The Florida all orange forecast released today by the USDA Agricultural Statistics Board is increased by 2.0 million boxes to 131.0 million boxes, comprised of 63.0 million boxes of Valencia oranges and 68.0 million boxes of non-Valencia varieties (early, midseason, Navel, and Temple).

 If realized, this forecast would be 19 percent less than last season’s production of 162.4 million boxes. Freeze damage assessment and monthly surveys were conducted to determine the extent of damage to the Florida citrus crop.

Lire le rapport USDA

Les grains de café s’accumulent dans la brousse ivoirienne et les entrepôts de coopération, en raison de la faiblesse des prix de vente et de la concurrence des achats de fèves de cacao, plus rentable que le café pour les commerçants.

« Quand les gens achètent des grains de café, c’est pour 225 FCFA le kg… un prix qui ne leur permet pas de faire un profit décent », a déclaré Fatoma Timité, un agriculteur de la région de Man.

Dans l’espoir de voir une flambée des prix internationaux du café, les producteurs de Côte-d’Ivoire se sont précipités pour relancer les plantations abandonnées, mais, depuis, les prix ont chuté.

« Les achats de café ont été très faibles depuis le début de janvier 2010 », a déclaré un exportateur de café.

Les agriculteurs seront incapables d’assumer les frais d’entretien des plantations, ce qui pourrait conduire à des récoltes moins importantes dans les années à venir.

Source : Les Afriques

Des scientifiques allemands auraient démontré que le jus de tomate était bien meilleur dans l’avion qu’au sol, selon une information publiée par le site RTL.be. C’est le résultat d’une étude demandée par Lufthansa, qui ne s’expliquait pas le plébiscite de cette boisson à bord de ses avions.

Les goûts et les couleurs ne se discutent pas. Mais il faut reconnaitre que le jus de tomate n’est pas une boisson particulièrement populaire, et que le Bloody Mary est légèrement passé de mode depuis une décennie. Ils sont pourtant tous deux très appréciés lorsque l’on prend de l’altitude, selon une étude conduite par de l’institut allemand de physique IBP de Holzkirchen. Curieux.

 Les chercheurs ont mis en évidence le fait que le goût de cette boisson est meilleur à 30 000 pieds, en recréant les conditions de vol d’un Airbus A310. Une centaine de volontaires placés dans le simulateur avaient le choix entre différents plats et boissons.

Le jus de tomate a été la boisson la plus consommée, alors qu’elle n’est pas non plus particulièrement appréciée de nos voisins germaniques. Les compagnies ont déjà noté depuis longtemps ce phénomène et prévoit des stocks en conséquences sur les vols longs-courriers.

Pour les scientifiques, ce n’est pas le goût en lui-même qui changerait, mais notre perception du goût qui serait modifiée par les conditions de pression atmosphérique. Les récepteurs de goût pour le sel, le sucre et les arômes de tomate seraient plus sensibles en raison de la pression réduite dans la cabine. Les chercheurs ont également conclu que les plats perdaient de leur saveur avec l’altitude. Mais ça, nous l’avions déjà remarqué…

Source : Déplacements pros

La Junta de Andalucía cifra en 77 millones de euros las pérdidas que ha sufrido el sector de la fresa de Huelva a causa del temporal. La delegada de Agricultura en esa provincia, Esperanza Cortés, visitó ayer los campos agrícolas de Moguer y Palos de la Frontera.

Hasta el pasado jueves, los daños ascendían a 65 millones de euros, pero tras la borrasca del sábado, los destrozos se elevaron a 77 millones. “Lo dañado es irrecuperable”, declaró Cortés a Europa Press. La consejera de Agricultura, Clara Aguilera, pedirá hoy al Gobierno central que amplíe las ayudas previstas por daños en la agricultura para que cubran también a los cultivos freseros.

En Córdoba, la organización agraria Asaja ha cuantificado los destrozos en el campo en 250 millones de euros, informa Efe. Esta cifra no ha sido corroborada por el delegado de Agricultura, Francisco Zurera, que afirmó que en la provincia todavía quedan 40.000 toneladas de aceituna por recoger.

El consejero de Turismo de la Junta, Luciano Alonso, se mostró preocupado por el mal estado de algunas playas, sobre todo de Cádiz y Huelva, ante la llegada de la Semana Santa, aunque confió en que los daños todavía “se pueden arreglar”. Alonso pidió que no se hagan con antelación previsiones meteorológicas adversas para las vacaciones de Pascua para no espantar a los viajeros, una petición que otros años hacían los hosteleros del norte de España.

Por otro lado, en Órgiva (Granada) el Ayuntamiento ha pedido a los miembros del asentamiento hippy de El Beneficio que lo desalojen ante el peligro de desprendimiento de un cerro cercano.

Source : el Pais

Organic grain production in the upper Southeast got a big boost from the Organic Initiative in the 2008 farm bill. As organic production continues to increase in the Southeast, growers are urged to take advantage of incentive programs and to be aware of the upcoming March 12 deadline for EQIP funding, via NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program, or EQIP.


North Carolina and Virginia are among the top states in organic crop production in the South, especially in areas in which tobacco production has declined. For those growers the deadline is coming March 12 to sign up for the NRCS Organic Initiative, which is administered via the agency’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

The Initiative was included in the 2008 farm bill to provide incentives for organic growers. It can provide up to $20,000 per year and $80,000 over six years to help farmers transitioning to organic production.

A number of “core” organic conservation practices may be funded through the Organic Initiative, including cover crops, conservation crop rotation, prescribed grazing, pest management, nutrient management, and forage harvest management.

All conservation practices offered under “general” EQIP are also available through the Organic Initiative, including, but not limited, to fence and watering facilities for rotational grazing, erosion control practices, field borders, etc.

EQIP was reauthorized in the 2008 farm bill. Although applications for EQIP funding can be made throughout the year, to be considered for 2010, these applications must be submitted to the grower’s local National Resource Conservation Service office by March 12.  Lire la suite…

Source : South East Fram Press

Weather

A series of storm systems brought widespread showers to California. The start of the week was dry with a ridge of high pressure allowing mostly sunny, dry, and mild conditions to prevail across much of California.

By Tuesday, a low pressure system moved to just off the coast of the Pacific Northwest bringing a cold front to Northern California, rains and mountain snow across the northern half of the state, and dry weather to Southern California. The low shifted south resulting in showers in the south Thursday.

With the low positioned near Southern California, Northern California had dry but cool conditions at the end of the week while showers fell in the south during the weekend. On Sunday, the low pressure system, which had been off the Southern Californian coast, shifted inland and quickly moved into Arizona by Sunday night.

Fruit crops

Full bloom continued for the plum, prune, peach, cherry, and other early varieties of stone fruit across the Central Valley. Fungicide sprays were applied to blooming stone fruit trees. Pruning of orchards and vineyards approached completion while citrus trees were topped. Picking of tangerines, Navel oranges, grapefruit, and lemons continued.

Strawberry and blueberry plantings began blooming. Out-of-state raspberry bushes arrived for planting.

Nut crops

Widespread bloom continued in almond orchards, in addition to considerable petal fall. As a result of recent moisture and anticipated warmer weather, brown rot remained a concern. Most growers applied second and third protective sprays to limit the impact of spring diseases.

Source : Western Farm Press

Président du Comité interprofessionnel de la noix de Grenoble (CING), Yves Borel était présent au Salon de l’Agriculture, mercredi, sur le stand de l’Isère, bien sûr. Pour le CING, créé en 1968 et dont la restructuration a abouti début 2009, le retour de la noix de Grenoble au Salon est plus que symbolique.

Lire l’ Interview (Source : le Dauphiné)

UK: Black garlic - all the taste, with none of the bad breath

Black garlic has gone on sale promising cooks all the flavour of the normal, pungent flavouring but none of the associated bad breath. The ingredient, which has been used for a while in Thailand and Korea, became a craze with cooks in America last year and has gone on sale in Selfridges department store in London.

Top London chefs have already started experimenting with the novel flavouring. The product has the full – if less astringent – taste of garlic, but, crucially, anyone who eats the bulb does not suffer from the bad breath that usually comes with consuming garlic.

It is produced by fermenting a standard bulb in a high temperature for about a month. The result is that, from the outside, the garlic looks like a normal bulb, with papery skin. Once peeled, however, the flesh is revealed to be a inky, black colour with a slightly chewy texture.

In Asia it is used in number of dishes, particularly fish ones, as well as a flavouring in soft drinks where it is sometimes used as a substitute for tamarind.

Claude Bosi, the head chef of Hibiscus, the fashionable, Michelin-starred restaurant in Mayfair, London said: “I really like the texture and depth of flavour this has – without being as potent as regular garlic. I am using it in a new dish that is in progress at the moment: a veal sweetbread, studded with black garlic”.

The ingredient does not come cheap, however, costing £5.49 for two bulbs at Selfridges compared with about 50p for two bulbs of standard garlic at most supermarkets.

Source: telegraph.co.uk

Arabica coffee futures rose Tuesday on technical buying linked to chart-based factors and on a friendly Brazilian crop report, though the day’s strongest gains had been trimmed by the close. Most active May coffee added 165 points, or 1.3%, to settle at $1.3275 a pound on ICE Futures U.S. Nearby March, which has few open positions, rose 155 points, or 1.2%, to end at $1.3025 a pound.

Despite the mostly sideways to weak trend of coffee futures recently, the market uncovered strong buying support at a triple-bottom area near $1.30, allowing prices to rally to two-week highs. Coffee even bucked an overall weak commodity trend to post gains. A projection detailing a smaller-than-expected Brazilian crop also sparked some gains.

“I think part of this strength is due to a positive report on production that came out of the government of Brazil today, especially considering most people are carrying significantly larger production estimates,” said Jack Scoville, analyst and vice president at Price Futures Group in Chicago.

Brazil’s upcoming 2010 coffee crop is pegged at 46.4 million 60-kilogram bags, Brazil’s Census Bureau, or IBGE, said Tuesday. This was down 0.8% from a January estimate, though the IBGE projection is often lower than industry estimates, a broker said.

ICE coffee futures may have located a short-term bottom with the move higher, though it will need to be confirmed by additional gains, said Scoville. The rally in May coffee faltered as the contract scaled $1.34 a pound, where trendline resistance toughened. May hit a two-week peak of $1.3425 before backing off slightly on profit-taking.

Still, bullish traders were happy to see the market rally given the bullish fundamentals of extremely tight arabica bean supplies, a factor that has been overshadowed recently by expectations for a large upcoming Brazilian crop that some say could total anywhere from 50 million up to 60 million bags.

Brazil is the world’s largest grower of arabica coffee and the upcoming harvest is greatly anticipated to help replenish global stocks after adverse weather had significantly cut South American, Central American and Mexican production.

Costa Rica’s coffee exports are down 5.6% for the 2009-10 crop year through Feb. 22, as uncertainty grows over how much coffee will be available due to adverse weather delaying and damaging the harvest. Honduran 2009-10 coffee output for the crop year through March 1 is up 28% compared to the same period last year. The rise isn’t due to a bumper crop, but it does signal an unusually late start to last year’s crop.

Source : FutureSource