CROP FAILURES, FOOD SHORTAGES, WATER SHORTAGES

Climate change, drought, heat, wildfires page.

International Weather and Crop Summary - weekly

FISH DIE-OFF & Red tide page.



Global water stress map

2007 -
WATER SHORTAGES -
8/26/07 -
TURKEY - Ankara, Turkey's capital and home to more than 4.5 million people, has been in the grips of a serious water shortage for the last three weeks. On August 1, the director general of the State Hydraulic Works announced that Ankara had enough water for just 78 days and that the water level in the city’s reservoirs had fallen to 5.5 percent of capacity, down from last year’s 23 percent. At the time of writing, the level in the reservoirs is a meagre 3.5 percent of capacity, which corresponds to a water supply of fewer than two months. “Temperatures all across Turkey will be two to four degrees higher than average in the period between August and October.” This means that evaporation of existing water stocks will continue unabated. Although not as acute as Ankara's, Istanbul has also a water shortage problem. In general, Turkey has been experiencing a dramatic decline in the level of its fresh-water supply. The newspapers are full of pictures of arid, cracked soil, accompanied by gloomy reports of the drying up of a river, lake or reservoir. Water shortages have already taken their toll on agricultural production across the country. The media is full of reports about water shortages adversely affecting the production of wheat, olives and olive oil, figs, grapes, sunflowers and sunflower oil, and cotton. As a result, food prices may increase substantially in the near future. The water shortages are also affecting the generation of electricity in the country. A massive water shortage is expected to hit Turkey after 2050.

EGYPT - Egyptians have begun mass demonstrations, demanding that the Cairo government intervene to end their critical drinking water shortage. In some areas in Cairo drinking water has been cut off for over a week and even over a month in one particular vicinity. The shortage threatens to ruin over 404 hectares (1,000 acres) of farmland.

GREECE - Water shortages have hit much of Greece, particularly the Aegean islands, at the height of the summer tourist season.

BULGARIA - There is a water shortage in about 600 small towns and villages in Bulgaria. If the dry weather continues, incidents of water shortage may reach 800.

PHILIPPINES - Extracting water from the atmosphere won't produce substantial supply to address the water shortage in Metro Cebu. Harvesting water from the atmosphere is already being practiced by other tropical countries, but the technique has not produced enough water supply.

KENYA - An acute water shortage has hit Mombasa town and its environs in the past two weeks.

AUSTRALIA - Following 10 years of drought nearly every Australian city will be forced to find new water supplies during the next decade.

CROP FAILURE / FOOD SHORTAGES -
8/31/07 -
LOOMING FOOD CRISIS - the surge in demand for agrofuels such as ethanol is hitting the poor and the environment. A "perfect storm" of ecological and social factors appears to be gathering force, threatening vast numbers of people with food shortages and price rises. The era of cheap food is over. World commodity prices of sugar, milk and cocoa have all surged, prompting the BIGGEST INCREASE IN RETAIL FOOD PRICES IN THREE DECADES in some countries. "Meat, too, will cost more because chicken and pigs are fed largely on grain." The world price [of maize] has doubled. 850m people around the world are already undernourished. There will soon be more because the price of food aid has increased 20% in just a year. In the US, where nearly 40 million people are below the official poverty line, the Department of Agriculture recently predicted a 10% rise in the price of chicken. The prices of bread, beef, eggs and milk rose 7.5 % in July, the HIGHEST MONTHLY RISE IN 25 YEARS. Reports suggest that one-third of ocean fisheries are in collapse, two-thirds will be in collapse by 2025, and all major ocean fisheries may be virtually gone by 2048. 15% of the world's present food supplies, on which 160 million people depend, are being grown with water drawn from rapidly depleting underground sources or from rivers that are drying up. In large areas of China and India, the water table has fallen catastrophically. In Britain, the recent floods will result in a shortage of vegetables such as potatoes and peas, and cereals such as wheat. This comes on top of a 4.9% rise in food prices in the year to May and a 9.6% hike in vegetable prices. Rain-dependent agriculture could be cut in half by 2020 as a result of climate change. "Anything even close to a 50% reduction in yields would obviously pose huge problems." "The competition for grain between the world's 800 million motorists, who want to maintain their mobility, and its two billion poorest people, who are simply trying to survive, is emerging as an epic issue." It is not going to get any better. The UN's World Food Organisation predicts that demand for biofuels will grow by 170% in the next three years. A separate report from the OECD, the club of the world's 30 richest countries, suggested food-price rises of between 20% and 50% over the next decade. This time last year, there were fewer than 100 ethanol plants in the whole United States, with a combined production capacity of 5bn gallons. There are now at least 50 more new plants being built and over 300 more are planned. If even half of them are finished, they will help to rewrite the politics of global food.

With the world population growth outpacing food supply, say goodbye to the era of unlimited improvement. The last time a British summer was this rain-soaked was in 1789. The consequences of excessive rainfall in the late 18th century were predictable. Crops would fail, the harvest would be dismal, food prices would rise and some people would starve. It was no coincidence that the French Revolution broke out the same year. The question is whether we could now be approaching a new era of misery. The United Nations expects the world's population to pass the 9 billion mark by 2050. But can world food production keep pace? Plant physiologists have estimated that "we must reach an average yield of 4 tons per hectare to support a population of 8 billion." Yields now are just 3 tons per hectare, and a world of 8 billion people may be less than 20 years away. Meanwhile, forces are conspiring to put a ceiling on food production. Global warming and the resulting climate change may well be increasing the incidence of extreme weather events, as well as inflicting permanent damage on some farming regions. At the same time, our effort to slow global warming by switching from fossil fuels to biofuels is taking large tracts of land out of food production. World per capita cereal production has already passed its peak - in the mid-1980s - not least because of collapsing production in the former Soviet Union and sub-Saharan Africa. Meanwhile, rising incomes in Asia are causing a worldwide surge in food demand. The International Monetary Fund recorded a 23% rise in world food prices during the last 18 months. Of course, we're not supposed to notice that prices are going up. In the U.S., the monetary authorities insist that we should focus on the "core" consumer price index, which excludes the cost of food and fuel, and has the annual U.S. inflation rate at just 2.2%. But food inflation is roughly double that.

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WHEAT - Traders are paying RECORD PRICES for wheat on world markets, thanks in part to shortages caused by a mix of drought and flooding. Canada, the second-biggest wheat producer after the U.S., looks set to harvest its SMALLEST CROP IN FIVE YEARS, due to an unusually dry July, while production in the European Union may be down nearly 40% from last year after flooding rains followed long droughts. Growing global demand for biofuels is also eating up grain production, and boosting prices. Global inventories of wheat — which makes up one-fifth of the world's food intake — are expected to fall to THEIR LOWEST LEVEL IN 26 YEARS. And, if the world warms as expected over the coming decades, the terrible farming year of 2007 may be just the beginning. As temperatures rise, many studies predict that crop yields will decline, as the extreme droughts and floods that damaged this year's wheat crops become more common. The temperature increase that occurred between 1981 and 2002 reduced major cereal crop yields by an annual average of 40 million metric tons — losses worth $5 billion a year. Those losses are sobering, but nothing compared to what might be in store: A recent study forecast a 51% decline in India's wheat-growing land, potentially leaving hundreds of millions hungry. And, last week, China's top meteorological official warned that global warming could cut the nation's grain harvest by 5 to 10% by 2030. The effects of prolonged drought can already be seen in Australia, where consistently dry weather ravaged last year's wheat crop, and threatens to do the same this year. Flooding can destroy entire fields in a single day, and over time can lead to soil erosion and loss, permanently crippling once fertile land.

MEAT & WHEAT - Meat prices are set to increase as farmers pass on the burden of surging costs. With wheat prices rising, animal feed costs have almost doubled for farmers. Price rises are vital for an industry at "breaking point" after the recent foot-and-mouth scare and floods had taken their toll. The warning comes days after consumers were told to prepare for rising BREAD prices as WHEAT COSTS HIT RECORDS. Bad weather in key grain growing areas such as Canada and parts of Europe has limited supplies as demand has risen, sparking fears of a grain shortfall.

LIVESTOCK - Increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are changing the pastoral landscape around the world, turning grasslands into shrublands unsuitable as grazing grounds for domestic livestock.

CORN - NORTH CAROLINA - drought has reduced the 2007 crop in North Carolina to a third fewer bushels an acre than in the 2006 harvest.
CORN - MICHIGAN - drought is hurting corn farmers as ground conditions range from abnormally dry to extreme drought, with virtually no region unaffected.

OLIVES - GREECE - Wildfires have devastated Greek olive groves.

GRAPES - ITALY - growers are rushing to harvest the grapes which have ripened a month early.
WINE - EUROPE - the unusual position of the jet stream, which caused last month's freak weather, has devastated some of Europe's best-known wine regions.
GRAPES - INDIA - Grape cultivation dwindles in Coimbatore. Unexpected drought and unseasonal rains hit the area damaging this expensive cultivation and entrapping farmers in debt.

ONIONS - INDIA - standing crops on 3,000 acres were reported damaged due to the rain that lashed Kurnool city and surrounding areas on Wednesday night. Onion farmers in Orvakal suffered huge losses as the crop was about to be harvested in a few days.

PALM OIL - MALAYSIA - the world's top producer of palm oil, said that heavy flooding will cause 2007 output to fall.

STRAWBERRIES - AUSTRALIA - Heavy rain has severely damaged some fields.

SUGAR CANE - AUSTRALIA - Extreme weather conditions on the New South Wales north coast during the past six weeks have made it one of the worst crushing seasons for local cane.

COTTON - TURKEY - Severe drought has hit Turkey and water shortage has hit cotton cultivation.

PEANUTS - SOUTH GEORGIA - the peanut crop is threatened by record heat wwhich could be baking the crop in the ground.

PEACHES are in rare supply in the southern U.S. as the budding fruits became vulnerable to cold weather when they bloomed too early during an unusually warm March.

COAL is at record price as supply dips, rain hinders output in Indonesia, Chinese exports drop and Japan's demand increases.

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CANADA - BERRY shortage in Northern Ontario sends bear encounters soaring as bears come looking for food. Reports of nuisance bears normally drop off in June when natural food sources flourish.

WASHINGTON - HUCKLEBERRY shortage may force bears into campgrounds - A shortage of berries forces bears to look for new berry patches or other food sources.

UTAH - 24 counties have been designated as primary natural disaster areas. To receive a primary disaster declaration, a county must have incurred a production loss of at least 30 percent. The state's remaining five counties have been declared contiguous disaster areas. Contiguous areas must be surrounded by impacted counties. In addition to record wildfires and severe drought, the 24 counties have suffered from insect infestations, killing frosts, hot dry winds and flash flooding. Most ranchers said in a recent survey that they expected little help after record wildfires that have blackened more than 700,000 acres. They reported destroyed water systems, fences and outbuildings, and problems with finding money to buy hay for thousands of displaced cattle.
UTAH - a mercurial weather pattern has wreaked havoc on the state's crops this season. It has been a topsy-turvy season for the berry crop in Utah.

MINNESOTA - The effects of flooding in southeastern Minnesota are reaching far beyond the flooded area into urban areas where people contract with farmers for their supply of vegetables through community-supported agriculture programs. The programs have been billed as a way to save the family farm by linking farmers and customers who pay in advance in the spring to get vegetables each week during the growing season. The flooding provides a stark reminder that the customers share the risks of farming. Their weekly boxes of produce swell with the farm's fortunes or can get washed away. More than 1,200 U.S. farms participate in the programs, including many farms in Minnesota and Wisconsin where recent flooding has hurt crops.
Several recent thunderstorms have eased the drought conditions being faced by area farmers, but they have caused another problem - knocked-down corn.

WISCONSIN - Flooding has devastated organic farms.

TENNESSEE - While most of the South is in a period of prolonged drought, that drought has hit "extreme" levels in middle and western Tennessee, destroying crops and closing farmer's markets.

KENTUCKY - The current drought has taken a toll on Kentucky's projected crop yields.

OHIO - "This is absolutely the worst drought I've ever seen." All kinds of crops,including corn and beans, are suffering.

INDIANA - The Indiana State Beekeepers Association is alerting residents to the possibility of a honey shortage because of the nationwide bee die-off. The honeybee shorage is impacting the food supply.

TEXAS - Too much rain is hurting Texas crops, slowing harvests.

FLORIDA - Drought has caused $100 million in crop damage and economic losses to Florida and the figure could rise tenfold.

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SOUTHEAST ASIA has been hit by floods and landslides affecting more than 28 million people, who face "serious" threats of food shortage.

INDONESIA - Elephant rage claims dozens of lives in Indonesian villages - "The deforestation has reduced their habitat and, as a result, they've suffered a food shortage." They have come hunting for food in the villages.

VIETNAM - About one million people face food shortages in central Vietnam until the rice harvest early next year after the worst floods in decades.

CAMBODIA - More than 19000 hectares of rice paddies in the north-east of Cambodia have been submerged under flood waters for over a week.

BANGLADESH - Rice crops and vegetables on an area of about 100,000 hectares have been totally damaged by the onrushing flood waters.

CHINA - drought has hit about 11 million hectares of arable land and crops in China so far this year, 1.7 million hectares more than last year. Floods have damaged or destroyed more crops.
CHINA - Typhoon Sepat inundated 5920 hectares of crops.
Chinese farming experts are considering planting potatoes instead of rice and wheat as a way to beat crippling drought each year.

TAIWAN - High vegetable and fruit prices in Taipei City caused by Typhoon Sepat's heavy rain are expected to continue for three weeks.

PHILIPPINES - Drought causes heavy crop loss - Two municipalities suffered damage to corn crops estimated at P67 million as a result of the drought.

NEPAL - Food shortage has affected the remote VDCs of Baglung district including Rajkut, Devisthan, Darling and Nisi for the past two months due to recent flash floods and landslides. 42 of the country's 75 districts are threatened by food deficits.

PAKISTAN - an unexpected heavy spell of rain resulted in an acute shortage of vegetables, propelling its prices to increase.

TURKEY - In western Turkey, where the lakes are drying up and the blazing sun burns the crops, a 10-month-long drought has ravaged farming.

BULGARIA is seeking to import up to 1 million tons of corn after heat waves and floods sharply cut the country's annual grain crop.

EGYPT - Now that the country is facing a wheat shortage, parliamentarians are worried that cheap bread for the poor may become even more scarce.

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Freak weather across Europe has already pushed up the cost of wheat and hence staples like bread and pasta. Cheese and milk prices also soared last month. Indeed, there has been talk of milk riots on the Continent, particularly in Germany, where the price is to rise by 50 per cent because of a global shortage.

BRITAIN - Heavy rain has helped sclerotinia to germinate two weeks earlier. Overall the risk to main crop carrots from this disease is high this year.
BRITAIN - Experts believe the unpredictable weather may lead to the shortest summer on record for fruit growers - 'confused' fruit thinks it's already autumn.
BRITAIN - Farmers' livelihoods have been devastated across the UK by the June and July deluges. The effect on flooded farms was "phenomenal in terms of productivity". The public will feel the pinch and see gaps on their supermarket shelves until at least next April. "I don't want to exaggerate the problem we've got, but if I say it's a crisis, I'll be telling it exactly like it is. We're only cropping 15 to 20% of what we should be." Among the crops worst hit are potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and peas.

RUSSIA - A state of emergency was introduced in the Rostov region due to crop failure resulting from drought.

PERU - The Peru Earthquake will cut agricultural & textile exports in August.

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SOUTHERN AFRICA - severe natural disasters in Swaziland, Lesotho and Mozambique have worsened the food shortage crises in Southern Africa.

LESOTHO - drought will further worsen the already precarious situation of acute poverty and food security in Lesotho.

ZIMBABWE is suffering nationwide food shortages because of drought and what critics say are years of misguided government policies.
ZIMBABWE - was warning of a bad wheat crop. An electricity shortage prevented farmers from irrigating the crop.

UGANDA - Food shortage is fueling prostitution in IDP camps - Lack of food has exposed internally displaced people and refugees in camps, especially women and children, to high risk of contracting HIV/Aids.

GAMBIA - Kuntaur, in the Central River Region, which is one of the villages known for its rice production, has been hit by a serious water shortage for two weeks.

NAMIBIA - Small stock farmers in southern Namibia fear losing their animals due to lack of water as most earth dams have run dry.

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NEW ZEALAND - Overall, food prices have risen 1.2% in over the month - a 3.4% increase on last year. Driving the increase is a worldwide milk shortage.

AUSTRALIA - Drought catastrophe stalks Australia's food bowl - "It's on a knife edge and if it doesn't rain in the next couple of weeks it's going to be very ugly. People will be walking off the land, going broke." Australia's Murray-Darling river basin is a vast plain bigger than France and Germany, home to 2 million people and in good times the source of almost half the nation's fruit and cereal crop. But years of drought, which some blame on global warming, have savagely depleted the huge dams built 60 years ago to hold the snow melt from the Australian alps and push it hundreds of kilometres inland to the parched west for farm irrigation. The Murray-Darling normally provides 90 percent of Australia's irrigated crops and $18.1 billion worth of agricultural exports to Asia and the Middle East. But with some crops now just 10 days from failure, farmers are to receive no water at all for irrigation through the summer, while others will get a fraction of their regular entitlement to keep alive vital plantings like citrus trees and grapevines. Thousands of oranges lie rotting under rows of trees stretching to the horizon under relentless blue skies. The drought and a new sense of the importance of water in the driest inhabited continent, with prices having gone from A$30 a megalitre to hover near A$800, will change Australian farming forever and make some irrigation unviable. "It's going to be a massive change...I spent the first half of my life developing irrigation and I'll spend the second half pulling it down...We are now in something that is beyond probabilities."
AUSTRALIA - Fish catches are down due to a lack of river run off during the drought leading to a sense of hopelessness and depression, alcoholism and family breakdown among some fishermen.
AUSTRALIA - Geelong residents were facing a vegetable shortage not seen since World War II as whacky weather across the nation destroyed crops in Australia's salad bowls.
AUSTRALIA - South Australian dairy farmers who rely on water from the River Murray are deciding to sell off their entire herds, worried their stock will not survive.
AUSTRALIA - The water shortage means there is very little water for general irrigators in the Murray or Murrumbidgee valleys and the rice industry is facing a challenge.

WATER SHORTAGES -
7/26/07 -
Some of the world's most powerful nations are getting increasingly desperate for fresh water and observers are concerned that a day will come when countries will fight for the dwindling resource. Countries in the Middle East and Africa have long dealt with water shortages but now the likes of China, India and the United States are grappling with the problem. And the United Nations says five billion people will be living in areas with limited water availability by 2025, which will only exacerbate tensions and demand for the limited supply. A member of the Council of Canadians said she doesn't doubt the Americans would try to pressure Canada into sharing its water in a time of crisis. "I am absolutely convinced that the United States has already targeted Canada's water, I'm absolutely convinced there are high-level conversations going on between some people in government and business in our country and the United States." The Great Lakes probably wouldn't be targeted but she predicted interests could turn to the North once demand for water gets serious. "My thinking is (Americans are interested) in those mighty rivers in Canada's North and the intention eventually is to build big pipelines to reverse the flow of that water (south)."

SOUTH AFRICA - the water reserves of Western Cape are precarious, with dire consequences for fighting fires and addressing the "massive" water shortage.

ZIMBABWE - Zimbabwe's second largest city, Bulawayo, warned residents on the 18th to guard against outbreaks of disease as it was forced to cut their water supply. Authorities said they had decommissioned one of Bulawayo's three remaining dams because water levels were too low, leaving in operation only two of the five dams that supply the southern city of about one million people. Bulawayo has faced water problems before but this is the first time it has had to issue a health warning and officials said the water shortage was likely to get worse.

SOUTH AMERICA - Global warming is drying up mountain lakes and wetlands in the Andes and threatening water supplies to major South American cities such as La Paz, Bogota and Quito. The risk is especially great to an Andean wetland habitat called the paramo, which supplies 80 percent of the water to Bogota's 7 million people. Rising temperatures are causing clouds that blanket the Andes to condense at higher altitudes. Eventually this so-called dew point will miss the mountains altogether. "We're already seeing a drying up of these mountain lakes and wetlands. We're seeing that the dew point is going up the mountain."

ISRAEL will likely not be able to meet its 2008 water demands if winter rainfall levels continue to decrease, warned a leading water expert.

KYRGYZSTAN has warned its neighbours of a possible water shortage - The monopoly power station company in Kyrgyzstan has warned that it might not be able to supply all the water that neighbouring countries need next year.

JAPAN - By mid-June, certain regions of Japan had begun taking precautionary measures in light of a growing water shortage across the Asian nation. With Japan receiving a limited amount of rain during the first half of the year, authorities in certain regions have begun implementing new policies to stretch the nation's dwindling water supply. Officials in the Kagawa Prefecture have been forced to implement strict water restrictions, including closing area swimming pools and substituting bread for rice at regional schools.

MEXICO - In mid-June, more than 50% of Mexican cities were on alert due to water shortages.

IOWA - The mass quantity of water needed for Iowa's booming ethanol industry - billions of gallons each year - has raised concerns among state officials who say laws may be needed to prevent a water shortage in the state. Part of the issue is how most of Iowa's 27 ethanol plants obtain their water: by pumping it out of deep underground supplies, often known as aquifers. Aquifers often feed Iowa's drinking water supplies. Their gradual release of water prevents many streams and rivers from drying up in the summer. It's unknown how much groundwater exists.

The "Top 5 Actions" to take to save water.

Hundreds of millions of Africans and tens of millions of Latin Americans who now have water will be short of it in less than 20 years.

65% of humans face water shortage by 2025.

Water shortages may be the next cause of world war.

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COUNTRIES FACING WATER SHORTAGES:
SOUTH AFRICA
SOUTH AFRICA

KENYA

NIGERIA

BAHRAIN

PAKISTAN

NEPAL

INDIA
INDIA

BANGLADESH
BANGLADESH

THAILAND

CHINA

AUSTRALIA
AUSTRALIA


BERMUDA

UNITED STATES:
FLORIDA
MARYLAND
KENTUCKY
WEST VIRGINIA
ARIZONA
NEVADA
CALIFORNIA
INDIANA - Water outages possible in Indianapolis - Demand reached a RECORD HIGH of 228 million gallons on June 13.
7/22/07 -
UN warns it cannot afford to feed the world - Rising prices for food have led the United Nations programme fighting famine in Africa and other regions to warn that it can no longer afford to feed the 90m people it has helped for each of the past five years on its budget. The World Food Programme feeds people in countries including Chad, Uganda and Ethiopia, but reaches a fraction of the 850m people it estimates suffers from hunger. It spent about $600m buying food in 2006. The WFP said its purchasing costs had risen "almost 50 per cent in the last five years". The price it pays for maize has risen up to 120% in the past sixth months in some countries. Biofuel demand is soaking up grain production as is rising consumption in emerging countries for animal feed. Global wheat stocks have fallen to the LOWEST LEVEL IN 25 YEARS. "We face the TIGHTEST AGRICULTURE MARKETS IN DECADES AND IN SOME CASES, THE TIGHTEST AGRICULTURE MARKETS ON RECORD. We are no longer in a surplus world."

It’s a simple fact that much of the developed world has lost touch with its food supply and agriculture in general. Food is essential for life. But food has become more than a component of survival. It has become a commodity, and, in some cases, a luxury. The sad fact is few people know how food is grown, harvested and processed. And with that lack of knowledge people have literally lost control over the food they eat. And it’s a situation that is not being addressed. Go to your cupboard and look at the labels. How much of it contains ingredients derived from corn or other grains that are now being used to produce biofuels? And you think a T-bone steak is expensive now. How much will it cost when livestock feed prices skyrocket? In the meantime, good agricultural land is being swallowed up by development. Where’s the plan to guarantee food safety and security? What’s the plan if there is a food shortage?

TENNESSEE - In spite of the extreme drought in the state and farmers all over the Midstate struggling, the Amish there have a bumper crop. A lot of their crops looked beautiful despite all the dry weather that's plagued Middle Tennessee. What’s their secret? One sure way to beat a drought is to bring in some water of your own, with irrigation. The Amish do that, but they also do things a little differently. It starts back in the fall season with straw, a little manure, and also some wheat and rye in the field - that helps the soil hold the moisture. Additionally, instead of big combine tractors, the Amish are plowing the fields with horses, so the soil is less compacted during the process, and that means better crops when dry weather hits.

Investment in drought-resistant genetically modified (GM) crops has stalled, due to fears of consumer resistance.

Powdered milk prices are rising worldwide due to a shortage in raw milk supply and increasing demand.

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EUROPE - over the past year the price of wheat has risen by 35 per cent, for dairy products by an average 50 per cent, and by 25 per cent for sunflower oil in the EU. "Short term climate drought has pushed prices above historical level, however long-term shifts, such as increasing food demand in large Asian emerging markets, increased feedstock demand for biofuel production and the reduction of support following agricultural policy reforms, have increased price volatility and may keep prices firm over time." This year, the initial results of the barley and wheat harvests are moderate, except in Spain, and the wet weather continues to disrupt or delay the harvests in western member states. At the global level, worldwide stocks are forecast to fall to their LOWEST LEVEL IN 28 YEARS.

ITALY - WHEAT - pasta manufacturers have warned that the price of pasta, one of Italy's staple foods, will go up by about 20% this autumn. Global warming and the growing use of durum wheat as a bio-fuel are blamed. Italian pasta tastes good because it is made from durum wheat, of which Italy is one of the world's main producers. But with strong demand at home and a growing export market, Italians are increasingly forced to import high quality durum wheat from abroad.

GERMANY - FRUIT farmers complaining of mildew on grapes from unseasonal rains and of unduly hot spells robbing apples of moisture.

FRANCE - Deluge leaves French wine harvest at risk of ruin from mildew attack - Sixty days and nights of almost incessant rain threaten to ruin large parts of the French wine harvest this year.

UKRAINE - More than 2.5 million acres of Ukrainian crops have been ruined by drought.

BRITAIN - VEGETABLES - growers are suffering the WORST SEASON THEY HAVE KNOWN because of the recent rains, with major losses in some crops expected to drive up prices. Vegetable growers in eastern Britain, from Norfolk to Scotland have been hardest hit. Britain's harvest of PEAS, the biggest in Europe, has been devastated by the weather, with as much as 50,000 tonnes of the annual crop of 150,000 tonnes expected to be lost. Some individual farmers may lose 70 per cent of their harvest. "The situation is absolutely diabolical. Some of the most productive areas have been absolutely devastated by the rain. They look like a First World War battlefield. WE HAVE NEVER SEEN A GROWING SEASON LIKE THIS." The resultant losses have been UNPRECEDENTED. "I would say between a quarter and a third of the national crop has been lost." The rain has badly disrupted the planting regime for brassicas - cabbages, cauliflowers and sprouts, for harvest in the early autumn. The soft fruit crop, mainly of strawberries and raspberries, has been largely protected from the damaging downpours by the extensive use of polythene tunnels, an agricultural development that has upset many people as it spread across the countryside in the past 15 years. "It's the worst season we've ever seen but the polytunnels have saved the harvest." Polytunnels, brought to Britain from Spain from 1993 onwards, have extended the soft-fruit growing season from six-weeks to six months, but some environmental campaigners consider them blots on the landscape.
Food stocks are suffering with many farmers struggling to supply the shops with vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower. "The English cherry season has been affected, both the availability and the quality. Temperatures aren't allowing the strawberries to grow quickly so it has affected the price. Broccoli and cauliflower, runner beans, broad beans and peas have all been affected. All the supplies are low but the demands are reasonably high so prices are going up on English produce."

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CANADA - WHEAT - The Canadian Wheat Board expects the price of wheat to rise by $18 a tonne this month due to poor weather conditions in wheat-growing countries: too much rain in the United States and Canada, and too little of it in Russia and Ukraine.

UNITED STATES:
KANSAS - WHEAT prices surged to an 11-YEAR HIGH on the Kansas City Board of Trade in the second week of June. That's largely due to last year's drought in Kansas and this year's drought in Australia. With 2 of the world's largest wheat countries wrecked by weather, limiting supply, wheat prices have rallied. In Kiowa County, farmers are faced with the WORST CROP IN MORE THAN A DECADE, one hit by just about everything from drought to freeze, flooding and disease.

OHIO - The one-two punch delivered by cold and drought this year has wiped out as much as 75 percent of the region's FRUIT crops in many areas.

TENESSEE - A record-breaking Easter freeze stunned the South, following the driest winter in more than a century. With unseasonably dry conditions since then, Tennessee and its $20-billion farming industry are heading for ONE OF THE DRIEST YEARS IN STATE HISTORY. "You can see south moving north. We're having Florida weather right now ...But they're geared for it down there. We're not geared for it."

WYOMING - drought has forced farmers to cut back on the amount of planted SUGAR BEET acreage in north-central Wyoming.

MINNESOTA - First food prices climb, now beer. Fields of hops and barley, the spice and soul of beer, are getting replaced with rows and rows of corn to be used in ethanol production. "We have a shortage in terms of total acreage that is put in for barley production." With more breweries and less barley, that can only mean one thing. In just a couple of years, the price of hops jumped 40 percent, the price of barley malt 30 percent and even the cost of the keg, made of stainless steel, has gone up 40 percent. Even the steel hike has a lot to due with ethanol since local steel manufacturers are getting incredible demand for their product to build new ethanol plants.

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AUSTRALIA - RECORD-BREAKING cold snap destroys Queensland crops - Records have been broken this week as the mercury hit sub zero temperatures across parts of the Sunshine state.
MILK prices are set to soar by up to 25 per cent after Australia’s biggest processor warned it would be forced to pass on cost increases incurred by dairy farmers as a result of the drought. The rise in raw milk prices is UNPRECEDENTED, after the drought stripped more than one billion litres from Australia’s annual milk supply. “This is having a significant effect on milk available to support export demand. Furthermore, the milk being produced is costing farmers more because stockfeed prices have risen.” An increase in National Foods’ wholesale prices for drinking milk, cheese and other dairy products is expected next week. Milk price rises of 20 to 25 per cent are expected over the next six months. The rise in milk prices is the latest in a list of fresh produce prices affected by the drought, including beef and lamb prices which are tipped to rise 10 per cent in coming weeks. The Australian Food and Grocery Council yesterday warned consumers to brace for price increases across a range of food and grocery items in response to the drought and Eastern States floods.
The drought is taking its toll on WA's honeybee industry, with beekeepers planning to feed bees sugar syrup to keep them alive during the winter.

SOLOMON ISLANDS - Heavy flooding of the Mbalasuna River has affected communities within the vicinity. Water from the floods has entered villages and it is still at knee-length level after the initial flooding. This has caused damage to food gardens and commercial crops causing panic of a possible food shortage that may last for the next six months. The river is also the main water source for the villages for drinking and cooking but it is now unsafe for people to use and water shortage is another issue they are dealing with.

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IRAQ - "One cannot grow crops in Iraq anymore with this water shortage."

ISRAEL - Fresh agricultural produce is getting more expensive, in particular fruits and vegetables. This trend has been steadily increasing since April. The April increases were a result of that month's extreme weather, which cut down on supplies. The biggest increases were for a few vegetables such as red peppers, whose price rose 70% compared to the same season last year. Another extreme rise was for zucchini, which rose by 165%. The price for strawberries also rose by 40%.

TURKEY - For the FIRST TIME IN ITS MODERN HISTORY, Turkey has fallen short of grain production due to drought caused by global warming.

ASIA - EGGS, MEAT, MILK - In China the price of eggs and meat has quadrupled in the middle of a sharp shortage. There is an acute shortage of milk and drinking water in India. The prices of GRAINS have doubled because a lot of it is used for generating bio fuel in US.

INDIA - Waste water irrigation making vegetables toxic - Vegetables grown in areas which use industrial waste water have high levels of heavy metals such as lead, which is toxic to the brain, and cadmium which can cause cancer. The two heavy metals were at “alarmingly high levels” in vegetable samples tested. Scientists said that in a rapidly urbanising world there is an increasing concern about fresh water shortage. “Waste water, used for irrigation in India, has no standards for heavy metals, though standards for bacterial content are there." Even if waste water is treated before being used for irrigation, 40-60 per cent of heavy metals remain in the treated water.

NEPAL - Monsoon is yet to set in, but the eastern region of Taplejung district is already facing an acute food shortage.

CHINA - Drought is affecting 26.7 million hectares of farmland and reducing China's grain output by around 30 million tons each year.

JAPAN - RICE - Weather forecasters had predicted a blistering summer, but it's shaping up to be so unseasonably cool there are fears the rice crop may suffer. Along with lower-than-expected temperatures, many regions have been getting less sunlight, which is bad news for rice farmers. The lack of sunlight is APPROACHING RECORD LEVELS, reviving memories of 1993 when the rice harvest was so bad Japanese consumers were forced to turn to Thai imports to make up for the shortage. In eastern Japan, covering the Kanto and Tokai regions, sunlight levels have been only 41 percent of normal years. The odd weather is due to the seasonal rain front stuck near the Japanese archipelago along with the flow of cold air from the north. Although the rainy season usually ends first in western Japan and then in eastern and northern Japan, there are still no signs of this happening in many parts of the nation, leading to concerns that the UNUSUAL weather will continue, perhaps into August.

RICE - Expert says rising sea levels pose a threat to rice.

TAIWAN - Amid worries that the nation could soon face a shortage of FLOUR as early as next month, authorities maintained their zero tolerance on the presence of chemicals and almost 10 thousand tonnes of US wheat was turned back at customs after tests revealed the presence of the agrochemical malathion. "As early as the end of August, Taiwan could be running short on flour, affecting the supply of bread, noodles, instant ramen, steam buns and dumplings."

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MAURITANIA - The government of Mauritania is appealing to international donors to help it reverse a food shortage affecting more than 1 million.

ZIMBABWE - most of the major supermarkets in Zimbabwe are empty, causing serious food shortages. While long queues of people searching for food and fuel have resurfaced, others prefer to cross the crocodile-infested Limpopo River into South Africa in search of food - and hope. Experts say between two and three thousand desperate people are crossing the border every night, as a result of the price cuts crisis that began a couple of weeks ago. "Whereas people used to cross just by the Beit Bridge area, people are now going across the entire length of the South Africa border with Zimbabwe - which is almost 200km - and they are using the whole river to come into South Africa." The flow of economic and political refugees crossing South Africa's northern border has become "a tsunami." Questions are now being raised as to whether or not South Africa has the capacity to deal with the ever-increasing flood of refugees.

SOMALIA - Food shortage reported along Puntland coast. The towns of Eyl, Beyla, Qandala and Hafun are reported to be undergoing A shortage of food and are appealing to aid agencies for help.
One million Somalis need immediate food aid as supplies may run out by October.

KENYA - An acute water shortage has hit Bura Division of Tana River District following the drying up of the main irrigation canal at Bura farmland.

LESOTHO - Food crisis in the wake of the MOST SEVERE DROUGHT IN 30 YEARS. Maize production has collapsed by more than 40%. Up to a quarter of the population faces starvation.

GHANA - Acute food shortage looms in three northern regions.

SWAZILAND - Severe drought has affected crop production, with most communities receiving low yields in maize, the country’s staple food. This situation is further exacerbated by inadequate crop diversification in most regions, which has worsened the food insecurity situation.

WATER SHORTAGES -
6/11/07 -
CHINA - A severe drought has left four million people short of drinking water in southwest China, state media reported June 5, as the vast country battles a crippling water shortage. Some 4.46 million head of livestock were also affected by the drought in Sichuan, where parts of the province have not seen any rain for up to 40 days. Around 110,000 people are depending on deliveries of water by truck. The drought has also prevented large areas of farmland from being seeded because of a lack of moisture and many of the crops that have been planted have shrivelled. Last month, more than 4.8 million people in northern Gansu province faced similar shortages following the worst drought there since the 1940s.
Fast-spreading, foul-smelling blue-green algae smothered a lake in eastern China, contaminating the drinking water for millions of people and sparking panic-buying of bottled water. Prices skyrocketed from $1 to $6.50 for a two-gallon bottle. The algae bloom in Lake Tai, a famous but long-polluted tourist attraction in Jiangsu province, formed because WATER LEVELS ARE AT THEIR LOWEST IN 50 YEARS, leading to excess nutrients in the water. Officials in Wuxi, a city along the banks of the lake, called an emergency meeting Wednesday to discuss measures to deal with the situation and allay public fears. "The smell of our tap water is just so awful. If you use the water to shower, the smell will stay on your body." "People form long queues in the supermarkets for bottled water. Nobody expected something like this to happen. We aren't prepared."

ASIA is heading for a fresh water crisis due to the melting of the glaciers in the Himalayas. The Himalayas are sources of fresh water supplies to the major rivers of Asia. A report submitted to Congress said that reduced fresh water availability in Asia could affect more than one billion people by the mid-century. Globally by 2020, between 75 and 250 million people are expected to be under "water stress" due to long-term climate shifts and population growth. Apart from the shrinking of yields in rain fed agriculture, climate shifts in the short term can also impact the frequency and severity of droughts, floods and heat waves, the report has warned.

MIDDLE EAST - Shortage of water is going to be the biggest economic, social and environmental challenge facing the Arab nations as Arab states face a water deficit of 100 to 133 billion cubic meters per year by 2030.

NIGERIA - Acute water shortage has hit most parts of Kano state in the last four days with youths and the aged seen on the streets of Kano searching for water. Water vendors have raised the cost of a jerry can by over 400% from N20 per can to about N80 in places where the water could be found. The situation is coming at the worst time, when many wells have dried up due to the biting dry season. The scarcity arose from burst pipes due to excessive pressure they experienced during pumping. New pumping machines acquired and currently in use were too powerful for the pipes, thereby causing damage to the two major pipelines used for water distribution.

ZIMBABWE - Water shortages are so serious in one Zimbabwean city that authorities are now considering running a water train. The train would bring water from the Zambezi River in the north of Zimbabwe, around 400 kilometres away. Current supplies will be exhausted by October. The water was to be purified in Bulawayo before it is distributed to the city's 1. 5 million residents. Like most of Zimbabwe's cities, Bulawayo is facing critical water shortages. The city is situated in the arid Matabeleland region. Shortages are being blamed mainly on poor rainfall.

INDIA - Andaman and Nicobar Administration took everyone by surprise in late May when it announced serious curtailment in the water supply in various parts of South Andaman. According to the new curtailment schedule, water will be supplied once in every six days in South Andaman areas. Although Andaman and Nicobar Islands receive rainfall nearly eight months a year and the monsoon has already set in before schedule, parts of the archipelago is still reeling under severe water scarcity. "This means people in Andaman will be receiving water supply for just six days a month and that too for a very limited time. This is height of mismanagement." Earlier, there were rumours in the city that Dhanikhari Dam, the lone water reservoir of South Andaman, has stored water which will last for only five days. In spite of best efforts taken by the Administration to tide over the present water crisis, sufficient storage has not been generated in the Dhanikhari Dam even after the setting in South West monsoon. These lush green islands are facing acute water shortage, since over the last decade, nothing concrete has been done to increase the water storage capacity in these islands while the population has increased many-fold.

BARBADOS - Water shortage woes afflicting residents of St. Thomas are also tapping into businesses in that parish and surrounding areas. "The very dry spell and heavy demand have resulted in severe shortages being experienced at the three sources which feed this reservoir – Warleigh, Lodge Hill and Applewaites. There is definitely evidence of dropping water levels at some well sources." It also listed water outages to Welches, Redman's Village, Bagatelle, Arthur Seat, Sharon, Cane Garden, Melrose, Edgehill Heights and surrounding areas because of an empty Shop Hill Reservoir. Water levels were also low at the Lodge Hill, Golden Ridge and Castle Grant reservoirs. The affected reservoirs will require some time for water levels to rise and resume normal service to the affected areas.

FOOD SHORTAGES -
5/20/07 -
MISSOURI - CORN - Tens of thousands of cropland acres were forced under water by recent flooding along the Missouri River and will need to be replanted.

GUATEMALA - CORN - will be scarce in Guatemala in the coming months due to the huge demand in the United States for ethanol production, which is buying and hoarding massive amounts of the grain. In the last six months, a bushel of corn (56 pounds), doubled its price on the US market, from $4 to $8 US because ethanol producers consumed 86 million metric tons, 5 million over the figure planned. Although to date there is no biofuel production using grains in Guatemala, the prices have also begun to increase, up as much as 73 percent. As a result, many producers believing prices will go even higher are making huge purchases of animal fodder, which will affect the availability of corn for human consumption. High prices and shortages will affect lower-income families from June to August, when the second harvest of the year has not even begun. This is just the beginning of the negative effects for the region due to the massive ethanol production promoted by the United States.

33 nations require external food assistance - Most of the countries — 25 to be precise - are from Africa (with exceptional shortfall in aggregate food production and supplies, or widespread lack of access, and severe localized food insecurity). 7 countries in Asia require external food assistance. Nepal is suffering from widespread lack of access to food. Two additional countries with widespread lack of food include Afghanistan (causes include Conflict, Internally Displaced People and returnees, floods) and Dem. People's Rep of Korea (causes include Economic constraints, floods). Iraq is described as having “exceptional shortfall of food” (due mainly to conflict and insecurity, IDPs). Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Timore-Leste face “Severe localized food insecurity.” The only country outside of Africa and Asia with food shortage is Bolivia in Latin America. Adverse weather conditions (floods in lowlands; drought, hail and frost in highlands) in Bolivia have led to severe localized food insecurity. In Africa, millions of Zimbabweans are expected to face food shortages as the country’s economic crisis deepens and inflation continues to skyrocket, while the recent flare-up of conflict in southern Somalia has led to so much displacement that crop production is almost certain to drop sharply around the capital Mogadishu. The “countries in crisis requiring external assistance” in Africa are: Burundi, the Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, the Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. But it is not that food supply is limited. In fact food supply has improved, with a record or bumper 2006 cereal crops. The FAO reports says that cereal production is on track to reach 2,095 million tons, an increase of 4.8 per cent on the figures from last year. The bulk of that produce will be maize. The fast-growing biofuels industry is in demand of more and more maize, and that has also contributed to an increase in cereal prices.

ZIMBABWE - WHEAT & MAIZE - the country is facing shortages of bread and flour, the government has warned. It says the planting of this year's wheat crop is well behind target and the season ends in two weeks' time. Farmers have only planted 10% of the expected winter wheat crop. Zimbabwe faces a huge maize deficit this year, making it dependent upon imported food. The government had already declared 2007 "a drought year". Zimbabwe's sugar industry is also experiencing problems, including industrial action by workers and officials are concerned about a nationwide sugar shortage. Last week, households in Zimbabwe were told they would be limited to four hours power supply a day in a move designed to support the country's wheat farmers who need power to irrigate their crops. The monthly rate of inflation rose to 2,200% in March, the highest in the world. This has led to widespread shortages of fuel and food.

WATER SHORTAGES -
5/20/07 -
AUSTRALIA - The water shortage in the Murray-Darling Basin is significantly worse than first thought. The amount of water flowing into the basin may have been overestimated by as much as 40 per cent, as surface water and ground water have been regarded as separate systems until recently. Southern Australia was particularly feeling the pressure as groundwater tables were depleted. "You've seen quite good rainfalls in some areas but very small stream flows and that's because the ground is very dry, groundwater tables have been depleted and the water is running into that dry sponge which is the earth. "
The water shortage across eastern Australia is now so acute it has begun to affect power supplies, and the country is at risk of electricity shortages next year. "I think we are in denial, and are going to have brownouts in NSW if we don't get snow this winter." Coal and hydro power generation require very large amounts of water, and the Snowy scheme depends on it for 86 per cent of its generation capacity. "Last year we had the lowest snowfall ever recorded. If this happens again we are in trouble." Power stations have a voracious appetite for water, and the shortage is affecting production in NSW, Victoria and Queensland, despite an abundance of coal and gas supplies. "Australia has never factored in the cost of water, which is why it has some of the cheapest power in the world." In January the price of a megawatt hour for delivery to NSW in 2008 was $38. This week the price rose to just over $72, a 90 per cent rise in less than five months. The electricity price in Queensland has more than doubled. It ranks as ONE OF THE BIGGEST COMMODITY PRICE INCREASES EVER SEEN.

TURKEY - Alarm bells are ringing in the country's three-largest cities over water shortages. Officials, startled by the low level of water resources, have been warning the public over the last few days about a possible water shortage crisis. Water levels in dams serving Istanbul indicate supply will last just six more months at current levels. Meteorology reports stating that the weather this summer will be warmer than in former years increases the worries.

5/14/07 -
FOOD SHORTAGES -
GEORGIA - crops are at risk because of a drought that has reached extreme conditions in 33 out of 159 counties. The dry weather is the WORST SEEN IN 38 YEARS by the agriculture department director. There have been longer and harsher droughts in the past, but he can't remember a year that was so dry this early. Apples, peaches and other crops that help make agriculture a $50 billion industry in Georgia are suffering badly. Fruit trees were already hard hit by an April freeze. Unless the state sees a dramatic increase in rainfall in the next few months, some farmers could lose their entire harvests. That could cripple the economy in Georgia's farm communities and drive up prices on peanut butter, fresh produce and the other crops that survive. The extreme drought conditions in 33 counties are expected by weather experts only ONCE EVERY 50 YEARS. Another 46 counties are rated as having severe drought, meaning the dry spell is as bad as experts would expect ONCE IN 20 YEARS. The rest of the state is under a moderate drought.

CALIFORNIA - CATTLE - San Luis Obispo County cattle ranchers are selling cattle off in RECORD NUMBERS after this season’s meager rainfall failed to produce enough grasses to sustain their herds. Cows and their calves are being sold nearly two months earlier than usual — and at lower weights — because ranchers say they’d rather sell than pay for expensive feed. Cattle and calves are the second most valuable agricultural product in the county, valued at more than $59 million last year. They are second only to wine grapes, which are valued at $151 million. The last dry season that pushed them to sell early struck in the late 1980s or early 1990s. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had a year like this, and I don’t know if it was this bad." Calves are weighing in about 450 pounds, when they often weigh as much as 650 pounds at the time of sale.

BULGARIA - The Association of Agricultural Leaseholders for the districts of Pleven and Lovech has called for an emergency situation over the drought crisis. According to forecasted poor rainfalls and high temperatures crops may be seriously damaged. 85% of the WHEAT crop and 75% of the BARLEY crop have withered.

5/7/07 -
ARGENTINA - Despite damaging floods, Argentine farmers were expecting a RECORD HARVEST in April. Farmers anticipated a record 45.5 million tons of soybeans and a record 22 million tons of corn when the harvest began at the beginning of the month. At the end of March, more than 500 millimeters of rain (about half the average annual rainfall) fell in the period of a few days over parts of the Santa Fe and Entre Ríos provinces. The rain fell on ground already soggy from excess rain, triggering extensive flooding. The floods destroyed between 0.5 and 2 million tons of soy, but caused little damage to the already mature corn crop.

ZIMBABWE - MAIZE - The cost of maize, a basic food staple, in Zimbabwe will rise seven-fold. The price of a 10-kilogram bag of the grain will now cost more than 41,000 Zimbabwe dollars (16 cents), from just over 6,000. The huge rise in the price of maize comes after inflation in Zimbabwe reached 2,200% in March. Critics of President Robert Mugabe's regime accuse him of destroying a once-prosperous country.

COCOA prices in New York have surged about 28 percent in the past six months on speculation that dry weather might impair cocoa production in the Ivory Coast and Ghana, the world’s largest suppliers of beans to make chocolate. Now the Chocolate Manufacturers Association, whose members include Hershey, Nestle SA and Archer Daniels Midland Co., has a petition before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to redefine what constitutes chocolate. They want to make it without the required ingredients of cocoa butter and cocoa solids, instead using artificial sweeteners, milk substitutes and vegetable fats such as hydrogenated and trans fats. A pound of chocolate currently contains roughly 25% cocoa butter, at a cost of $2.30, while vegetable oils are as little as 70 cents a pound.

THAILAND - RICE - the vital grain could be at risk from climate change. Environmentalists and scientists say that as the world gets hotter, floods, droughts and rising sea levels could push Thailand's rice yields down significantly - with a huge impact on rural communities. Extreme weather has already hit Thailand. Widespread floods last year wiped out crops and killed about 200 people. "The whole province was affected by the flood. It was the worst in my life, I had never seen rice fields under the water like that before." "The weather has become hotter and hotter every year, the floods are getting worse. I'm afraid that it is going to get worse." While plants themselves would be only be slightly affected by rising temperatures, the animals and small microbes that give the soil its nutrients are very sensitive to heat and humidity. Floods and heavy rain would erode the soil and destroy the nutrients, while droughts and longer hot days parch the soil.

INDIA - Unseasonal rain and hailstorms damaged PADDY CROP and MANGO orchards in Karimnagar, Nalgonda and Medak districts. SUNFLOWER, SOYABEAN and RED-GRAM crops were also damaged. In some places, mango trees were blown down by the gale. A large quantity of paddy lying in the open at the Agriculture Market Yard in Siddipet Mandal in Medak district was soaked in the rain. The paddy, which was kept for purchase by the Government agencies, could not be covered due to the non-availability of gunnysacks. In Karimnagar too, the rains caused severe damages to the paddy crop and mango groves. Heaps of paddy, which was bought to the agricultural market yards was damaged, causing concern among the farming community. In Karimnagar agricultural market yard, the farmers were seen wailing after seeing their paddy being washed away in the rains.

AUSTRALIA - FOOD PRICES - The full impact of the drought is sweeping through Perth’s supermarket shelves, with new figures showing prices of everyday foods have spiked 40 per cent over the past year. The drought is biting disproportionately hard on those goods that rely on the grains sector. The price of bread in Perth shot up 11.4 per cent over the past 12 months, a dozen eggs almost 19 per cent, 2kg of self-raising flour increased 9 per cent a kilo of rice went up by close to 15 per cent. A 250g pack of bacon averaged $5.37 during the past three months, an increase of 14.5 per cent, while a kilo of sausages is about 22 per cent higher than a year ago. “We are still in this 100-year drought and it hasn’t broken. Nobody should think that the drought has broken.”

EUROPE - CROPS- A spring drought affecting parts of Europe north of the Alps is worrying farmers, who say they need rain within the next couple of weeks or crops will fail. Mechanical rakes raise clouds of dust when they are drawn over many fields. The drought area stretches from northern France through to Poland. Affected farmers say the soil is as dry as it usually is in August. "Even if it rains now, it can't be a top harvest. I'd guess it will be about 80 per cent of potential. And if it doesn't rain in the next week or two, it will be a lousy harvest." After a rainy March, this April was among the hottest on record for many places in Europe, and dry too. Reports are coming in from farm advisers in much of Germany that the rural world is worried, "very worried." Market gardeners, with higher-value crops, have been spraying water in the Rhine valley, and say the warm weather is accelerating cauliflower and cabbage growth.

GEORGIA - PLANTING - With rainfall levels lower than half the normal amount in many areas, many farmers have not been able to plant at all. After May 30, farmers say it's really too late to plant COTTON, and by June 15, it's too late for the PEANUTS. The PECAN trees are all right for now, but the crop may suffer from lack of rain, causing the small pecans to fall off the trees.

Will ethanol fuel a food shortage? - American farmers are expected to plant 90 million acres of CORN this year. That's 15 percent more than last year because they're trying to meet the demand for ethanol. The price of corn has surged with the demand. Some researchers say using all that corn for fuel may cause starvation. Nearly 80 percent of the corn used in the U.S. is fed to animals, not people. "Beef, hogs, poultry, eggs, milk are the big categories that use corn." The prices of those foods are going up along with those sweetened by high fructose corn syrup, another corn product. Others say malnutrition is often caused by food distribution problems, not a lack of food. In fact, we have about 500 million acres of cropland in the U.S. and could feed our population with just 25 million. However, the increasing world population, food prices, and our fuel needs could eventually cause shortages. "So we do need to worry about how we're going to feed the world in the future." Many in the biofuel industry say the future is in what's called cellulosic ethanol. That fuel uses the stems, leaves, and stalks of plants, which makes the food-versus-fuel debate moot. In the meantime, some experts expect corn prices to fall as farmers rush to plant more crops.

WATER SHORTAGES -
5/11/07 -
CALIFORNIA - Bay Area water managers are on edge as temperatures climb, taking a toll on already low water supplies. Sonoma County is facing UNPRECEDENTED LOW WATER LEVELS in Lake Mendocino.

FLORIDA - South Florida residents and golf courses were placed under the region's most severe water restrictions on record Thursday, as officials try to cut use by up to 45 percent to offset UNPRECEDENTED drought conditions. The new rules mean outside watering will be cut to once a week in Broward and Palm Beach counties. Pumping from four coastal wells in Lantana, Lake Worth, Hallandale and Dania Beach will be cut back or eliminated as officials try to stave off saltwater intrusion that could taint the freshwater sources. More than 90 other wells are also in jeopardy and are being monitored. "If we don't shut them down and the salt gets in the wells, they won't recover for decades." New development in South Florida must find alternative water sources such as reuse or desalinization as cities and counties are forced to use only currently allotted supplies. The drought is also hitting the agriculture industry, which was forced to cut back use by 50 percent last month, and digging into tourism dollars as many of the state's inland waterways dry up, removing opportunities for boating and fishing. U.S. Sugar Corp., the nation's largest producer of cane sugar, is feeling the pinch as a new crop is just getting started on its 160,000 acres in Florida. Harvest season ended last month.

AUSTRALIA - Several Australian states and the ACT are considering the use of recycled water as a response to critical shortages. The director of infectious diseases and microbiology at ACT Pathology told a senate inquiry the recycled waste water would be best used for non-drinking purposes, and should be used for drinking only as a last resort. Purifying water of sewage has historically been a major cause of public health improvement, so putting sewage back into water is a health concern. The reverse osmosis process used in the proposed recycling has been shown to incompletely remove salt. "If it leaves 1 or 2 per cent of salt, why can't it leave 1 or 2 per cent of viruses?" If industry and irrigation used treated waste water instead of tap water, that would halve the demand for natural water. "The whole premise of recycled water saving Queensland works on the belief that you will excrete more than you drink. I don't think this is physically possible unless you have got a condition that requires immediate hospitalisation."

TURKEY has suffered a dramatic fall in the level of its potable water supply in recent months, with the water level in dams dropping alarmingly low and major rivers and lakes - particularly in central Anatolia - beginning to dry up. Experts say that unregulated irrigation, together with pollution and global warming, are to blame for the country's looming water shortage, which may pose threats both economic and natural. Officials are urging citizens to take measures for water conservation in the hope of mitigating the effects of what increasingly appears to be a drought, perhaps a severe one. This year Istanbul is bracing itself for what looks to be an arid summer. Authorities and city residents alike are both wondering if the painful days of the past water shortage the city endured less than two decades ago once again lie around the corner. The amount of water stored in Istanbul’s dams has fallen to less than 50 percent of capacity. Global warming has taken a huge toll on Kizilirmak, Turkey’s longest river. Rain shortage and increasing temperatures have dried out the river, where mass deaths of fish are now common. Fishermen can pick up the fish swimming in the puddles that are all that’s left of the river with their bare hands. “Central Anatolia is not rich in rainfall anyway and in the past year rainfall has significantly decreased.”

BOTTLED WATER, the world's fastest growing beverage, carries a heavy environmental cost, adding plastic to landfills and putting pressure on natural springs. "Bottled water is really expensive, in terms of environmental costs and economically." In addition to the energy cost of producing, bottling, packaging, storing and shipping bottled water, there is also the environmental cost of the millions of tonnes of oil-derived plastic needed to make the bottles. The environmental impact can start at the source, where some local streams and underground aquifers become depleted when there is "excessive withdrawal" for bottled water. In many countries bottled water is scrutinised using lower standards than plain tap water. Bottled water costs from 240 to 10,000 times as much as water straight from the tap. World consumption of bottled water more than doubled between 1997 and 2005, with the United States being the largest consumer.

5/7/07 -
YEMEN - For the past two decades, Taiz city has been suffering a miserable water scarcity, particularly given that the city’s population is on a marked increase. The indicators are alarming concerning a real disaster due to massive water shortage and lack of any attempts to contain the looming crisis. Water sometimes is cut for three to four weeks, causing both health and environmental problems. One of the outstanding reasons for water scarcity in Taiz is that the city is situated on a base of rocks, which don’t store water, in addition to a shortage of rainfall, which would greatly help to replenish groundwater.

PAKISTAN - There was a time when the prospect of a nationwide water shortage would have seemed absurd to most Pakistanis, who thought of their country as a water-rich nation, fed as it is by one of the mightiest rivers in the world, the Indus, and its tributaries, several of which are also major rivers. In recent years, however, the realisation has begun to dawn on Pakistanis that they will have to alter their agricultural techniques and water management practices to economise on water. New storage reservoirs will also have to be built on the Indus and other rivers to compensate for the reduction in storage capacity of the existing reservoirs – Tarbela and Mangla – due to siltation. Salination is another serious long-term problem. When irrigation water soaks down into the soil, it absorbs mineral salts from the earth, flushing them to the surface. As the water evaporates, these salts dry out on the fields, gradually destroying their fertility. According to one estimate, some 25 per cent of Pakistan’s cultivated land has been damaged in this way. Feeding Pakistan in the years ahead will require gigantic schemes to be successful – or it will require farmers to use water more efficiently. World water reserves are drying up fast and booming populations, pollution and global warming will combine to cut the average person’s water supply by a third in the next 20 years. A shortage of fresh water is also likely to be the most serious resource problem Pakistan will face in the years ahead, given its burgeoning population and the increasing demand for water that this explosive population growth has created.

INDIA - Though it is situated around the Mahi river ravine area, water woes are taking a toll on education of girls and marital peace in Ranchhodpura village, near Sindhroth, on Vaoddara's outskirts. While young girls are forced to drop out from school to fetch water for the household, wives, tired of the water shortage, are even leaving their husbands. The four water hand pumps in the village have become non-functional and water from wells and borewells is not potable. The only recourse left for residents of the village is to fetch drinking water from the Mahi river or neighbouring villages. "Twice a month during high tide, the river gets flooded with sea water. So water from borewells is rendered useless for washing clothes and drinking." Officials are planning to dig borewells in at least 42 villages of the 99 villages in Vadodara taluka. But this process will take some time.

VIETNAM will suffer from a severe water shortage this May, according to the meteorological forecasting centre.

AUSTRALIA - Drought has left the mighty Snowy Mountains hydro-electric scheme with so little water it has become a generator of last resort. Last month its massive storages were down to about 10 per cent of active capacity - the LOWEST APRIL LEVEL SINCE THE SCHEME WAS COMPLETED IN 1974. To conserve water, Snowy Hydro is using two gas-fired power plants it already has in Victoria, it is funding a cloud seeding trial to increase snowfall and it is recycling water through its Tumut 3 power station. The water roars downhill to produce expensive peak-hour electricity then is pumped back up the hill, using cheaper off-peak power. Water levels have been falling for a decade and a return to wetter conditions could take five years. "We are not confident that these difficult times are going to change quickly."

GEORGIA - Due to the lack of rain, residents throughout Georgia are required to follow a more stringent outdoor water use schedule. “Every area of Georgia has been in a persistent and progressive drought condition since last June.” “March was very dry and it’s historically a very wet month for Georgia. That’s one of the reasons we’re in trouble now.”

FLORIDA - The ongoing drought has so depleted Southwest Florida reservoirs that those reserves may take at least three years of rainfall to replenish.

CALIFORNIA - State water officials said the measured water content of snowpack in the Sierra Nevada Mountains was 71 percent below normal, the LOWEST IT HAS BEEN IN 20 YEARS. On Tuesday the California Department of Water Resources completed its final survey for the winter months. "This is continued bad news for the Bay Area water supply." The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission gets 85 percent of its water from the Sierra Nevada snowmelt. The remaining 15 percent of the water comes from local watersheds, which also dry up during a drought.

APRIL 2007 -
CANADA - COD stocks in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, from the Gaspé to Cape Breton, have hit an all-time low.
INDIA - MANGOS - Uneven temperature and unseasonal rains have affected nearly 25-30 per cent of mango crops in various parts of the country.
INDIA - WHEAT - thousands of acres in Punjab and Haryana has been destroyed in untimely rains. The losses to farmers could run into billions of rupees. The wheat crop in over 50,000 acres of land has been flattened in Punjab itself. The rains, accompanied by hailstorm in several areas across Punjab and Haryana, have been continuing since Sunday. Though the skies opened up Tuesday morning, the dry spell lasted only a few hours before moderate to heavy rains came back.
INDIA - 3/15/07 - Heavy unseasonal rains and a hailstorm have damaged vast tracts of crop in Gwalior, causing huge losses to farmers.

KASHMIR - FRUITS - spring snowfall has caused extensive damage to the cherry, almond, apricot and apple orchards, which were in full blossom. Horticulture experts are keeping their fingers crossed but they admit the damage to these famous Kashmir fruits is colossal especially the famous Kashmir cherry.

4/30/07 -
Water tension is getting worse - one of every six people on Earth doesn't have access to clean drinking water. Nearly 5 million people - mostly children - die each year from cholera and other preventable, water-related diseases that all but vanished from the United States 100 years ago. "The risks of conflicts over water are growing and not shrinking." A lot of people fear we're moving toward an era of bulk exports and water transfers. Canada, the most water-rich country, is expected to get wetter. Africa, India, and other parched regions - including the southwestern United States - are expected to get dryer. Competition for water will be fierce by people, agriculture, manufacturers, and energy suppliers.

CHINA - At least 200,000 people, about 2.5 percent of the population in south China's Hainan Province, are suffering drinking water shortages caused by persistent drought. Almost 100,000 hectares of crops are affected by the drought and more than 50,000 livestock have insufficient drinking water. Some 1,636 wells in 668 villages and 448 out of Hainan's 2,487 reservoirs have dried up. Water reserves in the province are dangerously low. The province's water conservation facilities are holding only 30 percent of the normal amount. Prolonged high temperature and a lack of rain have been blamed for the drought. Average monthly rainfall since January is 115 millimeters, 35 millimeters down on the provincial average.

AUSTRALIA - Water supplies to drought-ravaged Queensland towns are at risk because of a shortage of suitable tankers to deliver them. Trucking contractors and councils are warning that the logistical problems involved in carting water mean supplies cannot be guaranteed if towns run dry. A growing list of Queensland towns are at risk, such as Killarney and Leyburn on the Darling Downs. Leyburn was this week forced to confront the possibility of having to evacuate residents when one of its two bores ran dry, amid fears the second bore could soon follow.

PAKISTAN - Private water tanker owners have increased the rate of water tankers in the Cantonment areas and are exploiting the area’s severe water shortage.

BHUTAN - Hordes of men, women and children carrying jerry cans and utensils make their way back and forth from their houses to the nearest water taps to collect water twice everyday. Households that do receive water have huge drums to store the flow and to carry them through to evening when the tap flows again. During weekends washing and bathing is usually done by the riverside. This is everyday life for residents of the industrial town of Gomtu in Samtse, which has been facing an acute water shortage for the past year. Gomtu’s water supplier started the rationing of water from 6 to 8 am and 5:30 to 7:30 pm last year when the town and the neighbouring villages suffered an acute shortage because of scanty rainfall. However, residents said that they barely received an hour’s supply of water at both times. Some said that because of the low volume of water at the source, water from the tap could hardly make it to elevated water tanks.

VIETNAM - More jungles in the Mekong Delta region are turning saline and prone to fire, after 100,000 hectares of rivers and channels dried out, aggravating residents as the dry season comes to a close. The protracted drought has dried out 500km of canals in Dong Thap province, seeing the average water level up to 40cm lower than usual with districts of Tan Hong, Hong Ngu, and Tam Nong hit hard. About 12,000 ha of irrigation canals at the Tram Chim National Park, based in Tam Nong district, have reportedly gone dry, placing the park under an extreme blaze alert.

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO - Tobago taps have begun to run dry, even as WASA is promising that water will flow once more to South and Central Trinidad. Electrical and other maintenance problems at the desalination plant were completed, and have ended “nagging problems” at the plant which culminated in its complete shutdown on April 13. Wells which were recently drilled have been supplying Tobago with 60 percent of the water supply while the remaining 40 percent is obtained from the rivers. But water levels at the majority of the rivers are diminishing with the exception of Richmond. “This dry season is ONE OF THE WORST THAT WE HAVE SEEN, even the cracks in the ground are bigger than usual.”

CALIFORNIA - With California on track to have the fourth-driest winter in history, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission General Manager urged customers to curtail their water consumption in an effort to avoid mandatory rationing in the Bay area during the summer months. In order to avoid a water shortage the SFPUC will need to decrease water usage by 20 percent. Such drastic water saving measures have not been required by the utility since the drought between 1987 and 1992. The Sierra snow pack, which represents 65 percent of the utility's water storage in the utility's reservoirs, is at 46 percent of normal for the season.

4/26/07 -
GEORGIA - The state of the water situation is getting worse. Georgia's climatologist announced it's gone from severe to extreme in nearly 24 southern Georgia counties. "The maximum recorded was 14 in 1955 so we're SETTING A RECORD today." Temperatures are on the rise across the state while water flow is reduced. Water experts and climatologists are worried. They hope things don't dry up even more. The Flint River is now only at 25 percent of normal flow. Soon, farmers will begin irrigating their cotton and peanut crops which could cause even more problems. "The lower Flint Basin has about 900,000 irrigated acres. That's a lot of demand on the resource." It's a resource that's been used overtime lately to fight raging wildfires in Southeast Georgia. "Those streams, a lot of them, are essentially dry. Just a fraction, one percentile of what normal flow is this time of year." The aquifers are still in good shape and although the Flint is low, it still has a good flow. If the drought gets worse though, endangered aquatic life in the streams could be in jeopardy.

AUSTRALIA - Drought towns could be forcibly evacuated - Residents of two drought-stricken towns on the Darling Downs could be forced by the government to move as water becomes increasingly scarce. State bureaucrats have reportedly considered moving residents out of Leybum, population 200, and Killarney, population 1500. Water is currently being carted to Killarney, located at the source of the Murray Darling river system, at the cost of $8000 per week. "The reality is with no water, you can't live anywhere for long."

THE NETHERLANDS - Much of the Netherlands has not had rain in 33 days. That is an exceptionally long period, meteorological institute KNMI said on Tuesday. Long dry periods like this have only occurred four times in the past. Though even those did not last 33 days. There was a smattering of rain in De Bilt on 3 April, which keeps the past period from qualifying as a drought. The dry weather is starting to cause problems for crops and various animal species. At least nine species of butterfly are suffering because of the dry warm weather. "Caterpillars need leaves, leaves need water. A lot of water has evaporated because of the warm period." "Summer hasn't even started yet and the water shortage will become even greater then."

CALIFORNIA - The East Bay Municipal Utility District's board of directors declared a water shortage Tuesday and asked its 1.3 million customers in Alameda and Contra Costa counties to voluntarily reduce their water use until further notice. The conservation plan calls for residential customers to only irrigate three days a week, never on consecutive days, and only at night or early morning before dawn. Large irrigators are being asked to reduce their water consumption by 25 percent. The water district said it's urging greater conservation because the winter of 2007 has been ONE OF THE DRIEST IN ITS 84-YEAR HISTORY, yielding less snow and rain than necessary to fill its water supply reservoirs next fall. There's less than half of the normal runoff this year. District officials say that if the winter of 2008 also is dry, it could lead to further dwindling of water supplies and create a drought scenario that would require mandatory rationing.

-- 4/10/07 -
In less than 20 years (by 2025), two thirds of the world will not have enough water. Agriculture is the number-one user of water worldwide, accounting for about 70 percent of all freshwater withdrawn from lakes, waterways and aquifers around the world. Water shortages are obviously most acute in the driest areas of the world, which are home to more than 2 billion people and to half of all poor people.

Some of the world's major rivers are reaching crisis point because of dams, shipping, pollution and climate change. "The world is facing a massive freshwater crisis, which has the potential to be every bit as devastating as climate change." Governments should see water as an issue of national security. Five of its "top 10" rivers in crisis are in Asia, such as the Yangtse, Mekong, and Ganges, though Europe's Danube and North America's Rio Grande are also included. World Water Day was March 22.

Currently, 40 per cent of the world’s population (2.5 billion people) live in impossible hygienic conditions because of lack of water. They are among the poorest people on earth, half of them in China and India. Some 11 million die each year from diseases tied to the lack of clean water. In Africa, daily water consumption ranges from 12 to 50 litres per day. (Individuals experience water stress with less than 50 litres of water per day per person.) In Europe it rises to 170-250; in the United States it reaches 700 litres. Only 16 people out of a 100 can turn on a water tap to sip drinking water that has no polluting substances or pathogens. The other 84 must look for it, often trekking long distances, at poor and low-quality sources.

In-depth global water crisis information - Fully 70% of global water consumption is channeled into agriculture. An additional 22% goes to industry, and just 8% to private consumption.

THAILAND - This year's drought has already affected more than eight million people in 58 provinces, with water levels in several major rivers ''critically low''. The total number of drought-hit villagers since the dry season began in November has jumped to 8.2 million, and the number was likely to increase with the drought crisis expected to grow even more severe this month. About 114,000 rai of farmland has been affected. To relieve water shortages, the department has installed water pumps and distributed drinking water to villages in the worst-hit areas. The Irrigation Department reported on its website that water in major rivers had dropped to critically low levels. The chief of the artificial rainmaking unit in the Central Plains, expressed concern over the worsening drought situation in Nakhon Sawan, Uthai Thani, Chai Nat, and Lop Buri, with no rain in the region for months. Water storage in Central Plains reservoirs are expected to drop to critical levels within the next two months because unusually high temperatures, triggered by the El Nino weather phenomenon, have caused more rapid evaporation of stored water than normal.

Scientists have not ruled out the possibility of a future war because of water shortage and they urge national governments to implement long-term policies to avert this and secure peace. "This war will be either between states or it will be a conflict between let’s say farmers and population. When a country does not manage its water resources correctly, then it will have to buy and transport water from other countries. But I am not sure that this transport from one country to the other will be a peaceful one.” Today, around 30 million people living in the Mediterranean are deprived of access to water, research shows.

The world is running out of water. Humans are polluting, depleting, and diverting its finite freshwater supplies so quickly, we are creating massive new deserts and generating global warming from below. In many parts of the world, surface waters are too polluted for human use. Ninety per cent of wastewater in the Third World is discharged untreated. Eighty per cent of China's and 75 per cent of India's surface waters are too polluted for drinking, fishing, or even bathing. The story is the same in most of Africa and Latin America. Humans, using powerful new technology, are mining groundwater sources far faster than they can be replaced, creating drought in once-fertile areas. When water is taken from an aquifer to grow crops in the desert, another desert is created. A recent scientific report from the United Kingdom warned of "coming anarchy" in Asia as water is sucked out of the ground by untold millions of bore wells. Water is also massively displaced through the building of large dams, the main reason so many of the great rivers of the world no longer reach the oceans. Around the world, a massive network of pipelines is being constructed to move water from place to place, similar to the pipeline network that now moves oil and gas. Huge amounts of water are also displaced through the trade in "virtual water" where poor countries grow water-intensive crops for export to countries trying to conserve their water supplies. They are left with dead lakes and rivers. In Canada, they have tended to ignore water problems, believing that they have plentiful supplies. But recent studies suggest otherwise, particularly in the western prairies, where water has been scarce at the best of times. The climate of the Prairie provinces has already warmed by from 1to 4C, and is predicted to warm that much again by mid-century. Already, snowpacks and glaciers of the Rocky Mountains, the "water towers" of the prairies, are dwindling, and increasing evaporation is stealing more water from lakes, rivers and soils as a result of warmer temperatures. One concern is for agriculture, because soil moisture is predicted to decrease over vast semi-arid areas of the prairies where crops are already limited by water supplies in many years.

-----------------INFO BY COUNTRY -
INDIA - many villages in Tamilnadu are undergoing drought resulting in severe water shortage across the districts.
Increasing water shortages and absence of prudent water management are taking a toll on the agricultural water needs of the KBK region.
INDIA - As summer begins, Bangalore like many other Indian cities face water shortage forcing residents to walk long distances in search of it. Long lines of pots before taps is a common sight in Lingarajapuram, which receives water supply just three times a week. Water sometimes just trickles or sometimes it doesn't come at all. "We keep fighting over water, we cannot do anything else. We cannot take our children to school. This is the biggest problem". "They [People in other areas] fight with us and say don't come here. We do not have water for ourselves".
INDIA - a whopping 3000 villages in Karnataka will face shortage of drinking water this summer.

BANGLADESH - A diesel shortage occurred due to the drop in water level of a key river, which made it difficult for fuel tankers to navigate towards the port.

SRI LANKA - One of the major problems in the lower basin of Mundeni Aru is flooding in addition to the water shortage during the dry seasons.

PAKISTAN is facing severe water shortage which can be overcome only by constructing new water reservoirs in the country.

MALAYSIA - Barely have they recovered from floods and they are now faced with the prospect in the months ahead of a water shortage following a turn in weather patterns.

THAILAND - Food and water shortages are forcing jumbo elephants out of the jungles. In Surin, around 87 pachyderms kept at an elephant centre in Tha Tum district are facing a severe shortage of water, as a result of the drought.

PHILIPPINES - nine key cities in the country will suffer from water shortage soon.

MARSHALL ISLANDS - The Marshall Islands government has responded to a worsening water shortage in the Marshalls by declaring an emergency for six islands and appealed for international help.
The Government of the Marshall Islands has sent a ship to supply drinking water to outlying islands after declaring the state of emergency amid prolonged drought. Many islands in the western Pacific island nation of 60,000 people have had little rain since January. The water supply in Majuro's reservoir has fallen to less than six million gallons of water - less than a five-day supply at current levels of use. The water supply is now turned on just two days a week. "If we get to five million gallons, then we'll reduce water hours to one day a week." Fresh water supplies have dwindled since January with the El Nino weather phenomenon causing an extended drought for a country that depends on rain for about 95 per cent of its fresh water.

INDONESIA - Water shortages are forcing authorities in India's remote Andaman Islands to tap dozens of Second World War wells. The return of tourism after the 2004 tsunami, combined with a lack of rain, has caused severe shortages in the archipelago, located about 1,200 km east of the Indian mainland. Authorities are rationing water and cleaning old wells dug by Japanese forces in the mid-1940s, but many people think this is only a temporary solution. "There is an urgent need to build water reservoirs."

CHINA - At least 300,000 people in northwest China are facing an acute shortage of drinking water after being hit by the WARMEST WINTER FOR 56 YEARS. Rainfall was down at least 30 per cent and ground water levels in the more arid western areas dropped by 12 to 35 centimetres from last year. Although a major snowstorm at the beginning of March provided six billion cubic metres of water to the area, the situation was only slightly improved. Ten days after the storm, warm temperatures and spring winds have dried the moisture in the soil. In counties like Chaoyang in northwestern Liaoning, many wells have dried up, forcing farmers to deepen them or to carry water from nearby reservoirs. The provincial drought relief headquarters plan to artificially generate more than three billion cubic metres of rain this year to face the drought.

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Middle Eastern countries, which are facing the prospects of fresh water shortage, will invest $117 billion in the next nine years to try to alleviate the problem.

YEMEN - Some areas of the governorates of Lahj and Dhalie have lately suffered from a severe wave of drought leading to draining away of subterranean waters there. This problem has affected people needs of drinking water in addition to dwindling of water in some wells of those regions. Sources attribute the cause of the problem to scarcity of rainfalls in addition to some water projects that are not operative because of some problems between the residents of the areas as every side wants to pump waters for its own benefit, as well as to water exhaustion as a result of some agricultural projects such as qat plantations.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - With the arrival of summer months the citizens of Bhatkal have started to face a severe drinking water shortage in the town.

LEBANON - Water specialists have warned that Lebanon will face a severe water shortage over the coming years unless an effective water management system is soon put into effect.

TURKEY - Experts have warned that Turkey’s most populous city, Istanbul, may face a return to the prolonged cuts in water supplies.
With its rising population, Turkey may well become a "water poor" country by 2030 and may even be facing a very serious water crisis as early as 2050.

IRAQ - a water shortage is threatening the lives of children in Iraq. This month, due to a lack of funding, UNICEF was forced to stop its water tanker program, which delivers clean water to tens of thousands in Baghdad. The UNICEF program, which also supplies sanitation and hygiene services, is currently $30 million short because the organization underestimated the amount of time it would be serving children in Iraq. The Iraqi government has said its water systems will not be able to provide an adequate supply for at least 18 months. The UN said that the incidence of diarrhea has been increasing, and UNICEF is stockpiling millions of sachets filled with oral re-hydration salts to use in case of an outbreak.

GREECE - Many of Greece’s popular islands are facing serious water shortages and will likely have to ship in supplies this summer.

MALTA - "The problem of water shortage will be a big issue in future. It's going to be one vicious cycle."

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BRITAIN - Fears of a water shortage were well illustrated last May when it emerged that Thames Water had considered plans to tow icebergs from the Arctic to keep London supplied with tap water. "If we get into an emergency situation that’s the kind of thing we would be looking at. It’s very much the last resort."

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NIGERIA - Gusau, the capital of Zamfara, may be deserted following the acute water shortage in the town. The scarcity has been on for over ten days now.
NIGERIA - As an acute water shortage persists in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital and its environs, the Governor has pronounced a State of Emergency on the water situation in the state. The State Government has spent over N7billion on water provision, but portable water supply in the state has become elusive. Findings also indicated that there are cartels who specialise in vandalising water pipes in a bid to secure inflated contracts to fix such water equipments that were vandalised by them.

COTE D'IVOIRE - the water shortage in the southwest,caused by drought, is exacerbated by an infrastructure that has deteriorated since a brief civil war erupted in 2002.

GHANA - the Northern Regional Minister has sent out an SOS to stave off "a looming danger" as the region faces acute water shortage.

ZIMBABWE - The government has officially declared 2007 a year of drought following poor and erratic rains received across the country.

CHAD - Emergency water supplies in eastern Chad are overstretched and may not be able to meet the needs of thousands of people fleeing fighting in the area.

KENYA - The Kenya Cooperative Creameries plant in Kitale Town temporarily stopped accepting milk from farmers in February due to a two-week water shortage.
The Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited in Mombasa was shut down due to a water shortage.

REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA - water shortage in Mwenge and Ubungo National Housing in Kinondoni District.

MAURITIUS - protests in Palma took place and were a sign of a major difficulty that many people have been facing recently: water shortage.

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AUSTRALIA - should the drought continue, Melburnians face an UNPRECEDENTED water shortage at the end of this year.

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TRINIDAD & TOBAGO - A severe water shortage in Debe and Penal has left approximately 2000 families in 44 villages deprived of that precious commodity.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - In November of 2006, the water shortage crisis affecting more 60 communities for over eight months in the provinces of Montecristi, Valverde, Santiago and Santiago Rodriguez, was generating violent protests.

PERU - Glacier melt is causing long-term fears of a water shortage. Glaciers feed the rivers that feed the sprawling cities and shantytowns.

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CALIFORNIA - Water officials are now predicting water shortages in 2008 because of a lower than predicted snow pack; the LOWEST IN TWO DECADES.

OREGON - After digging three wells and spending almost $1 million, the Central Oregon town of Prineville has no new drinking water to show for its efforts and faces a potential water shortage.

NEVADA - Santa Cruz residents will soon be facing restrictions on water use due to some of the DRIEST WEATHER IN OVER A DECADE. Santa Cruz's water system is different from other local systems in that it's 98 percent dependent on surface water sources such as the San Lorenzo River. Without rain the streams and San Lorenzo River are running very low. Of the four levels of water conditions affecting the Santa Cruz water supply, the fourth and highest level, "critically dry," is in effect now. Santa Cruz's water is tied into the rest of the state as part of the same hydrological system connected to the Sierras. And the Sierras have had a bleak winter as well. The California Department of Water Resources conducted its fourth survey of the Sierra snow pack for the 2006-2007 snow season Wednesday morning and found that the amount of water in the statewide snow pack is at 46 percent of normal levels.

MONTANA has sued Wyoming over its water shortage. Montana claimed that Wyoming's excessive use of water from two shared rivers systems is leaving downstream Montana ranches and farms dry. Both states are suffering because of drought.

IDAHO - The Idaho Water Resource Board is trying to develop a plan to deal with the water shortage in the state.

FLORIDA - Parched conditions across the region have prompted the Peace River/Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority to declare a water shortage emergency.
4/1/07 -
FLORIDA - Using words like "grave" and "critical" to describe the drought, water managers warned that existing watering restrictions may not be enough to deal with conditions that they said are AMONG THE DRIEST ON RECORD and likely to worsen. New information shows water levels dropping dramatically in areas that supply South Florida's drinking water. "In just the past week, the water shortage situation has grown considerably more grave. And with little or no rain in our short-term forecasts, we could potentially be facing a critical water shortage situation the likes of which our residents have never experienced. Just two weeks ago, no one could have predicted the precipitous water level drops we've seen recently, and we want residents to be mindful of the severity of this shortage."

MARYLAND - Recycling waste water and processing salt water could help solve Maryland’s looming freshwater crisis.

FOOD SHORTAGES - 4/30/07 -
FOOD PRICES are rising globally. - The heat wave experienced across the world last summer battered harvests, driving up the price of sugar, wheat, fruit and orange juice, while freak rain storms in Vietnam were blamed for coffee prices hitting a seven-year high. North America's love affair with ethanol - produced mainly from corn - has unleashed a surprising surge of inflation through the global food supply chain. The US Department of Agriculture has warned that record high corn prices, caused in part by the crop's diversion into ethanol production, is likely to produce a sudden drop in meat supply, with a resulting upward pressure on prices. The impact is far from being confined to the US. The biofuels boom is causing corn and soybean prices to start moving in tandem with crude oil prices. The higher corn prices even make corn production more expensive. Higher corn prices factor into higher energy costs that go into making fertiliser. Even corn substitutes in the food chain are getting caught in the updraft, forcing up prices of edible oils, meat, dairy and chicken. As a result, the IMF is forecasting that food price inflation is likely to remain high in 2007 and beyond. In addition, power generators are considering converting their oil-fired power stations to run on palm oil. But palm oil is found in one in 10 supermarket products. Thus, if the price of palm oil rises as a result of increased demand for power generation, it would also drive up costs for food and cosmetics manufacturers. Consumer products giant Unilever grew so concerned about rising demand for rapeseed oil from biofuel manufacturers that late last year it lobbied the EU to allow the use of straw and household waste in making biofuels. Non-food use of rapeseed oil became more important than food use for the first time in 2005 as biodiesel demand rose. The United Kingdom appears to be suffering food price increases much more than other countries. The price of food has risen in five of the past seven months, even while the price of non-food items has kept falling. Tesco raised the price of lettuce by 10.9%, smoked bacon by 13% and milk by 11% in the three months to October. Food prices in the UK have been rising at an annual rate of 5.6%.

VIETNAM - RUBBER - farm output fell due to a longer than expected dry season, and the situation is unlikely to improve. Natural rubber exports in the first three months of the year only reached 148,000 tonnes, down 9.8 per cent compared to the same period in 2006. Exports were valued at US$254 million, down 5.6 per cent year-on-year. The reduced output was attributed to unusual weather patterns. "This year, [the seasonal] drought came early and lasted longer than in previous years." The dry season has passed, but has already taken its toll on harvests.

CANADA - If you eat, be worried. Canada's thin slice of fertile land that can reliably produce crops is disappearing at an increasing rate - and Ontario is taking the worst hit, losing thousands of acres a year. For a province with more than half the country's best farmland, the pressures from urban sprawl are ringing more and more alarms. "People have become complacent because it is so easy to go to a grocery store and there is food from all over the world readily available at quite reasonable prices. People have become disconnected from the agricultural industry and the food system." Canada is the world's second-largest country in land area, yet only 11 per cent of its land is of any agricultural use. While there are no signs of an immediate food shortage, situations can change, especially in an era of global security concerns and terrorism. "If you can't grow food within your own region, you are really cutting off your independence. If you pave it over, you are cutting off all your options for the future." The loss of farmland also means consumers will have to rely on their food being transported greater distances, with that extra transportation adding to pollution.

TRINIDAD - International market forces are being blamed for shortages of some food items in Trinidad and Tobago. Peas, beans, certain kinds of meats, cheese and other dairy products are now in short supply. There has been an increase in the price of split peas by over 70 percent. Wheat has increased by almost 40 percent and powdered milk by almost 50 percent in the last three months. Trinidad and Tobago producers of regular peas and beans are now diverting their crops to the growing of corn, which is now being used in the making of ethanol. The removal of subsidies in the European countries and the low production in both the United States and New Zealand are other contributing factors to food shortages and rising prices.

AUSTRALIA - WINE - drinkers face price increases of $2 a bottle on table wines and rises of up to $8 on top-of-the-range wines as the fall in grape production hits home. With frost and drought affecting the grape harvest severely for the 2007 vintage, prices are predicted to rise for most types of wine from the end of the year. Drought and frost have halved the amount of grapes crushed this year to about 1 million tonnes.
APPLES - Thousands of lorikeets are damaging apple crops in the Harcourt and Elphinstone areas. A lack of eucalypt flowers this season is forcing musk lorikeets to eat apple crops for food. The birds are a protected species - it is an offence to kill musk lorikeets without a permit.

BANGLADESH - There are some recent alarming reports about sheaves of standing IRRI-Boro crops in a vast area of Brahmanbaria district having developed no corns. It is essential to ascertain why paddy sheaves of crops in some areas of Brahmanbaria have not developed corns. Could it be due to use of seeds collected by farmers from crops raised in the previous season with genetically modified (GM) seeds? The GM seeds are said to be so modified that crops raised from them contain no fully fertile seeds. Equally disturbing are the simultaneous news about these crops in several northern districts having been adversely affected by a persistent shortage of irrigated water.

SURINAME - Several Amerindian villages in the remote southern areas of Suriname are being threatened by serious food shortage. The situation in the villages is very serious after a bad harvest, due to extreme weather conditions and fiddling cankers. News of the imminent food shortage started trickling in two weeks ago when villagers informed the authorities over the failure of the cassava crop, the main staple food in the area, and which yielded less than average quantities, to sustain the local communities. As a result of the mass flooding of the same area just a year ago, villagers didn’t plant as much as they were accustomed to. Furthermore, fiddling cankers caused massive damage to cassava fields and other crops. The area is only accessible by plane, making transportation of regular food items such as cooking oil, salt, sugar, rice and flour very expensive.

ZIMBABWE - Back-to-back dry years have drastically reduced Zimbabwe's crop yields, causing widespread hunger in rural communities, where residents are calling for immediate food aid. "This situation is worse than last year, even though the past season was also affected by drought...the majority of the land that was put under cereals are write-offs." The landscape is a dire picture of dusty maize fields, shrivelled before the tasselling stage, and villagers with little option other than to let cattle graze among the dry stalks at a time when they were expecting to gather the harvest ahead of the winter months. It is estimated that the country will produce about 600,000mt of cereals in the 2006-07 farming season, but the annual requirement is 1.8mt. Zimbabwe's official rate of inflation rate is now over 1,700 percent, although independent economists estimate that it has crossed the 2,000 percent threshold.

MOROCCO - A severe drought in combination with Morocco's poorly developed irrigation systems has devastated the country's agriculture this year. Rainfall levels this year are at 50% of the average and grain production is expected to reach only half of last year's levels. The drought has also affected livestock. Feed prices have risen beyond what livestock farmers can bear; a hay bale costs nearly twice as much as last year.

ETHIOPIA - food shortage this time has plagued one of the fertile parts of Ethiopia - Gambella. The flooded Gilo River in October and November, 2006, which destroyed all the crops at the river bank, is blamed for this natural disaster. In some villages, due to fears and political turmoil in the region, people failed to cultivate their farms.

SWAZILAND - In the last few months, Swaziland has suffered delayed rainfall, heavy winds and hailstorms, followed by scorching dry spells, which have all contributed to the WORST FOOD SHORTAGE IN 25 YEARS.

JAPAN - FISH - Like the blooming of cherry trees, the arrival of ikanago, or tiny sand eels, marks the start of spring in Japan. But this year, fishermen are reporting ikanago catches as small as one-tenth the volume of last year. What's more, the eels are larger than usual, posing a challenge for chefs who've had to adapt their menus to suit the bigger fish. Fishermen in Mikawa Bay and Ise Bay in Aichi Prefecture are also reporting poor ikanago catches, with volume down to about 40 percent of a regular year. There are few managatsuo butterfish from seas close to Japan and a marked decline in sardines this year. The changes are just some of the irregularities being reported by people in the seafood industry who say the unseasonably warm winter has produced some decidedly queer fish. In Osaka Bay, fishermen are catching oversized aji horse mackerel. During ordinary years, baby mackerel migrate to the bay during the spring and summer months then head off to outer waters during fall and winter. Specialists say full-grown mackerel that have wintered in the bay are very rare. "Maybe the mackerel got the seasons mixed up due to the warm winter and never left the bay." Local amagarei flounder were a lot bigger than normal this winter, and nori seaweed cultivated in local waters is thriving. The water temperature in the bay was consistently high since mid-January, with the temperature exceeding the average by over 3 degrees on some days. The water temperature in Tosa Bay during winter has been on the rise for more than 20 years. This year, when the temperature was measured in February, the surface water temperature was 18.9 degrees, the second-highest recorded since 1975. The normal average is 17.0 degrees. some fisheries are noticing a change in seasons, too. Yellowtail that are caught in the Hokuriku area along the Sea of Japan during the winter months of November through January have long been considered a winter delicacy. The kanburi haul was disappointing up to December, but soon after January, the catch began to increase, and the season continued until the end of February. This year, fresh hatsu-gatsuo, the first bonito of the season, has arrived late, and there are fewer fish than normal.

U.S. - LOBSTER - Restaurateurs and high-end grocers in the United States are scrambling to find any reserves of lobsters as an UNUSUAL shortage has left consumers paying RECORD-HIGH PRICES. Cold water temperatures and strong wind have forced U.S. retailers to raise their prices considerably, charging consumers about $30 Cdn per kilogram, nearly double the price from last year. "Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong." UNUSUALLY cold water has made the lobsters less hungry and less likely to venture out to seek food in traps. Prices are expected to ease as the weather warms up and the Canadian lobster season opens at the end of April.

U.S. EAST COAST - Farmers throughout the region are recovering from heavy rains, high winds and flooding during the storm of April 16. With two of the wettest springs in recent history, farmers have had to deal with conditions they haven't seen in decades. "I am concerned how this weather will affect our fruit buds. We really won't know how strong our fruit will be until the middle of June...The fruit's buds do not like large fluctuations in temperature. We hope the cold spell after January stabilized them but it is hard to tell." The past two winters have been very unique, creating abnormal weather conditions during the past two springs. "The past two Januarys have had long periods of abnormally warm weather sandwiched between cold weather before and after." This "double dip" winter has pushed colder and wetter weather to late winter and early spring. It is hard to pinpoint why the double dip winter is occurring. Many large weather systems around the globe, which exist over the oceans but affect land, influence each other and can often bring unpredictable weather to the region. Farmers dodged a bullet after the recent storm. "If the rain, wind, and flooding had come a week or two later we would all be in much more trouble." Farmers last year did not dodge the bullet, mainly because the rain came in May and washed away the crops that were already planted. This year, the rain came right before the major planting time for most farmers, delaying those plantings.

NEW YORK - Unseasonal weather has put the kibosh on many spring vegetables from local area sources, and for chefs that pride themselves on local ingredients, it’s a problem. “There are things that are delayed and may just be gone.” The list of missing vegetables includes: fava beans, fiddleheads, sorrel, nettles, peas, dandelion greens. The reason is obvious: “Put your finger in the dirt. It’s cold and wet. No one can plant.”

FLORIDA - HAY - Farmers across the South are hunting for hay. The extended drought has created an UNPRECEDENTED hay crisis "Everybody's horses are coming down with colic because there's no grass and no hay to give them.” Many of the coastal grasses that are normally cut to make hay have not grown in more than a year. According to the USDA, production of hay has fallen 16% in the last two years.

GEORGIA - TIMBER - Tree farmers must work just as fast as the wildfires racing across Southeast Georgia if they are to have any hope of salvaging timber burned by the massive infernos. "The hotter the fire, the shorter the time you've got to get it to the mill." At least $65 million of timber has been destroyed by Ware County wildfires sparked April 16 when wind blew down a power line. As little as 15 percent of that timber might be salvaged. "Burned wood can be used for brown paper bags. But charred wood, which has a lot of carbon in it, can't be bleached white enough to use for toilet paper or diapers in today's market." Hypothetically, if the burned areas are harvested immediately, they could be replanted in the fall. "But in practicality, it's going to be very difficult to get all that burned wood out of there quickly."

BARLEY - Malt supplies are expected to be in short supply this year, as European farmers shift their focus to grains for biofuel production.

POTATOES - Britain - "Because of the dry weather last summer, many farmers' crops were lighter than anticipated, which created a world shortage. When the rain finally came, the potatoes started to grow again, but they were very immature and were not frying properly." Since the shortage, the prices of potatos has gone up considerably (about double).

BEE DIE-OFF - the loss of bees will mean a shortage of honey. The bee loss also causes problems for other food producers. "The bees pollinate one-third of everything we eat." Some of the produce that honeybees pollinate are apples, tomatoes, almonds and alfalfa seeds, which are used to feed cattle. "They won't even be able to produce alfalfa seed without pollination from honeybees." The mysterious bee problem could mean the cost of other foods will rise. "I'm sure you'd miss eating strawberries, cucumbers, apples."

4/29/07 -
EUROPE - Drought has hit Hungary's key grain regions and may severely reduce grain and oilseed crops. "In mid-April the average temperature was 5-6 degrees Celsius higher than usual." In Italy, the Po River, which waters a region accounting for one-third of the country's agricultural production, fell on Sunday to 6.53 metres below its normal level at one control point, having dropped 80 centimetres in a week. The Netherlands has had no rain since March 22 and April will be the DRIEST IN AT LEAST 100 YEARS. Farmers have started pumping water from canals and rivers – also depleted – to irrigate their crops. Germany has also recorded the highest April average temperature – 12 degrees – and the most hours of sunshine – more than 276 – since record-keeping began in 1901. The lack of rainfall prompted several German states to issue warnings about the risk of forest fires which have hit neighbours Switzerland and Austria. This month is about to become the warmest April in Britain since records began nearly 350 years ago. Britain's Met Office said there was a one in eight chance that temperatures in the three summer months – July, August and September – will repeat the 2003 and 2006 heatwaves. "In meteorological terms, that is really quite a high probability." Temperatures from Belgium to Italy are averaging more than three degrees above the 30-year norm.

AUSTRALIA - Drought-hit Australia may offer a warning of how climate change threatens core human needs, as the continent's food bowl faces the prospect of having irrigation cut off. Canberra has said it will halt irrigation to an area that usually grows over a third of the country's farm produce, if heavy rain does not fall in the next few weeks. "If that happens, that is not just an economic blow to Australia, it will do significant damage beyond Australia because of its effect on world food prices."

CANADA - A severe log shortage made worse by nine months of extreme weather conditions on the B.C. coast is pushing up log prices and pitting log exporters against local sawmillers who say they need the wood to keep operating. As the winter snowpack melts, and loggers can get back up to higher-elevation stands, they are discovering the damage from last winter's storms was worse than they expected. The winter weather came on the heels of a dry summer that kept loggers out of the woods because of the risk of fire. "With fewer logs being harvested for a series of reasons, you've essentially got consumers of logs fighting over a shrinking pie."

U.S. - Halfway through, it was the COLDEST APRIL IN 24 YEARS. "The year-over-year change is AS EXTREME AS WE HAVE EVER SEEN." The extremes were especially noticeable two weeks ago, when a major nor'easter engulfed the mid-Atlantic and New England states. In New York's Central Park, 7.5 inches of rain fell - a record for one day in the month of April. The warm weather in March caused fruit trees in Ohio to bloom. But the snow in April severely damaged the crop. Some growers have lost their entire crop of apples. A weather-impact research firm in Pennsylvania issued a report that found soil temperatures are much lower than normal. "Optimistically, we're looking at May 5 before the planting can be completed. This could affect corn prices, which could even impact the price of gasoline since corn is used in making ethanol [now used as a blend in gasoline]."

4/27/07 -
World wheat prices flared on Thursday on fears that dry weather from Europe to Australia will damage crops and hit already tight supplies at a time when their use in biofuels is also on the rise. Continued lack of rainfall in Europe and Australia, both big wheat growing regions, rattled markets. French prices have now risen by 15 percent this month. Australia, which can grow up to 25 million tonnes of wheat a year, faces another bad season - last year drought decimated its harvest with production barely exceeding 10 million tonnes. In Europe, a lack of rain across the main wheat growing regions from France to Ukraine has dented earlier optimism that harvests this summer would be good. Analysts estimate ethanol distillers will use 2.15 billion bushels of US corn, or 20 percent of the 2006 crop, in making the alternative fuel, and the total might reach 3.1 billion bushels for 2007 crop. World wheat stocks are at their LOWEST LEVEL IN 25 YEARS.

4/26/07 -
Britain's "Noah's Ark" for plants has just collected its billionth seed in a race against time to save the world's plants from global warming wipe-out. Part of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, the bank already stores material from 18,000 species, some of which have become extinct in the wild. Seed banks are seen as an essential part of plans to curb the rapid loss of biodiversity in Britain and worldwide. By 2010, Kew plans to have amassed seeds from 30,000 species, representing 10% of the world's plants. "If policymakers are serious about funding adaptation to climate change, seed banks are a key part of that." Some seed will last for millennia, others for decades; these will be planted and germinated before their expiry date comes up, and the seed of their offspring collected and stored anew. "With threats not only from climate change but also deforestation, changes in land use and so on, seed-banking is the bare minimum."

AFRICA faces dire water shortages for between 75 and 250 million people in addition to crop shortages during the current century. The continent, already plagued by decades of desertification, faces even worse challenges as the areas suitable for growing, the rainy seasons and crop yields shrink. "This would further adversely affect food security and exacerbate malnutrition in the continent." Rising temperatures in Africa's large lakes - a major source of fish protein - could erode the fisheries.

CARIBBEAN - A new report says Caribbean food security, health and economic fortunes are under threat by global climate change. The implications of the findings are frightening. According to the report, in the last decade there has been an increase of stronger hurricanes; the seas in the region are becoming warmer and storms are becoming more intense; there have been changes in the annual levels of rainfall; salinisation of coastal zone waters; outbreaks of vector borne diseases such as dengue at unseasonal times; and migration of fish. The report urged action as procrastination could result in prolonged future drought; difficulties managing growing demands for depleting water resources; erosion of beaches due to rising sea levels and a decrease in agricultural output at the subsistence and commercial levels.

ARKANSAS - April’s RECORD-SETTING EARLY COLD SNAP and big freeze is taking an increasingly bigger chunk out of Southeast Arkansas’ agricultural production. Jefferson and Lincoln were among four counties added Tuesday to the disaster proclamation that now includes 52 of the state’s 75 counties. In Jefferson County, 30 percent or more of the wheat crop has been lost and corn and rice yields will be lessened. Soybeans may have been damaged too. 50% of the tomato crop there was feared destroyed and the remainder damaged. However, 80 percent of the tomatoes struck by the freezing temperatures “may be coming back.” The first crop may be a lower grade than normal and the tomatoes that are rebounding for a later yield won’t be ready until late in the season. The freezing temperatures earlier this month damaged crops across the state. “It is more severe than I anticipated. It’s much wider spread and much farther south than I thought.” Corn and wheat were particularly affected by the cold temperatures. “Both were caught in VERY UNUSUAL timing. We had warm weather in March and everything took off, then we had the freeze.” Before the cold snap, 70 percent of the state’s wheat crop was “rated as good to excellent.” The rating is now 14 percent at “good to excellent,” 22 percent very poor, 42 percent poor and 22 percent fair. Many farmers around the state have reported losing entire fields of corn and wheat. Farmers have also lost peaches, berries and grape crops in the freezing temperatures.

4/24/07 -
AUSTRALIA - GRAPES - Extreme weather conditions held the 2007 Australian wine grape harvest to the SMALLEST IN SEVEN YEARS. Drought, frost, bushfire and unseasonal rain kept Australia's winegrape harvest this year to 1.34 million tonnes - 29 per cent below the 2006 vintage.

KENTUCKY - this spring's strange hot-and-cold weather has caused a lot of plant damage. The extent of the damage is yet to be determined. People say they've never seen anything like what happened this spring. What caused the damage was the UNUSUALLY warm weather, the two weeks of 70- and 80-degree temperatures in late March and for the first few days of April. That got things growing well ahead of schedule and put the young, tender growth in jeopardy when normal temperatures returned. The damage goes far beyond the blackened flower beds and burned ornamentals. The woods that had been turning pastel green, almost overnight took on a sickly pallor of brown, gray and black. Particularly the hickories, which were well on their way to full leaf, are a sorry sight. The young leaves hang in black clumps from their limbs, almost like Spanish moss. The oaks weren't as far along, but many were blooming. Many trees, huge old ones, look so bad one wonders whether they'll recover. The common wisdom is they will, but the mast crops that squirrels and birds need to make it through next winter have been eliminated. Fruit crops have been wiped out or severely damaged from as far north as Ohio and Pennsylvania to as far south as the Carolinas. The early blooming red plums and apricots, which were already well set, are gone. And it is suspected the peaches and apples are too. The strawberries are only now blooming, and even though they were covered with a layer of straw during the cold weather, many of the blooms have blackened centers indicating they won't produce fruit. And even blueberries, normally resistant to the vagrancies of early spring weather, have been hammered. There'll be a few, but nothing like usual. The real damage, though, is to be found in the field crops. Some people who had rushed to get corn into the ground have lost whole fields, and it's only now becoming clear that much of the region's wheat crop was devastated, its value now as a green manure. The impact on the quantity, quality and price of food available for the dinner table is yet to be seen. In today's global economy, where grocery stores routinely offer produce from around the world, the effects of a lost crop in one region can be blunted. But this should serve to remind us how vulnerable our food supply is to something so completely outside our control as the weather. The best example of that in modern history is probably 1816, the "year without a summer" or "18 and froze to death." Cold weather brought snow and frosts to much of North America and Europe for nearly every month that year and prevented people from growing their normal crops. The weather was attributed to an Indonesian volcanic eruption in 1815 that put so much debris into the atmosphere it blocked the sun's rays in the Northern Hemisphere.

CANADA - the mystery is still unfolding in large parts of Ontario as apiarists are either finding their bees dead or gone. Some are just dead in the hives all huddled in a big cluster, with plenty of food. "It looked like they had a panic attack, as though they were all trying to leave at the same time." Some apiarists in the United States have found colonies left abandoned. Colonies hold about 80,000 to 100,000 bees. In an average year, apiarists will see a 10 to 20 per cent loss in colonies. In the Erie-Lincoln riding in the Niagara Region, 80 to 90 per cent of beekeepers have had substantial losses. A study by German researchers suggests cellphones and other high-tech communications devices may be part of the problem, causing honeybees to disappear en masse from their hives in parts of North America and Europe. But apiarists say there could be any number of reasons, including changing weather patterns and mites or other types of infestations. The phenomenon, known as colony collapse disorder (CCD), is playing havoc with the production of honey and other products from the hive - and threatening the growing of fruit and vegetable crops, which depend on bees for pollination. As much as 60 per cent of the world's food is pollinated by honey bees.

4/23/07 -
CHINA - More than 10% of China's farm land is polluted, posing a "severe threat" to the nation's food production, state media reports. Arable land shrank by nearly 307,000 hectares (760,000 acres) in the first 10 months of 2006. Excessive fertiliser use, polluted water, heavy metals and solid wastes are to blame. Rapid economic growth has had a damaging impact on China's environment. Its cities, countryside, waterways and coastlines are among the most polluted in the world. Heavy metals alone contaminate 12m tonnes of grain each year.
About 500,000 people in northern China are suffering from a shortage of drinking water because of a drought that began late last year. More than 200 small reservoirs in Hebei province have dried up. The water shortage is also affecting farmland in the area, one of China's major wheat and corn growing provinces. Last month it was reported that a drought in south-western China could continue well into April, affecting nearly 10 million people.
CHINA - Drought in northeastern China has forced farmers to scramble for supplies to keep crops and livestock alive.

AUSTRALIA could be forced to rely on overseas farmers to feed itself as the nation's food bowl dries up. Prime Minister John Howard warned of a national food shortage amid gloomy predictions of a 500% blowout in fruit and vegie prices. Despite unprecedented national prosperity and wealth, the unrelenting drought is bringing one of the world's largest food producers to its knees. The Murray Darling Basin needs to receive substantial rain. The basin accounts for 34 per cent of Australia's agricultural production, including 75 per cent of irrigated crops and pastures.
Australian farmers face “UNPRECEDENTEDLY DANGEROUS” water shortage. "It is a grim situation and there is no point in pretending to the Australian public otherwise”. Meat prices would be likely to initially fall as farmers in the basin were forced to sell their stock for slaughter, but they would then rise sharply as herds were rebuilt, a process that tends to take years. Last February the Australian Agriculture and Economic Resources Office warned that this season’s crops could be reduced as much as 60%. It specifically mentioned that 90% of the rice and 42% of the cotton crops were lost.
AUSTRALIA - the drought in the Murray-Darling river basin — which provides three quarters of the country’s water — is reckoned to be the WORST IN 1000 YEARS.
AUSTRALIA - One of the south-east's biggest farmers began laying off staff in January because of a critical shortage of irrigation water.

INDIA - An acute water shortage has hit Tumu Township plunging the community into discomfort and putting the lives and health of the residents at risk. The Tumu District Hospital is recording high prevalence of diseases among patients in recent time due to the drinking of polluted water. Some of the residents said after drinking water fetched from a dam, the only available source of water, they develop stomach pains. The 10,000 residents have been without good drinking water for the past 16 years but the situation has worsened between January and April this year. Women and children could be seen carrying plastic containers, basins and pots in search of water from the nearby communities day and night. "For the lack of water, chop bar operators and other cooked food sellers have abandoned their operations, while some residents are unable to prepare meals for their households." Government workers leave their workplaces and look for water at the expense of working time, while farmers are unable to go to their farms to prepare the fields in readiness for the cropping season.

MADAGASCAR is still reeling after being hammered by the sixth cyclone since late last year. The island's staple food source, rice, was particularly hard hit, and much of the crop was destroyed by flooding. The Maroansetra area lost almost 19,000 acres (7,500 hectares) of planted rice. The storm destroyed 20 percent of rain-fed rice and about 80 percent of irrigated rice fields. Since rice is the staple food in Madagascar, a serious food crisis is underway, affecting more than 175,000 people. Estimates of national losses will only start when the harvest begins in May, but the government forecasts that the amount of rice imported will likely double this year.

VIETNAM - Mekong Delta Provinces are taking measures to protect agricultural production from a severe drought that has been drying crops to death since March, as an abnormally long dry season has not let up. Salt water has penetrated 45-50 kms inland in Ben Tre Province to Ben Tre Town, threatening thousands of hectares of orchards in Cho Lach District.
NORTH VIETNAM - Between 142000 and 240000 ha of winter-spring rice crops in northern Vietnam are likely to face water shortage.

U.S. -
NORTH DAKOTA - An ongoing drought has altered the lives of thousands of people in western North Dakota. For some it has meant spikes in their water bill or driving a few extra miles to find a boat ramp that’s still wet. But for so many others the ramifications have been much more severe - businesses and farmers are closing up shop. From a lack of moisture to the skyrocketing prices of fertilizer, fuel and land, many producers could be facing a tipping point. “In the rural America I’m familiar with, the slipshod operators are gone and the people looking for a handout are gone. The next tier that tips over will have a long-term impact here and throughout the country.”
KANSAS - An unpredictable weather season and wildfires across the country affected the 2006 hay production to the point that there is a shortage of quality hay.

4/20/07 -
FLORIDA - State water managers want permission from the federal government to use more Everglades water than usually allowed to restock drought-strained drinking water supplies - half of which typically ends up irrigating lawns and landscapes. That would lower the Everglades water conservation areas beyond limits set to protect wildlife habitat. Just how badly fish, bird and alligator populations would suffer depends on how low the water goes and for how long. Shrinking fish populations, wading birds forced to nest elsewhere and alligators wandering into urban areas to look for water are among the potential ramifications. Long-term concerns include muck fires burning away habitat, and melaleuca and other non-native plants further invading natural areas. It would be a "painful" decision to dip deeper into Everglades water, but ONE OF THE WORST DROUGHTS IN HISTORY might require it. Using more water from the conservation areas to bail out well fields "intensifies" drought problems in the Everglades. "It's all connected. You are going to reduce the entire food chain...It takes several years for that to come back." Lake Okeechobee has dropped 5 feet below normal. The drought, coupled with a decision last year to lower the lake in advance of hurricanes that never materialized, leaves the lake about 10 feet above sea level. After a two-year drought that ended in 1990, it took six years for Everglades bird populations to rebound. Building more reservoirs to capture rainwater now drained to sea, tapping deeper underground sources and recycling more wastewater for irrigation are among the alternatives to taking more water from the Everglades.

AUSTRALIA - irrigation of much of the nation's farmland will be banned unless there is heavy rainfall in the next month. There will only be enough water in the huge Murray-Darling river system for drinking purposes. This will have a "potentially devastating" impact on many horticultural, crop and dairy industries around the river basin. But there is no choice, and the situation is "grim". Irrigators are already warning that if they cannot water their land, there will be huge crop losses and Australian consumers will face large price rises. Australia is suffering from its worst drought on record, and the lack of rainfall has already severely reduced the production of major irrigated crops in the Murray-Darling river basin. "If it doesn't rain in sufficient volume over the next six to eight weeks, there will be no water allocations for irrigation purposes in the basin until May 2008." Thousands of farmers could lose their citrus, almond and olives trees if they cannot be watered this year. "If those ... trees do die, then it takes a number of years to recover - maybe five to six years of lost production." Australia may not have a rice crop at all this season if it gets no irrigation allocations. Australia's wine grape production and the farming of stone fruits is also likely to be affected.
Food prices will inevitably soar if farms in the Murray-Darling Basin do not receive adequate rain. With prices set to begin rising within weeks, it could take years for the agricultural sector to recover and this will force thousands of farmers off the land. The long list of items affected includes milk, most green-leaf crops, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, all stone fruits including peaches, nectarines and plums, citrus fruits including oranges, mandarins and lemons, pome fruit including apples and pears, and nuts, including almonds, macadamias and pecans. Cheap bottles of wine are also expected to become an endangered species. If grape vines and fruit trees die, it will take between five and seven years for them to regrow. This year's grape crop is already down 30-40% on last year. (photo / video)
Warning signs for the severe water shortages now facing Murray-Darling Basin irrigators have been known for decades, a South Australian water expert said. The river system has been exploited since the 1970s and measures to counter the stress on it could have been taken years ago. “The Murray-Darling Basin has been under stress for 20 or 30 years and in that time, unfortunately, we have increased our extraction, particular in the irrigation area....allocations are just so high that you need a far bigger than average rainfall season to even provide their normal licence provisions.”
If rainfall in the Murray-Darling Basin mimics patterns from last century, farmers will get less rain over the next 40 years. Last year's river inflows for the Murray-Darling Basin, which includes much of Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia, were 60% LOWER THAN THE AREA'S LOWEST MINIMUM SINCE RECORDINGS BEGAN 115 YEARS AGO. State governments have recognised they had over-allocated water to farmers, because of water storage expectations based on the last century. "Over the last half of the last century, when most of the irrigation allocations were given out, (it) was wetter than the first half of last century and maybe we're going back to more like the first half of last century."

Soaring prices for farm goods, driven in part by demand for crop-based fuels, are pushing up the price of food world-wide and unleashing a new source of inflationary pressure. The rise in food prices is already causing distress among consumers in some parts of the world - especially relatively poor nations like India and China. One of the chief causes of food-price inflation is new demand for ethanol and biodiesel, which can be made from corn, palm oil, sugar and other crops. That demand has driven up the price of those commodities, leading to higher costs for producers of everything from beef to eggs to soft drinks. Food-price inflation has been climbing - in some cases sharply - in India, China, Europe, and even smaller economies like Turkey, South Africa and Poland. In Hungary, it is running at more than 13% a year, compared with less than 3% in 2005. In China, food prices are climbing at a 6% pace, more than three times the speed of a year ago. Prices are also up in Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. The U.S., too, is seeing some stirrings, with food costs rising 3.1% in February from the year before -- a rate one percentage point higher than in mid-2005. Economists say U.S. food prices are expected to rise faster than the general rate of inflation this year. Wholesale prices of meat, poultry and eggs have already increased. Many countries are facing shortages of land and water that didn't exist during past food-price spikes, so they can't easily plant more to ease the strain. Global grain stocks are at their LOWEST LEVEL IN 30 YEARS, after several years of strong global economic growth, and could become even tighter if farmers divert more crops to make ethanol or other fuels.

U.S. - Fruit growers in Missouri and Illinois face significant losses after record-low temperatures wreaked havoc on orchards. The growers said this could be the WORST DAMAGE THEY'VE HAD IN MORE THAN A DECADE. Fruits like apples, peaches and grapes in their early stages of development cannot survive several nights of below-freezing temperatures. Apples are in their most vulnerable stage in early April. "It hit at exactly the wrong time. There's going to be a light crop this year." "We have never had this much cold this far into the season. We've had cold snaps, but not like this." Warm weather in March caused primary and secondary grape buds to grow earlier than usual. Low temperatures froze both sets of buds, leading to greater loss.

4/2/07 -
Northern nations such as Russia or Canada may be celebrating better harvests and less icy winters in coming decades even as rising seas are washing away Pacific island states. "At least for a few decades there will be a few winners," says the head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. But he says most scenarios foresee an extended rise in temperatures this century, stoked by rising concentrations of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels. "Clearly there would be no winners left anywhere." "And in many regions, farming cannot simply move north; Russia and Canada simply lack suitable soils."

ZIMBABWE - MAIZE - Drought has wiped out 95 per cent of maize crops in a province of southern Zimbabwe. Matabeleland South was now expected to harvest just 5,580 tons of maize, out of the province's required 115,565 tons. 226,893 school pupils are in need of supplementary food this year and livestock in the cattle-rearing province would require supplementary feeding from May, when grazing would no longer be adequate. Last week Zimbabwe's Agriculture Minister declared 2007 a drought year. He announced that crops in some areas were a complete write-off. Even traditional greenbelt areas have been affected by the dry spell.
ZIMBABWE, once one of Africa's most prosperous countries, is sliding deeper into economic meltdown. "People can't think about luxuries like biscuits or deodorant any more. They just buy what they really need - they have to wash and they have to cook." With inflation topping 1,700 percent and unemployment at more than 80 percent, Zimbabwe's economy is shrinking faster than any other outside a war zone and many people struggle to pay for even the most basic foodstuffs. Analysts say the growing crisis threatens economic stability in the region and officials say South Africa, which has maintained a policy of quiet diplomacy concerning its neighbour, is increasingly worried about the mess on its doorstep. Widespread food shortages are pushing prices for groceries through the roof. Many in the former British colony survive on food parcels from relatives who have left Zimbabwe to seek work in neighbouring South Africa.

4/1/07 -
Scientists say it has become increasingly clear that worldwide precipitation is shifting away from the equator and toward the poles. That will nourish crops in warming regions like Canada and Siberia while parching countries like Malawi in sub-Saharan Africa, which are already prone to drought. “Alaska will probably become good for agriculture, Siberia will probably become good for agriculture, but where does that leave Africa?” In the face of warming, it might be necessary to abandon the longstanding notion that all places might someday feed themselves. Poor regions reliant on unpredictable rainfall, should be encouraged to shift people out of farming and into urban areas and import their food from northern countries. While the richer northern nations may benefit temporarily, “As you march through the decades, at some point - and we don’t know where these inflection points are - negative effects of climate change dominate everywhere.”

CHAD - The World Food Programme warned on Friday that 80 thousand Chadians are running out of food in the eastern border region with Sudan and face a desperate struggle to survive unless new donations meet the needs of a rising tide of people driven from their homes. "These people were forced to leave their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs. They are completely dependent on host communities who can barely feed themselves, and their living conditions are going from bad to worse." The UN agency said it was racing against time to pre-position as much food as possible before the rainy season, which is expected to start in late June, making most roads in eastern Chad impassable. "The vast majority of displaced live in flimsy shelters patched together from straw or millet stalks, which will not survive the seasonal rains. One in five families do not even have a roof. Few have access to potable water or latrines, and local health services are unable to handle the unexpected flood of new patients."

DJIBOUTI - WFP has said that a critical shortage of funds has set in motion preparations to cease vital food aid rations to 53,000 people in Djibouti, where malnutrition rates among children under five are well over the international emergency threshold. Over the past five years, a series of droughts have hit Djibouti. The most severe was in early 2006, when rains failed completely, and pastoralist families lost many or all of their animals. The series of recurring droughts have stretched to the limit the traditional survival strategies of many pastoralists. Malnutrition rates among children younger than five are already alarming in Djibouti. Thousands of households would run short of food in the coming months, with livestock in some inland areas already showing signs of stress.

NORTH KOREA - A senior North Korean official has admitted to a severe food shortage in the communist country, saying it is currently short of some 1 million tons. The North will need between 5.24 million tons and 6.47 million tons of food this year. Depending on climate conditions, the availability of fertilizer and other factors, the communist state may be able to produce only 4.3 million tons by itself.

3/30/07 -
Experts are concerned that climate change will threaten some 132 million Asians with starvation by the year 2050, according to a dire report. "Grain harvests in the Asian region will drop by as much as 30 percent, leading to skyrocketing food prices and the starvation of 132 million people in Asia in the 2050s, if fossil fuels continue to be consumed at the current rate." Harvests have already declined in some parts of Asia, and the report says rising temperatures are only part of the problem. Flooding, heat waves and droughts are said to have contributed to the shortfall.

3/7/07 -
CANADA - Farmers in southwest Saskatchewan are concerned about the lack of snow cover on their fields and are raising the alarm about drought. "We've had these two extremely dry years and the extreme heat, with the drought, especially last year, devastated the crop production." Cattle farmers are also preparing for the worst. "The pastures are so depleted in this area that many ranchers are reducing cow herds and in some cases, entire cow herds are going to - the market." Not only is there little water but the quality is so poor, it's been making livestock sick.

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2006 -
The global network of agricultural research centres warns that famines lie ahead unless new crop strains adapted to a warmer future are developed. Yields of existing varieties will fall. New forecasts say warming will shrink South Asia's wheat area by half. "We're talking about a major challenge here. We're talking about challenges that have to be dealt with at every level, from ideas about social justice to the technology of food production. We're talking about large scale human migration and the return to large-scale famines in developing countries, something which we decided 40 or 50 years ago was unacceptable and did something about." Research published two years ago shows rice yields are declining by 10% for every degree Celsius increase in night-time temperature. Rising temperatures will open up areas of the world which are currently too cold for crop cultivation, in regions such as Siberia and northern North America. But the extra yield from these regions will not fill the shortfall in the tropics - added to which there are questions of how poorer tropical countries will afford to buy food from richer temperate states. One of the most exciting initiatives aims to make a fundamental modification to rice so it becomes more efficient at using the Sun's energy. "It's much easier to solve a problem before we get to a crisis. With climate change we're definitely talking about a crisis, and it's coming within our lifetimes."

AUSTRALIA -
WHEAT - The drought is expected to wipe more than $6.2 billion from farm production this financial year as wheat growers face their SMALLEST HARVEST IN MORE THAN 10 YEARS. ORANGE JUICE prices are set to rise as a result of one of the SMALLEST VALENCIA ORANGE CROPS IN 20 YEARS in Australia. This year's crop is 26 per cent smaller than last year's seasonal crop. Drought and poor climatic conditions, including significant frost damage early in the growing season, were factors in the small crop. "World shortages will also keep demand for citrus elevated, with US and Brazilian orange production down."
AUSTRALIA - Fruit and vegetable crops have been wiped out in wild storms that lashed south-east Queensland on the 16th. Small crop growers in the Cooroy district and areas near Childers were assessing millions of dollars worth of the damage to their farms after severe hail storms struck on Saturday. Initial reports indicated that mango, lychee, pineapple, avocado, pumpkin, ginger, passionfruit and stonefruit crops were among those affected by the hail and wind. Golf ball-sized hailstones caused "incredible destruction" not only to crops, but to infrastructure such as sheds, farm equipment, netting and sprinkler systems. "This is a considerable setback as lychee trees, to take one example, take four years to mature enough to fruit again."
AUSTRALIA - Shoppers are being warned that vegetable prices could rise by 30 per cent before Christmas, and even double in January, as the drought continues to hurt production. And it is not just the drought that is set to hurt prices. Fruit and vegetable growers in southern Queensland are counting the cost of devastating hail storms which swept through the region late on 12/12. While up to 90 millimetres of rain was recorded in gauges on the Darling Downs, the hail has left a multi-million dollar damage bill. Growers have reported damage to crops of cabbages, strawberries, plums, table grapes, tomatoes, mangoes and avocadoes and lettuce.
AUSTRALIA - Forecasts for the NSW winter crop production have been slashed by almost 50 per cent. The crop forecast is now at 3.23 million tonnes, down from previous estimates of 6.41 million tonnes. Farmers have not had a decent crop in more than four years. More than 8.5 million tonnes of grain would be harvested across the state in a good year. Only 2.5 million hectares of crop would be harvested this year, a big drop from four million hectares last year.
AUSTRALIA - EGG prices are set to rise as the drought sends grain costs soaring. Egg prices are likely to soon rise by 20 to 30 cents a dozen. Egg farmers are no longer able to absorb the skyrocketing cost of grain - the single biggest cost in egg production. The ongoing drought in south-eastern Australia had forced up GRAIN costs by 77 per cent over the past year. The drought will continue to affect egg prices and their availability, as the high cost of grain is unlikely to fall in the short to medium term, whether the drought breaks or not. Last year's winter grain crop was down about 60 per cent and the present summer crop was estimated to be down by the same amount. "With record shortages of grain worldwide and increasing competition from the emerging biofuels industry, there is simply not enough grain to go around."

Scientists are reporting a dramatic loss of HONEYBEE colonies. Some beekeepers say they're losing 20 percent of their bees, others say half, some say 80 percent. They open the hives to find the bees dead, or gone. When the bees get sick, they'll instinctively leave the hive to try and protect the others. More and more bees are doing just that, and no one is sure why. The die-off is UNPRECEDENTED. The normally resilient bees dissected showed traces of not one or two diseases, but nearly every disease known to affect them over the past century. They had ALL the diseases at once, a sign their immune systems have been compromised. "We are seeing something very similar in terms of bee AIDS here. The bees are immuno-compromised, being stressed somehow." Some of the stress could be related to travel, since the bees are being trucked or flown across the country every spring to pollinate different crops. Some could be related to the severe weather swings we've seen over the past few years. But many questions remain unanswered. Scientists working on the case don't think this is just a cyclical thing. It's UNCOMMON, UNUSUAL, and frightening to everyone associated with the industry. Bees are partially responsible for one out of every three bites of food the average American eats. Without the bees, crops such as almonds are misshapen, discolored, or unhealthy. The yield would be drastically reduced, less attractive, and more expensive. And this is a scenario that could play out later this year. You may see higher prices, and/or less fresh fruit and vegetables on the shelves.
INDIA - With unpredictable weather having a devastating impact on agriculture, India called for setting up a global fund to invest in forecasting systems giving accurate information to farmers. Observing that the agricultural output in the country was on a decline, farmers need to be provided with accurate localized weather forecasts to enable him take a decision on sowing and harvesting the crop. Huge investments were required in the instrumentation to set up systems to collect, analyze and disseminate weather-related information to the end users. "Agricultural output has to be twice as much by 2025 to ensure food security for all."
12/13/06 -
Drought was forcing farmers to shoot their livestock.
10/29/06 -
RASPBERRIES, BRAMBLEBERRIES, BOYSENBERRIES - A FREAK BLACK FROST wiped out this year's crop. But most of the blueberry plants survived the cold snap that damaged fruit crops across south eastern Australia. The black frost was a FREAK occurrence when the air was very dry and cold. "It's the first time I've seen one in 25 years. It's RARE to get any frost at this time of year." Black frost occurs when the temperature is below zero but there is not enough moisture in the air to produce a visible frost. It is called a black frost because shortly after a black frost the leaves of frost susceptible plants will turn black and die.
Week through 10/17 -
40 nations are facing a food shortage emergency and require external aid, while the crisis in the Sudanese region of Darfur continues to be the worst humanitarian emergency. The production outlook for world cereal crops for 2006 has deteriorated since last July. In Argentina, Brazil and Australia, the wheat harvest was affected by very dry and hot weather, and a drier than normal season in regions of southern Asia has threatened the second rice harvest of 2006. Floods, erratic rainfall and conflicts causing population displacements have worsened the food supply situation in several African regions.
Wheat prices soaring on drought fear - Wheat became the latest commodity to be gripped by a speculative boom as fears of a drought in Australia triggered the sharpest price spike for almost two decades.

ILLINOIS - Soybeans set for RECORD harvest, at 3.19 billion bushels, which would be the highest production on record.
FLORIDA - US government predicts low Florida orange harvest, the lowest Florida orange crop since 1990, when the state saw freak freezes.
This year’s extreme weather, including the worst flooding to hit Northeastern Massachusetts in more than 70 years, forced farmers to rethink their planting, leaving the pumpkin crop green and undersized.
MISSISSIPPI - Peanut yields vary widely from one end of Mississippi to the other as a result of the 2006 drought.

AUSTRALIA - Australians were warned they will soon be paying more for basic food because of a RECORD drought.
AUSTRALIA - many farmers still suffering the effects of the 2002 drought, the worst in 100 years. "And I've also said, with the rainfall deficiency extending through the month of September and worsening in key states ... the situation is worsening. Whichever way you look at it, this is a very serious situation. This is shaping up to be the WORST DROUGHT AUSTRALIA HAS EXPERIENCED.'' Crops throughout the country's wheatbelt would not come to fruition because there was no rain. "In terms of farm production, farm production fell markedly in the last quarter and we could be looking at recession in terms of farm production, that is farm production going backwards."
AUSTRALIA - Drought prompts plan to stockpile grain, a radical plan to stockpile wheat and divert grain from export to ensure Australia can feed itself through the crippling drought.
The price of a carton of eggs is set to rise, with egg farmers warning they will soon be unable to absorb higher production costs associated with the ongoing drought.

INDIA - Climate change is a challenge to rice cultivation.
Many farmers in Asia are already concerned about rice crops, which seem to have been affected by rising temperatures, and were "running around looking for some of the more primitive cultivars because they are hardier".

China - Cotton yield of Xinjiang sets new RECORD.
PHILIPPINES - Typhoon “Milenyo,” which struck Luzon two week ago, wrought havoc on the coco biodiesel sector when it destroyed the trees.
The Philippines will import 3,000 tons of chicken from the US after the recent typhoon destroyed numerous poultry farms.

Afghanistan is in the grip of a devastating drought. Up to 2.5 million people are facing acute food shortages due to a severe drought which has affected crops throughout the north, west and central regions.
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Week through 10/4 -
AUSTRALIA:
AUSTRALIA, the world's second-largest wheat exporter, cut its harvest forecast by 28 percent because of dry weather, helping to boost prices that are averaging the HIGHEST IN 10 YEARS. "Most cropping regions of Australia recorded below to very-much-below average winter rainfall, with some regions recording their LOWEST WINTER RAINFALL ON RECORD. Wheat supplies have been cut in a number of major exporting nations, not only in the northern hemisphere but also in the southern hemisphere." Barley production will fall to 5.8 million metric tons and canola output will drop to 775,000 tons, the LOWEST IN 10 YEARS.
Crop forecastsare the LOWEST IN 12 YEARS - Most South Australian farmers are heading for one of their worst years ever, with the emerging drought drastically cutting crop estimates.
Continuing drought across much of eastern Australia has led to a significant downward revision in national wool production forecasts.
The long-term effects of last week's snap frost across the Goulburn Valley are likely to be as devastating as those of Cyclone Larry.

CANARY ISLANDS - The effect of the heat wave on agriculture has been little short of catastrophic in some areas. Farmers are concerned the sizzling summer has done-in their crops which they have watched withering on branch and vine. Particularly badly affected have been tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers.
NEBRASKA - Drought this year in Nebraska's prime wheat-growing area contributed to an 11-percent decline in the crop this year.
Some Florida orange growers are expecting a bad citrus season due to droughts, hurricanes, tree disease and urban sprawl, with juice prices already eight per cent higher than in 2005 and likely to climb more.
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Week through 9/27 -
Where is the food going to come from? - With drought in North Dakota, South Dakota, all the way down to Oklahoma, and Texas, it's the worst drought since 1936 - record heat - stock dams that have never been dry before, a lot of them were dredged in the 30's and haven't been dry since then. Crops with zero bushels. This isn't just about money - after years of disasters it's about the future. If farmers go belly up where will our food come from?
CALIFORNIA - winegrape yields varying - Attesting to this year’s unusual weather patterns, ripening of Chardonnay grapes, usually the first off the vine, is delayed.
CALIFORNIA - Summer Heat Wave Impacts Local Farmers’ Market - The record-breaking, triple-digit heat wave that rolled through California this summer did untold harm to the state’s $31.8 billion agricultural industry.
TENNESSEE - Dry summer leads to hay shortage.
UTAH - Aspen die-off sends quake through West's scientists - The questions seem to be piling up as fast as the West's aspen trees are dying, starting with "Why?". In recent years, most noticeably this summer in Colorado, there have been mysterious mass die-offs. In some places, stands are dying even as close neighbors continue to thrive. Since 2003, Utah has seen die-offs across thousands of acres. This summer, Colorado has seen similar die-offs. It is unclear which problem or set of problems might be responsible for the die-offs. Cytospora cankers, a plant disease; insects, such as the large aspen tortrix; and climate change are all possible culprits.
MASSACHUSETTS - This year's extreme weather, including the worst flooding to hit Northeastern Massachusetts in more than 70 years, forced farmers to rethink their planting.
AUSTRALIA - The Victorian Government must declare a natural disaster in the Goulburn Valley after frost devastated the region's fruit crops. Temperatures unexpectedly plunged to minus five degrees celsius on Sunday night, 9/24, ruining healthy young fruit – including apricot, plum, peach and plum crops – across the region. The frost was expected to have destroyed half the region's output of fruit.
AUSTRALIA - Farming sector fears worst - The present drought is expected to be the most damaging in more than a century and threatens to cut the value of agricultural production by billions of dollars.
CHINA - Drought saps Chinese crops - Farmers in southwest China this year suffered the country's worst drought in 50 years. Two-thirds of the region's rivers dried up.
GUYANA - Farmers feeling the effects of climate change in Guyana - Farmers in Guyana are learning to cope with their experiences of climate change especially after the devastating floods of 2005 and 2006. “We don’t have a regular wet and dry season anymore. What we now have is a prolonged dry period.” “We know we used to get flood in May and June, but now rains coming in December and January. It is difficult for rice farmers to read the weather like we could have some years ago." The weather patterns now being experienced are different from the past, especially for the last five years.
CANADA - Heavy rain halting Alberta crop production - Provincially, it is estimated that 83 per cent of the crop is in the bin, compared to an average progress of about 50 per cent at this time in most years.
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Week through 9/13 -
World leaders need to force an end to "crazy" agricultural policies that fuel the global obesity epidemic by keeping unhealthy food cheap, a conference has been told. Existing farm policies, particularly agricultural subsidies in the European Union and US, had been damaging people's health for decades. “At the moment the whole world is distorted by crazy agricultural policies which have, over a matter of 50 years, essentially caused the heart disease and diabetes and obesity epidemics."
WHEAT - From Australia to Argentina, erratic weather is slashing wheat crops of the major producers, which is threatening to push up prices to multi-year highs and making it difficult for countries to replenish stocks. While the world's carryover stocks could cushion the blow, the crop woes coincide with rising demand from Europe and India, which is grappling a with a huge shortfall. Appetite for feed wheat for livestock is also likely to grow as mills cut the usage of corn because its price has soared on strong demand from ethanol makers. "It is going to be a year of tight supplies." The U.S. Agriculture Department has forecast output will fall 14 percent to 1.80 billion bushels, the smallest crop in four years. The USDA expects the drought to push U.S. prices to its highest levels in 10 years. Meanwhile, Australia's production is expected fall up to 30 percent.
The coming downfall of American, Australian and British agriculture will be shocking and devastating. Overflowing storehouses are about to become a blessing of the past. The times of cheap and abundant food in these nations are coming to an end! Even now, natural disasters and weather catastrophes are devastating crops and spurring a decline in agricultural production in these nations. As a result, food prices are rising, and many analysts predict that the problem will only grow worse. Unpredictable and devastating weather conditions are jeopardizing access to one of life’s most elemental needs: food! North America, Britain and Australia are currently being inflicted by some of the worst droughts in their history. Clean and abundant water is becoming a highly sought-after commodity in many regions throughout these nations. The whole globe is suffering to one degree or another under adverse and unpredictable patterns, which we can expect to continue. (FYI - this turns into a religious article).
US Crop report shows timely rain helped - The US corn and soybean harvest is expected to be the second largest on record.

Afghan drought threatens 'millions' - millions of people in Afghanistan face the prospect of starvation because drought has destroyed harvests.
AUSTRALIA - Drought ruins $400m in grain crops - drought conditions threaten a disastrous year.
CHINA - Drought hits grain harvest - The area's worst drought in 50 years has affected nearly 2.1 million hectares of cropland, resulting in a loss of nearly 5 million tons of grain.
THE COUNTRY OF GEORGIA - unfavorable weather conditions reduced the yield of approximately 10-15% of tomato, bell pepper, and egg-plant. And, the quality of the produce declined as well, as modern technologies of fruit and vegetable irrigation have not been wide-spread in Georgia yet. Drought negatively influenced the quality of grown fruits as well (apple, peach and pear). According to the specialists' assessments, the gross output of "extra" and "first" grade fruits will not exceed 60-65 % this year; this figure normally reaches 70 - 80%.
INDIA - the monsoon has been erratic this season, which could put a damper on incomes and cut production for staples such as RICE and WHEAT. This year's four-month monsoon rains, vital for crops and farm incomes, have been excessive in some regions, triggering floods, but patchy in other areas.
INDIA - Earlier this year the lentil crop in New Delhi was nearly destroyed by unusual weather, causing prices to soar. While nearly everyone in India was affected, the high prices had an especially profound effect on the poor. Hoping to stabilize prices for that population, the government banned all exports of the legumes. In the US ethnic resturants have seen the price of lentils rise from $1 a pound to nearly $5 a pound, when they can find them. "We did not imagine that something like this would ever happen."
VIRGINIA - Drought, Heat Take Toll - This year’s drought, possibly the worst in seven years, cost farmers much of the expected harvest from key cash crops.
Drought cutting into peanut supply.
OREGON - Drought hits honey prices, hive rental fees. Coupled with drought conditions in other countries such as China and Argentina, the summer US droughts should also raise honey prices.
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Week through 8/29 -
U.S. - farmers fear the U.S. Plains is facing its limits as a world producer of wheat, beef, vegetable oils and other crops due to long-term water shortages. "Farmers aren't going to be able to produce enough food to feed the world because there's a finite amount of water left in the world. There are many folks that will tell you the next war will not be over gold, silver or land, it will be over water." The US National Weather Service's outlook through October saw persistent drought from eastern Montana to Minnesota and on down through Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas - the main spring-wheat and winter-wheat growing areas of the United States as well as its main cattle and beef production region. The United States for decades has been the planet's "food reserve," the top exporter of wheat, corn and soybeans and the largest single provider of food aid to other nations.
With parts of South Dakota at its epicenter, a severe drought has slowly sizzled a large swath of the Plains States, leaving farmers and ranchers with conditions that they compare to those of the Dust Bowl of the 1930's. Scientists deemed the weather conditions and its effects in the areas of the worst drought A ONCE-IN-50-YEARS EXPERIENCE. In some cases, it has been worse than that. On July 15, a weather station in Perkins County, S.D., near North Dakota, recorded a temperature of 120 degrees. That matched the highest ever reported in the state since the start of such record-keeping in July 1936. Given such conditions, it is hardly a surprise that crop estimates are so gloomy. The e winter wheat crop here had shrunk by 43 percent from last year's; alfalfa hay is expected to be down by 35 percent; and 22 percent of pasture land is deemed "very short," with 35 percent "short," figures significantly worse than those of a year ago.
WISCONSIN - Earlier this month Wisconsin cranberry industry leaders projected a record crop. But a hail storm that ripped through the Warrens area last Wednesday could change those projects. Some growers were harvesting fruit this past weekend, one full month ahead of the regular harvest schedule in order to salvage damaged fruit. With a forecast that calls for temperatures in the mid- to high 80s this week, growers with damaged product must harvest the fruit or it will rot on the vines. Of world cranberry production, approximately 60 percent comes from Wisconsin. Of Wisconsin production, estimates are the state will sustain between a 20 to 30 percent loss with the hail damage. Area corn and soybean fields sustained significant damage. Some fields had corn stalks that were flattened, stripped of ears, or both.
CALIFORNIA - Valley grape growers expect high quality, lower yields. This year's harvest looks above average in size. In 2005, yields were exceptionally high, creating a record crop for California and Napa Valley. Carneros reported a very early budbreak, the EARLIEST EVER REPORTED, and the vines got through a mild spring frost without problems. Then the weather stayed cool through May. The harvest is about eight to 10 days behind average. The heat in June shut down the vines, and that reduced grape size. In Calistoga, the "hottest and coldest part of the valley," "the insects and disease is the LOWEST WE'VE EVER SEEN."
NEW JERSEY - 17 New Jersey counties, including Hunterdon, Somerset, Middlesex and Union,have been declared as natural disaster areas, following heavy rains, flooding and other severe weather conditions that led to crop and livestock losses during the month of June. Excessive precipitation, high winds, hail, and high humidity occurred from June 1 on. “Field to field, farm to farm, region to region, we have experienced everything from some of the most dramatic losses to some very high quality yields this season.” Farmers lost millions of dollars in crops this year due to hail storms, localized flooding, excessive rain and subsequent insect and disease damage. Heat and wet conditions also caused accelerated maturing of crops and other problems.
OHIO - farmers could see RECORD corn yields.
CANADA - Plenty of rain, no hail, minimal insects; yet this crop year may still end in disappointment for local farmers. At first glance, the growing season has appeared favourable, but the Alberta Agriculture market specialist says looks can be deceiving. The effects of scattered rainfall and intense heat have begun to appear in many local crops. The heat has taken away from the WHEAT yields.
CANADA - The blueberry crop said to be headed for RECORD books. An early spring with lots of rain helped the plants.

ITALY - Rain has brought a RECORD mushroom season. "The results of the first research show a good season for the mushroom harvest in the almost 10 million hectares of forest that cover Italy and that are estimated to offer a production of around 30 thousand tons between porcini, fingerli, trombette, chiodini and the other numerous mushroom specialties known by connoisseurs." The strong growing of mushrooms requires optimal conditions such as humid ground without violent rain and a good dose of sun and 18-20 degrees in the woods.
FINLAND - the July heatwave and drought are taking their toll on crop expectations in Finland. The potato crop is expected to be as much as 35 per cent smaller than average. In the driest areas, potato plants have already stopped growing and started ripening. Hence the potatoes will remain small. Furthermore, also the crops of vegetables are believed to be weaker than normal, even though the recent rains have given a slight stimulus to plant growth. The grain crops are believed to be somewhat better than farmers' earlier dire forecasts. The crop of oats is predicted to remain small all over the country this year. The crops of hay are predicted to be very weak in the southern part of the country, where rainfall has been really sparse this year.
BRITAIN - As Britain’s drought wears on, it is destroying crops. “The heat wave which delivered the hottest July on record has caused a disastrous slump in VEGETABLE CROPS which is expected to send prices soaring, as they did when the 1976 drought hit.” GRAIN crops including wheat, winter barley and oats are returning significantly lower yields, while the decimation of FRUIT and vegetable crops is expected to send PRICES SPIRALING TO 30-YEAR HIGHS. Yields of many staple vegetable crops will be down as much as 40 percent.

BANGLADESH - an UNUSUAL dry spell that has left farmers in the mainly agricultural nation desperate for irrigation water. The continuous dry spell had dried up rivers as water levels of the three major rivers — Padma, Meghna and Brahmaputra — hit their LOWEST IN 14 YEARS. Monsoon rains normally sweep Bangladesh from June to September and the country gets more than 75 per cent of its annual rainfall during this period. But this year, rainfall between June and August 25 has been nearly 25 per cent below average. “This is a RARE phenonemon in our climatic history. It’s very UNUSUAL.”
INDIA - Coffee harvest may decline due to heavy rain, pest attacks. Growing areas in Karnataka have received twice the amount of rain needed.
NORTH KOREA - After floods, North to suffer major food shortage. North Korea will likely suffer another 100,000 tons of food shortage."
PHILIPPINES - The months of July and August used to be the season for exotic fruits like lanzones, rambutan, marang, mangosteen and durian. Unfortunately, these tropical fruits are getting scarce if not altogether disappearing from the fruit stands. Blame it to the unpredictable weather, farmers say. In February to March this year, rains swept the province and in April, a dry spell was experienced in the area. In May the rains returned. "The plants were stressed by this erratic weather condition."
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Week through 8/17 -
WORLDWIDE GRAIN - UNUSUAL weather patterns in Australia and overseas are putting new pressure on global grain prices. Dry weather in Western Australia means the grain harvest will now be well below average this year, unless there is significant rain in the next two weeks. South Australia is headed for its DRIEST WINTER ON RECORD. Poor weather in Europe and Canada has also lifted OAT prices, while the CANOLA crop in Canada has been cut by one million tonnes.
WORLDWIDE AGRICULTURE REPORT.
GERMANY - APPLES - German market fruit producers reaped a below-average apple yield of nearly 835,000 tonnes in July. The yield in July marked a decline of 2% on year-over-year basis. The statistical office blamed the heat wave in June and July as well as the UNUSUAL wet and cold weather during blossom time, for the poor yield.
IRELAND - GRAIN, POTATOES - Harvest not as good as expected. Despite recordbreaking temperatures this summer, there will not be the bumper harvest this year that might have been expected. The July sunshine helped the early ripening of grain, but did not help some crops of barley and potatoes. The extremely hot weather saw crops ripen faster than usual. But some spring crops have been damaged by the drought and wet weather at sowing time also caused difficulties. Overall, only about 1.8 million tonnes of grain will be harvested. That is short of the 2m tonne norm, and way behind the 2.5m record yield two years ago. Yields of potatoes are also back significantly.
UNITED KINGDOM - Bakers warned that the hot weather will force up the price of BREAD by up to 4p a loaf, after FLOUR manufacturers announced a rise in the cost of flour. The country's two biggest flour millers, are raising their prices by up to 20% after wheat crops wilted in the extreme July heat.
UNITED KINGDOM - Threat to ASPARAGUS crop - the asparagus harvest in Britain could be significantly reduced as a direct result of the unusual weather conditions.
SPAIN - GRAPES - Rain and hail cause damage in southern Spain. Thunderstorms and rain, combined with hail have caused damages to the produce production in Yecla, Jumilla and Marzarrón, Cieza and Cartagena in the South of Spain. The grape production in Yecla was damaged by hail, but these grapes are destined for wine production. Damages to stone fruit production are also reported however. The hail stones were as large as hazelnuts.

PHILIPPINES - COCONUTS, FARM PRODUCE - Lava flowing down Mayon Volcano in the Philippines has destroyed wide swaths of farmland and permanently altered the terrain near two villages. At least 50 hectares (123 acres) of farmland and plantations have been destroyed by the lava so far. "The implication is the farm lands hit by the lava flow could no longer be used for a long time. Many of the coconut groves were also really badly burned."
INDIA - COTTON - The cotton crop has been washed out by heavy rain.
CHINA - SUGAR - Typhoon damages China's sugar crop. Up to 10 per cent of sugar cane in China’s key sugar growing region may have been damaged by the typhoon that hit southern provinces last week.
CHINA - Farmland hit by drought up 21 pct - the persistent drought in parts of China has affected 17.6 million hectares of farmland across the country since April.
RICE - Scientists say they have identified a gene that will allow rice plants to survive being completely submerged in water for up to two weeks. Most rice plants die within a week of being underwater, but the researchers hope the new gene will offer greater protection to the world's rice harvest. Farmers in south-east Asia lose an estimated £524m ($1bn) each year from rice crops being destroyed by flooding. Although rice production has doubled over the past 40 years, demand is continuing to grow. The crop is the staple food for more than three billion people around the globe. Scientists had been trying for half a century to develop a water resistant crop.
CANADA - RECORD-SETTING SOYBEAN production. Ontario farmers may follow a record setting wheat crop with record soybean production this year.

U.S. -
Despite drought in the upper Midwest, most of the nation has good crops. The nation's CORN harvest is forecast to be just 1 percent less than last year. The soybeans harvest is expected to decline 5 percent. The drop in production is being offset by large stockpiles left over from last year. Nationwide, there are still 2 billion bushels of corn left over from last year's harvest.
PENNSYLVANIA - CORN, SOYBEANS ON PACE FOR RECORD or near record harvests.
WHEAT - Drought likely to cut US wheat stocks to 11-year low - The punishing drought in the Middle West that cut US winter and spring wheat production will probably result in the LOWEST US WHEAT STOCKS IN 11 YEARS.
MINNESOTA - CORN, SOYBEANS - Drought conditions in central and northern Minnesota are expected to cut deeply into yields for major crops. Minnesota's average corn yields were expected to drop 8 percent from last year's record crop, according to estimates released Friday. The state's soybeans were in even worse shape, with the estimated yield down 18 percent from 2005.
MINNESOTA - CHRISTMAS TREES - Central Minnesota farmers lost tens of thousands of young Christmas trees to the drought.
GEORGIA - PEANUTS, CORN, COTTON - Agriculture researchers fear the drought will mean a double disaster in South Georgia. The lack of rain is hurting many crops. Georgia farmers planted the smallest peanut crop since 1915, and the drought will cut back on the yields for the three big money crops in Southwest Georgia, peanuts, corn, and cotton.
TEXAS - COTTON - production is down 40 percent from 2005's record.
KANSAS - MILO - the milo crop needs rain and cooler temperatures. Crop production is down 15 percent from last year's record production.
HAWAII - NUTS - macadamia nut grower's revenue drops 14%.
WISCONSIN _- Unpredictable Soy Aphids threaten earlier than normal. Soybean growers in some areas will have more than just dry weather to worry about this summer due to the high soybean aphid populations.
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Week through 8/8 -
The world is now eating more food than farmers grow, pushing global GRAIN stocks to their LOWEST LEVEL IN 30 YEARS. Rising population, water shortages, climate change, and the growing costs of fossil fuel-based fertilisers point to a calamitous shortfall in the world's grain supplies in the near future. There isn't much land left on the planet that can be converted into new food-producing areas. And what is left is of generally poor quality or likely to turn into dust bowls if heavily exploited. With only five major companies controlling the global grain market, there is a massive imbalance of power. "The food production system is designed to generate profits, not produce food or nutrition for people." Shifting from a global food production system to local food for local people would go a long way towards addressing inequity. "The 100-mile diet, where people obtain their food from within a 100-mile radius of their homes, makes good sense for most of the world." The whole fabric of the food production system needs to change, or hunger and malnutrition will only get much worse. "North America's industrial-style agricultural system is a really bad idea and maybe the worst on the planet."
ITALY - Farmers in northern Italy are facing disaster as Europe’s lingering heatwave burns up crops and leaves arable land parched in the “breadbasket” Po valley, after a winter in which unusually light Alpine snowfall failed to replenish reservoirs. A prolonged drought has reduced parts of the northern river, which feeds irrigation channels along the fertile valley, to their LOWEST LEVEL IN LIVING MEMORY. “Entire fields are destroyed stretching for hundreds of hectares, it’s a real disaster.” The drought has already caused significant damage to traditional crops like CEREALS, MAIZE, RICE and SOYA.
EUROPE - ITALY - Drought caused Italian farmers losses of some E500 million ($837.17 million) so far this year, hitting RICE and MAIZE producers in the north particularly hard.
Farmers in FRANCE, THE NETHERLANDS, POLAND, and LATVIA have all warned about the impact of the heat on their harvests this summer. In France, there was also a warning that the heat had hit LAVENDER plantations, and crops will be 10-30 per cent lower than normal in the southeast.
In the CZECH REPUBLIC, MUSHROOMS were being endangered by the drought. "The situation is really very bad." This year a lack of rain has stunted growth of the fungi.
In SPAIN, the heat brought a plague of jellyfish to the country's eastern seashores. The unwelcome visitors, which can reach the size of a dinner plate, have flourished thanks to a glut of plankton brought on by higher sea temperatures and a decline in natural predators like dolphins and turtles.
GERMANY, FRANCE - In Germany, this year's harvest on CEREALS would be 10 to 15 percent lower than in 2004. "We had excellent expectations, but the heat and the drought have destroyed them." In France farmers say the heat has damaged harvests. Livestock breeders said they have been forced to exhaust their forage reserves. "This is the fourth successive drought we are suffering. We have not been able to reconstitute our stocks. And the situation gets worse by the day." Germany is facing crop losses of up to 50 percent in the worst-hit regions.
IRELAND - Farmers across the country are crying out for rain, as drought conditions leave them facing an expensive winter of severe FODDER shortages.
SCOTLAND, UNITED KINGDOM - On the credit side, winter barley and oilseed rape growers have enjoyed the earliest general start in a generation, but on the negative side, there are fears for spring BARLEY yields, sown late because of a cold, wet spring, and hit by the dry spell as grains were starting to fill. VEGETABLES are maturing too quickly, water supplies to SHEEP and CATTLE are drying up in some areas and emergency rations of HAY and SILAGE are being fed to stock as GRASS disappears. Vegetable crops are the greatest immediate concern, with BROCCOLI and CAULIFLOWER in Scotland maturing almost a week earlier than expected. Processing plants are still dealing with peas, so large acreages of the other vegetables in Scotland might not be harvested. Brussels sprouts and cabbages already looking stunted due to lack of rains. POTATO early yields were at least 10% down from last year, leading to prices about one third higher than last year. If the dry spell continues, most maincrop yields could also suffer and prices for a well below average yield could rise substantially.
ENGLAND - Consumer products group Unilever PLC has warned that the UK faces soaring food prices, a FOOD SHORTAGE and declining public health if the government presses ahead with moves to promote the use of biofuels. Europe-wide plans for a huge increase in the use of VEGETABLE OILS, such as rapeseed and palm oil, to make road fuels could drive up the cost of foods such as margarine and lead consumers to switch to less healthy fats.
UNITED KINGDOM - Heatwave hits VEGETABLE supplies - the Processed Vegetable Growers' Association forecasts price rises and shortages as the extreme weather bites into harvests.
UNITED KINGDOM - This summer's hot weather is set to give a RECORD FRUIT CROP but the GRAIN harvest will be badly hit. The temperatures mean the grain harvest will be earlier than normal, resulting in a smaller yield. Shortages of crops such as WHEAT, which has wilted in the heat, could result in higher prices for consumers. Most arable farmers are in the middle of harvest, which is thought to be THE EARLIEST SINCE 1976. A hotter climate in the UK could encourage the growing of less traditional fruit, such as apricots, in the future. The shortage of grass meant farmers were having to feed winter stocks to cattle now. "So there's no margin, no money in the kitty for the purchase of winter fodder which we shall need to survive. So there's great concern about what happens in the autumn."
Global warming could disrupt the timing of pollination in alpine environments, with serious negative impacts to both plants and pollinators. "The timing of flowering has become earlier, particularly since 1998, the abundance of some flowers has changed, and the synchrony of plants and pollinators may be changing.” “If climate change disturbs the timing between flowering and pollinators that overwinter in place, such as butterflies, bumblebees, flies, and even mosquitoes, the intimate relationships between plants and pollinators that have co-evolved over the past thousands of years will be irrevocably altered.”
NIGER - The food situation in Niger is deteriorating once more, just a year after it was struck by a devastating drought. Families are reduced to eating leaves, as late rains leave millions in Niger vulnerable before harvest time. By September, 25% of Niger's 12m people will be receiving food aid.
AFGHANISTAN - Millions of Afghans are facing hunger because of a food shortage that the government and aid agencies say is because of a prolonged dry spell in the country. This year, output of the staple WHEAT dropped from 4.4 to 3.7 million tonnes. Wheat is the most important crop, and the main source of food for the majority of Afghans. But experts and the public argue that drought is not the only factor to blame for the current wheat crisis in the country. A key determinant in the equation is poppy cultivation by Afghan farmers. Farmers stand to gain far more from cultivating poppy, and as a result few farmers are willing to grow wheat. This, according to experts, is causing wheat shortages in the market. Afghan farmers are not able to find a market for their produce due to cheap imports of wheat flour from the neighbouring countries. If the wheat market continues to perform poorly, farmers will have no other option but to go back to cultivating poppies.
CHINA - By the end of last month, 61.2 percent of small-scale water works in drought-stricken areas have dried up, resulting in TOTAL CROP FAILURE on some 120,000 hectares of farmland. Nearly 1.1 million hectares of farmland have been affected.
CANADA - since the beginning of July, ideal growing conditions gave way to heat and drought across the three Prairie provinces, leading to early harvests, small yields, a lack of topsoil and poor crop conditions. CANOLA and BARLEY have been hardest hit by the heat and lack of moisture, while hay and cereal crops are doing better. Livestock pasture is also being negatively affected by the weather.

CALIFORNIA - HEAT KILLING THOUSANDS OF ANIMALS - The record heat has caused the deaths of thousands of cows, chickens and turkeys in California, the number one milk-producing state in the country. More than a million pounds of dead livestock is rotting in the sun, as many of the rendering plants normally tasked with disposing of dead livestock have shut down or are overloaded.
OREGON - Scorching heat in the Willamette Valley has berry farmers worried about their crops. Hundred-degree heat arrived just before harvest for some BLUEBERRY varieties. Growers expect it will mean lower yields and sunburned blueberries, although the extent of the losses isn't known yet. BLACKBERRY yields for some varieties might be lower because of the high temperatures. Several kinds of blackberries grown for the fresh market - Navaho, Triple Crown, and Chester - are particularly sensitive to high heat, low humidity conditions. Yields might be cut in half for many growers. The Marion blackberry and BOYSENBERRY season usually lasts through July, but the heat largely ended the season early. The season also was cut short for summer fruiting RASPBERRIES.
NEW JERSEY - Heat wave cooks local farmers' crops - “The rain went right around us,” and the hot sun is cooking the crops. The intense heat also means that crops are ripening sooner than usual.
MONTANA - High temps raise fire danger, threaten crops - the weather has led to wheat being harvested earlier than usual. About 50 percent of the harvesting was done last week, which is UNUSUAL.
INDIANA - Stressed cucumbers develop bitter taste.
MISSOURI - “For most of Missouri it has been drier than usual. We are in the middle of what is being considered an agricultural drought.” CATTLE farmers are starting feel the ill effects of the drought. “The HAY crop in this area started out pretty good. We thought we were in good shape. However, no one was planning on feeding hay in August. The pastures are very dry. The worst pastures are in the northern part of St. Francois County. The grass is going backwards. We have farms that are selling out their cattle because they are out of water. Others are having to relocate their cattle. Water is getting to be a serious concern. At this point it's not going to take just a good rain to get things going again, it's going to take several good rains.”
ALABAMA - farmers say consumers will likely pay more for PRODUCE that might not be quite as fresh thanks to the drought that's left parts of the state severely dry. Consumers will have to get more of their produce from other parts of the country, so food will be more expensive, and may not be as fresh. "Crops have suffered tremendously, LIVESTOCK has suffered because of not having grass to eat." All of Alabama's crops have been affected by this year's dry weather, which is the third major drought in the area in nine years. CORN has been especially affected by the heat.
TEXAS - A disastrous winter drought and a summer drought has small ranchers in east Texas on the verge of going under. Some are even being forced to sell their CATTLE and horses just to avoid the higher costs of feeding them. "Well it's a long time until April if you've got to buy hay , if you got to buy hay and feed them from now until April you just as well to get out, it's real bad, it's just no hay, feeds high, cattle's cheap; it's kind of out of balance".
U.S. - MORE THAN 60% OF THE U.S. NOW HAS ABNORMALLY DRY OR DROUGHT CONDITIONS, stretching from Georgia to Arizona and across the north through the Dakotas, Minnesota, Montana and Wisconsin. An area stretching from south central North Dakota to central South Dakota is the most drought-stricken region in the nation. "It's the epicenter. It's just like a wasteland in north central South Dakota." Farm ponds and other small bodies of water have dried out from the heat, leaving the residual alkali dust to be whipped up by the wind. The blowing, dirt-and-salt mixture is a phenomenon that hasn't been seen in south central North Dakota since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. North Dakota last year led the nation in production of 15 different commodity classes, including spring WHEAT, durum wheat, BARLEY, OATS, CANOLA, PINTO BEANS, DRY EDIBLE PEAS, LENTILS, FLAXSEED, SUNFLOWER and HONEY.
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Week through 7/25 -
Midwestern U. S. area climate is in flux - Weather unpredictability would make dry years more common and wet years less effective for crop-growing. The result could be more reliance on crops such as dryland wheat and cotton and less reliance on corn and other rain-intensive crops. New water and weather patterns will change Midwestern agriculture, both in what is grown and what consumers might pay in the store. But because the variables in the Midwest haven't been explored as deeply as on the more heavily populated coasts, the overall impact of global warming on Midwestern agriculture remains unclear. Those who study global warming say citizens and governments need to wake up to the problem now. "We don't know exactly what's going to happen, but the thing we can say with the greatest of confidence is, it's not going to be good."
TEXAS - Extremely high temperatures swept from the west to east over much of Texas, evaporating chances for good crop yields except where irrigation water was available. CORN and MILO harvests are more disappointing than expected. (see link for details by area).
MICHIGAN - Up to 20 million pounds of CHERRIES, APPLES, PEACHES and OTHER FRUIT were destroyed in the storms that began July 17 in the northern and western parts of the state.

AUSTRALIA - PASTURE growth rates across the south-west of Western Australia are expected to be around 60 per cent down on what they were last year and could be THE WORST IN NEARLY 100 YEARS. Even if rainfall patterns for the rest of the year were similar to last year, net biomass yields would be no more than 40 per cent of those in 2005. The data also indicated WA was experiencing wild extremes in weather with very good years being followed by extremely bad years. "2002 was considered a very bad year for WA farmers but our models show that 2006 will be far worse." While farmers could previously wait out bad years with the expectation that things would improve, recent weather patterns were almost totally unpredictable.
INDIA - the only producer of ISABGOL (psyllium husk/ seed) in the world, has an annual production of about 11 lakh bags – and exports about 95 per cent of the output to countries such as the US, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia, among others. Gujarat supplies the crop to global markets for medicinal use. Isabgol has always been in short supply as demand from pharma producers has been rising by the day. The crop this year was hit badly by unseasonal rains when it was flowering, and that resulted in 30 per cent crop damage.
BANGLADESH - the monsoon has largely disappeared in most of Bangladesh, delaying sowing of RICE - the country's main staple. The situation is particularly bad in the the country's vast northern region, so far in July only 25 mm (one inch) of rain fell over the region against 500 mm required to ensure a good crop and optimum harvest. In some places farmers were facing difficulty in harvesting JUTE for lack of water.
CHINA - Floods and hail have affected over 41,000 acres of croplands in Anhui and brought about losses of nearly 93 million yuan (11.6 million us dollars).
NETHERLANDS, POLAND, FRANCE - the heatwave is damaging crops. Poland's CEREAL harvest would slump by 20% because of the drought Dutch agriculture officials warned that the country's POTATO crop was likely to be poor. Temperatures well above 30C (86F) have been registered across Europe.
ECUADOR - the Tungurahua Volcano, currently erupting in central Ecuador, has destroyed 19,000 hectares of farmland. It has devastated villages that have maize, potato, cereal and livestock farms and affected more than 13,000 people.
NORTH KOREA - After 3 years of incessant flooding, North Korea’s output of crops continues to diminish annually. The crops that are produced are shared amongst the military and high-ranking authorities, while common people are forced to resort to eating grass and tree roots. The intense rain has affected the mountain regions to the point that corn grows only to the size of one’s finger. Corn was harvested at 0.5 ton per Jeonbo, the LOWEST RECORDED FIGURE EVER.
MALAWI - At least one million people were expected to be affected by a severe food shortage this year despite a much-talked harvest of maize.
ZIMBABWE - At least 650 000 people in Zimbabwe's southern Masvingo province will require food aid this year following poor harvests last farming season. "We had tried our level best to grow enough food but shortage of fertilizers and agricultural inputs such as seeds affected our production." Zimbabwe has battled perennial food shortages since President Robert Mugabe began seizing productive farms from whites for redistribution to landless blacks in a campaign he said was necessary to correct historical imbalances in land ownership. But Mugabe failed to support black villagers resettled on former white land with inputs and skills training to maintain production, a situation that saw food output tumbling by about 60 percent to leave once food self sufficient Zimbabwe dependent on food handouts from international aid agencies. Mugabe however denies his controversial land reforms are to blame for causing food shortages and instead blames erratic rains and an economic crisis that he says is a result of western sabotage and which has caused shortages of farming inputs.
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Week through 7/18 -
MAURITANIA - A food shortage crisis threatens hundreds of thousands of people in the West African nation of Mauritania. More than 12 percent of children in Mauritania aged under five years suffer from malnutrition, while 44 percent of households are "precariously food-insecure. Mauritania has a history of natural disasters including floods, droughts and locust infestations which almost every year affect food supplies in this mainly desert country.
KENYA, UGANDA, TANZANIA - Drought swept across East Africa this year, withering COFFEE, TEA and FOOD CROPS and hurting the economies of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, where agriculture is an $8.75-billion industry. About 8-million people in the region need food aid because of the drought, which began in 2005. “It is ONE OF THE WORST DROUGHTS THAT HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCED IN THE REGION. It is one of the worst in terms of the number of people and livestock affected."
NORTHEASTERN U.S. - CORN - Torrential rains that have flooded fields, washed away plants and turned fertile ground into bogs are ruining this year's crop of corn. Much of the Northeast won't see local corn, which is favored for its sweet, juicy kernels, until mid- to late-August. Even then, supplies may be scarce.
LOUISIANA - RICE acreage planted in Louisiana this year will be the LOWEST ON RECORD. "A good part of that is because of salt water that damaged the fields" as a result of hurricanes. Louisiana rice farmers planted about 360,000 acres this year, down 32 percent from last year. That is lower than the previous low acreage of 390,000 acres in 1983, and about half of the highest acreage ever - 680,000 acres in 1968. Higher fuel, fertilizer and irrigation costs have caused cutbacks in practically all of the rice-producing states in the United States. Nationwide, the rice harvest is expected to be about 14 percent below last year's.
CANADA - CANOLA - Temperatures in the area of Manitoba have been above normal, causing some canola crops in the region to abort flowers, which prevents the plants from forming the seed pods that are harvested. Canola is a variant of rapeseed and is crushed to make vegetable oil. Canada is the world's largest producer and exporter of the crop. "The crops are at a very critical stage right now ... the next two weeks are going to be very, very critical." Winnipeg is facing its driest June and July on record.
AUSTRALIA - Smaller WINTER CROP harvests are expected this year as the drought continues to bite over much of NSW. 93.9 per cent of the state was in drought – up from 89 per cent last month. "The June figures are appalling; they show that this drought is persisting far longer than we had anticipated."
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Week through 7/11 -
ITALY - HONEY production is upside-down due to climatic changes. The Italian production has radically changed, surprisingly inverting the roles of north and south of the country. While Piedmont and Lombardy registered an exceptional acacia honey production favoured by a sunny spring, Sicily, due to bad weather, did not produce any of their typical citrus fruit honey. "The first figures for 2006 reveal a trend showing a very different geographical situation in Italy: UNUSUAL weather, too much heat or too much cold, influences the nectar collection by bees. Therefore, in the northern regions there is a record production of acacia honey, due to the abnormally high spring temperatures and a lack of rain (where the production of acacia honey has always been very inconstant), in Sicily for the third consecutive year there is no production of citrus fruit honey at all, due to a spring full of climatic perturbations." Climatic changes influence honey production due to the more moderate temperatures causing blooming to take place in untypical moments of the year. This causes a change in the behaviour of bees and a reduction of their activity.
AUSTRALIA - The WHEAT harvest could be cut by as much as five million tonnes after a disastrous start to the season in the biggest grain producing state. Western Australia's wheat belt, which produces about a third of Australia's wheat, remains parched after its DRIEST JUNE ON RECORD. It was also the COLDEST START TO WINTER FOR THE REGION SINCE AT LEAST 1950. Official forecasts put Australia's wheat crop at 22.8 million tonnes for the current season – down eight per cent on last year. But growers fear the dry conditions could lead to the west's production being cut in half. That could result in a national crop of about 18 million tonnes or less.
TASMANIA - BLACKCURRANTS - Tasmania's blackcurrant industry is under threat from global warming. There has been a progressive drop in yields over the past 15 years because of a sharp increase in extremely cold nights. They are trialing other black currant varieties in an attempt to boost yields, but are not hopeful. "This, I think, may be the canary in the coal mine."
INDIA, like other ASIAN NATIONS, is on the verge of facing a net food deficit in the near future even though they had a food surplus until recently. Indian had a surplus constantly for almost two decades, while Bangladesh, Pakistan began using the food-surplus status in 1990s. Of the Asian countries, China had a surplus till 2003 and the Philippines up to 1994. However, in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, the surpluses have gone. Asia, including India, still have more hungry people than in any other region of the world - over 510 million in 2002. India will face obstacles in crop improvement because of patent protection enjoyed by big seed multinationals like Monsanto.
MARYLAND - WHEAT - Record rainfall has caused serious concern for farmers throughout the region. Experts said the 2006 wheat crop has been particularly vulnerable. While soy and corn crops flourish in wet conditions, the wheat crop suffers serious damage. The wheat crop is much shorter this year than normal, due to a very dry spring.
U.S. Northern Plains States - SPRING WHEAT and OATS should be ready for harvesting in late July; however, the ongoing drought has stunted the growth of the grains. With no substantial rain in the forecast over the next couple of weeks many farmers will be hard pressed to save their crops.
U.S. - CORN - prices rose to a two-year high in Chicago on speculation that rains this week will miss the driest areas of the main growing regions in the Midwest, compounding drought damage to the biggest U.S. crop.
U.S. - WINE - Extreme weather events triggered by global warming threaten to eliminate more than 80 percent of the best U.S. wine-producing regions by the end of this century. "What really hits the winegrape plants hard is the frequency of extremely hot days."
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Week through 7/4 -
Future crops could be at risk of yielding far less than what will be needed to feed the world. Scientists at the University of Illinois said calculations used for years to project the effect of climate change on crops may be inaccurate. Experiments over the years have suggested the higher levels of carbon dioxide that result from global warming would offset the impact of rising temperature and less rainfall on crops as carbon dioxide stimulates plant growth. But the new research published in Friday's issue of Science suggests that the yield increase under such conditions in the field is about half what it's been in experiments in the greenhouse. Such tests provided projections for maize, rice, sorghum, soybean and wheat – the world's most important crops in terms of global grain production. By 2050 carbon dioxide levels may be about 1.5 times greater than the current.
CALIFORNIA - PISTACHIOS - This year’s crop could be nearly 30 percent smaller than last year's and this year's UNUSUAL weather – a cold, wet spring followed by the sudden onslaught of 100-degree heat in June - could bring an UNUSUAL pattern for this year's pistachio harvest. Half of the harvest will likely come from Merced and Madera counties, which have only about a quarter of the trees. Pistachio trees in other regions may be resting this summer after two large crops in a row. Typically, pistachio trees tend to produce their largest yields every other year. The trees are also sensitive to extremes in the weather.
U.S. - PRICE OF EVERYTHING GOING UP - A drought over a third of the nation has grown so severe that consumers could be facing higher prices for everything from beef to bread by the end of the year.
MINNESOTA, IOWA - CORN - Investors plan to quadruple the size of Minnesota's ethanol industry within just a few years. If they do, they'd devour more than half of Minnesota's 1.2 billion-bushel corn crop. In Iowa, the effect is even more dramatic. There, some 55 ethanol plants are open or proposed, and "if all these plants are built, it would use virtually all the Iowa corn crop. " And that could spawn a new world of scarcity, where food companies, livestock operators and grain exporters scramble for what's left of a shrinking corn pile. The concern isn't that Americans will suddenly go hungry, but that ethanol's appetite will create shocks in the food system that nobody ever dreamed of. In South Dakota, seven large ethanol plants lie within 30 miles of the Minnesota border, and already, three-fourths of that state's corn is used for ethanol. Even states that grow almost no corn are building ethanol plants now, too.
U.S. stockpiles - 990 million bushels of soybeans were in storage on June 1, bolstering expectations of a RECORD-LARGE SURPLUS when this year's crop is ready for harvest. Corn stocks totaled 4.363 billion bushels, roughly the same as a year ago, but also a huge supply.
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Week through 6/27 -
ALABAMA - CORN - drought has destroyed nearly eighty percent of Alabama's corn crop. "Our PEANUTS and COTTON is out of the ground, but if it doesn't get any moisture, it's going to soon be gone too." With no immediate relief in sight, irrigation is the only hope for farmers who can afford it. Of course, this economic hardship on farmers means eventually we will have to pay more for produce [IF you can get it]. Mobile and Baldwin counties are the worst-off. They're nearly 20-inches behind average rainfall.
CALIFORNIA - APRICOTS - The United States Department of Agriculture is predicting that apricot production will be down by 51 percent this year compared to last year, the LIGHTEST APRICOT HARVEST IN CALIFORNIA'S HISTORY. "First it was the warm weather; the apricot trees didn't get the chilling hours they need for a good bloom. Then, as the trees started to bloom, they got whacked by the rain and cool temperatures." Statewide, the number of acres of apricot orchards is down 700 from last year for a total of 13,800 acres. Also unseasonably warm winter weather this year has proved extremely detrimental to expected harvest yields.
CANADA - Nova Scotia says about 600 growers of PRODUCE are bracing for a total washout of the season due to heavy rain.
INDIA - TOMATOES - "The unseasonal rain, three months ago, has damaged the standing crop of tomatoes. What we get in the market presently is only 25 per cent of the normal supply. So, the prices have shot up. This is likely to continue for another month, till we get the new crop."
AUSTRALIA - GRAIN, SHEEP - Many Victorian grain farmers are still very depressed about the outlook for the season. The winter channel run may even have to be cancelled for rural home dams because they are only 6 per cent full, the LOWEST LEVEL EVER RECORDED FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR. Grain and sheep farmers say if winter rainfall does not return to normal, the future will be bleak.
AUSTRALIA - MANDARINS, ORANGES - prices are set to go the way of bananas, with consumers warned to prepare for a price rise in the next fortnight. Harsh frosts and freezing conditions across Victoria's citrus-growing region have put a huge dent in mandarin and orange supplies. Up to 20 per cent of mandarin and orange crops were affected. In March Cyclone Larry wiped out 80 per cent of the country's banana crops and sent prices soaring from about $2.50 a kilo to more than $12 a kilo.
CHINA - NEVER BEFORE HAS THE PRICE OF VERGETABLES BEEN SO HIGH in Guangzhou. The average price of vegetables currently stands at 6 yuan (74 US cents) per kilogram in Guangzhou, while it was 3.48 yuan (43 US cents) in early May. Vegetable prices at the moment are even higher than they were 12 years ago when Guangdong Province was suffering from a serious drought. The heavy rain in May and in the first half of this month is to blame. "The heavy rain flooded many vegetable fields in Guangzhou and in other regions of Guangdong Province, ending in a serious shortage of supply."
KENYA - TEA - An Irish company that imports tea for major brands like Barrys and Lyons has warned of impending prices due to drought in Kenya. (SITE REQUIRES REGISTRATION)
PORTUGAL - APPLES, PEARS - The bad weather of two weeks ago caused huge damage in Alcobaça, Portugal. The hail damaged a big part of the fruit production, mainly apples and pears. In total, the precipitation destroyed 12.000 MT of fruits and vegetables. The growers are desolate. The damage is estimated at € 6 million and many growers are afraid that, in some cases, the trees will only produce again after 2 years.
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Week through 6/20 -
NORWAY began construction on the 19th of a "doomsday vault", a vast top-security seed bank in a mountain near the North Pole to ensure food supplies in the event of environmental catastrophe or nuclear war. Built with Fort Knox-type security, the $US3 million depository will preserve around two million seeds representing all known varieties of the world's crops at sub-zero temperatures. "This facility will provide a practical means to re-establish crops obliterated by major disasters." The vault will be built deep in permafrost in the side of a sandstone mountain on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, 1000km from the North Pole.
AUSTRALIA - BANANAS - Queensland, Australia's struggling banana farmers are facing a new threat. Ninety per cent of growers were wiped out by the cyclone that hit North Queensland three months ago. Now there's evidence that the banana disease, yellow sigatoka, is set to do more damage. There has been non-stop rain across the area since Cyclone Larry hit. Queensland's Department of Primary Industries says unless the disease is brought under control quickly, it could cause as much destruction as the cyclone. It could cut production by as much as 30%.
AUSTRALIA - SUGARCANE - another two Queensland properties are under quarantine following the detection of more samples of suspected sugarcane smut disease, a devastating cane infection with a fine black powder of fungal spores, which was first spotted in a cane paddock near Childers, north of Maryborough, last week. Now efforts to protect the $1.5 billion Queensland sugar industry are underway. Most varieties of sugar cane currently being farmed by growers are susceptible to sugarcane smut. The highly infectious sugarcane smut can reduce yields by 30 to 100 per cent.
The number of southeast Queensland sugarcane farms quarantined has been increased to 12, after the discovery of a further four smut infestations.
AUSTRALIA - WHEAT - the drought could cut four million tonnes off Australia's grain crop after another dry start to the season, new forecasts suggest. 2006-07 winter crop production was put at 36 million tonnes, down 11 per cent on last season's record 40.5 million tonne haul. A dismally dry autumn in every cropping state except South Australia has prompted ABARE to cut its estimates for major crops, with wheat production tipped to tumble nine per cent to 22.8 million tonnes. Drought-ravaged Queensland and NSW are set to record the biggest falls in production, down 20 per cent and 14 per cent respectively. BARLEY and CANOLA will also record reduced plantings and yields, with production for barley tipped to fall 14 per cent to 8.5 million tonnes, and canola three per cent to 1.4 million tonnes. This year's completed summer crop harvest, with production up 15 per cent on the previous year to 4.5 million tonnes, was boosted by a tripling in rice production to more than one million tonnes.
U.S. - WHEAT - Things are not looking so good for world's most significant food crop, #2 Hard Red Winter Wheat. This year severe weather including drought has severely affected the crop. A new USDA forecast reveals that winter wheat production is in far worse shape than had been expected. This is particularly true in Kansas where the crop continues to deteriorate day by day for a variety of reasons including crop disease, insects and weather. As much as 20% of the acres of wheat planted yielded nothing. At the moment, the crop is expected to come in at about 25% less harvest than in 2005. It is expected to be the worst harvest since 2002. Keep in mind that worldwide demand is growing for the product. As drought affects the grain crops used for livestock feed, cattlemen across the Midwest are finding themselves forced to liquidate herds as they are unable to afford to feed their animals as crop prices skyrocket on grain harvest shortfalls. Cattle ranchers note that grass for feed is gone under extremely hot and dry conditions that have persisted.
JAPAN is facing a POTENTIAL FOOD SHORTAGE that could reduce the average daily diet to the meager levels of the post-WW2 era. This warning comes from a Japanese research institute which notes that Japan must now compete with rising demand from China for food. The report indicates that the typical Japanese daily diet could be savagely curtailed within the next 10 years.
U.S. - WHEAT - Ongoing drought conditions in the southern Great Plains mean that forecasted winter wheat production is down 16% from 2005.
NEBRASKA - CORN - Recent hot and dry weather is stressing Nebraska's corn crop, with last week's runup to triple-digit temperatures adding to the crop's woes. Last week, temperatures were in the 90s to lower 100s degrees Fahrenheit, which is UNUSUAL for early June. In 2005, Nebraska ranked third in U.S. corn production.
WORLD - GRAIN - This year’s world grain harvest is projected to fall short of consumption by 61 million tons, marking the sixth time in the last seven years that production has failed to satisfy demand. As a result of these shortfalls, world carryover stocks at the end of this crop year are projected to drop to 57 days of consumption, the LOWEST LEVEL IN 34 YEARS, the SHORTEST BUFFER SINCE 1972 when there was a 56-day-low that triggered a doubling of grain prices. World carryover stocks of grain, the amount in the bin when the next harvest begins, are the most basic measure of food security. Whenever stocks drop below 60 days of consumption, prices begin to rise. It thus came as no surprise when the U.S. Department of Agriculture projected in its June 9 world crop report that this year’s wheat prices will be up by 14 percent and corn prices up by 22 percent over last year’s. This price projection assumes normal weather during the summer growing season. Farmers are facing a record growth in the demand for grain at a time when the backlog of technology to raise grain yields is shrinking, when underground water reserves are being depleted, and when rising temperatures threaten to shrink future harvests. Water tables are now falling and wells are going dry in countries that contain half the world’s people, including the big three grain producers—China, India, and the United States. The widespread overpumping of aquifers for irrigation means we are feeding ourselves with water that belongs to the next generation. While it is widely recognized that the world is facing a future of water shortages, not everyone has connected the dots to see that this likely also means a future of food shortages.
ALABAMA - BLUEBERRIES, PEACHES - the current drought in south Alabama has made the blueberry crop smaller than usual this year. The lack of rain reduces the size of the fruit - and the yield. Peaches are expected to be smaller but sweeter because of the drought. The drought has delayed planting for many farmers.
SPAIN - GRAPES - Increasingly hostile conditions associated with climate change are forcing vintners to head north, according to an internal memo from one of Spain's largest wine producers. Heat and drought have prompted an 'immediate change' in the Torres wine company of northeast Spain – specifically the search for land in the cooler regions to the north. 'Every year, we see higher alcohol levels because of hotter weather, so in the future, we may have to make red wine in the north.' Excess heat and sunlight not only lead to higher alcohol, but also 'dangerously low acidity.'
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Week through 6/6 -
INDIA - TEA - North Indian tea production was down by 14 million kg in April. Dry spells, coupled with temperatures hovering between 35 and 37 degrees and extreme weather conditions, have resulted in this drastic shortfall.
AUSTRALIA - a study of five main WHEAT-growing areas predicted changes to weather patterns could cause a drop in production of up to 24 per cent. Soaring temperatures and declining rainfalls caused by climate change could wipe a billion dollars a year off Australia's wheat industry within 30 years. "(Climate change) really will impact ... across all industries where potentially something's being grown."
U.S. - agronomists say WHEAT producers have more than a drought affecting their yields this year, as various viruses invade crops. Ninety-five percent of samples were diagnosed with the wheat streak mosaic virus. The virus is vectored by the wheat curl mite, and so far there`s no treatment for either the virus or the mite. The samples came from as far north as Nebraska and as far south as Dallas, said plant pathologist Charlie Rush, making the outbreak the MOST WIDESPREAD IN YEARS for wheat streak mosaic damage.
U.S. - Hot, dry weather is threatening U.S. CORN and SOYBEANS. Newly planted crops may be hurt during the next 10 days by temperatures as much as 7 degrees Fahrenheit above normal and rainfall 25 percent below average for this time of year. A Great Plains drought that has damaged wheat crops since December may spread to the Midwest. This is a major change in the pattern from the last two years, when farmers harvested the two largest corn and soybean crops. It's estimated the chance of extreme weather west of the Mississippi Riveris 50 percent, higher than the 20 percent odds in most years.
OHIO - GRAPE growers in northeast Ohio are struggling to recover from a RARE run of cold nights that have destroyed as much as half of some farmers' crops. "There are some people in their 70s here who have been farming all their lives and have never seen this bad of a frost or a flash freeze." There was a drop in temperatures to the low 20s on April 26. Temperatures also dropped below freezing April 28, May 7 and May 23. Farmers who grow Concord and Niagara grapes, used in making juice and jam, suffered more than those who grow wine grapes. The frosty nights also affected grape crops in Michigan and New York. The National Grape Cooperative Inc., which owns Welch's and contracts with 1,400 farmers nationwide, estimated that its New York farmers lost 30 percent of its crop. The cooperative's growers in Michigan may have lost as much as 90 percent. This year was UNUSUAL because there were four nights within a period of a month.
DELAWARE - Hot, dry weather left farm crops and some streams choking across Delaware on the 30th, as a many months-long dry spell threatened to break records, boost produce prices and foul the air. Georgetown BROKE THE 93-degree RECORD set in 1991 with a high of 94 on the 30th. Across the state, some farmers pushed irrigation systems into overdrive, sprinkling water even on grain fields in a last-minute effort to coax better yields out of acres left hard and dusty by months of below-normal rain.
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WEEK through 5/30 -
ENGLAND - the number of CRABS caught this season has plunged to what could be an all-time low. It is the third successive poor season. “It's desperate. It's very, very poor at the moment. I've been fishing all my life, and IT'S TOTALLY OUT OF SYNCH.
AUSTRALIA - eastern grazing lands have turned scrubby brown as drought strikes yet again, adding to deepening woes for WOOL growers. Barely a year after the end of Australia's worst drought in 100 years, autumn rains in the southern hemisphere are already late and farmers can barely believe their bad luck.
JORDAN - water scarcity is having a negative effect on their livestock and crops. "We're on the brink of a crisis. The drought has left the country facing its worst harvests in years." Irrigated vegetable harvests – heavily dependant on water – have fallen by 50 percent since last year. With the area plagued by drought, all forms of vegetation have been slowly erased, threatening the wellbeing of the hundreds of Bedouin who formerly thrived here. Domestic production of RED MEAT and MILK fell below their usual levels by 40 percent over the past year alone, with many consumers turning to imported red meat.
RUSSIA, UKRAINE - Under the one-two punch of a dry fall and a frigid winter, winter crops in Ukraine were in poor condition in April and May. Plants throughout the region had grown less compared to the average growth for 2000-2005. Only 10 metric tons of winter WHEAT, the primary crop growing here, will be harvested in July and August. That figure was down 46.52 percent from the 18.70 metric tons harvested in 2005.
EUROPE - WHEAT - Flooded fields in central Europe, a harsh Black Sea winter and low rainfall in France have dimmed the prospects for this summer's wheat crop, adding to tightening world supplies next season. Key grower Hungary has been one of the worst hit. The USDA has forecast lower U.S. production and global stocks dropping to a 25-YEAR LOW. Supply and demand are so close to balance and yet the end of the crop year is so far off. "The situation therefore could become explosive if there are problems with the harvest."
IRELAND - GRAIN crops seriously hit by a run of bad weather. POTATO growers, too, are feeling the effects of the bad weather. "It is very unusual to see potatoes going into the ground in June." (link requires registration)
NEBRASKA - WHEAT - Drought conditions are hurting the wheat crop. "We'll probably see some reduced yields due to the dryness."
KANSAS - WHEAT - Drought, heat, high wind and now hail have combined to finally wipe out several thousand acres of wheat in southwest Pratt County.
NEW HAMPSHIRE - CORN will be delayed, STRAWBERRIES and APPLES are among the crops farmers say will be hurt by the region's recent floods.
IDAHO - East Idaho farmers are feeling the heat. After several weeks of rain, fields are now being scorched by record temperatures. Unseasonal heat is making HAY fields grow too fast. "Too much, and it'll bloom and you have to cut it. It doesn't do you any good if it blooms and gets too coarse." But the heat's not just bad for the hay. East Idaho summers are known for their warm days and cool nights. Those cool nights give crops the chance to rest and regenerate. "If it continues, concerns will start to arise - too much heat too early." It gets this hot every June and July, but without the cover of growing crops, fields can be at the mercy of the sun, and require a lot more water to stay hydrated.
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WEEK through 5/9 -
TANZANIA - COTTON yields in Tanzania for the season 2006/07 are expected to be severely effected by the recent drought that hit most of East Africa.
AUSTRALIA - New research suggests that climate change could drastically shrink the amount of land that can be farmed in Australia. It could happen over the next 65 years. "The trouble is when 100 people each tell you they are one per cent of the problem, and they demand exemption because they're too small, what you end up with in the end is 100 per cent of the problem."
AUSTRALIA - apple growers are warning of delays of up to three weeks in supplies of the new season's crop of pink lady apples. The delay was being caused by UNUSUAL weather during the change of season between summer and autumn. The apple variety needed heat at the end of summer to bring the natural sugars into the fruit, followed by a period of cold weather which would give them their distinctive flush of colour. Mild weather in both summer and autumn was causing much smaller apples, which were not as sweet and lacked colour. This is not a local phenomenon, producers right across the South West were reporting the same difficulties.
INDIA - UNSEASONAL rain and wind in February has affected the quality of kesar mangoes. ‘‘February rain caused severe damage to the fruit. Unfavourable conditions affected its quality even as fruits in large numbers fell on the ground during stormy weather.’’ ‘‘Fruits in the market are small in size and less juicy. Good quality kesar was nowhere.’’
SOUTH AFRICA - MAIZE - The crop situation is worsening quickly because of the persistent wet and cold conditions. It's a whole new ball game which makes it difficult to determine what the yields and the harvest will be." Rains were excessive this summer after a relatively dry start to the growing season but have lingered into the southern hemisphere autumn over much of the grain belt - which is UNUSUAL though not unprecedented. South Africa last month cut its forecast of the coming season's crop by 2.3 percent to 5.92 million tonnes and said the final harvest might be even lower if wet weather continued.
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WEEK through 4/25 -
CHINA - China's northern province of Hebei is suffering its WORST DROUGHT IN 55 YEARS with hundreds of thousands of people lacking drinking water. Drought has destroyed WHEAT crops covering about 1.6 million hectares (4 million acres.
NEW YORK - farmers, nature watchers and people who garden may be noticing changes. "What we are having here in the last four years is a longer growing season, because we are getting later and later frosts." There hasn't been a September frost in the Hamilton area in the past four years, and that's HIGHLY UNUSUAL. It means plants live longer. Flowers that should be long dead in October may still have blooms. Leaves don't come off the trees as early, either. The growing season is starting earlier, too; there was no frost in May 2005 either. "Last year was VERY, VERY UNUSUAL," with a 6-month growing season. But a longer growing season might not necessarily be a boon to farmers. It could allow farmers time to grow more crops, though it could also cause plant-killing drought conditions. "The real question is how it will effect precipitation. There is still debate."
CALIFORNIA - As temperatures rise, many of the FRUIT TREES are confused because their interal clocks are set to the number of chill hours to know when to "wake up." "The mechanism doesn't work anymore because spring is happening earlier. Winter is shrinking." For example, from 1961 to 1990, Davis had 4,000 chill hours per year between November through February. In 2000, it dropped to 3,000 hours." For farmers that means a smaller crop. "It's wetter, like the earth has tilted." There have been six years of wet springs, with the last three being significantly wetter. "We used to get rain in November, but something happened." "We had the Ice Age. Are we having a Wet Age?" "The last years have been strange. Plants may die from too much water but not from frost." Against the backdrop of these shifts, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is now in the process of redrawing the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, a tool used by gardeners to determine what trees, flowers and food crops will survive in what zone. Data shows in some parts of the Northeast an increase of as much as 8 degrees in winter temperatures.
BRITAIN - The UK's plant species have experienced dramatic changes over the past 18 years in the conditions under which they grow, according to a new report. Some species (18%) are thriving under the new conditions; others (16%) are in decline; most (66%) remain unaffected. Eutrophication - the unnatural enrichment of soil from agricultural run-offs - has also caused changes to flora, mainly affecting wetlands, chalk and limestone grassland and heathland.
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WEEK through 4/18 -
CALIFORNIA - wet weather has cut ASPARAGUS production in half.
U.S. - For the eighth consecutive week, cooler-than-normal weather prevailed in California, threatening the quality of weather-sensitive crops such as FRUITS and VEGETABLES and further delaying COTTON planting and other spring fieldwork. Temperatures climbed to 100 degrees F as far north as southern Kansas, maintaining severe drought stress on the southern Plains' pastures and winter WHEAT. Weekly temperatures averaged as much as 20 degrees F above normal across the Plains and Midwest.
INDIA - Unusual weather fluctuations in the major WHEAT growing areas since mid-February, such as abnormal high temperatures, followed by untimely rains and hail in the second week of March, and a subsequent drop in temperatures, have tempered this year wheat harvest prospects.
BANGLADESH - TEA output may fall by around 25 percent this year due to prolonged drought in tea producing areas in Moulvibazar and Chittagong.
AUSTRALIA - BANANAS are tipped to reach record prices in Australian stores in the coming weeks after 80% of the national crop was destroyed by Cyclone Larry.
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WEEK through 4/4 -
CALIFORNIA - Continuous rain in California has caused serious planting delays for major crops like COTTON, RICE and TOMATOES and slowed the development of permanent crops like ALMONDS, STONE FRUIT and GRAPES. Some harvests are also being impacted by the storms. When temperatures warm up, there is concern about fungal diseases in orchards and vineyards. ALFALFA and WHEAT are getting their share of moisture and unfortunately are becoming stressed as a result. The relentless rain during the past month has postponed the start of the season for tree crop farmers by 10 days to two weeks. Thus far the rain had not created too much slime, but the cold weather was not helping the ASPARAGUS grow.
CALIFORNIA - Heavy rain in March has taken a toll on the STRAWBERRY industry. Not one tray of Pajaro Valley strawberries has been shipped out of state this year because of the soggy fields and the unusual delay in the growing season. In March of last year, thousands of trays of strawberries had been shipped out of state. "By this time of year we should be well into the strawberry harvest, and we're not. At the most, we should have gotten a week's worth of rain in March. Instead, all it did was rain, rain and rain. And now it looks like it's going to keep raining in April." Only 0.77 inches of rain fell in Watsonville in March last year, compared to nearly 6 inches this year. The Pajaro Valley is one of the largest strawberry-growing regions in the state. So far, the strawberry-growing regions of Oxnard and Santa Maria are picking up the slack and have surpassed last year's strawberry production from January to March. The good news is that strawberries grow year round.
HAWAII - month-long rains have affected crops, particularly PAPAYA, TARO, and LEAFY VEGETABLES. "They're really struggling."
INDIA - Already hit hard by unseasonal rains and hailstorm, GRAPE growers, especially in Andhra Pradesh, are now facing a new problem. The end February and early March rains, preceded by humid weather, have made a dent in the quality of grapes in a few orchards due to the surfacing of Aspergilus rot and Slip Skin. The hailstorm and rains have affected over 50 per cent of the crop. Another problem that exporters could face is the impact on appearance and quality during transport and preservation at low temperatures, since the berries have shrunk due to rains.
INDIA - The persisting drought in the northern region of the country, including Pabna, has wreaked havoc. Alarming fall in the water levels of the Padma, the Mohananda and many other rivers has affected PADDY CROPS, especially in the vast Chalan Beel, known as a storehouse of food grain. The standing IRRI-BORO crops and JUTE are facing a disastrous situation due to an alarming shortage of water in the peak season of irrigation, said farmers and agriculture officials apprehending a terrible fall in production. Due to the severe water crisis production may go at best up to 15 maunds a bigha, while normal yield is 20 to 22 maunds per bigha.
AUSTRALIA - MACADAMIA NUTS - the national crop is likely to be down by 15 per cent as a result of damage to trees from Cyclone Larry.
AFRICA - FARMLAND is rapidly becoming barren and incapable of sustaining the continent's already hungry population. More than 80% of the farmland in Sub-Saharan Africa is plagued by severe degradation. This is a major cause of poverty and hunger in sub-Saharan Africa, where one in three people is undernourished. "Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa have traditionally cleared land, grown a few crops, then moved on to clear more land, leaving the land to regain fertility. But population pressure now forces farmers to grow crop after crop, mining or depleting the soil of nutrients while giving nothing back."
'Urgent need' for RICE that tolerates climate change - "We need to start developing rice varieties that can tolerate higher temperatures and other aspects of climate change right now."
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WEEK through 3/21 -
AUSTRALIA - SUGAR CANE - There are worries about a supply deficit following the damage from Cyclone Larry. "There was already concern in the market about shortages after a drought in Thailand and increased demand for ethanol from Brazil. A big storm like this adds another concern.'' Global sugar production will fall short of demand this year by twice as much as initially expected. 10 per cent of Australia's sugar production was lost in the cyclone.
AUSTRALIA - BANANAS - Victorian fruit stores could run out of bananas by the end of the week after cyclone Larry devastated Australia's banana industry. "It will not be a short term thing." Sellers have been forced to raise prices to between $2.99 and $3.99 a kg, up from $1.99/kg on Monday. Cyclone Larry wiped out fruit worth $300 million in north Queensland, which produces about 80 per cent of the national banana crop. Australia does not import bananas because of biosecurity concerns. Larry also cut a swath through a major AVOCADO growing area on the Atherton Tablelands, wrecking 4000 tonnes of crops worth $15 million, wiping out between 15 and 20 per cent of the national crop. There have been a large number of trees uprooted, with trees taking up to seven years to bear fruit. Short-term supply will be a problem.
OREGON - Oregon's UNUSUAL weather pattern in 2005 made it a difficult year for the state's HONEY producers. Honey production in the state dropped 28 percent last year. A mild and warm February and March, which were followed by heavy rains, high winds and cooler temperatures, discouraged the bees from doing their work. Nationally, honey production dipped by 5 percent in 2005. The weather also created problems with Oregon's fruit and nut harvest. The 2005 SWEET-CHERRY harvest dropped by more than 34 percent, the PEACH crop declined 15 percent and the HAZELNUT crop fell by 25.
KENYA - A severe drought currently sweeping across east Africa has cut Kenya's TEA production for February by half compared to the same period last year.
ZANZIBAR - At least 4,000 hectares of FOOD CROPS have wilted and 50 heads of CATTLE have died in Tanzania's semiautonomous Island of Zanzibar due to severe drought.
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Through 3/14 -
GEORGIA - Unpredictable weather threatens the PEACH crop.
OKLAHOMA - WHEAT farmers in southwestern Oklahoma say the drought has left their crop is such bad condition that many will probably destroy the crop.
TANZANIA - Severe drought to affect COTTON output.
INDIA - GRAPES, MANGOES - central and western India is reeling under trouble. The unseasonal rains have have wreaked havoc on the normal life in Madhya Pradesh. Untimely rains have made farmers in western India a desperate lot. Grape and mango cultivators are facing losses as their harvest has been affected by the showers. They fear that hailstorms and moisture in the air will also raise the risk of insect infestation.
AUSTRALIA - GRAPES - Western Australia could lose up to 40 per cent of its wine grapes this year, as the state's harvesting contractors struggle to meet heavy demand caused by a late season. Harvest is at least a month behind schedule due to unusual weather during the growing season. Instead of having staggered ripening across different regions, harvest will come on hard and fast, making it hard for contractors to cope.
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WEEK through 2/21 -
NAIROBI-KENYA - Several TEA factories owned by multinational companies in Kericho have stopped operating after a 75 per cent drop in harvests due to the ravaging drought. Unilever is currently harvesting 180,000 Kg of green tea per week against 550,000 Kg harvested during the peak season. The Kenya Tea Growers Association said about 25 to 30 per cent of tea bushes in the country would be destroyed if the drought persists.
EAST AFRICA - LIVESTOCK across East Africa are facing complete "decimation" from a drought that has already killed tens of thousands of animals across the region.
KANSAS - A drought in southwestern Kansas has parched pastures, incited wildfires and put CATTLE ranching in jeopardy.
FIJI - SUGAR - overall productivity from the Tavua district during this year's crushing season would be low as the effects of flooding are still affecting many fields. "Our fields still have a lot of silt brought about by the floodwaters and this will contribute a lot to the drop in crop figures. "Also there is a lot of stagnant water and debris in the fields so the relevant authorities should anticipate a reduction in total crop. The majority of the country's population depend on sugar.
PHILIPPINES - Heavy rains, which the weather bureau blamed on a nascent La Niña, have triggered landslides, massive flooding and the evacuation of hundreds of families in the Philippines, which grows RICE, CORN, COCONUTS, MANGOES and other tropical fruit. The damage to infrastructure and agriculture from recent heavy rains in central and southern provinces has already cost P114.6 million ($2.2 million) and rising.
CALIFORNIA - The almond bloom is earlier this year than normal due to the warmer weather, which may leave blossoming orchards vulnerable to more extreme weather conditions.
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WEEK through 2/7 -
VIETNAM - RICE - Over 45 percent of acreage for rice crops in Vietnam's northern region are encountering severe water shortage.
U.S. - the unusually high winter temperatures and the continuing drought could be big trouble for agriculture. The weather has caused some plants to come out of the ground abnormally early; daffodils are sprouting in Des Moines, Iowa. But without a protective snow cover, winter wheat, usually in its dormant stage this time of year, could be weakened if exposed to a cold snap, such as one predicted for next week. In Texas, the drought has gotten so severe that 88% of the wheat is in poor or very poor condition. In southeast Oklahoma, fires last month destroyed more than 400,000 acres of pasture, wiping out many cattle ranchers' main source of hay. In Illinois and Iowa, subsoil moisture that helped many corn growers survive a rain shortage in 2005 is now depleted, leaving this year's crops in need of steady rains. Crops also might be facing the prospect of an infestation of insects this spring, since cold weather isn't thinning pest populations.
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WEEK through 1/31/06 -
KENYA - The horticultural industry is again sounding the alarm bells as they expect a 30 per cent decline in production, and as exporters brace themselves for their biggest losses ever due to the prevailing drought. The hardest hit are small-scale farmers, the majority of whom not only rely on flowing rivers for irrigation but also do not have the resources to sink boreholes. Crops have started experiencing water stress and if the drought persists, they could dry up. "The drought is aggravating the problems of low yield and reduced quality." The flower industry has not experienced reduced production yet but water levels have gone down drastically, creating a worrying trend. The industry, whose produce is seasonal, has been thrown into confusion since farmers are unable to plan for the next planting season. Due to water shortages and hot temperatures, the quality of flowers has been affected, which could lead to their rejection in the market. There is little good news from the fruit sector either. "Avocados are sensitive to heat and shortage of water and this year, we could lose up to 25 per cent of production."
KENYA - A SPIKE IN FOOD PRICES caused by severe drought helped double Kenya's year-on-year inflation rate.
TEXAS - COTTON producers nervous over drought. This week, Gov. Rick Perry declared a drought disaster in all 254 Texas counties.
JAPAN - The snow and cold spell have caused damage to Japan’s agriculture and FISHERIES worth about 3.67 billion yen ($32 million) as of Jan. 13. Low temperatures ruined VEGETABLES AND FRUITS, while greenhouses collapsed under the weight of record snow.
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WEEK through 1/17 -
UGANDA - hot weather will particularly affect the country's second COFFEE harvest, due in February. The drought, which is caused by the convergence of dry winds from the Sahara and the Arabian peninsula, could have a major impact on the country’s agricultural sector. Drought has already affected 29 districts, including the chief cattle-producing districts, where animals are dying. Water levels in Lake Victoria have dropped and food crops been affected. Last season, coffee output from Uganda declined by up to 20 per cent mainly due to drought.
CALIFORNIA - Recent floods caused more than $40 million in damage to farms, ranches and VINEYARDS in Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino counties, agricultural officials said. Much of the cost will involve cleaning up tons of debris left in vineyards and repairing damaged irrigation lines and trellis plant support systems. Farm buildings and equipment were also destroyed as fast-moving water washed out vines and eroded property.
ARKANSAS - Odd weather forces hard choices for WHEAT farmers. The weather has affected the wheat since planting season in October. The drought with occasional small rain showers and the UNUSUAL cold and warm weather patterns the last few months have "confused" the plants. By mid-February farmers will have to decide whether to keep the planted wheat crop or to use the wheat as winter cover and then plant other crops in the spring. Last year’s crops were affected by the weather, as well. In October 2004, many farmers were unable to plant due to heavy rainfall.
ARKANSAS - global climate change is the latest culprit in the dramatic decline of Arkansas' DUCK population.
IOWA - expectations have been lowered for the 2006 CORN and SOYBEAN crops. The chances of a major drought occurring in Iowa this year have doubled recently, mainly due to the fact that certain weather patterns are beginning to line up in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Decadal Oscillation pattern remains in a high risk mode meaning a shift back to hot, dry conditions may occur. "We are entering a period when a La Nina event is taking shape, and it will likely form soon. Spring weather tends to be dry in a La Nina year and summertime temperatures also are more extreme than usual across the Corn Belt."
VIETNAM - Experienced farmers are worried that excess rain and a prolonged cold chill will negatively impact the quality of APRICOT plants in southern Viet Nam this season. Rain accompanied by the cold climate prevents the flower-bud from growing. They predicted that at least 25 -30 per cent of apricot farms will suffer as a result of the weather.
BRAZIL cut the SUGAR CANE harvest forecast because of drought. The world's largest producer of sugar and ethanol fuel, it cut its estimate for the sugar cane crop ending in April for a second time because of drought.
PARAGUAY - The predicted drought for the coming months in Paraguay will worsen the economic situation, as agricultural producers suffer.
AUSTRALIA - "There are not a lot of STRAWBERRIES in this year. We've had problems with disease, supply and this strange weather."
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WEEK through 1/3/06 -
JAVA, INDONESIA - Some 110 residents of flood-and landslide-stricken Kaliputih hamlet in the Indonesian district of Jember are under the threat of starvation as they have yet to receive food aid in the past two days. Rescue workers had difficulties distributing food aid among the flood and landslide victims after the bridge leading to the hamlet collapsed. "We worry that unless we receive food aid today the death toll will increase. The health condition of residents, particularly children under five, has become the cause for major concern."
TASMANIA - UNUSUAL weather meant most fruit crops were ready four weeks earlier than usual this year, with crops like cherries - usually ready in January - available before Christmas.
The Tanzania Meteorological Agency has warned that a drought is looming large over the country due to widespread failure of rainfalls in the 'short-rain season'. The unpredictably sporadic rainfalls that stretched between October and December last year, are expected to continue over the next two months, up till the start of the country's 'long-rain season'. The three Tanzanian annual seasons also include a dry spell in-between June and September. The drought situation that has existed since October last year will impact negatively on crop production, power generation and availability of water supplies for domestic and livestock use. The Tanzanian President has already appealed to the country in his New Year message to be frugal in the use of available food stocks so as to avoid famine.
AFRICA - Millions of people are at risk of suffering the effects of famine as the dry season approaches in three East African countries, according to a humanitarian group. In southeastern Ethiopia, at least one million people face pre-famine conditions, with reports of child deaths from hunger-related causes already coming in. An estimated 1.2 million people in neighbouring northeast Kenya are also expected to face food shortages in the next two months. Another two million people in Somalia need food and water, medical supplies and security assistance. More severely malnourished children are being admitted to feeding centres in the south.
PHILIPPINES - A prolonged 2005 dry spell likely trimmed growth in the Philippines farm sector to some 2.5 percent.
VIETNAM - December flooding in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, the world's second-biggest coffee producer, has washed away beans harvested from the current crop and has damaged trees. A world coffee shortage is looming two years from now as yields from Brazilian trees dwindle and a global surplus in 2006-07 fails to replenish stockpiles in producer countries.
IDAHO - Soggy weather causes woes for area sugar beet growers.
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WEEK through 12/20 -
The Ecuadorian president has declared a state of emergency for different zones in his country, that have been affected by drought and frost and which have suffered damages of $ 65 mln. The domestic food supply could be put under pressure because of this. Peru expects little precipitation until February, while growers in the interior country are already complaining about water scarcity. In Paraguay the harvest has been disappointing for the second consecutive year and water scarcity has been named the principal cause of this. Therefor there are fewer pineapples, watermelons and melons available. The central states in Mexico are known to have difficulties with drought and the situation in Spain has been extensively reported on last season. This general trend can be called ‘alarming’ at least.
INDIA - erratic weather, unseasonal rains and hailstorms have affected the wheat-growing regions.
JAMAICA - every year since the new millennium except 2003, they have been affected by hurricanes and floods, which have inflicted costly damage on the agricultural sector. In 2002, that sector suffered a decline of seven per cent in its output, and in 2004, the decline was 10.4 per cent, and this year another sharp decrease in output is projected after the havoc wreaked by hurricanes Emily and Dennis, and with the hangover from the effects of hurricane Ivan. Before this spate of floods and hurricane-related damage, they had experienced one of the worst droughts in their history in 1997 when agricultural output fell by 13.7 per cent. Then in 2000 another bad drought led to a decline of 12 per cent in the sector. When combined with the other difficulties that are affecting the sector, especially related to sugar and bananas, it is understandable that the farming community has not had a good run in the last two decades.
SOMALIA - Hunger blamed on drought across southern Somalia has claimed the lives of both humans and livestock.
KENYA - In the Wajir East about 20 per cent of livestock in the constituency has been killed by the drought.
KENYA - The fight over food between man and baboon comes as the Government warned that drought in Northern Kenya is expected to worsen in the next two months.
VIETNAM - flood toll rises to 32, rice crop damaged.
NEW ZEALAND - The third drought in seven years is starting to dry out some of the country's biggest wine and sheep farming areas.
TOMATOES - A team of plant biologists has discovered an overlooked genetic key to growing plants that are more productive, more drought-resistant.
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WEEK through 12/13 -
AMAZON - The Amazon basin's worst drought in more than 40 years is ending as rainfall returns to normal. Many river dwellers in the world's largest rainforest are hungry, having lost crops in the drought. Stocks of fish, a dietary staple, may not recover for months in smaller tributaries that dried up, killing millions of fish.
ECUADOR - An UNUSUAL FROST in the Andes and drought along the low-lying Pacific coast have caused losses of around US$50 million in their flower, potato, corn and cattle industries.
THAILAND - The flood level in the south is receding but residents are still anxious and massive food supply collection has begun. Instant noodles, canned food, rice, flashlights and batteries were quickly snapped up. Prices of these items doubled during the crisis. Massive stock-piling is happening as the locals still fear the heavy rain and flashfloods will come back.
GUYANA - Heavy showers have caused flooding in some areas. "Soon greens will be scarce because the rain and flood water damaged a lot of crops."
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WEEK through 12/6 -
AUSTRALIA - Mango crops are down throughout the state. After a record year last year, 2005 has been a difficult year for mango growers in the region. Unpredictable weather has been playing havoc with the fruit trees. This year, trees have been flowering at irregular intervals and producers haven't been able to pick the fruit with any consistency. "We've had quite a significant early crop which came off an early flowering that we had in May and June this year and then we've seen a drop in harvest because the second flowering didn't set a lot of fruit." "Once upon a time, flowering used to start in July/August. We've had anything up to five or six flowerings right through. We've got fruit on there, gigantic size, and there's fruit that goes right through to little tiny things and even you see some trees that are flowering. That's crazy. They're all different sizes."

WASHINGTON - A combination of warm summer months, cool autumn temperatures and a mild winter produced a record-breaking grape harvest in 2005.
OKLAHOMA - With the driest November on record behind them and no moisture in sight, drought management issues are on the minds of cattle producers across Oklahoma.
OKLAHOMA - Wildfires have consumed area farmers' remaining hay supplies. Rancher and farmers say hay has been in short supply because of the drought.
CENTRAL AMERICA - BANANAS - flooding in Central America will hurt Chiquita's banana production and distribution for at least several months.
HONDURAS - more than 500 hectares (1,200 acres) of banana farms of independent growers have been severely flooded due to heavy rains from Tropical Storm Gamma.
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WEEK of 11/23 -
AUSTRALIA - Hail in central-western NSW this week has caused $7 million worth of damage to crops and also delayed harvesting.
UNITED KINGDOM - 60% of the best farmland is five metres or less above sea level, so much may be lost if global warming causes levels to rise. Unpredictable weather patterns could mean the loss of some food sources.
INDIANA - The extended dry spell from July to August cost area farmers just under $4 million in lost crops. Corn fields were down by as much as 40 percent and soybeans by 30 percent.
HAWAII - crops are doing okay even though unusual weather - trade winds vanished for days - disrupted some usual growth patterns.
ITALY - The Tiber flooded in parts of the central Umbria region with estimated damage of tens of million of euros (dollars) to crops, farms and stables.
MEXICO - Maya Indians near Cancun are going hungry after Wilma flattened the maize and bean crops and killed off the honey and charcoal businesses that were the main source of cash.
INDIA - CHENNAI: Vegetable prices will continue to rule high for at least three more weeks, as crops have been affected by rain. Wholesale vendors at the Koyambedu market say that there is a 20-30 percent fall in arrival of vegetables after the heavy rain in the southern states. Chennai depends on Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka for almost 90 per cent of its vegetable needs.
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WEEK of 11/15 -
Crops in wealthy and poor countries alike face the growing threats of less predictable and more extreme weather, depleted soils, disease.
ZAMBIA - declares food disaster as 1.7 million go hungry.
MADAGASCAR - Thousands face famine from food shortages due to flooding caused by two cyclones that ripped through the Indian Ocean island in February and March destroying crops.
GUATEMALA - The U.N. World Food Program estimates that 285,000 people are at risk of severe hunger after their subsistence crops and other food reserves were destroyed by the rains from Hurricane Stan.

INDIA - the production of wheat, rice and other major crops could fall and monsoon rainfall will rise, predicts a study on the drastic impact of climate change in India.
THE CARIBBEAN - AND NORTH AMERICA - CEMENT SHORTAGE - Caribbean Cement Company attributes this shortfall to sustained heavy rains, which have severely damaged the access roads to its quarries as well as the stockpiles of materials critical to the production process. "Our outdoor stockpiled inventory got soaked. This succeeded in blocking up the mills so much so that we used jackhammers to dig it all out but to no avail. The reality was we had UNUSUAL WEATHER that we have not had before and that effected our production." While the company was able to supply the entire country after hurricanes Ivan, Dennis and Emily, Wilma proved a different proposition altogether with continuing rain for eight straight days.
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WEEK OF 11/9 -
SOYBEANS - A summer drought and an autumn deluge hurt soybean production in Maryland and Delaware. The extreme conditions contributed to projections for a 25 percent decline from last year's abundant harvest in Maryland and a 40 percent drop in Delaware.
NEW ENGLAND - power operators are warning of the potential for "rolling blackouts" during extremely cold weather this winter. The region is heavily dependent on natural gas to generate electricity, and natural-gas supplies remain constrained because of hurricane damage to production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. About 46 percent of daily natural-gas production in the Gulf is still off-line.

WINE - Connoisseurs of Australian wine may have to learn to love a less tasty drop as climate change takes its toll on grape growing regions. Australia's wine growing regions will become warmer and in almost all cases drier. The bad news is that the flavour and aroma of grapes may suffer, resulting in poorer quality, less complex wines.
AUSTRALIA - The last deluge of rain has caused a number of problems for crops. ‘Preliminary district yield loss is expected to be around the 5 % level, with the worst crops affected being west of Trundle and Tullamore.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA - King tides in Papua New Guinea's Bamu and Gama river deltas in August and September have left villages swamped in knee deep mud, creating severe food shortages. People are starving, with the mud ruining staple sago crops and killing animals. Some people have been relocated to care centres but food supplies have now run out. "It's an emergency situation for them."
MEXICO - Heavy rains in the north and a drought across the rest of the state have resulted in widespread crop loss in Queretaro. Forty-four thousand hectares of corn have been ruined by drought statewide, with losses of 100,000 pesos (US93,000) in tomato, tomatillo and chile crops due to severe rains. The UNUSUAL PRECIPITATION, which drenched land and caused rivers to overflow, was a side effect of Hurricane Wilma, which hit the Gulf coast the hardest, but had repercussions in the central region as well. 70 percent of crops in the Sierra Gorda region are unsalvageable. In the town of Colón the drought is "deeply worrying." The water reserves used for cattle are about 30 percent full, and will last no more than 100 days. The states of Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, Durango, Chihuahua and Coahuila are also suffering a drought.
ZAMBIA - Poor rains early in the year saw the total failure of most crops in southern Zambia. A scarcity of water in the surrounding area has driven many rural communities to the brink of starvation. As well as decimating the livelihoods of the area’s predominantly subsistence farmers, the drought has resulted in a severe shortage of maize, the country’s staple food. Maize prices have since escalated to way beyond the means of most Zambians, the majority of whom live on less than a dollar a day. Even the seeds that would normally be set aside to ensure next year’s harvest have been eaten. “We’re competing with monkeys and baboons for the fruit and by the end of November these fruits will be finished.” A recent outbreak of disease has wiped out most of the cattle needed to plough the fields and hand cultivation will mean a smaller than normal harvest. Disease has also killed most of the pigs and chickens that had not already been sold to raise money for food.

DROUGHT TOLERANT CROPS - Monsanto is identifying and developing genes that enable crops to grow even when water is scarce. The implications for areas with severe drought are obvious, but the technology also would reduce the need for irrigation and conserve fresh water. "Of all the fresh water that's used around the world today, 70% of it goes into farming. The value of water is only going to escalate." "It's a big deal" and would be "a huge competitive advantage." Besides corn, Monsanto is working on drought-tolerant genes for cotton, soybeans and canola.
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WEEK of 11/1 -
CANADA - the cost of several fruits and vegetables is expected to take a big jump this winter, mainly because of the severe hurricane season in the United States. Hurricane Wilma devastated parts of Florida last month and the damage bit into the fruit and vegetable crop. The storm wiped out $180 million worth of citrus. Storms that swept through last year destroyed much of the state's tomato crop.
INDIA - Drought followed by deluge has left farmers in Kolar district tottering between two extremes. This peculiar situation has robbed them of their only source of livelihood- groundnut crop.
AFRICA - monthly tea production has of late been affected by unpredictable weather patterns, and access to easy credit is putting many farmers in a precarious financial position.
AMAZON - since the massive drought, as the fish supplies ran out, food prices also rocketed. The price of a bag of manioc flour - a staple in the Amazon region and across Brazil - has rocketed since the drought began from 35 reais (£9) to 120 reais. As with much else, there is no water to make it.
AUSTRALIA - More Australians will die in heatwaves than from all other natural disasters put together in the coming decades because of global warming, an international report warns. Australia also faced a surge in catastrophic bushfires, cyclones, asthma cases and the death of large sections of the Great Barrier Reef. A global warming of only 1C likely to slash wheat yields by 10 per cent and to encourage wheat, cotton and sugarcane pests.
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WEEK OF 10/25 -
MEXICO - Hurricane Wilma ripped into coral reefs and damaged more than 1 million acres (500,000 hectares) of trees on the Yucatan peninsula. Fishermen on Isla Mujeres said the storm scared away most of the fish. Peering into the water, a shallow reef just offshore was abandoned by sealife. "The people here fish... But now there aren't fish, so we don't do anything."
MEXICO - ZACATECAS - A severe drought that has ravaged the agricultural industry here may result in even further migration from a state that already has an estimated third of its population living in the United States. Drought has partially damaged 700,000 hectares of cropland in the state, and completely wiped out another 300,000 hectares, most of the affected crops were beans and corn. Traditionally, the state of Zacatecas has produced 40 percent of the nation's bean supply.

GEORGIA - Drought and disease cut peanut production.
FLORIDA - No official estimate has been made of Florida's agriculture losses from Wilma, but they likely will exceed $1 billion. The losses appeared to be worse than those from Hurricane Katrina earlier this year and the four hurricanes that ravaged Florida last year. (Last year's hurricanes caused $2 billion to $3 billion in damages to crops and infrastructure) Forty-percent of the citrus crop in the hurricane-affected areas in the southern part of the state appeared to be on the ground. Four sugar-processing facilities are inoperable, and many sugar cane fields have been flattened. In addition, U.S. Sugar's internal railroad suffered significant damage as locomotives and railcars were blown over, company officials said.
SW U.S. - A critical shortage of farm workers in the southwestern United States is threatening the harvest of fruits and vegetables, a problem that could lead to higher prices this winter. In California's San Joaquin Valley, a quarter of the olive crop is rotting on the trees. Hammering nails in hurricane-damaged New Orleans or in California's booming housing industry pays at least twice the wages that workers receive on farms. With large parts of crops going unpicked, supplies will be lower than expected this year. That could lead to shortages, and thus higher prices.

CHINA - Continuing drought in South China has worsened saltwater contamination of fresh water, threatening supplies to homes and industries, and damaging crops in Guangdong's coastal areas. "We haven't had a single drop of rain this autumn." Worryingly, the drought is gradually spreading to the prosperous Pearl River Delta region. The drought will not be eased until spring, with little rainfall forecast over the coming months. The coastal cities of Zhuhai and Zhongshan, in the western part of the Pearl River Delta, and Guangzhou have reportedly been hit by salt tides. The salt tides have struck at least a month earlier than last year.
NEW ZEALAND - Hundreds of flood-hit farmers and growers have met near Gisborne as the cost of the weekend's near-record deluge looks set to run into millions. The picture of damage was "growing all the time" and it was likely that at least 3000 hectares (7500 acres) of horticultural land would be affected by a layer of silt. It was already clear that some crops could not be replanted and land would sit unused till next season. Near-record amounts of rain fell in the region, according to MetService, which recorded 350 millimetres in 36 hours on Saturday in Hikuwai. About 1000 sheep had been lost. Up to half of squash crops had been damaged, and this would affect consumer prices. Sweetcorn and tomatoes had also been affected. The region's packhouses and processors would also be affected.

AFRICA - Hunger is destabilising Africa and fostering a cycle of conflict and poverty, the UN's World Food Programme warns.
ERITREA - Some 2.3 million Eritreans, about half the country's population, require some kind of food assistance because of drought and loss of production and livestock.
MOZAMBIQUE - People are at risk in 56 of the country`s 128 districts, and the food shortages are essentially due to a prolonged drought.
SOMALIA - Thousands of Somalis are suffering from a shortage of water and food due to drought which has hit large areas of southern Somalia.
SOUTH AFRICA Water restrictions are in effect as the whole of the Limpopo Province is in the midst of a devastating drought and has experienced no normal rainfall for the past four years.
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WEEK of 10/21 -
LOUISIANA COTTON - “Yield losses from Hurricane Rita range from 10 percent to 65 percent on the remaining 60 percent of the state’s cotton acres yet to be harvested. The losses are greatest in the southern and western cotton-producing areas.” The combination of high wind and torrential rainfall resulted in seed cotton being blown out of the bolls and onto the ground. The quality of cotton that can be harvested will probably be affected, and could result in deterioration of color grades.
OHIO - Heat and drought have lowered the average CORN yield from 164 bushels an acre last year to just 125 this year, according to preliminary estimates.
WISCONSIN - As expected, this year's harvest of soybeans and corn is down due to strange weatherpatterns.
WISCONSIN - Pumpkins were ripe two weeks early, but are in good shape. Some varieties of apples had weather trouble and are down a third. "This is just the most recent year in a whole series of weather extremes that's been tough on farmers. It's getting harder to know what to expect, weather-wise." One year it was a devastating hail storm, another year included a killing frost late in the spring, and this year the orchard struggled with lack of rain, heat and drought. In addition, April temperatures in the 90s tricked a number of apple trees into early bloom, making them vulnerable to frost damage when the temperatures plunged back to the cold normal temperatures of late April and early May. "I used to worry about odd-shaped fruit. Now I'm more concerned about encouraging everyone, myself included, to not take our food for granted. I've been observing our orchard for 25 years, and I'm in touch with other fruit growers all over the world. Whether it's rural Wisconsin, or New Zealand, lots of people who live on the land are talking about climate change."
OREGON - GRAPES are high on quality, low in quantity.
TEXAS - a small portion of the state's pecan crop was affected by Hurricane Rita in a big way, but most of the crop is suffering from drought.
US corn, rice, soybean and cotton crops have not been affected by the hurricane that flattened sugar cane fields last month in Louisiana.
Consumer prices surged last month at the fastest rate in 25 years, driven by energy cost spikes that followed the devastating Gulf Coast hurricanes.
NEW YORK - WINE - Island wine producers remain on edge after last week's deluges, which threaten to spoil what many locals expected to be the greatest grape harvest on record. Some 90% of the white-wine grapes were already harvested before the rains, but just 20% of the red acreage made it indoors before Oct. 7, the first of nine straight days of rain on Long Island. Before the record rainfalls, growers predicted that the excess heat and sun, combined with dry weather, would make 2005 a year to remember for Long Island wine. Excess water causes the grapes to swell and split, which is why after the storms, the harvest must wait until the water drains from the fruit. "When the berries split, there are all types of microorganisms that love to feed on fruit, which causes cluster rot." When the grapes are ready to harvest, the skins become soft and are more subject to inclement weather. Dilution is another concern. "The vines and the grapes have taken up a lot of rainwater, and right now they taste like water."
CANADA - GRAIN - Grain farmers in the Prairies are facing another tough year, and some experts warn that they could be up against their worst financial crisis in recent history. In parts of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, crops were good and harvest went well. But elsewhere – and in much of Alberta – rain and frost have delayed harvest and possibly damaged the crops. "The quality is dropping daily."
ITALY - Fields of vegetables and olive trees were completely submerged by torrential rains, but officials said it was too soon to put a value on the damage.
SPAIN - A severe drought in Spain this year - the worst since 1947 - has wrecked the crop of the biggest olive producer in the world, and the volume is estimated to be half that of last year. The knock-on effect means olive oil is in short supply and its price is likely to rise sharply within months as shops compete for dwindling supplies. To make matters worse, Spain suffered a drought last year too, after which producers exhausted reserves of olive oil. So wholesale prices are up 60 per cent since January. No one can guess how high prices will eventually reach. "We are already in uncharted territory because olive oil prices are at record levels."
RUSSIA AND the UKRAINE - Drought has stressed major agricultural areas in the southeastern corner of the Russian Federation and throughout Ukraine. The main crops in the region are wheat, barley, and corn. As of September 29, little or no rain had fallen over the region since mid-August. Plants are significantly more stressed in 2005 than the average of the previous four years.
BANGLADESH - Most of the winter vegetables including radish, cauliflower and cabbage may be completely damaged because of 6 days of rain. If the farmers who have lost their crops are not supplied seeds of different winter crops, the prices of winter vegetables will shoot up. Rain also washed away shrimps and fish from pisciculture farms across the country.
BANGLADESH - Flooding damaged at least 200,000 hectares (500,000 acres) of rice and vegetable crops and a road network stretching nearly 1,000 km (600 miles).
BANGLADESH - Unusual autumn heavy rain has inundated large areas of southwestern and northeastern Bangladesh over the past four days. The rain damaged vegetable crops in some parts of the country. It moisture may help crops in some areas.
KASHMIR - Ten to 15 per cent of the crops were still unharvested and harvested crops which the farmers had stored in their godowns turned into rubble due to the high intensity of the tremor on October 8. A lot of cultivable land has eroded due to the earthquake in the area.
KENYA - After several seasons of poor rainfall, food availability has deteriorated among drought-affected farm households.
SWAZILAND - CATTLE farmers in the Hhohho region have requested assistance from government to counter the persistent drought.
MALAWI - in the dirt-poor southern tip of Malawi, water lilies have become a staple part of the diet as drought withers corn crops.
GUATEMALA - vegetable plantations and chicken farms were destroyed by floods and the land looks from the air like a patchwork quilt of cocoa-colored lakes. Flattened crops spell destitution for Mayans living off maize and a few cash crops. The country lost between 2.4 percent and 6 percent of its coffee crop due to lashing winds, mudslides and flooding from Hurricane Stan. "We've lost everything. We can't plant more maize until May, so all year we have nothing to eat."
AUSTRALIA - Heavy rain and hail in southern Queensland damaged fruit and vegetable crops. The storm hammered the Granite Belt, with early estimates indicating apple growers near Stanthorpe may have experienced $20 million worth of ruined fruit. Vegetable growers in the Lockyer Valley indicated damage of about $5 million. "Granite Belt growers have called it the worst storm in about 20 years and the apple industry in particular has been severely damaged." "There's major infrastructure damage with hail netting and poles ripped out and fruit trees destroyed. The Granite Belt grows some $80 million worth of crops each year, particularly during the summer period with apples, vegetables and stone fruit." Lockyer Valley growers had crops such as pumpkins, melons, corn and zucchini destroyed. Growers warned the damage could lead to increased prices.
AUSTRALIA - It is feared an outbreak of wheat streak mosaic virus has struck wheat crops across a wide area of southern and central New South Wales. It is believed to be the state's biggest outbreak since the virus was first detected in Australia in 2003. Early sown grazing wheat on the slopes country is most affected. "Certainly one of the crops I looked at has to be at least 60 to 70 per cent yield loss."
AUSTRALIA - A freak hail storm which hit the Lake Grace district last Sunday caused widespread damage and destroyed thousands of hectares of crops.
NEW ZEALAND - The North Island's east coast was pummelled with the kind of rainfall that drops only once every 100 years. Large areas of land planted with seasonal crops such as export squash, sweetcorn and maize are under water and hundreds of hectares will need to be resown. Most vineyards and citrus orchards are draining rapidly, minimising the risk of more serious damage.
ENGLAND - SUDDEN DEATH IN LAMBS. Braxy is a rare peracute disease of hoggs which occurs during late autumn when the first severe frosts occur.Wet and cold weather has also been implicated.
The number of people dying from chronic hunger and related illnesses is on the rise, the UN's World Food Programme has warned. More than six million people have died from hunger this year. "Hunger and related diseases still claim more lives than Aids, malaria and tuberculosis combined. The number of chronically hungry people is on the rise again, after decades of progress. We're losing ground." 25,000 people die from hunger and poverty every day. Developed countries spend more every week subsidising farmers than they do in a year on helping starving children.
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WEEK of 10/14 -
AUSTRALIA - WHEAT - Weekend hail storms in Western Australia's wheatbelt may have caused up to $10 million damage to crops.
In TEXAS - pear trees are sporting spring-like flowers and fruit. Southeast Texas satsumas and plums are acting strange, as well as the tulip trees. "What is going on? Why is this doing this? Is this a natural phenomenon after the hurricane?" Actually, it's not uncommon for plants to get befuddled in unusual weather and throw out blooms. Experts aren't sure how the plants were fooled, but they offered a few possibilities. Maybe the summer drought lulled the trees into dormancy and when Hurricane Rita dropped rain, they sort of "woke up" and flowered. It also could be related to a molecule some trees produce that inhibits flowering. Trees that flower when the days are getting longer (in the spring) makes the molecule, which lives in the leaves, in the fall. Now that trees have been stripped of their leaves, they are without that molecule and can flower. Or maybe the trees, which lost limbs and leaves, went into survivalist mode and flowered to pass on their genes. Southeast Texas trees are not the only ones to get it wrong this year. After Hurricane Katrina hit Miami as a Category 1 storm, many of the trees there started flowering. Too much disturbance, like Category 5 Hurricane Andrew in 1992, killed trees instead of causing them to put on fruit. The trees likely will bloom again in the spring, but the fruit should be expected to be smaller and less abundant.
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WEEK of 10/7 -
Shortages may develop for plastic milk and detergent bottles, automobile tires, disposable diaper liners and bread bags because of high natural gas prices and hurricane-hit chemical plants, the head of Dow Chemical Co. said. "Soon the loss of chemical manufacturing in the Gulf will ripple through the economy in the form of shortages and higher prices...The short-term outlook for natural gas consumers is grim. If prices remain at or near current levels, manufacturers will be driven out of the market and many may not return." 21 processing plants in the Gulf of Mexico are closed, half due to lack of electricity and half due to hurricane damage. The government should also "declare a national emergency" to shock consumers into awareness of tight supplies.
A fuel hungry United States may have a tough time importing heating oil this winter from across the Atlantic due to high European distillate demand, low European inventories, and French labor strife that could cut exports. The prospect is bad news for the world's largest energy consumer, where hurricanes have knocked out 14 percent of the nation's fuel production ahead of what private forecasters are saying could be a chilly winter. For the United States was "going to be rough" to find heating oil to import this winter. The effects of hurricanes Katrina and Rita have pushed refinery use to the lowest on record, below 70 percent, at a time of the year suppliers typically build up inventories for the winter heating season.
The Met Office in the United Kingdom is warning that the country faces a colder than average winter this year. A harsh winter could mean there is not enough gas to maintain supplies to both homes and businesses. This could mean factory closures and thousands of workers being sent home. Actions may involve asking - or forcing - major industries such as chemical producers to stop using gas. They also include dimming the lights by turning down the voltage in the mains supplies. Gas is used to fuel around 40% of the country's power stations, which is why electricity supplies are under threat. Most of their gas supply comes from the North Sea. However, these gas wells are running dry. An average winter will probably mean a few industrial customers and power stations having gas supplies cut off on a voluntary basis. A harsh winter - a one in 50-year occurence last seen in 1963 - would bring widespread disruption to power supplies to industry.
Farmers and agricultural experts are predicting widespread hay shortages and higher hay prices this winter because of a moderate agricultural drought that reaches from central North Carolina along Interstate 95 into southern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and southwestern Connecticut including Long Island. September was the 10th-driest September in Baltimore in the past 135 years.
Illinois pumpkins are smaller in size due to drought.
Some farm fields, especially soybeans and corn, in southern Minnesota still had standing water leftover from 10 inches of heavy rains two weeks ago when another deluge with up to nine inches hit this week. The harvest had already been delayed, and the new rains came just as things were drying out. Now the wet fields have some concerned about the quality of this year's harvest. The latest precipitation was likely to prevent field activity until this weekend. "If we then had a week or two without rain, it would be ideal, but we've been getting these rain fall events about every fourth or fifth day, and so about the time you can get in and really start making some progress we're scrubbed out of the field again." The forecast calls for cooler temperatures, and colder weather tends to make fields dry slower, which means it'll take longer before farmers can take heavy machinery into the fields.

In El Salvador, "the crops, the chickens, the ducks have all been lost and destroyed [by Hurricane Stan]. People are taking their livestock onto the road. During Hurricane Mitch at least some areas of maize weren’t flooded but now everywhere is flooded.”
Tropical storm Stan has ravaged Central America. The Mexican state of Vera Cruz has reported 40K hectares of maize, sugarcane and papaya lost. In Guatemala the exports of fresh produce and flowers has come to a full stop. Many growers export to El Salvador and Mexico, but all their fields are flooded. Mostly banana plantations and vegetable fields have been thoroughly damaged. In Quetzaltenango a lot of vegetable cultivation is damaged. San Marcos reports the loss of bean fields and bananas, in Santa Rosa fruit cultivation was damaged and in Suchitepéquez banana and vegetable production was destroyed. Retalhuleu reported damage to tomato cultivation. 20% of the Guatemalan economy relies on agriculture.
Four cities in the Amazon jungle state of Amazonas in Brazil have been declared disaster areas as the worst drought in 60 years dries up rivers on which thousands of families depend to receive food and medicine. With the rivers drying up, drinking water has also become scarce. Water levels are expected to rise in early November at the start of the rainy season.
Chile's Cerro Colorado copper mine,estimates copper production in 2005 will fall at least 19.5% due to a 7.9 earthquake in June. It will take until December 2005 to ramp up to full capacity production due to the natural delay in obtaining copper from the leach pads.

In the Ukraine, 70 to 100 pc of winter grains area have been affected by drought. The total collection of winter grains in Ukraine in 2006 appears extremely low.
A short, sharp hailstorm which swept through parts of Hawke's Bay, New Zealand left drifts of hailstones on the side of the road at Mangateretere and Whakatu. "We had eight to 10 minutes of heavy, pea-sized hail. It kept coming and coming." The storm has damaged summerfruit crops and some early apples but it is too early to tell the extent of the damage. Grapes are too small to have been badly damaged. Cherries at Mangateretere were hit in the downpour.
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WEEK OF 9/29 -
Texas crop and weather report.
In India, the Coffee Board has admitted that there could be a 5% drop in coffee production due to the white stem borer disease. The Karnataka Planters Association has put it at 10% and a section of growers said ground reality pointed to a decline between 15-20%.
Australia is the third-largest cane sugar exporter in the world, behind Brazil and Thailand. There is a delay in the Australian sugar crop due to unseasonal wet weather and the risk of rain disrupting the latter stages of the harvest has increased.
Some Spanish chefs and gourmets are alarmed that a lack of rainfall could presage a terrible mushroom crop this year. "It is very worrying, so far we have seen very few wild mushrooms and those we have been able to buy have been extremely expensive."
In the U.S. grocery store prices rose just 1.4 percent during the 12-month period ended July, a much smaller increase compared with last year's near-record rise of 4.8 percent. Restaurant prices, meanwhile, rose about 3 percent, surpassing the increase in grocery store prices for the 12 months ended in July. Key factors in 2004's food prices surge were hurricanes that affected fruit and vegetable growers in the South, and import restrictions on beef from cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, found in Canadian cattle. "Unusual weather always has an effect on fruits and vegetables, so we'll have to wait and see how this year's hurricane season affects food prices. Hurricane Katrina will impact several foods including bananas and coffee, for which ports in the New Orleans area account for a large share of imports. "Katrina had a major impact on the Mississippi poultry industry and the gulf seafood industry, which may lead to higher chicken and seafood prices." Keep an eye on food prices heading into 2006, though. Alongside energy, food is a key barometer for how the Federal Reserve views the existence of inflation.
Rita and Katrina have shut 23% of U.S. oil refining capacity.
Prices for vegetables increased in China as Typhoon Longwang approached, with spring onions reaching as high as NT$260 per kilogram in Ilan's agricultural produce wholesale market. Spring onions, a herb that is a must in Chinese cuisine, have been in serious short supply due to damage to crops by typhoons. In central Taiwan, vegetable prices increased about 10 percent because of strong demand in anticipation of Typhoon Longwang.
The quantity of grapes in Oregon is down a bit from last year, but as is often the case with a smaller crop, the grapes appear to be excellent. Unusual weather conditions last spring caused the fruit to set at different times in different locations, so now it's ripening at variable rates. "The grapes are coming ripe at different times. It makes the harvest a little more difficult for the winemaker to judge when to pick." The wet spring also seems to have impacted productivity around the state, leading to a relatively light harvest.
In Iowa, the heat and drought took its toll in many ways. Farmers are expecting sharply lower yields in the Quad-Cities.
National Foods, Australia's largest milk producer, will put up the prices of some of its products by up to 8 per cent, citing soaring fuel costs. Dairy Farmers Group, Australia's largest co-operative, decided to increase the prices of fresh milk, cheese, yogurt and juice by the same amount. The prices of some other fresh dairy products, such as Yoplait yogurts, would also go up, by 4 per cent. "One (reason) that's invisible is that crude oil is also the raw ingredient for plastic packaging and there's been big increases in plastic packaging ... like milk bottles." The increases could be just the tip of the iceberg, with other foods likely to get more expensive because of fuel costs. The dairy price rises follow other oil-related rises across the aviation, manufacturing and agricultural sectors. Soaring petrol prices are threatening to force interest rates up.
Global warming's effect in Australia - water scarcity and seasonal changes are expected to push up food and wine prices. By 2030, annual milk losses could be between 250 and 310 litres per cow, and lobster and oyster habitats could be at risk.
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WEEK OF 9/22 -
Milk production in New Zealand in South Canterbury will plunge unless there is above average rainfall around central South Island during the next three months. The unseasonal dry spell is a "hell of a concern". In the 2004-05 season, cold wet weather dampened milk production by 4 per cent to 10 per cent in some regions and put a big dent in cow fertility.
Higher world temperatures would increase the incidence of violent storms and droughts, and could lead to crop failures which could cause political and social upheaval. "As stresses increase there is likely to be a shift towards authoritarian governments," the report said. "At the worst case, large scale state failure and major conflict may generate hundreds of millions of displaced people in the Asia-Pacific region, a widespread collapse of law, and numerous abuses of human rights." The report said crop yields were likely to increase in parts of Northern Asia, but would decrease in countries in Southern Asia, where the incidence of floods, droughts, forest fires and tropical cyclones would all increase.
In Indonesia, rice paddies that the tsunami turned into briny, debris-strewn swamps, nine months later, are producing their best-ever crop - despite fears that salt water had poisoned the land. "The sea water turned out to be a great fertilizer. We are looking at yields twice as high as last year." Rice, the region's staple food, is not the only crop thriving on tsunami-affected land in Indonesia's Aceh province. Farmers say vegetables, peanuts and fruit are also growing well. But experts say much fertile land remains under water or sand churned up from the ocean floor. Waves and mud have destroyed or clogged countless drainage systems. So many villagers died that there is a shortage of labor to clear the land and replant. Recovery in the worst-hit areas may take three to five years. High rainfall in most Indian Ocean countries washed out the salt quicker than expected. Higher yields in some plots are explained by rich top soil and the composting effect of other organic matter dumped by the tsunami. In some areas they have never grown corn higher. But when heavy rain coincides with a high tide, around half of one man's 5 1/2-acre plot floods. He says it never did before, and blames the tsunami for changing the coastline. "The sea is around 50 yards closer now."
Grapes in Napa Valley, California, thanks to the crisp weather, show no signs of sunburn or shrivel for the first time in many years, vineyard managers say. But the cool weather is giving a different cause for concern: Grapes are ripening, but much slower than last year, pushing harvest deeper into autumn. The fear is that as fall moves forward, chances of a serious storm or sudden heat spike increase. With a lot of cabernet sauvignon still several weeks away from being harvested, winemakers are worrying that what looks like a glorious harvest could fall into shambles. While the grapes have been hanging for longer than usual, sugar levels - which translate into higher alcohol levels in the wine - are lower than normal, which is pretty unusual for Napa. "A lot of the wineries who are going for the high sugars are just not going to get it." A lot of grape clusters are larger than normal. As a result, water can collect inside the clusters and mold can form more easily.
With this summer's unusually warm weather and lack of rainfall, quality locally grown pumpkins might be hard to find in Missouri. Although pumpkins are Missouri's sixth largest vegetable crop, there might be a reduced number of pumpkins statewide.
"This is the worst year I've ever had as far as problems with fungal and bacterial diseases with pumpkins."
Strong winds and rains for the past days brought about by typhoon Labuyo destroyed more than P5 million worth of agricultural crops in Benguet, Philippines. The P5,033,936.82 worth of damages wrought on crops involved an area of 49 hectares of farmlands. Affected crops included cabbages, potatoes, Chinese cabbages or wongbok, carrots, lettuce, cauliflowers, broccoli, garden peas and other major highland vegetables. Cabbage growers were reported to be the most affected by the typhoon, which lasted for two days.
The current drought in Botswana, Africa has reduced the quality and price of cattle. Also in Kenya.
Overflowing waters of the Ganga Canal in India has washed away livestock, property and standing crop worth millions of rupees. "This water has completely destroyed our cultivation. Millions of rupees of potatoes have been damaged." Heavy rains have also damaged the cotton crop in Punjab. The sudden cloudburst has caused havoc in Ludhiana district, with farmers there claiming that they have lost at least 25 percent of their cotton crop.
Typhoon Damrey might bring huge losses to rice, rubber and banana harvests in China.
A hail storm hit vineyards in five villages in Georgia's Ambrolauri district on Sunday, destroying 70% of the country's harvest of the Khvanchkara grape variety, from which a popular semi-sweet red wine is made.
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WEEK OF 9/15 -
South Africa’s pear production is expected to decrease by 2% from last year because of a drought with size and quality affected. Grape production is expected to decrease by 13% because of continuous drought, which delayed harvest in some producing areas (like Orange River) by about 14 days. The area planted to mature apple orchards is expected to decrease 4%.
Zimbabwe faces a crippling drought in the coming 2005/2006 agricultural season, dampening hopes of an end to critical food shortages that have haunted the country.
In Malawi the rains haven't come, boreholes and rivers are dry, there is little food and the people are becoming desperate. "We are living off air, all our crops have gone. We planted at the right time, we waited for them to germinate and grow, but they wilted at knee high when the rains failed. Maize, sorghum, millet, it is all gone." Agencies estimate that nearly half of the population in Malawi is hungry and are receiving only 30 percent of the food they need. People are living off whatever they can find. "Will you all only come back to help us when some of the children are dead?"
Hurricane Katrina caused an estimated $900 million in crop and livestock losses in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, the U.S. government said, while Corn Belt drought cut corn and soybeans by $1.3 billion. Katrina first hit Florida, damaging fruit and vegetable crops. Louisiana lost 9 percent of its cane sugar crop while Alabama and Mississippi lost acres of cotton. Losses to corn, soybeans and rice appeared modest but harvesting costs will be higher for wind-flattened fields. Millions of chickens were killed. Producers also lost eggs, poults, and chicken grow-out facilities, which will lead to longer-term economic losses for some producers. Dairy producers discarded an estimated $3 million worth of milk.
Across the U.S. Southern Plains region cotton farmers lost up to 100,000 acres of cotton, either totally destroyed or badly damaged by storms. If adequate rainfall is available in September, Oklahoma cotton farmers may make the best dryland crop they’ve ever seen.
In South Dakota, farmers are beginning to harvest crops because many of them died prematurely due to the lack of rain. And the dry weather isn't the only thing affecting the crops. The temperature has been warmer over the dry areas.About half of South Dakota's corn crop is considered good to excellent, down 6% from last week. Soybeans ratings fell sharply as well. Only 53% of the crop is in the good to excellent category, compared to 62% last week.
In Iowa, July, August and early September were very stressful to much of the area's corn. The dry weather caused plants to develop marginal root systems, which led to limited late season nutrient uptake. As plants "cannibalize" the stalk for these nutrients, stalk rots can set in and the plant is more prone to lodging.
Some refineries in the Gulf of Mexico have since returned to full or partial production, but four major facilities — three in Louisiana and one in Mississippi — are believed to be badly damaged and may not be online for weeks or months. Experts expect the price of gasoline to come down gradually, but it probably will be inflated by Katrina well into next year.
Tests Find Higher-Than-Allowed Mercury Levels in Storebought Fish.
Hawaii farmers are watching the collection of distant hurricanes to the east of the state, knowing that even if none should make landfall here they will disrupt normal rainfall patterns. Cloudy days and frequent showers slowed crop progress in the East Hawaii banana and papaya orchards. Very damp conditions were expected to result in increased banana disease incidences. On Maui, the rainfall reportedly has not been detrimental to the onion crop. The overcast skies may have actually brought relief from the hot growing conditions for most onion fields.
Heavy rains in India have inundated some 70 villages, damaging crops and disrupting traffic and electricity. Shrimp farms were destroyed and agricultural land submerged.
In Orissa, India tidal waves, five to nine metres high, hit the Orissa shore leaving a trail of destruction on land up to a distance of 0.5 to 1 km from the coast. Most of the affected people depend on a single crop, of rice, for their livelihood and employment. Paddy saplings they had raised this year had already wilted due to the delay in monsoon's arrival. Now, the large-scale intrusion of seawater into agricultural land along the coastal villages has caused serious damage to standing crops of paddy and pulses. Apart from damaging the standing crop, the silt and mud deposited along with the saline water have made crop production impossible for the next two cropping seasons. High tide and heavy winds have damaged a large number of fishing boats and nets in many fishing villages. The intrusion of seawater on aquaculture farms was equally devastating. A large number of shrimp farms near the coastline were inundated.
The Spanish branch organisation for the lemon cultivation denies that drought has been a problem in citrus cultivation this season. The organisation reports it had to convince buyers that the fruit is actually present on the trees.
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9/14 -
The corn crop is looking better than expected despite the drought that has parched crops from eastern Iowa through Illinois. The U.S. Agriculture Department estimated that farmers will harvest the second-biggest corn crop on record — 10.6 billion bushels. The department raised its estimate since its August report because of some timely rains in the region. The total corn crop is still expected to be 10 percent less than last year’s record crop nationwide. Soybean crop forecasts also are looking better.
Many apple growers across New England are expecting a poor harvest this season. A cold and wet May affected the bloom and pollination of apple trees. "It was just too wet and windy for the bees to work." Maine's crop is expected to drop 26 percent; New Hampshire's crop is forecasted to drop 15 percent; Vermont 10 percent and Massachusetts 17 percent. Only Rhode Island, which accounted for 1 percent of New England's 2004 harvest, is expecting an increase in production.
9/13 -
The market-making weather event of the year was the summer-long, widespread drought, not day-long, deadly Katrina. Indeed, Katrina's wet wake won't noticeably rock 2005 grain or livestock supplies or demand. Moreover, the rumors about New Orleans grain export facilities being shut down for weeks, even months, were proven largely false that same day when several grain export elevators resumed operations. Grain merchandisers and farmers did - and still do - have a weather-related transportation problem to confront. Again, the summer's yield-cracking drought has so reduced the depth of the Mississippi River between St. Louis and New Orleans that river-running barges cannot be fully loaded.
9/12 -
Three summers of near drought conditions have reduced the depths of many southeast Wisconsin lakes and rivers to levels that threaten fish and aquatic life and hamper boaters and swimmers."All of the lakes are low. It's an unusual lake that isn't down at least a foot. I haven't seen it this bad since the drought of 1987-'88." The water in Lorraine Lake near Whitewater warmed beyond 80 degrees, causing a die-off of much of the northern pike population. Other shallow lakes, including Big Muskego Lake in Waukesha County, could experience a similar situation. And if lakes levels remain shallow into the winter freeze, fish likely will become stressed because of reduced oxygen in ice-covered lakes. "Racine lakes are even worse than Waukesha County, especially Eagle Lake and Tichigan Lake, where they're turning up mud with boat propellers." Rainfall for the summers of 2003 through this season is more than a foot below normal. Diminishing lake levels have prompted some dam owners to shut down the outflow of water, a move that threatens the health of fish and plants in rivers that flow from lakes. Many lakes in this part of the state were either created or expanded in size by damming a river. The Department of Natural Resources twice this summer ordered dam owners on Waukesha County lakes to increase the outflow or face prosecution. "We are concerned about the operation of dams. They cannot keep lake levels high and keep living and breathing rivers low."
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9/10 -
The US government has declared a formal disaster zone for the Gulf of Mexico fishing industry after Hurricane Katrina destroyed one of the mainstays of the coastal economy. The Gulf of Mexico region normally supplies about 25 per cent of the nation's seafood. But now with a string of towns along the Gulf Coast in ruins, the fishing industry's infrastructure of boats, docks and ice-houses which store catches is feared to have been destroyed. Katrina is likely to generate an immediate shortage of fresh oysters in US restaurants, as the harvest in Louisiana, which provides one-third of all US oysters, is thought to have been virtually wiped out.
PLANT DISEASE -
A new rapidly-evolving pathogen spreading in east Africa could annihilate wheat plantations worldwide, posing a "catastrophic" threat to crops unless steps are taken quickly. "The stem rust strains are changing through mutation ... coming up with new types." Cooperation helped suppress a stem rust outbreak in North America that destroyed nearly 70 percent of wheat plantations in 1950. "Maybe we got too complacent. We have to restore the cooperation (as the current threat) is potentially more serious than it was 40 to 50 years ago." "It is only a matter of time until Ug99 -- which also affects barley -- reaches across the Saudi Arabian peninsula and into the Middle East, South Asia and eventually the Americas." "This could be catastrophic. It could affect food security worldwide."
PLAGUE of RATS -
Up to 40,000 people are facing hunger in northern Nicaragua because rats have devoured their crops. Last week, the area - which is also regularly hit by flooding - was declared a disaster area, but the rats have yet to be exterminated.
9/9 -
Freak storms have ravaged France’s Languedoc-Roussillon region, threatening to damage the new wine crop by leaving some vineyards under water at the crucial harvesting stage. France's meteorological office put the whole region on a ‘red alert' for extreme weather. The deluge that came was, in the end, less violent than expected, but still flung down enough water to flood villages and vineyards in the region – just as wine makers had begun their annual grape harvest. A long dry spell preceding the recent storms had helped to produce smaller grapes of higher quality, while a low level of disease this summer has also aided wine makers. Survival of today's wine regions will depend on how well vintners adapt to the effects of climate change.
9/8 -
The condition of 1.6 million 60-kg (132-pound) bags of green coffee stored in New Orleans warehouses is unknown following flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans coffee warehouses represent about one-sixth of U.S. coffee storage. If coffee stored there is damaged, it could have an effect on future coffee prices in the U.S. coffee market. It could take several weeks to assess damage to warehouses and coffee roaster facilities and months to return to normal activity as roads and physical infrastructure are repaired.
It is anticipated that the drought in Spain will negatively affect worldwide olive oil production. Olive oil prices have risen by 45 percent in New Turkish Lira (YTL) terms and by 35 percent in US dollar terms. There will be a shortage in the olive oil supply.
9/7 -
Climate change threatens to put far more people at risk of hunger over the next 50 years than previously thought, according to new research. Expected shifts in rain patterns and temperatures over that time could lead to an extra 50 million people struggling to get enough food. And the situation could be even worse if the important cereal crops do not show the improved yields many expect. "If we accept that broadly 500 million people are at risk today, we expect that to increase by about 10% by the middle part of this century." "Climate change as you know has an inertia, so even if we were to chop emissions off at the knees now we've got 40 or 50 years of warming and drying to go." Most of those extra individuals projected to be put at risk of hunger would be in Africa.

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AUGUST 2005 -
8/29 -
The global area affected by drought has doubled. Earth was 10% to 15% in drought in the 1970s; by 2002, the figure had risen to about 30%. Widespread drying has occurred across much of Europe and Asia, Canada, western and southern Africa and eastern Australia. The European Commission is forecasting this year's cereal crop to be down 10%, because of dry conditions and high temperatures. Irrigation restrictions will reduce sugar beet and potato crops. A general drying trend began in the '70s. "What has happened is there is a bit more precipitation going on over ocean than over land, so there is a redistribution." Global warming cannot be blamed for causing droughts. "But what it is doing is making them a bit more intense, longer lasting, the heatwaves a bit greater, so it is exacerbating the conditions that might have occurred anyway." Drought is the most damaging of all natural disasters. Each year it causes millions of deaths and costs billions of dollars in damages.
8/28 -
Unusual rainfall in California on May 18, June 8 and June 16 has reduced the projected pear yield in Lake County to 55 percent of normal and much is of poor quality. "These rains were not only heavier than normal, but were unseasonable for that time of year." Hay and walnut crops were also affected. The walnut and hay yields are expected to be 59 percent and 66 percent of normal, respectively. Plus only 10 percent of the hay is the best quality. There is a shortage of pears nationwide. "This is about the sixth or seventh year that has not been good for the pear growers. This year is weather-related; the past years have been related to market conditions." There were several major frost events this year plus cold, scab and hail. "It's not good. The primary reason for crop reduction this year is the fact that pears need certain temperatures to set fruit. When they don't get that minimum temperature they don't set. They didn't get enough warm days to set." Odd weather has impacted other crops as well. "The weather affected anything that's going to grow. This year was very unusual for weather." Grapes have had no problems, but most crops have been affected by the odd weather. "Vegetables as a whole are delayed this year."

Unusual weather patterns in the Pacific Ocean may be causing two migratory fish to skip their annual summer visit to the Central Coast of California. Albacore, a popular summertime offering in fish markets, are all but absent. Coastal authorities are also reporting fewer shark sightings. "This is an oddball year, all around". Great white sharks and albacore tuna make huge annual migrations through the Pacific Ocean. Summer is when they pass the Central Coast. Most striking is the absence of albacore, which usually start arriving in June. Their numbers fluctuate from year to year, but this year albacore are almost entirely avoiding California waters. In Southern California, entire fishing fleets are tied up to the docks because they can't find albacore. Only Mexico and Oregon report good albacore fishing. Less easy to explain are the drop in shark sightings. While there are fewer anchovies and other bait fish in the water, there are still plenty of seals, the main food for large white sharks. Weather conditions appear to be returning to their normal patterns as the summer draws to a close. "The ocean is a mysterious place. It changes from year to year."
8/26 -
Many of Australia's sugar cane-growing areas have had unseasonal winter rain during the cane crushing season. This could be beneficial by potentially boosting output of cane and sugar, but the rain also has delayed harvest. "We're anywhere from two weeks to four weeks behind schedule at the moment in most districts." In delaying harvest, the rain has put crops scheduled to be cut late in the season at some risk of not being harvested due to possible inclement weather from early monsoon activity in December, before which the harvest usually ends.
Blueberry production throughout North America has fallen due to unusual weather with a cold, wet spring, resulting in higher prices.
8/23 -
Upwellings of nutrient-rich cold water have finally arrived off the Pacific Northwest coast, purging the ocean of warmer surface temperatures that earlier in the year disrupted the food chain for seabirds, salmon and other maritime life. Surface temperatures on the Pacific recently have dropped as much as 11 degrees Fahrenheit, which is expected to help produce a rich buffet of zooplankton, tiny creatures that are a staple diet to a host of sea animals. But scientists say it may have come too late for many species, such as murres and coho salmon, that depend on heavy feeding in spring and early summer. Researchers are still trying to better understand what happened this spring, when a lack of northerly winds apparently prevented the upsurges of cold water that usually bring nutrients up from decaying sea life on the ocean bottom. Scientists say it could have been an aberration, but they worry it may have signaled a new ocean pattern that might be connected with global warming. "This one caught us completely by surprise." Scientists are hopeful that the recent surge of cold water will continue through the winter, setting the stage for a fertile spring next year. That would boost the confidence of marine scientists who have predicted that ocean conditions will be favorable for at least a decade. But some scientists remain uneasy that global warming could short-circuit weather patterns that create the cold-water upwellings. The concern is heightened by other recent unusual ocean events. "As scientists, we don't want to be Chicken Little and say the sky is falling. But this is weird stuff."
8/22 -
Sections of the U.S. Midwest are suffering the WORST DRY SPELL SINCE THE LATE 1980s. Water flow in some rivers has hit near 60-YEAR LOWS, weeks before usual low-water months. According to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Web site, forecasters see "some additional improvement" to come but with "considerable uncertainty" about the degree and timing. Around Missouri some corn crops are "zeroed," while most growers expect yields off by a third or half. The story is about the same and in some areas worse in Illinois. Rain has been particularly scarce in a swath from central Missouri north to the western Great Lakes and a slice of eastern Iowa. Conditions there are "extreme drought:" 60 percent of average rainfall for six months.
All but two of Oklahoma's counties have been declared agricultural disaster areas after months of heat, high winds and little rain caused significant crop losses. Rainfall since March 1 statewide is between 2.3 inches and MORE THAN A FOOT BELOW NORMAL. Oklahoma is typically hot and dry in summer months. However, this year's March-through-May period in the state ranked as THE DRIEST SINCE 1921. "If it doesn't rain pretty soon - and there's nothing I can see in the long-range forecast that we're going to get a whole lot of rain - then I think a lot of our people are going to be in dire straits." Counties in California and Texas have also been designated as agricultural disaster areas.
The people living in the Iril river basin in India will experience an UNPRECEDENTED FAMINE unless the Government of Manipur takes up appropriate measure for providing irrigation facilities to feed their paddy fields. In a joint statement, the chiefs of 11 villages said that the people of the area are in great misery as they could not plant rice paddies due to the scarcity of rainfall.
8/20 -
From 8:00 a.m. last Friday through to 8 a.m. on Sunday, Liaoning, China was doused by concentrated rainstorms. Damage included the destruction of 240,000 hectares of crops, 8,376 rural homes. "There was panic buying in the county seat of Qingyuan, and commodities such as food, bottled water, candles and electric torches were all sold out."
8/19 -
Men, women and children in Niger and its neighbouring Least Developed Countries have resorted to eating leaves and grass as a result of a double-disaster: a severe drought and the invasion of locusts destroying nearly 80 percent of their crop.
8/18 -
"People in Alaska are starting to freak out. The retreat of the sea ice allows the oceans to pound the coast more and villages there are suffering from the effects of that erosion. Permafrost is melting, roads are buckling, forests have been infested with beetles and decimated because of a rise in temperatures." People who have been fishing there all their lives say lately the fish have strange bumps on them.
Tobacco can take the dry weather and the heat in short spurts, but it cannot take what 2005 has decided to dish out in Kentucky. Statewide, the dry weather, coupled with the end of the tobacco support program, the 2005 production levels are the lowest since 1927. Lack of rain and high temperatures have plagued this growing season.
8/16 -
The seasons are skewed in Florida, with just about every plant and tree a good month behind where it ought to be.

The native California Oaks are losing their leaves early. In spite of abundant rainfall this past winter and spring, the leaves of many oak trees in the Sierra Nevada and Coast Ranges have been turning brown, and some trees have even begun losing their leaves. People have reported seeing oak leaves covered with brown spots and curling at the edges before turning completely brown and falling off. In some cases, entire hillsides now have oak forests with few, if any, leaves. This past May and June were unusually wet in much of California. In Yuba County, for instance, rainfall totals in both May and June were more than three times their long-term averages. This weather pattern most likely contributed to the infection of oak leaves. Because unusual weather patterns are needed for these spikes in leaf diseases, such outbreaks are typically limited to one growing season.
In Mali,"the rain has stopped and the grass isn't growing. If there is no rain, the rest of my animals will die... and so will we." Mali has not reached Niger's crisis levels, but every indicator suggests they could be heading in that direction. The price of grain has more than quadrupled in the last two years. Of greatest concern is that the rainy season has not arrived as it should have done - unlike Niger - further decimating the little pasture that survived last year's drought and locust plague. Vast areas that should be green are not. If there is grass at all, it is yellowed and cracked. Aside from the immediate lack of fodder this year, grass that does not grow properly will not reseed itself and pastures and the animal fodder they provide will simply disappear next year. Another two to three weeks of no rain, villagers say, and the damage will be irreparable. "When I think about how life used to be here and what it's like now, I can't even talk about it."
The worst drought since 1988 has deepened across parts of the U.S. Midwest, and low water levels are turning parts of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers into sandbars, causing towboats and barges to run aground and delaying shipments of petroleum products, coal, chemicals, agricultural goods and road-paving materials. "There is high anxiety that we are close to shutting down the river. This is looking as bad or worse than 1988." The drought, which has mostly affected parts of Illinois, Missouri and Wisconsin, has also dried up wells, caused severe insect infestations and wreaked havoc on corn and soybean fields.
It seems too much rain has caused a drought. The crops that managed to live through all that moisture in the spring in Canada sacrificed their root system. The plants had to basically float on top of saturated soil and they’ve paid a high price. In a crop such as soybeans,the taproot — the main root stem — will typically reach nearly a metre below surface to reach moisture. But yank a soybean plant out of the ground this year and you’ll find there is virtually no taproot left on the plant, only secondary roots, which typically spread horizontally a few centimetres below the surface. Farmers summed up the ironic situation: “Once you drive around the water-filled potholes, you quickly realize that it is dry, dry, dry. It is rare that the bottoms of the fields are drowned out while the tops are dried out.” In the past, just about every weather-related risk — short of drought — had a positive offset within the same farm because they were diversified. Federal farm policy continues to push farmers away from operating that way, with programs that discourage diversification within the same farm.
8/15 -
Scientists have discovered dramatic evidence of climate change in the South Pacific with "worrying" implications for Australia's rainfall and fisheries. Using new data from a network of floating robots, scientists have detected a 20 per cent increase in the speed of a key South Pacific current over the past 10 years. As well as moving faster, the South Pacific sub-tropical gyre, a circular current that influences the East Australian current, has warmed by up to 0.25C and risen in height by 12cm at its centre. The warming of the current has major implications. It will take nutrient-poor warmer water further south along Australia's east coast, leading to an expected decline in fisheries and aiding the spread of exotic marine pests. There are also fears of a permanent decline in rainfall for southwest Western Australian, parts of South Australia and Tasmania. This wind shift means winter rain storms will by-pass southern Australia. "If the southern shift of this wind system really does become permanent, then that winter rainfall will be gone."
8/13 -
U.S. farmers will harvest far less corn and soybeans this year because of persistent - and growing - drought in the Midwest that has caused crop damage rivaling the drought of 1988. That drought destroyed crops in a larger area of the Midwest and Great Plains and cut U.S. corn production by about one-third. The 2005 drought is more concentrated, and in some places, more devastating. Withered plants, cracked soil and, everywhere, dust: Eastern Iowa farmers say they haven't seen this severe a drought for 17 years. It's too soon to tell what impact reduced harvests will have on food prices. Many analysts expect the USDA to reduce estimates even further in its next crop production report because of excessive heat and a lack of precipitation in the first half of August.
8/10 -
"Shanghai's greens supply has been seriously affected by Typhoon Matsa. The city gets most of its vegetables from the suburbs and neighboring provinces, two areas that were hit hard by Matsa - the biggest storm to hit Shanghai in eight years. Typhoon Matsa flooded 26,667 hectares of farmland in the city over the weekend, the most serious devastation in more than 30 years. The Shanghai government began rushing emergency supplies of seeds, fertilizer and pesticides to farmers in Shanghai's suburbs yesterday to steady the supply of vegetable on the local market. The emergency measure, which was decided at a hastily called meeting late Monday, will provide an expected 120,000 tons of jimaocai, a green-leaf vegetable that grows rapidly, starting August 27.
The price for macadamia nuts will be higher than usual this year because of a poor harvest. The 2005 macadamia harvest is down by 25 per cent compared to last year's. Producers blame the Australian drought for the downturn. "The amount of kernel that's available for sale is less and in some respects its kept prices particularly high."
The worst cherry harvest in decades has growers seeking federal help as this season's harvest was "disastrous." Eleven of Oregon Cherry Growers' members didn't harvest their fruit because yields were so poor. This year's strange weather pattern is to blame for the small crop. A mild winter and a warm February and March caused some fruit trees to bloom early. The mild weather was quickly followed by heavy rains, high winds and cooler temperatures. By the time the weather warmed again, the blooms and pollen necessary for a good crop were gone.
The price of many varieties of the least expensive olive oils is about to double. Spain, usually the largest olive oil producer in the world, is suffering through its fifth year of the worst drought of the century. Though olive trees need stress to produce their best fruit, it has been so dry in southern and central Spain that even ancient trees, some hundreds of years old, are dying. Though Italian harvests have been good, there's not enough oil to go around. It's time to stock up. Olive oil will stay fresh for a year or more if shipped and stored correctly. When you get it home, keep it in a cool, dark place.
8/9 -
In Nepal, the monsoon rains this year are lagging three months behind their normal arrival time. Pre-monsoon rains generally occur around mid-May with monsoon rains starting from mid-June. Nearly 21 of the 75 districts in the kingdom are in the throes of a drought-like situation, forcing the government this week to announce that temporary dams would be built in such areas to help irrigation. Already rice cultivation has slumped by 50 percent. Only a thorough and continuous downpour can save the struggling paddy but even then, farmers would lose 15-20 percent of the yield.
After seven years of drought in Afghanistan, the country's farms are alive again since they have received good snows and rains. ''Since the fall of the Taliban, Afghanistan has started to recover from the drought and people's lives have been getting better. In previous years, no one even bothered to plant crops because our lands were dry like a desert, but that has all changed and everyone is sowing their land.'' But ''even after such a good harvest, the country will not be able to meet the consumption requirements of its population.''
This summer's surge in natural gas prices is likely to continue, possibly reaching new highs by winter. "Coast-to-coast hot weather, predictions of a tougher hurricane season and a report showing lower-than-expected supplies of gas in storage led natural gas futures to a nine-month high of $8.70 per million British thermal units on Friday. But fundamental supply and demand factors, including declining U.S. production and the traditional winter price spike, have many expecting records to be shattered later this year and early into the next. "We've seen spikes, but we've never sustained $8 and $9 natural gas throughout the summer...we could see $10 to $11 natural gas this winter." Coal shipments to power plants have been slowed down by heavy rains that damaged rail lines and caused derailments in Wyoming's Powder River Basin. With coal shipments down, power generators are leaning more heavily on natural gas-fired plants. Customers in Houston may be left with monthly bills as much as 18 percent higher than last year's.
The Pacific Ocean off of Oregon has experienced a die-off of birds, declining fisheries and wildly fluctuating conditions in the past few months, and has set the stage for another hypoxic "dead zone" like those of 2002 and 2004, according to experts at Oregon State University. This is the third year in the past four that has demonstrated significantly unusual ocean events, the researchers say, a period unlike any on record. The events have not all been the same. THIS YEAR'S OCEAN BEHAVIOR IS PARTICULARLY BIZARRE, and there is no proof what is causing it. But extreme variability such as this is consistent with what scientists believe will occur as a result of global warming. "And there is no doubt that what is going on right now off Oregon is not normal." In May and June when seasonal "upwelling" events should have begun that bring cold, nutrient rich water to the surface, the ocean was 8-11 degrees warmer than usual. "The nearshore ocean right now looks like a brown pea soup." "The wide variability and oscillation of ocean patterns in recent years is very unusual. "We may be beginning another fundamental phase change right now in how these ocean systems and circulation patterns will operate for decades to come."
8/8 -
Pension fund trustees in the UK have a duty to address the financial risk posed by climate change when making investment decisions, according to a report just issued. The report marks the first time that investors have been explicitly warned to consider the effects of climate change on companies as an investment risk. It comes at a time of increasing awareness among corporations about the costs of climate change. Allianz, the German insurance giant, warned earlier this year that an increase in natural disasters linked to climate patterns could seriously damage the sector's future prospects. The group said extreme weather associated with rising temperatures had already led to €36bn (£25bn) worth of damage since 1999 in Europe alone.
8/7 -
A bizarre freeway of fish swimming by the thousands along the shore of Englewood Beach in Florida Thursday morning left crowds of beach-goers agog and marine biologists bewildered. Beach-goers reported that a wide variety of sea creatures came swimming south in a narrow band close to the beach in about 18 inches of water at mid-morning. Included in the swarm were clouds of shrimp, crab, grouper, snapper, red fish and flounder. They were joined by more usual species, including sea robins, needlefish and eels. They were headed south, and the moving mass of sea life stretched a good mile long. All the species "were swimming amongst each other. They weren't attacking each other." "I have never seen anything like that in my life. " The event lasted until late morning, although the parade had thinned out by 11 a.m. A few scientists contacted were surprised to hear of the unusual fish behavior. It was not typical schooling, they said, because many varied species were involved. They agreed was A HIGHLY UNUSUAL EVENT, ONE THEY HAD NEVER ENCOUNTERED BEFORE. Indications seem to be that the fish were escaping a huge area of toxic red tide.
Concerned residents in northern Taiwan flocked to hypermarkets and emptied their shelves of vegetables Friday, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said that veggie supplies were stable after the typhoon, and urged the public not to fret about a potential hike in prices. The COA Friday distributed 300 tonnes of the strategic frozen vegetable reserve - designed to prevent emergency vegetable shortages - to help neutralize and stabilize prices. Officials at the COA were unable to confirm how many tonnes of frozen vegetables remained in the strategic vegetable reserve, saying only that they "did not have that information." However, the COA chairman remained confident that Taiwan could avoid a vegetable apocalypse. "Typhoon Matsa only swiped through northern part of the country. Since the major vegetable farms are located in the south, these farms remain in good shape."
In Chandigarh, India, several areas of the state were lashed by heavy rains, causing damage to crops and triggering landslides. The rains accompanied by high velocity winds damaged the maize crop.
Serious problems have been created in many regions of northern Greece due to heavy rainstorms and hail which followed a week-long heatwave throughout the country. Extensive damage was caused to many vineyards in Myrtofytou, due to heavy hail which struck the region. The hail also damaged many agricultural vehicles.
Severe thunderstorms accompanied by heavy rain, high winds and hail struck, cut at least one swath across Livingston County, Illinois. Soybeans and corn in the same area of Broughton Township also sustained visible hail damage. "We are at a weird turning point in this agricultural season. There have been significant stresses to the crops all season and now their maturing timetable, in some areas, may be lengthened by rain. Or, on the other hand, the crops just may give up and do nothing."
In Bulgaria severe floods devastated the Balkan country, destroying roads and cutting off remote villages. Torrential rains have swept across the Balkan region for most of the summer, causing hundreds of millions of euros in damage to roads, bridges, railways and crops.
8/6 -
Most of the areas around Uganda are experiencing prolonged dry spells. With the weather increasingly becoming unpredictable, farmers can no longer be sure of the best time to plant crops. "These things have happened in the past but it is the intensity and frequency with which they have occurred recently that gives us reason to get worried."
Spain's drought-hit wheat and barley harvest is down 61% of last year's.
8/5 -
Top U.S. retailers ranging from Gap Inc. to Nordstrom Inc. posted disappointing July sales on Thursday as a heat wave curbed demand for fall back-to-school fashions, sending stocks lower. Wal-Mart Stores was among the few retailers whose sales beat expectations, helped by the hot weather that drove sales of air conditioners, and a busy hurricane season that prompted people in stricken regions to stock up on food and other supplies. This July is expected to rank in the top 10 hottest in 111 years.
8/4 -
As this summer's European drought continues, two climate research groups have warned that it will unleash large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, giving further impetus to global warming. And drought is also sweeping much of the US. Corn crops are failing and cattle are dying of heat stress in the Midwest, where many areas have seen less than half their typical rainfall. Summer CO2 releases may be rising across the world.
The scorching drought in Spain has sent olive oil prices soaring up 20% as farmers in the world's top producer estimate this year's harvest could fall almost 30 percent. Even before the drought started, olive oil producers were trimming their estimates after frosts destroyed some of their trees. About 4 percent of all Spain's olive trees lost this year's harvest because of the frosts. Some of those trees will have to be replanted, and so will not produce for about five years. Italy is the world's No. 2 producer, followed by Greece.
Dairy processors in Australia say they are fighting for milk because the drought and high grain prices have reduced supplies. A cheese factory has been mothballed due to the lack of milk supply.
Heavy rains in Burma flooded paddy fields and destroyed crops in the outlining regions of the country but an extraordinary harsh spell of droughts are also destroying seasonal beans and sesame plants. Burmese merchants believe that the rising price of cooking oil could rise even higher in the coming year due to the reduction in the yields. According to environmental experts, the destruction of rainforests in Burma is going at the fastest rate in Asia causing unpredictable weather patterns.

The worst drought in 13 years has struck in Malawi, one of the world's poorest countries where 80% of the population of 11 million rely on subsistence farming to eke out a living. Up to 4.2 million Malawians are facing hunger after the drought sent maize production, the main staple food, plummeting by 24%. "The drought happened at the most critical point for the growth of maize.""From today no maize should be exported to other countries because we have to feed ourselves first."
Dry conditions persist across the Midwest, and will likely be getting worse in the coming weeks, according to forecasts issued from the Climate Prediction Center. Experts with the National Drought Mitigation Center conclude that the weather models paint a bleak outlook for farmers who were hoping for an end to the lack of precipitation. In the latest forecast, the next 14 days are expected to see mostly dry and exceedingly warm weather across most of the country. Data shows that all of America’s corn and soybean regions are now in trouble.
While the great drought of 2005 is proving less ruinous to most Washington farmers than expected, Washington State officials say it has raised the risk of future crises by dangerously draining the region's already drying water tables and reservoirs. Though some farmers have plowed under entire sections of their orchards due to lack of water, the industry has saved large swaths of plantings by drawing heavily from state reservoirs. As a result, state officials are now more concerned about 2006 and beyond than they are about 2005. "If this lasts into the next year, the consequences could be quite serious. We've not had a multiyear drought since the '30s."
For the pear crop in California untraditional weather patterns have caused one of the shortest crops in the past three decades and the quality of the crop varies when comparing different orchards. "It turned out to be a very early season because we had almost the coolest June on record, which accelerated the harvest. So far we have had the hottest July on record, which in turn has slowed down the process. It is quite a short crop. It is one of the shortest in probably the past 30 years. Mendocino County is down and the whole Pacific Coast is down, as are all other crops. It was just an odd growing season."
Due to drought in Illinois, farmers have lost 25 to 30 percent of their expected yield of corn and if it doesn't rain soon they're looking at half the crop. In much of northern and western Illinois drought levels are now reaching record-breaking levels. Officials warn the situation may get worse before it improves. To varying degrees, the drought covers the northern three-quarters of Illinois. Statewide, 55 percent of the corn crop and 36 percent of the soybean crop is rated very poor or poor. Estimates of crop failures continue to rise. Northern and western Illinois were 7 to 10 inches short of average annual rainfall since the drought began March 1. The soybean plants are green, but blooms are falling before sprouting pods, and it will take 7 inches of rain or more by mid-August at the latest to get them to sprout new blossoms and grow pods.
Summer of 2005 is looking pretty dismal in the heartland of America’s Midwest. The last real rainfall, on July 4, was only about eight-tenths of an inch and that was still more than we received during the entire month of April - normally out wettest month. Since January our cumulative shortfall for the year is over ten inches - and this is on top of a cumulative shortfall of four plus inches for 2004. Both the sweet corn and field corn are tasseling out at a height of 18+ inches less than normal and cob/ear formation is "pickle sized," if at all. The drought factor is being accentuated by the record breaking temperatures of the summer of 2005 which are being set from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from Canada to Mexico.

The corn harvest in Missouri is also suffering due to drought, if the rain doesn't come soon, yields this fall could suffer. One hundred and six of Missouri's 114 counties are affected by the drought. The extreme heat has also taken its toll on pastures. The grass has stopped growing. Some farmers are reporting that the conditions are so bad they're being forced to use hay they would normally use in winter to feed livestock now.
Farmers and crop scouts have found fusiarium head blight, or scab, in wheat and barley fields in the Red River Valley and other parts of North Dakota. Area farmers are weary from excessive rains that damaged crops and now are starting to find diseases in their fields. "I think it's going to be even a bigger problem than we ever want to think about." Some sugar beets also are infected with root rot diseases. The amount of damage caused by root rot and other diseases is unknown because many crops are still developing, but Minnesota-Dakota's growers will lose about 40 percent of this year's crop to flooding. Harvested beets could yield half the co-op's average, making this year's crop the smallest in more than 10 years. Crystal Sugar could lose 30,000 acres of the 500,000 planted to beets this spring.
A pessimistic assessment is being made of this year's crop yield in the Midwest, often described as the nation's breadbasket. A line stretching from central Texas up the Mississippi Valley all the way to Wisconsin and reaching into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan has experienced the worst drought since the disaster of 1988 that resulted in a national economic loss of about $40 billion. Contributing to this looming crisis is an unmerciful heat wave that has seen the mercury jump over 100 degrees on several occasions. Northern Illinois appears to be suffering the most damage with the fifth driest growing season in 110 years, although parts of eastern Iowa, southern Wisconsin and a good chunk of Missouri are facing similar strains. It is estimated the drought will destroy 30 percent or more of their crops. Ultimately, the biggest problem could be the alfalfa crop. Normally, cattle and sheep farmers plant and cut several fields of alfalfa and other grasses during the growing season and store it as hay to be used as feed during the long winter. But conditions already have dried up pastures, forcing growers to dig into their reserves. That means less hay will be available when snow covers the ground. Consumers will almost surely find themselves paying more at the supermarket checkout counter, particularly if farmers are forced to pay inflated hay prices.
8/1 -
Against a backdrop of declining world wheat stocks, bad weather has hit world production this year and will raise trading volumes as countries increase their imports. From the plains in the United States midwest to the wheat prairies of Australia, water shortages have hit. Argentina is dry and India is mulling over a wheat import-duty cut to combat domestic shortages. This will help exporters in France, where farmers have large stocks from last season and still expect a good-sized harvest. Much-needed rain in Australia looks to have now saved the wheat crop there. China is forecast to consume 15 million tonnes more than forecast production this year.

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JULY 2005 -
7/31 -
Flounder fishing's a flop so far this summer in the central coastal area of North Carolina. Flounder landings from the inshore waters of the central coast were down about 36 percent from the previous five-year average for the same months. "It's one of the worst summers I've seen all my life." The unusual weather is being blamed for what started out as a sluggish season. A cooler spring was followed by abrupt hot weather. "Everything's been messed up around here. The shrimp and everything's been running a little late."
7/26 -
The European Union began sending subsidized corn to Spain, as the country's worst drought in half a century stifles food production.
7/19 -
Oceanic plankton have largely disappeared from the waters off Northern California, Oregon and Washington, mystifying scientists, stressing fisheries and causing widespread seabird mortality. The phenomenon could have long-term implications if it continues: a general decline in near-shore oceanic life, with far fewer fish, birds and marine mammals. No one is certain how long the condition will last. In perhaps the most ominous development, seabird nesting has dropped significantly on the Farallon Islands off San Francisco. The collapse of the nesting season is unprecedented in the last three decades. 2004's spring and summer ocean surface temperatures in the Gulf of Alaska and off British Columbia were the warmest in 50 years.
In the south of France, the RECORD DRY HOT WEATHER has spawned a new threat, more common to northern Africa than to France - swarms of locally-hatched locusts have invaded. Hundreds of farms are at risk.
The National Weather Service says this is the worst drought statewide in Wisconsin in several years. They are already short 5 - 10 inches of rainfall. The extremely hot and dry weather is slowly damaging the crops.
7/11 -
Rainstorms and ensuing flooding since June 28 have totally destroyed more than 33,000 hectares of crops in southwest China's Sichuan Province.
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Articles on climate change from 2000 and 2001