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Corn Outlook: Abundance

July 1, 2011 by ·

Corn prices tumbled Thursday on a rosier-than-expected supply outlook, not the best news for farmers but welcome information for food companies and ultimately consumers.

Corn futures in Chicago markets fell the most since November, while wheat experienced its biggest plunge since January 2009, as the U.S. government reported grain acreage and inventories that topped estimates by analysts.

“It was very much of a surprise,” said Arlan Suderman, a market analyst with Farm Futures magazine. “Corn was the biggest shocker in acreage and in stocks.”

U.S. farmers planted 92.3 million acres of corn this year, 1.8 percent more than projected by analysts in a Bloomberg News survey, and the second-most since 1944, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Thursday. Corn stockpiles as of June 1 were 3.67 billion bushels, 12 percent higher than forecast. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Agriculture, Food ·

Flower Farmer Create Marketing Co-operative

May 25, 2011 by ·

A FARMER in the East Riding is launching an ambitious new initiative aimed at breathing new life into the British flower industry.

Gill Hodgson, of Field House Farm, Everingham, near Pocklington, was shocked to learn that only ten per cent of the flowers sold in the UK were sourced from this country – the majority coming from as far afield as Columbia and Kenya.

Now, in a bid to encourage farmers and landowners to grow flowers for cutting and to generate awareness amongst consumers Gill, with daughter Peggy, has formed a marketing co-operative – Flowers From The Farm – and is looking for members.

Gill said: “Many of the flowers we buy have clocked up thousands of air miles and can be more than a month old by the time they hit the shelves. We are all aware of the major benefits of buying food locally but somehow flowers seem to have slipped under the radar in our quest for local provenance. “The aims of Flowers From The Farm are twofold – to encourage more farmers to become growers and to put potential customers in touch with growers in their area.” [Read more...]

Filed Under: Agriculture, Environment, Fresh Flowers ·

Fields Of Watermelon Burst In China Farm Fiasco

May 18, 2011 by ·

Watermelons have been bursting by the score in eastern China after farmers gave them overdoses of growth chemicals during wet weather, creating what state media called fields of “land mines.”

About 20 farmers around Danyang city in Jiangsu province were affected, losing up to 115 acres (45 hectares) of melon, China Central Television said in an investigative report.

Prices over the past year prompted many farmers to jump into the watermelon market. All of those with exploding melons apparently were first-time users of the growth accelerator forchlorfenuron, though it has been widely available for some time, CCTV said.

Chinese regulations don’t forbid the drug, and it is allowed in the U.S. on kiwi fruit and grapes. But the report underscores how farmers in China are abusing both legal and illegal chemicals, with many farms misusing pesticides and fertilizers. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Agriculture, Fruits & Vegetables ·

The Corn Belt Debate: Crops Or Cattle?

April 13, 2011 by ·

The Department of Agriculture predicts cattle prices will rise 20 percent in 2011 over last year. But that pales in comparison to the price of corn, which has more than doubled in the past year to nearly $8 a bushel.

You might think this scenario would tempt plenty of farmers to flip their acres from cattle pasture to cropland. But it’s a tough decision that depends on much more than recent prices.

Acres That ‘Flex’

Some farmers use the term “flex acres” to describe land that can be used either to graze cattle or to grow crops like corn and soybeans.

Wearing green coveralls and a tan hat, Morse stands outside his barn watching his 17-year-old son Noah drive a feed wagon down a row of cattle while the animals feast on corn and hay. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Agriculture, Crop Protection, Livestock ·

It’s Really Time Now To Eat What We Grow And Grow What We Eat

February 21, 2011 by ·

IN January, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization announced that its food price index for December hit an all-time high, and the World Bank’s food price index increased by 15 per cent between October 2010 and January 2011.

The prices of many commodities have surged exponentially to above the peak reached in 2008. Corn is now US$290 per tonne and oil is back above US$100 per barrel. Soaring food and energy prices now pose a threat to the fledgling impetus in the recovery of the world economy.

Increased food prices could aggravate poverty in developing countries like Jamaica, increasing the risks of political and social instability. India, for example, is struggling to cope with an 18 per cent annual food inflation rate.

Another food crisis appears imminent. Finance ministers from the Group of 20 (G20) leading economies met in Paris Friday to discuss the food crisis but failed to devise a plan to address this urgent issue. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Agriculture, Food, Humanities ·

“Preserve Environment Through Natural Farming”

October 29, 2010 by ·

India should lead the world in preserving the ecology through practice of natural farming, said S. Nammalvar, a promoter of natural farming.

Addressing a seminar on “Degradation of Environment and Solutions,” organised by Tamil Nadu IAMWARM here on Wednesday, Mr. Nammalvar said that the West promoted chemical fertilizers in India to sell their produce. “In the name of green revolution, vast tract of land in the country has been rendered arid,” he said.

The country that gave hundreds of lakhs of rupees subsidy for chemical fertilizers should instead give one cow, two goat/sheep and five hens to each farmer to promote natural farming. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Agriculture, Environment ·

Mango Prices To Rise As Storm Damages Orchards

October 23, 2010 by ·

Fresh mango and related products may get pricier toward Christmas as orchards geared for off-season production suffered storm damage.

AgriNurture Inc. president and CEO Antonio Tiu said in a phone interview that exports would not be much affected by lost mango output, if at all. However, local supplies would shrink since the mango-growing regions hit by typhoon “Juan” focus on local sales of off-season mango.

“Local prices could increase toward Christmas, up to February,” Tiu said.

Tiu said AgriNurture would not be affected since it had other sources of mango. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Agriculture, Weather ·