains and rice are climate
resilient.
District-level crop production and climate data was taken from
various sources and database such as the ICRISAT Village Dynamics South Asia
and the India Meteorological Department. Climate sensitivity of the five crops
for each district was then determined through modelling. The study findings
have been published in
journal Environmental Research Letters.
“This study shows that yields from grains like millet, sorghum
and maize are more resilient to extreme events like droughts. Their yields vary
significantly less due to year-to-year changes in climate and generally
experience smaller declines during droughts. But yields from rice, India’s main
crop, experience larger declines during extreme weather conditions. This means
reliance on a single crop – rice – during kharif makes India’s food supply
potentially vulnerable to the effects of varying climate,” explained Kyle
Frankel Davis of Columbia University, who led the study, while speaking to India Science Wire.
However, replacing rice with millets is not going to be an easy
affair. “Agriculture is intimately linked with socio-economic factors and
market forces, all of which affect crop choice. If poorer and subsistence
farmers are choosing alternative crops more than rice farmers, then how can
mixing crops to increase stability at a national level affect crop choices? A
better option would be to incentivise poor farmers to increase their crop
diversity to reduce the sensitivity of rice to rainfall variability,” said
Raghu Murtugudde, visiting professor of earth system science at IIT Bombay. He
is not connected with the study.
Health and nutrition benefits of millets could be an additional
advantage, according to researchers. “Our study provides evidence that these
crops can offer benefits to the food system beyond nutrition. In addition,
increasing production of alternative grains helps save water, reduces energy
demand and greenhouse emissions from agriculture. This study shows that
diversifying crops that a country grows can be an effective way to adapt its
food production systems to the growing influence of climate change,” Davis
said.
The research team included Davis (Data Science Institute,
Columbia University); Ashwini Chhatre (Indian School of Business, Hyderabad);
Narasimha D Rao (Yale University); Deepti Singh (Washington State University,
Vancouver); and Ruth DeFries (Columbia University). (India Science Wire)
Source:
Xinhua| 2019-07-01 20:03:43|Editor: ZX
KUNMING, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Tao Guangfa, a 67-year-old Chinese
villager, still remembers how people used to be afraid to eat corn, rice and
other crops in the fields and along a waterway around a local arsenic mine.
Tao's hometown, the city of Wenshan in southwest China's Yunnan
Province, ranked first in China in terms of arsenic production for many years
from the 1950s to the 1990s.
For some time, people even avoided herding around the arsenic
mines as the grass for the cattle was poisoned due to soil pollution. Such
concerns that once surrounded Tao and his fellow villagers are now expected to
be reduced with the latest technology.
Chinese research institutions and enterprises have jointly
developed a new technology that aims at restoring arsenic-contaminated soils.
In the smelting process of nonferrous metals, heavy metals
including lead, zinc, cadmium and arsenic may be left in various types of solid
waste without proper treatment.
In recent years, local arsenic manufacturers have all been shut
down, but the waste arsenic residues still existed in mountainsides,
mountaintops and gullies, affecting the environment and posing a threat to the
health of local residents.
The new technology on the remediation of arsenic contaminated
sites on the plateau has recently passed expert evaluation.
Led and developed by the Yunnan Institute of Environmental
Science, Kunming University of Science and Technology and Yunnan Investment
Ecology, the technology improves the technical system for the collaborative
disposal of arsenic-containing waste in cement kilns.
The researchers developed an effective curing and stabilizing
repair agent and intelligent remediation equipment, which provides key support
for solving the problem of arsenic pollution.
Based on preliminary research, Wenshan started a project on the
disposal of eight arsenic slag sites, with a total area of 6,130 cubic meters
in May 2018, and has completed its landfill work on May 20.
The project is currently in the final stage of ecological
restoration, the local government said, adding that the contaminated soil is
undergoing post-restoration treatment and is expected to be completed in early
July.
"Now, there's no need for us to worry about
arsenic-contaminated soil," said Tao
Citizen scientists collect vital
microplastics data—from their yachts
The world's oceans are under invasion by a virtually indestructible
enemy—plastic. Florida International University (FIU) and the International SeaKeepers Society have joined
forces to combat this plastic problem.
The first expedition to Cuba recently concluded. The samples
were full of microplastics and preliminary analysis revealed that the
overwhelming majority were polyethelene (used to make plastic grocery bags) and
polypropylene (bottle caps and rope).
"Our relationship with SeaKeepers opens up access to areas
of the ocean our researchers wouldn't normally have
access to because of the cost," said Mark Bond, an FIU marine scientist
and lead on the SeaKeepers partnership. "This means we can spread our
research dollars further and get more data to better map the type and scale of
contamination."
Every year, an estimated 8 to 12 million tons of plastic makes
its way into the sea. From coastlines to the middle of the sea—floating along
the tops of waves and hidden deep beneath the surface—it's there in its many
forms.
S.A.R.A.H. isn't just a name. It's also an acronym for the
process to end this epidemic—sample, aggregate, return, analyze, help.
Understanding what types of plastics are in the ocean is key to keeping those
plastics out of the ocean.
Because it never decomposes, plastic tends to become a
shape-shifter. Tossed around in the ocean or exposed to the elements, larger
pieces break down into microplastics. These little pieces pose a huge problem.
Often mistaken for food, they are regularly consumed by marine life. Studies
have discovered that fish, seabirds and sea turtles all ingest plastic.
Whether they began as a plastic bag or bottle, these plastics cannot hide
their original forms from the researchers. All plastic is made up of
hydrocarbon polymers. These polymers and an assortment of added chemicals are
combined in countless ways to create variations of plastic—from polyester
clothing to acrylic paints and water bottles. Back in the lab, the samples are
tested to pinpoint the type of plastics that are plaguing our oceans and then
archived in an online database.
Plastic may be forever, but it doesn't have to be forever in the
ocean. Data can be the foundation for future policy decisions that can ensure
the ocean is home to more marine life and less plastic.
"If we can paint a picture of what kind of plastics are
being found throughout the world's oceans, we can help in the regulation of
certain industries," said Tony Gilbert, program director of SeaKeepers.
"This has already happened with sunscreen. Some states have banned the
sale of sunscreens with chemicals that are bleaching and killing our coral reefs."
Founded more than two decades ago by a small group of yacht
owners, SeaKeepers supports oceanographic research and conservation by inviting
scientists to conduct research and education from the yachts. Currently, M/Y
Archimedes is participating in the S.A.R.A.H. initiative, collecting samples
for FIU researchers as it crosses the Atlantic and passes through the
Mediterranean.
In the coming months, the S.A.R.A.H. team anticipates support
from the global yachting community to help expand this initiative.
Punjab defies country-wide trend,
kharif crop sowing up by 20 per cent in June
The data sourced from the Punjab Agriculture Department, till June
24, Punjab had completed Kharif sowing on 18.68 lakh hectares, which is nearly
52 per cent of the total sowing, against the 11.50 lakh hectares on the same
date last year which was around 32 per cent of the total kharif crop sowing.
Written by Anju Agnihotri Chaba | Jalandhar |
Published: July 1, 2019 8:05:19 am
RELATED NEWS
Saving Kharif crops: Mahisagar water to Narmada canal doubled
Maharashtra: Kharif sowing in state at 97 per cent
Fresh spell lowers rain deficit by 5%, likely to boost Kharif
sowing
punjab, punjab kharif sowing, kharif, khairf crop, kharif sowing
season, kharif crop sowing season, monsoon, punjab mosnoon
Agriculture department had targeted sowing 36 lakh hectares area
under kharif crop. (Express)
Against the country-wide trend of 25 per cent less kharif sowing
due to dry June month, Punjab state has shown opposite trend and has already
completed the 52 per cent sowing of Kharif season crops, which is 20 per cent
more compared to the last season. Thanks to over 15 lakh tubewells in Punjab
and availability of canal water mainly in Malwa region.
Punjab Agriculture Department had targeted to sow 36 lakh hectares
area under Kharif crops which included sowing of rice on 29 lakh hectares,
including six lakh hectares Basmati rice and 23 lakh hectares paddy, four lakh
hectares under cotton, 1.60 lakh hectare under maize, one lakh hectare under
sugarcane, and around 40,000 under pulses, ground nut and sesamum.
The data sourced from the Punjab Agriculture Department, till June
24, Punjab had completed Kharif sowing on 18.68 lakh hectares, which is nearly
52 per cent of the total sowing, against the 11.50 lakh hectares on the same
date last year which was around 32 per cent of the total kharif crop sowing.
Mainly Paddy, pulses (moong, mash and arhar), maize, sugarcane, cotton,
groundnut and sesamum crops are sown during kharif season.
Till June 24, the transplantation of paddy was completed on 12.87
lakh hectares, which is a way higher the 6.87 lakh hectares sown during this
period in 2018. It also implies that Punjab has already completed paddy sowing
on 56 per cent of the targeted area.
“We have completed paddy sowing at least four lakh hectares more
between June 25 to June 29 and now only 25 per cent sowing of paddy is left,”
said a senior Agriculture Department officer.
The cultivation time of Basmati would start from the second week of
the July month.
Among other kharif crops sugarcane too had shown upward trend as
95,002 hectares had been sowing against 95,000 last year, pulses too had
recorded over 5000 hectares sowing against 4000 hectares last year.
Cotton too has recorded sowing on over four lakh hectares against
2.67 lakh hectares last year. Only maize has show little downward sowing with
trend at 67,000 hectares against 84,000 hectare last year.
As far as paddy sowing goes, Sangrur district topped with 1.91 lakh
hectares sowing till June 24. Patiala is at the second place with 1.39 lakh hectares,
while Ferozepur is third with 90,000 hectares.
Only Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Mohali and Ropar districts have been
doing slow transplanting and covered the area close to its last year’s
corresponding figures which is good for state.
Rest all districts have achieved double the area putting huge
pressure on the ground water as paddy sowing needs stagnate water up to two to
three inches for over six weeks continuously.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department, Chandigarh
office, Punjab has received 50 per cent less rain during June. Only Fathegarh
Sahib for 46 per cent surplus rain in June, while Ludhiana and Bathinda got
Normal rain. All other districts are facing deficit rain.
MORE EXPLAINED
Explained: Reading Maratha quota verdict
Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) officials said that due to
heavy sowing of paddy in June month the toll on ground water is too big.
“No doubt that canal water is available in the Malwa region, but
most of the farmers in Punjab prefer tubewell water because power supply to run
over 14 lakh electrical tubewells is free to them,” said another PAU officials,
adding that they had already suggested to extend the date of paddy sowing till
June 25 but government instead had advanced it by one week this year which is not
a wise decision. Running of 15 lakh tubewells on a single day would extract
4.80 lakh million liter in a day.
Agriculture Director, Punjab, Dr Sutantra Airy said that though
there are several short paddy varieties available now in the state which can be
sown in the month of July, but still farmers prefer varieties that require
early sowing.
Big
Picture Economics on Tap at the USA Rice Outlook Conference
ARLINGTON, VA -- The good news is the overall U.S. economy is
booming; the bad news is the U.S. agricultural economy is not. U.S. ag
continues to struggle amid falling farm income and deteriorating agricultural
credit conditions.
During this prolonged downturn for the ag sector, separating fact from fiction has become increasingly critical, and focusing on the big picture, AKA macroeconomics, is key.
Veronica Nigh, international trade and resource issue economist for the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), will be on hand at the 2019 Outlook Conference to talk about the macroeconomic outlook for U.S. agriculture-specifically digging into the drivers of the U.S. economy, farm economy, farm debt and financial indicators, interest rates, cash rents and farmland values, and trade.
"While we wait for farm income to stabilize, growing inventories, trade uncertainty, and signs of a global economic slowdown remain key risks," said Betsy Ward, president & CEO of USA Rice. "Hearing from an expert economist steeped in ag research and analysis who can answer questions will help us all make decisions and plan ahead not only for individual operations but for the industry as a whole."
Nigh grew up on a small, diversified livestock operation in Savannah, Missouri. Prior to joining AFBF, she worked for the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service in the Office of Negotiations and Agreements, and also served as an international marketing specialist at the Missouri Department of Agriculture.
The USA Rice Outlook Conference is the largest rice specific event in North America. The 2019 Conference will take place from December 8-10 at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. Check here for updates.
During this prolonged downturn for the ag sector, separating fact from fiction has become increasingly critical, and focusing on the big picture, AKA macroeconomics, is key.
Veronica Nigh, international trade and resource issue economist for the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), will be on hand at the 2019 Outlook Conference to talk about the macroeconomic outlook for U.S. agriculture-specifically digging into the drivers of the U.S. economy, farm economy, farm debt and financial indicators, interest rates, cash rents and farmland values, and trade.
"While we wait for farm income to stabilize, growing inventories, trade uncertainty, and signs of a global economic slowdown remain key risks," said Betsy Ward, president & CEO of USA Rice. "Hearing from an expert economist steeped in ag research and analysis who can answer questions will help us all make decisions and plan ahead not only for individual operations but for the industry as a whole."
Nigh grew up on a small, diversified livestock operation in Savannah, Missouri. Prior to joining AFBF, she worked for the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service in the Office of Negotiations and Agreements, and also served as an international marketing specialist at the Missouri Department of Agriculture.
The USA Rice Outlook Conference is the largest rice specific event in North America. The 2019 Conference will take place from December 8-10 at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. Check here for updates.
USA RiceDaily
Chatham-Kent home to Canada's first commercial
rice crop
Agricultural history is quietly being made on a farm west of
Chatham where a one-hectare (2.5 acre) crop of rice is growing.
Published on: June 28, 2019 | Last Updated:
June 28, 2019 5:49 PM EDT
Wendy Zhang, project and farm manager with Ontario FangZheng
Agriculture Enterprises Inc. is seen here Friday in front of a one hectare
trial crop of rice planted west of Chatham, Ont. (Ellwood Shreve/Chatham Daily
News)
Agricultural history is quietly being made on a farm west of
Chatham where a one-hectare (2.5-acre) crop of rice is growing.
“This is the first Canadian commercial rice production,” said
Wendy Zhang, the project and farm manager with Ontario FangZheng Agriculture
Enterprises Inc., which planted the crop.
She said initially the company was allowed to grow a research
trial crop, based on regulations set out by the Canadian Food Inspection
Agency.
Zhang said they have now received CFIA approval to expand next
year.
The plan is to plant rice on the entire 30-hectare (74-acre)
farm where the first crop is currently growing and find other land to plant up
to 202 hectares (500 acres) next year.
Growing rice in Chatham-Kent is more a relief than anything,
Zhang said. The process began in 2016, she said, with an expert rice production
team from China coming to the municipality to inspect the soil, the water, the
weather and what kind of machinery could be used.
When it comes to growing rice, Zhang said the first thing you
need is flat land and, secondly, a good source of water.
“It’s just so flat and so good (in Chatham-Kent), and we got two
lakes here as well.”
While this year’s cool, wet spring has caused tremendous
problems for other farmers, Zhang said her rice crop benefited from the rain.
The enterprise has saved a lot of money by not having to operate a pump to
irrigate the crop.
Many people may envision rice crops being surrounded by a large
amount of water, but Zhang said a new technique was developed in recent years.
“We don’t need that much water,” she said. “All we need to do is
cover the soil surface.”
Zhang said the canopy will soon fill in on the crop, so the
water on the field won’t be visible.
She began preparing the crop in early March by soaking the seed
inside.
A one-hectare rice trial crop is growing west of Chatham, Ont.
(Ellwood Shreve/Chatham Daily News)
From there, the plants were moved to a greenhouse in April
before being transplanted in May.
The crop will be harvested in late September or early October,
depending on the weather, Zhang said.
Ontario FangZheng Agriculture Enterprises has been working with
the Ridgetown Campus of the University of Guelph, which did a successful
greenhouse study on rice. This resulted in the experimental field of rice being
planted by Zhang.
She told those attending a news conference on Friday the
one-hectare plot will be used to record plant growth and development, evaluate
pest pressure and control, determine yield potential, and other production
factors under Ontario growing conditions.
Chatham-Kent has a climate similar to northern China, where rice
production has expanded to grow crops that can withstand cooler temperatures.
Zhang has been working with Curtis Peltier, an agricultural
consultant with Thompsons.
“It’s been quite interesting,” Peltier said. “Definitely a lot
to learn.”
He noted the fertilizers and other inputs to grow rice are
similar to planting wheat.
“So we’re kind of basing and comparing everything to the wheat
crops around here.”
Peltier said his company would be “definitely” interested in
growing rice “if we can find a market for it.”
Mayor Darrin Canniff, who attended the Friday press conference,
said a positive he sees with rice being grown here is “diversification for our
economy and a new opportunity for our agri-business sector.”
If things work out, the trial crop could expand into thousands
of acres being planted across Chatham-Kent, he said.
Zhang said the commercial rice crop started with one acre in the
U.S., “and we started with one hectare.”
She said the company would welcome working with other growers to
expand the amount of rice grown in Chatham-Kent.
USA Rice Outlook Conference & Trade Show
December 8–10, 2019 |
Little Rock, AR
This
year’s Outlook Conference is going to be the biggest and best conference yet
featuring exciting speakers, outstanding learning sessions, and a trade show
bringing the newest and most promising innovations to attendees.
Session topics will include robotics and artificial intelligence on the farm, breaking into or expanding your e-commerce platform, best conservation practices, food and farm trends, farm safety, data management, managing stress, and much much more.
Mark your calendar and watch for announcements in the USA Rice Daily, on this website, and on our social media channels.
For information on exhibiting or sponsoring, email Jeanette Davis.
Session topics will include robotics and artificial intelligence on the farm, breaking into or expanding your e-commerce platform, best conservation practices, food and farm trends, farm safety, data management, managing stress, and much much more.
Mark your calendar and watch for announcements in the USA Rice Daily, on this website, and on our social media channels.
For information on exhibiting or sponsoring, email Jeanette Davis.
Less rainfall to affect paddy
plantation
Published: July 01, 2019 1:00 pm On: Business
HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE
Kathmandu, June 30
The late monsoon coupled with inadequate rainfall is likely to
affect paddy plantation this year.
Farmers are in a hurry to begin paddy plantation, however due to
lack of enough rainfall only 11.64 per cent of paddy plantation has been
completed so far.
Meanwhile, by this time last year around 15 per cent paddy
plantation had been done across the country. This may have an effect on paddy
plantation that will ultimately affect the annual production capacity of paddy,
said Yubak Dhoj GC, secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock
Development.
While addressing the 16th National Paddy Day celebration today,
Secretary GC said that the late monsoon is going to affect paddy plantation
this year. “Most of the fields in some of the areas are still dry.
In some regions neither has there been rainfall nor do farmers
have access to irrigation facility,” he said. “In such a situation it is
obvious that there will be less plantation.” He, meanwhile, said this situation
has arisen as the country is yet to implement disaster management system.
According to GC, during the dry season dry seeded rice can be
planted. “Dry rice plantation is one of the solutions during the dry season.
However, there is less practice of planting dry seeded paddy in our country,”
he added. GC further said that either farmers are not aware of it or they do
not have access to dry seeded rice.
Thus, there is a need to promote and expand the practice of
planting dry seeded paddy, he added.
Amidst this the ministry has set a target to produce seven million
tonnes of paddy in the next fiscal year. The target, however, seems a bit
far-fetched. Secretary GC further claimed that the ministry is doing its best
to increase the production and productivity of paddy to replace rice import.
“The agriculture ministry alone will not be able to do enough on
this front. The ministry wants support from all the stakeholders,” he added
during the event organised by Nepal Agricultural Research Council to mark 16th
National Paddy Day.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Chakrapani Khanal celebrated the
National Paddy Day in Rajapur Municipality of Bardiya district this year. The
main motto of this year’s National Paddy Day is the promotion of technology and
machinery to reduce rice import.
A version of this article appears in print on July 01, 2019 of The
Himalayan Times.
Optimistic rice outlook
News & Politics
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Australia's biggest rice producer is confident it has a
positive outlook, despite posting a 32 million dollar loss in the past 12
months.
Sun Rice has battled drought across southern New South
Wales, and has had negative foreign exchange impacts.
Rural
reporter Eddie Summerfield spoke with Chairman Laurie Arthur:
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Odisha’s rice yield lower than
other States
Monday, 01 July 2019 | PNS | BHUBANESWAR
Food grain production declined from 117.82 lakh metric tonnes
(MT) in 2016-17 to 84.82 lakh MT in 2017-18 due to deficient rainfall and
severe pest attack of 2017-18. Production of rice, which had almost half the
share of gross cropped area (GCA) and is a highly water-incentive crop,
witnessed a decline of over 33 per cent, pulling down food grains and total
crop production in the State, pointed out the latest Economic Survey presented
in the State Assembly recently.
It, however, revealed that pulses were the only crop group,
which witnessed a significant growth in production. The production of pulses
during 2017-18 stood at 10.76 lakh MT, sugarcane at 19.9 lakh MT and cotton at
4.1 lakh bales.
The rice yield rate has been low in Odisha compared to other
States due to high dependence on rainwater for irrigation, stated the report.
Yields of oilseeds and sugarcane witnessed marginal decrease.
The report remarked that the State can diversify its agriculture
base as cotton and pulses displayed an increase in yield in 201-18.
Despite the drought situation in the past year, which caused a
decline in production and productivity of productivity of food grains,
horticulture sector was relatively less affected.
This underscores the augment to incentivize famers to increase
horticulture production, said the report.
Top three vegetables with the highest production recorded in 2017-18
where brijnal (20.1 lakh MT), tomato (13.1 lakh MT) and cabbage (10.6 lakh MT).
On the other hand, mango (8.2 lakh MT) and banana (4.7 lakh MT)had the highest
production among fruits.
The highest yield was seen in cabbage (280.5 quintal/ha)
and bringal (170.5 quintal/ha), while among fruits, banana and papaya were the
high yielding fruits.
Apart from fruits and vegetables in horticulture, Odisha is
diversifying its crop production and area into spices. The GCA under spices has
increased from 1.54 lakh hectares in 2011-12 to 1.61 lakh hectares in 2017-18
(an increase of 4.5 per cent). Production has increased more than
proportionately in the same period, by 16.8 per cent (from 4.77 lakh
MT to 5.57 lakh MT). This can be attributes to more spice
being produced in the State (tamarind) and an increase in yield, mentioned the
report.
Tamarind and ginger occupy the majority share in production of
spices (73.1 per cent). Over the past year (since 2016-17), the yield rates for
most spices has been maintained with the highest growth observed in the major
spice like turmeric.
This shows that Odisha has good potential to further increase
its crop base to include spices.
Planned rice research center in
Poinsett County hires first director
by
The planned Northeast Rice Research and Extension Center has
hired Tim Burcham as its first director.
Burcham was previously dean of the Agriculture College at
Arkansas State University and held a joint appointment with the University of
Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. ASU in Jonesboro is one of the
campuses that works with the Division of Agriculture to provide publicly funded
education, extension and research all across Arkansas.
The center, being created by the Division of Agriculture in
partnership with the Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board, will be
built in Poinsett County — the heart of Arkansas’ northern rice-growing region.
Burcham’s appointment is effective Aug. 1.
“I am humbled and honored to be entrusted with a leadership role
in the establishment of the Northeast Rice Research and Extension Center
located near Jonesboro,” Burcham said. “The opportunity to establish a
world-class rice research facility that seeks to optimize rice production and
producer profitability utilizing the latest technological advances excites me
about the future of rice production in Arkansas.”
Burcham anticipates the combined research and outreach strengths
of the Division of Agriculture and ASU will provide a “multiplier effect with
the potential to improve every aspect of rice production in Arkansas.”
“Rice is such an important crop for farmers in northeast
Arkansas and it is a major economic driver for our region and the state,”
Burcham said. “I look forward to working with Division of Agriculture leadership
and members of the Arkansas Rice and Research Promotion Board to shape the
future of this new center; a future that will play a vital role in the success
of Arkansas rice producers, processors and consumers. It’s the leadership
opportunity of a lifetime.”
As the director, Burcham will develop a master plan for the
center, which will include research in the area’s unique soils, as well as a
general education component. Burcham will also oversee construction of the
facility. In addition to using Rice Promotion Board funds, Burcham also will
work on developing other funding sources to support a world-class agricultural
education center.
Over the past decade and a half, rice production in Arkansas has
spread from south to north. The Division of Agriculture has a Rice Research and
Extension Center at Stuttgart and also conducts rice research at its Northeast
Research and Extension Center at Keiser in Mississippi County. The Poinsett
County location will enable rice research in the area’s mixed soil types.
Burcham is a registered professional engineer in Arkansas and
Mississippi and has been involved in consulting activities associated with
irrigation design, livestock waste management, onsite wastewater remediation,
water quality, biofuels and computer software design. He is active in the
Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and has held numerous
leadership positions including serving on the Board of Agricultural Assembly’s
Policy Board of Directors.
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