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Anxious farmers wait for dry spell: Weather delays the planting of crops, adds uncertainty to harvest yield and their livelihood Knight-Ridder Tribune | by Niesha Lofing, The Sacramento Bee, Calif | March 31, 2006 A rain-filled March has dampened the spirits and plans of many, but for area farmers who depend on specific soil content and dry days for spring planting, the ever-changing weather patterns have transcended bothersome and become a burden. From fruit farmers to wheat growers, a majority of those in the agriculture business have suffered planting delays and are facing harvest and yield uncertainty because of the wet weather plaguing the state. Teri Ueki, a flower, fruit and vegetable farmer in Auburn, has 300 tomato seedlings ready to be planted in her fields that instead are waiting impatiently in the greenhouse. "Normally, I'm fretting that they are growing too fast while we wait for the soil to warm up," she said. "This year, I'm worried that they're going to keel over, it's so overcast and cold." The planting delay - more than crop damage from harsh weather conditions - is the main concern of many, sad Dave Kranz, spokesman for the California Farm Bureau Federation. Pear and rice farmers in the Delta, lettuce growers in the Salinas Valley and cherry farmers in Lodi all have put planting on hold or fear their crops won't be ready during normal harvest periods, he said. Climate change: The rice genome to the rescue. The sequencing of the rice genome could help mitigate the impact of climate change on the world's poor Eurekalert | March 27, 2006 New evidence is emerging that climate change could reduce not only the world's ability to produce food but also international efforts to cut poverty. However, the recent sequencing of the rice genome is already providing researchers with some of the tools they need to help poor rice farmers and consumers avoid the worst effects of the problem. The new knowledge generated by the sequencing effort is allowing scientists to both develop new rice varieties faster and with the specific characteristics needed to deal with climate change, such as tolerance of higher temperatures. However, scientists are calling for more research to fully understand the impact of climate change - especially the extreme weather it may cause - on international efforts to reduce poverty and ensure food security. "One of the main problems with climate change is that the effects are felt mostly in poor underdeveloped countries because of their reliance on agriculture as one of the main drivers for national development," Dr. Ziegler said. Pinot impossible in Burgundy over next 50 years Decanter | by Kathleen Buckley and Adam Lechmere | March 27, 2006 The world is going to heat to such an extent that Burgundy may no longer be able to grow Pinot Noir, a conference heard last week. Wine character as we know it today is on the verge of radical change, world experts on global warming and vines told the first World Conference on Global Warming and Wine held in Barcelona on March 24-25. According to authoritative computer climate models, over the next 50 years Bordeaux is set to rise by 1.2C, Napa by 1.2C, Barolo 1.4C, Rioja, where water is already an issue, by 1.3C, Portugal – which is already up 2.9C over the last 50 years - by 2C. Scientists defined other regions where temperatures are already near top of the range for the grape varieties that over the past centuries of viticulture have been found to work best there. Drought is also a growing problem. These include Penedes and La Mancha in Spain, Chianti and Southern Italy, Southern France, Hunter Valley in Australia, parts of Chile and the Central Valley of California. Winter wheat crop looks ok despite weather Stratford Beacon-Herald | March 26, 2006 It looks like much of the Ontario winter wheat crop has come through the season in fairly good shape. "We get this every year," Cargill AgHorizons agronomist Pat Lynch said, referring to the anxiety surrounding the state of the crop. This year's worries were compounded by the fact that temperatures were unusually mild in January and there was a lack of snow cover over some of the growing area when things turned cold in February. Even areas that were under water for some time are starting to green up, he said. Minister softens on CAIS changes Western Producer | by Barry Wilson | March 23, 2006 Provincial agriculture ministers appear to have persuaded federal agriculture minister Chuck Strahl to back away from a dramatic Conservative party election promise to scrap the unpopular Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization program. The ministers emerged March 20 from the first federal-provincial ministers' meeting under the new national government promising to transform CAIS into something better. Gone was the campaign promise to replace. Strahl suggested that the change in wording is significant. Federal and provincial officials have been told to come to the next ministers' meeting in Newfoundland in late June with concrete proposals on how to make the program more transparent, responsive, predictable, and affordable. They are also supposed to consider how to fulfill the Conservative promise that disaster relief be separated from CAIS. Birds and flowers signal 'season creep' as spring comes earlier Canadian Press Wire | by Dennis Bueckert | March 21, 2006 The early arrival of robins and the early flowering of lilacs might gladden many hearts, but scientists aren't cheering what they call "season creep". They say global warming is causing the signals of spring to happen earlier than they used to, evidence that climate change is occurring faster than expected. Until recently, most forecasts of global warming placed the impacts 3 or 50 years in the future. But new scientific work suggests the timing of the seasons is already being disrupted, says a US report released Tuesday. Some findings are: Across the northern hemisphere, lilacs and honeysuckles have been blooming an average of six days earlier than they used to; Frogs are starting their mating season 12 days early. The myth of abundant Canadian water Innovation Canada | by David Schindler | March 21, 2006 Canadians are always told by our politicians and media that we have abundant supplies of fresh water from our lakes and rivers. But the statistics do not bear this out. The true measure of water that we can use sustainably is the annual runoff from land. If we exceed that value, our water use is unsustainable. Canada has seven percent of the world's land mass and produces seven percent of the world's terrestrial runoff. In other words, we have just an average supply of sustainable water by global standards. The western prairie provinces are the driest part of southern Canada. In the rain shadow of the Rocky Mountains, some parts receive an average of less than 350 mm of precipitation per year, less than average evaporation. The only reason that agriculture and large cities like Calgary have been able to thrive is because their shortage of precipitation has been offset by rivers and aquifers draining from the Rocky Mountains, where higher precipitation and melting glaciers supply much of the water, especially in the dry summer months when water demand on the prairies is the highest. The effects of climate warming will aggravate the freshwater problem, if droughts occur More Western drought, but with a twist New York Times | by Kirk Johnson | March 21, 2006 Spring is here, and the West is dry and ready to burn. Winter is over, and the West is snowpacked and facing flood. Meteorologists say both are true. What it adds up to, when the extremes of wet and dry are averaged out, is that the long Western drought, which began in the late 1990s, is still on but without some of its past punch. "This year the magnitude of the variability is probably greater than we've seen in as long as I can recall," said Mike Gillespie, a snow survey supervisor for the Natural Resources Conservation Service, a federal agency that monitors soil and water conditions. The Arkansas River is a case study in the region's bipolar condition. It drains the Colorado Rockies south and east toward Kansas and is socked with snow at its headwaters around the town of Leadville, where the snowpack is nearly 140 percent of average for mid-March. Just a few hours south on the river, however, are places that have not had significant precipitation since October and are setting records for drought. Drought conditions similar to Dust Bowl: Experts say conservation measures might prevent loss of topsoil in dry storms Knight Ridder Tribune | by Andy Lenderman | March 21, 2006 Weather patterns similar to what started the devastating Dust Bowl drought of the 1930s are in place today, some experts say. The Southern Plains region, which includes Eastern and Southern New Mexico, now suffer from higher temperatures and prolonged lack of rain, according to meteorologists at AccWeather.com, an online weather service. Those conditions plus current ocean temperatures point to similar weather patterns that sparked the worst drought in the history of the country. "We're seeing readings of 1 percent humidity in some areas, which is extreme," said Ken Reeves. "Blowing clouds of dust are reducing visibility in places such as Lubbock and Amarillo, Texas, to about a mile or so. To one extent or another, Texas, New Mexico, southeast Colorado, Oklahoma, and southwestern Kansas are all experiencing severe weather that is attributable to the remarkable lack of moisture we are seeing." Warm weather means new pests Ontario Farmer | March 21, 2006 Hannah Fraser figures her hob could become a lot more challenging if Ontario's climate continues to get warmer. Fraser is OMAFRA's entomology lead for horticultural crops and she spends much of her time telling farmers how to deal with creatures that like to munch on the things they grow. Much of that work is routine because crop pests - although their populations ebb and flow from one season to the next - tend to be the same year after year. It may not be that way in the future. Fraser says climate plays a critical role in the lives of insects - their ability to survive the winter, their general geographic range, the number of generations per season, and their overall numbers. If the climate keeps getting warmer, look out. Farmers are well aware of how dramatically spider mite and soybean aphid populations respond to a hot, dry summer. Local maple producers puzzled by warm weather during winter The Guardian | March 20, 2006 While many people have been enjoying this winter's warmer than normal temperatures, maple syrup producers across northeastern North America have been scratching their heads and wondering when to start tapping their trees. The spring like temperatures have meant that maple sap started to flow in early winter in many areas. Some producers had to gamble on whether or not this was the start of the season or if it was still a few months off in the normal March and April tapping season. Recent news reports indicate that a few producers in New England and central Canada have been tapping trees to catch what can only be described as an unusually early sap flow. Early sap is lighter and is used to make the more expensive syrup grades, but tap holes will usually close over about six weeks after they have been drilled. Some producers opted to tap the first runs but they took a chance of missing out on the bulk sap collection later in the season. Reassess need for nitrogen: Drought forces early pasture management changes CropWatch news Service | Bruce Anderson | March 17, 2006 Current dry soils and forecasts of continuing drought should influence when and how much fertilizer to put on pastures this spring. When deciding whether to fertilize cool-season pastures with nitrogen, consider fertilizer cost, moisture available to use the fertilizer, and when the extra growth is needed. Normally we get plenty of early spring growth without much fertilizer; additional fertilizer might just be wasted. Usually I encourage waiting until early to mid-May to fertilize brome or other cool-season grass pastures so more growth will be available for extra summer grazing. This spring, though subsoils are dry and forecasts aren't promising. Most pastures will produce less grass than normal unless we have a very wet season. Plus nitrogen prices are higher than normal. Drought may worsen in US Southwest, Plains: NOAA Reuters | by Christopher Doering | March 16, 2006 Drought that has shriveled crops and sparked fires in bone-dry forests will persist and could even worsen across the Southwest and central and southern Plains through at least June, US government forecasters said. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in its spring weather forecast that these regions, which have already seen thousands of acres go up in flames, should brace for a "significant" wildfire season in 2006 as conditions become more severe. "We need to monitor this drought situation very closely," said David Johnson. The return of La Nina, an unusual cooling of Pacific Ocean surface temperatures, which is the flip side of El Nino, could make the Atlantic tropical storm season especially dangerous. Indeed, some forecasters have already warned that the number of storms may top the record set just last year. La Nina developed during the winter and has contributed to the dryness plaguing much of the southern United States. Lack of rainfall puts area in drought Knight Ridder Tribune | by Scott Richardson | March 16, 2006 If 2005 left you thirsting for a tall, cool glass of water, no wonder. The year was the 11th driest and the 12th hottest since 1895, when accurate weather record keeping began. Temperatures statewide averaged 53.8 degrees, which is 2.1 degrees above normal. That compares with an average temperature of 55.6 in 1921, which was the hottest year on record. Temperatures in 2005 ranged from 107 degrees at Monmouth on July 25 to minus 17 below in Mount Carroll on Dec 19 during the 24th coldest December on record. But, the thermometer wasn't the big weather story in the Midwest. It was the rain gauge. The driest year on record in the state was 1901, when the state recorded just 26.32 inches of precipitation. Rainfall statewide in 2005 measured 31.5 inches compared to the normal average of 39.2 inches. That represents a 20 percent drop. The drought came as a surprise after the year started out very wet. Proper seeding times can help save crop Western Producer | by Karen Briere | March 16, 2006 Farmers in southwestern Saskatchewan should schedule seeding times properly or risk losing as much as one-fifth of their crop. Yantai Gan, a researcher at the Agriculture Canada research centre in Swift Current, Sask., told growers at a meeting here that they face yield losses of up to 20 percent if they miss optimum seeding dates. The dates were determined from 12 years of site data. The optimum dates to seed peas, canola and mustard are between April 24 and May 15, Gan said. Any later and the loss could be 20 percent. The window for planting green lentils and desi chickpeas is much smaller, at May 8 to 15. Yield losses if the window closes could be 16 percent. Many producers are looking to get on their fields as early as possible. Gan said soil temperature is the critical factor. Soil moisture watch begins Western Producer | by Ian Bell and Mary MacArthur | March 16, 2006 When he looks out across the fields in his area, Stan Moffat sees the promise of ample moisture for growing a crop this spring. His farm in southwestern Manitoba already had plenty of soil moisture going into the winter and his fields now are blanketed under snow, thanks partly to a storm that blew through his area last week. In a province where many farmers were confronted with too much moisture last year, Moffat would be content with moderate snowfall between bow and spring seeding. "We don't need a whole lot of moisture in the spring as long as we get the timely rains. It'll just make for trouble again." By contrast, Lorned Hickey has his fingers crossed that more snow will fall over the next month or two. He farms near Lethbridge, where snow has been scarce this winter and temperatures have been unusually mild. "We've had very little snow over the winter and it's melted within a few days of coming for the most part." Provincial crop and soil moisture specialists say it is too early to worry about the effects of the balmy temperatures or the snowfall that has accumulated. Alberta gives break on insurance premiums Western Producer | by Mary MacArthur | March 16, 2006 Alberta farmers will receive an additional break on their crop insurance premiums this spring. The 20 percent reduction will lower the average $8 an acre premium for crop insurance with hail coverage by about $1.60, said Merle Jacobson, vice-president of risk management with Agriculture Financial Services Corp. With growing input costs and poor prices, the department in charge of the province's crop insurance wanted to make sure crop insurance was still affordable for farmers. "It was really targeted at, with all the increased input costs, how can we make sure this is still affordable," Jacobson said. "We don't want people making the decision that they're going to take a big chance." The reduction on production insurance premiums will help make the outlook for this year's growing season a bit brighter, said Doug Horner. Il faut un couvert de neige La Terre | 16 mars 2006 Le pays a connu un hiver chaud, mais les précipitations se sont tout de même maintenues. L'hiver qui se termine a été le plus doux enregistré au pays depuis 1948. Entre décembre et février, la température a été de 3,9 degrés Celsius au-dessus de la moyenne. Cependent, le terroire canadien a reçu un tout petit peu plus de précipitations, soit 0,4% de plus que la normale. En fait, le temps étair plus sec dans l'ouest du pays, mais dans le nord du Québec, dans le sud de l'Ontario et au Nunavut, il est tombé 20% plus de précipitations. En guise d'exemple, la région de North Bay, en Ontario, a reçu 156 cm, battant le record des précipitations recues en 1942 qui était de 146 cm. Mais pour protéger les cultures, les précipitations doivent tomber sous forme de neige et demeurer au sol. Dans Les régions de la Montérégie, les cultures ont été exposées au vent et au froid pendant une bonne partie de la saison froide en plus de subir qualques périodes de dégel. Planting to begin at a disadvantage Knight Ridder Tribune | by Chris Anderson | March 15, 2006 Gary Collins could earn an easy million if he just had the answer to one question: What's the weather going to be like this summer? While the Flanagan farmer hasn't formally studied meteorology, he's an experienced weather watcher. He knows subsoil moisture remains short on his Livingston County farms. And Collins knows there's no way rainfall will make up the deficit before he heads to the field in mid-April to plant corn and soybeans. "We have a deficit of probably 14 inches. We will have to depend on timeliness of rains during the growing season. They can make or break you," said Collins. As a case in point, rain on Collin's fields near his farm equipment repair shop fell at the perfect time last year. He harvested 195-bushel-per=acre corn. Two miles away rains remained sparse and harvest yielded 150-bushel-per-acre corn. Mild Alberta winter will likely mean more insect pests, say experts CP Wire | March 13, 2006 The unseasonably mild winter in Alberta this year may have been welcomed by people who hate the cold, but it has a definite downside for gardeners foresters and caretakers of city parks and trees. Many insects that kill crops and trees or chew through gardens are kept in check by cold snaps with daily high temperatures of -30 C or less for at least seven straight days. The cold also helps stop or slow the spread of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, such as West Nile. In recent years, the mountain pine beetle, an insect not considered native to Alberta, has taken advantage of the balmy winters. Traditionally, a week of -35 to -40 weather was enough to keep the tree-boring pests from crossing the British Columbia boundary into Alberta forests. But now mountain pine beetles are destroying trees so fast that they're being likened to a "silent forest fire." Provincial foresters and Parks Canada officials in Jasper and Banff have had to resort to extreme measures to control them. The province has already cut down and burned more than 5,000 infested trees. Farmers facing drought, higher fuel prices Associated Press | by Roxana Hegeman | March 10, 2006 Jerry McReynolds was stringing wire fence at his Woodston farm with his son and his hired hand this week when a loud boom startled the men and spooked the cattle in a nearby pen. But the thunder coming from the storm just over the horizon brought no rain to his powdery, dry ground. This spring marks the sixth year of drought on their northern Kansas countryside. Across Kansas, the drought is getting worse. Parts that got rain last year are parched after the warm, dry winter. Topsoil moisture is running short to very short in 95 percent of the state. On Thursday, rains brought scattered relief. Whether they continue into this spring and summer will be key to the survival of many farmers- especially in the growing season when high energy prices are boosting costs for fertilizer, irrigation and fuel. A confluence of factors - weather, government payments, markets - are all coming together this season to create a perfect storm of sorts for the nation's farmers. In Phoenix, even cactuses wilt in clutches of record drought New York Times | by Michael Wilson | March 10, 2006 Thursday began like the 141 days before it, sunny and crisp, dust settling everywhere except on the record - set again - for the number of days without rain. Phoenix knows all about dry weather. It is a place where children are drilled throughout elementary school to conserve water, where hotels boast of covered parking areas not to protect from rain, but to offer a bit of shade. But even the desert suffers droughts, and this winter has brought a strong one, the fickle air currents pushing approaching storm clouds to the east. Until this year, the record for days without recorded rainfall was set in 2000, a measly 101 days. The recording instrument for rainfall is at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, referred to as "the bucket" by meteorologists, and drier than a Sunday morning during Prohibition. Spain Set to Invest Heavily in Irrigation Upgrade PlanetArk | March 10, 2006 Spanish ministers are about to approve a 2.3 billion Euro ($2.75 billion) plan to improve the drought-hit country's irrigation systems and save millions of gallons of water a year. Spain's Agriculture Ministry is already coordination small irrigation improvements around the country, but the new measures would go much further. Europa Press said the investment was included in the text of a law that could be passed as early as Friday and whose aim is to save water to offset the damage caused by drought. The new plan runs to 2007 and aims to save 1,162 cubic hectometres of water a year. A cubic hectometre is the amount of water that fits in a cube with 100 metre sides. That annual saving is the equivalent of around 4 percent of the water in Spain's reservoirs now, after the driest year since records began. Manitoba looks to boost wind energy The Western Producer | by Ian Bell | March 9, 2006 Manitoba farmers and rural communities could be among the big winners if the province gives the go-ahead for further wind energy development. There already is one large wind farm in Manitoba and the province recently invited private companies to submit proposals for additional developments. Most of the 63 turbines in the St. Leon, Man., project are operating and more than $350,000 is being paid annually to farmers for hosting the turbines on their land. More than $700,000 in school and property taxes are also paid each year from that development, said Beb Spensley. The project in the St. Leon area will generate almost 100 megawatts of electricity once all the turbines are operating. That is enough electricity to meet the needs of 40,000 homes. Alberta struggles to contain fusarium The Western Producer | by Ian Bell | March 9, 2006 An unwanted guest has made itself at home in the fields of southern Alberta and agricultural officials are pondering ways to keep it from visiting more farms. Fusarium head blight has been spreading in Alberta during the past three years, particularly in two of the province's southerly crop districts where irrigation is common. The pathogen of concern, Fusarium graminearum, is the same one that often plunders cereal quality and yields in Manitoba. "We've got a pretty big malt industry in Alberta and it if starts showing up in our barley fields, it could have a significant impact on our malt industry," said Alberta Agriculture pest risk management specialist Paul Laflamme. "As well, we've got a fairly large hog feeding industry in Alberta that's growing and we'd hate to see that affected," Alberta implemented a management program for Fusarium gramiearum four years ago, which included a requirement that all cereal grain intended for use as seed in that province be tested and found free of the pathogen. Tens of thousands face death in drought-hit Somalia PlanetArk | by Jack Kimball | March 9, 2006 Drought-stricken Somalia is facing a new famine on the scale of the catastrophe that killed tens of thousands of people in the early 1990s, a food security analyst said. If rains do not come, more than 10,000 people could die each month, said Nicholas Haan, chief technical advisor for the Food Security Analysis Unit. "The southern part of Somalia would be at high risk of famine conditions, high risk meaning we estimate an over 50% probability it's going to happen," Haan said. "If our high risk prediction is correct, it would be comparable to what we saw in '93 to '94 in Somalia." Tens of thousands of Somalis perished in a famine that decimated the country in the early 1990s. Rain blesses East Africa, but drought not over PlanetArk | March 8, 2006 Heavy rains from Burundi to central Kenya have drenched parched fields and flooded streets this week, but forecasters say a months-long drought that has put millions of people at risk is not over yet. While the recent rains have lifted the hopes of farmers who are rapidly planting crops, others fear flash floods could end up causing damage and know that only long, sustained rainfall will help drive the drought away. "People are asking if this is the end of the drought, but what we are saying is its effects are going to persist for a long time," Peter Embenje, assistant director of the Kenya Meteorological Department said. The UN estimates that at least 6.25 million people are in need of immediate food aid across east and central Africa because of drought, which has killed hundreds of people and left tens of thousands of head of livestock dead. Yet over the past week, from southern Burundi in central Africa to Kenya's central highlands and northern Rift Valley, heavy rains have come and even caused damage. Many thought it was an early start to the long rainy season, which usually begins in mid-March and lasts through May. USDA offers $63 million for farmers hit by hurricanes PlanetArk | March 6, 2006 The US Agriculture Department said on Friday it made $63 million available to agriculture producers in the eh Gulf of Mexico for clean-up and restoration projects following devastating hurricanes in 2005. The $63 million package is the first allocation from $200 million approved by Congress for the Emergency Conservation Program. USDA said eligible farmers may receive up to 100 percent cost-share funds for the removal of debris and restoration of fences and conservation structures. The funds are only available to producers in counties that were declared disaster areas by presidential or secretarial order. Hurricane Katrina slammed into Louisiana and Mississippi Aug 29 with winds of up to 140 mph. It was followed one month later by Hurricane Rita, which battered Louisiana and Texas. In January, USDA said it provided an additional $2.8 million in hurricane assistance, increasing its aid to more than $4.5 billion through various conservation, watershed and nutrition help. East Africa must get drought aid in days-UN PlanetArk | March 6, 2006 Aid for victims of a drought across east Africa will run out in April unless help arrives in the next 10 days, a top official of the UN food agency said on Saturday. "This is as bad as it gets. The consequences are absolutely catastrophic," said James Morris, executive director for the UN's World Food Programme. He was speaking during a visit to El Wak near Kenya's north-east border with Somalia, which is one of the areas worst affected by the drought. "We will urgently need more help in the next 10 days because it takes time to buy, ship and distribute food. It is not something you can do overnight," Morris added. Hundreds of people and tens of thousands of livestock have died from hunger and thirst across a vast region encompassing some of Africa's poorest and most arid zones. The UN estimates as many as 11 million people are at risk of starvation. UN pleads for food as drought grips Kenya The Guardian | by Inigo Gilmore | March 5, 2006 The United Nations food agency will run out of the supplies it needs to keep 3.5 million drought-stricken Kenyans alive because it has received just over a tenth of the required funding, officials said yesterday. The situation in El Wak and other parts of Kenya was 'as bad as it gets', said James Morris, executive director of the World Food Programme. 'There is just no alternative if lives are going to be saved - the world has to provide food,' he said. Dozens of people are reported to have died from hunger, and chronic malnutrition is widespread in north-eastern and eastern Kenya, but the government has not given any figures, even though it has declared the situation a famine. Do homework, then add nitrogen The Western Producer | by Barbara Duckworth | March 2 2006 Most of a farmer's fertilizer dollar should be spent on nitrogen but there are variables to consider before it ever hits the ground, says an Alberta Agriculture agronomist. Nitrogen's effectiveness depends on soil moisture, the kind of fertilizer that is used and how it is applied, Ross McKenzie told the recent Western Barley Growers Association annual meeting. The first step is to soil test. When input costs are high and commodity prices are low, soil tests can show how much fertilizer is needed. Last year's record rainfall also affected fertility needs. Water project needs gov't help The Western Producer | by Barbara Duckworth | March 2 2006 If flowing water arrived in the Special Areas of southeastern Alberta, it could bring renewed hope to an arid place where the population is nearly as sparse as rainfall. A project to divers water from the Red Deer River has been discussed for decades, but Jay Slemp believes it may actually start to happen soon providing supporters can convince the province to foot the bill. A $200 million proposal to the province would see a pump diversion system on the Red Deer River to send water through 423 kilometres of canals and existing streams at the rate of seven cubic metres per second, said Slemp. The Special Areas water project could improve about 60,000 acres, with most of the water used for livestock and some irrigation. Wheat midge in east Saskatchewan The Western Producer | by Sean Pratt | March 2 2006 The out-of-sight, out-of-mind approach to wheat midge management needs to change to an out-in-the-field-monitoring approach, says Saskatchewan Agriculture. According to the agency's 2006 forecast, there will be a resurgence in midge populations in the eastern portion of the province, an outlook that caught some farmers off guard. "I was rather surprised that (midge) was still in existence or that it potentially could be a problem," said Rod Fedoruk, a seed grower from Kamsack, Sask. He had a bout with the pest on his farm in the 1980s and grain producers in nearby communities reported heavy infestations in their fields in the 1990s, but lately nobody has been talking about the insect. It has been all but forgotten. According to Saskatchewan Agriculture, the eastern half of the province is showing a resurgence in wheat midge population. Cocoons present in soil samples collected in a 2005 fall survey show populations are back at levels considered a significant risk to wheat producers. Progress in molecular approaches to drought tolerance in crop plants ISB News Report | March 2006 Dehydration stress is one of the most serious yield-reducing stresses in agriculture. Drought stress is especially important in countries where crop agriculture is essentially rain-fed. In sub-Saharan Africa, drought years have a devastating effect on regional food security. While irrigation is the method of choice in averting drought stress in many areas of the world, alternative low-input approaches are being explored, and biotechnology offers a promising array of tools that may be useful in achieving drought tolerance in plants. One such tool is the low input approach to crop production by which crops are modified to suit the environment in which they are growing, rather than modifying the environment to meet the needs of the crop. Researchers have focused on expressing genes for enzymes involved in ROS scavenging to enhance plant protection against oxidative stress. Transgenic alfalfa expressing Mn-superoxide dismutase cDNA tended to have reduced injury from water-deficit stress, and this improvement was also seen in field trials in yield and survival. Drought traps African farmers in vicious circle Reuters | by George Obulutsa | March 1, 2006 Tanzania's food situation could worsen if the east African country experiences inadequate rainfall during the rainy season that begins this month, President Jakaya Kikwete said late on Tuesday. "The big worry we have in the government is if the long rains that are supposed to start in March fail, or will be insufficient," Kikwete said. Tanzania and neighbouring countries are experiencing a drought that threatens at least 6 million people with famine. The World Meteorological Organization, a UN agency, has warned that rain is unlikely before April. "If the rains that are falling now in the southern and northern parts of the country and other regions are insufficient, then the problem of food scarcity will become bigger than was expected," Kikwete said, adding there was sufficient food to feed those currently affected by shortages. |
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