The future of US sweet corn might be uncertain

As summer temperatures are sometimes reaching unprecedented levels in the US, the future of sweet corn might be uncertain. According to New University of Illinois research,…

‘Queensland is bearing the brunt of economic damage of Australia's climate disasters'

Queensland seems to bear the brunt of economic damage from climate-fueled disaster; its total losses triple those of other states. The Climate Council's latest report revealed…

"Promoting the appropriate vegetation cover could help bring back the summer storms in about 15 years"

The Citrus Management Committee (CGC) organized yesterday a conference by Millan Millan, Director Emeritus of the Centre for Mediterranean Environmental Studies (CEAM). Millan Millan advocated using European resilience funds to promote reforestation policies to restore the quality of the Mediterranean…

The Viñuela swamp is at 9% of its capacity

According to the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Democratic Challenge's latest report on the State of the Reservoirs, published on November 15, Spain's water…

Latest rains are "not enough to save Morocco's agricultural season"

Last weekend's rainfall interrupted a long period of drought in Morocco but was not enough to lift growers' morale. Mr. Rida Aghori, an agricultural engineer, has been observing the rainfall deficit situation since 2016, using a dashboard he has compiled from official sources. Mr. Aghori said, "the…

New York State storm empties some shelves temporarily

A three-day lake effect snowstorm that brought several feet of snow to Buffalo, New York and Western New York residents has spurred U.S. president Joe Biden to send federal aid to parts of the state to clean up after the storm. However, growers and shippers say they managed to--in essence--work around…

Moroccan Nadorcott volumes plummet as drought persists

The persistent drought in Morocco has severely affected the production of Nadorcott, the Moroccan mandarin variety. Producers in the Houara region (near Agadir) have reported…

Lower volumes expected for Moroccan citrus

The combination of several factors is leading to a difficult season for Moroccan citrus. Mr. Mouad Hfa, production manager at the Moroccan producer and exporter Pro Prim, located in the Souss and Chichawa regions, has forecast a 30-40% drop in volumes compared to the previous season. Mr. Mouad explains: "This…

Persistent drought slows down Nadorcott season in Morocco

Morocco is largely under the threshold of water shortage. Many crops, including Nadorcotts, are marking time but producers remain confident in the solidity of the industry. Mr. Youssef Maaouni, producer and exporter of Nadorcott in Agafay/Marrakesh, said: "This season, volumes will be lower than expected…

Indian crop yields badly affected by extreme weather patterns

Climate change, one of the biggest threats to India's agriculture sector, is wreaking havoc on crop yields as the annual monsoon season becomes longer bringing more heavy…

Groblersdal hail: “The nets did their job and overall, the grapes look good”

The sun is out after days of rain and a hailstorm last Thursday afternoon which hit localized areas north of Groblersdal where the table grape season has commenced, and citrus orchards are nursing young fruit.Limpopo is an area with a high hail factor; the storm came in quickly with no warning, growers…

"We are very worried about the raspberry campaign and the growing competition from Morocco"

The Spanish raspberry campaign is facing even greater competition from Morocco than last year. Markets are saturated with supply and prices have plummeted. Meanwhile, there are still very limited quantities of Spanish blueberries available and producers are starting to harvest some extra-early strawberry…

Chile: Frost causes losses of up to 100% in blueberry orchards in Ñuble

Serious damage to blueberry orchards in the Ñuble region was caused by the frost recorded on October 31. Losses in some orchards reach 100% of production, depending on…

Waiting and seeing how Hurricane Nicole affects Florida’s tomato production

Florida tomato growers and shippers are watching and waiting to find out the impact of Tropical Storm Nicole on the state’s tomato production. “Supply was already somewhat short until December because of Hurricane Ian. Some places had to replant or there were going to be delays on their crop. There was a…

Snow could cut Canada's Okanagan fruit season short

Recent cold temperatures and snow could put an early end to British Columbia’s fruit season. Balpreet Gill with the Oliver, B.C.-based Gold Star Fruit Company Ltd. says the Okanagan region had a very warm October with record-breaking temperatures of 30º Celsius. “Then suddenly 10 days ago, the weather took…

Minister says that COP27 will be a turning point for the world view on food production

The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Marcos Montes, participated this Wednesday in the Agriculture and Climate panel, during the interactive program of the…

Tropical storm Nicole expected to affect Central Florida’s produce crops and logistics

Tropical storm Nicole made landfall as a hurricane in eastern Florida this morning. Nicole was centered about 30 miles southwest of Orlando around 7 a.m. ET this morning. The storm is causing heavy rain and damaging winds throughout Central Florida before heading north towards Georgia and North Carolina.…

Favorable weather promises a good quality harvest of garlic and red onions

With colder temperatures at this end of the year, the weather in Egypt is favorable for red onion and garlic production, and promises a good quality harvest, according to Ralph Nakal of producer Tomna. "Although it is difficult to comment on volumes before the actual harvest in January, we expect a…

Spring snow bites Central’s apricot crop

October brought with it extreme weather, including snow down to low levels across Central Otago, affecting a significant number of apricot crops. Cromwell-based orchardist, Simon Webb, says a high exposed block on his property that only had wind machines for protection, received a reasonable percentage…

Tech in weather and disease portal helps orchardists stay ahead of mother nature

KVH’s free online Weather & Disease Portal uses a technology platform that gives growers the edge when it comes to weather forecasting and managing pests and diseases. Orchard…

Florida’s farmers brace for new tropical storm called Nicole

Florida’s produce industry took an almost $2 billion hit from Hurricane Ian and is now bracing for more as Tropical Storm Nicole follows a track toward the state’s eastern…

Agricultural emergency decreed due to damage caused by late frosts to vineyards and fruit trees

The Ministry of Economy and Energy of Mendoza, through the Undersecretary of Agriculture and Livestock, continues to assess the damage caused by the late frosts recorded in recent days in productive areas, after decreeing the state of emergency or agricultural disaster. The consequences cover not only…

Favorable weather conditions to boost citrus season in Egypt

Egypt has enjoyed a "very successful" citrus flowering period, thanks to weather conditions. Mr Ahmed Serhan, CEO of Frutella, stated: "During the citrus' flowering season, we didn't have temperature fluctuations between day and night. We had less humidity and no fogging. Thanks to favorable weather…

It’s unusual to have two hurricanes at the same time in November

Usually, the heavy part of hurricane season ends late October. However, the fact that two hurricanes are active in the Atlantic early November is proof that hurricane season…

Extreme weather is upending parts of the US food system

Extreme weather is upending the US food system. As the climate crisis causes temperatures to rise, precipitation patterns to shift and drought conditions to lengthen, many…

Climate change could severely hamper Queensland fruit cultivation

Some experts claim that rising temperatures could endanger Queensland-grown strawberries. According to cropping expert Paul Gauthier, rising temperatures meant the popular…

Climate change endangers Egypt's Nile Delta

Egyptian farmers working the land in the Nile River Delta are facing increasing troubles as rising sea levels infuse the once fertile soil with dried salt. There are concerns…

Freshfel Environmental Footprint Initiative embarks on shadow PEFCR for fruit & vegetables

As part of the work of the Freshfel Environmental Footprint Initiative, Freshfel Europe, alongside its members, is embarking on the development of a shadow Product…

Egyptian farmers fear rising social tensions over water

Egypt is facing worsening water shortages as climate change brings more extreme heat and drought - and now many Egyptian farmers and climate change experts fear the new dam…

Texas citrus welcomes crop volume increasing to 65 percent

Texas citrus looks to be on the rebound following the freeze in February 2021. “We are very excited for the 2022-2023 Texas citrus season. Our trees are recovering well with crop volume recovered to about 65 percent. So our shipments will be closer to a typical season with more room to recover next…

Hawkesbury Valley farmer lost $500,000 in five floods

Extreme weather events that have struck Australia in recent years have brought five floods to Lee Etherington’s farm, leading to enormous losses of $500,000. The grower has…

Hurricane Roslyn has minimal effects on Mexican crops

While the latest hurricane to make the headlines, Hurricane Roslyn made landfall in Mexico on Sunday, growers are to date reporting minimal impacts on crops. Reports indicate that the hurricane, which moved into a tropical storm by Sunday evening, hit West-Central Mexico on the weekend and killed at…

Iraqi drought crisis affects both crops and incomes countrywide

Farming communities in Iraq have seen their wheat, vegetable and fruit harvests decline for the second year in a row because of severe drought conditions. According to a new…

Texas citrus growers concerned about the future and drought

“Citrus managed to get through this year fine and depending on rainfall, we’ll make it through our next season. But that remains to be seen. It’s still a critical situation with water.” So says Dale Murden from Texas Citrus Mutual of the current situation of Texas and water--how much of it there is…

"Exchange rate, climate change make it harder to keep supplying same quality Israeli dates"

Though delayed, the Israeli date season is now in full swing at Lorre, in Belgium. "We started about three weeks later, with 30% of the crop still hanging on the trees," begins Laurent La Morella. "It's rained some recently, though. If that continues, it could affect those dates that still have to be…

Mandarin volume down post Hurricane Ian

Florida is seeing a drop in tangerine/mandarin production following Hurricane Ian. But, there’s still plenty of good fruit. “We’re still assessing our crops. We have groves in all of the major growing regions across the state. Those regions had varying degrees of damage and impact from Hurricane Ian so…

Are UK potatoes at risk due to climate change?

Some researchers fear that the humble potato may struggle to grow in the UK in years to come, due to the effects of climate change. Take Scotland; it's fields grow a quarter…

US scientists research the effects of smoke from wildfires on potatoes

As increasingly high summer temperatures make fire seasons longer and more intense, a team of scientists is looking at Idaho to see what might happen to potato yields. It was…

Autumn is still the best time to dig for groundwater

Although we are in mid-autumn, the drought emergency continues to be a concern for several Italian territories, particularly the northern regions. It is a crisis that seems to have been alleviated thanks to artesian wells, for which there has been strong interest this year, with many new drillings. But…

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Pakistan: free quality seed for farmers to help overcome crop shortage

The recent devastating floods have damaged almost 8 million acres of agricultural land countrywide, causing shortages of fruit and vegetables. To overcome crop shortages, the government has decided to distribute free high-quality seeds to the farmers in the flood-hit areas, reports. According to an…

More Colorado River water cuts will affect the US economy

California is in its driest year to date, and this clearly affects the water distribution concerning the Colorado River. That is why the federal government is proposing more…

Sicilian red garlic area once again hit by flood

"We can give the blame to climate change or to destiny, but the truth is that man is behind the floods due to his activities or, rather, lack of maintenance of his works," states Giovanni Manguguerra after the flash flood that hit the Trapani province in Sicily and, especially, Salinagrande near Nubia,…

Tomato farmers in California suffer from years of drought

Tomato farmers in California are being hurt by the state's water crisis as well as inflation. "We pick at the peak of freshness," said Aaron Barcellos of A-Bar Ag Enterprises.…

New South Wales organic cherry grower to increase climate resilience via Woolworths grant

After being thwarted by years of heavy rainfall across New South Wales, organic cherry farmer Luke Cantrill from Cantrill Organics has received a grant of $500,000 from the…

Drought threatens next year’s fruit and vegetable crop in the UK

UK farmers have warned that, if predictions that the drought will last until next summer prove accurate, they will not be able to grow crops next year. Currently, there are…

Garlic sowing in Spain is expected to fall significantly due to rising costs and drought

Julio Bacete, the president of the National Garlic Table, calculates that the sowing area, to date, may have fallen by 15 to 20% over the previous campaign; a trend that has…

Malaga's tomato, avocado, and mango harvests decrease due to the drought in the region

The lack of water has already left its mark on Malaga's countryside. The Provincial Association of Irrigators of Malaga (Aprema) has stated that this year's tomato crops have…

Fewer potatoes due to drought

According to preliminary estimates by the Special Harvest and Quality Evaluation (BEE), this year's potato harvest will be considerably smaller than those of previous years. According to the German…

Puerto Rico looks to U.S. for more food imports in the short-term

Following Hurricane Fiona sweeping through Puerto Rico in mid-September, there’s no doubt that the island now will rely more heavily on imported product. Martex Farms in Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico is a tropical fruit grower in the Southern part of the island growing mangoes, a largely exported product,…

Hurricane Ian slows production of Boniato/Batata potatoes in Florida

Following Hurricane Ian which made its way through Florida last month, supplies of Boniato/Batata potatoes are tighter than usual. “We had a couple of days of flooding here so that pushed everybody back. The flooding has caused significant damage at some fields. There was a loss of at least 50 percent of…

Largest grant in university’s history to incentivize climate-smart agriculture

University of Idaho’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences is set to receive up to $55 million, the largest grant in the university’s history, to help Idaho farmers and…

Florida strawberry planting restarts post-Hurricane Ian

Following Hurricane Ian's daunting impact on the state of Florida, one strawberry grower-shipper is assessing the fallout. "Our southern farms took the brunt of the storm, but luckily we had not laid any plastic yet down south. However, our Plant City farms all lost some plastic and some drip, but…

Impact of Hurricane Orlene is being assessed

In the last two weeks, the Americas have been seeing one hurricane after another. Two days ago, Hurricane Orlene made landfall south of Mazatlán City, in Southern Sinaloa,…

“Not fun”: South African farmers juggle an early spring heat wave and daily power cuts

The South African Weather Service predicts that a heatwave over Gauteng, eastern NorthWest Province, the eastern Mpumalanga Highveld as well as over the south-western bushveld of Limpopo, will run until the end of the week with no imminent rain predicted.It comes at a critical time for many fruit crops:…

Potato harvest resumes on Prince Edward Island post Hurricane Fiona

About 10 days after Hurricane Fiona hit the province of Prince Edward Island, Canada, residents, including its potato growers and shippers, are slowly gaining back electricity. “The entire island has been devastated--the wide swath of destruction is unbelievable,” says Dwayne Coffin of Vanco Farms in…

La Niña to increase number of cyclones, flooding rains across northern Australia

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology is warning residents in the north of the country to be on alert for a greater possibility of cyclones developing and potential flooding in…

Climate change could make tropical fruits industry unfeasible in Spain

Andalucia in southern Spain is home to Europe's largest avocado plantations. These fruits are sought after, but they require special care. Each kilogram of fruit needs 800…

Florida grapefruit industry seeing minimal fruit loss post Hurricane Ian

Following Hurricane Ian’s arrival, Florida grapefruit looks to have made its way through the event with minimal effects. “We got extremely lucky,” says Dan Richey of Riverfront Packing Company. “The storm was bearing down and then it turned to the Northeast and that got us through.” Florida grapefruit is…

"Grocery sustainability metrics have the potential to redefine the role of food packaging"

It's nearly a decade since the familiar 'traffic light' labeling system started appearing on supermarket items, signaling key health metrics around calories, sugar, salt, and fat content, writes Chris Fiander, Marketing Manager, Westpak Group Ltd. In this opinion piece, he zooms in on the role of food…

Hurricane Ian hits Florida as citrus growers near harvest season

Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 storm and is slowly making its way through the state as a Category 1 hurricane. Yesterday, an article was published about the potential impact on citrus and vegetable crops as well as logistics challenges. More will become clear in the coming days…

Climate change is affecting mango crop in Aswan this year

Among the many fruits grown around the Egyptian city of Aswan is the mango, which is the first fruit to go to the market during the summer season. The village of Fares in…

Apple industry on Canada's East Coast affected by Hurricane Fiona

Hurricane Fiona made its way through Eastern Canada on the weekend and the region’s apple industry is seeing some infrastructure damage and crop loss because of it. Nova Scotia: Michael Van Meekeren of Van Meekeren Farms in Kentville, Nova Scotia says there’s an estimated 10-30 percent loss across the…

Florida growers and importers brace for Hurricane Ian

Florida growers and shippers were, as of press time last night, watching, waiting, and preparing for Hurricane Ian. The last reports of the storm, which made its way through Cuba as a hurricane, indicated that it might come through the state as a Category 4 storm starting today. Reports say 2.5 million…

French kiwi fruit producers are feeling the effects of climate change

Kiwi fruit producers grow three-quarters of their volumes in southwest France, from Lot-et-Garonne to Pyrénées-Atlantiques via Occitanie. And these areas are particularly…

Concerns over Dominican Republic banana operations post-Fiona

Now that growers and shippers are a little further out from Hurricane Fiona making its way from Puerto Rico--where it knocked out power and caused sizable damage--to the Dominican Republic (DR), a clearer picture of the damage done within the country is emerging. The storm moved through the DR on Monday…

Report about the impact of Hurricane Fiona on the Dominican Republic

Hurricane Fiona made its way through the Dominican Republic yesterday after knocking out power and causing seemingly significant damage to Puerto Rico on Sunday. However, some Dominican Republic growers and shippers are thankful that it wasn’t worse. “We are kind of lucky,” says Cesar Perez of Frescura…

NZ asparagus growers work to overcome flooding troubles as harvesting season begins

The New Zealand asparagus harvesting season has just begun, but some fields are still partly underwater from recent flooding. Cam Lewis of Horowhenua's Tendertips Asparagus…

Hurricane Fiona makes landfall in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic

Hurricane Fiona made landfall in Puerto Rico on Sunday afternoon, causing life-threatening flooding, mudslides, and an island-wide power outage. According to the National Hurricane Center, heavy rains continued across Puerto Rico on Sunday. From Puerto Rico, Fiona moved to the Dominican Republic where it…

Australian growers have mixed feelings about the current, third, successive La Nina event

Australian growers have weighed up the pros and cons of the current third successive La Nina event set to bring more rainfall to eastern Australia. The rare third successive…

Dole Ireland awarded prestigious sustainability accolade

Wednesday, September 14th saw Bord Bia (the Irish Food Board) award Origin Green “Gold” membership for 2022 to Dole Ireland at a hybrid event held in Dublin. Gold status recognises the efforts of Origin Green members which have achieved “exceptional annual performance on their sustainability targets in…

US might be heading for a ketchup crisis

Americans consume upward of 30 pounds of tomatoes a year, three-quarters of that in processed form. While the commercially produced fresh fruit varieties are mostly grown in heavily controlled environments, away from the elements, climate change is looking like it will be a big issue for processing…

Droughts increase premiums for US farmland with access to water

Shrinking water supplies are creating a two-tiered market in farmland investing, lifting values for properties with access to groundwater or aquifers. Much of the land in…

Drought in parts of England to remain until next year

Large areas of England are likely to remain in an official drought until next year. Water companies are seeking permission to extract more from rivers, or to keep taking water…

Lidl Sweden announces they'll no longer transport fresh produce by air

Lidl Sweden announced that they’ll stop transporting fruit and vegetables by air. An image is circulating that shows all the birds that stopped flying, with the kiwi now being the final one, as a nod to the fruit that shares its name with a bird that doesn't fly. With this direction, the aim for Lidl…

Harvest delays following tropical storm Kay

Growers and shippers were on watch on Friday following reports that Tropical Storm Kay had made landfall in Mexico. Categorized as a Category 1 storm, it reportedly hit along the West Coast of the central Baja California peninsula starting Thursday afternoon. In turn, this had raised concerns over the…

Crop yields reduced: drought hits fruit and vegetable processors hard

Since the beginning of the year, there has been a severe drought affecting several European fruit and vegetable growing regions due to persistent lack of precipitation,…

So far, Mississippi sweet potato growers relieved following summer drought

Mississippi sweet potato growers and shippers are somewhat relieved with the 2022 crop following the summer drought that made headlines across the country. “We had high temperatures and the no water situation was very depressing. However we seem to have made it through and it will not be a crop failure…

"Climate change does not allow for predictions when it comes to volumes and yields"

“We aim at perfecting the cultivation techniques of early prickly pears in recyclable plastic greenhouses, which can also be opened up depending on the weather so as to arrive on the market at least one month early. We managed it with the first hectare this summer and results have been amazing," reports…

Extreme summer climate causes heat damage to fruits in prolific regions

This summer, southern China suffered the longest-lasting, widest, and most intense periods of high temperatures and low rain since 1961. The drought developed rapidly,…

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Vegetable prices likely to go up in Malaysia due to heavy rain

Continuous heavy rainfall in Malaysia over the last few weeks has depleted the crop yield for vegetables across the country, said, farmers. The dip in the supply of vegetables by around 20 to 30 percent would inevitably result in price hikes for vegetables such as spinach, okra, long bean, and chili,…

"Producing quantites of quality regional summer vegetables in these weather conditions is extremely difficult"

The Rhine-Ruhr region is now in full lettuce harvest mode, as Peter-Josef Eßer, a vegetable grower in Korschenbroich and direct marketer at the Düsseldorf wholesale market, tells us. "Due to the ongoing drought and the lack of moisture in the soil, we are finding it extremely difficult to produce…

Drought forcing vegetable acreage drop in South Texas

Texas’ drought conditions are undoubtedly severely affecting the state’s agriculture picture. “There are fewer plantings. This should mean higher prices down the road once we get into the regular harvest cycle,” says Tony Martinez of Primo Trading Services LLC in McAllen, Texas. Martinez says that…

Spain's water reserve is at 35.9% of its capacity

According to the latest report on the State of Spain's Reservoirs by the Ministry of Ecological Transition, updated as of August 30, Spain's water reserve is at 35.9% of its…

Biden declares emergency over Mississippi water crisis

President Joe Biden's administration approved an emergency declaration over a water crisis in the State of Mississippi, also ordering Federal assistance to supplement the…

"With this initiative we seek to change the course of Ecuador's agriculture and move it towards an organic environmental setting"

Land and water are more than just resources; they are a natural capital, essential for agriculture, and their degradation is not only an environmental or ecosystemic indicator, but also a determining factor for the social and economic development conditions of the populations living in the affected…