More young people see opportunity in farming

By Jim Mone, AP
While fresh demographic information on U.S. farmers won’t be available until after a new agricultural census is done next year, there are signs more people in their 20s and 30s are going into farming: Enrollment in university agriculture programs has increased, as has interest in farmer-training programs.

Young people are turning up at farmers markets and are blogging, tweeting and promoting their agricultural endeavors through other social media.

The young entrepreneurs typically cite two reasons for going into farming: Many find the corporate world stifling and see no point in sticking it out when there’s little job security; and demand for locally grown and organic foods has been strong enough that even in the downturn they feel confident they can sell their products.

Laura Frerichs, 31, of Hutchinson, Minn., discovered her passion for farming about a year after she graduated from college with an anthropology degree. She planned to work in economic development in Latin America and thought she ought to get some experience working on a farm.

She did stints on five farms, mostly vegetable farms, and fell in love with the work. Frerichs and her husband now have their own organic farm, and while she doesn’t expect it to make them rich, she’s confident they’ll be able to earn a living.

Wet weather bears fruit for some

THIS summer’s weather may be a let-down, but Sydneysiders can enjoy some of the lowest fruit and vegetable prices in years.

”You better believe it … I’m selling four mangoes for $5. Last year it was two for $5,” said Frank Vecchio, owner of the Wynyard Park fruit stand in Sydney’s CBD. In his 20 years of business, Mr Vecchio said he has not seen such quantities of produce at fruit and vegetable wholesale markets.

The chief executive officer of NSW Chamber of Fruit and Vegetable Industries, Colin Gray, said the oversupply was caused by a decline in consumer demand due to the recent unseasonal wet weather. Consequently, wholesale and retail prices have fallen.
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”The problem with the weather is that people are not buying as much, not enjoying barbecues with the fruit and salad bowls,” Mr Gray said.

In particular, the cooler weather has not enthused customers to buy traditional summer fruits such as mangoes, stone fruits and watermelons, according to Bill Chalk, wholesaler and partner of Southern Cross Produce.

He said wholesale prices for mangoes were $1-$2 per kilo compared with $5 per kilo last year and white peaches were $1-$1.50 per kilo, the lowest in years.

”The lower prices are a great thing for the public but it’s heartbreaking for the farmers,” said Mr Chalk,

NSW gets world’s toughest wind farm rules

PEOPLE living within two kilometres of proposed wind farms will have the right to veto them, under a NSW government proposal.

Planning and Infrastructure Minister Brad Hazzard says NSW remains committed to being part of the Federal Government’s 20 per cent renewable energy target by 2020, despite proposing what he has described as the world’s toughest wind-farm guidelines.

Under the proposal, a company wanting to set up a wind farm in an area where landowner consent has not been given will have to go to an independent regional planning panel if there is community opposition. ”That means 100 per cent of neighbours have to be happy within that two-kilometre zone,” Mr Hazzard told reporters in Sydney.

Mr Hazzard said he hoped the idea would find a balance between residents living near wind turbines and supporters of renewable energy.

”Today I am announcing that the NSW coalition government is putting out for public discussion some of the toughest wind-farm guidelines in the country, possibly the world,” he said.

The Victorian coalition government this year gave residents within a two-kilometre radius a right of veto over wind turbines.

But Mr Hazzard said the NSW proposal was different to Victoria’s and that wind-farm proponents would get a bigger say.

Major Airport Project Looms For Maui

HONOLULU — The state Department of Transportation is studying different plans to comprehensively rebuild Kahului Airport’s aging main runway, which was built in 1942.

The runway was constructed during World War II to support military aircraft, long before the era of jumbo jets.

“Over the years, as the aircrafts have become larger, and as Maui has grown and there’s more airlift in and out of Maui, that the wear and tear has kind of taken its toll,” said State Senate President Shan Tsutsui, who represents Kahului and Wailuku in the State Senate.

The state spent $3.4 million repaving the main runway on Maui in 2006 and another $1.3 million since in maintenance and repairs.

“The amount of money that we’ve needed to maintain that runway has slowly been increasing. And so we recognize the situation,” said Dan Meisenzahl, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.

The Federal Aviation Administration has told the state that the Band-Aid approach won’t work anymore. FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said the FAA notified the state, saying, “We consider this type of repair to be maintenance and it is not eligible for federal Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding.”

But, Gregor said, the feds could pay up to 75 percent of the cost of a comprehensive rebuilding of the runway.

The state is looking at a number of options, the least popular of which would be to close down the main runway for a month or so, to repave it, Meisenzahl said.

“We wouldn’t want to shut down the airport for any period of time, because it would have a significant impact on the economy — not just the visitor industry, but for businesses, residents as well,” Tsutsui said.

Farmers worried as Indonesia plans to cut beef imports

AUSTRALIAN cattle farmers fear a plan by Indonesia to drastically cut the amount of beef it imports next year will be a massive blow to the domestic industry.

Indonesia will only allow for 280,000 cows to be imported, down from 520,000 permits this year. Live exports to Indonesia are believed to be worth $300 million to Australian farmers.
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Indonesia will also limit the boxed beef it buys from overseas to 34,000 tonnes. Last year, Australia exported 48,500 tonnes of boxed beef to Indonesia.

Indonesia has indicated it wants to be self-sufficient in beef by 2014.

The Cattle Council of Australia president, Andrew Ogilvie, said Indonesia’s decision had dealt the industry a huge blow.

”Industry is pretty disappointed that there has been a reduction but we recognise Indonesia’s determination for self-sufficiency,” he said.

Mr Ogilvie said he did not believe the decision was in retaliation to Australia’s suspension of trade in June.

The live cattle trade was suspended by the Australian government for a month this year after the ABC’s Four Corners program sparked animal welfare concerns. The trade was later reinstated.

The Australian Live Exporters Council chief executive, Lach McKinnon, told the ABC any drop in exports would be massive blow to the cattle industry in the northern states.

”It’ll put us under a lot of pressure and we’ll have to work very hard to get through this,” he said.

”It’s like any of these particular trade issues – it’s about government to government and working through what it is both parties want to get.”

This month the Labor Party’s national conference rejected a push to phase out live cattle exports altogether.

Cold puts cloud over summer’s fruit crops

While Sydneysiders have been grumbling about the cold start to summer and constantly overcast days, farmers on the central and mid-north coast are also being affected by the gloomy skies, which they say has stunted summer fruit production.

“It’s hard to grow things without sunshine,” said chairman of the Central Coast Horticulture branch of the NSW Farmers Association, Timothy Kemp.

“The amount of consistent cloudy days we have had, especially during flowering, has had a huge impact – it is no good for summer fruit, particularly stone fruit and avocado.”
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He estimates “at least” a 50 per cent downturn in produce from the region.

“The production of nectarines and peaches has slowed right down, and the stone fruit season is staring to wind up so it’s too late for the sun to come out now.”

Robyn and Henry Willner have grown and sold avocados at Bobs Farm at Port Stephen’s for about 10 years, but said they could not remember a season this overcast and wet.

“We’re bracing ourselves for a decline in fruit production next season,” Mrs Willner said.

“Because there is no sun, the bees haven’t been coming out to pollinate the blossoms on our trees.

“Next year, we’ll see the impact of what the cold and wet weather has really done to us.”

Adding to the farmers’ woes is that people have been slow to buy the fruit that is available, Mr Kemp said.

“People aren’t eating it, no one wants to eat fruit when it is cool,” he said.

New Agriculture Leader Selected After Short Search

HONOLULU — A state organization that oversees thousands of acres of prime agricultural land and millions in income from agricultural leases spent just a little over a week in a low-key search for a new leader.

In the end, there was only one choice for the future of Hawaii’s agribusiness.

Starting in January, Jimmy Nakatani will lead the Agribusiness Development Corp., a state organization that provides water, land and infrastructure resources for island farmers.

“What we’re trying to do is protect land and water, so people have the ability to farm,” said ADC board member David Rietow.

The important group also provides resources for innovative agricultural projects and connects those growing crops with state lawmakers.

It is an important industry, so some might think there would have been many candidates wanting to fill the key leadership role.

But there was only one candidate — Mr. Nakatani.

“Having only one candidate and no other choices is a problem for me,” said Rietow.

No other candidates came forward during the time the job was posted. But there were no listings in the statewide newspaper or any press releases announcing the vacancy. The job was only listed on the Department of Agriculture website for just over a week.

“It was nine days, and the legal requirement was six. So we did extend it beyond the legal limit,” said Department of Agriculture Chairman Russell Kokubun.

But the outgoing executive director, Alfredo Lee, said when he applied, the process took months and involved interviews with a number of candidates.

Lee, who led the ADC for 11 years, said he resigned last month only because he was forced out. The reason was the board wanted someone else.

Alexander & Baldwin to split into two separate companies

Alexander & Baldwin Inc. said today its board of directors has approved a plan to split the company into two separate companies, one focusing on real estate and agriculture and the other on shipping.

The two companies would be independent and publicly traded, the company said in a news release.

Under the plan, A&B shareholders will own one share of both A&B and Matson stock for each share of company stock owned. The separation is expected to be completed in the second half of 2012.

The announcement was made after the market closed. A&B’s shares rose $1.50 to $39.56 in after hours trading.

“Over the past decade, Alexander & Baldwin’s board of directors and management have periodically conducted strategic reviews, including an evaluation of the merits of separating into two companies,” said Walter Dods, A&B’s chairman. “After thorough evaluation, we have concluded that the increased size, capabilities and financial strength of both our land and transportation businesses now enable these operations to independently execute their strategies to maximize shareholder value.”

Honolulu-based A&B has grown substantially over the past decade. Its commercial real estate portfolio has increased by almost 50 percent to its present size of 7.9 million square feet, comprising 44 properties in Hawaii and eight mainland states. The portfolio of commercial properties generates a significant and stable source of cash flow for the company, and is an important source of capital for A&B’s real estate investment and development activity.