Author: bigwave

October 7, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Crop Science Society of America Award

ASA, CSSA, SSSA to present awards in Pittsburgh

October 7th, 2009

The American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) will recognize the following individuals during the scientific societies’ Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh, PA, www.acsmeetings.org, on November 1-5, 2009. The annual awards are presented for outstanding contributions to education, national and international service, and research.

Recipients:  Crop Science Society of America Award

James L. Brewbaker, University of Hawaii – Seed Science Award.

James L. Brewbaker has served as a plant breeder and geneticist for the University of Hawaii Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Science since 1962. He received a Ph.D. from Cornell University in plant breeding and has served as a visiting scientist in nine countries. His research is on the genetic improvement of tropical crops, with a focus on maize and tropical leguminous trees. He also founded Hawaii’s Crop Improvement Association and Hawaii Foundation Seeds, where he serves as director.

October 5, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Money Grows Out of the Ground | The Financial Planner’s Briefcase | TheStreet.com

DECATUR, Ill. (TheStreet) — Agriculture and fair competition have had a strained relationship.

Price-fixing scandals, such as the lysine conspiracy, have marred the industry. (Lysine is a vital component of livestock feed and the subject of the new movie "The Informant.")

Regardless, the industry is growing in appeal as the world’s population expands, straining food production. More food is needed from less space as cities grow, claiming more farm land. Companies such as Archer Daniels Midland(ADM) is a big source of food, and its shares will benefit as a result. Archer Daniels has risen 37% over the past year, compared with a decline for the benchmark S&P 500 Index. Archer Daniels’ growth potential is all but guaranteed.

Still, not all food producers have risen quite like Archer Daniels. Bunge(BG) and Corn Products International(CPO) declined during the past year, while The Andersons(ANDE) is little changed. Some of the biggest players in the industry, such as Cargill, are closely held.

Global population growth stands at 1.1% a year, which doesn’t sound like much, but in reality means there will be 77 million more people every year, taxing an already stretched food supply and leaving a huge hole to fill by food producers. Food isn’t a complex industry to understand: Everyone needs it, and it’s all basically the same.

That last point gives the industry most of its character. Commodities, be they corn, grain or lysine, require hedging, which is a huge task. Archer Daniels, for example, has nearly $2 billion in derivative contracts to help guard against a decrease in price or other events that could affect profits, such as foreign-exchange risk.

Money Grows Out of the Ground | The Financial Planner’s Briefcase | Financial Articles & Investing News | TheStreet.com

October 3, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Business briefs – Hawaii Business – Starbulletin.com

star

Organic certification aid renewed

Federal funds have been renewed to assist Hawaii’s organic farmers, organic livestock operators and organic produce handlers with the cost of obtaining organic certification. The funds became available Thursday following two cooperative agreements between the state Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Organic farmers and livestock operators are required to have their farms and practices inspected annually and certified by an agent approved by the USDA. Seventy-five percent of the cost of this inspection and certification (up to a maximum of $750) is eligible for reimbursement under the Agricultural Management Assistance program authorized under the Federal Crop Insurance Act.

Business briefs – Hawaii Business – Starbulletin.com

October 3, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Council approves ban on GMO taro – The Maui News

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By MELISSA TANJI, Staff Writer

POSTED: October 3, 2009

WAILUKU – A bill prohibiting genetically modified taro in Maui County received final approval Friday by the Maui County Council.

In other council business, a bill banning alcohol at Kamaole Beach Park I received initial approval.

The taro bill prohibits anyone from testing, propagating, growing or introducing genetically engineered or modified taro, or kalo, within Maui County. Council members voted 9-0 to approve the ban, saying they believed taro’s cultural and spiritual significance to Native Hawaiians was more important than any other factor.

Mayor Charmaine Tavares said after the vote that she would support the ban.

"I will be signing the bill into law and recognize that the passage of this new law will send a message of support for state Representative Mele Carroll’s efforts to introduce and pass a bill at the state Legislature," she said in an e-mailed statement.

"The input from various stakeholders that I’ve received has been valuable," Tavares said. "I am told that this important law will bring us closer to protection of kalo on a statewide level. I support the intent of the bill and the protection of Hawaiian kalo, which deserves our respect and acknowledgment for its ancestral ties to Native Hawaiians, our host culture."

Tavares previously had expressed doubts about the bill, saying it might be difficult to enforce.

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October 2, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Hawaii Agriculture Blog now tracking DuPont (DD)

hawaii-agriculture-logo

Based on this article:

“The science-based products and services company is set for a record year, thanks to increased seeds business.”

The Hawaii Agriculture Blog is tracking EI DuPont de Nemours & Co. (DD) on it’s “Hawaii Agriculture and Related Stocks ETFs ETNs Annual Charts” Page, it’s weekly report posts of daily activity, “Hawaii and Related Agriculture Daily Charts for the week” and it’s “Comparative 200 day performance chart” page.

Please contact us if there are other indicators of the relative health of the US Agricultural industry that relate to the health of the Hawaiian Agricultural industry which should also be included here and/or any improvement on this service.

October 2, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

The bees and the trees (and tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, mac nuts…) | Hawaii 24/7

The bees and the trees (and tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, mac nuts…)

Special to Hawaii247 by Andrea Dean/Volcano Island Honey

Do you know that one-third of all the food you eat is pollinated by bees?

The decimation of bee colonies is a threat to food production in Hawaii. In Hawaii we do not have the disappearance of bees (Colony Collapse Disorder or CCD), but we now have the devastating and aptly named varroa destructor, commonly known as the varroa mite.

The varroa mite is a parasite that attacks honey bee adults, larvae, and pupae. The varroa mite has been know to destroy up to 90 percent of wild hives and beekeepers can easily lose all or a majority of their managed hives.

Until recently, Hawaii and Australia were the only remaining varroa free places in the world. The varroa mite was found on Oahu in 2007, unfortunately this did not result in quick and aggressive action by the private or government sector. As a result, the mite has now been found in hives on the Big Island.

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September 30, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Hawaii Sugarcane Report

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Here is the PDF for the Hawaii Sugarcane Report .
Please visit the website for more information: http://www.nass.usda.gov/hi/
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Contact Information:
Mark E. Hudson, Director
USDA NASS Hawaii Field Office
1421 South King Street
Honolulu, HI 96814-2512
Office: (808) 973-9588 / (800) 804-9514
Fax: (808) 973-2909
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"HAWAII SUGARCANE" reports are available on our website and also PRINTED monthly from August through December. Subscriptions for PRINTED copies are free to those persons who report agricultural data to NASS (upon request) and available for $2 per year to all others.

NASS

Maui Planting Follows Closely Behind Harvesting Click Here for Larger Image
Maui Planting Follows Closely Behind Harvesting Click Here for Larger Image
U.S. SUGARCANE
Production of sugarcane for sugar and seed is forecast at 28.0 million tons, down 4 percent from the August 1st forecast but up 1 percent from 2008. Producers intend to harvest 852,700 acres for sugar and seed during the 2009 crop season, down 10,000 acres from last month and 15,300 acres below last year. Expected yield is forecast at 32.8 tons per acre, down 0.9 ton from the previous forecast but up 1.0 ton from 2008.

NASS

September 30, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Shave Ice – The Maui News

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Shave Ice

By TOM STEVENS, For The Maui News

POSTED: September 30, 2009

Amid all the chatter and bluster of isle politics, there arise from time to time truly historic occasions. One of those is coming down on Maui next month.

On Oct. 15, the state Commission on Water Resource Management will hear closing arguments on the future of the Central Maui watershed. The 9 a.m. contested case proceeding should pack the Iao Congregational Church’s Konda Hall, so interested citizens will want to get there early. No public testimony will be taken.

To draw attention to this fateful session, a public "river walk" will be held this Friday afternoon from Iao Valley to Market Street in Wailuku. At the end of the walk, the Native Intelligence store will host water rights speakers during Wailuku’s "First Friday" festivities. Later the same day, commission staff members will travel to the Paia Community Center to seek public input from 5 to 9 p.m. on East Maui water issues.

The contested case proceeding takes as its prologue a startling "proposed decision" the commission’s hearings officer issued in April. At that time, Lawrence Miike recommended that the commission partially restore the historic flows of Central Maui’s famous "four waters" – the Waihee, Waiehu, Iao and Waikapu streams.

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