Tag: drought

August 3, 2010 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Drought Strains Russian Wheat Supplies

Wheat prices in Europe reached a two-year high this week after Russian officials announced that extreme heat and drought had decimated roughly 20 percent of the country’s winter crop. Prices retreated slightly after the country’s Agriculture Ministry said that Russia, the world’s third-largest wheat exporter, would use its stocks to maintain exports.

Despite the reassurances, financial markets remained concerned that the wheat losses could be higher than projected, The Financial Times reported. Meteorological reports indicate that hot, dry weather in Russia will continue until mid-August.

Poor growing weather has also stunted wheat harvests in other countries, including Canada, where unusually heavy rains will reduce yields by about 17 percent. Ukraine faces an even more severe grain shortage after a growing season marked by drought and floods, leading government officials to impose a wheat export ban. Meanwhile, hot, dry weather in Western Europe is expected to reduce production of a wide swath of food commodities.

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July 26, 2010 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Dry conditions leave isle farms parched

Michelle Galimba has been moving her livestock across her 10,000-acre Kuahiwi Ranch to higher elevation in Kau on the Big Island in hopes of finding better pastures during a drought that is causing her business and others hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses.

“It’s pretty severe,” she said. “I’d say half of the pastures on our ranch is unusable or going to be unusable very shortly.

“They’re literally turning to dust. The soil’s drying up and blowing away.”

Galimba said South Point received 1.76 inches of rain from January through mid-July, compared with its usual 12 inches.

The National Weather Service said 2010 is bringing the worst drought on record for ranchers and farmers in some parts of the state, including Kau.

“If they don’t have more rainfall at a higher rate in the second half, it could be the driest year on record,” said Kevin Kodama, senior hydrologist for the National Weather Service in Honolulu.

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July 22, 2010 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Deadly Nightshades

By Glenn I. Teves, County Extension Agent, UH College of Tropical Agriculture

The recent deaths of horses, mules and cattle on the island believed to be caused by consuming poisonous plants mixed in hay brings attention to the many poisonous plants we have on the island. The most obvious suspect is one of the deadly nightshades, Jimson Weed or Datura stramonium, seen throughout Ho`olehua. It is known by many names, including Stink Weed, Devil’s Apple, Thorn Apple, and Moonflower. This plant resembles the Apple of Peru, Nycandra physalodes, a common weed in Ho`olehua, and one in which animals eat without any negative effects. It has a similar flower and leaf shape, which could cause animals to eat Jimson Weed by mistake.

A member of the tomato family, or Solanaceae, the poisonous nightshades caused edible members of this family, especially tomatoes, to be viewed for generations with apprehension because people thought they were poisonous. Jimson weed or Jamestown Weed has a reputation that goes back centuries. Its scientific name, stramonium, means ‘mad nightshade’ due to its reputation for making people delirious or mad.

Its common name originated from Jamestown, Virginia where, in 1676, the British were sent to crush a rebellion, called the Bacon’s Rebellion. The British made a boiled salad from the Jimson Weed leaves, and were delirious for 11 days. When they came to their senses, they couldn’t remember a thing.

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July 19, 2010 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Agricultural disaster declared in 4 Hawaii counties – Hawaii News – Staradvertiser.com

Federal agricultural secretary Thomas Vilsack has designated all four Hawaii counties as agricultural disaster areas because of financial losses from the drought.

The declaration, issued last week, makes farm operators and producers in the counties eligible applicants for supplemental assistance and emergency loans from the Farm Service Agency, Congresswoman Mazie Hirono said today.

Farmers have eight months from the declaration date of July 14 to apply for emergency help.

Island ranchers may apply for the Livestock Indemnity Program for producer losses.

Agricultural
disaster declared in 4 Hawaii counties – Hawaii News –
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June 13, 2010 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Na Wai Eha: Decision in but dispute lingers (1 of 2) – The Maui News

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PUUNENE – Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. General Manager Chris Benjamin characterized last week’s long-awaited state decision on Na Wai Eha stream waters as a reprieve, rather than a victory, for the plantation struggling for survival.

On Thursday, the state Commission on Water Resource Management ordered 12.5 million gallons of water per day to no longer be diverted from West Maui Mountain streams, also called Na Wai Eha, or the "Four Great Streams."

That amount to be returned was only about a third of what had been proposed by Dr. Lawrence Miike, a commissioner and the contested hearings officer for the ongoing water dispute.

"I would say that the commission’s decision is nuanced," Benjamin said. "I would not use the word ‘victory.’ The reality is we still lost a significant amount of water for a plantation that lost $45 million over the last couple years because of low crop yields (due to drought conditions).

"It’s a setback in that respect, but relative to the initial recommendation, it’s a dramatic improvement," Benjamin said. "In the long term, at least this gives us hope when we’re just trying to stay in business."

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June 5, 2010 General Ag News and Notes 1 Comment

Hawaii is nation’s driest state – Star Bulletin

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Next month will mark a year of "extreme drought" conditions, and Hawaii has become the driest state in the nation, according to the National Weather Service.

Below-normal rainfall is expected for the remainder of the summer, the National Weather Service says.

Most of the state is ranked between abnormally dry (D-1) and exceptionally dry (D-4), the weather service said.

Hawaii was last drought-free April 15, 2008, according to a drought information statement issued yesterday. "The ongoing episode of extreme drought began nearly a year ago on July 27, 2009," the statement said.

Jim Weyman, metorologist-in-charge of the Honolulu Forecast Office, said, "Hawaii is the only location with D4 (exceptional drought) or D3 (extreme drought) at this time. We’re the driest location in the entire United States."

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May 23, 2010 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Birds steer clear of arid Maui coast – The Maui News

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Ae'o at Kealia Pond
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During a good winter, when water levels remain high at the Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge, 120 or more endangered Hawaiian coot nests have been counted at the coastal wetland.

This year, with the leeward side of Maui suffering extreme drought conditions, only a handful of nests were found at the north Kihei pond, according to refuge Manager Glynnis Nakai.

Low water levels also discouraged nesting by endangered Hawaiian stilts, she said.

There’s no telling whether the drought will have a long-term impact on native bird populations.

"We can only hope that they are traveling to Kanaha Pond or other islands where there is sufficient habitat," Nakai said.

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January 26, 2010 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Hawaii’s dry spell predicted to linger through May | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Even the wettest spot in Hawai’i — Mount Wai’ale’ale — wasn’t so wet last year as the state experienced below-normal rainfall in all but a few spots.

Rain gauges at the Kaua’i mountaintop measured 308 inches in 2009, 73 percent of normal levels, and a scant 3 inches in December, only 7 percent of normal. It was Mount Wai’ale’ale’s third-driest December on record, according to National Weather Service data.

In Honolulu, only the O’ahu Forest National Wildlife Refuge experienced above-normal rainfall in 2009 — 214 inches. Totals for most sites in central and west O’ahu were less than 50 percent of their annual averages.

The December rainfall numbers were even worse, with most O’ahu gauges measuring a third or less of normal rainfall averages, a trend that has continued into the new year.

The U.S. Drought Monitor reports that 99 percent of the state is experiencing "abnormally dry" or worse conditions, compared with 37 percent at the same time last year. More than a third of the state is suffering "severe to exceptional" drought.

On Maui and the Big Island, the U.S. Department of Agriculture last month designated the two counties as natural disaster areas so farmers could seek relief for crop losses.

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December 12, 2009 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Drought puts Big Isle and Maui on federal disaster list – Hawaii News – Starbulletin.com

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By Helen Altonn

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Dec 12, 2009

Hawaii and Maui counties have been designated primary natural disaster areas because of losses caused by drought this year, U.S. Department of Agriculture officials announced.

"President Obama and I understand these conditions caused severe damage to these areas and serious harm to farms in Hawaii, and we want to help," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "This action will provide help to hundreds of farmers who suffered significant production losses to warm season grasses."

Some parts of Hawaii had a lot of rain the past month, but it fell mainly in places that do not have serious drought conditions, says Kevin Kodama, senior service hydrologist at the Honolulu Forecast Office.

DROUGHT IN THE ISLANDS

Hawaii County
» Extreme drought: South Kohala
» Severe drought: Kau, North and South Kona
» Moderate drought: Lower Kona slopes (Honaunau to Kalaoa)

Maui County
» Severe drought: Central and West Maui, West Molokai
» Moderate drought: East Molokai, Lanai

Source: National Weather Service

Portions of the Big Island did not receive much rain, and they are still hurting from drought, said the National Weather Service meteorologist.

Hawaii’s wet season is from October through April, but Kodama and Jim Weyman, meteorologist-in-charge of the Honolulu Forecast Office, said in October it would be drier-than-normal from mid-December through April because of El Nino conditions.

An El Nino is a weather phenomenon in the equatorial Pacific with unusually warm sea surface temperatures that affect climate worldwide.

The Big Island’s South Kohala district had the sixth consecutive month of extreme drought in November, Kodama said. Some improvement occurred with rain in the early part of the month — from extreme drought to severe drought, he said.

Then it got windy, and farm agents said the winds "dried things out quick," Kodama said.

That window of opportunity to pull out of the drought is closing, he said.

Climate models have been pretty consistent in predicting drier-than-nomal conditions through the spring, Kodama said.

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