Originally published September 16, 2024. At 500,000 twenty-pound boxes more than in 2023, the 2024 Pacific Northwest cherry season has ended in a boom. The harvest returned 19.2 million 20-ib boxes, 17.7 million of which from Washington state. This output cured fears at the start of the harvest in June that heat might again lead to a decline. The production beat both 2022’s...
Trump and Harris come up with diverse Ag plans
Originally published September 16, 2024. Ag plans are becoming the heart and soul of the November election, with Trump and Harris offering completely different plans. The two contenders filled in their agricultural policies in a mid-September 2024 questionnaire by the American Farm Bureau Federation. In the quiz, the former president champions his America-first tariff approach while the vice president calls for...
Cocoa farmers in Ghana finally attain 48,000 cedi a tonne
Originally published September 14, 2024. After much wait, cocoa farmers in Ghana have officially earned a 2024-25 seasonal price increase to 48,000 cedi ($3,062) a tonne. This 45% season-to-season increment follows an earlier announcement of an intention to improve the farm-gate rate. Arguably, the farmers will now earn 3,000 cedi ($191.40) for a 64-kg bag when dealing directly with traders. The new rate has...
Hop picking underway in the UK, Czech Republic
Originally published September 13, 2024. A lukewarm hop picking season in the UK has begun September 2024, even as a strong harvest culminates in the Czech Republic. In the UK’s case, hop gathering usually marks a celebratory tradition that began with the 16th century introduction of the hop plant, Humulus lupulus. One of the places synonymous with the harvest is Hertfordshire in south-east...
“Golden bananas” bring Thai farmers revenue
They may be fewer than the traditional kluai na mwa variety, but “golden bananas” or kluai hom thong are turning farmers’ fortunes in Thailand. A production slump in the 2023-2024 harvest has made demand override supply and occasioned market price doubling. According to the Bangkok Post, this Musa acuminata AAA group member was costing 30 baht ($0.89) a kg by September 10, 2024. The normal price is usually 15...
Prices of soy in two states in India improve
India has raised farmers’ prices of soy to a minimum support price (MSP) of 4,892 rupees ($58.26) a quintal (100 kg) in three states. The first set of states to receive this increment were Karnataka in the southwest and Maharashtra in the west of the country. But it was the September 11, 2024 MSP approval in oilseed leader Madhya Pradesh (MP) in...
Chicken productivity in China’s hinterland up courtesy AI
Silkie chicken productivity in China’s orange-rich southwestern mountainous province of Guizhou has increased by 30% thanks to AI agriculture. According to China Daily, a breeding station at Tiantaishan hamlet in Chishui is using artificial intelligence for tracking and monitoring purposes. The breeding locale is exclusive to the Silkie chicken, an atypical fluffy-feathered and crested type that originated from Asia. Though most farms...
Transfarmation Project® demonstrates “enhanced environmental control system” of vegetable greenhouse
Agriculture accounts for 10% of greenhouse emissions in the United States and 25% globally, hence the need for sustainable projects. One such is The Transfarmation Project® by Mercy for Animals, which has transformed a poultry barn into an eco-friendly vegetable greenhouse in North Carolina. Aptly, the project’s team says that “specialty-crop farming generates much less greenhouse gas than factory animal farming.” Paulomi Joshi, Demonstration Hub Project Manager...
Terra Vera launches ApiVera “to preserve bee populations”
Terra Vera has introduced ApiVera, a bee health solution to regenerate the apian sector. The launch is no departure from the company’s keynote amino acid-reliant crop management platform but an improvement of the same. Both a brand and division of the company, ApiVera seeks to improve bee colony sustainability one step at a time from New Mexico and beyond. Notably, “Api” denotes the...
Fruitbox brings Zespri kiwifruit to Kenya: “cost is less by doing direct routing”
Fruitbox Ltd. has partnered with New Zealand post-harvest operator EastPack Ltd. to supply Zespri brand kiwifruit to Kenya. This at a time when Kenya’s kiwifruit imports from mainly Chile, South Africa and New Zealand have magnified almost threefold. The imports grew from 142.7 tonnes in 2014 to 396.3 tonnes in 2022, according to ITC. Fresh from its sustainability campaign, Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing, a co-owner of Fruitbox Ltd., could strategically improve...