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Mexico Sugar Output May Fall 3.1 Percent on Fertilizer Prices
Andres R. Martinez, Bloomberg
Mexico’s sugar production may drop 3.1 percent next year because drier-than-normal weather limited crop growth and farmers used fewer nutrients after the cost of fertilizer jumped to a record, an industry group said.
Output may fall to 5.35 million metric tons in the crop year ending Sept. 30, 2009, from an estimated 5.52 million tons this year, said Carlos Blackaller, president of the National Sugar Cane Growers Association. Fertilizer prices jumped 46 percent to as much as 7,000 pesos ($689) a metric ton, he said.
(13 August 2008)
Honeybee deaths reaching crisis point
Alison Benjamin, The Guardian
Britain’s honeybees have suffered catastrophic losses this year, according to a survey of the nation’s beekeepers, contributing to a shortage of honey and putting at risk the pollination of fruits and vegetables.
The survey by the British Beekeepers’ Association (BBKA) revealed that nearly one in three of the UK’s 240,000 honeybee hives did not survive this winter and spring.
The losses are higher than the one in five colonies reported dead earlier this year by the government after 10% of hives had been inspected.
The BBKA president, Tim Lovett, said he was very concerned about the findings: “Average winter bee losses due to poor weather and disease vary from between 5% and 10%, so a 30% loss is deeply worrying. This spells serious trouble for pollination services and honey producers.”…
(12 August 2008)
Fuel costs are eating farmers’ profits
Joe Napsha, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Pennsylvania)
HERMINIE, Pa. – For the last two years, cattle farmer Regina Carpenter said, she and her husband, Derwyn, absorbed the rising costs of fuel and feed, but they can no longer afford to hold the line.
“This summer is the first year we were not able to hold back on raising prices. People don’t realize how the cost of fuel has affected all farmers,” she said. The Carpenters, who raise about 45 beef cattle on 92 acres in Westmoreland County, grow the corn and hay feed for their animals.
“It’s been a huge challenge this year,” said Mark O’Neil, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, which represents 44,000 farmers and rural families. “The expenses are rising across the board, and most of the farmers have no control over the price they get” for their products unless they sell directly to consumers.
While farmers are enjoying higher prices for corn, soybeans, wheat and dairy products, “a lot of what may be perceived as profit is eaten up” by the increase in operating expenses, O’Neil said.
(10 August 2008)
Corn bonanza won’t cut food prices
Joshua Boak and Mike Hughlett, Chicago Tribune
As recently as 10 years ago a bumper crop of corn was welcome news for farmers and consumers alike. The farmers would have more bushels to sell, which would drop prices for those buying eggs, steak and turkey at the grocery store.
But in the era of ethanol even the extraordinary harvest predicted Tuesday by the government will likely provide little relief from the pressure of high prices, which hangs over growers, food producers and consumers like a scarecrow.
The Agriculture Department projected that this year’s corn crop has withstood rains and flooding to deliver a harvest of 12.3 billion bushels—573 million more than it expected last month and second in size only to last year’s harvest.
With ethanol expected to consume more than 30 percent of that harvest, the economy has embarked on a new cycle in which bumper yields instantly find new buyers, the prices stay higher and farmers face greater expenses for land and fertilizer, causing them to respond by continuing to plant more corn.
(13 August 2008)
Fertilizer, feed costs pinch dairies
Chris Churchill, Times Union (Albany, NY)
In good economic times and bad, people buy milk — because nobody pours Coca-Cola over a bowl of Cheerios.
But the upstate dairy industry is dealing not only with a glum economy, but with rising prices that are squeezing profits. Everyone knows fuel prices have climbed, but fewer realize fertilizer and feed prices also are soaring.
David Tarbox, a 49-year-old farmer in Brunswick, said he paid $215 per ton of grain one year ago, but pays $350 per ton now. Over the course of a year, the increase adds up to $35,000, leading him to cut back on the amount of grain he feeds his 85 cows.
“Everyone in this economy is having a tough time,” said Tarbox, a third-generation farmer. “A lot of times we’re having a tough time, and everybody else is cruising along. Now we’re all in the same boat.”
To be sure, the squeeze now facing the dairy industry does not compare to 2006, when record low milk prices put about 500 upstate farms out of business. But prices paid to dairy farmers generally softened in recent months, just as other costs climbed.
(29 July 2008)
Wheat residue too valuable for fuel, scientist says
Associated Press via Baltimore Sun
Times are good for wheat farmers, but they should resist the urge to harvest their crop residue and sell it for ethanol production, a federal researcher says.
Leaving wheat residue on the ground helps preserve soil, while harvesting the residue would speed erosion, said Ann Kennedy, a Department of Agriculture soil scientist.
(10 August 2008)
